JPS63284969A - Control system for facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain the transmission operation of the operator during the transmission by sending a picture while the coding mode of stored picture information is made coincident with the coding mode of a receiver when the coding mode of the picture information at storage differs from the coding mode of the receiver. CONSTITUTION:A system control section 1, a parameter memory 2, a picture information memory 5, a picture processing section 6, an operation display section 8, coding/decoding sections 11, 12 and a communication control section 13 or the like are connected to a system bus 4. When it is detected in the procedure processing before the transmission conducted with the receiver that the coding mode of picture information at storage differs from the coding mode of the receiver, the transmission of picture information is interrupted once, and after the coding mode of the stored picture information is reconverted into the coding mode of the receiver so as to be made coincident, the picture information is sent to the receiver.

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 use various transmission functions such as time-specified transmission, sequential report transmission, and confidential reception.

In such a facsimile machine, first, an image of a transmission document is encoded and compressed using an encoding method with the highest storage efficiency, and then stored in an image information memory.

When transmitting the image information to the destination facsimile device, the image information stored in the image information memory is once returned to the original two signals, and the image signal is encoded and compressed again using an encoding method that can be received by the destination facsimile device. It was later transmitted to the destination facsimile machine.

However, such conventional devices have the following disadvantages.

For example, when an operator attempts to perform a transmission operation to transmit image information to a facsimile machine, if a previously set time-specified transmission is being executed, the operator's transmission operation and time-specified transmission are performed at the same time. In order to
At least three systems of image information encoding/decoding functions are required.

In other words, in time-specified transmission, two systems of image information encoding/decoding functions are used in order to reconvert the image information stored in the image information memory into the encoding system of the destination facsimile machine and transmit it. , further encoding/decoding functions must be added to enable operator transmission operations.

In addition, in order to supply appropriate data to each encoding/decoding function so that three systems of encoding/decoding functions can operate in parallel, the internal data transfer speed of the facsimile machine must be needs to be very fast.

Therefore, while transmitting image information using the N-sensor function,
A facsimile machine that allows an operator to perform sending operations would be very expensive.

Therefore, conventionally, while image information transmission using the storage function is in progress, the operator is prohibited from performing transmission operations.
Therefore, the facsimile device ρ is not easy to use.

[Objective] The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the disadvantages of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a control method for a facsimile machine that can improve the usability of the facsimile machine.

[Configuration] In order to achieve this object, the present invention detects that the encoding mode of the image information at the time of storage is different from the encoding mode of the receiving device during pre-transmission procedure processing performed with the receiving device. Sometimes, image information transmission is temporarily interrupted, the encoding mode of the stored image information is reconverted to match the encoding mode of the receiving device, and then the image information is transmitted to the receiving device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below 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 components of this facsimile machine and implements processing functions, and a parameter memory 2 stores various parameters required by the system control unit 1, such as speed dialing. This is for storing mode information (hereinafter referred to as reception mode information) of image information that can be received by the destination set in . Note that this parameter memory 2 is composed of a nonvolatile storage device.

A direct memory access (DMA) control unit 3 is for realizing high-speed data transmission directly between elements using a system bus 4 without going through the system control unit 1.

The image information memory 5 is for storing encoded and compressed image information, the image processing section 6 is for performing image scaling and linear density conversion, etc., and the clock circuit 7 is for storing the current time. It is intended to obtain.

The operation display section 8 includes various operation keys and a display device necessary for operating this facsimile machine.

The plotter 9 is for recording and outputting received images and the like at a predetermined resolution, and the scanner 10 is for reading original images at a predetermined resolution.

The encoding/decoding units 11 and 12 are for performing encoding/decoding processing for storing or transmitting image information in an encoded and compressed state. These encoding/decoding units 11
, 12 can perform encoding/decoding processing using a plurality of encoding methods.

The communication control unit 13 is for carrying out a predetermined facsimile transmission procedure, the modem 14 is for carrying out modulation/demodulation processing for facsimile transmission, and the network control unit 15 is for connecting this facsimile device to a telephone line. It is for. This network control device 15 has an automatic call originating and receiving function.

These system control unit 1, parameter memory 2) DM
A control section 31 information memory 5, image processing section 6, clock circuit 7. Operation display section 8. Plotter 9, scanner 10, encoding/decoding sections 11, 12) communication control section 13. The modem 14° and the network control device 15 are connected to the system bus 4, and transmit various information necessary for each to the system bus 4.
You can communicate as appropriate via .

An example of reception mode information stored in the parameter memory 2 is shown in FIG.

This reception mode information includes the speed dial code indicating the speed dial, the telephone number of the destination registered in this speed dial, the encoding method that the destination can receive, the minimum transmission time when receiving one line of image information, and the reception mode. possible paper sizes,
Consists of the pixel density of the received image.

Further, as the encoding method, the most efficient one among the encoding methods that can be set with the destination facsimile device is set. The paper size is set to the largest paper size that can be received by the destination facsimile machine. The pixel density is set to the highest pixel density that can be set with the destination facsimile machine.

However, the operator can change these settings as appropriate by inputting an operation from the operation display section 8. In addition, for such changes made by the operator,
It is also possible to prevent the system control unit 1 from automatically resetting unless the function of the destination facsimile machine has changed.

Note that this reception mode information can also be set for destinations for which speed dialing is not set. In that case, a code indicating that the speed dial code has not been set is placed in the speed dial code. Furthermore, when the system control section 1 searches for such receiving mode information, it searches for such receiving mode information by referring to the telephone number that has been input through the operation.

With the above configuration, when the operator sets a document to be sent on the scanner 10, inputs destination information from the operation display section 8, and turns on the start key, the system control section 1 first performs the following operations.
Based on the input destination information, reception mode information corresponding to the destination is read from the parameter memory 2 (process 101
).

Then, the operation mode of each element used during storage is set based on the information stored in the reception mode information (processing 102), that is, the encoding method and the minimum transmission time of the reception mode information are set by the encoding/decoding unit. Set to 11.

Further, a variable magnification ratio is calculated based on the paper size information obtained from the scanner 10 and the paper size information of the reception mode information, and it is set in the image processing section 6. Furthermore, a pixel density conversion value is calculated based on the pixel density of the reception mode information and the pixel density of the scanner 10, and is set in the image processing section 6.

However, if reception mode information is not stored for the destination set at this time, a predetermined default value is set for each destination. This default value is, for example,
The encoding method is the MH encoding method, the minimum transmission time is 20 milliseconds, and the paper size is A4 and the pixel density is set to the same value as the scanner IO.

Then, the system control unit 1 causes the scanner IO to start reading the document (process 103), inputs the read image signal to the image processing unit 6, and performs scaling and pixel density conversion (
Processing 104), both signals output from the image processing unit 6 are input to the encoding/decoding unit 11 to be encoded and compressed (processing 1
05), input the image information output from the encoding/decoding unit 11 into the image information memory 5 and store it page by page (process 106), and execute processes 104 to 106 until reading of all pages is completed. (NO loop of judgment 107).

In this way, when all the transmission originals set by the operator are read and the transmission image information is stored in the image information memory 5, the system control unit 1 transfers the telephone number of reception mode information to the network control device 115. When the destination is connected to the line, the communication controller 13 starts a facsimile transmission procedure (process 108).
09).

In the pre-transmission procedure of the facsimile transmission procedure, the transmission function information notified from the destination facsimile device is checked, and it is checked whether the reception mode of the destination matches the content of the stored reception mode information (decision 110).
).

If the result of the judgment 110 is YES, image information transmission is continued and the image information stored in the image information memory 5 is transmitted to the destination (process 111). However, if the receiving mode information of the destination at this time is not stored in the parameter memory 2, the receiving mode information is formed based on the transmission function information received at that time, and the receiving mode information is stored in the parameter memory 2.
to be newly memorized.

If the result of the judgment 110 is No, receive mode information is formed based on the transmission function information received at that time, and this newly formed receive mode information is stored in the parameter memory 2.
Process 112) to update the memory contents of , and disconnect the line (
Process 113).

At this time, it is checked whether the two encoding/decoding units 11 and 12 can both be used (determination 114).
. For example, in a state where the operator is responsible for the transmission operation, either the encoding/decoding section 11 or 12 is in use, so in that case, the result of determination 114 is NO.

Judgment 1 is made when the operator is not performing any sending operations.
If the result of step 14 is YES, the operation mode is set for each element to be used in order to convert the image information stored in the image information memory 5 at that time into a state in which the destination can receive it (process 115). . Namely.

