JP2007004819A - Image display control device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve visibility and operability by eliminating a lack of a part in enlarging a button. <P>SOLUTION: This image display control device enables to receive selective specification of a button by displaying a display image having a plurality of buttons indicating respective types on a display screen of an image display unit 9. The image display control device is provided with: a specific key in a key group 10 indicating enlargement of the display image; an enlarged display switching part 112 for enlarging the image according to a predetermined position in the display image when receiving a display enlarging indication; and an arrangement processing part 113 in enlarging for setting a display position of an enlargement button where only display areas of a predetermined number of buttons are enlarged to display a predetermined number of buttons less than a number of displayed buttons at standard display on the display screen in enlarged display, and thus the visibility and operability to the button are improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display control device that displays a display image having a plurality of buttons representing each type on a display screen and can accept selective designation of the buttons, and a function related to image formation by the image display control device. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile functioning as an operation unit on which a designation button is displayed.

  In recent years, various types of image forming modes can be set for copying machines, and the types of modes (functions) are increasing accordingly. If a large number of modes can be selectively specified, the configuration of the key group of the operation unit will become complicated and large, so some of the conventional mechanical operation keys can be selected as buttons on the screen of the liquid crystal display. It has come to display. By the way, since there is a limit to adopting a large liquid crystal display size, a large number of buttons for mode setting must be deployed on the screen in a small size, and depending on the user, It is difficult to recognize the characters and figures that describe the mode contents indicated on the button, which is a factor of erroneous operation.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-59647, an enlargement instruction is given, and a screen image of a reference size displayed on the operation instruction display unit is enlarged, and an image of an area that has become invisible as a result of enlargement is scrolled. An image display control device that is made visible by operation is described.
JP-A-6-59647

  In the conventional image display control device, the screen image of the reference size displayed on the display unit is simply enlarged and displayed. Depending on the form of the screen image, a part of the display content may be lost. It is also possible that the content cannot be recognized immediately.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above. A predetermined number of buttons displayed at the time of enlarged display are displayed on the screen, that is, the entire button is displayed on the display surface so as not to be lost. An image display control device capable of improving performance and operability, and an image forming device such as a copying machine or a facsimile functioning as an operation unit on which a button for specifying a function relating to image formation is displayed by the device. To do.

  The invention described in claim 1 is an image display control device that displays a display image having a plurality of buttons representing each type on a display screen, and is capable of accepting selective designation of the button, and enlarging the display image An enlarged display instructing means for instructing the display, an enlarged display switching means for enlarging the image with reference to a predetermined position in the display image in response to an instruction from the enlarged display instructing means, and the display screen during the enlarged display. And an enlargement arrangement processing unit that sets a display position of an enlarged button in which only the display area of the predetermined number of buttons is enlarged so as to display a predetermined number of buttons smaller than the plurality of buttons. .

  According to this configuration, when there is an enlarged display instruction from the enlarged display instruction means, the image of the button (including the menu image) is enlarged and displayed on the display screen. The enlargement of the buttons is performed by the enlargement arrangement processing means so that only a button display area is enlarged so that a predetermined number of buttons smaller than the plurality of buttons at the time of standard (size) display are displayed on the display screen at the time of enlargement display. The display position of the enlarge button is set. Accordingly, the gap between the buttons is set to a predetermined size regardless of the enlargement ratio of the buttons. As a result, the buttons (including the codes written in the button display area as necessary) are properly arranged and displayed in the display screen, and part of the button display area is not lost, and visibility and operation Can improve the performance.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image display control device according to the first aspect, the image display control device includes a touch panel that includes a transparent panel superimposed on the display screen and receives a selective designation of the button. According to this configuration, since the display screen is directly pressed with a finger or the like, the operability is improved by enlarging the buttons.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image display control device according to the first or second aspect, the plurality of buttons are arranged in a matrix with predetermined gaps therebetween, and the enlargement arrangement processing means The gap is maintained at a constant interval. According to this configuration, the gap between the buttons is made the same as the size at the time of standard display, so that the enlarged button can be properly accommodated in the display screen.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image display control device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the image shift means for shifting the display image at the time of the enlarged display, and the number of buttons selected at the time of the enlarged display. Frequency measurement means for measuring, and the enlargement arrangement processing means sets the predetermined number of buttons corresponding to an enlarged image based on the predetermined position according to the height of the frequency. And According to this configuration, as a result of the enlarged display, a button outside the screen can be shifted and displayed in the display screen by the image shift means. As a result, any button can be selected and specified, and if the specified number of times is counted (accumulated) for each button, it is possible to display a button with a high specified frequency as an initial screen during enlarged display. The operability can be improved.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image display control device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the image display control apparatus includes an input unit for personal identification information and a user authentication unit for identifying a user from the input personal information, wherein the frequency measurement unit is a user The number of times is measured every time, and the enlargement arrangement processing means sets the predetermined number of buttons corresponding to the enlarged image based on the predetermined position according to the frequency of each user. It is characterized by. According to this configuration, since the buttons can be displayed in the enlarged screen according to the user's designation history, an enlarged screen tailored to each user can be presented.

  The invention according to claim 6 is provided and designated as an operation unit for displaying a button for designating a function relating to image formation by the image display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 at an appropriate position of the main body. The image forming apparatus transfers an image of a document onto a recording sheet by executing a function corresponding to a button. According to the above configuration, when a button designation is received, image formation is executed according to the function of the designation button, and a desired copy image with no erroneous operation can be obtained.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to improve the visibility and operability of the buttons on the display screen.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, since the display screen is directly pressed with a finger or the like, the operability can be improved by enlarging the buttons.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the gap between the buttons is the same as the size at the time of standard display, the enlarged button can be properly accommodated in the display screen.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, it is possible to display a button with a high designation frequency at the time of enlarged display as an initial screen, and operability can be improved.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the buttons can be displayed in the enlarged screen according to the user's designation history, an enlarged screen adapted to each user can be presented.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the button designation is received, image formation is executed according to the function of the designation button, so that a desired copy image without any erroneous operation can be obtained.

  FIG. 1 is an external configuration diagram of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a copying machine 1 includes a main body 2 having an image forming unit therein, an optical unit 3, a document conveying device 4, and a paper conveying unit 5 provided on the upper portion of the main body 2. A sheet feeding cassette 6 for storing a required number of recording sheets in a stacked manner, a recording sheet discharge section 7, and an operation panel section 8 are provided at the lower part. The operation panel unit 8 includes an image display 9 and a key group 10.

An image forming unit (not shown) is provided inside the main body 2. The image forming unit is a well-known one, and includes a photosensitive drum, a charging unit that charges the drum surface to a predetermined potential around the photosensitive drum, and optically modulates an original image to irradiate the drum surface. And an exposure unit that forms an electrostatic latent image, a developing unit that causes toner to adhere to the electrostatic latent image to make the image appear, and a transfer unit that transfers the exposed image on the drum to a recording sheet. A fixing unit is provided on the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction. The optical unit 3 includes a contact glass on which a document is set on the ceiling side, a long light source for irradiating the contact glass with light source light provided below the drive unit, and a drive mechanism unit that moves the light source in the left-right direction in FIG. And imaging means as a line sensor that receives reflected light from the document via an optical (lens) system, and a storage unit that temporarily stores the captured image. Document feeder 4
Includes a document setting section 4a and a transport section for sequentially transporting the set documents one by one from the upper one onto the contact glass and for transporting the documents to the outside when read by the optical unit 3. The paper transport unit 5 transports the recording paper sent out from the paper feed cassette 6 to the image forming unit, fixes the recording paper on which the document image is transferred by the fixing unit, and then places the recording paper on one of the recording paper transporting units 7a and 7b. It is what is discharged.

An operation panel unit 8 is provided on the front side of the optical unit unit 3. The image display 9 is a liquid crystal display panel having a predetermined size, for example, and displays various buttons representing functions related to copying in a selectable manner. In addition, the surface of the image display device 9 includes a touch sensor 16 (see FIG. 2) made of a transparent panel. The touch sensor 16 is a panel-like pressurizing conductive rubber formed by blending, for example, a transparent rubber material and a conductive filler, and may result in an electrical resistance corresponding to the pressing position (corresponding to the pressing position). The voltage level at both ends of the conductive filler changes, and the pressed position on the panel surface is detected by detecting the voltage level at both ends. By configuring such a structure in the row, row, and column directions, the pressed position can be detected. The key group 10 includes a start button, a key that is not employed as a button in the image display 9, and a push-down key for performing an enlarged display instruction to be described later and a screen scroll instruction during enlarged display.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a portion related to display control of the image display 9. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 11 denotes a control unit composed of a microcomputer or the like having a CPU, and includes a ROM 12 for storing a control program and a RAM 13 for temporarily storing data being processed.

The image memory 14 stores images of various buttons displayed on the image display 9. The buttons represent functions such as various modes related to image formation. In addition to the buttons for specifying copy magnification, copy density, and recording paper size, for example, single-sided / double-sided copying (copy mode for single-sided / double-sided documents) ) Buttons for designating, or in the case of color copy support, buttons for indicating various colors for color change designation. The latter copy mode designation button and color designation button are functionally configured to display a plurality of different types of buttons belonging to the same column. The VRAM 15 has a pixel address corresponding to the image display 9, and the button image data read from the image memory 14 by the control unit 11 is temporarily expanded in the VRAM 15. The image data developed in the VRAM 15 is repeatedly read out to the image display 9 by the control unit 11 to generate a so-called still image.

  FIG. 3 shows a display example of the color designation button. In (a) showing the display state in standard time, “red”, “blue”, “yellow”... A predetermined number of buttons representing, for example, nine colors, such as “茜”, are displayed in a predetermined shape, in the present embodiment, in a rectangular shape, for example, with a predetermined arrangement relationship such as up, down, left, and right (matrix shape). Yes. That is, each button is arranged with a predetermined gap in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.

  The control unit 11 includes a main control unit 111 that controls the overall operation of the copying machine, an enlarged display switching unit 112 that switches the button display on the image display 9 from the standard display mode to the enlarged display mode, An enlargement arrangement processing unit 113 that performs processing for reconstructing the arrangement, and image scrolling that causes an image shift to an invisible region in the display image at the time of enlargement display according to a shift direction instruction by the key group 10 And a designated button determination unit 115 that determines which button is designated from the pressed position of the touch sensor 16.

  The main control unit 111 outputs an operation instruction signal to each corresponding unit in accordance with a control program in the ROM 12 so as to operate each unit in response to a designation related to image formation from the copy start instruction.

  The enlarged display switching unit 112 receives a specific key operation in the key group 10 and executes an image switching process for switching from the standard display mode to the enlarged display mode. The specific key may be restored to the standard display mode from the enlarged display mode by operating the specific key again or by operating another specific key, or automatically in the standard display mode every time the copy operation is completed. It is good also as a form to reset.

  The arrangement processing unit 113 at the time of enlargement previously known screen size information of the image display 9, that is, the number of display pixels in the vertical and horizontal directions, the display size of the buttons in the standard display mode, the gap size (number of pixels) between the buttons in the vertical and horizontal directions, The display position is set as the coordinates of the VRAM 15 in advance so that a part of the image of the enlarged button is not lost outside the screen based on the number of enlarged buttons displayed at the enlarged display. When received, the standard button display coordinates are switched to the display coordinates of the enlargement button at the time of enlargement, and the image on the VRAM, that is, the enlargement button is developed. In the present embodiment, the gap between the enlargement buttons is set to be approximately the same size in the vertical direction and about half of the gap in the standard display. It should be noted that the setting of the gap size is different from the conventional display mode shown in FIG. 3C which expands in proportion to the enlargement rate of the button, and at least less than the enlargement rate of the button. Is preferably about half. In the case of a pressing operation with a user's finger such as the touch sensor 16, if the shape of the fingertip is taken into account, even if the left and right gaps are approximately half, the button itself is enlarged, so that the pressing operability is reduced. There is no.

  Further, the enlargement arrangement processing unit 113 enlarges codes representing the contents of functions displayed in the button display area, and in this embodiment, kanji (characters) representing colors at the same rate. Thereby, the visibility of a user's button and its content is improved.

  FIG. 3B is an example of a screen diagram of the image display 9 at the time of enlarged display. As shown in FIG. 3B, at the time of the enlarged display, the four enlarged buttons “red”, “blue”, “green”, and “orange” leave the edge of the screen slightly in the display screen. , Displayed without some omissions. On the other hand, in the simple enlargement of the entire screen in FIG. 3C, when the button size is enlarged to the required size, the gap is also enlarged at the same rate, and as a result, a part of the enlargement button is detached from the screen. The kanji characters “green” and “orange” are in an unrecognizable state. On the other hand, in FIG. 3B, even if the buttons are enlarged to the same size as the conventional one, all four buttons are within the screen.

  The image scroll unit 114 operates a key that designates a specific direction to scroll the screen image in a corresponding direction (or a mode in which the screen image is shifted by a predetermined amount for each operation). The button image development coordinates from the image memory 14 to the VRAM 15 are read repeatedly while being sequentially shifted.

