JP3937315B2 - Facsimile remote maintenance device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a facsimile remote maintenance apparatus, and more particularly to a facsimile remote maintenance apparatus that performs remote maintenance on a plurality of facsimile apparatuses.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a facsimile remote maintenance apparatus has a system configuration as shown in FIG. 1, and is a one-touch operation edited at a remote maintenance center terminal 1 for customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n to be remotely maintained. A technique for registering dial information such as a dial is known.
[0003]
To edit the one-touch dial information in a conventional remote maintenance center terminal in consideration of software load reduction, the one-touch dial number and the abbreviated dial number are used, such as “assign abbreviated dial # 1 to one-touch dial # 1”. It can be expressed only by correspondence, and it is difficult to understand how it is registered on the facsimile screen, and there is a possibility that the setting is different from the user's intention.
[0004]
Also, using a high-performance terminal or a LAN (Local Area Network) with good transfer efficiency, the display screen of the remote maintenance target device is displayed on the remote maintenance center terminal 1, and the remote maintenance target is displayed based on the position information on the screen. Although there is a method of controlling the apparatus, remote control by a facsimile procedure using a public line is not practical in terms of usability and efficiency. This technique is disclosed in JP-A-5-122424.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional facsimile remote maintenance apparatus described above, the number of one-touch buttons that can be displayed on one screen and the order of the one-touch numbers corresponding to each button may differ, and one-touch for each customer facsimile machine model. It is difficult for the operator to grasp the button arrangement.
[0006]
Therefore, in the conventional facsimile remote maintenance device, when the dial information such as one-touch dial is registered from the remote maintenance center terminal to the customer facsimile device, the display position of the one-touch button on the facsimile screen is the order in which the operator intended. May be different.
[0007]
Further, in the conventional facsimile remote maintenance device, the one-touch dial name displayed on the facsimile screen is normally displayed in two lines because the one-touch dial name character string sent from the remote maintenance center terminal is usually folded and displayed. If there are double-byte characters in the middle of the division, they cannot be displayed correctly.
[0008]
Therefore, when registering a one-touch dial name or the like displayed in the one-touch button, if full-width characters and half-width characters are mixed, they may not be displayed correctly on the screen of the customer facsimile machine.
[0009]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile remote maintenance device that solves the above-mentioned problems, prevents a difference between the user's intention and the registered contents of the facsimile screen, and improves the operability. It is in.
[0010]
In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile remote maintenance device that can share a simple display on a remote maintenance center terminal even when the arrangement of one-touch buttons is not common and can improve expandability. There is to do.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Facsimile remote maintenance apparatus according to the present invention, facsimile remote to be registered using the telephone line from a remote location the dial information of at least the one-touch dial to a plurality of customer facsimile apparatus each Order is different from the one-touch button for each facsimile machine A maintenance device,
Means for specifying a facsimile model of the customer facsimile machine, and means for displaying an arrangement image of one-touch buttons corresponding to the one-touch dial registered on the screen of the specified customer facsimile machine,
The dial information for each of the plurality of customer facsimile apparatuses can be registered from a remote location while checking the displayed one-touch button arrangement image .
Means for associating and storing a facsimile model of each of the plurality of customer facsimile apparatuses and an arrangement order of the one-touch buttons;
When confirming the arrangement of the one-touch buttons registered on the screen of the customer facsimile apparatus as the stored contents, the arrangement order of the one-touch buttons that differ depending on the facsimile model can be discriminated .
[0013]
That is, the facsimile remote maintenance apparatus of the present invention communicates with a partner customer facsimile apparatus via a control section that controls the entire system, an editing section that displays, edits, and updates various apparatus setting information, and a modem and a communication line. A communication control unit for performing communication, communication instruction information for instructing what kind of communication is performed when the control unit instructs the communication control unit to start communication, and the communication control unit to the control unit at the end of communication Communication result information for storing a communication result when notifying the end of communication and setting information storing various setting information for each customer facsimile apparatus that performs remote maintenance, and the setting information includes facsimile information and dialing Information, counter information, and maintenance setting information.
[0014]
More specifically, in the facsimile remote maintenance device according to the present invention, when information such as a one-touch dial is created on a remote maintenance center terminal for a remote customer facsimile device, the control unit first activates the editing unit. .
[0015]
The editing unit displays the corresponding screen according to the facsimile information in the setting information, and further displays dial information. When a request for displaying a one-touch dial registration image (hereinafter referred to as a preview) is generated by the user, the editing unit specifies a layout for the one-touch dial / preview according to the model information included in the facsimile information. The one-touch dial information being edited is reflected there, and the registered contents can be visually confirmed.
[0016]
The first function of setting the model information in the setting information is that the operator of this apparatus registers the information on the screen displayed by the editing section when the operator correctly grasps the model of the corresponding customer facsimile apparatus. Set the model information in the information.
[0017]
The second effect of setting the model information in the setting information is that the communication control unit rewrites the facsimile information when the remote maintenance center terminal communicates with the partner customer facsimile machine and acquires the facsimile information. Set the information. However, even when the model information has already been set in the facsimile information, it is updated, and this action works mainly when the model is changed due to the replacement work of the customer facsimile apparatus.
[0018]
The third action for setting the model information in the setting information is to start communication from the partner customer facsimile machine side and let the remote maintenance center terminal collect the facsimile information. The communication control unit sets the model information by rewriting the facsimile information. This action is mainly started by the current maintenance staff when a new customer facsimile apparatus is installed.
[0019]
Thus, in the present invention, when editing the dial information for registration in the remote maintenance center terminal for setting the dial information etc. to the customer facsimile apparatus in the remote place, the one-touch dial and the speed dial are numbered. Registration of the user's intention and customer facsimile machine screen by displaying a simple registration image instead of preparing the same registration screen as the various facsimile screens at the remote maintenance center terminal. It is possible to prevent a difference from occurring in content and improve operability.
[0020]
Further, according to the present invention, even when the arrangement of the one-touch buttons is not common on the display screens of various facsimile apparatuses, it is possible to improve the expandability by sharing the simple display on the remote maintenance center terminal.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a facsimile remote maintenance apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the entire system including the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n. A remote maintenance center terminal 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a plurality of customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n via a public network 100.
[0022]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the remote maintenance center terminal 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the remote maintenance center terminal 1 includes a control unit 11, an editing unit 12, a communication control unit 13, and a setting information storage area 14, to which a modem 3 is connected.
[0023]
The control unit 11 controls the entire system, and the communication control unit 13 communicates with the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n via the modem 3 and a communication line (not shown). The control unit 11 sends to the communication control unit 13 communication instruction information 111 describing the detailed content when instructing communication, and the communication control unit 13 controls the communication result information 112 describing the detailed content when notifying the end of communication. Send to part 11.
[0024]
The editing unit 12 displays, edits, and updates setting information of various devices. The preview control unit 12a of the editing unit 12 controls display of the arrangement image of the one-touch buttons of the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n. The setting information storage area 14 stores various setting information of the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n, and holds the setting information for each use such as facsimile information 14a, dial information 14b, counter information 14c, and maintenance setting information 14d. is doing.
[0025]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of one-touch dial creation according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a one-touch button screen of a customer facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of the one touch button screen of the customer facsimile apparatus by one Example.
[0026]
6 is a diagram showing the configuration of facsimile information according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of communication instruction information according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication result information by.
[0027]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a one-touch button screen in which an unregistered part is inserted according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is an example of a remote maintenance center terminal registration screen in which an unregistered part is inserted according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a screen of a remote maintenance center registration terminal for inserting an unregistered portion according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0028]
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a one-touch dial registration screen according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 13 (a) is a diagram showing a 3 row × 5 column one-touch button arrangement, and FIG. 13 (b) is 4 rows × FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a four-row one-touch button arrangement, and FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a correspondence between model information and one-touch button arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0029]
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of preview execution according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of registration that cannot be displayed in a folded manner according to an embodiment of the present invention. An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0030]
When creating one-touch dial data at the remote maintenance center terminal 1, as shown in FIG. 3, the one-touch number A1, the abbreviated number A2, and the one-touch name A3 are registered. In the example of the first line in FIG. 3, the abbreviated number “# 000” is assigned to the one-touch number “000”, and the display name of the one-touch button on the facsimile screen is “Hokkaido branch” (A4). .
