JPH03238964A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To save power consumption of on-vehicle power supply and to maintain the start performance of an engine with the on-vehicle power supply by reducing the energy required for printing when a voltage of the power supply reaches a prescribed threshold level or below. CONSTITUTION:When the capacity of an on-vehicle battery 14 is lowered and its voltage drop is increased, the mode of print at a decreasing (speedup) print speed of a print energy reduction means more than the standard speed or the mode of print at 2-step shift for each print data in the unit of lines at the standard print speed or the like is selected. Thus, even when no other auxiliary power supply than only the on-vehicle battery 14 is mounted, the power consumption is saved and the on-vehicle battery 14 enough keeps the start performance of the engine. Moreover, the operation available time of the facsimile equipment is extended.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a battery-powered facsimile machine that can be used in an energy-saving mode, and particularly to a facsimile machine that consumes less power when printing.

[Prior art] At present, many facsimile machines complying with the Gffi standard are in use, and many of them are used for printing due to their ease of handling, stability, and ease of miniaturization. is installing the thermal head. In particular, most facsimile machines that use a vehicle battery choose a thermal head because it has better vibration resistance than other printing devices.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, while the power consumed by the thermal head is not so much of a problem in facsimile machines that are powered by a commercial power supply, in facsimile machines that use batteries, the power source is Since it relies on a generator and battery, and a large amount of electric power is required when starting the engine, the power consumption may be a problem. In particular, if a facsimile machine that uses a battery receives data when the vehicle's engine is stopped, its only power source is the battery, and since the battery requires a large amount of power when starting the vehicle engine, the There is a limit to the amount of permissible power that can be produced, and there is a problem with power consumption when a battery-powered facsimile machine receives data when the vehicle engine is stopped.

As a countermeasure for battery-operated facsimile machines when the engine of this type of vehicle is stopped, there is a method of disabling its automatic reception function. However, if there is no one inside the vehicle, it is not possible to call someone using a battery-operated telephone, and in such cases, a battery-operated facsimile is used so that the occupants can contact someone when they return to the vehicle. An effective way to use a facsimile machine is to send a predetermined message using the facsimile machine. Nevertheless, there were problems with the service of installers of battery-operated facsimile machines due to the loss of their functionality.

It is also possible to prepare an auxiliary battery for the facsimile machine in addition to the battery used to start the engine, and receive power from the auxiliary battery when the engine is stopped. It was necessary to load two of them, and there was a problem with the space and the efficiency of its use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile machine that ensures engine startability and can be used for as long as possible.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the facsimile apparatus according to the invention as set forth in claim 1, when it is determined by the power supply capability determination means for determining the capability of the vehicle-mounted power source that the capability of the power source has decreased below a predetermined threshold value,
The energy required for printing is reduced by the printing energy reduction means.

In the facsimile apparatus according to the invention as set forth in claim 2, when it is determined by the power supply capacity determining means for determining the capacity of the on-vehicle power supply that the capacity of the power supply has decreased below a predetermined threshold value, the printing energy reducing means reduces the power necessary for printing. and reduce energy consumption.

At this time, the temperature condition in which the facsimile machine is placed is determined based on the output of the temperature sensor that detects the temperature at which the recording paper is placed, and the selection means selects one of the plurality of printing energy reduction means that matches the temperature condition. It is a choice.

The facsimile apparatus according to the invention as set forth in claim 3 is characterized in that the printing energy reduction means of the facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 is set to a mode in which printing is performed at a printing speed higher than the standard speed, or a line in which the printing speed is set to the standard speed. One or more of the modes in which printing is performed by moving two steps for each unit of print data is used.

The facsimile apparatus according to the invention set forth in claim 4 is characterized in that the facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 is simultaneously selected by the printing energy reduction means for reducing the energy required for printing by the output of the power supply capacity determination means. , the power source is switched to an auxiliary power source.

[Function 1] In the invention of claim 1, the power capability determining means for determining the capability of the on-vehicle power source determines the power capability of the currently used power source, and the power capability determining means determines whether the capability of the power source is below a predetermined threshold. In the invention according to claim 2, in which the energy required for printing is reduced by the printing energy reduction means when it is determined that the energy required for printing has decreased, and the printable time is characterized by When it is determined that the power supply capacity has decreased below a predetermined threshold, one printing energy reduction means is selected from a plurality of printing energy reduction means that reduce the energy required for printing. At this time,
Based on the output of the temperature sensor that detects the temperature at which the facsimile machine is placed, the optimum printing energy reduction means is selected from the plurality of printing energy reduction means so that a high-quality output that matches the temperature conditions is obtained. In the invention according to claim 3, the printing energy reducing means is configured to operate in a mode in which printing is performed at a printing speed higher than the standard speed, and in two steps for each line of printing data with the printing speed set at the standard speed. In the mode in which the printing speed is faster than the standard speed, only the shading of the image quality changes, and the printing is thinned out in units of one line. In mode,
In terms of image quality, the scanning density becomes coarser, but the power consumption is halved. The former is advantageous when the recording paper and thermal head are placed at high temperatures.

In the invention of claim 4, the output of the power capability determination means of the facsimile machine of claim 1 or claim 2 allows
At the same time as selecting a printing energy reduction means that reduces the energy required for printing, the power source is switched to an auxiliary power source, so if the normally used power source is, for example, a vehicle battery, When this happens, you can switch to the auxiliary battery, allowing you to use the auxiliary battery for a longer period of time. Further, since the vehicle battery can maintain its engine starting ability and stop using it, starting the engine does not become difficult.

[Example] Examples of the present invention will now be described.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a facsimile machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 to 4 are flowcharts for controlling the facsimile apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 above.

In the figure, a mobile phone 1 is constituted by a known wireless transmitter/receiver. The automobile handset 2 includes a handset when this device is used as a telephone, push button switches, etc. arranged as necessary.
This is a well-known car phone. The automotive line controller 3 has various control units and control switches, and is used to switch connections between the mobile phone 1 and the handset 2, and between the mobile phone 1 and a facsimile device, which will be described later. Usually, the mobile phone 1 and the handset 2 are in a connected state, and the mobile phone 1 and the facsimile are connected by operating a switch. The modem 4 is a modulator/demodulator that modulates and demodulates a digital signal using a carrier wave in a known audio frequency range.

These constitute a transmitting/receiving communication means that changes depending on the communication method such as wired communication or wireless communication or the purpose.

Further, the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment has the following components.

The electronic control circuit (CPU) 28 is a control circuit for program-controlling a facsimile machine consisting of a one-chip microcomputer, etc. In this embodiment, a commercially available I (D63B) is used.
Ol is used.

The ROM 5 is added as an expansion memory, and is a memory in which a program for controlling the electronic control circuit 28 is stored. The RAM 6 is a readable and writable memory that receives signals from the electronic control circuit 28 and directly stores image data from the modem 4. The decoder 25 has storage and control functions to directly store image data from the modem 4, transfer and store image data temporarily stored in the RAM 6, and output it to the line memory 26 as line data of a predetermined paper length. It is. The line memory 26 is connected to the decoder 25
It stores the data stored in the memory and outputs the stored data as 8-bit parallel data for each row. The thermal radar control gate array 20 is used to control printing of the thermal head 21, and outputs parallel data as serial data to the thermal head 21 that prints on thermal paper. One print controller supplies power to the thermal head 21 to control printing, and by setting a print strobe time during which the thermal head 21 prints, it prints for that period of time. In this embodiment, the printing strobe time T
n [ms] or Ts (however, Tn>Ts) [ms
] is set. The stepping motor 18 is a pulse motor that feeds the thermal paper line by line, and is driven via the motor driver 17. The temperature sensor 15 is attached to a housing (not shown) of the facsimile machine and detects the temperature of the facsimile machine.If the temperature sensor 15 has sensors for detecting the temperature of the thermal head 21, the temperature of the thermal paper, etc., these sensors can be used in common. can do. The paper sensor 16 is a detection means for detecting the presence of thermal paper to be printed out. The ignition switch 27 is used to determine whether or not to stop the engine.

Further, the receiving switch 22 receives the signal received by the mobile phone 1 after the call is made via the handset 2 for the car.
Used to put the facsimile machine into receiving mode. The automatic reception switch 24 is a switch that sets the function of receiving the signal received by the mobile phone 1 without going through the car handset 2. For example, the automatic reception switch 24 sets the facsimile device to the automatic reception state when the passenger is absent. used to. The print mode selection switch 23 selects a mode in which printing is performed at a higher printing speed than the standard speed, or prints in line units with the printing speed set at the standard speed, when the power source ability determining means determines that the power source ability has decreased below a predetermined threshold. This is a switch that is set to select and execute one of the modes in which printing is performed by moving two steps for each print data.

