JPH07131615A - Facsimile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To continuously record received data on recording paper before all the areas of an ink sheet are completely used just for prescribed times. CONSTITUTION:This facsimile equipment is provided with a first count means 13 for counting the number of recording processing pages corresponding to the size of the recording paper, second count means 14 for counting the frequency of use inside the prescribed area of the ink sheet, and control part 18 for controlling the feeding/unwinding operation of the ink sheet through an ink sheet feeding motor 10, and the control part 18 feeds the ink sheet so as to successively use it inside the prescribed area when the number of recording processing pages counted by the first count means 13 does not reach the number of processing enable pages, and unwinds the ink sheet so as to successively use it from the use starting position inside the prescribed area or feeds the ink sheet so as to use the next non-used area corresponding to whether the frequency of use counted by the second count means 14 reaches the prescribed frequencies or not when the number of recording processing pages reaches the number of processing enable pages.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile which records on a recording sheet using an ink sheet which can be used multiple times.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of a facsimile of this type, which shows the structure of a recording unit for recording actually received data as an image on a recording sheet.
In the illustrated facsimile structure, a pair of rollers 2 for conveying the recording sheet 1 are provided at a predetermined interval. A thermal head 3 is provided between the pair of rollers 2, and an ink sheet 4 is supplied between the thermal head 3 and the recording paper 1. Further, the feeding of the ink sheet 4 is performed by an ink sheet feeding motor (not shown).

Conventionally, when one ink sheet is repeatedly used, the following two methods have been adopted. One is a method of rewinding the ink sheet 4 to the use start end by rotating the ink sheet feed motor (not shown) in the reverse direction or switching the gear train when the ink sheet 4 is completely used up. On the other hand, when the ink sheet 4 is used up to the end, the operator temporarily removes the ink sheet 4, then reverses the feed side 4a and the take-up side 4b of the ink sheet 4, and the ink sheet 4 is removed again. It is a method of mounting.

[0004]

By the way, in general, on the transmitting side which is sending data for a plurality of pages, there is an allowable waiting time for waiting for a reception confirmation signal (MCF signal) from the receiving side between pages of data. It is set, and if the reception confirmation signal cannot be confirmed within this permissible waiting time, the reception of data thereafter will be interrupted. However, in the former method, it takes a long time to rewind the ink sheet 4, and in the latter method, it takes a long time to remove and attach the ink sheet 4, so that these processes cannot be completed within the allowable waiting time. If the end of the ink sheet 4 is used up while receiving the data of a plurality of pages, a communication error must be generated and the subsequent reception must be interrupted. In other words, in the conventional facsimile, a troublesome work such as rewinding or detaching the ink sheet 4 is required before the ink sheet 4 that can be used multiple times is completely used up.
In some cases, there is an inconvenience such as having to interrupt the reception of data as described above.

Therefore, as a means for solving such a problem, it is considered to mount a large capacity memory for storing the received data while the ink sheet 4 is being rewound or the ink sheet 4 is being detached. However, in such a case, the cost of the facsimile itself increases significantly. The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and without interrupting the reception of data until the entire area of the ink sheet is used up repeatedly by a predetermined number of times,
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile which can continuously record received data on a recording sheet without requiring troublesome work.

[0006]

The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and records an image based on received data on a recording sheet by using an ink sheet that can be repeatedly used a predetermined number of times. In a facsimile, first counting means for counting the number of recording processing pages corresponding to the size of recording paper, second counting means for counting the number of times of use of an ink sheet in a predetermined area, first counting means, and And a control unit for controlling the feeding / rewinding operation of the ink sheet based on the output signal of the second counting unit via the ink sheet feeding motor, and the control unit is a recording processing page counted by the first counting unit. It is determined whether the number has reached the number of processable pages that can be processed in the predetermined area, and it is determined that the number of recording processed pages has not reached the number of processable pages. In this case, when it is determined that the ink sheets have been fed so as to sequentially use the predetermined areas and the number of recording processed pages has reached the number of pages that can be processed, the number of times of use counted by the second counting means has reached the predetermined number of times. If it is determined that the number of times of use has not reached the predetermined number of times, the ink sheet is rewound so as to be used in order from the use start position in the predetermined area, and the number of times of use reaches the predetermined number of times. When it is determined that the ink sheet is used, the ink sheet is sent to use the next unused area.

