Patent ID: 6157460
Filing Date: 2000-12-05
Classification: H04M,H04N

Abstract:
A facsimile apparatus, comprising:reading means for reading a manuscript to obtain transmission information;communication means for transmitting said transmission information to a network and receiving reception information from said network;a memory having a storage area divided into plural blocks, each block being able to store information and to erase all of its stored information together; andcontrol means for selecting, according to a sequential process, an empty block from a set of currently empty blocks of said plural blocks of said memory when either one of the transmission information and the reception information is to be stored in said memory and for controlling said memory to store the transmission information and the reception information into selected ones of said empty blocks to cause said transmission information and said reception information to be stored in different ones of the plural blocks of said memory and to be erasible independently of each other, wherein;said facsimile apparatus further comprises output means for outputting said reception information in printed form;said control means comprises means for dividing each of said plural blocks of said memory into subblocks and controlling said memory to store in one of said subblocks, as a management area, management information about image information stored in others of said subblocks; andsaid management information comprises information which represents that information stored in said each of said plural blocks is to be erased (i) when said each of said plural blocks stores a portion of said transmission information and said transmission information has already been transmitted by said communication means and (ii) when said each of said plural blocks stores a portion of said reception information and said reception information has already been output by said output means.