JP3004698B2 - Image reading and recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an image reading and recording apparatus having an image reading function and an image recording function.

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus having a function of reading a document image and a function of recording and outputting an image, the mechanism is shared between the document reading unit and the image recording unit, so that the apparatus can be reduced in size. Can be

As described above, the apparatus which is reduced in size by sharing the mechanism section between the original reading section and the image recording section is described in "I / O Device" (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-276469) filed by the present inventors. Reference).

This "input / output device" includes a head unit integrally configured with a contact type document reading sensor and a heat generating recording head,
A transport roller for transporting the original and the recording paper in contact with the head unit is provided.

A moving mechanism is provided for moving the conveying roller to the image reading position of the contact type original reading sensor when reading the original, and moving the conveying roller to the image recording position of the heating recording head when recording the image. At times, the transport rollers are moved from the home position, which is a standby position, to an image reading position and an image recording position, so that image reading and image recording can be performed appropriately.

Therefore, the contact type document reading sensor and the transport mechanism for the heat-generating recording head can be shared, and the apparatus can be downsized.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, such a conventional apparatus has the following disadvantages.

That is, the facsimile apparatus to which the head unit is applied also has another component, and the facsimile apparatus cannot be sufficiently miniaturized only by integrating the contact type original reading sensor and the heat generating recording head.

Further, since the conveyance roller is positioned at the image reading position of the contact type original reading sensor or the image recording position of the heating recording head from the state of waiting at the home position, for example, the image recording position is set. When set to the home position, when the image transmission operation is continuous,
A useless operation is performed in which the transport roller is displaced to the home position each time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image reading / recording apparatus which can solve the inconvenience of the conventional apparatus, can contribute to downsizing of the apparatus, and can appropriately position the transport roller.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a head unit integrally configured with a contact type document reading sensor for reading a document image and a heat generating recording head for recording an image, It is provided with an operation unit provided integrally.

In addition, before image reading and recording, a determination unit that determines the positional relationship between the head unit and the transport roller based on the output level of the input image signal by driving the contact type original reading sensor, and when an image reading and recording operation command is input, If the determined positional relationship between the head unit and the transport roller does not correspond to the commanded operation, the switching mechanism is driven to switch the positional relationship between the head unit and the transport roller to a state corresponding to the commanded operation. It is provided with control means.

[Operation] Since the operation unit is integrated with the head unit, the size of the apparatus can be further reduced. Further, since the position of the transport roller is determined and the transport roller is moved based on the determined position when an operation command is input, there is no useless operation of returning the transport roller to the home position one by one.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a transport system of a facsimile apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a document table 1 is for placing a read document 2, and a document sensor 3 is for detecting that the read document 2 is placed on the document table 1.
The read original 2 placed on the original platen 1
The sheet is separated one by one by the separation roller 5 and sent to the reading position of the head unit 6.

The paper table 7 is for mounting the sheet-shaped thermal recording paper 8, and the feeding roller 9 is for feeding the thermal recording paper 8 mounted on the paper table 7, and is provided with the paper feed roller 10 and the separation roller. 16 is to separate the sheets one by one and send them to the recording position of the head unit 6.

A contact sensor unit 11 for reading an image of the read original 2 and a thermal head unit 12 for recording an image on the thermal recording paper 8 are integrally attached to the working surface of the head unit 6. The unit 11 is disposed on the upstream side in the transport direction, and the thermal head unit 12 is disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction. Further, the contact sensor section 11 of the head unit 6
A paper sensor 13 for detecting the read original 2 sent to the reading position or the thermal recording paper 8 sent to the recording position is provided on the operation surface on the upstream side in the transport direction.

The platen roller 14 comes into contact with the close contact sensor section 11 or the thermal head section 12 and contacts the read original 2 or the thermal recording paper 5.
Are transported in a state of being brought into close contact with the working surface of the contact sensor section 11 or the thermal head section 12, respectively.
The platen roller 14 has a contact sensor unit when reading an image.
A moving mechanism (described later) that moves to the thermal head unit 12 at the time of recording an image is provided at a position where the thermal head unit 12 can be contacted.

Further, the platen roller 14 also serves as a paper discharge roller, and the read original 2 whose image reading has been completed and the thermal recording paper 8 whose recording has been completed are discharged to the discharge tray 15 and stacked. The surface of the platen roller 14 is formed white so that the contact sensor unit 11 can read a reference white image for shading correction of the read image signal.

