JPH1065862A - Image communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] The present invention transmits image information and communication history information to an information processing apparatus at the time of transmission, and in the event of a transmission error, re-uses the image information and communication history information transmitted by the information processing apparatus. Provided is an image communication device that improves the convenience of transmission and retransmission. When a transmission error occurs, if transmission of image information of a transmission original to a host computer is set,
Transmitting the image information of the transmission original to the host computer,
The image information of the transmission original in the image information memory is deleted (steps Q1 to Q4). Next, if transmission of the communication history information to the host computer is set, the communication history information is transmitted to the host computer, the transmission history information is deleted, and the process is terminated (steps Q5 to Q7). When a transmission error occurs, the operator of the image communication apparatus can perform transmission again using the image information and the communication history information of the transmission original transmitted to the host computer.

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, and more particularly, to an image communication apparatus with improved convenience in retransmission when transmission of image information fails.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image communication apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus has a reading section for reading an image of a document, a transmitting / receiving section for facsimile communication of a facsimile control signal and image information with a partner facsimile apparatus, and recording of received image information. It has a recording unit for recording and outputting on paper, an operation unit for instructing various operations, and the like, and functions as one independent device.

In such a conventional facsimile apparatus, at the time of transmission, if the image information of the transmission original is not properly transmitted for some reason and a transmission error occurs, the transmission original is set again and the transmission operation is performed again. It is necessary to perform transmission of the transmission original.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional image communication apparatus, if the transmission original is not properly transmitted, the transmission original is set again and the transmission processing is performed again. Must be kept until the transmission is properly completed.
There is a problem that the life of the image communication device is poor.

Therefore, the present invention provides an image communication apparatus connected to an information processing apparatus, which transmits image information of the transmitted original to the information processing apparatus when transmitting the transmitted original. When the transmission original is not normally transmitted without storing the transmission original until the transmission is properly completed, the transmission original stored in the information processing apparatus is stored. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image communication apparatus which can perform retransmission by using the image information of (1) and has good usability.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when a transmission original is transmitted in an image communication apparatus connected to an information processing apparatus, image information of the transmission original and communication history information such as a telephone number and a transmission mode are transmitted. By also transmitting to the processing device and storing it in the information processing device, without writing and storing the transmitted manuscript and the telephone number and transmission mode of the other party until the transmission is properly completed as in the related art, If the transmission of the transmission original is not performed normally, the image information of the transmission original stored in the information processing device is replaced with the telephone number of the destination using the communication history stored in the information processing device. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image communication apparatus which can easily retransmit without re-examining, and which is more usable.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when an image communication apparatus connected to an information processing apparatus transmits a transmission original, the image information of the transmission original and communication history information such as a telephone number and a transmission mode are transmitted. By transmitting to the information processing device according to the selection and storing it in the information processing device, if necessary, the transmission original and the telephone number of the destination and the transmission If the transmission document is not transmitted normally without storing the transmission mode, etc., the image information of the transmission document stored in the information processing device is processed as necessary by the operator. To provide an image communication device that can easily be retransmitted without using the communication history stored in the device without rechecking the telephone number or the like of the other party, and that is even more usable. For the purpose To have.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image communication apparatus for transmitting / receiving image information via a line, comprising: a connection unit for connecting the image communication apparatus to an information processing apparatus; The transmission of the image information via the line, and a control unit for transmitting the image information for transmission to the information processing apparatus connected by the connection unit, thereby achieving the above object. ing.

According to the above arrangement, in the image communication device connected to the information processing device, when transmitting the transmission document, the image information of the transmission document is also transmitted to the information processing device and stored in the information processing device. Therefore, if the transmission original is not transmitted normally without storing the transmission original until the transmission is properly completed as in the past, the image information of the transmission original stored in the information processing device is used. As a result, retransmission can be performed, and the usability of the image communication device can be improved.

