JPS61259276A - Electronic counter controlling system for copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent stepping due to malfunction of a counter by making the counter side receive a counter stepping signal from the main body side and output an answer signal made by processing the stepping signal to the main body side of a copying machine. CONSTITUTION:When a counter stepping signal CO came to a connector 23 from the main body side of a copying machine, a micro CPU 12 detects a count signal through an interface circuit 20. The CPU 12 checks whether the counter is overflowed or not. When the counter is not overflowed, the CPU 12 processes the signal CO and outputs an answer signal AK to the copying machine through an interface circuit 21. Thus, stepping due to malfunction of the counter that does not entail copying can be prevented.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Technical field) The present invention relates to an electronic counter control system for a copying machine.

(Prior Art) Maintenance service fees are paid not only when copying machines are rented or leased, but also when purchased. Therefore, since it is subject to billing, the operation of the counter is an important factor, and it is necessary to prevent unauthorized use.

Conventionally, a reed switch was wound around the coil of an electromagnetic counter or placed close to it, so that when the coil was energized by electricity, the switch was activated. Then, the switch signal is guided to the control μCPU of the copying machine, and the counter is activated by checking the timing at which the switch is turned off immediately before driving the counter, and the timing at which the switch is turned on immediately before turning off the power after driving. It has been determined that it is connected and operating normally.

The connection diagram is shown in FIG. Counter 1 is l of cpU
10 (for example, LS 18255 for I10) is operated by transistor 2 which receives the output. The switch 3 is excited by the coil of the counter 1 and connected to the input 4 of the cpullo, and the operating state of the switch 3 is checked at the timing to control the operation or stop of the copying machine.

However, in such a conventional example, counter 1 in the figure
, switch 3 is removed and the load resistance R of transistor 2 is
1. If, instead of the signal from switch 3, the counter drive voltage 24V is divided to a switch signal level of 5V using resistors R2 and R3 and applied to input 4, the copying machine can operate even without counter 1, and the counter will continue to step. Unauthorized use is possible without permission.

Another problem with this method was that if voltage was applied to the counter by pressing the print button, the counter would increment even if the answer signal from the counter did not return to the main unit due to some kind of malfunction. .

Furthermore, if this type of counter is an endless counter that returns to zero, accurate counting cannot be performed because only the counter counts and returns to zero.

It can also be used illegally.

On the other hand, since the time is counted only when the copier is copying, electronic counters with battery backup have the disadvantage that if they are kept running even when the copier is not in operation, the battery will be consumed significantly and the battery life will be shortened. .

(Objective) The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional example and provides an electronic counter control method for a copying machine that can connect the electronic counter to the copying machine main body and check its operation. The purpose is to

(Structure) For this purpose, the present invention processes the answer signal corresponding to the step signal and returns it to the copying machine side, rather than in the form corresponding to it as is.
The present invention is characterized in that copy control is started based on this answer signal.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an electronic copy counter of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof.

Symbol 12 is a one-chip μCPU that controls this counter and holds count data. For example, NEC
μP07501G is suitable. The μCpu 12 has 24 segment outputs that can directly drive the liquid crystal numeric display 13 (hereinafter referred to as LCD), 4 common outputs, and 24 individual output lines, a ROM that stores the control program for the flow shown in Figure 4, counters, operation flags, etc. This is a well-known CMOS one-chip μCPU consisting of RAM.

The LCD 13 has segment outputs SO to S of the μcpu 12.
23, is connected to the common output GOMO~2, and its timing pulse is generated by the oscillation circuit 14 in a well-known dynamic lighting system. Output terminal P of μcpu12
A control line 15 from 60 is controlled to stop the oscillation circuit 14 when the LCD 13 is off, thereby reducing the consumption of the battery 16.

The battery 16 is a power source for holding the data of the counter 10 and driving all the circuits, and a lithium battery is suitable. According to experiments, the function can be maintained for about 5 years at 3V 150mAh in the standby mode of μCPU 12, which will be described later.

The switch 17 is a switch for setting the conditions of the answer signal of the counter, and is a switch for setting the conditions of the answer signal of the counter.
Each switch is connected to P43, and each switch has a pull-up resistor that is active at the low level, and depending on the copier model, a check answer can be set by combining the switches.
Set conditions such as number of signals and length. The structure is such that it is sealed with a cover when installed in a copying machine.

The switch 18 is a display switch for displaying the LCD 13 only when necessary, and when this switch is activated, the LCD 13 is displayed for 30 seconds. This switch is connected to the input terminal pH of the μCPU 12, is a pull-up resistor, and has an OW level active.

