JP2002185754A - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] In a facsimile that subscribes to a caller notification number (hereinafter, referred to as a first ID) service, an optimum connection condition with a destination terminal is automatically selected from a communication history thereof, resulting in unnecessary use. Provided is a facsimile apparatus capable of suppressing communication time. SOLUTION: For the same destination telephone number, n-1
The final transmission rate up to the last call is stored in the terminal connection history storage unit 130 as a communication history, and at the n-th incoming call, the most frequently used transmission rate is specified from the stored communication history, and The connection condition is stored in the terminal connection condition storage unit 120. In the nth and subsequent communications, communication is performed based on the connection conditions stored in the terminal connection condition storage unit 120.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus that can receive the D service, and more particularly to a facsimile apparatus that specifies an optimal connection condition based on a communication history with the same destination.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, connection between a calling terminal and a called terminal in facsimile communication is realized by a specific protocol.

In this operation, as shown in FIG. 8, first, a CNG (call tone) is transmitted from a transmitting terminal to a receiving terminal.
Is transmitted (A1 → B1), whereas a CED (called station identification signal) is transmitted from the receiving terminal to the transmitting terminal (B2 → A2). Thereafter, CSI (called terminal identification) and DIS (digital identification signal) are transmitted from the receiving terminal to the transmitting terminal (B3 → A3, B4 → A4).

[0004] In addition, T from the transmitting side terminal to the receiving side terminal.
SI (transmission terminal identification) and DCS (digital command signal)
Are transmitted (A5 → B5, A6 → B6), and then T
RANING (training) starts (A7 → B
7).

Further, after the training is completed, a TCF (training check) is transmitted from the transmitting terminal to the receiving terminal (A8 → B8), and then the receiving terminal transmits a CFR (reception preparation confirmation) to the transmitting terminal. FTT (training failure) is transmitted (B9 → A9).

In the above facsimile communication, the connection rate is optimized until the connection rate becomes optimum depending on the state of deterioration of the line.
The phase B in FIG. 8 is repeatedly executed.

[0007] By operating in this way, optimal connection conditions are set in the mutual terminals, and stable communication can be performed.

[0008]

However, in general, in communication with a specific destination, the state of deterioration of the line hardly changes for each communication, so that facsimile communication is performed to a destination whose deterioration is originally large. In such a case, it is necessary to perform the downshifting every time, which causes a problem that a long communication time is required.

[0009] The above connection conditions differ depending on the setting of the terminal itself or a change in the function, in addition to the condition of the line deterioration.

However, under the present circumstances, it is not possible to select communication connection conditions due to a change in the type of the terminal at the other end, so that even in this case, a normal communication procedure is taken every time, resulting in a communication time Is required for a long time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has been made in consideration of the above-described problem. Is automatically selected, and a facsimile apparatus capable of suppressing useless communication time is provided.

Further, in addition to the above-described effects, the TSI
When it is recognized from the information such as CSI and CSI that the destination terminal has been replaced, the communication history data with the destination is retaken by using normal communication means, and the optimum connection condition is automatically selected again. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile machine capable of performing such operations.

Further, in addition to the above-described effects, a facsimile apparatus capable of retrieving a communication history and automatically re-selecting an optimum connection condition depending on the number of occurrences of a training error or the like is provided. With the goal.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is identical to calling ID recognizing means for recognizing a telephone number of a caller notified by a caller notification number service. Terminal connection history storage means for storing the communication history with the other party in correspondence with the telephone number of the same other party, and specifying the optimum connection condition from the communication history stored in the terminal connection history storage means, and Terminal connection condition storage means for storing corresponding to the telephone number of the other party, and establishing communication based on the connection condition stored in the terminal connection condition storage means in communication with the same other party. It is characterized by.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect, the terminal connection history storage means stores n-1 (n
Is an arbitrary natural number of 2 or more) times, and the terminal connection condition storage means specifies the connection condition based on the most frequent communication history from the n-1 times of communication history. Features.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the communication history is a final transmission rate in communication with the same destination, and the connection condition is a condition in the communication. This is a transmission rate, and is characterized in that when establishing communication with the same destination, the transmission rate is specified in the DIS to the transmission rate stored in the terminal connection condition storage means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the terminal connection history storage means performs the same communication with the same destination. When the destination terminal changes, the stored communication history is discarded, and the communication history with the same destination is stored again, and the terminal connection condition storage unit is stored in the terminal connection history storage unit. When the stored communication history is stored again, the stored connection condition is specified again.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the terminal connection condition storing means stores a fault occurring in communication with the same destination. Is stored in correspondence with the same destination telephone number, and the terminal connection history storage means stores the stored communication history when the number of failures exceeds a predetermined number set in advance. Discard and store the communication history with the same partner again, and the terminal connection condition storage means stores the connection stored when the communication history stored in the terminal connection history storage means is stored again. It is characterized by re-specifying the conditions.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [Features of the present invention] In the present invention, in a facsimile that subscribes to a caller ID (hereinafter, calling ID) service, an optimum connection condition with a destination terminal is automatically determined from a communication history. The present invention provides a facsimile apparatus capable of suppressing unnecessary communication time.

