JP3012709B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus for reading an image of a transmission original or a copy original by, for example, a CCD, and more particularly to a facsimile apparatus for printing out a read original image or a received facsimile original on recording paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a facsimile apparatus for transmitting and receiving a facsimile original has been frequently used. However, this facsimile apparatus irradiates a linear image reading area with light from a light source.
The image data in the image reading area is read by receiving the light reflected from the image reading area. The image reading unit is configured by, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or the like, and the image data read by the image reading unit is printed and output on, for example, a roll of recording paper by the plotter unit. In order to store the roll paper, the facsimile apparatus is provided with a predetermined storage section, and a recording paper cover (roll paper cover) which is opened and closed when the roll paper is replaced or the like is provided above the storage section. Provided as a body or body exterior.

Here, the detection of the opening and closing of the roll paper cover of the conventional facsimile apparatus is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 60-21364.
As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-1995, etc., this is performed using a mechanical or electrical switch. The reason for detecting the opening and closing of the roll paper cover by such means is that there is a case where the roll paper cover is dangerous if it is opened.

For example, when the roll paper cover is open,
The thermal head provided on the plotter unit can be touched, and there is a risk of burns due to the heated thermal head. Also, when the roll paper cover is open, the platen roller that presses the thermal head and conveys the roll paper is also exposed. Therefore, if the platen roller rotates at this time, fingers, hair, clothes, and the like may be caught. . further,
Problems such as contamination of the platen roller, roll paper after recording being rolled around the platen roller, and falling of the roll paper when the facsimile machine is hung on a wall occur.

[0005] Therefore, in order for the facsimile apparatus to operate, the roll paper cover must always be kept closed.

[0006]

However, in such a conventional facsimile apparatus, a dedicated switch, mechanical or electric, must be provided to detect the opening and closing of the roll paper cover. did not become. In view of the above, the first aspect of the present invention provides a facsimile apparatus which detects the opening / closing of a recording paper cover by an image reading unit, eliminates a switch dedicated to opening / closing detection, and realizes a cost reduction of parts alone and an improvement in assemblability. It is intended to provide.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 provides a facsimile apparatus in which opening and closing of the recording paper cover is clearly indicated by improving the reliability and performance by notifying that the recording paper cover is open by a buzzer or light. It is intended to be. A third object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile apparatus in which the operation of the apparatus main body is stopped when the recording paper cover is open, thereby preventing unexpected operation and improving reliability and performance. And

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In order to achieve the above object, a light source that irradiates light to a linear image reading area, an image reading unit that receives light reflected from the image reading area and reads image data in the image reading area, and an image reading unit A plotter unit that prints out image data read by the printer on recording paper, a recording paper cover that opens and closes as a lid of a storage unit in which the recording paper is stored,
A facsimile apparatus comprising: a second light source that is integrally formed with the light source and that irradiates light to a second image reading area positioned outside the image reading area in a longitudinal direction; and is integrally formed with the image reading unit. A second image reading unit for reading reflected light from a second image reading area irradiated by a second light source, and interlocking the reflected light from the second image reading area with opening and closing of the recording paper cover. And an actuator for blocking or passing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a buzzer or a light is used to determine that the recording paper cover is open when reflected light from the second image reading area is blocked by the actuator. And a notifying means for notifying to the outside. According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the reflected light from the second image reading area is blocked by the actuator, the operation of the apparatus main body is stopped.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the second light source integrally formed with the light source irradiates light to the second image reading area located outside the image reading area in the longitudinal direction. A second image reading unit formed integrally with the image reading unit reads reflected light from the second image reading area irradiated by the second light source, and reads reflected light from the second image reading area into the recording paper cover. Is blocked or passed by an actuator linked to the opening and closing of.

Further, in the invention according to the second aspect having the above-mentioned structure, when the reflected light from the second image reading area is blocked by the actuator, the buzzer or the light informs that the recording paper cover is opened. To inform outside. In the third aspect of the present invention having the above configuration, when the reflected light from the second image reading area is blocked by the actuator, the operation of the apparatus main body is stopped.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A shows a state in which a recording paper cover is closed, and FIG. Indicates an open state.

