JPS6359566A - Imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable printing to be performed efficiently by providing a display means to detect and display the remaining amount or consumption of image receiving paper in an imaging device using a disposable cassette. CONSTITUTION:If an image receiving paper feed roller 6 is rotated in 'B' direction, image receiving paper 9 is fed out one by one through an image receiving paper outlet 8b. At that time, a reflection-type photosensor 20 reads a numeric or a corresponding mark thereof entered on the reverse of a following image receiving paper 9. The numeric or corresponding mark thereof which is printed on the reverse of the image receiving paper 9 differs for each image receiving paper, and changes continuously in sequence starting with the uppermost or lowermost one of overlapped image receiving papers. If an image receiving paper of uppermost position before use of a cassette 11 is considered '1', a numeric or corresponding mark thereof entered on an image receiving paper of uppermost position in the cassette in use represents a consumption. Conversely, if the image receiving paper of lowermost position is considered '1', the numeric or corresponding mark thereof which is entered on the image receiving paper of lowermost position of the cassette in use represents a remaining amount.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a device for displaying the remaining amount or used amount of image receiving paper stored in a cassette in an image forming apparatus.

(Prior Art) A disposable cassette in a conventional image forming apparatus such as a thermal transfer printer can hold several 10 to several 10 sheets of image receiving paper in the form of cut sheets.
00 sheets are stacked and stored in a cassette, the cassette is attached to the main body of the device, and when the image receiving paper in the cassette is used up, the user is notified by a display or a warning sound to replenish the image receiving paper.

Then, the image receiving paper is replenished by attaching another new cassette containing the image receiving paper to the main body of the device.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, while using the image forming apparatus, it is not possible to check the amount of image receiving paper used or the amount remaining, and the image receiving paper is refilled only after the last sheet of image receiving paper is used up. The user is notified by a display or an audible warning, and as a result, printing is interrupted midway, making it impossible to print efficiently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can solve these problems and perform printing operations efficiently.

(Means for solving the problem) An image forming apparatus using a disposable cassette 7) is characterized by being provided with a display means for detecting the remaining amount or used amount of image receiving paper and displaying the detected amount. .

(Function) By equipping an image forming apparatus that uses a disposable cassette with a means for detecting the remaining amount of image receiving paper and the amount used, it becomes possible to easily check the amount of image receiving paper used and the remaining amount, making it easier to print. can be done efficiently.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples.

(Example 1) 1 to 5 show embodiments of the apparatus of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 is an example of a mark, Figure 3 is a schematic electrical block diagram from mark reading to remaining amount, Figure 4 is an example of a mark, and Figure 5 is the same as Figure 4. This is a diagram showing how to attach a photosensor when reading a mark.

First, I will explain about cassettes. Disposable cassette (
11) is mainly composed of a flat box-shaped housing (8), and the upper surface thereof has a hole (8a) for a roller for sending out the receiving paper.
) is open, and an image-receiving paper outlet (8b) is opened at the upper part of the front side (left side when facing the paper in FIG. 1). Inside the housing (8), a plurality of cut paper-like image receiving papers (9) are stacked upside down and stored, and these image receiving papers (9) are placed on a mounting plate (lO). The mounting plate (10) is near the rear end (near the right end when facing the page of Figure 1)
The tip (the left end when looking at Figure 1) can be moved up and down around the rotation axis (10a) placed in the
7).

Therefore, the tip of the image-receiving paper (9) is always pressed against the upper surface of the housing (8), and the image-receiving paper (9) is pressed against the opening (8a).
exposed in. A delivery roller (6) comes into contact with the exposed surface of the image-receiving paper, and as the roller (6) rotates, the image-receiving paper (9) is sent out of the cassette from the outlet (8b).

Next, the configuration of the image forming apparatus will be explained. Figure 1 shows the above-mentioned cassette (11) attached to the main body (12) of the device.The reflective photosensor (20) is attached to the side of the receiver paper feed roller (6), and the receiver paper feed roller (6) The image receiving paper (9) in the cassette (11) is connected to the 0-reflective photosensor (20) which is not attached to the roller (6) itself.
shows the back side, and the photosensor (20) can see numbers or equivalent marks (described later) written on the back side of the image receiving paper (9).

The image receiving paper (9) is transferred to the platen (8b) and the thermal head (13) via the image receiving paper outlet (8b) and the image receiving paper guide plate (5) as the image receiving paper feeding roller (6) rotates in direction B. sent between.

The receiving paper guide plate (5) connects the receiving paper outlet (8b) of the cassette housing (8) and the platen (1).

On the other hand, the transfer paper (4) is passed between the distribution roll (3) and the take-up roll (2), and the receiver paper (9) is passed between the platen (1) and the thermal head (13). They are overlapped and pressed together, and printing is done in this state.

When the receiving paper feed roller (6) rotates in direction B, the receiving paper (9) is sent out one by one from the receiving paper outlet (8b), and at this time, the reflective photosensor (20) moves to the next receiving paper (9). Read the number or equivalent mark written on the back of the

The numbers or equivalent marks printed on the back side of the image-receiving paper (9) are different for each image-receiving paper, and change continuously in order from the top or bottom of the stacked image-receiving papers. If the top receiving paper of the cassette before use is 1, then
The number or equivalent mark written on the highest receiving paper of the cassette in use indicates the amount used; conversely, if the lowest receiving paper is 1, then the number written on the lowest receiving paper of the cassette in use indicates the amount used. The number or corresponding mark indicates the remaining amount.

An example of a mark is a black and white binary mark as shown in Figure 2, and the combination of these marks allows the receiver paper (
9) can represent the remaining amount or used amount.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which four black and white marks are used as a 4-bit binary number, representing the binary number "101o". (White is O1 and black is 1.) Here, the maximum is 1.
Up to 6 marks can be displayed, and the number can be further increased by increasing the number of marks.

This black and white binary signal is sent to the receiving paper feed roller hole (8a).
The signals read using a reflective photosensor (20) are processed by a display decoder/driver (22) shown in the block diagram of Fig. 3, and are displayed as numbers by a display means such as an LED display element (23). Display in . The display element (23) may be installed at an easily visible location on the operation surface.

Further, according to the marks shown in FIG. 2, reflective photosensors are required as many as the number of marks, and naturally the number of light emitting elements is also large. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 4, numbers can also be expressed by dividing one circle into fan shapes and making the fan shapes into black and white patterns to represent numbers. The LED (24) is turned on at the center of the mark to illuminate the entire mark, and the reflected light from each sector is sent to the light receiving element (25).
). In this case, only one light emitting element is required. The numerical signals read by such a photosensor are transmitted to the display means via the calculation means and displayed as necessary.

Alternatively, instead of the white and black marks, a natural number that changes continuously from 1 may be written on the back of the receiving paper, and the number may be read and displayed optically.In that case, when the cassette is removed, The user can visually check the remaining amount of image receiving paper.

Next, the printing operation of this apparatus will be explained in detail. When the receiver paper feed roller (6) rotates in direction B,
The image receiving paper (9) is sent out one by one from the image receiving paper outlet (8b). The leading edge of the fed image-receiving paper (9) comes into contact with the recessed portion of the platen (1) via the image-receiving paper guide Fi (5) and is chaffed. Then, the platen (1) rotates in the D direction, and the supply roll and (3) take-up roll (2) rotate.
) rotates in the C direction, the transfer paper (4) moves in the C direction, and the image receiving paper (9) moves between the platen (1) and the transfer paper (
4) Get in between.

The thermal head (13) generates heat in accordance with the image signal, and predetermined image information is transferred onto the image receiving paper (9).

When the printing is performed in this manner and the predetermined printing is completed, the chaffing of the image-receiving paper (9) is removed and the image-receiving paper (9) is conveyed toward a take-out port (not shown).

(Example 2) Here, an example will be described in which numbers are written on the back side of the image receiving paper (9). The numbers printed on the back of the receiver paper (9) are
Image-receiving paper - varies from sheet to sheet, and changes continuously starting from the top or bottom of the stacked image-receiving sheets. If the topmost image receiving paper before the cassette is used is 1, then the number written on the topmost image receiving paper of the cassette in use represents the usage amount, and conversely, if the lowest image receiving paper is 1, then The number written on the lowest image-receiving paper of the cassette in use indicates the remaining capacity.

In this example, it is not a mark that corresponds to a number, but a number itself, so humans can easily understand it when they see it. Therefore, if a receiving paper confirmation window (8c) is provided near the front left end of the cassette in a position where the numbers can be seen, as shown in Figure 6, it will be easily visible to humans, and as shown in Figure 7. If the rear end of the cassette (11) is designed so that it protrudes from the image forming apparatus even during printing, the number representing the used or remaining amount of image receiving paper can be visually checked with the cassette installed in the image forming apparatus.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the remaining amount of image-receiving paper stored in the cassette can be displayed in an easy-to-see place on the operation screen, and the number of remaining sheets can be easily recognized, which makes printing work easier. Efficiency can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of an apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example of a mark. FIG. 3 is a schematic electrical circuit block diagram from reading the mark to determining the remaining amount. FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example of a mark. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing how to attach a photosensor when reading the mark shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cassette. FIG. 7 is a schematic vertical sectional view of an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. (Explanation of symbols of main parts)

Claims (1)

[Claims] An image forming apparatus using a disposable cassette containing cut paper-like image receiving paper, characterized in that an image forming apparatus is provided with a display means for detecting the remaining amount or used amount of the image receiving paper and displaying the detected amount. Device.