JP2006204824A - Operation panel apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation panel apparatus which can achieve reduction of production costs through ensuring of sure bactericidal effects, and is eco-friendly by consideration for environmental conservation. <P>SOLUTION: The operation panel apparatus 40 comprises with an operation face (surface of an insulating sheet 90) used for inputting operation in prescribed machines such as an image-forming device represented by a copier, a ticket-vending machine in a station, a theater, a film theater or the like, or a cash register which circulates money by card-input, wherein bactericidal means which directly sterilize the operation face (ultraviolet lamps 21 and 22 in first and second practice embodiments, and bactericidal liquid spraying means 23 in a third practice embodiment 3) are provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation panel device that is provided in various devices such as an image forming apparatus and a ticket vending machine, and is used for performing a predetermined input operation on the device, and has particularly excellent hygiene effects. The present invention relates to an operation panel device to be exhibited.

  Conventionally, as a device (hereinafter referred to as a public device) that is touched by an unspecified number of people (hereinafter referred to as the public), for example, an image forming apparatus represented by a copying machine, a ticket machine such as a station, a theater, a movie theater, Devices such as a cash machine for depositing and receiving cash by card input are known. These public devices have, for example, an operation panel device including a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel and capable of a predetermined input operation, and the public performs various touches formed on the operation surface of the operation panel device. A desired input process can be performed by touching the key.

  In such an operation panel device, a large number of publics are switched and touched with fingers, so that the sense of filth cannot be dispelled, and in extreme cases, miscellaneous bacteria can even propagate. Various measures have been proposed to eliminate such an unsanitary state on the touch surface, and examples of what should be noted include those disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4.

  First, although the thing of patent document 1 is not a thing for the operation panel apparatus, the housing | casing and screen of a public apparatus with which a public like a television apparatus installed in the street or a waiting room etc. is often touched by hand. A material (photocatalyst) that exhibits sterilization performance when irradiated with light is dispersed and mixed in the synthetic resin component that constitutes, and the bacteria adhering to the photocatalyst are sterilized.

  Also, although the one of Patent Document 2 is not intended for the operation panel device, the antibacterial agent is dispersed and mixed in the synthetic resin constituting the part touched by the hand of the hand cutter for the adhesive tape, and thereby sterilized. It has come to give.

  Moreover, the thing of patent document 3 carries out the sterilization process of the said banknote by performing any one or both of a heat processing and an ultraviolet irradiation process for the banknote currently processed with a banknote processing apparatus.

  These are all intended to be directly touched by the public, but relate to an operation panel device used for performing predetermined input operations on various public devices such as image forming apparatuses and ticket vending machines. is not. Incidentally, since the operation panel device is such that the input key is pressed with a certain amount of pressing force by the fingertip based on a predetermined purpose, the degree of bacterial contamination on the operation surface and the degree of bacterial transmission from the operation surface are unconscious. It is extremely large compared to the case of equipment that is accidentally touched.

On the other hand, the thing of patent document 4 has mentioned the front board for touch panels which are operation panel apparatuses, such as an image forming apparatus and a video cover apparatus, as one of the objects of a sterilization process (paragraph [0004]). . Specifically, the front plate is composed of a scratch-resistant film containing an antibacterial agent composed of silver-containing phosphate double salt and a substrate on which the film is laminated (paragraph [0006]). According to this configuration, it is described that the touch panel has excellent antibacterial properties, light shielding properties, and appearance (paragraph [0064]).
JP-A-9-252185 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-20446 JP 2002-32819 A JP 2002-337277 A

  However, in Patent Document 4, when producing a film having sterilization performance, a fine powder obtained by fixing expensive silver with a phosphate double salt such as aluminum phosphate, zirconium phosphate or titanium phosphate, A troublesome operation of uniformly kneading into a resin composed of a polyfunctional monomer such as diethylene glycol methacrylate or triethylene glycol methacrylate has to be performed, resulting in an increase in production cost.

  Moreover, since the thing of patent document 4 has only sterilization property provided only to the part in which the fine powder exists in a touch panel, the part between fine powder and fine powder does not have sterilization performance. After all, there is a problem that it is difficult to sterilize the operation surface of the touch panel as a whole.

  Furthermore, the thing of patent document 4 has a possibility that the silver contained in the film may elute to the environment when the touch panel is disposed of, and is not necessarily environmentally friendly.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and it is possible to achieve a reduction in manufacturing cost while ensuring a reliable sterilization effect, and to provide an environment-friendly operation panel device that takes environmental conservation into consideration. It is intended to provide.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an operation panel device having an operation surface for performing an input operation so as to cause a predetermined operation to be performed on a predetermined device, and directly sterilizing the operation surface. The present invention is characterized in that a sterilizing means for applying is provided.

  According to this configuration, since the operation surface of the operation panel device is directly sterilized by the sterilization means, it is possible to perform uniform sterilization processing on the entire operation surface instead of partial sterilization processing. become.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary to perform a troublesome operation of kneading the antibacterial agent into the resin, it contributes to the reduction of the manufacturing cost.

  Further, when the operation panel device is disposed of, there is no inconvenience that silver is eluted from the operation panel device into the environment.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the sterilizing means is a sterilizing lamp means for irradiating the operation surface with light having sterilizing performance.

  According to such a configuration, the operation surface of the operation panel device is irradiated with light from the sterilization lamp means so that the operation surface is sterilized. Even if there are cases where various germs propagate on the operation surface, the operation surface is surely sterilized, so that the operation surface is always maintained in a hygienic state. Further, for example, it is only necessary to adopt a sterilizing lamp means for irradiating ultraviolet rays as the sterilizing means, which contributes to a reduction in apparatus cost.

