JPH0737404Y2 - Portable copying machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in the following order.

A Industrial field B Outline of the device C Conventional technology D Problems to be solved by the device E Means for solving the problems F Action G Example G-1 Configuration of Example (Fig. 2, Fig. 2) Fig. 3) Circuit system in the G-2 embodiment (Fig. 1) G-3 Image reading / recording operation (Figs. 1 to 4) H Effect of the invention A Industrial field of application The present invention uses a thermal head. The present invention relates to a portable copying apparatus which records on a recording sheet based on an image signal.

B Outline of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable copying apparatus that records on a recording sheet, for example, based on an image signal obtained by reading an image on a document surface by a thermal head that is brought into contact with the recording sheet. Supplying the first operating voltage based on the voltage between terminals of the battery to the image recording unit including the thermal head and other parts, and applying the voltage based on the voltage between terminals of the battery to the thermal head when the image recording operation mode is selected. An image recording operation is provided along with a power supply unit provided with a battery voltage detection unit that supplies a second operating voltage and detects a drop in the voltage between the terminals of the battery when a current based on the operating voltage is applied to the thermal head. When the mode is selected, the voltage drop between the terminals of the battery detected by the battery voltage detection means is the specified voltage value. A display for continuously displaying a state in which the voltage does not drop below and an intermittent display for a state in which the drop in the voltage between the terminals of the battery detected by the battery voltage detection means drops below a predetermined voltage value. By providing the parts, it is possible to properly and easily recognize the degree of consumption of the built-in battery with a relatively simple structure.

C Conventional technology The entire size is reduced to a portable size, and by manually moving on the document surface, the image on the document surface is read and the read image is recorded on a recording paper. A copying apparatus that can copy the above image has been proposed. Such a small-sized copying apparatus includes, for example, a rotatable traveling roller (guide roller), a CCD (charge-coupled device) image sensor for reading an image, and an image recording unit (printing unit) for recording an image on recording paper. ), Etc., and when the roller is in use, the traveling roller is brought into contact with the document surface to rotate, and it is manually moved on the document surface. Is read by the CCD image sensor, and an image signal corresponding to the read image is formed. Then, the obtained image signal is sent to the image recording section, and the image recording section records on the recording sheet based on the image signal, and the image on the original surface is copied onto the recording sheet.

The image recording unit in such a compact copying apparatus is often provided with, for example, a thermal head, which can be operated by a battery power source. Since the thermal head is supposed to be supplied with a relatively large current during its operation, and therefore the burden on the battery current tends to be heavy, the battery power source is usually a rechargeable battery such as a nickel-cadmium battery. Formed with a battery.

In such a small copying apparatus using the rechargeable battery as the battery power source, in addition to the display indicating that the recording operation is being performed by the image recording unit, the rechargeable battery is recharged. In order to be able to accurately recognize the right time, it is required that the state of exhaustion of the rechargeable battery be detected and displayed by some means.

D. Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in a rechargeable battery such as a nickel-cadmium battery, it is possible to properly detect the consumption state by simply measuring the voltage between the positive and negative terminals that are opened. In addition, when the device is provided with a display section dedicated to displaying the exhausted state of the battery, the number of parts including the light emitting element and the like is imitated, and the configuration is complicated. There is the inconvenience that a space for the display unit is required in the device.

In view of such a point, the present invention has an image recording unit provided with a thermal head, is operated by a battery, and is contacted with a recording paper by the thermal head.
A portable copying apparatus which can perform recording based on an image signal on a recording sheet and can appropriately and easily recognize the degree of consumption of a built-in battery with a relatively simple structure. The purpose is to provide.

E Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the portable copying apparatus according to the present invention has a mode selecting means for selecting an image recording operation mode and an image recording operation mode by the mode selecting means. An image recording unit that performs recording on the recording paper based on the image signal by the thermal head under the selection, an operation control unit that supplies the image signal to the image recording unit and controls the recording operation in the image recording unit, and an image. A first operating voltage based on the terminal voltage of the battery is supplied to each of the recording section and the operation control section, and when the image recording operation mode is selected by the mode selecting means, the thermal head is based on the terminal voltage of the battery. An image recording operation mode by a power supply section for supplying a second operation voltage and a mode selection means. And a display unit that performs display under a selected condition, and the power supply unit reduces the voltage drop between the terminals of the battery under the condition that the current based on the second operating voltage is applied to the thermal head. The battery voltage detecting means for detecting is provided, and further, the display unit continuously displays when the voltage drop between the terminals of the battery detected by the battery voltage detecting means does not drop below a predetermined voltage value. In addition to the display, the display is intermittent when the drop in the voltage between the terminals of the battery detected by the battery voltage detection means falls below a predetermined voltage value.

In the portable copying apparatus according to the present invention having the above-described structure, the thermal head provided in the image recording portion is brought into contact with the recording paper surface under the condition that the image recording operation mode is selected by the mode selection means. Then, the entire apparatus is moved on the recording paper surface. When such movement is performed, an image signal is supplied to the image recording unit under the control of the operation control unit, and the thermal head provided in the image recording unit receives the second operating voltage from the power supply unit. A current based on the image signal is supplied to perform recording based on the image signal on the recording paper, and accordingly, the display unit displays a recording operation state in the image recording unit. Further, the drop in the voltage between the terminals of the battery when the current based on the second operating voltage from the power supply unit is applied to the thermal head is detected by the battery voltage detection means, and the detected voltage between the terminals of the battery is detected. When the voltage drops to a state where the voltage drops below a preset predetermined voltage value, the state of is intermittently displayed by the display unit.

In this way, the battery voltage detection means provided in the power supply unit detects the drop in the voltage between the terminals of the battery as that under the current flowing from the power supply unit to the thermal head based on the second operating voltage. As a result, even when the battery is a rechargeable battery such as a nickel-cadmium battery, the battery exhaustion state is accurately detected, and the display based on the detection result is made. The degree can be properly and easily recognized, and the display is performed as part of the display regarding the state in which the image recording operation mode is selected by the mode selection means. This simplifies the configuration of the part including the part.

G. Embodiment G-1 Structure of Embodiment (FIGS. 2 and 3) FIGS. 2 and 3 show an example of a portable copying apparatus according to the present invention. An image reading operation mode in which an image is read and an image recording operation mode in which an image is recorded on a recording sheet can be set.

In addition, this example has a box 10, and the top plate portion of the box 10 is provided with a mode selection switch 11 for selecting an image reading operation mode and an image recording operation mode, A light emitting diode as an operation indicator lamp that forms a part of the display section that is operated under the image recording operation mode selected by the mode selection switch 11.
22 are provided.

On the bottom surface 10A side inside the box 10, a pair of traveling rollers 1
2A and 12B are in a state in which a part of each of them is projected outside the bottom surface portion 10A through a through hole formed in the bottom surface portion 10A,
It is rotatably arranged. At the position on the back plate side of the box 10 in the box 10, a heat-sensitive recording section 13 forming an image recording section, its lower end 13a is outside the bottom section 10A through a through hole formed in the bottom section 10A. It is arranged so that it can be projected. The thermal recording section 13 is provided with a thermal head in the lower end portion 13a thereof, and its end face is brought into contact with the surface of the recording paper 14Q to perform thermal recording.

Further, at the position sandwiched by the traveling rollers 12A and 12B in the casing 10, the image reading window 15 formed on the bottom surface portion 10A.
Above the above, the Selfoc lens part 16 is arranged,
Further, a CCD line image sensor 17 forming an image reading unit is installed above it. Image reading window
A light source 18 is also arranged above the light source 15, and the CCD line image sensor 17 allows light from the image that is exposed to the image reading window 15 under the illumination of the light source 18 to pass through the selfoc lens portion 16. The image signal is sequentially received as a line image, and image signals corresponding to the read line image are sequentially generated.

A control block 19 including an image signal sending unit having a memory for accumulating an image signal obtained from the CCD line image sensor 17 and a control circuit unit is also installed in the box 10. An image signal sending unit built in the control block 19 stores an image signal corresponding to a line image sequentially obtained from the CCD line image sensor 17 in a memory, and then stores the image signal stored in the memory, for example, 1 The image data corresponding to the line image is sequentially read and sent to the thermal recording unit 13 forming the image recording unit. Similarly, the control circuit unit built in the control block 19 forms an operation control unit for the heat-sensitive recording unit 13 forming the image recording unit, and includes an image signal sending unit, a heat-sensitive recording unit 13, and a mode selection switch 11. The CCD line image sensor 17 and the rotary encoder 20 provided in association with the traveling roller 12A are electrically connected to each other. Then, the control circuit, based on the timing pulse signal obtained by the rotation of the disc 20a of the rotary encoder 20, in the CCD line image sensor 17 and the image signal sending section, obtains an image signal with the CCD line image sensor 17 and sends the image signal. Operation of storing the image signal from the CCD line image sensor 17 to the thermal recording unit 13 in order to sequentially output an image signal corresponding to the line image from the memory in which the image signal from the CCD line image sensor 17 is stored, and the image in the thermal recording unit 13 The operation of recording an image on the recording paper 14Q is controlled according to the image signal from the signal sending unit.

Further, inside the box 10, there is provided a power supply section 21 containing a nickel-cadmium battery and a battery voltage detection circuit. The battery built in the power supply unit 21 is a control block 1 that includes an image signal sending unit and a control circuit unit.
9. The thermal recording unit 13, the CCD line image sensor 17, and the rotary encoder 20 are supplied with operating voltages, and the battery voltage detection circuit includes a thermal head built in the thermal recording unit 13 with a battery. The voltage drop between the terminals of the battery is detected when a current based on the operating voltage is applied.

Circuit system in G-2 embodiment (Fig. 1) Thermal recording unit 13, CCD line image sensor 1 as described above
7, the configuration of the circuit system in the portion including the control block 19, which contains the image signal transmitting unit and the control circuit unit, the power supply unit 21, the rotary encoder 20, and the display unit including the light emitting diode 22, is, for example, as shown in FIG. As shown in.

In this example, a memory 50 to which image signals corresponding to one line image from the CCD line image sensor 17 are sequentially supplied based on a predetermined timing pulse signal,
An image signal transmitting section 52 having a memory control signal generating section 51 for generating a control signal for writing and reading an image signal with respect to the memory 50.
Is provided. In addition, the thermal recording unit 13 is a line memory that takes in the image signal from the image signal sending unit 52.
A line memory 33 for latching the image signal captured in 32, a head drive unit 34 to which the image signal latched by the line memory 33 is supplied, and a thermal head 35 driven by the head drive unit 34 are provided. ing.

A control circuit unit 36, which is built in the control block 19 and forms an operation control unit for the thermal recording unit 13, is connected to the output end of the rotary encoder 20. Control circuit section
In 36, the timing pulse signal from the rotary encoder 20 is transmitted through the switch 37 to the mode selection switch.
Supplied to 11. The mode selection switch 11 has its movable contact connected to the selection contact R when the image reading operation mode is selected, and has the movable contact connected to the selection contact P when the image recording operation mode is selected. To be done. The selection contact R is connected to the sensor drive signal generator 53, and is also connected to the memory control signal generator 51 of the image signal transmitter 52 via the OR circuit 54. The selection contact P is connected to the recording unit drive. It is connected to the signal generation unit 38 and is also connected to the memory control signal generation unit 51 of the image signal transmission unit 52 via the OR circuit 54. Further, a timing pulse signal is supplied from the rotary encoder 20, and an output signal from the memory control signal generation unit 51 or an output signal from the recording unit drive signal generation unit 38 is supplied via an OR circuit 55, and based on them. Thus, a switch control unit 39 that controls the switch 37 is provided. The sensor drive signal generation unit 53 supplies various control signals to the CCD line image sensor 17, and the recording unit drive signal generation unit 38 controls the thermal recording unit 13 to have its line memories 32 and 33 and a head drive unit. Various control signals are supplied to 34.

