JP2009175780A - Information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus, capable of switching a display content in a touch panel between a case using a touch pen and a case using no touch pen by determining whether a user uses the touch pen to perform operation. <P>SOLUTION: Two touch key groups containing touch keys corresponding to one or more preset functions are stored respectively in association with whether the touch pen is stored, and either of the touch key groups is selected and displayed on the touch panel according to detection results for storage of the touch pen to a touch pen storage part. Specifically, when the touch pen is not stored, or when the user uses the touch pen to perform operation, touch keys corresponding to a function associated with display of a touch key group which is difficult for the user to operate with the fingers and suitable to operate with the touch pen are preferentially displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus provided with a touch pen for operating a touch panel, and in particular, controls display contents of the touch panel according to whether or not the touch pen is stored in a touch pen storage section provided in the information processing apparatus. The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

Hard keys (mechanical buttons) such as start, stop, and reset are provided on the display / operation unit provided in image forming apparatuses (an example of an information processing apparatus) such as recent printers, copiers, facsimile machines, and multi-function machines. In addition to the above, a touch panel that displays touch keys corresponding to various functions of the image forming apparatus and inputs instructions to the image forming apparatus in accordance with the operation of the touch keys is mainly provided. Yes. The user performs print settings such as paper size and enlargement / reduction, for example, by operating the touch key with a finger according to the display on the touch panel.
In addition, when inputting a file name to be added to image data or an E-mail address for transmitting image data in the image forming apparatus, a keyboard including a number of touch keys such as alphabets and numbers (hereinafter referred to as “software”). It is conceivable to display a “keyboard” on the touch panel and allow the user to operate it. At this time, if the size of the touch panel is small, the size and interval of each touch key on the software keyboard becomes small, so that it becomes difficult for the user to accurately operate the touch key with a finger.
Therefore, it is conceivable to provide a touch pen that can be operated in a smaller range than that operated by the user's finger (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a configuration, even if the size and interval of each touch key of the software keyboard displayed on the touch panel is small, the user can operate the touch key accurately and easily by using the touch pen. It is.

On the other hand, since recent image forming apparatuses are multifunctional, touch keys corresponding to all the functions cannot be simultaneously displayed on the touch panel.
Therefore, in general, an image forming apparatus displays only a small number of touch keys corresponding to basic functions that are considered to be operated at a high frequency such as paper size and enlargement / reduction on the initial screen of the touch panel. By doing so, the touch keys can be easily operated.
On the other hand, touch keys corresponding to non-basic functions, such as the function of inputting a file name and E-mail address using a software keyboard, are displayed on the initial screen of the touch panel. It can be displayed on the touch panel by operating one of the plurality of classification keys. That is, various functions in the image forming apparatus are managed in a tree structure.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-156522

By the way, as described above, since it is difficult to operate the software keyboard with a finger, a touch pen is highly likely to be used when inputting a file name or E-mail address. . In other words, functions that are likely to be executed when the user has a touch pen can be considered to be limited to some extent, such as functions that involve input operations using the software keyboard.
However, conventionally, since the display on the touch panel is constant regardless of whether or not the user intends to operate using the touch pen, for example, when inputting a file name or an E-mail address, The user has to find a touch key corresponding to a desired function from among the hierarchized functions by operating the classification key or the like.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to determine whether or not the user is going to operate using the touch pen, and to use the touch pen and not to use the touch pen. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of switching display contents of a touch panel.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention displays a touch key corresponding to various functions of the information processing apparatus, and inputs a command to the information processing apparatus in response to an operation of the touch key; A touch pen storage unit that stores a touch pen for operating a touch panel, and a touch pen presence / absence detection unit that detects whether or not the touch pen is stored in the touch pen storage unit are applied to an information processing apparatus, Touch key group storage means for storing two touch key groups including touch keys corresponding to one or a plurality of functions set in advance in association with whether or not the touch pen is stored in the touch pen storage unit, and the touch key group Of the two touch key groups stored in the storage means, the touch pen presence / absence detection means Configured as an information processing apparatus characterized by select a touch key groups corresponding to the detection result formed by a touch panel display control means for displaying on the touch panel. Here, the information processing apparatus may be an image forming apparatus or an image reading apparatus, for example.
According to the present invention, it is determined whether or not the user intends to operate using the touch pen based on the detection result by the touch pen presence / absence detecting means, that is, whether or not the touch pen is stored in the touch pen storage unit, and the touch pen is used. The display content of the touch panel can be switched between the case where the touch pen is not used and the case where the touch pen is not used. For example, the touch key group associated when the touch pen is not stored in the touch pen storage unit is set to include touch keys corresponding to functions that are likely to be operated using the touch pen. By doing so, it is possible to save the user's trouble of searching for the touch key when using the touch pen.

More specifically, a touch key group arranged in a predetermined size or less and a predetermined interval or less in the touch key group set in advance when the touch pen is not stored in the touch pen storage unit. It is desirable that a touch key corresponding to a function involving display is included. This allows the user to display on the touch panel touch keys corresponding to functions that involve the display of the touch key group, which is difficult to operate with a finger, by simply removing the touch pen. Can be omitted.
Further, it is desirable that the apparatus further comprises touch key group setting means for arbitrarily setting the type of touch keys included in the touch key group. Accordingly, the user can freely set the type of touch key displayed on the touch panel according to his / her preference depending on whether or not the touch pen is stored in the touch pen storage unit.
By the way, there may be a case where the touch key group selection function by the touch panel display control means is not required. Therefore, it is desirable to further include selection function setting means for arbitrarily setting the validity / invalidity of the selection function. Thereby, a user who does not need the selection function can invalidate the selection function, and the versatility of the information processing apparatus is enhanced.

According to the present invention, it is determined whether or not the user intends to operate using the touch pen based on the detection result by the touch pen presence / absence detecting means, that is, whether or not the touch pen is stored in the touch pen storage unit, and the touch pen is used. The display content of the touch panel can be switched between the case where the touch pen is not used and the case where the touch pen is not used. For example, the touch key group associated when the touch pen is not stored in the touch pen storage unit is set to include touch keys corresponding to functions that are likely to be operated using the touch pen. By doing so, it is possible to save the user's trouble of searching for the touch key when using the touch pen.
Specifically, a touch key corresponding to a function that is convenient to operate with a touch pen, such as a touch key corresponding to a function accompanied by a display of a touch key group arranged at a predetermined size or less and at a predetermined interval or less, It is also conceivable that the initial setting is made so as to be included in the touch key group set in advance in association with the case where the touch pen is not stored in the touch pen storage unit. The touch pen group may be arbitrarily set.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the present invention can be understood. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus X according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of a display / operation unit 1 provided in the image forming apparatus X, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of display on the touch panel 15 provided in the image forming apparatus X, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a procedure of touch panel display control processing executed in the image forming apparatus X.
Here, the image forming apparatus X is, for example, a printer apparatus, a copying machine, a facsimile apparatus, a complex machine thereof, and the like, and is an example of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention. As other examples of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, an image reading apparatus such as a scanner apparatus and a display apparatus such as a display can be considered.

First, the schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus X according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The image forming apparatus X includes components provided in a general image forming apparatus in addition to the components described here.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus X is set on a display / operation unit 1 for displaying and inputting various information in the image forming apparatus X, and on a document table and an ADF (automatic conveying apparatus). An image reading unit 2 that reads an image of an original, and image data of the original read by the image reading unit 2 or an image of an original input from an information processing apparatus (not shown) connected via a communication network such as a LAN. An image processing unit 3 that performs various types of image processing on the data, a photosensitive drum, a charger, a developing device, an exposure unit (LSU), and the like, and an image of a document input from the image processing unit 3 An image forming unit 4 that forms a toner image (developer image) on a sheet based on data, a fixing device 5 that melts and fixes the toner image formed on the sheet by the image forming unit 4 on the sheet, and the image formation Overall control of device X And a control unit 6 for. The control unit 6 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like as arithmetic means, and the CPU executes various processes according to a predetermined control program stored in the ROM. The various processes executed by the control unit 6 may be realized by a hardware configuration such as an electric circuit.
Further, the image forming apparatus X includes a touch pen detector 7 that detects whether or not the touch pen 50 is housed in a touch pen housing section 51 (see FIG. 2) described later provided in the display / operation section 1, and a touch pen detector 7 described later. And a storage unit 8 (an example of a touch key group storage unit) such as a non-volatile semiconductor memory that stores the normal touch key group and the touch pen touch key group.

Here, a specific configuration example of the display / operation unit 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the display / operation unit 1 is used for a start key 11 for executing various jobs, a stop key 12 for canceling job execution, a reset key 13 for clearing various settings, and numeric input. And a touch panel 15 operated by a user's fingertip or touch pen 50.
The touch panel 15 displays touch keys corresponding to various functions of the image forming apparatus X, and inputs instructions to the control unit 6 of the image forming apparatus X according to operations of the touch keys.
On the touch panel 15, classification keys 16a to 16e in which various functions of the image forming apparatus X are classified are displayed. When any one of the classification keys 16a to 16e is operated, touch keys corresponding to functions located below the operated classification keys 16a to 16e are displayed on the touch panel 15.
Here, in the classification key 16e, touch keys corresponding to basic functions extracted from the functions included in the lower layers of the classification keys 16a to 16d are registered in advance, and these are displayed on the initial screen of the touch panel 15. Touch key is displayed. When the display screen of the touch panel 15 transitions to another screen, the touch panel 15 is returned to the initial screen (basic setting screen) by operating the classification key 16e. In the image forming apparatus X, a touch panel display control process (see FIG. 4) described later is executed by the control unit 6 to change the type of touch keys displayed on the initial screen.

The display / operation unit 1 includes a touch pen storage unit 51 for storing a touch pen 50 for operating a touch key on the touch panel 15, and a touch pen holding unit for holding the touch pen 50 and fixing it to a predetermined position. 52 and a touch pen detector 7 (an example of a touch pen presence / absence detecting means) for detecting whether or not the touch pen 50 is stored in the touch pen storage portion 51 are provided.
2A shows a state in which the touch pen 50 is stored in the touch pen storage unit 51, and FIGS. 2B and 2C show a state in which the touch pen 50 is detached from the touch pen storage unit 51. FIG.
When the touch pen 50 is stored in the touch pen storage unit 51 (see FIG. 2A), the touch pen detector 7 comes into contact with the touch pen 50 and is turned on. When it is removed (see FIGS. 2B and 2C), the limit switch is turned off when the contact with the touch pen 50 is released. The touch pen detector 7 is not limited to a limit switch, and may be, for example, a photoelectric sensor as long as it can detect whether the touch pen 50 is stored in the touch pen storage unit 51. Then, the detection result by the touch pen detector 7 is input to the control unit 6.

Incidentally, in the image forming apparatus X, when inputting a file name to be added to the image data in the image forming apparatus X or inputting an address when the image data is transmitted by E-mail, as shown in FIG. As described above, the software keyboard 151 including a large number of touch keys such as alphabets and numbers is displayed on the touch panel. As a result, the user can input a file name, an E-mail address, etc. by operating the software keyboard 151.
However, as shown in FIG. 2C, it is difficult to operate each touch key accurately with a finger in the software keyboard 151 including a touch key group with a small size and interval. Therefore, the user performs an operation using the touch pen 50 when executing a function that involves displaying a touch key group that is difficult to operate with a finger, such as the software keyboard 151. Accordingly, the operation of the software keyboard 151 can be performed accurately and easily.
That is, in the image forming apparatus X, the user operation is performed using the touch pen 50 because it is difficult to accurately operate with a finger, and is arranged at a predetermined size or less and a predetermined interval or less. It can be considered that this is when a function involving the display of the touch key group is executed. For example, a case is assumed where the display of the software keyboard 151 including a touch key group in which touch keys having a size of 1 cm or less on all sides are arranged at intervals of 1 cm or less is assumed.

Next, an example of information stored in the storage unit 8 will be described with reference to FIG.
The storage unit 8 stores information about two touch key groups that are set in advance in association with whether or not the touch pen 50 is stored in the touch pen storage unit 51. Each touch key group includes touch keys corresponding to one or a plurality of functions.
3A shows an example of the touch key group displayed on the initial screen when the touch pen is not used, and FIG. 3B shows an example of the touch key group displayed on the initial screen when the touch pen is used.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A, a touch key group (hereinafter referred to as a “normal touch key group”) associated with a touch pen 50 stored in the touch pen storage unit 51 includes: Touch keys 15a to 15f are included. Here, each of the touch keys 15a to 15f shown in FIG. 3A includes paper selection (Paper Selection), density (Density), magnification (Zoom), duplex printing (Duplex), post-processing (Staple / Punch), Corresponds to the setting function of Combine. These touch keys 15a to 15f correspond to basic functions executed frequently in the image forming apparatus X. These touch keys 15a to 15f are classified into the classification keys 16a to 16d.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, the touch key group (hereinafter referred to as “touch pen touch key group”) associated when the touch pen 50 is not stored in the touch pen storage unit 51 includes the touch key group. Keys 15a to 15d and touch keys 15g and 15h are included. In other words, the touch pen touch key group includes the touch keys 15g and 15h instead of the touch keys 15e and 15f. These touch keys 15g and 15h are also classified into the classification keys 16a to 16d.
The touch key 15g corresponds to the function of assigning a file name to the image data, and the touch key 15h corresponds to the function of performing E-mail transmission, both of which are provided by the software keyboard 151 (see FIG. 2C). It is accompanied by a display. The touch keys 15g and 15h are not basic functions that are frequently executed in the image forming apparatus X, but are functions that are highly likely to be executed when the user performs an operation using the touch pen 50. is there.
In the image forming apparatus X according to the embodiment of the present invention, a touch panel display control process (see FIG. 4) described later is executed by the control unit 6, thereby depending on the detection result of the touch pen detector 7. Then, either the normal touch key group or the touch pen touch key group stored in the storage unit 8 is selected and displayed on the touch panel 15.

Hereinafter, an example of the procedure of the touch panel display control process executed by the control unit 6 in the image forming apparatus X will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, S1, S2,... In the figure represent processing procedure (step) numbers.
In the image forming apparatus X, other processes such as execution of a function corresponding to the operation of the touch key on the touch panel 15 are also executed by the control unit 6, but there is no difference in these points from the conventional one. Therefore, explanation is omitted here.
The touch panel display control process is started by the control unit 6 when the image forming apparatus X operates. In the image forming apparatus X, it is assumed by default that the normal touch key group is displayed on the initial screen of the touch panel 15. Accordingly, when the image forming apparatus X is activated, the control unit 6 causes the touch panel 15 to display the touch keys 15a to 15f included in the normal touch key group. When the image forming apparatus X is operated, either the normal touch key group or the touch pen touch key group may be selected and displayed according to the detection result by the touch pen detector 7. .

(Step S1)
First, in step S <b> 1, the control unit 6 determines whether or not the storage state of the touch pen 50 has changed based on the detection result by the touch pen detector 7. That is, it is detected that the detection result of the touch pen detector 7 has changed from detection to non-detection, or that the detection result of the touch pen detector 7 has changed from non-detection to detection. As described above, the processing load on the control unit 6 can be reduced by executing the processing in step S2 and the subsequent steps only when the storage state of the touch pen 50 is changed. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and omitting the step S1 may be considered as another embodiment.
In the step S1, when the touch pen 50 is removed from the touch pen storage unit 51 or when the touch pen 50 is stored in the touch pen storage unit 51, the detection result of the touch pen detector 7 has changed. (Yes side of S1), the process proceeds to step S2. If there is no change in the detection result by the touch pen detector 7 (No side of S1), the determination process in step S1 is repeatedly executed in a timely manner.

(Step S2)
Next, in step S <b> 2, the control unit 6 determines whether or not the touch pen 50 is stored in the touch pen storage unit 51 according to the detection result by the touch pen detector 7. Thereby, it can be specified whether the change of the accommodation state of the touch pen 50 in the step S1 is the removal or the accommodation of the touch pen 50.
Here, when it is determined that the touch pen 50 is not stored in the touch pen storage unit 51, that is, the touch pen 50 is removed from the touch pen storage unit 51 by the user (No side of S2), the process proceeds to step S3. Transition. On the other hand, when the touch pen 50 is stored in the touch pen storage unit 51, that is, when the user determines that the touch pen 50 is stored in the touch pen storage unit 51 (Yes side of S2), the process proceeds to step S4. To do.

(Step S3)
In step S <b> 3, the control unit 6 reads the touch pen touch key group stored in association with the state in which the touch pen 50 is not stored from the storage unit 8, and reads the touch pen touch key group from the touch panel 15. Display above. That is, the display of the touch keys on the touch panel 15 is switched from the normal touch key group shown in FIG. 3A to the touch pen touch key group shown in FIG.
Therefore, instead of the touch keys 15e and 15f, the touch key 15g corresponding to the file name input function and the touch key 15h corresponding to the E-mail transmission function are displayed with priority. Accordingly, the user can operate the touch keyboard 15g, 15h, etc. by displaying the software keyboard 151 (see FIG. 2C).

(Step S4)
On the other hand, in step S4, the control unit 6 reads the normal touch key group stored in association with the state in which the touch pen 50 is stored from the storage unit 8, and reads the normal touch key group as the normal touch key group. It is displayed on the touch panel 15.
That is, the touch key display on the touch panel 15 is switched from the touch pen touch key group in FIG. 3B to the normal touch key group in FIG.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus X, the touch panel display control process (see FIG. 4) is executed by the control unit 6, whereby the two normal touches stored in the storage unit 8. A touch key group corresponding to a detection result by the touch pen detector 7 is selected from the key group and the touch key group for the touch pen, and is automatically displayed on the touch panel 15. The said control part 6 when performing the process which concerns here corresponds to a touchscreen display control means. In particular, when the touch pen 50 is removed, the touch key corresponding to a function accompanied by a display such as the software keyboard 151 including a touch key group that is appropriate to operate using the touch pen 50 that is difficult to operate with a finger. Touch keys such as 15g and 15h are preferentially displayed. Therefore, the user can save the trouble of searching for the touch keys 15g, 15h and the like after removing the touch pen 50.
In the present embodiment, the function that is desirably performed using the touch pen 50 is described as an example that includes the display of the software keyboard 151, but is not limited thereto. For example, a function for displaying a color palette in which touch keys corresponding to a large number of colors are densely arranged in a grid shape or a honeycomb shape can be considered as an example. In short, any function that involves displaying touch keys that are difficult to operate accurately with a human finger may be used.
Further, when only the functions for which the touch pen 50 is desirably used are displayed when the touch pen 50 is removed (for example, in the present embodiment, only the touch keys 15g and 15h are displayed), It is also possible to reduce the display contents as much as possible to facilitate selection by the user.

In the present embodiment, the case where the normal touch key group and the touch pen touch key group are preset and stored in the storage unit 8 has been described as an example. A configuration in which the user can arbitrarily set the type of the touch key included in is also conceivable as another embodiment.
Specifically, the control unit 6 changes the contents of the normal touch key group and the touch pen touch key group stored in the storage unit 8 according to the operation of the display / operation unit 1 by the user. It is conceivable to process as follows. Here, the control unit 6 when executing such processing corresponds to touch key group setting means.
According to such a configuration, the user can freely set touch keys corresponding to functions that are likely to be operated using the touch pen 50 so as to be included in the touch key group for the touch pen. Convenience can be obtained.
Further, when the image forming apparatus X has a function of identifying a user, for example, when the image forming apparatus X is used after an operation such as input of an ID card or a user name, the normal touch is performed for each user. It is also possible to set a key group or a touch key group for the touch pen. In this case, the display content of the touch panel 15 can be changed according to the preference of each user.

By the way, an execution function of the touch panel display control process by the control unit 6, that is, a selection function for selecting and displaying either the normal touch key group or the touch pen touch key group depending on whether or not the touch pen 50 is stored. However, it may be unnecessary for the user. Therefore, it is desirable that the image forming apparatus X can arbitrarily set the validity / invalidity of the selection function by the control unit 6.
Specifically, it is conceivable that the control unit 6 performs processing so as to switch and set the valid / invalid of the selection function according to the operation of the display / operation unit 1 by the user. The said control part 6 when performing the process which concerns here corresponds to a selection function setting means.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front view of a display / operation unit provided in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a display example of a touch panel provided in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a procedure of touch panel display control processing executed in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: Display / operation unit 11: Start key 12: Stop key 13: Reset key 14: Ten key 15: Touch panel 151: Software keyboards 15a to 15h: Touch keys 16a to 16e: Classification key 2: Image reading unit 3: Image processing unit 4: Image forming unit 5: Fixing device 6: Control unit 7: Touch pen detector (an example of touch pen presence / absence detecting means)
8: Storage unit (an example of touch key group storage means)
50: Touch pen 51: Touch pen storage part 52: Touch pen holding part S1, S2,...: Processing procedure (step) number X: Image forming apparatus (an example of information processing apparatus)

Claims (5)

A touch pen that displays touch keys corresponding to various functions of the information processing apparatus and that inputs an instruction to the information processing apparatus in response to the operation of the touch key, and a touch pen for operating the touch panel An information processing apparatus comprising: a storage unit; and a touch pen presence / absence detection unit that detects whether the touch pen is stored in the touch pen storage unit,
Touch key group storage means for storing two touch key groups including touch keys corresponding to one or a plurality of functions preset in association with the presence or absence of storage of the touch pen in the touch pen storage unit;
Touch panel display control means for selecting a touch key group corresponding to a detection result by the touch pen presence / absence detection means from the two touch key groups stored in the touch key group storage means and displaying the touch key group on the touch panel;
An information processing apparatus comprising:   A function that includes a display of touch key groups arranged in a predetermined size or less and a predetermined interval or less in the touch key group set in advance in association with a case where no touch pen is stored in the touch pen storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a corresponding touch key.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising touch key group setting means for arbitrarily setting a type of a touch key included in the touch key group.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising selection function setting means for arbitrarily setting validity / invalidity of the selection function of the touch key group by the touch panel display control means.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is an image forming apparatus or an image reading apparatus.

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