JPH0632030A - Electrophotographic printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform automatically a supply or disconnection of the main electric source at a desired time by providing a time comparison part or the like for outputting electric source ON-OFF signals when they coincide with each other in comparing them with the time information that is read out of a real timer part. CONSTITUTION:A time comparison part 6, wherein information for automatically carrying out the ON-OFF of an AC electric source is set, reads out time from a real timer 7 at any time. Then, it is compared with the set time which is retained in its inner part, and when they coincide with each other within the tolerance, electric source ON-OFF signals 14 are generated in accordance with the ON-OFF information set therein and then transmitted to an electric source switch 2. The electric source switch 2 inputted with the electric source ON-OFF signals 14 enables an electrophotographic printer to be operated in a manner that when the electric source is ON, the AC electric source 1 is supplied in an DC electric source generating part 3 and the DC electric source generating part 3 generates a DC electric source that is then supplied to a printer control part 4. When the electric source is OFF, the electric source switch 2 causes the DC electric source generating part 3 to stop a supply of the DC electric source.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic printer that performs heat and pressure fixing, and more particularly to an electrophotographic printer that uses halogen light as its heat source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional electrophotographic printers that perform heat and pressure fixing do not have an automatic power-on control device for automatically turning on the power, and when it is necessary to turn on the power,
It is a method in which the user manually turns on the power.

[0003]

As described above, since the conventional electrophotographic printer does not have a means for automatically turning on the power source, when the user needs to perform printing, he / she can use it. Has to be turned on manually to wait for the fuser to reach the specified temperature before printing, which is extremely inconvenient when it is necessary to print quickly. . In particular, this problem is remarkable when printing must be performed in the morning and when the environmental conditions are low. Further, since the power consumption is large, there is a problem that if the power is forgotten to be turned off, the amount of useless power consumption increases.

[0004]

An electrophotographic printer according to the present invention comprises a real timer section which constantly measures the present time,
A time comparison unit that holds a specified date and time and ON or OFF information, and outputs a power ON / OFF signal when they compare with the time information read from the real timer unit, the real timer unit, and An auxiliary power supply unit for a solar cell or a battery that constantly supplies power to the time comparison unit, and a DC power supply unit that supplies DC power to the printer control unit when the power on / off signal is input. A power switch for connection or disconnection, and a time information display section for displaying time information or year / month / day information sent from the time comparison section, and a designation for the time comparison section. And a time information display input section having an information input section having a plurality of buttons for transmitting the command signals.

[0005]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the solar cell 9 is located on the operation panel 8 provided on the surface of the device, and is constantly supplied with power to the time comparison section 6 and the real timer section 7 through the power supply path 10. There is. The real timer unit 7 always measures the current date and time, and sends the information to the time comparison unit 6. The time comparison unit 6 is a time information display input unit 1 of the operation panel 8.
2 and the signal transmission path 13 are electrically connected to each other, and a desired date and time can be set by pressing a date button of the time information display input unit 12. The operation panel 8 is provided with a time information display input section 12 in addition to the solar cell 9. The time information display input section 12 is provided with an LCD display for displaying information and input of designated information. A year / month / day time button, a forward button, a backward button, a set button, an on button, and an off button are provided.

When setting the time, the time comparing unit 6
When the year / month / day time button of the time information display input unit 12 is pressed once, it is determined that the time setting mode is set. After this time, the time comparison unit 6 receives the real timer unit 7
The current time information is read from the time information display input unit 12
Display on the LCD display of. Next, when the forward or backward button of the time information display input unit 12 is pressed, the time comparison unit 6 recognizes it and moves the value of the time information previously read from the real timer unit 7 forward or backward, The resulting updated time information is again displayed on the LCD display of the time information display input unit 12. After repeating this operation and selecting the desired set time, when the set button of the time information display input unit 12 is pressed, the time comparison unit 6 recognizes it and inputs the time information display at that time. The value displayed on the LCD display of the section 12 is held.

Similarly, when setting the date, the time comparing unit 6 must be in the date setting mode by pressing the year / month / day time button of the time information display input unit 12 twice in succession. To determine the year and set the year,
Determines that it is in the month / day setting mode by pressing the year / month / day time button of the time information display input unit 12 three times in succession. Set the year and hold it.

After the setting operation, when the on button or the off button of the time information display input section 12 is pressed, the information is also held in the time comparing section 6 and the setting operation ends. In this way, the date and time and the information of ON or OFF held in the time comparing unit 6 are obtained by setting the AC power source 1 which is the main power source of the electrophotographic printer to the power switch 2
It becomes the information for automatically turning on (on) or cutting (off).

The time comparison unit 6 to which the information for automatically turning on / off the AC power supply is set reads the time from the real timer unit 7 at any time and compares it with the set time internally held. When they match within the allowable range, the power supply ON / OFF signal 14 is generated according to the set ON / OFF information and is sent to the power supply switch 2. The power switch 2 to which the power on / off signal 14 is input supplies the AC power 1 to the DC power generator 3 when the power is on, and the DC power generator 3 generates the DC power to generate the printer power. It is supplied to the control unit 4 so that the electrophotographic printer can be operated. When the power is off, the power switch 2 is D
The DC power supply to the C power supply generator 3 is cut off, and the electrophotographic printer is stopped.

In this way, it becomes possible to automatically supply or disconnect the main power to the electrophotographic printer at a desired time.

Even if a battery 11 is provided instead of the solar cell 9 and power is supplied from the battery 11 to the time comparison unit 6 and the real timer unit 7, the same operation and effect can be obtained. .

Further, instead of providing a time information display input unit on the operation panel, information such as the date and time is sent from the host device to the printer control unit via the host interface 5, and the printer control unit sends them. The same operation and effect as in the above case can also be obtained by sending the time to the time comparison unit and holding it.

Needless to say, a switch for manually turning on / off the AC power source is provided.

[0016]

As described above, the electrophotographic printer of the present invention has a real timer section that constantly measures the current time, a desired date, time, and ON / OFF information. The time comparison unit that outputs the power ON / OFF signal when comparing with the time information read from the unit, the auxiliary power supply unit that constantly supplies power to the real timer unit and the time comparison unit, and the power ON / OFF signal By providing a power switch for inputting and supplying DC power to the printer control unit and connecting and disconnecting AC power to the DC power generation unit, main power supply or disconnection to the electrophotographic printer can be performed at a desired time. This has the effect that it can be performed automatically, so that it is possible to start printing immediately when needed and forget to turn off the power. There is an effect that can also be prevented power wasteful consumption of by.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 AC power supply 2 Power switch 3 DC power supply generation unit 4 Printer control unit 5 Upper interface 6 Time comparison unit 7 Real timer unit 8 Operation panel 9 Solar cell 10 Power supply path 11 Battery 12 Time information display input section 13 Signal transmission path 14 Power supply ON / OFF signal

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A real timer unit that constantly measures the current time and a specified date and time, and ON or OFF information is held and compared with the time information read from the real timer unit, and they match. When a time comparison unit that outputs a power on / off signal, an auxiliary power supply unit that constantly supplies power to the real timer unit and the time comparison unit,
When the power on / off signal is input, A for the DC power generator that supplies DC power to the printer controller
An electrophotographic printer, comprising: a power switch for connecting or disconnecting C power supply. 2. The electrophotographic printer according to claim 1, wherein a solar cell is used as the auxiliary power source. 3. The electrophotographic printer according to claim 1, wherein a battery is used as the auxiliary power source. 4. A time information display section for displaying time information or year / month / day information sent from the time comparison section, and information having a plurality of buttons for sending a command signal designated to the time comparison section. The electrophotographic printer according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising a time information display input unit having an input unit.