JP2006163143A - Contact type transmitter receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contact type transmitter receiver capable of easily realizing a toner cartridge in a printer device and a means of detecting its ambient temperature at low cost. <P>SOLUTION: A memory chip is mounted on the toner cartridge in the printer device, the contact type transmitter receiver communicates with mutually, and a temperature detecting element is mounted on the memory chip. Temperature information obtained from the temperature detecting element is transmitted to a control circuit of the printer device without using a dedicated signal line nor contact electrode by using a signal line that the contact type transmitter receiver uses for data communication. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact-type transmission / reception device that performs data communication with consumables such as a cartridge mounted with a storage medium inserted into an electronic device such as a printer device, and an accessory device.

  In recent years, information management such as quality and distribution has been performed by storing individual information for a huge number of products, etc., communicating with them and rewriting information, etc. . In this way, small-sized transmission / reception devices (elements) capable of rewriting data are not limited to commercial products in the future, but are used as personal ID cards in medical care and government, or as securities such as electronic money. Various applications are expected.

  Considering the number of these devices (elements) and the environment in which they are used, the devices added to each device should be simplified in size and cost, and the internal circuitry can be simplified from the viewpoint of durability. Is desirable. Similarly, it is expected that the convenience of these information management systems will be improved by simplifying the transmission / reception devices that communicate with them.

  As a communication means between each individual and the transmission / reception apparatus, there are a contact type (wired system) and a non-contact type (wireless system) according to the intended use. Since the contact type handled in the present invention does not require an electromagnetic inductive coupling device used in a non-contact type, a small system can be realized at low cost. In a printer device, a storage medium is mounted on a toner cartridge and communicates with the printer engine. However, the cartridge and the printer engine must be in contact with each other, and cartridge insertion and removal is limited only during cartridge replacement and jam processing. Considering the two points, which are the disadvantages of less contact wear, it is possible to take advantage of the contact type that can reduce radiation noise at a lower cost than the non-contact type that is currently mainstream.

On the other hand, the downsizing of the printer device will lead to an increase in the density of the inside of the device and an increase in the internal temperature, and it is predicted that temperature management inside the device and optimization technology for the cooling system will be important. It goes without saying that temperature detection means play an important role in developing these technologies. In particular, the toner cartridge in the printer apparatus is considered to increase in importance as the temperature of the toner cartridge is detected as the melting point of the toner decreases. As an example of providing temperature detection means in the toner cartridge, there is a method in which a thermistor described in Patent Document 1 is built in the toner cartridge, and a constant voltage supply source and detection temperature transmission means are separately provided.
JP 9-218633 A

  In recent years, miniaturization of electrophotographic image forming apparatuses has been demanded, and some apparatuses do not have a cooling fan because of space or the like. The present invention realizes temperature detection means for performing temperature management in the apparatus in such an apparatus, and the object is to realize temperature detection of the toner cartridge easily and inexpensively. It is in.

  The contact-type transmitting / receiving apparatus according to the first invention is characterized in that the temperature detecting means can be easily attached to the toner cartridge by mounting the temperature detecting means on the storage medium IC mounted on the toner cartridge.

That is, the present invention has a replaceable cartridge in which a consumable including toner or ink is integrated in an image forming apparatus, and the cartridge controls the use frequency of each consumable constituting the cartridge and the image forming apparatus. A storage medium IC having a memory for storing additional information and an interface for communicating the storage data, the image forming apparatus has an electrode connector connected to a control circuit, and the storage medium IC has an electrode surface In a contact type transmitting / receiving device that secures a data communication line by making contact with the electrode connector and enables wired communication,
As a means for detecting the storage medium IC and its ambient temperature, a temperature detection element whose characteristics change due to a temperature change is arranged in the storage medium IC.

  According to a second invention, in the contact-type transmitting / receiving device shown in the first invention, a thermistor is used as a temperature detecting means, and a reference voltage and a ground potential (ground) for its operation are supplied to the voltage supply source or ground of the contact-type transmitting / receiving device A signal line for potential or communication is used.

  According to a third aspect, in the contact-type transmitting / receiving device shown in the first and second aspects, the temperature can be detected even when communication is stopped.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the contact-type transmitting / receiving device shown in the first aspect of the invention, the detected temperature information is stored in a memory in the storage medium IC, and the temperature history information of the toner cartridge is held.

  According to the present invention, the following is realized in the contact type transmission / reception device of the memory chip attached to the printer device and the cartridge.

  By providing a temperature detection element to the memory chip mounted on the cartridge, it is possible to easily measure the cartridge and its ambient temperature.

  By using the wired communication system that is a feature of the contact type transmission / reception device, it is possible to realize a temperature detection system without using dedicated signal lines and contact electrodes.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail according to embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Configuration of contact-type transmitting / receiving device of embodiment>
FIG. 1 is an overall view of a contact type transmission / reception apparatus configured in a printer apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The memory chip 3 is connected to a drive circuit 5 via a contact electrode surface provided in the memory chip 3 and a contact connector 4 in the printer apparatus 1. Accordingly, when the cartridge 2 is removed from the printer apparatus 1, all communication lines are physically disconnected. On the other hand, the drive circuit 5 in the printer apparatus 1 is controlled by the control circuit 6 to supply power to the memory chip 3 and perform synchronous communication of data. By mounting the thermistor 15 as a temperature detecting element on the memory chip 3, the temperature of the cartridge 2 and its surroundings can be detected. Means for transmitting the reference power, ground potential, and temperature information necessary for operating the thermistor 15 to the control circuit 6 of the printer apparatus 1 include signal lines 10 and 11 connecting the drive circuit 5 and the memory chip 3, etc. This can be realized without newly providing a signal line or the like. By providing the temperature detection element in the memory chip 3 in this way, it is only necessary to attach the memory chip 3 to the cartridge 2. Compared to the conventional example (Patent Document 1), the temperature detection element can be attached to the cartridge 2. Will improve dramatically.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a data communication system between the memory chip 3 and the drive circuit will be described first.

  There are various communication methods for contact communication depending on the number of communication lines, but as the number of communication lines increases, the total cost of bundled wires and connectors rises. The two-wire system with the minimum number as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows an example of a communication signal in a differential transmission system that is generally not easily affected by external noise. A transmission signal S4 as shown in FIG. 3 (e) having a phase-inverted relationship with respect to the transmission signal S3 shown in FIG. 3 (d) is transmitted. Since one of the two signals always has a potential of 0 V, this is used as a reference potential, and the other potential is a signal potential detected by the memory chip 3. By performing amplitude modulation of these signal potentials, serial data communication is possible. An embodiment of a circuit for realizing this is shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 4, a CMOS inverter IC which is a general-purpose logic IC is used. One or a plurality of inverter elements are built in the CMOS inverter IC. In this embodiment, the inverter element uses an IC including at least three circuits. INV1, INV2, and INV3 in FIG. 4 represent each element of the inverter in the logic IC, and the voltage represented by V2 is applied to the power supply terminal of the IC shared by them. Note that the output signals of S3 and S4 in FIG. 4 communicate with the memory chip 3 via the signal lines 10 and 11 in FIG.

  Hereinafter, a communication system in an example using the CMOS inverter IC will be described. In the following description, data transmission from the drive circuit 5 to the memory chip 3 is referred to as “downlink” with the drive circuit 5 upstream, and conversely, data transmission from the memory chip 3 to the drive circuit 5 is “uplink”. It shall be called.

(Carrier signal)
When the drive circuit 5 and the memory chip 3 perform data communication, it is necessary to synchronize communication. In this embodiment, the clock signal (S1) output from the control circuit 6 is used as a synchronous clock. Here, when the operating voltages of the control circuit 6 and the memory chip 3 are different, for example, in order to cope with the case of the 3.3V system and the 5V system, the voltage is adjusted to the operating voltage of the memory chip 3 via the transistor Tr2. V1 is amplified to a voltage value divided by resistors R3 and R5. This amplified signal is input to the input terminal of the CMOS inverter IC as a carrier wave signal.

(Logic IC connection)
In order to use the CMOS inverter IC as a modulation circuit, the output of INV1 and the input of INV2 are connected, and the aforementioned carrier wave signal is input to the input terminals of INV1 and INV3. As a result, the output of INV2 has the same phase as the carrier wave signal and the output of INV3 has the opposite phase, and differential signal communication is possible by using the output signals of INV2 and INV3. At this time, since the output signal of INV2 passes through two stages of inverter elements, a difference in response time occurs between the outputs of INV2 and INV3. In order to compensate for this, a delay compensation resistor R6 is inserted at the input terminal of INV3.

(Power supply terminal of logic IC)
In a normal logic IC usage method, the power supply voltage V2 is used by applying a constant voltage in order to make the output voltage constant. However, in the present invention, the power supply voltage V2 is changed to a binary value or more in order to perform pulse amplitude modulation. In the present embodiment, the power supply voltage V2 is changed to a binary value (VH, VL) during downlink. Here, since the memory chip 3 does not have a power source, the drive circuit 5 needs to supply power via the signal line. Therefore, the lower voltage VL of the binary voltages is set to be equal to or higher than the voltage necessary for the memory chip 3 to operate. As a result, a voltage higher than VL is always supplied to the memory chip 3, so that a power source is not necessary. VH and VL turn Tr1 on and off by the data signal (S2) from the control circuit 6, and when it is off, Tr1 is open. Therefore, the voltage V1 is applied to V2 as it is (VH ) When ON, Tr2 is short-circuited and current flows, so that a voltage obtained by dividing V1 by R1 and R2 is applied to V2 (VL).

(Demodulation with memory chip)
FIG. 5 shows how the differential signals S3 and S4 generated by the logic IC in the drive circuit 5 are demodulated by the memory chip 3. As for the differential signals S3 and S4, an amplitude component, that is, a data signal is taken out by the demodulator 13 in the memory chip 3, and the demodulated signal S6 is sent to the controller 12. At this time, in S6, a voltage equal to or higher than VL is always held, and therefore, electric power exceeding a certain value is continuously supplied. The control unit 12 monitors the rising or falling edge of S3 or S4 in order to synchronize communication (S5).

(Data reception from memory chip)
Up to now, the downlink, that is, data transmission from the drive circuit 5 to the memory chip 3 has been described. Hereinafter, a method of receiving data transmitted from the uplink, that is, the memory chip 3 by the driving circuit 5 will be described.

  First, since the drive circuit 5 and the memory chip 3 perform uplink and downlink using the same two signal lines, it is necessary to separate the timings of the two. In order to realize this, at the start and end of data transmission / reception, a control command is transmitted from the control circuit 6 to the memory chip 3 via the drive circuit 5 to avoid a transmission / reception collision.

  During the uplink, Tr1 remains off. On the other hand, Tr2 continues to transmit a carrier wave signal in order to synchronize communication. In this state, the output signal S3 of the inverter IC is an unmodulated signal having a constant amplitude as shown in FIG. S4 is a waveform obtained by inverting S3 and is similarly an unmodulated signal. In this state, the control unit 12 that has received the control command for transmitting data from the memory chip 3 to the drive circuit 5 by the control command is inserted between the signal lines based on the data to be transmitted to the drive circuit 5. The switching element SW1 connected in series with the resistor R7 is turned on and off (S8), and the impedance between the signal lines is changed in binary. At this time, SW2 is off. In downlink, SW1 and SW2 are in an off state.

  Here, the inverter element INV2 is roughly configured as shown in FIG. 8 by FET1 which is a P-channel MOSFET element and FET2 which is an N-channel MOSFET element. Similarly, INV3 is composed of FET3 and FET4. Assuming that the input of INV2 is “L” and the input of INV3 is “H”, FET1 and FET4 are turned on, and FET2 and FET3 are turned off. Therefore, the output of INV2 is “H” and the output of INV3 is “L”. At this time, the current flowing from the constant power source V1 to the memory chip 3 flows to the ground via R1, FET1, Rload, and FET4. Here, since the on-resistances of FET1 and FET4 are small and ignored, the potential V8 shown in FIG. 8 is determined by the ratio of R1 and Rload. Here, assuming that Rload is about 100 times R1, when SW1 is open (off), V8 is substantially equal to the voltage value of V1. On the other hand, when SW1 is short-circuited (ON), if R7 is set to about 10 times R1 and about 1/10 of Rload, the impedance of memory chip 3 becomes the combined resistance of Rload and R7. A value (Von) divided by the combined resistance and R1 is obtained. FIG. 7B shows a state in which the potential of V8, that is, the amplitude of the output signal (S3) is modulated by turning on and off SW1. The same applies to the output signal (S4), and the situation is shown in FIG. This voltage change is input to the comparator CMP1 as shown in FIG. 4 and compared with a reference voltage V4 as shown in FIG. 7C, so that the data from the memory chip 3 is as shown in FIG. 7D. It can be received (S7). At this time, since the input impedance of CMP1 is very large, the potential V8 is not affected.

(Temperature detection with thermistor)
In this embodiment, data is transmitted and received by amplitude modulation as shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, and the amplitude voltage is the power supply voltage of the memory chip 3. Here, the input voltage to the memory chip 3 is Vin. Further, Vreset is defined as the following expression (1) as a voltage lower than VL shown in FIGS.

VH>VL> Vreset (1)
The memory chip 3 performs a communication operation when the voltage Vin is in the range of VH to VL. In contrast, when Vin becomes equal to or lower than Vreset, the control unit 12 of the memory chip 3 is in a reset state, and stops all operations including access to the storage unit 14. During this reset state, SW1 is kept off and SW2 is kept on as shown in FIG.

  Here, assuming that the resistance value of the thermistor 15 is Rth, Rth is sufficiently smaller than Rload in the entire temperature range to be detected (for example, 1/10 or less of Rload). By doing so, the input impedance of the memory chip 3 at Vin <Vreset is approximately Rth.

  On the other hand, when the drive circuit 5 performs temperature detection, communication is stopped and Tr1 and Tr2 shown in FIG. 5 are fixed in an open state. At this time, the voltage V8 shown in FIG. 5 or 8 is determined as shown in the following equation (2).

V8 = V1 × Rth / (R1 + Rth) (2)
In order to shift from the communication mode with the memory chip 3 to the temperature detection mode, the drive circuit 5 lowers the V1 voltage and sets Vin = V8 = Vreset. Therefore, V1 is expressed as the following expression (3), and this voltage is hereinafter referred to as Vth.

V1 = Vth = (R1 + Rth) × Vreset / Rth (3)
At this time, the control unit 12 of the memory chip 3 is in a reset state, and Rth changes reflecting the cartridge 2 (memory chip 3) and its ambient temperature, and V8 changes in voltage according to the temperature. Thus, the control circuit 6 of the printer apparatus 1 can grasp the cartridge 2 and the ambient temperature.

  Hereinafter, the flow of control will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in STEP2 and STEP6, the presence / absence of a communication request with the memory chip 3 is always monitored, and when there is a communication request, the voltage of V1 is set to VH (STEP7) and communication is performed (STEP9). When the communication is finished (STEP 10) and no other communication request is generated, the mode shifts to the temperature detection mode. In this case, as shown in STEP 3, Tr1 and Tr2 in FIG. 4 are fixed to the open state, and the voltage of V1 is lowered to Vth. As a result, as shown in STEP 4, the control unit 12 of the memory chip 3 is reset, and SW1 is fixed to the off state and SW2 is fixed to the on state. In this state, since the voltage of V8 is a value obtained by dividing the voltage Vth by R1 and Rth, the control circuit 6 takes in the voltage change of the V8 following the temperature change of the cartridge 2 to detect the temperature. (STEP 5). The temperature detection mode is continued until a communication request with the memory chip 3 is generated. When a communication request is generated, V1 is set to VH again, the reset state of the control unit 12 of the memory chip 3 is released, and communication is possible.

  In the first embodiment, the example in which the temperature detection is performed when the memory chip 3 is not communicating has been described. In this embodiment, an example in which the memory chip 3 can detect temperature during communication will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the thermistor 15 is built in the control unit 12 inside the memory chip 3. The control unit 12 is supplied with the data voltage S6 rectified by the demodulation unit 13. A constant voltage is generated from the voltage S6 by the regulator 16 and supplied as the power supply voltage Vcc of the control CPU 19. The thermistor 15 is inserted in series with the resistor 18 between the Vcc of the control CPU 19 and the ground potential. The resistance value of the thermistor 15 varies depending on the cartridge 2 and its ambient temperature, and the voltage value at the voltage detection point 20 varies. The control CPU 19 can detect the temperature by monitoring the voltage value. By detecting the temperature during the communication of the memory chip 3 (reset release state), the temperature information can be stored in the storage unit 14 and can be sequentially transmitted to the printer device 1 by communication. It becomes.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the contact-type transmission / reception apparatus in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the two-wire contact-type transmission / reception apparatus in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a signal transmitted within the contact type transmission / reception apparatus in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the drive circuit in the contact-type transmission / reception apparatus in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the data signal demodulation in the contact-type transmission / reception apparatus in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the temperature detection in the contact-type transmission / reception apparatus in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a transmission signal at the time of the data reception in the contact type transmission / reception apparatus in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data receiving circuit in the contact-type transmission / reception apparatus in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the contact-type transmission / reception apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the control flow of the temperature detection in the contact-type transmission / reception apparatus in this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer apparatus 2 Cartridge 3 Memory chip 4 Contact connector 5 Drive circuit 6 Control circuit 7 Door switch 8 Insertion door 9 Contact electrode 10 Signal line 11 Signal line 12 Control part 13 Demodulation part 14 Storage part 15 Thermistor 16 Regulator 17 Data receiving part 18 Resistance 19 Control CPU
20 Voltage detection point S1 Synchronous clock signal S2 for data communication Transmission data signal S3 Output signal of drive circuit 5 (differential signal with S4)
S4 Output signal of drive circuit 5 (differential signal with S3)
S5 Operation clock S6 of controller 12 Data signal rectified (demodulated) by demodulator 13 Detection signal S7 of received data Uplink load switch switching signal V1 Voltage controlled by drive circuit 5 V2 Power supply voltage of logic IC Input signal V3 Input voltage V4 to logic IC Reference voltage V5 when receiving data is detected Pull-up voltage V8 Voltage Tr1 at output terminal of drive circuit 5 Transistor Tr2 for modulating transmission data signal Transistors INV1 and INV2 for amplifying synchronous clock , INV3 CMOS logic inverter elements R1 to R8 Resistor SW1 Load switch (load switching means used during uplink)
SW2 thermistor switch (switching means used when detecting temperature)
FET1 to FET3 FET showing an equivalent circuit of a CMOS logic inverter
Load resistance during Rload uplink

Claims (4)

The image forming apparatus has a replaceable cartridge in which consumables including toner or ink are integrated, and the cartridge stores the use frequency of each consumable constituting the cartridge and additional information for controlling the image forming apparatus. A storage medium IC having an interface for communicating storage data with a memory to be stored, the image forming apparatus has an electrode connector connected to a control circuit, and the storage medium IC has an electrode surface, and the electrode connector In a contact type transmitting / receiving device that secures a data communication line by making contact with and enables wired communication,
A contact-type transmitting / receiving device characterized in that a temperature detection element whose characteristics change due to a temperature change is arranged in the storage medium IC as means for detecting the storage medium IC and its ambient temperature. A thermistor is used as the temperature detection element of the storage medium IC,
2. The contact-type transmission / reception device according to claim 1, wherein the thermistor is connected to a data communication line with the contact-type transmission / reception device or a power supply line to a storage medium IC.   The storage medium IC can transmit temperature information detected by the temperature detection element to the contact-type transmitting / receiving device using a data communication line or a power supply line without using a communication function related to stored data. The contact type | mold transmission / reception apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2.   The contact type transmitting / receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein temperature information detected by the temperature detection element is stored in a memory in the storage medium IC.

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