JPS62287763A - Picture forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the titled device usable at any location with light weight while the necessity of using consumables such as a battery is eliminated by providing a solar battery for drive power supply on an original platen cover on an original platen of a serial scanner printer. CONSTITUTION:The original platen (transparent glass plate) on which an original is placed is provided to the upper face of the original platen of the main body 30 of the serial scanner printer, the original platen cover 33 is provided onto the original platen, the original platen cover 33 is supported to a pivatal support shaft 22 freely turnably and opened/closed freely to the original platen. The solar battery 20 for the drive power supply is mounted to the original platen cover 33. The solar battery 20 is connected to an electric circuit in the main body 30 by a flexible cable 21. An operation panel 38 is formed to the front side of the main body 30 and a paper entrace 35, a paper exit 36 to the printer and a ribbon cassette loading section 37 are formed at the rear side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to improvements in image forming apparatuses such as serial scanner printers.

(Prior Art) Recently, serial scanner printers have been developed that place a document on a document table provided on the top surface of the main body, read the image of the document, and form an image based on the read information.

However, although the scanner printer described above is powered by a battery such as a battery, it is a consumable item, so there is a problem that it cannot be used when the battery capacity is exhausted.

Furthermore, although the battery was installed at the bottom of the printer section, it also had the disadvantage of increasing the weight of the entire device.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, since consumables such as batteries are used as the drive N#I, when the battery capacity runs out, it cannot be used on the spot. Moreover, it eliminates the disadvantage of being heavy, and there is no need to use consumables such as batteries.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that can be used on the spot regardless of the presence or absence of batteries, and can be carried easily.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) This image forming apparatus includes a document table on which a document is placed, an image reading means for reading an image of the document placed on the document table, and a device for reading the image. an image forming means for forming an image on an image forming member based on information read by the means; a document cover provided on the document table; and a driving N on the document table cover.
It consists of a solar cell installed as a source.

(Function) The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that reads an image of a document placed on a document table and forms an image on an image forming member based on the read information. A solar cell for driving power is provided on the top.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 show the external appearance of a serial scanner printer. In the figure, 30 is a main body, and on the upper surface of this main body 30 is a document table (transparent glass plate) 31 on which a document A@ is placed. A positioning scale 32 for positioning the original A is provided on one side of the original table 31. Further, a document table cover 33 is provided on the document table 31, and the document table cover 33 is rotatably supported on the pivot shaft 22 at the rear side, and can be opened and closed with respect to the document table 31. It has become.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, a solar cell 20 for driving a voltage source is placed on the document table cover 33. As shown in FIG. This solar cell 20 is connected to an electric circuit within a main body 30 by a flexible cable 21, as shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, an inlet 35 and an outlet 36 for the paper (image forming member) P to the printer unit (image forming means) 34 are provided on the upper rear side and the rear end side of the main body 30. At the same time, a ribbon cassette mounting section 37 is formed on the rear side of the paper P entrance 35. Further, on the front side of the top surface, an operation panel 38 including a print switch, a stop switch, a paper feed switch, a switch for specifying a copy range, an online switch, etc. is provided. Further, on the rear side of the document table cover 33, a tapered portion 33a for guiding insertion of the document P is provided.

As a result, the document P is smoothly guided to the entrance 35 of the printer section 34 by the taper section 33a. Further, the side of the tapered portion 33a serves as a guide in the lateral direction when the paper P is inserted.

Also, inside the main body 3o, there is a document A placed on the document table 31.
a scanner section (image reading means) 39 for reading an image of
A printer section (image forming means) 34 that forms an image on the paper P based on the information read by the scanner section 39 is provided. They are respectively located at the rear of the section 39.

As shown in FIG.
a sensor unit 40 that captures an image of a document placed on
and a drive mechanism 41 that reciprocates the sensor unit 40 in the X direction, which is the left-right direction, and the Y direction, which is the front-back direction.

That is, a guide rail 42 is provided on the front side of the scanner section 39 in the main body 30, and a guide shaft 43 is provided on the rear side along the X direction.

A first carriage 44 is installed between the kite rail 42 and the guide shaft 43. The first carriage 44 is movably supported on the guide rail 42 via rollers 45 on the front side and slidably on the guide shaft 43 on the rear side via the slider 46, and is movable in the X direction. It becomes.

Additionally, timing belts 47 and 48 are connected to the front and rear sides of the first carriage 44, respectively.
These timing belts 47 and 48 are connected to the guide rail 42.
The pulleys 49, 49, 50, and 50 are arranged near both ends of the guide shaft 43, respectively. Furthermore, the pulley 49.50 on one end side is connected to the shaft 51.
This shaft 51 is attached to both ends of the reduction gear train 5.
2 and is driven by a first pulse motor 53. As a result, the first carriage 44 is moved by the
It is designed to be moved back and forth in the direction.

Further, a second carriage 54 is supported by the first carriage 44 . This second carriage 54 is
As shown in FIG.
The left side of the shaft 55 provided along the Y direction is slidably supported by the edge of the first carriage 44 via an engagement recess 56, and is movable along the Y direction. Further, a timing belt 57 is connected to the right side of this second carriage 54, and this timing belt 57 is a) passed between pulleys 58 and 58 disposed on the front side and rear side of the first carriage 44. There is. Roughly speaking, one pulley 58 is driven by a second pulse motor 60 via a reduction gear train 59. As a result, this second pulse motor 60
The second carriage 54 is reciprocated in the Y direction based on the drive of.

The sensor unit 40 is provided on a second carriage 54, and as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, illuminates the document surface a with a spot light source 61 and sends the reflected light to a mirror 62 and a lens (optical An image sensor 6 composed of a CCD (charge-coupled device)
4 to form an image. Note that 65 is a focus adjustment screw, and by operating this screw 65, the lens 63 can be moved in the optical axis direction. Further, 66 is a circuit board for the image sensor 64, to which the image sensor 64 is directly attached in order to avoid the influence of noise as much as possible. Furthermore, 67 is a mirror holder, and 68 is a window.

Further, the image sensor 64 is a multi-bit image sensor, and the drive mechanism 41 moves the first carriage 44 at pitches equal to or smaller than the width of the plurality of pits of the image sensor 64.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The original image is read line by line with a multiple pit width of 2.

As shown in FIG. 10, reading starts from position ya on the left side of the front and continues reading in the Y direction. Then, the sensor unit 40 is read to the rear side position yb, and returned to the front side at the same time as this reading is completed, and in the meantime, the sensor unit 40 is moved rightward by one line reading width. Repeat this to read up to 1yc on the right side of the rear.

As shown in FIG. 4, the printer section 5 includes a thermal head 70 as a recording head, a cylindrical platen 71, and the thermal head 70.

That is, the platen 71 supports and conveys the paper P, and the platen 71 is driven at predetermined pitches by a third pulse motor 77 via a reduction gear WJ 76. Further, a thermal head (recording head) 70 faces downwardly on the upper surface of this platen 71, and this thermal head 70 is connected to a moving mechanism 75.
It is adapted to be moved along the axial direction of the platen 71. That is, guide shafts 79.7 are provided on the upper surface of the platen 79 in parallel with the platen 71, and a carriage 80 is slidably attached to the shafts 79. This carriage 80 is driven by the fourth pulse and -984 via a timing belt (not shown).

Further, the thermal head 70 is attached to the carriage 80, and is moved along the axial direction on the upper surface of the platen 71 by the drive of the fourth pulse motor 84.

Further, in this thermal head 70, heating elements (not shown) are arranged along a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the platen 71, that is, along the rotational direction of the platen 71. Note that printing follows reading by the scanner section 39 and is performed at the same speed. Also, the printing width is
The reading width is 9°C.

Furthermore, when a push button 92 provided at the rear right end of the upper surface of the main body 30 is pressed, the upper plate 91 on the upper surface of the printer section 34 is activated by a spring force etc. 2, the thermal head 70 etc. are displaced upward to open the paper conveyance path (not shown), and the paper P inserted from the paper feeder 35 is rotated counterclockwise in the state shown in FIG. It passes through the image forming section smoothly.

Therefore, if the paper P is thermal paper, the thermal head 70 is directly opposed to the paper P to form an image without attaching a ribbon cassette (not shown). Further, a ribbon cassette (not shown) is usually attached to the paper P 37, and an image is formed with a thermal transfer ribbon (not shown) interposed between the paper P and the thermal head 70 in advance.

Next, the control circuit will be explained using FIG. 11. That is, image information output from the image sensor 64 is supplied to the CPU 111 via the amplifier 110. This CPU 111 controls the entire system. The CPU 111 is configured to store image information supplied from the image sensor 64 in the image processing section 112. The image processing unit 112 is a buffer memory that temporarily stores several lines of image information processed by the image sensor 64. In addition, CPLJll is the image processing unit 11
When image information is stored in 2, it is sequentially read out and output to the print control section 113. This print control section 1
The thermal head 70 is driven in accordance with the signal for each line supplied to the platen 71.
, a pulse motor 77.8 that moves the thermal head 70.
4 for one line. Also, CPU11
1 is a drive unit 11 that drives the pulse motors 53 and 60;
4 is also controlled.

Note that each part is driven by a solar cell 20 connected via the flexible cable 21.

Next, the operation in such a configuration will be explained. For example, right now, the operator opens the document table cover 33 and opens the document table 31.
Place the original A on top and close the original table cover 33. Then, push button 92 is pressed.

Then, the lock by the locking mechanism (not shown) is released, one side of the upper plate 91 is raised, and the upper thermal head 70 and the like are displaced upward together with this.

Next, the operator uses the side of the tapered portion 33a of the document table cover 33 to insert the paper P until it touches the paper P.

Then, the upper plate 91 is pushed down, the upper plate 91 is locked 1, and the print switch (not shown) on the operation panel 38 is turned on. Then, the CPU 111 drives the pulse motor 60 in the forward direction. As a result, the sensor unit 1-40
Move in the Y direction from point a (see Figure 10). and,
Light from a spot light source 61 is irradiated onto the original A, and this reflected light is guided through a mirror 62 and a lens 63 in order, and is irradiated onto an image sensor 64 . As a result, an image corresponding to the document A is projected onto the image sensor 64.

Then, the image sensor 64 converts the image into an electrical signal, and outputs the bit-by-bit electrical signal to the CPU 111 via the amplifier 110.

Thereby, the CPU 111 stores the signal supplied from the image sensor 64 in the image processing unit 112.

Then, when irradiation is performed up to point yb, CPUI 1
1 stops the pulse motor 60 and stops the sensor unit 40. Next, when the image information for the main lines is stored in the image processing section 112, the CPL 1111 sequentially reads out each line and outputs it to the print control section 113.

Then, the print control section 113 moves and drives the thermal head 70 by the pulse motor 84 in accordance with the supplied signal for each line, and also drives the pulse motor 77.53 to move the platen 71 one by one. Sensor unit every time the line rotates! Move 4o one line at a time. Then, when the transfer for I lines is performed, the sensor unit 40 is moved in the Y direction from the ya point (see FIG. 10) again to read the original A. As a result, the image corresponding to the original IA is transferred onto the paper P according to the driving of the thermal head 70.

As described above, by providing the solar cell 20 on the document table cover 33, there is no need to use consumables such as batteries.
It can be used on the spot regardless of the presence or absence of batteries, and is lightweight and easy to carry.

Further, since the solar cell 20 is provided on the document table cover 33 which can take up a large space, it is very effective. There is nothing blocking light on the upper side of the document table cover 33,
Furthermore, since the solar cell 20 directly faces the light source even if it is indoors or outdoors, there is an advantage in providing the solar cell 20.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the case where a solar cell is provided for driving NrA was explained, but the invention is not limited to this.
A solar cell may be provided for power source and charging. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, a solar cell 20 is provided on the document table cover 33, and a battery 120 consisting of a cadmium battery is provided as a charger at the bottom of the print section 34. In this case, the first
As shown in FIG. 3, the solar cell 20, charger 120, and load 121 (CPU, print section, etc.) are connected through diodes D1, D2, and a resistor R. Thereby, even if the driving power supply voltage is reduced due to the solar cell 20, the battery can be driven by the charger 120.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, there is no need to use consumables such as batteries, and the image can be used on the spot regardless of the presence or absence of batteries, and can be made lighter. A forming device can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the exterior when the solar cell is fixed on the document table cover, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main body, and FIG. 3 is the same as FIG. 1. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the internal structure, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the drive mechanism, FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing the sensor unit, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of FIG. 6. Figure 8 is a longitudinal sectional front view of Figure 6, Figure 9 is a plan view showing the reading width, Figure 10 is a diagram for explaining the reading order, and Figure 11 shows the configuration of the main parts of the control circuit. FIG. 12 is an external perspective view for explaining another embodiment, and FIG. 13 is a block diagram of another embodiment. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an example of connections between a battery, a charger, and a load. 2o... Thick NN pond, 21... Flexible cable, 30... Main body, 33... Original platen cover, 33a.
...Tapered part, 35...Inlet, 36...Outlet, 70
...Thermal head, 111...CPU, 113.
...Print control unit. Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 2 Figure 6 4+1 Figure 8 - Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure ℃

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A document table on which a document is placed; an image reading device that reads the image of the document placed on the document table; and an image is formed on the image forming member based on the information read by the image reading device. What is claimed is: 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming means for forming an image; a document table cover provided on the document table; and a solar cell provided on the document table cover for a driving power source. (2) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a battery that charges the power supply voltage from the solar cell.