  The invention described in claim 3 is the invention described in claim 2, wherein the sterilizing lamp means irradiates light to the operation surface from the surface side of the operation surface.

  According to such a configuration, the operation surface of the operation panel device is uniformly sterilized by the light emitted from the outside, so that the front side of the operation surface directly touched by the fingertip is reliably sterilized as a whole. Become.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the sterilizing lamp means irradiates the operation surface with light from the back side of the operation surface.

  According to such a configuration, since the sterilization lamp means is provided on the back side of the operation surface, the sterilization lamp means does not interfere with the input operation, and the installation position can be freely set while ensuring the ease of the input operation. The degree is improved.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the sterilizing means is a sterilizing liquid spraying means for spraying a sterilizing liquid having a sterilizing performance onto the operation surface.

  According to this configuration, since the operation surface is sterilized by spraying the operation surface of the operation panel device with the sterilization liquid spraying means, an unspecified number of publics touch the operation surface to perform an input operation. In this case, even if germs grow on the operation surface, the operation surface is surely sterilized, so that the operation surface is always maintained in a hygienic state. And it can complete only by employ | adopting a sterilization liquid spraying means as a sterilization means, and contributes to reduction of apparatus cost.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, a wiping pad for wiping a fingertip is provided in the vicinity of the operation surface.

  According to this configuration, when the input operation by touching the operation surface is completed, the fingertip is wiped with the wiping pad, thereby removing the dirt on the fingertip. Then, if the wiping pad is impregnated with a sterilizing liquid, a sterilizing process for bacteria attached to the fingertip is performed.

  The invention described in claim 7 is the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises at least a liquid crystal display and a touch panel.

  According to this configuration, an input operation can be performed via a single touch panel, and the display on the liquid crystal display is visually recognized via the touch panel.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the operation surface of the operation panel device is directly sterilized by the sterilization means, the antibacterial agent is kneaded into the members constituting the operation panel device as in the past. Compared to indirect ones, only the vicinity where antibacterial agent exists has sterilization performance, but sterilization performance is not exhibited in the part where antibacterial agent does not exist, and this makes it difficult to achieve uniform sterilization treatment An excellent sterilizing effect can be obtained without causing any inconvenience.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary to perform a troublesome operation of kneading the antibacterial agent into the resin, it can contribute to the reduction of the manufacturing cost.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary to perform a troublesome operation of kneading an antibacterial agent composed of an expensive silver compound into the resin, it is possible to contribute to a reduction in manufacturing cost.

  Furthermore, when the operation panel device is discarded, there is no inconvenience that silver is eluted into the environment from the operation panel device, and the operation panel device can be useful for environmental conservation.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, since the operation surface is sterilized by irradiating the operation surface of the operation panel device with the light from the sterilization lamp means, an unspecified number of publics touch the operation surface. Even if the input operation is performed, the bacteria that have moved from the fingertip to the operation surface are reliably sterilized by hitting the light beam, so that the operation surface can always be in a sanitary state. For example, a sterilizing lamp means for irradiating ultraviolet rays can be used as the sterilizing means, which can contribute to a reduction in apparatus cost.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the operation surface of the operation panel device is uniformly sterilized by the light irradiated from the outside, the entire front side of the operation surface directly touched by the fingertip is surely sterilized as a whole. It can be in the state that was done.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, since the sterilization lamp means is provided on the back side of the operation surface, the sterilization lamp means does not interfere with the input operation, and the ease of the input operation is ensured. The degree of freedom of the installation position of the sterilizing lamp means can be improved.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, since the operation surface is sterilized by spraying the sterilizing liquid onto the operation surface of the operation panel device by the sterilizing liquid spraying means, an unspecified number of people touch the operation surface. Even if the input operation is performed, the bacteria that have moved from the fingertip to the operation surface are surely sterilized by the sterilizing liquid, and thus the operation surface can be always in a sanitary state. And it can complete only by employ | adopting a sterilization liquid spraying means as a sterilization means, and can contribute to reduction of apparatus cost.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the dirt on the fingertip can be removed by wiping the fingertip with the wiping pad when the input operation by touching the operation surface is completed.

  According to the seventh aspect of the invention, simplification and cost reduction of the operation panel device can be achieved while ensuring the ease of input operation.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which an operation panel device according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram in a front sectional view showing an outline of the internal structure. 1 and 2, the XX direction is referred to as the left-right direction, and the Y-Y direction is referred to as the front-rear direction. In particular, the -X direction is leftward, the + X direction is rightward, the -Y direction is forward, and the + Y direction is forward. It is called the back.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 is configured by mounting various devices on an apparatus main body 11 having a box shape. That is, an upper part of the apparatus main body 11 is provided with a document reading unit 12 that reads an image from a document and an input unit 20 that inputs various conditions for image forming processing. As shown in FIG. 2, an image forming unit 13 that forms an image based on image information of the document read by the document reading unit 12, and is transferred to a sheet by the image forming unit 13 at a position below the document reading unit 12. A fixing unit 14 that performs a fixing process on the printed image and a sheet storage unit 15 that stores a transfer sheet are provided.

  The document reading unit 12 includes a document supply unit 121 that can be opened and closed, and an optical system unit 125 that is disposed in the apparatus main body 11 so as to face the document supply unit 121 via a contact glass 126 (FIG. 2). In the present embodiment, the contact glass 126 is automatically fed with the placed document contact glass 126a having a slightly smaller planar shape than the document supply unit 121 for reading the document surface of the placed document. A long and narrow automatic paper feeding contact glass 126b which is long in the front-rear direction for reading the original surface of the original is adopted.

  The document supply unit 121 has a two-stage structure, and includes a document tray 122 for placing a document provided in the upper stage, and a document discharge tray provided in the lower stage for discharging a document that has been scanned. 123. On the left side of the document supply unit 121, a document feeding unit 124 interposed between the document tray 122 and the document discharge tray 123 is formed, and an unillustrated document feeding mechanism provided in the document feeding unit 124. Thus, one sheet at a time is picked up from the bundle of sheets placed on the document tray 122 and supplied to the automatic paper supply contact glass 126b, and is moved to the optical system unit 125 through the automatic paper supply contact glass 126b. The side of the original is read.

  The optical system unit 125 includes a light source (not shown), a plurality of mirrors, a lens unit, a CCD (charge coupled device), and the like. The light from the light source is reflected by the original surface, and the reflected light is input to the CCD as original information through the mirror and the lens unit. The document information as an analog amount input to the CCD is converted into a digital signal and stored in a predetermined storage device as digital document information.

  The image forming unit 13 forms a toner image on the paper fed from the paper storage unit 15, and in this embodiment, the image forming unit 13 is sequentially arranged from the upstream side (the right side of the paper surface in FIG. 2) to the downstream side. The yellow unit 13Y, the magenta unit 13M, the cyan unit 13C, and the black unit 13K are provided.

  Each unit 13Y, 13M, 13C, 13K is provided with a photosensitive drum 131 and a developing device 132, respectively. Each photoconductive drum 131 is supplied with toner from a corresponding developing device 132 while rotating clockwise in FIG.

  A charging unit 133 is provided at a position on the upper left side in FIG. 2 of each photosensitive drum 131, and an exposure unit 134 is provided at a position on the upper right side of the photosensitive drum 131. Each photosensitive drum 131 is uniformly charged at its peripheral surface by the charging unit 133, and a laser beam based on image data input from the document reading unit 12 is charged from each exposure unit 134. By irradiating the peripheral surface of 131, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the peripheral surface of each photosensitive drum 131. By supplying toner from the developing device 132 to the electrostatic latent image, a toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131.

  Further, a cleaning device 135 for removing residual toner on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 and cleaning it is provided at the lower left position in FIG. 1 of each photosensitive drum 131. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 cleaned by the cleaning device 135 goes to the charging unit 133 for a new charging process.

  Below each photoconductor drum 131, a transport belt 136 is provided so that the transport surface faces each photoconductor drum 131. The conveyor belt 136 is wound around a drive roller 137 provided slightly downstream of the black unit 13K and a driven roller 138 provided slightly upstream of the yellow unit 13Y, and the drive roller 137 is driven to rotate. It is designed to go around. The paper supplied from the paper storage unit 15 is guided by the circumference of the transport belt 136 and moves while abutting on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 to be subjected to a transfer process.

  The fixing unit 14 performs a fixing process on the toner image on the paper transferred by the image forming unit 13, and includes a heat roller 141 and a pressure roller 142 that are arranged to face each other in the vertical direction. The transfer-processed paper led out from the image forming unit 13 by the rotation of the conveyance belt 136 is fixed between the heat roller 141 and the pressure roller 142 while being heated and pressed, and the toner image is fixed. A stable color image is formed on the top. The sheet with the color image for which the fixing process has been completed passes through the paper discharge conveyance path 112 and is discharged toward the paper discharge tray 111 protruding from the left side wall of the apparatus main body 11.

  The paper storage unit 15 includes a plurality of paper trays 151 that are detachably attached to the apparatus main body 11. In each sheet tray 151, a sheet bundle is stored, and the sheet P is fed out one sheet at a time by driving the pickup roller 152 from the selected sheet tray 151, and passes through the sheet feed conveyance path 153 to form an image forming unit. 13 is introduced.

  In the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, a sheet reversing unit 16 for performing double-sided printing on the sheet P is provided in the apparatus main body 11. The sheet reversing unit 16 is interposed between the image forming unit 13 and the sheet storage unit 15 and temporarily stores the sheet P having the image after the fixing process on one side, and the fixing unit 14. And a switching guide 162 that distributes the paper P to one of the paper discharge conveyance path 112 and the return conveyance path 113 with respect to the paper P after the fixing process, and is once discharged to the intermediate tray 161. A reverse roller pair 163 that discharges the paper P from the rear end side is provided.

  Then, the paper P once discharged to the intermediate tray 161 through the return conveyance path 113 and the reverse roller pair 163 by the switching operation of the switching guide 162 is discharged from the rear end side by the reverse rotation of the reverse roller pair 163. The sheet is directed to the paper feed conveyance path 153 through the reverse conveyance path 114. The paper P that has been turned upside down and supplied to the paper feed conveyance path 153 is supplied again to the image forming unit 13, whereby the back side is subjected to a transfer process.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the input unit 20 includes a support frame 30 attached to the front surface of the apparatus main body 11 and an operation panel device 40 supported by the support frame 30. The support frame 30 constitutes a part of the apparatus main body 11.

