JPH04299637A - Communication device and communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication device, and more particularly to a communication device that performs an auto-redial process of repeatedly calling a partner station using a pre-stored calling number until a connection is established.

0002

[Background Art] Conventionally, in facsimile machines, various data terminals, modem devices, etc., telephone numbers stored in advance in connection with one-touch keys or speed dial operations have been used in response to timer timing or predetermined key operations. A so-called auto-dial function is known that automatically makes a call.

[0003] Furthermore, when referring to the auto dial function,
It may also include an auto-redial feature. This function repeatedly calls the other station using the stored telephone number until a response from the other station is detected.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, with the conventional automatic redial function, when a call is instructed, the transmission ends even if the telephone number is incorrect, the line is busy (or the exchange is busy), or the other party is busy. I made sure to redial a predetermined number of times until I could do it.

[0005] For this reason, even if the dial number is clearly incorrect, the call will not be stopped unless the number is dialed a predetermined number of times.
There have been problems such as creating discomfort when a human is responding at the other station, and increasing communication costs due to unnecessary line capture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device that can solve the above problems and minimize the possibility of erroneous dialing.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a communication device that performs an auto-redial process of repeatedly calling the other party's station using a pre-stored calling number until a connection is established. After starting the call,
A means for detecting the response state of the other party's station or exchange via the line, and determining whether the calling number is correct or incorrect according to the detection state of the response state detection means, and if it is determined that the call is an erroneous call, an automatic redial process is performed. We adopted a configuration that includes a control means to cancel the process.

[0008]

[Operation] According to the above structure, the response state of the partner station or exchange is detected, the validity of the calling number is identified according to this response state, and repeated erroneous calls are prevented.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be explained in detail below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. The configuration of the facsimile device will be illustrated below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile machine employing the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a CPU containing a DMA controller and the like, which controls the system of the facsimile machine and monitors its status. Various constituent members are connected to the bus of the CPU 1 as shown in the figure.

Reference numeral 2 denotes an operation panel including a display, which is used to input commands from the user to the CPU 1 by pressing keys, and to display necessary information to the user.

Reference numeral 6 denotes an NCU, which switches the line N between the facsimile side and the telephone T side in response to a command from the CPU 1. Also, the modem 3 and tonal counter 4 for the line
, all transmission and reception of signals from the selection signal sending section 5 is done by this NC.
This is done via U6.

The modem 3 is a modem for G2 and G3, and is used for modulating and demodulating image and procedure signals.

The tonal counter 4 identifies the received tone signal by detecting whether the energy of the received tonal signal is on or off and by detecting the frequency.

On the other hand, the selection signal sending unit 5 sends a dial signal based on a DTMF signal and/or a pulse signal to the NCU.
6 to line N.

The ROM 7 stores a control program for the CPU 1, which will be described later, and the RAM 8 is used as a work area for storing various control data and as an image memory.

Image input/output is performed by a reading system 9 and a recording system 10.
This is done by

The reading system 9 is comprised of a CCD line sensor, an original conveyance system, etc., and is used to read original images.

The recording system 10 is composed of a thermal recording head, a recording paper transport system, and the like, and is used to record received images or images read by the reading system 9 when copying originals.

In FIG. 1, a conveyance drive system for the reading system 9 and the recording system 10 is shown by a block 11, and a sensor group for these originals or recording paper is shown by a block 12.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 and 6. 2 to 5 show the flow of the control program of the CPU 1 stored in the ROM 7. Here, FIG. 2 shows the entire control procedure,
3 to 5 show each subroutine in the procedure of FIG. 2. Further, nodes A to D in FIGS. 3 to 5 are assumed to be continuous at their respective positions. Figure 6 shows R
It shows the memory configuration within AM8.

In the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention, the CPU 1 monitors the system in a standby state. During this standby period, when a key input is received on the operation panel 2, the CPU 1 analyzes the type of these keys (or an input word consisting of multiple keys) in steps S01 to S05, and responds to the input in steps S06 to S010. Executes the processes of numeric keypad dialing, one-touch dialing, redialing, and automatic reception phone number registration.

For one-touch dialing, the dial numbers corresponding to the one-touch dialing keys on the operation panel 2 are registered in advance in the one-touch dialing table 82 of the RAM 8 as shown in FIG. Enter the number from the one-touch dial table 82 to the numeric keypad dial buffer 81 (FIG. 6(a))
This is a function to read out the information and perform dialing, the flow of which is shown in FIG.

In the one-touch dial process, in step S1, the one-touch dial table 8 is
2 and check whether the corresponding telephone number is registered. If there is no registration, a message indicating that there is no registration is displayed in step S10, and the process ends.

[0026] Also, by the process described later, settings are made in a predetermined area in the one-touch dial table 82 as shown in FIG. 6(b). In FIG. The prohibition bit is set on the phone number that corresponds to the one-touch dial key.

[0027] In step S2, if the prohibition bit is set in the registered data, the process advances to step S8;
If the prohibition bit is not set in the registration data, the line is captured in step S3, and the tonal counter 4
Detects the DTMF signal (outgoing tone) transmitted from the exchange.

[0028] In step S3, DTMF is
If no signal is detected, the exchange is considered busy and redial processing is performed (node D). If a DTMF signal is detected, dialing is performed by the selection signal sending unit 5 in step S4.

Next, in a loop of steps S5, S11, and S12, the response state of the other party (or the exchange) is determined for a fixed period determined by the time determination in step S12.

In step S5, a facsimile signal is detected by detecting GI2, a flag, or CED, and in step S11, a busy tone is detected. The facsimile signal is detected by the modem 3 and the tonal counter 4, and the busy tone is detected by the tonal counter 4.

In step S12, if no signal is detected for a predetermined period of time (for example, about 45 seconds), it is determined that the other party is not a facsimile terminal or that the person and the facsimile machine are not in a state capable of receiving data.
The process advances from step S12 to step S13, where an incorrect dial counter is incremented. The incorrect dial counter is shown in Figure 6(c).
) is provided in the work area 83 as shown in FIG.

When the incorrect dial counter reaches a predetermined value (for example, 2) in step S14, the prohibition bit of the registered data during the call in the one-touch dial table 82 is set to "1" in step S15, and the operator is Make a visible or audible alarm (step S15a)
.

If a busy tone is detected in step S11, the redial counter is incremented in step S16, and the next redial time is set in the redial processing in step S17, and the process returns to the standby state. While redialing is being executed, the one-touch key (registration data) number is stored in the work area 83 (FIG. 6(c)). Further, a redial counter is also set within the same work area 83.

On the other hand, if a facsimile signal is detected in step S5, communication is performed, and in step S7, the erroneous dial counter is cleared and the process returns to the standby state.

Next, even though the prohibition bit corresponding to the one-touch key became "1" in step S15,
A case will be described in which the key number is subsequently selected by the operator.

In this case, since the key number has already been registered, step S1 is passed, and in step S2, the corresponding prohibition is set to "1".
”, so the prohibition process of step S8 is performed.

FIG. 5 shows this prohibition processing. In the prohibition processing shown in FIG. 5, in step S26, a message prompting the operator to confirm the telephone number and the dial number are displayed (for example, for 5 to 6 seconds), and then a display asking the operator whether to make the call again is displayed. (Step S27).

If a predetermined operation is obtained in step S28 in response to the above display, the prohibition bit of the corresponding registered telephone number is cleared in step S30, but if there is no operation in step S28, a timeout occurs. The following procedure is the same as that shown in FIG.

After the routine in FIG. 5 is completed, the process returns to step S9 in FIG. 3. If the prohibition bit is not cleared, the process is terminated; Head to S3).

Next, the case of ten-key dialing, in which a call is made using the ten-key pad provided on the main body of the facsimile machine, will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, input from the numeric keys on the operation panel 2 is detected in a loop of steps S18 to S19, and if the time is over, the numeric keypad dialing process is terminated.

[0042] When a key input indicating numeric keypad dialing or direct numeric key input is received in step S21, the process proceeds to step S22 in order to prompt the user to confirm the input content.
to display sequentially.

[0043] The end of inputting a series of telephone numbers is indicated by pressing the start key. If the start key is pressed in step S20, the key input is terminated, and the key input is stored in the dial buffer 81 (FIG. 6) in step S23.

[0044] Then, in step S24, it is determined whether this dial number has already been registered in one-touch dialing, and if it has been registered, the prohibition bit is referred to.

If it is prohibited, the process moves to node B in FIG. 3 and performs the same prohibition process as in the case of one-touch dialing, but if it is not prohibited, it moves to node A and makes a normal call.

[0046] When redial processing is performed according to the timer count (by interruption or the like), the processing is performed from node A as shown in FIG.

In this manner, in the case of numeric keypad dialing, incorrect dialing can be prevented using the one-touch key registration data.

According to the embodiment described above, during auto-dial or even when auto-redial occurs, incorrect dialing is detected by determining the response state of the other party's station, and a call is made to that telephone number. By stopping the communication, it is possible to avoid problems such as the discomfort caused by a human being responding at the other station, and the increase in communication costs due to unnecessary line capture. .

Although a facsimile machine has been exemplified above, a similar configuration can be implemented in other communication devices that perform automatic calling.

[0050]

As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, in a communication device that performs an auto-redial process that repeatedly calls the other party's station using a pre-stored calling number until a connection is established, it is possible to start a call. After that, means for detecting the response state of the partner station or exchange via the line, and determining whether the calling number is correct or incorrect according to the detection state of the response state detection means,
If a call is determined to be an erroneous call, the configuration includes a control means that cancels the auto-redial process, so the erroneous call is detected from the response status of the partner station, and the system eliminates the waste of repeating erroneous dialing many times. This has the excellent effect of preventing disrespect towards the other station.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile machine employing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of a control procedure of the apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a one-touch key dial control procedure of the device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a numeric keypad dial control procedure of the device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for preventing incorrect dialing in the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a memory configuration of the device in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 CPU 2 Operation panel 3 Modem 4 Tonal counter 5 Selection signal sending section 6 NCU 7 ROM 8 RAM 9 Reading system 10 Recording system 11 Drive system 12 Sensor group

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: In a communication device that performs auto-redial processing that repeatedly calls the other party until a connection is established using a pre-stored calling number, after the call is started, the response state of the other party or exchange is determined via the line. and a control means for determining whether the calling number is correct or incorrect in accordance with the detection state of the response state detection means, and for canceling the auto-redial process if it is determined that the call is an erroneous call. Communication device. 2. When the control means determines that the current call processing is an erroneous call and cancels the auto-redial processing, the control means intervenes with an operator's operation and inputs an instruction to continue the auto-redial processing. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the automatic redial process is continued only when there is a call.