JPH06216992A - Private branch communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To integrate a telephone network and an information communication network and to improve the processing capability of information. CONSTITUTION:The private branch communication system is provided with a single high speed serial line 10 installed in a private branch a multiplexer 20 connecting lots of public lines 2, 4 to the high speed serial line 10, a telephone set 50, personal computers 60, 60a, a facsimile equipment 70, scanners 80, 80a, printers 90, 90a and a video equipment 110. Since the single high speed serial line 10 is used for lots of information equipments in multiple, the information is sent in a form of packets. The packets are transferred through the single high speed serial line 10 at a speed from several Mbps to several hundreds of Mbps. Furthermore, each information equipment connecting to the single high speed serial line 10 has a packet conversion control means decomposing the information into packets and composing the information from the packets.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a local communication system for integrating a telephone network and an information communication network in a large-scale office.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in large-scale offices, office automation has been attempted in order to automate office work and minimize waste in the office. Therefore, LA
N builds personal computers distributed in the office and distributed by ETHERNET, TOKENRIN
They are interconnected by a method such as G. Peripheral devices such as a printer are connected to a personal computer using an interface such as Centronics or RS232C. In the office, a public line and an extension are connected via a PBX, and a telephone and a facsimile device are connected to this extension. Further, a personal computer and a telephone line are connected using a modem when communicating information with the outside through a telephone line, and a gateway processor is used when connecting networks having different communication procedures. .

[0003]

As described above, the prior art is as follows.
Since the wiring for the telephone and the wiring for the LAN for the computer are doubly provided in the office, there is a problem that the wiring becomes complicated and the line cost increases. In addition, although peripheral devices for computers and information devices connected to telephone lines have been developed separately, although some of these devices use similar technology,
I had to use a specific device depending on the line to connect. For this reason, the telephone network and the information communication network should be integrated, and the information processing capability should be improved by efficiently using the printers, for example, many printers arranged in the office, as the output means that can also output the facsimile information. Is desired.

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a local communication system capable of integrating a telephone network and an information communication network and improving the information processing capability. To do.

[0005]

The indoor communication system according to the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is spread all over the area and has a packet transmission rate of several Mbps to several hundred Mbps.
s is a single digital transmission line and information transmitted from the outside via a plurality of public lines is temporarily stored, and then converted into the format of the packet with address information added, and the packet is converted into the digital transmission line. And send it to
After the packet addressed to itself is fetched from the digital transmission path and temporarily stored, a line connecting means for assembling information from the packet and sending it to the predetermined public line, a telephone main body, and information transmitted from the telephone main body After being temporarily stored, the packet is converted to the format of the packet to which address information is added, the packet is sent to the digital transmission line, and the packet addressed to itself is taken from the digital transmission line and temporarily stored, and then the packet is stored. And a packet conversion control means for assembling the information from the above and transmitting it to the main body of the telephone.

[0006]

According to the present invention, by adopting the method of transmitting information as a packet according to the above-mentioned structure, and by arranging a single digital transmission line having a transmission speed of several Mbps to several hundred Mbps in the premises, only the telephone can be used. Instead, an information device such as a personal computer can be connected to the digital transmission path, so that a network system with integrated wiring can be constructed in the office. Moreover, since the communication capacity of information is increased as compared with the case where information is transmitted through a telephone line in the premises, each information device can be equipped with a high function. Therefore, for example, by connecting a scanner or a printer to the in-house communication system and providing a processing means for encoding and decoding facsimile information and a storage means for storing the information in the telephone body, information is input from the scanner and is transmitted via the telephone. The facsimile information can be transmitted to the outside, and the facsimile information transmitted from the outside can be received by the telephone and the information can be output from the printer.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a local communication system which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a multiplexing device in the local communication system.

