JP3133804B2 - Small 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, and more particularly to a small facsimile apparatus having a flat and small size.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A small facsimile apparatus has been proposed. Referring to the drawings, the recording unit;
The configuration of the document reading unit will be briefly described. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional facsimile machine, and is an example of a configuration that is considered to be the most compact and flat at present. In this drawing, a first opening 205 is formed near the edge of the upper surface of the housing cover 200 also serving as a housing, and a second opening 204 is formed near the inner side (rear side) of the housing. An outlet 20 is provided on the front of the cover 200.
3 are formed.

In the above configuration, the original G is inserted through the first opening 205 with the reading surface facing down, and the original G is rotated with the contact type line image sensor 12 in a biased state with respect to the contact type line image sensor 12. Dynamically driven first
The sheet is conveyed and discharged from the discharge port 203 while being held between the conveying rollers 13. On the other hand, on the back side of the upper surface of the housing cover 200, as shown, a roll-shaped recording paper KR made of heat-sensitive paper is held rotatably and replaceably in the direction of the arrow, and the recording section of the roll paper K2 is held. The recording paper of the line thermal head 14 is formed so as to face the recording surface, and the roll paper K2 is moved between the second transport rollers 15 which are rotated and driven in a state of being biased against the line thermal head 14. 2nd opening 2
The recording paper is discharged to the outside after recording via the recording medium 04.

[0004] With the above-described configuration, the reading unit and the recording unit do not overlap in the thickness direction of the housing cover 200, and the thickness of the housing 200 is reduced.

[0005]

However, in the facsimile apparatus described above, in order to reduce the thickness of the housing, a roll of recording paper KR is provided between the reading unit and the recording unit. As a result, the size of the housing in the front-rear depth direction has a problem that the depth cannot be reduced because at least an extra amount of the roll-shaped recording paper is required.

According to the facsimile apparatus,
Since only roll-shaped recording paper is used as recording paper, there is a problem that it is not possible to load, for example, a so-called cut A4 size thermosensitive recording paper into the recording unit. In other words, in order to be able to load such a cut sheet into the recording unit, the operation becomes very troublesome, such as loading the cut sheet after removing the roll-shaped recording sheet, so it is practically impossible. It is. On the other hand, when a dedicated opening for inserting a cut sheet is newly provided near the first opening described above, for example, an opening having a longitudinal dimension of at least A4 lateral dimension and the first opening are provided. Since it is not possible to guarantee the strength of the bar-shaped partition portion formed between the two, the setting of cut paper is substantially impossible.

According to the facsimile apparatus described above,
Since the drive motors for the first and second transport rollers are provided independently of each other, there is a problem that power consumption increases when driving each roller and the number of components increases. Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can reduce the depth dimension in the front-rear direction, can use cut paper or cut sheet, and can be configured to be small and flat. It is an object of the present invention to provide a small facsimile apparatus which can be used in a place where there is no commercial power supply.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] and

[Action] To solve the above problems and to achieve the object, according to the present invention, a first opening formed in the upper surface of the housing body, a discharge port formed on the front surface of the housing
And insert the original through the first opening and discharge it to the discharge port
A document reading unit for performing reading by reading, a second opening provided on the back side of the upper surface of the housing with respect to the first opening ,
A recording sheet is inserted through the second opening and the first opening is inserted.
A recording unit that performs recording by discharging the, and a housing portion of the battery provided in the housing, housing part of the battery at the back of the housing
The document reading section is provided on the front side of the housing.
It is characterized in that it is arranged adjacent to the recording unit, can be made smaller in the depth dimension in the front-rear direction, can use cut paper or cut sheet, and is configured to be small and flat. And it can be used in places where there is no commercial power supply.

Preferably, a thermal paper is used as the recording sheet, and the original reading section is rotated and driven in a state of energizing the contact type line image sensor and the contact type line image sensor. The recording unit comprises a line thermal head, and a second transport roller which is driven to rotate while energizing the line thermal head, wherein the first transport roller and the second (2) the drive source of the two transport rollers is configured to be obtained from a common drive unit, and the document reading unit and the recording unit are arranged offset to one of the side surfaces of the housing to secure a space, The drive source can be accommodated.

[0010] Preferably, the battery is used repeatedly by using a flat and long rechargeable secondary battery which can be repeatedly charged.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is an external perspective view of the portable facsimile machine 1 of the first embodiment, and shows a state in which a document and a recording sheet are not set. FIG.
(B) is an external perspective view of the portable facsimile machine 1 and shows a state in which a document G and a recording sheet K1 are set and then conveyed in the direction of the arrow.

First, referring to FIG.
Is formed, for example, as a resin cover body by injection molding of a resin so that the cover body can be vertically divided into two. The housing cover 2 has a width of 300, a depth of 110, and a thickness of 32 (millimeter), as shown by adding dimensions in the drawing.
With its small external dimensions, it can be easily housed in a commonly used office bag, etc., and has a built-in battery power supply and facsimile function, which will be described later. As long as it is connected to a telephone line, it can be used anywhere, such as outdoors or in a car, and can be used as a portable facsimile machine. Furthermore, it is possible to cope with downsizing in a facsimile machine.

The housing cover 2 of the portable facsimile apparatus 1 having the above external dimensions has an opening on its upper surface, as shown in FIG. A first opening 3 having a width dimension;
A second opening 4 having an opening width dimension for inserting a B4 landscape-size recording sheet is formed. A discharge port 5 for discharging a document of B4 horizontal size is formed on the front surface of the housing cover 2.

In addition, near the edge of the upper surface of the housing cover 2, there are operation switches 9, such as a setting switch 9a for fine / standard mode, a setting switch 9b for copy / feed mode, a stop switch 9c, and a sheet. In the case of (1), a start switch 9d for starting operation in the transmission state and in the reception state when there is no sheet is provided. Also, next to the right of these operation switches,
A power-on display LED 8c and a display LED 8a in an operation error state and a display LED 8b in a fine mode setting state are arranged on the left side so as to be substantially aligned with each other. On the other hand, a power switch 7 and an external connector 6 for connection to a telephone are provided on the left side of the portable facsimile machine 1.

With respect to the portable facsimile apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration, the original surface Ga of the original G as shown in FIG.
Is inserted in the direction of arrow A1 through the first opening 3 and discharged to the outside through the discharge port 5. On the other hand, the cut paper K1 of the thermal paper is inserted in the direction of arrow B1 through the second opening 4 and then discharged from the above-described first opening 3 in the direction of arrow B2 (upward) in the drawing. The document reading operation and the recording operation in the facsimile apparatus can be realized in units of cut sheets (sheets).

In other words, the portable facsimile apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration, which is configured to be small and flat, is operated by, for example, holding one hand and inserting the original one by one with one hand. I can do it. Further, at the time of reception, only the heat-sensitive cut sheet K1 is set from the second opening so that reception is possible. In order to obtain a further copy, the original G and the cut sheet K1 are set at the same time without connecting the line so that a copy can be obtained for each sheet.

Next, the internal configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the portable facsimile apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 cut along a plane passing through one of the operation switches. It is a figure and shows the principal part structure inside. In the drawing, the above-mentioned housing cover 2 is configured to be a hollow box shape by a cover bottom plate 10a, a cover upper plate 10c, a cover front plate 10b, a battery housing portion 10d, etc. ing. And cover upper plate 1
The first opening 3 and the second opening 4 are formed at 0c as shown in the figure, while the outlet 5 is formed substantially at the center of the cover front plate 10b. The above-mentioned switches include a switch cover 2 having both a cover and a display function.
1 is provided.

On the other hand, the configuration of the document reading section will be described. The CS roller 13 is a first transport roller for transporting the document G by obtaining a frictional force by bringing the document G into close contact with the document reading section of the contact sensor 12. Are rotatably supported, for example, on both sides of the bent sheet metal base 18. Further, the configuration in which the outer peripheral surface of the CS roller 13 is always urged against the reading portion of the contact sensor 12 is a method in which the contact sensor is attached to the sensor base plate 16 swingably supported on the sheet metal base 18. 12 is fixed. The sensor base plate 16 and the contact sensor 12
Is integrated by a spring 17 having one end fixed to a stud 18e provided integrally with the sheet metal base 18.
It is always biased toward the S roller 13 side. The sensor base plate 16 has a cross-sectional shape as shown in the figure, and forms a guide for the document G and a sharp end portion 16e, and forms the shape along the outer peripheral surface of the TPH roller 15 of the recording section described later. In addition, the cut sheet is configured to be guided to the first opening 3 and to be torn at the leading end 16e.

Next, the structure of the recording section will be described. A TPH roller 15, which is a second transport roller and transports a cut sheet K1 of thermal paper, is rotatably supported on the above-mentioned sheet metal base 18. The cut sheet K1 is brought into close contact with the recording portion of the line thermal head 14 to obtain a frictional force to carry the sheet. The outer peripheral surface of the TPHS roller 15 is constantly urged against the recording portion of the line thermal head 14 in order to achieve the close contact state. In order to make this state, the line thermal head 14 is fixed to the thermal head plate 19 as shown in the drawing, and the hole 19a formed in the thermal head plate 19 is Between the stud 10f extending from the back surface of the part 4 and the stud 10e vertically extending from the cover bottom plate 10a, it is held swingably and prevented from falling off. This thermal head plate 19 is
The coil spring 20 held in a compressed state between the back surface of the thermal head plate and the sheet metal base 18 causes T
The recording portion of the line thermal head 14 is constantly urged toward the PH roller 15 side.

Here, the CS roller 13 and T
To keep the PH roller 15 constantly energized and to enable the driving of each roller with a low torque, the friction coefficient of each roller with respect to the reading unit of the contact sensor or the recording unit of the line thermal head must be set to Alternatively, it is desirable to set the friction coefficient to be smaller than the friction coefficient of each roller with respect to the recording paper.
A special material is used for the outer peripheral surface of the roller 15 instead of a normal rubber material.

Next, an electronic board for executing the facsimile function includes a chip board 28 on which components to be surface-mounted such as an LSI chip, an IC chip, a chip component and the like are mounted as shown in FIG. Board 2 mounted via reflow soldering tank
6 are arranged along the upper and lower wall surfaces of the housing, and are connected via a relay board 27. By doing so, the manufacturing process of each substrate can be simplified, and a space for accommodating the downsizing can be secured without waste.

The above-described cover battery housing 10
At d, a rechargeable battery 11 is provided which is detachable in the directions of arrows D1 and D2 in the figure. As the rechargeable battery 11, for example, a nickel-cadmium battery capable of generating high power can be used. In the above configuration, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
The document is inserted through the first opening 3 in the direction, a predetermined reading is performed in the reading unit, and the document is discharged to the outside through the discharge port 5. On the other hand, the cut paper K1 of the thermal paper is in the second opening 4
When the document is inserted in the direction of arrow B1 through the printer, a predetermined recording operation is performed in the recording unit, and the document is ejected from the above-described first opening 3 in the direction of arrow B2 (upward) in the drawing, so that the facsimile apparatus reads the original. The operation and the recording operation can be realized for each cut sheet (sheet).

FIG. 3 shows a portable facsimile apparatus 1.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Since the configuration of the reading unit and the recording unit of the first embodiment is substantially the same,
Only the differences will be described. In this figure, the cover battery housing portion 10d is formed so as to be continuous with the upper surface and the rear surface of the housing in order to make the rechargeable battery 11 detachable in the directions of arrows D3 and D4 in the figure. Further, the chip substrate 28 and the discrete substrate 26 are arranged on the second floor via a spacer as shown.

In the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the document G is inserted through the first opening 3 in the direction of arrow A1 with the document surface Ga of the document G facing down, and a predetermined reading is performed by the reading unit. Is discharged to the outside through the discharge port 5. On the other hand, when the cut sheet K1 of the thermal paper is inserted in the direction of arrow B1 through the second opening 4, a predetermined printing operation is performed in the printing unit, and the arrow B2 in FIG.
By discharging the document in the direction (upward), the document reading operation and the recording operation in the facsimile apparatus can be realized in units of cut sheets (sheets).

Next, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the portable facsimile apparatus 1, in which a reading unit and a recording unit are connected to a center line CL of the apparatus.
The figure shows a state where it is provided to be offset to the left (in the direction of arrow F in the figure). In the figure, the reading unit and the recording unit are described by arranging the positions of the CS roller 13 and the TPH roller 15 in the drawing. (In the direction of arrow F in the figure), and a space of width W is secured in the casing of the apparatus. By providing the gear train 31 in this space, the driving force of the pulse motor 30, which is the driving source of each roller, can be transmitted.

On the other hand, a DES sensor 22 for detecting the presence or absence of documents of different sizes in the reading section and the recording section, respectively.
RPS sensors 24a and 24b for detecting the presence or absence of recording paper of different sizes from the recording papers a and 22b are provided at the illustrated positions. Next, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the portable facsimile apparatus 1. In this figure, the following components are connected to the CPU 101. That is, the ROM 102 and R
AM103, the operation switches 9 described above, and the DE
Sensor 1 part 105 of S sensor 22 and RPS sensor 24
, A voltage conversion unit 106 for obtaining 5 V or the like from a single power supply voltage (12 V) from a rechargeable battery (power supply unit) 11, a buzzer unit 107 for notifying an operation / operation state, and a read signal from the contact sensor 12 described above. Reading unit 1 for processing
08, a recording unit 109 for outputting a recording signal by the above-described line thermal head 14, a driving unit 110 for performing predetermined driving of the pulse motor 30, and a MOD for converting a line signal.
The NCU 1 is connected to the EM 111 and the line connection connector 6a or the mobile telephone connector 6b of the line.

Further, a contact portion 35 shown by a broken line in the figure is an external connection connector for adding a function to the above-mentioned portable facsimile machine 1, and is provided on the above-mentioned connector board 27. In the configuration described above, regarding an operation example in the reception mode and the transmission mode,
This will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. First,
6. In FIG. 6, the standby state is set in step S1, the process proceeds to step S1.5, and if the recording paper is already set, it is turned on by the RPS 24 and proceeds to S6.
If there is no recording paper and the RPS is OFF, the process proceeds to step S2, where the recording paper K (cut paper K1 or roll paper K2) is set. Next, the process proceeds to step S3, where the recording paper K
When the RPS sensor 24 detects the presence or absence of the TP, the process proceeds to step S4, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, the TP
By rotating the H roller 15 by a predetermined amount, the leading end of the recording paper K is fed into the gap between the line thermal head 14 and the inclination of the recording paper K is removed.

Next, at step S5, the TPH roller 15 is rotated by a predetermined amount to make the recording paper K recordable, and at step S6 a telephone call is made to the transmitting side. Next, the line is supplemented in step S7, and the start switch 9d is pressed in step S8. Then, proceeding to step S9, if the presence or absence of the recording paper K is detected again by the RPS sensor 24 and the recording paper K is turned on, the receiving operation is started in step S10, and the recording operation is completed.
The process proceeds to 1 to determine whether or not there is a next page from the transmitting side. If there is no next page, the receiving operation is completed (step S12).

On the other hand, when there is a next page from the transmitting side,
The process proceeds to step S13 to wait for the setting of the second sheet of recording paper K. If the presence or absence of the recording sheet K is detected by the RPS sensor 24 and the recording sheet K is turned on, the process proceeds to step S10 to execute the receiving operation. On the other hand, in step S13, if the detection of the RPS sensor 24 is not turned on even after the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S14, and the buzzer 107
To prompt the operator to set the recording paper. Next, when the recording paper K is set and the detection of the RPS sensor 24 is turned on in step S15, the process proceeds to step S10 to execute the receiving operation. Thereafter, the same operation is repeated to receive a predetermined number of sheets.

Next, an operation example in the transmission mode will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the above-mentioned operation switch 9d is pressed, step S20 is performed.
Is set to a standby state of waiting for transmission, the process proceeds to step S21, and the original G is set. Next, step S
When the DES sensor 22 detects the presence or absence of the document G and turns on, the process proceeds to step S23, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, the CS roller 13 is rotated by a fixed amount so that the leading end of the document G is By feeding the document G into the gap with the contact sensor 12, the inclination of the document G is removed / corrected.

Next, in step S24, the CS roller 13 is rotated by a predetermined amount so that the original G can be read, and in step S25, a telephone call is made to the transmitting side.
Next, the line is supplemented in step S26, and the start switch 9d is pressed in step S27. And
Proceed to step S28 to enter the transmission operation, and step S29
It is determined whether or not there is a trailing end of the document G, and if not, the transmission operation is completed (step S29).

On the other hand, after the transmission is completed, the process proceeds to step S30, in which the buzzer 107 is operated to urge the operator to set the next document G, and then the process proceeds to step S31, where a built-in timer is started, and then the process proceeds to step S32. DES sensor 2
When the detection of No. 2 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S33 to execute the transmission operation. On the other hand, in step S32, D
If the detection state of the ES sensor 22 continues for 10 seconds, it is determined that there is no next document, and the process ends in step S35.

As described above, according to the present invention, a portable facsimile machine having the functions required for a facsimile machine can be realized.

As described above, according to the present invention, the depth dimension in the front-rear direction can be made smaller, cut paper or cut sheet can be used, and the apparatus can be made compact and flat. In addition, a small facsimile apparatus that can be used in a place without a commercial power supply can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is an external perspective view of a small facsimile apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing the use state of the small facsimile apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a small facsimile apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the small facsimile apparatus of the first and second embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the small facsimile apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a reception mode.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a transmission mode.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional facsimile machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Small facsimile machine, 2 Housing cover, 3 1st opening, 4 2nd opening, 5 outlet, 9 Operation switches, 11 Rechargeable battery, 12 Adhesion sensor, 13 CS roller (1st conveyance roller), 14 A line thermal head, a 15 TPH roller (second transport roller), a G original, and a K recording paper.

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hisashi Toyoda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yosuke Ezumi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Toshio Tsurugimo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-4-78259 (JP, A) JP-A-4-3648 (JP, A JP-A-4-340852 (JP, A) JP-A-3-295352 (JP, A) JP-A-4-1755051 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00-1/00 108

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A first opening formed in the upper surface of the 1. A main body of the housing, a discharge port formed on the front surface of the housing, the original
A document is inserted from the first opening, discharged to the outlet, and read.
A document reading unit for performing reading, a second opening provided on the upper surface side of the housing farther than the first opening, and a recording system;
A sheet is inserted through the second opening and discharged into the first opening
And a storage section for storing the battery provided in the housing, and the storage section for the battery is provided on the back side of the housing.
The document reading section is located at the front of the housing.
A small facsimile apparatus which is arranged adjacent to a recording unit . 2. A thermo-sensitive paper as the recording sheet, wherein the original reading unit comprises a contact type line image sensor, and a first transport roller which is rotated and driven in a biased state with respect to the contact type line image sensor. The recording unit is constituted by a line thermal head and a second transport roller that is rotated and driven in a biased state with respect to the line thermal head, and drives the first transport roller and the second transport roller. Sources are obtained from a common drive means,
The document reading unit and the recording unit are arranged offset to one of the side surfaces of the housing to secure a space and accommodate a drive transmission system of the drive source. Item 2. A small facsimile apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The small facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a flat and long reproducible secondary battery is used as the battery.