JPS6134712B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an information storage and conversion device such as a facsimile machine.

The information storage and conversion device encodes information such as facsimiles received from multiple terminals, stores it in a large-capacity storage unit, decodes it with redundancy expansion, and transmits it to a designated line. It is possible to provide communications, information guidance, confidential communications, etc., and between the above information storage and conversion devices, information such as facsimiles can be encoded with redundancy reduction and converted into digital information over a data line in a short time. This makes it possible to transmit information between two long-distance facsimile terminals accommodated in a telephone network in a significantly shorter time than when redundancy suppression coding is not performed, and it is possible to transmit information between two long-distance facsimile terminals accommodated in a telephone network. It has the advantage that there is no need to hold it for a long time, and the cost of long-distance transmission can be reduced. Therefore, there is a need for such an information storage and conversion device that has never existed before, but this device must include a terminal (line) control device, a redundancy reduction encoding and decompression decoding device, a large-capacity storage device, etc. It requires a wide range of treatments. If the control of each device is performed by a central processing unit, as is generally done in the past for devices that perform a wide variety of processes, the amount of processing will increase, and the processing load on the central processing unit will be reduced. It has long been known that processes that require real-time performance or processes that are complicated to control should be implemented using wired logic, and that relatively sophisticated processes that involve each device should be executed by a central processing unit. However, as the required processing becomes more complex, the amount of hardware in the wired logic portion increases.

The present invention provides the above-mentioned novel information storage and conversion device such as a facsimile machine, and furthermore, there is a connection between the redundancy suppression encoding device and the large-capacity auxiliary storage section, and between the large-capacity auxiliary storage section and the redundancy expansion decoding device. The purpose of this invention is to reduce the amount of hardware and reduce the load on the central processing unit by providing a buffer for encoded information and operating each of the above devices under distributed control using mutually independent programs.

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

The figure is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, 1 is a central control unit, 2 is a large-capacity auxiliary storage unit, 3 is a reception tonal signal control unit, 4 is a transmission tonal signal control unit, 5 is a redundancy suppression coding unit and a reception side buffer unit, and 6 7 is a redundancy expansion decoding unit and a transmitting side buffer unit, 7 is an inter-station transfer unit, and 8 is a redundancy expansion decoding unit and a transmitting side buffer unit.
9 indicates a receiving line, 9 indicates a transmitting line, and 10 indicates an interoffice line.

Lines 8 and 9 are coupled to a switched telephone network, and facsimile terminals housed in the switched telephone network can be connected to said lines 8 or 9 via the switched telephone network.

Now, a facsimile terminal makes a call, dials a special number, and is connected to one of the receiving lines 8 via the telephone switching network. When a facsimile terminal is connected, a synchronization signal is sent as is well known, and the reception tonal signal control unit 3 then performs tonal signal control. When the terminal starts transmitting and facsimile information is sent, the line is connected. The received information is branched from 8 and received by a redundancy reduction encoding unit and a buffer unit 5, and the received information is redundancy reduction encoded in the redundancy reduction encoding unit and stored in the buffer unit. This stored encoded information is then transferred to the large-capacity auxiliary storage section 2 and stored therein.

When transmitting, the destination facsimile terminal is connected to one of the calling and transmitting lines 9 via the telephone switching network. The transmission tonal signal control unit 4 sends out a synchronization signal in a well-known manner, and if it responds, further tonal signal control is performed, and when it is confirmed that the destination terminal is ready for reception, the large-capacity auxiliary storage unit 2 The encoded information stored in is transferred to the redundancy expansion decoding section and the transmission buffer section of the transmission buffer section 6. Then, the information transferred and stored in the transmission buffer section is subjected to redundancy expansion decoding in the redundancy expansion decoding section, and is sent to the line 9.

Note that if the destination facsimile terminal is located far away and a facsimile information storage and conversion device similar to the one shown in the figure is installed nearby, the encoded facsimile information stored in the large-capacity auxiliary storage unit 2 is transferred to the interoffice transfer section 7 of the other party's facsimile information storage and conversion device via the interoffice transfer section 7 and the interoffice line (data line) 10, and further transferred and stored as is in the large capacity auxiliary storage section of the other party. Note that the facsimile information once stored in the large-capacity auxiliary storage section is transmitted to the receiving terminal in the same manner as described above.

In the above, tonal signal control during transmission and reception, reception and redundancy reduction encoding of facsimile information, redundancy expansion decoding of redundancy reduction encoded facsimile information, or reception or transmission buffer unit and large-capacity auxiliary storage The reception tonal signal control section 3 and the transmission tonal signal control section 4 are each provided with independent signal control processors, and a redundancy suppression equalization section and a reception buffer section 5. By providing independent data processors in the redundancy expansion/decoding section, the transmission buffer section 6, and the inter-office transfer section 7, each program can be executed by an independent program without imposing a processing load on the central processing section. Ru.

Note that storage services, such as information guidance, are performed by storing the information to be guided in advance in a large-capacity auxiliary storage unit, and having the terminal receive this information in the same manner as above upon request from the terminal, and broadcast communication is also performed. Information sent from a terminal is stored in a large-capacity auxiliary storage unit using the same operation as described above, and this content is transmitted to multiple designated terminals. Confidential communication is also performed using facsimile information storage and conversion. This is possible by confirming the recipient during the tonal signal control process when starting transmission from the device.

According to the present invention, various storage services such as information guidance, broadcast communication, and confidential communication can be provided in facsimile communication, and long-distance transmission costs can be reduced by providing an interoffice transfer section. The present invention provides an information storage and conversion device such as a facsimile machine that is capable of processing information, and furthermore, each part of the information storage and conversion device is controlled in a distributed manner by an independent program, thereby reducing the processing load on the central processing unit and increasing the amount of hardware. It has the effect of not having to do so.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figure is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. 1...Central control unit, 2...Large capacity auxiliary storage unit,
3... Reception tonal signal control section, 4... Transmission tonal signal control section, 5... Redundancy suppression coding section and reception side buffer section, 6... Redundancy expansion decoding section and transmission side buffer section, 7... Inter-office transfer unit, 8... Receiving line, 9... Transmitting line, 10...
Interoffice line.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A receiving and transmitting tonal signal control unit that controls the terminal before transmitting and receiving facsimile information to and from the line connected to the facsimile terminal, and a receiving and transmitting tonal signal control unit that receives facsimile information sent from the terminal and processes it. A redundancy suppression coding unit that performs redundancy suppression coding, a receiving side buffer unit that stores information that has been redundancy suppression coded in the redundancy suppression coding unit, and a receiving side buffer unit that transfers the information stored in the receiving side buffer unit. a large-capacity auxiliary storage section that stores information such as redundancy reduction encoded facsimile data that can be received and stored; a large-capacity auxiliary storage section that receives and stores information stored in the large-capacity auxiliary storage section; a transmitting side buffer section, and a redundancy expansion decoding section for redundancy expansion decoding of the information stored in the buffer section and sending the redundancy expansion decoding section to a designated line, and a processor for the reception tonal signal control section. and a processor for the transmission tonal signal control section, a processor for the redundancy suppression encoding section and the reception side buffer section, and a processor for the redundancy expansion decoding section and the transmission side buffer section,
An information storage and conversion device such as a facsimile machine, wherein each of the processors is controlled by mutually independent programs.