JP2528448B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement of a facsimile apparatus capable of performing an operation test of a portion whose operation is controlled by a control circuit during normal operation.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

In recent years, facsimile machines have come to be used more and more with the promotion of office automation. Generally, a facsimile machine has a configuration in which reading and writing scanning of a document and control of transmission / reception operation are performed by a control circuit having a microcomputer. ing. Therefore, when performing an operation test of the relays, switches, etc. that are controlled by the above microcomputer during device development and failure analysis,
It is necessary to prepare a test device dedicated to the microcomputer instead of the above-mentioned microcomputer, and to give a control instruction from the test device to the controlled object to monitor the operation.

However, in the method using the test apparatus as described above, it takes a lot of time and labor until the test apparatus is connected to the facsimile apparatus to be tested, and generally the handling operation is complicated, so that the test work requires skill, and Since it is expensive and it is difficult to arrange the required number sufficiently, there is a drawback that the test cannot be performed efficiently.

[Object of the Invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus capable of performing an operation test of various internal hardware without using a dedicated test apparatus, thereby enabling efficient and accurate test.

[Outline of Invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a display means such as a liquid crystal display, a mode designation input means for accepting designation of a test mode, such as a test mode designation switch and a test mode release switch, and a test. For example, a test target designation input means including a dial key group and an additional switch group for receiving the designation of hardware to be performed is provided, and a test control means is provided in the control means such as a control circuit. When the test mode designation is accepted by the mode designation input means and the test mode is set, the hardware is connected to the input port (eg, switch) when the test target designation input means accepts the designation. Upon receiving information from the hardware, the corresponding predetermined information is displayed on the display means. The test process is performed, and the test process is performed to drive the hardware (for example, a relay circuit) connected to the output port when the designation of the test target designation input unit is accepted. is there.

Example of Invention

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the essential parts of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which reference numeral 1 denotes a control circuit. An operation panel 2 is connected to the control circuit 1 via a signal line 1a, and an input / output circuit (I / O) is also connected via a bus 1b.
Is connected. The input / output circuit 3 has a plurality of ports, and a relay circuit 4 including a relay 42 to be controlled, its driving transistor 41 and a power source 43, and a switch 5 are connected to a predetermined port among these ports. Has been done. Here, for convenience of description, the case where only the relay circuit 4 and the switch 5 are connected as a control target is shown, but a larger number of control targets are actually connected.

By the way, on the operation panel 2, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, there are a dial key group 21, a liquid crystal display 23 for displaying information indicating the telephone number of the other party and the operating state of the device, and a switch group 25 for instructing transmission / reception operation. In addition, the hexadecimal numbers A ~
An additional key group 22 for inputting F and switches 24a, 24b for instructing and canceling the test mode are provided, respectively.

On the other hand, the control circuit 1 is provided with a microcomputer as a main control unit, and is shown in FIG. 3 in addition to the means for controlling normal facsimile operations such as reading scanning of originals, recording scanning of image signals, and transmission / reception operations. As described above, the mode designation input control means 11 and the test control means 12 are provided. The mode designation input means 11 is for inputting the information when the test mode designation switch 24a and the test mode release switch 24b of the operation panel 2 are operated. Further, when the test control means 12 inputs a port number as a control address by operating the dial key group 21 and the additional key group 22 of the operation panel 2 when the test mode is designated, the input / output circuit 3 designated by this port number. Data is output or input from the port, whereby the operation test of the relay circuit 4 and the switch 5 is performed.

Next, the operation of the device configured as described above will be described according to the control procedure of the control circuit 1. The control circuit 1 monitors whether or not the test mode is designated in step 4a as shown in FIG. In this state, when the tester operates the test mode designating switch 24a of the operation panel 2 to designate the test mode, the control circuit 1 detects the designation operation in step 4a and shifts to step 4b, where control is performed. Wait for input of port number as address. Then, in order to perform an operation test of the switch 5, the tester turns on the switch 5 and sets the port number of the input / output circuit 3 to which the switch 5 is connected to the dial key group 21 and the additional key group 22. When operated and input, the control circuit 1 inputs this port number in step 4b, and inputs data from the input port of the input / output circuit 3 designated by this port number in step 4c. As a result, since the switch 5 is now turned on, the on data is introduced into the control circuit 1 through the input port of the input / output circuit 3. Then, when this data is introduced, the control circuit 1 outputs the data input in step 4d to the liquid crystal display 23 of the operation panel 2 for display. Therefore, the tester can judge whether the switch 5 and the connecting line from the switch 5 to the input / output circuit 3 are normal by visually recognizing the data displayed on the display 23.

When the test of the information input controlled object connected to the input port is completed as described above, the control circuit 1
In 4e, it is determined whether or not the test mode has ended.At this time, if the release switch 24b is not operated, it is determined that the next test is to be performed and the process proceeds to step 4f. . Then, in this state, when the tester inputs, for example, the output port number of the input / output circuit 3 to which the relay circuit 4 is connected by operating the dial key group 21 and the additional key group 22 of the operation panel 2, the control circuit 1 is operated as described above. In step 4f, the output port number is input, and then in step 4g, the input of data is awaited. Then, when the tester operates the dial key group 21 and the additional key group 22 of the operation panel 2 to input the data necessary for driving the relay circuit 4, the control circuit 1 inputs the drive data in step 4g. In step 4h, the drive data input in step 4g is output to the output port of the input / output circuit 3 designated by the output port number input in step 4f in step 4h. Then, if the relay circuit 4 is normal, the drive transistor 41 of the relay circuit 4 is turned on by the drive data and the drive current is supplied from the power supply 43 to the relay 42, and as a result, the relay 42 operates. Therefore, the tester can determine whether or not the relay circuit 4 is normal by monitoring the operation of this relay after inputting the above data.

Then, when the operation test of the output control target connected to the input / output circuit 3 is completed, the control circuit 1 executes the step
At 4i, it is determined whether or not the test mode has ended. If the test mode release switch 24b of the operation panel 2 is not operated at this time, it is determined that the test is to be continued, the process returns to step 4b and the above test control is repeated. On the other hand, if the test mode release switch is operated, it is determined that the test is completed, the test mode is released, and the initial state is restored.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the test mode for each input / output operation component connected to the input / output circuit 3 is provided, it is not necessary to use a dedicated test device, and as a result, connection for test is It is possible to perform an operation test easily and in a short time even by an unskilled person, since adjustments and the like are unnecessary. Also, because the processing for the test was changed according to the test object,
It is possible to test not only a single test object but also various test objects having different functions. Further, since the control target can be selected by inputting the desired port number, it is possible to arbitrarily test only the hardware that needs to be tested. Also, it is not necessary to create and prepare a test program for each control target, but a common test program can be prepared for each input and output control target. There is an advantage that can be done.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
For example, in the above embodiment, the program procedure is set so that the test for the input control target and the test for the output control target are alternately performed, but the test for the input and output is performed according to the wishes of the tester. May be selectable. In addition, in the above-described embodiment, hexadecimal numbers A to
An additional key group 22 for inputting F is provided.
You may comprise so that F can be input with the dial keys 21. This can be entered, for example, by combining the * key or # key with another numeric keypad. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case of performing the test on the control target of the so-called hardware connected to the input / output circuit 3 has been explained. May be performed. In addition, the type of control target, the configuration of the operation panel, the control procedure and control content of the control circuit, and the like can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the present invention.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a display unit such as a liquid crystal display, a mode designation input unit including a test mode designation switch and a test mode release switch for receiving designation of a test mode, and a test are performed. For example, a test target designation input means including a dial key group and an additional switch group for receiving the designation of hardware to be performed is provided, and a test control means is provided in the control means such as a control circuit. When the test mode designation is accepted by the mode designation input means and the test mode is set, the hardware is connected to the input port (eg, switch) when the test target designation input means accepts the designation. Receive information from hardware and display corresponding predetermined information on the display means Since the test processing is performed, the test processing for driving the hardware (for example, the relay circuit) connected to the output port is performed when the designation of the test target designation input means is received. It is possible to provide a facsimile apparatus capable of efficiently and accurately performing an operation test of various internal hardware without using a dedicated test apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the apparatus, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of an operation panel, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control function of the control circuit, and FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the control procedure and control contents of the control circuit. 1 ... Control circuit, 11 ... Mode designation input control means, 12 ...
… Test control means, 2 …… Operation panel, 21 …… Dial key group, 22 …… Additional key group, 23 …… Liquid crystal display, 24a ……
Test mode designation switch, 24b …… Test mode release switch, 3 …… input / output circuit, 4 …… relay circuit, 5 …… switch.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] Claims: 1. Predetermined operation for realizing various operations related to facsimile transmission / reception by hardware that outputs predetermined information necessary for realizing various operations related to facsimile transmission / reception, through an input port. Is connected to the control means via an output port, and the control means controls the output port while receiving the predetermined information output from the hardware connected via the input port. In a facsimile machine that realizes various operations related to facsimile transmission / reception by controlling the operation of the hardware connected via the above, display means, mode designation input means for accepting designation of test mode, and test A test target designation input means for receiving designation of hardware is provided, and the control In the case where the designation of the test mode is accepted by the mode designation input means and the test mode is set to the means, when the designation of the hardware connected to the input port is accepted by the test target designation input means. Performing a test process of receiving the predetermined information output from the specified hardware and causing the display means to perform a predetermined display for indicating the content, and specifying the hardware connected to the output port. And a test control means for performing a test process for controlling the specified hardware to operate when received by the test target specification input means.