The switch 19 is a single reset switch,
Normally, the copy counter of a copier is zero at the time of delivery, minus 3.
It is set to a value between 000 and 5000. A rental contract or maintenance service contract becomes valid when the indicated value of the counter starts from zero, so a single reset function is required to set it to zero when the contract is established. That is, when the most significant digit changes from 9 to OK, a flag for disabling the switch is stored in the RAM of the μcpu 12, and the flag is checked to enable or disable the function of the switch 19.

The switch 19 is connected to the input terminal P12 of the μCPU 12, and has a pull-up resistor with l and ow levels active.

The photocoupler 20 is an interface circuit that receives and takes count-up signals from a PPC (plain paper copying machine).
It is electrically isolated from the PC.

The LED 2OA is turned on by a signal from the PPC, the phototransistor 20B is switched by the light, and the output is taken into the input terminal P50 of the μCPU 12, and is used as a count-a-sive signal.

The photocoupler 1 is an interface for an answerback signal that detects the count-up signal and sends it back to the PPC, and drives the transistor 22 with the output signal from the output terminal P30 of the μCPU 12 to light up the LED 21A, and the phototransistor 21B. It is supplied to PPC via. This interface circuit is also electrically isolated from the PPC.

These signals are connected to the PPC via a connector 23.

Standby mode stops the internal functions of μcput2 to save power consumption.For example, NEC's μP
In the D7501G, when the 5TOP instruction is executed, the standby mode is entered, and by applying a signal to the interrupt terminal, the standby mode is canceled and the μCPU 12 is activated.

To cancel the standby mode, either the count signal A1 display S W2B operating signal B or the single reset 5W19 operating signal C connected to the circuit shown in Fig. 2 is activated, and the input of the NAND gate 26 is at the LOW level. When it comes to N
The output of the AND gate becomes High level, and the μcpu
12 interrupt pin INTO for canceling standby mode
is activated and released.

Next, the operation of this counter 10 will be explained using the flows shown in FIGS. 3 to 6.

Step 100: This is an initial setting routine that is executed only when power from the battery 16 is applied to this counter.

This routine is executed only once, and its contents are as follows: (1) Resets the RAM contents counter and flags of the μCPU 12;

■ Turn off the display and set each input/output setting condition, such as the input/output setting of the I10 boat, to the initial condition.

Step 101: This is a routine that sets the μCPU 12 to standby mode after executing each operation in order to minimize consumption of the battery 16. Its execution is based on a standby mode command such as a 5TOP command.

pP D7501G of μCpu12 in the example is 5TO
When the P command is executed, it enters standby mode.

It is released when each of the following external signals is active.

■ When the display switch 18 is pressed, Step 102 ■ When the single reset switch 19 is pressed, Step 103 ■ When the counter up signal (CO) 200 is received from the copying machine Step 104 Step 10
2: When the display switch 18 is pressed, as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 2, the potential at the input point C of the connected NAND gate 26 becomes the l,ow level, the output becomes the H1gh level, and the connection is established. Since the interrupt input for canceling standby mode of μCPU 12 becomes active, standby mode is canceled.

The process then proceeds to step 105 of the display processing routine.

Step 103: When the single reset switch 19 is pressed, the potential at the input point B of the connected NAND gate 26 becomes Low level, and the output becomes High level, as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. The interrupt input for canceling the standby mode of μCPU12 becomes active.
Standby mode is canceled.

The process then proceeds to step 106 of the single reset processing routine.

Step 104: As shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 2, a count signal (Co) 200 from the copying machine is applied to turn on the photocoupler 20A through the connector 23, and the phototransistor 20B is turned on and connected. The potential at the input point A of the NAND gate 26 becomes Low level, and the output becomes High.
When the level is reached, the interrupt input for canceling the standby mode of the connected μCPU12 becomes active,
Standby mode is canceled.

The process then proceeds to step 107 of the answerback countup processing routine.

Step 105: Display processing routine, the operation flow of which is shown in FIG.

When the display switch 1 day is pressed, the standby mode is canceled in step 102, and a display time of 30 seconds is set and started using the built-in timer of the μCPU 12 (step 1).
05A).

The control line 15 is output to High level to start the oscillation of the display timing pulse oscillation circuit 14 (step 10).
5B).

The counter data stored in the RAM of the μcpu 12 is output to the LCD 13 and displayed (step 105C).
.

If a count-up signal arrives during display, it will not be possible to count, so this is checked (step 105D).

