JPS63164674A - Copying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a small-sized, light in weight, and low-cost copying device of low power consumption by constituting it so that the carrying of an optical head and a recording paper are executed manually. CONSTITUTION:To the casing 11 of the optical head 10, an operational knob 22 which is an operational member is mounted, and by manually operating this knob 22 holding it with fingers, the optical head 10 can be transferred in the necessary direction. The so-called home position of the head 10 is in a position close to a pulley 24, while being transferred in the direction of arrow A i.e. during the scanning, the head 10 reads an image information, simultaneously with this, a thermographic roll paper 33 is transferred i.e. discharged No motors are used, and the scanning of the optical head 10 as well as the transferring of the thermographic roll paper 33 is executed manually. In such a way, the mechanism is simplified, and the small-sized, light in weight, and low-cost copying machine whose power consumption is less can be provided.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] A. Industrial application field The present invention relates to a copying apparatus.

80 Summary of the Invention The present invention is a copying apparatus in which the movement (scanning) of the optical head and the movement of the recording paper are performed manually without using any motor, thereby making the mechanism cylindrical. This makes it possible to provide a copying machine that is small, lightweight, inexpensive, and consumes low power.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventional conventional copying apparatuses have required at least one motor as a power source for scanning an optical system, rotating an electrostatic drum, and feeding paper. In addition, there are a large number of mechanical parts for transmitting rotational force, such as steel belts, pulleys, gears, etc., and it is quite difficult to ensure the timing and movement accuracy of each moving part, which is a major factor in increasing costs. It had become.

D9 Problems to be Solved by the Invention As described above, the conventional general copying machine has the problems of being expensive and large in size.

On the other hand, in recent years, it seems that there has been a growing desire for the development of a copying device for general home use that is capable of copying, for example, A4 size, has a simple mechanism, is small, lightweight, and inexpensive.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a small, lightweight, and inexpensive copying apparatus in which the a-horizontal area is reduced.

Means for Solving the E0 Problem In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the copying apparatus of the present invention includes an optical head for reading image information comprising a light source and an image sensor, and a transport mechanism for this optical head. an operating member for manually transporting the optical head in a predetermined direction using the transport mechanism; a recording head for recording image information read by the optical head on recording paper;
The apparatus is characterized by comprising a recording paper transport mechanism that transports the recording paper in conjunction with the transport mechanism of the optical head, and a control means that controls the operations of the optical system, the head, and the recording lead.

F0 Effect According to the present invention, the optical head and recording paper are transferred by holding the operating member and performing manual operation.

G. Example Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the main parts of the mechanical system in the copying apparatus of this embodiment.0 An optical head 10 for reading image information is provided with a light source in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped cane-like housing ll. It includes an LED array (light emitting diode array) 12, a SELFOC lens array 13, and a CCD line sensor (not shown here) which is an image sensor. The CCD line sensor is disposed, for example, at a position below the SELFOC lens array 13 in the housing 11, and the reflected light from the document surface irradiated by the LED array 12 passes through the SELFOC lens array 13 to the tlccD. It is designed to enter the line sensor. The optical head IO has a length approximately equal to one side of an A4 size paper, for example, and is capable of reading a document approximately the size of an A4 size paper.

The optical head IO has guide shafts 21. which both ends in the longitudinal direction of the housing 11 constitute a transfer mechanism. It is slidably inserted and supported by '21. Further, an operating knob 22, which is an L member, is attached to the front surface of the casing 11 of the optical head 1O in the figure, and by holding the operating knob 22 and performing manual operation, the optical head 10 can be transported in a predetermined direction (arrow A direction and arrow B direction).

Boo that has gear 23 coaxially! J24 and the encoder plate 25 are connected by a timing belt 26. A portion of the timing belt 26 is fixed to the surface of the housing 11 of the optical heald 10 on the operation knob 22 side. Therefore, by holding the operating knob 22 and moving the optical head 10, the timing belt 26 moves, and the pulley 24 and encoder plate 2 are moved.
5 is designed to rotate.

Further, a gear 28 is provided at one end of the rubber roller 27, and the rotational force of the gear 23 of the pulley 24 is transmitted to the gear 28 via the gear 29, whereby the rubber roller 27 is rotationally driven. On the other hand, a thermal line head 31 and a pressure roller 32 are provided on the base 30. The thermal line head 31 is a recording head for recording image information read by the optical disc 10 onto a thermal roll paper 33 that is a recording paper.

Although not shown, the thermal line head 3
A pad or the like is provided opposite the thermal line head 31 to bring the thermal roll head 33 into close contact with the thermal line head 31 for good recording or printing. In this case, the recording surface (printing surface) is the thermal roll 33 when viewed from above the device.
However, it is of course possible to change the placement position of the thermal line head 31 so that the printing surface is on the front side. The pressing roller 32 and the rubber roller 27 constitute the main part of a recording paper transport mechanism for sandwiching and transporting the thermal roll paper 33. For example, the entire base 30 is moved by a spring or the like in the direction in which the thermal roll paper 33 is pressed. energized. Further, the base 30 is provided with a lever 34, and by pushing down the lever 34 and fixing it in the open position, the pressure bonding by the pressure roller 32 can be released. In addition, the encoder plate 2
5 has a pattern with predetermined angular intervals, and a rotation detector 35 consisting of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is provided in close proximity to the encoder FX25. The transfer (scanning) speed of the optical head 10 is detected based on the output of the rotation detector 35. This will be explained in detail later with reference to FIG.

The optical head IO has a so-called home position near the pulley 24, and when the optical head 10 is moved or scanned in the direction of arrow A, image information is read, and when the thermal roll paper 33 is moved or scanned, image information is read. Emissions are now taking place. In addition, the optical head 10
When transferring the paper in the direction of arrow B and returning it to the home position, it is necessary to prevent the thermal roll paper 33 from running backwards (transferring in the opposite direction). may be configured such that they engage for transfer in the direction of arrow B and slither for transfer in the direction of arrow B. Alternatively, the lever 34 provided on the base 30 may be pushed down and the rubber roller 27 of the pressure roller 32 ( The pressure bonding to Ilj may be released.

Further, the external configuration of the copying apparatus of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 2. In this FIG. Components (see Fig. 3) are housed therein. Above housing 4
Openings 42 and 43 are provided in the front part 41 of the camera 0, respectively, and the scanning knob 22 is inserted through the openings 42 and 43.
The levers 34 and 34 respectively protrude outward and can be operated from the outside. Further, a speed warning lamp 44 is provided above the opening 43. This speed warning lamp 44 is for issuing a warning to the user, since if the transport (scanning) speed of the optical head 10 is faster than a specified speed, image information cannot be read properly. . In addition, the speed warning lamp 44
The drive control is performed based on the output of the rotation detector 35, and will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

Further, at the lower left of the opening 42, there is an external input terminal 45 to which image information is supplied from an external device (another image reading device or a terminal device such as a so-called personal computer), and an external input terminal 45 to which the read image information is input to the external device. terminal device (
An external output terminal 46 is provided for supplying data to other printers, memory, etc.). Additionally, above the external input terminal 45 and external output terminal 46, three types of operation modes (simultaneous print mode, print mode,
mode selection switch 4 for selecting
In the simultaneous print mode corresponding to the selected position raJ in Figure 1, where 7 is provided, the image information read by the optical head 10 is printed on the thermal roll paper 3 by the thermal line head 31.
3 is the mode for recording immediately.

In the print mode corresponding to the selected position "b" in the figure, image information stored in the memory 69 (see FIG. 3), which will be described later, or image information supplied from the external input terminal 45 is sent to the thermal line head 31. In the read mode corresponding to the selected position rcJ in the figure, the optical head 10 simply reads the document (image information) and outputs or reads the read image from the external output terminal 46. This is a mode in which information is stored in the memory 69.

In this read mode, the lever 34 is pushed down to the open position, the pressure roller 32 is released from the rubber roller 27 side, and the heat-sensitive roll paper 33 is transferred in the same manner as when loading the heat-sensitive roll paper 33, which will be described later. Of course, it is prohibited.

The right side portion 48 of the housing 40 is provided with an opening 49 through which the thermal roll paper 33 is discharged after recording, and above the opening 49 the thermal roll paper 33 is cut. A cutter 50 is provided for cutting. Further, a transparent protection plate 52 is provided on the upper surface portion 51 of the housing 40 in the scanning range of the optical head 10 . A document P such as calligraphy, for example, is placed on the protective plate 52 with the document surface facing downward. Furthermore, a cover 53 that can be opened and closed is attached to the housing 40 for the purpose of holding down the document and blocking light. Furthermore, a supply port for the heat-sensitive roll paper 33 is provided in the bottom portion 54 of the housing 40 . The thermal roll paper 33 is loaded into the device by pressing down the lever 34 and fixing it in the open position, and releasing the pressure roller 32 from the rubber roller 27 side.

Next, the configuration of the circuit system will be explained with reference to FIG. The rotation detector 35 includes a light emitting element 35 such as an LED.
A and a light receiving element 35B such as a photodiode. Light from the light emitting element 35A is reflected by the encoder plate 25 and received by the light receiving element 35B. The pulse generating circuit 61 generates a pulse according to the rotation speed (angular velocity) of the encoder plate 25, that is, the scanning speed of the optical head 1o, based on the output of the light receiving element 35B.
The signal is supplied to the speed detection circuit 62. The speed detection circuit 62
Now, based on the pulses from the pulse ordering circuit 61,
The scanning speed of the optical head IO is detected, and its detection output is supplied to the display drive circuit 63. Front part 4 of the housing 40
The speed warning lamp 44 provided in the optical head 1 is driven and controlled by the display drive circuit 63 so as to turn on, for example, when the scanning speed of the optical radar 1o is faster than a specified speed.

In addition, regarding the display method of the speed warning lamp 44,
Possible methods include a method of changing the blinking speed according to the scanning speed of the optical system, or a method of changing the display color like a traffic light.

Note that the pulse generating circuit 61 also generates pulses such as a start pulse that determines the start timing of an operation, and supplies them to a drive circuit 64 and a drive circuit 68, which will be described later.

As described above, the optical head 1O includes the LED array 12, the SELFOC lens array 13, and the CCD line sensor 14, and the reflected light from the document P irradiated by the LED array 12 is transmitted through the SELFOC lens. The light enters the CCD line sensor 14 via the array 13. The drive circuit 64 of the CCD line sensor 14 is supplied with clock signals, control signals, etc. from the control circuit 65, and its operation is controlled. The output of the CCD line sensor 14 is supplied to a switching circuit 67 via a binarization circuit 6G. The switching circuit 67 is connected to the external input terminal 45 and the external output terminal 46 described above. Further, the image information from the switching circuit 67 is supplied to the drive circuit 68 of the RAD 31 to a thermal line for recording image information on the thermal roll paper 33, or to the drive circuit 68 via the memory 69. It is supposed to be done. The memory 69 may have a capacity sufficient to store image information of at least an A4 size, and may be used to control input/output switching of the switching circuit 67, write/read control of the memory 69, and The operation of the drive circuit 68 is controlled by each control signal from the control circuit 65.

Further, the mode selection switch 47 described above is connected to the control circuit 65, so that an operation corresponding to the selected mode is performed. That is, in the simultaneous print mode, image information read by the optical head 1o is supplied to the drive circuit 68 of the thermal line head 31 via the binarization circuit 66 and the switching circuit 67. In the print mode, image information stored in the memory 69 or image information from the external input terminal 45 is supplied to the drive circuit 64 via the switching circuit 67. In the read mode, image information read by the optical head IO is supplied to the external output terminal 46 or the memory 69 via the binarization circuit 66 and the switching circuit 67.

As mentioned above, the optical head l without using any motor.
The scanning of O and the transfer of the thermal roll paper 33 are performed manually, and the mechanism is made into a cylinder, making it possible to provide a copying apparatus that is small, lightweight, inexpensive, and consumes low power. Furthermore, it is possible to make copies of A4 size, which cannot be achieved with portable manual scanning type copying machines currently on the market, making it suitable as a copying machine for general home use.

Note that even if a rotary handle plate 70 as shown in FIG. 4 is provided in place of the operation knob 22, the same effect as the mulberry production knob 22 described above can be achieved. That is, the substantially disc-shaped rotating handle plate 70 has a handle 71 protruding from the front side (the front side in the figure) and a gear 72 that meshes with the gear 23 on the back side. By holding the handle 71 and performing a manual rotation operation, it is possible to transfer (scan) the rad lO to the optical system, rotate the encoder plate 25, and rotate the rubber roller 27.

Il. Effects of the Invention As is clear from the description of the embodiments described above, according to the present invention, the movement (scanning) of the optical head, the movement of the recording paper, etc. are performed manually without using any motor. Since the mechanism is made into a cylindrical element, it is possible to provide a copying device that is small, lightweight, inexpensive, and consumes low power.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

, FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the main structure of the mechanical system of a copying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the external structure, and FIG. 3 is the same. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the circuit system, and is a front view schematically showing the main configuration of another embodiment of the present invention. 10... Optical head 21... Guide shaft 22... Operation knob 27... Rubber roller 31... Thermal line head 32... Pressure roller 33... Thermal roll paper 65... Control circuit 71 ···handle

Claims (1)

[Claims] An optical head for reading image information comprising a light source and an image sensor, a transport mechanism for the optical head, and a transport mechanism for manually transporting the optical head in a predetermined direction. a recording head that records image information read by the optical head on recording paper; a recording paper transport mechanism that transports the recording paper in conjunction with a transport mechanism of the optical head; and a recording paper transport mechanism that transports the recording paper in conjunction with a transport mechanism of the optical head; and a control means for controlling the operation of the recording head.