JPS61181258A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operation reliability by setting a paper sheet to a position just before the recording position of a recording head before the start of recording, detecting the setting of the paper sheet to inhibit the carrying control operation thereby preventing the generation of paper clogging. CONSTITUTION:A main control section 10, when power is applied, initializes the own operating state of the operating state of each section of the equipment at first and then gives the load command of the paper sheet 3 to a recording control section 20. Then a motor drive circuit 9 forwards a DC motor 8 to start carrying of the paper sheet 3 at the uppermost part stored in a cassette case 2 and carries it to a position just before the recording head 1. The recording control section 20 uses the detection signal of a paper sheet sensor 31 to detect always whether or not the paper sheet 3 is loaded and even when the main control section 1 gives the load command of a new paper sheet, when the paper is loaded already, the section 20 controls the equipment that no load control is executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an improvement in a facsimile machine that uses sheet paper as recording paper.

[Technical background of the invention]

In recent years, with the promotion of office automation, facsimile machines have rapidly become popular, but these facsimile machines generally use roll paper as recording paper. This facsimile machine using roll paper has the advantage of simplifying the paper feeding mechanism, but has the disadvantage that it is difficult to downsize the machine because it requires a space to accommodate the maximum diameter valve of the roll paper. In other words, roll paper is generally 100 to 200 m long, but the diameter of such roll paper can be 100 to 150 mm or more, and the height of the device is determined by the diameter of this roll paper, making it difficult to operate the device. Cannot be made smaller.

Therefore, recently, an apparatus has been devised that uses sheet paper that is cut into a predetermined size one by one as recording paper, and records information by supplying this set of sheets to a recording head. According to such a device, the height of the tray for storing paper in the sheet 1 is generally around 5 cm, so the height of the device can be lowered and a recording paper cutting mechanism can be installed in the device. Since there is no need to provide one, the device can be made more compact.

(Problems with the blue slip technology) However, in conventional devices of this type, the tars that house the sheets of paper are inserted deep into the device due to space constraints and ease of operation. unable to
It has to be placed at a certain distance from the recording head. For this reason, it takes time to feed the sheet paper to the recording position of the recording head after the start of the recording operation, and this time becomes wasted time, increasing the time required for the recording operation. In some cases, the above-mentioned wasted time may not be allowed and communication may become impossible immediately, which is extremely undesirable.

Therefore, it is conceivable to transport the sheet paper just before the recording head before starting the recording operation! If this was done, the paper 1~ would be transported redundantly when the power was reset 1~, and there was a risk of paper jams or the like.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention makes it possible to record old records on sheet paper immediately after the start of the recording operation, thereby reducing wasted time and shortening the recording time, and also enables reliable reception recording at all times without relying on communication control means. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile machine which has high operational reliability and economical efficiency by preventing the occurrence of paper jams.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention drives a paper feed mechanism to convey a sheet of paper before the recording head starts recording operation, thereby moving the leading end of the sheet to the recording position of the recording head or The sheet paper is set at the previous predetermined position, and a means for detecting whether or not sheet paper is set at the above position is provided. At times, the control operation of transporting paper to the sheet 1 by the paper feeding mechanism is prohibited.

[Embodiments of the invention]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 indicates a recording head, and reference numeral 2 indicates a cassette case in which sheets 3 as recording paper are stacked and housed. The force setting case 2 is guided by a guide (not shown) and is housed in a detachable manner from the outside of the device in the six directions of arrows. ”: A recording roller 4 is disposed at a position facing the recording surface of the recording head 1, and a pair of conveyance rollers 51 and 52 are provided on the sheet paper conveyance path between the cassette case 2 and the recording head 1. It is arranged. The recording roller 4 and the conveyance roller 51 are each driven in synchronization with each other by a step motor 6. Further, a paper feed roller 7 is disposed at a position facing the sheet paper 3 of the cassette case 2. This paper feed roller 7 is driven by a DC motor 8.

