JP2000013547A - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: The present invention provides a facsimile apparatus for automatically cleaning a contact glass every predetermined number of read sheets to keep the contact glass clean. A facsimile apparatus (1) counts the number of documents read on a contact glass (10) by a reading counter (33), and the count value is read in advance by a reading default counter (3).
When the reading default count value set to 2 is reached, the control unit 6 operates the cleaning unit 5 via the cleaning operation mechanism 31 to clean the contact glass 10 according to the setting state of the cleaning switch 71. The number of times of cleaning is determined by the cleaning counter 43.
When the count value reaches the cleaning default count value previously set in the cleaning default counter 42, the control unit 6 sends the service center 50 to the auto service call unit 41 in accordance with the setting state of the auto service call switch 72. Make an auto service call and request maintenance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus, and more particularly, to a facsimile apparatus for appropriately cleaning contact glass.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a so-called book-type image reading apparatus is often used for a scanner section of a facsimile apparatus, a general-purpose scanner, and a scanner section of a copying apparatus.

In such a book-type document reading apparatus, a contact glass provided on an upper portion of a housing and on which a document is set, and a sensor unit disposed in the housing below the contact glass and main-scanning the document. And a moving body equipped with the sensor unit and moving in the sub-scanning direction. The moving body equipped with the sensor unit moves in the sub-scanning direction, and performs main scanning and sub-scanning of the original by the sensor unit. Then, the image of the document is read at a predetermined resolution.

In a book-type original reading apparatus, conventionally, in order to efficiently read a sheet original,
Some are equipped with an ADF (automatic document feeder).
F separates and feeds the set plurality of documents one by one, conveys the sent manuscript onto the contact glass by the conveyance belt, and when the reading of the manuscript is completed, conveys the manuscript from the contact glass. The paper is discharged onto a paper discharge tray by a belt.

[0005] Since the original is read on the contact glass after the original is manually set on the contact glass or conveyed and set by the ADF as described above, the paper dust of the original is reduced. When the original is attached on the contact glass or when the original is manually set on the contact glass, a fingertip or the like comes into contact with the contact glass, and grease adheres to the surface of the contact glass.
When the original is conveyed by F, when the original is moved in contact with the contact glass, if the original is written with a pencil or the like, pencil powder adheres to the surface of the contact glass, and the surface of the contact glass becomes paper dust. Or pencil dust. If the surface of the contact glass becomes dirty in this way, the image quality of the read image deteriorates, and if paper powder or pencil powder adheres,
There were problems such as the occurrence of black streaks in the read image.

Therefore, conventionally, in a document reading apparatus,
An operator cleans the surface of the contact glass with a cloth or the like to prevent image quality from deteriorating.

However, it is troublesome for the operator to clean the surface of the contact glass with a cloth or the like. In addition to wasting resources, there was a problem that the usability of the document reading apparatus was poor. In particular, when the document reading apparatus is applied to a facsimile apparatus, there is a problem that a read image with poor image quality is transmitted to the other party unless the operator notices that the contact glass is dirty.

In view of this, the present applicant has previously proposed an automatic document feeder for automatically cleaning the contact glass surface while the document conveying belt is being driven (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-72846).
Reference). The automatic document feeder is attached to an upper portion of the image forming apparatus main body, and automatically feeds a document onto a contact glass on which a document operation is performed, and discharges the document from the contact glass. In the automatic document feeder of the image forming apparatus having a belt, the document transport belt is provided with a cleaning member for wiping and cleaning the contact glass during the rotation.

