JP2675176B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine, and more particularly to a facsimile machine capable of recording received image data or image data of a read document on a magnetic tape.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, due to the increase in the frequency of use of facsimile machines, various functions have been provided to improve the convenience of facsimile transmission / reception as well as simple facsimile transmission and reception. One of the functions is a facsimile machine that stores image data in a memory. Further, when a memory is used, when a storage capacity of image data is increased, a facsimile apparatus is developed in which the image data is recorded on a magnetic tape because of the problem that the configuration becomes large and the cost is increased. There is.

In the facsimile machine capable of recording the image data as described above, the image data may be recorded on the magnetic tape when the recording paper runs out at the time of reception of the facsimile, or the so-called absence recording state is set. By recording the set and received image data on a magnetic tape, it is possible to call a home facsimile machine from the outside and transfer the image data from the home facsimile machine to the outside facsimile machine. Becomes

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above-described facsimile apparatus, when image data recorded on a magnetic tape is reproduced and recorded on a recording sheet due to the fact that a facsimile can be recorded, recording is performed in the order in which the magnetic tape is recorded. All of the image data thus obtained are reproduced and recorded on recording paper. Therefore, even if the content is not important, or data unnecessary for the operator such as a direct mail by facsimile is recorded on the recording paper. Therefore, it takes a long time to output the necessary data, and the recording paper is wasted.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a facsimile apparatus that can output necessary image data in a short time.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention relates to a facsimile receiving means for receiving image data, a reading means for optically reading a document and outputting the image data, and recording the image data on a recording medium, and a recording medium. A head for reproducing from the head, recording means for recording the image data from the head on recording paper, and counting means for counting the position of the recording area of the recording medium for each image data unit when recording the image data on the magnetic tape. Storage means for storing the count value by the counting means for each image data unit, an operation key, and in response to the output of the operation key, the image data recorded on the recording medium is reproduced from the head and recorded on the recording paper. When the operation key is operated during the operation recorded by the means,
Control means for stopping the recording operation by the recording means, searching for the next image data unit or the previous image data unit of the image data unit for which the recording operation has been stopped, and recording the searched image data unit by the recording means And a facsimile machine including the following.

Operation According to the present invention, the image data received by the facsimile receiving means and the image data of the document read by the reading means are recorded by a head on a recording medium such as a magnetic tape. The image data recorded on the magnetic tape is reproduced by the head and recorded on the recording paper by the recording means.

When recording the image data on the recording medium, the counting means counts the position of the recording area of the recording medium such as the running length of the magnetic tape for each image data unit, and the counted value is stored in the storage means. The control means responds to the output of the operation key,
When the operation key is operated during the operation of reproducing from the image data head recorded on the recording medium and recording on the recording paper by the recording means, the recording operation by the recording means is stopped and the recording operation is stopped. The image data unit next to the retrieved image data unit is retrieved, or the image data unit before the image data unit for which the recording operation is stopped is retrieved, and the retrieved image data unit is recorded by the recording means. That is, the operator can know the content of the image data by reproducing the recording medium and recording the image data on the recording paper. In this case, it is possible to know what the content is by recording a part of the image data without recording the entire image data on the recording paper. Therefore, when the operator determines that the data is unnecessary, the control means reproduces the recording medium and records the image data by operating the predetermined specific operation key, for example, the fast-forward key or the rewind key. The recording medium can be stopped, and the recording medium can be moved to the head position of the next or previously recorded image data unit based on the count value of the storage means.

With this, when the necessary image data is reproduced from the recording medium and recorded on the recording paper, it is not necessary to sequentially reproduce and record all the image data, and it is possible to search for the image data unit in a short time. It becomes possible to output, and the convenience is greatly improved. In addition, the consumption of recording paper can be reduced, which is economical.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a facsimile apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The facsimile device 1 transmits / receives image data via the telephone line 2. The telephone line 2 is connected to the control unit 4 via the modem 3. The control unit 4 includes a modem control unit 5, a recording / reproducing circuit control unit 6, a recording device control unit 7, an operating unit control circuit 8, a memory control unit 9, a reading device control unit 10, a motor control unit 11, and the control unit and CPU that controls the control circuit (Central P
central processing unit) 12 and a processing unit.

The modem control unit 5 is the modem 3, the recording / reproducing circuit control unit 6 is the recording / reproducing circuit 13, the recording device control unit 7 is the recording device 19, the operation unit control circuit 8 is the operation unit 18, and the memory control unit 9 is the memory. 20
The reading device control unit 10 controls the reading device 17 and the motor control unit 11
Respectively control the motor 21. The modem 3 demodulates the received image data and modulates the image data to be transmitted.

The recording / reproducing circuit 13 modulates image data given from the CPU 12 via the recording / reproducing circuit control unit 6 into an MFM (Modified Frequency Modulation) signal for recording on the magnetic tape 16, or an MFM signal from the magnetic tape 16. To image data. The output from the recording / reproducing circuit 13 is amplified by the amplifier 14 and recorded on the magnetic tape 16 by the magnetic head 15. The signal reproduced from the magnetic tape 16 by the magnetic head 15 is amplified by the amplifier 14, demodulated into image data in the recording / reproducing circuit 13, and given to the CPU 12 via the recording / reproducing circuit controller 6.

The magnetic tape 16 is run by the motor 21. The motor control unit 11 operates the motor 21 based on the control signal from the CPU 12.
Control. At this time, the CPU 12 sets the rotation speed of the motor 21 to the CPU
Count by the tape counter in 12.

The reading device 17 is configured to include a CCD (charge coupled device) and the like, reads an optical image of a document, and outputs image data to the CPU 12 via the reading device control unit 10. The recording device 19 includes a recording head such as a thermal head, and the CPU 12
The image data given from the recording device controller 7 is recorded on the recording paper.

The operation unit 18 includes a reproduction key, a fast forward key, a rewind key, a numeral key, a start key, a copy key, and the like, and sets various operation states of the facsimile apparatus 1. The memory 20 is composed of a random access memory (RAM) or the like, and stores image data received via the telephone line 2 or image data from the reading device 17.

First, the receiving operation of the facsimile will be described. When a key operation is performed on the operation unit 18 after the CPU 12 detects an incoming signal, the control unit 12 makes a protocol (arrangement of communication conditions) with the calling station, that is, an arrangement such as data transmission speed and recording paper size. I do. After that, when the image data from the calling station is transmitted through the telephone line 2, the image data is received by the modem 3 and demodulated.
It is stored in the memory 20 via the CPU 12.

After the image data store operation is completed, the CPU 12
The image data is read from and is supplied to the recording / reproducing circuit 13. The recording / reproducing circuit 13 modulates the image data into an MFM signal, amplifies it with an amplifier 14, and then a magnetic tape 16 with a magnetic head 15.
To record. At this time, the image data from the memory 20 may be given to the recording device 19 and recorded on recording paper.

Next, the copy operation in the facsimile apparatus 1 will be described. When the document is set on the reading device 17 and the copy key of the operation unit 18 is operated, the copy mode is set. The reading device 17 reads an optical image of a document and gives image data to the recording / reproducing circuit 13 via the CPU 12. The recording / reproducing circuit 13 modulates the image data into an MFM signal and amplifies it by the amplifier 14,
Data is recorded on the magnetic tape 16 by the magnetic head 15. At this time, the image data may be simultaneously given to the recording device 19 and recorded on the recording paper, or the image data recorded on the magnetic tape 16 may be reproduced and given to the recording device 19 and recorded on the recording paper.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a recording format of the magnetic tape 16. The received image data or the image data output from the reading device 17 according to the copy mode is sequentially recorded as recording data D1 to D5 from the leading end position of the magnetic tape 16. In addition, the count value of the tape counter indicating the beginning position of the recording area where each recorded data is recorded is
Stored at 20. Here, the tape counter is
It is a counter that performs a counting operation in synchronization with the rotation of the motor 21, and therefore the count value indicates the running length of the magnetic tape 16.

FIG. 3 shows the magnetic tape 16 in the facsimile apparatus 1.
5 is a flowchart for explaining the search operation of FIG. The search operation will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. In step a1, the facsimile machine 1 is in the standby state,
That is, the magnetic tape 16 is stopped in a state in which the position indicated by reference numeral A in FIG. 2 is in contact with the magnetic head 15 so that the input image data can be immediately recorded on the magnetic tape 16. The count value of the tape counter at this position is "050".

When the operation key of the operation unit 18 is pressed to reproduce the recorded data in step a2, the parameter N = 1 is set in step a3, and the magnetic tape 16 is rewound in step a4. Rewinding of the magnetic tape 16 is performed until the count value of the tape counter reaches "000".

At step a5, the recorded data DN is reproduced and the reproduced recorded data DN is recorded on the recording paper. Here, it is assumed that the recorded data D1 is reproduced and recorded. The operator looks at the contents of the recorded data recorded on the recording paper, and if the contents do not need to be seen any further, for example, in the case of direct mail by facsimile, the recording operation is performed by pressing the fast forward key. The recording operation is stopped and the recording data next to the recording data whose recording operation has been stopped is searched as follows.

In step a6, it is determined whether or not there is a key input from the operation unit 18, and if there is a key input, the process proceeds to step a7,
If there is no key input, proceed to step a17.

In step a7, it is judged whether or not the key is the fast-forward key. If the key is the fast-forward key, the process proceeds to step a8 and the parameter N
Is greater than or equal to the maximum value NMAX of the parameter N. In this embodiment, NMAX = 5 because five pieces of recorded data are recorded. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the parameter N ≧ 5. If the parameter N ≧ 5, there is no more recorded data recorded on the magnetic tape 16, and the search operation is terminated. At this time, the magnetic tape 16 may be fast-forwarded until the count value of the tape counter reaches “050”, and may return to the standby state.

If the parameter N ≧ 5 is not satisfied, 1 is added to the parameter N in step a9, and the magnetic tape 16 is fast-forwarded in step a10. At step a11, it is judged based on the count value of the tape counter whether or not fast-forwarding is performed to the head position of the recording area of the next recording data. When the beginning of the next data is completed, the process returns to step a5, and the recorded data is reproduced and recorded on the recording paper.

If it is not the fast forward key in step a7, step a1
Proceed to 2. In step a12, it is determined whether the rewind key is present. If the rewind key is selected, the process proceeds to step a13. If the rewind key is not selected, another process, that is, a process corresponding to the operated key is performed. For example, when the stop key is pressed, the recording operation is stopped, and the search operation of the recorded data before the recorded data whose recording operation is stopped, specifically, the reproduction of the recorded data DN and the recording on the recording paper are stopped.

At step a13, it is judged whether or not the parameter N = 1. When the parameter N = 1, the recorded data is not recorded before the recorded data that is currently being reproduced, and the search operation is ended. At this time, the magnetic tape 16
May be fast-forwarded until the count value of the tape counter reaches "050", and the tape may return to the standby state.

If the parameter N is not 1 in step a13, 1 is subtracted from the parameter N in step a14, and the magnetic tape 16 is rewound in step a15. At step a16, it is judged based on the count value of the tape counter whether or not the recording data has been rewound to the head position of the recording area. When the magnetic tape 16 is rewound to the head position, the process returns to step a5, and the recorded data is reproduced and recorded on the recording paper.

If there is no key input in step a6, step
Proceeding to a17, it is judged whether all the data of the recorded data DN has been reproduced. Step if playback is not finished
Returning to a5, the recorded data is continuously reproduced and recorded on the recording paper. If the reproduction is completed, the process proceeds to step a8, and the same operation as described above is performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by pressing the fast forward key or the rewind key of the operation unit 18 during the reproduction of the recorded data, the reproduction operation is interrupted and the next recorded data or the previous recorded data is reproduced. It can be put into operation. As a result, it is not necessary to check the contents one by one in the order in which they were recorded on the magnetic tape 16 as in the conventional case, and after outputting all the data of one recorded data, it is unnecessary during reproduction. When it is determined, the reproduction of the recorded data and the recording on the recording paper can be interrupted, and the other recorded data can be reproduced and recorded on the recording paper.

Therefore, it becomes possible to retrieve and output the recording data desired by the operator in a short time, the convenience is remarkably improved, and the consumption of recording paper is reduced, which is economical.

In the present embodiment, the recording area of the magnetic tape 16 is cued for each recording data unit, but at the time of key input in step a6 of FIG. 3, the fast forward key or the rewind key is pressed. By operating a plurality of times in succession, the previous recorded data or the previous recorded data may be cued by the number of times of operation. That is, if the fast-forward key is operated twice consecutively during the reproduction of the recorded data D1, the recorded data D3 may be cued. The rewind key is similar to the fast forward key.

When the rewind key is operated once, the magnetic tape is moved to the beginning of the recording area of the recorded data currently being reproduced.
16 may be rewound to perform the reproduction operation.

As described above, according to the present invention, when necessary image data is reproduced from a recording medium such as a magnetic tape and recorded on a recording sheet, each image data unit is recorded in the order in which the image data is recorded, and
It is not necessary to reproduce all the data of the image data unit and record it on the recording paper, and the operation is performed while the image data recorded on the recording medium is reproduced from the head and recorded on the recording paper by the recording means. By operating the key, the recording operation by the recording means is stopped, and the next or previous image data unit of the stopped image data unit is searched and recorded, and therefore, the image required in a short time is constructed. The data unit can be searched and output, and the convenience is significantly improved. In addition, the consumption of recording paper is reduced, which is economical.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of a facsimile apparatus 1 which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the recording format of a magnetic tape 16, and FIG. It is a flow chart for explaining search operation. 1 ... Facsimile device, 2 ... Telephone line, 3 ... Modem, 4 ... Control unit, 12 ... CPU, 15 ... Magnetic head, 16
...... Magnetic tape, 17 …… Reading section, 19 …… Recording section, 20 ……
Memory, D1 to D5 ... Recorded data

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A facsimile receiving means for receiving image data, a reading means for optically reading a document to output image data, and a head for recording image data on a recording medium and reproducing the image data from the recording medium. Recording means for recording the image data from the head on recording paper, counting means for counting the position of the recording area of the recording medium for each image data unit when recording the image data on the magnetic tape, and for each image data unit Storing means for storing the count value by the counting means, an operation key, and in response to the output of the operation key, the image data recorded on the recording medium is reproduced from the head and recorded on the recording paper by the recording means. When the operation key is operated during operation, the recording operation by the recording means is stopped, and the image data unit next to the image data unit in which the recording operation is stopped or the previous image data unit is stopped. And a control unit for recording the retrieved image data unit by a recording unit.