JPH05119879A - Document processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently use a battery and to avoid a non-conformity to occur at the time of exchanging the battery, in the battery driven document processing device. CONSTITUTION:The voltage of a battery BT1 is detected by a voltage detecting circuit VD1, the action of a unit such as a printer PR with large load electric power is prohibited by the voltage reduced first level, further, the document processing action is prohibited by the voltage reduced a second level and the battery is efficiently used.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document processing device such as a battery driven word processor and electronic typewriter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is known that in a battery-powered document processing device, when the battery capacity is reduced, a warning output is issued to prompt replacement of the primary battery or charging of the secondary battery.

[0003]

However, it is difficult to optimize the warning output because the operation of the printer or the magnetic disk storage unit that constitutes the document processing apparatus has a large load fluctuation.
After outputting the warning, the battery was used without being replaced, and suddenly the printer and magnetic disk storage unit became inoperable.
There were cases where the batteries had to be replaced in a hurry. If this happens, printing will be interrupted on the paper, or interrupted during writing or reading on the magnetic disk unit, and in the worst case, the data that should be saved will be destroyed. In addition, even if the battery was replaced, it was difficult to restart printing from the next data that was interrupted. Such a defect causes a great deal of discomfort to the user, and further compels the user to re-enter the destroyed data, resulting in waste of time and battery, and improvement has been demanded.

The object of the present invention is to maximize the battery supply capacity without lowering the performance of the document processing apparatus based on such improvement request, without causing a fatal defect such as data destruction, and improving the efficiency. An object of the present invention is to provide a document processing device that is often battery-powered.

[0005]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a document processing apparatus having a first memory for storing document data, a second memory for storing control programs and data, and a backup circuit. After detecting the detecting means for detecting the capacity of the power supply battery at a plurality of levels and the operation of the unit having a large load power when the detecting means detects the first level, and outputting the first warning. A first control means for continuing document processing with a configuration including the first memory, the second memory, and a backup circuit having a small load power, and the detection means for the first control means.
And a second control means for prohibiting the document processing operation and outputting a second warning when a second level lower than the level is detected.

[0006]

According to the present invention, when the decrease in the capacity of the power supply battery is at the first level, the operation is stopped at the time when the minimum operation unit is completed before the malfunction of the printer or the magnetic disk storage unit, for example. The print data and the data being written or read are saved in the memory, the first warning is displayed, and then the function of inputting, editing, and storing the document data is continuously operated by the component having a small load power. As a result, sudden interruption of operation is avoided and power is efficiently drawn from the battery whose capacity has decreased. Further, at the second level in which the battery capacity has decreased, it is determined that the device is inoperable, the normal operation of the device is prohibited, and a warning display prompting replacement of the battery or charging of the secondary battery is displayed. In this way, even if the power is turned off, the input data is recorded and held by the backup circuit, so that the operation after the battery replacement can be restarted without any delay from the unprocessed data.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top view of the external appearance of an electronic typewriter having a thermal transfer printer as a document processing apparatus and using a battery as a power source. In FIG. 1, the user inputs print data from the keyboard KY, whereby the carriage 2 of the printer unit moves facing the platen 3 (left and right) and presses the thermal head 4 against the platen 3 to intermittently perform thermal printing. By applying electric power to the heating element of the head 4, the ink in the ribbon cassette 5 is transferred to the paper 6 and the printing operation is executed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for controlling the printer according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, the first battery BT1 is used as the main power source, and the power source stabilizing circuit D
Voltage is stabilized through the C-DC converter DD to supply power to each unit. Rewritable memory RAM when the battery capacity drops or when the power switch is turned off
There is a backup circuit BT2 that uses a second battery to hold the data of the first battery BT1 or the backup circuit BT2 via the diode D1 or D2 and the memory RAM is always turned on regardless of whether the power is turned on or off. You back up and hold your data.

The first battery BT1 and the backup circuit BT2 detect a change in voltage as the voltage detection circuits VD1 and VD2.
The detection results of the voltage detection circuits VD1 and VD2 using the A / D converter, which have been detected in step S1, are digitally converted and input to the control unit CN. Document data is input from the keyboard KY, converted into a code signal by the control unit CN, and stored in the rewritable memory RAM. The read-only memory ROM stores program commands for performing arithmetic processing in the control unit CN, data for printing and displaying, and a fixed data table for performing time control, which are sequentially read by the control unit CN. It

Further, in this embodiment, a timer circuit TM is provided, and periodic scanning of keyboard KY input, detection timing of battery voltage, control timing of printer PR, display unit D
The display data output timing of S and the like are temporally controlled in cooperation with the control unit CN. For printing on the printer PR, the print data stored in the memory RAM when the print command is input to the control unit CN is transferred from the control unit CN to the printer drive circuit D.
It is executed by sequentially outputting via R1. At this time, control information such as a sensor (not shown) from the printer PR is input to the control unit CN via the receiving circuit RX1.

From the control unit CN to the drive circuit DR2, the display unit DS displays document data necessary for document preparation, mode display for confirming the setting state, display data for various messages, and the like.
Be entered via. Then, to the magnetic disk recording unit EM which is an external storage device, a drive signal and write data are output from the control unit CN via the drive circuit DR3,
The sensor signal and the read data are input to the control unit CN from the storage unit EM via the reception circuit RX3.

Next, the operation flow will be described with reference to FIG.
When the power of the device is turned on (step: S1), the voltage of the first battery BT1 is measured in step 2 to detect the battery capacity. Assuming that the limit battery voltage for operating the document processing device is V ₂ , the current battery voltage V _B is compared with the measured current battery voltage V _B, and if V _B ≧ V ₂ , it is determined that the device is operable. If the minimum battery voltage for operating the printer in the above is V ₁ , it is compared with the current battery voltage V _B, and if V _B ≧ V ₁ , it means that the printing operation is prohibited. After resetting the flag) to "0" (S4), the system initialization operation is performed (S5). In step S3, V _B <V ₁
If so, it is determined that the printer is inoperable, the specific bit FLG (flag) of the RAM is set to "1" to prohibit the printing operation (S31), and a warning display for prohibiting the printer operation is displayed on the display unit DS. To (S32), S5
Return to the initialization operation of.

When the system initialization operation is completed, the system enters a standby state (S6), and in order to periodically check the consumption of the power supply battery, the battery operating voltage is measured and the system operating condition is determined based on the voltage comparison result as in S2 and S3. (S7, S8) are performed to determine whether or not there is a key input (S10). The check cycle is determined by the operating time of the timer (S
9). If there is no key input in S10, the process returns to S6 and the standby state is repeated. If there is a key input, the process proceeds to the next step.

If the key input is other than the print command in step S11, document processing other than the print operation is executed (S
After 111), the process returns to the standby state of S6. When the key input is a print command in S11, it is first checked whether the flag for prohibiting the print operation is set to FLG = 1 (S12). When FLG = 1, the printing operation is prohibited, so the printing returns to the standby state S6 without printing (the warning display for prohibiting printing at this time is still output). Since printing is possible when FLG = 0, the minimum printing operation unit is executed according to the printing command (S13). After S13, the battery voltage is measured and determined in the same manner as in S2 and S3 (S14 and S15), and if unprinted data remains in the buffer memory of the rewritable memory RAM (S16), the printing of S13 is performed. Repeat the operation. If there is no unprinted data, an ending operation for returning the printer to the standby state is executed (S17), and the state returns to the standby state of S6.

If V _B <V ₁ in step S15, printing is in progress, but it is judged that the printing operation cannot be continued, the printing operation is interrupted in the minimum operation unit (S151), and unprinted data is stored in the memory. Save to RAM (S152),
After setting the print operation prohibition flag to FLG = 1 (S1
53), display a warning output that prohibits the printing operation (S1
54) and returns to the standby state S6.

V _B in steps S2, S7 and S14
When V < ₂ , the voltage is below the operating limit of the system, so it is determined that the system is inoperable, and if unprocessed data is saved in the memory RAM during operation (S2
1) A new operation is prohibited (S22), a warning display urging to replace the battery or charge the secondary battery is output (S23), and the process ends.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiments, the printer has been described as an example of a unit having a large load power, but the document processing apparatus is not limited to the printer, and the magnetic disk storage device is the other unit. It is also effective to prohibit the operation when the detection level is less than the detection level (V _B <V ₁ ). The document data created in this state is stored in the rewritable memory RAM that is backed up.

It is also effective to prohibit the operation of the backlight used in the liquid crystal display device as another unit having a large load power. As the light source of the backlight, there are electroluminescence, a cold fluorescent cathode tube, and the like, and when the level becomes lower than the first detection level, the power supply to the backlight is turned off. A semi-transmissive liquid crystal display is used, and when the backlight is off, it operates as a reflective display device.

Further, the rewritable memory RAM backup circuit may be provided with a second battery different from the first battery of the main power source, or a capacitor may be used to charge the device during operation. After the power is turned off, the user may back up the battery by limiting the time required for battery replacement. The warning output due to the battery capacity decrease can be effectively notified to the user not only by the display device but also by a sound output means such as a buzzer. It is also effective to notify the user of the restart of printing by the display or voice output means even when the power is turned on again with the unprinted data left.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the decrease in the capacity of the power supply battery is at the first level, the operation is performed, for example, when the minimum operation unit is completed before the printer or the magnetic disk storage unit malfunctions. After stopping, save the unprinted data and the data in the middle of writing or reading after that to the memory, and after the first warning display, continue the function of inputting, editing, and storing the document data by the parts with small load power. To operate. As a result, sudden interruption of operation can be avoided and power can be efficiently drawn from the battery whose capacity has decreased. Furthermore, it is determined that the battery cannot be operated at the second level when the battery capacity has decreased, and normal operation of the device is prohibited. Then, a warning display urging the user to replace the battery or charge the secondary battery is displayed. In this way, even if the power is turned off, since the input data is recorded and held by the backup circuit, the operation after the battery replacement can be resumed from the unprocessed data without delay.

Furthermore, as described above, when the battery capacity is reduced, it operates only with low power consumption, so that it is possible to extend the operation time, and it is possible to continue without a spare battery or when a commercial AC power source is not available. You can enter data and protect the entered data.

In short, the present invention is particularly effective for a small battery-powered document processing apparatus that places importance on portability and is often used outdoors.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external top view of an electronic typewriter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electric circuit of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 BT1 Battery BT2 Backup circuit CN Control circuit RAM memory VD1, VD2 Voltage control circuit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location 7165-5B G06F 1/00 335 A

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A document processing apparatus having a first memory for storing document data, a second memory for storing a control program and data, and a backup circuit,
Detection means for detecting the capacity of the power supply battery at a plurality of levels,
When the detecting means detects the first level, the operation of the unit having a large load power is prohibited, the first warning is output, and then the first memory and the second memory having a small load power are provided. , And first control means for continuing the document processing in a configuration including a backup circuit, and prohibiting the document processing operation when the detection means detects a second level lower than the first level, Second to output the second warning
And a control means for controlling the document processing apparatus. 2. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit having a large load power is a printer. 3. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit having a large load power is a magnetic disk storage device. 4. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit having a large load power is a light emitting element that irradiates a display portion with light. 5. The first and second control means store the detection result of the battery capacity in the second memory as data, and determine the operation mode and the warning output according to the content of the data. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document processing apparatus is a document processing apparatus. 6. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection means detects a voltage by using an analog / digital converter. 7. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects a voltage of the power supply battery. 8. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects a voltage drop of the power supply battery that occurs between an operation condition specific to the apparatus and a standby state with a small load power. 9. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the backup circuit uses a primary battery. 10. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the backup circuit uses a capacitor or a secondary battery which is being charged while the apparatus is operating.