The power source for driving the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment includes a vehicle battery 14 used when starting the engine, and an auxiliary battery 13 as an auxiliary power source used for the facsimile apparatus. Switching between the vehicle battery 14 and the auxiliary battery 13 is performed by a power supply circuit that supplies power to each part of the facsimile machine via the relay driver 8 and relay 10 and the relay driver 9 and relay 11 by the electronic control circuit 28. Twelve inputs are connected to be selected. Ignition switch 27
Or, when the engine is in a driving state by human power from an engine rotation sensor (not shown), the vehicle battery 14
The auxiliary battery 13 is controlled so that the relay 10 is turned on via the relay driver 8, and the relay 11 is turned on via the relay driver 9, so that it is always charged.

The output voltage of the vehicle battery 14 is manually inputted to a power supply voltage monitoring unit 7, which serves as a power supply capacity determination means for determining the capacity of the vehicle power supply in this embodiment, and its output is as described above. The electronic control circuit 28 is operated manually.

The electronic control circuit 28 transmits and receives signals in the following manner in relation to each of the components described above.

Image data from the modem 4 is stored in the RAM 6 either directly from the modem 4 or by an interrupt signal sent to the electronic control circuit 28.

Further, if there is image data stored in the RAM 6 by this interrupt, it is read out and stored in the decoder 25 in the order of the signals arriving in the RAM 6. The decoder 25 notifies the electronic control circuit 28 of the image data each time it decodes one line of continuously sent image data, and sends the decoded image data to the line memory 26. At this time, the electronic control circuit 28 stops storing image data in the decoder 25 when sending the image data from the decoder 25 to the line memory 26 . Note that at this time, the line memory 26 and the thermal head control gate array 20 are in use, and storing the image data from the modem 4 directly in the decoder 25 is stopped, and the image data from the modem 4 is stored at - , stored in RAM6. One line of image data is transferred from the line memory 26 to the thermal gate array 20 for rad control.
Output to. In addition, by controlling the thermal head control gate array 20, parallel data is converted to serial data, the thermal head 21 is driven for each predetermined bit, and by repeating this process, one line of image data is printed. do. When one line of image data is printed, the next one line of image data is sent from the decoder 25 to the line memory 26.゛Then, when one line of printing is completed, a signal is sent to the motor driver 17, which drives the stepping motor 18 to feed one line of thermal paper, and through this repeated operation, the received information is printed out. It is.

It should be noted that the reception operation of the normal facsimile function of the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment is well known and is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, so the description of the main parts will be limited to the above.

2 and 3 show the main routine for program control of the electronic control circuit 28 constituting the facsimile apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows a program control routine for "r image data printing" which constitutes the facsimile apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG.

Processing of this main program is started at the same time as the ignition switch 27 is turned off. First, initialization is performed in step S1, and at this time, the auxiliary battery 13 is cut off by the relay 10 via the relay driver 8. In step S2, the state of the input port of the voltage monitoring circuit 7 is read,
It is determined whether the capacity of the vehicle battery 14 is below a predetermined threshold value based on the voltage drop, and when it is determined that the voltage has not fallen below the predetermined threshold value, "0" is set in the memory FORM that specifies the print mode in step S5. do.

Further, when the voltage monitoring circuit 7 determines in step S2 that the capacity of the vehicle battery 14 has fallen below a predetermined threshold, the vehicle battery 14 is disconnected in step S3, and the auxiliary battery 13 is connected to the input of the power supply circuit 12. Relay driver 8 and relay 10. Controls relay driver 9 and relay 11. If the print mode selection switch 23 is off in step S4, step S5
Set "0" in the memory FORM for specifying the print mode, and select the normal facsimile reception mode. When the print mode selection switch 23 is turned on in step S4, the output of the temperature sensor 15 attached to the housing of the facsimile machine is determined in step S6, and the temperature of the facsimile machine or the temperature of its surroundings is equal to or higher than a predetermined set temperature. If not, that is, the thermal head 21
When the temperature of the thermal paper or the temperature of the thermal paper is low and the thermal energy for printing on the thermal paper becomes large, the memory FOR specifies the printing mode in which each line is thinned out and printed in step S7.
Set M to "1". Further, in step S6, the output of the temperature sensor 15 is determined, and if the temperature of the facsimile machine or the temperature of its surroundings is higher than a predetermined set temperature, that is, the temperature of the thermal head 21, the temperature of the thermal paper, etc. are high, and the temperature of the thermal paper is high. When the thermal energy required for printing is relatively small, the memory FOR is set to a mode in which the printing speed is increased in step S8 to reduce the amount of power consumed for each line.
Set "2" to M.

Then, in step S9 it is determined whether the reception switch 22 is on, in step SIO it is determined whether the automatic reception switch 22 is on, and in step Sll it is determined whether there is an incoming call. When the reception switch 22 is turned off, the automatic reception switch 22
is off or there is no incoming call, the routine from step S2 to step 811 is repeatedly executed.

In step S9, it is determined that the reception switch 22 is on, and in step S10, it is determined that the automatic reception switch 22 is on, and in step 811, it is determined that there is an incoming call, and in step S12, the machine goes off-hook (connects the facsimile) to perform facsimile communication. In step 813, a known procedure for starting facsimile communication is performed, and in step S14, the received image data is decoded. In step S15, the "image data printing" routine is called and executed. Next, in step S16, it is determined whether a page end signal (RTC) has been received, and the processes from step S14 to step 816 are continued until the page end signal is received. When a page end signal is received in step S16, a known communication end procedure is executed in step S17, and in step 318, it is determined whether a communication end signal (E OP) has arrived from the sending side, and if no communication end signal has arrived. When, step S14 to step s18
Performs routine processing. In step S19, an on-footer (cutoff of the facsimile) is performed to end the facsimile communication.

Next, when the "image data printing" routine is called in step 815, the processing of the "image data printing" routine shown in FIG. 4 begins.

In step S31, the image data is transferred to the thermal head 21, and in step S32, it is determined whether the memory FORM is rOJ, and when the memory FORM is "0", it enters the normal printing mode for facsimile reception, and first, In step 533, the print strobe time during which the thermal head 21 prints is set as T n [ms] and output. In step S34, the stepping motor 18 moves one line, and again in step S35, the printing strobe time T n [ms] of the thermal head 21 is set.
Print. In step S36, the stepping motor 18
moves by one line and returns the processing of this routine.

When the memory FORM is not "0" in step S32 and the memory FORM is determined to be "1" in step S37, the operation of thinning out and printing every line is as follows.
First, in step S38, the print strobe time during which the thermal head 21 prints is set as T n [msl] and output.

In step S39, the stepping motor 18 moves two lines, and the processing of this routine returns.

Note that the print strobe time T n [ms] during which the thermal head 21 performs print output in step S38 of this routine may be set to a standard time, or
It may be done a little earlier than that.

When it is determined that the memory FORM is not "0" in step S32 and that the memory FORM is not "1" in step S37, it is estimated that the memory FORM is "2", so the printing speed is increased to print one line. In step S40, the print strobe time during which the thermal head 21 performs print output is set to Ts(
Tn>Ts) [msl and output it. In step S41, the stepping motor 18 moves one line, and in step S42, printing is performed again as the print strobe time T s [ms] of the thermal head 21. In step 843, the stepping motor 18 moves one line, and the processing of this routine returns.

In the above embodiment, processing of the main program is started at the same time as the ignition switch 27 is turned off. However, when implementing the present invention, processing of the main program is started at the same time as the ignition switch 27 is turned off. This can be the time when the facsimile machine is transmitting.

As described above, the facsimile apparatus of the above embodiment includes the voltage monitoring circuit 7 as a power supply capacity determining means for determining the capacity of the vehicle battery 14, and the power supply capacity determining means that determines the capacity of the vehicle battery 14 at a predetermined threshold voltage. A mode in which the printing speed is made faster than the standard speed to reduce the energy required for printing, consisting of the routine from step S40 to step S43, when it is determined that the energy required for printing has decreased below the standard speed, and the routine from step S37 to step S39. The printing energy reducing means may be configured to have a mode in which printing is performed by performing two-step movement for each line of printing data, with the printing speed set as the standard speed.

Therefore, in the facsimile device having such a configuration, when the capacity of the vehicle battery 14 decreases and its voltage drop increases, the output of the voltage monitoring circuit 7 causes the printing speed of the printing energy reduction means to be shorter than the standard speed. (Fast) mode for printing, mode for printing by setting the printing speed at the standard speed and performing two-step movement for each line of print data, etc. Therefore, in analogy, the auxiliary power source is only required by the vehicle battery 14. Even when the vehicle is not loaded, power consumption can be reduced and the startability of the engine can be maintained using the vehicle battery 14. Furthermore, the usable time of the facsimile device can be extended.

In a facsimile machine using a single vehicle battery 14, if the facsimile machine is used frequently, the facsimile machine of another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. As shown in the flowchart for controlling the voltage monitoring circuit 7, two thresholds are set for the voltage monitoring circuit 7, the printing energy reducing means is used at the first threshold, and the printing energy reducing means is used at the first threshold. , it is also possible to set the facsimile machine to stop being used. In this case, the startability of the engine can be ensured.

In step S2° of FIG. 5, it is determined whether the voltage is below the first threshold voltage, and in step S3' it is determined whether the voltage is below the second threshold voltage. When the voltage is below the second threshold value, the facsimile device does not have the function of a facsimile device.

In this type of embodiment, processing of the program may be stopped when the second threshold voltage is below.

Furthermore, especially in the case where the power supply capacity determination means is a voltage monitoring circuit, the threshold voltage can be selected depending on the season, the temperature outside the vehicle, or the temperature of the vehicle battery 14.

The facsimile device of the above embodiment has a vehicle battery 1
The voltage monitoring circuit 7 serves as a power supply capacity determination means for determining the capacity of the vehicle battery 14, and when the power supply capacity determination means cleverly indicates that the capacity of the vehicle battery 14 has decreased below a predetermined threshold voltage, the voltage monitoring circuit 7 is used for printing. In order to reduce energy, there is a mode in which the printing speed consisting of the routine from step S40 to step 843 is set faster than the standard speed. a printing energy reduction means having a mode in which printing is performed by performing two-step movement; a temperature sensor 15 for detecting the temperature at which the facsimile machine is placed; and the temperature sensor 15.
The present invention may include a selection means comprising a routine of step S7, step S6, and step S8 for selecting one of the plurality of printing energy reduction means according to the temperature condition of the facsimile machine based on the output of.

Therefore, in the facsimile device having such a configuration, when the capacity of the vehicle battery 14 decreases and its voltage drop increases, the output of the voltage monitoring circuit 7 causes the printing speed of the printing energy reduction means to be shorter than the standard speed. A mode in which the facsimile machine prints at (speed <), a mode in which it prints at the standard speed and moves two steps for each line of print data, etc. are selected depending on the temperature conditions in which the facsimile machine is installed. For example, even if the vehicle battery 14 is used only and no auxiliary power source is installed, the power consumption can be reduced, and depending on temperature conditions, for example, printing can be changed only by changing the density, so printing quality can be reduced. can be ignored, and moreover, the startability of the engine can be maintained using the vehicle battery 14.

Furthermore, the usable time of the facsimile device can be extended.

The printing energy reduction means of the facsimile machine of the above embodiment can be set to either a mode in which printing is performed at a printing speed higher than the standard speed, or a mode in which the printing speed is set to the standard speed and printing is performed by moving two steps for each line of print data. or one or more. In particular, in a mode where the print speed is faster than the standard speed, power consumption can be saved by reducing the density of the print, and depending on the temperature characteristics of the thermal paper, the quality may be comparable to that of printing at the standard speed. You can also. In addition, in a mode in which the printing speed is set to the standard speed and printing is performed by moving two steps for each line of print data, one line is thinned out, and the power consumption can be reliably reduced to half, and
Not affected by temperature. Further, in a device having both modes, it is possible to select an output with the most preferable print quality that meets the conditions.

Further, as in the above embodiment, at the same time as selecting the printing energy reduction means for reducing the energy required for printing based on the output of the power supply capacity determination means, as in the routine from step S2 to step S3, By switching the vehicle battery 14 to the auxiliary battery 13, the startability of the engine is ensured by disconnecting the vehicle battery 14, and the auxiliary battery 13 can compensate for the use of the facsimile machine.

By the way, although the power supply capability determination means for determining the capability of the vehicle-mounted power supply in the above embodiment is the voltage monitoring circuit 7 that determines the voltage drop of the vehicle-mounted battery 14, when implementing the present invention, as a result, the power supply Since it is sufficient to determine the remaining capacity of the power supply, the amount of power used by the power supply may be determined, or the remaining capacity may be estimated by integrating the used current.

Further, the temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the facsimile machine in the above embodiment has been explained using an example in which the temperature sensor is provided in the housing of the facsimile machine, but when implementing the present invention, thermal paper, thermal Since this is used as a measure of the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of the head, when implementing the present invention, a temperature sensor disposed inside the vehicle can also be used.

[Effect of the invention] As described above, the facsimile device of the invention of claim 1 has the following effects:
When the power capability determination means for determining the capability of the in-vehicle power source determines that the capability of the power source has fallen below a predetermined threshold, the printing energy reduction means reduces the energy required for printing.

Therefore, when the capacity of the on-board power source decreases, the printing energy is reduced by the printing energy reduction means, so even if the on-board power source is the only on-board power source and no auxiliary power source is installed, the power consumption can be saved and the on-board power source can be used. The startability of the engine can be maintained. Furthermore, the usable time of the facsimile device can be extended. Also,
When the facsimile machine is used frequently, two thresholds are set for the power capability determination means, the first threshold is used to use the printing energy reduction means, and the first threshold is used to use the printing energy reduction means. It is also possible to set the facsimile machine to stop being used. In this case, the startability of the engine can be ensured.

In the facsimile apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the power capacity determining means for determining the capacity of the on-vehicle power source determines that the capacity of the power source has decreased below a predetermined threshold, the facsimile apparatus switches to the printing energy reducing means to print. At this time, the temperature condition under which the facsimile machine is placed can be determined by the temperature sensor, and one of the plurality of printing energy reduction means that matches the temperature condition can be selected by the selection means.

Therefore, when the capacity of the in-vehicle power supply decreases, it is possible to select one of a plurality of printing energy reduction means depending on the temperature conditions in which the facsimile machine is installed. This makes it possible to select a mode in which the engine speed is negligible, and, like the invention of claim 1, it is possible to maintain the startability of the engine. Furthermore, the usable time of the facsimile device can be extended.

The facsimile machine according to the invention of claim 3 is the facsimile machine according to claim 1.
Alternatively, the printing energy reduction means of the facsimile apparatus according to claim 2 may be used in a mode in which printing is performed at a printing speed higher than the standard speed, or in a mode in which the printing speed is set at the standard speed and printing is performed by moving two steps for each line of printing data. One or more of the following.

Therefore, in a mode where the print speed is faster than the standard speed, power consumption can be saved by reducing the density of the print, and depending on the temperature characteristics of the thermal paper, the quality may be comparable to that of printing at the standard speed. can do. In addition, in a mode in which the printing speed is set to the standard speed and printing is performed by moving two steps per line for each print data, one line is thinned out, and the power consumption can be reliably reduced to one-half. Not affected by temperature. Further, in a device having both modes, it is possible to select an output with the most preferable print quality that meets the conditions.

The facsimile apparatus according to the invention set forth in claim 4 is characterized in that the facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 is simultaneously selected by the printing energy reduction means for reducing the energy required for printing by the output of the power supply capacity determination means. , the power source is switched to an auxiliary power source.

Therefore, by selecting a printing energy reduction means that reduces the energy required for printing based on the output of the power capacity determination means, at the same time, the on-vehicle power supply is switched to a separately arranged auxiliary power supply and the on-vehicle power supply is disconnected. The startability of the engine is ensured, and the use of the facsimile machine can be compensated by the auxiliary power source.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a facsimile machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 4 are flowcharts for controlling the facsimile machine according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG.
The figure shows the first embodiment of a facsimile machine according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart for controlling main parts corresponding to the figure. In the figure, 7: voltage monitoring circuit (power supply capacity determination means) 13: auxiliary battery (auxiliary power supply) 14: vehicle battery (vehicle power supply) 15: temperature sensor 28: electronic control circuit. In the drawings, the same reference numerals and the same symbols indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A power supply capability determining means for determining the capability of the onboard power supply; and when the power capability determining means determines that the power supply capability has decreased below a predetermined threshold, printing is performed by reducing the energy required for printing. A facsimile machine comprising a printing energy reducing means. (2) a power supply capability determining means for determining the capability of the in-vehicle power supply; and when the power capability determining means determines that the power supply capability has decreased below a predetermined threshold, printing is performed by reducing the energy required for printing. a temperature sensor that detects the temperature at which the facsimile device is placed; and one of the plurality of printing energy reduction means is selected based on the temperature condition at which the facsimile device is placed based on the output of the temperature sensor. A facsimile device comprising a selection means for selecting. (3) The printing energy reduction means is characterized in that the printing energy reduction means is set to one or more of a mode in which printing is performed at a printing speed higher than a standard speed, and a mode in which printing is performed by moving two steps for each line of printing data. A facsimile machine according to claim 1 or claim 2. (4) The power source is switched to an auxiliary power source at the same time as the printing energy reduction means for printing by reducing the energy required for printing is selected based on the output of the power capacity determination means. A facsimile machine according to claim 2.