JPH0537664A - Image communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] To provide an image communication device in which an operation unintended by the user is performed and erroneous calls and unnecessary consumption of recording paper can be prevented. [Structure] When input is performed from the numeric keypad used for inputting both a telephone number and the number of original copies without pressing the dial key (steps S2 to S7), the number of input digits of the numeric keypad is counted (step S11), When the number of digits is 3 or more, a warning sound is output (step S13) and a message is displayed (step S14), the operation contents up to that point are canceled, and the operation returns to the initial state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus, in particular, after operating a predetermined key indicating dialing operation, a numerical value corresponding to a selection number of a partner station is input from a numerical value input means to call the partner station. At the same time, the present invention relates to an image communication device in which the numerical value input means is used for a predetermined process other than a call from the partner station.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a facsimile machine, when a manuscript is set when a call is made, and before a telephone number of a partner station is input, a button such as "dial" is operated,
After that, there is one that uses the ten-key pad to enter the number of the partner station. In this method, pressing the "dial" button indicates that the number that is subsequently input is a telephone number. In this type of apparatus, when the user inputs a number with the ten key and presses the start key without pressing the dial button, only the number of originals designated by the ten key is copied.

FIG. 5 shows the control of the conventional device as described above. In step S18 of FIG. 5, the input of a key or button is detected, and if these operations are performed, step S18 is performed.
It is determined in 19 whether or not the dial key has been pressed. If the dial key is pressed, the number input from the numeric keypad in step S20 is input as the number to be used for calling, and then the calling process in steps S21 to S23. If the dial key is not pressed, pressing the numeric keypad is treated as input of the number of copies in step S24, and document copy processing for that number is performed in steps S25 and S26.

[0004]

The above-described structure has the advantage that the number of manuscript copies can be specified by the ten-key operation, but on the other hand, if the user wants to make a call, he must forget to operate the dial button ( Since some devices do not have a dial button, such an erroneous operation is likely to occur), and there is a problem in that the copying operation starts against the user's intention and the paper is wasted.

When the input of the number of copies is started without using the dial keys, the number of digits is monitored and, for example, 3
Some devices are designed so that you cannot enter more than one digit. It is known that when such a device inputs three or more digits, only the last two digits are treated as the number of copies. However, even in this case, if the user inputs a telephone number by operating the ten keys without pressing the dial key, there is a problem that an unintended call operation is performed.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide an image communication apparatus in which an operation unintended by the user is performed and an erroneous call or wasteful consumption of recording paper can be prevented. is there.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, after operating a predetermined key indicating a dialing operation, a numerical value corresponding to the selection number of the partner station is input from the numerical input means. , While calling the other station,
In the image communication apparatus in which the numerical value input means is also used for a predetermined process other than the calling of the partner station, when the numerical value is input from the numerical value input means without operating a predetermined key indicating a dialing operation, a numerical value input is performed. The number of digits input from the means is counted, and the control means for selecting the operation according to the counting result is provided.

[0008]

According to the above construction, even when the operation of the predetermined key indicating the dialing operation is forgotten, when the numerical value is input from the numerical value input means, the number of digits input from the numerical value input means is changed. The action to be executed can be selected.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a control system of an image communication apparatus adopting the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a control unit composed of a microprocessor or the like, which controls the operation of the entire apparatus in accordance with a control program stored in the ROM portion of the memory 2 which will be described later. Reference numeral 3 is an image processing unit that controls encoding / decoding of image signals, and reference numeral 4 is a communication control unit that is configured by a network control device, a modem, and the like, and that inputs and outputs signals to and from the line N.

Image input / output is performed by the scanner 5 and the printer 6.
Done by The scanner 5 is composed of a CCD line sensor and a document conveying system, and the printer 6 is composed of a recording mechanism such as a laser beam printer or a thermal printer.

The user interface is performed by an operation panel 9 including a display section 7 and an input section 8.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the operation panel 9. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 7 is a display unit, which includes an LCD panel or the like.
Reference numerals 81 to 84 denote input keys of the input unit 8, which are composed of a ten key 81, a start key 82, a dial key 83, and other function keys 84. Among them, the ten key 81 is used for inputting a telephone number and the number of copies. The start key 82 is used to instruct the start of a calling process or a copy process.

