JP2008003776A - Touch panel type operation display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch panel type operation display device capable of positively carrying out an object function by a touch panel. <P>SOLUTION: In the touch panel type operation display device, the surface of a display part 7 for displaying various information is composed of the touch panel 6, and the periphery of the touch panel 6 is covered with a cover. The inside of a part, overlapping with the touch panel 6, of the cover is formed as an insensitive region 33. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel type operation display device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a touch panel type operation display device provided with a touch panel capable of various operations in a copying machine or the like. When operating by touching the touch panel with a finger, etc., as a method of determining which function key displayed on the display unit is pressed, different bias voltages are applied in the X direction and Y direction of the touch panel, A method is known in which the current flowing through each electrode of the touch panel is detected to determine the X and Y coordinates of the touch point (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-278690 A

  By the way, although the position of the touch point can be detected by the above-described method, when the user presses the touch panel, if a position different from the target function key is already pressed or simultaneously pressed. The target function may not be executed without determining that the target function key has been pressed.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel type operation display device that can reliably execute a target function on a touch panel.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is a touch panel type operation display device in which a surface of a display unit for displaying various types of information is configured with a touch panel, and the periphery of the touch panel is covered with a cover. The inside of the part which overlaps with the said touch panel of the said cover is comprised as a dead area, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
With this configuration, an alarm display or the like can be set when the insensitive area is pressed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an informing unit that issues an alarm when a pressing force acts on the insensitive area.
By configuring in this way, it is possible to reliably notify the user of the contents of the malfunction.

The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the notification by the notification unit is performed when a predetermined time has elapsed.
With this configuration, no alarm is issued when the dead area is touched instantaneously.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, an alarm display or the like can be set when the insensitive area is pressed, so that the cause of the inability to execute the target function key can be immediately confirmed. By removing, there is an effect that the target function can be reliably executed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the user can be surely notified of the contents of the problem, there is an effect that the user can easily solve the cause of the problem.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since an alarm is not issued when an insensitive area is touched instantaneously, there is an effect that an alarm is not erroneously issued.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In this embodiment, a case where a touch panel type operation display device is installed in a copying machine will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the copying machine 1 has a copying machine main body 3 including an image storage unit, an image processing unit, a printing unit, a control unit, and the like (not shown) formed in the lower part. An operation unit 5 for executing various operations of the copying machine 1 and a display unit 7 having a touch panel 6 arranged on the surface thereof are provided on the upper front side of the copying machine main body 3, and the periphery of the operation unit 5 and the display unit 7 is An operation display device 9 covered with a cover 13 is configured, and an automatic document feeder (ADF) for automatically feeding a document image to a portion other than the operation display device 9 above the copying machine body 3. An image reading unit 11 including 11a and a scanner unit 11b for reading a document image is configured.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation display device 9 includes an operation unit 5 and a display unit 7.
The operation unit 5 includes a plurality of buttons 19 that receive various operation instructions from the user and output the contents of the operation instructions to the control unit 27. The button 19 includes a start key 19a for starting a copying operation, a numeric key 19b for setting the number of copies, a plurality of function keys 19c for starting an initial setting screen, and the like.

On the display unit 7, a touch panel 6 made of transparent electrodes is disposed on the surface. The display unit 7 is composed of a color or monochrome liquid crystal display (LCD), and displays various information as various images, characters, graphics, etc. based on display instructions input from the control unit 27, and is displayed by the user. The touch panel 6 functions by touching the function key 29 displayed on the unit 7, and outputs the input operation instruction to the control unit 27.
A cover 13 is provided so as to cover the periphery of the operation unit 5 and the display unit 7. The cover 13 is made of resin, and is formed with a first opening 15 through which the display unit 7 can be visually recognized, and a plurality of second openings 17 that match the sizes of the various buttons 19 of the operation unit 5.

  Next, the image reading unit 11 includes an automatic document feeder (ADF) 11a and a scanner unit 11b. In such an image reading unit 11, under the control of the control unit 27, the document supplied from the automatic document feeder 11 a is fed onto the glass surface, and the document is scanned by the scanner unit 11 b built in the copying machine body 3. Are sequentially read, and color image data indicating the color of the document image is output to the image storage unit 21.

  The image storage unit 21 includes an external storage device such as a hard disk and / or a semiconductor memory, and stores color image data of a document image input from the image reading unit 11. Under the control of the control unit 27, the image storage unit 21 writes color image data of the read document image, reads out the color image data, and outputs it to the image processing unit 23.

      Under the control of the control unit 27, the image processing unit 23 converts the color image data input from the image storage unit 21 into data for printing and outputs the data to the printing unit 25.

      The printing unit 25 is a printing unit that outputs a document image on the printing paper based on the color image data by transporting the printing paper and attaching toner to the printing paper under the control of the control unit 27. .

      The control unit 27 controls the overall operation of the copying machine 1 based on operation instructions input from the operation unit 5 or the touch panel 6 of the display unit 7, a control program stored in the internal memory, various control data, and the like. It is. That is, the control unit 27 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs control calculation based on the operation instruction, the control program, various control data, and the like (that is, the operation unit 5, the display unit 7, and the image reading unit 11). , Image storage unit 21, image processing unit 23, and printing unit 25), and various input / output interface lines that exchange data with each other. The document image read by the printer 11 can be printed by the printing unit 25.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, a certain constant width W1 of about several millimeters at the peripheral part of the display unit 7 does not function as the touch panel 6 even if the touch panel 6 disposed on the surface of the display unit 7 is touched ( It is formed as a non-functional region 31 that does not react. The non-functional area 31 is configured to be visible by coloring or the like.
Further, a certain width W2 further inside the non-functional area 31 is configured as a dead area 33 that displays an alarm indicating that normal operation cannot be performed if the area is continuously touched for a certain period of time. Has been.
Here, since the non-functional area 31 is colored, it is hidden by the cover 13 in consideration of appearance. Since the insensitive area 33 is not colored or the like, it is configured so that the user cannot visually recognize it, and the appearance is the same as the conventional one.

Next, a configuration between the operation display device 9 and the control unit 27 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 27 temporarily includes a display control CPU 35 that controls the display method of the display unit 7 based on a predetermined program, a ROM 37 that stores the predetermined program, and various data. A RAM 39 that is stored and functions as a working area is provided.
Data and operation signals obtained from the display control CPU 35, the ROM 37, and the RAM 39 are configured to be able to communicate with the VRAM 41 that develops display data on the display unit 7 that constitutes the liquid crystal display screen, and the input / output port 53.

Further, the VRAM 41 is configured so that a liquid crystal driver 43 that drives the display unit 7 based on display data can communicate, and the liquid crystal driver 43 displays a necessary image on the display unit 7 of the operation display device 9. Has been.
Furthermore, the touch panel 6 is configured to be able to communicate with a position detection unit 45 that detects the position of the touch panel 6 pressed by the user. In addition, a driver circuit 49 configured to be able to output to an individual display element 47 composed of a backlight, an LED or the like disposed on the back of various buttons 19 such as a start key 19a, a numeric keypad 19b, or a function key 19c; The buffer circuit 51 is configured to receive operation signals from various buttons 19 such as a start key 19a, a numeric keypad 19b, or a function key 19c.

  The input / output port 53 is configured to be able to input signals from the position detection unit 45 and the buffer circuit 51, configured to be able to output signals to the driver circuit 49, and further configured to be able to input / output to the display control CPU 35. ing.

  The display screen includes a display unit 7 and a touch panel 6. When the touch panel 6 is pressed, the position information detected by the position detector 45 is input to the display control CPU 35 via the input / output port 53, and which function is based on the display data developed in the VRAM 41 by the display control CPU 35. It is determined whether the key 29 has been selected. The liquid crystal driver 43 drives the display unit 7 based on the display data developed in the VRAM 41. With these operations, when the function key 29 is input on the display screen, the display on the display screen is controlled to be updated based on the program.

Next, the operation will be described.
The copying machine 1 is turned on and is in a standby state. When copying in this state, set the original to be copied to the automatic document feeder 11a, and set the paper size, number of copies, density, magnification, etc., using the touch panel 6 of the display unit 7 or the numeric keypad 19b of the operation unit 5. Then, the copy is started by pressing the start button 19a.
When copying is started, the document is conveyed from the automatic document feeder 11a to the scanner unit 11b, and the document is read by the scanner unit 11b. The image data of the read original is sent from the image storage unit 21 provided in the copying machine main body 3 to the image processing unit 23 and then sent to the printing unit 25. The printed toner is printed on the printing paper and discharged as printed matter.

  When performing the various settings and operations described above, settings may be made by touching the touch panel 6, but even if the target function key 29 is touched, there is a case where it does not respond as it is. This is because a foreign object is touching the peripheral edge of the display unit 7 visible from the first opening 15 of the cover 13, and when the target function key 29 is touched, the position and the position where the foreign object is touched. In order to determine that the intermediate point has been pushed, the target function cannot be executed. The situation where the foreign object is touching includes, for example, a situation where dust is accumulated, a situation where the hand opposite to the hand pressing the function key 29 is not intentionally touching a place other than the function key 29, or the cover 13 and the touch panel. For example, it may be recognized that the touch panel 6 is in contact with a force greater than a certain reference value and the touch panel 6 is pressed by the cover 13.

As shown in FIGS. 6-8, in order to avoid such a situation, in this embodiment, the dead area 33 was provided in the periphery of the touch panel 6. FIG. As a result, when a foreign object has been in contact with the insensitive area 33 for a certain period of time, the position is detected by the position detection unit 45 and input to the display control CPU 35 via the input / output port 53, and the insensitive area 33 is not less than a certain period of time. If it is recognized that the touch button is touched, the information is sent to the VRAM 41 and the liquid crystal driver 43, and an alarm or the like is displayed on the display unit 7. Specifically, the display unit 7 displays an alarm display such as “This area cannot be touch-detected”, “Do not touch this area”, or “There is a possibility that foreign objects may be mixed in this area”. , Can inform the user.
For example, when the alarm is displayed, for example, if the dust is accumulated, the dust is removed. If the user's hand is touched by mistake, the alarm is cleared and the copying machine 1 Normal operation can be resumed.
In the case of displaying this alarm, it is possible to set the set time by displaying the alarm when it has been touched for a certain period of time. By doing in this way, when the influence on operation is small, such as when a hand touches instantaneously, the alarm display can be made not to be performed.

  As another situation different from the above, the alarm is similarly applied when dust is accumulated in the standby state, or when the cover 13 touches the insensitive area 33 due to some influence, and the insensitive area 33 is touched for a certain period of time. The display is continuously performed on the display unit 7, and when the next user tries to copy, it can be informed that the normal operation is disabled. Also in this case, by removing dust or adjusting the contact portion between the cover 13 and the display unit 7, the alarm display disappears, and the copying machine 1 can resume normal operation.

  In this embodiment, the insensitive area 33 is formed over the entire circumference of the display unit 7. For example, when the operation display device 9 is inclined toward the front side in order to improve operability, And the like are concentrated on the lower end portion of the contact portion between the display unit 7 and the cover 13, and the insensitive area 33 may be set only on the lower end portion. In addition, all areas other than the function key 29 may be set as the insensitive area 33.

In the present embodiment, in the touch panel type operation display device 9 having the display unit 7 with the touch panel 6 disposed on the surface, by setting a certain width W2 inside the periphery of the display unit 7 as the insensitive region 33, When a foreign object has been in contact with the insensitive area 33 for a certain period of time, an alarm is displayed. As a result, when the user performs a target function on the touch panel, it is possible to easily recognize the cause of the failure to execute as intended, and it is possible to resume normal operation by removing the cause. .
Therefore, the target function can be reliably executed on the touch panel 6. Further, since the user can easily recognize the cause, there is no need to call a person in charge such as a maintenance service, so that it is possible to suppress wasteful expense.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and for example, the following aspects may be employed.
In this embodiment, the case where the touch panel type operation display device is mounted on the copying machine has been described. However, not only the copying machine but also a touch panel type operation display device having a similar configuration such as ATM. Also good.
In the present embodiment, the alarm display is described as an image displayed on the display unit of the operation display device. However, an image may be displayed on a computer such as an administrator via a network, or an alarm sound may be sounded. .

1 is a perspective view of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the operation display apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the display part in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the operation display apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the display part in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the display part in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the display part in the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

6 ... Touch panel 7 ... Display unit 9 ... Operation display device (touch panel type operation display device) 13 ... Cover 33 ... Insensitive area

Claims (3)

In the touch panel type operation display device in which the surface of the display unit for displaying various information is configured with a touch panel, and the periphery of the touch panel is covered with a cover,
A touch panel type operation display device, wherein an inside of a portion of the cover that overlaps the touch panel is configured as a dead area.   The touch panel type operation display device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that issues an alarm when a pressing force acts on the insensitive area. The touch panel type operation display device according to claim 2, wherein the notification unit performs notification when a predetermined time has elapsed.

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