JP5004839B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that can achieve an initial purpose with an intuitive feeling of operation and with as few operations as possible when selectively specifying a sheet that meets a user's request.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been provided an image forming apparatus called a so-called MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) having various functions such as copying, facsimile, scanner, and printer. Among such MFPs, those having a plurality of paper feed cassettes are widely used in order to enable image formation on paper of different types such as size, paper quality, and orientation.

  A graphic display is provided on the control panel of the image forming apparatus in order to selectively designate a sheet according to the user's request from among the plurality of paper cassettes, and the appearance of the image forming apparatus is displayed on the display. Each area showing the upper cassette, middle cassette, lower cassette, and large-capacity feeder is displayed on the appearance in the same positional relationship as the actual placement position. When each area is pressed by the user, the touch panel A technique is known in which a key input is detected, a pressed area is highlighted, and copy paper is fed from a cassette corresponding to this area (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

By the way, it is convenient if the initial purpose can be achieved with an intuitive operational feeling and the smallest possible number of operations when selectively specifying a sheet according to the user's request. From this point of view, the above-described prior art does not necessarily satisfy the above-described conditions.
JP-A-10-105319

  The problem to be solved is that, in the prior art, it is not possible to selectively specify a sheet according to the user's request with an intuitive feeling of operation and as few operations as possible. .

The present invention aims to achieve an initial purpose with an intuitive operational feeling and with as few operations as possible when selectively specifying a sheet according to a user's request. A paper feed unit having a plurality of paper feed cassettes for accommodating different papers, a contact detection means for detecting a user's contact with the plurality of paper feed cassettes, and any one of the plurality of paper feed cassettes Mounting detection means for detecting that the paper has been mounted on the paper feeding unit after replenishment, display means for displaying various information on a display screen, and display control means for performing display control of the display means when the when the display control unit screen according to the paper set on the display screen of the display means by the action of being displayed, contact of the user with respect to the paper feed cassette in the contact detection means is detected, or When the restore of attachment to the sheet feeder of the sheet feeding cassette is detected by the mounting detection means, includes a sheet setting means for setting a sheet according to the sheet feeding cassettes as the paper target, the The main feature is that it is composed.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the paper setting means, when the screen according to the paper set on the display screen of the display means by the function of the display control means is displayed, the user with respect to the paper feed cassette contact detection means When the contact is detected and the original attachment of the paper cassette to the paper feed unit is detected by the attachment detection means, the paper related to the paper cassette is set as the paper feed target. It is possible to selectively specify papers according to one's request with an extremely intuitive operation feeling such as touching a paper cassette that contains paper that the user desires to use, and with a very small number of operations. As a result, the convenience on the user side can be greatly improved.

A sheet of paper on the display screen of the display means by the function of the display control means for the purpose of enabling selective specification of the paper according to the user's request with an intuitive feeling of operation and as few operations as possible When the screen relating to the setting is displayed, the contact detection means detects the user's contact with the paper cassette , and the attachment detection means detects the original attachment of the paper cassette to the paper feed unit. when the was achieved by the sheet setting means for setting a sheet according to the sheet feeding cassettes as the paper target.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, a digital color copying machine will be described as an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

[Schematic configuration around the digital color copier]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the periphery of a digital color copying machine, and FIG. 2 is an external view of an operation panel unit mounted on the apparatus.

  The digital color copying machine can use various functions including print output, scanner, fax transmission, mail transmission, and data transmission, and is controlled by the main control unit 11 including a microcomputer and a dedicated hardware circuit. Is done. As an input / output device connected to the main control unit 11 and responsible for various functions, this machine includes a scanner unit 21, an image processing unit 31, an engine unit 41, a paper feeding unit 42, an operation panel unit 51, a facsimile communication unit 61, an HDD. A (hard disk drive) 63 and a network I / F (interface) unit 65.

  The main control unit 11 includes a scanner controller 13 that performs operation control for realizing a scanner function, a facsimile controller 15 that performs operation control for realizing a facsimile function, and a printer controller that performs operation control for realizing a printer function. 17 and a copy controller 19 for controlling the operation for realizing the copy function are incorporated, and the overall operation of the apparatus is controlled.

  The scanner unit 21 includes an image irradiation lamp 23 and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor 25 constituting a scanner (not shown). The scanner unit 21 irradiates the document with the image irradiation lamp 23, receives the reflected light with the CCD sensor 25, reads an image from the document, and outputs image data corresponding to the read image to the image processing unit 31. .

  The image processing unit 31 includes a correction unit 33, an image processing unit 35, and an image memory 37. The image processing unit 31 processes the image data read by the scanner unit 21 with the correction unit 33 and the image processing unit 35 as necessary, and stores the processed image data in the image memory 37, the engine unit 41, Output to the facsimile communication unit 61 or the like. The correction unit 33 performs predetermined correction processing such as level correction and gamma correction on the image data read by the scanner unit 21. The image processing unit 35 performs various types of processing such as image data compression or expansion processing and enlargement or reduction processing.

  The engine unit 41 includes a sheet conveying unit 43 including a sheet feeding roller (not shown), an image forming unit 45 including a photosensitive drum, an exposure device, a developing device, and the like, a transfer roller (not illustrated) A transfer unit 47 and a fixing unit 49 including a fixing roller (not shown) are included. The engine unit 41 stores image data read by the scanner unit 21, image data transmitted from a client PC (personal computer) or the like via a network I / F unit 65 via a local area network (LAN), and a facsimile communication unit 61. The image is printed on a sheet using image data such as fax data received from an external facsimile machine. Specifically, the paper transport unit 43 transports the paper to the image forming unit 45, the image forming unit 45 forms a toner image corresponding to the image data, the transfer unit 47 transfers the toner image to the paper, The fixing unit 49 fixes the toner image on a sheet to form an image.

  The paper feed unit 42 includes a plurality of paper feed cassettes 44, 46, and 48 in order to enable image formation on different types of paper such as size, paper quality, and orientation. In the example of FIG. 1, the paper feed unit 42 is composed of three-stage cassettes. The upper stage is A4 vertical paper feed cassette 44, the middle stage is A4 horizontal paper feed cassette 46, and the lower stage is A3 horizontal paper feed. Cassette 48. Each of the plurality of paper feed cassettes 44, 46, and 48 is equipped with contact detection sensors (corresponding to “contact detection means” of the present invention) 44a, 46a, and 48a that detect contact with each cassette, and each cassette. A mounting detection sensor (corresponding to the “mounting detection means” of the present invention) 44b, 46b, and 48b is provided to detect the state, and contact with the cassette is detected or mounting of the cassette is detected. The detection information is given to the main control unit 11.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation panel unit 51 includes a touch panel unit 53 and an operation key unit 55. The operation panel unit 51 is used for a user to perform operations related to a scanner function, a facsimile function, a printer function, a copy function, and the like, and gives an operation command and the like by the user to the main control unit 11.

  The touch panel unit 53 (corresponding to the “display unit” of the present invention) is composed of a touch panel unit that combines a touch panel and a color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and various operation screens, for example, when executing a copy function, Information related to the document size, copy size, number of copies, etc. is displayed, and operation buttons for inputting various operation commands when the user touches the corresponding part are displayed. The touch panel unit 53 is used when displaying a screen related to paper setting, or when operating and specifying a paper feed cassette that stores paper to be fed.

  The operation key unit 55 includes a plurality of operation keys for receiving user operation inputs. For example, a key input operation of a required function can be performed from various functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. This is used when the user selectively executes, or when the user inputs a copy number or a copy execution command.

  The facsimile communication unit 61 includes an encoding / decoding unit (not shown), a modem unit (not shown), and an NCU (Network Control Unit) (not shown). The facsimile communication unit 61 transmits image data of a document read by the scanner unit 21 to a facsimile apparatus or the like via a telephone line, or receives image data transmitted from the facsimile apparatus or the like.

  The HDD 63 stores image data read by the scanner unit 21, document data transferred from a client PC or the like via the network I / F unit 65, and the like. Various data stored in the HDD are not only used inside the image forming apparatus, the program, and the recording medium, but also confirmed from the client PC or the like via the network I / F unit 65 if necessary, It is transferred to a predetermined folder such as a PC or FTP server.

  The network I / F unit 65 uses a network interface (10 / 100Base-TX) or the like, and controls transmission / reception of various data to / from a client PC connected via the LAN.

  In order to make it possible to selectively designate a sheet according to the user's request with an intuitive operational feeling and with as few operations as possible, the main control unit 11 includes the paper feeding cassettes 44, 46, 48. When a contact with any one of 48 is detected, or when any one of the paper feed cassettes 44, 46, 48 is detected, a detection information acquisition unit that acquires such detection information (“detection of the present invention”). 71 ”, a display control unit (corresponding to“ display control unit ”of the present invention) 73 that controls the display content on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53, and a detection information acquisition unit. When the detection information is acquired by 71, a condition for determining whether or not a screen related to paper setting is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53 by the operation of the display control unit 73. As a result of the condition determination in the determination unit 75 and the condition determination unit 75, when the screen related to the sheet setting is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53, the detection information acquisition unit 71 has acquired the detection information. When the determination is made, a sheet setting unit (corresponding to the “sheet setting unit” of the present invention) 77 that sets a sheet related to the cassette as a sheet feeding target is included.

[Operation of Image Forming Apparatus According to Embodiment of Present Invention]
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows an operation flowchart of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 4 shows a setting example of a paper feeding cassette according to a conventional example, and FIG. 5 shows a setting example of a paper feeding cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the following embodiment, the default paper setting is the A4 portrait paper cassette 44, and a user who intends to perform a relatively large amount of copy jobs using A3 landscape paper has its copy. An example of supplying paper to the corresponding A3 landscape paper cassette 48 prior to the execution of the job will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, after a user who desires to perform a copy job using A3 landscape paper supplies paper to the corresponding A3 landscape paper cassette 48 (step S11), the cassette 48 is mounted as it is. In response to this, the contact detection sensor 48a outputs detection information indicating that the contact with the cassette 48 has been detected, and the mounting detection sensor 48b outputs detection information indicating that the mounting of the cassette 48 has been detected. Information is acquired by the detection information acquisition unit 71 (steps S12 and S13).

  In response to this, the detection information acquisition unit 71 transfers detection information including contact detection and mounting detection related to the cassette 48 to the condition determination unit 75. When the detection information is acquired by the detection information acquisition unit 71, the condition determination unit 75 determines whether or not a screen related to paper setting is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53 by the operation of the display control unit 73. Condition determination is performed (step S14).

  As a result of the condition determination in step S14, when the detection information acquisition unit 71 determines that the detection information has been acquired when the screen relating to the paper setting is not displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53, The sheet setting unit 77 sets a sheet that conforms to a predetermined sheet setting rule in the apparatus as a sheet feeding target without performing the sheet setting process according to the present invention, and ends all the processes.

  On the other hand, as a result of the condition determination in step S14, when the screen related to the sheet setting is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53, the detection information acquisition unit 71 determines that the detection information has been acquired. At that time, the paper setting unit 77 sets the A3 landscape paper related to the cassette 48 as a paper feed target (step S15). As a result, the user can perform a required copy job by omitting the sheet setting operation via the sheet setting screen displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53.

  Next, the specific operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5 while comparing with FIG. 4 according to the conventional example. In the conventional example, as shown in FIGS. 4 (1) to (4). In addition, a user who desires to perform a copy job using A3 landscape paper supplies paper to the corresponding A3 landscape paper feed cassette 48 (see FIG. 4A), mounts the cassette 48 as it is, After the paper setting operation displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53 via the paper setting screen (see FIGS. 4 (2) to (4)), the required paper setting and copy job are finally performed. In the embodiment of the present invention, when the screen relating to the paper setting is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53, the paper is supplied to the corresponding A3 landscape paper cassette 48. (See Fig. 5 (1)). If only mounting the 48 restored (see FIG. 5 (2)), by omitting the paper setting operation through the screen according to the paper setting, it is possible to perform the required paper setting and copy jobs.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the paper setting unit 77 detects the contact detection and the attachment detection related to a cassette by the detection information acquisition unit 71 when the screen related to the paper setting is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53. Although it has been described with reference to an example in which the paper relating to the cassette is set as a paper feed target when it is determined that the detection information having the content is acquired, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, when it is determined by the detection information acquisition unit 71 that either detection information including contact detection or attachment detection related to a certain cassette has been acquired, the paper related to the cassette is to be fed. You may employ | adopt the structure set as.

  Further, regardless of whether or not a screen related to paper setting is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53, detection information including contact detection and attachment detection related to a cassette is acquired by the detection information acquisition unit 71. When the determination is made, the paper relating to the cassette may be set as the paper feed target.

  Furthermore, regardless of whether or not a screen related to paper setting is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53, the detection information acquisition unit 71 includes either contact detection or attachment detection related to a cassette. When it is determined that the detection information has been acquired, a sheet related to the cassette may be set as a paper feed target.

[Effect of Example]
As described above, according to the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the paper setting unit 77 detects the detection information acquisition unit when the screen related to the paper setting is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53. When it is determined by 71 that detection information about contact detection and mounting detection relating to a cassette has been acquired, the paper relating to the cassette is set as a paper feed target. You can selectively specify paper according to your needs with a very intuitive feeling of touching the paper cassette that contains the paper you want to use, and with very few operations. As a result, the convenience on the user side can be significantly improved.

  Note that the paper cassette setting according to the embodiment of the present invention is positioned as the ultimate man-machine interface that directly links human thoughts and actions, and from the viewpoint of universal design, which removes the walls of race and language, etc. Very useful.

  Further, when the screen relating to the sheet setting is not displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53, it is determined whether or not the detection information including contact detection and attachment detection related to a cassette is acquired by the detection information acquisition unit 71. Regardless, the paper according to the preset paper setting rule is set as the paper feed target in the apparatus without performing the paper setting process according to the present invention. Even if the paper cassette is touched or attached, it is possible to expect a secondary effect that it is possible to prevent a paper setting that does not conform to the user's intention from occurring. .

[Others]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the invention read from the claims and the entire specification or the technical idea, and image formation accompanied by such changes The apparatus is also included in the scope of the technical scope of the present invention.

  That is, in the embodiment of the present invention, a user who intends to perform a relatively large amount of copy job using A3 landscape paper enters the corresponding A3 landscape paper cassette 48 prior to the execution of the copy job. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied as long as a predetermined condition according to the present invention is satisfied.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram around an image forming apparatus (digital color copying machine) according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an external view of an operation panel unit mounted on the image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of the image forming apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a setting of the paper feed cassette which concerns on a prior art example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a setting of the paper feed cassette which concerns on an Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

11 Main control unit 53 Touch panel unit (display means)
71 Detection information acquisition unit (detection information acquisition means)
73 Display Control Unit (Display Control Unit)
75 Condition determining section 77 Paper setting section (paper setting means)

Claims (1)

A paper feed unit having a plurality of paper feed cassettes for storing different papers from each other;
Contact detection means for detecting a user's contact with the plurality of paper feed cassettes;
An attachment detection means for detecting that the paper is fed back to the paper feed section after paper is supplied to any of the plurality of paper feed cassettes;
Display means for displaying various information on the display screen;
Display control means for performing display control of the display means;
When the screen relating to the sheet setting is displayed on the display screen of the display means by the function of the display control means, the contact detection means detects the user's contact with the paper feed cassette , and the attachment detection means in when the restore of attachment to the sheet feeder of the sheet feeding cassette is detected, the paper setting means for setting a sheet according to the sheet feeding cassettes as the paper target,
An image forming apparatus comprising: