JPH0428656A - Remaining quantity of recording paper detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately detect the remainder of special recording paper which is sensitive to pressure and light by calculating the rotational angle of an encoder in accordance with a pulse signal detected by a detecting means and providing a control means for sending to a remainder display means the remainder of the recording paper calculated in accordance with the rotational angle of the encoder. CONSTITUTION:A recording paper 8 wound on a roll shaft 27 is pulled out a preset amount by a drive means 24 to rotate the roll shaft 27 as well as the disc 22a of an encoder 22. At this time, a pulse signal is given out of the encoder 22 and detected by a detecting means 31, so that the rotational angle of the encoder 22 is calculated by a control means 34 in accordance with the detected pulse signal. The rotational angle of the encoder 22 allows the remainder of the recording paper 8 to be calculated and sent to a remainder display means 35, which displays the remaining quantity of the recording paper 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a recording device for detecting the remaining amount of recording paper stored in a roll, which is used in image forming devices and printing devices such as copying machines and printers. The present invention relates to a paper remaining amount detection device.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in order to detect the remaining amount of recording paper stored in rolls of this type, a contact sensor is brought into contact with the recording paper,
This was done by exposing the recording paper to light using an optical sensor and detecting the thickness of the roll.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, for special recording paper that is sensitive to pressure and light, contact-type sensors or sensors that use a light source cannot be used because they impair the characteristics of the paper, and the above-mentioned sensors cannot be used. It was not possible to use such a remaining amount detection device, and there was no way to accurately know the remaining amount.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording paper remaining amount detection device that can be applied to special recording paper that is sensitive to pressure and light. The purpose is

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the recording paper remaining amount detection device of the present invention includes: a roll shaft around which recording paper is wound; a drive means for pulling out the recording paper by a predetermined amount; an encoder comprising a disc rotatably provided along with the roll shaft; a detection means for detecting a pulse signal from the encoder; and a rotation angle of the encoder calculated based on the pulse signal detected by the detection means. , a control means for calculating the remaining amount of the recording paper based on the rotation angle of the encoder and sending the calculated amount to the remaining amount display means. Alternatively, the encoder includes a roll shaft around which recording paper is wound, a driving means for pulling out the recording paper at a predetermined speed, a disc rotatably provided together with the roll shaft, and a pulse from the encoder. a detection means for detecting a signal; a rotation speed of the encoder is calculated based on the pulse signal detected by the detection means; a remaining amount of the recording paper is calculated based on the rotation speed of the encoder; and a remaining amount display means is provided. It consists of a control means for sending.

[Operation] In the recording paper remaining amount detection device of the present invention having the above configuration, the recording paper wound around the roll shaft is pulled out by a predetermined amount by the driving means, and the disc of the encoder rotates together with the roll shaft. At this time, a pulse signal is generated from the encoder, this pulse signal is detected by the detection means, and the rotation angle of the encoder is calculated by the control means based on the detected pulse signal. The amount is calculated and sent to the remaining amount display means, and the remaining amount of recording paper is displayed by the remaining amount display means.

Alternatively, the recording paper wound around the roll shaft is pulled out at a predetermined speed by the driving means, and the disc of the encoder rotates together with the roll shaft. At this time, a pulse signal is generated from the encoder, this pulse signal is detected by the detection means, and the rotation speed of the encoder is calculated by the control means based on the detected pulse signal. is calculated and sent to the remaining amount display means, and the remaining amount of recording paper is displayed by the remaining amount display means.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a full-color copying machine to which the present invention is applied.

For this kind of full color copying machine 1, patent application No. 63-2
67747, etc., and I will omit the detailed explanation, but the original placed on the original platen glass 2 is exposed to the lamp 3.
The original image passes through a filter 4, a lens 5, and a mirror 6, and is formed into a slit-shaped image on a microcapsule paper 8, which is a photosensitive recording medium, on an exposure table 7. The microcapsule paper 8 and the document table glass 2 move synchronously, and the entire surface of the document is scanned. The microcapsule paper 8 is transported by a plurality of transport rollers 10b and 10c and exposed on the exposure table 7, and then integrated with the color developer paper 9 and transferred to the pressure developing device 1.
1, and the image is made visible on the color developing paper 9.

Further, the roll shaft of the microcapsule paper 80 is provided with a remaining amount detection device 2o, which will be described later. Thereafter, the color developer paper 9 passes through the heat fixing device 14 and is discharged to the outside of the machine. On the other hand, the microcapsule paper 8 passes through a nip roller 12 and a separation roller 13, and is then wound onto a winding roller 15.

Next, the configuration around the remaining amount detection device 20 will be described using FIG. 1.

The microcapsule paper 8 wound and stored on the roll shaft 27 passes through a guide roller 30 and is sent to a pair of feed rollers 23.
a, 23b. A gear 28 is attached to the tip of the feed roller 23a, and the gear 28 is engaged with a gear 29 attached to the step motor 24. Also, the roll shaft 27 has a gear 26.
is attached, and the gear 26 is engaged with the gear 25 integrated with the disc 22a of the encoder 22. The disc 22a is equipped with an optical sensor 22b, and both constitute an encoder 22. Further, a plurality of slit-shaped holes are provided in the disk 22a in the circumferential direction. A side view of the encoder 22 and its surroundings is shown in FIG.

