JPH02166961A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To exactly read a range, which is desired to be read, by reading a picture while displaying the relative moving quantity of a reading means and an original in a sub scanning direction on a display means. CONSTITUTION:A picture reading part 2 is separated from a control part 1 and used as a picture reader by manual scanning in a single body. When the picture reading part 2 is detached from the control part 1 and singly used, parallelly with picture reading operation, the relative moving distance of the picture reading part 2 and original in the sub scanning direction is calculated from the number of rotation of a rotary encoder and displayed on a display 128. Accordingly, an operator can know the remaining quantity of picture data which can be stored in a RAM. Thus, useless operation to execute sub scanning although the RAM is filled up can be prevented and the range, which is desired to be read, in the original can be exactly read.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of automatic and manual scanning, which reads an image of a document and forms an image on an image forming medium.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, there have been portable image forming devices that read or record (image formation) by manual scanning, and image reading devices that read or record images by manual scanning as input/output terminals for word processors, personal computers, etc. and image recording devices are known.

In the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, the reading section and the recording section are mechanically integrated, and the image memory for storing image data to be read or recorded is also commonly shared. . Therefore, even if only the reading function or the recording function of the above-mentioned image forming apparatus is used, they cannot be used alone, and must be used as an image forming apparatus in which the reading section and the recording section are integrated. There was a drawback that it was inconvenient to handle because it did not occur.

In addition, image reading devices and image recording devices used as input/output terminals for word processors, personal computers, etc. are now electrically connected to the main body of the word processor, personal computer, etc. via cables, for example. Therefore, the image reading device or image recording device itself does not have an image memory, and the memory of a word processor, personal computer, etc. is used as the image memory. Therefore, even in this case, even if only the reading function or the recording function is used, it must be used in the entire system, which has the disadvantage of being inconvenient to handle.

To solve this problem, the image reading section and the image recording section are each equipped with an image memory, and the main body device (control section) is used as the image reading device and the image recording device, respectively.
When the image reading unit and image recording unit are separated from the main unit, manual scanning is used, and when attached to the main unit, automatic scanning is used to perform image reading and image recording. device is being considered.

In the image forming apparatus as described above, the length in the sub-scanning direction that can form an image is limited by the capacity of the image memory provided therein. This limitation is not a problem when the image recording section is attached to the main device and used as an image forming device by automatic scanning, but when the image recording section is removed from the main device and used as an image reading device by manual scanning, Since we do not know the amount of image data that has been read so far or the remaining capacity of the image memory, we may perform unnecessary operations such as sub-scanning even though the image data that has been read exceeds the capacity of the image memory, or The disadvantage is that it is not possible to accurately read the desired range.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, the present invention configures the image reading section and the image recording section to be separable from the control section, and when the image reading section and the image recording section are separated from the control section, In an image forming apparatus that enables image reading and image recording by manual scanning, when the image reading section is removed from the control section and used as an independent image reading device by manual scanning, it is possible to check the amount of data read to date and the amount of image memory. Since the amount of remaining image information is not known, the user may perform unnecessary sub-scanning even though the amount of image information read exceeds the capacity of the image memory, or the desired range of the document cannot be accurately read. This was done in order to solve this problem.When reading an image by the image reading unit alone using manual scanning, it is possible to know the amount of image information read so far and the remaining capacity of the image memory, thus eliminating unnecessary reading operations. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that can prevent such problems and accurately read a desired range of a document.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a reading means for reading an image of a document, and a reading means provided in the reading means, and an image forming apparatus that is provided in the reading means to read an image of the document and the reading means in a sub-scanning direction. a detection means for detecting a relative movement amount; a display means provided on the reading means for displaying the relative movement amount detected by the detection means; and forming an image on an image forming medium from image information read by the reading means. The apparatus further comprises an image forming means, and the image reading is performed while displaying the relative movement amount detected by the detecting means on the display means.

(Function) When the reading means is removed from the main unit and used alone, the detection means detects the amount of relative movement between the reading means and the document in the sub-scanning direction, and this detection result is displayed on the display means. The image is read while being displayed. This allows the operator to know the remaining capacity of the image memory, eliminates the need for extra sub-scanning, and
This allows you to accurately read the range you want to read.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a control section, which includes a conveyance mechanism for conveying a document and recording paper P as an image forming medium, a control circuit for controlling the entire apparatus, and the like. This control section 1
As shown in the figure, an image reading section 2 and an image recording section 3 are placed on top of the control section 1. In this state, it is possible to automatically transport documents and recording paper P, and it functions as an image forming apparatus capable of automatically scanning documents and recording.

Further, the image reading section (reading means) 2 and the image recording section (image forming means) 3 can be separated from the control section 1, respectively, as shown in FIG.
Even in the detached state, the image reading section 2 can operate independently as an image reading device, and the image recording section 3 can operate independently as an image recording device. Further, a display 12 is provided on the upper surface of the image reading section 2 and the image recording section 3, respectively.
8 and 136 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control section 1 includes an operation panel 4,
It is composed of a paper conveyance system 5, an electrical equipment section 6, and a power supply section 7.

The operation panel 4 is comprised of a density selection key 11, a density display 12, a read data selection key 13, a recording data selection key 14, and a stop key 15, as shown in FIG. The density selection key 11 is used to change and set the image density, and each time this density selection key 11 is pressed, the lighting state of the LED constituting the density display 12 changes to N.
(Normal) -D (a) -L (Light) -N (Normal)...
The selected concentration is displayed cyclically in the order of .

