JPH089132A - Facsimile equipment provided with branch telephone function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain facsimile reception without any special operation even when a receiver of a branch telephone set is hooked off through the ringing of a call bell in the facsimile equipment in which the branch telephone set is connected to a same telephone line. CONSTITUTION:In the facsimile equipment F in which a branch telephone set 1 is connected to the same telephone line L, after the reception of a call signal from an external line and the hooked-off branch telephone set 1, the telephone line L is connected to the point of the facsimile equipment F. When a facsimile start signal (CNG signal) is detected, the facsimile communication procedure is started.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine, and more particularly to improvement of a facsimile machine equipped with a branch telephone.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a branch telephone is connected to a facsimile machine, a call can be made at a place away from the place where the facsimile machine is installed. However, when a facsimile transmission is made from an outside line and a ringing bell rings, When I picked up the handset of the branch telephone, the telephone line was connected to the branch telephone, and the line could not be switched to the facsimile machine. Therefore, assuming such a situation, a branch telephone which picks up the handset and sends a push tone signal to the facsimile machine to connect the telephone line to the facsimile machine has been developed. In order to do so, it is necessary to operate the numeric keypad to send out a predetermined command, which makes the operation cumbersome.
There was a problem such as interrupting facsimile reception.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above circumstances, and when a branch telephone that responds to a call from an outside line goes off-hook, the facsimile machine is switched and connected to a telephone line to send a facsimile. The purpose is to provide a facsimile machine capable of receiving.

[0004]

A facsimile machine according to the present invention, which is proposed to achieve the above object, is a facsimile machine in which a branch telephone is connected to the same telephone line. A branch telephone configured to switch the telephone line connection to the facsimile device side after the branch telephone goes off-hook after receiving the call signal from the telephone and to start the facsimile communication procedure when the facsimile activation signal (CNG signal) is detected. I have it.

The facsimile apparatus according to the present invention is configured to start the facsimile communication procedure when the branch telephone goes on-hook after receiving a calling signal from the outside line. When the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention described in Item 3 checks the presence or absence of a facsimile activation signal (CNG signal) until a predetermined time elapses after receiving the calling signal from the outside line, and the facsimile activation signal is detected. Then, the facsimile communication procedure is started.

[0006]

According to the facsimile apparatus of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, when the telephone set of the branch telephone is picked up and taken off hook in response to a call from an outside line, the telephone line is switched to the facsimile apparatus side. Then, when the facsimile activation signal (CNG signal) is sent from the outside line, the facsimile machine detects this and starts the normal facsimile communication procedure, but detects the facsimile activation signal (CNG signal) from the outside line. If not, the normal facsimile communication procedure is started when the branch telephone goes on-hook.

Therefore, even if the receiver is returned to the original state after the receiver is picked up by the branch telephone considering the call from the outside line as the call from the telephone,
Facsimile reception is possible by performing a handshake with the facsimile machine on the transmission side (claims 1 and 2). According to the facsimile apparatus of the present invention as set forth in claim 3, after picking up the handset of the branch telephone and switching the telephone line to the facsimile apparatus, a facsimile start signal (CNG signal) is given within a predetermined grace period. If received, the facsimile communication procedure is started, but if the facsimile activation signal (CNG signal) is not received within that time, the telephone line is disconnected.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a facsimile apparatus F according to the present invention.
3 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of FIG. The facsimile device F is composed of a branch telephone 1 and a facsimile main body Fa connected to the same telephone line L. The branch telephone 1 detects the pick-up of the communication circuit 1a, the handset 1b and the handset. Off-hook detection means 1d for detecting off-hook by the hook switch 1c.

On the other hand, the facsimile main body Fa is composed of an attached telephone 2, a facsimile communication control unit 3, a signal processing unit 4 including a CPU and the like, and each circuit unit described later connected to the signal processing unit 4. ing. Here, the facsimile communication control unit 3 is a line control unit 3 for controlling the line connection switching between the modem 3a for image data communication and the telephone line L between the modem 3a side and the branch telephone 1 side.
b, and a tone signal detection circuit 3c and a tone signal generation circuit 3d for performing mutual transmission (handshake) of protocol signals executed prior to transmission / reception of image data.
And so on.

In addition to the facsimile communication control section 3 described above, the signal processing section 4 includes a hook signal notifying circuit 5 for notifying on-hook / off-hook detection of the branch telephone 1, an operating section 6, a timer circuit 7, and a liquid crystal display. A display unit 8 including a display device, a storage unit 9 including a ROM and a RAM,
The image reading unit 10 and the print output unit 11 are connected. Further, the signal processing unit 4 controls each unit in order to execute a facsimile communication procedure, but a call is made to this facsimile device F from another external facsimile device and it is transmitted from a circuit switch (not shown). After the call signal (ring tone) of 16 Hz is transmitted, the following operation control is performed.

That is, the ringing signal from the outside line is detected,
When the handset 1b of the branch telephone 1 is picked up by the ringing of a ringing bell, the hook switch 1c detects an off-hook by the off-hook detection means 1d, and the detection is notified to the signal processing unit 4 via the hook signal notification circuit 5. . The signal processing unit 4 switches the telephone line L from the branch telephone 1 to the facsimile main unit Fa by instructing the line control unit 3b to switch the telephone line.

Next, when a CNG signal is transmitted from the outside line, it is detected by the tone signal detection circuit 3c and notified to the signal processing section 4. The on-hook of the branch telephone 1 is the off-hook detecting means 1d, as in the off-hook.
The signal processing unit 4 is notified via the hook signal notification circuit 5. The signal processing unit 4 starts or stops the timer after switching the telephone line L, and the timer circuit 7 notifies the signal processing unit 4 of the timeout.

When the CNG signal is detected, the signal processing unit 4 operates the tone signal generating circuit 3d to start the facsimile communication procedure, and when the off-hook detection and the time-out notification are received, wait for the reception of the CNG signal. It becomes a state. If you want to disconnect the line due to a timeout,
The line control unit 3b is requested to that effect.

Next, the basic operation of the facsimile apparatus F of the present invention will be described. Steps 100-112 of FIG.
3 is a flowchart showing a schematic procedure of a basic operation.
The handset 1 of the branch telephone 1 is set before the call bell rings for the number of times set in the facsimile main unit Fa.
If b is taken up (see steps 100-103),
The line is connected to the facsimile main body Fa. Thereafter, when the CNG signal is received from the other party's facsimile or the on-hook detection of the branch telephone is detected, the procedure proceeds to the facsimile procedure (see steps 110 to 111). However, if the CNG signal is not received or the on-hook of the branch telephone is not detected within a predetermined time after the handset 1b of the branch telephone 1 is picked up, the line is disconnected (see step 112).

The communication procedure of the facsimile is the same as when the ringing of the call bell is set a predetermined number of times and the line is connected to the facsimile machine, and the CED signal or the DIS signal for executing the facsimile communication from the facsimile main body Fa when the CNG signal is received. Is sent and a facsimile is received when an appropriate protocol signal is returned from the other party, but when an appropriate protocol signal is not returned, a communication error occurs at that point and the line is disconnected (step 104-108).

In steps 200 to 211 of FIG. 3, the basic operation of the facsimile apparatus having a function of automatically holding the handset of the branch telephone as it is and automatically cutting off the telephone line when a silent state has passed for a predetermined time or more. Is shown with a flowchart. After the branch telephone 1 is off-hook, the line is connected to the facsimile main body Fa, and thereafter, the facsimile procedure is started by receiving the CNG signal from the facsimile of the other party. If the transmission to the above-mentioned facsimile procedure is not performed within a predetermined time and the voice signal is not received, the line is cut off (step 2).
09-2111). Other processes are the same as those in FIG.

According to such a facsimile apparatus, even if a user who does not understand the functions of the present invention picks up the branch telephone and the silent state continues, the telephone line is automatically cut off after a lapse of a predetermined time. You can take appropriate action without hesitation in operation. In the present invention, the push tone signal (DT
When MF) is transmitted, the line may be cut off at that point.

[0018]

As can be understood from the above description, according to the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, the switching of the telephone line from the branch telephone to the facsimile apparatus can be automatically performed similarly to the attached telephone and its sub-telephone. The operability of the facsimile machine is improved. Also, since the telephone line to the facsimile machine is switched and the facsimile communication procedure is started in conjunction with the off-hook and on-hook operations of the branch telephone, the disconnection of the telephone line and the retransmission of facsimile data due to an erroneous operation are reduced. Therefore, costs such as communication charges can be suppressed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a basic operation procedure of the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a basic operation procedure when the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention has an additional function.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Branch Telephone 1a Communication Circuit 1b Handset 1c Hook Switch 1d Off-hook Detection Means 2 Attached Telephone 3 Facsimile Communication Control Section 4 Signal Processing Section 5 Hook Signal Notification Circuit 7 Timer Circuit L Line Fa Facsimile Main Body F Facsimile Device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile apparatus in which a branch telephone is connected to the same telephone line, and after the branch telephone goes off-hook after receiving a calling signal from an outside line, the telephone line connection is switched to the facsimile apparatus side to start the facsimile. A facsimile apparatus including a branch telephone configured to start a facsimile communication procedure when a signal (CNG signal) is detected. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a branch telephone configured to start a facsimile communication procedure when the branch telephone goes on-hook after receiving a call signal from an outside line. 3. A facsimile communication procedure is started when a facsimile activation signal (CNG signal) is confirmed for a predetermined time after receiving a calling signal from an outside line and the facsimile activation signal is detected. A facsimile machine equipped with the branch telephone set according to claim 1.