The dial key 83 has the same function as that described in the section of the conventional example. When the dial key 83 is pressed and then the numeric keypad 81 is used, the number is treated as the telephone number of the partner station. If the numeric keypad 81 is operated without pressing the dial key 83, this input numerical value will be
It is treated as the number of copies in the copy operation of outputting the document image read by the printer 6.

In the present embodiment, in order to deal with forgetting to press the dial key 83 when making a call, which is apt to occur as described above,
When the operation of the numeric keypad 81 is started without pressing the dial key 83, the number of digits is counted, and when the number of digits is equal to or more than the predetermined digit, the numerical value input so far is canceled,
Warning is given by light, visual display, etc. The control procedure for that is shown in FIG.

In step S1 of FIG. 3, a key input from the input unit 8 is detected, and if there is a key input, it is determined in step S2 whether or not the key is the dial key 83. When the dial key is pressed, the numerical value input from the ten key 81 is treated as the number of the partner station in the same manner as in the conventional case in steps S3 to S6, the partner station is called, and communication (transmission in this case) is performed. To do.

On the other hand, if any input other than the dial keys is made in step S2, it is determined in step S7 whether or not a ten-key input is made. When a key other than the numeric keypad, such as the function key 84, is pressed,
Corresponding processing is performed in step S17. If the numeric keypad is operated in step S7, step S7
The value of the counter C is initialized to 1 in step 8, and steps S9 to S
In the 12 loop, the numeric keypad input is captured.

In step S9, key input is awaited, and in step S10, it is determined whether the pressed key is a ten key or a start key. If any other key is operated (for example, in the case of cancel processing), the process proceeds to step S17, and if it is a numeric keypad, step S1.
If the start key is selected, the process proceeds to step S15.

In step S11, the value of the counter C is incremented, and in step S12, it is determined whether the value of the counter C, that is, the number of digits input by the ten key 81 is 3 or more. Here, this determination is performed in order not to allow the input of the number of copies of three digits or more. The three digits of the reference value may be another value. If the result in step S12 is negative, the process returns to step S9, and the ten-key input is repeated.

When a ten-key input of two digits or less is performed and then the start key is pressed, in step S15, the originals are read by the scanner 5 by the number input by the ten-key, and the copying operation of recording by the printer 6 is performed. When a plurality of originals are loaded, the respective pages are copied by the designated number.

On the other hand, if the result at step S12 is affirmative, it means that the number of copies of three digits or more has been designated, so a warning sound is generated at step S13. This warning sound is generated by using a speaker and a transmitter (not shown). When the operation panel 9 is provided with a warning LED or the like, the warning may be given by blinking it. In step S14, a warning display in characters is displayed on the display unit 7. This display message may be, for example, "up to 99 copies. Please press dial key for sending."

According to the above configuration, since a warning is given as an erroneous input of the number of copies of three digits or more and the copying process of more than that number is canceled, paper is wasted by an unintended copy operation. It has an excellent effect of preventing consumption. In addition, a warning operation such as displaying a message can prompt the user for a correct operation. The above processing is effective when the dialing of the partner station is started without knowing the existence of the dial key 83 or by simply forgetting to press it.

In the above embodiments, a warning is issued when the number of copies is greater than the predetermined number of digits. However, when the number of copies is greater than the predetermined number of digits, the dial key 83 is pressed. It may be possible to judge that the user has forgotten and treat the input of the numerical value as the telephone number of the partner station desiring to communicate and make a call. FIG. 4 shows the processing in this case.
In FIG. 4, only the loop processing of steps S109 to S111 is different, and the other processing of steps S1 to S8 and steps S16 to S17 is exactly the same as that of FIG.

When the numeric keypad is input without pressing the dial key in step S7, the counter C is reset to 1 in step S8, and the key press is detected in step S109. If the start key is pressed, go to step S112; if the numeric key is pressed, go to step S111.
Move to. In step S111, a counter that counts the number of digits input on the ten-key pad is incremented, and the process returns to step S109 to fetch the next input.

In this way, the ten key input is taken in while counting the number of input digits by the counter, and when the start key is pressed, it is determined in step S112 whether the value of the counter C is 4 or more. Since it is considered unlikely that a numerical value of 4 digits or more will be input as the number of copies, in this case, it is determined that the operation of the dial key 83 has been forgotten before the dial operation, and the process proceeds to step S4. Then, the entered number is treated as a telephone number to make a call.

In this case, in step S4, the remaining telephone numbers of the sixth digit and above are sequentially input, and the start key 8 is pressed.
It is assumed that the calling process is performed in response to pressing 2 or the like.

On the other hand, when the value of the counter C is 3 or less, the value is judged to be the designation of the number of copies and the step S15 is performed.
Then, the copy process for that number is performed.

With such a configuration, it is possible to appropriately deal with forgetting to press the dial key in the case of dialing without receiving the warning process.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, when the number of digits is three, for example, up to 999 copies may be executed, but the control of FIG. 3 may be incorporated to avoid this. For example, when step S112 is negative, it is determined whether the value of the counter C is 3 as in FIG. 3 before the process proceeds to step S15. In the case of 3-digit input, a warning is given and further processing is stopped.

Further, when the ten-key input of four digits or more is performed in step S112, if the input value is treated as a telephone number, the pressing of the dial key 83 is forgotten, or the number of copies is called. The display unit 7 may display a warning indicating that it should be handled as a number, or may perform processing such that a sound or light warning is generated.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the counter C determines whether the number of digits input to the ten-key pad is 3 digits or 4 digits or more, but it goes without saying that this value may be arbitrary.

[0032]

As is apparent from the above, according to the present invention, after the predetermined key indicating the dialing operation is operated, the numerical value corresponding to the selection number of the partner station is input from the numerical value input means,
While calling the other station, the numerical value input means,
In the image communication device which is also used for a predetermined process other than the calling of the partner station, when a numerical value is input from the numerical input means without operating a predetermined key indicating a dialing operation, the number of digits input from the numerical input means Since a configuration is adopted in which the control means for counting the number of times and selecting the operation according to the counting result is provided, even if the operation of the predetermined key indicating the dialing operation is forgotten, the numerical value is input from the numerical value input means. When an input is made, the operation to be executed can be selected according to the number of digits input from the numerical value input means, an operation not intended by the user is performed, and an erroneous call or wasteful consumption of recording paper is performed. It is possible to provide an excellent image communication device capable of preventing the above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus adopting the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an operation panel of the apparatus of FIG.

3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure in the apparatus of FIG.

4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a conventional facsimile apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 control unit 2 memory 3 Image processing section 4 Communication control unit 5 scanner 6 printer 7 Display 8 Input section 9 Operation panel 81 numeric keypad 82 Start key 83 dial keys

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. After operating a predetermined key indicating dialing operation, a numerical value corresponding to the selection number of the partner station is input from the numerical value input means to call the partner station, and the numeric value input means causes the partner station to be called. In an image communication device which is also used for a predetermined process other than calling, when a numerical value is input from the numerical input means without operating a predetermined key indicating a dialing operation, the number of digits input from the numerical input means is counted. The image communication apparatus is provided with control means for selecting an operation according to the counting result. 2. When a numerical value is input from the numerical input means without operating a predetermined key indicating a dialing operation, the number of digits input from the numerical input means is counted, and the counted value is equal to or larger than a predetermined value. A warning is issued and the contents of the operation performed up to that point are canceled.
The image communication device according to. 3. When a numerical value is input from the numerical input means without operating a predetermined key indicating a dialing operation, the number of digits input from the numerical input means is counted, and the counted value is equal to or larger than a predetermined value. The operation contents performed up to that point are handled as a dialing operation.
The image communication device according to. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined process is a document copy operation, and the input value from the numerical value input means is treated as the number of copies of the document. Image communication device.