  The support frame 30 includes a front frame 31 that is long in the left-right direction flush with the front surface of the apparatus main body 11, a rear frame 32 that faces the front frame 31 slightly below the front edge of the document retainer 121, and the like. A pair of left and right side frames 33 provided between the left and right end portions of the front frame 31 and the rear frame 32, and a bottom plate 34 (not shown) surrounded by these frames. The operation panel device 40 is supported by the bottom plate in a state surrounded by the front frame 31, the rear frame 32, and the side frames 33.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the first embodiment of the operation panel device 40, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the operation panel device 40 shown in FIG. The direction display by X and Y in FIG. 3 is the same as in FIG. As shown in these drawings, the operation panel device 40 is composed of a synthetic resin casing 50 having a horizontally long rectangular shape in plan view, and the casing 50 from below (because it is turned upside down in FIG. 4). The liquid crystal display (LCD) 60, the touch panel 70, the touch panel fixing frame 80, and the insulating sheet (operation surface) 90 are arranged in a stacked state (from above).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 50 includes a flat panel board 51 and a peripheral wall 52 projecting downward from the front edge and both side edges of the panel board 51 (upward in FIG. 4). Various electrical components are mounted inside the peripheral wall 52.

  A horizontally long rectangular display window 53 is opened at a position slightly to the left in the longitudinal direction in FIG. 3 from the center of the panel board 51, and a power switch 541, a numeric keypad 542, and further on the right side of the display window 53. The first operation area 54 provided with a start key 543 and the like, and the use mode of the image forming apparatus 10 on the left side of the display window 53 (whether the image forming apparatus 10 is used as a copying machine or a facsimile machine) A second operation area 55 provided with a mode setting key 551 for setting a mode for use as a printer). On the back side of the first operation area 54 and the second operation area 55, electrical components corresponding to the respective functions are mounted.

  A sterilization pad (wiping pad) 56 is detachably attached to the front position of the power switch 541. The sterilization pad 56 wipes the fingertip, is formed of a sponge, and has a sterilizing solution absorbed in advance. Therefore, after the input operation by the fingertip via the operation panel device 40 is completed, wiping the fingertip with the sterilization pad 56 is preferable in terms of hygiene because even if bacteria are attached to the fingertip, the bacteria are sterilized. Incidentally, examples of the sterilizing solution include a methyl alcohol solution and a hydrogen peroxide solution.

  An operation panel mounting space V (FIG. 4) is formed on the rear surface side of the display window 53, and the LCD 60, the touch panel 70, and the touch panel fixing frame 80 are sequentially formed in the operation panel mounting space V from the lowest position (the highest position in FIG. 4). Further, the insulating sheet 90 is stacked and disposed so that the uppermost insulating sheet 90 faces the display window 53.

  The LCD 60 includes a substrate in which predetermined electrical components are mounted in a thin rectangular parallelepiped casing 61 having a rectangular shape slightly larger than the display window 53 in a plan view, and an upper surface side (the lower surface side in FIG. 3). ) And a planar liquid crystal plate stacked together. Information such as characters and figures displayed on the liquid crystal plate is displayed on the display window 53 via the transparent touch panel 70 and the insulating sheet 90.

  The LCD 60 is dimensioned to be considerably larger than that of the display window 53 so that the LCD 60 does not slip out of the display window 53 of the housing 50 when mounted in the operation panel mounting space V. Yes.

  The touch panel 70 detects the position by lightly pressing an arbitrary position with a finger through the insulating sheet 90, and displays a predetermined operation signal preset for the position in cooperation with the LCD 60. The output is directed to an abbreviated control unit.

  The touch panel 70 is formed by laminating two transparent resistive film sheets. One resistance film sheet has a plurality of transparent lateral conduction resistance paths arranged in parallel in the vertical direction extending in one direction (for example, the horizontal direction), while the other resistance film sheet is in the other direction (vertical direction). A plurality of transparent longitudinal conduction resistance paths arranged in parallel in the lateral direction, and the position is specified from the intersection of the lateral conduction resistance path and the longitudinal conduction resistance path at the position pressed by the finger. It has become.

  Such a touch panel 70 is set to have a size in plan view slightly larger than that of the display window 53 of the housing 50 and slightly smaller than that of the LCD 60, thereby being mounted in the operation panel mounting space V. Thus, the display window 53 is prevented from coming out. Further, a connection terminal 71 protrudes from the right edge of the touch panel 70 in FIG. 4 toward the right, and an output signal from the touch panel 70 is input to the LCD 60 via the connection terminal 71. .

  The touch panel fixing frame 80 is for fixing the touch panel 70 laminated on the LCD 60 in a positioning state so as not to move, and a pair of horizontal bars 81 set substantially the same as the longitudinal dimension of the LCD 60; The pair of horizontal bars 81 is set in a U shape by a vertical bar 82 installed between the right end portions in FIG. The vertical beam 82 is set to have a length that is slightly longer than the vertical dimension (dimension on the short side) of the touch panel 70, and the inner dimension between the pair of horizontal bars 81 is slightly smaller than the dimension on the short side of the touch panel 70. The touch panel 70 is sandwiched between the pair of horizontal bars 81.

  In such a touch panel fixing frame 80, a terminal fitting groove 83 that is recessed in a position corresponding to the connection terminal 71 of the touch panel 70 is formed in the vertical beam 82, and the vertical beam side engagement is provided at a substantially central position. A hole 84 is formed. Further, the horizontal rail 81 is formed with a horizontal rail-side engagement hole 85 at a position near the left end.

  On the other hand, on the back side of the panel board 51 of the housing 50, as shown in FIG. 3, the vertical beam side corresponding to the vertical beam side engaging hole 84 is positioned to the right of the display window 53 in the operation panel mounting space V. Engaging protrusions 511 are provided so as to project from the left side position slightly toward the display window 53 side. A cross-side engaging projection 513 is provided to project.

  Further, a pair of positioning protrusions 514 extending in the front-rear direction are provided on the rear surface side of the panel board 51 at the left position of the display window 53 in FIG. 4, and the left edge of the touch panel 70 has these positioning protrusions. Shifting to the left is prevented by stopping against the strip 514.

  Then, the vertical beam side engagement holes 84 of the touch panel fixing frame 80 held between the pair of horizontal beams 81 are externally fitted to the vertical beam side engagement protrusions 511, and the pair of horizontal beam side engagement holes 85 are formed. The touch panel fixing frame 80 provided with the touch panel 70 is mounted in the operation panel mounting space V of the casing 50 by being externally fitted to the corresponding front horizontal rail side engaging protrusion 512 and rear horizontal rail side engaging protrusion 513. It has become so.

  The insulating sheet 90 is for absorbing static electricity charged on the fingertip of the operator or static electricity generated by pressing operation on the touch panel 70 so as not to adversely affect the substrate in the LCD 60. The dimension is set to be substantially the same as the outline dimension of the touch panel fixing frame 80 in plan view. In the present embodiment, the surface of the insulating sheet 90 constitutes the operation surface according to the present invention.

  The upper surface (the lower surface in FIG. 4) of the right edge portion in FIG. 4 of the insulating sheet 90 is formed by applying an adhesive double-sided tape 91 (adhesive is applied to both surfaces of the tape base material) over the entire length in the short direction. The right short side engagement hole 92 corresponding to the vertical beam side engagement protrusion 511 of the panel board 51, which is formed in a state including the adhesive double-sided tape 91, is formed. It is installed. In addition, a front long side engagement hole 93 is formed in a front edge portion of the insulating sheet 90 at a position corresponding to the front side rail side engagement protrusion 512 of the panel board 51. The front long side engagement hole 93 is formed by a long long hole in the longitudinal direction of the insulating sheet 90.

  The adhesive double-sided tape 91 is used for adhering the insulating sheet 90 to the panel board 51 and closing the display window 53 on the right side of the display window 53 in the panel board 51. The joint hole 92 is for engaging with the vertical rail side engaging projection 511, and the front long side engaging hole 93 is engaged with the front horizontal rail side engaging projection 512.

  4 is provided at the left end edge of the insulating sheet 90 in FIG. 4. When the attached insulating sheet 90 is removed from the panel board 51, It can be easily picked and peeled off.

  Next, assembly of the LCD 60, the touch panel 70, the touch panel fixing frame 80, and the insulating sheet 90 to the panel board 51 will be described. When these are assembled to the panel board 51, first, the right short side engaging hole 92 of the insulating sheet 90 is first fitted into the vertical rail side engaging protrusion 511 of the panel board 51, and in this state, the right side of the insulating sheet 90 in FIG. The edge is pressed against the panel board 51. By doing so, the right edge on the short side of the insulating sheet 90 is adhered to the panel board 51 in a positioned state.

  Subsequently, the front long side engaging hole 93 is fitted into the front side rail side engaging protrusion 512 of the panel board 51, whereby the mounting of the insulating sheet 90 on the panel board 51 is completed.

  Next, the vertical beam side engaging projections 511, the front horizontal beam side engaging projections 512 and the rear side of the panel board 51 corresponding to the vertical beam side engaging holes 84 and the pair of horizontal beam side engaging holes 85 of the touch panel fixing frame 80, respectively. By externally fitting the side rail side engaging projections 513, the touch panel fixing frame 80 is mounted on the panel board 51, thereby preventing the edge of the insulating sheet 90 from being lifted.

  Subsequently, the touch panel 70 is fitted between the pair of horizontal bars 81 of the touch panel fixing frame 80, and finally the LCD 60 is locked to the panel board 51 by a predetermined locking means in a state where the touch panel 70 is covered with the LCD 60. The mounting of the touch panel 70, the touch panel fixing frame 80, and the insulating sheet 90 on the panel board 51 is completed.

  In the operation panel device 40 of the first embodiment configured as described above, a plurality (four in the present embodiment) of ultraviolet lamps (sterilization means) 21 are equally spaced on the rear edge 531 of the display window 53. The surface of the insulating sheet 90 is exposed to the ultraviolet rays emitted from these ultraviolet lamps 21.

  In the present embodiment, an LED using a light emitting diode (LED) capable of irradiating ultraviolet rays is employed as the ultraviolet lamp 21, and thus the ultraviolet lamp 21 is sufficiently downsized. The ultraviolet lamp 21 is formed by mounting an LED inside a flat rectangular casing 211 as shown in FIG. 4, and is formed into a fan shape from a horizontally long slit-shaped irradiation port 211a provided at the front edge. Ultraviolet rays that have spread out are irradiated toward the insulating sheet 90 (see FIG. 3), whereby the surface of the insulating sheet 90 covering the touch panel 70 is sterilized.

  In order to mount the ultraviolet lamp 21 on the rear edge 531 of the display window 53, a mounting recess 515 in which the ultraviolet lamp 21 can be mounted is formed in a portion facing the rear edge 531 of the panel board 51. A connection terminal 515a for supplying power to the ultraviolet lamp 21 is provided at the rear corner of the mounting recess 515, and the casing 211 is fitted onto the connection terminal 515a by fitting the rear edge of the casing 211 of the ultraviolet lamp 21 to the casing 515a. LEDs in 211 are electrically connected to a power source (not shown) via a predetermined switch.

  In this embodiment, when an input operation by touching is started on the touch panel 70, the touching is detected. Based on the detection result, power is supplied to the ultraviolet lamp 21 and touching is not detected. After that, the power supply state continues for a predetermined time. Therefore, when an input operation is performed on the touch panel 70, ultraviolet rays are irradiated to the insulating sheet 90 covering the touch panel 70 for a predetermined time thereafter, whereby the insulating sheet 90 is sterilized. . When a preset time has elapsed, the ultraviolet lamp 21 is turned off.

  5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of touch panel device 20 shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the thickness dimension of each component is exaggerated. As shown in FIG. 5, in a state where the LCD 60, the touch panel 70, the touch panel fixing frame 80, and the insulating sheet 90 are mounted on the panel board 51, the LCD 60 is disposed on the lowermost layer, and the touch panel 70 and the touch panel fixing frame 80 are disposed thereon. In a state where the held touch panel 70 and the insulating sheet 90 are sequentially stacked, they are locked to the panel board 51 by a predetermined locking means, whereby the insulating sheet 90 faces the display window 53 of the panel board 51. It has become.

  The insulating sheet 90 has an adhesive double-sided tape 91 adhered to the back surface of the panel board 51 in a state where the edge on the left short side in FIG. 5 is positioned by the mating protrusion 511 and is long in the longitudinal direction. The center portion of the front long side engagement hole 93 made of a long hole is loosely fitted to the front side rail side engagement protrusion 512 of the panel board 51.

  Therefore, even if the insulating sheet 90 expands and contracts in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 5) starting from the position of the adhesive double-sided tape 91 due to the temperature change in the environment where the touch panel device 20 exists, the front long side engagement hole 93 is provided. Is moved with respect to the front side rail-side engaging protrusion 512 to absorb the expansion and contraction, and therefore, particularly when the insulating sheet 90 is moved from the low-temperature environment to the high-temperature environment, it is stretched and thereby undulated. Such an inconvenience is reliably prevented.

  Further, since a plurality of ultraviolet lamps 21 are provided at the rear edge portion 531 of the display window 53 at equal pitches in the left-right direction, the ultraviolet rays from these ultraviolet lamps 21 are not substantially dead on the insulating sheet 90. In this state, the surface of the insulating sheet 90 is sterilized. Therefore, even if an unspecified number of publics touch the insulating sheet 90 to perform an input operation on the operation panel device 40, even if bacteria move from the fingertip to the insulating sheet 90, it is surely sterilized by ultraviolet rays. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of inconvenience such that the insulating sheet 90 becomes unsanitary due to the propagation of bacteria.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the operation panel device 40. The operation panel device 40 of the second embodiment employs a long vacuum tube type as the ultraviolet lamp 22 as the sterilizing means, and the LCD 60, the touch panel 70, and the like with a plurality of the ultraviolet lamps 22 extending in the left-right direction. It is interposed between.

  In order to interpose the ultraviolet lamp 22 between the LCD 60 and the touch panel 70, a plurality of mounting grooves 62 extending in the left-right direction in which the ultraviolet lamp 22 can be fitted are recessed in the upper surface of the casing 61 of the LCD 60. The ultraviolet lamp 22 is interposed between the LCD 60 and the touch panel 70 in a state of being fitted in the mounting grooves 62.

  The number of the ultraviolet lamps 22 is set so that the ultraviolet rays spread over substantially the entire area of the display window 53 according to conditions such as the size of the display window 53 and the illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp 22. Other configurations of the operation panel device 40 of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  In the operation panel device 40 according to the second embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 is not used (for example, when it is confirmed that a person is not in the vicinity in a sleep mode, a human sensor, or the like). Then, the ultraviolet lamp 22 is turned on, and the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet lamp 22 passes through the touch panel 70 and the insulating sheet 90 so that the surface of the insulating sheet 90 is sterilized, while the fingertip touches the insulating sheet 90 by a predetermined sensor. In this state, the supply of power to the lower frame 22 is stopped. Therefore, when the operator performs an input operation by touching from the operation panel device 40 via the insulating sheet 90, the ultraviolet lamp 22 is turned off.

  According to the operation panel device 40 of the second embodiment, since the sterilization process is performed on the insulating sheet 90 when the image forming apparatus 10 is not used, the inconvenience that the ultraviolet rays can be seen during the input operation occurs. Can be reliably prevented. Even if the bacteria on the fingertip adheres to the insulating sheet 90 during use of the image forming apparatus 10, the insulating sheet 90 is sterilized by the ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 22 when the use is stopped. Therefore, no inconvenience occurs.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the operation panel device 40. In addition, the direction display by X and Y in FIG. 7 is the same as that in FIG. The operation panel device 40 of the third embodiment employs the sterilizing liquid spraying means 23 as the sterilizing means, and sterilizes the surface of the insulating sheet 90 by spraying the sterilizing liquid from the sterilizing liquid spraying means 23. Yes. Examples of the sterilizing solution include methyl alcohol solution and hydrogen peroxide solution.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the sterilizing liquid spraying means 23 includes a pressure-feed pump 231 that pumps air, a pressure-feed pipe 232 that circulates the air pumped by the pressure-feed pump 231, and an orifice 233 provided in the pressure-feed pipe 232. And a chemical container 234 communicating with the orifice 233, and a plurality of spray nozzles 235 connected to the downstream end of the pressure feed pipe 232 and spraying the sterilizing liquid from the chemical liquid container 234 toward the insulating sheet 90. ing.

