JP6418119B2 - Display device and image forming apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device and an image forming apparatus including the display device.

  In recent years, display devices including a touch sensor have become widespread. The touch sensor is installed on a display surface of a display unit such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), and generates a signal corresponding to a gesture operation (typically a finger gesture operation) on the display surface of the user. . A processor included in the display device receives a signal generated by the touch sensor and detects gesture operations such as a tap, a long press, a flip, and a swipe.

  A display device including a touch sensor can be configured to accept text input via the touch sensor (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Specifically, an image of a virtual input device (typically a virtual keyboard) is displayed on the display surface, and a character image corresponding to a gesture operation on the image (display surface) of the virtual input device is displayed on the display surface (text input screen). ).

  On the other hand, in order to execute correction of text consisting of a character image (input character) displayed on the text input screen, a pointer image (typically a cursor image) indicating a character insertion position or character deletion position is used. It is necessary to display on the input screen where the user wants to correct. Some display devices including a touch sensor display a pointer image at a position corresponding to a gesture operation. Typically, a pointer image is displayed at a location where the user has long pressed.

JP 2013-020652 A

  However, in the configuration in which the pointer image is displayed at the location where the user has long pressed, the location where the pointer image is displayed is hidden by the finger. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult for the user to display the pointer image at the target position.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a display device that allows a user to easily display a pointer image at a target position, and an image forming apparatus including the display device.

  The display device of the present invention includes a display unit, a touch sensor unit, and a control unit. The display unit has a display surface and displays an image on the display surface. The touch sensor unit generates a signal corresponding to a gesture operation on the display surface. The control unit displays the image corresponding to the gesture operation on the display surface based on the signal generated by the touch sensor unit. Further, the touch sensor unit generates a first signal corresponding to the gesture operation in which two places are touched simultaneously on the display surface. When the touch sensor unit generates the first signal, the control unit acquires information indicating an intermediate position between the two touch positions. The control unit displays a pointer image on the display surface based on the information indicating the intermediate position.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes the display device.

  According to the present invention, a user can easily display a pointer image at a target position.

1 is a diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the text input screen which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the gesture operation | movement which designates the display position of the pointer image which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the pointer image displayed according to the gesture operation | movement shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the gesture operation | movement which instruct | indicates the change of the display position of the pointer image which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the pointer image displayed according to the gesture operation | movement shown in FIG. (A) is a figure which shows the state in which the character image is displayed on the intermediate position of two touch positions. (B) is a figure which shows the pointer image displayed according to the touch position shown to Fig.8 (a). It is a figure which shows gesture operation which instruct | indicates starting of the virtual input device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the virtual input device displayed according to the gesture operation | movement shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an operation panel unit 1. The operation panel unit 1 includes a touch panel unit 2. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 is an electrophotographic multifunction peripheral.

  Next, the configuration of the display device 101 included in the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the display device 101. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the display device 101 includes an operation panel unit 1, a storage unit 3, and a control unit 4. The operation panel unit 1 includes a touch panel unit 2 and hard keys 5, and the touch panel unit 2 includes a touch sensor 6 and a display unit 7.

  The operation panel unit 1 is an operation panel unit of the image forming apparatus 100. When the hard key 5 included in the operation panel unit 1 is operated by the user, a signal corresponding to the operation is transmitted to the control unit 4. The user can give various instructions to the control unit 4 by operating the hard key 5. For example, the hard key 5 may include a start key, a determination key, and a numeric keypad. Further, the hard key 5 is a key for switching the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 100 between operation modes such as copying, scanning, and facsimile transmission / reception, and instructing printing, transmission, reception, and the like of the selected document. Keys to do.

  The touch sensor 6 is disposed on the display surface of the display unit 7 and generates a signal corresponding to a gesture operation (typically a finger gesture operation) on the display surface of the display unit 7. Specifically, the touch by the user is detected, and a signal corresponding to the touch position (touched position) is generated. The user can give various instructions to the control unit 4 by gesture operation. The display unit 7 is, for example, an LCD. In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the operation panel unit 1 includes the touch panel unit 2 and the hard keys 5 will be described, but the hard keys 5 may be omitted.

  The configuration of the touch sensor 6 is not particularly limited as long as the gesture motion can be detected. For example, a capacitive touch sensor, a resistive touch sensor, or an ultrasonic detection touch sensor can be employed. Specifically, when the touch sensor 6 is a touch sensor capable of detecting multi-touch such as a capacitive touch sensor, the touch sensor 6 outputs a signal indicating each touch position when a plurality of places are touched. Generate. On the other hand, when the touch sensor 6 is a resistive film type touch sensor, the touch sensor 6 outputs a signal indicating an intermediate position of each touch position (a position equidistant from each touch position) when a plurality of places are touched. Generate.

  The storage unit 3 is a storage unit of the image forming apparatus 100. The storage unit 3 can be configured by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory). The storage unit 3 stores programs and setting information. Specifically, the setting information includes data of a coordinate table indicating correspondence between signals generated by the touch sensor 6 and coordinates. The setting information includes font setting information indicating the font of the character displayed on the display unit 7, character size setting information indicating the size of the character displayed on the display unit 7, and the like. The storage unit 3 further stores image data of an image to be displayed on the display unit 7.

  The control unit 4 is a control unit of the image forming apparatus 100. The control unit 4 includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). Further, the control unit 4 includes an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) for image processing. Further, the control unit 4 includes each drive circuit such as a drive circuit for the display unit 7.

  The control unit 4 executes various programs such as numerical calculation, information processing, and device control by executing a program stored in the storage unit 3, and the operation of each unit of the image forming apparatus 100 including the display device 101. To control. That is, the control unit 4 controls the operation of each unit of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the operation of the hard key 5 by the user. Further, the operation of each unit of the image forming apparatus 100 is controlled according to the gesture operation on the display surface of the display unit 7. Specifically, based on the signal generated by the touch sensor 6, the control unit 4 displays an image corresponding to gesture operations such as tap, long press, flip, and swipe on the display surface of the display unit 7. .

  The display device 101 is configured to accept text input via the touch sensor 6. Hereinafter, a process executed by the control unit 4 in a text correction operation (so-called text editing operation) made up of character images (input characters) displayed on the text input screen will be described.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 displays a pointer image (typically a cursor image) indicating a character insertion position or a character deletion position at a position corresponding to a gesture operation during text editing work. Specifically, when a gesture operation in which two places are simultaneously touched on the display surface of the display unit 7 is performed, the display on the display unit 7 is displayed based on information indicating an intermediate position between the two touch positions. Display a pointer image on the screen.

  Specifically, when the touch sensor 6 is a touch sensor that can detect multi-touch, the touch sensor 6 corresponds to a gesture operation of simultaneously touching two places on the display surface of the display unit 7, and each touch is performed. A signal indicating the position is generated. Based on the signal generated by the touch sensor 6, the control unit 4 first acquires the coordinates of the two touch positions with reference to the coordinate table. Thereafter, the control unit 4 acquires the coordinates of the intermediate position of each touch position by calculation based on the coordinates of each touch position. On the other hand, when the touch sensor 6 is a resistive film type touch sensor, the touch sensor 6 corresponds to a gesture operation of simultaneously touching two places on the display surface of the display unit 7, and is an intermediate position between the touch positions. Is generated. Therefore, the control unit 4 refers to the coordinate table based on the signal generated by the touch sensor 6 and acquires the coordinates of the intermediate position of each touch position. When acquiring the coordinates of the intermediate position, the control unit 4 displays a pointer image at the intermediate position.

  The display position of the pointer image is determined when at least one of the two touches is not detected. Typically, when the user removes his / her finger from the display surface (touch sensor 6) of the display unit 7, the display position of the pointer image is determined.

  When a gesture operation for sliding at least one of the two touch positions is performed after the pointer image is displayed, the control unit 4 changes the display position of the pointer image according to the sliding of the touch position. Specifically, when a gesture operation for sliding at least one of the two touch positions is performed, a signal transmitted from the touch sensor 6 to the control unit 4 changes with the slide. The control unit 4 sequentially acquires the coordinates of the intermediate position of each touch position according to the change in the signal transmitted from the touch sensor 6. That is, the coordinates of the intermediate position change. As a result, the display position of the pointer image changes.