Further, the present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus having the above-mentioned functions, which is used for a facsimile apparatus such as TSI (transmission terminal identification) and CS.
When it is recognized from the information of I (called terminal identification) that the destination facsimile apparatus has been replaced, it is possible to store the communication history data with the destination by taking ordinary communication means. .

Further, according to the present invention, in a facsimile apparatus having the above-mentioned function, the optimum connection condition is always selected by returning to normal communication means depending on the number of training errors and acquiring communication history data again. Is possible.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention having the above-described effects will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment First, a first embodiment of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

{Configuration of First Embodiment} FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the facsimile apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a facsimile main unit 1, a facsimile control unit 10, and a communication unit 20 connected to the facsimile control unit 10 by a bus or the like. Further, the communication unit 20 is connected to a line (here, a general line).

Further, the facsimile control unit 10 outputs the calling ID
It has a recognition unit 110, a terminal connection condition storage unit 120, and a terminal connection history storage unit 130.

In the above configuration, the communication section 20 controls facsimile communication via a line. Further, the calling ID recognition unit 110 in the facsimile control unit 10 performs an operation of recognizing the telephone number of the other party by using the calling ID service (service for notifying the telephone number of the calling terminal) provided by NTT.

The terminal connection history storage unit 130 in the facsimile control unit 10 stores a telephone number and a connection history of a specific destination, and further, the terminal connection condition storage unit 120 stores a connection with the destination terminal. This is for storing optimal connection conditions.

Here, the connection history is, for example, the D on the calling side.
This is the final transmission rate when communicating with CS (Digital Clock Supply). In the present embodiment, as described below, the terminal connection history storage unit 13 sets the final transmission rate for the same destination from the first time to the (n-1) th time.
Store to 0. Therefore, in selecting the optimal connection condition, the most frequent final transmission rate is selected from the stored final transmission rates. Thus, in the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the training period between the transmitting and receiving terminals. However, in the present embodiment, in the communication with the same destination, the operation is performed so as to store the final transmission rate (communication history) up to the (n-1) th time. , The most frequently used transmission rate is selected as the connection condition, and in the (n + 1) th communication and thereafter, the communication is performed according to the connection condition selected for the nth time.

The above operation will be described with a specific example. For example, both terminals on the transmitting and receiving sides are 14.4 kbps.
When communication is performed n-1 times, the most frequent transmission rate (connection rate)
Is 9600 kbps, the “optimal connection condition” selected in the n-th communication is 960 kbps.
0 kbps. Therefore, if a fax is sent from this specific destination after the (n + 1) th, DIS
By returning information of 9600 kbps to the transmitting side, the time during the training period can be reduced.

The flow of this operation is shown in the sequence of FIG. Referring to FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, first, CNG (calling tone) is transmitted from the transmitting terminal to the receiving terminal (A1 → B1), whereas CED is transmitted from the receiving terminal to the transmitting terminal. (Called station identification signal) is transmitted (B2 →
A2). Then, the CS from the receiving terminal to the transmitting terminal
I (called terminal identification) and DIS (digital identification signal) are transmitted (B3 → A3, B4 → A4). In this embodiment, 9600 kbps is notified as a transmission rate from the receiving terminal to the transmitting terminal in this DIS.

Also, T is transmitted from the transmitting terminal to the receiving terminal.
SI (transmission terminal identification) and DCS (digital command signal)
Are transmitted (A5 → B5, A6 → B6), and then T
RANING (training) starts (A7 → B
7).

Further, after the training is completed, a TCF (training check) is transmitted from the transmitting terminal to the receiving terminal (A8 → B8), and then the receiving terminal sends a CFR (reception preparation confirmation) to the transmitting terminal. FTT (training failure) is transmitted (B9 → A9).

By operating as described above, in the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the communication time. However, the above configuration is merely an example in the present embodiment, and accordingly,
Various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

In the configuration shown in FIG.
The facsimile control unit 10 controls the source I provided by NTT.
When the service D is used and a call connection request is made,
If the telephone number recognized by the D recognition unit 110 is from the other party who received the call for the first time, the telephone number and communication history such as connection conditions are stored in the terminal connection history storage unit 130.

Further, the facsimile control unit 10 stores the destination telephone number and the communication history in the terminal connection history storage unit 130 in response to the second to (n-1) th call connection requests from the same destination. By repeating the storing operation, the connection conditions are stored in the terminal connection condition storage unit 120 in correspondence with the other party's telephone number.