[0007]

In the facsimile of the present invention, after the ink sheet is repeatedly used within the predetermined area for the predetermined number of times, it is automatically moved to the next unused area and used again for the predetermined number of times. The data will be continuously received until the entire area of the ink sheet is used up a predetermined number of times.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile in the embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 10 is an ink sheet feed motor (hereinafter simply referred to as a feed motor) for feeding and rewinding an ink sheet (not shown), and 11 is a motor driver for driving the feed motor 10. A stepping motor is used as the feed motor 10, and the number of steps when the feed motor 10 is driven is counted by the motor step number counting unit 12.

On the other hand, in the figure, numeral 13 is a recording page number counting section as a first counting means, and 14 is a use number counting section as a second counting means. Here, the recording page number counting unit 13 counts the number of recording processing pages corresponding to the size of a recording sheet (not shown) based on the count signal output from the motor step number counting unit 12, and also the use number counting unit 14 Counts the number of times the ink sheet (not shown) is used in a predetermined area based on the count signal output from the recorded page number counting unit 13.

Here, "the number of recording processing pages corresponding to the size of the recording paper" means, for example, when the recording paper size is A4 size, the number of pages of recording processing is performed on the recording paper of A4 size. It refers to the number of pages that indicates whether or not a visit has been made. Further, the "predetermined area of the ink sheet" is an ink sheet that can be rewound by the ink sheet feed motor within an allowable waiting time that the transmission side can wait for a reception confirmation signal from the reception side between pages during data communication. The size range.

Further, the motor step number counting unit 1
2. The number of recorded pages is counted by the step number counter 15,
It is adapted to be taken in by the control unit 18 via the page number counter 16 and the number counter 17. Then, the control unit 18 outputs a control signal to the motor driver 11 based on the count signal output from the motor step number counting unit 12, the recording page number counting unit 13, and the usage number counting unit 14, and receives the control signal. The motor driver 11 drives the feed motor 10.

Next, an operation procedure in the control unit 18 of the facsimile having the above-mentioned structure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the description of the operation of the present embodiment, as an example, an ink sheet that can be used up to three times is used, and the size of the recording paper is A4 size, which can be rewound within the allowable waiting time on the transmission side. A case will be described in which the number of print processing pages of the ink sheet corresponding to the A4 size recording sheet, that is, the number of processable pages that can be processed in a predetermined area of the ink sheet is eight.

First, in step S1, the count values S, A and B in the step number counter 15, page number counter 16 and number counter 17 are set respectively. At this time, the count values A ₀ and B ₀ set in the page number counter 16 and the number of times counter 17 are the values stored at the time when the previous recording process is completed. Next, in step S2, a control signal is output to the motor driver 11 to drive the feed motor 10 for one step to feed an unillustrated ink sheet. At this time, the number of steps of the feed motor 10 is counted by the motor step number counting unit 12, and the count value is set in the step number counter 15 (step S3).

Subsequently, in step S4, the value counted by the motor step number counting section 12, that is, the count value S set in the step number counter 15, is a reference count corresponding to a preset page of recording paper. Value S
Judge whether ₁ has been reached. Here, the count value S of the step number counter 15 is equal to the reference count value S.
_When it is determined that the count value S has not reached ₁ , the process returns to step S2 and the same operation as described above is repeated. On the contrary, when it is determined that the count value S has reached the reference count value S ₁ , the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S5, the recorded page number counting unit 1
3 is counted, and the count value A set in the page number counter 16 is incremented. Next, in step S6, the value counted by the recording page number counting unit 13, that is, the count value A set in the page number counter 16 is the number of processable pages (in this case, the number of processable pages) that can be processed in the predetermined area of the ink sheet. Judgment is made as to whether or not (page 8) has been reached. Here, the count value A of the page number counter 16
When it is determined that the number of pages that can be processed (8) has been reached, the number-of-uses counting section 14 is caused to count, the count value B set in the number-of-times counter 17 is incremented, and the number of pages counted by the page number counter 16 The value A is reset (step S7).

Then, in step S8, the value counted by the number-of-uses counting section 14, that is, the number counter 17
It is determined whether or not the count value B set to has reached the number of times (three times in this case) the ink sheet can be used repeatedly. If it is determined that the count value B of the number counter 17 has reached the usable number (3) of ink sheets, the process proceeds to step S9, where the count value B set in the number counter 17 is reset, Go to step S10.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that the count value A of the page number counter 16 has not reached the number of pages (8) that can be processed, the process proceeds to step S11, where the step number counter 15 determines. After resetting the count value S, the process proceeds to step S10. If it is determined in step S8 that the count value B of the number counter 17 has not reached the usable number of ink sheets (3), the process proceeds to step S12, where the feed motor 10
After the ink sheet is rewound to the use start position within the predetermined area by the driving of step S10, the process proceeds to step S10.