  The designation button determination unit 115 associates the pressure detection position (coordinates) of the touch sensor 16 with the pixel of the display screen of the image display 9, that is, the address of the VRAM 15, in advance in the standard display mode and the enlarged display mode, respectively. Detected coordinate data from VRAM15 is converted into the address of VRAM15, and the corresponding address is specified according to whether it belongs to (belongs to) the display area of the button at the standard display or the display area of the enlargement button at the enlarged display. The button is determined.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of designating a button being displayed. First, the presence / absence of an enlargement display instruction is determined (step S1). If there is no instruction, an operation designation (button designation) reception process in the standard display mode is executed (step S3), and this flow ends. . On the other hand, if there is an instruction for enlargement display, enlargement arrangement processing is executed (step S5), and the expansion address of the enlargement button in the VRAM 15 is set. Next, the button image read from the image memory 14 is enlarged and developed in the VRAM 15 (step S7). And the reception process of operation designation | designated (button designation | designated) in an enlarged display mode is performed (step S9), and this flow is complete | finished.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the part related to the display control of the image display unit 9. FIG. 5 is the same as FIG. 2 except that the frequency measuring unit 116 is added to the block diagram shown in FIG.

  The frequency measuring unit 116 counts the designated number for each button every time an enlarge button is designated during enlarged display. The enlargement arrangement processing unit 113 changes the button arrangement at the time of standard display at the time of enlargement display, and arranges them in descending order of designation frequency. In the present embodiment, the button arrangement is as shown in FIG. 3A at the time of standard display, but the rows are prioritized in descending order of the designation frequency based on the designation frequency until the previous enlarged display, Next, when priority is given to the column, specifically, when four are enlarged and displayed in two rows and two columns, the order of the first row, first column, first row, second column, second row, first column, second row, second column It will be arranged in. Depending on the type of display button, the column may be given priority over the row. As described above, the operability can be improved by changing the button arrangement in the enlarged display according to the frequency.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of designating a button being displayed in the second embodiment. Except for steps S15 and S21, this is the same as the flowchart of FIG. In step S15, when there is an enlargement instruction, the designated frequency information is received from the frequency measurement unit 116, and the arrangement processing at the time of enlargement is executed in the row and then column direction from the button with the high designated frequency. In step S19, when an operation designation (button designation) reception process in the enlarged display mode is executed, it is determined in step S21 which button has been designated, and the designated number of times is determined for each button. It is added to the previous count value.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the part related to the display control of the image display unit 9. 7 is the block diagram shown in FIG. 5 with the addition of the user authentication unit 117. In this connection, the functions of the enlargement arrangement processing unit 113 and the frequency measurement unit 116 are partially changed. Are the same.

  The user authentication unit 117 performs authentication with a pre-registered user from a pass code (password) for a predetermined number of digits that is input from, for example, the numeric keypad of the key group 10, thereby using a copier. Specific users are identified. The frequency measurement unit 116 measures the button designation frequency according to the authentication result from the user authentication unit 117, that is, for each user. The enlargement arrangement processing unit 113 changes the button arrangement at the time of standard display at the time of enlargement display, and arranges them in order from the highest designated frequency measured for each user. For example, in the case where the arrangement of buttons at the time of standard display is as shown in FIG. 3A, in user A, the arrangement of the enlarged buttons at the time of enlarged display indicates that the designation frequency of user A is “red”, “blue”, “ In the order of “yellow” and “green”, “red” and “blue” buttons are displayed in the first column, and “yellow” and “green” buttons are displayed in the second column. If the arrangement of the enlarged buttons at the time of display is in the order of “茜”, “blue”, “green” and “yellow”, the “B” and “blue” buttons are displayed in the first column, for example. “Green” and “Yellow” buttons are displayed in the second column. As described above, by changing the button arrangement in the enlarged display according to the designation frequency of each user, it is possible to improve the operability so that it can be individually handled.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of designating the currently displayed button. Except for steps S35, S37, and S45, the flowchart is the same as that of FIG. In step S35, if there is an enlargement instruction, it is determined whether or not a passcode has been input by the user authentication unit 117. When a passcode is input, user authentication processing is performed (step S37). Next, the processing of steps S39 to S43 is performed. In step S45, it is determined which button has been designated, and the designated number is added to the previous count value for each button.

In addition, the following aspects are employable for this invention.
(1) As the user authentication unit 117, various methods can be adopted instead of the password input method. For example, a fingerprint may be imaged and collated by using a pattern recognition technique and a user's fingerprint registered in advance, or an iris in the eyeball may be similarly collated by the pattern recognition technique. In this way, versatility is improved.
(2) The specific key of the key group 10 is used as an input unit for an enlargement instruction, a scroll instruction, an authentication password, and the like. However, all or some of these keys are provided at predetermined positions on the image display 9 as required. It is good also as an aspect which displays a button fixedly at standard size. The structure of the key group 10 can be simplified.
(3) In the present invention, the enlarged display is performed in consideration of the visibility and operability when the button is touched, but the position may be specified by another pointing device without giving the touch instruction.
(4) In the present embodiment, the screen enlargement ratio at the time of enlarged display with respect to the standard display is set to a predetermined value. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the enlargement instruction may be continuous or multistage. Good. In the case of the multi-stage method, the enlargement arrangement processing unit 113 knows that the first enlargement instruction is displayed at the first enlargement ratio and the second is displayed at the second enlargement ratio that is larger than the first enlargement ratio. Also good. For example, assuming that 5 × 5 buttons are displayed in a matrix, 3 × 3 may be displayed by the first enlargement instruction, and 2 × 2 may be displayed by the second enlargement instruction. According to this, a desired enlarged size can be selected according to the user's visual recognition ability. Alternatively, if the authentication technique of the user authentication unit 117 is used, a desired enlargement size may be automatically set for each user.
(5) In this embodiment, as a display example, 4 × 4 buttons are displayed in a matrix during standard (size) display, and 2 × 2 buttons are displayed during enlarged display. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a mode in which different numbers are displayed in the matrix direction such that 3 × 4 buttons are enlarged and displayed by 2 × 3 may be used. Further, the present invention is not limited to the form of the matrix display, and can be similarly applied to an aspect in which a large number are displayed in one column (one row) and an aspect in which they are arranged and displayed on a circle or in a staggered manner.

1 is an external configuration diagram of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram of the part relevant to the display control of an image display part. The example of a display of a color designation | designated button is shown, (a) is a figure which shows the display state in standard time, (b) is a figure which shows the display state at the time of an enlarged display, (c) is a display at the time of the conventional enlarged display It is a figure which shows a state. It is a flowchart explaining the designation | designated operation | movement of the button in display. It is a block diagram which shows 2nd Example of the part relevant to the display control of an image display part. It is a flowchart explaining the designation | designated operation | movement of the button in display in 2nd Example. It is a block diagram which shows 3rd Example of the part relevant to the display control of an image display part. It is a flowchart explaining the designation | designated operation | movement of the button in display in 3rd Example.

Explanation of symbols

1 Copying machine (image forming device)
9 Image Display 10 Key Group 14 Image Memory 15 VRAM
Reference Signs List 16 touch sensor 11 control unit 111 main control unit 112 enlarged display switching unit 113 enlarged arrangement processing unit 114 image scrolling unit 115 designation button determination unit 116 frequency measurement unit 117 user authentication unit

Claims (6)

An image display control device that displays a display image having a plurality of buttons representing each type on a display screen and is capable of accepting selective designation of a button, and an enlarged display instruction means for instructing enlargement of the display image; An enlarged display switching means for enlarging an image with reference to a predetermined position in the display image in response to an instruction from the enlarged display instruction means; and a predetermined number smaller than the plurality of buttons on the display screen during enlarged display. An image display control apparatus comprising: an enlargement-time arrangement processing unit that sets a display position of an enlargement button that is enlarged only in a display area of the predetermined number of buttons so as to display the button. The image display control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a touch sensor that includes a transparent panel superimposed on the display screen and receives a selective designation of the button. The plurality of buttons are arranged in a matrix with predetermined gaps between each other, and the enlargement arrangement processing means keeps the gap intervals constant. Image display control device. An image shift means for shifting a display image at the time of the enlarged display; and a frequency measuring means for measuring the number of buttons selected at the time of the enlarged display, wherein the arrangement processing means at the time of enlargement corresponds to the height of the frequency The image display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined number of buttons corresponding to an enlarged image with respect to the predetermined position is set. Personal identification information input means, and user authentication means for identifying a user from the input personal information, the frequency measurement means measures the number of times for each user, and the enlargement arrangement processing means for each user 5. The image display control device according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined number of buttons corresponding to an enlarged image with the predetermined position as a reference is set in accordance with the frequency. A button for designating a function relating to image formation is displayed at an appropriate position of the main body by the image display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and a function corresponding to the designated button is executed. An image forming apparatus for transferring an image of a document onto a recording sheet.

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