JP2014149588A - Operation display device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

It is possible to recognize that a user has pressed down any place on the touch panel by vibration.
An operation display device including a touch panel that displays an operation button on an operation surface based on an image signal and outputs a pressed position on the operation surface as a detection signal, on the opposite side of the operation surface of the touch panel. When a plurality of piezoelectric elements 14a provided on the surface, detecting means 14b for detecting that the piezoelectric elements 14a are pressed, and detecting that the piezoelectric elements 14a are pressed by the detecting means 14b, the piezoelectric elements 14a And a control means 11 for synchronizing and oscillating.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation display device and an image forming apparatus.

  In the following Patent Document 1, a touch panel supported by a plurality of piezoelectric elements is provided. A voltage is generated in the piezoelectric element by pressing the operation surface of the touch panel with a finger, and the operation pressure and operation are detected by detecting the voltage. The position is detected, and when an operation pressure greater than a predetermined threshold is detected, a high frequency is applied to the piezoelectric element, and the operation surface is vibrated, thereby allowing the user to obtain a reliable operational feeling due to the vibration. An information display device is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-212725

  By the way, in the above prior art, each piezoelectric element is vibrated without being tuned, that is, the piezoelectric elements are vibrated apart. Therefore, depending on the pressed position, the vibration is weakened by the interference between the vibrations generated by each piezoelectric element. In some cases, it may not be possible to recognize that the user has pressed the touch panel due to vibration.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to recognize that a user has pressed down any place on the touch panel by vibration.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, as a first solving means related to an operation display device, a touch panel that displays operation buttons on an operation surface based on an image signal and outputs a pressed position on the operation surface as a detection signal is provided. An operation display device comprising: a plurality of piezoelectric elements provided on a surface opposite to an operation surface of a touch panel; a detecting unit that detects that the piezoelectric element is pressed; and the piezoelectric element is pressed by the detecting unit If this is detected, a means is provided that includes a control means for synchronizing and vibrating the piezoelectric elements.

  In the present invention, as the second solving means relating to the operation display device, in the first solving means, the control means detects that the piezoelectric element is pressed by the detecting means and detects input from the touch panel. When the pressing position on the operation surface of the touch panel is on the operation button based on the signal, a means is provided that includes a control means for synchronizing and vibrating the piezoelectric elements.

  In the present invention, as the third solving means relating to the operation display device, in the first or second solving means, the detection means has a thermistor or a thermocouple, and is generated by pressing the piezoelectric element. A means of detecting that the piezoelectric element is pressed by detecting heat with a thermistor or a thermocouple is employed.

  In the present invention, as the fourth solving means related to the operation display device, in any one of the first to third solving means, the control means is a strength for vibrating the piezoelectric element based on the setting instruction received by the touch panel. Is adopted.

  In the present invention, as the fifth solving means related to the operation display device, in any one of the first to fourth solving means, the control means vibrates the piezoelectric element based on the setting instruction received by the touch panel. Is adopted.

  In the present invention, as a solving means related to the image forming apparatus, an operation display device adopting any one of the first to fifth solving means is provided, and an operation related to image formation is received by the operation display device. Is adopted.

  According to the present invention, the plurality of piezoelectric elements provided on the surface opposite to the operation surface of the touch panel, the detecting means for detecting that the piezoelectric elements are pressed, and the piezoelectric elements being pressed by the detecting means. When detected, by providing a control means for synchronizing the vibrations of the piezoelectric elements, it is possible to recognize that the user has pressed down due to the vibration regardless of where the user presses the touch panel.

1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the operation display part 1 in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the detailed structure of the touch-panel vibration part 14 in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the machine structure of the image forming part 4 in one Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the multifunction peripheral A according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The multifunction peripheral A according to the present embodiment is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording sheet based on an electrophotographic method. As illustrated in FIG. 1, an operation display unit 1 (operation display device) and an image reading unit 2 are used. , An image data storage unit 3, an image forming unit 4, a communication unit 5, and an arithmetic control unit 6. Note that solid arrows in FIG. 1 indicate the flow of data, and dotted arrows indicate the flow of control signals and detection signals.

The operation display unit 1 includes an operation display control unit 11, an operation key 12 (see FIG. 2) that is a hardware key, a touch panel 13 (see FIG. 2) that displays software keys and various images, and a touch panel vibration unit 14. , And functions as a man-machine interface for associating the user and the multifunction peripheral A.
The operation display control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and electrically connected operation keys 12, a touch panel 13, a touch panel vibration unit 14, and an arithmetic control unit. 6 and an interface circuit for transmitting and receiving various signals, and controls the overall operation of the operation display unit 1 based on a predetermined control program stored in the ROM.

  For example, the operation display control unit 11 displays operation buttons and various images on the touch panel 13 by outputting a display signal to the touch panel 13. Further, the operation display control unit 11 determines which operation key 12 or the operation button displayed on the touch panel 13 is operated based on an operation signal input from the operation key 12 or the touch panel 13, and based on the determination result. An instruction signal is output to the arithmetic control unit 6. Although details will be described later, the operation display control unit 11 vibrates the touch panel 13 by synchronizing and vibrating piezoelectric elements 14a described later as part of various control processes.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation key 12 is physically provided in the operation display unit 1 as a hardware key. For example, a power key, a start key, a stop / clear key, and a numeric keypad (numerical value input key). Etc. In the operation key 12, when each key described above is pressed by the user, an operation signal is output from each key to the operation display control unit 11.

  As is well known, the touch panel 13 is provided with a transparent planar pressure sensor such as a resistive film type on the display surface (operation surface 13a) of the display panel, and display signals (images) input from the operation display control unit 11 are displayed. When the operation button displayed on the display panel is pressed by the user's finger or the like based on the signal), the planar pressure sensor outputs an operation signal (detection signal) indicating the pressed position (pressed coordinate) to the operation display control unit 11. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the touch panel vibration unit 14 includes a plurality of piezoelectric elements 14 a, a temperature detection unit 14 b (detection unit), and a drive unit 14 c attached to the surface (back surface) opposite to the operation surface 13 a of the touch panel 13. The touch panel 13 is vibrated by vibrating the piezoelectric element 14 a based on a vibration instruction signal input from the operation display control unit 11. The operation display control unit 11 and the drive unit 14c are control units in the present embodiment.

The piezoelectric element 14a is affixed to a surface of the touch panel 13 opposite to the operation surface 13a that accepts an operation by the user at a predetermined interval. When pressed, the piezoelectric element 14a generates heat (voltage) due to strain. In addition, the piezoelectric element 14a vibrates due to the voltage applied from the driving unit 14c. As a result, the operation surface 13a of the touch panel 13 vibrates.
The temperature detection unit 14 b includes a thermistor or a thermocouple, detects heat generated by the piezoelectric element 14 a by the press using the thermistor or thermocouple, and outputs a detection signal indicating the detection result to the operation display control unit 11.
The drive unit 14c generates a voltage for vibrating the piezoelectric element 14a based on the vibration instruction signal input from the operation display control unit 11, and applies the voltage to the piezoelectric element 14a.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the image reading unit 2 includes an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) 21 and a flatbed reading unit 22, and the ADF 21 is based on a control signal input from the arithmetic control unit 6. The original image fed by the user or the surface image (original image) of the original placed on the flatbed reading unit 22 by the user is read and converted into original image data, and the original image data is output to the image data storage unit 3. To do.

  The image data storage unit 3 is a semiconductor memory, a hard disk device, or the like. Based on a control signal input from the arithmetic control unit 6, the original image data, print image data received by the communication unit 5 from an external client computer, or communication. The unit 5 stores facsimile image data received from an external facsimile machine, reads out the image data based on a control signal input from the arithmetic control unit 6, and outputs it to the image forming unit 4.

  The image forming unit 4 forms a toner image based on the image data read from the image data storage unit 3 on the recording paper P taken out from the paper feed cassette 45 based on a control signal input from the arithmetic control unit 6. It is. As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming unit 4 includes a belt roller 41, an intermediate transfer belt 42, and four image forming units 43Y, 43C, 43M, and 43K corresponding to toner colors (Y, C, M, and K). Primary transfer rollers 44Y, 44C, 44M, 44K, paper feed cassette 45, pickup roller 46, transport roller 47, registration roller 48, secondary transfer roller 49, separation static elimination unit 50, fixing roller 51, paper discharge roller 52, A paper discharge tray 53, a reverse roller 54, a branch guide 55, three pairs of reverse paper transport rollers 56, and a recording paper sensor 57 are provided.

  As shown in the figure, the belt roller 41 includes three rollers that are spaced apart from each other, that is, a driving roller 41a, a driven roller 41b, and a tension roller 41c. That is, the driving roller 41a and the driven roller 41b are arranged at a certain distance in the horizontal direction, and the tension roller 41c is arranged at a position slightly displaced upward between the driving roller 41a and the driven roller 41b. ing. The intermediate transfer belt 42 is an endless belt stretched around such a belt roller 41 (drive roller 41a, driven roller 41b, tension roller 41c), and travels in a direction indicated by an arrow by the drive roller 41a.

  That is, the intermediate transfer belt 42 runs in the horizontal direction between the driving roller 41a and the driven roller 41b. The driving roller 41a described above is a roller in which a motor that generates a driving force is axially coupled, and causes the intermediate transfer belt 42 to travel in the direction of the arrow by the power of the motor. The driven roller 41b is a free roller provided so as to freely rotate, and guides the intermediate transfer belt 42 according to the power of the drive roller 41a. Further, the tension roller 41c is a roller that is provided with a rotating shaft so as to be movable, and applies a certain tension (tension) to the intermediate transfer belt 42 by pressing the intermediate transfer belt 42 with a predetermined adjusting force.

  As shown in the figure, the image forming units 43Y, 43C, 43M, and 43K are provided at predetermined intervals in the horizontal running portion of the intermediate transfer belt 42 described above. Of these image forming units 43Y, 43C, 43M, and 43K, the image forming unit 43Y is a unit that forms a yellow (Y) toner image, and is provided at a position closest to the driven roller 41b. The image forming unit 43C is a unit that forms a cyan (C) toner image, and is provided at a position close to the driven roller 41b next to the image forming unit 43Y. The image forming unit 43M is a unit for forming a magenta (M) toner image, and is provided at a position near the driven roller 41b next to the image forming unit 43C. The image forming unit 43K is a unit that forms a black (K) toner image, and is provided at a position closest to the drive roller 41a.

  Such image forming units 43Y, 43C, 43M, and 43K each include photosensitive drums ay, ac, am, and ak, charging portions by, bc, bm, and bk, laser scanning units cy, cc, cm, and ck, and development. The units dy, dc, dm, dk and the cleaners ey, ec, em, ek are constituent elements.

  That is, the image forming unit 43Y includes a photosensitive drum ay, a charging unit by, a laser scanning unit cy, a developing unit dy, and a cleaner ey. The image forming unit 43C includes a photosensitive drum ac, a charging unit bc, and a laser scanning unit. cc, a developing unit dc, and a cleaner ec. The image forming unit 43M includes a photosensitive drum am, a charging unit bm, a laser scanning unit cm, a developing unit dm, and a cleaner em. The image forming unit 43K is a photosensitive member. It comprises a drum ak, a charging unit bk, a laser scanning unit ck, a developing unit dk, and a cleaner ek.

  Each of the photosensitive drums ay, ac, am, and ak is a cylindrical member having a peripheral surface formed of a predetermined photosensitive material (for example, amorphous silicon). Each charging unit by, bc, bm, bk uniformly charges the peripheral surface (photosensitive surface) of each photosensitive drum ay, ac, am, ak. Each laser scanning unit cy, cc, cm, ck forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive surface by irradiating the charged photosensitive surface with laser light.

  Each of the developing units dy, dc, dm, and dk contains a predetermined amount of toner (positive toner) inside and supplies the toner to the photosensitive surface, thereby generating an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive surface. Develop as a toner image. Each of the cleaners ey, ec, em, and ek scrapes and removes toner (residual toner) remaining on the photosensitive surface after the toner image is transferred.

  As shown in the figure, four primary transfer rollers 44Y, 44C, 44M, and 44K are provided corresponding to the image forming units 43Y, 43C, 43M, and 43K, and each intermediate transfer belt 42 is sandwiched between each. Opposite to the photosensitive drums ay, ac, am, ak of the image forming units 43Y, 43C, 43M, 43K. A negative primary transfer bias (high voltage) is applied to each primary transfer roller 44Y, 44C, 44M, 44K, and each primary transfer roller 44Y, 44C, 44M, 44K The toner images of the respective colors respectively formed on the photosensitive drums ay, ac, am, and ak of the image forming units 43Y, 43C, 43M, and 43K are transferred (primary transfer) to the intermediate transfer belt 42 by the action of the transfer bias.

  The paper feed cassette 45 is a container for storing a plurality of recording papers P having a predetermined shape such as A4 size and B5 size. The pickup roller 46 is a roller that is provided in pressure contact with the recording paper P in the upper part of the paper feeding cassette 45, takes out the recording paper P in the paper feeding cassette 45 one by one, and sends it out to the transport roller 47. The transport roller 47 is a roller that transports the recording paper P fed from the pickup roller 46 toward the registration roller 48. The registration roller 48 is a roller that supplies the recording paper P supplied from the transport roller 47 to the secondary transfer roller 49 at a predetermined timing.

  The secondary transfer roller 49 is a roller disposed opposite to the driving roller 41a with the intermediate transfer belt 42 interposed therebetween, and transfers the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 42 to the recording paper P (secondary transfer). A negative secondary transfer bias (high voltage) is applied to the secondary transfer roller 49, and the secondary transfer roller 49 applies the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 42 by the action of the secondary transfer bias. Transfer (secondary transfer) to the recording paper P.

  The separation charge removal unit 50 supplies a positive charge removal bias toward the recording paper P based on a control signal input from the arithmetic control unit 6. This neutralizing bias is for neutralizing the charging of the recording paper P to make it non-charged, and for improving the separation of the recording paper P from the secondary transfer roller 49. The separation / neutralization unit 50 has a sawtooth electrode made of stainless steel, and forms an electric field near the tip of the sawtooth electrode to neutralize the recording paper P.

  The fixing roller 51 includes a heating roller 51a provided with a heater therein, and a pressure roller 51b that is in pressure contact with the heating roller 51a. The fixing roller 51 heats and presses the recording paper P by sandwiching the recording paper P onto which the toner image of each color is transferred by the heating roller 51a and the pressure roller 51b, and the toner image of each color is placed on the recording paper P. To settle. The heating roller 51a and the pressure roller 51b are formed of a fluorine-based material in which a contact surface (surface) that contacts the recording paper P is negatively charged by friction. That is, the surfaces of the heating roller 51a and the pressure roller 51b are negatively charged due to friction with the recording paper P.

  The paper discharge roller 52 is a roller that conveys the recording paper P conveyed from the fixing roller 51 and guided by the branch guide 55 toward the paper discharge tray 53. The paper discharge tray 53 is a storage unit that stores and holds the recording paper P supplied from the paper discharge roller 52. The reverse roller 54 is a roller for switchback transporting the recording paper P that is transported from the fixing roller 51 and guided by the branch guide 55. That is, the reversing roller 54 sandwiches the recording paper P supplied from the fixing roller 51 by rotating forward, and transports the recording paper P toward the reversing paper transporting roller 56 by reversing in the sandwiched state.

  The branch guide 55 selectively switches the transport destination of the recording paper P discharged from the fixing roller 51 to the paper discharge roller 52 or the reverse roller 54 based on a control signal input from the arithmetic control unit 6. That is, when the recording paper P is ejected to the paper ejection tray 53, the branch guide 55 takes the transporting destination of the recording paper P as the paper ejection roller 52 by adopting the first posture (the posture of the dotted line in the drawing). On the other hand, the transporting destination of the recording paper P is switched to the reverse roller 54 by adopting the second posture (solid line posture shown in the figure).

  The reverse paper transport roller 56 is a roller provided in a transport path (reverse path) for transporting the recording paper P supplied from the reverse roller 54 toward the registration roller 48. As shown in the figure, the reversing paper conveyance rollers 56 are provided at three locations separated in the reversing path. The recording paper sensor 57 is disposed between the fixing roller 51 and the branch guide 55, detects the number of recording papers P that have passed through the fixing roller 51, and outputs a detection signal indicating the number to the arithmetic control unit 6.

  As described above, in the image forming unit 4, the double-sided image forming process for forming the toner image on the front and back surfaces of the recording paper P is executed by the function of the reversing roller 54, the branch guide 55 and the reversing paper transport roller 56. The That is, when an image is formed on the front surface and the recording paper P passes through the fixing roller 51, the recording paper P is supplied again to the registration roller 48 in a state where the front surface and the back surface are reversed, and an image is formed on the back surface.

  The communication unit 5 communicates with an external multifunction peripheral A or a facsimile apparatus via a telephone line based on a control signal input from the arithmetic control unit 6, or with a client computer or the like via a LAN (Local Area Network). It is. That is, the communication unit 5 has a communication function compliant with a LAN standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark) and a communication function compliant with a facsimile standard such as G3.

  The arithmetic control unit 6 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an interface circuit that transmits / receives various signals to / from each electrically connected unit. . The arithmetic control unit 6 controls various operations of the multifunction peripheral A by performing various arithmetic processes based on various arithmetic control programs stored in the ROM and communicating with the respective units.

Next, the operation of the MFP A configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.
For example, when changing various settings in image formation to a setting value different from the default, the user operates an operation button for changing various settings displayed on the operation surface 13a of the touch panel 13.

  Here, the operation display unit 1 performs the following characteristic operations. That is, the piezoelectric element 14a generates heat when pressed by pressing an operation button displayed on the operation surface 13a of the touch panel 13 (step S1). The temperature detection unit 14b detects heat generated in the piezoelectric element 14 by a thermostar or a thermocouple, and outputs a detection signal indicating the detection result to the operation display control unit 11 (step S2). On the other hand, the touch panel 13 outputs an operation signal indicating a pressed position (pressed coordinate) on the operation surface 13 to the operation display control unit 11 (step S3).

  The operation display control unit 11 determines that the piezoelectric element 14a is pressed based on the detection signal input from the temperature detection unit 14b, and presses the operation surface 13 based on the operation signal input from the touch panel 13. When the position is on the operation button, the drive unit 14c is controlled to oscillate the plurality of piezoelectric elements 14a in synchronization (step S4).

  According to this embodiment, when it is detected that the piezoelectric element 14a is pressed by the plurality of piezoelectric elements provided on the surface opposite to the operation surface 13a of the touch panel 13 and the temperature detection unit 14b, By including the operation control unit 11 that controls the driving unit 14c to synchronize the vibrations of the piezoelectric elements 14a, it is possible to recognize that the user has pressed down by vibration regardless of the location on the touch panel 13.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, For example, the following modifications can be considered.
(1) In the embodiment described above, the operation display control unit 11 determines that the piezoelectric element 14a is pressed based on the detection signal input from the temperature detection unit 14b, and uses the operation signal input from the touch panel 13 as an operation signal. Based on this, when the pressing position on the operation surface 13 is on the operation button, the plurality of piezoelectric elements 14a are oscillated in synchronization with each other, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the operation display control unit 11 determines that the piezoelectric element 14a is pressed based on the detection signal input from the temperature detection unit 14b, the operation display control unit 11 includes a plurality of operations regardless of the operation signal input from the touch panel 13. The piezoelectric elements 14a may be tuned and vibrated.

(2) In the above embodiment, the temperature detecting unit 14b detects that the piezoelectric element 14a is pressed, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a voltage detection unit is provided instead of the temperature detection unit 14b, and the voltage detection unit detects a voltage generated when the piezoelectric element 14a is pressed, thereby detecting that the piezoelectric element 14a is pressed. Also good.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the operation display control unit 11 may change the intensity and frequency of vibrating the piezoelectric element 14a based on the setting instruction received by the touch panel 13.

(4) In the above embodiment, the temperature detector 14b has a thermistor or a thermocouple as a temperature sensor, and detects the heat generated in the piezoelectric element 14a by this thermistor or thermocouple. Instead of the above, a metal resistance thermometer or the like may be used as the temperature sensor.

(5) In the present embodiment, the operation display device (operation display unit 2) to which the present invention is applied is mounted on the multi-function peripheral A that is an image forming apparatus. It can be mounted on electronic equipment.

  A: MFP (image forming apparatus), 1 ... operation display section (operation display apparatus), 2 ... image reading section, 3 ... image data storage section, 4 ... image forming section, 5 ... communication section, 8 ... calculation control section , 11 ... operation display control part (control means), 12 ... operation keys, 13 ... touch panel, 13a ... operation surface, 14 ... touch panel vibration part, 14a ... piezoelectric element, 14b ... temperature detection part (detection means), 14c ... drive (Control means), 41a, 41b, 41c ... belt roller, 42 ... intermediate transfer belt, 43Y, 43C, 43M, 43K ... image forming unit, 44Y, 44M, 44C, 44K ... primary transfer roller, 45 ... paper feed Cassette, 46 ... Pickup roller, 47 ... Conveyance roller, 48 ... Registration roller, 49 ... Secondary transfer roller, 50 ... Separation / static discharge unit, 51 ... Fixing roller, 52 ... Discharge roller 53 ... paper discharge tray, 54 ... reversing roller, 55 ... branch guide, 56 ... reversing paper conveying roller, 57 ... recording paper sensor, ay, am, ac, ak ... photosensitive drum, by, bm, bc, bk ... charging Part, cy, cm, cc, ck ... laser scanning unit, dy, dm, dc, dk ... developing unit, ey, em, ec, ek ... cleaner, 51a ... heating roller, 51b ... pressure roller, P ... recording paper

Claims (6)

An operation display device including a touch panel that displays an operation button on an operation surface based on an image signal and outputs a pressed position on the operation surface as a detection signal,
A plurality of piezoelectric elements provided on a surface opposite to the operation surface of the touch panel;
Detecting means for detecting that the piezoelectric element is pressed;
An operation display device comprising: control means for synchronizing and vibrating the piezoelectric elements when the detection means detects that the piezoelectric elements are pressed.   The control means detects that the piezoelectric element is pressed by the detection means, and the pressing position on the operation surface of the touch panel is on an operation button based on a detection signal input from the touch panel The operation display device according to claim 1, further comprising control means for synchronizing and vibrating the piezoelectric elements.   The detection means includes a thermistor or a thermocouple, and detects that the piezoelectric element has been pressed by detecting heat generated by pressing the piezoelectric element by the thermistor or thermocouple. The operation display device according to claim 1, wherein the operation display device is a display device.   The operation display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit changes a strength for vibrating the piezoelectric element based on a setting instruction received by the touch panel.   The operation display device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit changes a frequency at which the piezoelectric element vibrates based on a setting instruction received by the touch panel. An image forming apparatus comprising the operation display device according to claim 1, wherein an operation related to image formation is received by the operation display device.

Images