The read data selection keys 13 are the SCN key 13a and HO8.
It is composed of three types of keys: a T key 13b and a PRT key 13c, and is used to store image data read by the image reading unit 2 when the image reading unit 2 and image recording unit 3 are placed on the control unit 1. It specifies the destination. That is, when the SCN key 13a is designated, the HOST key 1 is stored in the RAM 123 provided inside the image reading section 2.
When PRT key 13b is designated, the RAM 102 provided inside the control unit 1 is designated, and when the PRT key 13c is designated, the RAM 1 provided inside the image recording unit 3 is stored.
31 respectively.

The recording data selection key 14 is the SCN key 14a1HOS.
It is composed of three types of keys: a T key 14b and a PRT key 14c, and when the image reading section 2 and the image recording section 3 are placed on the control section 1, the image data to be recorded in the image recording section 3 is pressed. This specifies the supplier. That is, when the SCN key 14a is designated, the image reading section 2
When the HO8T key 14b is specified, the RAM 102 provided inside the control unit 1 is used, and when the PRT key 14c is specified, the RAM 123 provided inside the image recording unit 3 is used. RAM131
This gives an instruction to select each as a source of image data.

Further, the stop key 15 is used to instruct to stop the reading operation or the printing operation.

The paper conveyance system 5 includes an image recording section 3, as shown in FIG.
The recording paper transport system 21 transports a recording paper P in correspondence with the image reading section 2, and the document transport system 22 transports a document in correspondence with the image reading section 2.

The recording paper conveyance system 21 includes two feed rollers 23
．． 24, a platen roller 25, and a recording paper transport motor 26 that rotates the roller group. The feed rollers 23 and 24 and the platen roller 25 are adapted to come into contact with a pinch roller 60 and 61 exposed on the bottom surface of the image recording section 3 and a heating element section 63 of the thermal head 62, respectively, which will be described later.

The platen roller 25 is operated by an arm 27.27 which is rotatable around the shaft of the feed roller 24.
Both ends of the shaft are supported. This arm 27
A cam 28 is provided below, and this cam 28 is rotated by a cam motor 29.

Thus, the rotational force of the cam motor 29 is transmitted to the cam 28, and the rotation of the cam 28 causes the arm 27 to rotate around the shaft of the feed roller 24. As shown in FIG. 6, when the cam 28 is pushing up the arm 27, the platen roller 25 and the heating element section 63 of the thermal head 62 inside the image recording section 3 are in contact with each other with the ink ribbon 67 interposed therebetween. It has become so. On the other hand, when the cam 28 is not pushing up the arm 27, as shown in FIG.
It is arranged to be separated from the heating element section 63 of.

The vertical position of the arm 27 is detected by a switch 30 disposed so as to be in contact with the cam 28.
It is configured to be sent to PU100. Further, a paper detection switch 31 is provided on the upstream side of the document feeder or recording paper P conveyance path near the feed roller 23.
The detection result by this paper detection switch 31 is also sent to the CPU 100.
It is now sent to.

The document conveyance system 22 includes two feed rollers 33.3.
4, and a document transport motor 3 that rotates the roller group.
It is composed of 5 etc. Feed roller 33.34
is adapted to come into contact with pinch rollers 40 and 41 exposed on the bottom surface of the image reading section 3, which will be described later. Also,
A paper detection switch 32 is provided near the feed roller 33 on the upstream side of the conveyance path for the document or recording paper P, and the detection result by this paper detection switch 32 is also sent to the CPU.
100.

The electrical equipment section 6 includes feed rollers 23.24.33.3
4 and the platen roller 25, etc., and is constituted by a board on which a control circuit for controlling the control unit 1, a RAM for storing image data, and the like are mounted. Details of this electric circuit will be described later.

The power supply section 7 is comprised of a charger 36 that converts, for example, a 100-volt power supply supplied from the outside into, for example, a 12-volt direct current for use inside the device and outputs it, and a secondary battery 37 that stores power. . The charger 36 charges a secondary battery 37 provided in the control unit 1, as well as a secondary battery 58 provided in the image reading unit 2 and a secondary battery 80 provided in the image recording unit 3. It is also designed to charge the battery. The secondary battery 37 supplies power to each electric circuit inside the control section 1.

FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the image reading section 2. As shown in FIG.

In the figure, reference numerals 40 and 41 indicate pinch rollers, which are arranged so as to be exposed from the bottom surface of the image reading section 2. Due to this exposure, when manually scanning an original plate placed on a flat surface, the scanner is rotated by friction with the original plate. On the other hand, when the document is placed on the document conveyance system 22 of the ζ control section 1 and is automatically conveyed, the control section 1
The feed rollers 33 and 34 are in contact with the feed rollers 33 and 34, and the document fed between the control section 1 and the image reading section 2 is conveyed.

Also, inside the document reading section 2, there is a xenon lamp 42 that irradiates the document, and mirrors 44, 45, 4 that guide the reflected light from the document that has been irradiated by the xenon lamp 42.
6.47, an optical system consisting of a lens 48 and the like that condenses the light guided by these mirrors 44, 45, 46, 47 and forms an image on a CCD sensor 49 which is a photoelectric conversion element, and the xenon lamp 42 It includes an inverter circuit 50 and the like that lights up the light.

The reflected light from the original document irradiated by the xenon lamp 42 is sequentially reflected by the mirrors 44, 45, 46, and 47 and guided to the lens 48, where it is focused onto the CCD sensor 49. is imaged. Then, the CCD sensor 49 performs photoelectric conversion, and the image data is stored in the RAM designated by the operation panel 4.

When the reading operation by the image reading section 2 is performed by manual scanning, the moving speed in the sub-scanning direction (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the xenon lamp 42) may not be constant. Therefore, the rotation speed of the pinch roller 40 is detected by a rotary encoder (detection means) 51, thereby determining the moving speed in the sub-scanning direction ipj, and applying it to the CCD sensor 49 so that the reading resolution in the sub-scanning direction is constant. The timing is automatically adjusted.

