JPH06225062A - Facsimile system with message reception report function - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] The present invention provides a facsimile apparatus for reporting receipt of a message to a predetermined user. [Structure] After receiving and inputting the user code and the temporary sender's telephone number, and detecting the specific sender's telephone number when receiving a message, the sender's telephone number is searched by searching if the sender's telephone number is registered. The predetermined report message is transmitted to the user corresponding to the above through a speaker, a local telephone or a personal computer terminal. [Effect] The user does not need to inspect the facsimile device to confirm the reception of the fax message.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine, and more particularly to a facsimile machine and method for reporting message reception to a predetermined user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Facsimile is a terminal device for converting arbitrary characters, pictures, etc. written on paper for communication into image information. Here, there are various methods for transmitting data using a public or private telephone network or the like. In the use of facsimile, one facsimile may be used exclusively by one user, but it is more common for several facsimiles to be jointly used in an office. Therefore, not all users can place a facsimile close to them, so each user must go to the facsimile machine to see if the message was received.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for reporting the receipt of a message to the relevant user when the message is received. Another object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile apparatus which performs the method.

[0004]

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, a method of reporting the reception of a message to a corresponding user when a facsimile device having an automatic message reception function receives the message, wherein Is the code entry process of entering and storing the user's code and the provisional sender's telephone number that sends the message scheduled to be received by the user, and the sender's telephone number when the fax receives the message. And the sender's telephone number detected in the sender-detecting step is coincident with one of a plurality of temporary sender telephone numbers stored in the code-input step. Corresponding to the telephone number of the temporary sender that is determined to match the sender telephone number in the recipient searching step and the recipient searching step Comprising the step of reporting a reception of the message by using the user code that.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned other object of the present invention,
In a facsimile device that reports the receipt of a message to a corresponding user when a facsimile having an automatic message receiving function receives the message, said device sends a user code, a message that the user expects to receive. And a report memory unit for storing the temporary sender's telephone numbers and their corresponding report messages,
After detecting the sender telephone number included in the received message, the provisional sender telephone number recorded in the report memory unit is searched to determine the user who expects to receive the message. The control unit includes a report message generation unit that outputs a report message corresponding to the determined user.

[0006]

According to the present invention, when a message is received, it looks for the sender's telephone number which is also transmitted according to the communication protocol and then reports to the facsimile user waiting for the transmission of the message that the fax message has been received. To do.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus having a message reception / report function.
05, the report message generation part 106, the operation part 107, and the imaging part 111.

Referring to FIG. 1, the image pickup unit 111 reads a character or an image from a paper and is called a normal scanner. The image data captured by the scanner is called image signal,
After being transmitted through the telephone line, the recording unit 104 on the receiving side embodies it on a predetermined recording sheet. Since a facsimile uses a public telephone line to transmit an image signal, the image signal must be converted into a form that facilitates communication, and communication connection according to a predetermined communication protocol must be performed. Further, since the image signal is composed of a huge amount of data, it must be compressed before being transmitted,
Therefore, after the data is received, a data decompression process corresponding to the data compression process must be performed.

Here, the communication processing unit 101 performs the communication connection function as described above. The modem 102 performs modulation when transmitting the image signal, and performs demodulation corresponding to the modulation when receiving the image signal. The control unit 103 also performs data compression and data expansion. The operation unit 107 is for an interface with a user, is composed of various key groups for a facsimile operation, and includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel.

Various operations are performed by a user selecting keys through the operation unit 107, and include transmitting an original document and converting a facsimile into a predetermined mode. If the user wishes to adopt the function for reporting message reception, the action selected is the user code,
Include the entry of the provisional sender's phone number, unique report message, etc.

The control unit 103 is generally a CPU 108, R
It is configured to include an OM 109 and a RAM 110. CP
U108 is connected to each block constituting a facsimile and performs various controls of the facsimile. ROM10
A non-volatile memory 9 stores programs executed by the control unit 103. The RAM 110 is a volatile memory and is used as a work area of the control unit 103.

In FIG. 1, the report memory 105 is a memory for storing various information for performing a message reception report function, and an embodiment of this memory will be described with reference to FIG. Referring to FIG. 2, the report memory 105 includes a report table 201 and a report message section 202. The report table 201 shows the TSI value group which is the facsimile telephone number of the temporary sender of the facsimile message, the CSI value group which is the user code of the temporary receiver of the facsimile message, and the address of the stored report message unique to the user. Including message pointers.

If a unique message is not selected, the message pointer indicates the predetermined address (A _{0 in} FIG. 2) of the stored basic report message (OGM-basic), or simply in it. Store a "0" value in. Here, the report message part 202 may be stored in a recording medium having the same form as the report table 201, or may be stored in another suitable recording medium depending on the form of the report message.

FIG. 3 shows a message reception report method in a facsimile apparatus having such a report memory unit 105.
It was shown to. Referring to FIG. 3, in step 301, the facsimile is an input mode in which the mode is to input the user code group, the temporary sender's telephone number, the unique report message, and other information related to the message reception report. To judge. Here, when the user presses the predetermined input mode setting key, the facsimile mode is changed to the input mode. If the input mode is set,
In operation 302, information for the message reception report is input and stored in a predetermined memory space. After the input, the facsimile switches its operation mode to the automatic reception mode.

The 30th series of operations performed during automatic reception
This is shown in steps 4 to 308. First, the facsimile recognizes a "ring" in step 304. That is, a communication connection must be made before receiving a message. After recognizing the "ring" in step 305, the TSI information is detected while the communication connection is established. And the 306th
A message is received at the stage. That is, the received image signal is embodied by the recording unit 104 of the facsimile. After completing all transmissions, the fax is
It is determined whether the TSI value detected in the step is registered in the report table 201 shown in FIG.

If registered, the facsimile reports the receipt of the message to the corresponding user whose code was entered in step 301. There may be various methods of reporting the reception of the message, and the form of the information for the message reception report to be input in step 302 may vary depending on the reporting method. The structure of the facsimile and the related algorithm that change depending on the reporting method will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus that reports reception of a message using voice broadcasting. Here, the report memory 105 includes a report table memory 401 for storing the contents of the report table 201 and a voice report message storage unit 402 for storing a report message in a voice form. The report-message generation unit 106 includes a voice recording / reproducing device 403 and a speaker 404. That is, a voice signal is used to report to the relevant user that a waiting message has been received. For example, this broadcasts "A fax message has been received from Mr. XXX and Mr. XX."

Such a report message is a magnetic tape,
It is stored in the voice report message storage unit 402 composed of a magnetic disk, a writable optical disk, and the like. The voice recording / playback device 403 is a voice report message storage unit 40.
2 is used when reproducing the voice signal stored in 2 or when recording the specific voice report message. The report message reproduced through the voice recording / reproducing device 403 is broadcast through the speaker 404.

Here, the report message as described above is input to and stored in the voice report message storage unit 402 for each of a plurality of users, or the voice recording / reproducing apparatus uses the C message.
It is configured to include a voice synthesizer having a predetermined voice synthesizing function for synthesizing a report message that must be broadcast using the SI and TSI information and the basic report message. A detailed description of this will be given with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

5 to 7 show the environment of the office, that is, FIG.
When the broadcasting system described in Section 1 is not suitable, it shows an example of a method of reporting the reception of an appropriate message, in which a facsimile can receive a fax message through a public telephone network or an external system similar thereto, and at the same time, a private telephone network. Can be a part of. FIG. 5 shows such a private telephone network, which includes a facsimile 501, a private exchange 503, and a plurality of user telephones 502a to 502e. Here, the facsimile 501 needs to have an automatic dialing function.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus that performs a message reception / report function according to the telephone reporting method, and further includes a line connection unit 601 as compared with the apparatus of FIG. Here, the line connection unit 601 performs the above-described automatic dialing function, and if the user's telephone is busy, the user's number is redialed after a predetermined period has elapsed. When the line is connected to the corresponding user, the voice report message generated through the voice recording / reproducing device 403 and the speaker 404 is transmitted to the user's telephone. Here, the user's telephone number can be stored as the user code of the report table.

FIG. 7 shows the reporting step 30 of FIG. 3 to perform the message reception reporting function in the facsimile shown in FIG.
8 is a flowchart showing an algorithm applied to No. 8. The line connection unit 601 performs automatic dialing in operation 701. If the lines are not connected, steps 702, 703 and 701 are repeatedly performed to automatically perform re-dialing. Step 704 is to transmit the report message to the user through the connected telephone line, and step 705 is to disconnect the telephone line connected to the user.

FIGS. 8 to 10 show another embodiment of the message reception / report system, in which each facsimile user also uses his / her own computer terminal, and the computer system constitutes one network. Applied. FIG. 8 shows a computer system and a facsimile, which includes a facsimile 801, a host computer 803 for performing main control over a computer network, and a plurality of personal computer terminals 802a.
.About.802f.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus which performs a message reception reporting function according to the computer network reporting method, and FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing such a reporting method. Here, as shown in FIG. 9, in a facsimile, a line is connected to a facsimile computer interfacing unit and a computer network for converting data on the facsimile into data suitable for a computer terminal, and the data is modulated or demodulated. The computer communication unit 903 is included. Also,
Unlike the voice signal, the report message is stored in the report message memory 901 in which digital data is stored.

The reporting stage will be described with reference to FIG. First, in operation 1001, the line is connected to the computer assigned to the user through the computer communication unit 903. Here, if the lines are pre-connected, this step can be omitted. In operation 1002, the report message stored in the report message memory 901 is converted into a data format suitable for the computer terminal and applied to the computer communication unit 903, which is then used by the user. Transmit to computer terminal.

11 and 12 are flow charts for explaining an input / output algorithm of a report message transmitted to a user, which algorithm will be described in connection with FIG. Figure 1
1 indicated the step of entering data relating to reporting message reception. In step 1101, the sender's telephone number and user (receiver) code are input. here,
Input is performed through the operation unit 107, and the data is stored as the contents of the report table 201. 1102
The step determines if the unique report message is selected by the user, and the step 1103 inputs the unique report message if the input of the unique report message is selected.

Referring now to the report table of FIG. 2, if a unique report message is present, the message pointer points to the address where the unique report message was stored, otherwise the basic report message (eg, , "A fax message was received from Mr. CSI, Mr. TSI") indicates the address where the information was stored.

Referring to FIG. 12, step 1201 determines whether there is a unique report message, and if so,
In step 1203, the unique report message is output. On the other hand, otherwise, the report message that should be transmitted to the corresponding user in step 1202 is TSI, CSI.
And a basic report message. Here, when the reception of the message is reported by a voice signal, the synthesis is performed through the voice synthesis unit, while when the reception report of the message is transmitted in the form of digital data, the synthesis is a software program or a similar program. By means.

[0029]

As described above, the present invention reports the receipt of a message to a specific user after the message has been received. The user intentionally sends the facsimile device to confirm receipt of the fax message. Eliminates the need for inspection. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus having a message-reception report function according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a memory map used in a message reception report.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for performing a message receipt report.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus that reports a message reception by an audio broadcasting method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 5]

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a message reception reporting function according to a telephone reporting method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 8]

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a message reception reporting function according to a computer network reporting method according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 and

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an input / output algorithm of a report message.

[Explanation of symbols]

 103 control unit 104 speaker 105 report memory 106 report message generation unit 107 operation unit

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A method for reporting the receipt of a message to a corresponding user when a facsimile having an automatic message receiving function receives the message, the code of the user, and a temporary sender sending the message waiting for the user. A code input step of inputting and storing the telephone number of the sender, a sender detecting step of detecting the sender's telephone number when the facsimile receives a message, and a sender's telephone number detected from the sender detecting step. Recipient search process for determining whether or not it matches one of the plurality of temporary sender telephone numbers stored in the code-input process, and determined to match the sender telephone number in the receiver search process A process for reporting receipt of a message using a user code corresponding to the provisional sender's telephone number. Message reception reporting method of Shimiri. 2. The facsimile message reception according to claim 1, wherein the reporting step comprises a voice report message generating step of generating a report message in the form of a voice signal and a step of broadcasting the voice report message through a speaker. How to report. 3. The voice report message generating step includes the step of generating a user name in a voice signal form according to the user code, and the voice report using a basic report message of the user name and voice signal form. 3. The facsimile message reception reporting method according to claim 2, further comprising a voice signal synthesizing step of synthesizing a message. 4. The step of reporting includes a line connection process of dialing with a user's dedicated telephone to set a communication path, and a voice stored in a predetermined recording medium after being connected with the user's dedicated telephone. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of reproducing a report message in the form of a signal and transmitting the report message to the dedicated telephone of the user. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the code input step includes a step of inputting a telephone number assigned to the user's telephone as the user's code. 6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the code input step further comprises the step of receiving a unique report message in the form of a voice signal and storing it in a predetermined recording medium. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein in the reporting step, a report message indicating receipt of the message is transmitted by a user-dedicated computer that is part of a computer network including the facsimile. . 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein in the code inputting step, a unique report message of the user is input and the message is stored in a predetermined memory. 9. The data converting step of converting the form of data to be transmitted for reporting message reception into a form used for transmission on a computer network, and transmitting the converted data. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the facsimile message reception report method comprises a data transmission process. 10. In a facsimile machine having an automatic message-receiving function, a user code, a telephone number of a temporary sender who will send a message that the user expects to receive, and a report corresponding to them. A report memory unit for storing a message, and a sender memory number included in the received message are detected and then recorded in the report memory unit to determine a user who expects to receive the message. A facsimile device having a message reception / reporting function including a control unit for searching a temporary sender's telephone number and a report message generating unit for outputting a report message corresponding to a determined user. 11. The report memory unit includes a report table memory for storing the user code and the temporary sender telephone number, and a voice report message storage unit for storing a report message in the form of a voice signal. 11. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a message reception report function. 12. The report message generating unit records and reproduces a voice report message in or from the voice report message storage unit, and a speaker that receives and amplifies an output of the voice recording and reproduction unit. 12. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a message reception report function configured to include the message. 13. The report message generation unit further comprises a message reception report function, further comprising line connection means for setting a communication line with a dedicated telephone of a user corresponding to the user code. Claim 11 characterized by
The described facsimile machine. 14. The report message generation unit sets a communication path between a facsimile computer interface unit for converting a report message into data on a computer terminal and another computer on a computer network, and outputs the facsimile computer interface unit. And a message reception report function configured to include a computer communication unit that receives the data, converts the data into a transmission data format required for data transmission, and transmits the data to a dedicated computer of a predetermined user through the computer network. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising: