JPH0548655B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a facsimile device, and more particularly to a facsimile device that communicates with a facsimile device that has a limit on the maximum length of recording paper.

[Prior art] In a facsimile device that communicates with a facsimile device that uses sheet paper or cut paper as the recording paper, and has a limit on the maximum length of the recording paper, conventionally, a line corresponding to the maximum length of the recording paper on the receiving side is used. When image information of the number, ie, the number of main scanning lines, is transmitted, control is performed such that that point is used as a page break. In this case, regardless of the content of the image information, a page break was made when a predetermined number of lines of image information was sent, so the image information at the break of the page was shredded, making the recording extremely difficult to read. There is a drawback. This situation is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 1A shows a document 1 on the sending side. It is assumed that the document 1 is a long document, and its image information continues without a break, or, as shown in the figure, there is a break in the image information at a portion unrelated to the recording paper length of the receiving device with which communication is to be attempted.

In such a case, on the receiving side, recording is performed on recording sheets 2, 3, and 4 as shown in FIG. 1B.

In other words, the sending device specifies page breaks for each predetermined line and sends the image information according to the maximum recording length of the receiving device recognized in the pre-transmission procedure.
In some cases, a line at a break in the transmitted image information is recorded in two separate pages.
For example, in the image information of the original shown in FIG. 1A, the line "Aiu..." corresponds to the cut of the recording paper on the receiving side, so it is recorded across the recording papers 2 and 3. Therefore, in this case, the subsequent processing of the recording paper on the receiving side becomes troublesome.

[Objective] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile apparatus in which image information is not divided at inappropriate locations.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 2A and 2B schematically illustrate image information transmission according to the present invention.

FIG. 2A shows a document 1 to be transmitted in the facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

This original 1, like the original 1 shown in FIG. 1A, has breaks in image information that are unrelated to the recording paper length on the receiving side.

In the device of the present invention, if there is a limit on the maximum length of the recording paper of the receiving facsimile device, the maximum length of the recording paper and the number of lines corresponding to it are recognized, and the number of lines actually transmitted is the number of lines corresponding to the maximum length. When a certain percentage is exceeded, the content of the image information is checked until the number of lines actually sent reaches the number of lines corresponding to the maximum length, and when a break in the information is detected, that point is treated as a page break. , so that the remaining image information is transmitted as the next page information.

As a result, the image information of manuscript 1 in Figure 2A is “123
A page change is performed immediately after "...", and the image information "Aiu..." of document 1, which was conventionally sent in parts, is transferred to recording paper 5 as shown in Figure 2B.
printed on.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

The one designated by the reference numeral 10 in Fig. 3 uses the telephone network for data communication, etc., so it can be connected to the terminal of the line to control the connection of the telephone exchange network, or to switch to a data communication path. This is a well-known network control unit (NCU) that performs loop maintenance or loop maintenance. A signal line 10a is connected to the input of this network control device 10. This signal line 10a is usually a transmission path such as a telephone line.

A mode switching circuit 12 is connected to the subsequent stage of the network control device 10 via a signal line 10b. The mode switching circuit 12 is composed of a known hybrid circuit, etc., and switches the operation mode between a reception mode and a transmission mode. '', the mode is set to transmit, and when the signal on the signal line 34a is at level "0", the mode is set to receive. In the transmission mode, the transmission signal of the signal line 32a is transmitted to the mode switching circuit 1.
2 to the signal line 10b, and is output to the network control device 1.
0 to the line. Further, in the reception mode, a signal received via the network control device 10 is outputted from the signal line 10b, via the mode switching circuit 12, to the signal line 12a.

Also, the one indicated by the symbol 14 is the signal line 1
2a reception signal is input and demodulates this signal in accordance with the CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee) Recommendation 21. The demodulated signal is sent to the signal line 14.
It is output to the signal analysis circuit 16 via a.

The signal analysis circuit 16 analyzes the demodulated output of the signal line 14a, and analyzes the binary signal transmitted from the other party. When receiving a DIS (digital identification) signal among the signals conforming to CCITT recommendation T30, the signal analysis circuit 16 generates a pulse on the signal line 16a. The DIS signal is the standard CCITT when the called device
This is a signal indicating that it is a function.

This DIS signal has a FIF (facsimile information field), and information on the 19th and 20th bits thereof is output to signal lines 16b and 16c. The information in this area indicates the recording paper size on the receiving side, and if both of these two bits are "0", the maximum length of the recording paper is A4 size (297 mm). Also, 19
If the 20th and 20th bits are "1" and "0", respectively, the maximum recording paper length is B4 size (364
mm).

Furthermore, when the signal analysis circuit 16 receives a CFR (reception readiness confirmation) signal, it generates a pulse on the signal line 16d. The CFR signal is a response signal that confirms that all pre-message procedures have been completed and that it is okay to start transmitting a message, that is, image information.

Furthermore, when the signal analysis circuit 16 receives an FTT signal, it generates a pulse on the signal line 16e.
The FTT signal is an optional response signal that removes all or part of the pre-message procedure and requests training for G3 (Group 3) modulation systems.

The output signals of the signal analysis circuit 16 described above are input to a control circuit 34, which will be described later, via each signal line.

The control circuit 34 is composed of a microprocessor or its peripheral memory elements, and is connected to the image quality mode detection circuit 18 via a signal line 18a. The image quality mode detection circuit 18 detects the image quality mode set by the operator, and is composed of a known switch input circuit that detects the state of a selection switch provided on an operation panel or the like. When the standard mode is selected as the image quality mode, the image quality mode detection circuit 18 sets the signal line 18a to the level "0", and when the high image quality, so-called fine mode, is selected, the signal line 18a is set to the level "1". Make it.

The control circuit 34 also includes signal lines 34b and 34c.
A counter circuit 20 is connected via 20a and 20a. This counter circuit 20 is a control circuit 34
It is reset to "0" when a pulse is generated on the signal line 34b, and is incremented by 1 when a pulse is generated on the signal line 34c. The count value of the counter circuit 20 is output to the signal line 20a.

Further, a document size detection circuit 36 is connected to the control circuit 34 via a signal line 36a. The original size detection circuit 36 is a well-known detection circuit composed of a photo interrupter or the like provided at a predetermined position on the original table. When the set original is A4, the signal line 36a is set to level "0", and when the set original is When the original is B4, the signal line 36a is set to level "1".

Further, a document presence/absence detection circuit 38 is connected to the control circuit 34 via a signal line 38a. The document presence/absence detection circuit 38 detects whether or not there is a document to be transmitted using a detector such as a photo interrupter provided a predetermined distance before the image reading position. When the original exists at the detection position, the original presence/absence detection circuit 38 sets the signal line 38a to level "1", and when there is no original, sets the signal line 38a to level "0". That is, when a document is set on the conveyance system, control is performed such that the document is detected by the document presence/absence detection circuit 38, and then the document is fed for a certain length before reading of the document is started. Further, the rear end of the document is controlled so that a certain length of information is read after the document is no longer detected by the document presence/absence detection circuit 38. This predetermined distance is 3 cm in this embodiment. As a supplementary note in relation to the control described below, if there is a limit on the maximum length of the recording paper on the receiving side, the control device 34 determines the number of lines corresponding to the maximum length. Then, when the number of lines actually sent is counted and exceeds the number of lines corresponding to the maximum length minus the number of lines equivalent to 3 cm, the length of the document is longer than the maximum length of the recording paper. I recognize that.

On the other hand, the image of the original is captured by a known scanner section 26 comprising a known CCD sensor, an optical system, etc.
Read by The read image signals are sequentially output line by line to the signal line 26a. This scanner section 26 is connected to the control device 34 by a signal line 26b,
26c and 34f. 1
When reading of the line is completed, the scanner section 26 generates a pulse on the signal line 26b. Further, the scanner section 26 outputs a level "1" signal to the signal line 26c when the read line is completely white. The signal on the signal line 26c is cleared when a pulse is generated on the signal line 34f,
It is set to "0".

The image signal read by the scanner section 26 is encoded by a known encoder 28 according to a predetermined method. For example, as an encoding method,
Possible methods include the MH (Modified Huffman) encoding method described in CCITT Recommendation T4. The encoded signal is output to signal line 28a. The encoder 28 also sends out an RTC (return to control) signal. When the control device 34 generates a pulse on the signal line 34g, the RTC signal is transmitted after the encoding of the line currently being processed is completed.

The encoded image signal is modulated by a modulator 30 according to a known method. As a modulation method
Transport modulation or quadrature modulation as described in CCITT Recommendations V27ter to V29 can be considered. The modulated output is output to the adder 32 via the signal line 30a.

The adder 32 adds the following control signal and image signal, and outputs the added signal to the mode switching circuit 12 via the signal line 32a.

Reference numeral 22 designates a DCS signal sending circuit, which outputs the generated DCS signal to the adder 32 via the signal line 22a when a pulse is generated on the signal line 34d by the control device 34. .
The DCS signal is a digital configuration command signal responsive to the standard functions identified by the DIS signal described above.

Further, reference numeral 24 indicates a training/TCF signal sending circuit, and similarly, signal line 34e
When a pulse is generated, a training and TCF signal is sent to the adder 32 via the signal line 24a. The training signal is mainly used for adjusting the modem of the receiving device.
The TCF signal is a signal for confirming the success or failure of the training.

In the above configuration, the control circuit 34 performs control as outlined below.

First, in the pre-message procedure, if there is a limit on the maximum length of recording paper on the receiving side, the maximum length is
Determine whether it is equivalent to A4 or B4. Further, the image quality mode detection circuit 18 detects whether the image quality mode selected by the operator is standard mode or fine mode, and thereby recognizes the number of scanning lines corresponding to the maximum recording paper length on the receiving side. Further, based on this mode information, the number of lines corresponding to the distance of 3 cm between the detection position of the document presence detection circuit 38 and the document reading position is recognized. The control device 34 also includes the document size detection circuit 3.
6 detects whether the document width is A4 or B4. The relationship between the recording paper length, document size, and the corresponding number of lines is shown in the table of FIG.

In Figure 4, the columns A indicate the maximum recording paper length of the receiving device, the B column indicates the transmission mode selected by the operator, the C column indicates the document size, and the D column indicates the number of lines corresponding to the maximum recording paper length. be. Further, the E column is the number of lines corresponding to 3 cm, and the F column is (D)-(E), that is, the value obtained by subtracting the number of lines corresponding to 3 cm from the number of lines corresponding to the maximum length.

For example, if the maximum recording paper length is A4, as shown in the diagram,
In the corresponding case, the number of lines corresponding to the maximum length is 1143 in standard mode and 2287 in fine mode.
The number of lines equivalent to 3 cm is the original size.
It differs depending on whether it is A4 or B4 as shown in the diagram. As a result, the values in column F are different.

The value in column F in FIG. 4 corresponds to the number of lines in one page that can be transmitted, and once this value is calculated, the control device 34 stores this value in a predetermined area of the memory. For convenience, this area will be labeled below as TLINE (number of transmission lines).

Then, when transmitting the image information, it is checked whether the remaining originals are detected by the original presence/absence detection circuit 38 when the number of lines stored in the area TLINE is sent, and if no originals are detected, the remaining originals are detected. Send the image information continuously. Also, if a document is detected here, an RTC signal is sent as a page break when a boundary between the image information of the document is detected, that is, a completely white line, until the number of lines equivalent to 3 cm is transmitted. do. The remaining image information is then transmitted as image information for the next page.

In addition, when the number of lines stored in the area TLINE is sent, if the original still exists and a break in the image information cannot be detected within 3 cm, the remaining 3 cm of image information will be sent. Sends an RTC signal to mark a page break.

The control flow of the above control circuit 34 is shown in FIG.
It is shown as a flowchart diagram in B and C. However, it is assumed that the flow is continuous in the locations with the same numbers in FIG. 5A, B, and C.

In step S40 of FIG. 5A, the control circuit 34 outputs a signal level "0" to the signal line 34a, that is, sets the mode of the mode switching circuit 12 to the reception mode.

In step S42, it is determined whether a pulse has occurred on the signal line 16a, that is, whether a DIS signal transmitted from the receiving facsimile device has been received. If a pulse is generated on the signal line 16a, that is, if a DIS signal is being transmitted from the other party, the process moves to step S44. If the DIS signal has not been transmitted, step S42 is repeated to wait for the DIS signal to be transmitted.

In step S44, the level "1" is set on the signal line 34a.
is output, that is, the operation mode of the mode switching circuit 12 is set to the transmission mode, and then the step
In S46, a pulse is generated on the signal line 34d to cause the DCS signal sending circuit 22 to transmit the DCS signal.

Next, in step S48, a pulse is generated on the signal line 34e, that is, the training/TCF signal sending circuit 24 transmits the training and TCF signals.

In step S50, level "0" is output to the signal line 34a, that is, the mode switching circuit 12
Set to receive mode.

Steps S52 to S60 are a routine for checking the output of the signal analysis circuit 16 and determining the procedure signal transmitted from the other party.

In step S52, it is checked whether or not a pulse is generated on the signal line 16e, or whether it is transmitted from the receiving side.
Determine whether an FTT signal has been received. If a pulse is generated on the signal line 16e, that is, if an FTT signal is received, the process returns to step S44. Also,
If no FTT signal is received, step S54
Proceed to.

In step S54, it is determined whether a pulse is generated on the signal line 16d, that is, whether a CFR signal is being transmitted from the receiving device. If the CFR signal has been received, the process advances to step S56; if the CFR signal has not been received, the process returns to step S42.

At step S56, the signal line 16c is at level "1".
In other words, check the FIF information of the DIS signal,
Determine whether there is any limit to the maximum length of recording paper in the receiving device. If the signal line 16c is at level "1", that is, there is no limit to the maximum length of the recording paper, the process advances to step S58. If the signal line 16c is at level "0", that is, if the maximum length of the recording paper is limited, the process advances to step S60.

In step S58, since the receiving device uses recording paper such as roll paper and there is no limit to the maximum length of the recording paper, a normal transmission operation is performed.

In step S60, by similarly checking whether the signal line 16d is at level "1",
It determines the FIF information of the DIS signal and determines whether the maximum length of the recording paper is B4 size (length 364 mm). If the maximum recording paper length is B4, step S84
Proceed to. Also, if this step is denied,
In other words, if the signal line 16d is at level "0" and the maximum recording paper length is A4 (length 297 mm), then Fig. 5B
Proceed to step S62.

At step S62 in FIG. 5B, the output of the image quality mode detection circuit 18 is checked to detect the image quality mode. That is, it is checked whether the signal line 18a is at level "1", that is, whether the image quality mode is set to fine mode. If the fine mode is selected, the process advances to step S64, and if the standard mode is selected and the signal line 18a is at level "0", the process advances to step S74.

In step S64, the document size detection circuit 3
The set document size is detected by checking the output of step 6. That is, by checking whether the signal line 36a is at level "1", it is detected whether a B4 original is set. Signal line 3
If the level 6a is "1", that is, a B4 original is set, the process advances to step S66. If this step is negative, that is, if an A4 document is set and the signal line 36a is at level "0", the process moves to step S70.

In step S66, since the document is B4, the number of lines 185 (see FIG. 4) corresponding to 3 cm is stored in the memory area T3LINE.
T3LINE is also a label similar to the above, and the number of lines corresponding to 3 cm is stored here.

Next, in step S68, the number of lines 2102 (in the case of document B4: see Figure 4), which is the number of lines corresponding to the maximum length of the recording paper on the receiving side minus the number of lines corresponding to 3 cm, is stored in the memory area TLINE. .

In step S70, since the document is A4, 231 lines corresponding to 3 cm are stored in the area T3LINE,
Next, in step S72, the number of lines corresponding to 3 cm is subtracted from the number of lines corresponding to the maximum length of the recording paper, 2059.
is stored in the area TLINE.

On the other hand, if step S62 is negative, that is, if standard mode is selected, step
Proceeding to S74, the size of the document is detected by checking the state of the signal line 36a as described above. If the document is B4, the process moves to step S76 and the area is
Store 92 lines corresponding to 3cm in T3LINE,
Next, in step S78, the number of lines 1051 corresponding to the maximum length of the recording paper minus 3 cm is set to the area TLINE.
Store in.

Further, in step S74, if the signal line 36a is at level "0" and the document is A4, the process moves to step S80, and the number of lines corresponding to 3 cm is stored in the area T3LINE. Subsequently, in step S82, the number of lines 1027 corresponding to the maximum length of the recording paper minus 3 cm is stored in the area TLINE.

If step S60 in FIG. 5A is negative, the process moves to step S84, where the state of the signal line 18a is checked and the image quality mode is detected. Step S84
If the signal line 18a is at level "1", it is the fine mode, and the process moves to step S86. Also, if the setting mode is standard mode, the step
Move to S90.

In step S90, the recording paper length of the other party is B4 and the standard mode is selected, so the area T3LINE
116 is stored in (see Figure 4). Furthermore, in the following step S92, 1285 is stored in the area TLINE.

On the other hand, in step S86, the other party's recording paper is B4 and the fine mode is selected, so the area
231 is stored in T3INE, and in the following step S88, 2572 is stored in area TLINE.

As described above, in steps S62 to S88, the number of lines corresponding to 3 cm of the document and 3 cm from the maximum recording paper length are determined.
The area is the number of lines corresponding to the length minus cm.
After storing in T3LINE and TLINE respectively,
Proceed to step S94.

In step S94, a pulse is generated on the signal line 34b, that is, the counter circuit 20 is cleared.

Next, in step S96, the process waits until the signal line 38a becomes level "1", that is, checks the output of the document presence/absence detection circuit 38, and detects whether or not the document has been conveyed 3 cm before the reading position of the scanner unit 26. . If a document is detected by the document presence/absence detection circuit 38, the process moves to step S98.

In step S98, the document is conveyed by the number of lines corresponding to T3LINE, and the leading edge position of the document is aligned with the reading position of the scanner unit 26.

Next, in step S100, level "1" is output to the signal line 34a, that is, the mode switching circuit 12
Set the mode to transmit mode.

In step S102 of FIG. 5C, the signal line 26b
Wait for a pulse to occur. In other words, it waits until the scanner section 26 finishes reading one line of the image of the original. When one line of the image is read and a pulse is generated on the signal line 26b, the step
Move to S104.

In step S104, a pulse is generated on the signal line 34c, and the counter circuit 20 is incremented by one. Next, in step S106, it is determined whether the count value of the signal line 20a exceeds the contents of the area TLINE. That is, it is determined whether the number of lines actually transmitted exceeds the value obtained by subtracting the number of lines corresponding to 3 cm from the number of lines corresponding to the maximum length of recording paper on the receiving side. If this step is negative, the process returns to step S102 and a new line is read.

If step S106 is affirmative, that is,
If the number of lines actually transmitted exceeds the value obtained by subtracting the number of lines corresponding to 3 cm from the number of lines corresponding to the maximum length of recording paper on the receiving side, the process moves to step S108.

In step S108, the output of the document presence/absence detection circuit 38 is checked to see if there are any documents larger than 3 cm remaining. That is, the image information of the number of lines corresponding to the maximum length of the recording paper minus 3 cm has already been transmitted, and as mentioned above, the detection section of the document presence detection circuit 38 is installed 3 cm before the reading position. In other words, it is determined whether the document is longer than the maximum length of the recording paper. Here, if the signal line 38a is at level "1", that is, if the length of the set document is longer than the maximum recording paper length, the process moves to step S112, whereas if it is short, the information of the remaining documents is sent. Therefore, the process moves to step S110 and the transmission operation is performed in the same way as usual.

In step S112, a pulse is generated on the signal line 34b to clear the count value of the counter circuit 20.

Subsequently, in step S114, the signal line 34f
A pulse is generated, that is, all white information on the signal line 26c is cleared.

Next, in step S116, the process waits until the reading of one line is completed and a pulse is generated on the signal line 26d. When the reading of one line is completed, the process moves to step S118.

At step S118, the signal line 26c is at level "1"
In other words, it is determined whether or not an all-white line has been detected. If all white lines are read, step
The process moves to step S120, and if the read line is not completely white, the process moves to step S124.

In step S120, a completely white line is detected, so this is the page break and signal line 34g is detected.
A pulse is generated to cause the encoder 28 to transmit an RTC signal as soon as the encoding of the line being processed is completed, and then, in step S122, the process moves to transmit the image information of the next page as in the known method.

If step S118 is negative, the process moves to step S124, where a pulse is generated on the signal line 34c and the counter circuit 20 is incremented by one.

Next, in step S126, the state of the signal line 20a is checked, and it is determined whether the count value of the counter circuit 20 exceeds the number of lines corresponding to 3 cm of recording paper stored in T3LINE.

If step S126 is affirmed, step
The process moves to S120, transmits an RTC signal, and moves to the next page. If step S126 is negative, the process returns to step S116 to read the next line.

As described above, when the maximum length of recording paper is limited, the image information at the page break can be sent all together on one page without dividing it into two pages. becomes very easy to process. In particular, in the above embodiment, the break in the image information is searched for in a section with a length equivalent to 3 cm in recording paper length, so in a manuscript such as a normal document, most of the image information is divided over two pages. There is no.

In the embodiments described above, the maximum recording paper length on the receiving side is recognized using the DIS signal, but it is also possible to recognize the maximum recording paper length using other procedure signals. This applies to communications using Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation's facsimile communication network. In this case, the maximum recording paper length on the receiving side may be recognized using a specific tonal procedure.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the length of the recording paper is 3 cm as the section for checking the boundaries of the image information.
It may be set to other lengths. Further, although one all-white line is assumed as the standard for dividing information, other standards may be set. For example 2
If a completely white line larger than the line is detected, that point may be used as a break in the information.

[Effects] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, in a facsimile device that communicates with a facsimile device that has a limit on the maximum length of the recording paper, there is a means for detecting the maximum length of the recording paper of the receiving side device. , a means for counting the number of operation lines of the image information actually transmitted, and a means for detecting a break in the image information, and the counting means determines the number of lines of the recording paper detected by the maximum length of the recording paper detected by the maximum length of the recording paper. After transmitting the image information of a predetermined number of scanning lines, if a break in the image information is detected by the break detecting means, the image information after the break is transmitted as the image information of the next page. Therefore, it is possible to provide an excellent facsimile device in which image information is not divided at inappropriate locations even if there is a limit on the maximum recording paper length of the receiving device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams each showing the drawbacks of the conventional facsimile device, FIGS. 2A and B are explanatory diagrams each showing the state of communication according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration of the facsimile device of the present invention. 4 is a table diagram for explaining transmission control in the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 5A,
B and C are flowcharts illustrating the control procedure of the control device of FIG. 3. 12...Mode switching circuit, 16...Signal analysis circuit, 18...Picture quality mode detection circuit, 20...
Counter circuit, 22...DCS signal sending circuit, 2
4...Training/TCF signal transmission circuit, 26
... Scanner section, 34 ... Control device, 36 ...
Original size detection circuit, 38...original presence/absence detection circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A facsimile device that divides and transmits an original image onto a plurality of sheets of recording paper, comprising: a first detection means for detecting the number of main scanning lines of the original image; and a recording device capable of recording in accordance with the recording paper size of a receiver. a second detection means for detecting the number of lines; and when the length of the original image exceeds the recordable length, the number of recordable lines is greater than or equal to a predetermined number of lines counting from the first line of the original image and less than the recordable number of lines; The following range is defined as a divided area, and when an invalid image line is detected within the divided area, the original image is divided and transmitted at the position of the detected invalid image line, and the invalid image line cannot be detected within the divided area. A facsimile apparatus comprising a control means for dividing a document image into parts according to the number of recordable lines and transmitting the divided parts.