JPH0562854B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to facsimile transmission from a facsimile transmitter to a destination facsimile receiver via a store and forward device, and more particularly to reducing transmission delays in a store and forward device. .

Conventionally, when performing facsimile transmission via a storage and forwarding device, the storage and forwarding device receives one page or multiple pages of image information sent from the transmitter in one communication from the facsimile transmitter, and then It was designed to be sent to a facsimile receiver.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above-mentioned conventional facsimile storage and forwarding system, the image information sent from the facsimile transmitter is stored once in the storage and forwarding device, so if there is an error in the image information due to noise on the line, etc. Errors can be checked before sending to the facsimile receiver, and if there is an error in the image information sent to the facsimile receiver, unnecessary information will not be sent to the facsimile receiver, increasing efficiency. was planned.

However, in order to store all the image information from the facsimile transmitter for one page or one communication at once in the storage/exchange device, the image information sent from the facsimile transmission fee has to be stored for one page or one communication before it is sent to the facsimile receiver. The disadvantage is that there is a delay.

The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks inherent in the conventional technology, and therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel method capable of reducing the delay in transmitting image information that occurs in a storage/forwarding device. The purpose of this invention is to provide a facsimile storage and exchange system.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the facsimile storage and forwarding method according to the present invention includes a memory for storing a part of the image information sent from the facsimile transmission terminal in the storage and forwarding device. When a part of the image information is sent to the storage/exchange device, it is sent to the destination facsimile receiver without waiting for the image information for one page or one communication to be accumulated, reducing delay time. can be achieved. In addition, since the destination facsimile receiver has a processing unit that monitors the communication status of the destination facsimile receiver and a storage memory that accumulates the full-screen information sent from the facsimile transmitter, when the destination facsimile receiver is communicating with another facsimile sending terminal, However, all the image information from the facsimile transmitter is stored in the storage and forwarding device, and can be sent to the intended destination facsimile receiver later.

Embodiment Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, T.FAX is a sending facsimile terminal, R.FAX is a receiving facsimile terminal, and S/FAX is a receiving facsimile terminal.
F indicates a storage and forwarding device, and DISK indicates a magnetic disk storage device. Further, FIG. 2 shows the mutual signal sequence between the transmitting facsimile terminal T/FAX storage and forwarding device S/F and the receiving facsimile terminal R/FAX. In the figure, DCS is a start signal,
CFR indicates a response signal, PIX indicates an image information signal, EOP indicates a transmission end signal, and MCF indicates a completion confirmation signal.

First, the operations of the sending facsimile terminal T/FAX and the storage/forwarding device S/F will be explained. The transmitting facsimile terminal T/FAX sends an activation signal DCS containing destination information to the storage and forwarding device S/F before sending the image information signal PIX, and in response, when the storage preparation is completed, a signal from the storage and forwarding device S/F is sent. response signal
CFR is returned. Sending facsimile terminal T.
Upon receiving the response signal CFR from the storage/forwarding device S/F, the FAX confirms that reception preparation is complete and starts transmitting the image information signal PIX. When the sending facsimile terminal T/FAX sends out the image information signal PIX for one page, it sends the sending end signal EOP to the storage/exchange device S/F to notify the end of communication. The storage and forwarding device S/F is a transmitting facsimile terminal T.
In response to the sending end signal EOP from the fax, the sending facsimile terminal T sends out the end confirmation signal MCF, recognizes the end of communication, and indicates that the process has ended.
Notify by fax. The signals between the storage and forwarding device S/F and the receiving facsimile terminal R/FAX are also transmitted between the transmitting facsimile terminal T/FAX and the storing and forwarding device S/F.
The procedure is similar to that for the signal between F and F.

Next, the storage operation in the storage/forwarding device S/F will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of processing blocks within the storage and forwarding device. In the figure, T/FAX is a sending facsimile terminal, S/F is a storage and forwarding device,
R・FAX is a receiving facsimile terminal, T・CONT
indicates a transmitting terminal control section, R.CONT indicates a receiving terminal control section, PIX.CONT indicates an image information control section, PIX.TM indicates an image information temporary storage section, and DISK indicates a magnetic disk storage device.

Start signal from sending facsimile terminal T/FAX
When the DCS is sent, it is recognized by the transmitting terminal control unit T.CONT of the storage and forwarding device S/F, and an instruction to start reception preparation is issued to the image information control unit PIX.CONT. When the image information control unit PIX/CONT is ready to receive data, the image information control unit PIX/CONT will send a message to that effect.
CONT notifies the transmitting terminal control unit T・CONT of the completion report, and the transmitting terminal control unit T・CONT
sends a response signal CFR to the sending facsimile terminal T.FAX. At this point, an identifier for subsequently identifying this communication with other communications is determined by the transmitting facsimile terminal T.CONT. Thereafter, this identifier is given to signals exchanged between each processing block within the storage/forwarding device S/F. The transmitting terminal control unit T/CONT is the image information control unit PIX/CONT.
When receiving the reception preparation completion report from , it sends a request to the receiving terminal control unit R.CONT to activate the receiving facsimile terminal R.FAX specified by the activation signal DCS. The receiving terminal control unit R・CONT sends an activation signal DCS to the receiving facsimile terminal R・FAX in response to the activation request from the transmitting terminal control unit T・CONT.
When preparation for R.FAX reception is completed, a response signal CFR is received from the receiving facsimile terminal R.FAX.

On the other hand, the sending facsimile terminal T/FAX receives the response signal CFR from the sending terminal control unit T/CONT.
Next, sends the image information signal PIX to the storage/exchange device S/F. The image information signal PIX passes through the S/F transmitting terminal control unit T・CONT and the image information control unit PIX・CONT.
Conveyed to CONT. The image information control unit PIX・CONT, which receives the image information signal PIX,
is sent to the image information temporary storage unit PIX・TM for temporary storage, while a large capacity magnetic disk storage device
Also send to DISK. When the image information temporary storage section PIX.TM receives the image information signal PIX from the control section PIX.CONT, it returns position information in which the signal PIX is stored to the image information control section PIX.CONT. The control unit PIX・CONT is
Based on the storage completion information from the image information temporary storage section PIX.TM, the receiving terminal control section R.CONT is notified that the image information signal PIX has been stored in the temporary storage section PIX.TM. In the receiving terminal control unit R・CONT,
When the PIX/TM storage from the image information control unit PIX/CONT is completed, the image information signal PIX stored in the image information temporary storage unit PIX/TM is read out, and the PIX signal is sent to the receiving facsimile terminal R/FAX. conduct. When the receiving terminal control unit R/CONT sends the signal PIX stored in the temporary storage unit PIX/TM to the receiving facsimile terminal R/FAX, the PIX storage area of the image information temporary storage unit PIX/TM becomes empty. This makes it possible to store other image information signals PIX.

The image information signal PIX sent from the sending facsimile terminal T/FAX is not sent continuously, but is divided into blocks of several hundred bytes, and one page of the original is divided into multiple blocks and sent to the storage/exchange device S/F. Sent. The operation of the storage and forwarding device S/F is performed for each block, and the delay in the storage and forwarding device S/F can be set to one block.

When sending the image information signal PIX received from the sending facsimile terminal T/FAX to the destination R/FAX, if the sending facsimile terminal T/FAX is unable to receive data, the image information control unit PIX/CONT sends the image information signal PIX to the destination R/FAX. The image information signal PIX stored in the storage device DISK will be sent to the sending facsimile terminal R.FAX later.

When the transmission of the full picture information signal PIX from the sending facsimile terminal T/FAX is completed, the terminal T/FAX sends a transmission end signal EOP to the storage/forwarding device S/F to notify the end of communication. Transmission end signal EOP
is recognized by the transmitting terminal control unit T・CONT in the S/F, and notifies the image information control unit PIX・CONT of the end of the communication, while also notifying the receiving terminal control unit R・CONT of the end of the communication, and sends a notification to the facsimile terminal T.・
Sends a completion confirmation signal MCF to the fax. The image information control unit PIX/CONT will notify you of the termination by
The reception completion information is stored in the magnetic disk storage device DISK, and the image information signal PIX stored in the magnetic disk storage device DISK is protected. In addition, when the receiving terminal control unit T・CONT receives the termination notification,
The facsimile terminal R. receives unsent PIX signals stored in the image information temporary storage unit PIX.TM in sequence.
After sending the fax, send a sending end signal EOP to terminal R/FAX to notify the end of communication,
Communication is completed upon reception of the completion confirmation signal MCF from the receiving facsimile terminal R/TAX.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, a memory for storing part of the image information from the sending facsimile terminal is provided in the storage and forwarding device, the image information is stored in parts, and the receiving facsimile is sent in divided units. By sequentially transmitting the image information to the terminals, it is possible to reduce the delay in transmitting the image information that occurs in the storage and forwarding device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a signal sequence diagram between a store and forward device and a facsimile terminal for transmission and reception, and FIG. 3 is an example of processing blocks within the store and forward device. It is a diagram. S/F...Storage and forwarding device, T.CONT...Transmitting terminal control unit, T.FAX...Transmitting facsimile terminal, R.CONT...Receiving terminal control unit, R.
FAX...Receiving facsimile terminal, PIX/CONT
...Picture information control section, DISK...Magnetic disk storage device, PIX/TM...Picture information temporary storage section, DCS...
...start signal, CFR...response signal, PIX...picture information signal, EOP...transmission end signal, MCF...completion confirmation signal.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a facsimile network that transmits image information sent from a facsimile transmitter to a facsimile receiver via a storage and forwarding device, a part of the image information sent from a facsimile transmitting terminal is stored in the storage and forwarding device. A memory, a processing unit that monitors the status of the destination facsimile terminal, and a storage memory that stores all the image information from the facsimile transmitter when the destination facsimile terminal is communicating with another facsimile terminal are provided. If the facsimile terminal is not communicating with another facsimile terminal, wait for all the image information from the facsimile transmitter to be accumulated after some of the image information is sent to the storage/exchange device and stored in memory. This facsimile storage and exchange method is characterized in that part of the image information stored in the memory is sent to the destination facsimile receiver without any trouble.