The local communication system shown in FIG. 1 includes a single high-speed serial line (digital transmission line) 10, a multiplexing device 20 as a line connecting means, a telephone 50, personal computers 60 and 60a, and a facsimile device. 7
0, scanners 80 and 80a, printers 90 and 90a
And a video device 110. Such a local communication system is provided in a large-scale office or the like.
Although only one or two pieces of information equipment such as the telephone 50 are provided in FIG. 1, a large number of information equipments are actually connected to the high-speed serial line 10.

The high-speed serial line 10 is spread all over the premises. Here, since one line is used multiple times by many information devices, information is transmitted in the form of packets.
A packet is, for example, one in which information is divided into blocks of a predetermined length, and a source address, a destination address, and other control information are added to each block. The high-speed serial line 10 transmits packets by several Mbps (bit per secon).
The data is transmitted from d) at a high speed of several hundred Mbps. An optical fiber cable or the like is used as the high-speed serial line 10, and
A relay device (not shown) is provided at each point of the high-speed serial line 10 to prevent the transmission signal from being attenuated.

The multiplexer 20 connects the analog public line 2 and the digital public line 4 to the high-speed serial line 10.
To connect to. As shown in FIG. 2, the multiplexer 20 includes a first interface 22 connected to the analog public line 2, a second interface 24 connected to the digital public line 4, and a high-speed serial line 10.
Has a third interface 26, an information converter 28, and a packet conversion controller 30s. The information converting unit 28 converts the analog information transmitted from the outside via the Arronag public line 2 into digital information, and the packet conversion control means 30 s to the analog public line 2.
The digital information sent to the device is converted into analog information.

The packet conversion control means 30s includes a reception buffer 32a, 32b, 32c and a transmission buffer 34a,
34b and 34c, a storage unit 36, and a packet conversion unit 38
And a control unit 42. Receive buffers 32a, 32
b temporarily stores the information transmitted from the outside via the public lines 2 and 4, and the reception buffer 32c is the high-speed serial line 1
It temporarily stores the self-addressed packets taken from 0. The transmission buffers 34a and 34b temporarily store information to be sent to the public lines 2 and 4, and the transmission buffer 34c temporarily store packets to be sent to the high-speed serial line 10. The storage unit 36 manages address information and the like of each information device. The packet conversion unit 38 converts the information transmitted from the outside into a packet format in which predetermined address information is added based on the address information stored in the storage unit 36,
For example, the packet is divided into a plurality of packets and information is assembled from the self-addressed packet fetched from the high-speed serial line 10. The control unit 42 manages each unit, controls the transmission of the information assembled by the packet conversion unit 38 to predetermined public lines 2 and 4, and controls the transmission of packets to the high-speed serial line 10. .
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 44 is an internal bus.

Telephone 50, personal computer 6
Each of the information devices 0, 60 a, the facsimile device 70, the scanner 80, the printer 90, and the video device 110 is connected to the high-speed serial line 10. Also, the scanner 80
The a and the printer 90a are not connected to the high-speed serial line 10 and wirelessly perform information communication. In this embodiment, since the high-speed serial line 10 having a transmission speed of several Mbps to several hundred Mbps is set up in the premises, the communication capacity of information is increased, so that it is possible to use an information device equipped with a high function. Is.

The telephone set 50 is a cordless telephone set and comprises a master unit 52 and a slave unit 54. The master device 52 has a main body and packet conversion control means. The packet conversion control means temporarily stores the information transmitted from the main body, divides it into packets with address information added, sends the packets to the high-speed serial line 10, and fetches the packets addressed to itself from the high-speed serial line 10. Information is assembled from packets and transmitted to the main body after temporary storage. The main body of the base unit 52 is provided with a storage unit such as a microcomputer, a hard disk, and a magneto-optical disk, and has an answering machine function and a function capable of transmitting and receiving facsimile information. In addition, voice information can be wirelessly transmitted between the master unit 52 and the slave unit 54 through an antenna.

The personal computers 60 and 60a are
It has a main body and packet conversion control means. This packet conversion control means also has the same operation as the packet conversion control means of the telephone 50. Also, a personal computer 6
0a can also perform information communication wirelessly, and can input information from the scanner 80a or output information from the printer 90a, for example.

The facsimile device 70 has a main body and packet conversion control means. This packet conversion control means also has the same operation as the packet conversion control means of the telephone 50. The scanner 80 includes a main body and packet conversion control means. The packet conversion control means temporarily stores the information transmitted from the main body and then divides it into packets with address information added, and the packets are sent to the high-speed serial line 10. Send out. The printer 90 includes a main body and a packet conversion control means. The packet conversion control means fetches a packet addressed to itself from the high-speed serial line 10 and temporarily stores the packet, and then assembles information from the packet and transmits the information to the main body. Further, the video device 110 has a main body and packet conversion control means. This packet conversion control means also has the same operation as the packet conversion control means of the telephone 50.

Since the multiplexer 20 and the packet conversion control means of each information device are provided with a buffer for temporarily storing information or packets, the high speed serial line 10
Even if the packet transmission speed and the information processing speed of each information device are different, information can be delivered and received smoothly.

Next, some specific examples of the operation of the local area communication system of this embodiment will be described. First, as a first operation example, a case where information is transmitted from the personal computer 60 to the printer 90 will be described. First, the information transmitted from the main body of the personal computer 60 is divided by the packet conversion control means into packets to which an address addressed to the printer 90 is added, and is sent to the high speed serial line 10. The packet conversion control means of the printer 90 takes in the packet addressed to itself from the high-speed serial line 10 and then
Information is assembled from the packet and transmitted to the printer 90 main body.

Next, as a second operation example, a case where facsimile information is transmitted from the outside via the analog public line 2 or the digital public line 4 will be described. First, the packet conversion control means 30s of the multiplexing device 20
Facsimile information transmitted via the public lines 2 and 4 is divided into packets to which the address information of the facsimile device 70, which is the recipient, is added, and is sent to the high-speed serial line 10. The packet conversion control means of the facsimile device 70 takes in a packet addressed to itself from the high-speed serial line 10, assembles facsimile information from the packet, and transmits it to the main body of the facsimile device 70. Then, the facsimile information is output from the output unit of the main body of the facsimile device 70.

Instead of the facsimile device 70, facsimile information can be output from the printer 90 via the telephone 50 or the personal computer 60. That is, after the facsimile information transmitted from the outside is transmitted to the telephone 50 or the personal computer 60 to decode the facsimile information, it is stored in the storage unit. Then, when necessary, a command can be input from the telephone 50 or the personal computer 60, and information can be output from the printer 90 as in the first operation example.

As a third operation example, a case where image information is transmitted from the scanner 80 to the printer 90 will be described. When image information is input from the input unit of the scanner 80 with the printer 90 as the destination, the image information is divided by the packet conversion control means of the scanner 80 into packets to which address information addressed to the printer 90 is added, and the high-speed serial line 10 is connected.
Sent to. The packet conversion control means of the printer 90 takes in a packet addressed to itself from the high-speed serial line 10, assembles information from the packet, and then the printer 9
Image information is output from the output unit of the main body. As described above, in the local communication system of this embodiment, the scanner 80 and the printer 90 can be used as a copying machine.

As a fourth operation example, the image information from the scanner 80 is sent to the personal computer 60 or the video device 1.
The case of transmitting to 10 will be described. First, the image information input from the input unit of the scanner 80 main body is divided by the packet conversion control means of the scanner 80 into packets to which address information addressed to the personal computer 60 or the video device 110 is added, and sent to the high-speed serial line 10. It Personal computer 60 or video device 110
The packet conversion control means of (1) takes in a packet addressed to itself from the high-speed serial line 10 and assembles information. This information is accumulated or recorded in the storage unit of the main body of the personal computer 60 or the recording unit of the main body of the video device 110.

As a fifth operation example, a case of transmitting facsimile information to the outside will be described. First, the facsimile information is input from the facsimile device 70. The packet conversion control means of the facsimile device 70 divides the information into packets addressed to the multiplexing device 20 and sends the packets to the high speed serial line 10. The packet conversion control means 30s of the multiplexer 20 receives the packet addressed to itself, assembles the facsimile information, and then sends it out via the vacant public line.

Instead of the facsimile device 70, facsimile information can be transmitted from the scanner 80 via the telephone 50 or the personal computer 60. That is, first, information is read from the scanner 80 to the telephone 5
0 or send to the personal computer 60, the telephone 5
0 or encoded by the personal computer 60 and then stored in the storage unit. Then, an instruction is input from the telephone 50 or the personal computer 60, and the facsimile information is transmitted to the outside. Therefore, when another person is transmitting or receiving long-sentence facsimile information from the facsimile device 70, for example, the telephone 50 or the personal computer 6
Since the facsimile information can be transmitted via 0, the information equipment can be used efficiently.

The in-house communication system of this embodiment adopts a method of transmitting information as a packet, and connects information equipment such as a telephone and a personal computer to a single high-speed serial line, thereby integrating wiring in the office. You can build a network system. Therefore, unlike the conventional premises network system, it is not necessary to wire several types of lines in the office, so that the line cost can be reduced. In addition, since each information device is equipped with a packet conversion control means inside, it is possible to recognize a packet addressed to itself. For example, when changing seats or moving to another room on the premises, the telephone is plugged into a line outlet. Just do not need to renumber your phone numbers.

Further, in the local communication system of this embodiment,
Transmission speed is a few Mbps as a line spread around the premises
By using a high-speed serial line of several hundred Mbps, the communication capacity of information is increased as compared with the case of performing information communication through a telephone line. Therefore, it is possible to transmit information from a personal computer to a printer in a short time, even though many information devices are connected to a high-speed serial line. Further, it becomes possible to install high-performance in each information device, and it is possible to improve the information processing capability of the system.

For example, in the above embodiment, the telephone 50
By installing a microcomputer and a storage unit in the, and equipped with an answering machine function and a facsimile information transmission / reception function, it is possible to receive facsimile information with the same telephone number even during a call, and, conversely, to send or receive facsimile information. You can make another call from the handset, even while inside. The storage unit can also be used to have a voice mail function, for example.

Further, since the telephone 50 is equipped with a facsimile information transmission / reception function, as described in the above operation example, information is transmitted from the scanner 80 to the telephone 50, for example.
To the printer 90 by transmitting the facsimile information to the outside by receiving the facsimile information transmitted from the outside by the telephone 50.
Can output information from. Therefore, the scanner 80 can be efficiently used as an input unit for inputting various information, and the printer 90 can be efficiently used as an output unit for outputting various information. The personal computer 60
Is also connected to the high-speed serial line 10, the personal computer 60 is allowed to play the role of the high-performance telephone 50, so that the scanner 80 and the printer 90 can also be efficiently used.

Further, since the communication capacity of information increases, it becomes possible for a plurality of people, not only those on the premises but also outside parties, to talk at the same time. Furthermore, cordless telephone 5
By linking the data between the master units 52 of 0 through the high-speed serial line 10, the slave units 54 are managed only by the specific master unit 52, and the slave units 54 are managed by the master unit 52 near them. Can be made. For this reason, even if the mobile device 54 moves on the premises, a telephone addressed to itself can communicate at any time, and by identifying the base device 52 communicating with the mobile device 54, the mobile device 54 can be identified. Since the position of the slave unit 54 is known, the current position of the slave unit 54 can be displayed on the master unit 52.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention. In the above-described embodiments, the case where a general-purpose scanner or printer is used has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a scanner or printer having a high function may be used. For example, the scanner or printer may be provided with a storage unit such as a hard disk or a magneto-optical disk. Further, for example, a scanner is provided with a processing means for encoding the facsimile information, and a printer is provided with a processing means for decoding the facsimile information so that a multi-format, multi-user specification can be used to send and receive various kinds of data. You may comprise. Further, a scanner or printer having a multi-interface may be used to connect to another personal computer or the like via a telephone line, for example.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, the method of transmitting information as a packet is adopted, and a single digital transmission line having a transmission speed of several Mbps to several hundred Mbps is set up in the premises. As a result, an information device such as a telephone or a personal computer can be connected to the single digital transmission path, so that a network system with integrated wiring can be constructed in the office, and the information communication capacity can be improved. Therefore, it is possible to provide each information device with a high function, and it is possible to provide a local communication system capable of improving the information processing capability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a local communication system that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a multiplexing device in the local communication system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 analog public line 4 digital public line 10 high-speed serial line 20 multiplexer 22 first interface 24 second interface 26 third interface 28 information converter 30s packet conversion control means 32a, 32b, 32c reception buffers 34a, 34b , 34c Transmission buffer 36 Storage unit 38 Packet conversion unit 42 Control unit 44 Internal bus 50 Telephone set 52 Master unit 54 Slave unit 60, 60a Personal computer 70 Facsimile device 80, 80a Scanner 90, 90a Printer 110 Video device

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A single digital transmission line which is spread over a premises and has a packet transmission rate of several Mbps to several hundred Mbps, and after temporarily storing information transmitted from the outside via a plurality of public lines. , Assembling the information from the packet after converting the packet to the format of the packet to which address information is added, transmitting the packet to the digital transmission line, taking in the packet addressed to itself from the digital transmission line, temporarily storing the packet Line connection means for sending to a predetermined public line, telephone main body, and after temporarily storing information transmitted from the telephone main body, it is converted into the format of the packet with address information added, and the packet is digitally transmitted. After sending the packet to the network and capturing the packet addressed to itself from the digital transmission channel and temporarily storing it Premises communication system comprising: a, a telephone and a packet conversion control means for transmitting to said telephone body assembles information from the packet. 2. The internal communication system according to claim 1, wherein the public line is an analog public line for transmitting analog information. 3. The internal communication system according to claim 1, wherein the public line comprises an analog public line for transmitting analog information and a digital public line for transmitting digital information. 4. The internal communication system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the main body of the telephone has processing means for encoding and decoding facsimile information and storage means for storing the information. 5. The private communication system according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein address information is added after the personal computer main body for processing information and the information transmitted from the personal computer main body are temporarily stored. Converts to the packet format, sends the packet to the digital transmission line, captures the packet addressed to itself from the digital transmission line, temporarily stores the packet, and then assembles information from the packet and transmits to the personal computer main body. An internal communication system comprising a personal computer having: 6. The indoor communication system according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, wherein a facsimile apparatus main body for processing facsimile information and address information after temporarily storing the information transmitted from the facsimile apparatus main body. Is added to the packet, the packet is sent to the digital transmission line, the packet addressed to itself is taken from the digital transmission line, temporarily stored, and then information is assembled from the packet. A local communication system comprising a facsimile apparatus having a packet conversion control means for transmitting to a main body. 7. The indoor communication system according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, wherein after the input device body for inputting image information and the information transmitted from the input device body are temporarily stored, An internal communication system comprising: an input device having a packet conversion control means for converting the packet into a format of the packet added with address information and transmitting the packet to the digital transmission path. 8. The private telephone system according to claim 7, wherein said input device main body has a processing means for encoding facsimile information. 9. The internal communication system according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8, wherein the output device main body for outputting information and the packet addressed to itself from the digital transmission line are taken in. And a packet conversion control means for assembling information from the packet and transmitting the assembled information to the output device main body. 10. The internal communication system according to claim 9, wherein the output device main body has processing means for decoding facsimile information.