JPH036167A - Computer network system in which facsimile is used as terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To request to offer the service by using an existing facsimile by using a prescribed code as input information from the facsimile. CONSTITUTION:A sheet in which a code shown by a cycle-pattern is put down is sent to a host station by a facsimile 1. The host station inputs received image information to an image memory map of a personal computer 4 through a FAX adaptor 3, calculates a dislocation of a mark for showing a reference position of the sheet and a reference position in a memory map in advance, and corrects the position. Subsequently, by deciding a start mark, image data is transferred from a first line position map to an image processing line area, a pattern stored in advance and a pattern which is being processed at present are compared, and data corresponding to a coincidence pattern is transferred to the area concerned as digital data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a system for requesting the provision of information services, etc. using a facsimile connected to a communication line.

[Conventional technology]

In today's information society, systems that use personal computers as terminals to access databases and receive services from service organizations are widely available and will continue to become more popular. It is becoming.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, in these systems, dedicated online terminal equipment such as a personal computer is required as a terminal, and communication software and the like must also be purchased. Additionally, operating a terminal requires a certain level of skill and knowledge, and not just anyone can use it casually. Furthermore, since online communication procedures differ between manufacturers and systems, a terminal may be required for each online system.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a system that allows similar services to be received without requiring any specialized knowledge regarding computers used as terminals. With the goal.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve this object, the computer network system of the present invention is a network system comprising a facsimile, a communication line, and a host station, and uses a predetermined code as input information from the facsimile to send the information to the host station. The method is characterized in that it demodulates the received code and processes the requested information.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained based on Examples.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer network system according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a GIII standard facsimile installed by a subscriber, and is connected to a communication line 2 such as a public line (telephone line) or a FAX line. A computer 4 such as a personal computer is connected to the host station via a FAX adapter 3.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a sheet on which information to be transmitted by facsimile 1 is written. FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged views of portions A and B in FIG. 2. In this example, the numbers 1 to 9 are represented depending on which position in a 3×3 square (hereinafter referred to as "dice pattern") is filled in. If 0 is displayed when nothing is painted, 0
It can represent 10 numbers from 9 to 9. By arranging 10 or more codes represented by this dice pattern per column, you can display fax numbers, telephone numbers, etc. in the - column, and also write information such as product code numbers, units, quantities, etc. in a small number of lines. be able to.

In FIG. 2, a is a sheet start mark, and b is a row line mark.

A sheet containing this code is sent to the host station by facsimile l shown in FIG. The host station performs processing according to the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, in step 100, the sent image information is received via the FAX adapter 3, and the information is imported into the image memory map of the personal computer 4. Step 1
In step 10, the position is corrected by calculating the deviation between the mark indicating the reference position of the read sheet and the reference position previously stored in the memory map. In step 120, the start mark is determined and the image data is transferred from the first row position map to the image processing waiting area. Step 1
At 30, data is transferred from the image processing waiting area to the recognition memory. In step 140, a pre-stored pattern from 0 to 9 is compared with the currently processed pattern to determine which number it corresponds to. In step 150, data corresponding to the matched pattern is transferred as digital data to the digital data area. This is continued until the processing of one line is completed (step 160), and then until all the lines of one sheet are completed (step 170).

The personal computer 4 performs service processing based on the read data. For example, in the case of purchasing a product, the orderer, product number, quantity, order date and time, etc. are transferred to another order management system. For database access,
The requester, the content of the requested information, etc. are deciphered, searched and introduced, and the results are converted from computer data to image data as shown in Figure 6, and the F as shown in Figure 1.
The information is transmitted to the requester's facsimile machine 1 via the AX adapter 51 communication line 2.

This system also provides company information and product information.

It can also be applied to various services such as event information, job information, and bank balance notifications.

In this embodiment, a dice pattern is used as the information to be written on the sheet, but existing mark sheets, barcodes, etc. can also be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in the present invention, a predetermined code is used as input information from the facsimile, and the host station demodulates the received code to process the requested information. ing. In this way, the subscriber can request service by using the existing facsimile connected to the communication line as is, and there is no need to install a terminal such as a personal computer. In addition, whereas computers and other devices required certain knowledge and familiarity with machine operations and communication procedures, the necessary information can be transmitted simply by filling out an easy-to-understand mark sheet format, so it is now possible to use the facsimile machine, which is already familiar. Anyone can use it.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the present invention, Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of an entry sheet, Figures 3 and 4 are enlarged views of parts A and B in Figure 2, respectively. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for converting image information into computer data, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure for converting computer data into image data. l: Fax 2: Communication line 3: FAX adapter 42 Computer 5: FAX adapter

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A network system consisting of a facsimile, a communication line, and a host station, in which a predetermined code is used as input information from the facsimile, and the host station demodulates the received code and transmits the requested information. A computer network system that uses a facsimile terminal as a terminal and is characterized by processing information that is