JP2008009611A - Touch panel type operation display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch panel type operation display device that can prevent another function from being selected by erroneous operation when various settings of a certain function are performed and allows efficient use by a user in a complex machine. <P>SOLUTION: In the touch panel type operation display device, a plurality of function keys 21-24 corresponding to various operations are simultaneously displayed on a display section 9. When one of the function keys is selected, a disabling means does not permit an input request from the function key even when another function key that has not been selected is pressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel type operation display device mounted on a multi-function peripheral having a plurality of functions such as a copy, a printer, a fax, and a scanner.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are known devices in which a plurality of functions are divided and displayed on a single screen on a display unit of a touch panel type operation display device mounted on a multifunction peripheral. In addition, when a certain function is selected from a plurality of functions, a function key of the selected function is expanded. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-169093 A

  By the way, when one function (for example, copy) is selected from a plurality of functions and various settings (for example, the number of copies, scale setting, etc.) of the function are made, the function of another function (for example, fax) is selected. If the key is pressed by mistake, the contents that have been set up to that point will be reset, and it may be necessary to set them again from the beginning. In addition, when one function is being executed, it may be inefficient for the user if the processing status of another function is not known at the same time.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a multi-function peripheral, when various settings for a certain function are made, another function can be prevented from being selected by an erroneous operation and used. It is an object of the present invention to provide a touch panel type operation display device that can be efficiently used by a person.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention described in claim 1 is a touch panel type operation display device in which a plurality of function keys corresponding to various operations are simultaneously displayed on a display unit. When selected, there is provided invalid means for disabling an input request from the function key even if another function key not selected is pressed.
By configuring in this way, it is possible to avoid selecting another function by mistake during operation of a certain function.

The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that operation states of the plurality of function keys are always displayed on the display unit.
By configuring in this way, it is possible to always confirm the status of a plurality of functions at a glance.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since it is not possible to accidentally select another function while operating one function, it is necessary to re-set various operations from the beginning due to an erroneous operation. Can be avoided, and the user can use it efficiently.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, since it is possible to always check the status of a plurality of functions at a glance, it is possible to estimate the time for the function executed by the user to be completed. It is possible to reduce wasted time waiting for output. As a result, there is an effect that the user can use it efficiently.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which a touch panel type operation display device is mounted on a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions.
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction device 1 has a multifunction device main body 3 including an image storage unit, an image processing unit, a printing unit, a control unit, and the like (not shown) formed at the bottom. An operation display provided with an operation unit 5 for executing various operations of a plurality of functions of the multifunction device 1 on the upper front side of the multifunction device main body 3 and a display unit 9 having a touch panel 7 made of transparent electrodes arranged on the entire surface. An apparatus 11 is configured, and an automatic document feeder (ADF) 13 for automatically feeding a document image and a section for reading a document image are provided at a portion other than the operation display device 11 in the upper part of the multifunction machine body 3. An image reading unit 17 including a scanner unit 15 is configured. The multifunction device 1 has functions of a copy, a printer, a fax, and a scanner.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation display device 11 includes an operation unit 5 and a display unit 9. 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 33. The button 19 includes a start key 19a that activates a copy operation, a fax transmission operation, and the like, a numeric keypad 19b that sets the number of copies and a fax telephone number, and a function key 19c that activates an initial setting screen.

      Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 9 is composed of a color or monochrome liquid crystal display (LCD), and various information such as various images, characters, figures, etc. based on display instructions input from the control unit 33. Is displayed. Further, when the user touches the function keys 21 to 25 displayed on the display unit 9, the touch panel 7 functions and an input operation instruction is output to the control unit 33. Here, the display unit 9 has substantially the same function key for each function of the copy, printer, fax, and scanner, and includes a copier function key 21, a printer function key 22, a fax function key 23, and a scanner function key 24. As for the function keys common to the respective functions, a plurality of common function keys 25 such as an OK key and a cancel key are displayed on the right side of the display unit 9.

As shown in FIG. 4, the multifunction device 1 mainly includes an operation unit 5, a display unit 9, an image reading unit 17, an image storage unit 27, an image processing unit 29, a printing unit 31, and a control unit 33. As described above, the operation unit 5 and the display unit 9 are communicably connected to the control unit 33, and are configured to perform transmission / reception with respect to various operations of a plurality of functions.
The image reading unit 17 includes an automatic document feeder (ADF) 13 and a scanner unit 15. In such an image reading unit 17, the document supplied from the automatic document feeder 13 is fed onto the glass surface under the control of the control unit 33, and the document is scanned by the scanner unit 15 built in the multifunction device main body 3. Are sequentially read, and color image data indicating the color of the document image is output to the image storage unit 27.

  The image storage unit 27 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 17. The image storage unit 27 writes the color image data of the read document image under the control of the control unit 33, reads the color image data, and outputs it to the image processing unit 29.

      Under the control of the control unit 33, the image processing unit 29 converts the color image data input from the image storage unit 27 into print data and outputs the data to the printing unit 31.

      The printing unit 31 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 33. .

The control unit 33 controls the overall operation of the multifunction machine 1 based on operation instructions input from the touch panel 7 of the operation unit 5 or the display unit 9, control programs stored in the internal memory, various control data, and the like. It is. That is, the control unit 33 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 9, and the image reading unit 17). The image storage unit 27, the image processing unit 29, and the printing unit 31) are configured with various input / output interface lines and the like. The original image read by the image reading unit 17 can be printed from the printing unit 31 using the above function, the original data received from the outside can be printed as a printer, or the received fax data can be printed. It is like that.
In addition, when one of the plurality of function keys 21 to 24 is selected, the control unit 33 invalidates the input request even if the other function key not selected is pressed. Means.

Next, the operation will be described.
The multifunction device 1 is powered on and is in a standby state. When copying in this state, the document to be copied is set in the automatic document feeder 13, and the copy function key 21 is selected before and after that. Thereafter, the paper size, the number of copies, the density, the magnification, and the like are set using the touch panel 7 of the display unit 9 and the numeric keypad 19b of the operation unit 5, and copying is started by pressing the start button 19a.
When copying is started, the document is conveyed from the automatic document feeder 13 to the scanner unit 15, and the document is read by the scanner unit 15. The read image data of the document is sent from the image storage unit 27 provided in the MFP main body 3 to the image processing unit 29, and then the data is sent to the printing unit 31, which is built in the MFP main body 3. The toner is printed on printing paper and discharged as printed matter.

  When functioning as a printer, image data of a document received from a personal computer (not shown) connected to the outside via a LAN cable or the like is sent from the image storage unit 27 to the image processing unit 29, and then printed. Data is sent to the unit 31, printed on printing paper by toner built in the multifunction machine main body 3, and discharged as printed matter. Here, by pressing the printer function key 22, it is possible to set the toner density and scale of the printed matter to be output.

  When functioning as a fax, there is a transmission time and a reception time. At the time of transmission, the document is set on the automatic document feeder 13 and the fax function key 23 is selected before and after that. Thereafter, the destination telephone number and resolution are set by the touch panel 7 of the display unit 9 and the numeric keypad 19b of the operation unit 5, and the fax transmission is started by pressing the start button 19a. When the fax transmission is started, the document is conveyed from the automatic document feeder 13 to the scanner unit 15, and the document is read by the scanner unit 15. The read image data of the original is temporarily stored in the image storage unit 27 provided in the multifunction machine main body 3, and then the modulated image data is transmitted to the destination facsimile apparatus via the public telephone line. The

  Further, when receiving a fax, the image data received via the public telephone line is temporarily stored in the image storage unit 27, then the image data is demodulated and sent to the image processing unit 29, and then the data is sent to the printing unit 31. Then, it is printed on the printing paper by the toner built in the multifunction machine main body 3 and discharged as a printed matter.

When functioning as a scanner, a document to be scanned is set in the automatic document feeder 13 and a scanner function key 24 is selected before and after that. Thereafter, the resolution and magnification are set on the touch panel 7 of the display unit 9, and scanning is started by pressing the start button 19a.
When scanning is started, the document is conveyed from the automatic document feeder 13 to the scanner unit 15, and the document is read by the scanner unit 15. The read image data of the document is sent from the image storage unit 27 provided in the MFP main body 3 to the image processing unit 29, and then the data is sent to the printing unit 31, which is built in the MFP main body 3. The toner is printed on printing paper and discharged as printed matter. Further, the scanned image data can be viewed on a personal computer (not shown) connected to the outside via a LAN cable or the like.

Here, a display method and a control method of the operation display device 11 in the present embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, in step 1 (S1), input of function keys 21 to 24 corresponding to various functions displayed on the display unit 9 is received. When any one of the function keys 21 to 24 is pressed, the process proceeds to step 2 (S2).

  As shown in FIG. 6, in step 2, the color of the pressed function key is switched to a color different from the other function keys, and the process proceeds to step 3 (S3). In step 3, until the detailed setting of the selected function key is completed and executed, an invalid means for disallowing the input request even if another function key is pressed is operated, and the process proceeds to step 4 (S4). In step 4, it is determined whether or not another function key is pressed during the detailed setting of the selected function. If another function key is pressed, the process proceeds to step 5 (S5). If not pressed, the process proceeds to step 6 (S6).

  As shown in FIG. 7, if another function key is pressed during the detailed setting of the selected function in step 5, “The key operation is invalid.” Etc. are displayed. This display may be displayed for a certain period of time and automatically disappear, or may be cleared by pressing a cancel key in the common function key 25. When the display disappears, go to Step 6. In step 6, detailed setting of the selected function is performed.

  In step 7 (S7), it is determined whether the detailed setting is completed and the execution key or the start key 19a in the common function key 25 is pressed. If the execution key or the start key 19a has not been pressed, it means that the detailed setting work is still in progress, and the process returns to step 4 to repeat the same work. When the execution key or the start key 19a is pressed, the process ends when one work is completed, and at the same time, the input request non-permission state (invalidation means) of the other function keys is canceled.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, when the copy function key 21 is pressed to select the copy function and output to the printing paper is started before the printer output as another function is started, the display area of the printer function key 22 is displayed. The processing status of the printer function such as “Printing in progress” is displayed in the screen to inform the user of the output order to the printing paper indirectly. Similarly, when the fax function is started, a message such as “Fax is being received” is displayed in the display area of the fax function key 23.

In this embodiment, in a multi-function device having a plurality of functions, when one function key is selected from among a plurality of function keys displayed on the display unit, the setting of various operations of the selected function is completed. Since there is an invalid means that does not react even if the function key of the function is pressed, even if another function key is accidentally pressed, the operation contents set so far will not be reset. Therefore, the user can use the multifunction machine efficiently.
In addition, since multiple function keys are always displayed to display the processing status of each function, the user can check the processing status of each function at a glance, and the function that the user is trying to execute Will be able to guess the time to complete. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the output result required by the user is kept waiting in front of the multi-function peripheral before being discharged from the multi-function peripheral body. As a result, the efficiency can be improved for the user.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and for example, the following aspects can be employed.
In the present embodiment, the case where it is mounted on a multifunction peripheral has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a touch panel type operation display device such as a copying machine or ATM.
In the present embodiment, the function keys are displayed on the display unit with substantially the same size. However, the function keys may be displayed in different sizes in consideration of the frequency of functions. Further, although the description has been given of the case where the position of the common function key is arranged on the right side of the display unit, the position is not limited.
In the present embodiment, the color of the selected function key is switched. However, the color of the selected function key is not changed, and the color of another function key may be switched or the special color may not be switched.
In the present embodiment, the processing status of each function has been described. However, the progress information on the number of processed sheets and the estimated processing time may be displayed together with the display.

1 is a perspective view 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 top view of the display part in the 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 flowchart which shows the display method and control method of the operation display apparatus in embodiment of this 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

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... Display part 11 ... Operation display apparatus (touch panel type operation display apparatus) 21 ... Copy function key (function key) 22 ... Printer function key (function key) 23 ... Fax function key (function key) 24 ... Scanner function key ( Function key)

Claims (2)

In a touch panel type operation display device in which a plurality of function keys corresponding to various operations are simultaneously displayed on the display unit,
When one function key is selected, there is provided a disabling means for disabling an input request from the function key even if another function key not selected is pressed. Operation display device. The touch panel type operation display device according to claim 1, wherein operation states of the plurality of function keys are always displayed on the display unit.

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