First, the configuration will be described. In the figure, a transmission original or a copy original is separated one by one by an ADF roller 11 and a separation pad 12. The separated original is fed to a feed roller 13a and its pressure roller 13a.
b and the feed roller 14a and the pressure roller 14b, and is discharged out of the machine in the direction of arrow A. In the transport path, the arrangement position of the reflection plate 15 is a document reading position, and a linear area is provided at this document reading position.
Light is emitted from the LED 16 as a light source. Light reflected from the light irradiation area, that is, image data (data light) L
Passes through a first mirror 17a, a second mirror 17b, a third mirror 17c, and a lens 18, and is an image reading unit C
Read by CD19.

The data light L read by the CCD 19 is printed and output on roll paper (recording paper) 22 in a plotter section composed of a thermal head 20 and a platen roller 21. A roll paper cover (recording paper cover) 23 that is opened and closed when the roll paper is replaced or the like is provided as a cover or a body exterior on the upper portion of the storage unit in which the roll paper 22 is stored.

The actuator 24 blocks or passes the data light L from the light irradiation area in conjunction with opening and closing of the roll paper cover 23. For this purpose, a spring 25 for rotating the actuator 24 released from the pressing of the cover when the cover is opened, and an actuator 2 rotated by the spring 25
4 is provided with a stopper 26 serving as a detent. Here, the operation of the actuator 24 in the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 2 is an operation diagram of the actuator. FIG. 2A is an operation diagram of the actuator when the roll paper cover is opened, and FIG. 2B is an operation diagram of the actuator when the roll paper cover is closed. In FIG. 2, a light irradiation area by the LED 16 is divided into a first image reading area 31 and a second image reading area 32. The first image reading area 31 is an area for reading image data of a document, and a second image reading area 32 is set outside in the longitudinal direction. The light irradiation on the second image reading area 32 is performed from a second light source integrally formed with the LED 16. The data light L from the first image reading area 31 and the second image reading area 32 is used as the original data light 31a and the opening / closing data light 32a, respectively, by the CCD 1
9 is read. The CCD 19 has an original data beam 31
In order to read a and the opening / closing data beam 32a, first and second CCDs are integrally formed, respectively. That is, the CCD 19 in the present embodiment has a reading width larger than the normal transmission original size.

As shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the actuator 24 in this embodiment has a second image reading area 32.
When the roll paper cover 23 is opened, the reflected light from the camera, that is, the opening / closing data light 32a is cut off, and when the roll paper cover 23 is closed, the light is passed. The CCD 19 detects the opening and closing of the roll paper cover 23 according to the presence / absence of the opening / closing data light 32 a by the actuator 24. It should be noted that the open / close determination of the cover is performed by an FCU (Facsimile Control Unit) 27 shown in FIG.
It is performed by

Next, the operation will be described. The following operation exemplifies a copy of an original in this embodiment. When the roll paper cover 23 is closed, the leading end of the roll paper cover 23 presses the upper end of the actuator 24. The LED 16 irradiates only the second image reading area 32 or the entire first and second image areas with light so that the opening / closing data light 32a is always obtained. The opening / closing data light 32a is reflected by the reflection plate 15, passes through the first mirror 17a, the second mirror 17b, the third mirror 17c, and the lens 18, and reaches the CCD 19. If the roll paper cover 23 is open, the actuator 24 is pulled by the spring 25, and between the second mirror 17b and the third mirror 17c as shown in FIGS. 1B and 2B. Then, the opening / closing data light 32a is blocked.

FIG. 3 is a characteristic diagram showing a read voltage value in the CCD. FIG. 3A shows a voltage value in a standby state when the cover is closed, and FIG. 3B shows a voltage in a copy state when the cover is closed. FIG. 3C shows the voltage value when the cover is opened. The CCD 19 converts the data light L into an electric signal by photoelectric conversion. The CCD 19 is composed of a large number of read bits, a part of which is divided into an open / close data light area (second reading section) 19a and a document data light area (first reading section) 19b. When the roll paper cover 23 is closed in the standby state, the opening / closing data light 32a is guided as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A,
3A, a high voltage value is output only in the open / close data light area 19a.

When copying is started, the voltage value of the CCD 19 is changed to the open / close data light area 19a as shown in FIG.
And the document data light area 19b both have high voltage values. The signal of the original data light area 19b is processed as usual, and the roll paper 22 is printed by the thermal head 20 and discharged. Should the roll paper cover 23 be open,
Since the opening / closing data light 32a is cut off by the actuator 24, no light enters the CCD 19, and FIG.
As shown in (c), no voltage value appears.

The FCU 27 determines whether the roll paper cover 23 is open or closed based on the voltage value of the open / close data light area 19a, and detects whether the roll paper cover 23 is open or closed. It is sufficient that the open / close data beam 32a is obtained from one of the right and left sides of the document data beam 31a as shown in FIG.
Thus, in this embodiment, the roll paper cover 23
Is detected by the CCD 19, so that a dedicated switch for opening / closing detection is not required, the assemblability can be improved, and the cost can be reduced.

Hereinafter, the invention described in claim 2 or 3 will be described based on embodiments. FIG. 4 shows claim 2 or claim 3.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention described in FIG. 1A, wherein FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing a main part thereof, and FIG. FIG. 3 (c) is a schematic structural view of an embodiment according to the third aspect of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the above-described example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a specific description thereof will be omitted.

First, the configuration will be described. In FIG. 4A, a notifying unit 41 has an LED 41a and a buzzer 41b, and notifies that the roll paper cover 23 is open by an optical display or a buzzer sound. Tx motor 4
2 is the ADF roller 11, the feed roller 13, and 1
4 or the like is driven to convey the transmission original or the copy original.
The Rx motor 43 conveys the roll paper 22 by driving the platen roller 21 and the like.

In FIG. 4B, the actuator 2
4, when the opening / closing data beam 32a is cut off,
27 indicates that the roll paper cover 23 is open,
It is notified to the outside by the LED 41a or the buzzer 41b. In FIG. 4C, when the opening / closing data beam 32a is blocked by the actuator 24, the FCU 27
Thermal head 20, Tx motor 42, Rx motor 43
And the like, and the operation of the apparatus main body, that is, the plotting out to the roll paper 22 is stopped.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 5 is FIG.
6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. First, it is determined whether the roll paper cover 23 is open (step S1). This is determined based on whether or not the read voltage pressure value V in the open / close data light area 19a shown in FIG. That is, the read voltage pressure value V
Is smaller than the threshold value n, it is determined that the roll paper cover 23 is open, and the LED 41a shown in FIG.
Both the buzzers 41b are turned on (step S2) to urge the user to close the roll paper cover 23.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that the read voltage pressure value V is larger than the threshold value n, the roll paper cover 2
3 is closed, and a normal copy operation is performed. That is, the presence or absence of a copy original is checked (step S3). When the copy original is set, the process stands by until the copy button is pressed (step S4). When the copy button is pressed, the original reading by the CCD 19 is started. (Step S5) The read original image is transferred to the thermal head 20.
To plot out on the roll paper 22 (step S
6), the copy operation is repeated until the last page (step S7).

As described above, in this embodiment, when the roll paper cover 23 is open, the buzzer 41b and the LED
Since the user is notified by 41a that the roll paper cover 23 is open, the contamination of the platen roller 21 and the roll paper 22 after recording are prevented from being caught, thereby improving the reliability and performance of the facsimile apparatus. be able to.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. First, it is determined whether the roll paper cover 23 is open (step T1). This is determined by whether or not the read voltage pressure value V in the open / close data light area 19a shown in FIG. 3A is larger than a predetermined threshold value n of the criterion, as in the above embodiment. . That is, if the read voltage pressure value V is smaller than the threshold value n, it is determined that the roll paper cover 23 is open, and the Tx motor 42 and the Rx motor 42 shown in FIG.
The motor 43 is stopped and the thermal head (T / H) 2
No signal is transmitted to 0 (step T2). As described above, the copy operation is stopped by the determination of the FCU 27. In the case of facsimile reception, the operation of the apparatus main body is similarly stopped.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step T1 that the read voltage pressure value V is larger than the threshold value n, the roll paper cover 2
3 is closed, and a normal copy operation is performed. That is, the presence or absence of a copy original is checked (step T3). When the copy original is set, the process waits for the copy button to be pressed (step T4). When the copy button is pressed, the original reading by the CCD 19 is started. (Step T5) The read original image is transferred to the thermal head 20.
To plot out on the roll paper 22 (step T
6) The copy operation is repeated until the last page (step T7).

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the roll paper cover 23 is open, the operation as a facsimile machine is stopped, so that the roll paper 22 after recording and the contamination of the platen roller 21 are eliminated. , Reliability and performance are improved.

[0031]

As described above, according to the facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the second image reading device located outside the image reading region in the longitudinal direction from the second light source integrally formed with the light source. Irradiating the area with light, reading the reflected light from the second image reading area illuminated by the second light source with a second image reading unit integrally formed with the image reading unit,
Since the reflected light from the second image reading area is blocked or passed by an actuator linked to the opening and closing of the recording paper cover, the cover opening / closing can be detected based on the presence or absence of the reflected light from the second image reading area. A switch is not required, assemblability can be improved, and cost can be reduced.

According to the facsimile apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the reflected light from the second image reading area is blocked by the actuator, the buzzer or the buzzer notifies the user that the recording paper cover is open. Since the light is notified to the outside, the opening and closing of the cover can be confirmed, and the reliability and performance can be improved. Further, according to the facsimile apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, when the reflected light from the second image reading area is blocked by the actuator, the operation of the apparatus main body is stopped, thereby preventing unexpected operation. Reliability and performance are improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention described in claim 1, wherein FIG. 1 (a) shows a state in which a recording paper cover is closed, and FIG. 1 (b) shows a recording paper cover. Indicates an open state.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are operation diagrams of the actuator. FIG. 2A is an operation diagram of the actuator when the roll paper cover is opened, and FIG. 2B is an operation diagram of the actuator when the roll paper cover is closed.

3A and 3B are characteristic diagrams showing reading voltage values in a CCD. FIG. 3A shows a voltage value in a standby state when the cover is closed, and FIG. 3B shows a voltage value in a copy state when the cover is closed. FIG. 3C shows the voltage value when the cover is opened.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention described in claim 2 or 3, wherein FIG. 4A is a block diagram showing a main part thereof, and FIG. 2
FIG. 3C is a schematic configuration diagram of one embodiment according to the invention described in the above, and FIG. 3C is a schematic configuration diagram of one embodiment according to the invention of the third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 (b).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 (c).

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 16 LED (first and second light sources) 19 CCD (first and second image reading units) 20 Thermal head (plotter unit) 22 Roll paper (recording paper) 23 Roll paper cover (recording paper cover) 24 Actuator

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A light source for irradiating the linear image reading area with light; an image reading unit receiving light reflected from the image reading area to read image data in the image reading area; A facsimile apparatus comprising: a plotter section for printing and outputting the image data on recording paper; and a recording paper cover which opens and closes as a lid of a storage section in which the recording paper is stored. A second light source that irradiates light to a second image reading area located outside the image reading area in the longitudinal direction; and a second image reading area that is integrally formed with the image reading unit and is irradiated by the second light source. A second image reading unit for reading the reflected light of the recording paper cover; and an actuator for blocking or passing the reflected light from the second image reading area in conjunction with opening and closing of the recording paper cover. Facsimile apparatus according to claim. 2. A notifying means for notifying, by a buzzer or light, that a recording paper cover is open when a reflected light from the second image reading area is blocked by an actuator. Item 1. A facsimile apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the reflected light from the second image reading area is blocked by the actuator, the operation of the apparatus main body is stopped.