[0009]

However, in such a conventional facsimile apparatus, the document conveying belt is provided only with a cleaning member for wiping and cleaning the contact glass with the rotation of the document. The cleaning member can clean the surface of the contact glass each time the paper is conveyed, which can prevent the image quality from deteriorating due to forgetting to manually clean the contact glass surface. As the amount of power increases, reduction in power consumption is demanded. Further, even if the surface of the contact glass is cleaned by the cleaning member, if a certain number of documents are read, maintenance by a service person is required.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when the number of originals read by the reading means reaches a preset number of readings, the contact glass on which the original is set is cleaned by the cleaning means. The contact glass is automatically cleaned at the number of readings set as appropriate according to the usage status of the contact glass to reduce power consumption, keep the contact glass clean, and improve the image quality of the read image. It is another object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus capable of improving the image quality of a transmission image.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that when the number of times of cleaning by the contact glass cleaning means reaches a preset number of times of cleaning, a maintenance request is automatically sent to a predetermined service center, so that the operation of the cleaning means can be performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus which can automatically perform a maintenance request every cleaning number appropriately set in accordance with a situation, perform appropriate maintenance, and maintain an appropriate operation state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the cleaning means controls the cleaning operation of the contact glass by the cleaning means in accordance with the setting state of the cleaning operation switch means for setting ON / OFF of the operation of the cleaning means. To set the operation of the cleaning means appropriately according to the operation status and the cleaning status of the contact glass by the operator, etc., to keep the contact glass clean while performing more efficient operation and further reducing power consumption. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile machine which can be used and has good usability.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control of the cleaning operation of the contact glass and the on / off operation of the maintenance requesting means in accordance with the setting state of the cleaning operation switch means for setting the operation of the cleaning means on / off. The maintenance request request operation to the service center is controlled in accordance with the setting state of the maintenance request operation switch means to be set, and when the cleaning operation switch means is set to off, the maintenance request operation switch means is not affected by the setting state. By setting the maintenance request operation to OFF, the operation of the cleaning unit is appropriately set according to the operation status of the reading unit and the cleaning status of the contact glass by the operator, and a maintenance request request to the service center is required. sometimes It was seen running, and aims to provide a more while performing running efficiently reduce further the power consumption, good facsimile machine availability that can keep the contact glass in a clean state.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile apparatus which is connected to a line, reads an original on a contact glass by a reading unit, and reads image information of the original read by the reading unit. A facsimile apparatus for transmitting to a destination via a facsimile machine, cleaning means for cleaning at least the surface of the contact glass on which the document is set, reading sheet counting means for counting the number of documents read by the reading means, and cleaning Operating means for inputting the number of read originals for determining the interval at which the contact glass is cleaned by means, and set read number storage means for storing the read number input by the operating means as a set read number; The reading number counting means is the setting reading number storage means. When the counting of the set reading number of 憶, by providing a control means for cleaning the contact glass by the cleaning means, have achieved the above objects.

According to the above arrangement, when the number of originals read by the reading means reaches a preset number of readings, the contact glass on which the original is set is cleaned by the cleaning means. The contact glass is automatically cleaned for each set number of readings, reducing power consumption,
The contact glass can be kept in a clean state, the image quality of the read image can be improved, and the image quality of the transmission image can be improved.

In this case, for example, as set forth in claim 2, the facsimile apparatus includes a cleaning frequency counting means for counting the number of times of cleaning of the contact glass by the cleaning means, and a predetermined service connected to the line. A maintenance request unit for making a maintenance request to a service center; and a set cleaning number storage unit for storing the number of cleanings until the maintenance request is made to the service center as a set number of cleaning times. The set number of times of cleaning is input, and the control unit causes the set number of times of cleaning input from the operation unit to be stored in the set number of times of cleaning unit,
When the cleaning number counting means counts the set cleaning number stored in the set cleaning number storage means, the maintenance request means may make a request for maintenance to the service center.

According to the above arrangement, when the number of times of cleaning by the contact glass cleaning means reaches a preset number of times of cleaning, a maintenance request is automatically made to a predetermined service center. Thus, a maintenance request can be automatically performed at every appropriately set number of cleanings, so that appropriate maintenance can be performed, and an appropriate operation state can be maintained.

Further, for example, as set forth in claim 3, the operating means includes a cleaning operation switch means for setting ON / OFF of an operation of the cleaning means.
Further, the control means may control a cleaning operation of the contact glass by the cleaning means according to a setting state of the cleaning operation switch means.

According to the above arrangement, the cleaning operation of the contact glass by the cleaning means is controlled in accordance with the setting state of the cleaning operation switch means for setting the operation of the cleaning means on / off. The operation of the cleaning means can be set as appropriate according to the situation of cleaning of the contact glass by the operator, etc., so that the contact glass is kept in a clean state while performing more efficient operation and further reducing power consumption. And the usability can be improved.

Further, for example, as set forth in claim 4, the operation means includes a cleaning operation switch means for setting ON / OFF of an operation of the cleaning means,
And a maintenance request operation switch means for setting on / off of an operation of the maintenance request means, wherein the control means performs a cleaning operation of the contact glass by the cleaning means according to a setting state of the cleaning operation switch means. And the control of the maintenance request request to the service center by the maintenance request means according to the setting state of the maintenance request operation switch means, and when the cleaning operation switch means is set to off, The maintenance request operation by the maintenance request means may be set to off regardless of the setting state of the maintenance request operation switch means.

According to the above arrangement, the control of the cleaning operation of the contact glass and the operation of the maintenance requesting means are set on / off in accordance with the setting state of the cleaning operation switch means for setting the operation of the cleaning means on / off. In addition to controlling the maintenance request request operation to the service center according to the setting state of the maintenance request operation switch means, if the cleaning operation switch means is set to OFF, regardless of the setting state of the maintenance request operation switch means Since the maintenance request operation is set to off, the operation of the cleaning unit can be set appropriately according to the operation status of the reading unit and the cleaning status of the contact glass by the operator, and a maintenance request to the service center is required. When Can only be operated, while reducing more power consumption by performing a more efficient operation, with the contact glass can be kept in a clean state, thereby improving the usability.

[0022]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are preferred embodiments of the present invention, and therefore, various technically preferable limitations are added. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following description. The embodiments are not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified.

FIGS. 1 to 8 are views showing an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a main circuit of a facsimile apparatus 1 to which an embodiment of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram.

In FIG. 1, a facsimile apparatus 1 includes a recording unit 2, a scanner unit 3, a communication control unit 4, a cleaning unit 5, a control unit 6, an operation unit 7, a memory 8, and the like.
The above components are connected by a bus 9.

The recording unit 2 uses, for example, a thermal recording device using a thermal element or an electrophotographic recording device, and records and outputs received image information and image information read by the scanner unit 3 on recording paper. I do.

As shown in FIG. 2, the scanner section (reading means) 3 has a contact glass 10 and scans an image of a document set on the contact glass 10 to read the image of the document at a predetermined resolution.

The scanner unit 3 is provided with a cleaning unit (cleaning means) 5.
Are housed in a cover 11 provided so as to cover the surface of the contact glass 10. Cleaning unit 5
In the example of FIG. 2, the cleaning member 15 is fixed to the belt 14 attached to the pair of rollers 12 and 13 in a state of contacting the surface of the contact glass 10, and the rollers 12 and 13 are indicated by arrows in FIG. The cleaning member 15 fixed to the belt 14 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2 by being driven to rotate in the direction, and cleans the surface of the contact glass 10.

