JPH05107722A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:Not only to enable a user to know that a battery is consumed and battery voltage drops but also to prevent an incomplete image from being outputted when the above occurs and to prevent the waste of a photosensitive medium. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with the battery as a power source; a control means which controls a battery voltage detection means 28 for detecting that the voltage of the battery is equal to or under specified voltage, an indication means(warning lamp) 60 for indicating that the voltage of the battery is equal to or under the specified voltage, a light source(lamp) 4 as the factor of battery consumption, a driving means(driving motor) 24, and a thermal fixing means 21 and also controls so that the means 28 detects the voltage of the battery every time the above means are driven; and a judging means which judges whether image forming action is continued or interrupted based on the detected result.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording device using a battery as a power source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image forming apparatus, for example, an image forming apparatus using a battery as a power source, even if the remaining amount of the battery is less than a predetermined amount, the image forming operation is continued as it is by displaying a message to that effect. In some cases, the image forming operation is stopped and the image forming operation is stopped when the remaining amount of the battery becomes less than or equal to a predetermined amount.

[0003]

However, even if the remaining amount of the battery becomes less than a predetermined amount, in the image forming apparatus in which the image forming operation is continued by just displaying the fact, the battery capacity is low. Since the image forming operation is forcibly continued in an insufficient state, the light amount of the lamp as the light source is insufficient, the temperature of the heater for fixing the output image is lowered, and the output of the motor that is the drive source for performing the image forming process is insufficient. However, there is a drawback that a good output image cannot be obtained.

Further, in an image forming apparatus which, when the remaining amount of the battery becomes less than a predetermined amount, displays that fact and stops the image forming operation, the image forming operation is stopped regardless of where it is in the image forming process. As a result, a half-finished image is formed, and the photosensitive medium portion used in the process is wasted.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and when the battery is exhausted and the voltage of the battery drops, not only the user is informed of that fact, but
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which does not output a halfway image and prevents waste of a photosensitive medium.

[0006]

To achieve this object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises a battery as a power source, and a voltage detecting means for detecting that the voltage of the battery is below a predetermined voltage. , Controlling the display means for displaying that the voltage of the battery has become equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage, the light source as the battery consumption factor, the driving means, and the heat fixing means, and each time they are driven, The voltage detection unit includes a control unit that controls the voltage detection unit to detect the voltage of the battery, and a determination unit that determines whether to continue or interrupt the image forming operation based on the detection result.

[0007]

When the power source of the image forming apparatus is turned on, the control means detects the voltage of the battery by the voltage detection means each time the light source, the driving means and the heat fixing means as the factors of battery consumption are driven. Then, when the voltage of the battery becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined voltage, the fact is displayed on the display means. At the same time, the determining means determines whether to continue or interrupt the image forming operation depending on which battery consumption factor is driven and the voltage of the battery becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage, and the control means determines the image forming operation according to the result. Control the device.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an image forming apparatus 1 embodying the present invention.
It is a schematic center cross-sectional view of FIG.

In the image forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment, a photosensitive recording medium 11 (hereinafter referred to as capsule paper) coated with microcapsules containing a dye precursor and the like and an image receiving agent (hereinafter referred to as a color developer) are used. Image receiving medium 1 having a surface coated with
2 (hereinafter, referred to as color developing paper). The color reaction of this photosensitive medium is USP4399.
Since detailed description is given in 209 etc., the description is omitted here.

An opening 1a for taking in image information of the original 2 is provided in a cover on the bottom of the image forming apparatus 1 (hereinafter, simply referred to as an apparatus), and the original surface glass 3 is provided in the opening 1a.
Are arranged. A lamp 4 is provided in the lower center of the device 1, reflectors 5a and 5b are provided around the lamp 4, and a reflector 5c is provided on the side facing the lamp 4 with the opening 1a interposed therebetween. Thus, the light from the lamp 4 is focused on the entire irradiation area of the original 2. Further, a light amount sensor 39 for detecting the brightness of the original 2 by the lamp 4 is provided above the reflector 5c. The reflected light from the original 2 is imaged on the exposure surface 8 of the capsule paper 11 via a mirror 6 and a lens 7 provided in the front center of the apparatus 1. Further, a window 40 is provided on the front surface of the upper part, the mirror 6 is movably supported by a drive mechanism (not shown), and the original document is passed through the original document surface glass 3 arranged in the opening 1a through the window 40 except during exposure. 2 is moved to a position where it can be seen, and at the time of exposure, it is moved to the position shown in FIG. 1 and the reflected light from the original 2 is incident on the lens 7.

