JP2003152914A - Image-forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image-forming apparatus for changing a screen due to normal key input and starting operation, and at the same time for avoiding unexpected operation. SOLUTION: The image-forming apparatus is composed by including an operation processing means having a key input means, a voice input means, a voice recognition means for recognizing the voice data from the voice- inputting means, a command-judging means for judging whether data from the key input means or data from the voice recognition means are valid or not as a command, a screen display means, a screen database means where the combination of screen data that are displayed on the screen display means and a command that is valid on the screen is accumulated, and a display control means for controlling the screen data in the screen database means according to a command from the command judgment means for displaying on the screen display means, an input means, an output means, an operation control means for controlling operation based on information from the input and output means, and an image-controlling means for starting operation according to an instruction from the operation processing means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having an operation section for recognizing a voice operation instruction by a voice recognizing means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an input means of an image forming apparatus, a key on an operation panel is used for input.
In addition, even when the input is made by voice, the ambiguous input is not judged.

[0003]

As the input means of the image forming apparatus, key input has been used conventionally.
Also, since the key was on the front of the machine, input work could only be done at a limited position. In such a case, it is difficult for a person using a visually impaired person or using a wheelchair to easily perform input work.

In addition to the above case, in order to check the operation of the conventional image forming apparatus, the operation is confirmed by giving an instruction from the input means of the operation unit. However, in this case, the operator must always operate the input means of the operation section, and there is a situation in which the person who wants to confirm the operation cannot be visually observed while the operation section such as the inside of the aircraft or the back is being input. . As a countermeasure for these problems, it is possible to give instructions by voice input so that the operator can work without being in front of the operation unit.

However, when the operation timing instruction is performed by the voice recognition input device, the timing instruction may be erroneously input due to noise or the like, and an unexpected operation may occur due to erroneous recognition of the voice recognition. Especially when the motor is turned on /
During the work for confirming the operation of the device such as turning off, an unexpected situation may occur if the device is suddenly operated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to change an image by a normal key input and start an operation, and to avoid an unexpected operation. To provide a forming apparatus.

[0007]

To achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a key input means, a voice input means, a voice recognition means for recognizing voice data of the voice input means, and the key input means. Command determining means for determining whether the data of the above or the data from the voice recognizing means is valid as a command, the screen displaying means, the screen data displayed on the screen displaying means, and the valid command on the screen. An operation processing means having a screen database means in which a combination of the above is accumulated and a display control means for controlling the screen data of the screen database means according to a command from the command determining means and displaying the screen data on the screen display means. An input means, an output means, an operation control means for controlling an operation based on information from the input means and the output means, and the operation processing hand. It includes an image control means for starting the operation in the instruction from the composing an image forming apparatus.

[0008]

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG.
Reference numeral 0 is an operation processing means, and 2000 is an image control means. The operation processing unit 1000 includes a key input unit 1100, a command determination unit 1200, a voice input unit 1300, a voice recognition unit 1400, a screen database 1500, a display control unit 1600, and a display unit 1700.

The key input means 1100 inputs information from a hard key on the operation unit or a soft key on the touch panel. The voice input unit 1300 converts voice input from a microphone or the like into an electric signal. Voice recognition means 1400
After removing noise using a voice recognition algorithm, by analyzing the spectrum of the frequency, only voices are selected and it is determined whether or not they are voices. The command determination means 1200 receives data from the key input means 1100 or the voice recognition means 1400 and determines whether the data is a valid command.

The screen database 1500 is a database in which screen data to be displayed is accumulated, and the display control means 1600 acquires the screen data from the screen database and displays it on the display means 1700. Display control means 1
The control unit 600 controls to change the display data displayed on the display unit 1700 according to the command determination data sent from the command determination unit 1200. In addition, the command determination data sent from the command determination unit 1200 instructs the image control unit to operate as necessary. The image control means 2000 includes an input means 2100 and an output means 220.
0, the operation control means 2300. Input means 2100
Performs input processing such as a sensor necessary for image formation. The output unit 2200 controls loads such as a motor and an actuator required for image formation.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 100 denotes a copying apparatus main body, 1
Reference numeral 80 denotes a circulating automatic document feeder (RDF). 10
1 is a platen glass as a document placing table, 102 is a scanner, and this scanner 102 is a document illumination lamp 1
03, the scanning mirror 104 and the like. The scanner 102 is reciprocally scanned in a predetermined direction by a motor (not shown), and the reflected light of the original is imaged on the CCD sensor 109 through the lens 108 through the scanning mirrors 104 to 106.
Then, the exposure control unit 120 including a laser, a polygon scanner, and the like converts the laser light 129 that is converted into an electric signal by the image sensor unit 109 and modulated based on the image signal on which the predetermined image processing described later is performed. Photoconductor drum 1
Irradiate 10.

Around the photosensitive drum 110, a primary charging device 112, a developing device 121, a transfer charging device 118, a separation charging device 119, a cleaning device 116, and a pre-exposure lamp 114 are installed. In the image forming unit 126,
The photoconductor drum 110 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the figure by a motor (not shown), and is charged to a desired potential by the primary charger 112, and then the laser beam 12 from the exposure controller 120.
9 is irradiated and an electrostatic latent image is formed. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor drum 110 is transferred to the developing device 121.
Is developed and visualized as a toner image.

On the other hand, the transfer paper fed from the upper cassette 131 or the lower cassette 132 by the pickup rollers 133 and 134 is fed to the main body by the feed rollers 135 and 136, and is fed to the transfer belt by the registration rollers 137. The visualized toner image is transferred to the transfer charger 118.
Is transferred to the transfer paper. The residual toner on the photosensitive drum 110 after the transfer is cleaned by the cleaner device 116, and the residual charge is erased by the pre-exposure lamp 114.

The transfer paper after the transfer is separated from the photosensitive drum 110 by the separation charger 119, and the transfer belt 130 is used.
Then, the toner is sent to the fixing device 141, pressurized and heated to be fixed, and then discharged by the discharge roller 142 to the outside of the main body 100. The main body 100 is equipped with a deck 150 that can store, for example, 4000 sheets of transfer paper. This deck 1
The lifter 151 of 50 rises according to the amount of transfer paper so that the transfer paper always contacts the paper feed roller 152. Again 1
The multi-purpose manual feed 153 capable of accommodating 00 sheets of transfer paper is equipped.

Further, in FIG. 6, the transfer paper sent from the paper discharge roller 142 is switched to the double-sided recording side or the multiplex recording side by the paper discharge flapper 154. Also, 158
Is a lower conveyance path, which guides the transfer paper sent from the paper discharge roller 142 to the re-feed tray 156 by reversing the transfer paper via the reversing path 155. Reference numeral 157 is a multiple flapper that switches between double-sided recording and multiplex recording paths. By tilting this to the left, the transfer paper is directly guided to the lower transport path 158 without passing through the reversing path 155.

Reference numeral 159 denotes a re-feeding roller that feeds the transfer paper to the photosensitive drum 110 side through the path 160. 16
Reference numeral 1 denotes a discharge roller which is arranged near the discharge flapper 154 and discharges the transfer sheet switched to the discharge side by the discharge flapper 154 to the outside of the machine. When performing double-sided recording (duplex copying) or multiplex recording (multiplex copying), the paper ejection flapper 15
4 to the upper side to transfer the copied transfer paper to the transport path 15
Re-feed tray 156 with the sheet turned upside down through 5,158
To store. At this time, the duplex flapper 157 is tilted to the right at the time of double-sided recording, and at the time of the multiple recording, the transfer sheets stored in the re-feed tray 156 are fed one by one from the bottom by the sheet feeding roller 159 via the path 160. It is guided to the registration roller 137 of the main body 100. When the transfer sheet is reversed and discharged from the main body 10, the discharge flapper 154 is moved upward and the flapper 157 is tilted to the right, the copied transfer sheet is conveyed to the conveyance path 155 side, and the rear end of the transfer sheet is moved. After passing through the first feed roller 162, the reversing roller 16
3 to the side of the second feed roller, and the discharge roller 1
The transfer paper is turned over by 61 and discharged to the outside of the machine.

When the finisher 201 is installed, the transfer paper is guided into the finisher 201.
When the folding is not performed, the transfer paper is made to go to the straight path by the flapper 201, and is discharged to the outside of the finisher 201 by the discharge roller 202, and the storage tray 210 is discharged.
Is stored in. When folding is performed by the finisher 201, the flapper 201 is raised upward so that the transfer paper is guided to the folding portion. The transfer sheet is fed to the folding rollers 205 by shifting to the feed rollers 203 and 204. The folding unit 205 is configured to accommodate a plurality of transfer sheets. When the required number of transfer sheets are stored in the folding unit 205, the folding roller 20
While rotating 7, the center of the transfer paper is pressed against the folding roller 207 by the push-out plate 206. The transfer sheets are collectively sandwiched by the folding rollers 207, half-folded, discharged to the outside of the machine, and stored in the folded sheet tray.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the operation panel 200.

