JP2018055408A - Electronic device, vibration control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device and a vibration control method for allowing to minimize degrading user-friendliness accompanied by a pivoting indicator.SOLUTION: An image forming device comprising: an operation indicator 6 supported by a casing 10A so as to become pivotable toward a pivoting direction D1, an operation detector for detecting operations on an indicator surface 621 of the operation indicator 6, a vibration generator for vibrating the indicator surface 621 when operations on the indicator surface 621 is detected by the operation detector, a detection processor for detecting a pivoting angle θ on a horizontal surface of the operation indicator 6, and a vibration controller for changing strength of vibration loaded on the indicator surface 621 by the vibration generator responding to the pivoting angle θ detected by the detection processor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device including a display unit, and a vibration control method executed in the electronic device.

  An electronic device such as a printer may include an operation detection unit such as a touch panel that can detect an operation on a display surface of a display unit such as a liquid crystal display. In this type of electronic apparatus, when an operation on the display surface is detected by the operation detection unit, the display surface may vibrate, thereby giving an operational feeling to a user operating the display surface (for example, patents). Reference 1).

International Publication No. 2005/116811

  By the way, the display part provided in an electronic device may be rotatably supported by the rotating shaft parallel to a horizontal direction. Here, when the display unit is rotated to increase the inclination angle of the display surface with respect to the horizontal plane, the contact posture of the user's finger with respect to the display surface when the display surface is operated changes, and the display surface and the user's finger The contact area and contact pressure during the process may decrease. In this case, the operational feeling given to the user is reduced by the vibration of the display surface.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device and a vibration control method capable of suppressing a reduction in operational feeling associated with rotation of a display unit.

  An electronic apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a display unit, an operation detection unit, a vibration generation unit, a detection processing unit, and a vibration control unit. The display unit is rotatably supported by a rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction. The operation detection unit detects an operation on the display surface of the display unit. The vibration generating unit vibrates the display surface when an operation on the display surface is detected by the operation detection unit. The detection processing unit detects a rotation angle of the display unit with respect to a horizontal plane. The vibration control unit changes the intensity or vibration time of vibration applied to the display surface by the vibration generating unit according to the rotation angle detected by the detection processing unit.

  A vibration control method according to another aspect of the present invention includes a display unit that is rotatably supported by a rotation axis parallel to a horizontal direction, an operation detection unit that detects an operation on the display surface of the display unit, This is executed by an electronic device including a vibration generating unit that vibrates the display surface when an operation on the display surface is detected by the operation detection unit, and includes a detection step and a control step. In the detection step, a rotation angle of the display unit with respect to a horizontal plane is detected. In the control step, the intensity or vibration time of vibration applied to the display surface by the vibration generating unit is changed according to the rotation angle detected in the detection step.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electronic device which can suppress the reduction of the operational feeling accompanying rotation of a display part and the vibration control method are implement | achieved.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the operation display unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the operation display unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a reference light quantity acquisition process executed by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a vibration control process executed by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an operation display unit of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[Schematic Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 10]
First, a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Here, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. 1 shows the image forming apparatus 10 with the ADF 1 removed.

  The image forming apparatus 10 is a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile function and a copy function, as well as a scan function for reading image data from a document and a print function for forming an image based on the image data. Here, the image forming apparatus 10 is an example of an electronic apparatus according to the present invention. Further, the present invention is applicable to electronic devices such as a scanner device, a printer device, a facsimile device, a copier, a refrigerator, and a washing machine.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an ADF 1, an image reading unit 2, an image forming unit 3, a paper feeding unit 4, a control unit 5, and an operation display unit 6. The image reading unit 2, the image forming unit 3, the paper feeding unit 4, and the control unit 5 are provided inside the housing 10 </ b> A (see FIG. 1) of the image forming apparatus 10. The ADF 1 is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the upper surface of the housing 10A. The operation display unit 6 is provided in the upper front portion of the housing 10A.

  The ADF 1 is an automatic document conveyance device that includes a document setting unit, a plurality of conveyance rollers, a document pressing unit, and a paper discharge unit, and conveys a document read by the image reading unit 2. The image reading unit 2 includes a document table, a light source, a plurality of mirrors, an optical lens, and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and can read image data from the document.

  The image forming unit 3 forms an image of color or monochrome by an electrophotographic method based on image data read by the image reading unit 2 or image data input from an information processing apparatus such as an external personal computer. Processing (print processing) can be executed. Specifically, the image forming unit 3 includes a plurality of image forming units corresponding to C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black), an optical scanning device (LSU), an intermediate transfer belt, A secondary transfer roller, a fixing device, and a paper discharge tray are provided. In the image forming unit 3, a color or monochrome image is formed on the sheet supplied from the paper feeding unit 4, and the sheet after the image formation is discharged to the paper discharge tray. The sheet is a sheet material such as paper, coated paper, postcard, envelope, and OHP sheet.

  The control unit 5 includes control devices such as a CPU, ROM, RAM, and EEPROM (registered trademark) (not shown). The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which information such as a control program for causing the CPU to execute various processes is stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile storage unit used as a temporary storage memory (working area) for various processes executed by the CPU. The EEPROM is a nonvolatile storage unit. In the control unit 5, various control programs stored in advance in the ROM are executed by the CPU. As a result, the image forming apparatus 10 is comprehensively controlled by the control unit 5. The control unit 5 may be an electronic circuit such as an integrated circuit (ASIC), and is a control unit provided separately from the main control unit that controls the image forming apparatus 10 in an integrated manner. May be.

[Configuration of Operation Display Unit 6]
Next, the operation display unit 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the operation display unit 6. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the operation display unit 6 is attached to the housing 10A.

  The operation display unit 6 is a user interface in the image forming apparatus 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the operation display unit 6 is supported by the housing 10A so as to be rotatable in the rotation direction D1. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a recess 10 </ b> B capable of accommodating the operation display unit 6 is provided on the front surface of the housing 10 </ b> A. Further, the operation display unit 6 is rotatably supported by a shaft portion 10C (an example of the rotation shaft of the present invention) parallel to the horizontal direction provided in the recess 10B. For example, the operation display unit 6 rotates between a first position P1 where the surface on which the display panel 62 is provided is perpendicular to the horizontal plane and a second position P2 where the surface is parallel to the horizontal plane. Is possible. In addition, the operation display part 6 is accommodated in the recessed part 10B in the state arrange | positioned in the 2nd position P2. The operation display unit 6 is an example of the display unit in the present invention.

  In addition, as FIG. 7 shows, the structure by which the operation display part 6 is provided in the upper surface of 10 A of housing | casing can be considered as other embodiment.

  2 to 4, the operation display unit 6 includes a hard key 61, a display panel 62, an operation detection unit 63, a vibration generation unit 64, and an illuminance detection unit 65.

  The hard key 61 inputs various types of information to the control unit 5 according to user operations. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the hard key 61 includes a power key 611, a start key 612, a numeric keypad 613, and the like. The power key 611 is used for turning on or off the power of the image forming apparatus 10. The start key 612 is used to input an execution instruction for the printing process or the like to the control unit 5. The numeric keypad 613 is used for inputting numeric information and the like to the control unit 5.

  The display panel 62 displays an operation screen used for operating the image forming apparatus 10. For example, the display panel 62 is a liquid crystal display. As shown in FIG. 3, the display panel 62 has a display surface 621 on which the operation screen is displayed.

  The operation detection unit 63 is a so-called touch panel that can detect a user operation on the display surface 621 of the display panel 62. For example, the operation detection unit 63 detects a contact position between the operation body and the display surface 621 when an operation body such as a user's finger contacts the display surface 621 by a capacitance method. The operation detection unit 63 may detect contact between the operation body and the display surface 621 using another detection method such as a resistance film method.

  The vibration generation unit 64 vibrates the display surface 621 when an operation on the display surface 621 is detected by the operation detection unit 63. Thereby, in the image forming apparatus 10, an operational feeling is given to the user who operates the display surface 621. Specifically, the vibration generating unit 64 includes a plurality of vibration sources 641. The plurality of vibration sources 641 are arranged around the display surface 621 as shown in FIG. For example, the vibration source 641 is a vibration motor.

  The illuminance detection unit 65 detects the illuminance on the back surface of the operation display unit 6. For example, the illuminance detection unit 65 is an electronic circuit including a photodiode that outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of received light. As shown in FIG. 4, the illuminance detection unit 65 is provided on the back surface of the operation display unit 6.

  By the way, when the operation display unit 6 is rotated and the inclination angle of the display surface 621 with respect to the horizontal plane is increased, the contact posture of the user's finger with respect to the display surface 621 when the display surface 621 is operated changes. The contact area and contact pressure between the user and the user's finger may decrease. For example, when the display surface 621 parallel to the horizontal plane is operated by the user, it is conceivable that the belly portion of the user's finger contacts the display surface 621. On the other hand, when the display surface 621 perpendicular to the horizontal plane is operated by the user, it is conceivable that the tip portion of the user's finger contacts the display surface 621. In this case, the operational feeling given to the user is reduced when the display surface 621 vibrates. On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as described below, it is possible to suppress a reduction in operation feeling accompanying the rotation of the operation display unit 6.

  Specifically, the ROM of the control unit 5 has a vibration control program for causing the CPU to execute a later-described reference light quantity acquisition process (see the flowchart in FIG. 5) and a vibration control process (see the flowchart in FIG. 6). Stored in advance. The vibration control program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD, DVD, or flash memory, and is read from the recording medium and installed in a storage unit such as the EEPROM of the control unit 5. It may be.

  And the control part 5 contains the 1st acquisition process part 51, the 2nd acquisition process part 52, the detection process part 53, and the vibration control part 54, as FIG. 2 shows. Specifically, the control unit 5 executes the vibration control program stored in the ROM using the CPU. Accordingly, the control unit 5 functions as a first acquisition processing unit 51, a second acquisition processing unit 52, a detection processing unit 53, and a vibration control unit 54.

  The first acquisition processing unit 51 acquires the first reference illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit 65 in a state where the operation display unit 6 is opened with respect to the outer surface of the housing 10A. For example, the first acquisition processing unit 51 acquires the first reference illuminance in a state where the operation display unit 6 is disposed at the first position P1 (see FIG. 4).

  The second acquisition processing unit 52 acquires the second reference illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit 65 in a state where the operation display unit 6 is closed with respect to the outer surface of the housing 10A. For example, the second acquisition processing unit 52 acquires the second reference illuminance in a state where the operation display unit 6 is disposed at the second position P2 (see FIG. 4).

  Note that the control unit 5 may not include the first acquisition processing unit 51 and the second acquisition processing unit 52.

  The detection processing unit 53 detects the rotation angle θ (see FIG. 4) of the operation display unit 6 with respect to the horizontal plane.

  For example, the detection processing unit 53 detects the rotation angle θ based on the detection result by the illuminance detection unit 65. For example, the detection processing unit 53 sets the rotation angle θ based on the ratio of the difference between the detection result by the illuminance detection unit 65 and the second reference illuminance with respect to the difference between the first reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance. To detect.

  For example, the detection processing unit 53 rotates when the ratio of the difference between the detection result of the illuminance detection unit 65 to the difference between the first reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance is 0%. It is determined that the angle θ is 90 degrees. The detection processing unit 53 rotates when the ratio of the difference between the detection result by the illuminance detection unit 65 and the second reference illuminance to the difference between the first reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance is 100%. It is determined that the angle θ is 0 degree.

  Note that the detection processing unit 53 performs the rotation based on the table data indicating the correspondence between the illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit 65 stored in advance in the ROM and the rotation angle θ and the detection result by the illuminance detection unit 65. The moving angle θ may be detected. Further, the detection processing unit 53 may detect the rotation angle θ without using the illuminance detection unit 65. For example, it is conceivable that the image forming apparatus 10 includes an angle sensor that outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the rotation angle θ instead of the illuminance detection unit 65. In this case, the detection processing unit 53 detects the rotation angle θ based on the electrical signal output from the angle sensor.

  The vibration control unit 54 changes the intensity or vibration time of the vibration applied to the display surface 621 by the vibration generating unit 64 according to the rotation angle θ detected by the detection processing unit 53.

  Specifically, the vibration control unit 54 strengthens the vibration applied to the display surface 621 by the vibration generating unit 64 as the rotation angle θ detected by the detection processing unit 53 increases. For example, the vibration control unit 54 changes the current supplied to each of the vibration sources 641 according to the rotation angle θ detected by the detection processing unit 53, so that the vibration given to the display surface 621 by the vibration generating unit 64. Vary the intensity. In addition, the vibration control unit 54 changes the number of vibration sources 641 that are driven according to the rotation angle θ detected by the detection processing unit 53, so that the vibration applied to the display surface 621 by the vibration generation unit 64. The intensity may be changed.

  The vibration control unit 54 may lengthen the vibration time given to the display surface 621 by the vibration generating unit 64 as the rotation angle θ detected by the detection processing unit 53 increases. Further, the vibration control unit 54 strengthens the vibration applied to the display surface 621 by the vibration generating unit 64 as the rotation angle θ detected by the detection processing unit 53 increases, and the vibration generating unit 64 applies the vibration to the display surface 621. You may lengthen the given vibration time.

[Reference light intensity acquisition processing]
Hereinafter, an example of the procedure of the reference light quantity acquisition process executed by the control unit 5 in the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, steps S11, S12,... Represent the numbers of processing procedures (steps) executed by the control unit 5. The reference light quantity acquisition process is executed when a user operation is performed on the operation display unit 6 to instruct execution of the reference light quantity acquisition process.

<Step S11>
First, in step S11, the control unit 5 causes the display panel 62 to display a message for prompting the user to rotate the operation display unit 6 to place the operation display unit 6 at the first position P1.

<Step S12>
In step S12, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the operation display unit 6 is disposed at the first position P1. For example, the control unit 5 determines that the operation display unit 6 is disposed at the first position P1 when the operation detection unit 63 detects a tap operation on the display surface 621 after the message is displayed in step S11. To do.

  Here, if the control part 5 judges that the operation display part 6 has been arrange | positioned in the 1st position P1 (Yes side of S12), it will transfer a process to step S13. Moreover, if the operation display part 6 is not arrange | positioned in the 1st position P1 (No side of S12), the control part 5 will wait for the operation display part 6 to be arrange | positioned in 1st position P1 by step S12.

<Step S13>
In step S <b> 13, the control unit 5 acquires the first reference light amount using the illuminance detection unit 65. Here, the processing from step S11 to step S13 is executed by the first acquisition processing unit 51 of the control unit 5.

<Step S14>
In step S <b> 14, the control unit 5 causes the display panel 62 to display a message prompting the user to rotate the operation display unit 6 and place the operation display unit 6 at the second position P <b> 2.

<Step S15>
In step S15, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the operation display unit 6 is disposed at the second position P2. For example, the control unit 5 determines that the operation display unit 6 is disposed at the second position P2 when the operation detection unit 63 detects a tap operation on the display surface 621 after the message is displayed in step S14. To do.

  Here, if the control part 5 judges that the operation display part 6 has been arrange | positioned in the 2nd position P2 (Yes side of S15), it will transfer a process to step S16. If the operation display unit 6 is not arranged at the second position P2 (No side of S15), the control unit 5 waits for the operation display unit 6 to be arranged at the second position P2 in step S15.

<Step S16>
In step S <b> 16, the control unit 5 acquires the second reference light amount using the illuminance detection unit 65. Here, the process from step S <b> 14 to step S <b> 16 is executed by the second acquisition processing unit 52 of the control unit 5.

  In the image forming apparatus 10, when the control unit 5 does not include the first acquisition processing unit 51 and the second acquisition processing unit 52, the reference light amount acquisition process is not executed.

[Vibration control processing]
Next, the vibration control method of the present invention will be described together with an example of a procedure of vibration control processing executed by the control unit 5 in the image forming apparatus 10 with reference to FIG.

<Step S21>
First, in step S21, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the operation display unit 6 has been rotated. For example, the control unit 5 determines that the operation display unit 6 has been rotated when the illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit 65 has changed beyond a predetermined threshold.

  Here, if the control part 5 judges that the operation display part 6 was rotated (Yes side of S21), it will transfer a process to step S22. Moreover, if the operation display part 6 is not rotated (No side of S21), the control part 5 waits for the operation display part 6 to be rotated in step S21.

<Step S22>
In step S22, the control unit 5 detects the rotation angle θ of the operation display unit 6 with respect to the horizontal plane. Here, the process of step S22 is an example of the detection step in the present invention, and is executed by the detection processing unit 53 of the control unit 5.

  For example, the control unit 5 detects the rotation angle θ based on the ratio of the difference between the detection result by the illuminance detection unit 65 and the second reference illuminance with respect to the difference between the first reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance. To do.

<Step S23>
In step S23, the control unit 5 changes the intensity of vibration applied to the display surface 621 by the vibration generating unit 64 in accordance with the rotation angle θ detected in step S22. Here, the process of step S23 is an example of a control step in the present invention, and is executed by the vibration control unit 54 of the control unit 5.

  Specifically, the control unit 5 strengthens the vibration applied to the display surface 621 by the vibration generating unit 64 as the rotation angle θ detected in Step S22 is larger. For example, the control unit 5 changes the current supplied to each of the vibration sources 641 in accordance with the rotation angle θ detected in step S22, thereby changing the intensity of vibration applied to the display surface 621 by the vibration generating unit 64. Change.

  Thus, in the image forming apparatus 10, the intensity of vibration applied to the display surface 621 by the vibration generating unit 64 is changed according to the rotation angle θ of the operation display unit 6. Thereby, it is possible to suppress a reduction in operational feeling accompanying an increase in the rotation angle of the operation display unit 6 with respect to the horizontal plane.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 10, the first reference light amount and the second reference light amount corresponding to the installation environment of the image forming apparatus 10 are acquired by executing the reference light amount acquisition process. Thereby, it is avoided that the detection accuracy of the rotation angle θ by the detection processing unit 53 is lowered due to a change in the installation environment of the image forming apparatus 10.

1 ADF
2 image reading unit 3 image forming unit 4 paper feeding unit 5 control unit 6 operation display unit 10 image forming apparatus 10A casing 51 first acquisition processing unit 52 second acquisition processing unit 53 detection processing unit 54 vibration control unit 61 hard key 62 Display panel 63 Operation detection unit 64 Vibration generation unit 65 Illuminance detection unit 621 Display surface

Claims (6)

A display unit rotatably supported by a rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction;
An operation detection unit for detecting an operation on the display surface of the display unit;
A vibration generating unit that vibrates the display surface when an operation on the display surface is detected by the operation detection unit;
A detection processing unit for detecting a rotation angle of the display unit with respect to a horizontal plane;
A vibration control unit that changes a vibration intensity or a vibration time applied to the display surface by the vibration generation unit according to the rotation angle detected by the detection processing unit;
Electronic equipment comprising. The vibration control unit strengthens the vibration applied to the display surface by the vibration generation unit as the rotation angle detected by the detection processing unit increases, or is applied to the display surface by the vibration generation unit. Increase the vibration time,
The electronic device according to claim 1. An illuminance detection unit for detecting illuminance on the back surface of the display unit;
The detection processing unit detects the rotation angle based on a detection result by the illuminance detection unit;
The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2. A first acquisition processing unit for acquiring a first reference illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit in a state where the display unit is opened with respect to the outer surface of the housing of the device;
A second acquisition processing unit that acquires a second reference illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit in a state where the display unit is closed with respect to the outer surface of the housing;
The detection processing unit detects the rotation angle based on a ratio of a difference between a detection result by the illuminance detection unit and a difference between the second reference illuminance and a difference between the first reference illuminance and the second reference illuminance.
The electronic device according to claim 3. An image reading unit capable of reading image data from a document, and an image forming unit capable of forming an image based on the image data, or both.
The electronic device in any one of Claims 1-4. A display unit rotatably supported by a rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction, an operation detection unit that detects an operation on the display surface of the display unit, and an operation on the display surface detected by the operation detection unit A vibration control method executed by an electronic device including a vibration generating unit that vibrates the display surface when
A detection step of detecting a rotation angle of the display unit with respect to a horizontal plane;
A control step of changing a vibration intensity or a vibration time applied to the display surface by the vibration generator according to the rotation angle detected by the detection step;
A vibration control method.

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