JPS60178155A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect the residual quantity of recording paper with high accuracy by providing a driving mechanism for rolled recording paper used in a recording apparatus with rotational amount detecting means, thereby to detect the residual quantity of the recording paper. CONSTITUTION:A rolled recording paper 1 is transported by a roller 3 and recording is performed to the paper by a recording apparatus 12. In this case, the roller 3 is driven by a motor 4 and the motor 4 is controlled, interlocking with the recording operation of the recording apparatus 12 through a driving circuit 5 by a control unit 6. A rotational frequency detector 2 is provided on a part of a driving mechanism for the roller 3, and the detected rotational frequency of the roller 3 is input to the control unit 6. In the control unit 6, the rotational frequency of the roller 3 is found by means of the rotational frequency detector 2 to detect the corresponding amount of recording paper 1 used, whereby when the designated amount of recording paper 1 is used, an alarm for the residual quantity of recording paper is given by a display device 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a recording device, and particularly to a recording device using a continuous roll of recording paper.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, roll-shaped recording paper has often been used in recording devices such as facsimiles and telex machines. Previously, the remaining amount of recording paper was detected by coloring the edge of the recording paper and detecting this part visually or using a photo sensor, or by using a micro switch equipped with a detection arm. The most effective method was to measure the diameter of the recording paper roll. According to this method, in the former case, the recorded results may be damaged by the colored portions and become difficult to read. Furthermore, the latter method has the disadvantage that the measurement accuracy is not very good.

〔the purpose〕

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive recording device equipped with means for detecting the remaining amount of o-le shaped recording paper with high precision without impairing the recording results. shall be.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of a recording apparatus employing the present invention.

1 in the figure is a roll of recording paper, which is conveyed by rollers 3 to the left in the figure and recorded by a recording device 12 using various methods such as a thermal type or an inkjet type. . The row 23 is driven by the motor 4 via a transmission system such as gears and belts. The operation of the motor 4 is controlled in conjunction with the recording operation of the recording device 12 via a drive circuit 5 by a control section 6 composed of a microcomputer or the like.

Further, a rotation speed detector 2 is provided in a part of the drive mechanism of the roller 3 via a gear, a belt, or the like.

The rotation speed detector 2 rotates a disc with a magnetic material attached to a part thereof and detects the number of times the magnetic material passes by using a magnetic sensor, or a disc with a slit is used as a photointerrupter. It is possible to quantitatively detect rotation angles using various methods such as scanning. The rotation speed of the roller 3 detected by the rotation speed detector 2 is inputted to the control section 6.

In the present invention, the control unit 6 uses the rotation speed detector 2 to
The number of rotations of the recording paper 1 is determined, and the usage amount of the corresponding roll of recording paper 1 is recognized from this, and when a predetermined amount of recording paper 1 has been used, a warning of the remaining amount of recording paper is issued using the display device 9. .

The control unit 6 is provided with a storage device 7 for continuously storing the usage amount of the recording paper 1 even after the power is cut off.
This storage device 7 retains its stored contents by a backup battery 8 even when the stain source is shut off. Further, a select switch 11 composed of a slide switch, a numeric keypad, etc. is connected to the control unit 6, and this select switch 11 is used to input the total length of the recording paper to be used. Furthermore, a reset switch 10 is connected to the control unit 6, and this reset switch 10 is used to return the remaining amount of recording paper stored in the storage device T to the initial value when replacing the recording paper 1. .

In the above configuration, when the diameter of the row 23 is d, the amount of conveyance of the recording paper 1 conveyed by one rotation of the roller 3 is πd, where the circumference is π. Therefore, when the roller 3 rotates n times, the length of the recording paper 1 is consumed by nπd.If the total length of the recording paper 1 is L, the remaining amount of the recording paper is I, -nfC.
d. Therefore, the remaining amount value is stored in the storage device 7 while being updated sequentially in accordance with the rotation of the row 23.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the processing procedure of the control section 6 of FIG. 1.

In step S1 of FIG. 2, the initial remaining amount of recording paper 1 is input using the select switch 11. However, this process is not necessary if the recording paper 1 is always used with paper of the same length. Subsequently, in step S2, the contents of the storage device I are rewritten to 7. Hereinafter, the current value of the storage device 7 will be expressed as l. Subsequently, in step 53-e, the remaining amount of recording paper in the storage device T is displayed using the display device 9. Subsequently, in step S4, the rotation speed n of the roller 3 is detected using the rotation speed detector 2.

In step S5, it is determined whether the reset switch 10 has been operated. If the operation has been performed, the process returns to step S1, and if the operation has not been performed, the process proceeds to S6.

In step S6, it is detected whether the rotation speed n of the roller 3 is greater than O, that is, whether the recording paper 1 is conveyed by the roller 3 in the positive direction corresponding to the left side in FIG. This is to prevent errors that may occur if the recording paper 1 is conveyed in the opposite direction due to special recording effects or recovery from a paper jam.

If step S6 is affirmed, proceed to step S7; if step S6 is negative, proceed to step S3.
Return to

In step S7, the recording paper 1 stored in the storage device 7 is
The length nπd consumed by recording is subtracted from the remaining amount l, this value is newly stored as the current value in the storage device 7, and the process returns to step S3.

According to the embodiment described above, even if the power is cut off, the remaining amount of the recording paper 1 according to the number of rotations of the roller 3 detected by the number of rotations detector 2 is always displayed on the display device 9. Therefore, the operator can always manage the recording paper reliably. Moreover, according to the above-described embodiment, even if a paper jam or the like occurs and the paper is removed, the remaining amount of the paper 9 is stored in the storage device T unless the reset switch 10 is pressed. Therefore, the accuracy of detecting the remaining amount of recording paper can be significantly improved compared to the conventional method.

Further, according to this embodiment, even when the operator pulls out the recording paper by hand to recover from a jam, if the roller 3 is allowed to rotate, there is an advantage that no significant errors will occur. be.

In the embodiment described below, the display device 9 is configured to constantly display the remaining amount of recording paper 1, but when the remaining amount of recording paper reaches a predetermined value, a buzzer or the like issues an alarm. , it is also possible to adopt a configuration that prompts the user to replace the recording paper. Further, although the rotation speed detector 2 has been exemplified to detect the rotation speed magnetically or optically, other types of rotation speed detectors may of course be used, and depending on the software of the control unit 6, Of course, the rotation speed detector 2 does not have to detect the actual rotation speed of the roller 3.

Further, in the above embodiments, the rotation speed of the conveying roller is detected by the rotation speed detector, but similar results can be obtained by detecting the rotation speed of the motor. For example, when using a step motor, if the rotation angle of one step of the step motor is θ, and the diameter of the roller 3 is d as described above, then the motor and the conveyance roller rotate at a reduction ratio of 1:1. When the n-step motor is rotated, the amount of recording paper used is nπdθ/360. Therefore, if the number n of driving steps is sent from the control section 6, the remaining amount of recording paper can be easily detected by counting this number of steps n within the control section 6. In this case, since the mechanical detection section can be omitted, the structure is simpler and cheaper, and the control is also easier.

In addition, in view of improving accuracy, the last remaining amount for one recording paper is stored in the storage device 7 from the time the reset switch is operated until the next operation, and the average value of the remaining amount each time is stored. may be calculated by the control device and compared with the total length of the recording paper. This makes it possible to calculate the effective length of the recording paper that has been pulled out and shortened when a new recording paper is loaded or when a jam occurs. After the reset switch 10 is operated, when calculating the first remaining amount of recording paper, the effective length of the recording paper calculated as described above is used instead of the rated length of the recording paper, thereby achieving substantial accuracy. can be improved.

Furthermore, instead of manually operating the reset switch 10, the remaining amount is reset by automatically actuating a microswitch or the like by movement of a predetermined section side to load the recording paper 1. Also good.

〔effect〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, in a recording apparatus using roll-shaped recording paper, a configuration is adopted in which the total amount of remaining recording paper is detected by a rotation speed detector provided in the recording paper transport system. Therefore, it is possible to provide an excellent recording device that significantly improves the accuracy of remaining amount detection and can be constructed simply and inexpensively without degrading recording quality.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the main part configuration of a recording apparatus employing the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the control section in FIG. 1. 1...Recording paper 2...Rotation speed detector 7...Storage device 9...Display device 10...Reset switch 11...Select switch Fig. 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] A recording apparatus using a roll of recording paper, characterized in that a rotation amount detection means is provided in a drive mechanism for the recording paper, and the rotation amount detection means detects the remaining amount of the roll of recording paper.