JP2015172638A - Electronic device, medium conveyance apparatus, image forming apparatus, and state notification method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To notify a user about an abnormal condition at a low energy cost even when a unit is drawn out of a body.SOLUTION: An electronic device includes a drawer unit 101 which moves relative to a body 107, to be drawn. The drawer unit 101 include: state detection means 105 which detects a state of the inside of the drawer unit 101; state notification means 106 which issues notification on the state of the drawer unit 101 on the basis of a result detected by the state detection means 105; a first power supply path which supplies power to the state detection means and the state notification means 106, while the drawer unit 101 is stored in the body 107; a power generator 104 which generates power by kinetic energy which is generated during at least one of draw-out and push-in of the drawer unit 101; and a second power supply path which supplies power from the power generator 104 to the state detection means 105 and the state notification means 106.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, a medium transport device, an image forming apparatus, and a state notification method.

  When an abnormality occurs in an electronic device such as an image forming apparatus, a technique for guiding the user by lighting a place to be processed with an LED or the like has already been presented in order to indicate a processing procedure for normalization to the user of the electronic device. Known (see Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3).

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a notification lamp is turned on so that a paper jam that occurs between the image forming apparatus main body and the unit is guided in descending order of the priority of the paper jam removal process, so that the paper is presented to the user. A technique for efficiently achieving clogging removal processing is disclosed. Patent Document 2 discloses a technology that has a control unit that is lit only for a predetermined time and suppresses power consumption of an indicator lamp (light source) used to indicate a paper jam removal processing procedure. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133867 discloses a technique in which a transport unit of an image forming apparatus can be pulled out, and the position of a recording sheet in the transport unit is communicated wirelessly to a main body. Further, it is disclosed that a battery is provided in the transport unit and the jam location is displayed to the user even when the transport unit is pulled out.

  Incidentally, electronic devices such as image forming apparatuses are generally configured in units. For example, in an image forming apparatus, the apparatus is constituted by a paper feeding unit, a developing unit, a transfer unit, a fixing unit, a double-side reversing unit, and the like. By configuring in units as described above, maintainability such as abnormality removal processing and component replacement is maintained. These units are generally configured so as to be able to be pulled out from the main unit.

  Each unit has sensors, mechatronic components, and other electrical components. Electric power and control signals of these electrical components are supplied from the main unit via a drawer connector. Therefore, when the unit is pulled out from the main unit, the electrical connection is cut off and the unit cannot operate alone.

  However, for the purpose of guiding the user with an LED display or the like for an abnormality occurring in the unit, the configuration having the LED display on the unit side is more convenient. Therefore, a means for receiving power supply is required even when the unit is pulled out from the main unit.

  For example, there is a method of connection using a telephone cord-like electric wire. It is certainly an effective means for moving parts, but on the other hand, it may be difficult to design the cord's scooping path, and in some cases, it may be caught in the device and the reliability may be impaired. . In addition, there is a means to have an individual power supply on the unit side so that it can operate independently, but in general, batteries used in this way are expensive, and there is a need for battery replacement or charging, so energy consumption is wasted. There was a problem that there is a high possibility of becoming (see Patent Document 3).

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an electronic device, a medium transport device, and an image that can be realized at a low energy cost to notify the user of an abnormality occurrence state even when the unit is pulled out from the main body. It is an object to provide a forming apparatus and a state notification method.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an electronic apparatus having a drawer unit that is moved and drawn relative to a main body, and the drawer unit is provided in the drawer unit. A state detecting unit for detecting a state, a state notifying unit for notifying the state of the drawer unit based on a detection result of the state detecting unit, the state detecting unit in a state where the drawer unit is housed in the main body, and A first power supply path for supplying power to the state notification means; a power generation means for generating power by kinetic energy that occurs at least when the drawer unit is pulled out and when it is pushed in; from the power generation means to the state detection means; And a second power supply path for supplying power to the state notification means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic device, a medium transport device, an image forming apparatus, and a state notification method capable of realizing, at a low energy cost, notifying a user of an abnormality occurrence state even when the unit is pulled out from the main body. There is an effect that can be done.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the displacement of the drawer unit relative to the main body. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the generator and its peripheral mechanism as viewed from above. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the generator and its peripheral mechanism as viewed from the side. FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration.

  Exemplary embodiments of an electronic apparatus, a medium transport apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and a state notification method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an outline of the image forming apparatus 100. In the following, an embodiment based on the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described as a representative example of the electronic device. However, the state in the unit pulled out from the main body is detected even in the pulled out state, and the state is notified. A configuration other than the image forming apparatus 100 may be used as long as the electronic device has a function. Here, the image forming apparatus 100 is an apparatus such as a multifunction machine, a copier, a printer, a scanner apparatus, and a facsimile apparatus having at least two functions among a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. Is included.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a main body 107 and a drawer unit 101 configured to be drawable (for example, displaceable in the horizontal direction) with respect to the main body 107. The drawer unit 101 is, for example, a medium transport unit, a development unit, a transfer unit, a fixing unit, a duplex unit, and the like, and is not limited to a specific unit.

  The drawer unit 101 is horizontally held by a slide rail 102 that can be expanded and contracted in the pull-out direction, and the drawer unit 101 can be detached from the slide rail 102 when the drawer unit 101 is replaced.

  In order to give the slide rail 102 sufficient strength to support the weight of the drawer unit 101, the required number is determined. Therefore, although FIG. 1 shows a configuration using two slide rails 102, the number of slide rails 102 may be different as necessary. There are various slide rails 102 for light loads to heavy loads, which can be appropriately selected depending on the size and weight of the drawer unit 101.

  In FIG. 1, the direction written as F is the front direction of the image forming apparatus 100, and the direction written as R is the back direction of the image forming apparatus 100.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the displacement of the drawer unit 101 with respect to the main body 107. FIG. 2A shows a state in which the drawer unit 101 is stored in the main body 107, and FIG. 2B shows a state in which the drawer unit 101 is pulled out from the main body 107. FIG. 2 schematically shows how the drawer unit 101 is displaced, and only the main components are shown through the main body 107.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the drawer unit 101 is provided with at least one state detection means 105. When a medium transport unit is assumed as the drawer unit 101, the state detection unit 105 can be, for example, a remaining paper detection sensor.

  An example of the state detection means 105 used in the drawer unit 101 is a photo interrupter. Photo interrupters mainly include transmission type sensors and reflection type sensors. The transmissive sensor is configured such that a light emitting element and a light receiving element face each other, and is mainly used for detecting a shield between slits. On the other hand, the reflection type sensor is configured to detect with the light emitting element when the light emitted from the light emitting element is reflected by the object to be detected, and is used to detect the presence or absence of the object to be detected at the detection spot. Therefore, a reflection type photo interrupter is generally used as the remaining sheet detection sensor used for detecting the remaining sheet.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the drawer unit 101 is provided with at least one state notification means 106. The state notification unit 106 is a unit that notifies the user of a state such as an abnormality occurring in the drawer unit 101 in conjunction with the state detection unit 105. Therefore, the state notification means 106 is a light emitting element provided in a place where the user can easily see. As the light emitting element, an LED or an organic EL is preferably used from the viewpoint of power saving. Further, depending on the application example, the state notification unit 106 may be, for example, a voice generation unit.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the main body 107 and the drawer unit 101 are provided with drawer connectors 103a and 103b, respectively. The drawer connectors 103a and 103b are connectors for supplying power to the drawer unit 101 and transmitting / receiving signals in the state where the drawer unit 101 is housed in the main body 107.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, when the drawer unit 101 is stored in the main body 107, the drawer connector 103a and the drawer connector 103b are connected. Therefore, in a state where the drawer unit 101 is stored in the main body 107, the main body 107 supplies power to the electrical equipment in the drawer unit 101 via the drawer connectors 103a and 103b and receives a signal from the state detection means 105 and the like. be able to.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the drawer unit 101 is pulled out from the main body 107, the drawer connector 103a and the drawer connector 103b are separated, and the main body 107 and the drawer unit 101 are electrically disconnected. Will be. The front door of the drawer unit 101 is provided with an interlock switch, and the interlock switch is configured so that no dangerous voltage is generated from the drawer connector 103a on the main body side.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the drawer unit 101 is provided with a generator 104. The generator 104 generates power using kinetic energy generated at least one of when the drawer unit 101 is pulled out from the main body 107 and when it is pushed in. The generator 104 is preferably attached to the back side (back side of the main body) of the drawer unit 101 in order to make maximum use of the movable range of the drawer unit 101. There may be a plurality of generators 104.

  As a power generation method using the generator 104, a method using a rotating body that rotates while contacting the main body 107 when the drawer unit 101 moves can be considered. The generator 104 and its peripheral mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. 3 is a schematic view of the generator 104 and its peripheral mechanism as viewed from above, and FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the generator 104 and its peripheral mechanism as viewed from the side. 4 corresponds to the configuration of the broken line region in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the drawer unit 101 is provided with a first rotating body 200 and a second rotating body 201. The first rotating body 200 is provided so as to be rotatable about a shaft 200 a provided perpendicular to the drawer unit 101, and the second rotating body 201 is provided about a shaft 201 a provided perpendicular to the drawer unit 101. It is provided so as to be rotatable. The shaft 201a is shared with the rotating shaft of the generator 104, and the rotating shaft of the generator 104 is also rotated by the rotation of the second rotating body 201.

  A part of the side surface of the first rotating body 200 protrudes out of the drawer unit 101 and abuts against a fixing member 202 fixed to the main body 107. Further, the first rotating body 200 is in contact with the second rotating body 201 at another part of the side surface. It is desirable to use a rubber material or the like for the side surface of the first rotating body 200 that is in contact with the fixing member 202 so that friction with the fixing member 202 is increased. It is preferable that teeth be provided on both side surfaces where the first rotating body 200 and the second rotating body 201 are in contact with each other so that no idle rotation occurs.

  The generator 104 configured as described above can generate electric power using kinetic energy generated at least one of when the drawer unit 101 is pulled out from the main body 107 and when it is pushed in. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the drawer unit 101 moves in the direction of the arrow a, the first rotating body 200 in contact with the fixing member 202 fixed to the main body 107 rotates in the direction of the arrow b. . As a result, the second rotating body 201 in contact with the first rotating body 200 rotates in the direction of arrow c, and the generator 104 also rotates in the direction of arrow c. Therefore, the kinetic energy of the drawer unit 101 is transmitted to the generator 104 to generate electric power.

  Note that the mechanism described above is an example of a configuration for generating power using the kinetic energy of the drawer unit 101, and other configurations may be used. For example, various modified configurations such as changing the number of rotating bodies to be used and using a belt instead of a gear can be used.

  FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of a circuit configuration of the image forming apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. 5, the circuit on the main body 107 side and the circuit on the drawer unit 101 side are separated, and the circuit on the main body 107 side and the circuit on the drawer unit 101 side can be connected by drawer connectors 103a and 103b. ing. The terminals of the drawer connectors 103a and 103b are, for example, a power supply voltage terminal, a ground terminal, a lighting permission signal terminal, and a state detection signal terminal, and have other terminals depending on the functions of the drawer unit 101.

  The circuit in the drawer unit 101 mainly includes a power generation circuit block 400, a state detection circuit block 404, a state notification circuit block 406, and a lighting permission control circuit block 407.

  The power generation circuit block 400 includes a power generator 104 and a rectifier circuit 401 connected to the power generator 104. Here, the rectifier circuit 401 is a full-wave rectifier circuit. This is because, when the drawer unit 101 is pulled out and when it is pushed in, the rotation direction of the shaft of the generator 104 is different, so that the current in the same direction is acquired regardless of the rotation direction. The rectifier circuit 401 is connected to the constant voltage circuit 402, and a desired voltage is generated by the constant voltage circuit 402. There are various methods used for the constant voltage circuit 402. For example, a method using a Zener diode or a method using a three-terminal regulator can be adopted.

  The state detection circuit block 404 includes a photo interrupter 403 and a transistor TR3 that amplifies and outputs a signal from the light receiving unit of the photo interrupter 403. The photo interrupter 403 is, for example, a remaining paper detection sensor in the medium transport unit. For the transistor TR3, an FET or the like can be used. Note that FETs and the like can be similarly used for the other transistors TR1, TR2, and TR4 in FIG.

  The state detection circuit block 404 outputs a state detection signal indicating a state such as an abnormality to the state notification circuit block 406 when the photo interrupter 403 detects a detection target such as an abnormality. When the drawer connectors 103a and 103b are connected, a state detection signal is also output to the main body 107 via the drawer connectors 103a and 103b. The state detection signal is used by the circuit of the main body 107 for paper conveyance and paper jam detection.

  On the other hand, when the drawer unit 101 is pulled out from the main body 107, the state detection signal is used by the state notification circuit block 406 to control lighting / non-lighting of the display light source 405. For example, when there is no remaining paper at the detection position of the photo interrupter 403, the photo interrupter 403 does not operate. As a result, since the transistor TR3 does not operate, the voltage level of the state detection signal becomes the H state. On the other hand, for example, when there is a remaining sheet at the detection position of the photo interrupter 403, the transistor TR3 operates, so that the voltage level of the state detection signal is in the L state.

  The state notification circuit block 406 includes a display light source 405 and a transistor TR4 that drives the display light source 405. The state notification circuit block 406 controls lighting / non-lighting of the display light source 405 according to the detection state of the state detection signal. The power of the display light source 405 is supplied via the lighting permission control circuit block 407. The lighting permission control circuit block 407 supplies power to the state notification circuit block 406 only when the lighting of the display light source 405 is permitted.

  The lighting permission control circuit block 407 includes a transistor TR1 and a transistor TR2. The lighting permission control circuit block 407 performs control for supplying or cutting off the point power supply voltage Vcc to the state notification circuit block 406 according to the state of the lighting permission signal. As shown in the circuit configuration of FIG. 5, when the lighting permission signal is in the L state, the transistors TR1 and TR2 do not operate, so the lighting permission control circuit block 407 does not supply power to the state notification circuit block 406. On the other hand, since the transistors TR1 and TR2 operate when the lighting permission signal is in the H state, the lighting permission control circuit block 407 supplies power to the state notification circuit block 406.

  Next, consider a case where the drawer unit 101 is housed in the main body 107 and the drawer connectors 103a and 103b are connected. In this case, as shown in the circuit configuration of FIG. 5, when the circuit of the lighting permission signal and GND are short-circuited via the circuit 408, the lighting permission signal becomes L state, and the lighting permission control circuit block 407 Power is not supplied to the circuit block 406. On the other hand, when the open collector 409 is turned off, the lighting permission signal becomes H state according to the pull-up voltage, and the lighting permission control circuit block 407 supplies power to the state notification circuit block 406.

  With the circuit configuration as described above, (1) when the drawer unit 101 is pulled out from the main body 107, or (2) when the drawer unit 101 is stored in the main body 107 and lighting is permitted. Under the conditions, the power is supplied to the status notification circuit block 406. Note that when the lighting is permitted in the condition (2) is a requirement that can be appropriately designed according to various conditions such as the type of unit to be detected, the location where the detection is generated, and system requirements.

  Since the power generation circuit block 400 is provided in the drawer unit 101, (1) when the drawer unit 101 is pulled out from the main body 107, power is supplied to the state detection circuit block 404 and the state notification circuit block 406. Can do.