Further, in this example, the power supply unit 21 is configured to include the nickel-cadmium battery 61, the battery voltage detection circuit 67, and the voltage stabilization circuit 68, and the display control circuit connected to the power supply unit 21. A display portion 81 is formed by 80 and the light emitting diode 22. In the power supply section 21, the terminal voltage of the nickel-cadmium battery 61,
That is, the battery voltage Vo is supplied to the voltage stabilizing circuit 68, and the stabilized DC voltage Vs lower than the battery voltage Vo is obtained from the voltage stabilizing circuit 68. And this DC voltage
Vs is thermal recording unit 13, CCD line image sensor 17, rotary encoder 20, control circuit unit 36, image signal sending unit 5
2, and is supplied as an operating voltage to the display unit 81. At the same time, the battery voltage Vo changes to the mode selection switch 11
The heat-sensitive recording section is connected via the switch 62
It is directly supplied to the thermal head 35 in 13 as an operating voltage.

G-3 Image reading / recording operation (FIGS. 1 to 4) With such a configuration, when an image on the document surface is read and then the read image is recorded on a recording sheet, First, the mode selection switch 11 is operated to enter the image reading operation mode state. And
The image reading window 15 provided on the bottom surface 10A of the casing 10 is made to face the document surface 14P, and the portions of the traveling rollers 12A and 12B protruding outside the bottom surface 10A of the casing 10 contact the document surface 14P. Under the pressure, the box 10 is moved on the document surface 14P. As a result, the traveling rollers 12A and 12B rotate while being in contact with the document surface 14P.

At this time, the disk 20a of the rotary encoder 20 rotates with the rotation of the traveling roller 12A, and a timing pulse signal corresponding to the moving speed of the casing 10 on the document surface 14P is obtained from the rotary encoder 20 and is controlled by it. It is supplied to the control circuit unit 36 incorporated in the block 19. Then, the control circuit unit 36 controls the operation of the image signal sending unit 52 built in the CCD line image sensor 17 and the control block 19 based on the timing pulse signal from the rotary encoder 20.

In this way, when the casing 10 is moved on the document surface 14P, the document surface 14P that appears in the image reading window 15 is displayed.
The image above is CC through the SELFOC lens unit 16.
It is read by the D line image sensor 17. Then, under the operation control based on the timing pulse signal from the rotary encoder 20 by the control circuit unit 36 incorporated in the control block 19, an image signal corresponding to the line image read from the CCD line image sensor 17 Are sequentially sent to the image signal sending unit 52. Then, in the image signal sending unit 52, the CCD line image sensor 17 is controlled by the control circuit unit 36 under the operation control based on the timing pulse signal from the rotary encoder 20.
Image signals corresponding to the respective line images sequentially supplied from are sequentially fetched and accumulated in the memory 50.

Next, the mode selection switch 11 is operated to enter the image recording operation mode state. Along with this, the switch 62 is turned on, and the battery voltage Vo from the power supply unit 21 is passed through the switch 62 to the thermal head 35 in the thermal recording unit 13.
Is supplied as an operating voltage to the thermosensitive recording unit 13 and the thermosensitive recording unit 13 is brought into an operating state.

Then, the heat-sensitive recording portion 13 protruding outside the bottom surface portion 10A of the box body 10
The end surface of the lower end portion 13a of the recording paper 14Q is brought into contact with the surface of the recording paper 14Q, and the portions of the traveling rollers 12A and 12B protruding outside the bottom surface 10A of the casing 10 are brought into contact with the surface of the recording paper 14Q. Then, the box 10 is moved on the surface of the recording paper 14Q. This causes the traveling rollers 12 and 12B to rotate while being in contact with the surface of the recording paper 14Q.

At this time, the timing pulse signal obtained from the rotary encoder 20 according to the rotation of the traveling roller 12A is supplied to the control circuit unit 36 incorporated in the control block 19. Then, the control circuit section 36 controls the operation of the image signal sending section 52 and the thermal recording section 13 provided in the control block 19, based on the timing pulse signal from the rotary encoder 20.

