JPH06268811A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the operator or a host computer to grasp quickly a job result or an operating state by recording the result of an executed job or informing it to the host computer. CONSTITUTION:A control section 11 is made up of a CPU, ROM and RAM and a memory 12 stores inputted or received picture information. Every time one job is finished, the control section 11 generates a job management packet and registers it in a job management memory. Job result information is transferred to a host. Thus, every time a job is executed, operating information is stored and revised in a drive state management memory and a job management information. When the memories are fully occupied, a job management report is automatically outputted to clear the memories. Moreover, code data are printed out, then data processing by the host is attained.

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 connected to a host and capable of controlling the facsimile from the host, capable of recording execution result information of various jobs and transferring it to the host. It relates to a possible facsimile machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are many systems in which a facsimile and a host computer are connected to each other to control the functions of the facsimile machine from the computer. As is well known, the facsimile device has scanner, printer, and communication functions, and prints original data read from the scanner, data transferred from the host, or received data, and transmits the data to a facsimile at a remote place. Alternatively, it can be transferred to the host computer.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-174158 discloses a technique in which a host computer controls a facsimile machine to perform communication and then outputs the communication result to a printer of the facsimile machine. However, in this conventional example, the result is output only for the communication job executed by the control of the host computer, and the result of the job such as local print and local scan other than communication is not notified to the host computer at all. There was no

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional example, there is no problem if the facsimile machine is near the host computer, but if the facsimile machine is located at a remote place, the operator has a facsimile machine to know the communication result. There is a problem that it is necessary to go to a place, and there is also a problem that the printing paper is wastefully consumed because printing is performed each time.

Next, when the facsimile is connected to a plurality of host computers, a large number of things are printed, and the communication result printed out is which communication performed by which host. There was also a problem in that it was not possible to grasp quickly. Further, when considering the management of the entire system, there is a problem that there is no way to know the drive status information indicating how the facsimile is used.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, to record the result of an executed job or the information of a reserved job in a facsimile apparatus connected to a host, or to the host. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus in which an operator or a host computer can promptly grasp a job result or an operating status by notifying the computer.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in a facsimile apparatus connected to a line and one or more hosts, a job receiving means for receiving a job from the host, a job executing means for executing the job, and It is characterized by comprising recording means for recording job execution result information and output means for outputting the contents of the recording means.

[0008]

By such means, the result information of every job can be recorded, and the recorded information can be printed out or transferred to the host according to the request from the host or autonomously. Quickly check job results or operating status,
You can get an accurate grasp.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system including a facsimile apparatus to which the present invention is applied. Although details will be described later, the facsimile machines 1 and 2 are connected to a public network (not shown), such as a telephone network and ISDN, by a line 7, and a plurality of host computers 4, 5, 6 via a network 3 such as a LAN. Is also connected.

The network 3 is, for example, Ethernet,
LAN such as FDDI, bus such as GPIB, SCSI, P
It may be a switch such as BX or an individual connection line such as RS-232C. Also, the number of hosts may be one or may be plural.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the facsimile machine 1 or 2. The control unit 11 includes, for example, a ROM and a RAM storing a CPU and a control program.
Etc., and controls the entire facsimile apparatus. The memory 12 is for storing the input or received image information, and is composed of a RAM, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or the like.

The host interface unit 13 is an interface circuit of the network 3 such as a LAN such as Ethernet or FDDI, or a switching network such as PBX. The scanner 14 reads a document with a CCD image sensor or the like and converts it into digital information.

The printer 15 prints image information and the like. The communication control unit 16 is composed of a communication control device, MODEM, NCU, etc., interfaces with the line 7 and the facsimile of the other party, and transmits / receives image information. The bus 17 connects each circuit in the device.

Next, the data will be described. Figure 3
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of contents of a drive status management memory stored in a RAM or the like in a control unit of a facsimile machine. First, there is a storage area for the investigation start date and time that indicates the date and time when the drive status management memory is cleared. Next, it is called a packet by job type (1 to n) and by host (A to FAX: number of hosts plus 1). A memory area is provided. The job number is a number assigned to the type of job.

As the types of jobs, jobs executed by an instruction from the host computer include local scan, local print, local copy, remote transmission, remote reception, and memory transfer. The memory transfer is to transfer the information in the memory in the control unit of the facsimile machine (system data including drive status management information, speed dial data, etc.) to the host computer, or vice versa. Jobs executed by a normal facsimile include transmission, reception, copying, reports, and telephone calls.

Each packet, as shown in the upper right of FIG.
It consists of a job number counter, the number of sheets (original, recording paper), and execution time. The job number counter counts the number of times the job has been executed. The number of sheets is the cumulative number of originals, recording sheets, which are read, transmitted / received, or printed when the job is executed. The execution time is the cumulative execution time of the job. In addition to this, information such as the number of error occurrences may be added.

One packet has a capacity of several tens of bytes. A packet group for each host is called a block. Note that F
The AX block is not a job from the host, but a job block started by a facsimile machine.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the stored contents of the job management information memory for recording the execution result of each job. The facsimile control unit creates a job management packet as shown in FIG. 4 each time one job is completed,
Register in the job management memory. The job management information memory area is a ring buffer having a fixed capacity (for example, 50 jobs), and the newly registered job management packet is registered on top of the oldest packet.

As shown in FIG. 4, one job management packet has various information items related to the job and has a capacity of several tens of bytes. The host job flag F contains
If the job is executed according to the instruction from the host, 1 is entered; otherwise, 0 is entered. In the host name, the name of the host instructing the job is entered, and in the job type, for example, the above-mentioned job number is entered. In the results column,
For example, information such as good, jam occurrence, and error occurrence is entered. In addition to this, items such as communication partner information, communication mode, and number of sheets may be provided.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing job processing in the facsimile apparatus. In step S1, it is checked whether or not the job to be activated is instructed by the host. If it is not instructed by the host, the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, the facsimile block (FAX) in the drive status management memory of FIG. 3 is selected.

If the job is instructed by the host in step S1, the process proceeds to step S3. In step S3, information about the job is received from the host. In step S4, the block of the host instructing the job is selected from the drive status management memory.

In step S5, one packet is selected from the blocks selected in step S2 or 4 according to the type of job. In step S6, the job activation start time is read from a clock circuit (not shown) in the control unit and saved (stored) in a predetermined memory area. In step S7, the job is executed.

In step S8, 1 is added to the job number counter in the packet selected in step S5. In addition, the number of originals, recordings, sheets of paper read, transmitted / received, or printed in the job is checked and added to the number of sheets of data in the packet. Further, the execution time is obtained by subtracting the job activation start time saved in step S6 from the job completion time (current time) and added to the execution time data in the packet.

In step S9, a job management packet as shown in FIG. 4 is created and various information is set. In step S10, it is checked whether or not the job is a job instructed by the host. If the job is instructed by the host, the process proceeds to step S11, and the host of the job management packet created in step S9 The job flag F is set to 1.

In step S12, the created job management packet is registered in the job management information memory. In step S13, the job result information is transferred to the host. In this case, the information to be transferred may be the information itself registered in the job management packet or, for example, only the job result. The host to which the job is transferred may be the host instructing the job, a specific management host, or both. Through the above processing, the operation information is accumulated and updated in the drive status management memory and the job management information memory each time the job is executed.

Next, the drive status report will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the output processing of the drive status report. This process is automatically started periodically according to an instruction from an operator or a host, or by presetting. In step S20, the survey start date and time is read from the drive status management memory, and the current time is read from a clock circuit (not shown) in the control unit. Step S
In step 21, it is checked whether or not the content of the instructed report is only the host job. If not, the process proceeds to step S25 and the packet data of all blocks is read.

If the instruction is only the host in step S21, the process proceeds to step S22, and in step S22, it is checked whether or not only the specific host is provided. If the instruction is not only for a specific host in step S22, the process proceeds to step S23, and packet data of blocks for all hosts is read. If the instruction is only the specific host in step S22, the process proceeds to step S24, and the packet data of the specific host block is read.