In addition, a display device (display means) 1 is provided on the top surface of the image reading unit 2.
28 are provided. This display 128 is, for example, 7
It consists of three segment LEDs lined up.
It is possible to display digit numbers (see Figure 1).
. The display 128 is designed to display the relative moving distance between the original document and the image reading section 2 when the image reading section 2 reads the document by itself. That is, the rotation speed of the pinch roller 40 is detected by the rotary encoder 51, the CPU 126 calculates the moving distance in the sub-scanning direction based on the detected rotation speed, and the calculated moving distance is displayed on the display 128. It has become. By looking at the numbers shown on the display 128, the operator can know the remaining distance in the sub-scanning direction that can be read, that is, the remaining capacity of the RAM 123.

Further, a slide volume 53 to which a lever 52 is attached is provided on the side surface of the image reading section 2, and is used to set the reading width.

Setting the reading width using the slide volume 53 is also used when the image reading section 2 and the image recording section 3 are placed on the control section 1 and reading or recording is performed while automatically transporting the document or recording paper P. In this case, both the reading width and the recording width are set by this slide volume 53.

The switch plate 54 is provided to rotate around a shaft 55, and a switch 56 is turned on by pressing the switch plate 54.

This switch 56 functions as a switch to start the reading operation when the image reading section 2 is placed on the control section 1 and reads image data while automatically transporting the document. 1 and is used to provide a reading period when the image of the original document is read by manual scanning.

In other words, the reading operation is performed while the switch 56 is turned on. Details of this reading operation will be described later. Further, in the figure, 57 is an electrical component mounted on the image reading section 2, and 58 is a secondary battery that supplies power to the electrical component 57.

8 and 9 show the configuration of the image recording section 3. FIG. In the figure, 60.61 is a pinch roller,
It is arranged so as to be exposed from the bottom surface of the image recording section 3. The pinch rollers 60 and 61 are rotated by friction with the recording paper P when printing is performed manually on the recording paper P placed on a flat surface. on the other hand,
When the image recording section 3 is placed on the recording paper transport system 21 of the control section 1 to automatically transport the recording paper P, the control section 1
The recording paper P is conveyed between the control section 1 and the image recording section 3 by contacting the feed rollers 23 and 24 of the recording paper P.

The thermal head 62 is pressed in the direction of arrow X in the figure by a spring 64, and its movable range is limited by the bent portion of the bracket 66.

The heating element portion 63 of the thermal head 62 is pressed against the recording paper P by the pressing force of the spring 64. Furthermore, since the movable range of the thermal head 62 is limited by the bracket 66, when the platen roller 25 of the recording paper transport system 21 is lowered, the heat generating element section 63 of the thermal head 62 and the platen roller 25 are separated from each other. It is now possible to do so.

In the initial state, the ink ribbon 67 is wound around the sending core 68 housed in the ink ribbon cassette 65, and during printing operation, the ink ribbon 67 moves at the same relative speed as the recording paper P and the thermal head 62. It is adapted to be wound onto the winding-side core 69 at the same speed. In this winding-side core 69, rotational force is transmitted from an ink ribbon winding motor 70 as a drive source to a gear 72 provided at an end of the winding-side core 69 via an ink ribbon winding drive section 71. It is designed to be rotationally driven.

The ink ribbon take-up motor 70 is connected to the thermal head 6
The ink ribbon 67 is rotated so as to be wound up at a speed faster than the relative movement speed of the recording paper P with respect to the recording paper P. As a result, the ink ribbon winding drive section 71
When a tension above a certain level is applied to the ink ribbon 67 by the internally provided slip clutch mechanism, the take-up core 6
A slip occurs in the rotation of the ink ribbon 67, and the moving speed of the ink ribbon 67 is kept constant. This ink ribbon winding motor 70 is connected to the image reading section 2 and the image recording section 3.
During an image reading operation in which a document is read with the ink ribbon 67 placed on the control unit 1, the ink ribbon 67 is stopped so as not to be wound up.

Further, the row encoder 73 is configured to rotate according to the rotational speed of the pinch roller 60. By detecting the rotational speed of the pinch roller 60 with this rotary encoder 73, the moving speed of the image recording section 3 in the sub-scanning direction, that is, the relative moving speed between the recording paper P and the thermal head 62 is calculated, and the The printing timing of the thermal head 62 is controlled so that the printing resolution is constant.

The rotation speed of the ink ribbon winding motor 70 is also detected by the rotary encoder 73, and the ink ribbon is wound so that the winding speed of the ink ribbon 67 is faster than the relative movement speed of the recording paper P and the thermal head 62. The rotation speed of the motor 70 is controlled.

Further, a display 136 is provided on the top surface of the image reading section 2. This display 136 is constructed by, for example, three 7-segment LEDs arranged side by side, and is capable of displaying a three-digit number (see FIG. 1). This display 136 is designed to display the relative moving distance between the recording paper P and the image recording section 3 when the image recording section 3 records an image on the recording paper P by itself. That is, the number of rotations of the pinch roller 60 is detected by the low-return encoder 73, and based on the detected number of rotations, the CPU 13
4, the moving distance in the sub-scanning direction is calculated, and the calculated moving distance is displayed on the display 136.

By looking at the number shown on the display 136, the operator can know the remaining distance to be recorded in the sub-scanning direction, that is, the capacity of the image data remaining in the RAM 123.

Further, a slide volume 75 to which a lever 74 is attached is provided on the side surface of the image recording section 3, and is used to set the recording width.

This slide volume 75 is not used when the image reading section 2 and the image recording section 3 are placed on the control section 1 and reading or recording is performed while automatically feeding the document or recording paper P. Manuscript.

A slide volume 53 provided in the image reading section 2 located upstream with respect to the conveying direction of the recording paper P or the recording paper P is used.

In this case, both the reading width and the recording width are set using the slide volume 53.

The switch plate 76 is provided to rotate around a shaft 77, and by pressing the switch plate 76, a switch 78 is turned on.

This switch 78 is used as a switch to start the recording operation when the image recording section 3 is placed on the control section 1 and records image data while automatically conveying the recording paper P. When recording image data by manual scanning separated from the control unit 1, it is used to provide a recording period. In other words, the recording operation is performed while the switch 78 is turned on. Details of this recording operation will be described later. In the figure, 79 is an electrical component mounted on the image reading section 2, and 80 is a secondary battery that supplies power to the electrical component 79.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the electric circuit of this image forming apparatus. In the figure, 6 is an electrical circuit of the electrical equipment of the control unit 1, 57 is an electrical circuit of the electrical equipment of the image reading unit 2, and 7 is an electrical circuit of the electrical equipment of the image reading unit 2.
Reference numeral 9 denotes an electric circuit of the electrical equipment section of the image recording section 3. These control section 1, image reading section 2, and image recording section 3 are electrically connected to each other by connectors 90 and 9'1.

The electric circuit of the control section 1 is configured as follows.

That is, the CPU 100 controls the entire device. ROMI O1 is a read-only memory that stores a control program for operating the CPU 100 and fixed data necessary for other processing. RAM
Reference numeral 102 stores image data read by the image reading section 2 when the HO3T key 14b among the recording data selection keys 14 of the operation panel 4 is turned on and selected. HO3T key 14b among the recording data selection keys 14 on the operation panel 4
When it is turned on and selected, it is sent to the image recording section 3 and used for image formation. Further, this RAM 102 is also used as a buffer for the work of the CPU 100.

The input/output port 103 controls data exchange with the operation panel 4 described above.

The input/output boat 104 receives detection signals from the switch 30, the paper detection switch 31, and the paper detection switch 32.
It controls sending to the PU 100. The input/output boat 105 provides a drive signal from the CPU 100 to a motor driver 106 that drives the recording paper transport motor 26 . Similarly, the input/output boat 107 includes a motor driver 1 that drives the document transport motor 35.
08, a drive signal from the CPU 100 is given to the CPU 100. Furthermore, in the same way, the input/output boat 111 has a motor driver 112 that drives the cam motor 29.
It provides a drive signal from 00.

The human output port 109 sends an image reading unit detection signal 5IG1 indicating whether the image reading unit 2 is connected, and an image recording unit detection signal SIO2 indicating whether the image recording unit 3 is connected to the CPU 100. This controls the sending. As shown in FIG. 11, the presence or absence of this connection is determined depending on whether or not the detection signal sent from the human output boat 109 is returned. That is,
For example, if the image reading unit 2 is not connected, the sent signal will not return because the signal line is ozone at the connector 90, but if the image reading unit 2 is connected,
Since the sent detection signal returns via the connection terminal 93 provided at the end of the board constituting the electrical equipment section 57 of the image reading section 2, it is possible to know whether there is a connection or not by monitoring this detection signal. It is now possible to do so. Image recording section 3
The presence or absence of a connection is also detected in the same way.

In addition, the human output boat 110 includes a secondary battery 37 installed in the control unit 1, a secondary battery 58 installed in the image reading unit 2, and a secondary battery 8 installed in the image recording unit 3.
Secondary battery supply control signal 5 instructing whether to charge to 0 or not
It supplies IG3 to the charger 36. Upon receiving this secondary battery supply control signal SIO2, the charger 36 supplies power to the designated secondary batteries 37, 58, and 80 via the power supply lines P1, P2, and P3, respectively, and charges them. It is now possible to do this.

Also, the control section 1, the image reading section 57, and the image recording section 7
The control signal bus BUS 1 is used to send and receive control signals between the
Image data is transmitted and received via an image signal bus BUS2.

The electric circuit of the image reading section 2 has the following configuration. That is, the CPU 126 is in charge of overall control of the image reading section 2. The ROM127 is
This is a read-only memory that stores control programs for operating the 26 and fixed data necessary for other processing. The display 128 is connected to the above-mentioned original document and image reading section 2.
This displays the distance traveled relative to the RAM123
is SC in the read data selection key 13 of the operation panel 4.
When the N key 13a is turned on and selected, image data read by the image reading section 2 is stored.
The image data of the AM 123 is sent to the image recording section 3 and used for image formation when the SCN key 14a among the recording data selection keys 14 of the operation panel 4 is turned on and selected. When the image reading section 2 is operated alone (hereinafter referred to as "manual"), the inverter circuit 50 is placed on the control section 1 and used when the switch 56 described above is turned on. case (hereinafter,
It's called "automatic." ) is driven by a control signal sent from the control signal bus BUS 1 via the input/output port 125, thereby lighting the xenon lamp 42. In addition, when the CCD sensor 49 is operated manually, the CPU 126 receives a relative movement speed signal between the original document and the image reading unit 2 detected by the rotary encoder 51, and
By driving the CCD drive circuit 120 in accordance with the speed signal, in the automatic case, the CPU 126 that has received the control signal from the control signal bus BUS 1 drives the CCD drive circuit 120 in accordance with the predetermined speed signal. starts photoelectric conversion. This photoelectrically converted image signal is amplified by a predetermined gain by an amplifier circuit 121 and sent to a binarization circuit 122. Then, the binarization circuit 122 simply binarizes the pixels into black pixels and white pixels, and when the SCN key 13a among the read data selection keys 13 on the operation panel 4 is turned on and selected, the RAM 123 are stored sequentially. Note that when the HO8T key 13b among the read data selection keys 13 is turned on and the control unit 1 is selected, the R
When the PRT key 13c among the read data selection keys 13 is turned on and the image recording section 3 is selected, the input/output port 125 and the image signal BUS are stored in the AM102.
The data is stored in the RAM 131 via 2. The storage address of the RAM 123 is given by a counter 124. In the case of manual operation, this counter 124 is incremented according to the relative movement speed between the original document and the image reading section 2 detected by the low-resolution encoder 62, and in the case of automatic operation, it is incremented in accordance with the control signal from the CPU 126. The image data from the CCD sensor 49 is stored in the RAM in synchronization with these increment operations.
123 sequentially.

The electric circuit of the image recording section 3 has the following configuration. That is, the CPU 134 is in charge of overall control of the image recording section 3. The ROM135 is the CPU1
This is a read-only memory that stores control programs for operating the 34 and fixed data necessary for other processing. The display 136 displays the relative movement distance between the recording paper P and the image recording section 3 described above. RAM1
31 is P in the read data selection key 13 of the operation panel 4.
When the RT key 13c is turned on and selected, the image data read by the image reading unit 2 is stored.
By being selected by M102, this RAM1
Image formation is performed based on the image data of 31. When operating the image recording section 3 alone (hereinafter referred to as "manual"), the image recording section 3 is placed on the control section 1 and used by turning on the switch 78 described above. case (hereinafter referred to as "automatic")
are controlled by the CPU 13 by control signals sent from the control signal bus BUS 1 via the input/output port 133.
4 is driven and the operation is started. In the case of manual operation, the CPU 134 receives the relative movement speed signal between the recording paper P and the thermal head 62 detected by the rotary encoder 73, and
The CPU 134 generates an operation timing according to the speed signal, and in the case of automatic operation, the CPU 134 that receives the control signal from the control signal bus BUS 1 generates a predetermined operation timing and supplies it to the thermal head control circuit 130. The thermal head 62 is driven. That is, according to the control signal from the thermal head control circuit 130, the image data read from the RAMI 31 or the image data sent from the image signal bus BUS2 is sequentially supplied to the thermal head 62. Accordingly, the heating element portion 63 of the thermal head 62 selectively generates heat.

The read address of the RAMI 31 is determined by the counter 13.
2. The counter 132 is incremented in accordance with the relative movement speed between the recording paper P and the thermal head 62 detected by the rotary encoder 73 in the manual case, and incremented in accordance with the control signal from the CPU 134 in the automatic case. , image formation is performed on image data sent in synchronization with these increment operations.

Prior to this image formation, the image data in the RAM 102 of the control unit 1 is transferred by turning on the HO8T key 14b of the recording data selection key 14 of the operation panel 4, and the image data is transferred to the RAM 1 of the image reading unit 2 by turning on the SCN key 148.
23 image data is transferred to the image recording unit 3 via the human output boat 133, the image signal bus BUS2 and the connector 91 to be used for image formation, and the PRTRAM 102 input of the recording data selection key 14 is In this case, the image data in the RAMI 31 of the image recording section 3 is used as is for image formation. The electric circuit of the image recording section 3 includes a driver for an ink ribbon take-up motor 70 (not shown), and the like.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained.

This image forming apparatus has the following six basic usage modes.
It has different types.

(2) With the image reading section 2 and the image recording section 3 placed on the control section 1, the document is read.

(2) With the image reading section 2 and the image recording section 3 placed on the control section 1, an image is formed on the recording paper P.

(2) The image reading section 2 is separated from the control section 1, and the image reading section 2 reads the document by itself.

(2) The image recording section 3 is separated from the control section 1, and the image recording section 3 records an image on the recording paper P by itself.

(2) With only the image reading unit 2 placed on the control unit 1, the original document is read.

(2) In a state where only the image recording section 3 is placed on the control section 1, an image is recorded on the recording paper P.

Below, for each of the above basic usage modes, the 12th
The operation will be explained with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

First, the case of reading a document with the image reading section 2 and the image recording section 3 placed on the control section 1 mentioned above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 12.

When the operator inserts a document into the paper conveyance path provided between the control section 1 and the image reading section 2, the paper detection switch 3
2 detects the leading edge of the original paper. As a result, the image reading section 2
The switch 56 provided on the top surface of the switch becomes effective, and the switch board 54 waits for it to be pressed. In this state, when the switch plate 54 is pressed and the switch 56 is turned on, the CPU 100 sends a control signal to the cam motor 29 via the driver 112 to rotate the cam motor 29. As a result, the cam 28 in contact with the arm 27 rotates, and the arm 27, that is, the platen roller 25, is moved in the vertical direction. On the other hand, this cam 28
The vertical position of the switch 30 that is in contact with this cam 28 is
is monitored by. When it is determined that the thermal head 62 is separated from the platen roller 25 based on the signal from the switch 30, the reading width is detected by the slide volume 53, and the recording paper conveyance motor 26 and document conveyance motor 35 are activated. , are rotated by driving motor drivers 106 and 108, respectively, to convey the document. At the same time, the control signal bus BU
By sending a control signal to the CPU 126 of the image reading section 2 via S1, the CPU 126 controls the inverter circuit 50.
is driven to light the xenon lamp 42.

Then, the xenon lamp 42 is
After the time to reach the bottom has elapsed, the control signal bus B
By sending a control signal to the CPU 126 of the image reading section 2 via the US 1, the CPU 126 drives the CCD sensor drive circuit 120. As a result, the CCD sensor 49
The image signal photoelectrically converted is amplified by an amplifier 121,
Further, the image is binarized by a binarization circuit 122 to obtain an image. This image data is stored in the RAM 102 of the control unit 1 according to instructions from the read data selection key 13 on the operation panel 4.
Alternatively, the images are sequentially stored in the RAM 123 of the image reading section 2 or the RAM 131 of the image recording section 3 (hereinafter, the RAM selected in this way will simply be referred to as "RAMJ").

At this time, the RAM addresses given to the RAM 123 of the image reading section 2 and the RAM 131 of the image recording section 3 are supplied from the counters 124 and 132.
The counters 124 and 132 are controlled to count up by a control signal sent from the CPU 100 via the control signal bus BUS1.

In this way, image data is sequentially stored in the selected RAM, and if the paper detection switch 32 detects the trailing edge of the original paper before the RAM capacity becomes full, 12 hours have elapsed from the time of detection. The image data read from the original document continues to be stored in the RAM until the image data is read from the original document. This 12 hours is the time from when the rear end of the document passes the position of the paper detection switch 32 until it passes directly under the xenon lamp 42. Then, when the above 12 hours have elapsed, the reading operation is stopped. Also, while waiting for the 12 hours mentioned above to elapse, it is checked whether the RAM is full or not, and if the RAM is full, the reading operation is immediately stopped. On the other hand, if the capacity of the RAM becomes full before the paper detection switch 32 detects the trailing edge of the document, the reading operation is also stopped immediately. The above reading operations can be stopped by the CPU 100 sending a control signal to the CPU 126 of the image reading unit 2, which causes the CPU 126 to turn off the xenon lamp 42 and stop the CCD sensor drive circuit 120 from driving the CCD sensor 49. Let's do it.

Next, by rotating the recording paper conveyance motor 26 and the document conveyance motor 35 at high speed, the document is rapidly forwarded.
Wait until the paper detection switch 31 detects the trailing edge of the document tray. When the paper detection switch 31 detects the trailing edge of the original, from that point on, the recording paper transport motor 26 and the original transport motor 35 continue to rotate at high speed for one hour, and after 11 hours have elapsed, the Recording paper transport motor 26
Then, the document transport motor 35 is stopped. The above time t1
is the time until the document paper is discharged outside the apparatus due to the above-mentioned rapid forwarding, and is determined by the conveyance speed of the document paper. With the above, the series of reading operations is completed.

Next, the case of forming an image on the recording paper P with the image reading section 2 and the image recording section 3 placed on the control section 1 described in (2) above will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 13. .

First, prior to the image forming operation, the operator selects the image data supply source from the RAM 102 of the control section 1, the RAM 123 of the image reading section 2, or the image recording section 3 using the read data selection key 13 of the operation panel 4. RAM13
1 (hereinafter, RAM selected in this way)
(simply referred to as "RAMJ"). This completes the preparation for image formation.

In this state, the operator moves the recording paper P to the control unit 1.
When the document is inserted into the paper conveyance path provided between the image reading unit 2 (image recording unit 3) and the image reading unit 2 (image recording unit 3), the paper detection switch 32 detects the leading edge of the document. This enables the switch 78 provided on the top surface of the image recording section 3, and the switch plate 76
It will wait for you to press it. In this state, when the switch 78 is turned on by pressing the switch plate 76, the CPU 100 sends a control signal to the cam motor 29 via the driver 112 to rotate the cam motor 29. This causes the cam 28 in contact with the arm 27 to rotate, thereby moving the arm 27, that is, the platen roller 25, in the vertical direction. On the other hand, the vertical position of this cam 28 is monitored by a switch 30 that is in contact with this cam 28. When it is determined that the thermal head 62 has contacted the platen roller 25 based on the signal from the switch 30, the print width is then detected by the slide volume 53. At this time, the printing width is set by a slide volume 53 provided in the image reading section 2.

Next, the recording paper transport motor 26 and the original transport motor 35 are rotated by driving the motor drivers 106 and 108, respectively, to transport the recording paper P. Then, the leading edge of the recording paper P is connected to the paper detection switch 31.
Conveyance continues until the leading edge of the recording paper P is detected by the paper detection switch 31, and then the leading edge of the recording paper P is detected by the paper detection switch 31.
One hour later, the ink ribbon take-up motor 70 is driven by a control signal from the CPU 100 and starts to take up the ink ribbon 67. The above time t61 is the time it takes for the recording paper P to go from the paper detection switch 31 to the thermal mode and directly below the radar 62. Further, at the same time as the above-mentioned winding start, the thermal head control circuit 13 is sent via the control signal bus BUS1.
0 and reads image data from the selected RAM and supplies it to the thermal head 62 to start printing. The RAM selected above is the image reading unit 2.
RAM 123 or RAM 131 of the image recording unit 3, the RAM address is supplied from the counter 124 or 132, and the counter 124, 132 receives the control signal bus BU from the CPU 100.
Count-up is controlled by a control signal sent via S1.

In this way, the image data read from the RAM is sequentially printed, and if the trailing edge of the recording paper P is detected by the paper detection switch 31 before the printing of all the image data of the contents of the RAM is completed, from the point of detection, Image data is continued to be printed on the recording paper P until two hours have passed. This 12
The time is the time from when the trailing edge of the recording paper P passes the position of the paper detection switch 31 to when it passes directly below the thermal head 62. Then, the printing operation is stopped when the above 12 hours have elapsed. Next, the recording paper transport motor 26 and the document transport motor 35 are rotated at high speed for t3 hours, and after 13 hours, the recording paper transport motor 2 is rotated at high speed.
6 and the document transport motor 35 are stopped. The above time t3
is the time required for the recording paper P to be ejected to the outside of the apparatus due to the above-mentioned fast forwarding, and is determined by the conveyance speed of the recording paper P. This completes the series of printing operations.

Also, while waiting for the above 12 hours to elapse, it is checked whether printing of all the image data in the RAM has been completed, and if it has been completed, the printing operation is immediately stopped. and,
The winding of the ink ribbon 67 is stopped by stopping the ink ribbon winding motor, and the recording paper transport motor 26 and document transport motor 35 are rotated at high speed for a time corresponding to the position of the recording paper P at that time. After the elapse of time, the recording paper transport motor 26 and document transport motor 35 are stopped. As a result, the recording paper P is ejected to the outside of the apparatus, and the series of printing operations is completed.

On the other hand, if printing of all the image data in the RAM is completed before the trailing edge of the recording paper P is detected by the paper detection switch 31, the printing operation is also stopped immediately. At the same time, by rotating the recording paper conveyance motor 26 and the original conveyance motor 35 at high speed, the recording paper P is rapidly forwarded and waits until the paper detection switch 31 detects the trailing edge of the recording paper P.

When the paper detection switch 31 detects the trailing edge of the recording paper P, the ink ribbon winding motor is stopped to stop winding the ink ribbon 67, and the recording paper is transported for a time t1 from that point. The motor 26 and the original transport motor 35 continue to rotate at high speed, and after the elapse of time t1, the recording paper transport motor 26 and the original transport motor 3
Stop 5.

The above-mentioned time t1 is the time until the document paper is ejected to the outside of the apparatus due to the above-mentioned rapid forwarding, and is determined by the conveyance speed of the document paper. With the above, the series of printing operations is completed.

Next, regarding the case where the image reading section 2 is separated from the control section 1 described in (2) above and the document document is read by the image reading section 2 alone,
This will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG. In this case, all functions operate under the control of the CPU 126 of the image reading section 2.

First, the operator operates the slide volume 53 to set the reading width. Next, when the switch 56 is turned on by pressing the switch plate 54, the xenon lamp 42 is turned on. This completes the read preparation. In this state, by moving the image reading section 2 over the document spread out on a flat surface, the pinch roller 40 rotates, and the rotary encoder 51 rotates accordingly.

The relative movement speed of the image reading unit 2 with respect to the original document is calculated based on the rotation speed of the rotary encoder 51, and the reading timing according to this movement speed is determined by the CCD drive circuit 120.
given to. Thereby, the image signal photoelectrically converted by the CCD sensor 49 is amplified by the amplifier 121, and further,
It is binarized by the binarization circuit 122 and converted into RA as image data.
The data are sequentially stored in M123. At this time, the RAM address is supplied from a counter 124, and this counter 124 is controlled to count up in synchronization with the speed signal detected by the low reencoder 51.

Further, in parallel with the reading operation, the reading length is displayed on the display 128. That is, in the same manner as described above, the low-resolution encoder 51 is rotated by moving the image reading section 2 over a document spread out on a flat surface. The rotation speed of the rotary encoder 51 is used to calculate the relative movement distance of the image reading section 2 with respect to the document in the sub-scanning direction, and the calculated movement distance is displayed on the display 128.

In this way, image data is sequentially stored in the RAM 123, and when the capacity of the RAM 123 becomes full, the xenon lamp 42 is turned off and the series of reading operations is completed. On the other hand, before the RAM 123 becomes full, the switch 5
6 is turned off, at that point the xenon lamp 42 is turned off and the series of reading operations is completed.

Next, the case where the image recording section 3 is separated from the control section 1 and the image recording section 3 forms an image on the recording paper P by itself will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 15. In this case, all functions operate under the control of the CPU 134 of the image recording section 3.

First, prior to the image forming operation, the operator performs 17!
The image data to be printed is transferred to the RAMI 31 in the il image recording section 3. Then, the image recording section 3 is removed from the control section 1, and the print width is set by operating the slide volume 75. Next, when the switch 78 is turned on by pressing the switch board 76, preparation for printing is completed. In this state, the pinch roller 6 is moved by moving the image recording section 3 over the recording paper P spread out on a flat surface.
0 rotates, and the rotary encoder 73 rotates accordingly. As a result, the image recording unit 3 for the recording paper P
That is, the relative moving speed of the thermal head 62 is calculated, and the recording timing corresponding to this moving speed is given to the thermal head control circuit 130. On the other hand, image data is read from the RAMI 31 in synchronization with the recording timing and supplied to the thermal head 62. At this time, the above R
The AM address is supplied from a counter 132, and this counter 132 is controlled to count up in synchronization with the speed signal detected by the rotary encoder 73.

Further, in parallel with the recording operation, the print length is displayed on the display 136. In other words, the rotary encoder 51 is rotated by moving the image recording section 3 over the recording paper P spread out on a flat surface in the same manner as described above. Based on the rotation speed of the rotary encoder 73, the relative movement distance of the image recording section 3 with respect to the recording paper P in the sub-scanning direction is calculated,
This calculated moving distance is displayed on the display 136.

In this way, the image data is sequentially read out from the RAM 131 and printed, and when all the image data of the contents of the RAM 131 have been printed, the series of printing operations is ended. On the other hand, if the switch 78 is turned off before the printing of all image data of the contents of the RAM 131 is completed, the series of printing operations ends at that point.

Next, the case of reading a document with the image reading section 2 placed on the control section 1 described in (2) above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 16.

In this case, the difference from the operation described in item (2) above is that the image recording unit 3 is not placed, so the separation operation between the platen roller 25 and the thermal head 62 is not performed, and the determination of the end of document conveyance is not performed. It is based only on the paper detection switch 32, and the original is transported by the original transport motor 3.
This point is made only by 5.

That is, the separation operation described above does not need to be performed because the image recording section 3 is not mounted, and the paper detection switch 3 does not need to be performed.
1 is not equipped with the image recording section 3, so a good detection operation cannot be performed, so only the paper detection switch 32 is used to determine the end of conveyance, and since the image recording section 3 is not installed, the recording paper conveyance motor 26 is stopped. This is to prevent document jams, etc.

Hereinafter, only the differences will be explained. Use this! For old stocks, the process of vertically moving the platen roller 25 using the cam 28 is skipped. In addition, in the image reading operation, before the paper detection switch 32 detects the trailing edge of the document,
When the capacity of the AM exceeds, the reading operation is immediately stopped and the document tray is fast-forwarded. During this fast-forwarding process, the trailing edge of the document tray is detected and the conveyance is stopped at time t51.

This time t51 is the time during which the document passes through the image reading section 2. In addition, after the paper detection switch 32 detects the rear end of the document, the RA is
If the capacity of M is exceeded, the reading operation is immediately stopped, the document is fast-forwarded, and the conveyance is stopped after t52 hours.

This time t52 is variable, and is determined by the position of the document tray at the time when the RAM capacity is exceeded. Furthermore, after the paper detection switch 32 detects the trailing edge of the document, after time t2 has elapsed, that is, after the document has passed directly under the xenon lamp 42, the reading operation is stopped at that point. The document is rapidly forwarded, and the conveyance is stopped after t53 hours. This time t53 is the time from when the document passes directly under the xenon 42 until it is discharged to the outside of the image reading section 2.

Next, regarding the case where an image is formed on the recording paper P with the image recording section 3 placed on the control section 1 described in (2) above,
This will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

In this case, the difference from the operation described in item (3) above is that the end of conveyance of the recording paper P is determined based only on the paper detection switch 31, and the conveyance of the recording paper P is performed only by the recording paper conveyance mode 26. This is what I decided to do.

That is, since the paper detection switch 32 is not equipped with the image reading section 2, it cannot perform a good detection operation, so only the paper detection switch 31 is used to determine the end of conveyance. The document conveyance motor 35 is stopped to prevent the recording paper P from jamming or the like.

Hereinafter, only the differences will be explained. That is, since the paper detection switch 31 determines whether or not the recording paper P has been inserted, in this usage mode, the time t61 until the recording paper P reaches directly below the thermal head 62 is determined by the switch 78 being turned on. The difference is that measurement starts from . The other processes are the same as those in case (2) above, so the explanation will be omitted.

As described above, in this image forming apparatus, the image reading section 2 can be separated from the control section 1 and used alone as an image reading device by manual scanning, and the image recording section 3 can be separated from the control section 1. 1 so that it can be used alone as an image recording device by manual scanning,
Furthermore, by placing the image reading section 2 and image recording section 3 on the control section 1, it is possible to read and record the image while automatically transporting the original document and the recording paper P, which makes handling convenient. It has become.

In addition, when the image reading section 2 is removed from the control section 1 and used alone, the relative moving distance between the image reading section 2 and the original document holder in the sub-scanning direction can be determined by rotation of the rotary encoder 51 in parallel with the image reading operation. Since it is calculated from the number and displayed on the display 128, the operator can know the remaining amount of image data that can be stored in the RAM 123, and therefore,
It is possible to prevent unnecessary operations such as performing sub-scanning even when the RAM 123 is full, and it is also possible to accurately read the reading range of the document.

Furthermore, when the image reading section 2 is attached to the control section 1 and used, R in the control section 1 is used as a storage destination for the read image data.
Either the AM 102 or the RAM 123 of the image reading section 2 can be selected by specifying it from the operation panel 4, and if the image recording section 3 is also installed, the RAM 31 in this image recording section 3 can also be selected. Since the selection can be made using the operation panel 4, any RAM can be selected as a storage destination for the read image data. Therefore, free RAM can be used effectively, and necessary image data can be destroyed. There is no such thing. Also, when recording image data later, each R of the control section, image reading section, and image recording section is
Since there is no need to transfer the data between AMs, the contents of the RAM are not destroyed during image formation. Furthermore, since there is no need to transfer between RAMs, operation is simplified and images can be formed quickly.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, when an image is read by the image reading section alone by manual scanning, it is possible to know the amount of image information read so far and the remaining capacity of the image memory. Therefore, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can prevent unnecessary reading operations and can accurately read a desired range of a document.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 shows the state in which the image reading section and the image recording section are removed from the control section 'lJ1, Fig. 2 is an external perspective view, and Fig. 3 shows the operation. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the panel, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control section. FIG. The figure is a diagram for explaining the operation of separating the thermal head and the platen roller, Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of contacting the thermal head and the platen roller, and Figure 7 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the image reading section. 8A is a plan view, FIG. 8B is a front view, FIG. 8C is a side view, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image recording section. a) is a rear view, (b) is a plan view, (c) is a front view, (d) and (e) are side views, ([) is a bottom view, and (g) is a rear view. ) is a plan view cut at the ribbon cassette section, FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the image recording section, FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the electric circuit, and FIG. 11 is a diagram between the control section, image reading section, and image recording section. Diagram 1 for explaining the bonding state of
2 to 17 are flowcharts for explaining the operation. 1... Control section, 2... Image reading section (reading means) 3.
... Image recording section (image forming means), 4 ... Operation panel, 5 ... Paper transport system, 37, 58.80 ... Secondary battery, 51 ... Low reencoder (detection means), 73・
・・Rotary encoder, 102, 123.131・・
・RAM, 128...Display device (display means), 136・
...Display device, D...Document, P...Recording paper (image forming medium). Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A reading means for reading an image of a document; a detection means provided in the reading means for detecting a relative movement amount in a sub-scanning direction between the document and the reading means; , comprising: a display means for displaying the amount of relative movement detected by the detection means; and an image forming means for forming an image on an image forming medium based on the image information read by the reading means; An image forming apparatus characterized in that image reading is performed while displaying the amount of movement on the display means.