JP2016033727A - Touch panel device and image forming apparatus including touch panel device - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch panel device capable of reliably transmitting vibration to a user regardless of which position on an operation panel is pressed. A touch panel device includes a display unit, an operation panel, and a control unit. The operation panel 50 includes a panel body 51 and a cover member 52. The panel main body 51 is provided with a plurality of first piezoelectric elements 53. The cover member 52 is a member that comes into contact with and covers the second surface of the panel body 51 opposite to the first surface facing the display surface 551. The cover member 52 is provided with a second piezoelectric element 54. The control unit 6 detects that the operation panel 50 has been pressed by detecting a voltage generated in the first piezoelectric element 53. When the controller 6 detects that the operation panel 50 is pressed, the controller 6 applies a voltage to the second piezoelectric element 54 to vibrate the cover member 52. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel device and an image forming apparatus including the touch panel device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a touch panel device, a technique is known in which when an operation panel is pressed by a user, the operation panel is vibrated to notify the user that the operation has been accepted.

  For example, in the touch panel device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a plurality of piezoelectric elements that generate voltage when the operation panel is pressed are provided on the operation panel. The touch panel device detects that the operation panel has been pressed by detecting a voltage generated in the piezoelectric element. And when the said touch panel apparatus detects that the operation panel was pushed, a voltage is applied to each piezoelectric element, each piezoelectric element is vibrated, and an operation panel is vibrated.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-212725

  The touch panel device as described above, that is, the touch panel device that vibrates the operation panel by vibrating a plurality of piezoelectric elements for detecting that the operation panel is pressed has the following problems.

  That is, the vibration generated from each of the plurality of piezoelectric elements propagates on the operation panel to the position on the operation panel pressed by the user (hereinafter referred to as “pressed position”) and is transmitted to the user. Here, the vibration generated from the piezoelectric element is attenuated in the process of propagating on the operation panel. Therefore, the strength at the pressed position of vibration generated from one piezoelectric element changes according to the distance between the piezoelectric element and the pressed position. In addition, the time at which the vibration generated from one piezoelectric element reaches the pressed position also changes according to the distance between the piezoelectric element and the pressed position. Accordingly, the strength and phase at the pressed position of each vibration generated from the plurality of piezoelectric elements vary depending on the position of the pressed position. Therefore, depending on the pressed position, the mode of vibration interference at the pressed position changes, and there is a problem that the intensity of vibration transmitted to the user varies. In some cases, the vibration becomes weak due to interference, and the user may not be able to recognize the vibration.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel device that can reliably transmit vibration to a user regardless of which position on the operation panel is pressed, and an image forming apparatus including the touch panel device. Is to provide.

  A touch panel device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a display unit, an operation panel disposed on a display surface side of the display unit, and a control unit that vibrates the operation panel when the operation panel is pressed. . The operation panel includes a panel body and a cover member. The panel main body is provided with a plurality of first piezoelectric elements. The cover member is a member that comes into contact with and covers the second surface opposite to the first surface facing the display surface in the panel body. The cover member is provided with a second piezoelectric element. The control unit detects that the operation panel has been pressed by detecting a voltage generated in the first piezoelectric element. When detecting that the operation panel is pressed, the control unit applies a voltage to the second piezoelectric element to vibrate the cover member.

  An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus including the touch panel device.

  According to the present invention, a touch panel device and an image forming apparatus including the touch panel device that can reliably transmit vibration to a user regardless of which position on the operation panel is pressed are provided.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an operation unit included in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an example of the touch panel device according to the embodiment. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing performed by the touch panel control unit according to the embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below do not limit the invention according to the claims. In addition, all of the constituent elements described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solving means of the invention. The same code | symbol has shown the same component through several figures.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus according to the embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 100 is, for example, a multi function peripheral (MFP). The image forming apparatus 100 has functions of a scanner, a copier, a printer, and a facsimile (FAX). The image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming unit 1 that forms an image on a sheet, an image reading unit 2 that reads an image of a document, a document transport unit 3 that transports a document to be read, and a user who operates the image forming apparatus 100. And an operation unit 4 for causing the operation unit 4 to operate.

  The image forming unit 1 includes a paper feed cassette 11, a paper feed roller 12, a transport roller 13, a registration roller 14, an image forming unit 15, a fixing unit 16, a discharge roller 17, and a discharge tray 18. . The paper feed roller 12 feeds paper from the paper feed cassette 11 one by one. The sheet fed by the sheet feeding roller 12 is conveyed to the image forming unit 15 by the conveying roller 13 and the registration roller 14.

  The image forming unit 15 forms an image on the sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding cassette 11. The image forming unit 15 includes a photosensitive drum 151, a charging device 152, an exposure device 153, a developing device 154, a transfer roller 155, and a cleaning device 156. The charging device 152 charges the photosensitive drum 151 to a predetermined potential. The exposure device 153 outputs a laser beam based on the image data to expose the photosensitive drum 151, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data on the photosensitive drum 151. As the image data, for example, image data generated by the image reading unit 2 reading a document, or image data received from an external computer via a communication network is used.

  The developing device 154 supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 151 and develops it, and forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum 151. The transfer roller 155 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 151 to a sheet. The cleaning device 156 removes residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 151 after the transfer. The fixing unit 16 fixes the transferred toner image on the sheet. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the discharge tray 18 by the discharge roller 17.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an operation unit included in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment.

  The operation unit 4 includes a plurality of operation keys 41 and a touch panel device 5. The operation key 41 is a hard key for the user to input information to the image forming apparatus 100. Examples of the operation key 41 include a start key for instructing the start of execution of various functions such as copying, and a numeric keypad for inputting the number of copies to be printed.

  The touch panel device 5 is an input / output device that includes a display surface that displays various types of information including operation items and soft keys, and an operation surface that receives designation of operation items or soft keys from a user. The touch panel device 5 specifies the pressed position on the operation surface when the operation surface is pressed by the user with a fingertip or a dedicated pen. Then, the touch panel device 5 determines the designated operation item or soft key based on the pressed position, and accepts an operation corresponding to the determined operation item or soft key as an input. Hereinafter, the configuration of the touch panel device 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an example of the touch panel device according to the embodiment. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the touch panel device 5 includes a housing 57, a display unit 55 having a display surface 551, and an operation panel 50 having an operation surface 521. The display unit 55 and the operation panel 50 are accommodated in the housing 57 and supported by the housing 57. An elastic member 56 is provided between the end portion of the display unit 55 and the end portion of the operation panel 50, and the display unit 55 and the operation panel 50 are arranged so as to overlap each other at a predetermined interval. The display unit 55 is a liquid crystal display, for example. The display surface 551 of the display unit 55 displays information indicating the state of the image forming apparatus 100 and various messages, operation items for selecting and setting functions, soft keys for inputting characters, and the like.

  The operation panel 50 is disposed on the display surface 551 side of the display unit 55. The operation panel 50 includes a panel body 51 and a cover member 52. The panel body 51 and the cover member 52 are transparent or translucent members, and are made of, for example, a glass material. Information displayed on the display surface 551 is visually recognized by the user through the panel main body 51 and the cover member 52. A plurality (six in this embodiment) of first piezoelectric elements 53 are provided on the first surface of the panel body 51 that faces the display surface 551. When the operation panel 50 is pressed, the first piezoelectric element 53 is pressed and deformed by bending the operation panel 50 to generate a voltage.

  The cover member 52 is a plate-like member that contacts the second surface opposite to the first surface of the panel body 51 and covers the second surface. The area of the third surface of the cover member 52 on the panel body 51 side is larger than the area of the second surface of the panel body 51. A fourth surface of the cover member 52 opposite to the third surface is the operation surface 521. A second piezoelectric element 54 serving as a master for the plurality of first piezoelectric elements 53 is provided in a portion other than the portion that contacts the panel body 51 on the third surface.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the touch panel device 5 further includes a touch panel control unit 6 that controls the touch panel device 5. The touch panel control unit 6 is electrically connected to each of the plurality of first piezoelectric elements 53, the second piezoelectric elements 54, and the display unit 55. The touch panel control unit 6 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The touch panel control unit 6 controls the operation of the touch panel device 5 by loading a control program stored in the ROM into the RAM and executing the loaded control program.

  For example, the touch panel control unit 6 displays various information on the display surface 551 by outputting a display signal to the display unit 55. Further, the touch panel control unit 6 detects that the operation surface 521 has been pressed by detecting a voltage generated in the first piezoelectric element 53. When it is detected that the operation surface 521 is pressed, the touch panel control unit 6 specifies the pressed position based on the detected voltage. The touch panel control unit 6 determines the specified operation item or soft key based on the pressed position, and controls the entire image forming apparatus 100 with an operation signal corresponding to the determined operation item or soft key. Part (not shown). Further, when detecting that the operation surface 521 is pressed, the touch panel control unit 6 applies a voltage to the second piezoelectric element 54 to vibrate the cover member 52 and vibrates the entire operation panel 50.

  Note that the image forming apparatus 100 may include the overall control unit and the touch panel control unit 6 separately, or may include one control unit (overall control unit), and the overall control unit functions as the touch panel control unit 6. It may be realized.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing performed by the touch panel control unit according to the embodiment.

  First, when the operation surface 521 is pressed by the user (step S <b> 101), the first piezoelectric element 53 is pressed, and a voltage is generated in the first piezoelectric element 53. At this time, the touch panel control unit 6 detects the voltage generated in the first piezoelectric element 53 (step S102).

  Next, the touch panel control unit 6 specifies the pressed position based on the voltage generated in each of the plurality of first piezoelectric elements 53 (step S103). The touch panel control unit 6 identifies the pressed position before vibrating the cover member 52.

  Thereafter, the touch panel control unit 6 applies a voltage to the second piezoelectric element 54 to vibrate the second piezoelectric element 54, and vibrates the entire cover member 52 (step S104). At this time, the panel body 51 and the plurality of first piezoelectric elements 53 vibrate in accordance with the vibration of the cover member 52 (step S105). That is, when the touch panel control unit 6 vibrates the cover member 52, the entire operation panel 50 vibrates. Thereby, the vibration is transmitted to the user, and the user is notified that the user's operation is accepted. Thereafter, the touch panel control unit 6 ends the process of the flowchart shown in FIG.

  According to the present embodiment, when the touch panel control unit 6 detects that the operation surface 521 is pressed, the touch panel control unit 6 vibrates the second piezoelectric elements 54 instead of vibrating the plurality of first piezoelectric elements 53. By causing the cover member 52 to vibrate, the entire operation panel 50 is vibrated. Therefore, the problem that the vibration generated from the plurality of first piezoelectric elements 53 interferes at the pressed position and the vibration transmitted to the user is weakened is reduced. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the touch panel device 5 can reliably transmit vibration to the user regardless of which position on the operation panel 50 is pressed.

  Further, the strength of the vibration when the cover member 52 is vibrated is controlled by the magnitude of the voltage applied to the second piezoelectric element 54, and the vibration is suppressed from being weakened by interference. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the touch panel device 5 can adjust the strength of vibration transmitted to the user by adjusting the magnitude of the voltage applied to the second piezoelectric element 54.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 including the touch panel device 5 has been described as an example. However, the touch panel device 5 is not limited to the image forming apparatus 100 and may be mounted on other electronic devices such as a mobile phone or a tablet. Good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus 5 Touch panel apparatus 50 Operation panel 51 Panel main body 52 Cover member 521 Operation surface 53 1st piezoelectric element 54 2nd piezoelectric element 55 Display part 551 Display surface 6 Touch panel control part

Claims (5)

A touch panel device comprising: a display unit; an operation panel disposed on a display surface side of the display unit; and a control unit that vibrates the operation panel when the operation panel is pressed.
The operation panel is
A panel body provided with a plurality of first piezoelectric elements;
A cover member that is in contact with a second surface opposite to the first surface facing the display surface of the panel body and covers the second surface, the cover member being provided with a second piezoelectric element; Prepared,
The controller is
Detecting that the operation panel is pressed by detecting a voltage generated in the first piezoelectric element;
A touch panel device that vibrates the cover member by applying a voltage to the second piezoelectric element when detecting that the operation panel is pressed.   The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the panel main body and the plurality of first piezoelectric elements vibrate in accordance with vibration of the cover member.   3. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit specifies a pressed position on the operation panel based on a voltage generated in each of the plurality of first piezoelectric elements, and thereafter vibrates the cover member. The touch panel device described. The cover member is a plate-like member in which the area of the third surface on the panel body side of the cover member is larger than the area of the second surface;
The plurality of first piezoelectric elements are provided on the first surface,
The touch panel device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second piezoelectric element is provided in a portion other than a portion in contact with the panel body on the third surface.   An image forming apparatus comprising the touch panel device according to claim 1.

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