  The pumping pipe 232 includes a pumping main pipe 232a whose upstream end is connected to the pumping pump 231 and a plurality of pumping branch pipes 232b branched from the downstream end of the pumping main pipe 232a. Each pressure-feed branch pipe 232b is connected to each spray nozzle 235 corresponding to each downstream end. The orifice 233 is interposed at an appropriate position of the pressure feeding main pipe 232a, and the sterilizing liquid in the chemical solution container 234 becomes a mist due to an ejector effect caused by the air fed from the pressure feeding pump 231 passing through the orifice 233. Then, it is sent out toward the pressure feeding main pipe 232a on the downstream side of the orifice 233.

  The spray nozzle 235 is mounted in the mounting recess 515 of the panel board 51 in place of the ultraviolet lamp 21 of the first embodiment. The spray nozzle 235 has a three-dimensional shape set in a flat rectangular shape in accordance with the mounting recess 515, and can be mounted in the mounting recess 515 in a stable state. On the edge surface of the spray nozzle 235 facing the display window 53, a slit-shaped spray port 235a that is elongated in the left-right direction is provided, and a mist-like sterilizing solution is sprayed from the spray port 235a toward the insulating sheet 90. It has come to be.

  In the operation panel device 40 of the third embodiment, the pressure feed pump 231 is intermittently driven for a preset time without using the image forming apparatus 10, thereby sterilizing the surface of the insulating sheet 90. While the liquid is sterilized, the pressure feed pump 231 is stopped in a state where a predetermined sensor detects that the fingertip touches the insulating sheet 90. Therefore, when the operator performs an input operation by touching from the operation panel device 40 via the insulating sheet 90, spraying of the sterilizing liquid from the spray nozzle 235 is stopped.

  According to the operation panel device 40 of the third embodiment, since the sterilization process by spraying the sterilizing liquid is performed on the insulating sheet 90 only when the image forming apparatus 10 is not used, the fingertip is sprayed during the input operation. Occurrence of inconvenience such as covering with a sterilizing solution is prevented. Even if the bacteria on the fingertip adhere to the insulating sheet 90 during use of the image forming apparatus 10, the insulating sheet 90 is sterilized by the sterilizing liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle 235 when the use is stopped. Therefore, no inconvenience occurs.

  As described above in detail, the operation panel device 40 according to the present invention is a predetermined device, for example, an image forming apparatus represented by a copying machine, a ticket machine such as a station, a theater, a movie theater, etc. Is provided with an operation surface (the surface of the insulating sheet 90 in the present embodiment) used for performing an input operation on a device such as a cash accounting machine. Since the sterilization means for performing the sterilization process (ultraviolet lamps 21 and 22 in the first and second embodiments, sterilizing liquid spraying means 23 in the third embodiment) is provided, the operation panel device 40 is configured as in the past. Compared with a member in which an antibacterial agent is kneaded indirectly and subjected to an indirect sterilization treatment, an excellent sterilization effect can be obtained.

  That is, in the case where an antibacterial agent is kneaded into the members constituting the operation panel device 40, only the vicinity where the antibacterial agent is present has sterilization performance, but the sterilization performance is not exhibited in the portion where the antibacterial agent does not exist. This causes a disadvantage that it is difficult to realize a uniform sterilization treatment. However, in the present invention, since the sterilization treatment is performed directly on the operation surface, such a disadvantage does not occur.

  In addition, in the present invention, since it is not necessary to perform a troublesome operation of kneading the antibacterial agent into the resin, it is possible to contribute to a reduction in manufacturing cost.

  Furthermore, when the operation panel device 40 is discarded, there is no inconvenience that silver is eluted into the environment from the operation panel device 40, and the operation panel device 40 can be useful for environmental conservation.

  In the first and second embodiments, an ultraviolet lamp (sterilization lamp means (sterilization means)) 21 that irradiates the operation surface with light having sterilization performance (ultraviolet light in the first and second embodiments) as sterilization means. , 22 is used, the insulating sheet 90 is sterilized by irradiating the insulating sheet 90, which is the operation surface of the operation panel device 40, with light from the ultraviolet lamps 21, 22. Accordingly, even if an unspecified number of publics touch the insulating sheet 90 and perform an input operation on the operation panel device 40, bacteria may move from the fingertip to the insulating sheet 90, but the bacteria transferred to the insulating sheet 90 Can be surely sterilized by light, so that the insulating sheet 90 can always be maintained in a hygienic state. In addition, it is only necessary to employ ultraviolet lamps 21 and 22 that irradiate ultraviolet rays as sterilizing means, which can contribute to a reduction in apparatus cost.

  In particular, in the first embodiment, since the light from the ultraviolet lamp 21 is irradiated from the outside of the insulating sheet 90, the front side of the insulating sheet 90 directly touched by the fingertip is always surely sterilized. it can.

  In the second embodiment, since the light from the ultraviolet lamp 22 is irradiated from the back side of the insulating sheet 90, the ultraviolet lamp 22 does not interfere with the input operation. The degree of freedom of the installation position can be improved.

  In the third embodiment, since the sterilizing liquid spraying means 23 for spraying the sterilizing liquid on the operation surface is adopted as the sterilizing means, the sterilizing liquid is sprayed by the sterilizing liquid spraying means 23 on the operation surface of the operation panel device 40. By spraying on a certain insulating sheet 90, the insulating sheet 90 can be sterilized. Therefore, even if an unspecified number of publics touch the insulating sheet 90 to perform an input operation, the bacteria transferred from the fingertips to the insulating sheet 90 can be immediately sterilized with the sterilizing liquid, and thereby the operation surface of the input operation Thus, the surface of the insulating sheet 90 can be always maintained in a hygienic state. Moreover, it is only necessary to employ the sterilizing liquid spraying means 23 as the sterilizing means, which can contribute to the reduction of the apparatus cost.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the image forming apparatus 10 that transfers an image to a transfer target (paper P) based on predetermined image information is used as an apparatus that requires an input operation. The operation panel device 40 is provided with the operational effects of the operation panel device 40 of the first to third embodiments.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes the following contents.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 used as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, or the like is cited as an apparatus to which the operation panel device 40 according to the present invention is applied. The device to which the operation panel device 40 is applied is not limited to the image forming apparatus 10, but is not limited to a ticket vending machine such as a station, a theater, a movie theater, or a cash accounting machine that deposits and receives cash by card input. The present invention can also be applied to various devices in which a specific number of persons may perform input operations.

