U.S. patent application number 10/635519 was filed with the patent office on 2004-02-12 for data communication apparatus connected to external information processing terminal through interface.
This patent application is currently assigned to CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA. Invention is credited to Ejiri, Seishi, Kondo, Masaya, Kumagai, Takekazu, Saruwatari, Masaru, Toyama, Masaki, Tsukamoto, Takeshi, Yamamuro, Soichi.
Application Number | 20040027612 10/635519 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26395553 |
Filed Date | 2004-02-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040027612 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Saruwatari, Masaru ; et
al. |
February 12, 2004 |
Data communication apparatus connected to external information
processing terminal through interface
Abstract
In the communication between a facsimile apparatus and an
information processing terminal, the communication of status
information of the facsimile apparatus is efficiently effected and
an operation efficiency of the apparatus is improved. In response
to a command from the information processing terminal, information
indicating a change in the status of the facsimile apparatus is set
in a response transmitted from the facsimile apparatus to the
information processing terminal, and the information processing
terminal conducts a communication request of the status information
of the facsimile apparatus in accordance with the information.
Inventors: |
Saruwatari, Masaru;
(Kawasaki-shi, JP) ; Ejiri, Seishi; (Kawasaki-shi,
JP) ; Yamamuro, Soichi; (San Jose, CA) ;
Kondo, Masaya; (Great Neck, NY) ; Kumagai,
Takekazu; (Yokohama-shi, JP) ; Tsukamoto,
Takeshi; (Kawasaki-shi, JP) ; Toyama, Masaki;
(Kawasaki-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FITZPATRICK CELLA HARPER & SCINTO
30 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA
NEW YORK
NY
10112
US
|
Assignee: |
CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
26395553 |
Appl. No.: |
10/635519 |
Filed: |
August 7, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10635519 |
Aug 7, 2003 |
|
|
|
08813288 |
Mar 10, 1997 |
|
|
|
6667813 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
358/1.15 ;
358/442; 710/19 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 1/33392 20130101;
H04N 1/33376 20130101; H04N 1/33369 20130101; H04N 1/333
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
358/1.15 ;
358/442; 710/19 |
International
Class: |
G06F 003/12; H04N
001/00; G06F 013/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 12, 1996 |
JP |
8-54741 |
Nov 28, 1996 |
JP |
8-317886 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A data communication apparatus for receiving a command from an
external information processing terminal, transmitting a response
for the received command to said information processing terminal
and executing a process corresponding to the command, comprising:
status monitor means for monitoring apparatus status; and means for
transmitting information on the apparatus status upon transmission
of said response in accordance with the status monitoring by said
status monitor means.
2. A data communication apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the
information on the apparatus status is information indicating a
change of the apparatus status.
3. A data communication apparatus according to claim 1 further
comprising: storage means for storing the apparatus status detected
by said status monitor means and information indicating whether the
apparatus status has been changed or not; wherein the information
on the apparatus status is transmitted when the information
indicating the change of the apparatus status has occurred is
stored in said storage means upon the transmission of said
response.
4. A data communication apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said
response includes information indicating whether said command is to
be accepted or not.
5. A data communication apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the
information on the apparatus status is information on the apparatus
status detected by said status monitor means.
6. A data communication apparatus according to claim 2 wherein a
status request command for requesting the transmission of
information on the apparatus status from said information
processing terminal is received, and in response to said status
request command, the information on the apparatus status detected
by said status monitor means is transmitted.
7. A data communication apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the
information on the apparatus status includes information on status
of a data input unit in said data communication apparatus,
information on status of a data output unit and information on
operation status of said data communication apparatus.
8. A data communication apparatus according to claim 6 wherein a
response indicating the absence of status information to be noticed
is transmitted to said information processing terminal when there
is no change in the apparatus status upon the reception of the
status request command.
9. A data communication apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said
status monitor means periodically monitors the change of the
apparatus status, and upon detection of the change of the apparatus
status, stores information indicating the change of the apparatus
status in said storage means.
10. A processing method in an information processing terminal for
transmitting a command to cause a data communication apparatus to
execute a desired process and receiving a response indicating
whether said command is acceptable or not from said data
communication apparatus, comprising the steps of: detecting whether
information indicating a change in the data communication apparatus
status has occurred is included in said response or not; and
recognizing the data communication apparatus status in accordance
with a result of the detection.
