JP2578438B2 - Data communication device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus connectable to a plurality of communication lines.

(Prior art)

Conventionally, in this type of device, for example, a facsimile device, G3
It is configured so that it can be connected to only one of the switching networks G4 and G4, or it is configured to specify in advance which switching network to use even if it can be connected to both.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional device, when a G3 facsimile and a G4 facsimile or a facsimile having one or both functions are installed on the other party, the operator selects which one to send to on the transmission side, and sets the terminal number. There was a drawback that the operation was complicated because it was inserted and transmitted. Also, depending on the contents of the original and the recipient, you may want to send it quickly, cleanly, cheaply, etc.
There is a drawback that the operator has to think about and select a line network, and the optimum selection cannot be easily made.

[Means and actions for solving the problems]

According to the present invention, a means for storing a line network, a line speed, a resolution, etc. and a partner device number is provided, and a suitable line network or the like can be automatically selected in a designated mode at the time of transmission, for example, clean, fast, cheap, etc. It is like that.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment.
0 is an operation panel for operating a facsimile, 101 is a reader unit for reading a document, 102 is a control unit for controlling all operations of the facsimile, 103 is a printer unit for outputting a received image, and 104 is a switching network of each terminal. A registration unit for registering information such as types, 105 is an image memory for storing images, and 106 is G3, G4
A coder decoder for coding and decoding images according to the protocol, 107 is a select signal for selecting each switching network, 108 is a network controller of each switching network, 109 is a G3 switching network, 110 is a CX (circuit switching) network , 111 are PX (packet exchange) networks. FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the registration status of the terminal, where 200 is an LCD for displaying the registered contents, and 201 is a key indicating a designated mode at the time of transmission.
Be is the key when sending with emphasis on "clean sending",
Qu is the key when sending with priority on "sending fast", Ec is the key when sending with priority on "sending cheaply", 202 is the setting key at the time of registration, G3 is the G3 switching network connected Key to specify when CX is CX network, PX to specify key when PX network is connected, Sp to set line speed, No, Fi, Ue to set resolution, 203 to 0-9, *, # Numeric keys consisting of # and others, DI key at the time of dial input, FC key to specify various functions, SP for stop, CL to clear registration data, SE to set registration data, ST key to start transmission And 205, a one-touch key for calling and transmitting the other party with one touch.

The facsimile operation will be described with reference to FIG. 1. When the operation panel 100 is activated, a document placed on the reader unit 101 is stored in the image memory 105 via the control unit 102. On the other hand, the control unit analyzes the terminal information stored in the registration unit 104,
Select the optimal mode, compress the image through the G3 or G4 coder 106 using the select signal 107, and
To select the most suitable network control unit 108 and transmit it to the other party using any one of the switching networks 109 to 111. When receiving,
The image is decompressed by the G3 or G4 decoder 106 according to the network control unit 108 that has received the call, and the image is output to the printer unit 103 via the image memory 105.

The registration operation will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the control unit 102.
First, press the Fc key 203, the step becomes 301, and
When the 0 key 203 is pressed, the process proceeds to step 302, and step 30 is executed.
3. The registration routine for your terminal starts. Here, the possible modes of the own device are sequentially input. Press G3 key to step 304, press CX key to step 309
When the PX key is depressed, the process proceeds to step 310, where settings for each switching network can be made.

Next, No key for normal resolution, fine resolution
By depressing either the Fi key or the Ue key indicating high-resolution, the resolution capability of this terminal is input in step 305. Also set the line speed of this terminal to Sp key 202
Are input by sequentially pressing. The setting is particularly important because the CX network cannot communicate unless the line speed is the same.

Further, the user inputs the terminal number including the area code using the ten keys 203, and the number is registered in step 307. These steps are performed for all applicable networks. Finally, in step 312, abbreviation registration is performed and registration is completed.

Next, registration of the partner device A will be described. As described above, when the one-touch key A is pressed instead of step 302, the process proceeds to step 313. After the terminal A registration routine is started at step 314, the same operation is performed except that the address of the registration unit 104 is different. 10 in Fig. 2
The contents shown in FIG. 4 are registered in the A terminal area. In this way, the information of the partner device can be registered in correspondence with the one-touch key.

Next, an operation of selecting a mode most suitable for the contents of the designated mode 201 at the time of transmission will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 ~
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the control unit 102. In response to the input of the "clean send" Be key, "quick send" Qu key, and "cheap send" Ec key, the process proceeds from step 400 to step 404, and the flags are turned on. If none is specified, turn on the "Send cheap" flag and go to step 405.
Proceed to 406 from. Then, the transmission partner is selected with a one-touch key. Here, the designated mode that has already been set is selected in steps 408 to 410, and the process branches to 411, 412, and 413, respectively. First, consider the “clean sending” step 411. To send the image more clearly, the network type must be considered more than the resolution. G4 hair (CX, P
It goes without saying that X) is superior to G3. Then, after checking the exchange network between the own device and the terminal A in step 500,
First, whether or not the CX network can be used is checked in steps 501 and 502. Here, in step 502, it is checked whether the line speeds are the same as the CX communication conditions. Step if CX is possible
At 503 and 504, the maximum resolution at which the two resolutions match and the line network number are set. Even if the normal resolution of G4 (No key) is equivalent to the definition of G3 (Fi key), the G4 network is G3
The probability that a finer image can be sent than a network is high. If there is no CX network, check the PX network in step 505, and
Set the same in 07. It can be said that the resolution of the PX network is exactly the same. If there is no PX, step 508,50
Set the G3 resolution and line number in 9. Here, finally, the transmission is started using the line specified in step 510, and the image can be transmitted according to the protocol of the switching network so as to be more beautiful.

Next, consider the “fast send” step 412. Step 600
To take the slower one of the line speeds of the line networks of the own device and the terminal A. For example, if there are 48 kbps and 9.6 kbps, the line speed is set to 9.6 kbps. Compare the line speeds obtained in step 601 and select the fastest line network.
If PX is 2, go to step 605.If CX, go to step 603.
Then, it is determined whether the line speeds of the own device and the terminal A match. If they match, set the CX number in step 604, but if not, proceed to step 605.If the fast speed is PX, set the PX number in step 606.If G3, set the PX number in step 607. Set. When the number setting is completed, the resolution is set to a low value so as to reduce the data amount, and transmission is started in step 609, and image information is transmitted to the other party as soon as possible. Here, if sending a fine image, if the Be key is also set, it is also possible to send at a high resolution instead of step 608. Also, the reason why the G4 line is checked first is that even if the line speed is the same, the G4 unit has a higher degree of image compression than the G3 unit, so it can transmit with a small amount of data. .

Finally, consider the "send cheap" step 413. For this, the selection of higher accuracy can be made by knowing the amount of data to be transmitted. Therefore, in step 700, the image is first read into the memory. In step 701, the data amount is calculated. Next, as in the past, the exchange network is checked in step 702, and if there is a CX, the check is performed in steps 703 and 704.
Proceed to step 705. Here, the communication area is derived based on the own number and the other party's number. For example, your area code is 03
If the other machine is 06, it will be communication outside the area up to 750 km, and if it is 06, it will be communication within the area. At step 706, a unit fee is determined according to the area and the line speed. For example, at 48 kbps, communication outside the area from 240 to 420 kilometers costs 20 yen every 2.5 seconds, while communication within the area costs 20 yen every 12 seconds. In step 707, the data amount calculated in step 701 is divided by the line speed. For example, if the data amount is 192 kbit, it is 4 seconds at 48 kbps. In step 708, the communication charge X is determined by multiplying the unit charge. For example, X = 32 in the area of 20 yen every 1.5 seconds. Next, if there is PX in step 709, the communication area is determined in step 710 in the same manner as in the case of CX. In step 711, a value obtained by dividing the data amount by 128 octets in units of one packet is obtained. For example, about 188 for 192 kbit
Becomes Here, a unit charge is applied at step 712, and the communication charge Y
Is calculated. For an area up to 500 km, Y = 94 because of 0.5 yen / packet. Step 71 for G3
Determine the unit time per 10 yen in the same way in 3. In step 714, the amount of data read is divided by 0.6 to convert the difference in compression ratio between G3 and G4 data. 3 if 192kbit
20 kbit. At step 715, the data amount is divided by the line speed to obtain the communication time. If at 9.6kbps and 320kbit
33 seconds. In step 716, the above value is divided by the unit time to calculate the communication charge Z. If it is 10 yen in 4.5 seconds, Z = 73.

Since resolution is not taken into account in the above, in the case of G4, when sending in fine (300ppi or 240ppi), 2 or 2 of X or Y
3, 1/2 when sending at normal (200ppi). These flows are shown in steps 800 to 812. In the case of G3, it is 1/2 of Z when sending finely, and 1/4 when sending normally. These flows are shown in steps 900 to 905. If G4 is high definition and G3 is fine, Xo, Yo, and Zo are obtained as Xo = 32, Yo = 94, and Zo = 37. In step 906, these minimum values are obtained, and Xo = 32. If Xo is minimum in step 907, set the CX number in step 908, and in step 909
If Yo is the minimum, use step 910 to set the PX number, and use step 911.
If Zo is the minimum, the number of G3 is set in step 912. If they are equal, the line numbers are set in step 913 in the order of CX, PX, and G3. This is because, if the communication charges are the same, it is more reliable to send data using CX or PX without data errors. Thus, the transmission is finally performed to the terminal A through the switching network determined in step 914, and the image can be transmitted as cheaply as possible.

In the above, an example in which the switching network and the like can be automatically selected by focusing on the three items of “send cleanly”, “send quickly”, and “send cheaply” has been described. It is also possible to combine them, for example, it is also possible to automatically perform “clean, fast delivery”, and it is clear that the burden on the user is extremely reduced.

Further, the present invention is not limited to a facsimile apparatus, but can be applied to a data communication apparatus such as teletex.

[Other embodiments]

In another embodiment, instead of presetting the switching network, line speed, etc. of the partner device, they are set to default values, and the information obtained by exchanging once and exchanging the protocol at that time is registered. It is also conceivable to automatically register to. This method saves the trouble of setting in advance, but it requires trial and error, such as appropriate settings, of course, although the line network number is known, but communication may not be possible because the line speed does not match, such as at CX. . Also, in the case where the resolution is changed in advance due to exchange of a protocol during communication, the registered contents may be automatically corrected.

Furthermore, in addition to "send cleanly", "send quickly", and "slowly send", items to be designated by the user are registered in advance, and if an automatic selection routine is added to those items, various operations can be performed. Each transmission can be performed without bothering the user.

Further, since the reading resolution is different between G3 and G4, when it is not possible to read in advance, it is possible to set only the number of transmissions, calculate the fee from the average amount of image data, and select an exchange network.

Furthermore, if the user-specified items can be set for each page, transmission to an optimum switching network for each page can be performed.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by registering the line type of the terminal and determining the designated mode, the number of user operations can be reduced, and the optimal mode can be automatically selected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the switching network, resolution, etc. of each terminal, FIG.
The drawings are flow charts showing the operation at the time of registration, and FIGS. 4 to 9 are flow charts showing the operation at the time of transmission. 100 is an operation panel, 102 is a control unit, 104 is a registration unit memory, 1
05 is an image memory, 106 is a coder decoder, 108 is each network control unit, 201 is a designated mode key at the time of transmission, 202 is a registration key,
205 is a one touch key.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A data communication device connectable to a plurality of communication lines, a storage means for storing information such as a line network type, a line speed, a resolution and a destination number, and data such as high quality, high speed and low charge. Specifying means for specifying a communication mode; and selecting means for automatically selecting a line network, a resolution, a terminal number, etc., based on the data communication mode specified by the specifying means and the information in the storage means. Characteristic data communication device.