JP3289339B2 - Color facsimile apparatus and communication method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color facsimile apparatus and a communication method , and more particularly to a color facsimile apparatus in which received image information is transferred to a facsimile apparatus which can print out at a low cost so that running costs can be reduced. It relates to the communication method used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a received document is printed in color using a conventional color facsimile machine, the cost per sheet is as follows.
Significantly higher cost than that of conventional black and white images. However, conventionally, the necessity of the received document is not known before the printout, so that all the received documents are printed out. For this reason, there has been a problem that the running cost of the color facsimile apparatus is increased.

On the other hand, there has been proposed a system in which a display device such as a CRT or a liquid crystal panel is provided in a color facsimile apparatus so that a received document is displayed on the display device once and it is possible to judge the necessity. There is a new problem that the cost of the device is increased due to the provision of the display device.

To solve this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4 (first prior art) provides a color facsimile apparatus with means for instructing that data received in color be printed in a single color. When the means instructs monochrome printing, the received image information is transmitted. There is disclosed a technique of storing the received image information in a memory and converting the received image information into monochromatic data to perform monochromatic printing.

According to this prior art, a color image can be printed in a single color as required, so that running costs can be reduced. Further, after printing in a single color, when it is necessary to perform color printing, the received image information stored in the memory may be read out and printed, so that a color image can be obtained.

Further, as a prior art related to the present invention,
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 3-68275 (second prior art). In this publication, an image recording apparatus such as a printer is provided with a color recording unit and a monochromatic recording unit, and a color / monochromatic recording instructing unit for instructing whether to perform color recording or monochromatic recording, and temporarily stores color image information. There is disclosed a technique in which color image information is converted into monochromatic data and recorded by the monochromatic recording means when monochromatic recording is instructed by the color / monochromatic recording instructing means.

In the second prior art, similarly to the first prior art, after color image information is once recorded in a single color,
A color image can be recorded.

[0008]

Conventionally, as a printer, there is a color facsimile apparatus using a sublimation type thermal transfer printer, a fusion type thermal transfer printer, or the like. In this type of color facsimile machine, there is no significant difference in cost between printing in color and printing in black and white, and both are expensive.

In such a color facsimile apparatus, even if the transmitted color image information is converted to black and white image information and printed out in black and white as in the prior art, the running cost is not reduced. There was a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a color facsimile machine in which running costs can be significantly reduced in a color facsimile machine which does not make much difference in cost even when printing out in color and black and white. And a communication method capable of greatly reducing running costs using the color facsimile apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a color facsimile machine in which running costs can be significantly reduced in a color facsimile machine which does not greatly differ in cost even when printing out in color and black and white. And a communication method capable of greatly reducing running costs using the color facsimile apparatus.

Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, only the image information in which all pages of the received image information are black and white is changed to the number of gradations and the encoding method which conforms to the specification of the destination facsimile apparatus. It is characterized in that it is sent to the destination facsimile machine and printed out.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a color facsimile apparatus capable of receiving monochrome image information and color image information, destination data including at least the telephone number of the destination facsimile apparatus is registered, and the destination facsimile is registered. A transfer management unit that manages the operation of transfer to the device, and when receiving image information including color image information, a color-to-black-and-white conversion unit that converts this into black-and-white image information, and according to the data from the transfer management unit, It is characterized in that a conversion unit for converting the monochrome image information into a gradation number and an encoding system suitable for the destination facsimile machine is provided.

Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a compressed data management unit for detecting that all pages are black and white image information, and transfer destination data including at least a telephone number of a transfer destination facsimile apparatus are registered. And a transfer management unit that manages a transfer operation to the transfer destination facsimile machine and issues a transfer instruction when the compressed data management unit detects that all pages are monochrome image information. is there.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, printing is first performed by a destination facsimile machine which can print out at low cost.
It is possible to determine whether the document does not need to be printed out in color. For this reason, color printing of a document that does not need to be printed out in color can be reduced, and the running cost of the color facsimile apparatus can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the monochrome document is not printed by the high-cost color printer but is printed by the low-cost destination facsimile machine, the running cost of the color facsimile machine can be reduced. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a color facsimile apparatus capable of transmitting received image information including black and white or color to a destination facsimile apparatus as needed.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a color facsimile apparatus capable of transmitting, when all pages of one document are monochrome image information, a destination facsimile apparatus.

Therefore, according to the color facsimile apparatus of the third and fourth aspects, the running cost can be greatly reduced.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the overall configuration of a color facsimile apparatus used in the communication method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a transmitter, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a facsimile machine. Further, a thick line in the drawing indicates image information, and a thin line indicates a control signal.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a panel of a color facsimile apparatus, and a key input from the panel 1 is converted into an electric signal by a panel controller 2 and output. When the document information transmission operation is performed from the panel 1, the panel control unit 2
And outputs a scan instruction signal to the scanner controller 3. The scanner control unit 3 outputs a control signal,
The operation of the scanner 5 is controlled.

The document information 4 read by the scanner 5 is converted into an electric signal, and is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter 6, and is converted into an IPS (Image Processing System).
It is sent to the unit 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, the IPS unit 7 includes, for example, a shading correction unit 7a and an MTF (Modulat
ion Transfer Function) correction unit 7b and RGB → CI
It is composed of an ELAB converter 7c.

As shown, in the present embodiment, the image information is converted into 12-bit signals of R (red), G (green) and B (blue) by the A / D converter 6, and the IPS Input to section 7. In the IPS unit 7, after the RGB 12-bit image signal is subjected to well-known shading correction and MTF correction, the RGB → CIELAB conversion unit 7 c
Converted to AB.

The RGB → CIELAB conversion unit 7 c
The 2-bit RGB signal is converted into 8-bit L ^* , a ^* , b
^* Convert to signal. The color space used when transmitting a color image includes, in addition to the CIELAB, a YC
There are various types such as rCb, RGB, and YMC (K). In this embodiment, CIELAB is used.

The CIELAB is a well-known expression method of a color space, and the three primary colors R,
G, B (reference white is equal energy white) to CIELAB
Can be converted via the tristimulus values X, Y, and Z as follows.

[0028]

(Equation 1) Here, X0, Y0 and Z0 are tristimulus values of illumination light, and Y0 = 100.

Reference numeral 8 in FIG. 1 denotes a page mode determination unit which determines whether one page of the document information is black and white data, color data, or data in which black and white and color are mixed. I do. This determination is based on the L ^* , a
It can be performed by the ^* and b ^* signals. That is, L
^{The *} signal represents a luminance component, and the a ^* and b ^* signals represent color components. Therefore, when the magnitude of the a ^* and b ^* signals is within a predetermined value range, the data is monochrome data. If data within the range and data outside the range are mixed, it can be determined as mixed data.

The determination result of the page mode determination section 8 is stored in the page information temporary storage section 9. The page information temporary storage unit 9 sends the page information to the selector units (selection units) S1 and S2 of the encoding units 10 to 13 and the compressed data management unit 15.

Here, the page information will be described with reference to FIG. The page information includes the number of pages, the first page, the second page,... As shown in FIG.
.., And data representing each attribute of the Nth page (that is, black and white, mixed, color). One byte (8 bits) is assigned to the number of pages, and 2/8 bytes (2 bits) are assigned to each attribute. The page attributes are
For example, as shown in FIG.
0, black and white multi-value is represented by 01, mixed is represented by 10, and color is represented by 11.

FIG. 3C shows a specific example of page information, in which the number of pages is five, the first page is black and white binary,
The page indicates black and white multivalued, the third page is mixed, the fourth page is color, and the fifth page is black and white binary. In the figure, 00 is set to 3 to perform byte alignment.
Have been added.

Returning to FIG. 1, the configuration of the present invention will be described. Reference numeral 10 denotes a black and white binary page encoding unit, 11 denotes a black and white multi-level page encoding unit, 12 denotes a color page encoding unit, and 13 denotes a mixed page encoding unit. These encoding units 10-1
One specific example of 3 is disclosed in FIG.

That is, the black-and-white binary page encoding unit 10 comprises a binarization processing unit 10a and an MMR encoder 10b. The binarization processing unit 10a converts the 8-bit ^{L *} signal into binary to 1-bit ^{L *} signal. The MMR encoder 10b performs MMR encoding on the L ^* signal and compresses it.

The black-and-white multi-valued page encoder 11 comprises a bit plane developing unit 11a and an MMR encoder 11b. The bit plane developing unit 11a develops the 8-bit L ^* signal into a bit plane. That is, one page of data for each layer from LSB to MSB is created. The MMR encoder 11b encodes the data for each layer by MMR for each page and compresses the data.

The color page encoding section 12 comprises a bit plane developing section 12a and an MMR encoder 12b. The bit plane developing unit 12a is configured to
The L ^* , a ^* , and b ^* signals of the bit are developed on each bit plane. That is, one page of data for each layer from LSB to MSB is created for each of the L ^* , a ^* , and b ^* signals. Then, the MMR encoder 11b calculates L ^* , a
^* , B ^* MMR encoding is performed for each bit plane of the signal and compressed.

The mixed page encoder 13 comprises a binary area encoder 13a, a monochrome multi-level area encoder 13b, and a color area encoder 13c. Which of these encodings is to be performed is selected based on the block information sent from the mixed page block information storage unit 14.

As shown in FIG. 6 (a), the block information includes the number of blocks, data representing the attribute values of 1 block to N blocks, and, as shown in FIG. 1
And data representing the area from block to N block (coordinates x, y of upper left point; coordinates x, y of lower right point). One byte is allocated to the number of blocks, 2/8 bytes are allocated to the attribute value, and 8 bytes are allocated to the area.
As the attribute values, as shown in FIG. 11C, 01 represents multi-valued black and white, and 11 represents color.

FIG. 4D is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a mixed page. Assuming that the black and white multivalued in the conceptual diagram is the first block and the color is the second block, the block information is as shown in FIG.
, The number of blocks is 2, the attribute value of the first block is 01, the attribute value of the second block is 11, and
The data representing the area of each block is as shown in FIG.

The compressed data storage unit 18 in FIG. 1 stores the data encoded by the encoding units 10 to 13 or the block information output from the mixed page block information storage unit 14 from the compressed data management unit 15. In accordance with the address management information.

The compressed data stored in the compressed data storage unit 18 is modulated by the modem unit 19,
Is sent to the line via. The modem unit 19 is controlled by the protocol control unit 16 and the NCU unit 20 is controlled by the network control unit 17 as in the related art.

Next, the configuration of the receiver of the color facsimile apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

Reference numeral 21 denotes an NCU unit, 22 denotes a modem unit, 23 denotes a compressed data storage unit, and 24 denotes a color → black and white conversion unit.
The color-to-black and white conversion unit 24 inputs L ^* , a
It is only necessary to extract the L ^* signal which is a luminance signal from the ^* and b ^* signals, and color-to-black and white conversion can be easily performed.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a network control unit for controlling the operation of the NCU unit 21, 26 denotes a protocol control unit, and 27 denotes a compressed data management unit. The transmitter ID and the page information are output from the protocol control unit 26 to the compressed data management unit 27.

The compressed data management unit 27 creates address management information based on the page information from the protocol control unit 26 and sends it to the compressed data storage unit 23. The storage unit 23
Are managed by the address management information.
The compressed data management unit 27 sends the page information to the page information temporary storage unit 29.

The selector S3 stores the page information temporary storage unit 2
9 according to the attribute value of the page information, and in accordance with the attribute value of the page information, the monochrome page decoding unit 30, the monochrome multi-level page decoding unit 31, the color page decoding unit 32, the mixed page decoding unit 33, and the mixed page decoding The block information storage unit 34 is selected.

The image information decoded by the black and white binary page decoding unit 30, the black and white multi-valued page decoding unit 31, the color page decoding unit 32 and the mixed page decoding unit 33 is sent to the color printer control unit 37 and the color printer 38. Printout on a color printer.

A panel 40 and a panel controller 41 are the same as or equivalent to the panels 1 and 2 in FIG.

Reference numeral 51 denotes a transfer management unit for managing the transfer of the received image information; 52, a generation unit for a report or the like relating to the transfer; 53, a display control unit for information on whether or not there is a transfer document; and 54, a display unit. It is.

Transfer destination data is input from the panel 40 to the transfer management unit 51, and the transfer management unit 51 controls transfer based on the transfer destination data. As shown in FIG. 7, for example, a telephone number (Fax No.) of a transfer destination, a partner station ID, the number of gradations, an encoding method, and the like are registered in the transfer management unit 51. In addition, data to which a mark (header) is not added, priority of a transfer destination, transfer start time, and the like may be registered.

Further, 55 is a temporary storage for compressed data, 5
6 is a decoding unit, 57 is a gradation number conversion unit, 58 is a header generation unit, 59 is an image data synthesis unit, and 60 is an encoding unit.

The transfer management section 51 notifies the network control section 25 of the telephone number of the transfer destination. Further, it outputs a print or transfer control signal to the compressed data temporary storage unit 55, and outputs a control signal relating to the number of gradations to the gradation number conversion unit 57. The header generation unit 58 outputs a signal indicating that a mark (header) indicating that the document is a transfer document is not added, and the encoding unit 60 outputs an encoding signal.

Next, the protocol of the receiver shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to flowcharts in FIGS.

After receiving the call (step S1), the calling (C
If NG) is received (Yes at Step S2), the process proceeds to Step S3, where the CED command is transmitted to the transmitting facsimile machine. Next, in step S4, NSF, CS
I and DIS commands are output. At this time, NSF
(Non-standard function) The command informs the transmitting facsimile apparatus that the reception in the color mode / monochrome multi-value mode / mixed mode is possible.

In step S5, NSS, TSI, DC
Receive the S command. Since the NSS and TSI commands are optional, they may not be transmitted from the transmitter. The transmitter declares that communication in the color mode, the monochrome multi-value mode, or the mixed mode is performed by the NSS command. When the mode is not declared by the NSS command, or when the NSS command is not transmitted, the monochrome binary mode communication is performed according to the normal CCITT group 3 protocol.

In step S6, the training is performed, the TCF command is received, and if the result is good, the operation proceeds to step S9 to execute the operation of transmitting the CFR command. On the other hand, if not good, step S8
To send an FTT command.

In step S10, it is determined whether or not the NSS command has been received. If the NSS command has not been received, the flow advances to step S15 to start communication in the monochrome binary mode. On the other hand, when the NSS command is received,
Proceeding to steps S11, S12 and S13, it is determined whether the notification by the NSS command is one of the monochrome multi-value mode, the mixed mode, and the color mode. And
In the case of the monochrome multi-value mode, the process proceeds to step S18, in the case of the mixed mode, the process proceeds to step S17, and in the case of the color mode, the process proceeds to step S16.

FIG. 9 shows a protocol at the time of proceeding to the monochrome binary mode. Training is performed in step S20, and when the process proceeds to step S21, reception of one page of image information is performed. In step S22, it is determined whether an MPS command has been received. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S23, where an MCF command is transmitted. Then, returning to step S20, preparations are made to receive the image information of the next page.

When the reception of the page of the same attribute parameter is completed, the determination in step S22 is negative, and the determination in step S22 is negative.
Proceed to 24. In step S24, it is determined whether or not the EOM command has been received. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S25 to transmit the MCF command. Then, returning to step S4, the communication is continued. Step S
When the process proceeds from S24 to S25, the resolution, paper size,
The attribute parameters such as the communication mode (color, mixed, black and white) are changed.

If step S24 is negative, the process proceeds to step S26, where an EOP command is received, and
At 27, an MCF command is transmitted. Finally, the DCN command is received and the processing ends.

Next, a protocol when the operation proceeds to the color mode will be described with reference to FIGS.

In step S31, the L ^* component of the image information for one page is received. When the reception of the L ^* component for one page is completed, the process proceeds to steps S32 and S33, where MP
After receiving the S command, the MCF command is transmitted.

Then, the process proceeds to a step S34 to shift to an operation of receiving one page of the a ^* component of the image information. The a
^{* When} the reception of the component for one page is completed, step S3
5, proceed to S36, receive the MPS command, and subsequently transmit the MCF command.

Subsequently, the flow advances to step S37 to receive the b ^* component of the image information for one page. When the reception of one page of the b ^* component is completed, the process proceeds to step S38.
A determination is made as to whether an MPS command has been received. M
If the PS command has been received, the process proceeds to step S39, where the MCF command is transmitted, and the process returns to step S31. That is, the process proceeds to the operation of receiving the image information of the next page of the same attribute parameter.

If step S38 is negative, the process proceeds to step S40. Steps S40 to S44 are the same as those in FIG.
Since the operation is the same as that in steps S24 to S28, the description is omitted.

The details of the processing in step S31 are shown in FIG.
1 will be described. Step S311
Then, training is performed, and in step S312, an operation of receiving one page of the first bit plane of the L ^* component of the image information is performed. After receiving one page,
In steps S313 and S314, the operations of MPS reception and MCF transmission are performed. In step S315, training is performed, and in step S316, reception of one page of the second bit plane is performed. Then, step S
At 317 and S318, the operations of MPS reception and MCF transmission are performed.

The same operation as described above is performed on the third to eighth bit planes. When the reception of one page of the eighth bit plane ends in step S320, the reception of one page of the L ^* component of the image information ends.

[0068] The processing of FIG. 11, the was the process of step S31, ^{a *} of one page received in step S34,
The same processing is executed in the reception of one page of b ^* in S37.

Next, the protocol when proceeding to the mixed mode will be described with reference to FIGS.

In step S51 of FIG. 12, one page of block information is received. Next, in step S52,
One page of monochrome binary image information is received. At this time, the black and white multi-value block area and the color block area in the page are all replaced with 0 data and sent.

In step S53, it is determined from the block information whether the first block is a color block. When it is determined that the block is not a color block, that is, when it is determined that the block is a monochrome multi-value, the process proceeds to step S54,
One block of image information of a monochrome multi-value block is received.
On the other hand, when the determination in step S53 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S55, and the receiving operation for one block of the color block image information is performed.

The receiving operation for one block of image information of the color block is substantially the same as that in steps S31 to S37 in FIG. 10, and a description thereof will be omitted.

At step S62, it is determined whether or not there is a block that has not been received yet. If so, the flow advances to step S63 to receive the MPS command. Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S64, where an MCF command is transmitted, and the process returns to step S53.

If the determination in step S62 is negative, the process proceeds to step S65. If it is determined in this step that the MPS has been received, the process proceeds to step S66, where the MCF
The command is transmitted, and the process returns to step S51. Then, block information for one page of the next page is received.

The above operation is repeatedly performed, and step S6
If the determination at 5 is negative, the process proceeds to step S67. Steps S67 to S71 are performed in steps S24 to S24 in FIG.
Since the operation is the same as that in S28, the description is omitted.

Next, referring to FIG.
51, S52, S54 and S55 (S58, S61)
Will be described in detail.

In the processing of step S51, training is performed and block information is received as shown in FIG. Next, MPS reception and MCF transmission are performed, and the process ends.

In the processing in step S52, as shown in FIG.
Receive pages. Subsequently, MPS reception and MCF transmission are performed, and the process ends.

In the process of step S54, training is performed and reception of one block of the first bit plane is performed as shown in FIG. Then MP
S reception and MCF transmission are performed. Next, training, reception of one block of the second bit plane, MPS
Reception and MCF transmission are performed. The same operation is performed in the eighth
The process is performed up to the reception of one block of the bit plane. When the reception is completed, the process of step S54 ends.

The processing in step S55 (S58, S61) is performed as shown in FIG. This process is substantially the same as step S54.

Next, the protocol when proceeding to the monochrome multi-value mode will be described with reference to FIGS.

In step S81, one page of image information is received. In step S82, it is determined whether an MPS command has been received. If the MPS has been received, the process shifts to step S83 to transmit the MCF. Then, the process returns to step S81 to receive the image information of the next page for one page.

If the determination in step S82 is negative, the process proceeds to step S84. Steps S84 to S88 are the same as those in FIG.
Since the operation is the same as that in steps S24 to S28, the description is omitted.

The details of the processing in step S81 are described in FIG.
It is shown in FIG. That is, training, reception of one page of the first bit plane, MPS reception, M
The CF transmission is repeated until one page of the eighth bit plane is received. When the reception of one page of the eighth bit plane ends, the process ends.

Next, the operation of the main part of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2, FIG. 16, and FIG. 16 and 17 are flowcharts showing the operation of the main part of the present embodiment.

At step S100 in FIG. 16, document data is received. That is, as described in the flowcharts of FIGS.
When the image signal is received in the black and white binary mode (step S15 in FIG. 8), the black and white binary image information is received one page at a time as described with reference to FIG. Is done.

When the image information is received in the color mode (step S16 in FIG. 8), the image information L ^* , a ^* , and b ^* are changed for each bit plane and for each page as described with reference to FIG. Are sequentially stored in the compressed data storage unit 23.

When the image information is received in the mixed mode (step S17 in FIG. 8), as described with reference to FIG. 12, the block information, the image information of the monochrome multi-valued block, and the image information L ^{* of the} color block are provided ^. , A ^* , b ^* , and black and white binary image information outside the block are sequentially stored in the compressed data storage unit 23 for each bit plane and for each page.

Further, when the image information is received in the monochrome multi-value mode (step S18 in FIG. 8), as described with reference to FIG. 14, the monochrome multi-value image information is transmitted for each bit plane and for each page. Are sequentially stored in the compressed data storage unit 23. On the other hand, control information such as a transmitter ID and page information is transmitted to the compressed data management unit 2 via the protocol control unit 26.
7 is stored.

In step S101 in FIG. 16, the transfer management unit 51 instructs the display control unit 53 to display "the document waiting to be transferred". As a result, “the document waiting to be transferred” is displayed on the display unit 54.

In step S102, it is determined whether or not the transfer time specified in advance has come. When the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S103, in which it is determined whether or not an instruction for forced transfer has been given from panel 40. Is made. In step S104, it is determined whether or not an instruction for forced printing has been given from panel 40.

When the result of the above step S102 or S103 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S105, where the operation of transferring the received document data to another predetermined facsimile machine is performed. The detailed operation of step S105 is shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when step S104 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S106, where the color printer 38 of the own device performs an operation of performing color printing.

At step S107, it is determined whether or not the transfer of one document has succeeded. If the transfer has succeeded, the process proceeds to step S108, where the monochrome image information stored in the compressed data storage unit 23 is deleted. . In step S109, it is determined whether or not there is a document waiting to be transferred.
If there is still, the process returns to step S105, and another document data is transferred. On the other hand, when the determination in step S109 is negative, the process proceeds to step S110, where the display indicating that there is a document waiting to be transferred is turned off, and a series of processing ends.

If step S107 is negative, that is, if the transfer of the document data has failed, step S1 is executed.
Proceeding to 11, it is determined whether K attempts (K is a positive integer, for example, 3, 4, or 5) have been made, or whether an error has occurred. And when this judgment is negative,
Returning to step S105, the transfer operation is performed again.

When step S111 is affirmative,
Proceeding to step S112, a transfer error report is output. This transfer error report is generated by the report generation unit 5.
2 and output from the printer 38.

In step S113, it is determined whether or not the transfer destination can be changed to the next candidate. If there is still a next candidate, the process returns to step S105, and the operation of transferring to the next candidate is performed. On the other hand, if there are no more candidates,
Proceeding to step S114, an operation of printing the document in color by the printer 38 of the own device is executed.

