JP2565323B2 - Image communication device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Table of Contents] Outline Industrial field of application Conventional technology Problems to be solved by the invention Means for solving the problems Action Example I. Correspondence between Example and FIG. Relationship II. Configuration of Example III. Operation of Example (i) Image information receiving operation (ii) Communication management list output operation (iii) Received image information output operation (iv) Image information transmission operation IV. Implementation Summary of Example V. Modified Embodiments of the Invention [Outline] In a facsimile apparatus, even if a recording and outputting instruction is given, the operator does not immediately perform recording and outputting, but waits for designation of a desired file from the operator, By selecting and outputting only the image information for which the file is designated, it is possible to reduce unnecessary time and unnecessary consumption of recording paper for outputting unnecessary image information.

[Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to a facsimile machine, and more particularly to a facsimile machine having an image information memory and outputting only a desired page.

[Conventional technology]

For example, in a known facsimile device, image information of a document such as characters and photographs can be transmitted to a distant place using a communication line. Currently, image communication can be performed via a public telephone line, so that a facsimile machine is generally widespread in the office automation.

In such a facsimile apparatus, when receiving and outputting image information that is transmitted, the compression-encoded image information received during communication is sequentially decoded and printed from a recording unit onto recording paper. There is a conventional method 1.

In the conventional method 1, if the recording paper runs out or the recording paper jams during recording, the received image information is not recorded and is discarded.

On the other hand, in the past, the image information received during communication is stored in the image information memory, and the image information stored in the image information memory is sequentially decoded during or after the communication, and is printed on the recording paper from the recording unit. There is method 2.

In the conventional method 2, since the received image information is stored in the image information memory, when the recording paper runs out or a recording paper jam occurs, the contents of the image information memory are held until the recording paper is reloaded. It is possible to output after resetting the recording paper.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

By the way, in the conventional method 2 described above, when printing the image information stored in the image information memory, the image information stored in the image information memory is not stored because the image information stored in the image information memory does not have a function of specifying and printing in page units. It was printing in sequence. for that reason,
There is a problem in that pages that are not required on the receiving side (for example, error pages) are also printed, and the time required for printing and the recording paper for printing are wasted.

The present invention was created in consideration of such a point, and wastes time required for outputting unnecessary pages,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile device that reduces wasteful consumption of recording paper.

[Means for solving problems]

MEANS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, this invention is a memory control which stores the data of several pages received by 1 communication, and the page management information which shows the storage location of each page of this received data in a memory as a single file. And a communication management list display means for generating and displaying a heading line based on the heading data stored in advance, and for generating and displaying a communication management data line based on the communication management information generated at the time of data reception following the heading line. And output control means for outputting all or partial pages of the received data based on the page management information of the file by designating a file according to the displayed communication management list and then designating a page. It is characterized by doing.

[Operation] As described above, since the page management information and the received data over a plurality of pages are associated and managed as a single file, the load on the main control unit for controlling the data is reduced,
The received data can be managed and processed very efficiently, and the page is specified after the file is specified by referring to the communication management list generated from the communication management information. The target page can be output while efficiently using and, and since such a hierarchical operation method is adopted, the operator can easily output in page units.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 2 shows the structure of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

I. Correspondence between Embodiment and FIG. 1 Here, the correspondence between the embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 1 will be described.

The output page designating unit 111 corresponds to the panel unit 211 and the panel control unit 213.

 The image information search means 121 corresponds to the memory control unit 233.

 The image information storage means 131 corresponds to the image information memory 231.

The output unit 141 corresponds to the recording unit 221, the recording control unit 223, the data restoring unit 253, the pattern generating unit 257, and the line memory 259.

II. Configuration of Embodiments Embodiments of the present invention will be described below on the assumption that there is a correspondence relationship as described above.

In FIG. 2, the facsimile device 200 includes a main control unit 201 that controls the whole, a network control unit 261, that controls an external line,
A modulation / demodulation unit 263 that modulates or demodulates transmission / reception data, a communication control unit 265 that controls communication, a communication data buffer 251, that temporarily stores compressed image data, a data decompression unit 253 that decompresses data, a data compression unit 255 that decompresses data, A pattern generator 257 that creates a dot pattern corresponding to the character code,
A line memory 259 for storing image data read by the reading unit 241, image data converted to uncompressed data by the data decompressing unit 253, and dot pattern data created by the pattern generating unit 257, image information and image information An image information memory 231, which stores control data, a memory control unit 233, which controls input / output of data to / from the image information memory 231, a reading unit 241, which reads a transmission document, a reading control unit 243, which controls the reading unit 241, and image information. It is composed of a recording unit 221, which prints, a recording control unit 223 which controls the recording unit 221, a panel unit 211 including a liquid crystal display (LCD) and various input keys, and a panel control unit 213 which controls the panel unit 211. The main control unit 201 and each of the above components are connected by a bus signal line.

Further, the communication control unit 265 includes a procedure control unit 267 that controls the means of image information communication and an image signal control unit 2 that controls the image information communication.
Made of 69. The procedure control unit 267 and the image signal control unit 269 are connected, and the procedure control unit 267 and the image signal control unit 269 are connected to the modulation / demodulation unit 263. The modulation / demodulation unit 263 is connected to an external public line via the network control unit 261.

Further, the memory control unit 233 and the image information memory 231 are connected, and the panel control unit 213 and the panel unit 211 are connected. Similarly, the recording control unit 223 and the recording unit 221 are connected, and the reading control unit 243 and the reading unit 241 are connected.

III. Operation of Embodiment As the operation of the facsimile apparatus of the embodiment, (i) image information reception operation (operation until image information is stored in the image information memory 231), (ii) communication management list output operation, ( iii)
There are an output operation of received image information and an (iv) image information transmission operation. These operations will be described separately below.

It should be noted that the communication management list is a list of information (source, error, etc.) relating to the reception of image information, and the information for creating the communication management list is created during the image information receiving operation. .

(I) Image Information Reception Operation First, when the network control unit 261 detects a reception start request signal (telephone call signal) for transmitting a document from another facsimile device (not shown), the modulation / demodulation unit 263 is activated. The signal is transferred to the procedure control unit 267 via. Procedure control unit 2
At 67, the receiving process is started.

When the procedure control unit 267 completes the preparation for reception, it sends an instruction to the image signal control unit 269, and the image signal control unit 269 starts receiving image information.

The image information received via the network control unit 261 is the modulation / demodulation unit 2
It is demodulated in 63 and transferred to the communication data buffer 251.

The compressed image information accumulated in the communication data buffer 251 is
The data is restored by the data restoration unit 253 and transferred to the line memory 259. When decompressing the compressed image information in the data decompression unit 253, the main control unit 201 determines the error occurrence for each decompression line, and replaces the error line with a normal previous line when an error occurs. , Or replace the error line with a white line to perform error recovery processing. Main control unit 20
The number 1 stores the information in the image information memory 231 as an error page when the number of occurrences of this error is counted for each page and reaches a predetermined number.

The restored image information transferred to the line memory 259 is compressed again by the data compression unit 255 and stored in the image information memory 231 under the control of the memory control unit 233.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of data stored in the image information memory 231.

The image information memory 231 is divided into N equal blocks,
Image information is stored in block units. For example, when the capacity of the image information memory 231 is 1 megabyte and N = 128 blocks, the image information memory 231 is composed of 8 kilobytes × 128 blocks.

The first block of the image information memory 231 is a header control information block, in which a block management table as shown in FIG. 3 (a) and a file management table as shown in FIG. 3 (b) are stored. ing.

The block management table is a table in which the contents of blocks are recorded, and "00", is stored in the storage frame corresponding to each block.
Any one of “01”, “02”, “03”, and “FF” is stored. "00" represents an empty block, "01" is a header control block, "02" is a file control information block containing received file-unit information, and "03" is a data information block storing image information data. , "FF" represents a block that cannot be used. The numbers (1, 2, ..., N) at the top of the storage frame in FIG. 3A indicate block numbers.