[0031]
Normally, 10 to 20 one-touch buttons can be registered for 10 to several tens of destination indexes on the facsimile screen, but the order of the one-touch buttons is not unified depending on the model. There is. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, for the operator who registers the one-touch dial data at the remote maintenance center terminal 1, whether the registration content as shown in FIG. 4 is registered (horizontal direction) or the registration as shown in FIG. It is difficult to understand whether the contents are registered (vertical direction).
[0032]
As shown in FIG. 9, when it is desired to insert the unregistered portion E1 and register it in the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n, when the one-touch dial data is created in the remote maintenance center terminal 1, FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, it is difficult to understand whether the blank part is inserted to create the unregistered part F1 or the blank part is inserted to create the unregistered part F2 as shown in FIG. Prepare a means to confirm.
[0033]
Specifically, a preview button G1 for confirming a registered image is installed on the one-touch dial registration screen of the remote maintenance center terminal 1 shown in FIG. The operator can confirm the screen image when registering the facsimile apparatus by editing on the one-touch dial registration screen and pressing the preview button G1 for confirming the registered image. At this time, a display space of 4 rows × 5 columns is prepared on the preview screen, and one-touch button arrangements that are different for each facsimile model are determined, and the valid locations and the invalid locations G2 and G3 are displayed separately.
[0034]
FIG. 13A shows a preview screen when the one-touch button display screens of the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n to be remotely maintained are arranged in ascending order of one-touch numbers in the horizontal direction in 3 rows × 5 columns. FIG. 13B shows a preview screen when the one-touch button display screens of the remote maintenance target customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n are arranged in ascending order of one-touch numbers in the vertical direction in 4 rows × 4 columns. Yes.
[0035]
Here, a means for specifying the model of the corresponding customer facsimile apparatus 2-1 to 2-n will be described. Identification information called facsimile information shown in FIG. 6 is associated with each customer facsimile apparatus 2-1 to 2-n registered in the remote maintenance center terminal 1, and the facsimile information includes facsimile number B1 and model information. B2 etc. are included.
[0036]
The first method for associating facsimile information with each customer facsimile apparatus 2-1 to 2-n registered in the remote maintenance center terminal 1 is when the operator of the remote maintenance center terminal 1 correctly grasps the facsimile information. The remote maintenance center terminal 1 performs screen input. When newly registering customer facsimile machines 2-1 to 2-n to be remotely maintained, or when changing various types of facsimile information including model information with respect to already registered facsimile information, together with the facsimile name, facsimile number, etc. Register the model information. At this time, the model information is registered by selecting one from the model list that can be supported by the remote maintenance center terminal 1.
[0037]
The second method is a method in which the remote maintenance center terminal 1 communicates with the counterpart customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n to acquire facsimile information. In this case, if the model of the facsimile machine to be remotely maintained is unknown, first, provisional registration is first performed in the remote maintenance center terminal 1 using temporary model information. 2 and 6 to 8, the control unit 11 writes “facsimile information” in the data type C <b> 1 of the communication instruction information 111 and instructs the communication control unit 13 to start communication.
[0038]
Upon receiving the communication start instruction, the communication control unit 13 reads the facsimile information from the partner customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n based on the communication instruction information 111. The read facsimile information is stored in various setting information. When the reading is completed, the communication control unit 13 updates the model information D1 of the communication result information and notifies the control unit 11 of the end of communication. Receiving the communication end notification, the control unit 11 changes the model information B2 in the facsimile information.
[0039]
The third method is a method in which communication is started from the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n and the remote maintenance center terminal 1 collects facsimile information. When a new customer facsimile machine is installed, the current maintenance staff calls the remote maintenance center terminal 1 to make a new facsimile registration request. The communication control unit 13 of the remote maintenance center terminal 1 determines whether the customer facsimile apparatus that has requested new facsimile registration is an apparatus that can be remotely maintained by the G3 facsimile initial procedure, and starts communication. After the communication is completed, the model information in the facsimile information is changed as in the second method.
[0040]
As shown in FIG. 14, the registered model information and the one-touch button arrangements of the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n are associated with each other as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, preview display is realized. For example, when the customer facsimile devices 2-1 to 2-n whose preview buttons are pressed are “model B” (H1), “4 rows × 4 columns” from the model identification information are arranged in ascending order of one-touch numbers in the horizontal direction. can do.