11. A process method according to claim 10 wherein a status request
command for requesting the transmission of information on the data
communication apparatus status is transmitted in accordance with
the result of the detection, information on the apparatus status
transmitted from said data communication apparatus is received in
response to the status request command, and the data communication
apparatus status is recognized in accordance with the received
information.
12. A process method according to claim 10 wherein a command is
transmitted to said data communication apparatus in accordance with
a request from a terminal of a local area network.
13. A process method according to claim 11 wherein the data
communication apparatus status information is stored in a memory,
and the data communication apparatus status is displayed in
accordance with the stored status information.
14. A process method according to claim 13 wherein the status
information of said memory is updated based on the received status
information.
15. A storage medium containing a program executable by a computer
for transmitting a command to cause a data communication apparatus
to execute a desired process and receiving a response indicating
whether said command is acceptable by said data communication
apparatus or not, comprising the steps of: detecting whether
information indicating a change in the data communication apparatus
status has occurred is included in said response or not; and
recognizing the data communication apparatus status in accordance
with a result of the detection.
16. A storage medium according to claim 15 further comprising the
steps of: transmitting a status request command for requesting the
transmission of information on the data communication apparatus
status in accordance with the result of the detection; receiving
information on the apparatus status transmitted from said data
communication apparatus in response to the status request command;
and recognizing the data communication apparatus status in
accordance with the received information.
17. A storage medium according to claim 15 further comprising the
step of: transmitting a command to said data communication
apparatus in accordance with a request from a terminal of a local
area network.
18. A storage medium according to claim 15 further comprising the
step of: storing the data communication apparatus status
information in a memory, and displaying the data communication
apparatus status in accordance with the stored status
information.
19. A storage medium according to claim 18 further comprising the
step of: updating the status information of said memory based on
the received status information.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a data communication
apparatus connected to an external information processing terminal
through an interface.
[0003] 2. Related Background Art
[0004] A facsimile communication system in which a facsimile
apparatus and an external information terminal are connected
through an interface to form the facsimile communication system,
and the facsimile transmission is commanded from the external
information processing terminal to the facsimile apparatus or a
document prepared on the external information processing terminal
is printed out by the facsimile apparatus, has recently been widely
used. Further, a system in which an external information processing
terminal having a facsimile apparatus connected thereto is
connected to a LAN (local area network) to allow an operation
similar to that of the facsimile apparatus from a plurality of
information processing terminals has become populated. In such a
facsimile communication system, the IEEE P1284 which is a bilateral
parallel interface has been widely used as an interface to connect
the facsimile apparatus and the external information processing
terminal. In the facsimile communication system which adopts the
IEEE P1284 as the interface, the data exchange with command and
response is started by sending a command from the external
information processing terminal which serves as a host, and the
facsimile apparatus which serves as a peripheral device merely
returns a response to a command from the host. Under this
environment, information as to whether the facsimile apparatus is
in transmission, in reception or in an abnormal condition is
informed from the facsimile apparatus to the external information
processing terminal by issuing from the external information
processing terminal a command to acquire the status of the
facsimile apparatus.
[0005] However, in the prior art system, when the facsimile
apparatus of the facsimile communication system is in the
transmission state or the reception state, information such as the
exhaustion of record sheets or an error in the printer cannot be
informed until the inquiry is made by the external information
processing terminal to the facsimile apparatus about the status of
the record sheets and the printer after the completion of the
transmission or reception being processed. In order to solve the
above problem, the external information processing terminal must
sequentially inquire to the facsimile apparatus about anticipated
events such as the exhaustion of the record sheets at any time
during the operation such as in the transmission or in the
reception. It is very troublesome and the process that should be
executed in the external information processing terminal increases,
a system throughput is reduced, and an operation efficiency is
lowered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide a data
communication apparatus in light of the above problems.
[0007] It is another object of the present invention to allow
efficient transmission of information on the data communication
apparatus with an information processing terminal.
[0008] Other objects of the present invention will be apparent from
the following detailed description of the embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a configuration of a
facsimile communication system in accordance with an embodiment of
the present invention,
[0010] FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of a control operation of a CPU
101 of a facsimile apparatus,
[0011] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of a process executed by an
information processing terminal,
[0012] FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of a control operation of the CPU
101 of the facsimile apparatus,
[0013] FIGS. 5A and 5B, combined as FIG. 5, show flow charts of a
control operation of the CPU 101 of the facsimile apparatus,
[0014] FIGS. 6A and 6B, combined as FIG. 6, show flow charts of a
control operation of the CPU 101 of the facsimile apparatus,
and
[0015] FIG. 7 shows status information of the facsimile
apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] An embodiment of the present invention is now explained in
detail with reference to the drawings.
[0017] In the embodiment, a facsimile communication system in which
an information processing terminal (personal computer or the like)
and a facsimile apparatus are connected through a bilateral
parallel interface is explained.
[0018] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a configuration of the
facsimile communication system of the present embodiment.
[0019] A CPU 101 is a system control unit which controls the
overall facsimile apparatus through a system bus 117 and it
comprises a microcomputer. A ROM 102 stores a control program and
an operating system (OS) program of the CPU 101. A RAM 103
comprises an SRAM and stores program control variables. Settings
registered by an operator, system management data and various
working buffers are also stored in the RAM 103. An image memory 104
comprises a DRAM and stores image data. In the present embodiment,
the control program stored in the ROM 102 is executed by software
control such as scheduling or task switching under control of the
OS stored in the ROM 102.
[0020] A console unit (or operation unit) 105 comprises various
keys, LEDs and LCDs and allows various entry operations by an
operator and conducts the display of an operation status of the
facsimile communication system.
[0021] A read control unit 107 comprises a CS (contact type) image
sensor and a document sheet feed mechanism. The read control unit
107 optically reads a document sheet by using the CS image sensor,
converts it to an electrical image data, applies thereto various
image processing such as a binarization process and a gray level
process by an image processing control unit 108, and outputs highly
fine image data. The converted image data is coded in accordance
with a predetermined coding scheme through a read recording
code/decode control unit 112 and it is stored in the image memory
104.
[0022] A record control unit 114 comprises a page printer and a
record image processing control unit. The record control unit 114
decodes image data to be recorded by the read recording code/decode
control unit 112, applies a smoothing process and a record density
correction process thereto by image processing control unit to
convert it to highly fine image data and outputs it to the page
printer.
[0023] A communication control unit 109 comprises a modem and
modulates and demodulates facsimile transmission/reception signals.
An NCU (network control unit) 110 sends a selection signal (dial
pulse or tone dial signal) to an analog communication line (PSTN)
116, detects a call signal from the communication line and controls
a line of automatic reception control. The image data stored in the
image memory 104 is decoded by a communication code/decode
processing unit 111, and millimeter-inch conversion and
magnify/reduce processing are conducted by a resolution conversion
processing unit 106. The resolution-converted image is coded by the
communication code/decode processing unit 111 in accordance with an
ability of a destination station, and it is transmitted.
[0024] An I/F control unit 115 conducts interface control with an
externally connected information processing terminal (FAX server)
118. In the present embodiment, it conforms to a parallel interface
such as the bilateral Centronics Interface (parallel interface
which conforms to the IEEE P1284).
[0025] Remote operations such as transmission from the FAX server
118 to the facsimile apparatus, the print and the data registration
are conducted by transmitting predetermined command parameter data
to the facsimile apparatus through the I/F control unit 115. In the
present embodiment, application software and driver software for
controlling the remote operations and remote operation requests are
installed in the FAX server 118.
[0026] An operation of the above arrangement is now explained.
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of a control operation of the CPU
101 of the facsimile apparatus of the present embodiment. A program
for executing the control operation shown in the flow chart is
stored in the ROM 102 as described above.
[0028] First, when the facsimile apparatus is started, the CPU 101
resets an area on the RAM 103 representing the status of the
apparatus (S201). Then, the apparatus status monitoring (the
monitoring of the presence/absence of the record sheets, the record
sheet size, the execution status of the facsimile apparatus and an
error status of the apparatus) is started (S202), and the process
shifts to a wait status (S203). The CPU 101 determines whether a
change has occurred in the apparatus status by the apparatus status
monitoring (S204). If a change has occurred in the apparatus
status, the information of apparatus status change is held in the
RAM (S205), and the information of the apparatus status is also
stored in the RAM (S206). If no change occurs in the apparatus
status, the steps S205 and S206 are skipped.
[0029] Then, whether a command has been received from the external
information processing terminal 118 or not is determined (S207). If
the command has not been received, the steps S203 to S207 are
repeatedly executed. If the command is received from the external
information processing terminal 118, whether the command is one to
inquire the status of the facsimile apparatus or not is determined
(S208). If it is the command to inquire the apparatus status, the
information of the apparatus status stored in the RAM is set as a
response parameter.(S209), a response to the apparatus status
inquiry command is set (S210), the apparatus status change
information on the RAM is erased (S211) and a response is sent to
the external information processing terminal 118 through the I/F
control unit 115 (S216). If the received command is not the
apparatus status inquiry command, a process for the received
command is executed (S212) and a response (OK/NG) for the command
is set (S213). The CPU 101 checks the presence or absence of the
apparatus status change information on the RAM (S214), and if the
apparatus status has been changed, the apparatus status change
information is added to the response set in the step S213, and the
apparatus status change information is erased from the RAM (S215).
If the apparatus status has not been changed in the step S214, the
process proceeds from S214 to S216 to send a response to the
external information processing terminal 118 through the I/F
control unit 115. When the response is sent, the process returns to
the waiting state (S203).
[0030] An operation of the external information processing terminal
118 in the present embodiment is now explained.
[0031] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of a process operation of the
external information processing terminal 118 in the present
embodiment. The process operation shown in the flow chart is
executed by a computer application program stored in a hard disk or
the RAM of the information processing terminal (computer) by
software control under the OS.
[0032] First, the information processing terminal 118 shifts to the
wait state as the interface control with the facsimile apparatus
(S301), and causes the facsimile apparatus to send an apparatus
status inquiry command (S302). If then receives a response to the
apparatus status inquiry command from the facsimile apparatus
through the interface (S303) and determines whether the apparatus
status is normal or not (S304). If the facsimile apparatus status
is normal, and abnormal display, if any, on the display of the
information processing terminal is erased (S305). If the facsimile
apparatus is abnormal, the abnormal state of the facsimile
apparatus is displayed on the display (S306). Then, a process
corresponding to the response received from the facsimile apparatus
is executed (S307).
[0033] Then, whether an event to the facsimile apparatus has
occurred by the operation of the console unit (keyboard or pointing
device) of the external information processing terminal 118 or not
is determined, and if the event has not occurred, the process
returns to S301. If the event to the facsimile apparatus has
occurred, the facsimile apparatus is caused to send a command
corresponding to that event through the interface (S309). A
reception process of the response to the sent command is executed
(S310), and when the response is received, whether the apparatus
status change information has been added to the received response
or not is determined (S311). If the apparatus status change
information has been added to the received response, the facsimile
apparatus is caused to send an apparatus status inquiry command
(S312). When a response to the apparatus status inquiry command is
received from the facsimile apparatus (S313), whether the facsimile
apparatus is in a normal state or not is determined based on the
received response (S314), and if the facsimile apparatus is in the
normal state, the abnormal display, if any, on the display is
erased (S315). If the facsimile apparatus is in the abnormal state,
the abnormal state of the facsimile apparatus is displayed on the
display (S316). Then, whether the event is completed or not is
determined (S317), and if the event has not been completed, the
command for that event is continuously sent (S309), and if the
event is completed, the process returns to the wait state
(S301).
[0034] In S311, if the status change of the facsimile apparatus is
not included, whether the event has been completed or not is
determined (S317), and if the event is not completed, the command
is continuously sent (S309), and if the event is completed, the
process returns to the wait state (S301.).
[0035] In the above process, when the external information
processing terminal 118 recognizes the status change of the
facsimile apparatus, the apparatus status inquiry command is
immediately sent. Alternatively, the external information
processing terminal 118 may send the apparatus status inquiry
command to the facsimile apparatus after the completion of the
execution of the currently executed event.
[0036] Further, detailed information of the status of the facsimile
apparatus may be included in the information added in the response
sent by the facsimile apparatus, and the external information
processing terminal 118 may first check the presence or absence of
the status change, and if it is determined that the apparatus
status change information has been added, the detailed status
information of the facsimile apparatus added to the response may be
analyzed so that the sending of the apparatus status inquiry
command may be omitted.
[0037] In the description of the flow chart of FIG. 2, the detail
of the detection of the status change executed by the facsimile
apparatus is not described. Referring to FIGS. 4, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B
and 7, the scanner unit (read control unit 107) of the facsimile
apparatus, the printer unit (record control unit 114), the
detection of the communication status and the notice of the
information are explained in detail.
[0038] FIGS. 4, 5A and 5B show flow charts of control operations of
the CPU 101. A program for executing such control operation is
stored in the ROM 102.
[0039] Referring to the flow chart of FIG. 4, the processes to
acquire the status of the scanner unit and the printer unit and the
communication status are explained.
[0040] The CPU 101 of the facsimile apparatus periodically acquires
the status information of the scanner unit (read control unit 107)
and the printer unit (record control unit 114) (S401). FIG. 7 shows
detailed items of the information of the apparatus status
(information to be acquired) stored in a predetermined area of the
RAM. The information to be acquired includes the presence or
absence of a document sheet on an ADF (automatic document sheet
feeder), information on the width of the document sheet, the
presence or absence of a cassette in the printer unit (record
control unit 114), the record sheet size, the presence or absence
of the record sheet, the open/close state of the cover of the
printer unit and the communication status (communication phase
status) information. The acquired information is compared with the
information stored in the RAM prior to the acquisition to determine
whether the newly acquired information is different from the
information stored in the RAM (S402), and if it is different from
the previously stored information, the newly acquired information
is written into a predetermined area of the RAM of the facsimile
apparatus, and a notice information (apparatus status change
information) flag for indicating that the information to be noticed
to the external information processing terminal 118 connected to
the facsimile apparatus is present is set (S403). If there is no
change in the acquired information, the process returns from S402
to the wait state.
[0041] The process shown in the flow chart of FIG. 4 is
periodically started by a timer and periodically executed by the
CPU 101.
[0042] FIGS. 5A and 5B show flow charts of a control operation of
the CPU 101 of the facsimile apparatus when a command is received
from the external information processing terminal 118, and a
program for executing such control operation is stored in ROM
102.
[0043] When the CPU 101 of the facsimile apparatus detects the
reception of the command from the external information processing
terminal 118 (S501), it determines whether the received command is
a notice information acquire command (apparatus status inquiry
command) for acquiring the notice information (status information)
possessed by the facsimile apparatus or not (S502). If the received
command is the notice information acquire command, whether the
notice information flag has been set or not is determined (S503),
and if the notice information flag has been set, the notice
information of the RAM of FIG. 7 is set to the response as a
response parameter (S504). Whether all notice information have been
set in the parameters of the response of the notice information
acquire command or not is determined (S505), and if unnoticed
notice information remains, "ATN" indicating the unnoticed
information is set (S506) in addition to the "OK" response for the
notice information acquire command, the response is sent to the
external information processing terminal 118 through the I/F
control unit 115 (S507), and the process stands by the reception of
the next command (S508). In S505, if all notice information have
been set in the response parameters, the "OK" response to the
notice information acquire command is set (S509), the notice
information flag is reset (S510), and the process proceeds to the
sending of the response.
[0044] In S503, if the notice information flag has not been set,
"NG" is set as the response to the notice information acquire
command (S511) and the process proceeds to the sending of the
response (S507).
[0045] In S502, if the received command is not the notice
information acquire command, a process for the received command is
executed (S512), whether the notice information flag has been set
or not is determined (S513), and if the notice information flag has
been set, "ATN" indicating that the unnoticed notice information is
present is set in the response (OK/NG/BUSY) for the received
command (S514), and the process proceeds to the sending of the
response (S507). In S513, if the notice information flag has not
been set, the response (OK/NG/BUSY) to the received command is set
(S515) and the process proceeds to the sending of the response
(S507).
[0046] If the command is not received, the process continuously
waits to stand by the reception of the command from the external
information processing terminal 118.
[0047] In the above process, when the unnoticed notice information
(apparatus status information) is present, the facsimile apparatus
sends the unnoticed notice information to the external information
processing terminal 118. Accordingly, the information once noticed
to the external information processing unit 118 is no longer
noticed. When the information processing terminal detects that
"ATN" indicating the presence of the unnoticed information is set
in the response, it can recognize the change of the status of the
facsimile apparatus so that it sends the notice information acquire
command to the facsimile apparatus and acquires the changed status
information. The information processing terminal holds the notice
information received from the facsimile apparatus in the memory,
and it is updated by the received notice information so that it may
recognize the status of the facsimile apparatus by the notice
information in the memory. The information processing terminal
sends the notice information acquire command for confirming the
status of the facsimile apparatus to the facsimile apparatus, and
when it receives the "NG" response, it recognizes that the
facsimile apparatus status has not been changed from the notice
information in the memory and determines that the notice
information in the memory is the current facsimile apparatus
status. When there is a change in the facsimile status, the changed
status information is managed as the unnoticed notice information
and the unnoticed notice information is set to the response for the
notice information acquire command from the external information
processing terminal 118 so that the status information of the
facsimile apparatus is communicated efficiently.
[0048] FIGS. 6A and 6B show flow charts of the status information
acquire process of the scanner unit (read control unit 107) and the
printer unit (record control unit 114) executed by the CPU 101. A
control program for executing the process shown in the flow chart
is stored in the ROM 102.
[0049] Usually, in the scanner unit, a sensor for detecting the
presence or absence of the document sheet and a sensor for
detecting the document sheet width are separate ones, and when the
presence of the document sheet is detected by the document sheet
sensor, the document sheet width detection output currently
outputted by the document sheet width sensor is acquired as the
document sheet width information. Thus, when the document sheet is
set, "presence of document sheet" information is generated, and
then the output of the document sheet width sensor is identified
and the "document sheet width" information is acquired from the
identification result. Those two information may be concurrently
noticed to the external information processing terminal and the
concurrent notice leads to the improvement of the system
throughput. Similarly, as to the record sheet cassette, the
information on the presence or absence of cassette, the presence or
absence of record sheet and the record sheet size are concurrently
noticed to the external information processing terminal 118 for the
respective cassettes of the facsimile apparatus.
[0050] In the present embodiment, the periodic acquisition of the
status information of the scanner unit and the printer unit
determines the presence or absence of the document sheet in the ADF
based on the output from the document sheet sensor (S601), and if
the document sheet is present, whether the status has been changed
from the absence of document sheet to the presence of document
sheet or not (S602). If the status has been changed from the
absence of document sheet to the presence of document sheet, the
output of the document sheet width sensor of the ADF is checked
(S603), then "ADF document sheet present" information and the
document sheet width information based on the output of the
document sheet width sensor of the ADF are stored in the RAM
(S604), and the notice information flag indicating that the notice
information to the connected external information processing
terminal 118 is present is set (S605).
[0051] In S601, if the document sheet is absent in the ADF, whether
the status has been changed from the presence of document sheet to
the absence of document sheet or not is determined (S615). If the
status has been changed from the presence of document sheet to the
absence of document sheet, "ADF document sheet absent" information
is stored in the RAM (S616), and the notice information flag is set
(S605).
[0052] Without regard to the presence or absence of the document
sheet in the ADF, the status information on the ADF is not acquired
unless there is a change in the detection status of the document
sheet (S602, S615).
[0053] The CPU 101 then moves to the acquiring of information on
the record sheet cassette of the printer unit. Assuming that the
number of record sheet cassettes loadable to the facsimile
apparatus is three, the same process is repeated for the cassette 1
to the cassette 3 to acquire the record sheet cassette information.
First, the CPU 101 set the parameter n of the cassette to 1 (S606)
to determine whether the cassette 1 has been loaded to the
facsimile apparatus or not (S607). If the cassette 1 has been
loaded to the facsimile apparatus, whether the set status of the
cassette 1 has been changed from the cassette not loaded to the
cassette loaded or not is determined based on the information in
the RAM (S608), and if the cassette 1 status has been changed from
the cassette not loaded to the cassette loaded, the record sheet
size of the cassette 1 is detected (S609) and the presence or
absence of the record sheet of the cassette 1 is detected (S610),
based on the output from the sensor (S609). The "cassette 1 loaded"
information, the cassette 1 record sheet size information and the
information on the presence or absence of the records sheet are
stored in the RAM (S611), and the notice information flag is set
(S612).
[0054] In S607, if the cassette 1 has not been loaded, whether the
cassette 1 load status has been changed from the cassette loaded to
the cassette not loaded or not (S617), and if the cassette 1 load
status has been changed from the cassette loaded to the cassette
not loaded, the "cassette 1 not loaded" information is stored in
the RAM (S618) and the notice information flag is set (S612).
[0055] Without regard to the presence or absence of the cassette 1,
the status information on the cassette 1 is not acquired unless
there is a change in the load status of the cassette 1, and whether
the parameter n of the cassette is smaller than three (whether the
cassette information has been acquired for the cassette 1 to the
cassette 3) or not is determined (S613), and if the cassette
parameter n is smaller than three, the parameter n is incremented
(S614) and the above process (S607 to S612, S617, S618) are
executed for the cassettes 2 and the cassette 3 to acquire the
information on the presence or absence of record sheet cassette
loadable to the facsimile apparatus, the record sheet size and the
presence or absence of record sheet, and then the process is
terminated.
[0056] The process for the facsimile apparatus to receive the
command from the connected external information processing terminal
118 and indicate the presence of the notice information to the
external information processing terminal 118 is similar to that
shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.
[0057] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments
described above but various modifications thereof may be made.
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