Next, the operation of step S105 will be described with reference to FIG. When a transfer instruction arrives from the transfer management unit 51 to the compressed data management unit 27, in step S120 in FIG. 17, it is determined whether the received image information is image data of a black and white document. Then, the process proceeds to step S123, and is stored in the compressed data temporary storage unit 55. On the other hand, if the document is a color document or a mixed document, the process proceeds to step S121, where the document is stored in a memory such as the compressed data storage unit 23 and the like.
The color → black and white conversion unit 24 performs a color → black and white M value conversion operation. The black-and-white M-value image data obtained by the conversion operation is stored in the compressed data temporary storage unit 55 in step S123.

In step S124, it is determined whether or not a transfer notification is required. If the transfer notification is required, the flow advances to step S125 to perform an operation of adding the transfer notification. An example of the transfer notification is as shown in FIG.
(See FIG. 2).

In step S126, the image information stored in the compressed data temporary storage unit 55 is decoded by the decoding unit 56, and in step S127, the gradation number conversion unit 57
Then, the monochrome M value is converted into a monochrome N value, which is the number of tones suitable for the destination facsimile machine.

In step S128, the mark (header)
Is determined, and if there is an instruction to add a mark, the process proceeds to step S129,
In the header generation unit 58, for example, a mark having the content "this document is a transfer document" is generated. Step S13
At 0, the mark is combined with image information by the image data combining unit 59.

At step S131, the encoding unit 60
Is encoded in an encoding method suitable for the destination facsimile machine. The coded image information is sent to the modem unit 22, N
The data is sent to the destination facsimile machine via the CU unit 21.

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present embodiment, when there is image information transmitted to a color facsimile apparatus, the color facsimile apparatus transfers the image information to another facsimile apparatus. The operation is performed. At this time, as the other facsimile apparatus, for example, a facsimile apparatus dedicated to black and white which can be printed out at a low cost is selected. Can be determined whether the printout is sufficient.

Therefore, in a color facsimile apparatus in which the cost is not largely different even when printing out in color and black and white, the effect that the running cost can be greatly reduced can be expected.

Also, the transfer notification in step S125,
Alternatively, the addition of the mark (header) in step S129 has the effect that the destination facsimile machine can easily determine whether the received document has been directly addressed to itself or has been transferred.

In the present invention, the transfer management unit 51
Can display a list of documents waiting to be transferred as shown in FIG. The transfer waiting document list can be created by the report generation unit 52 and printed out from the printer 38 or the destination facsimile machine. By viewing the transfer waiting document list, the user can immediately know whether there is a document waiting to be transferred.

Further, in the present invention, only a document in which all pages of the received image information are black and white is transferred to a destination facsimile machine, and a document containing a color in a certain page is
You may make it print by a color printer. In this case, the determination that all pages of one document are black and white is performed as shown in FIG.
Performed based on the page information,
When it is determined that all pages of one document are black and white, the transfer management unit 51 may be notified.

In this manner, a monochrome document can be printed by the destination facsimile machine with low cost, so that the running cost can be reduced.

[0109]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the received image information can be temporarily printed by a low-cost destination facsimile machine, and it can be determined whether or not the document is to be printed in color. In the case of a document that does not need to be printed in color, the document printed by the destination facsimile machine can be adopted, so that the number of documents to be printed in color can be reduced and the running cost can be reduced. .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a document in which all pages of the received image information are black and white is not printed by an expensive color printer but is printed by a transfer destination facsimile machine which can print at a low cost. Can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when the received image information is in color, it can be converted to black and white data and transferred to the destination facsimile machine. Further, even when the received image information is monochrome, it can be transferred to the destination facsimile machine. Therefore, a color facsimile machine with low running cost can be provided.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when all pages of one document are monochrome information, this can be transferred to the destination facsimile machine. Therefore, a color facsimile machine with low running cost can be provided.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since a destination facsimile apparatus is registered with a priority order, even if one destination is busy, it can be transferred to another destination facsimile apparatus. it can.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the transfer start time is specified, it is possible to specify that the transfer is performed during a time when the destination facsimile machine is relatively unused, for example, at night. Therefore, the transfer can be performed while minimizing the transmission and reception operations of the transfer destination facsimile machine.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the transfer notification is added, at the transfer destination facsimile apparatus, the received document arrives directly at the transfer destination facsimile apparatus or arrives after being transferred from the color facsimile apparatus. There is a merit that it can be easily understood.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since a mark is attached to the transferred document, similarly to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the document is a document directly delivered to the destination facsimile apparatus or a color facsimile apparatus. There is an advantage that it is easy to determine whether the document has been transferred from and received. Also,
Compared with the transfer notification, transmission time and recording paper can be saved.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, there is an advantage that the user of the color facsimile apparatus can immediately determine whether or not there is a document waiting to be transferred.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a transmission unit of a color facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a receiving section of one embodiment of the color facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a specific example of an IPS unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of page information.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a specific example of each encoding unit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of block information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transfer destination list.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a protocol of a receiving unit of the color facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a protocol in a monochrome binary mode.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a protocol in a color mode.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing details of step S31 in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a protocol in the mixed mode.

FIG. 13 shows steps S51, S52 and S54 of FIG.
It is a flowchart which shows the detail of and S55.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a protocol in a monochrome multi-value mode.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing details of step S81 in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a specific example of step S107 in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transfer notification.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transfer waiting document list.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference numeral 21: NCU unit, 22: Modem unit, 23: Compressed data storage unit, 24: Color to black-and-white conversion unit, 26: Protocol control unit, 27: Compressed data management unit, 29: Page information temporary storage unit, 38: Color printer , 51 ... Transfer management unit, 5
2. Report generation unit, 53 Display control unit, 54 Display unit, 55 Temporary compressed data storage unit, 56 Decoding unit, 57
... Tone number converter, 58. Header generator, 59. Image data synthesizer, 60. Encoder

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. A communication method for a color facsimile apparatus, wherein when received image information is black and white information, the image information is changed to a gradation number and an encoding method that meet the specifications of a destination facsimile apparatus. If the received image information is information including at least color information, the image information is converted into black and white information, and then the number of gradations and the encoding method are changed to the specifications of the destination facsimile machine. and sent to the destination facsimile apparatus, communication method is characterized in that so as to print out at the destination facsimile apparatus. 2. A communication method for a color facsimile apparatus, wherein only image information in which all pages of the received image information are black and white is changed to a gradation number and an encoding method that meet the specifications of a destination facsimile apparatus. Te, sent to the destination facsimile apparatus, characterized by being adapted to print out at the destination facsimile apparatus communication method. 3. A color facsimile apparatus capable of receiving black-and-white image information and color image information, wherein destination data including at least a telephone number of a destination facsimile apparatus is registered, and a transfer operation to the destination facsimile apparatus is performed. A transfer management unit that manages, when receiving image information including color image information, a color-to-black-and-white conversion unit that converts this into black-and-white image information, and according to the data from the transfer management unit, Number of gradations suitable for the destination facsimile machine,
A color facsimile apparatus, comprising: a conversion unit for converting into an encoding method. 4. A color facsimile apparatus capable of receiving black-and-white image information and color image information, a compressed data management unit for detecting that all pages are black-and-white image information, and a transfer including at least a telephone number of a destination facsimile apparatus. A transfer management unit for registering destination data, managing a transfer operation to the destination facsimile apparatus, and instructing a transfer when the compressed data management unit detects that all pages are monochrome image information. According to the data from the transfer management unit, the monochrome image information, the number of tones suitable for the destination facsimile machine,
A color facsimile apparatus, comprising: a conversion unit for converting into an encoding method. 5. The color facsimile apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of transfer destinations can be registered in the transfer management unit with priorities. 6. The color facsimile apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transfer management unit can designate a time at which transfer is started. 7. The color facsimile apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for adding a transfer notification in a predetermined format. 8. The color facsimile apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for adding a mark indicating transfer to the transferred image information. 9. A color facsimile apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for creating a list of documents waiting to be transferred, and means for displaying or outputting the list as a report. apparatus.