Under the operation control based on the timing pulse signal from the rotary encoder 20 by the control circuit unit 36 incorporated in the control block 19, the image signal from the CCD line image sensor 17 is detected in the image signal sending unit 52. Reading the image signal from the stored memory 50 is 1
The line image corresponding to the line image is sequentially performed, and the read image signals are sequentially transmitted to the thermal recording unit 13. And
In the thermal recording section 13, under the control of the operation based on the timing pulse signal from the rotary encoder 20 by the control circuit section 36, the image signal is sequentially supplied from the image signal sending section 52 by an amount corresponding to one line image. Correspondingly, the sir head 35 disposed in the lower end portion 13a is operated, and line images are sequentially recorded on the recording paper 14Q by thermal recording.

Under such an image recording operation mode, from the nickel-cadmium battery 61 in the power supply unit 21,
The battery voltage Vo, which is supplied as an operating voltage to the thermal head 35 of the thermal recording unit 13 via the switch 62, a current based on the battery voltage Vo flows to the thermol head 35 in accordance with the image signal supplied to the head drive unit 34. The resulting voltage drop causes the level fluctuation.
When the nickel-cadmium battery 61 is consumed to a small extent, the battery voltage Vo having such a level fluctuation is a period in which current is passed through the thermal head 35 as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 4A. Although there is a drop in Tp, it has a relatively high level as a whole, but when the nickel-cadmium battery 61 is excessively consumed, the thermal head as shown by the solid line in FIG. 4A is used. A drop occurs in the period Tp in which a current is passed through 35, and the level is lowered as a whole as compared with the level shown by the broken line.

Then, the battery voltage Vo accompanied by such a change is supplied to the battery voltage detection circuit 67 in the power supply unit 21. The battery voltage detection circuit 67 is formed of resistors 63 and 64 and a capacitor 65, and is a low-pass filter connected across the nickel-cadmium battery 61 and the output voltage of the low-pass filter obtained at one end of the capacitor 65. The output voltage Vb that compares Va with the reference voltage Vr and selectively takes the high level and the low level according to the comparison result.
And a comparator 66 for generating.

Under such circumstances, when the battery voltage Vo is set to have a level as shown by the broken line in FIG. 4A, the output voltage Va of the low-pass filter obtained at one end of the capacitor 65 is as shown in FIG. 4B. It has a level as shown by a broken line, and is higher than the reference voltage Vr even during the period Tp in which the level of the battery voltage Vo drops. Therefore, the output voltage Vb of the comparator 66 maintains a high level as indicated by the broken line in FIG. 4C.

On the other hand, when the battery voltage Vo has a level as shown by the solid line in FIG. 4A, the output voltage Va of the low-pass filter obtained at one end of the capacitor 65.
Has a level that is generally lower than the level shown by the broken line as shown by the solid line in FIG. 4B, and is the reference during the period Tp when the level of the battery voltage Vo drops. A state occurs in which the voltage becomes lower than the voltage Vr. Therefore, at this time, the output voltage Vb of the comparator 66 is
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 4C, a low level is set in the period Tp where the output voltage Va of the low-pass filter becomes lower than the reference voltage Vr, and a high level is set in another period.

The output voltage Vb of the comparator 66 obtained in this way
Is the AND gate of the display control circuit 80 in the display section 81.
It is supplied to one input terminal of 69. This And Gate 69
The stabilized DC voltage Vs from the power supply unit 21 is applied to one of the input terminals through the resistor 70, and the other input terminal of the AND gate 69 is connected through the resistor 71 to the other input terminal. The mode discriminating voltage Vp that is at a high level is applied only when the image recording operation mode in which the switch 62 is turned on is taken.

Therefore, the output voltage of the comparator 66 in the power supply unit 21 in the state where the image recording operation mode is taken.
When Vb takes a high level, a high level output voltage is obtained from the AND gate 69 and is supplied to the light emitting diode 22 through the resistor 72 so that the light emitting diode 22 is in the light emitting state, while the power supply is turned on. When the output voltage Vb of the comparator 66 in the section 21 takes a low level, a high level output voltage is not obtained from the AND gate 69, and therefore the light emitting diode 22 is brought into a non-light emitting state.

From the above, when the nickel-cadmium battery 61 in the power supply unit 21 is slightly consumed, the light-emitting diode 22 enters the image recording operation mode and the thermal recording unit 13 enters the recording operation state. When the nickel-cadmium battery 61 is excessively consumed, the thermosensitive recording unit 13 is in the recording operation state. When
It is assumed that it emits light intermittently, that is, it blinks. That is, the light emitting diode 22 indicates the recording operation state of the thermal recording unit 13 by the light emitting state, and the state in which the battery voltage Vo drops below a predetermined voltage value by the blinking state, that is, the nickel-cadmium battery 61. It indicates that the degree of wear of the item has become excessive.

The battery voltage detection circuit 67 in the power supply unit 21 described above causes the thermal head 35 in the thermal recording unit 13 to supply the battery voltage Vo
Is detected, the drop in the battery voltage Vo under the condition that the current based on the battery voltage Vo is supplied to the thermal head 35 is detected, so that the consumption state of the nickel-cadmium battery 61 is accurately detected. Will be things. Therefore, the light emitting state of the light emitting diode 22 makes it possible to properly and easily recognize the consumption state of the nickel-cadmium battery 61. Also, the battery voltage Vo
Is displayed below the specified voltage value,
Light emitting diode without a dedicated display means
Since 22 is used, the structure is simplified.

H Effect of the Invention As is clear from the above description, according to the portable copying apparatus of the present invention, the recording paper has the image recording unit having the thermal head and can be operated by the built-in battery. With the thermal heads in contact with each other, recording can be performed on the recording paper based on the image signal, and even when the battery is a rechargeable battery such as a nickel-cadmium battery, it is relatively easy. Based on the configuration, it is possible to accurately detect the consumption state of the battery, and as a result,
It is possible to properly and easily recognize the degree of battery consumption based on the display state of the display unit. Therefore, for example, in the case of a rechargeable battery such as a nickel-cadmium battery, it is possible to accurately grasp the time for recharging the battery. Moreover, since the display according to the detection result of the battery exhaustion state is performed as a part of the display regarding the state in which the image recording operation mode is selected by the mode selection means, the configuration including the display unit can be simplified. Will be done.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a block diagram showing a circuit system in an example of a portable copying apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an example of a portable copying apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 4, and FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are waveform diagrams provided for explaining the operation of the circuit system shown in FIG. In the figure, 10 is a box, 13 is a thermal recording unit, 17 is a CCD line image sensor, 19 is a control block, 20 is a rotary encoder, 21 is a power supply unit, 22 is a light emitting diode, 35 is a thermal head, and 36 is a control circuit. Reference numeral 52 is an image signal transmitting portion, 61 is a nickel-cadmium battery, 67 is a battery voltage detection circuit, 80 is a display control circuit, and 81 is a display portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A mode selecting means for selecting an image recording operation mode, and an image for performing recording based on an image signal on a recording paper by a thermal head under the selection of the image recording operation mode by the mode selecting means. A recording unit, an operation control unit for supplying the image signal to the image recording unit and controlling a recording operation in the image recording unit, and each of the image recording unit and the operation control unit based on a terminal voltage of a battery. In addition to supplying the first operating voltage, when the image recording operation mode is selected by the mode selecting means, the thermal head is supplied with the second operating voltage based on the terminal voltage of the battery. When the current based on the second operating voltage is applied to the thermal head, A power supply unit provided with a battery voltage detection means for detecting a voltage drop between terminals of the battery, and a terminal of the battery detected by the battery voltage detection means under the image recording operation mode selected by the mode selection means. When the voltage drop across the battery does not drop below a predetermined voltage value, continuous display is performed, and the voltage drop across the terminals of the battery detected by the battery voltage detecting means drops below the predetermined voltage value. A portable copying apparatus comprising: a display unit that displays intermittently when the display is turned on.