In the present embodiment, when the calling party ID is recognized by the calling ID recognition section 110 in response to the (n + 1) th call connection request from the same party, the terminal connection condition storage is performed based on the phone number. Referring to section 120, the corresponding connection condition is specified, and based on the specified result, CSI information for notifying the information of the own device is converted into a signal that is optimal for the communication condition with the other party and transmitted. .

However, communication with the other party in these operations is performed via the communication unit 20.

{Operation of First Embodiment} The operation of the facsimile apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.
This will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the facsimile control unit 10 according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, when a facsimile control unit 10 receives a calling ID service by NTT from a destination terminal and is called, the calling ID recognition unit 110 causes a telephone number (calling ID) of the destination.
Is recognized (step S11). Next, in the recognition processing of step S11, the facsimile control unit 10 stores the information of the telephone number and the communication history in the terminal connection history when the recognized telephone number of the destination is the first recognized telephone number. If it is not stored in the unit 130 (Yes in step S12), the process is executed by normal facsimile communication (step S13), and then the terminal connection history is set by associating the recognized telephone number of the destination terminal with the communication history. The data is newly stored in the storage unit 130 (step S14), and the process ends.

On the other hand, if the telephone number of the destination terminal recognized in step S11 is not the telephone number recognized for the first time, that is, information on the telephone number and the communication history is stored in the terminal connection history storage unit 130. If it is (No in step S12), the facsimile control unit 10 calls up all communication histories corresponding to the telephone numbers recognized from the terminal connection history storage unit 130 (step S15). afterwards,
The facsimile control unit 10 compares the number of communication histories called in step S15 with a predetermined number n, and determines whether the number of communication histories is smaller than the number n or the number of communication histories is equal to the number n. It is determined whether the number of communication histories is greater than the number n (step S16).

If it is determined in step S16 that the number of communication histories is smaller than the number n (in step S16, ≤n-
1) The facsimile control unit 10 executes processing by normal facsimile communication (step S17), and thereafter,
The communication history is stored in the terminal connection history storage unit 130 in association with the telephone number recognized in step S11 (step S18), and the process ends.

If it is determined in step S16 that the number of communication histories is equal to the number n (n in step S16), the facsimile control unit 10 executes processing by normal facsimile communication (step S19).
An optimum connection condition is specified based on all communication histories corresponding to the telephone number recognized in step S11 stored in the terminal connection history storage unit 130, and the specified connection condition is assigned to the recognized telephone number. The corresponding information is stored in the terminal connection condition storage unit 120 (step S20), and the process ends.

If it is determined in step S16 that the number of communication histories is larger than the number n (n in step S16).
+1), the facsimile control unit 10 executes the operation of FIG.

Here, referring to FIG. 4, if the facsimile control unit 10 performs the nth or later facsimile communication with the same destination, the facsimile control unit 10 determines the optimum connection condition stored in the terminal connection condition storage unit 120. Communication is performed (step S21), and the process ends.

Thus, the subsequent facsimile communication with the destination terminal storing the telephone number recognized in step S11 is performed according to the optimal connection conditions stored in step S20.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the information stored in the terminal connection condition storage unit 120 when the destination terminal is changed from the TSI or CSI information transmitted from the destination terminal is added to the first embodiment. Reset and add the function to set the optimal connection conditions again.

In realizing this function, in the present embodiment, in the processing by the facsimile
A process for determining whether there is a change in SI or CSI information is added. However, the configuration is realized by the same one as the block diagram shown in FIG.

{Operation of Second Embodiment} The operation of the facsimile control unit 10 in the present embodiment is the same as the operation shown in FIG. However, in the processing in the case where the number of communication histories is larger than the number n in the determination in step S16 in FIG. 3, the operation shown in FIG. 5 is performed.

Referring to FIG. 5, facsimile control unit 1
0 is the facsimile communication with the same destination after the n-th facsimile communication, the communication is executed under the optimal connection condition stored in the terminal connection condition storage unit 120 (step S3).
1).

Then, from the TSI or CSI information,
It is determined whether or not the destination terminal has changed (step S
32). In this determination, if there is a change in the destination terminal (Yes in step S32), the facsimile control unit 1
0 resets all the corresponding communication histories stored in the terminal connection history storage unit 130 (step S33), and ends the process. On the other hand, in the judgment of step S32, when there is no change in the destination terminal (step S32
No), the facsimile control unit 10 ends the processing as it is.

Thus, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, it is possible to realize communication under optimum communication conditions even when the destination terminal changes.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the terminal connection condition storage unit 12
A function for storing the communication result information together with 0 is provided, and when the selected condition is not optimal (when a failure such as a shift-down or a communication error occurs), only the number of times of the occurrence of the failure is determined by the communication result information. When the number of times the failure has occurred exceeds a predetermined number of times set in advance,
The information stored in the terminal connection condition storage unit 120 is reset, and a function of setting an optimum connection condition again is added.