On the other hand, this equipment is provided with two control sections, consisting of a main control section 10 and a recording control section 20h, as circuits for controlling sheet paper conveyance operations. These control sections 10 and 20 are composed of microcomputers hX, and the main control section 10 has a function of comprehensively controlling various operations of the facsimile apparatus such as communication control and recording control. The recording control section 20 performs various controls related to recording operations according to instructions from the main control section 10, and as shown in FIG. It has a load control function 23 and a load prohibition control function 24 for the sheet paper 3. The sheet paper 3 load control function 23 loads the sheet paper 3 housed in the cassette case 2 immediately before the recording head 1 at predetermined timings when the device is powered on, when the cassette case 2 is inserted, and during recording operation. It is for loading into position.

The load prohibition i function 24 determines that loading is unnecessary when it is detected that sheet paper 3 is set, and prohibits the loading of sheet 1 to paper 3. In the figure, numeral 30 is an operation panel used by the operator to make the apparatus perform various operations, and numeral 9 is a control panel for controlling the step motor 6 and the DC motor 8 according to instructions from the recording control section 20.
31.
Reference numerals 32 indicate a sticker paper sensor for detecting whether the sheet paper 3 is loaded at a predetermined position, and a cassette 1 to sensor for detecting whether or not a cassette case is inserted.

Next, the main controller 1 controls the operation of the device configured as described above.
This will be explained according to the control procedure of the recording control section 20. When the power is turned on, the main controller 10 first initializes its own operating state (at this time, the flag FG is set to "o") and the operating states of each part of the device, and then turns off the power in step 3a of FIG. The output signal of the set sensor 32 is input, and it is determined in step 3b whether or not the cassette 1 and the case 2 have been moved to a predetermined position. If the cassette case 2 is not set, the system waits for the cassette case 2 to be set; on the other hand, if the cassette case 2 is already set, the process directly proceeds to step 3G, and in this step 3C, it is determined that the flag FG=0. For example, in step 3d, an instruction to load the sheet paper 3 is issued to the recording control section 20.

Now, when this load instruction is issued, the recording control section 20 recognizes the arrival of the load instruction in step 4b of FIG. 4, and thereafter executes sheet paper loading control as described above.

That is, first, in step 5a of FIG. 5, the detection signal of the sheet paper sensor 31 is input, and in step 5b, it is determined whether or not this detection signal is 1'°. It is determined that the sheet paper 3 has not been loaded yet and moves to step 5d. On the other hand, if the detection signal of the sheet paper sensor 31 is '1', it is determined that the sheet paper 3 has already been loaded. The process moves to step 5C, where a load unnecessary signal is output to the main control section 10.

When proceeding to step 5d, the recording control unit 20 first causes the motor drive circuit 9 to drive the DC motor 8 (M2) in the normal rotation to cause the paper feed roller 7 to rotate in the normal rotation,
As a result, conveyance of the uppermost sheet of paper 3 housed in the cassette case 2 is started. During this time, time is monitored in step 5e, and when the predetermined time T1 has elapsed, it is determined that the leading edge of the sheet paper 3 has reached the conveyance rollers 51 and 52, and in step 5f, the step motor 6 ( Ml) to rotate the conveyance roller 51 in the forward direction, thereby transporting the sheet paper 3
is further conveyed toward the recording head 1. Then, in step 5q, the output of the sheet paper sensor 31 is monitored, and when this output reaches 1'', the sheet paper 3 is moved to the conveyance roller 51.
．． 52, and step 5h.
Then, at step 51, when it is determined that the predetermined time T2 has elapsed, it is determined that the leading edge of the sheet paper 3 has reached the position just in front of the recording head 1, and the step motor 8 is stopped at step 5j. Then, in step 5k, a load end signal is output to the main controller 10, and the load control operation for the sheet paper 3 is ended.