On the side opposite to the operation surface of the head unit 6, components 21 of an operation display unit 20 for operating the facsimile apparatus are attached, and a cover 22 that covers them is provided. Further, the window 23 attached to the cover 22 is for allowing the display surface of the liquid crystal display unit 24 for displaying various guidance messages and the like to the operator on the operation display unit 20 to be visually recognized from the outside. .

The head unit 6 is provided with operation buttons 20a and 20b so that operation control of the apparatus can be performed.

As described above, in this embodiment, the head unit 6 integrally formed with the contact sensor 11 for reading the image of the read document 2 and the thermal head 12 for recording the image on the thermal recording paper 8 is formed. Since the operation display unit 20 is integrally mounted, the configuration of the facsimile apparatus can be further reduced.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a moving mechanism for moving the platen roller.

The head unit 6 is rotatably supported by the shaft 30 at the end on the upstream side in the transport direction. The head unit 6 is disposed on a surface opposite to the operation surface in accordance with the operation positions of the contact sensor unit 11 and the thermal head unit 12. A spring 31 for generating an urging force for pressing the head unit 6 against the platen roller 14 is attached.

The shaft 14a of the platen roller 14 is rotatably mounted on one end of an arm member 32, and the opposite end of the arm member 32 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 33 fixed to the apparatus housing. Have been.

At substantially the center of the arm member 32, an actuator 35 of a latching solenoid 34 is attached.

Therefore, when the latching solenoid 34 is operating in the protruding direction, the arm member 32 swings to the left around the shaft 33 as shown by the solid line in FIG. It is displaced so that it comes into contact with 12.

On the other hand, when the latching solenoid 34 is operating in the retracting direction, the arm member 32 swings rightward about the shaft 33 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It is displaced so as to be in contact with the sensor unit 11.

When the latching solenoid 34 is displaced from the projecting direction to the retracting direction, the platen roller 14 moves together with the arm member 32 that rotates about the shaft 33, so that the platen roller 14 presses the working surface of the head unit 6. At this time, the spring 31 acting on the head unit 6 is compressed, thereby preventing an excessive force from being applied to the working surface of the head unit 6 due to the displacement of the platen roller 14. .

In this way, the moving mechanism includes the platen roller
14 is brought into contact with either the close contact sensor section 11 or the thermal head section 12.

FIG. 3 illustrates a transmission mechanism for transmitting a driving force to the platen roller.

In the figure, a pulley on which a timing belt 36 for transmitting shaft output of a motor (not shown)
37 and a gear 38 are fixedly provided. Also, platen roller
A gear 39 that meshes with the gear 38 is fixedly provided on the shaft 14a.

As a result, the shaft output of the motor is
6, is transmitted to the platen roller 14 via the pulley 37, the gear 38 and the gear 39, thereby
Rotates according to the rotation of the motor.

The gear 39 has a gear 40 which is a component of a transmission mechanism for transmitting power to the delivery roller 9 and the conveying roller pair 10 in a state where the platen roller 14 is displaced so as to be in contact with the thermal head portion 12. In a state where the platen roller 14 is displaced so as to be in contact with the close contact sensor section 11, the gear meshes with a gear 41 which is a component of a transmission mechanism that transmits power to the transport roller 4.

Thus, power is transmitted to the transport system that transports the read original 2 when reading the original, and power is transmitted to the transport system that transports the thermal recording paper 8 during image recording.

Now, as shown in FIG.
When the platen roller 14 is in contact with the contact sensor 11 and when the platen roller 14 is in contact with the thermal head 12 as shown in FIG. The distance between sensor unit 11 and platen roller 14 is dimension C
Just get bigger.

Therefore, the distance between the contact sensor 11 and the platen roller 14 is greater in the latter case than in the former case,
As shown in FIG. 5, the platen roller 14 is
The level of the image signal V1 obtained when touching 11 is Va
In contrast, the platen roller 14 is
The level of the image signal V2 obtained when touching 12 becomes smaller Vb.

Therefore, the level of the image signal obtained when the contact sensor unit 11 performs a one-line reading operation is compared with a threshold value Vth set to a value smaller than the level Va and larger than the level Vb, so that the platen roller 14 It can be determined whether the sensor unit 11 is in contact or the platen roller 14 is in contact with the thermal head unit 12.

That is, when the level of the image signal obtained when the contact sensor unit 11 performs the one-line reading operation is larger than the threshold value Vth, it is determined that the platen roller 14 is in contact with the contact sensor unit 11. Can also have a threshold Vt
If it is smaller than h, it can be determined that the platen roller 14 is in contact with the thermal head unit 12.

However, as shown in FIG. 6, when the platen roller 14 is in contact with the thermal head unit 12 and the read original 2 is located at the read position of the contact sensor unit 11, for example, Since the distance between the original 2 and the contact sensor unit 11 is smaller than the dimension C, the contact sensor unit
When a one-line reading operation is performed on the line 11, when the original surface of the original 2 is white, an image signal V1 'of level Va' is obtained as shown in FIG.

This level Va ′ is determined when the contact sensor 11 is a platen roller.
Although it is smaller than the level Va when the surface 14 is read, it may be larger than the threshold value Vth in some cases. In this case, if the above-described determination operation is performed, the determination result will be erroneous.

Further, when the platen roller 14 is in contact with the contact sensor unit 11 and the read document 2 having a black document surface is sandwiched between the platen rollers 14, as shown in FIG.
An image signal V2 'of level Vb' is obtained.

At this time, the level Vb 'may be smaller than the threshold value Vth. In this case, if the above-described determination operation is performed, the determination result becomes erroneous.

In this way, when the position determination of the platen roller 14 is performed, if the read original 2 or the thermal recording paper 8 is located at the reading position of the close contact sensor section 11, an error may occur in the determination result. .

On the other hand, the read original 2 or the thermal recording paper 8 is
When the paper sensor is
13 is in a state where the read original 2 or the thermal recording paper 8 is detected.

Therefore, before performing the operation of determining the position of the platen roller 14, it is sufficient to check whether or not the paper sensor 13 detects the paper, and to perform the determination operation only when the paper is not detected. When the paper sensor 13 is detecting a paper, the error is displayed as an error detection state and the determination operation is not performed.

FIG. 8 shows a group 3 facsimile apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, a system control unit 50 performs a control process of each unit of the facsimile apparatus and a facsimile transmission control procedure process.A system memory 51 includes a control process program executed by the system control unit 50, and It stores various data required when executing the processing program and constitutes a work area of the system control unit 50. The parameter memory 52 stores various information unique to the group 3 facsimile apparatus. It is for.

The input / output device 53 is for reading a document image at a predetermined resolution and recording and outputting the image at a predetermined resolution.The operation display unit 20 is for operating the facsimile device, and It consists of operation keys and various indicators. Also, the input / output device 53 and the operation display unit 20
Are integrally configured as described above.

The encoding / decoding unit 54 encodes and compresses the image signal and decodes the encoded and compressed image information into the original image signal. This is for storing a large number of image information in the state of being closed.

The group 3 facsimile modem 56 is for realizing a group 3 facsimile modem function, and is a low-speed modem function (V.21) for exchanging transmission procedure signals.
Modem) and a high-speed modem function (V.29 modem, V.27ter modem) for mainly exchanging image information.

The network control device 57 is for connecting the facsimile apparatus to a public telephone line network and has an automatic transmission / reception function.

These include a system control unit 50, a system memory 51, a parameter memory 52, an input / output device 53, an operation display unit 20, an encoding / decoding unit 54, an image storage device 55, a group 3 facsimile modem 56, and a network control device 57. The system bus 58
The exchange of data between these elements is mainly performed via the system bus 58.

Also, the network controller 57 and the group 3 facsimile modem
The exchange of data with 57 is direct.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a control system of the input / output device 53.

In the figure, an input / output control unit 60 includes an input / output device 53
This is for controlling the overall operation of the
Is for controlling the image recording operation of the thermal head unit 12, and the reading control unit 62 is for controlling the image reading operation of the contact sensor unit 11.

The analog signal processing unit 63 applies an analog signal such as a shading correction process to the image signal AV output from the contact sensor unit 11, and the output signal is applied to a binarization circuit 64 and input. It is added to the output control unit 60.

The binarization circuit 64 binarizes the image signal output from the analog signal processing unit 63 with a predetermined threshold value for each pixel, and inputs the binarization result as a binarized image signal BW. The output is output to the output control unit 60.

The motor drive unit 65 drives a conveyance system of the read original 2, a conveyance system of the thermal recording paper 8, and a step motor 66 that generates a driving force of the platen roller 14. This is for driving the latching solenoid.

The detection signal of the original sensor 3 and the detection signal of the paper sensor 13 are applied to an input / output control unit 60.

With the above configuration, when the power is turned on, the input / output control unit 60
Execute the processing shown in the figure.

That is, first, it is checked whether or not the paper sensor 13 detects a paper (decision 101). If the result of the decision 101 is NO, the read original 2 or the thermal recording paper 5 Is not located, the reading control unit 62 is caused to perform the one-line reading operation (process 10).
2).

At this time, it is checked whether or not the level of the image signal output from the analog signal processing unit 63 is equal to or higher than the threshold value Vth (decision 103). If the result of the decision 103 is YES, the platen roller 14 Since the state is in contact with the double sensor unit 11, a flag PS for storing the state is stored.
F is set to 1 (process 104), and when the result of the judgment 103 is NO, since the platen roller 14 is in contact with the thermal head 12, the flag PSF is set to 0 (process 105).

When the position of the platen roller 14 is determined in this way, the process proceeds to the next process executed when the power is turned on.

When the result of the determination 101 is YES, the system control unit 50 is notified of a paper detection error at startup (step 10).
6).

As a result, the system control unit 50 outputs an error display for notifying such an error to the operation display unit 20, and shifts to an error standby state.

In this way, when the power is turned on, the displacement state of the platen roller 14 is checked, and the result is stored in the flag PSF.Therefore, by checking the contents of the flag PSF thereafter,
The displacement state of the platen roller 14 can be known.

FIG. 11 shows an example of processing executed by the input / output control unit 60 when a document reading operation is instructed by the system control unit 50.

First, it is checked whether or not the flag PSF is set to 1 (determination 201). If the result of the determination 201 is NO, the platen roller 14 is in contact with the thermal head unit 12, so the latching solenoid 34 is turned off. When the pull-in operation is performed (process 202), the platen roller 14
It is displaced so as to contact 1 and 1 is set to the flag PSF (process 203). When the result of the determination 201 is YES, the platen roller 14 is in contact with the close contact sensor section 11, so that the processes 202 and 203 are not performed.

Next, until the paper sensor 13 detects the read original 2,
The stepping motor 66 is driven one step to read the original 2
Is moved to the position of the paper sensor 13 (step 204,
NO loop of decision 205).

Then, by driving the step motor 66 corresponding to the distance from the paper sensor 13 to the reading position, the reading document 2 is transported until the leading end of the reading document 2 reaches the reading position of the contact sensor unit 11 (step 206). ).

Next, until the paper sensor 13 is in the paper non-detection state,
The reading control unit 62 performs the one-line reading operation, and moves the stepping motor 66 one step at a time (steps 207 and 208, NO loop of judgment 209). Also, the input / output control unit
The 60 transfers the binarized image signal BW input from the binarizing circuit 64 to the system control unit 50 at an appropriate timing.

When the rear end of the read document 2 passes through the paper sensor 13 and the paper sensor 13 enters the paper non-detection state, and the result of the determination 209 is YES, 1 is substituted for the line counter Ln (step 210).
The value of the line counter Ln is changed from the paper sensor 13 to the contact sensor
Until the line number LA corresponding to the distance to the 11th reading position becomes larger than the line number LA, the reading control unit 62 performs the one-line reading operation, moves the step motor 66 one step at a time, and increments the line counter Ln (processing 211,
212, 213, NO loop of decision 214). Also at this time, the input / output control unit 60 transfers the binarized image signal BW input from the binarization circuit 64 to the system control unit 50 at an appropriate timing.

When all the reading operations of the read original 2 are completed and the result of the determination 214 is YES, the step motor 66 is driven by the number of steps corresponding to the distance from the contact sensor unit 11 to the sheet discharge position, and the read original 2 Is discharged (process 215), and the system controller 50 is notified of the end of reading one page of the document.

FIG. 12 shows an example of processing executed by the input / output control unit 60 when an image recording operation is instructed by the system control unit 50.

First, it is checked whether or not the flag PSF is set to 0 (decision 301). When the result of the decision 301 is NO, the platen roller 14 is in contact with the close contact sensor section 11, so the latching solenoid 34 is turned off. The protruding operation is performed (process 302), and the platen roller 14 is moved to the thermal head 12
, And the flag PSF is set to 0 (step 303). When the result of the determination 301 is YES, the platen roller 14 is in contact with the thermal head unit 12, so that the processes 302 and 303 are not performed.

Next, the step motor 66 is driven by one step until the paper sensor 13 detects the thermal recording paper 8 to move the leading end of the thermal recording paper 8 to the position of the paper sensor 13 (processing
304, NO loop of decision 305).

Then, a step number motor 66 corresponding to the distance of the recording position from the paper sensor 13 is driven to
The thermal recording paper 8 is conveyed until the leading end of the thermal head unit 12 reaches the reading position of the thermal head unit 12 (process 306). When the conveyance is completed, the system control unit 50 is notified that the recording preparation state has been entered.

