JPH02104155A - data communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce user's labor for mode check and mode switching by providing the title equipment with a mode register for deciding whether the communication port of a mode switching part is prepared for a terminal equipment or a transmission line and instructing mode switching. CONSTITUTION:When the data communication equipment is started, the mode switching parts 3a, 3b inform whether the current execution setting modes are respectively set up for the terminal equipment or the transmission line to the mode register 4 through signal lines 4b, 4c and the informed contents are displayed on a CRT 7a. A signal 4a informing the modes of respective communication ports constituting the mode switching parts 3a, 3b is received and protocol information appropriate for the communication ports of respective mode switching parts are specified in accordance with the address information of a protocol storage part 5a specified by the received signal information and displays the specified information on the CRT 7a. Thus, user's load can be reduced by displaying the protocol information appropriate for the communication ports of respective mode switching parts.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides direct connection means for directly connecting other data communication devices, and connection means for directly connecting other data communication devices to each other via a communication medium. The present invention relates to a data communication device including a communication connection means.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a data communication device assumes that the other party to be connected is either a terminal device connected to the device itself or a communication partner device connected via a transmission line. There is.

The device to be connected to is fixed in terms of hardware, or can be switched using a DIP switch, jumper wire, or the like.

Further, regarding communication control procedures (protocols) with these destinations, protocols corresponding to fixedly determined connected devices are stored in advance, and communication operations are supported only with these procedures.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above conventional example, the connected party is either a terminal device (control device such as a computer) DTE or a communication device (terminal such as a modem) via a transmission line DCE. Because it assumed one or the other, it was not possible to connect with a different connection device than the one expected.

When it is absolutely necessary to make a connection, it is necessary to perform operations such as disconnecting the connection cable and reconnecting it. For example, if the current connection destination is assumed to be a DCE, in order to connect to the DTE, it is necessary to disconnect the cable that has been used and reconnect a cable that can be directly connected to the DTE.

Also, depending on the device to be connected, DIP
In some cases, switching can be done by changing settings with a switch or resetting jumper wires, but these operations are extremely troublesome and cannot be performed by anyone without specialized knowledge.

Furthermore, even if the switch is made, there is no means to notify the user that the switch has been made.

Therefore, confirmation work is required before starting communication. This work is usually done by opening a part of the casing, which is often very troublesome.

When communicating with a device that does not have a communication protocol, change the DIP switch or jumper switch depending on whether the other party is directly connected or a device connected to a transmission line, and the connection on the own device side is changed to the connected device. From now on, if the user recognizes the setting state of this switch and makes that point clear, he or she can communicate.

However, when communicating with a device that requires a communication protocol, whether the other party is connected directly or
Configure the device to have multiple communication ports depending on the device connected to the transmission line, and check in advance whether the communication boat currently being used by the own device is for the terminal device or for the transmission line. , and was only able to communicate with the boat it recognized.

Every time you try to communicate with another boat, you have to coordinate with the other party. For example, first, the port on the own device side is switched according to the partner device to be connected, and execution of a communication protocol with the partner device assumed in advance is selected.

However, the problem here is that there is no way to notify the user that the settings on the device itself have been changed.Although the connection boat has been switched, the previously assumed communication protocol remains unchanged. The situation is that it was a communication protocol. For example, assume that three types of protocols for direct connection to terminal devices and four types of protocols for transmission lines are prepared in advance in the storage device of the own device. In this case, for example, if the user sets the communication port for use with a terminal device, the protocol that should actually be selected should be one of the three types of protocols for use with the terminal device. However, if the user does not have a means to inform the user whether the communication port of the own device is for a terminal device or for a transmission line, in the case of this embodiment, the user must select from a total of seven types of protocols. This means that it will no longer be possible.

Furthermore, when performing data communication, it is usually necessary to send and receive mutual protocol information according to a predetermined and prepared procedure. However, there is a problem in that communication operations cannot be performed normally if the communication partner does not wish to transmit or receive a procedure that has been anticipated and prepared in advance, or if the other party has a device that has a completely different procedure than the one prepared.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, and includes the following configuration as one means for solving the above-mentioned problems.

That is, there is a direct connection means that directly connects other data communication devices, a communication connection means that connects the other data communication devices to each other via a communication medium, and communication is performed by the communication connection means. and a selection means for selecting whether communication is to be performed by the communication connection means or by the direct connection means.

Further, in addition to the above configuration, a communication execution means is provided for selectively executing a communication control procedure by the communication connection means and a communication control procedure by the direct connection means.