The usage state of the image information memory 231 can be known by referring to the block management table. The block management table of the embodiment shows that the first block is the header control block, the second block is the file control information block, and the third to ninth blocks are the data information blocks.

The file management table is a table showing the file creation status for each file, and corresponds to the received file number (serial number assigned to the file) in order from the left storage frame of the file management table. The block number of the file control information block of is stored. If "00" is stored, it means that the file number is unused. Also, the numbers (1, 2, ...) At the top of the storage frame in FIG. 3 (b) indicate file numbers.

By referring to the file management table, the presence / absence of the corresponding file and the block number of the file control information block of the corresponding file can be known. In the file management table of the embodiment, the file control information block of the file with file number 1 is the second block, and the file number 2 is
Indicates that the file control information block of the file is the 0A block (0A is a hexadecimal number and a decimal number is the 10th block).

File control information block must be 1 for each file
The file type, file creation date and time, communication destination, communication result (error occurrence status, etc.), number of copies, block size used, block configuration table, encoding parameter, and the like. FIG. 3C shows a block configuration table.

The data information block numbers corresponding to the respective pages of the file are stored in order from the left storage frame of the file control information block, and "00" represents a page break. Also, "FF" indicates the end of all pages of the file.

By referring to the block configuration table, it is possible to know in which block each page of the file is stored. In the block configuration table of FIG. 3C, the first page of the file is in the third and fourth blocks, the second page is in the fifth to seventh blocks, and the third page is in the eighth and ninth blocks. It is stored in a block.

(Ii) Output Operation of Communication Management List FIG. 4 is a part of the communication management list output by the facsimile apparatus of the embodiment. Further, FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram of the communication management list output in the embodiment.

 Hereinafter, FIGS. 2 to 5 will be referred to.

The image information receiving operation of (i) is completed, and the communication management list is output prior to the output of the image information data stored in the image information memory 231.

The operator presses a key for outputting the communication management list from the panel unit 211 (for example, a "memory" key) (step 511). When the “memory” key on the panel unit 211 is pressed, the panel control unit 213 sends an instruction to start the output operation of the communication management list to the memory control unit 233 and the recording control unit 223.

The memory control unit 233 searches the file management table (see FIG. 3 (b)) stored in the first block of the image information memory 231 (step 513) to find one or more files in the image information memory 231. Determine if there is (step
514).

When "00" is stored in all the storage frames of the file management table, it means that the image data file does not exist in the image information memory 231, and in this case, a negative determination is made in step 514 and the processing is performed. To finish.

When a value other than "00" is stored in one or more places in the storage frame of the file management table, an affirmative decision is made in step 514, and then the first line (heading line) of the communication management list is output. Create heading line data (step
515). The heading line transfers a character code string managed by the main control unit 201 to the pattern generating unit 257 to generate a dot pattern.

The pattern generation unit 257 creates a dot pattern corresponding to the transferred character code by the pattern generation unit 257,
Stored in the line memory 259.

Then, the dot pattern data (header row data) of the line memory 259 is output from the recording unit 221 under the control of the recording control unit 223 (step 516).

Next, the memory control unit 233 reads the block number of the file control information block stored in the file management table searched in step 513, further searches the file control information block, and reads the file control information ( Step 517).

The read file control information is edited by the main control unit 201 into a character code string according to a predetermined format and transferred to the pattern generation unit 257. The pattern generator 257
A dot pattern corresponding to the character code is created and stored in the line memory 259 (step 518).

Then, the dot pattern data (file number, file control information) of the line memory 259 is output from the recording unit 221 under the control of the recording control unit 223 (step 51).
9).

The memory control unit 233 determines whether or not there is another file to be output (step 520).

When there are two or more files in the image information memory 231, an affirmative decision is made in step 520, the file control information is read (step 517), the dot pattern corresponding thereto is created (step 518), and output (step 519). repeat.

When all the communication management lists of files in the image information memory 231 have been output, a negative determination is made in step 520 as to whether or not there is another file to be output, and the processing ends.

The communication management list shown in FIG. 4 describes the file number, the type of transmission or reception, the communication date and time, the communication destination, the number of output copies, and the communication result indicating whether there is an error.

(Iii) Output Operation of Received Image Information FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram of output of received image information in the embodiment.

 Hereinafter, FIGS. 2 to 4 and 6 will be referred to.

First, the operator presses a key (for example, a "print" key) to output the received image information from the panel unit 211 (step 611). When the "print" key is pressed from the panel unit 211, the panel control unit 213 sends an instruction to the memory control unit 233, and the memory control unit 233 starts preparation for searching output image information.

Next, the operator inputs the file number of the file to be output from the panel unit 211 (step 612). The panel control unit 213 transfers the file number input from the panel unit 211 to the memory control unit 233, and in the memory control unit 233,
The file with the file number sent to the image information memory 23
It is determined whether the data is stored in 1 (step 613).

When a file number of a file not stored in the image information memory 231 is input from the panel unit 211 or a key other than a number is pressed from the panel unit 211, a negative determination is made in step 613 and the file number of step 612 is entered. Repeat the input of.

If the file is present in the image information memory 231, an affirmative decision is made in step 613, and then the memory control section 233 reads the file control information block of the file (step 614).

Since the block number of the file control information block is stored in the file management table stored in the first block, the memory control unit 233 reads the block number of the file management table and stores it in the read block number. Read the file control information that has been set.

Next, the oreputer inputs the page to be output from the panel unit 211 (step 615).

The panel control unit 213 transfers the page input from the panel unit 211 to the memory control unit 233, and in the memory control unit 233,
It is determined whether the page sent is in the file (step 616).

When the number of pages not included in the file is input from panel unit 211, or when a key other than a number is pressed from panel unit 211, a negative determination is made in step 616, and the page input in step 615 is repeated.

Next, the operator inputs the desired number of copies from the panel unit 211 (step 617).

The panel control unit 213 determines whether the number of copies input from the panel unit 211 is correct (step 618).

If the input number of copies is larger than a predetermined value (for example, 20 copies) or if there is any input other than numbers, then step 617
A negative decision is made in step 618 and the number of copies input in step 618 is repeated.

Next, the memory control unit 233 stores the image information of the page to be output input at step 615 from the block configuration table (see FIG. 3C) in the file control information block read at step 614. The block number of the existing data information block is read (step 619).

Further, the memory control unit 233 reads the data information stored in the read block number, and the data restoration unit 253
(Step 620).

The data information transferred from the image information memory 231 to the data restoration unit 253 is restored by the data restoration unit 253 and stored in the line memory 259. Then, under the control of the recording control unit 223, the data in the line memory 259 is sequentially read, and the image information is output from the recording unit 221 (step 621).

Next, the memory control unit 233 determines whether the output of the image information of one page is completed (step 622). When the image information of one page is stored in a plurality of data information blocks, a negative determination is made in step 622, the data configuration block number is read from the block configuration table (step 619), the data information is read, and transferred (step 619). Step 62
0), output of image information (step 621) is repeated.

In the example shown in FIG. 3C, since the image information data of the first page is stored in the third block and the fourth block, after the output of the image information data of the third block is finished, in step 622. When a negative decision is made, the image information data of the fourth block is output next.

When all image information for one page is output, step 622
In step 623, it is determined whether or not another page is to be output.

When a plurality of pages are input in step 615 or when a plurality of copies are input in step 617, an affirmative judgment is made in step 623, and the data configuration block number is read from the block configuration table (step 61
9), reading of data information, transfer (step 620), and output of image information (step 621) are repeated.

When the image information output of all the pages to be output is completed, a negative determination is made in step 623, and the image information output processing ends.

