JPS63198475A - Control system for facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To consecutively transmit image information by returning a facsimile equipment to its internal status immediately precedent to the initial reset immediately after a time when the equipment comes in the initial reset status, in accordance with the modified content of reference information on a magnetic disk and that of reference information in a nonvolatile memory. CONSTITUTION:The nonvolatile memory 3 and the magnetic disk 8 are provided, and picture information is stored in the disk 8 and reference information to execute an internal processing is backuped in the disk 8. Upon necessity for modifying the reference information, a system control part 1 rewrites the content of the storage in the disk 8 with a updated content, if there is not enough time, the part 1 stores only the updated information in a memory 3. And, at a time immediately after when the equipment comes in the initial reset status, the equipment is returned to its internal status immediately preceding the initial reset status by means of the modified contents of the reference information stored in the disk 8 and the memory 3.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Technical field] The present invention relates to a control method for a facsimile machine.

[Prior Art] In recent years, facsimile machines have been put into practical use that are equipped with an image storage function and can provide various transmission functions using this image storage function.

In addition, in a facsimile machine, the system control unit for controlling the overall operation collects various information (hereinafter referred to as system reference information) that is referenced to implement internal processing.
is stored in a locally provided memory device.

Conventionally, a so-called dynamic RAM (Random Access Memory) has been used as an image storage means for realizing an image storage function and a memory device provided in a system control unit.

Since this dynamic RAM is a so-called volatile semiconductor memory device, conventionally, when power is no longer supplied to the facsimile machine due to a momentary power outage, for example, the previously stored image information can be stored in the dynamic RAM. Also, the system reference information is erased, resulting in the inconvenience that the set image information transmission cannot be executed.

[Objective] The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the inconveniences of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile device that can carry out image information transmission that has been set up until then even if an abnormality occurs in the power supply. With the goal.

[Configuration] In order to achieve this object, the present invention includes a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and an auxiliary storage device, stores one-stroke information in the auxiliary storage device, and stores reference information for executing internal processing in the auxiliary storage device. While backing up the reference information to the device, when the reference information changes, the contents of the auxiliary storage device are rewritten according to the change, and if the time required to rewrite the reference information cannot be obtained, the changed contents of the reference information are stored in a non-volatile format. Immediately after the device enters the initial reset state, the internal state is changed based on the reference information stored in the auxiliary storage device and the reference information stored in the nonvolatile semiconductor storage device. It has returned to the state immediately before entering the initial reset state.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a facsimile machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, a system control unit 1 controls the entire facsimile machine, and includes a work memory 2 that stores system management information, etc. that is referred to when executing internal processing, and various types of information specific to this facsimile machine. A non-volatile memory 3 is locally provided for storing information (for example, speed dial information, etc.) and a part of system management information. Note that the work memory 2 is composed of a volatile storage device such as a dynamic RAM.

The color scanner 4 is for reading the image of the original at a predetermined resolution, the plotter 5 is for recording and outputting the received image, etc. at a predetermined resolution, and the encoder/decoder 6
is for encoding and compressing image data and decoding the encoded and compressed image data into the original image data.The operation display section 7 is for operating this facsimile machine, and has various operation keys. It consists of a display device with a large degree of display freedom for displaying operation guidance information, etc.

The magnetic disk device 8 is for accumulating compressed received image information and the like, and for backing up system management information stored in the work memory 2.

The communication control unit 9 executes a predetermined facsimile transmission control procedure to execute image transmission with the other station, and the modem 1
0 modulates and demodulates digital data so that an analog line network such as a public telephone line can be used as a transmission line, and a network control unit 11 is used to connect a facsimile machine to the public telephone line network. be. In addition,
This network control device 12 has an automatic calling/receiving function.

These system control units 1. A scanner 4, a plotter 5, an encoding/decoding section 6, an operation display section 7, a magnetic disk device 8, and a communication control section 10 are connected to a system bus 1.
Data is exchanged with each other via 2.

As shown in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(C), the system management information includes user instruction information DIP for storing instruction operations from the operator, and processes executed within the system (hereinafter referred to as
The system operation information SJD is used to store the processing conditions of a job (referred to as a job), and the destination information DOC is used to store the destination specified by the operator. Note that these user instruction information UIP, system operation information SJD, and -1 destination information DOC are dynamically created/deleted by the system control unit 1. Further, the user instruction information DIP and the system operation information SJD are handled as a pair of data.

User instruction information DIP is each user instruction information U
Identification information IO for identifying the IP, instruction input time TI that stores the time of instruction input by the user, instruction content DI that stores the content of the instruction input by the user, and image data used in the instruction content DI. Magnetic disk device 8
image data address IS,
The storage area in the work memory 2 for the first piece of destination information used in the instruction content DI is made up of a destination information address AS. Here, the instruction content DI includes a transmission function that can be realized by a facsimile machine, etc., for example.
Time Designated Transmission 1 Code information for alerting time designated circular transmission, etc. is stored.

System operation information SJD is paired with user instruction information U
Identification information ID that is the same as the IP, generation order number GN, priority PR set for the job to be executed according to this system operation information SJD, and the execution stage of the job to be executed according to this system operation information SJD. Execution step ES, this system operation information SJD
The execution start time of the job to be executed is determined by the job start time SJ, and the job that caused the generation of the job to be executed by this system operation information SJD (hereinafter referred to as
It consists of parent job identification information PJ that stores identification information of a parent job (referred to as a parent job), and destination information address AS. Here, if the job to be executed based on this system operation information SJD is a parent job, the parent job identification information PJ is "
0" is stored. Note that all jobs that have a parent job are hereinafter referred to as child jobs.

Destination information DOC includes the telephone number TN of the destination stored in this destination information DOC, user instruction information tlIP using this destination information DOC, and system operation information SJ.
Work memory 2 that stores the identification information JI of D and the next destination information DOC when multiple destinations are specified.
It consists of the following destination information address AN, which covers the storage area of . However, if this destination information DOC corresponds to the last one in a series of destination information, the next destination information address AN does not have the primary information (for example, "FF" in hexadecimal). ”) is memorized.

These system management information are continuously stored in the work memory 2 by the system control unit 1 in the order in which they are generated, for example, as shown in FIG.

By the way, since the magnetic disk device 8 stores data in sector units of a predetermined number of bits (for example, 256 bytes), the system control unit l stores the system management information stored in the work memory 2 in the magnetic disk device. When storing the system management information in a predetermined storage area of No. 8, the system management information is stored divided into sectors.

That is, the system control unit 1 sets the storage area of system management information in the work memory 2 to 256 from the beginning.
Data of 256 bytes is divided into bytes, and each 256-byte data is allocated to a predetermined sector of the magnetic disk device 8 and stored in the magnetic disk device 8. Then, when the system management information is changed, among the data divided into 256 bytes, the data in the sector including the changed data is updated at once.

Now, one transmission operation is realized by executing a plurality of jobs in association. For example, "Time hh l1l
When an operator instructs a time-specified broadcast to be sent to destinations A and B in I minutes, the time-specified broadcast is first transmitted as soon as the instruction is input, as shown in Figure 4 (,). System operation information SJD and user specified information arp of the parent job for processing transmission.

And destination information DOCI for specifying destinations A and B
.

A DOC2 is formed and stored in the system management information area of the work memory 2.

After input from the operator is completed, the parent job
A child job 1 for reading the transmission document set in the scanner 4 is generated, and the system operation information SJD and user instruction information U/P corresponding to the child job 1 are stored in the system management information area of the work area 2. It is formed. In addition, when the parent job generates the image data for the first line, the parent job also creates a child job 2 for encoding the read image data in the encoding/decoding unit 6 and storing it in the magnetic disk device 8. As a result, system operation information SJD and user instruction information υIP corresponding to child job 2 are formed in the system management information area of work area 2.

That is, at this point, as shown in FIG. 4(b),
Two child jobs 1 and 2 are simultaneously generated under the parent job, and the priority P stored in the system operation information SJD
They are executed by the system control unit 1 in the order according to R.

When the child job 1 that reads the transmission document ends, the system operation information SJD and user instruction information DIP of the child job 1 are deleted from the work area 2, and when the child job 2 that stores image data in the magnetic disk device 8 ends. Accordingly, the system operation information SJD and user instruction information UIP of the child job 2 are deleted from the work area 2.

Then, when the specified time is reached, the image data accumulated in the magnetic disk device 8 by executing the parent job is sequentially transmitted to the destinations specified in the destination information DOCI and DOC2. When transmission to all destinations is finished,
Since the parent job ends, the system operation information SJD and user instruction information UIP of the parent job are deleted from the work area 2.

In this way, a series of jobs are created/deleted by the system control unit 1, and one transmission operation is executed.

In this case, the system management information is updated when the parent job is created and disappears, and when the child job 1 is created and lost.

This is also done when the child job 2 is created or disappears.

When updating the system management information in this manner, the system control unit 1 backs up the updated contents to the magnetic disk device 8 through the process shown in FIG.

That is, when the system management information is updated (process 101
), check whether the system management information can be backed up to the magnetic disk device 8 (determination 102);
For example, if the scanner 4 is in a reading operation, the plotter 5 is in a recording operation, and the communication control unit 9 is in communication, transferring system management information to the magnetic disk drive 8 may interfere with these operations. , in which case judgment 10
The result of decision 2 is NO, otherwise the result of decision 102 is YES.

If the result of determination 102 is No, the system control unit 1
The updated contents of the system management information are backed up to a predetermined storage area of the non-volatile memory 3 (step 103), and the process returns to judgment 102.

If the result of the determination 102 is YES, the system control unit 1 rewrites the data in the sector containing the updated data of the system management information in the magnetic disk device 18 (process 104), and stores it in the nonvolatile memory 3. Delete the backup contents of system management information (process 105)
.

In this way, if there is enough time to update the data in the magnetic disk device 8, the system control unit 1 rewrites the stored content in the magnetic disk device 8 with the updated content.
If there is not enough time, only the updated information is stored in the nonvolatile memory 3. Also, when the data in the magnetic disk device 8 has been updated, the nonvolatile memory 3
The system management information stored in the system is no longer needed, so it is deleted. Therefore, the storage area required for backing up the system management information in the nonvolatile memory 3 is extremely small.

In addition, the system control unit 1 executes the process shown in FIG. 6 to store system management information in the work memory 2, for example, when the power is turned on or immediately after the power is restored from a momentary power interruption and the initial reset state is reached. He is back.

First, the system management information backed up in the magnetic disk device 8 is restored to the work memory 2 (process 201
), then it is checked whether the system management information is backed up in the nonvolatile memory 3 (decision 202), and if the result of determination 202 is YES, the work memory is Update the system management information returned to step 2 (process 20
3).

Then, it is checked whether the system management information restored to the work memory 2 contains any abnormality (processing 204).
), this check is performed based on whether the specific contents of the system management information can be determined to be valid.

For example, regarding user instruction information UIP, instruction content D
When I is not normal, it is determined to be abnormal. Regarding system operation information SJD, if there is no job start time, it is determined to be abnormal. For destination information DOC, user instruction information IJIP and system operation information SJ
When there is no identification information JI of D, it is determined as abnormal.

Next, the system control unit 1 erases the system management information determined to be abnormal from the work memory 2 (process 205).
. Note that at this time, the user instruction information UIP and system operation information SJD of the child job are unconditionally deleted.

Then, the system management information stored in the work memory 2 at that point is backed up to the magnetic disk device 8 (process 206), and the backup content of the system management information stored in the nonvolatile memory 3 is erased (process 207).
).

In this way, the system control unit 1 restores the system management information backed up in the magnetic disk device 8 and non-volatile memory 3 to the work memory 2, and at the same time inspects for abnormal information and deletes it. do. Then, the system management information stored in the work memory 2 is transferred to the magnetic disk! I am backing up to 8.

Therefore, the system control unit 1 can use the system management information restored to the work memory 2 to continue executing the transmission operation set and inputted by the operator.

By the way, in this embodiment, the magnetic disk drive [! Since image information and system management information are stored in the facsimile device 8, if the magnetic disk device 8 is configured to be replaceable or if a device with replaceable media is used as the magnetic disk device 8, it may be impossible to restore the image information and system management information to the facsimile device. When a failure occurs, the operation of the failed facsimile machine can be improved by inserting the magnetic disk unit 8 or the media of the magnetic disk unit 8 removed from the failed facsimile machine into a normal facsimile machine of the same model. can be reproduced.

In addition, in the embodiment described above, a magnetic disk device is used as the auxiliary storage device, but other devices can also be used.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the system management information is
It is divided into bytes, but the number of bytes divided is
It can be changed as appropriate depending on the storage management state of the auxiliary storage device used.

[Effects] As described above, the present invention includes a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and an auxiliary storage device, stores image information in the auxiliary storage device, and stores reference information for executing internal processing in the auxiliary storage device. While backing up the reference information to the device, when the reference information changes, the contents of the auxiliary storage device are rewritten according to the change, and if the time required to rewrite the reference information cannot be obtained, the changed contents of the reference information are stored in a non-volatile format. Immediately after the device enters the initial reset state, the internal state is changed based on the reference information stored in the auxiliary storage device and the reference information stored in the nonvolatile semiconductor storage device. Since the state is restored to the state immediately before entering the initial reset state, there is an advantage that even if an abnormality occurs in the power supply, the previously set image information transmission can be continued.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a facsimile machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2(a) is a signal arrangement diagram showing an example of user instruction information, and FIG. 2(b) shows an example of system operation information. Figure 4 (C) is a signal layout diagram showing an example of destination information, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the storage state of system management information in a magnetic disk drive, Figure 4 (a) is a diagram showing a parent job. A schematic diagram showing an example of system management information at the time of generation. Figure 5 (b) is a schematic diagram showing the related state of system management information when a child job is generated from a parent job. Figure 5 is a diagram showing the system management information as a backup. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing when restoring backed up system management information to the work memory. Engineering: system control unit, 2: work memory, 3:
...Nonvolatile memory, 8...Magnetic disk device. Figure 1 Figure 2 (a) (b) Figure 3 Figure 4 (a) (b) Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] A control system for a facsimile machine having an image storage function includes a nonvolatile semiconductor storage device and an auxiliary storage device, and stores image information in the auxiliary storage device and stores reference information for executing internal processing in the auxiliary storage device. While backing up the reference information to the device, when the reference information changes, the storage contents of the auxiliary storage device are rewritten according to the change, and if the time required to rewrite the reference information cannot be obtained, the changed contents of the reference information are is stored in the nonvolatile semiconductor storage device, and immediately after the device enters the initial reset state, the reference information stored in the auxiliary storage device and the reference information stored in the nonvolatile semiconductor storage device are stored in the nonvolatile semiconductor storage device. A control method for a facsimile machine, characterized in that the internal state is returned to the state immediately before the initial reset state according to the change content of the facsimile machine.