  As described above, the electronic apparatus according to the present embodiment is an electronic apparatus having the drawer unit 101 that is moved relative to the main body 107 and pulled out, and the drawer unit 101 detects the state in the drawer unit 101. The state detection means 105 and the state notification means in a state in which the detection unit 105, the state of the drawer unit 101 based on the detection result of the state detection means 105, the drawer unit 101 is housed in the main body 107, A first power supply path for supplying power to 106, a generator 104 that generates electric power by kinetic energy generated at least when the drawer unit is pulled out and when it is pushed in, and a state detection unit 105 and a state notification unit 106 from the generator 104 And a second power supply path for supplying power to the To inform the status of the abnormality to the user even when it is slid out bets 101 can be realized at a low energy cost.

  In the electronic device according to this embodiment, the full-wave rectifier circuit and the constant voltage circuit 402 connected to the full-wave rectifier circuit are provided in the second power supply path. A stable electric power can be obtained by both operations when pushing in. That is, since the user can recognize the state of the drawer unit 101 not only during the work of pulling out the drawer unit 101 but also during the recovery work in which the user pushes in the drawer unit 101, the recovery work can be performed reliably.

  In the electronic device according to the present embodiment, the first power supply path includes (1) when the drawer unit 101 is pulled out from the main body 107, or (2) the drawer unit 101 is stored in the main body 107. In addition, since the control circuit for supplying power to the state detection unit 105 and the state notification unit 106 is provided only when the notification by the state notification unit 106 is permitted, for example, the sheet simply passes over the photo interrupter. For example, when it is not necessary to notify the state notification means 106, it is possible to suppress the notification processing, reduce unnecessary power, and before the user starts the operation of pulling out the drawer unit 101. Notification by the state notification unit 106 can be started.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus 101 Pull-out unit 102 Slide rail 104 Generator 105 State detection means 106 State notification means 107 Main body 200 First rotation body 201 Second rotation body 202 Fixing member 400 Power generation circuit block 401 Rectification circuit 402 Constant voltage circuit 403 Photointerrupter 404 Status detection circuit block 405 Display light source 406 Status notification circuit block 407 Lighting permission control circuit block 408 Circuit 409 Open collector

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-026906 JP 2006-126382 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-292459

Claims (6)

An electronic device having a drawer unit that is moved and drawn relative to the main body,
The drawer unit is
State detecting means for detecting a state in the drawer unit;
State notifying means for notifying the state of the drawer unit based on the detection result of the state detecting means;
A first power supply path for supplying power to the state detection means and the state notification means in a state where the drawer unit is housed in the main body;
Power generation means for generating electricity by kinetic energy that occurs at least one of when the drawer unit is pulled out and when it is pushed in;
A second power supply path for supplying power from the power generation means to the state detection means and the state notification means;
An electronic device comprising:   The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second power supply path includes a full-wave rectifier circuit and a constant voltage circuit connected to the full-wave rectifier circuit.   In the first power supply path, (1) when the drawer unit is pulled out from the main body, or (2) the drawer unit is housed in the main body, and the state informing means notifies 3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control circuit that supplies power to the state detection unit and the state notification unit only when permission is granted. A medium conveying device that is moved relative to the image forming apparatus main body and pulled out;
The medium conveying device is:
State detecting means for detecting the state of the medium conveying device;
State notifying means for notifying the state of the medium conveying device based on the detection result of the state detecting means;
A first power supply path for supplying power to the state detection means and the state notification means in a state where the medium transport device is housed in the main body;
Power generation means for generating electric power by kinetic energy generated when the medium conveying device is pulled out and pushed in;
A second power supply path for supplying power from the power generation means to the state detection means and the state notification means;
A medium conveying apparatus comprising:   An image forming apparatus comprising the medium conveying device according to claim 4. A state notification method for notifying the state of a drawer unit that is moved relative to a main body and pulled out,
A first power supply step for supplying power to the state detection means and the state notification means in a state where the drawer unit is housed in the main body;
A power generation step of generating electricity by kinetic energy that occurs when the drawer unit is pulled out and pushed in;
A second power supply step for supplying power from the power generation step to the state detection means and the state notification means;
A state detecting step of detecting a state in the drawer unit by the state detecting means;
A state notification step of notifying the state of the drawer unit by the state notification means based on the detection result of the state detection step;
A state notification method comprising:

Images