(Iv) Image information transmission operation When transmitting a document to another facsimile apparatus, first, the operator sets a document (not shown) in the reading unit 241, and presses the key for transmission from the panel unit 211. Push.
Then, the key pressed from the panel unit 211 is changed to the panel control unit 2
13 detects and sends an instruction to start the transmission operation to the procedure control unit 267.

The procedure control unit 267 transmits a transmission start request signal to the transmission destination, and when the transmission destination is ready to receive, sends a transmission instruction to the reading control unit 243. Then, under the control of the reading control unit 243, the reading unit 241 reads the image information of the set original document.

The image information data read from the reading unit 241 is compressed by the data compression unit 255 and stored in the image information memory 231 under the control of the memory control unit 233.

The compressed image information stored in the image information memory 231 is sequentially read, modulated by the modulator / demodulator 263 under the control of the image signal controller 269, and transmitted from the network controller 261.

IV. Summary of Example As described in “(i) Image Information Reception Operation”, “(ii) Communication Management List Output Operation”, and “(iii) Received Image Information Output Operation”, Refer to the panel section 211
Input the page you want to output in the received file from. The memory control unit 233 reads out the page data input from the panel unit 211 and outputs it from the recording unit 221.

Therefore, it is possible to output only the desired page and reduce the wasteful time and wasteful consumption of recording paper required for the output of unnecessary pages.

V. Modified Embodiment of the Invention In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the communication management list is output from the recording unit 221 prior to the output of image information, but is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel of the panel unit 211. You can also The operator may specify the page to be output by looking at the displayed contents. As a result, it is not necessary to output the communication management list as a pre-stage for designating the page to be output, and this has the effect of reducing the consumption of recording paper.

Further, although the correspondence between the first embodiment and the present invention has been described in “I. Correspondence between Embodiment and FIG. 1”, the present invention is not limited to this, and there are various modifications. A person skilled in the art can easily guess.

〔The invention's effect〕

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention is a memory control for storing a plurality of pages of data received in one communication and page management information indicating the storage location of each page of the received data as a single file in the memory. And a communication management list display means for generating and displaying a heading row based on the heading data stored in advance and for generating and displaying a communication management data row based on the communication management information generated at the time of data reception subsequent to the heading row. And output control means for outputting all or partial pages of the received data based on the page management information of the file by designating a page according to the displayed communication management list and then designating a page. It is characterized by
With this configuration, page management information and received data over multiple pages are managed as a single file, and the load on the main control unit that controls the data is lightened, and the management and processing of received data is extremely efficient. Moreover, since the page is specified after the file is specified by referring to the communication management list generated from the communication management information, the target page can be efficiently used while using the communication management information and the page management information. Since the output can be made, and further, such a hierarchical operation method is adopted, the operator has an effect that the output can be easily made in page units.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of data stored in an image information memory of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a communication management list of the embodiment, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of output operation of the communication management list of the embodiment, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of output operation of received image information of the embodiment. In the figure, 111 is an output page designating unit, 121 is an image information searching unit, 131 is an image information storing unit, 141 is an outputting unit, 200 is a facsimile device, 201 is a main control unit, 211 is a panel unit, and 213 is a panel control unit. , 221 is a recording unit, 223 is a recording control unit, 231 is an image information memory, 233 is a memory control unit, 241 is a reading unit, 243 is a reading control unit, 251 is a communication data buffer, 253 is a data restoring unit, and 255 is data. A compression unit, 257 is a pattern generation unit, 259 is a line memory, 261 is a network control unit, 263 is a modulation / demodulation unit, 265 is a communication control unit, 267 is a procedure control unit, and 269 is an image signal control unit.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of pages of data received in one communication, page management information indicating a storage location of each page of the received data, memory control means for storing in a memory as a single file, and heading data stored in advance. A communication management list display means for generating and displaying a heading line based on the heading line, and for generating and displaying a communication management data line based on the communication management information generated at the time of data reception, and the displayed communication management list. An image communication apparatus, comprising: output control means for outputting all or partial pages of the received data based on the page management information of the file by designating a file and then designating a page.