JP2966962B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus which allows an operator to intervene, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a conventional facsimile apparatus detects a telephone call from a partner machine, it generates a pseudo bell sound and calls the operator. When the operator picks up the telephone and answers the operator's call, a call is made. If the operator does not respond to the operator call within a predetermined time, the communication is continued if the message transmission is not completed and the transmission information remains, and the communication is ended if there is no remaining transmission information.

[0003]

When an operator's call is generated as described above, especially during multi-communications such as broadcast transmission and multi-polling reception in which messages are received from a plurality of destinations at once, such as during multi-communications. When an operator call is received, it takes a long time to finish receiving all the messages if he / she responds to each call.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to eliminate the delay in message transmission due to the intervention of an operator during an operator call during multi-communication and to promptly transmit and receive images.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, a facsimile apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration.

A facsimile apparatus having an operator calling function, comprising: first storage means for storing an identification name of a communicating remote station; detecting means for detecting an operator calling signal from a received signal; A second memory for storing that an operator call is detected by the detecting means;
Storage means, a first determination means for inspecting the contents of the second storage means to determine the presence or absence of an operator call;
Output means for outputting the identification name stored in the first storage means when it is determined by the determination means that the operator has been called.

[0007]

According to the above arrangement, the information on the received operator calling signal is stored, and the fact that the operator has been called can be output at any time.

[0008]

【Example】

[First Embodiment] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

<Structure> FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a network control unit (NCU) which is connected to an end of a telephone line and controls connection of a telephone exchange network and switches to a data communication path.
It is. The signal line 2a is a telephone line. The NCU 2 receives the signal of the control signal 30a, and the signal level is “0”.
If so, the telephone line is connected to the telephone, that is, the telephone line 2a is connected to the signal line 2b. If "1", the telephone line is connected to the facsimile machine side, that is, the telephone line 2a is connected to the signal line 2.
Connect to c. When a 16-Hz calling signal is detected from the telephone line, a signal of signal level "1" is output as a calling signal 2d. When a call signal of 16 Hz is not detected, a signal of signal level "0" is output as the call signal 2d.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a telephone. When no facsimile transmission / reception is being performed, the telephone line is connected to telephone 4. The telephone 4 outputs a signal of a signal level "1" to the hook signal 4a when in the off-hook state, and outputs a signal level "0" to the hook signal 4a when in the on-hook state.
The signal of is output.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a hybrid circuit for separating a transmission system signal and a reception system signal. That is, the transmission signal 16a
Is transmitted to the telephone line via the NCU 2 through the signal line 2c. The signal sent from the transmitting device is N
The signal is output to the reception signal 6a through the signal line 2c via the CU2.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a reading circuit, which sequentially reads image signals for one line in the main scanning direction from a transmission original and creates a signal sequence representing binary values of black and white. The reading circuit 8 includes an image pickup device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and an optical system. The binarized signal sequence is output as a binary signal 8a.

Reference numeral 10 denotes an encoding circuit which receives the binary signal 8a and outputs MH (Modified Huffman) encoding or MR (Modified Read) encoded data to the encoded signal 10a.

[0015] CCITT Recommendation V.12 27ter
(Differential phase modulation) or 29 (quadrature modulation). The modulator 12 outputs a modulation signal 12a.

14 is CCITT Recommendation V.14. 21. The modulator 14 performs modulation using the procedure signal 30b as an input, and outputs a modulated signal 14a.

An adder circuit 16 receives the modulated signal 12a and the modulated signal 14a, and adds the result of the addition to the transmission signal 1a.
6a.

18 is CCITT Recommendation V. This is a demodulator conforming to No. 21. The demodulator 18 receives the received signal 6a,
V. 21 and outputs a demodulated signal 18a.

20 is CCITT Recommendation V.20. 27ter or V.I. This is a demodulator conforming to No. 29. Demodulator 20 performs demodulation with received signal 6a as input, and outputs demodulated signal 20a.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a composite circuit that performs MH decoding or MR decoding on the demodulated signal 20a and outputs a binary signal 22a.

Reference numeral 24 denotes binarized image data 2
This is a recording circuit that receives the value signal 22a and records an image line by line.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a calling circuit for generating a pseudo bell sound when the signal level of the input calling signal 30c is "1". If the level is "0", the bell does not ring.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a report output circuit for outputting a report as shown in FIG. 12 when a pulse is input to the trigger signal 30e after inputting the current date, time, abbreviation and telephone number of the destination as the call data 30d. It is.

Reference numeral 28 denotes an operation unit. One-touch dial key, speed dial key, numeric keypad, memory send button, start key, various mode keys (super fine / fine / standard / dark / light / halftone / binary / confidential / broadcast / stamp etc.) / Function key Is pressed by the operator, the pressed information is the operation signal 2
8a is output.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a document detection circuit. This detects whether a document is set on the platen, and outputs a signal of signal level "0" on the signal line 29a when the document is not set on the platen. When it is, a signal of signal level "1" is output.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a control circuit for controlling the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment. In order to perform control, a destination memory 31, a multi-flag 32, and a status flag 33 are internally provided.
A call flag 34 is provided; In the facsimile apparatus having the above configuration, an operator call during facsimile transmission / reception is performed as follows.

[0027] Even if a telephone call is received from the other party during multi-communication such as broadcast transmission and multi-polling, communication is continued without responding to the telephone call.
After the end of the multi-communication, a report describing the information of the called party (when receiving a plurality of telephone calls, all of them) is output.

On the other hand, when a telephone call is received from a partner machine during single communication such as original transmission, memory transmission, original reception, etc., an operator is invoked.
When the operator answers this call, a call state is established.

<Explanation of Flowchart> FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the control unit 30 for controlling the above-described operator calling operation. When an instruction for polling reception or broadcast transmission is input from the operation unit of the facsimile machine, or when a call is dialed from the other party's machine and a call is set, the processing of the flowchart is started. Therefore, the communication partner is determined at the time of the start.

In steps S42 to S50, the state is initialized. First, a signal of the signal level “0” is output to the signal line 30a, and the CML is turned off (S42).
Turning off the CML means connecting the telephone line to the telephone 4 via the NCU 2 (conversely, turning on the CML means connecting the telephone line to the hybrid circuit 6). Next, a signal level "0" is output to the calling signal 30c to stop the pseudo bell sound for calling the operator (S44). Of course, at this point, the bell may not be ringing. Next, the call flag 34 indicating that the telephone call has not been answered is cleared (set to 0) (S46), and the status flag 33 indicating that transmission is in progress is set to 0 (S48). Finally, 0 is set to the multi-flag 32 indicating multi-communication (S50).

When the initialization is completed, it is determined in step S52 whether or not the broadcast transmission is selected. If the broadcast transmission is selected, the process proceeds to step S54. If the broadcast transmission is not selected, the process proceeds to step S54.
Proceed to 64. The selection of the broadcast transmission is made by the operation unit 28, and the information is transmitted from the operation information 28a to the control circuit 30.
Is input to In this step, this information is captured and tested.

In steps S54 and S56, since the broadcast transmission is selected, 1 is set to the status flag 33 and the multi-flag 32.

In steps S58, S60, and S62, the message is transmitted to all the destinations of the broadcast transmission. First, one is selected from a plurality of destinations for broadcast transmission and a call is made (S58), and a message is transmitted to the called destination (S60). Step S60 is shown in detail in FIG. 9 and will be described later. If the transmission to one destination has been completed, it is determined whether the transmission has been completed to all the destinations, that is, whether the untransmitted destination remains, and if so, the process proceeds to step S58 and the untransmitted destination is determined. Transmit to. If not, it means that the transmission has been completed, and the process proceeds to step S42, whereupon reception and transmission are performed (S62).

On the other hand, if it is not a broadcast transmission, step S
At 52, the flow branches to step S64. Step S6
At 4, it is determined whether or not the multi-polling reception has been selected. If so, the process proceeds to step S66; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S74.

Since multi-polling reception is multi-communication, 1 is set in the multi-flag 32 in step S66.
Set.

In steps S68, S70 and S72, messages are received from all the destinations of the multi-polling reception. First, a call is made to one of the destinations for multi-polling reception (S68), and a message from the called party is received (S70). Step S70 is illustrated in detail in FIG. When reception from one partner is completed, it is determined whether or not there is a partner to be polled and received, and if so, the flow returns to step S68 to receive the remaining messages. If not, it means that reception has been completed from all polling partners, and the process proceeds to step S42, where transmission or reception is subsequently performed (S72).

The process branches to step S74 when the broadcast transmission is not performed and the multi-polling reception is not performed. In step S74, it is determined whether transmission of the original document or the message of the memory content is selected.
If it has been selected, the process proceeds to step S76, and if it has not been selected, the process proceeds to step S82.

Steps S76, S78 and S80 are for transmitting a message to one destination. First, since it is in the transmission state, 1 is set to the state flag 33 (S7).
6). Thereafter, a call is made to the other party (S78), and a message is transmitted to the other party (S80). The contents of step S80 are shown in FIG. 9 as in step S60.

In step S82, it is determined whether or not a message has been received. If the message has been received, the flow advances to step S84 to receive the message.
Proceeding to 86, a process other than message transmission / reception is performed.

FIGS. 4 to 8 are flowcharts of receiving a message from one party by calling the receiving side, and FIGS. 9 to 12 transmit a message to one party by calling the transmitting side. It is a flowchart. First, the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 to 8 will be described.

<Reception of Message> First, the control signal 3
The signal level "1" is output to 0a, and the CML is turned on (S90). Turning on CML means that the telephone line is NCU
2 to the hybrid circuit 6 on the facsimile side. Next, a pre-procedure for message reception is performed. In the pre-procedure, NSC / CIG
/ DIC signal, and NSF / CSI /
Transmit the DIS signal. Further, for the processing after the call of the operator, the telephone number and abbreviation of the communication partner are stored in the partner memory 31 as the identification name of the partner (S92). Of course, information such as time is also stored as needed.

After the completion of the pre-procedure, the received signal is tested. First, whether you received a prior call, that is, PRI
It is determined whether an EOP signal has been received (S9).
4). If you have a prior call, ie PRI-E
If an OP signal has been received, the process proceeds to step S100.
Handles telephone calls. If the PRI-EOP signal has not been received, the process proceeds to step S96. In step S96, it is determined whether a DCS'Tr / TCF signal has been received. If it has been received, the flow advances to step S114 to transmit the image. If not received, the process proceeds to step S98 to perform processing other than transmission and reception of the message.
Return to step 92 and repeat from the previous procedure. At this time, if the T1 time is over, the present reception processing ends. If not, the flow branches to step S114.

When the PRI-EOP is received, a process for calling an operator is performed. Step S100 to Step S1
10 is a process for the operator call. First, a signal of signal level "1" is output as the calling signal 30c, and a pseudo bell sound is sounded for calling the operator (S10).
0). The operator's response to this is hook signal 4
a is determined as an input. If the signal level of the hook signal 4a is "0", that is, if the operator has not responded, the process waits for a response in a loop from step S104 to S102.

When the signal level of the hook signal 4a is "1", that is, when the operator answers, a signal of the signal level "0" is output to the call signal 30c, and the pseudo bell sound for calling the operator is stopped (S106). Next, PRI-
A PIP signal is returned in response to the EOP signal (S10
8). Finally, a signal of the signal level “0” is output as the control signal 30a, and the CML is turned off. As a result, the telephone line is switched to the telephone 4, and the facsimile reception process ends. When connected to the telephone, the operator makes a call, and after the call is completed, returns to the preparation state for transmission and reception.

If DCS'Tr / TCF has been received,
Continue to receive messages. Therefore, a pre-procedure is first performed (S114). After that, the message is received (S1
16) After completing the post-procedure (S118), step S
In step S130, the MPS signal E
OM signal, EOP signal, PRI-MPS signal, PRI-
It is determined which of the EOM signal and the PRI-EOP signal has been received. When the MPS signal, the EOM signal, and the EOP signal are received, the MCF signal is transmitted (steps S134, S136, and S138), and normal communication processing is performed according to each signal.

When a PRE-Q signal (received by a telephone call from the partner transmitter) is received, a PRI-MPS signal
The processing is almost the same for the PRI-EOM signal and the PRI-EOP signal.

When the PRE-MPS signal is received (S1
26-YES), if it is a multi-communication, the call flag 34 is set to 1 (S156), and then the same processing as when the MPS signal is received is performed. That is, except that the telephone call flag 34 is set, it operates as if there was no telephone call. At the time of single communication, the bell rings and normal processing is performed according to the operator's response (S
142-S150). First, a signal level "1" is output to the calling signal 30c to sound the pseudo bell (S142), the hook signal 4a is tested, and the operator waits for a certain period of time (S144 and S146). If there is no response, the call flag 34 is set to 1 (S156), and the process returns to the continuation of the message reception. If there is a response, the signal level "0" is output to the calling signal 30c to stop the bell (S147), and the PI
P is transmitted (S148), the CML is turned off, and the telephone line is switched to the telephone 4 (S150). Thereafter, the operator makes a telephone call, and the reception of the message ends here.

When the PRE-EOM signal is received (S1
28-YES), in the case of multi-communication, after setting the call flag 34 to 1 (S174), the same processing as the processing when the EOM signal is received is performed. That is, except that the telephone call flag 34 is set, it operates as if there was no telephone call. At the time of single communication, the bell rings and normal processing is performed according to the operator's response (S
160-S168). First, sound the pseudo bell (S16
0), the hook signal 4a is tested and a response from the operator is waited for a predetermined time (S162 and S164). If there is no response, the call flag 34 is set to 1 (S174), and the process returns to the continuation of the message reception. If there is a response, first the bell is stopped (S165), the PIP is transmitted (S166), the CML is turned off, and the telephone line is switched to the telephone 4 (S16).
8). Thereafter, the operator makes a telephone call, and the reception of the message ends here.

When the PRE-EOP signal is received (S1
30-YES), if it is a multi-communication, the call flag 34 is set to 1 (S192), and then the same processing as when the EOP signal is received is performed. That is, except that the telephone call flag 34 is set, it operates as if there was no telephone call. At the time of single communication, the bell rings and normal processing is performed according to the operator's response (S
178-S186). First, sound the pseudo bell (S17
8) The hook signal 4a is tested, and a response from the operator is waited for a predetermined time (S180 and S182). If there is no response, the call flag 34 is set to 1 (S192), and the process returns to the continuation of the message reception. If there is a response, the bell is stopped first (S183), the PIP is transmitted (S184), the CML is turned off, and the telephone line is switched to the telephone 4 (S18).
6). Thereafter, the operator makes a telephone call, and the reception of the message ends here.

If it is not any of the above signals, a process corresponding to the signal is performed in step S132. Here, when Q is transmitted three times, the reception process ends (return).

If no response is made to the operator's call, or if there is no interruption due to a timeout or the like in the middle, the EOP signal is received after all pages of the image have been received. When the EOP signal is received, the MCF is transmitted (S138).
Then, the value of the call flag 34 is tested (S19).
3). That is, it is determined whether or not an operator call has not been received from the transmission partner device during message reception. When the call flag 34 is 0, that is, when the telephone call has not been received from the partner device, the reception process ends. If the call flag 34 is 1, that is, if a telephone call has been received from the partner machine, the telephone number and abbreviation of the partner stored in the partner memory 31 are called in step 92, and the current date, time and time are added to the call. Output to data 30d.
Thereafter, a report output command pulse for calling is output to the trigger signal 30e, and a report as shown in FIG. 13 is issued.

<Message transmission> On the other hand, step S6
The contents of 0 are as shown in FIGS.

First, the control signal 30a has a signal level "1".
Is output, and the CML is turned on (S200). Thus, the telephone line is connected to the facsimile side. Then, after performing a pre-procedure for message transmission (S202),
The message is transmitted (S204). When the transmission of the message is completed, an intermediate or post-procedure is performed (S20).
6). After the last page is transmitted, the post-procedure is performed.

Thereafter, it is determined whether the page is the last page (S208). If it is the last page, an EOP signal is transmitted (S212). After EOP transmission, MCF signal / RT
It is determined whether any of the P signal / RTN signal has been received (S214). Upon reception, a DCN signal is transmitted (S
216), the call flag 34 is tested (S217). If the call flag 34 is 1, it is determined that there is an operator call during communication, and information such as the telephone number and time of the transmission destination is issued as a call report (S219). ). Report 1
It's like three. As the telephone number and abbreviation of the other party, a value set by the operator at the time of an operation for transmission is stored in the other party memory 31 and read out and used. If the call flag 34 is 0, the process ends without doing anything.

On the other hand, if the MCF / RTP / RTN signal cannot be received, it is tested whether a PIP signal or a PIN signal has been received (S218). If neither can be received,
After performing appropriate processing (S240), the EOP signal is transmitted again. MCF / RTP after sending EOP signal three times
If none of / RTN / PIP / PIN could be received, then the transmission is terminated and a return is made.

In step S218, PIP or PIN
If the signal is received, the multi-flag 32 is tested (S220). PIP or PIN is a signal requesting operator intervention.

If the multi-flag 32 is 1, that is, if it is a multi-communication, the call flag 34 is set to 1. Thereafter, the flow branches to step S216 to transmit DCN and issue a call report. If the multi flag 32 is 0,
The bell rings to call the operator (S222). After that, it waits for an operator's response for a certain period of time (S224,
26) If there is no response, branch to step S238 and D
Issue CN transmission / call report. If the operator responds, the PRI-EOP signal is transmitted to the other party (S
228), the bell is stopped (S230). Finally, the CML is turned off, the telephone line is switched to the telephone 4 and transmission is completed (S232). At this point, the operator is ready for a call, and when the call is over, the transmission for one destination ends.

If it is determined in step S208 that the current page is not the last page, it is tested whether the mode needs to be changed before transmitting the next page (S210). If the mode needs to be changed, an EOM signal is first sent to the other party (S
242).

In step S242, an EOM signal is transmitted. MCF signal and RTN signal for EOM
If any of the RTP signals is received (S244-YE
S) Perform the pre-procedure again and transmit the next page. MC
If none of the F signal, the RTN signal, and the RTP signal has been sent, a test is performed to determine whether either the PIP signal or the PIN signal has been received (S246).

If not received, appropriate processing is performed (S
268), the EOM signal is retransmitted. If the expected signal response is not obtained even after retransmission three times, the current transmission processing to the other party is interrupted.

If the PIP / PIN is received, that is, if an operator is called, the process of calling the operator is performed in the same manner as when transmitting the EOP. However, the difference from the case where the EOP is transmitted is that after the hook signal 4a is tested and it is determined that the operator has responded, the PRI-EOM signal is transmitted to the partner device instead of the PRI-EOM.

In step S246, PIP or PIN
If it is determined that the signal has been received, the multi-flag 32 is tested (S248). PIP or PIN is a signal requesting operator intervention.

If the multi-flag 32 is 1, that is, if it is a multi-communication, the call flag 34 is set to 1. Thereafter, the flow branches to step S266 to call flag 34.
Is set, the DCN is transmitted, and a call report is issued. If the multi-flag 32 is 0, a bell is ringed to call the operator (S250), and then waits for a response from the operator for a certain period of time (S252 / S254). Do. If the operator responds, the PRI
-Transmit the EOM signal (S255, S257) and stop the bell (S230). Finally, the CML is turned off, the telephone line is switched to the telephone 4 and transmission is completed (S232). At this point, the operator is ready for a call, and when the call is over, the transmission for one destination ends.

If it is determined in step S210 that the mode change is unnecessary, the flow branches to step S270. There, the MPS signal is transmitted first (S270). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not an MCF signal has been received. If an MCF signal has been received, the process proceeds to step S204 to repeat the process from transmitting the image of the next page.

If MCF has not been received, it is next tested whether an RTP or RTN signal has been received (S274).
Upon receipt, the flow advances to step S202 to perform pre-procedure and then transmit the image. If not, it is determined whether a PIP signal or a PIN signal has been received, that is, whether or not a telephone call has been received from the partner receiver (S276). P
If the TP / PTR has not been received, appropriate processing is performed (S278), and the MPS signal is retransmitted. If the expected signal is not sent back after resending three times, the current transmission to the other party is interrupted. If it is received, an operator call process is performed. Operator call is PI after EOM transmission
This is the same process as when receiving N · PIP. However, if there is a response from the operator, it is PR
It is a PRI-MPS signal instead of an I-EOM.

The above is the processing of a response to an operator call during multi-communication. In the present embodiment, not only when communicating with a plurality of parties but also when communicating with one party, if there is no response to the call of the operator, there is a call at the last stage of facsimile transmission / reception. Report.

As a result, an operator call does not occur during the multi-communication, and the transmission and reception of images are performed quickly. Also, since the fact that the operator has been called is recorded, the receiving side can contact the person who called the operator again after the image reception is completed.

[0068]

[Other embodiments]

[Embodiment 2] In single communication with only one other party, an operator call between pages of an image to be transmitted is enabled. However, an operator call may be made valid only after the end of the last page, instead of allowing an intermediate page. In this way, the operator can be called only after all the images have been sent to the receiving side, and do not hinder the transmission and reception of the images.

Further, in the first embodiment, since communication is performed with a plurality of parties, the description is limited to the calling station. However, if it is one-to-one, the same control is performed at the called station.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. It is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0071]

As described above, the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention can eliminate the delay of message transmission due to the operator's intervention when the operator calls during multi-communication.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2

FIG. 3 is a control flowchart of a control circuit 30 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4

FIG. 5

FIG. 6

FIG. 7

FIG. 8 is a part of a flowchart of the control circuit 30 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9

FIG. 10

FIG. 11

FIG. 12 is a part of a flowchart of the control circuit 30 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is an example of a report of an operator call.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 NCU 4 Telephone 6 Hybrid circuit 8 Reading circuit 10 Encoding circuit 12 V. 27ter or V.I. 29 modulator 14 ... V. 21 modulator 16 ... addition circuit 18 ... V. 21 demodulator 20 ... V. 27ter or V.I. 29 demodulator 22 ... decoding circuit 24 ... recording circuit 26 ... calling circuit 27 ... report output circuit 28 ... operation unit 29 ... document presence / absence detection circuit 30 ... control circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H04N 1/00-1/00 108 H04N 1/32-1/36 H04N 1/42-1/44

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A facsimile apparatus having an operator calling function, comprising: first storage means for storing an identification name of a communicating remote station; and detecting means for detecting an operator calling signal from a received signal. Second storage means for storing that an operator call has been detected by the detection means, first determination means for examining the contents of the second storage means to determine the presence or absence of an operator call; A facsimile apparatus, comprising: output means for outputting the identification name stored in the first storage means when the first determination means determines that the operator has been called. 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a first detecting means for detecting that the transmission of the message has been completed, wherein the first determining means determines that the transmission of the message has been completed by the first determining means. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facsimile is performed. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a second detecting unit for detecting that the reception of the message has been completed, wherein the determination of the operator call by the first determining unit is performed when the end of the message reception is detected by the second detecting unit. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facsimile is performed. 4. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an operator call is not made even if an operator call signal is detected by said detecting means. 5. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a second determining unit for determining whether a communication partner station is a single station or a plurality of stations. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines that there are a plurality of partner stations.