In step S26, the data of the read packet is expanded into image data according to a report format registered in advance to create a report. In step S27, it is checked whether or not the instruction is print, and if it is print, the process proceeds to step S28, and the report data created in step S26 is transferred to the printer and printed.

In step S27, if the instruction is transfer, the process proceeds to step S29, and the report data created in step S26 is transferred to the host. The host can display the data on a display or print it out. In this case,
Instead of the image data, the code data may be transferred so that the data processing by the host is also possible.

Although not shown, the survey start date and time is updated to the current time when the report output ends, and the contents of the packet are reset to zero. If you output only a specific host, you need to reset only that block.
If the survey period differs for each block, the survey start date and time area is required for each block. Also, output the report, but do not reset it if you want to continue the investigation.

A drive status report is output by such processing. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the output report. In this example, the survey start date and time, the survey end date and time, and the survey period calculated from the two dates and times are displayed first, and then the drive status data table for each host and job is displayed. From this, the usage status from each host can be seen at a glance, and useful data can be obtained as additional material or billing material.

Next, the job management report will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a job management report output process. This process is activated by an instruction from the operator or the host. In step S30, all job management packets registered in the job management information memory are read. In step S31, it is checked whether the instruction is only a host job,
If the job is a host job only, the process proceeds to step S32.

In step S32, it is checked whether or not the output instruction is only for a specific host, and if so, the process proceeds to step S33, and the job management packets other than the designated host are deleted. In addition, step S32
If the host job flag F is not 0, the process proceeds to step S34, and the job management packet having the host job flag F of 0 is deleted.

In step S35, the read packet data is expanded into image data in accordance with a previously registered report format to create a job management report. In step S36, it is checked whether or not the host job flag of the job management packet is 1, and if it is 1, the process proceeds to step S37, and the host job is in the relevant data column of the report expanded in step S35. A mark or the like indicating that is given.

In step S38, it is checked whether or not the instruction is print, and if it is print, the process proceeds to step S40, and the report data created in step S35 is transferred to the printer and printed.
If the instruction is transfer in step S38, the process proceeds to step S39, and the report data created in step S35 is transferred to the host. In this case, the code data may be transferred instead of the image data, and the data processing by the host is also possible.

The output job management packet may be deleted from the job management information memory at the end of report output. Further, when only some of the packets are output, they may not be deleted, or may be deleted only when they are output to a specific host.

A job management report is output by such processing. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the output report. In this example, an example of outputting data regarding a host job is shown. The numbers are serial numbers given in order of oldest data. As shown in the figure, for example, 50 pieces of job result information are printed on one recording sheet. From this, the result of each job can be understood at a glance, and useful data can be obtained as communication records, necessity of reprocessing, failure data, and the like.

Next, automatic output of the job management report will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the automatic output processing of the job management report. This process is started at the end of execution of each job. In step S50, it is checked whether the number of job management packets in the job management information memory has reached a specified value (for example, 50),
If the specified value has not been reached, it is not necessary to output the report, so the automatic report output processing ends.

When the number of packets has reached the specified value in step S50, the process proceeds to step S51 and all the job management packets are read from the memory. In step S52, it is checked whether only the host job is output. If it is only the host job, it is further checked in step S53 whether only the specific host is output. These conditions are set in the facsimile in advance from the panel or by an instruction from the host.

If it is determined in step S53 that the instruction is only for a specific host, the process proceeds to step S54, and job management packets other than the designated host are deleted. If the host is not the only specific host in step S53, the process proceeds to step S55, and the job management packet having the host job flag F of 0 is deleted.

In step S56, it is checked whether connection with the host is possible. In this case, the host may be a specific host, or may connect to any one of a plurality of hosts. If the connection with the host is impossible here, the process proceeds to step S58, but if the connection with the host is possible, the process proceeds to step S58.
Move to 57.

In step S57, information is expanded into image data by inquiring of the host,
It is checked whether to make a report. If the report is made in step S57, the process proceeds to step S58. If the report is not made, the process proceeds to step S63, and the code data in the predetermined format is directly transferred to the host.