The encoding method and minimum transmission time of reception mode information before updating are set in the encoding/decoding section 11, and the encoding method and minimum transmission time of reception mode information after updating are set in the encoding/decoding section 12. Further, the magnification ratio is calculated based on the paper size information of the reception mode information before the change and the paper size information of the reception mode information of the changed word, and is set in the image processing section 6.

Further, a pixel density conversion value is calculated based on the pixel density of the reception mode information before the change and the pixel density of the reception mode information after the change, and is set in the image processing section 6.

Then, the system control unit l reads the image information from the one-picture information memory 5 (process 116), inputs the read image information to the encoding/decoding unit 11, and decodes it into the original two signals (process 117). , the original signals are input to the image processing unit 6 and subjected to scaling and pixel density conversion (processing 118), and the image signal output from the image processing unit 6 is input to the encoding/decoding unit 12 for encoding. The image information output from the encoding/decoding unit 12 is compressed (process 119), and the image information outputted from the encoding/decoding unit 12 is input into the image information memory 5 and stored in page units (process 120), and this process 116 to 120 is completed to read all pages. (No loop of judgment 121).

In this way, the image information corresponding to the changed reception mode information is WMed into the image information memory 5.

The system control unit 1 proceeds to process 108, causes the destination to make a call, and causes the image information to be transmitted.

In this way, reception mode information is stored for each destination, and when one image is read, the image information is converted and stored in a state that the destination can receive, and when the destination is actually connected, the destination can receive the information. When the image information has changed, the transmission is temporarily interrupted and the information is re-converted to a state that the destination can receive and is stored. do not use.

Therefore, the transmission operation and the transmission operation by the operator can be simultaneously realized.

Also, when re-converting image information, two encoding/decoding units 11
, 12, but their retransformation is.

Since this is done during free time when the facsimile machine is not in use, it does not interfere with the operator's operations. Although it depends on the amount of image information, the time required for reconversion can be kept to less than one minute.

Incidentally, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case of immediate transmission was explained, but the case of one-time designated transmission can also be realized by similar processing. However, in that case, the destination is called at the specified time.

Further, similar processing is performed when sequential broadcast transmission is performed. However, in that case, when image information is first multiplied by i, the reception mode information of the destination with the highest function is selected and the image information corresponding to the reception mode information is stored. and,
The destination is first called and the image information is transmitted, and then a destination with the same function as that destination is selected and the image information is transmitted. After that, image information is transmitted by sequentially selecting destinations with lower functionality.

Also, when performing such sequential report transmission, after the image information is transmitted to the destination with the highest function, the image information is reconverted in accordance with the reception mode information of the destination with the first highest function, and the image information is transmitted to that destination. to transmit. From then on, the image information may be reconverted in accordance with the reception mode information of destinations with lower functionality, and the image information may be transmitted to the destinations.

Further, after transmitting the image information to the destination with the highest function, the image information can be reconverted using the reception mode information of the destination with the lowest function, and the image information can be transmitted to another destination.

In the above embodiment, the reception mode information is updated only when the reception mode notified by the destination facsimile machine does not match the stored reception mode information. It is also possible to update the image information each time image information is transmitted.

[Effects] As explained above, according to the present invention, it is detected in the pre-transmission procedure processing performed with the receiving device that the encoding mode of the image information at the time of storage is different from the encoding mode of the receiving device. Sometimes, image information transmission is temporarily interrupted, the encoding mode of the stored image information is reconverted to match the encoding mode of the receiving device, and then the image information is transmitted to the receiving device. No encoding/decoding function is used, and therefore the operator can perform transmission operations during the transmission operation, which has the advantage of improving the usability of the facsimile machine.

[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 is a schematic diagram showing an example of receiving mode information, and FIGS. 3(a) and (b) are examples of processing at the time of transmission. FIG. 1... System control unit, 2... Parameter memory,
5... Image information memory, 6... Image processing section, 8...
Operation display section, 11.12... Encoding/decoding section, 13.
...Communication control unit. Agent Patent Attorney Crest 1) Makoto Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In the control method of a facsimile machine equipped with an image storage function, it is detected that the encoding mode of image information at the time of storage differs from the encoding mode of the receiving device during pre-transmission procedure processing performed with the receiving device. When this occurs, image information transmission is temporarily interrupted, the encoding mode of the stored image information is reconverted to match the encoding mode of the receiving device, and then the image information is transmitted to the receiving device. A control method for facsimile machines. (2) A control method for a facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the re-conversion of the encoding mode of the stored image information is performed when no operation input is performed.