Next, until the transfer of the recording data from the system control unit 50 is completed, the recording data for one line input from the system control unit 50 is transferred to the recording control unit 61, and the recording control unit 61
Perform a one-line recording operation, and move the step motor 66 one step at a time (steps 307 and 308, NO loop of decision 309).

When the transfer of the recording data from the system control unit 50 is completed and the result of the judgment 309 becomes YES, the thermal head unit 12
Then, the stepping motor 66 is driven by the number of steps corresponding to the distance from to the paper discharge position, and the thermal recording paper 8 is discharged (process 310).

As described above, in the present embodiment, before performing the document reading operation of the read document 2, the displacement state of the platen roller 14 is determined by checking the flag PSF, and the platen roller 14 is not in contact with the contact sensor unit 11. In this case, the reading is started in a state where the platen roller 14 is displaced so as to be in contact with the contact sensor 11.

Before performing the image recording operation on the thermal recording paper 8,
The displacement state of the platen roller 14 is determined by checking the flag PSF. If the platen roller 14 is not in contact with the thermal head unit 12, the platen roller 14
The image recording operation is started in a state where the image recording device is displaced so as to be in contact with 12.

As described above, since the reading operation or the recording operation is performed with the platen roller 14 moved to an appropriate position, the reading operation of the read original 2 and the image recording operation on the thermal recording paper 8 can be performed appropriately. it can.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the sheet-shaped thermal recording paper is used, but the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where a roll-shaped thermal recording paper is used.

In the above-described embodiment, the platen roller is displaced by using the moving mechanism that holds the platen roller at two positions. However, when a moving mechanism that displaces the platen roller to one side when power is turned off is used. The present invention can be similarly applied to the present invention.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a facsimile apparatus, but the present invention can be similarly applied to other apparatuses.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a head unit integrally configured with a contact-type original reading sensor for reading an original image and a heat generating recording head for recording an image, Since the operation unit is provided integrally with the head unit, the size of the apparatus can be further reduced.

Further, since the position of the transport roller is determined and the transport roller is moved based on the determined position at the time of inputting the operation command, there is obtained an effect that there is no useless operation of returning the transport roller to the home position one by one. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic partial sectional view showing an example of a transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic partial sectional view showing an example of a moving mechanism of a platen roller, and FIG. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are schematic partial cross-sectional views for explaining the principle of detecting the displacement state of the platen roller, and FIG. 5 is the same signal waveform. FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a schematic partial sectional view for explaining erroneous determination, FIG. 7 is the same signal waveform diagram, FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a group 3 facsimile apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a control system of the input / output device, FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a part of a process executed by the input / output control unit when the power is turned on, and FIG. 11 illustrates a process example at the time of image reading. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of processing at the time of image recording. It is a chart. 6 head unit, 11 contact sensor unit, 12 thermal head unit, 13 paper sensor, 14 platen roller, 14a, 33 shaft, 32 arm member, 34 latching solenoid , 60 ... I / O control unit.

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-61-285861 (JP, A) JP-A-62-38074 (JP, A) JP-A-62-147857 (JP, A) JP-A-63-140377 (JP) , A) Shokai Sho 62-141261 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/04-1/207

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An image reading and recording apparatus having an image reading function and an image recording function, wherein a contact type document reading sensor for reading a document image and a heat generating recording head for recording an image are integrally formed. An image reading and recording apparatus comprising: a head unit; and an operation unit provided integrally with the head unit. 2. A head unit integrally comprising a contact type original reading sensor and a heat generating recording head, a conveying roller which comes into contact with the head unit and conveys the read original and the recording paper, and the conveying roller contacts the head unit. In an image reading and recording apparatus provided with a switching mechanism for switching the position of the head unit in contact with the reading position of the contact type original reading sensor or the recording position of the heating recording head by moving the transport roller or the head unit, A determination unit for determining the positional relationship between the head unit and the transport roller based on the output level of the image signal input by driving the contact type original reading sensor, and determining at the time of inputting the image reading and recording operation command When the positional relationship between the head unit and the transport rollers does not correspond to the commanded operation,
An image reading and recording apparatus comprising a control unit for driving a switching mechanism to switch a positional relationship between a head unit and a transport roller to a state corresponding to a commanded operation. 3. The image reading and recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said discriminating means performs the discriminating operation in a state in which a read document or a recording sheet is not positioned between the head unit and the transport roller.