Next, the overtime of the 30 second timer is checked (step 105B), and if the timer is not over, the display continues, but if the timer is over, the display on the LCD 13 is turned off (step 105F), and the control line 15 is connected to l, ow. level to stop the display timing pulse oscillation circuit 14 (step 105G).

The process returns to standby mode (step 102) and enters standby mode.

Step 106: Single reset processing routine, the operation flow of which is shown in FIG.

When the single reset switch 19 is pressed, step 102
The standby mode is released, and in the step 10 full routine, it is determined whether the counter contents are zero at each count up (step 107G), and when it becomes zero, a flag to disable the single reset function is stored in the RAM of the μcpu 12.
(step 107), so first check whether this flag is set (step 106).
A).

If it is not set, it is set and the counter is reset (step 106B). Of course, if it is set, this single reset function is invalid, so step 1
Proceed to 02.

Step 107; Answerback count-up processing routine;
The operation flow is shown in FIG. .

Count-up signal (CO) 20 from the copying machine in Figure 7
When 0 comes to the connector 23, the μCPU 12 detects the count signal via the interface circuit 20 of FIG.

The μcpu12 first checks whether the counter has overflowed (meaning 9,999.999 for a 7-digit counter) (step IQ?A), and if the counter has overflowed, it will display 9,999.999. blinks for a certain period of time and ends without outputting an answer signal (steps 107B and 107C).

If the counter does not overflow, step 10
Proceed to 7D and send the answer signal (AK) 201 in Figure 7 to μc.
pu12 is the interface circuit 21 in FIG. 2 to the copying machine.
Output via.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the count-up signal (Co) 200 from the copying machine is IQOms, and the answer signal (AK) 201 outputs two pulses of 10 m5 after a delay time of 30 m5.

Note that T indicates the count-up timing.

That is, an answer signal is processed and output in response to a count up signal (counter step signal).

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of a power supply circuit for controlling operation and non-operation of a copying machine.

The commercial power supply of ACIQOV is connected to the control power supply circuit 150 via the power switch, and then the relay switch (contact) S
Power is supplied to the driving power supply circuit 151 via R.

A control power supply circuit 150 supplies DC power to the μCpu 152, various sensors, etc., while a drive power supply circuit 151 supplies a drive motor 153 for a photoreceptor drum, etc. Exposure halogen lamp 154. AC power is supplied to the heater of the fixing device 155, etc.

Main relay RA is controlled by μC1)u152. When the energization is released, turn off the relay switch SR.
f, the power supply to the drive power supply circuit 151 is cut off, and the copying machine becomes in a state in which copying is disabled.

The μCPU 152 of the copying machine outputs the recurrent up signal CO from the connector 23 in FIG. 2, inputs the answer signal AK, and outputs tO+ in FIG.
The values of both signals at the timing of tl are determined, and if both signals Co and AK are output as shown in the correspondence diagram shown in FIG. 9, the answer signal is 3 Qms with respect to the counter signal.
Since the number of relays is equal to the predetermined number due to the delay, it is determined that the relay is normal, and the main relay RA is kept on, and the counter step signal 200 is maintained for the time indicated by the solid line in FIG.

If both signals Co and AK are not output as shown in Fig. 9, it is determined that there is an abnormality, and the main relay RA is turned off and the relay switch SR is turned off to make the copy impossible, and the count-up signal ( Co) 200 is immediately dropped as shown by the dotted line in Figure 7.

In step 107D, check the count up signal and increment the counter by one.
Make a determination with G and set the single reset flag.

Then, the process returns to step 102 and waits.

This check program is the control μCPU 152 of the copying machine.
is stored in.

(Effects) The present invention is as described above, and according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent unauthorized use of the counter, and to prevent the counter from malfunctioning without copying, which would be disadvantageous from the user's point of view. can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an electronic counter according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof, and FIGS. 3 and 4. 5 and 6 are flowcharts showing the control operation,
Fig. 7 is a timing chart of the count-up signal and answer signal, Fig. 8 is a power supply circuit diagram of the copying machine, Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the correspondence between each signal in Fig. 7 and the signal at a predetermined timing. FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of a conventional counter. 10...Electronic counter, 12...μc for counter
pu. 152...μcpu for copying machine. Figure 1 Figure 7 Prisoner 9 Figure 8

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a copying machine controlled by a μCPU and equipped with an electronic counter for displaying the total number of copies, the counter receives a counter step signal from the main unit and outputs an answer signal obtained by processing the counter step signal from the counter side. An electronic counter control system for a copying machine, characterized in that: