JPS62272753A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To relieve a load on the operator by applying charging processing predetermined for each kind of an operating communication line based on storage information of a storage means for storing kind information of the operating communication line at each communication opposite party to reduce the labor and time relating to the charge management. CONSTITUTION:A control section 3 uses, e.g., a microcomputer as a main control circuit and has a registration control means 31 a charging processing means 32 in addition to various control and reading/recording control means. In operating a key input section 8 by the operator to input telephone number information and line kind information of the opposite party at the designation of registration mode, the registration control means 31 stores the information in a memory 10 corresponding to the registration number of the communication party. The changing processing means 32 decides the kind of the operating communication network corresponding to the communication opposite party at the time of communication from line kind information registered in the memory 10 to apply the charging processing in response to the kind of the operating communication network. Thus, even if any communication network is in use, the proper charging processing and required processing are applied.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention [Purpose of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to an improvement of a facsimile machine having functions optimal for performing billing processing.

(Prior Art) In recent years, with the promotion of office automation, many facsimile machines have come into use, and some of them are equipped with billing functions.

This billing function includes, for example, a timer that measures communication time, detects the polarity reversal of the communication line and drives the timer to measure the communication time from the start of transmission to the end, and calculates the communication time from the communication time. It calculates and displays or stores charges. By using a device with such functions, operators can manage charges extremely easily without having to record the communication partner and communication time in a ledger for each communication and calculate communication charges from this. can.

However, in recent years, as communication needs have diversified and usage has increased, multiple types of communication networks have been constructed and used in addition to subscriber telephone networks, such as facsimile networks and digital networks that can perform packet switching. , these communication networks have different charging methods. For this reason, although the above-mentioned conventional facsimile device that calculates communication charges from communication time can be applied to subscriber telephone networks, it cannot be applied to communication networks with other charging methods, and as a result, operators still have to manage ledgers. This required a lot of effort and time for management.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, since the conventional device calculates communication charges based on communication time, When a communication network is used, billing cannot be performed, which poses a problem in that charge management requires time and effort. The present invention aims to provide a facsimile machine that can perform processing or processing necessary therefor, thereby reducing the effort and time involved in fee management and reducing the burden on the operator.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention includes a storage means for storing type information of the communication line used for each communication partner, and a predetermined process based on the stored information of the storage means. and means for determining the type of communication line corresponding to the communication partner at the time of communication from the type information stored in the storage means, and determining a predetermined type for each type of communication line to be used as determined by the type information. This system is designed to perform billing processing or output information necessary for billing processing.

(Function) As a result, by simply registering the type of communication line used by the communication partner in advance, no matter what communication line is used during communication, the billing process or billing process according to the billing method can be performed. Processing will be performed to output the necessary information, and this will make it possible to calculate communication charges for all communications without exception, greatly reducing the operator's effort and time involved in charge management. The burden can be reduced.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile machine in an embodiment of the present invention. In this device, an image signal read by a reading scanning section 1 is encoded by an encoding section 2 and then introduced into a transmitting/receiving section 4 via a control section 3. This transmitting/receiving section 4 includes a modulation/demodulation circuit (MOD) 41 and a network control circuit (NCU).
> 42, and after modulating the encoded image signal with MOD 41, it is sent as image data via NCU 42 to communication line 5.
Send to. On the other hand, when an image signal arrives via the communication line 5, this image data is received by the MOD 41 via the NCU 42, demodulated, and then introduced into the decoding section 6 via the control section 3, where it is decoded and then recorded and scanned. It is supplied to section 7 and recorded and scanned onto recording paper. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the NCU 42, which detects the polarity reversal of the communication line 5 = 5-. CM that selectively connects the automatic calling circuit 45 and the MOD 41 to the communication line 5 according to instructions from the control unit 3;
The L switching circuit 44 is also provided.

The device also has a key input section 8 for inputting telephone numbers and communication line type information, and a display section 9 for displaying information such as the telephone number of the communication partner and the operating status of the device. 1, a timer 11 for measuring communication time, and a counter 12 for counting the number of transmitted originals. Of these, memory 10 is
For each communication partner, the telephone number and type information of the communication network used are stored, as well as communication management information such as the communication partner's name, communication time, communication mode, and communication charges.

By the way, the control section 3 is equipped with, for example, a microcomputer as a main control circuit, and has a registration control means 31 and a billing processing means 32 in addition to various controls related to facsimile transmission/reception operations and reading/recording controls 6. are doing. The registration control means 31, when specifying the registration mode,
When the operator inputs telephone number information and line type information of the communication partner by operating the key input section 8, these pieces of information are stored in the memory 10 in association with the registration number of the communication partner. . Furthermore, the billing processing means 32 registers in the memory 10 the type of communication network used corresponding to the communication partner at the time of communication, and determines it from the line type information,
Billing processing is performed according to the type of communication network used.

Next, the operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be explained according to the control procedure of the control section 3. In the standby state, the control unit 3 performs steps 3a and 3 as shown in FIG. 3(a).
In step b and step 3C, registration mode designation monitoring, incoming call monitoring, and outgoing monitoring are repeatedly performed, respectively. In this state, for example, the operator can switch the registration mode designation switch (
(not shown), and input the telephone number information of the desired communication partner and the line type information representing the type of communication network to be used using the key human power section 8, and then the control section 3 moves from step 3a to step 3d. Then, the above-mentioned telephone number information and line type information are introduced, and in step 3e, these pieces of information are stored in the memory 10 in association with the registration number of the communication partner. Then, in step 3f, it is determined whether the registration mode has ended or not, and when it is determined that the registration mode designation switch has been turned off and registration has ended, the device returns to the standby state.

Now, suppose that the operator performs a call operation to send a document in the standby state, the control section 3 performs step 3.
This is detected at step C and the process moves to step 3g, in which first the telephone number information and line type information of the designated communication partner are read from the memory 10, respectively. Then, in step 3h, the CMI-switching circuit 44 of the NCU 42 switches the line 115 to the automatic calling circuit 45 side, and then drives and controls the automatic calling circuit 45 in accordance with the telephone number information to send a selection signal to the communication line 5. As a result, the facsimile device is connected to the communication partner via a predetermined communication network set in advance. For example, if the communication partner is a terminal that can only be connected to a subscriber telephone network, it is connected via the subscriber telephone network, and if the communication partner is a terminal that can use a facsimile network, it is connected via the facsimile network.

When the call control is finished, the control unit 3 starts the process as shown in FIG. 3 (b).
), the type of communication network used is determined from the line type information read from the memory 10 in step 3Q, and a billing method corresponding to this type is selected. For example, if the communication network to be used is a subscriber telephone network, the time-based billing method is selected, and if the communication network is a facsimile network, the fee-based billing method is selected. Furthermore, if the communication network used is a packet switching network, information closure is selected as the charging method.

First, when the time system is selected, the control unit 3 executes step 3j.
Then, the polarity reversal detection circuit 43 of the NCU 42 monitors whether or not polarity reversal is detected, and when the other terminal responds and the polarity of the line is reversed, the process moves to step 3k and the timer 11 starts the timing operation. Let it start. And step 3
Then, the facsimile communication control of -9= is carried out to send the image signal read from the transmission original to the communicating party's terminal, and during this transmission, the completion of communication is monitored in step 3m. When the transmission of the original is completed and the end of communication is detected in step 3m, the control unit 3 stops the 31 o'clock operation of the timer 11 in step 3n, and then proceeds to step 3o. Here, the communication fee is calculated from the time value measured by the timer 10. The calculated communication fee is then stored in a predetermined area of the memory 10 as one of the communication management information, and in step 3q, it is output to the display section 9 and displayed for a certain period of time, and then returns to the standby state.

On the other hand, if the communication network to be conveniently used is a facsimile network and the number-of-sheets system is selected as the billing method in step 31, the control section 3 first performs facsimile communication control in a predetermined procedure in step 3r, thereby controlling the transmission document. Let it be sent.

Then, when the transmission of one page of the original is completed, this is detected in step 3s, the count value of the counter 12 is counted up in step 3t, and then the process moves to step 3u, where the end of communication is monitored. Thereafter, the above control is repeated during communication. Therefore, the counter 12 stores the number of transmitted originals. When the communication is finished, the control unit 3 moves from step 3u to step 3v, where it calculates the communication fee according to the number of transmitted originals stored in the counter 12, and thereafter the same as in the case of the subscriber telephone network. The process then moves to step 3p and step 3q, where the communication charges are stored and displayed, respectively.

In this way, the communication charges when using the facsimile network are calculated.

In addition, when using a packet communication network, the control section 3 moves from step 31 to step 3w, where it first performs predetermined facsimile communication control to transmit the transmission document, and during this communication, in step 3x, the transmission information Calculate the amount. When the communication is completed, this is detected in step 3y and the process moves to step 3z, where the communication fee is calculated from the integrated value of the amount of transmitted information, and then step 3p
Then, in step 3q, the communication charges are stored and displayed, and then the terminal returns to the standby state.

In this way, communication charges when using a packet switching network are calculated.

In this way, in this embodiment, the type information of the communication network to be used is registered in advance in the memory 10 in addition to the telephone number information for each communication terminal, and the type of communication network to be used is determined from this type information at the time of transmission. Since the type is determined and the communication interest is calculated using the corresponding charging method, as long as the communication is registered in the memory 10 and is sent to a certain communication partner terminal,
No matter what communication network is used, communication charges can be calculated without exception according to its charging method. This eliminates the need for operators to record and manage the communication management information necessary to calculate communication charges depending on the communication partner in a ledger each time, and also eliminates the need to calculate communication charges, reducing the work involved in charge management. This can greatly simplify and save time.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, if the communication partners are fixed and a memory such as a ROM that stores line type information of these communication partners is set in the device, the registration control means may be unnecessary. In addition, in the above embodiment, the communication fee is calculated and stored for each communication, but in addition, each calculated communication fee is added for each communication network or for each communication partner, and the total amount is may be calculated and stored in memory. In this way, the operator's work related to charge monitoring can be further simplified.

Further, in the above embodiment, the billing process is performed only at the time of transmission, but the billing process may also be performed when the fee is paid by the receiving party, such as in the case of a collect call, for example. This can be realized, for example, by determining the type of communication network to be used from the ID number of the calling party sent from the digital network exchange upon reception, and performing billing processing accordingly. Further, in the embodiment described above, a case has been described in which communication charges are calculated, but it is also possible to simply obtain and output the information necessary for calculating the communication charges without calculating the communication charges. others,
The 13 types of communication networks to be used (for example, leased lines, digital circuit switching networks), the contents of each billing process, the means for registering line type information, etc. may be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention. It can be implemented by

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, there is provided a storage means for storing type information of the communication line used for each communication partner, and a means for performing predetermined processing based on the information stored in the storage means. This means determines the type of communication line corresponding to the communication partner at the time of communication from the type information stored in the storage means, and charges a predetermined charge for each type of communication line used as determined by this means. By outputting the information necessary for processing or billing processing, it is possible to perform accurate billing processing or the necessary processing no matter what communication network is used, and this makes charge management easier. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a facsimile machine that can reduce the burden on an operator by reducing the effort and time involved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram showing the configuration of the transmitter/receiver section of the same device, and FIGS. FIG. 3... Control unit, 4... Transmission/reception unit, 5... Communication line, 8... Key human power unit, 9... Display unit, 10... Memory, 11... Communication time measurement timer, 12...
Counter for counting the number of transmitted originals, 31... Registration control means, 32... Billing processing means, 41... Modulation/demodulation circuit (
MOD), 42...Network control circuit (NCU), 43...
・Polarity reversal detection circuit, 44...CML switching circuit, 45
...Automatic calling circuit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a facsimile device that can be selectively connected to multiple types of communication lines depending on the communication partner, a storage means for storing type information of the communication line used for each communication partner, and a Means for determining the type of communication line from the type information stored in the storage means and performing a predetermined billing process for each determined type of communication line used or outputting information necessary for performing the billing process. A facsimile device comprising: (2) The facsimile apparatus according to claim (1), wherein the storage means includes a memory and a storage control means for storing information on the type of communication line used depending on the communication partner in the memory. . (3) The facsimile apparatus according to claim (1), wherein the storage means stores information on the type of communication line used, added to the telephone number information for each communication partner.