As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to perform communication under more optimal connection conditions as compared with the first embodiment.

{Configuration of Third Embodiment} In realizing this function, the present embodiment employs a first configuration as shown in FIG.
A communication result information storage unit 121 is newly provided in the terminal connection condition storage unit 120 in the embodiment. Thus, in the present embodiment, the number of times a failure has occurred is stored in the communication result information storage unit 121, and in the operation shown in FIG.
By adding an operation of comparing the number of times stored in No. 1 with a preset number of times, even if a connection condition that is likely to cause a failure is stored in the terminal connection condition storage unit 120, this can be reset. It becomes possible.

{Operation of Third Embodiment} The operation of the facsimile control unit 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

First, the facsimile control unit 10 according to the present embodiment operates in accordance with the flow shown in FIG. 3, just as in the first embodiment. Next, the facsimile control unit 10, in the determination of step S16 in FIG. 3, first, if the facsimile communication with the same destination is the nth or later,
Communication is performed based on the optimal connection conditions stored in the terminal connection condition storage unit 120 (step S41).

Thereafter, the facsimile control section 10 determines whether or not there is an error such as a downshift or a communication error in the communication in step S41 (step S4).
2). If there is no error in this determination (No in step S42), the facsimile control unit 10 ends the processing. On the other hand, if there is an error in the communication in step S41 (Yes in step S42)
s) The facsimile control unit 10 increments the number of error occurrences corresponding to the telephone number recognized in step S11 of FIG. 3 in the communication result information storage unit 121 of the terminal connection condition storage unit 120 by 1 (step S43).

Next, the facsimile control section 10 compares the number of error occurrences incremented by one in step S43 with a preset number of times (step S4).
4) If the number of error occurrences is greater than the preset number (Yes in step S44), all the corresponding communication histories in the terminal connection history storage unit 130 are reset (step S45), and the process ends. On the contrary,
If it is determined in step S44 that the number of error occurrences is smaller or equal to the preset number (No in step S44), the facsimile control unit 10
Ends the processing as it is.

As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to reset the connection condition in which an error is likely to occur.

[0060]

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to select an optimum communication connection condition from a past communication history, thereby shortening the communication time. Becomes

According to the second embodiment of the present invention,
Even when the destination terminal is changed, it is possible to select the optimum communication connection condition.

Further, according to the third embodiment of the present invention,
It is possible to always select an optimal communication condition even for a change in a line condition or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first exemplary embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sequence showing a part of a communication operation performed by both the transmitting and receiving facsimile apparatuses after the (n + 1) th time in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation of the facsimile control unit 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation of the facsimile control unit 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation of the facsimile control unit 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a part of the operation of the facsimile control unit 10 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sequence showing a part of a communication operation performed by both the transmitting and receiving facsimile apparatuses in the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 facsimile main body 10 facsimile control unit 20 communication unit 110 calling ID recognition unit 120 terminal connection condition storage unit 121 communication result information storage unit 130 terminal connection history storage unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A calling ID recognizing means for recognizing a telephone number of a caller notified by a caller notification number service, and a communication history with the same destination is stored in correspondence with the telephone number of the same destination. Terminal connection history storage means, and terminal connection condition storage for specifying an optimum connection condition from the communication history stored in the terminal connection history storage means and storing the optimum connection condition in correspondence with the same destination telephone number. And facsimile apparatus, wherein the communication with the same destination is established based on the connection conditions stored in the terminal connection condition storage means. 2. The terminal connection history storage means stores the communication histories n-1 times (n is an arbitrary natural number of 2 or more) times with respect to the same destination telephone number; 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit specifies the connection condition based on a communication history having the highest frequency among the communication histories for the n-1 times. 3. The communication history is a final transmission rate in communication with the same destination, the connection condition is a transmission rate in communication, and when establishing communication with the same destination, DIS
3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a transmission rate is specified in said transmission rate stored in said terminal connection condition storage means. 4. The terminal connection history storage means, in the communication with the same destination, when the terminal of the same destination changes, discards the stored communication history, and again The communication history with the same destination is stored again, and the terminal connection condition storage means stores the connection condition stored when the communication history stored in the terminal connection history storage means is stored again. The facsimile apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the facsimile apparatus is specified again. 5. The terminal connection history storage means, wherein the terminal connection condition storage means stores the number of failures occurring in communication with the same destination in correspondence with the telephone number of the same destination. When the number of failures exceeds a predetermined number set in advance, the stored communication history is discarded, and the communication history with the same destination is stored again. 5. The terminal connection condition storage unit according to claim 1, wherein, when the communication history stored in the terminal connection history storage unit is stored again, the terminal connection condition storage unit specifies the stored connection condition again. A facsimile apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims.