JP5325739B2 - Character input device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more improve operability of a keyboard than a conventional manner. <P>SOLUTION: A character input devic includes an operation means having vowel buttons for accepting the input of vowel characters wherein the vowel buttons are gathered and arranged. On the surface of each of the vowel buttons, a vowel character as the object of input is inscribed as a stamp, and the color of the stamp is made different from that of the stamp of any character input button other than the vowel button, and the size of the stamp is made larger than that of the stamp of any character input button other than the vowel button, and those stamps are arranged in the order of Japanese syllabary. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a character input device and an image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, some multifunction peripherals have an electronic mail function as well as a copy function, a print function, a facsimile function, and a scan function. By using this e-mail function, image data can be transmitted to the outside. In other words, by attaching image data created by scanning to an e-mail and transmitting the e-mail to the outside, the image data can be sent from the multifunction peripheral to an external personal computer or the like. The multifunction device is equipped with a software keyboard so that the subject and body of the e-mail can be easily input. In the software keyboard, a character input button for each character is displayed on the touch panel in the same way as a normal keyboard, and the input of characters is accepted by pressing this button.

  For example, as an invention related to a software keyboard, Patent Document 1 below discloses an input device that allows a character to be input by selecting a predetermined character from a character group on a screen using a pointing device. Patent Document 2 below discloses a character input device capable of realizing a high-speed character input by making it possible to determine a kana with a few touch operations.

JP-A-5-257598 JP 2007-87200 A

  By the way, in the said prior art, a user can input a character similarly to a hard keyboard by displaying a software keyboard on a touch panel. However, since the software keyboard is generally displayed on a small touch panel, it is difficult for the user to input characters using the software keyboard, relying on the feeling when using the hard keyboard. In other words, when performing a blind touch using a hard keyboard, the user remembers the position of each character's key according to the position of the fingers of both hands. Because it is necessary to input the character with, it is not possible to input the character easily.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to improve the operability of the keyboard as compared with the related art.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, as a first solution means for a character input device, a character input button for receiving character input and a button for receiving vowel character input are collected and arranged. A first display mode for displaying a software keyboard having a vowel button, receiving an input of characters in accordance with the operation of the software keyboard, and displaying the character input button and the vowel button on the software keyboard And a control means for switching between a character input button in which a button for receiving an input of a vowel character is erased and the remaining buttons are enlarged, and a second display mode in which the vowel button is displayed on the software keyboard. Adopt the means to do.

  In the present invention, as the second solving means relating to the character input device, in the first solving means, the surface of the vowel button is marked with a vowel character as an input object as a marking, A method is adopted in which the color is different from that of the character input buttons other than the vowel buttons.

  In the present invention, as a third solving means relating to the character input device, in the first or second solving means, the surface of the vowel button is marked with a vowel character as an input object, A method is adopted in which the stamp is larger than the stamp of the character input buttons other than the vowel buttons.

  In the present invention, as a fourth solving means relating to the character input device, in the first to third solving means, a means is adopted in which the vowel buttons are arranged in a kana order.

In the present invention, as a fifth solving means relating to the character input device, in any of the first to fourth solving means, when the control means performs switching to the first display mode, When the vowel button is in the way of display, only one vowel button is displayed on the software keyboard, and the input vowel is switched by continuously pressing the vowel button.

In the present invention, as a sixth solving means relating to the character input device, in any one of the first to fifth solving means, the control means is configured to perform the second operation when the vowel button is pressed a predetermined number of times . A means of switching to the display mode is adopted.

According to the present invention, there is provided a character input device adopting any one of the first to sixth solving means as a solving means related to the image forming apparatus, and a character is input by the character input device. adopt.

According to the present invention, the first display mode in which the character input button and the vowel button are displayed on the software keyboard , the character input button and the vowel button in which the button for accepting the input of the vowel character is turned off and the remaining buttons are enlarged. Can be switched to the second display mode for displaying on the software keyboard. For this reason, this invention can improve the operativity of a software keyboard.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a multifunction peripheral A according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a top view of the operation display unit 1 of the multifunction machine A according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a software keyboard of a multifunction machine A according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the multifunction peripheral A according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen transition at the time of the normal mode of the multifunctional machine A which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen transition at the time of beginner mode of the multifunctional machine A which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The multifunction peripheral (image forming apparatus) A according to the present embodiment has a copy function, a print function, a scan function, a facsimile transmission / reception function, and an e-mail transmission function. As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-function device A includes an operation display unit 1, an image reading unit 2, an image data storage unit 3, an image processing unit 4, a paper transport / image forming unit 5, a communication unit 6, and a main control unit 7. It has.

