JP3521295B2 - 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 having means for feeding an original along a predetermined feeding path, reading an image of the original, and storing the read image as image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, by inputting a roller for conveying an original along a predetermined conveying path, a stepping motor for driving the roller, and a pulse-shaped drive signal,
Motor driving means for rotationally driving the stepping motor, motor stationary means for stopping the stepping motor by inputting a pulsed stationary signal, and the original document conveyed to a predetermined position on the conveying path by the rollers. There is known a facsimile apparatus provided with a reading unit such as a line image sensor for reading the image, and a storage unit such as a memory for storing the image of the document read by the reading unit as image data.

In this type of facsimile apparatus, when the storage means can newly store image data, the motor driving means is operated in conjunction with the reading operation of the reading means. As a result, the stepping motor is driven to rotate, and the image is read while the document is conveyed by the rollers
It can be stored in the storage means as image data. When the storage means becomes full due to this reading operation and the storage means cannot store new image data, the operation of the motor drive means is stopped and the motor stationary means is operated. As a result, the stepping motor is stopped and the original can be held at the position as it is. Further, when the data stored in the storage means is consumed by processing such as fax transmission and copying, and the storage means returns to a state in which image data can be newly stored, the operation of the motor stationary means is stopped and the reading means of the reading means is operated. The operation of the motor driving means linked with the reading operation is restarted. As a result, the continuation of the original image can be read and stored.

[0004]

However, in this type of facsimile machine, noise may occur even when the stepping motor is stationary. This is because a slight vibration is generated in the rotor of the stepping motor due to the input of the stationary signal. Further, after the stepping motor is stopped, the reading operation is restarted immediately when the storage means becomes ready to store new data. Therefore, the storage means is immediately full and the stepping motor is stopped again. Therefore, the stationary / rotational driving of the stepping motor is frequently repeated, for example, every time one line of image data is read, which may cause noise.

Therefore, the present invention has been made for the purpose of providing a facsimile apparatus capable of favorably suppressing the generation of noise.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein has been made in order to achieve the above object, a roller for conveying the document along a predetermined transport path, a stepping motor for driving the roller, the For stepping motors
Input means for inputting signals and the stepping motor
By inputting a pulsed drive signal through the input means, the motor drive means for rotationally driving the stepping motor, and the input means for the stepping motor are input.
Via a step, the power from the drive signal is rather small steps
By inputting a pulse-shaped stationary signal to the extent that the ping motor can be stationary, a motor stationary means for stationary the stepping motor and an image of the original document conveyed by the roller to a predetermined position on the transportation path are read. a reading unit, a storage unit for storing the image of the document read by said read means as image data, when the storage means is capable memorize the image data to the new, in conjunction with the reading operation of the reading means When the motor drive means is operated and the storage means cannot newly store the image data, the operation of the motor drive means is stopped and the motor stationary means is operated, and the storage means newly stores the image data. when returning to the predetermined plurality of lines or storable state, the read stops the operation of the motor stationary means Characterized in that a control means for resuming the operation of said motor drive means interlocked to the reading operation of the unit.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the power of the stationary signal is made smaller than the power of the driving signal by making the pulse amplitude of the stationary signal smaller than the pulse amplitude of the driving signal. The gist of the facsimile apparatus according to item 1. The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the electric power of the stationary signal is made smaller than the electric power of the driving signal by making the duty ratio of the stationary signal smaller than the duty ratio of the driving signal.
The summary is the described facsimile machine.

[0008]

The [Function and Effect of the Invention] The inventors of the thus configured according to claim 1, motor stationary means, as the power from the drive signal is made stationary the small rather the stepping motor
Inputting a time stationary signal to the stepping motor. Therefore, it is possible to favorably prevent the rotor from vibrating while the stepping motor is stationary, and to favorably suppress the generation of noise due to the vibration.

