A preferential recording system for a facsimile apparatus

Abstract: In a preferential recording system provided in a transmission unit and a reception unit of a facsimile apparatus, the preferential recording system includes: a priority/time setting unit provided in the transmission unit for setting priority of recording and/or time of recording at the reception side into the telegram message to be transmitted from the transmission unit of the transmission side to the reception unit of the reception side; a priority/time decision unit provided in the reception unit for determining the priority of the recording and/or the time of the recording set into the telegram message; a priority/time memory also provided in the reception unit for storing the priority of the recording and the time of the recording for every telegram message; and a time counting unit also provided in the reception unit for imparting present time and a setting time of recording to the priority/time decision unit.

Description: The present invention relates to a preferential recording system for a facsimile apparatus, more particularly, it relates to a preferential recording system provided for a transmission unit and a reception unit in a facsimile apparatus, and enabling control of priority of recording of data and/or time of recording in the reception unit. A facsimile apparatus is widely used in various fields, particularly, in a company. In general, a plurality of facsimile apparatuses are provided for a head office and branches in the company, each facsimile apparatus formed by a transmission unit and a reception unit. Accordingly, a facsimile message is transmitted from the transmission unit of one facsimile apparatus (the transmission side) to the reception unit of another facsimile apparatus in a different location (the reception side). For example, the facsimile message is transmitted from the transmission unit of a facsimile apparatus in the head office (transmission side) to the reception unit of another facsimile apparatus in a branch office (reception side). There are, however, some problems to be solved when receiving facsimile messages, for example, problems regarding control of priority of recording (i.e., print out of the messages) and control of the time of recording the messages in the reception unit as explained in detail hereinafter. The present invention is intended to provide a preferential recording system enabling control of priority of recording and/or time of recording facsimile messages in a reception unit of a facsimile apparatus. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a preferential recording system for a facsimile apparatus including a transmission unit and a reception unit adapted to transmit and receive messages to and from other facsimile apparatuses, including a recording unit provided in the reception unit, for recording received messages; a priority/time setting means provided in the transmission unit for setting into a message to be transmitted a priority of recording and/or time of recording for use by the reception unit of another facsimile apparatus; a priority/time memory provided in the reception unit for storing the priority of recording and/or time of recording set in each received message; a priority/time decision means provided in the reception unit for determining the priority of recording or time of recording of the received messages; and time counting means provided in the reception unit for indicating the present time; wherein the priority/time decision means is adapted to read the priority of recording and/or time of recording stored in said priority/time memory for each received message and to compare the time of recording with the present time provided by the time counting means, in order to enable the timely recordal of the messages by the recording unit in accordance with a desired priority. In the preferred embodiment, the priority and/or time of the recording is incorporated into a NSS (Non-Standard Facilities Set-up) signal transmitted from the transmission unit to the reception unit of another facsimile apparatus. In the preferred embodiment, the priority/time means preferentially controls the time of the recording when both priority of the recording and the time of recording are simultaneously set into a facsimile message. In the drawings: Fig. 1A is a schematic block diagram of a conventional transmission unit of a facsimile apparatus; Fig. 1B is a schematic block diagram of a conventional reception unit of a facsimile apparatus; Fig. 2A is a basic structure of a transmission unit employed in the present invention; Fig. 2B is a basic structure of a reception unit employed in the present invention; Fig. 3A shows one embodiment of a transmission unit shown in Fig. 2A; Fig. 3B shows one embodiment of a reception unit shown in Fig. 2B; Fig. 4A is a flowchart for explaining reception of data in a reception unit in Fig. 3B; Fig. 4B is a flowchart for explaining recording of data in a reception unit in Fig. 3B; Fig. 5A is a view for explaining contents of an image memory in the reception unit shown in Fig.3B; Fig. 5B is a view for explaining the communication procedure between the transmission side facsimile apparatus and the reception side facsimile apparatus; Fig. 6A shows another embodiment of a facsimile apparatus shown in Fig.2A; Fig. 6B shows another embodiment of a facsimile apparatus shown in Fig. 2B; Fig. 7A is a flowchart for explaining reception of data in a reception unit in Fig. 6B; and Fig. 7B is a flowchart for explaining recording of data in a reception unit in Fig. 6B. Before describing the preferred embodiments, an explanation will be given of conventional transmission and reception units of a facsimile apparatus. Figure 1A is a schematic block diagram of a conventional transmission unit of a facsimile apparatus, and Figure 1B is a schematic block diagram of a conventional reception unit of a facsimile apparatus. In Fig. 1A, reference number 1 denotes a read unit, 2 a compression unit, 3 a communication control unit, 4 a modem, 5 a network control unit, 6 an operation unit, 7 a main control unit, and 12 a transmission unit. Further, in Fig. 1B, reference number 9 denotes a record (printing) unit, 10 a demodulation unit, 11 an image memory, and 13 a reception unit. In Fig.1A, in the transmission unit of the facsimile apparatus on the transmission side, the read unit 1 reads a document to form image data and outputs the image data to the compression unit 2. The compression unit 2 compresses the image data in accordance with a known compression method and outputs the compressed data to the communication control unit 3, the modem 4, and the network control unit 5. The compressed data is transferred to the network as a facsimile message. The main control unit 7 controls the operation of all the units 1 to 6. In Fig. 1B, in the reception unit of the facsimile apparatus on the reception side, the communication unit 3, the modem 4 and the network control unit (NCU) 5 receive the facsimile message from the transmission side 12 through the network. Facsimile messages TM1 to TMn are sequentially stored in the image memory 11 in accordance with the order of reception. Accordingly, when recording (i.e. printing out) the messages in the record unit 9, first, message TM1 is read from the image memory 11, demodulated by the demodulation unit 10, and recorded in the record unit 9, next, message TM2 is read from the image memory 11, and so on, and finally, message TMn is read from the image memory 11 in accordance with the order of reception. There are, however, problems in the above conventional method. First, when the record unit 9 has not yet started to record the messages from the image memory 11, any particular message, for example, an urgent message TMi, must wait its turn until it can be printed out. Further, the conventional method cannot adjust the record time. That is, it is impossible to print out messages at a particular record time desired by a user. Some users may require the next morning to be the recording time if a facsimile message was received during the night. Accordingly, the present invention intends to provide a preferential recording system enabling control of priority of recording and/or time of recording received messages by a reception unit of facsimile apparatus. Figure 2A is a basic structure of a transmission unit employed in the present invention, and Figure 2B is a basic structure of a reception unit employed in the present invention. In Figs. 2A and 2B, reference number 14 denotes a priority/time setting unit, 15 a time counting unit (i.e. a clock), 16 a priority/time memory, and 17 a priority/time decision unit. Briefly, in the transmission unit 12 of the facsimile apparatus for the transmission side, the priority/time setting unit 14 can be used to set the priority of the recording at the reception side and this priority of the recording is transferred to the reception side through the network. Further, the priority/time setting unit 14 can be used to set the time of the recording at the reception side and the time of the recording is also transferred to the reception side. Still further, the priority/time setting unit 14 can preferentially control the time of the recording when the priority of the recording and the time of the recording are simultaneously set therein. As the detailed explanation, the priority and/or the time of the recording are input from the operation unit 6 to the priority/time setting unit 14. Then, the priority and/or the time of the recording are transferred to the reception side 13 prior to the transmission of the image data through the network. In the reception unit 13 for the reception side, the priority and/or the time of the recording are stored in the priority/time memory 16, and the image data is stored in the image memory 11. The priority/time decision unit 17 reads the content of the priority/time memory 16 and determines the priority of the recording and/or the time of the recording. As a result of the decision, when the priority of the recording is set, the image data is read in the order of priority from the image memory 11 and printed out by the record unit 9. When the time of the recording is set, the image data is read from the image memory 11 and printed out at the appropriate time, in accordance with the present time obtained from the time counting unit 15. Still further the priority/time setting unit 14 can preferentially control the time of the recording when both the priority and the time of the recording are simultaneously set. The time of the recording is preferentially selected in the priority/time decision unit 17. Figure 3A shows one embodiment of a transmission unit shown in Fig. 2A, and Figure 3B shows one embodiment of a reception unit shown in Fig. 2B. In Figs. 3A and 3B, the same reference numbers as used in Figs. 1A to 2B are employed. As is obvious from the drawing, the priority/time setting unit 14 is added to the conventional structure shown in Fig. 1A in the transmission unit 12. Further, the time counting unit 15 and the priority/time decision unit 17 are added to the conventional structure shown in Fig. 1B. In this embodiment, the priority/time memory 16 is included in the image memory 11. Figure 4A is a flowchart for explaining reception of data (i.e. facsimile messages) in a reception unit in Fig. 3B, and Figure 4B is a flowchart for explaining recording of data in the reception unit in Fig. 3B. Further, Figure 5A is a view for explaining contents of the image memory 11, and Figure 5B is a view for explaining the communication procedure between the transmission side T and the reception side R. In Fig. 5B, the dial calling Di is performed from the transmission side T to the reception side R, and a detection signal Ci indicating reception is returned from the reception side R to the transmission side T. Further, the reception side R returns a CED (Called Station Identification) signal and a DIS/NSF (Digital Identification Signal/Non-Standard Facilities) signal. The transmission side T further transmits a DCS/NSS (Digital Command Signal/Non-Standard Facilities Set-up) signal to the reception side. The priority and time for printing out the message on the reception side are transmitted within the NSS signal. Further, the transmission side T transmits a training signal TR to the reception side R and the reception side R returns a CFR (Confirmation to Receive) signal to the transmission side T. The transmission side T starts to transmit the image data to the reception side R after reception of the CFR signal. When the transmission of the image data is completed, the transmission side T transmits an EOP (End of Message) signal to the reception side R and the reception side R returns a MCF (Message Confirmation) signal to the transmission side T. When the transmission side T receives the MCF signal, the transmission side T returns a DCN (Disconnection) signal to the reception side R so that the transmission is completed between the transmission side T and the reception side R. In Fig. 4A, when the reception unit 13 for the reception side receives the NSS signal, the priority/time decision unit 17 determines whether or not the priority and/or the time of the recording is set in the NSS signal (step 1). When the priority and/or the time of the recording is set (YES) as setting information, the setting information is stored in the image memory (step 2). When the priority and/or the time of the recording is not set (NO), no-priority and/or no-time of the recording is stored in the image memory 11 (step 3). Further, the image data is stored in the image memory 11 (step 4). In Fig. 4B, when the image data is read from the image memory 11, the priority/time decision unit 17 determines whether or not the time of the recording is set (step 10). When the time of the recording is set (YES), the priority/ time decision unit 17 further compares the set time with the present time (step 11). When the present time does not indicate the set time (NO), the recording is performed in the set time. When the time of the recording is not set (NO) in the step 10, or when the present time indicates the set time (YES) in step 11, the priority/time decision unit 17 determines whether or not the priority is set (step 12). When the priority is set (YES), the image data having the time of the record is initially recorded (step 14). When the priority is not set (NO) in the step 12 and when the priority is set, the image data is demodulated and recorded in the record unit 9. In Fig. 5A, the image memory stores a table having the priority of the recording and the time of the recording for every received facsimile message TM. As shown in the table, the message TM1 has the priority "2" (i.e., second priority) of the recording and the time of the recording is not set (see the mark " "). The message TM2 has no priority of recording (see "0"), and the time for recording is set to nine o'clock (9:00). Accordingly, the message TM2 is preferentially recorded at nine o'clock. In the case of the message TMi, this message TMi has the priority "3" (third priority) and the set time of ten o'clock (10:00). Accordingly, the image data having the set time of ten o'clock is preferentially recorded at ten o'clock A.M. in the record unit 9. Figure 6A shows another embodiment of a transmission unit shown in Fig.2A, and Figure 6B shows another embodiment of a reception unit shown in Fig. 2B. Further, Figure 7A is a flowchart for explaining reception of data in a reception unit in Fig. 6B, and Figure 7B is a flowchart for explaining the printing of data by the reception unit in Fig. 6B. In Fig. 6A, since the transmission side 12 has the same structure as the first embodiment shown in Fig. 3A, the explanation is omitted. In Fig. 6B, the priority/time memory 16 is added to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 3B. That is, the priority/time memory is separated from the image memory 11 in this embodiment to increase the capacity of the image memory 11. In Fig. 7A, when the reception unit 13 for the reception side receives the NSS signal, the priority/time decision unit 17 determines whether or not the priority and/or the time of the recording is set in (incorporated into) the NSS signal (step 20). When the priority and/or the time of the recording is set (YES) as the setting information, the setting information is stored in the priority/time memory 16 (step 21). When the priority and/or the time of the recording is not set (NO), the setting information is not stored in the priority/time memory 16 and only the image data is stored in the image memory 11 (step 22). In Fig. 7B, the priority/time decision unit 17 determines whether or not the time of the recording is set in accordance with check of the priority/time memory 16 (step 23). When the time of the recording is set (YES), the priority/time decision unit 17 further compares the set time with the present time (step 26). When the present time indicates the set time (YES), the data (message) is printed out (step 27). When the time of the recording is not set (NO) in the step 23, or when the present time does not indicate the set time (NO) in step 26, the priority/time decision unit 17 determines whether or not the priority is set (step 24). When the priority is set (YES), the image data having the time of the recording is initially recorded (step 25). When the priority is not set (NO) in the step 24, the image data is recorded in accordance with the order of the reception in the recording unit 9 (step 28).

Claims: A preferential recording system for a facsimile apparatus including a transmission unit (12) and a reception unit (13) adapted to transmit and receive messages to and from other facsimile apparatuses, including: a recording unit (9) provided in the reception unit (13), for recording received messages; a priority/time setting means (14) provided in the transmission unit, for setting into a message to be transmitted a priority of recording and/or time of recording for use by the reception unit (13) of another facsimile apparatus; a priority/time memory (11;16) provided in the reception unit (13), for storing the priority of recording and/or time of recording set in each received message; a priority /time decision means (17) provided in the reception unit (13) for determining the priority of recording or time of recording of the received messages; and time counting means (15) provided in the reception unit (13) for indicating the present time; wherein the priority/time decision means (17) is adapted to read the priority of recording and/or time of recording stored in said priority/time memory (11;16) for each received message, and to compare the time of recording with the present time provided by the time counting means (15) in order to enable the timely recordal of the messages by the recording unit (9) in accordance with a desired priority. A preferential recording system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the priority and/or time of recording is incorporated into a NSS (Non-Standard Facilities Set-up) signal transmitted from the transmission unit (12) to the reception unit (13) of another facsimile apparatus. A preferential recording system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the priority/time setting means (14) preferentially controls the time of recording when both priority of recording and the time of recording are simultaneously set into the message.

Inventors: OGAWA SATOSHI, OGAWA, SATOSHI, Ogawa, Satoshi, c/o Fujitsu Limited
Applicants: MATSUSHITA GRAPHIC COMMUNIC, MATSUSHITA GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, INC.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: H04N1
IPC codes: H04N1, G06F3