  The operation display unit 1 includes an operation key 11, a touch panel 12, and an operation display control unit 13, and functions as a man-machine interface that relates the user and the multifunction device A. The user operates the operation display unit 1 to cause the multifunction peripheral A to execute a user-desired operation. The operation display unit 1 will be described in detail later.

  The image reading unit 2 is a document automatically fed by an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) or an image of a document placed on a platen glass (document image) based on a control command input from a main control unit 7 described later. Is read by the line sensor and converted into document image data, and the document image data is output to the image data storage unit 3.

  The image data storage unit 3 is a semiconductor memory, a hard disk device, or the like, and receives document image data, print image data, and facsimile image data (received by the communication unit 6 from the outside) based on a control command input from the main control unit 7. The image data is stored and read out and output to the image processing unit 4.

  The image processing unit 4 performs various types of image processing (for example, image processing corresponding to enlargement / reduction copying) on the image data input from the image data storage unit 3 based on a control command input from the main control unit 7 described later. ), And the image data is converted into image data in an image forming format and output to the paper transport / image forming unit 5. When the image reading unit 2 reads a color original, the image data input from the image data storage unit 3 to the image processing unit 4 is RGB image data (color image data) corresponding to the three primary colors of light. Reference numeral 4 denotes image data corresponding to the image forming format using such RGB image data, for example, YMCK image data, that is, an image using Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) as reference colors. The data is converted and output to the paper transport / image forming unit 5.

  The paper transport / image forming unit 5 transports recording paper in a paper tray (not shown) based on a control command input from the main control unit 7, and image data in the image forming format input from the image processing unit 4. Then, an image is formed on a recording sheet, and the recording sheet is conveyed to a discharge tray (not shown). The sheet conveying / image forming unit 5 is formed by arranging, for example, four developing devices corresponding to the reference color toner on the secondary transfer belt, and forms an image based on a tandem system.

  The communication unit 6 communicates with an external multifunction device, a facsimile machine, a client computer, or the like using a LAN (Local Area Network) or a telephone line under the control of the main control unit 7. That is, the communication unit 6 has both a communication function compliant with a LAN standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark) and a communication function compliant with a facsimile standard such as G3. The communication unit 6 can send and receive e-mails, for example.

  The main control unit 7 includes an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a main body internal memory, the operation display unit 1, an image reading unit 2, an image data storage unit 3, an image processing unit 4, a paper transport / image forming unit 5, and a communication unit 6. And an interface circuit for transmitting and receiving various signals. The main control unit 7 controls the overall operation of the multifunction peripheral A based on a control program stored in advance in the main body internal memory and an operation instruction input from the operation display unit 1. The main control unit 7 transmits and receives various signals in a predetermined communication format with the operation display control unit 13 of the operation display unit 1, thereby grasping and controlling the operation state of the operation display unit 1.

Next, the operation display unit 1 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 2, the operation display unit 1 includes an operation key 11, a touch panel 12, and an operation display control unit 13 (see FIG. 1). The touch panel 12 is an operation display unit in the present embodiment. The operation display control unit 13 is a control means in the present embodiment. And the touch panel 12 and the operation display control part 13 comprise the character input device in this embodiment.

  The operation key 11 is physically provided in the operation display unit 1 as a hardware key. The operation keys 11 include, for example, a power key, a start key, a clear key for canceling operation contents, and a numeric keypad for inputting instructions regarding numbers. When the operation key 11 is pressed by the user, an operation signal of each operation key is output to the operation display control unit 13.

  As is well known, the touch panel 12 is provided with a transparent surface pressure sensor such as a resistive film type on the display surface of the display panel, and the user designates an operation button displayed on the display panel by the operation display control unit 13. When the pressure is pressed, the planar pressure sensor outputs an operation signal indicating the pressed position (pressed coordinate) to the operation display control unit 13.

The operation display control unit 13 is a control device that controls the operation keys 11 and the touch panel 12 under the control of the main control unit 7, and includes an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), an internal memory, the operation keys 11, the touch panel 12, and the main touch panel 12. An interface circuit that exchanges various signals with the control unit 7 is provided.
The operation display control unit 13 displays operation buttons and various screens displayed on the touch panel 12 based on an operation display control program stored in the internal memory under a control command input from the main control unit 7. Then, the operation display control unit 13 determines which operation button or operation key 11 has been operated based on an operation signal input from the operation key 11 or the touch panel 12, and sends it to the main control unit 7 as a user operation instruction. Output.

  The touch panel 12 displays operation buttons and various screens under the control of the operation display control unit 13, and displays a software keyboard as one of them. The software keyboard is used when inputting characters in the same manner as a general keyboard, and is displayed when an e-mail subject and text are input. As shown in FIG. 3, the software keyboard has the same layout (QWERTY layout) as that of a general keyboard, and character input buttons corresponding to the characters are arranged. A character input by pressing the character input button is displayed in the input character display area. By switching the character input mode of the software keyboard, hiragana, katakana, kanji, alphabets, and various symbols can be input.

  When the character input mode is the alphabet input mode, the software keyboard can switch the character type mode with the “upper case” mode button and the “lower case” mode button. When the “uppercase” mode button is pressed, the character type mode is changed to the “uppercase” mode, and the alphabet input by pressing the character input button is displayed in uppercase in the input character display area. When the “lowercase” mode button is pressed, the character type mode is changed to the “lowercase” mode, and the alphabet entered by pressing the character input button is displayed in uppercase in the input character display area. The dot pattern “capital letter” mode button in FIG. 3 indicates that the button is pressed and the character type mode is the capital letter mode.

  On the software keyboard, vowel buttons for attaching inputs of each vowel (“A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, and “O”) are displayed. The vowel buttons are provided separately from the character input buttons, are collected prominently, and are arranged and displayed in the kana order on the right side of the input character display area. The vowel button is marked with an input target vowel character as an inscription. This stamp has a color that is larger and different from the stamp of the character input buttons other than the vowel buttons. Details of processing when the vowel button is pressed will be described later.

Furthermore, the software keyboard displays a “beginner” mode button for switching to the beginner mode. The beginner mode is an operation mode in which the software keyboard is changed to an easy-to-use form for beginners (keyboard for beginners). By pressing the “beginner” mode button, the normal mode (first display mode) and the beginner mode (second display mode) are switched. The dot pattern “beginner” mode button in FIG. 3 indicates that the button is pressed and the beginner mode is set. Details of the processing when the “beginner” mode button is pressed will be described later.

Next, the operation of the MFP A according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.
First, a user who wants to create an e-mail using the multifunction device A operates the operation display unit 1 to display an e-mail creation screen on the touch panel 9. Then, the user starts inputting the subject and body of the e-mail.

The operation display control unit 13 displays a software keyboard (see FIG. 3) on the touch panel 12 when a text input start instruction is received by an operation of the touch panel 12 by the user.
The operation display control unit 13 determines whether or not the “beginner” mode button has been pressed (step S1). If it is determined “YES” in step S1, that is, if the “beginner” mode button has been pressed. Switches from the normal mode to the beginner mode (step S2). Then, when a character is input after step S2 (step S3), the operation display control unit 13 determines whether the mode is the normal mode or the beginner mode (step S4).
If the operation display control unit 13 determines “NO” in step S1, that is, if the “beginner” mode button is not pressed, the operation display control unit 13 proceeds to step S3 while maintaining the normal mode.

  If the operation display control unit 13 determines that the normal mode is set in step S4, the operation display control unit 13 determines whether or not the input character in the input character display area has reached the point where it overlaps the vowel button (step S5). If the operation display control unit 13 determines “YES” in step S5, that is, if the input character in the input character display area reaches just before the vowel button overlaps, the vowel “A” is displayed. Only the buttons are displayed on the touch panel 12 on the software keyboard (step S6).

The operation when step S6 and the vowel button "A" are operated will be described with reference to FIG.
For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, it is assumed that “KYOCERAMITA CORPORATION” is input in the normal mode. Then, since the last character reaches just before the vowel button overlaps, in step S6, as shown in FIG. 5B, in order not to disturb the display of the character inputted after that. Of the five types of vowel buttons, only “A” vowel buttons are displayed.

  When the “A” vowel button is pressed, “A” is input after “KYOCERAMITA CORPORATION” as shown in FIG. 5C, and the “A” vowel button is “I”. Switch to the vowel button. When the “I” vowel button is pressed, “A” behind “KYOCERAMITA CORPORATION” is switched to “I”, and the “I” vowel button is switched to the “U” vowel button.

  In this way, when the vowel button is pressed, the letters after “KYOCERAMITA CORPORATION” are switched in the order of “A” → “I” → “U” → “E” → “O”. Return to "A" later. The vowel buttons are also switched in the order of “A” → “I” → “U” → “E” → “O”, and after “O”, the vowel button returns to the “A” vowel button. When a character input button other than the vowel button is pressed, the character at that time is confirmed.

  Returning to FIG. 4, if the operation display control unit 13 determines “NO” in step S <b> 5, that is, if the input character in the input character display area has reached the point where it overlaps the vowel button, In step S3, input of characters is accepted while the five vowel buttons are displayed.

  If it is determined in step S4 that the operation mode is the beginner mode, the operation display control unit 13 determines whether or not the vowel button has been pressed a predetermined number of times (for example, 5 times) (step S7). If it is determined “YES” in step S7, that is, if the vowel button is pressed a predetermined number of times, the operation display control unit 13 changes the normal software keyboard to a beginner keyboard (step S8).

Step S8 will be described with reference to FIG.
For example, it is assumed that “KYOCERAMITA” is input in the state where no characters are displayed in the input character display area as shown in FIG. Then, when the vowel buttons are pressed five times in the order of “O”, “E”, “A”, “I”, “A”, as shown in FIG. Software keyboard changes to beginner keyboard. That is, when the vowel button is pressed five times, the vowel character input button is erased, and the character buttons in the row where the vowel character input button is arranged are enlarged and displayed.

  Returning to FIG. 4, if the operation display control unit 13 determines “NO” in step S 7, that is, if the vowel button is pressed a predetermined number of times, character input is performed with the normal software keyboard in step S 3. Accept.

  As described above, in the MFP A according to the present embodiment, the vowel buttons corresponding to the vowels are collected and arranged. Since the collected vowel buttons are conspicuous, the user can easily input vowels using the vowel buttons even if the user does not remember the position of the character input buttons of vowels with high input frequencies. Thus, the multifunction device A can improve the operability of the software keyboard by simply inputting vowels. Further, the vowel button is more conspicuous because it has a stamp that is larger and different in color from the stamp of the character input button.

  Also, when the input character in the input character display area reaches a position before it overlaps with the five types of vowel buttons, only one type of vowel button is displayed, thereby obstructing the display of the input characters in the input character display region as much as possible. You can avoid it. Also, by replacing the normal software keyboard with the beginner's keyboard, the vowel character input button is erased, and the character buttons in the row where the vowel character input buttons are arranged are enlarged and displayed. This makes it easier to find and operate a desired button from the character input buttons than in the past.

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, For example, the following modifications can be considered.
(1) Although the said embodiment performed different operation | movement in the case of normal mode, and beginner mode, this invention is not limited to this.
For example, when the vowel button is pressed a predetermined number of times, the normal software keyboard is changed to a beginner's keyboard, and when the input character in the input character display area reaches just before the vowel button overlaps, The vowel button may be switched to one type of vowel button. That is, the characteristic operation of each mode may be executed according to the situation without switching between the normal mode and the beginner mode.

(2) Although the vowel button is provided on the software keyboard in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, a vowel button may be provided on a normal hardware keyboard so that the user can easily input a vowel.

A ... MFP, 1 ... operation display unit, 2 ... image reading unit, 3 ... image data storage unit, 4 ... image processing unit, 5 ... paper transport / image forming unit, 6 ... communication unit, 7 ... main control unit, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Operation key, 12 ... Touch panel, 13 ... Operation display control part

Claims (7)

Displays a software keyboard having a character input button for receiving character input and a button for receiving vowel character input and collected and arranged, and accepts character input according to the operation of the software keyboard Operation display means;
A first display mode for displaying the character input button and the vowel button on the software keyboard; a character input button in which a button for accepting input of a vowel character is turned off and a remaining button is enlarged; and the vowel button Control means for switching to the second display mode displayed on the software keyboard;
A character input device comprising: On the surface of the vowel button, a vowel character that is an input target is marked as an inscription,
The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the stamp has a color different from that of a character input button other than a vowel button. On the surface of the vowel button, a vowel character that is an input target is marked as an inscription,
3. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the stamp is larger than a stamp of a character input button other than a vowel button.   The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the vowel buttons are arranged in a kana order. When the control means switches to the first display mode, if the vowel button is in the way of display, only one vowel button is displayed on the software keyboard, and an input vowel is displayed. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the character input device is switched by continuously pressing the vowel button. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit switches to the second display mode when the vowel button is pressed a predetermined number of times. An image forming apparatus comprising the character input device according to claim 1, wherein characters are input by the character input device.

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