  (2) Although the ultraviolet lamp 21 of the first embodiment is provided at the rear edge 531 of the display window 53, the present invention is limited to providing the ultraviolet lamp 21 at the rear edge 531 of the display window 53. It may be provided at the front edge or the side edge of the display window 53, or a stand dedicated to the ultraviolet lamp 21 may be provided at a place other than these positions, and the ultraviolet lamp 21 may be attached to this stand. It may be.

  (3) In the second embodiment, the ultraviolet lamp 22 is interposed between the LCD 60 and the touch panel 70. However, in the present invention, the ultraviolet lamp 22 is interposed between the ultraviolet lamp 22 and the touch panel 70. For example, an ultraviolet lamp 22 is provided at a position off the display window 53, and the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet lamp 22 is reflected by a mirror and guided to the display window 53. Various arrangements can be adopted for 22.

  (4) In the first and second embodiments described above, the insulating sheet 90 is laminated on the touch panel 70, but the present invention is limited to laminating the insulating sheet 90 on the touch panel 70. However, the touch panel 70 may be directly touched without providing the insulating sheet 90 depending on the situation.

  (5) In the above embodiment, the operation surface of the operation panel device 40 is the surface of the insulating sheet 90, but the present invention is not limited to the operation surface being the surface of the insulating sheet 90. For example, when the insulating sheet 90 is not employed, the surface of the touch panel 70 itself becomes the operation surface.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which an operation panel device according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a front sectional view illustrating an outline of one internal structure of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view which shows 1st Embodiment of an operation panel apparatus. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the operation panel device shown in FIG. It is the sectional view on the AA line of the touch panel apparatus shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows 2nd Embodiment of an operation panel apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows 3rd Embodiment of an operation panel apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Apparatus main body 111 Paper discharge tray 112 Paper discharge conveyance path 113 Return conveyance path 114 Reverse conveyance path 12 Document reading part 121 Document supply part 122 Document tray 123 Document discharge tray 124 Document feed part 125 Optical system unit 126 Contact Glass 126a Placed original contact glass 126b Automatic paper supply contact glass 13 Image forming unit 131 Photosensitive drum 132 Developing device 133 Charging unit 134 Exposure unit 135 Cleaning device 136 Conveying belt 137 Drive roller 138 Driven roller 14 Fixing unit 141 Heat roller 142 Pressure roller 15 Paper storage unit 151 Paper tray 152 Pickup roller 153 Paper feed path 16 Paper reversing unit 161 Intermediate tray 162 Switching guide 163 Reversing roller pair 20 Input unit 211a Irradiation port 21 22 UV lamp (germicidal lamp means (sterilization means))
23 Disinfectant spray means (sterilization means)
231 Pressure feed pump 232 Pressure feed pipe 232a Pressure feed main pipe 232b Pressure feed branch pipe 233 Orifice 234 Chemical solution container 235 Spray nozzle 235a Spray port 30 Support frame 31 Front frame 32 Rear frame 33 Side frame 40 Operation panel device 50 Housing 51 Panel board 511 Vertical beam Side engagement protrusion 512 Front side crosspiece side engagement protrusion 513 Rear side crosspiece side engagement protrusion 514 Positioning protrusion 515 Mounting recess 52 Peripheral wall 53 Display window 531 Rear edge 54 First operation area 541 Power switch 542 Numeric keypad 543 Start key 55 Second operation area 551 Mode setting key 56 Disinfection pad (wiping pad) 60 LCD
61 Casing 62 Mounting groove 70 Touch panel 71 Connection terminal 80 Touch panel fixing frame 81 Horizontal beam 82 Vertical beam 83 Terminal fitting groove 84 Vertical beam side engagement hole 85 Horizontal beam side engagement hole 90 Insulation sheet (operation surface) 91 Adhesive double-sided tape 92 Right Short Side Engagement Hole 93 Front Long Side Engagement Hole 94 Knob Piece P Paper (Transfer)
V Operation panel installation space

Claims (7)

An operation panel device having an operation surface for performing an input operation to perform a predetermined operation on a predetermined device,
An operation panel device comprising sterilization means for directly sterilizing the operation surface.   2. The operation panel device according to claim 1, wherein the sterilizing means is a sterilizing lamp means for irradiating the operation surface with light having sterilizing performance.   3. The operation panel device according to claim 2, wherein the sterilizing lamp means irradiates the operation surface with light from the surface side of the operation surface.   3. The operation panel device according to claim 2, wherein the sterilizing lamp means irradiates the operation surface with light from the back side of the operation surface.   2. The operation panel device according to claim 1, wherein the sterilizing means is a sterilizing liquid spraying means for spraying a sterilizing liquid having sterilizing performance on the operation surface.   6. The operation panel device according to claim 1, further comprising a wiping pad for wiping a fingertip in the vicinity of the operation surface.   The operation panel device according to claim 1, comprising at least a liquid crystal display and a touch panel.

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