JP2587634B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus which displays a usage fee to a user when a facsimile apparatus is installed and a document or image transmission service is performed.

[Prior Art] A facsimile apparatus is one of well-known data communication terminal apparatuses. Until now, facsimile machines have generally been installed mainly in offices and the like, and are used only by staff members. However, in recent years,
For example, a stationery store or the like installs a facsimile machine, and provides a service for transmitting documents and the like to unspecified general customers.

In order to provide such a transmission service, the store must pay a communication fee to a line / line facility provider according to the time spent using the telephone line and the distance to the destination. Therefore, a customer is charged a device usage fee and a communication fee set according to the number of documents, for example.

For this purpose, the store clerk operates the facsimile machine in accordance with the user's request to perform the transmission process, while measuring the communication time, calculating the communication fee by referring to the destination destination fee table prepared in advance, A transmission service usage fee is obtained by adding the predetermined device usage fee.

For this reason, there is a problem that the user must deposit the transmitted original document with the clerk before transmission, and cannot use the original document for transmitting confidential documents. Further, in general, a facsimile apparatus can specify a linear density of fine reading or coarse reading at the time of reading a document, and can read a document such as a large character roughly and transmit it in a short time, thereby saving communication charges. Therefore, when using such a service, it is desired to know the fee in advance and set the linear density according to the budget. However, conventionally, since the usage fee is not known until the transmission processing is completed, there has been an inconvenience that the linear density cannot be designated according to the budget.

[Purpose] In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile apparatus in which a user can protect the confidentiality of a transmitted document and transmit at a linear density according to a budget.

[Configuration] For this purpose, the present invention provides a destination specifying means for specifying a destination, an image information storage means for reading and storing image information from a transmission original, and a method for reading image information of the transmission original at each line density. A data amount calculating means for calculating each data amount; a transmission charge calculating means for calculating a transmission charge corresponding to each data amount based on a data transmission speed and a communication charge per unit time; Display means for displaying each linear density, and linear density designating means for designating one of the displayed linear densities, and displaying the transmission fee for each linear density on the fee display means before the start of data transmission. The image information stored in the image information storage unit is converted into the line density specified by the line density specification unit, and the transmission process is executed.

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a reading unit 1 reads out an image of a transmission original to extract image information. The linear density in this reading is, for example,
According to CCITT.G3 standard, 8 dots / mm in main scanning direction, sub scanning direction
Although it is defined as 7.7 lines / mm or 3.85 lines / mm, the reading unit 1 reads 8 dots / mm in the main scanning direction and 7.7 lines / mm in the sub-scanning direction.

The line buffer 2 temporarily stores the extracted one line of image information. A CODEC (encoding / decoding unit) 3 encodes image information to be transmitted and decodes received image information in accordance with three standards of CCITT recommendations. The line buffer 4 temporarily stores the received image information for one line, and the recording unit 5 stores the image information on recording paper.

The image memory 6 temporarily stores image information to be transmitted. The modem 7 transmits and receives a transmission procedure signal under the control of the transmission procedure control unit 8, and modulates image information to be transmitted and demodulates received image information. The data transmission speed of the modem 7 is, for example, 4800 bps.
It is fixed at a constant speed. NCU (network controller)
Reference numeral 9 denotes an outgoing operation such as capturing a line and transmitting a selection signal as a dial number, and an incoming operation by detecting an incoming call. At this time, the automatic transmission unit 10 outputs a predetermined selection signal.

At the time of transmission, the information counting unit 11 detects all image information read and encoded by the reading unit 1 in the main scanning direction at 8 dots / mm and the sub-scanning direction at 7.7 / mm, that is, the amount of data stored in the image memory 6. On the other hand, based on the data amount, the data amount when reading in the main scanning direction of 8 dots / mm and in the sub-scanning direction of 3.85 / mm is calculated. At the time of reception, the amount of received data is detected. Communication time counting unit 12
Calculates the communication time with the destination before the start of the transmission process. Here, assuming that the data amount is D, the time required for the transmission control procedure is T ₁ , and the data transmission speed is, for example, 4800 BPS, the communication time T ₀ is obtained by the following equation.

T ₀ = (D / 4800) + T ₁ (1) The time T ₁ described above is slightly different between the case where the document has only one page and the case where the document is a multi-page, but is calculated by the average number of pages for the data amount. You.

The device operating time counting unit 13 counts the device operating time from the start of operation of the user operating the facsimile device to the end of communication. At the time of transmission, the device usage fee calculation unit 14 calculates the device usage fee by multiplying the device operating time by a preset fee per unit time. At the time of reception, for example, the number of recordings when recording and outputting by the recording unit 5 is obtained from the received data amount, and the number is multiplied by the unit price to calculate the device usage fee.

The telephone number storage unit 15 stores a destination telephone number. The unit charge storage unit 16 stores a communication charge per unit time when calling from the installation location of the facsimile machine to various parts of the country, that is, line / line equipment. This is for storing a call charge to be paid to the provider and obtaining a communication charge per unit time for the other party from the above-mentioned destination telephone number. Communication charge calculation unit 17, by the fee per unit time the communication time T _0, and calculates the communication fee actually required.

The display controller 18 sums up the communication fee and the device usage fee, and displays the transmission service usage fee charged to the user on the display unit 19. The display unit 19 can display characters such as a CRT and a liquid crystal display.

The fee delivery unit 20 is for paying the fee charged by the user in coins or bills, and the fee counting unit 21 is for counting the delivered amount.

The operation unit 22 is for instructing reading of a transmission original, inputting a destination telephone number, and starting transmission processing. The system control unit 23 controls each of the above units,
A predetermined usage fee is obtained and a predetermined image transmission is executed.

The facsimile apparatus of the present embodiment has the above configuration, and is installed in an unmanned place like a public telephone, for example, and the user operates by himself / herself when he / she wants to use it and pays a predetermined fee each time. Things.

When transmitting a document using this facsimile apparatus, the user first sets a document to be transmitted on the reading unit 1 and then operates the operation unit 22.
Activate after inputting the destination phone number with. As a result, the reading unit 1 is activated under the control of the system control unit 23, and the read image information is encoded by the CODEC 3,
The images are sequentially stored in the image memory 6. The image information stored in the image memory 6 is read at a linear density of 7.7 lines / mm in the sub-scanning direction. The information counter 11 determines the data amount in this case and the case of 3.85 / mm in the sub-scanning direction. And the data amount of each. An approximate value can be obtained by, for example, halving the former data amount and setting the latter data amount.

The communication time counting unit 12 calculates the communication time at the above two types of linear densities from the above equation (1) based on the data amount, the data transmission speed, and the time required for the transmission control means. On the other hand, the unit charge storage unit 16 obtains, for example, a communication charge per second from the input destination telephone number. The communication fee calculation unit 17 calculates a required communication fee based on a product of the communication fee per unit time and the two types of communication time.

The apparatus operating time counting unit 13 measures the time from the time when the user first sets the document on the reading unit 1 to the time when the storage of the image information of the document in the memory 6 ends, and calculates the time. The communication time obtained by the communication time counting unit 12 is added to calculate the device use time in each of the two cases. The device usage fee calculation unit 14 calculates the device usage fees in the above two cases from the device usage time. The display control unit 18 adds the device usage fee and the communication fee, and displays the respective amounts on the display unit 19. And the total amount of both, and a billing message are displayed.

FIG. 2 shows a display example at this time, where the destinations a,
While the size b and the number c of the read originals are displayed at the top, the line density is “normal” (3.85 lines / m in the sub-scanning direction).
m) and the display d of “fine” (7.7 lines / mm), the communication time d, the communication fee f, the device usage fee g, and the service usage fee h in each case are displayed.

The user looks at the displayed two types of usage charges, specifies one of the line densities corresponding to the budget with the operation unit 22, and delivers the fee from the fee delivery unit 20. The charge counting unit 21 counts the delivered charges. The system control unit 23 checks the amount, controls the fee delivery unit 20 if necessary, and returns the change.

Next, the automatic calling unit 10 reads out the telephone number of the called party from the storage unit 15 and controls the NCU 9 to perform a predetermined calling process. When the other party's facsimile machine responds, the communication procedure control unit 8 performs predetermined transmission control means, and the image information in the image memory 6 is transmitted by the modem 7. In this case, since the image information in the image memory 6 is stored with the line density “fine”, when “normal” is specified,
For example, the image information of the memory is converted into predetermined linear density data such that the image information is transmitted every other line. When this transmission is completed, each unit is restored to the initial state.

By the way, when there is no response even if the other party's line is busy or the call is made for a certain period of time after the calling process is started, the fee delivered from the fee delivery unit 20 is refunded.

Next, when the facsimile apparatus receives a document or the like, the NCU 9 performs a receiving operation to execute a predetermined transmission control procedure, and the image information received by the modem 7 is stored in the image memory 6. At this time, the information counting unit 11 obtains the data amount, and the device usage fee calculation unit 14 calculates the device usage fee according to the data amount. This fee is displayed on the display
Displayed at 19. Here, when the user pays the fee, the received image information is decoded by the CODEC 3 and output to the recording unit 5 via the line buffer 4 for recording.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image information to be transmitted is temporarily stored in the memory, and each data amount corresponding to each linear density is obtained from the stored image information. In addition to determining each communication fee according to speed,
The service charge at each line density is calculated from the communication charge, the charge is displayed for each line density, and when the user designates the desired line density and pays the predetermined charge, the image information accumulated Is converted into image information of the designated linear density, and a predetermined transmission process is executed.

As a result, the user can perform the operation by himself / herself, so that there is no need to show the transmitted document to a clerk or the like, and the confidentiality of the document or the like can be protected. In addition, since you can check the fee for each line density in advance, after considering the contents of the document and the budget,
Transmission can be performed at a desired linear density.

In the above embodiment, two types of line densities are provided in the sub-scanning direction. However, any number of line densities may be provided, and a plurality of line densities may be provided in the main scanning direction. Further, the transmission speed is fixed, but may be arbitrarily set before using the apparatus according to the line conditions and the communication distance. Further, although the apparatus usage fee is determined according to the operation time of the apparatus, it may be determined according to the number of documents, and it goes without saying that it can be freely determined. Further, since the facsimile apparatus generally has a copy function, when a user copies a document, a fee may be obtained in the same manner as when the document is received, and the copy fee may be charged.

[Effects] As described above, according to the present invention, destination specifying means for specifying a destination, image information storing means for reading and storing image information from a transmission original, and storing image information of the transmission original in each line Data amount calculating means for calculating each data amount when reading at a density; transmission charge calculating means for calculating a transmission charge corresponding to each data amount based on a data transmission speed and a communication charge per unit time; Display means for displaying the transmitted transmission rates for each of the linear densities, and a linear density specifying means for specifying one of the displayed linear densities. The transmission fee is displayed, and the image information stored in the image information storage unit is converted and transmitted to the linear density designated by the linear density designation unit, so that the balance between the precision of the image and the transmission fee is obtained. To Considerable rational data transmission can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a transmission service usage fee. 1 ... Reading unit, 2,4 ... Line buffer, 3 ... CODEC
(Encoding / decoding unit), 5: recording unit, 6: image memory, 7: modem, 8: transmission procedure control unit, 9: NCU
(Network control device), 10: Automatic transmission section, 11: Information amount counting section, 12: Communication time counting section, 13: Device operating time counting section, 14: Device usage fee calculation section, 15: Phone number storage unit, 16 Unit charge storage unit, 17 Communication charge calculation unit, 18
…… Display control part, 19 …… Display part, 20 …… Charge delivery part, 21
… Charge counting unit, 22… Operation unit, 23… System control unit

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A destination designation means for designating a destination, image information storage means for reading and storing image information from a transmission original, and calculating each data amount when reading the image information of the transmission original at each line density. Means for calculating the amount of data to be transmitted, means for calculating the transmission fee corresponding to each data amount based on the data transmission speed and the communication fee per unit time, and displaying the calculated transmission fee for each of the above line densities. Display means, and a linear density designating means for designating one of the displayed linear densities. Before the start of the data transmission, the charge display means displays the transmission fee for each linear density, and the linear density designation A facsimile apparatus for converting image information stored in the image information storage means into a linear density designated by the means and transmitting the converted image information.