JPH0585666A - Recording paper detecting method and recording paper detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] The present invention relates to a recording paper detection method and a recording paper detection device, which can easily detect that a recording paper has been set by a single sensor, and at a low cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording paper detection method and a recording paper detection device that can improve the workability of the work for setting the recording paper. [Structure] When there is a recording sheet 2 on the conveyance path, the recording sheet sensor 8 outputs a signal to the CPU 16, and when the CPU 16 inputs the output signal of the recording sheet sensor 8 for a predetermined time, it judges that the recording sheet exists. ing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording paper detection method and a recording paper detection device, and more particularly, to a recording paper detection method and recording paper detection method capable of easily detecting the presence or absence of a recording paper by a single sensor. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a facsimile or the like uses roll-shaped recording paper, and sensors are provided at a plurality of positions to detect the presence or absence of the recording paper. Conventionally, as a facsimile provided with this type of sensor, for example, there is one shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body of a facsimile apparatus, and a tray 3 for holding a roll-shaped recording paper 2 is accommodated in the main body 1.

The recording paper 2 on the tray 3 is conveyed to a thermal head 5 by a platen roller 4, and the thermal head 5 prints image data on the recording paper 2 line by line. Further, a door 6 is provided on the main body 1 so as to be openable and closable, and an open / closed state of the door 6 is detected by a door sensor 7, and a signal is transmitted from the sensor to a control means (not shown).

On the other hand, a recording paper sensor 8 composed of a photosensor or the like is disposed in the conveyance path of the recording paper 2 between the tray 2 and the thermal head 5, and the recording paper sensor 8 is a recording paper on the conveyance path. The presence or absence of 2 is detected and a signal is transmitted to the control means. For example, the recording paper 2 can be detected by detecting a black band or the like at the end portion of the recording paper 2. The door sensor 7, recording paper sensor 8 and control means constitute a recording paper detection device.

In order to detect the presence or absence of the recording paper 3 by the sensors 8 and 9, the door sensor 7 detects that the door 6 is closed, and the recording paper sensor 8 detects that there is no recording paper on the conveying path. When the control means determines that there is no recording paper, the door sensor 7 detects that the door 6 is closed, and the recording paper sensor 8 detects that there is recording paper on the conveyance path, the control means Judges that there is recording paper. Then, when the door 6 is opened, the operation of using the recording paper 2 for copying or the like is stopped regardless of whether or not the recording paper is present on the transport path.

[0006]

However, in such a conventional recording paper detecting apparatus, since the door sensor 7 and the recording paper sensor 8 are used to detect the presence or absence of the recording paper, the number of sensors is two. However, there is a problem in that the cost of the device increases. If the door sensor 7 is eliminated and only one sensor is provided for cost reduction, the recording paper sensor 8 only detects the presence or absence of the recording paper 2 when the recording paper 2 is used up. Although there is no problem even if a message indicating that there is no recording sheet 2 is displayed, there is no problem.
When setting a new, the following problems occurred.

That is, when setting the normal recording paper 2, the recording paper 2 is placed on the tray 3 and then the leading end portion of the recording paper 2 is conveyed between the platen roller 4 and the thermal head 5 through the conveying path. However, when the user is unfamiliar, the recording paper 2 flutters on the conveyance path when performing this work, and the recording paper sensor 8 detects that the recording paper 2 exists or does not exist. I have detected it.

Therefore, the presence / absence of the recording paper 2 is repeatedly displayed as to whether or not the recording paper 2 is present. For example, an alarm for notifying that there is no recording paper is sounded many times to set the recording paper. Workability has been greatly deteriorated. On the other hand, when the door sensor 7 is provided, the recording paper sensor 8 detects the recording paper 2 on the conveyance path after the door 6 is closed when the recording paper 2 is set on the tray 3 in which the recording paper 2 is not present. Therefore, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of the recording paper 2 after the user completely sets the recording paper 2. Therefore, workability when setting the recording paper 2 as described above did not deteriorate. However, if the number of the sensors is one, there is a problem that the cost of the apparatus increases, and the workability of the work of setting the recording paper 2 cannot be improved while the cost of the apparatus is reduced. ..

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily detect that the recording paper is set by a single sensor,
An object of the present invention is to provide a recording paper detection method and a recording paper detection device that can improve the workability of setting a recording paper at low cost.

[0010]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In order to achieve the above object, when detecting the presence or absence of the recording paper set in a predetermined location by a single sensor, the detection state is set to a predetermined time after detecting that the recording paper is set in the predetermined location. The feature is that it is judged that there is a recording paper when it is maintained.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the sensor is driven at a constant interrupt timing. In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 3 is provided in a conveying path between a mounting means for mounting the recording paper and a predetermined position on the mounting means to which the recording paper is fed. A single sensor that outputs a signal when there is a recording sheet on the transport path, and a determination unit that determines that there is a recording sheet when the output signal of the sensor is input and the input signal is input for a predetermined time It is characterized by being composed of and.

[0012]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is determined that the recording paper is present when the sensor detects that the recording paper is set at a predetermined position and the detection state is maintained for a predetermined time. .. Therefore, when the recording paper is set at a predetermined position when the recording paper is replaced, even if the recording paper flaps on the sensor, it is not judged that the sensor is turned on. As a result, erroneous display of the presence / absence of the recording paper is not performed, and the workability of the operation of setting the recording paper is improved. Further, since it is not necessary to determine that there is a recording sheet by a plurality of sensors, the recording sheet can be detected without using an expensive device.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the sensor outputs a signal to the judging means when there is a recording paper on the conveying path, and when the judging means inputs the output signal of the sensor for a predetermined time, the recording paper is present. Deciding. Therefore, when the recording paper is set on the placing means and the conveyance path when the recording paper is replaced, it is not judged that the sensor is turned on even if the recording paper flaps on the sensor. As a result, erroneous display of the presence / absence of the recording paper is not performed, and the workability of the operation of setting the recording paper is improved. Moreover, since it is not necessary to determine that there is a recording sheet by a plurality of sensors, the cost of the detection device is reduced.

[0014]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below based on examples.
1 to 3 are views showing an embodiment of a recording paper detection method according to the present invention and a recording paper detection apparatus to which the detection method is applied, showing an example in which the present embodiment is applied to a facsimile. In this embodiment, the configuration of the portion for placing the recording paper of the facsimile is different from the conventional example only in that there is no door sensor, and the other configurations are substantially the same. Therefore, the same numbers are used for the same configurations as the conventional example. 2, and the description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 2, the entire configuration of the facsimile is shown in a block diagram.

First, the structure will be described. In FIG. 1, a recording paper sensor 8 is provided on a conveyance path between a tray 3 as a mounting means for mounting the recording paper 2 and a thermal head 5 at a predetermined position, and the recording paper 2 is provided on the conveyance path. If there is, the recording paper 2 is detected and a signal is output to the CPU described later. In FIG. 2, a TX motor 11 is a drive motor that conveys a document at a predetermined speed. The scanner unit 12 reads image information while conveying a document to be transmitted line by line, and outputs binarized image data.
The transmission original is conveyed by the TX motor 11. The RX motor 13 is a motor for feeding the recording paper 12, and drives the platen roller 4 and the like.

The operation section 14 visually displays the system status to the operator on a display or the like, and performs various operations by using a key input section composed of switches and the like. The network control unit 15 converts the data L from the public telephone line or the like from analog to digital by using a modem.
A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 16 constitutes a judging means and stores firmware for determining the control operation of the entire system. The recording paper sensor 8 detects that the recording paper 2 is on the conveyance path and outputs a signal. Is output, the signal is input. Then, when the signal is continuously input for a predetermined time, it is determined that the recording paper 2 is present. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 17 stores a program for operating this system of the CPU 16, and R
An AM (Random Access Memory) 18 is provided with a work area and a temporary storage area required for the CPU 16 to control.

The FIFO 19 is a first in for temporarily storing the compressed data code obtained from the network controller 15.
The first out memory is a DCR 20 that compresses and expands image data. Further, the data bus 21 is an internal transmission path for connecting the above-mentioned respective parts and exchanging data. Next, the operation will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a program executed by the CPU 16. This program is included in the interrupt program for every 160 msec. First, in S1, it is checked whether or not the recording paper sensor 8 is turned on. At this time, the recording paper sensor 8 is turned on when the recording paper 2 is on the transport path, and
ON / OFF of the recording paper sensor 8 referred to here indicates information from the hardware. Then, the presence or absence of the recording paper 2 is determined based on this information, and the result is reflected in the recording paper flag which is a soft flag. On the side of the system, the presence or absence of the actual recording paper is identified based on this recording paper flag, and when the recording paper 2 is not present, a display such as no recording paper is displayed.

When the recording paper sensor 8 is OFF in S1 and the information from the hardware is that there is no recording paper 2, the process proceeds to S2 and the recording paper flag is set to "no recording paper". Then S3
Then, the counter used for detecting ON of the recording paper sensor 8 and ONCNT are reset. In this embodiment, when there is no recording paper 2, the result is reflected in the soft flag immediately when the recording paper sensor 8 is turned off as described above, and the system side is immediately notified.

On the other hand, if the recording paper sensor 8 is ON in S1, the process proceeds to S4 to determine whether ONCNT is a sufficient value, and if it is a sufficient value, the process proceeds to S5 and the recording paper flag indicates that recording paper exists. Set. If the value of ONCNT is not sufficient in S4, the process proceeds to S6 to increment ONCNT. That is, ONCNT is a counter that counts the time after the recording paper sensor 8 is turned on.

Further, the sufficient value referred to in S4 indicates the time when the user can completely set the recording paper 2, and when the value compared with ONCNT in S4 is M, the time becomes M × 160 msec. .. It is needless to say that ONCNT is not incremented forever in S4 and is not incremented beyond a certain maximum value.
Assuming that the time sufficient for the user to place the recording paper 2 on the tray 3 and set it on the platen roller 4 side via the transport path is, for example, 7 seconds, the value compared with ONCNT in S4 is 44 (that is, (160msec × 44 = 7040msec) and S6 until the recording paper sensor 8 is continuously turned ON 44 times in S1.
ONCNT is incremented through
When it reaches 44 times or more, it is judged to proceed to S5 and S5
To set the recording paper flag to have recording paper.

On the other hand, when the recording paper sensor 8 is turned off in S1, it is judged to proceed to S2, and then proceed to S3 and turned on.
CNT is reset. That is, in the present embodiment, it is determined that the recording paper is present when the recording paper sensor 8 detects the recording paper present and the signal is continuously input for a predetermined time. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the recording paper 2 is on the conveyance path, the recording paper sensor 8 causes the CPU 16 to operate.
The CPU 16 determines that the recording paper is present when the output signal of the recording paper sensor 8 is input for a predetermined time, and therefore, when the recording paper 2 is replaced, the recording paper 2 is placed on the tray 3 and the conveyance path. Even if the recording paper 2 is flapped on the sensor when is set, it is possible not to determine that the recording paper is present when the recording paper sensor 8 does not operate continuously for a predetermined time. Therefore, it is possible to prevent erroneous display of the presence / absence of the recording paper, etc., and improve the workability of the user to set the recording paper.
Moreover, since it is not necessary to determine that there is a recording sheet by a plurality of sensors, the recording sheet can be detected without using an expensive device.

Further, since the ON time of the recording paper sensor 8 until it is discriminated that there is a recording paper is set to a time sufficient for the user to set the recording paper 2 on the conveyance path or the like, It is possible to prevent a situation in which the ON detection is too late and the printing operation cannot be performed after the recording paper 2 is set, and the presence or absence of the recording paper is erroneously displayed while the recording paper 2 is being set. It is possible to prevent the recording sheet sensor 8 from being damaged and to effectively control the recording paper sensor 8.

[0024]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is determined that the recording paper is present when the sensor detects that the recording paper is set at a predetermined position and the detection state is maintained for a predetermined time. Therefore, when replacing the recording paper, when setting the recording paper at a predetermined position, do not judge that there is a recording paper if the sensor does not operate for a predetermined time even if the recording paper flaps on the sensor. can do. Therefore, erroneous display of the presence / absence of the recording paper is not performed, and the workability of the operation of setting the recording paper can be improved. Further, since it is not necessary to determine that there is a recording sheet by a plurality of sensors, the recording sheet can be detected without using an expensive device.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the sensor outputs a signal to the judging means when there is a recording paper on the conveying path, and when the judging means inputs the output signal of the sensor for a predetermined time, the recording paper. I judge that there is. Therefore, when the recording paper is set on the placing means and the conveyance path when the recording paper is replaced, the presence of the recording paper is not judged if the sensor does not operate for a predetermined time even if the recording paper flaps on the sensor. You can Therefore, there is a recording paper /
It is possible to improve the workability of the work of setting the recording paper without displaying the erroneous display of the absence. Also,
Since it is not necessary to determine that there is recording paper by a plurality of sensors, the cost of the detection device can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of essential parts showing an embodiment of a facsimile to which a recording paper detection device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a facsimile of one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a control program executed by a CPU.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a main part of a conventional facsimile.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 recording paper 3 tray (placement means) 8 recording paper sensor 16 CPU (determination means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. When detecting the presence / absence of a recording paper set at a predetermined location by a single sensor, when the detection state is maintained for a predetermined time after detecting that the recording paper is set at the predetermined location. A recording paper detection method characterized in that it is determined that the recording paper is present. 2. The recording paper detecting method according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is driven at a constant interrupt timing. 3. A case in which a recording sheet is provided on a conveying path between a placing means for placing the recording sheet and a predetermined position on the placing means to which the recording sheet is fed. A single sensor that outputs a signal to, and the output signal of the sensor is input,
A recording paper detection device comprising: a determination unit that determines that a recording paper is present when the input signal is input for a predetermined time.