[0041]
Furthermore, one-touch buttons displayed on the screens of the customer facsimile devices 2-1 to 2-n can be mixed with full-width characters and half-width characters. Full-width characters cannot be registered from the end of the first line to the first half-width character equivalent area of the second line. In this case, as shown in FIG. 16, this point can also be confirmed on the preview screen of the present invention, so that erroneous settings can be reduced.
[0042]
In addition, by incorporating higher functions, the same user interface as the screens of the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n is prepared in the remote maintenance center terminal 1, and the same registration operation as that of the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n is performed. Although it is possible to adopt the method, it is desirable to reduce the system load as much as possible in the data creation / editing work on the remote maintenance center terminal 1.
[0043]
Even during data creation / registration work on the remote maintenance center terminal 1, communication is performed with the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n in the background. During this time, the communication control unit 13 communicates with the modem 3 while performing data processing. If the load on the foreground side increases, the processing capability on the background side decreases, which may cause communication and abnormalities. Therefore, a method of confirming with a simple preview screen as in the present invention is optimal in this system.
[0044]
According to the present invention, when one-touch dial data is created at the remote maintenance center terminal 1 and is remotely registered in the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n, how is registered on the screen of the customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n. Therefore, registration can be performed as intended by the user, and operability can be improved.
[0045]
Furthermore, since it is possible to easily cope with customer facsimile apparatuses 2-1 to 2-n having display screens with different one-touch button arrangement orders, it is possible to improve expandability.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the facsimile remote maintenance apparatus of the present invention is a facsimile remote maintenance apparatus for registering at least one-touch dial information to a customer facsimile apparatus from a remote location using a telephone line. By displaying the one-touch button layout image corresponding to the one-touch dial registered to the user, and making it possible to operate while checking the displayed one-touch button layout image, there is a difference between the user's intention and the registered contents of the facsimile screen. As a result, the operability can be improved.
[0047]
Another facsimile remote maintenance apparatus of the present invention stores the facsimile model of the customer facsimile machine and the arrangement order of the one-touch buttons in association with each other, and is registered on the screen of the customer facsimile machine based on the stored contents. By making it possible to determine the order of one-touch buttons that differ depending on the facsimile model when checking the one-touch button arrangement image, even if the one-touch button arrangement is not common, simple display on the remote maintenance center terminal is made common Therefore, the effect that expandability can be improved is obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a facsimile remote maintenance apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a remote maintenance center terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of creating a one-touch dial according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a one-touch button screen of a customer facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a view showing another example of the one-touch button screen of the customer facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of facsimile information according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of communication instruction information according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a structure of communication result information according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a view showing a one-touch button screen in which an unregistered portion is inserted according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a registration screen of a remote maintenance center terminal for inserting an unregistered portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a registration screen of a remote maintenance center terminal for inserting an unregistered part according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a one-touch dial registration screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13A is a diagram showing a 3-row × 5-column one-touch button arrangement, and FIG. 13B is a diagram showing a 4-row × 4-column one-touch button arrangement.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence between model information and one-touch button arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of preview execution according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a registration example that cannot be displayed in a folded manner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 remote maintenance center terminals 2-1 to 2-n customer facsimile apparatus 3 modem 11 control unit 12 editing unit 13 communication control unit 14 setting information 14a facsimile information 14b dial information 14c counter information 14d maintenance setting information 100 public line network 111 communication instruction Information 112 Communication result information

Claims (1)

Order of the one-touch button for each facsimile models the dial information of at least the one-touch dial for the different customers facsimile apparatus each a facsimile remote maintenance device to be registered using the telephone line from a remote location,
Means for specifying a facsimile model of the customer facsimile apparatus, and means for displaying an arrangement image of one-touch buttons corresponding to the one-touch dial registered on the screen of the specified customer facsimile apparatus,
The dial information for each of the plurality of customer facsimile apparatuses can be registered from a remote location while checking the displayed one-touch button arrangement image .
Means for associating and storing a facsimile model of each of the plurality of customer facsimile apparatuses and an arrangement order of the one-touch buttons;
Facsimile remote maintenance device characterized in that the arrangement order of the one-touch buttons that differ depending on the facsimile model can be discriminated when confirming the arrangement image of the one-touch buttons registered on the screen of the customer facsimile device. .

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