Furthermore, when communicating using a procedure other than the executable communication control procedure, the apparatus is provided with a monitor means for monitoring the communication control procedure sent from the communication partner and an input means for inputting procedure information requested by the communication partner.

Furthermore, when communicating using a procedure other than the executable communication control procedure, a storage means is provided for storing a communication control procedure sent from the communication partner side, so that the communication control procedure sent can be executed.

[Operation] In the above configuration, it is possible to automatically control the state to enable communication with the partner device, regardless of the type of connected device as the communication partner.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment. In this embodiment, a data communication device is shown in which a mode switching unit (to be described later) includes two communication ports that can be switched between communication ports for terminal equipment (DTE) and communication ports for transmission line (DCE).

In FIG. 1, l denotes a communication control unit 2a, which outputs communication data in accordance with the output format and determines whether the data is sent as a predetermined character string;
2b is responsible for controlling such things as converting the signal to be output to a predetermined level and outputting it, and converting the input signal (input data) to a "TTL level" and outputting it to the communication control section 1 (passing the data). communication interface section with
a and 3b set the communication mode of the own device to terminal equipment (DTE) or transmission line (DC) depending on the other device to be connected.
E) A mode switching section 4 for changing the setting mode stores whether the mode switching sections 3a and 3b are set for terminal equipment (DTE) or for transmission line (DCE). It is a mode register that instructs the mode switching units 3a and 3b to switch modes. 4a
is a mode signal line that informs the CPU 6, the input/output interface 7, or the protocol storage unit 5a of the mode, and 4b and 4c are the mode signal lines that inform the mode register 4 whether the communication port is for terminal equipment (DTE) or for transmission line (DCE). 5 is a main memory section, in which the operating program of the CPU 5 is also stored. The main memory unit 5 is a protocol storage unit 5 that stores a protocol assumed in advance.
a, and a data storage section 5b for recording transmitted and received data. 6 is a CPU that controls the entire embodiment according to the program shown in FIG. 2 stored in the main memory section 5; 7 is an input/output interface that controls a display device (CRT) 7a and a keyboard (KEY) 7b; hard disk 8
a % This is an auxiliary storage device control unit that controls the floppy disk 8b.

The operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the data communication device is started, the process proceeds to step S1, and the mode switching units 3a and 3b check whether the current execution setting mode is set for terminal equipment (DTE), respectively.
The mode register 4 is informed via the signal lines 4b and 4c whether it is set for a paired transmission line (DCE) or for a paired transmission line (DCE). and the CRT7 via the input/output interface 7.
The information of each communication report is displayed on a and notified to the user. When the user sees the display, step S2
Determine whether it is necessary to switch the mode of each communication boat. If the user determines that mode switching is necessary, the process proceeds to step S3 and mode switching processing is executed.

Specifically, a switching instruction is inputted from the keyboard 7b, and this input information is sent to the mode register 4 as switching information 4a via the input/output interface 7 to notify it. For example, when the user requests the mode switching unit 3a to change the mode, the mode register 4 outputs a mode switching request to the signal line 4b. The mode switching unit 3a that receives this changes the mode setting made up of analog switches and the like. The information is then communicated again to the mode register 4, and the mode register 4 holds this information. Then, the process advances to step S4. On the other hand, if mode switching is not necessary in step S2, the process advances to step S4. In step S4,
Determine the protocol.

The protocol is determined by receiving a signal 4a from the mode register 4 that informs which mode each communication port constituting the mode switching section is in, and according to the address information of the protocol storage section 5a specified by this signal information, each communication port Protocol information suitable for the communication port of the mode switching unit is specified and displayed on the CRT 7a.

In this way, the burden on the user can be reduced by displaying protocol information suitable for the communication port of each mode switching unit, rather than displaying all executable protocol information that is currently available. can. The user checks the above information displayed on the CRT 7a and checks whether the desired protocol is included therein. If there is a desired protocol, the process advances to step S5 and the desired protocol is selected from among them using the keyboard 7b. Then, in the following step S6, the CPU 6 and the memory section 5 instruct the communication control section 1 to start communication.

Thereafter, the communication control unit 1 executes processing according to the protocol selected by the communication port of the selected mode switching unit.

On the other hand, if the desired protocol is not found in step S4, for example, if the partner device connected to the communication boat 3a side of the mode switching section does not use the protocol that has been assumed in advance and prepared in the protocol storage section 5a, a different protocol may be used. When performing a communication operation using the protocol, step S4 to step S
Proceed to step 7. In this case, the received data from the other party's device is received by the mode switching unit 3a, and the data is sent to the communication interface 2.
It is sent to the communication controller section l via a.

