Printing apparatus with facsimile function

Details Printing apparatus with facsimile function Printing apparatus with facsimile function

1995-05-18

2001-09-18

Garcia, Gabriel I. (Department: 2624)

Facsimile and static presentation processing

Static presentation processing

Emulation or plural modes

C358S440000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06292266

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a printer having a receiving function of a facsimile and printing data outputted from an electronic equipment such as a personal computer.
There has existed a printer with a facsimile operation which is connected to a personal computer and which not only prints character data or image data from the personal computer but also functions as a facsimile apparatus. In association with the realization of low prices in recent years, such printer is generally widespread. In such printer with a facsimile operation, various improvements have been performed so that facsimile data can be received even during the printing operation of computer data from the personal computer.
First, the first conventional example will now be described. A printer with a facsimile operation disclosed in JP-A-63-212557 is constructed in a manner that when a facsimile signal is received during the reception of data from a personal computer, a receiving operation of an interface control with the personal computer is interrupted and a receiving operation of an interface control with the facsimile is executed. In such a construction, however, since a printing operation can be stopped and the operation can be immediately shifted to the facsimile reception mode, a purpose to give a priority to output of facsimile data can be realized. However, since the printing operation is actually accompanied with other operations such as delivery of a paper in the halfway of the printing, the stop of printing is not effective.
The second example will now be described in consideration of such processes. According to a printer disclosed in JP-A-5-292233 and JP-A-5-122429, when a facsimile signal is received during reception of data from a personal computer, the print-data from the personal computer is printed by an amount of one sheet and the sheet is delivered out and, after that, the printer starts printing on a next sheet.
In the above second conventional example, however, since the data from the facsimile through telephone line is always preferentially printed, if there is a facsimile reception while urgent important data is received from the personal computer and is printed, the data printing from the personal computer is stopped in the halfway or the printing of up to the sheet that is at present being printed is interrupted and then the printing of the facsimile reception data is started.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to solve the problem of the conventional examples as mentioned above and to provide an easy-to-use printing apparatus in which a printing operation of particularly urgent and important computer data is performed, a facsimile interruption inhibit mode can be set.
According to the invention, there is provided a printing apparatus comprising: facsimile data receiving means for receiving a reception request signal and print data which are transmitted through a telephone line; computer data receiving means for receiving print data that is transmitted through a line different from the public telephone line; printing means for printing each of the print data received by the facsimile data receiving means and the computer data receiving means on a medium; and mode setting means for selectively setting either one of a first mode in which when the facsimile data receiving means receives a reception request signal and the printing means is printing the print data received by the computer data receiving means, the printing operation of the computer data is interrupted, thereby allowing the printing means to execute the printing operation of the print data from the facsimile data receiving means in accordance with the reception request signal, and a second mode in which when the facsimile data receiving means receives the reception request signal and the printing means is printing the print data received by the computer data receiving means, the reception request is reserved, thereby allowing the printing means to continue the printing operation of the computer data.
There is provided second mode control means, including detecting means for detecting an end of the computer data printing operation and third control means for controlling the mode selecting means so as to select first mode control means on the basis of a detection result of the detecting means, thereby automatically returning the operation to the first mode.
The apparatus further includes facsimile data temporary storing means for receiving and storing the facsimile data when there is a facsimile data reception request and the second mode control means is selected; and reading means for reading out the data stored in the facsimile data temporary storing means and for transmitting the read data to the printing means, wherein after the computer data was printed, the facsimile data is printed.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4910607 (1990-03-01), Uita et al.
patent: 4947345 (1990-08-01), Paradise et al.
patent: 5021892 (1991-06-01), Uita et al.
patent: 5371574 (1994-12-01), Ohmura et al.
patent: 5448378 (1995-09-01), Matsumoto
patent: 63212557A (1988-09-01), None
patent: 5122429A (1993-05-01), None
patent: 529233A (1993-11-01), None

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