Next, a block diagram of the control system of the remaining amount detecting device is shown in FIG.

The CPU 34 as a control device includes a pulse counting section 31 that counts the number of pulses of the pulse signal sent from the encoder 22, a remaining amount display section 35 that displays the remaining amount of the microcapsule paper 8, and a number of rotations of the step motor 24. A motor control section 33 for controlling the motors is connected to each of the motors.

Further, an encoder 22 is connected to the pulse count section 31, and a step motor 24 is connected to the motor control section 33.

Next, the remaining amount detection process will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step Sl (hereinafter simply referred to as Sl, and the same applies to other steps), the user inputs the desired paper size using a switch (not shown). This paper size information is sent to the CPU 34, and in S2
The PU 34 sends a pulse signal corresponding to the specified paper size to the motor control unit 33 to drive the step motor 24.

The driving force of the step motor 24 is transmitted to the feed roller 23a via the gear 29.28, the feed roller 23a is rotated, and the microcapsule paper 8 is fed by a specified length. Here, assuming that the number of pulses sent to the motor control unit 33 is NP, the amount of microcapsule paper 8 to be sent is determined by the following equation.

S2e NP ・ω L=π・I)zs・□・□ ... (1) S2.
2π Here, D2m is the outer diameter of the feed roller 23a (7), S28
゜gzs is the number of teeth of the gears 28 and 29, respectively, and ω is the rotation angle per one pulse of the step motor 24.

Since NP is the only variable in this equation, the feed amount can be changed by changing the value of NP.

When paper is fed, the roll shaft 27 also rotates, and the gears 26 and 2
5, the disc 22a rotates. When the disk 22a rotates, the light from the light emitting part of the optical sensor 22b passes only through the slit part, and a pulse signal is generated in the light receiving part (S3).
. In S4, the pulse count unit 31 counts the number of pulses of the output pulse signal, and in S5, the CPU 3
4 calculates the rotation angle of the roll shaft 27 based on the output signal of the pulse counting section 31. When the number of pulses of the signal generated by the encoder 22 is S6, the rotation angle φ (rad) of the roll shaft 27 is determined by the following equation.

Nyu S2s φ=2π ...(2) SN
gzg Here, SN is the total number of slits in the disc 22a, S26g2
s is the number of teeth of each gear 26.25.

Furthermore, in S6, the CPU 34 calculates the diameter of the microcapsule paper 8 using the following equation.

1 2π D=-・・L ...(3) π φ Here, L is the paper feed amount calculated by formula (1), and φ is (2)
This is the rotation angle of the roll shaft 27 calculated by the formula. Assuming that the outer diameter of the roll shaft 27 is d, the remaining amount of the microcapsule paper 8 can be determined from the result obtained by equation (3). That is, D=d+2t (t: thickness of the microcapsule paper part)... (4) Therefore, when D=d, the remaining amount is zero (Emp
ty).

In S7, the remaining amount display section 35 displays the remaining amount of the microcapsule paper 8 as Full based on the results obtained from equations (3) and (4).
The state is divided into a plurality of stages from the state to the state of Empty and is displayed using the LED.

As is clear from the detailed description above, the remaining amount detection device of this embodiment is also applicable to special recording paper that is sensitive to pressure and light, such as microcapsule paper 8. You can accurately know the amount of recording paper remaining.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in detail above, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

For example, although the amount of paper feed is kept constant in this embodiment, the paper may be fed at a constant speed and the rotational speed of the encoder may be detected. Furthermore, although a step motor was used to drive the feed roller, a DC motor may also be used.

Furthermore, the encoder may be attached directly to the roll shaft, and the display method of the remaining amount display section may be such that the remaining usable number of sheets can be clearly displayed.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above detailed description, the recording paper remaining amount detection device of the present invention is applicable to special recording paper that is sensitive to pressure and light, and can be used for recording. You can accurately know the amount of paper remaining.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 5 show embodiments embodying the present invention. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the area around the remaining amount detection device, Figure 2 is a side view of the area around the encoder, and Figure 3 is a control. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of remaining amount detection processing, and FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a full-color copying machine to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, 8 is microcapsule paper, 22 is an encoder, 2
3a, 23b are feed rollers, 24 is a step motor, 2
7 is a roll axis, 28 and 29 are gears, 31 is a pulse counting section, and 34 is a CPU.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An encoder comprising: a roll shaft around which a recording paper is wound; a driving means for pulling out the recording paper by a predetermined amount; and a disc rotatably provided together with the roll shaft; a detection means for detecting a pulse signal from an encoder; a rotation angle of the encoder is determined based on the pulse signal detected by the detection means; a remaining amount of the recording paper is calculated from the rotation angle of the encoder; What is claimed is: 1. A recording paper remaining amount detection device comprising: control means for sending information to amount display means; 2. A roll shaft around which a recording paper is wound, a driving means for pulling out the recording paper at a predetermined speed, an encoder including a disc rotatably provided together with the roll shaft, and pulses from the encoder. a detection means for detecting a signal; a rotational speed of the encoder is calculated based on the pulse signal detected by the detection means; a remaining amount of the recording paper is calculated based on the rotational speed of the encoder; and the remaining amount of the recording paper is sent to a remaining amount displaying means. A recording paper remaining amount detection device comprising: a control means;