JPH10294819A - Information communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten time for communication between facsimile equipment and multifunctional information communication equipment by storing image information from the facsimile equipment, storing line density information for each page and transferring it to the facsimile equipment corresponding to a resending request according to designated line density. SOLUTION: The facsimile equipment transfers file managing information containing image information and reading line density to information communication equipment PC, transmits the image information stored in an image memory 4 later and stores received ability information on the side of reception in reception side recording line density ability in the file managing information. When transmission is interrupted and disabled during the transmission, the reception ability information on the side of reception is transferred to the PC. When transmitting the same image information from the facsimile later, the PC selects the relevant file, performs line density conversion corresponding to the reception side ability and transfers later the line density converted image information and the correspondent file managing information to the facsimile equipment. Based on this information, the facsimile equipment performs ordinary memory transmission.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information communication apparatus, and more particularly to an information communication apparatus capable of transferring data at a suitable linear density to a facsimile apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various multifunctional information communication devices have been developed which are used by being connected to other information communication devices via a physical interface. For example, by connecting a facsimile device having a memory transmission function to this multi-function information communication device and, when the facsimile device fails to transmit for any reason, downloading the transmission image information to the multi-function information communication device. Thus, a method of compensating for a shortage of memory capacity of a facsimile apparatus has been proposed. In this case, the transmission image information downloaded to the multi-function information communication apparatus is returned to the facsimile apparatus when a retransmission request is issued from the facsimile apparatus, and is retransmitted from the facsimile apparatus.

[0003]

The above-mentioned prior art has a remarkable effect in compensating for the lack of memory capacity of the facsimile apparatus. However, the communication between the facsimile apparatus and the multifunctional information communication apparatus is frequently performed. Therefore, it is necessary to shorten the communication time. For this purpose, in communication between the facsimile apparatus and the multi-function information communication apparatus, a method of performing a line density conversion of transmission image information to shorten a communication time is considered.

[0004] Regarding this, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 63-2
A technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 75270 is known. This technology proposes a facsimile apparatus having a function of designating a linear density when reading and scanning a transmission original from among a plurality of values, and changing a communication time by changing a data amount of image information to be transmitted. Means for calculating each data amount when reading a transmission original at each linear density, and means for calculating a communication time from the data amount and a data transfer speed at the time of transmission, and a communication fee determined from this One of the above-mentioned plurality of line densities can be designated based on the above.

In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-30664, when reading a document, the line density desired by the operator is stored and read and stored at the highest linear density. Both the desired linear density and the maximum linear density are compared with the other party's linear density, and converted to the matched linear density and transmitted.

The former of the prior art selects the highest linear density from the fee and the image quality, converts the line density in a facsimile machine, and transmits the data.
The linear density desired by the operator, the maximum linear density of the transmitter, the linear density conversion in the facsimile machine based on the linear density capability of the receiver, and transmits it.In the communication between the facsimile machine and the multifunctional information communication device, No consideration is given to reducing the communication time by performing line density conversion of transmission image information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to perform communication between a facsimile apparatus and a multi-function information communication apparatus by performing a linear density conversion of transmission image information and a communication time. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information communication device capable of reducing the time.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a multifunctional information communication apparatus which is used by being connected to another information communication apparatus via a physical interface, and which stores image information transmitted from a facsimile apparatus. And means for storing line density information for each page and means for converting to a specified line density, accumulating image information transmitted from the facsimile machine,
When a retransmission request is made, the data is converted into an appropriate linear density and transferred to a facsimile machine.

When a retransmission request from a facsimile apparatus includes a plurality of broadcast destinations, appropriate linear density conversion is performed in consideration of the linear density of the broadcast destination.

[0010] In addition to the above means, there is provided a means for storing the fact that the image is read in the halftone (photograph) mode, and the line read in the halftone (photograph) mode is not subjected to linear density conversion. It is like that.

In addition to the above-mentioned means, there is provided a means for changing the transmission order based on the linear density conversion stored for each page so as to minimize the change in the linear density on the protocol at the time of transmission. is there.

Further, based on the image information width information stored for each page and the recording paper width information on the receiving side, the image data is transferred by applying an appropriate scaling process.

Further, the image information files having the same destination among the stored image information files are transferred to the facsimile apparatus at a time.

Further, the line density is determined on the basis of the modem communication speed of the receiving capability of the receiving side, the image information is converted into the determined line density, and then transferred to the facsimile apparatus.

[0015]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an information communication apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is CC
D, a scanner that reads an image to be transmitted or copied by a contact sensor or the like, 2 is a plotter that records the read image information on a recording paper, or records and outputs various reports, 3
Indicates the operation state of the apparatus by means of a display LCD, LEDs and operation keys arranged therein, while an operation display section for performing various operations by an operator, and 4 compresses image information read by the scanner 1 and image information received by communication. This is an image memory that stores the image data in a state where it has been set.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a parameter memory for storing parameters necessary for various controls.
The file for managing the image information stored in the parameter memory 5 is also stored in the parameter memory 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes a battery that backs up the parameter memory 5, and the contents of the memo do not disappear even if the power of the apparatus is turned off.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a modem for modulating and demodulating image information and various procedural signals for transmission, and is controlled by the communication control unit 8 to transmit each title signal. Reference numeral 9 denotes a network control device to which a telephone line is connected and which performs predetermined line control when making and receiving calls.

Reference numeral 10 denotes an encoding / decoding unit for compressing image information data to be transmitted according to a known encoding method, while decoding received image information and reproducing the original image, and 11 controls the entire apparatus. Microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as “CP
U ”), and 12 is a ROM that stores software for controlling the apparatus, and the CPU 11 performs all controls according to instructions of the program.
Reference numeral 13 denotes a host PC interface (hereinafter, referred to as an "I / F"), which executes exchange of command / response data with the host PC. Note that a special I / F of the information communication apparatus according to the present embodiment is not required.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are operation flowcharts showing an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a view showing the structure of file management information. First, based on FIG. 2, a facsimile apparatus to an information communication apparatus according to the present embodiment
The transfer of image information to “PC” will be described.

Step 21: The facsimile apparatus stores image information in the image information memory 4 in the same procedure as ordinary memory transmission. At this time, the reading line density can be changed for each page.

Step 22: After the storage is completed, the facsimile apparatus transfers the file management information (see FIG. 4A) including the image information and the read linear density to the PC, and the PC stores these.

The file No. in the file management information shown in FIG. No. is added every time a file is created. , Destination FAX No. Is the FAXN to send
o. The transmission start time is the designated calling time. The recording linear density capability on the receiving side is the linear density capability on the receiving side, and is undetermined before calling. Image information file No. Is the number of the image information file to be transmitted, and other information in file units is other information required in file units.

The image information file shown in FIG. 4B is information added for each page of the image information, and the image information file N
o. Is the file number of the image information, and the link image information file No. Is the image information file No. on the next page. Indicates that
In the last page, a code indicating the last page is set.

The line density is the line density of the stored image information, the reading mode is the reading mode (character mode / photograph mode) of the stored image information, and the compression mode is the compression of the stored image information. Mode.

Step 23: After the transfer is completed, the facsimile apparatus starts transmission of the image information stored in the image information memory 4 according to a normal G3 facsimile transmission procedure.

Step 24: At this point, the receiving side stores the receiving side recording linear density capability in the file management information on the receiving side.

Step 25: Thereafter, during image information transmission,
Transmission may be interrupted for some reason.

Steps 26-28: If the facsimile apparatus cannot transmit even after repeating the predetermined number of transmission operations, it outputs a report to that effect and stores the file stored in the image information memory 4. to erase. At this time, the receiving capability information of the receiving side received from the receiving side is transmitted to the PC.
Transfer to The PC replaces the first stored file management information with new file management information.

Thus, when the facsimile apparatus transmits the same image information again, the corresponding file is selected from the PC and displayed again. At this time, the receiving capability of the receiving side stored in the PC-side file management information is read, and a response as shown in FIG. 3 is performed.

That is, the PC checks the receiving capability of the receiving side stored in the file management information with respect to the file (step 31) for which retransmission has been instructed, and as shown in step 32, for example, the receiving side sets DTL (fine characters). If it only supports the image information, the image information stored in SSF (fine characters) is searched for each page before transfer,
If there is a page stored in the SSF, the page is temporarily expanded into a bitmap, and then thinned out line by line in the sub-scanning direction, and the line density is converted to DTL.

Then, in step 33, the image information after the linear density conversion and the file management information corresponding thereto are transferred to the facsimile machine.

In step 34, the facsimile apparatus executes a normal memory transmission based on the received data.

According to this embodiment, when the receiving side only supports up to DTL, the image information transferred from the PC to the facsimile apparatus is only STD (standard) or DTL image information. An effect is obtained that the communication time during the period can be reduced.

Next, the features of the embodiment of the invention according to claim 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart showing an embodiment of the second aspect of the invention.

The difference from the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention is that the step 3 shown by * A in FIG.
2 lies in the point as shown in FIG.

That is, when there are a plurality of broadcast destinations in the file for which retransmission has been instructed, the linear density conversion is performed according to the receiving side with the lowest linear density or the receiving side with the finest linear density. Which is selected is set by a function switch or the like.

Step 41: It is checked whether the setting by the function switch or the like is set to the receiving side with the lowest linear density or to the receiving side with the finest linear density.

Step 42: If it is set to match the receiving side with the coarsest line density, the receiving recording density of the broadcast destination is checked, compared with the image information linear density of each page, and all broadcast stations receive. Convert to the highest possible linear density.

Step 43: If not, check the reception recording density of the broadcast destination, compare it with the image information linear density of each page, and convert to the finest linear density.

According to the present embodiment, in the case of setting to match the receiving side with the coarsest line density, the transfer time from the PC to the facsimile apparatus can be shortened, and the transmission with the finer line density becomes possible. Thus, the effect that the usability is improved is obtained.

Next, the features of the embodiment of the invention according to claim 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart showing an embodiment of the third aspect of the present invention.

The difference in operation from the embodiment of the invention according to claim 1 described above is that step 3 indicated by * A in FIG.
2 lies in the point as shown in FIG.

That is, in this embodiment, at the time of storing the image information, whether or not the read image information in the halftone mode or the photograph mode (read mode) is stored in the file management information for each page. When the image information is transferred to the PC, the reading mode is similarly transferred to the file management information.

Thereafter, when transferring a file whose retransmission is instructed from the PC, the reading mode is referred to, and the page of the read image information in the halftone mode or the photograph mode is transferred without performing the linear density conversion (step S1). 5
1).

According to this embodiment, since the reading mode is stored for each page, the page of the read image information in the halftone mode or the photograph mode is not subjected to the linear density conversion, and the image quality is not deteriorated. The effect that transfer becomes possible is obtained.

Next, the features of the embodiment of the invention according to claim 4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 4.

The difference in operation from the embodiment of the invention according to claim 1 described above is that step 3 indicated by * A in FIG.
2 lies in the point as shown in FIG.

That is, in this embodiment, when transferring a file for which retransmission has been instructed from the PC, the STD, D
By exchanging pages of image information having a mixed linear density such as TL, for example, by collecting pages read by STD in the first half and collecting pages read by DTL in the second half, the time of protocol signal exchange is reduced. Shorten. The image information file in each line density group is an image information file No. (Steps 61 and 62).

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to shorten the time of the line density switching protocol at the time of transmission from the facsimile machine, and to shorten the communication time.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show file management information (FIG. 8A) according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
An example of an image information file ((b) in the figure) is shown.

In this case, the file management information is as shown in FIG.
4A is obtained by adding receiving-side recording paper width information, receiving-side modem communication rate, and transmission result information to the image information file shown in FIG. 4B. The width is added.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the operation when a retransmission instruction is issued from the PC in this case. The operation in this case is
In the operation of FIG. 3, only the portion of step 32 indicated by * A is different, and FIG. 9 shows only this portion.

That is, in this case, the recording paper width information on the receiving side of the file management information is compared with the read image information width stored in the image information file, and the magnification is determined (step 91). The decompressed image information is once decompressed, converted into the original bitmap data, and subjected to a scaling process at the scaling factor obtained in the process 91 (process 92).

Then, after scaling, the bitmap data is compressed again by the same compression method, and linked with the image information file and stored again. At this time, the read image information width of the image information file is changed accordingly (step 93).

Thus, in this embodiment, when the stored image information width is larger than the recording paper width information of the receiving party, the image information is reduced in width by the PC before being transferred to the facsimile. Therefore, the transfer time of the image information can be reduced.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the operation when a retransmission instruction is issued from the PC side according to still another embodiment of the present invention. The operation in the present embodiment is different from the operation in FIG. 3 only in the step 32 indicated by * A. Therefore, FIG. 10 shows only this part.

That is, a file having the same FAX number as the transmission destination of the file whose transmission result has been instructed to be retransmitted by NG is searched from the file management information stored in the PC (Process 1).
01).

If the search result is "Yes" (the result of determination 102 is Y), the file number of the corresponding file is displayed, and an inquiry is made as to whether or not to transmit the file with the file added ( (Process 103) If addition is instructed (result of determination 104 is Y), all selected image information files are linked (Process 10).
5).

When the result of the judgment 102 is N and when the result of the judgment 104 is N, the processing shifts to the end point of the processing 105.

In this case, since the facsimile apparatus transmits the image information of a plurality of files at once by the same transmission operation, it is necessary to reassign the page numbers. FIG. 11 shows an example of the process in that case.

When the image file is received from the PC (process 111), the link image No. Is detected (step 112),
Sort processing is performed for all the pages (processing 11
3. NO loop of decision 114). If there is an image file which has not been subjected to the sorting process, the processes 112 to 114 are repeated, and the pages are sorted for all the linked image files.

Next, the telephone number is extracted (process 11).
6), a call is made to the destination (process 117), and a predetermined transmission process is executed (process 118).

Thus, in the present embodiment, when there are a plurality of image information stored in the PC and the transmission result is NG, and when the transmission destination is the same, one of the image information is When selecting and retransmitting, other transmission results N
Since the image information of G is also added and transferred at a time, usability is improved. In the destination facsimile machine,
Since a plurality of image information files can be transmitted by one transmission operation, the communication time can be greatly reduced.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the operation when a retransmission instruction is issued from the PC side according to still another embodiment of the present invention. The operation in the present embodiment is different from the operation in FIG. 3 only in the step 32 indicated by * A, and FIG. 12 shows only this part.

That is, if the line density of the image information file is SS
It is checked whether it is F or SF (decision 121), and decision 1
When the result of S21 is Y, the communication rate of the modem on the receiving side of the file management information is confirmed (processing 122), and it is checked whether the communication rate of the modem on the receiving side is 9.6 Kbps or less (decision 123). When the result is Y, the linear density of the image information file is converted into STD or DTL (process 124).

Accordingly, in this embodiment, when the modem communication rate of the receiving capability of the receiving party is high, SF and SSF are used as much as possible, and when the modem communication rate is low, the line density is converted to STD or the like for transmission. As a result, facsimile transmission as clear as possible can be made so as not to incur excessive communication charges.

The above embodiment is an example of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, the inventions described in claims 2 to 7 can be put to practical use in various combinations as needed.

[0070]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In the communication between the facsimile apparatus and the PC, a remarkable effect that a PC capable of shortening the communication time by performing the linear density conversion of the transmission image information can be realized.

If the stored image information width is larger than the recording paper width information of the receiving party, the image information is reduced in width by a PC before being transferred to a facsimile, so that the image information is transferred. The effect that time can be shortened is also obtained.

When the transmission result stored in the PC is N
If there are multiple pieces of image information that are G and the destination is the same, when one of them is selected and retransmitted, the image information of the other transmission result NG is also added once. Since the data is transferred to the server, the effect that the usability is improved is also obtained. Also, the destination facsimile machine can transmit multiple image information files in a single transmission operation,
There is also an effect that the communication time can be significantly reduced.

Also, when the modem communication rate of the receiving capability of the receiving party is high, the transmission rate is SF and SSF as much as possible, and when the modem communication rate is low, the line density is converted to STD or the like and transmitted. There is also obtained an effect that facsimile transmission as clear as possible can be performed so as not to overload.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment (part 1).
It is.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment (part 2).
It is.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of file management information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment (part 3).
It is.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of the embodiment (part 4).
It is.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment (part 5).
It is.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of file management information (FIG. (A)) and an image information file (FIG. (B)) according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a main part of an operation example when a retransmission instruction is issued from the PC side in still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a main part of an operation example when a retransmission instruction is issued from the PC side in still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a page number assignment process performed by the facsimile machine.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a main part of an operation example when a retransmission instruction is issued from the PC side according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Scanner 2 Plotter 3 Operation instruction part 4 Image memory 5 Parameter memory 6 Battery 7 Modem 8 Communication control part 9 Network control device 10 Encoding / decoding part 11 CPU 12 ROM 13 Host PCI / F part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H04N 1/387 101 H04L 13/00 305C

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A multi-function information communication device used by connecting to another information communication device via a physical interface,
A means for storing image information transmitted from the facsimile apparatus, a means for storing linear density information for each page, and a means for converting to a specified linear density, storing the image information transmitted from the facsimile apparatus, An information communication apparatus wherein, when a retransmission request is made, the information is converted into an appropriate linear density and transferred to a facsimile apparatus. 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the retransmission request from the facsimile apparatus includes a plurality of broadcast destinations, appropriate linear density conversion is performed in consideration of the linear density of the broadcast destination. Information communication device as described. 3. In addition to each of the above means, there is provided a means for storing that the data has been read in a halftone (photograph) mode,
3. The information communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein line density conversion is not performed on the page read in the halftone (photograph) mode. 4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: means for changing a transmission order based on the linear density conversion stored for each of said pages so as to minimize a change in linear density on a protocol at the time of transmission. The information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein 5. The information communication according to claim 1, wherein the image data is transferred by applying an appropriate scaling process based on the image information width information stored for each page and the recording paper width information on the receiving side. apparatus. 6. The information communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image information files of the same destination among the stored image information files are transferred to the facsimile apparatus at a time. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the line density is determined based on the modem communication speed of the receiving capability of the receiving side, and the image information is converted to the determined line density and then transferred to a facsimile machine. Information communication device.