JP2646355B2 - Usage display method for data communication terminals - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a data communication terminal usage fee display when a user is charged for a usage fee when a data communication terminal device is installed to perform a data transmission service business. About the method.

[Prior Art] A facsimile apparatus is one of well-known data communication terminal apparatuses. Until now, in most cases, facsimile machines have been mostly installed in offices and the like and used only by their staff members. However, in recent years, for example, stationery stores and the like have installed facsimile machines, and transmission services such as documents to unspecified general customers have been provided.

In order to provide such a transmission service, the store must pay NTT a communication fee according to the time spent using the telephone line and the distance to the destination. Therefore, for the customer, for example, a device usage fee and a communication fee set according to the number of documents are slightly collected.

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, The predetermined device usage fee is added to determine the usage fee for the transmission service.

As described above, in the past, when providing a transmission service for documents and the like, the clerk had to operate the facsimile machine and calculate the fee, manage the sales performance of the service business, charge the user, etc. In the case of showing a usage statement, it was troublesome to prepare a statement one by one.

In addition to the facsimile apparatus, there is, for example, a teletex as a data communication terminal capable of transmitting a user's data as described above.

[Object] In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a data communication terminal usage charge display method that does not require calculation of charges and creation of a usage statement in a data communication service business.

[Configuration] For this reason, the present invention is a method for displaying a usage fee of a data communication terminal having a data communication function and a copy function, and when the data communication function of the data communication terminal is used, transmission is performed. Means for calculating and displaying a usage fee from data input and transmission conditions at that time, and means for calculating and displaying a usage fee by inputting copy conditions when using the copy function of the data communication terminal, The usage information including the usage fee when using the data communication function or the copy function of the data communication terminal is stored in the storage device as history information, and the usage time of the data communication terminal is determined when the communication function is used and when the copy function is used. Means for storing the history information and the use time stored in the storage device based on a history information output request instruction. Means for distinguishing each use information and use time at the time of using the data communication function and the copy function and visually displaying the same report as the same report.

 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 a transmission original at a predetermined linear density to extract image information, and a line buffer 2 temporarily stores the extracted image information of one line. CO
The DEC (encoding / decoding unit) 3 encodes image information to be transmitted and decodes received image information in accordance with the GIII standard of the CCITT recommendation. Line buffer 4
The received image information is temporarily stored for one line, and the recording unit 5 records the image information on a recording sheet.

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. This modem 7 has 9600 BPS, 7200 BPS, 4800 BPS and 2
It has a function to transmit data at four transmission speeds of 400 BPS,
96 due to the modem training performed in the transmission control procedure
Fallback is sequentially performed from 00BPS to a transmission rate at which transmission is possible, and any transmission rate is set. The NCU (network control device) 9 performs a call receiving operation by detecting an incoming call and an incoming call such as capturing a line and transmitting a selection signal as a dial number. At this time, the automatic transmission unit 10 outputs a predetermined selection signal.

The information counting unit 11 detects all the encoded image information to be transmitted, that is, the amount of data stored in the image memory 6. The communication time counting unit 12 calculates the communication time with the destination before starting the transmission operation. 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 S, the communication time T ₀ is obtained by the following equation.

T ₀ = (D / S) + T ₁ (1) The time T ₀ 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 is a device operating time from the start of the operation of the user who operates the facsimile device to the end of transmission in the document transmission service process, and the device operation time from the start of the copy in the document copy service process. Is actually measured. The device usage fee calculation unit 14 calculates a basic fee and a service fee in each of the above-described service processes under a preset condition.

The telephone number storage unit 15 stores a destination telephone number to be transmitted, and the unit fee storage unit 16 pays a communication fee per unit time when transmitting a call from the installation location of the facsimile machine to various parts of the country, that is, NTT. This is for storing a call charge and obtaining a communication charge per unit time for the other party based on the destination telephone number. Communication charge calculator
17, by the fee per unit time the communication time T _0, and calculates the communication fee.

The display control unit 18 sums the calculated communication fee, the basic fee, and the service fee as necessary, and displays the transmission service usage fee to be charged to the user on the display unit 19. On the other hand, the display unit 19 can display characters such as a CRT and a liquid crystal display.

The fee delivery unit 20 is for the user to pay the usage fee in coins or bills, and the fee counting unit 21 counts the delivered amount. The difference calculating unit 22 is for returning a predetermined difference from the fee refund unit 23 when the delivery amount exceeds a predetermined usage fee.

The history information storage unit 24 stores a communication destination, a date, a time, a communication time, a breakdown of a usage fee, and other information every time the facsimile apparatus is used. Image information converter
25 has a character generator, and in order to record the above information stored as code information in the recording unit 5,
It converts character codes into character pattern information.

The operation unit 26 is for instructing reading of a transmission original, inputting a destination telephone number, starting transmission processing or copying. The system control unit 27 controls the above units, collects a predetermined usage fee, and executes a predetermined document transmission or copy process.

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

When performing transmission processing using this facsimile apparatus, the user first reads the transmission original as shown in FIG.
, And input a destination telephone number with the operation unit 24 to perform a start operation (process 31). As a result, under the control of the system control unit 27, the reading unit 1 is activated, and the read image information is encoded by the CODEC 3 and sequentially stored in the image memory 6 (process 32). The information counting unit 11 counts the data amount sequentially stored in the image memory 6 and detects the total data amount to be transmitted.

The communication time counting unit 12 calculates the communication time from the equation (1) based on the data amount, the data transmission speed, and the time required for the transmission control procedure. In this case, since the data transmission rate is determined by the transmission control procedure after the start of the communication processing, here, the lowest data transmission rate of 2400 BP
Calculate with S. 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 charge calculation unit 17 calculates a necessary communication charge based on the product of the communication charge per unit time and the communication time.

The device usage fee calculation unit 14 outputs a preset basic fee and a service fee, for example, as a document transmission process.

The display control unit 18, by adding the above respective rates and the communication charge, while calculating a usage fee C ₀ (process 33), as shown in FIG. 3, the basic charge (Fig a), the communication charge (B in the figure), the service fee (C in the figure), the transmission service usage fee (d in the figure) which is the total of them, and the destination telephone number (e in the figure) are displayed (process 34).

The user pays the usage fee displayed on the display unit 19 from the fee delivery unit 20. The charge counting unit 21 counts the delivered charges. The difference calculator 22 checks the result (process 35). Here, if the fee is paid (Y in the process 35), the fee refund unit 23 is controlled as necessary to return the change.

Next, the automatic transmission unit 10 reads out the destination telephone number from the telephone number storage unit 15 and controls the NCU 9 to perform a predetermined transmission process. When the partner facsimile machine responds, a predetermined transmission process starts (process 36). At the beginning of this transmission process,
A predetermined transmission control procedure is executed by the transmission procedure controller 8. In this transmission control procedure, the receiving side executes modem training based on a signal transmitted from the transmitting side. As a result, the data transmission speed is determined to one of the four types according to the line state at that time.

System controller 27 monitors the progress of the transmission control procedure (process 37), the transmission speed is determined (process 37 Y), the transmission rate used finalized transmission rate S ₁ and by the billing
Compare with 2400 BPS (process 38). Here, the transmission speed S ₁ is 2
Not equal 400 bps (N processing 38), similarly to the at that transmission rate S _1, calculates the communication fee C ₁ (process 39). Then, to calculate the difference between the fee C ₀ previously calculated between the current fee C _1, to refund the difference from the charge supply unit 20 (processing 40).
At this time, the display unit 19 displays the fee calculated this time.

In parallel with the above processes 37 to 40, a process of transmitting image information stored in the image memory 6 by the modem 7 is performed.
The system control unit 27 monitors the end of the transmission (processing
41). On the other hand, when the transmission rate S ₁ is was 2400 baud (Y of process 38), immediately enters the process.

Here, when the end of the transmission processing is completed (Y in processing 41), the destination, transmission time, apparatus operating time, breakdown of fee, and other information in the above transmission processing are input from each unit and stored in the history information storage unit 24. (Step 42). Further, the respective information is converted into character information by the image information conversion unit 25 and output to the recording unit 5 via the line buffer 4. Thereby, the usage statement of the document transmission service is output from the recording unit 5.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the usage statement output here. The usage fee (f) in FIG.
The destination (g in the figure), the communication time (b in the figure), the communication time (i in the figure), the basic charge (j in the figure), the communication charge (k in the figure), and the service charge (k in the figure) 1), the date (m in FIG. 1), the name of the company performing this service operation (n in FIG. 1), and the like are recorded (process 43). This usage statement is output, and the transmission process ends.

On the other hand, if the fee has not been delivered (N in process 35), the transmission process ends there. In addition, when the other party's line is busy or there is no response even after calling for a certain period of time after the outgoing call process, the fee paid by the fee refund unit 23 is refunded.

Next, when the user copies a document, the user sets the document on the reading unit 1 and gives a copy instruction in the same manner as described above. As a result, the apparatus usage fee calculation unit 14 outputs the basic fee and the service fee obtained under the conditions set in advance as the copy fee. The display control unit 18 displays those charges on the display unit 19
To be displayed.

The user here pays the fee to the fee delivery unit 20.
When the fee is paid, the image information of the original is read, and the read image information is output to the recording unit 5,
The contents of the document are copied on recording paper.

At this time, each piece of information other than the transmission destination and the communication charge is stored in the history information storage unit 24 as described above. The information is recorded on the recording paper in the same manner as in FIG.

On the other hand, when a company or store that performs such a service operation using this facsimile machine wants to check the daily service usage results, for example,
When a history information output instruction is given at 26, the history information storage unit 24
Is recorded by the recording unit 5 and output as a service use history table.

FIG. 5 shows an output example of the service use history table. Each item name is displayed together with the date (m in FIG. 5), the destination (g in FIG. 5), and the display of the copy (o in FIG. 5). ), Communication time (h in the figure), communication time (i in the figure), usage fee (f in the figure), and a basic fee (j in the figure)
, A communication charge (k in FIG. 1), a service charge (l in FIG. 1), and the like, and a total of each charge (p in FIG. 2) is recorded.

As described above, in this embodiment, when transmitting or copying a document, the usage fee of the service is calculated and displayed on the display unit under a certain condition before the processing starts, and when the fee is delivered, the predetermined processing is performed. Is executed, and the fee, date, and the like delivered for each process are recorded and output as a usage statement.

As a result, when managing the sales performance of the service business and presenting the user with a usage statement such as a fee as in the conventional case, it is not necessary for a store clerk or the like to calculate the fee or manually write the usage statement. . Also, the usage statement can be used as a receipt by stamping the store or the like.

In addition, since the service use history table can be output as needed, business management is further facilitated.

In the above embodiment, the usage statement is output at the end of the processing, but it can also be output after the processing 40 in FIG. Further, in the figure, the communication time is calculated when the transmission speed is determined, and the usage fee is calculated again based on the communication time.
If the usage fee is calculated again based on the communication time actually measured, an accurate fee can be obtained according to the actual communication fee. Furthermore, the basic fee and the service fee are fixed in each of the transmission process and the copy process, but may be obtained according to the operation time of the apparatus.

In addition, if the transmission processing is interrupted due to a transmission error after the payment of the predetermined fee, the fee may be obtained in accordance with the rate at which the image could be transmitted.

By the way, the case of the facsimile apparatus has been described above. However, in the case where such a data transmission service is performed by, for example, teletex, it is natural that the same operation and effect can be obtained by applying the present invention.

[Effects] As described above, according to the present invention, the usage details of the data communication or copy can be known before using the terminal, and the payment of the usage fee and the use of the terminal can be smoothly performed. By checking the ratio of the usage status, for example, when the usage amount as a copy is large, it is possible to take measures such as replenishing a large amount of paper, so that the entire data communication terminal can be easily and appropriately maintained. . Further, the time zone in which the use of each function of data communication and copying is concentrated can be known, and there is an effect that the use management of the data communication terminal becomes easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the facsimile apparatus, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a transmission service charge, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an output example of a document transmission service usage statement, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an output example of a service usage history table. 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… Difference calculation unit, 23… Charge refund unit, 24… History information storage unit, 25… Image information conversion unit, 26…
... operation unit, 27 ... system control unit.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for displaying a usage fee of a data communication terminal having a data communication function and a copy function, wherein when the data communication function of the data communication terminal is used, input of transmission data is performed. Means for calculating and displaying a usage fee from the transmission conditions at that time; means for calculating and displaying a usage fee by inputting copy conditions when using the copy function of the data communication terminal; and The usage information including the usage fee when using the data communication function or the copy function is stored in the storage device as history information, and the use time of the data communication terminal is divided into the communication function use time and the copy function use time. Means for storing the history information and use time stored in the storage device based on a history information output request instruction; Data communication terminal usage fee display method, characterized by comprising a means for visually displaying the usage information during communication function and a copy function utilizing a usage time as the same report individually distinguished. 2. A means for delivering the fee displayed by the display means when the data communication terminal is used from the fee delivery unit, and a sum of the amount delivered within an arbitrarily set period and terminal usage information. 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising means for visually displaying service history information.