  Further, when the pointer image is displayed at the intermediate position, if the pointer image overlaps the character image displayed on the text input screen, the control unit 4 shifts the display position of the pointer image to a position not overlapping the character image. I do. Specifically, the control unit 4 determines whether or not a character image is displayed at the intermediate position based on information (coordinates) indicating the intermediate position. Specifically, the control unit 4 compares the image data of the image displayed on the display unit 7 with the coordinates of the intermediate position, and determines whether the intermediate position is included in any of the drawing areas of the character image. judge. As a result of the determination, when the character image is displayed at the intermediate position (in other words, when the intermediate position is included in any of the drawing areas of the character image), the control unit 4 determines the boundary of the drawing area of the character image. Among them, a pointer image is displayed at a predetermined boundary in the layout direction of the text input screen. Note that the range of the drawing area of the character image can be specified by coordinates.

  Each process described above will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows an example of a text input screen. FIG. 4 shows a gesture operation for indicating the display position of the pointer image, and FIG. 5 shows a pointer image displayed in accordance with the gesture operation shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a text input screen that displays text (fixed text) composed of eight hiragana characters “A” (eight character images 9 indicating the Hiragana characters “A”) is taken as an example. A process executed by the control unit 4 during text editing work will be described. For ease of understanding, the touch sensor 6 is not shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the state where the text input screen is displayed on the display surface 7a of the display unit 7, as shown in FIG. 4, a gesture operation of simultaneously touching two places on the display surface 7a is performed. Then, the control unit 4 acquires information (coordinates) indicating an intermediate position M between the two touch positions T1 and T2. As a result, a pointer image 10 (cursor image in the present embodiment) is displayed at the intermediate position M as shown in FIG.

  6 shows a gesture operation for instructing a change in the display position of the pointer image 10, and FIG. 7 shows the pointer image 10 displayed in response to the gesture operation shown in FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, when a gesture operation for sliding the touch position T <b> 2 is performed, a signal corresponding to the gesture operation is transmitted from the touch sensor 6 to the control unit 4. For example, when the touch sensor 6 is a touch sensor capable of detecting multi-touch, a signal indicating the touch position T2 among signals transmitted from the touch sensor 6 to the control unit 4 is determined according to the slide of the touch position T2. Change. Further, when the touch sensor 6 is a resistive film type touch sensor, a signal (a signal indicating an intermediate position M between the touch positions T1 and T2) transmitted from the touch sensor 6 to the slide at the touch position T2 is transmitted. Will change accordingly. Therefore, the control unit 4 sequentially acquires the coordinates of the intermediate position M according to the change in the signal generated by the touch sensor 6. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the display position of the pointer image 10 changes according to the slide of the touch position T2.

  Next, a process for shifting the pointer image 10 to a position that does not overlap the character image 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8A shows a state in which the character image 9 is displayed at an intermediate position M between the touch positions T1 and T2, and FIG. 8B shows the touch positions T1 and T2 shown in FIG. The pointer image 10 displayed in response is shown. In FIG. 8A, the character image 9 is indicated by a broken line for easy understanding.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the drawing area 9a of the character image 9 is generally rectangular and includes four sides (four boundaries 9b). When the intermediate position M between the touch positions T1 and T2 is included in the drawing area 9a of the character image 9, as shown in FIG. 8B, the control unit 4 includes the boundary 9b (side) of the drawing area 9a. The pointer image 10 is displayed on the boundary 9b (side) on the predetermined side in the layout direction of the text input screen. 8B shows an example in which the layout direction is the horizontal direction and the pointer image 10 is displayed on the left boundary 9b (side) of the drawing area 9a. However, the pointer image 10 is displayed on the right boundary 9b. (Side) may be displayed. When the layout direction is the vertical direction, the pointer image 10 may be displayed on the upper boundary 9b (side) of the drawing area 9a or may be displayed on the lower boundary 9b (side).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the pointer image 10 can be displayed at the intermediate position M between the two touch positions T1 and T2. Therefore, since the location where the pointer image 10 is displayed is not hidden by a finger or the like, the user can easily display the pointer image 10 at the target position. Further, the user can move the pointer image 10 by sliding at least one of the two touch positions T1 and T2. Therefore, the user can position the pointer image 10 more intuitively. When the character image 9 is displayed at an intermediate position M between the two touch positions T1 and T2, the pointer image 10 can be shifted to a position that does not overlap the character image 9. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the problem that the pointer image 10 overlaps the character image 9.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 2, 9, and 10). However, items different from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and a description overlapping with the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the display device 101 displays an image of the virtual input device according to a gesture operation.

  First, the display device 101 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the second embodiment, the touch sensor 6 is a touch sensor capable of detecting multi-touch like a capacitive touch sensor. When a gesture operation in which two places are simultaneously touched on the display surface of the display unit 7 is performed during text editing work, the control unit 4 compares the distance between the two touch positions with a threshold value. The control unit 4 displays an image of a virtual input device (for example, a virtual keyboard) on the display surface of the display unit 7 when the distance between the two touch positions exceeds the threshold value. Information indicating the threshold is stored in the storage unit 3 in advance. Typically, after the user displays a pointer image at a desired position, the user performs a gesture operation of sliding the two touch positions outward. By this gesture operation, the distance between the two touch positions exceeds the threshold value, and the image of the virtual input device is displayed.

  The processing for displaying the image of the virtual input device described above will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 shows a gesture operation for instructing activation of the virtual input device, and FIG. 10 shows the virtual input device 11 displayed in response to the gesture operation shown in FIG. Note that the touch sensor 6 is not shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 for easy understanding.

  As shown in FIG. 9, after the user touches two places on the display surface 7a at the same time to display the pointer image 10 at a desired position, each of the touch positions T1 and T2 is slid. When the distance L between the touch positions T1 and T2 exceeds the threshold Th, an image of the virtual input device 11 (in this embodiment, a virtual keyboard) is displayed on the display surface 7a as shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, the display position of the pointer image 10 may be determined by displaying the image of the virtual input device 11, and as in the first embodiment, at least one of two touches is performed. You may decide by not being detected.

  Note that the type or layout of the virtual input device 11 is not particularly limited. For example, a so-called virtual full keyboard may be displayed as the virtual input device 11.

  The second embodiment has been described above. According to the second embodiment, the image of the virtual input device 11 is displayed when the distance L between the two touch positions T1 and T2 exceeds the threshold Th. In other words, the virtual input device 11 can be activated by a gesture operation. Typically, the user can activate the virtual input device 11 by sliding the two touch positions T1 and T2 outward. Therefore, the user can start the virtual input device 11 more intuitively.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof.

  For example, in the embodiments according to the present invention, an electrophotographic multifunction peripheral has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to various image forming apparatuses such as an electrophotographic copying machine and a printing machine.

  The present invention is not only applied to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, but can also be applied to other types of image forming apparatuses such as an ink jet system.

  Further, the present invention is not only applied to the image forming apparatus, but can be applied to various electronic devices such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a PC (Personal Computer Assistant), a PDA (Personal Data Assistant), a television set, and the like equipped with a touch panel. It is.

  The present invention can be applied to various electronic devices including a display with a touch sensor.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation panel part 2 Touch panel part 4 Control part 6 Touch sensor 7 Display part 7a Display surface 9 Character image 10 Pointer image 100 Image forming apparatus 101 Display apparatus T1, T2 Touch position M Intermediate position

Claims (3)

A display unit having a display surface and displaying an image on the display surface;
A touch sensor unit that generates a signal corresponding to a gesture operation on the display surface;
A control unit that displays the image corresponding to the gesture motion on the display surface based on the signal generated by the touch sensor unit;
The touch sensor unit generates a first signal corresponding to the gesture operation in which two places are simultaneously touched on the display surface,
The controller is
When the touch sensor unit generates the first signal, the coordinates of the intermediate position of the two touch positions are acquired,
Based on the coordinates of the intermediate position, it is determined whether a character image is displayed at the intermediate position,
As a result of the determination, when the character image is displayed at the intermediate position, a pointer image is displayed at the boundary on the predetermined side in the layout direction of the text input screen among the boundaries of the drawing area of the character image. Let
If the character image is not displayed at the intermediate position as a result of the determination, the pointer image is displayed at the intermediate position;
The touch sensor unit generates a second signal in response to the gesture operation of sliding at least one of the two touch positions.
Wherein,
When the touch sensor unit generates the second signal, the coordinates of the intermediate position that changes according to the slide of at least one of the two touch positions are sequentially acquired, and the display position of the pointer image is changed. ,
Wherein at least one of the two touch positions according to the gesture motion away from the display surface, determine the display position of the pointer image display device. The controller is
Compare the distance between the two touch positions and the threshold,
Result of the comparison, when the distance between the two touch positions exceeds the threshold, to display an image of a virtual input device on the display surface, the display device according to claim 1. An image forming apparatus comprising the display device according to claim 1 .

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