For example, in FIG. 3, when the front area L ₀ of the ink sheet is used three times and then the current area L ₁ is used up to the page for the first use, there is received data for four pages. In this case, the data for the first two pages is recorded using the pages in the current area L ₁ .
The remaining two pages of data recording processing by using the page with the order from the use start position P1 in the current area L ₁ is performed.

At this time, the count value A of the page number counter 16 and the count value B of the number counter 17 change as follows. That is, as shown in FIG.
When recording data for pages, the count value A of the page number counter 16 is switched from (7) to (8), and the count value B of the number counter 17 is maintained at (1). When the remaining two pages of data are recorded after the ink sheet is rewound, the count value A of the page number counter 16 is switched from (1) to (2), and the count of the number counter 17 is counted. The value B changes by switching from (1) to (2).

Next, in step S10, it is determined whether or not there is data for the next page to be printed. If it is determined that there is data for the next page, the process returns to step S2 to send out the ink sheet. Then, the above series of operations is repeated.

For example, in FIG. 3, when there are received data for four pages when the current area L ₁ of the ink sheet is used up to the page for the third use, the data for the first two pages is The recording process is performed using the pages in the current area L ₁ , and the remaining two pages of data are recorded in the order from the use start position P ₂ in the next unused area L ₂ . Recording processing is performed.

At this time, the count value A of the page number counter 16 and the count value B of the number counter 17 change as follows. That is, as shown in FIG.
When recording data for pages, the count value A of the page number counter 16 is switched from (7) to (8), and the count value B of the number counter 17 remains at (3). When the remaining two pages of data are printed after the ink sheet is sent out, the count value A of the page number counter 16 is switched from (1) to (2), and the count value of the number counter 17 is changed. B shifts from (3) to (1).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S10 that there is no data for the next page, the process proceeds to step S13, in which the count value A of the page number counter 16 is stored as A ₀ and the count value of the number counter 17 is stored. B is stored as B ₀ , and a series of recording processing is exited.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Once the ink sheet is set, it will be used up in the prescribed area of the ink sheet in order as many times as it can be used repeatedly. Thus, the reception of data is not interrupted, and the image based on the received data can be continuously recorded on the recording paper. Further, according to the present invention, since it is possible to sufficiently cope with the problem by simply changing the program of the control system without mounting an expensive large-capacity memory for storing the received data, the cost for implementing this is very low. The effect is also obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile in an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure in a control unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an actual usage state of an ink sheet.

FIG. 4 is a diagram (No. 1) showing changes in the count value by the counting means.

FIG. 5 is a diagram (No. 2) showing changes in the count value by the counting means.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a facsimile.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Ink Sheet Feed Motor 13 Recorded Page Number Count Unit (First Counting Unit) 14 Use Count Count Unit (Second Counting Unit) 18 Control Unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile in which an image based on received data is recorded on a recording sheet by using an ink sheet that can be repeatedly used a predetermined number of times, and the number of recording processing pages corresponding to the size of the recording sheet is counted. Counting means, second counting means for counting the number of times the ink sheet is used in a predetermined area, and feeding of the ink sheet based on output signals of the first counting means and the second counting means. A control unit for controlling a rewinding operation via an ink sheet feed motor, wherein the control unit can perform processing in which the number of recording processing pages counted by the first counting unit can be processed in the predetermined area If it is determined whether the number of pages has reached the number of pages, and the number of pages processed for recording has not reached the number of pages that can be processed, the above-mentioned predetermined When it is determined that the number of print processing pages has reached the number of processable pages, the ink sheets are sent out so that the inside of the rear is used in order, and the number of times of use counted by the second counting means reaches the predetermined number of times. Judge whether it has arrived,
Further, when it is determined that the number of times of use has not reached the predetermined number of times, the ink sheet is rewound so as to be used sequentially from the use start position in the predetermined area, and the number of uses reaches the predetermined number of times. When it is determined that the ink sheet is sent, the ink sheet is sent to use the next unused area.