On the other hand, during this load control period, the main control unit 10 repeatedly monitors the arrival of a load end signal and a load unnecessary signal in step 3e and step 3, respectively, and when the load end signal arrives, it monitors the arrival of this signal in step 3e. Recognizes the arrival, and then sets flag FG to 1 in step 3f.
'', the process moves to step 3q. In step 3q, it is determined whether or not a recording operation is required in response to the reception of an image signal or a request for copying. If it is not necessary, the process returns to step 3a.

On the other hand, if reception occurs at this time and a recording operation is required, the main control unit 10 performs step 3h in FIG.
A recording start instruction is output to the recording control section 20. On the other hand, the recording control unit 20 recognizes the arrival of the recording start instruction in step 4a of FIG. 4, and subsequently executes the recording control shown in FIG. 6. That is, first, in step 6a, the step motor 6 is driven by the motor drive circuit 9, and the conveyance roller 51 and the recording roller 4 are rotated in the forward direction -10.
−.

As a result, sub-scanning of the sheet paper 3 is started. At this time, the recording control section 20 simultaneously outputs the received and reproduced image signal to the recording head 1 to cause the recording head 1 to perform main recording scanning.

Then, the recording on the sheet paper 3 proceeds, and step 6b
When detecting that the output of the sheet paper sensor 31 has become 'O', the recording control section 20 determines that the recording on the sheet paper 3 is nearing the end and starts the motor drive circuit 9 in step 6G. The DC motor 8 is driven to rotate the paper feed roller 7 in the forward direction, thereby loading a sheet 3 from the cassette case 2 in preparation for the next recording or recording of the next page.At this time, the DC motor 8 If the speed of 1-j is set appropriately, it is possible to load and set the leading end of the sheet 3 to the position just in front of the recording head 1 almost simultaneously with the completion of the recording operation on the paper 3 on the sheet 1. Then, the recording on the paper 3 on the sheet 1 is completed, and when this is recognized in step 6d, the recording control section 20 proceeds to step 6e.
Step motor 6 and DC motor 8 are stopped respectively, and if it is determined in step 6f that there is a record of the next page, the process returns to step 6a and the above control operation is repeated, and if it is determined that one is not recorded, the main control is started in step 6g. After outputting the recording end signal to the unit 10, the process returns to the operation of monitoring the arrival of a load instruction (step 4b) and the operation of monitoring the arrival of a recording start instruction (step 4a) in FIG. It should be noted that the main control section 10 returns to step 3a when the arrival of the recording end signal is detected in step 31, and thereafter enters the recording standby state. In this recording standby state, the flag FG is set to "1" and the determination result in step 3C is NO, so the main control unit 10 determines that the sheet paper 3 has been loaded, and steps Skip the steps from step 3d to step 3f and proceed to step 3g to monitor the occurrence of a recording request, after which force set case 2 is pulled out and flag F is set.
The above operation is repeated until G does not become "o".

In addition, in the record standby state, when the operator pulls out the cassette 1 to case 2 from the cassette 88 in order to change the size of the sheet paper or replenish the paper, at this point the flag FG is set in step 3j. 0''. Therefore, when the cassette case 2 is inserted after this, the determination result in step 3G becomes YES, so the main control unit 10
d to step 3f to load the sheet paper, and as a result, the recording control unit 20 loads the sheet paper 3.
is loaded.

By the way, if a power outage occurs while sheet paper 3 is loaded and the power is automatically restored, or if the
When loading and unloading case 2, there is already loaded sheet paper 3 in the device, so if you unconditionally load the sheet paper automatically in this state, the sheet paper will be fed redundantly. This can cause paper jams. However, in this apparatus, the main control section 10 is connected to the recording control section 2.
0 Even if an instruction to load sheet paper is issued, the recording control unit 2
0 inputs the detection signal of the sheet paper sensor 31 in step 5a of FIG. It is determined that the load has been completed, and a load unnecessary signal is output to the main control unit 10 in step 5G without executing the load control in steps 5d and below. And the mastery resentment part 10
recognizes the arrival of the load unnecessary signal in step 5, and proceeds directly to step 5Q to monitor the occurrence of a recording request.

Therefore, loading of unnecessary sheet paper 3 is prohibited when sheet paper 3 has already been loaded.