The cleaning section 5 is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 2, but may be, for example, a rail 16 disposed along the surface of the contact glass 10 in the cover 11 as shown in FIG. And a cleaning roller 17 movably disposed along the rail 16. A cloth suitable for cleaning the contact glass 10, for example, a material wound with felt or the like is used as the cleaning roller 17. May be done. The cleaning unit 5 moves the cleaning roller 17 along the rail 16 while rotating the cleaning roller 17 as indicated by an arrow in FIG.
The surface of the contact glass 10 is cleaned by the cleaning roller 17.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning unit 5 includes a pair of rollers 18, 1,
The cleaning belt 20 may be stretched over the cleaning belt 9 and a cleaning belt 20 made of a material suitable for cleaning the contact glass 10 and having an appropriate strength may be used. The cleaning unit 5 rotates the pair of rollers 18 and 19 to move the belt 20 while making contact with the surface of the contact glass 10 as shown by arrows in FIG. Clean extensively. The cleaning unit 5 shown in FIG. 4 includes a pair of rollers 18 and 19 disposed in the cover 11, a cleaning belt 20 stretched over the rollers 18 and 19, and a drive motor (not shown) for driving the rollers 18 and 19. And the surface of the contact glass 10 can be cleaned over a wide area at once, so that the cleaning unit 5 can be made small and inexpensive, and the cleaning property of the contact glass 10 can be improved. .

Referring back to FIG. 1, the communication control unit 4 includes a modem, a network control unit, and the like.
A line L, for example, a public telephone line is connected. The communication control unit 4 exchanges facsimile control signals with the other party's facsimile machine, executes a facsimile communication procedure, and transmits and receives image information. The communication control unit 4 modulates a transmission signal and demodulates a reception signal by the modem, and automatically receives a call from the line L by the network control unit. Perform calling processing. As will be described later, the communication control unit 4 operates under the control of the control unit 6 to automatically request a predetermined service center 50 (see FIG. 5) for maintenance, that is, perform an automatic service call. It functions as the service unit 41 and functions as a maintenance request unit together with the control unit 6.

The control unit (control means) 6 includes a CPU (Centra
l Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.
The OM stores a basic program as the facsimile machine 1, a cleaning control processing program of the present invention, an automatic service call control processing program, and the like. The control unit 6 controls each unit of the facsimile machine 1 according to a program in the ROM, executes a sequence as the facsimile machine 1, and executes a cleaning control process and an auto service call control process.

The operation unit (operation means) 7 includes various operation keys such as a numeric keypad and a start key, and also includes a display (for example, a liquid crystal display). Various commands such as a transmission operation are input from the operation keys. On the display, a command content input from the operation keys and various information notified from the facsimile machine 1 to the operator are displayed.

The memory 8 is composed of, for example, a hard disk or the like. The memory 8 stores encoded image information of a document read by the scanner unit 3 and encoded by the encoding / decoding unit. To accumulate. Also, the memory 8
In advance, voice data for a service call used when making an auto service call by voice and image information for a service call used when making an auto service call using facsimile image information are stored in advance.

The facsimile machine 1 includes a cleaning processing unit 30 and an auto service call processing unit 40 as shown in a functional block diagram in FIG. 5 in order to perform the cleaning control processing and the auto service call control processing. Under the control of the control unit 6, the cleaning processing unit 30 performs cleaning of the contact glass 10 using the cleaning unit 5, and the automatic service call processing unit 40 performs an automatic service call process to the service center 50.

That is, the cleaning processing unit 30 includes a cleaning operation mechanism 31, a reading default counter (set reading number storage means) 32, a reading counter (reading number counting means) 33, and the like. The reading counter 23 counts the number of times of reading of the original (the number of readings) by the reading unit 23, and when the count value of the reading counter 23 becomes the reading default value set in the reading default counter 32, the cleaning operation mechanism 31 To operate the contact glass 10
Is cleaned by the cleaning unit 5.

The reading default counter 32 is specifically set in the RAM of the control unit 6, and the reading default value to the reading default counter 32 is set and input by a key operation of the operation unit 7, and the facsimile machine 1 Can set an arbitrary value. The operation unit 7 is provided with a cleaning switch (cleaning operation switch means) 71 for turning on / off the operation of the cleaning operation mechanism 31. The operator operates the cleaning switch 71 to perform cleaning in the cleaning control process. A cleaning processing function for automatically cleaning the contact glass 10 by the unit 5, ie,
ON / OFF of the operation of the cleaning operation mechanism 31 can be set.

The auto service call processing section 40 includes an auto service call section 41, a cleaning default counter (set cleaning number storage means) 42, and a cleaning counter (cleaning number counting means) 43.
The number of operations of the cleaning operation mechanism 31, that is, the number of times of cleaning of the contact glass 10 by the cleaning unit 5 is determined by the cleaning counter 43.
When the count value of the cleaning counter 43 reaches the cleaning default value preset in the cleaning default counter 42, the auto service call unit 41 makes a service call to the service center 50. The auto service call unit (maintenance request means) 41 is, specifically, operated by the communication control unit 4 of FIG. 1 under the control of the control unit 6 and the service center 50 set in the memory 8 or the like in advance. An automatic call is made to a telephone number or a facsimile number, and voice data for an auto service call stored in advance in the memory 8 is converted to a voice signal and transmitted, or an auto service call stored in the memory 8 is transmitted in advance. Facsimile transmission of the image information for the automatic service call.

This cleaning default counter 42
Is set in the RAM of the control unit 6, and the cleaning default value for the cleaning default counter 42 is set by a key operation of the operation unit 7, and the operator of the facsimile apparatus 1 sets an arbitrary value. be able to. The operation unit 7 is provided with an auto service call switch (maintenance requesting operation switch means) 72 for turning on / off the operation of the auto service call unit 41. The operator operates the auto service call switch 72 to operate the auto service call switch 41. It is possible to set an auto service call processing function for performing an auto service call to the service center 50 in the auto service call control process, that is, to turn on / off the operation of the auto service call unit 41.

The control unit 6 controls the cleaning processing unit 3
0 and the auto service call processing unit 40 are controlled to execute a cleaning control process and an auto service call control process in accordance with the settings of the cleaning switch 71 and the auto service call switch 72. Control unit 6
In the cleaning control processing and the auto service call control processing, as described later, when the cleaning processing is set to off by the cleaning switch 71, the auto service call processing function is set to on by the auto service call switch 72. Even if it is, the auto service call processing function is forcibly turned off.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The facsimile apparatus 1 automatically drives the cleaning unit 5 to clean the contact glass 10 when the scanner unit 3 performs the reading operation for the preset number of readings according to the setting state of the switch. Is performed a preset number of times, the service center 5
The feature is that an auto service call for requesting service (maintenance) is made to the service provider.

First, when a reading operation is performed for a preset number of times of reading (read default count value), the cleaning unit 5 is automatically driven to clean the contact glass 10 based on a cleaning control process based on FIG. Will be explained.

In the facsimile apparatus 1, when an operator sets and inputs a read default count value from the operation unit 7, the control unit 6 changes the read default count value into the read default counter as shown in FIG. 32 (step S1), and thereafter, when the original on the contact glass 10 is read by the scanner unit 3 (step S2), the count value of the reading counter 33 is incremented by "1" (step S3).
It is checked whether the count value of the reading counter 33 has reached the reading default count value set in the reading default counter 32 (step S4).

In step S4, when the count value of the reading counter 33 is not equal to the reading default count value set in the reading default counter 32,
Returning to step S2, the control unit 6 increments the count value of the read counter 33 and reads the default value of the read default counter 32 each time the scanner unit 3 reads a document on the contact glass 10 as described above. Check whether the count value has been reached (step S2)
~ S4).

In step S4, when the count value of the reading counter 33 is equal to the reading default count value of the reading default counter 32, the control section 6 operates the cleaning operation mechanism 31 (step S5), and the cleaning operation mechanism is operated. The cleaning unit 5 is driven by 31 and
The surface of the contact glass 10 is cleaned (Step S6).

When the cleaning of the surface of the contact glass 10 by the cleaning unit 5 is completed, the control unit 6 resets the count value of the reading counter 33 to “0” and ends the processing (step S7).

Therefore, when the number of documents read by the scanner unit 3 reaches a preset default reading count value, the cleaning unit 5 can clean the contact glass 10 on which the document is set.
As a result, the contact glass 10 is automatically cleaned for each read number (read default count value) appropriately set in accordance with the usage state of the scanner unit 3 to reduce the power consumption and clean the contact glass 10. To improve the image quality of the scanned image,
The image quality of the transmission image can be improved.

Next, FIG. 7 shows an auto service call control process for automatically performing an auto service call when the cleaning of the contact glass 10 by the cleaning unit 5 is performed a predetermined number of times of cleaning (cleaning default count value). It will be described based on the following.

In the facsimile apparatus 1, when an operator sets and inputs a cleaning default count value from the operation unit 7, the control unit 6 causes the cleaning default counter value set and input to the cleaning default counter as shown in FIG. 42 (step S11), and thereafter, when the cleaning unit 5 is operated (step S12), the count value of the cleaning counter 43 is incremented by "1" (step S1).
3) It is checked whether the count value of the cleaning counter 43 has reached the cleaning default count value set in the cleaning default counter 42 (step S14).

In step S14, the count value of the cleaning counter 43 is
If the cleaning default count value set to 2 has not been reached, the control unit 6 proceeds to step S1.
2, the count value of the cleaning counter 43 is incremented each time the cleaning unit 5 cleans the contact glass 10 as described above.
It is checked whether the cleaning default counter 42 has reached the cleaning default count value (steps S12 to S14).

In step S14, the count value of the cleaning counter 43 is
When the cleaning default count value is 2, the control unit 6 activates the automatic service call unit 41 to facsimile-transmit the service call image information stored in the memory 8 to the service center 50 in advance. Alternatively, the service call is performed by converting the voice data for the service call stored in the memory 8 in advance into voice and transmitting the voice to the service center 50 (step S15).

When the auto service call to the service center 50 by the auto service call section 41 is completed,
The controller 6 resets the count value of the cleaning counter 43 to “0”, and ends the process (Step S16).

Therefore, when the number of times of cleaning of the contact glass 10 by the cleaning unit 5 reaches a preset cleaning default count value (set number of cleaning times), an automatic service call (maintenance request) is automatically made to the service center 50. Can be. As a result, it is possible to perform an automatic service call automatically at every cleaning number appropriately set in accordance with the use state of the scanner unit 3 and the operation state of the cleaning unit 5 so that appropriate maintenance can be performed. Operating conditions can be maintained.

Next, control processing of the cleaning operation and the auto service call operation based on the setting state of the cleaning switch 71 will be described with reference to FIG.

The facsimile machine 1 performs a cleaning control process and an auto service call control process in accordance with the settings of the cleaning switch 71 and the auto service call switch 72. That is, the operator of the facsimile machine 1 can set on / off of the cleaning processing function and on / off of the auto service call processing function by the cleaning switch 71 and the auto service call switch 72 of the operation unit 7. As described below, the auto service call processing function is effective only when the cleaning processing function is set to on, and is forcibly set to off when the cleaning processing function is set to off. Is done.

That is, in the facsimile apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 8, when the cleaning switch 71 of the operation unit 7 is turned on by the operator (step S2).
1) The control unit 6 unlocks the cleaning operation mechanism 31 and turns on the cleaning processing function (step S22). As shown in FIG. 6, in this state, when reading of the original on the contact glass 10 by the scanner unit 3 is performed by the reading default count value set in the reading default counter 32, the control unit 6 performs the cleaning operation. The mechanism 31 is operated to cause the cleaning unit 5 to clean the contact glass 10.
At this time, when the auto service call switch 72 is set to ON, the control unit 6 performs, as shown in FIG.
When the cleaning operation is performed by the cleaning default count value set in the cleaning default counter 42 in advance, the auto service call unit 41 is operated to cause the service center 50 to perform an auto service call.

Next, when the cleaning switch of the operation unit 7 is turned off by the operator (step S2).
3) The control unit 6 checks whether or not the auto service call switch 72 of the operation unit 7 is set to ON (step S24).
2 is set to ON, the auto service call switch 72 is forcibly set to OFF (step S2).
5).

Thereafter, the control unit 6 locks the cleaning operation mechanism 31 (step S26), and regardless of the number of times the scanner unit 3 has read the original, the cleaning unit 5 is locked.
Of the contact glass 10 is stopped.

When the automatic service call switch 72 is off at step S24, the control section 6 locks the cleaning operation mechanism 31 (step S2).
6) Stop the cleaning operation of the contact glass 10 by the cleaning unit 5 irrespective of the number of times the scanner unit 3 reads the original.

Accordingly, the cleaning operation of the contact glass 10 by the cleaning unit 5 can be controlled according to the setting state of the cleaning switch 71 for setting the operation of the cleaning operation mechanism 31 for operating the cleaning unit 5 on / off. . As a result, the operation status of the scanner unit 3 and the contact glass 1
Cleaning unit 5 as appropriate according to the cleaning status of the cleaning unit 5
Can be set, the contact glass 10 can be kept in a clean state, and the usability of the facsimile machine 1 can be improved while performing more efficient operation and further reducing power consumption. be able to.

When the cleaning switch 71 is set to off, the automatic service call switch 72
Auto service call section 41 regardless of the setting state of
Can be set to turn off the auto service call (maintenance request operation).
Auto service calls to 0 can only be activated when needed. As a result, the contact glass 10 can be kept in a clean state while the power consumption is further reduced by performing the operation more efficiently, and the usability of the facsimile apparatus 1 can be improved.

In the above description, the processing in the case where the cleaning switch 71 is turned on / off has been described. However, the control unit 6 also turns on / off the auto service call switch 72 in the same manner. The automatic service call unit 41 is locked and unlocked according to the setting state, and the automatic service call processing function is controlled. However, the on / off setting of the auto service call switch 72 is determined by the cleaning switch 71.
It does not affect the setting of the, but only locks or unlocks the auto service call.

That is, when the auto service call switch 72 is turned on, the control unit 6 unlocks the auto service call unit 41 and turns on the cleaning switch 71 to clean the contact glass 10 by the cleaning unit 5. Is performed the number of times set in the cleaning default counter 42 in advance, the auto service call unit 41 makes an auto service call to the service center 50. When the auto service call switch 72 is set to off, the control unit 6 locks the auto service call unit 41, and when the cleaning switch 71 is on, the cleaning of the contact glass 10 by the cleaning unit 5 is performed in advance by a cleaning default counter. Even if it is performed the number of times set in 42,
Service center 50 by auto service call unit 41
No automatic service call is made.

Although the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. It goes without saying that it is possible.

[0064]

According to the facsimile apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, when the number of originals read by the reading means reaches a preset number of readings, the cleaning means cleans the contact glass on which the original is set. Therefore, it is possible to automatically clean the contact glass for each of the number of read sheets appropriately set in accordance with the use state of the reading means, to reduce power consumption and to keep the contact glass in a clean state, and to reduce the read image. And the image quality of the transmission image can be improved.

According to the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, when the number of times of cleaning by the contact glass cleaning means reaches a preset number of times of cleaning, a maintenance request is automatically sent to a predetermined service center. A maintenance request can be automatically made at every cleaning number appropriately set in accordance with the operation state of the cleaning means, and appropriate maintenance can be performed, so that an appropriate operation state can be maintained.

According to the facsimile apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, according to the setting state of the cleaning operation switch means for setting ON / OFF of the operation of the cleaning means,
Since the cleaning operation of the contact glass by the cleaning unit is controlled, the operation of the cleaning unit can be appropriately set according to the operation state of the reading unit or the cleaning state of the contact glass by the operator,
The contact glass can be kept in a clean state while the power consumption is further reduced by performing the operation more efficiently, and the usability can be improved.

According to the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, the control of the cleaning operation of the contact glass and the operation of the maintenance requesting means in accordance with the setting state of the cleaning operation switch means for setting ON / OFF of the operation of the cleaning means. The maintenance request operation to the service center is controlled in accordance with the setting state of the maintenance request operation switch means for setting ON / OFF of the cleaning request. When the cleaning operation switch means is set to OFF, the maintenance request operation switch means is controlled. Regardless of the setting state, the maintenance request operation is set to OFF, so that the operation of the cleaning unit can be appropriately set according to the operation state of the reading unit or the cleaning state of the contact glass by the operator, and the service center can be set to the service center. Men of The nonce request can be activated only when required, and the contact glass can be kept clean while improving the efficiency while operating more efficiently and further reducing power consumption. Can be done.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main part circuit block diagram of a facsimile apparatus to which an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cleaning unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of another example of the cleaning unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of still another example of the cleaning unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a functional block configuration diagram of a cleaning processing unit and an auto service call processing unit of the facsimile machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating cleaning control processing by the facsimile machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an auto service call control process by the facsimile machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing lock / unlock processing of a cleaning processing function based on a cleaning switch by the facsimile machine of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Facsimile apparatus 2 Recording part 3 Scanner part 4 Communication control part 5 Cleaning part 6 Control part 7 Operation part 8 Memory 9 Bus 10 Contact glass 11 Cover 12, 13 Roller 14 Belt 15 Cleaning member 16 Rail 17 Cleaning roller 18, 19 Roller 20 Belt 30 Cleaning processing unit 31 Cleaning operation mechanism 32 Reading default counter 33 Reading counter 40 Auto service call processing unit 41 Auto service call unit 42 Cleaning default counter 43 Cleaning counter 50 Service center 71 Cleaning switch 72 Auto service call switch

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile apparatus connected to a line for reading an original on a contact glass by a reading means and transmitting image information of the original read by the reading means to a destination via the line. Cleaning means for cleaning at least the surface on which the document is set, reading number counting means for counting the number of documents read by the reading means, and the document for determining an interval at which the cleaning means cleans the contact glass. Operating means for inputting the read number of sheets, setting read number storing means for storing the read number inputted by the operating means as a set read number, and reading number counting means for storing in the set read number storing means. When the set reading number is counted, the cleaning Facsimile apparatus characterized by comprising a control means for cleaning the contact glass by means. 2. The facsimile machine according to claim 1, wherein said facsimile apparatus includes: a cleaning frequency counting means for counting the number of times of cleaning of said contact glass by said cleaning means; a maintenance requesting means for performing a maintenance request to a predetermined service center connected to said line; A set number of cleaning times storage unit that stores the number of times of cleaning until the maintenance request is made to the service center as a set number of times of cleaning, wherein the operation unit is configured to input the set number of times of cleaning, and the control unit Storing the set number of cleanings input from the operating means in the set number of cleanings storage means, and counting the number of times of cleaning stored in the set number of cleaning times storage means. That the facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the to perform maintenance request requests to the service center in the maintenance request unit. 3. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the operation device further comprises a cleaning operation switch device for setting on / off of an operation of the cleaning device, and the control device performs the cleaning operation in accordance with a setting state of the cleaning operation switch device. The cleaning operation of the contact glass by means is controlled.
A facsimile machine as described. 4. The operation means further comprises: a cleaning operation switch means for setting on / off of the operation of the cleaning means; and a maintenance request operation switch means for setting on / off of the operation of the maintenance request means. The control unit controls the cleaning operation of the contact glass by the cleaning unit according to a setting state of the cleaning operation switch unit and the service by the maintenance request unit according to a setting state of the maintenance request operation switch unit. When the maintenance request request operation to the center is controlled, and the cleaning operation switch means is set to off, the maintenance request by the maintenance request means is performed regardless of the setting state of the maintenance request operation switch means. Facsimile apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the set off Lai operation.