Received data sent from the communication controller unit l to the input/output interface 7 is displayed on the CRTTa.

Therefore, in the next step S8, the user looks at the display and determines what kind of response signal is requested by the other party connected to the communication boat of the mode switching unit 3a, and responds to the request from the keyboard 7b. Input the response signal. The signal is transmitted to the other party via the communication controller section 1, the communication interface 2a, and the communication port of the mode switching section 3a.

If the signal is accurate, the other party notifies the user of the next signal in the same manner as described above. The user again inputs the response signal requested by the other party through the above process, and
Establish a link with the other party and start data communication operation. The above process is repeated, and communication protocol data is sequentially input.

The input communication protocol data is held in the free area assigned to the communication boat mode of the mode switching section of the protocol storage section 5a of the memory 5 in step S9. Alternatively, the hard disk 8 can be
a and/or a floppy disk 8b. Then, the process moves to step S4, and communication processing using this input protocol is executed.

Therefore, when starting communication with this other party next time, the user can easily communicate with any device by calling up the desired protocol from these storage units. In this case, the processes from step 87 to step S9 can be omitted.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, the communication boat of one mode switching unit can be used as a terminal device! (DTE) and transmission line (DCE). and,
By providing a register that stores which mode the device is currently in, the
The user can be informed of this selected communication mode.

For this reason, there is an effect that the trouble of checking such as opening the casing as in the conventional case is omitted. Furthermore, by using this signal, the mode of the device itself can be freely switched to terminal equipment (DTE) or transmission line (DCE) mode using software such as an analog switch.

Next, multiple protocols, e.g. equipment-to-terminal (DTE)
In a data communication device that has three protocols for communication and four protocols for transmission line (DCE), if the device is currently configured for terminal devices, the above signal is used as a selection signal for the storage device. It is possible to accurately reduce the selection range of available protocols by using the protocol as one of the protocols, and it is possible to easily provide a more user-friendly service in terms of software.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when communicating with a partner having a procedure other than a pre-prepared protocol, first a means for outputting and monitoring the communication procedure to an external output device such as a CRT, and an external output device such as a keyboard are provided. By providing means for outputting this to the other party using an input device, it is possible to communicate with the other party having a procedure other than the pre-prepared protocol.

Next, perform the new procedure described above for memory and hard disk 8a.
By having a means for storing the information in a storage device such as a floppy disk 8b, it is not necessary to input a new input using an external input device from the next time onwards.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, the communication port of the mode switching unit is for terminal equipment (DTE) or for transmission line (DTE).
By providing a mode register for determining whether the mode is for CE) or instructing mode switching, it is possible to reduce the trouble for the user in checking the mode and switching the mode.

Furthermore, when selecting several types of protocols depending on the mode, it is possible to provide an effective means for selecting a mode protocol suitable for each boat.

Next, by displaying data from the other party on the DRT and providing a function to send data directly to the other party from the keyboard, communication operations can be performed even in cases other than protocols that have been prepared and stored in advance. By having a means to record information, the next time you can use it in the same way as a previously prepared protocol.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically control the state to enable communication with a partner device, regardless of the type of connected device as a communication partner.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of the present invention. In the figure, 1... communication control section, 2a, 2b... communication interface section, 3a, 3b... mode switching section,
4...Mode register, 4a...Mode setting signal line, 4b, 4C...Mode communication line, 5...Main memory,
5a... Communication protocol storage section, 5b... Data memory section, 6... CPU, 7... Human output interface section, 7a... CR, T, 7b... Keyboard, 8
auxiliary storage device control unit, 8a...hard disk, 8
b... It is a floppy disk. Patent Applicant Canon Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A direct connection means that directly connects other data communication devices, a communication connection means that connects the other data communication devices to each other via a communication medium, and communication is performed by the communication connection means. data communication comprising: a detection means for detecting whether the communication is carried out by the communication connection means or the direct connection means; and a selection means for selecting whether communication is carried out by the communication connection means or by the direct connection means. Device. 2. The data communication device according to claim 1, further comprising communication execution means for selectively executing a communication control procedure by the communication connection means and a communication control procedure by the direct connection means. (3) When communicating using a procedure other than executable communication control procedures, the device is equipped with a monitor means for monitoring the communication control procedure sent from the communication partner and an input means for inputting procedure information requested by the communication partner. 3. The data communication device according to claim 1, wherein the data communication device is capable of responding to a request procedure of a communicating party. (4) When communicating using a procedure other than an executable communication control procedure, a storage means is provided for storing a communication control procedure sent from the communication partner, and the communication control procedure sent is made executable. A data communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.