The operation panel 200 includes a liquid crystal screen 210, a reset key 211, a guide key 212, a user mode key 213, an interrupt key 214, a secret key 215, a ten key 216, a clear key 217, a start key 218, a stop key 219, a microphone 230, Microphone jack 24
It consists of zero.

The liquid crystal screen 210 is a screen for displaying setting contents and machine status. The reset key 211 is a key for setting the setting contents to the initial mode. Guide key 212
Is a key for displaying a screen on which an explanation of the operating method is written on the liquid crystal screen. The user mode key 213 is
This key is used to enter the mode for making various machine settings.
The interrupt key 214 is a key for temporarily stopping the operating machine on the way and performing another job operation. The secret code key 215 is a key to be input after the secret code is inserted in the secret code mode in which the machine cannot be used unless the secret code is inserted. The ten-key pad 216 is a key for inputting the number of copies and a value during various settings.

The clear key 217 is a key for clearing the input value. The start key 218 is a key for starting an image forming operation. The stop key 219 is a key for stopping the image forming operation. The microphone 230 is for inputting voice. The microphone jack 240 is for inserting a cord plug of a microphone (not shown) so that the microphone 230 can be used at any position.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a concrete example of the screen database 1500.

The screen database 1500 includes an index 1510, screen type 1520, screen data storage location 1
530, valid voice command 1540, valid key 1550
Is a single item, and is composed of a plurality of items.

The index 1510 is a number for distinguishing each item. The screen type 1520 is a content for explaining an outline of screen items displayed on the display unit 1700. The screen data storage location 1530 contains an address at which the data to be actually displayed on the display means 1700 is stored. The valid voice command 1540 stores a command that is valid as a voice command while the screen is displayed. The valid key 1550 stores the type of key that is valid as a key input while the screen is displayed.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the voice input means and the voice recognition means.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 500 denotes a voice input unit, 55
Reference numeral 0 is a voice recognition unit. The voice input unit 500 includes a voice input microphone 510 and an acoustic analysis unit 530, and the voice recognition unit 550 includes a matching unit 560 and a reference pattern 570. The voice input microphone 510 converts voice into an electric signal. At this time, in order to reduce noise in the voice waveform, a plurality of them are used at the same time.

The acoustic analysis unit 520 removes noise and compares the spectral patterns. Voice recognition unit 5
50 is composed of a reference pattern 570 and a matching unit 560,
The reference pattern 570 stores a spectrum pattern recognized as voice as data. Collating unit 56
For 0, the spectrum pattern from the voice input unit 500 is searched from the reference pattern 570, and if matched, it is recognized as voice.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a specific operation procedure.

The process starts from step 700 in FIG.
At step 710, the key input means 1100 checks whether or not a key has been entered. When there is a key input, the process proceeds to step 720, and when there is no key input, the process proceeds to step 711. At step 711, it is checked whether or not there is a voice input by the voice input means 1300. If there is no voice input, the process returns to step 710, the key input is checked again, and the process is repeated until any input is made. If voice is input, the process proceeds to step 712. Step 7
At 12, the voice recognition unit 140 checks whether the voice input is valid voice. Here, if the operation of the machine is turned on, noise from the outside world, etc., it is determined to be invalid, and step 71
If it is determined to be valid by returning to 0, step 71
Go to 3.

In step 713, the screen database 15
00 is searched. Explaining with reference to FIG. 3, if the currently displayed standard screen is the standard screen, the index order is checked, and the item of the standard screen for the screen type 1520 is checked.
If found, the contents of that item will be used in the checks from the next step.

At step 714, it is checked whether the command is valid on the current screen. This checks whether the input voice command matches the valid voice command of the item in the screen database. In the case of the standard screen, voice commands such as "copy start" and "reset" are valid. In the case of the motor operation instruction display screen, voice commands such as "motor start", "stop", and "reset" are valid.

If it is not registered as a command, it is not a command for the machine but a conversation with the surroundings or an erroneous instruction. Therefore, the process returns to step 710 without performing the subsequent processing. If the command is valid, the process proceeds to step 715.

In step 715, it is checked whether the valid command is a command for changing the screen. For example, in the case of the standard screen, if it is “reset”, since it is a command to change the screen, the process proceeds to step 716, the process of making the screen the initial screen is performed, and the process returns to step 710 again. or,
For example, even in the case of the display screen of the motor operation instruction,
If it is “reset”, since it is a command to change the screen, the process proceeds to step 716 to perform the process of setting the screen to the initial screen, and returns to step 710 again.

If the command does not change the screen, the process proceeds to step 717. In step 717, it is determined whether or not the command is to be operated. For example, in the case of standard screen,
If it is "copy start", it is a command to start the operation, so the process proceeds to step 718, and the operation control means 2
A copy start instruction is given to 300. If it is not a command to operate, the process returns to step 710.

Further, for example, in the case of the display screen of the motor operation instruction, if "motor start", it is a command to start the operation of the motor, so the process proceeds to step 718.
The operation control means 2300 is instructed to start the rotation operation of the motor. If it is not a command to operate, step 71
Return to 0.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 720 that the key is valid, the process proceeds to step 721. Step 72
At 1, the screen database 1500 is searched. Explaining with reference to FIG. 3, if the currently displayed screen is a standard screen, the index type is checked in order of the screen type 1520.
Examines a standard screen item. If found, the contents of that item will be used in the checks from the next step.

At step 721, it is checked whether the command is valid on the current screen. This checks whether the entered key matches the valid key of the item in the screen database. In case of standard screen, key input is "Start key",
“Numeric keypad”, “Reset key”, etc. are effective.

If it is not registered as a command, it is an erroneous instruction such as an erroneous pressing, so the process returns to step 710 without performing the subsequent processing. If it is a valid key, go to step 722.

In step 722, it is checked whether a valid command is a key for changing the screen. For example, in the case of a standard screen, if it is a "reset key", it is a key for changing the screen, so the process proceeds to step 724 to perform the process of setting the screen to the initial screen, and then returns to step 710 again.

If the command does not change the screen, the process proceeds to step 725. In step 725, it is determined whether or not the key input is to be operated. For example, in the case of standard screen,
If it is a "start key", it means that the key input is to start the operation. Therefore, the process proceeds to step 726, and the operation control means 23
00 is instructed to start copying. If it is not a command to operate, the process returns to step 710.

[0042]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the key input means, the voice input means, the voice recognition means for recognizing the voice data of the voice input means, and the key input means are used. Command determining means for determining whether the data of the above or the data from the voice recognizing means is valid as a command, the screen displaying means, the screen data displayed on the screen displaying means, and the valid command on the screen. An operation processing means having a screen database means in which a combination of the above is accumulated and a display control means for controlling the screen data of the screen database means according to a command from the command determining means and displaying the screen data on the screen display means. An input means, an output means, an operation control means for controlling an operation based on information from the input means and the output means, and the operation processing means. Since the image forming apparatus is configured to include the image control means for starting the operation in response to the instruction, it is possible to change the screen and start the operation by a normal key input, and obtain an effect that an unexpected operation can be avoided. To be

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an operation panel of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a detailed diagram of a screen database of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a voice input unit and a voice recognition unit of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1000 operation processing means 1100 Key input means 1200 command determination means 1300 voice input means 1400 Speech recognition means 1500 screen database 1600 Display control means 2000 image control means 2100 input means 2200 output means 2300 Motion control means

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06F 3/12 B41J 29/00 T G10L 15/00 G10L 3/00 551Z F term (reference) 2C061 AP04 AQ06 AR03 AS02 CQ01 CQ04 CQ24 CQ34 2H027 DA32 DE01 DE03 DE07 DE09 EC06 EC18 EC20 EE01 EE07 EE08 FA35 FB07 GA19 GA24 GA34 GA35 GA54 GA56 GB19 GB20 ZA07 5B021 AA01 CC07 QQ02 5C062 AA05 AB17 AB20 AC02 AC05 AC21 AE11 AF01 5D02 01502

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A key input means, a voice input means, a voice recognition means for recognizing voice data of the voice input means, data from the key input means or data from the voice recognition means are valid as commands. Command determining means for determining whether or not it is a screen display means, screen database means for storing a combination of screen data displayed on the screen display means and valid commands on the screen, and the screen Operation processing means having display control means for controlling screen data of the database means in accordance with a command from the command determination means and displaying the screen data on the screen display means, input means, output means, input means, and It has an operation control means for controlling the operation based on the information from the output means, and an image control means for starting the operation in response to an instruction from the operation processing means. An image forming apparatus characterized by the above. 2. The display control means, when receiving the command from the command determination means, searches the screen database for the item of the screen data currently displayed, and registers it in the screen database as a valid command on that screen. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an operation instruction is not issued to the image control means only when the image forming means is operating.