As described above, in this embodiment, by using sheet paper as the recording paper, it is possible to downsize the apparatus and simplify operations such as changing the paper size and replenishing the paper. In addition, the sheet paper 3 is automatically loaded to the position directly in front of the recording head 1 at a predetermined timing when the power is turned on, when the cassette case 2 is inserted, and before recording of one sheet is completed. When a request occurs, the recording operation on the sheet paper 3 can be performed immediately, thereby reducing wasted time and shortening the recording time. . Furthermore, even when using a communication procedure that is set to perform an immediate recording operation from the time of reception, recording can be performed reliably without communication being disabled, and it can be applied to any model. In addition, a loading prohibition control means is installed, so that even if a power outage occurs or case 2 is taken in and out of case 1 while sheet paper 3 is already loaded, paper 3 will not be transferred to sheet 1. Since no duplication is performed, paper jams can be reliably prevented from occurring. Further, since it is not necessary to remove the paper 3 from the loaded sheet 1 in the apparatus each time, the operator's effort can be reduced.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the first embodiment.

For example, it is also possible to load the paper onto the sheet 1 so that the leading edge of the paper is placed in the recording position of the recording head 1 and onto the cellar 1. In addition to the direct current motor, a step motor may be used as the paper feeder to the sheet 1. The configuration and control procedure of the landowner control section and the recording control section, the contents of the []-load control and load prohibition control for paper to Sea 1, the means for detecting the loading of Sea 1 paper, etc. do not depart from the gist of the present invention. It can be implemented with various modifications within the range.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, the present invention drives the paper feed mechanism to convey the sheet paper before the recording operation by the recording head starts, thereby moving the leading edge of the sheet 1 to the recording position of the recording head or The sheet paper is set at a predetermined position just before that, and a means for detecting whether or not the sheet paper is set in the open position is provided, and by this means, the paper is transferred from the sheet 1 to the cellar 1. When it is detected that the paper feed mechanism is in the sheet 1, the control operation for conveying the paper to the sheet 1 by the paper feeding mechanism is prohibited.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to immediately record on a sheet of paper after the start of the recording operation, thereby reducing wasted time and shortening the recording time. It is possible to provide a facsimile machine that can record reception, prevent paper jams, and has high operational reliability and economic efficiency.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures are for explaining a facsimile machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the parts of the facsimile machine related to the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram of the recording control section. 3A and 3B show flowcharts 1 to 3 showing the control operation procedure of the main control section, and FIGS. 4 to 6 show flowcharts 1 to 10 showing the control operation procedure of the recording control section. 1...recording head, 2...cassera]-case, 3.
...sheet paper, 4...recording roller, 51.52...
Conveyance roller, 6... Step motor, 7... Paper feed roller, 8... DC motor, 9... Motor drive circuit,
10... Main control section, 20... Recording control section, 21...
・Recording head control function, 22... Paper sub-scan control function to sheet 1 11 function, 23... Sheet paper load control function,
24... Load prohibition control function, 30... Operation panel, 31... Paper sensor to seat 1, 32... Cassette sensor 4 no.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a facsimile machine in which a case containing sheet paper for recording is removably housed, and a sheet set is conveyed one by one from the case to a recording head by a paper feed mechanism to perform recording, the recording head can perform recording. A paper feed control means for driving the paper feed mechanism to transport the sheet paper and setting the leading end at a recording position of a recording head or a predetermined position immediately before the paper feed mechanism before the start of operation; and setting of the sheet paper by the paper feed control means. a sheet paper detection means for detecting whether or not the sheet paper is set; and a sheet paper detection means for inhibiting the sheet paper conveyance control operation by the paper feed control means when the sheet paper detection means detects that the sheet paper is set. A facsimile machine characterized by comprising a means for inhibiting paper feeding. (2) The paper feed control means transports the sheet paper at predetermined timings when the device is powered on, when the case is inserted, and during recording on the previous sheet paper. The facsimile machine according to paragraph (1).