In this case, for example, as set forth in claim 2, the control means transmits communication history information such as a transmission destination of the transmission processing and a transmission mode to the information processing apparatus at the time of the transmission. Is also good.

[0011] According to the above configuration, in the image communication apparatus connected to the information processing apparatus, when the transmission original is transmitted,
The image information of the transmission original and the communication history information such as the telephone number and the transmission mode are also transmitted to the information processing apparatus and stored in the information processing apparatus. If the transmission original is not transmitted normally without storing the destination telephone number and transmission mode etc., the image information of the transmission original stored in the information processing device is stored in the information processing device. By using the communication history information stored in the communication device, the retransmission can be easily performed without rechecking the telephone number or the like of the other party, and the usability of the image communication apparatus can be further improved.

[0012] For example, as set forth in claim 3, the image communication apparatus further comprises a selection means for selecting whether or not to transmit to the information processing apparatus, and the control means, The image information or the communication history information may be transmitted to the information processing device according to a selection result of the selection unit.

[0013] According to the above configuration, in the image communication apparatus connected to the information processing apparatus, when the transmission original is transmitted,
The image information of the transmission original and the communication history information such as the telephone number and transmission mode are also transmitted to the information processing apparatus according to the selection, and stored in the information processing apparatus. Unless the transmission original and the telephone number of the destination and the transmission mode at the time of transmission are described and stored until completion, the transmission of the transmission original is not performed normally. By using the communication history stored in the information processing device, the image information of the transmission original stored in the device can be easily retransmitted without rechecking the telephone number or the like of the other party, The usability of the image communication device can be further improved.

[0014]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are preferred embodiments of the present invention, and therefore, various technically preferable limitations are added. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following description. The embodiments are not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 are diagrams showing an embodiment of an image communication apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image communication apparatus 1 to which an embodiment of the image communication apparatus according to the present invention is applied. It is a circuit block diagram.

In FIG. 1, an image communication apparatus 1 includes a reading unit 2, an encoding / decoding unit 3, a system memory 4, an operation display unit 5, a recording unit 6, a system control unit 7, an image information memory 8,
It comprises a communication control section 9, a modem 10, a DTMF detector 11, a host I / F section 12, and the like. A host computer 20 is connected to the image communication device 1.

The reading unit 2 is, for example, a CCD (Charge Cou
A reading unit 2 reads a document image at a predetermined resolution and outputs it as image information.

The encoding / decoding unit 3 is for improving the efficiency of storing image information in the image information memory 8 and shortening the transmission time, and encodes the image information according to a predetermined encoding method. , And decodes the encoded image information.

The system memory 4 is composed of a readable / writable memory such as a RAM, and stores various management information such as a transmission destination telephone number and name, and own telephone number and name.

The operation display unit (selection means) 5 includes various operation keys such as a numeric keypad, a start key, and a function key, and also includes a display (for example, a liquid crystal display). Is input, and the display displays the content of the command input from the operation keys and various information notified from the image communication device 1 to the operator. In particular, the operation display unit 5 is provided with a selection key (selection means) for selecting whether or not to transmit image information and communication history information of a transmission original to the host computer 20 in an information transmission control process described later. The contents of the information transmission selection by this selection key include:
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, there are the following four selection contents. That is, as the selection A, the image information of the transmission original is transmitted to the host computer 20 only when the image information cannot be transmitted normally due to the transmission error. As selection B, all transmitted image information is transmitted to the host computer 20. As a selection a, the communication history information is transmitted to the host computer 20 only when transmission cannot be performed due to a transmission error. As selection b, all transmitted communication history information is transmitted to the host computer 20. These selections A,
Among B, a, and b, the selected contents A and B are the selected contents a and b
For example, the image information and the communication history information can be selected and set to be transmitted to the host computer 20 only when transmission cannot be performed due to an error, or transmitted only when transmission cannot be performed due to an error. The image information of the document can be transmitted to the host computer 20 and all the communication history information at the time of transmission can be selected and set to be transmitted to the host computer 20. The contents of the transmission selection are stored in the system memory 4 or the RAM in the system control unit 7.

As the recording unit 6, for example, a thermal recording device using a thermal element or an electrophotographic recording device is used. The recording unit 6 stores the received image information and the image of the original read by the reading unit 2. Information and other information are recorded and output on recording paper.

The system control unit (control means) 7 includes a CPU
(Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memo
ry), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The ROM stores a basic control processing program for the image communication apparatus 1 and a host computer 2 for image information at the time of transmission, which will be described later.
Various control programs such as an information transmission control processing program to 0 and various system data necessary for performing various control processing such as basic processing and transmission control processing are stored.
The system control unit 7 controls each unit of the image communication apparatus 1 while the CPU uses the RAM and the system memory 4 as a work memory based on a program in the ROM,
The basic control process as the image communication device 1 is executed, and various processes such as an information transmission control process described later are executed.

The image information memory 8 is composed of a readable / writable memory such as a RAM or a hard disk, and temporarily stores mainly image information for transmission and received image information.

The communication control unit 9 operates under the control of the system control unit 7 to exchange facsimile control signals with the other facsimile machine via the modem 13 and the network control unit 14 to execute a facsimile communication procedure. I do.

The modem 13 is connected to the communication control section 9 and operates under the control of the system control section 7 to perform modulation of a transmission signal and demodulation of a reception signal.

The DTMF detector 11 is connected to the communication control section 9 and receives a DTMF (Dual T
One multifrequency) signal is detected, and the content is output to the system control unit 7 via the communication control unit 9.

The host I / F (connection means) 12 is connected to the host computer 20 in parallel or serially, and the image communication apparatus 1 communicates with the host computer 20 via the host I / F 12. Various data,
In particular, the image information and communication history information (eg, destination telephone number, transmission mode, etc.) of the transmission original are stored in the host computer 20.
Output to

Host computer (information processing device) 20
Includes a storage device such as a hard disk, and stores image information and communication history information of a transmission original transmitted from the image communication device 1 in the storage device. The host computer 20 stores the image information and the communication history information of the transmission original transmitted from the image communication device 1 in the storage device as described above, and when a recording output is instructed by a keyboard or a mouse,
A printer connected to the host computer 20 or a printer connected to a network connected to the host computer 20 causes the image information and communication history information of the transmission original to be recorded and output on recording paper. When the communication device 1 is provided with software for transmitting data, the communication device 1 transmits image information and communication history information of a transmission document to the image communication device 1. The information processing device is not limited to the host computer 20, but may be a word processor, a personal computer, or the like.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The image communication apparatus 1 is characterized in that at the time of transmission, image information and communication history information of a transmission original are transmitted to a host computer 20 connected to the image communication apparatus 1.

That is, the image communication apparatus 1 transmits the image information and / or the communication history information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 according to the setting of the operation display unit 5.

First, a case where only image information of a transmission original is transmitted to the host computer 20 in accordance with the setting of the operation display section 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

When a document to be transmitted is set on the reading unit 2, a destination and a transmission mode are set by operating keys on the operation display unit 5, and the start key is pressed, the system control unit 7 controls the reading unit 2. Drive, scan the transmission originals sequentially,
After being encoded by the encoding / decoding unit 3, the image is temporarily stored in the image information memory 8. Thereafter, the system control unit 7 causes the communication control unit 9 to call the destination, and when the destination facsimile apparatus answers, sequentially reads out the image information of the transmission original from the image information memory 8 and transmits it.

In this transmission processing, the system control unit 7 checks whether the transmission original has been properly transmitted to the destination, and as shown in FIG. 3, an error occurs during transmission and the transmission original is transmitted properly. If it is not possible (step S1), it is checked whether the transmission of the image information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 is set (step S2).

In step S2, when transmission of the image information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 is not selected, the system control section 7 terminates the processing as it is in the normal transmission processing of the facsimile apparatus.

In step S2, when transmission of the image information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 is selected, the system control unit 7 transmits the image information of the transmission original in the image information memory 8 to the host I / F unit. When all the image information of the transmission original is transmitted to the host computer 20 through the transmission of the transmission original to the host computer 20 via the step S12, the image information of the transmission original in the image information memory 8 is deleted, and the processing is terminated. (Step S4). At this time, the system control unit 7 decodes the image information of the transmission original in the image information memory 8 by the encoding / decoding unit 3 and then transmits the image information to the host computer 20.

The host computer 20 stores the transmitted image information in the memory when the image information of the transmission original is transmitted from the image communication apparatus 1, and transfers the image information to the printer when a predetermined recording output operation is performed. To record and output on recording paper.

When the host computer 20 has software for transmitting the image information of the transmission original received and stored in the memory to the image communication apparatus 1, the host computer 20 transmits the image information of the transmission original to the image communication apparatus 1. Is transmitted, the image information of the transmission original is transmitted to the image communication apparatus 1. In this case, the image communication apparatus 1 may transmit the image information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 without decoding the image information, or may transmit the image information after decoding. Good.

Therefore, when a transmission error occurs, the operator of the image communication device 1 causes the host computer 20 to record and output the image information of the transmission original transmitted to the host computer 20, or causes the image communication device 1 to output the image information. The transmission can be performed again using the transmission document recorded and output on the recording paper or the image information of the transmission document transferred to the image communication apparatus 1,
As in the related art, it is not necessary to store the transmission original until the transmission is properly completed.
Of the image communication device 1 can be improved while effectively utilizing the image communication device.

Next, the selection and setting of whether or not to transmit the image information and the communication history information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 and the processing at the time of transmission according to the selection and setting will be described with reference to FIGS. This will be described below.

At the time of transmission, the operator of the image communication device 1
In addition to performing a normal transmission operation, it is possible to select and set whether to transmit the image information and the communication history information of the transmission original to the host computer 20.

That is, at the time of transmission, as shown in FIG. 4, the operator performs a normal transmission operation such as setting the transmission original on the reading section 2, dial input of the transmission destination, setting of the scanning line density (step P1). ).

When the normal transmission operation is performed, the system control unit 7 uses the input destination telephone number, transmission mode, and the like as communication history information as RAM of the system control unit 7.
Alternatively, the image data is stored in the system memory 8, and an inquiry as to whether or not to transmit the image information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 is displayed on the display of the operation display unit 5. It is checked whether or not transmission is selected (step P2).

If transmission of image information is not selected in step P2, the system control section 7 terminates the selection / setting processing at the time of transmission as it is. If transmission of image information is selected in step P2, the transmission processing is performed. Is displayed on the display of the operation display unit 5 only when the error is terminated, and whether the image information of the transmission original is transmitted to the host computer 20 is displayed. It is checked whether or not transmission is selected (step P3).

In step P3, if transmission of image information is selected only at the end of an error, the system control unit 7
That is, the selection A shown in FIG. 2 is set (stored) in the RAM of the system control unit 7 or the system memory 4.
(Step P4), and in Step P3, when it is selected to transmit the image information other than at the time of the error end, if so,
That is, the selection B shown in FIG.
Set to AM or system memory 4 (step P
5).

Next, an inquiry as to whether or not to transmit the communication history information to the host computer 20 is displayed on the display of the operation display unit 5, and the transmission of the communication history information is selected by a key operation of the operation display unit 5. It is checked whether it is (Step P6).

If transmission of the communication history information is not selected in step P6, the system control section 7 terminates the selection / setting processing at the time of transmission as it is, and if transmission of the communication history information is selected, the transmission processing fails. The display of the inquiry about whether to transmit the communication history information to the host computer 20 only when the communication is completed is performed on the display of the operation display unit 5, and the transmission of the communication history information is performed only at the time of error termination by the key operation of the operation display unit 5. It is checked whether the execution is selected (step P7).

In step P7, if the transmission of the communication history information is selected only at the end of the error, the system control unit 7 determines that, that is, the selection a shown in FIG. When the transmission is set in the system memory 4 (step P8) and transmission of the communication history information is selected in step P7 other than at the time of the error end, the fact, that is, the selection b shown in FIG. 7
(Step P9).

Therefore, whether to transmit the image information and communication history information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 is determined.
Also, select whether to always send when sending, or only when sending ends with an error, as necessary.
The setting can be performed, and the usability of the image communication device 1 can be improved.

Next, when a transmission error occurs according to the selection / setting of transmission of the image information and communication history information of the transmission original, the transmission control processing of the image information and communication history information of the transmission original will be described. 5 will be described.

In the transmission processing, the system control unit 7
It is checked whether or not the transmission original has been properly transmitted to the destination. As shown in FIG. 5, when an error occurs during transmission and the transmission original cannot be transmitted properly (step Q).
1) It is checked whether the transmission of the image information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 is set (step Q2).

In step Q2, when the transmission of the image information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 has not been selected or set, the system control section 7 terminates the processing as it is in the normal transmission processing of the facsimile apparatus. .

In step Q2, when the transmission of the image information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 is selected, the system control unit 7 transmits the image information of the transmission original in the image information memory 8 to the host I / F unit. When all the image information of the transmission original is transmitted to the host computer 20 through the host computer 20, the image information of the transmission original in the image information memory 8 is deleted, and the process ends. (Step Q4). At this time, the system control unit 7 decodes the image information of the transmission original in the image information memory 8 by the encoding / decoding unit 3 and then transmits the image information to the host computer 20.

Next, the system control unit 7 checks whether the transmission of the communication history information set in step P1 of FIG. 4 to the host computer 20 is selected or set (step Q5).

At step Q5, when transmission of the communication history information to the host computer 20 is not selected,
The system control unit 7 ends the processing as it is, similarly to the normal transmission processing of the facsimile machine.

At step Q5, when transmission of the communication history information to the host computer 20 is selected, the system control unit 7 stores the communication history information in the RAM of the system control unit 7 or the system memory 4 into the host I / O. F
When the transmission of the communication history information to the host computer 20 is completed, the transmission history information in the RAM of the system control unit 7 or the system memory 4 is deleted. ,
The process ends (step Q7).

When the image information and the communication history information of the transmission original are transmitted from the image communication device 1, the host computer 20 stores the transmitted image information and the communication history information of the transmission original in a memory, and stores the predetermined information. When the record output operation is performed,
The data is transferred to a printer and recorded on a recording sheet.

When the host computer 20 has software for transmitting the image information of the transmission original received and stored in the memory to the image communication apparatus 1, the host computer 20 transmits the image information of the transmission original to the image communication apparatus 1. Is transmitted, the image information of the transmission original is transmitted to the image communication apparatus 1. In this case, the image communication apparatus 1 may transmit the image information of the transmission original to the host computer 20 without decoding the image information, or may transmit the image information after decoding. Good.

Therefore, when a transmission error occurs, the operator of the image communication apparatus 1 causes the host computer 20 to record and output the image information and the communication history information of the transmission original transmitted to the host computer 20, or to transmit the information. The image information of the original is transferred to the image communication device 1 and the transmission original recorded and output on the recording paper or the image information of the transmission original transferred to the image communication device 1 is used for recording and output on the recording paper. Retransmission can be performed with reference to the transmitted communication history information, and the transmission original can be stored and the communication history such as the destination telephone number and transmission mode can be kept until the transmission is properly completed. It is not necessary to memorize information or write it on paper and keep it, so that the usability of the image communication device 1 can be improved.

The communication history information is transmitted from the host computer 20 to the image communication device 1, and the image communication device 1
The transmission condition may be automatically set by acquiring the communication history information and setting the transmission destination and transmission mode.

In the process of FIG. 5, the selection / setting of the transmission of the communication history information is checked only when the transmission of the image information of the transmission original is selected, but in step Q2 of FIG. When the determination is NO, the process proceeds to step Q5. Even when transmission of image information of a transmission original is not selected, the selection of transmission of communication history information is checked and transmission of communication history information can be performed. It may be.

In the processing of FIG. 5, the processing in the case where a transmission error has occurred has been described. For each transmission, the status of selection / setting of a transmission request for image information and communication history information is checked. Transmission processing of image information and communication history information may be performed.

Although the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. It goes without saying that it is possible.

[0063]

According to the image communication apparatus of the first aspect of the invention, in the image communication apparatus connected to the information processing apparatus, when transmitting the transmission original, the image information of the transmission original is also transmitted to the information processing apparatus. Then, the transmission information is stored in the information processing apparatus without transmitting the transmission original until the transmission is properly completed as in the related art. Retransmission can be performed using the image information of the transmitted original document, and the usability of the image communication apparatus can be improved.

According to the image communication apparatus of the present invention, in the image communication apparatus connected to the information processing apparatus,
When the transmission original is transmitted, the image information of the transmission original and the communication history information such as the telephone number and the transmission mode are also transmitted to the information processing apparatus and stored in the information processing apparatus. Without writing and storing the transmitted manuscript and the telephone number and transmission mode of the other party until it is properly completed,
If the transmission of the transmission original is not performed normally, the image information of the transmission original stored in the information processing device is replaced with the telephone number of the destination using the communication history information stored in the information processing device. The retransmission can be easily performed without rechecking the information and the like, and the usability of the image communication apparatus can be further improved.

According to the image communication apparatus of the third aspect, in the image communication apparatus connected to the information processing apparatus,
When the transmission original is transmitted, the image information of the transmission original and communication history information such as a telephone number and a transmission mode are selected according to the selection.
Since the information is also transmitted to the information processing device and stored in the information processing device, the transmission original, the telephone number of the destination, the transmission mode at the time of transmission, and the like are stored until the transmission is properly completed, as in the related art. If the transmission of the transmission document is not performed normally, the image information of the transmission document stored in the information processing device is replaced with the communication history stored in the information processing device as needed by the operator. By using this, retransmission can be easily performed without checking the telephone number or the like of the other party, and the usability of the image communication apparatus can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of an image communication device to which an embodiment of an image communication device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a selection pattern of image information of a transmission original and transmission history information by the image communication apparatus of FIG. 1 and setting contents thereof.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing transmission control processing of image information of a transmission original when a transmission error occurs in the image communication apparatus of FIG. 1;

4 is a flowchart showing a process of selecting and setting transmission of image information and communication history information of a transmission original by the image communication apparatus of FIG. 1; .

5 is a flowchart illustrating transmission control processing of image information and communication history information of a transmission original when a transmission error occurs in the image communication apparatus of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 image communication device 2 reading unit 3 encoding / decoding unit 4 system memory 5 operation display unit 6 recording unit 7 system control unit 8 image information memory 9 communication control unit 10 modem 11 DTMF detector 12 host I / F unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image communication apparatus for transmitting / receiving image information via a line, a connection means for connecting the image communication apparatus to an information processing apparatus, and a connection means for transmitting the image information via the line. Control means for transmitting said image information for transmission to said information processing apparatus connected by means. 2. The image communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means transmits communication history information such as a transmission destination of the transmission processing and a transmission mode to said information processing apparatus during said transmission. . 3. The image communication device further comprises a selection unit for selecting whether or not transmission to the information processing device is performed, and the control unit, according to a selection result of the selection unit, The image communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image communication apparatus transmits image information or the communication history information to the information processing apparatus.