Further, the control means controls stationary / rotational driving of the stepping motor as follows. That is,
When the storage means is capable memorize the image data to the new, in conjunction with the reading operation of the reading means operates the motor driving means, for rotating the stepping motor. The storage unit stores the image data according to this processing. When the storage device cannot store new image data, the operation of the motor driving device is stopped and the motor stationary device is operated to stop the stepping motor. Further, when the image data of the storage means is consumed and the storage means returns to a state in which the image data can be newly stored for a plurality of predetermined lines or more, the operation of the motor stationary means is stopped and the reading means The operation of the motor driving means linked with the reading operation is restarted. This restarts the rotation driving of the stepping motor.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the storage means cannot store new image data, the stepping motor is stopped, and the storage means newly stores the image data in a predetermined plural number.
When it is possible to store more than the IN amount, the rotation drive of the stepping motor is restarted. Therefore, the frequency with which the stationary / rotational driving of the stepping motor is repeated is reduced, and the noise caused thereby can be suppressed. Further, if the control is performed in this manner, the time during which the stepping motor is continuously stopped is increased, but as described above, the noise generated while the stepping motor is stopped is well suppressed. Therefore, in the present invention, the generation of noise can be suppressed very well.

As a structure for making the power of the stationary signal smaller than that of the driving signal, the pulse amplitude of the stationary signal (for example, the current value at the peak of the pulse) is made smaller than the pulse amplitude of the driving signal. Various configurations are conceivable, such as a configuration in which the duty ratio of the stationary signal is smaller than the duty ratio of the drive signal.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a facsimile apparatus 2 of an embodiment to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing its internal mechanism.

The facsimile apparatus 2 of this embodiment is
A fax transmission function of reading an image from the manuscript 4 (see FIG. 2) and transmitting the image data to another facsimile apparatus via a telephone line, and an image data transmitted from another facsimile apparatus via a telephone line are provided. Receive
It has a fax receiving function of forming the image on the recording paper 24 (see FIG. 2) and a copying function of forming the image on the recording paper 24 based on the image data read from the original 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, a receiver 12 is attached to the side of the main body 10 of the facsimile apparatus 2, and an operation panel 14 is provided on the front of the upper surface. A recording paper cassette 16 (see FIG. 2) is provided at the rear of the upper surface of the main body 10.
A cassette mounting portion 18 for detachably mounting the document is formed, and a document table 20 is formed at the center of the upper surface.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the main body 10 has a scanner unit 22 for reading an image from the original 4 placed on the original table 20, and an image on the recording paper 24 contained in the recording paper cassette 16. A recording unit 26 for forming and a control unit 70 that drives and controls each of these units to realize the above functions are built in.

In the scanner section 22, the originals 4 placed on the original table 20 are taken one by one by a paper feeding mechanism including a paper feeding roller 32 and a separation pad 31. Then, the original 4 is conveyed to the original supporting plate 34 by the conveying roller 33, and the image on the front surface (the lower surface in FIG. 2) is read by the image reading device 35 arranged below the original supporting plate 34. Further, the document 4 after image reading is discharged to a discharge tray 37 provided on the front surface of the main body 10 via a discharge roller 36.

The image reading device 35 irradiates the original 4 on the original support plate 34 with light from the light source 38, reflects the reflected light from the original 4 by the mirrors 39 and 40, and further uses the lens 41 to form a line image. This is a well-known method in which an original image is read line by line by condensing it on the light receiving surface of the sensor 42. A document sensor 44 that optically detects whether or not the document 4 is set on the document table 20 is provided in a path from the document table 20 to the sheet feeding roller 32, and the sheet feeding roller 32 to the transport roller 33. A leading edge sensor 46 that optically detects the passage of the leading edge of the original 4 when the original 4 is started to be conveyed by the paper feed roller 32 is provided in the path up to. Further, the paper feed roller 3
2, the transport roller 33, and the discharge roller 36 are driven by a stepping motor 48 (see FIG. 3) via a gear mechanism (not shown).

On the other hand, in the recording section 26, the recording paper cassette 1
The recording papers 24 accommodated in 6 are taken in one by one by a paper feed mechanism including a paper feed roller 51 and a separation pad 52. Then, the recording paper 24 is sent to the image forming unit 55 via the transport roller 53, and a toner image is formed in the image forming unit 55. In addition, the recording paper 2 after the image formation
4 is sent to the fixing device 56, and after the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 56, the main body 1 is passed through the paper discharge roller 57.
The paper is ejected to the paper ejection tray 58 provided on the front surface of 0. The fixing device 56 is composed of a heating roller and a pressing roller, and heats and presses the recording paper 24 so that the recording paper 2
The toner image is fixed on 4.

Further, the image forming section 55 includes a photosensitive drum 61.
A laser beam scanning device 62 that irradiates the photosensitive drum 61 with laser light to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface thereof, and a developing device 63 that adheres toner to the photosensitive drum 61 after the electrostatic latent image is formed.
And a transfer device 65 that has a transfer roller 64 and applies an electric charge to the recording paper 24 to transfer the toner adhering to the photosensitive drum 61 to the recording paper 24. Further, the laser beam scanning device 62 includes: It is provided with a laser emitting section 67 for emitting a laser beam in accordance with a command from the control section 70, a lens 68 for condensing the laser beam, a reflecting mirror 69 for guiding the laser beam condensed by the lens 68 to the photosensitive drum 61, and the like. .

That is, the recording unit 26 is configured as a so-called laser printer, and forms an image on the recording paper 24 according to a command from the control unit 70. Next, the control unit 70 that controls each of the above units is configured as shown in FIG. The control unit 70 receives various commands such as a copy command of the original 4 and a fax transmission command input by the user operating the operation panel 14, and controls the scanner unit 22 or the scanner unit 22 or The CPU 80, the ROM 82, and the RAM 84 are for controlling the recording unit 26 based on data transmitted from a telephone line described later.
It is configured as a well-known microcomputer centering on.

A network control unit (NCU) that connects an external telephone line and the apparatus to the control unit 70 and enables communication and image data transmission / reception with other telephones and facsimile machines. 86, and N
A modem 88 for transmitting / receiving image data to / from another facsimile apparatus via the CU 86 is provided,
The CPU 80 also executes communication control for transmitting image data to another facsimile device via a telephone line and receiving image data transmitted from another facsimile device via a telephone line.

The CPU 80, ROM 82, RAM 8
4, the NCU 86 and the modem 88 are connected to each other via a bus 89, and the bus 89 enables input / output of data to / from the scanner unit 22, the operation panel 14, the recording unit 26 and the like. The input / output port 90 is also connected.
Further, the NCU 86 is connected with the above-mentioned handset 12 and a speaker for making a call, and a call with another telephone can be performed via the handset 12.

The stepping motor 48 is constructed as shown in FIG. That is, the pole teeth 91 a to 91 d protruding from the four sides toward the rotor 92 are formed on the inner wall of the stator iron core 91 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. Coils 93a to 93d are respectively wound around the pole teeth 91a to 91d, and the pole teeth 91a to 91d are configured to be S poles by energizing the coils 93a to 93d. The rotor 92 is formed in a substantially columnar shape and is magnetized in its diameter direction to become a permanent magnet. Therefore, when a pulsed current is sequentially applied to the coils 93a to 93d (see, for example, the left half of FIG. 6), the pole teeth 91a to 91d.
d sequentially becomes the S pole, and the rotor 92 rotates accordingly. Further, when a pulsed current is repeatedly applied to some of the coils 93a to 93d (see, for example, the right half of FIG. 6), the rotor 92 stops at the corresponding rotational position.

Next, the document image reading process of the facsimile apparatus 2 of this embodiment will be described in detail. When a fax transmission command or a copy command is input through the operation panel 14 after the document 4 is placed on the document table 20, the CPU 80
Controls the scanner unit 22 as follows to read the image of the document 4. First, when the above command is input, the CPU 80
Drives the stepping motor 48 to rotate the rollers 32 to 36.
Is rotated to convey the original 4. When the leading edge sensor 46 detects the leading edge of the original 4, the CPU 80 further drives the stepping motor 48 by a predetermined amount to cause the leading edge of the original 4 to reach the light source 3.
After arranging the light source 38 at a position (hereinafter, referred to as a reading position) facing the light source 8, the light source 38 emits light. Then, the original 4 at the reading position
The reflected light from is input to the line image sensor 42.

After that, the CPU 80 continues to drive the stepping motor 48. Then, the reflected light from the surface of the original 4 is sequentially received by the line image sensor 42. The line image sensor 42 transmits to the CPU 80 a signal according to the received light amount of the reflected light. The CPU 80 creates image data of a document image based on the amount of received light transmitted from the line image sensor 42 and stores it in a reading buffer (not shown) of the RAM 84. Then, when a fax transmission command is input, the image data is transmitted via a telephone line, and when a copy command is input, the recording unit 26 is driven based on the image data, and an image similar to the original 4 is recorded on the recording paper 24. Form.

When the original image is read and stored as described above, the reading buffer may become full during the sequential reading of the image data of the original image. In this case, it is necessary to stop the stepping motor 48 and suspend the reading of the image data. Therefore, the CPU 80
Executes the processing shown in FIG. 5 when a fax transmission command or a copy command is input.

When the processing is started, the CPU 80 firstly
In S05, it is determined whether or not the reading buffer is full (FULL). If not full (S05: N
O), the process proceeds to S10, it is determined whether there is a predetermined amount or more of free space in the retrieval buffer (storage area for a plurality of lines of Jo Tokoro). Usually, since there is sufficient free space in the read buffer immediately after the start of control, an affirmative decision is made here, and the flow shifts to S15. In step S15, the flag F indicating that the stationary control of the stepping motor 48 is being performed is cleared, and the process proceeds to step S20.

In S20, a current value is set according to the transport speed of the original 4. At S25 that follows, a pulsed current is sequentially applied to each of the coils 93a to 93d at that current value, and the stepping motor 48 is rotationally driven. As a result, the rollers 32 to 36 rotate, and the document 4 is conveyed at a desired speed. In subsequent S30, the above-described process of reading the original image and storing it in the reading buffer is executed, and the process proceeds to S35.

In step S35, it is determined based on the detection signal of the document sensor 44 or the like whether or not the reading of the document image is completed. If not completed (S35: NO), S again
The process proceeds to 05 and the above-described processing is repeated to continue reading the original image. If there is no more free space than the predetermined amount in the reading buffer during this process (S10: NO), S4
It is judged whether the flag F is cleared by shifting to 0. Since the flag F has been cleared in S15, an affirmative decision is made here, and the routine proceeds to the processing in S20 and thereafter. And these S05, S10, S40, S20-S
By repeating the processing of 35, the reading / storing of the original image is continued, and when the reading buffer becomes full, an affirmative decision is made in S05, and the routine proceeds to S50.

In S50, the minimum current value that allows the stepping motor 48 to stand still is set in the coils 93a to 93d. In the subsequent S55, a pulsed current is intermittently applied to the coils 93a to 93d that were being energized at the time when the affirmative determination is made in S05, with the minimum current value, and the stepping motor 48 is stopped. At this time, the input signal from the line image sensor 42 is also not stored in the reading buffer. Subsequently, after the flag F is set in S60, the process proceeds to S35 described above, but here it is determined that the reading is not completed (NO), and the process proceeds to S05.

Thus, S05, S50, S55, S6
If there is an empty area in the reading buffer while the reading of the original image is interrupted by repeating the loop process consisting of 0 and S35 (S05: YES), the process proceeds to S40 via S10. However, since F = 1 this time, a negative determination is made here, and the processing of S50 and below is executed again. Thus, when the reading buffer has a space larger than the predetermined amount while the reading of the original image is further interrupted (S10: YES), S1 is set.
After resetting the flag F in 5, the process proceeds to the above-described processing of S20 and thereafter, the stepping motor 48 is driven, and the reading / storing of the image data is executed. Then, when the reading of the document image is completed, an affirmative decision is made in S35, and the processing is completed.

FIG. 6 shows each coil 93a in the above processing.
It is a time chart which illustrates the change of the energization current to-93d. In addition, in FIG. 6, each coil 93a, 93b, 9
The currents supplied to 3c and 93d are respectively φA, φB, φC,
It is represented by φD. As illustrated in FIG. 6, until time t1 when the read buffer is full (S05: NO),
A pulsed current having a current value (S20) corresponding to the conveyance speed of the document 4 is sequentially applied to the coils 93a to 93d (S).
25). This causes the stepping motor 48 to rotate at a desired speed.

When the reading buffer becomes full at time t1 (S05: YES), the pulsed current having the minimum current value (S50) is repeatedly applied to the coils 93a and 93b which are being energized at that time. (S55). As a result, the stepping motor 48 stops at the rotational position at time t1.

Furthermore, the image data in the read buffer is NC
When it is consumed by fax transmission via U86 or image formation via the recording unit 26, and the read buffer has a space above the predetermined amount (S10: YES), the same energization as before time t1 is performed again (Fig. (Not shown).

As described above, in this embodiment, when the stepping motor 48 is statically controlled, the current value is set to the minimum value capable of conducting electricity. Therefore, the following effects can be obtained. That is, conventionally, as illustrated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 6, a current similar to that during drive control of the stepping motor 48 is supplied during stationary control. Therefore, φA, φ
Every time the current of B is applied, a slight vibration is generated in the rotor 92, and the vibration may cause noise. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, φ
By reducing the current flowing to A and φB, it is possible to satisfactorily reduce the vibrations and satisfactorily suppress the generation of noise.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the reading buffer is full (S05: YES), the stepping motor 48 is stopped, and when the reading buffer has a vacancy of a predetermined amount or more (S10: YES), the stepping motor 48 is operated. The rotation drive is restarted. Therefore, the stepping motor 4
The frequency of repeating the stationary control / driving control of 8 decreases,
The noise resulting from it can be suppressed. Further, if such control is performed, the time during which the stepping motor 48 is continuously stopped is increased, but as described above, the noise generated during the stationary control of the stepping motor 48 is well suppressed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the generation of noise can be suppressed extremely well.

In the above embodiment, the line image sensor 42 serves as the reading means, the reading buffer of the RAM 84 serves as the storage means, the control section 70 serves as the control means, and the input / output port.
90 is input means, the process of S25 is motor drive means,
The processing of S50 corresponds to the motor stationary means, respectively.
Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the current value to be supplied to the coils 93a and 93b during the stationary control is made small, but the voltage value may be made small, and as shown in FIG. May be smaller. Also in this case, the power supplied to the coils 93a and 93b during the stationary control can be reduced, and the noise can be suppressed as in the above-described embodiment. Note that, in FIG. 7 as well, for comparison, a conventional energization current change is illustrated by a dashed line.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal mechanism of the facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a stepping motor of the facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a document image reading process of the facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a time chart exemplifying a change in a current supplied to a coil by the processing.

FIG. 7 is a time chart exemplifying a change in a current supplied to a coil according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Facsimile device 4 ... Document
22 ... Scanner section 32 ... Paper feed roller
33 ... Conveying roller 36 ... Ejecting roller 42 ...
Line image sensor 48 ... Stepping motor
70 ... Control part 84 ... RAM 91 ... Stator iron core
92 ... Rotor 93a, 93b, 93c, 93d ... Coil

Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00-1/00 108 H04N 1/04-1/207

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A roller for conveying a document along a predetermined conveying path, a stepping motor for driving the roller, an input means for inputting a signal to the stepping motor , and the stepping motor via the input means. static by inputting a pulse-like drive signal, a motor driving means for rotationally driving the stepping motor, through said input means to said stepping motor, the stepping motor power from the driving signal is rather small
A motor stopping means for stopping the stepping motor by inputting a pulse-shaped still signal to the extent that it can be stopped, and a reading means for reading an image of the original document conveyed to a predetermined position on the conveyance path by the roller. storage means for storing the image of the document read by said read means as image data, when the storage means is capable memorize the image data to the new, the motor drive in conjunction with the reading operation of the reading means When the storage means cannot newly store the image data, the motor drive means is stopped and the motor stationary means is activated, and the storage means newly stores the image data in a predetermined number. when returning to storable state more lines, the reading of the reading means stops the operation of the motor still means moving Facsimile apparatus characterized by and a control means for resuming the operation of said motor drive means interlocked with. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power of the stationary signal is made smaller than the power of the driving signal by making the pulse amplitude of the stationary signal smaller than the pulse amplitude of the driving signal. . 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electric power of the stationary signal is made smaller than the electric power of the driving signal by making the duty ratio of the stationary signal smaller than the duty ratio of the driving signal. .