A cassette 9 is arranged in the central portion on the right side of the apparatus 1, and a capsule paper roll 13 and a developer paper 12 are wound on the cassette 9 so that the surface of the capsule paper 11 coated with microcapsules is on the inside. A developer roll 14 wound with the agent-coated surface inside, a take-up roll 15 that winds the capsule paper 11, and a double-sided adhesive tape 16 with a release paper on one side is wound with the release paper on the outside. The rolled adhesive tape roll 17 is stored.

Here, the support of the color developing paper 12 is made of a transparent film such as PET, and the image formed on the surface coated with the color developing agent can be seen from the film side.

On the exposed surface 8, the capsule paper 11 pulled out from the capsule paper roll 13 is supported by two supporting rollers 18.
It is stretched by a and 18b, and the exposure surface 8 is formed at a position where it is inserted into the cassette 9.

A pressure developing device 19 is arranged on the upper right side of the apparatus 1, and the pressure developing device 19 includes a pair of pressure rollers 20a and 20b and a backup roller 20c which are opposed to each other.
It consists of and.

The capsule paper 11 and the color-developing paper 12 are supplied in a stacked state between a pair of pressure rollers 20a and 20b, and the pair of pressure rollers 20a and 20b and the backup roller 20c are used for pressure development. The backup roller 20c generates an appropriate pressure between the pair of pressure rollers 20a and 20b by a pressure mechanism (not shown).

Further, on the right side of the pressure developing device 19, there is provided a thermal fixing device 21 which uses a resistance heating element (not shown) as a heater for promoting the color development of the developed developing paper 12 on the developing paper 12 which has been pressure-developed. It is arranged at the position where it abuts. Further, the heat fixing device 21 has a predetermined temperature (for example, 120
C. to 140.degree. C.), and the method of maintaining the temperature of the thermal fixing device 21 at a predetermined temperature may be performed by software, or the resistance heating element of the thermal fixing device 21 may have its own temperature. A resistance heating element having an adjusting function may be used.

On the downstream side of the heat fixing device 21, there is arranged a sticking roller 22 composed of a pair of pressing rollers 22a and 22b for sticking the double-sided adhesive tape 16 on the color-developed paper 12 which has been heat-fixed. The sticking roller 22 sandwiches the color-developing paper 12 and the double-sided adhesive tape 16 on one side of which the release paper is stuck under a constant pressure, and sequentially sticks the double-sided adhesive tape 16 on the surface of the color-developing paper 12 coated with the color developer. It is configured to go. Hereinafter, the color-developing paper 12 to which the double-sided adhesive tape 16 is attached will be referred to as the output image paper 26.

A cutter 2 is provided on the downstream side of the sticking roller 22.
3a and 23b are arranged, the cutters 23a and 23b are moved up and down by a driving device (not shown), the output image paper 26 is cut when the cutter 23a is lowered, and the part where the image is formed is not when the cutter 23b is lowered. The output image paper 26 is cut while leaving the release paper to separate the parts.

The output image paper 26 is discharged from the discharge port 27 provided in the apparatus 1, and when a part of the output image paper 26 comes out of the apparatus 1, it is cut by the cutter 23a, and the cutters 23a, 2
By pulling the part protruding from the apparatus 1 after 3b has risen again, the output image paper 26 cut from the apparatus 1 can be obtained.

Further, a battery 25 is arranged in the lower part of the apparatus 1, and the battery 25 supplies electric power to the lamp 4, the light amount sensor 39, the thermal fixing device 21 and the like as a power source, as shown in FIG. Although not shown in the figure, electric power is also supplied to the drive motor 24 as a drive source of each mechanism of the apparatus 1. The drive motor 24 transmits power to each mechanism by a transmission mechanism (not shown).

Next, the control section of the apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 2 and the circuit configuration diagram of FIG.

The control of the device 1 is controlled by the central processing unit 30 (hereinafter,
A battery voltage detection circuit for detecting the battery voltage, a start switch 31 for inputting an operation start signal, a light amount sensor 39, a light amount control circuit 32, a drive control circuit 33, and a temperature control circuit. 34, a warning lamp 60 for indicating that the voltage of the battery has dropped below a predetermined voltage is connected, and the light amount control circuit 32, the drive control circuit 33, and the temperature control circuit 34 respectively include the lamp 4, the drive motor 24, It is connected to the heat fixing device 21.

The battery voltage detection circuit 28 includes resistors R ₁ , R ₂ ,
It is composed of R ₃ , R ₄ , and R ₅ and a comparator 51, divides the voltage of the battery 25 and the output voltage of the constant voltage circuit 50 for supplying a constant voltage, and compares them to compare the voltage of the battery 25. If it is higher, the LOW signal is output to the CPU 30, and if the output voltage of the constant voltage circuit 50 is higher, the HIGH signal is output to the CPU 30.

One end of the resistor R ₁ is connected to the plus terminal of the battery 25, and the other end is connected to one end of the resistor R ₂ . The other end of the resistor R ₂ is connected to the ground, and the potential divided by the resistors R ₁ and R ₂ is applied to the inverting input terminal of the comparator 51.

One end of the resistor R ₃ is connected to the output terminal of the constant voltage circuit 50, and the other end is connected to one end of the resistor R ₄ .
The other end of the resistor R ₄ is connected to the ground, and the voltage divided by the resistors R ₃ and R ₄ is applied to the non-inverting input terminal of the comparator 51.

The comparator 51 compares the voltages applied to the inverting input terminal and the non-inverting input terminal, and if the voltage applied to the inverting input terminal is high, outputs LOW to the output terminal.
It has a function of outputting a signal and outputting the signal to the output terminal HIGH when the voltage applied to the non-inverting input terminal is high.

Further, a resistor R ₅ for giving a hysteresis characteristic is connected between the non-inverting input terminal and the output terminal of the comparator 51, so that a change in the output signal due to a minute fluctuation of the voltage applied to each terminal can be prevented. By suppressing the output, the output of the battery voltage detection circuit 28 is stabilized.

Next, the operation of the apparatus 1 thus constructed will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

When the operator turns on a power switch (not shown), the CPU 30 first checks the voltage of the battery 25 by the voltage detection circuit 28 (step S1). Here, when the voltage of the battery 25 is V _cc and the voltage of the output terminal of the constant voltage circuit 50 is V _R , the voltage V _{cc of the} battery 25 is determined to have no problem in continuing the image forming operation. V _cc ,
The relational expression between V _R and the resistances R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ and R ₄ is shown below.

[0031]

[Equation 1]

[0032] In the above equation, at a voltage V _R, the resistance _{R 1, R 2, R 3} , R 4 is a fixed value, only the voltage V _cc of the battery 25 is variable, the voltage V _cc of the battery 25 Conditions change only by changes. Therefore, the output terminal voltage V _R of the constant voltage circuit 50 and the resistances R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ and R ₄ are the lowest voltage V _{cc of the} battery 25 which is judged to be sufficient for continuing the image forming operation. It is set so that the equal sign in the above equation holds when the voltage value of is substituted.

That is, in the case of this embodiment, the battery 25 is consumed most to turn on the lamp 4 at the lowest voltage value which is judged not to interfere with the image forming operation.
A voltage value that can turn on the lamp 4 to the required brightness (for example, 6
V) is set. Therefore, the minimum value of the voltage _Vcc of the battery 25 is set to 6V and the voltage Vcc of the output terminal of the constant voltage circuit 50 is set.
_{When R} is set to 4.54 V, the necessary conditions can be satisfied by setting the resistance R ₁ to 12 kΩ, the resistance R ₂ to 10 kΩ, the resistance R ₃ to 10 kΩ, and the resistance R ₄ to 15 kΩ.

[0034] If the voltage V _cc of the battery 25 is long as this condition is satisfied, the output signal is LOW (low) of the comparator 51
It becomes a signal, and the CPU 30 continues the image forming process without turning on the warning lamp 60.

If the voltage V _cc of the battery 25 decreases due to the exhaustion of the battery 25 and the above conditions cannot be satisfied,
The output signal of the comparator 51 becomes a HIGH signal, and the CPU 30 turns on the warning lamp 60 and determines whether to continue the image forming process.

In step S1, the CPU 30 checks the output signal of the comparator 51, and if the output signal of the comparator 51 is a LOW signal, determines that there is no problem in performing the image forming operation, and the thermal fixing device. The heating of the heater 21 is started (step S2).

If the output signal of the comparator 51 is checked in step S1 and the output signal of the comparator 51 is a HIGH signal, it is determined that the voltage of the battery 25 is insufficient and the warning lamp 60 is turned on (step S
5) Even if the start switch 31 is pressed, the start switch 31 is ignored so that the image forming operation is prohibited (step S6).
After that, the CPU 30 ends the control.

Next, when the heating of the heater of the thermal fixing device 21 is started in step S2, the battery 25 is consumed, so C
The PU 30 again checks the output signal of the comparator 51 (step S3).

If the output signal of the comparator 51 is a LOW signal, the CPU 30 determines that there is no problem in performing the image forming operation, and continues heating the heater of the thermal fixing device 21, and also the timer A. Is reset (step S7). If the output signal of the comparator 51 is HIG
If it is an H (high) signal, it is determined that the voltage of the battery 25 is insufficient, heating of the heater of the heat fixing device 21 is stopped (step S4), and the warning lamp 60 is turned on (step S).
5) Even if the start switch 31 is pressed, the start switch 31 is ignored so that the image forming operation is prohibited (step S6).
After that, the CPU 30 ends the control.

The timer A is the device 1 with the power turned on.
This is provided to prevent the battery of the battery 25 from being consumed by the heater of the thermal fixing device 21 after being left unattended. If the start switch 31 is not pressed within the fixed time determined by the timer A (image If the formation is not started), the CPU 30 can stop the heating of the heater of the thermal fixing device 21 to prevent wasteful consumption of the battery.
Further, the timer A is set to start the timing operation at the same time when it is reset.

After the timer A is reset in step 7, the CPU 30 confirms whether or not the start switch 31 is pressed (step S8). If it is pressed, the image forming operation is started, and if not pressed. For example, it is determined whether or not the timer A has passed a certain time since step S7 (step S9).

In step S9, if a certain time has elapsed from step S7, the CPU 30 stops heating the heater of the thermal fixing device 21 in order to prevent useless battery consumption (step S10), and the start switch 31 is turned on again. The loop is repeated until it is pressed (step S11). If the start switch 31 is pressed, the process returns to step S1 and the same is repeated until the start switch 31 is pressed.

Next, when the operator sets the apparatus 1 on the original 2 and adjusts the position while looking at the original 2 through the window 40 and presses the start switch 31 (step S8), the drive motor 24 starts to rotate ( In step S12), the device 1 starts the image forming operation.

Further, after starting the drive motor 24 in step S12, the CPU 30 checks the output signal of the comparator 51 as in step S3 (step S13).

If the output signal of the comparator 51 is a LOW signal, the CPU 30 determines that there is no problem in performing the image forming operation, continues the drive of the drive motor 24, and sets the timers B and C. Both are reset (step S18). If the output signal of the comparator 51 is a HIGH signal, it is determined that the voltage of the battery 25 is insufficient and the driving of the drive motor 24 is stopped (step S1).
4) The heating of the heater of the thermal fixing device 21 is stopped (step S15), the warning lamp 60 is turned on (step S16), and even if the start switch 31 is pressed, it is ignored and the image forming operation is stopped. (Step S1
7).

Here, the timer B is C while the lamp is on.
The PU 30 is used as a timer when measuring the voltage of the battery 25 at regular intervals, and the timer C is used as an exposure time timer determined by the detection result of the light amount sensor 39. Further, the timers B and C are set to start the time counting operation at the same time as being reset, like the timer A.

When both the timers B and C are reset in step S18, the CPU 30 turns on the lamp and starts latent image formation (step S19).

The CPU 30 determines whether or not the fixed time determined by the timer B has elapsed (step S20),
Step S20 is repeated until a fixed time elapses, and after the fixed time elapses, the timer B is reset (step S21), the heating of the heater of the thermal fixing device 21 is stopped (step S22), and the comparator similar to step S3. 5
The output signal of 1 is checked (step S23). Note that stopping the heating of the heater of the thermal fixing device 21 is not always necessary when the power consumption of the heater of the thermal fixing device 21 is considerably smaller than the power consumption of the lamp 4. But,
If not, the heater of the heat fixing device 21 is the CPU 30.
The temperature is controlled to be maintained at a constant temperature by the timing, and depending on the timing of checking the output signal of the comparator 51, there is a difference in power consumption between when heated and when not heated, and an accurate judgment cannot be made. Therefore, it is necessary to temporarily stop the heating of the heater of the thermal fixing device 21.

If the output signal of the comparator 51 is a LOW signal, the CPU 30 determines that there is no problem in continuing the image forming operation, and the thermal fixing device 2 which has been stopped.
The heating of the heater No. 1 is restarted (step S25). If the output signal of the comparator 51 is a HIGH signal, it is determined that the voltage of the battery 25 is insufficient, and the warning lamp 60
Is turned on (step S24), but the image forming operation is continued without stopping and the stopped heating of the heater of the heat fixing device 21 is restarted (step S25).

When it is determined in step S23 that the voltage of the battery 25 is insufficient, the warning lamp 60 is simply turned on and the image forming operation is continued without being stopped. Even if the voltage value drops below a predetermined voltage value while the lamp 4 is on, the voltage value is such that the exposure amount required for latent image formation can be secured. This is because there is no power consumption factor and the image forming operation can be sufficiently executed.

Light emitted from the lamp 4 is reflected by the reflectors 5a, 5
The light is condensed by b and 5c, and the original 2 is irradiated through the original surface glass 3 provided in the opening 1a. The reflected light from the original 2 is imaged on the exposure surface 8 via the mirror 6 and the lens 7.

After the heating of the heater of the thermal fixing device 21 is restarted in step S25, it is determined whether or not the timer C as the exposure time timer determined by the detection result of the light quantity sensor 39 has ended (step S26), and the processing ends. If not, the process returns to step S20 and the battery 25
The measurement of the voltage V _CC is repeated. If it is finished, the lamp 4 is turned off (step S27), and the exposure, that is, the latent image formation on the capsule paper 11 is finished.

The capsule paper 11 on which the latent image is formed is the color-developing paper 12
Along with this, they are transferred in synchronism with each other, and are sent to the pressure developing device 19 in a state where they are overlapped.

In the initial state, the pressure developing device 19 is in a non-pressurized state, and when the latent image-forming capsule paper 11 reaches a predetermined position, the pressure developing device 19 is pressed by a driving mechanism (not shown). become.

The capsule paper 11 and the color-developing paper 12 which have been pressure-developed by the pressure developing device 19 are then separated from each other, and the capsule paper 11 is taken up by the take-up roll 15.
The color-developing paper 12 on which the latent image of No. 1 is developed is sent to the heat fixing device 21, and is heated by the heat fixing device 21 to accelerate color development.

The color-developing paper 12 whose color has been accelerated by the heat fixing device 21 is attached to the sticking roller 22 together with the double-sided adhesive tape 16.
The double-sided adhesive tape 16 is affixed to the surface of the color-developing paper 12 coated with the color-developing agent.
To form.

When the thermal fixing of the color-developing paper 12 of a predetermined length is completed, the pressure developing device 19 is brought into a non-pressurized state again, and the heating of the heater of the thermal fixing device 21 is completed.

The output image paper 26 formed in this way
Is finally cut by the cutter 23a to an appropriate length, with a part thereof being discharged from the discharge port 27 formed in the device 1. Further, the portion on which the image is formed and the portion on which the image is not formed are separated by the cutter 23b,
In order to make the output image paper 26 easy to peel off from the release paper, the release paper is cut off and the output image paper 26 is output as a copy image of the original 2. The output image paper 26 that has been output can be used as a sticker by peeling off the color developing paper 12 by holding the part where the image is not formed. Here, the pressure development, the sticking of the double-sided adhesive tape, and the drive of the cutter are performed by the drive motor 24 and a transmission mechanism (not shown).

In the present invention, although there is only one type of reference voltage for the comparator that detects the power supply voltage, a plurality of reference voltages are set according to each stage of the image forming process,
Of course, the switching may be performed according to the signal from the CPU.

[0060]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the battery is exhausted and the battery voltage drops, not only the user is informed of that fact, but also halfway through. It is possible to prevent waste of the photosensitive medium without outputting a proper image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic cross section of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a battery voltage detection circuit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control flow until a start switch is pressed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control flow after a start switch is pressed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Image Forming Apparatus 4 Lamp 21 Thermal Fixer 24 Drive Motor 25 Battery 29 Battery Voltage Detection Circuit 30 CPU 60 Warning Lamp

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A light source for irradiating a document image, a driving means for driving each mechanism, and a heating and fixing means having a heater for heating and fixing the photosensitive medium on which the latent image of the document is developed. In an image forming apparatus equipped with, a battery as a power source, a voltage detecting means for detecting that the voltage of the battery has dropped below a predetermined voltage, and a display indicating that the voltage of the battery has dropped below a predetermined voltage Display unit, and a control unit that controls the voltage detection unit to detect the voltage of the battery each time the light source, the driving unit, and the heat fixing unit as a battery consumption factor are driven.
An image forming apparatus comprising: a determination unit that determines whether to continue or interrupt the image forming operation based on the detection result.