In step S58, the image of the data is developed and a report is created. In step S59, it is checked whether or not the host job flag of the job management packet is 1, and if it is 1, step S60.
In step S58, a mark indicating that the job is a host job is added to the corresponding data column of the report developed in step S58.

In step S61, it is checked whether or not the preset instruction is print, and in step S61, if the instruction is transfer and connection with the host is possible, the process proceeds to step S63. , The report data created in step S58 is transferred to the host. In cases other than the above, the process proceeds to step S62, and the report data created in step S58 is transferred to the printer and printed. In step S64, all the packets in the job management information memory are deleted.

By the above processing, for example, when the memory becomes full, the job management report is automatically output and the memory is cleared so that there is no omission of recording and it is possible to output the code data. , Data processing in the host becomes possible.

Although the embodiment has been described above, the following modifications are also possible. First, the fax machine accepts multiple jobs from the host, registers them in the queue,
You may make it execute sequentially. In this case, not only the execution result information as in the above embodiment but also the information about the waiting job can be transferred to the host by the same processing as the job management report. In this way, it is possible to confirm whether the job is registered, estimate the waiting time, or cancel the job.

With respect to the item of the job management packet, for example, when there is one host, the host name is not necessary, and the host job flag is sufficient. If there is a host name, the host job flag is not always necessary.

In the embodiment, the configuration in which all the job management packets are registered is disclosed, but only a specific one designated in advance may be registered. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of memory or prolong the report output cycle.

[0049]

According to the facsimile apparatus of the present invention as described above, in the facsimile apparatus connected to the host, the result of the executed job or the information of the reserved job is recorded or notified to the host computer. By doing so, there is an effect that the operator or the host computer can quickly grasp the result of the job or the operating status.

Further, a host at a remote place can obtain job results and management data and perform data processing such as displaying, printing, or loading data into a database, which has the effect of automating facsimile management. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system including a facsimile.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of contents of a drive status management memory.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing stored contents of a job management information memory.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing job processing.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a drive status report output process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a job management report output process.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an automatic report output process.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an output drive status report.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an output job management report.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2 ... Facsimile device, 3 ... Network, 4,
5, 6 ... Host, 7 ... Line, 11 ... Control part, 12 ... Memory, 13 ... Host interface part, 14 ... Scanner, 15 ... Printer, 16 ... Communication control part, 17 ... Bus

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile apparatus connected to a line and one or more hosts, which records job receiving means for receiving a job from the host, job executing means for executing the job, and execution result information of the job. A facsimile apparatus, comprising: recording means; and output means for outputting the contents of the recording means. 2. A facsimile device connected to a line and one or more hosts, comprising job receiving means for receiving a job from the host, a job instructed by the facsimile device, and a job instructed by the host. A job executing unit to be executed, a job instructed by the facsimile machine, and a job instructed by the host are discriminated from each other, and a recording unit for recording execution result information including a job type, and a content of the recording unit. A facsimile apparatus comprising: an output unit for outputting. 3. A facsimile device connected to a line and one or more hosts, comprising job receiving means for receiving a job from the host, a job instructed by the facsimile device, and a job instructed by the host. A job executing means to be executed, a job instructed by the facsimile machine, and a job instructed by the host are distinguished from each other, and a recording means for accumulatively recording operation information for each type of job, and a content of the recording means. A facsimile apparatus comprising: an output unit for outputting. 4. A facsimile device connected to a line and at least one host, comprising job receiving means for receiving a job from the host, and recording means for accumulating unexecuted job information registered from the facsimile device or the host. A facsimile apparatus comprising: a job execution unit that extracts and executes job information from the recording unit; and an output unit that outputs the contents of the recording unit. 5. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit records information for each host. 6. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit is a transfer unit that transfers at least a part of the recorded contents of the recording unit to a host. 7. The recording means according to claim 6, further comprising recording amount detecting means for detecting an information recording amount in the recording means, wherein the transferring means transfers information based on an output of the recording amount detecting means. Fax machine. 8. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit includes an image expanding unit that converts at least a part of the recorded contents of the recording unit into image data.