JP6631582B2 - Operation input device, information processing device, operation input method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation input device including a touch panel, an information processing device including the operation input device, and an operation input method executed by the operation input device.

  2. Description of the Related Art An information processing apparatus including a touch panel capable of detecting an operation on a display unit is known. In this type of information processing apparatus, an operation invalid area may be set on the display unit in order to suppress an erroneous operation on the display unit. For example, there is known an information processing apparatus capable of setting an operation invalid area on a display unit according to a display position of an operation target image on the display unit (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-63222A

  By the way, the area where the erroneous operation is likely to occur on the display unit differs depending on the dominant hand of the user who operates the display unit.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an operation input device, an information processing device, and an operation input method capable of suppressing occurrence of an erroneous operation on a display unit in consideration of a dominant hand of a user.

  An operation input device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a touch panel, a determination processing unit, and a setting processing unit. The touch panel is capable of detecting an operation on a display unit. The determination processing unit determines a dominant hand of a user who operates the display unit based on an operation mode of the display unit. The setting processing unit sets one of the predetermined left and right specific regions in the display unit corresponding to the dominant hand of the user determined by the determination processing unit as the operation restricted region. .

  An information processing device according to another aspect of the present invention includes the operation input device.

  An operation input method according to another aspect of the present invention is executed by an operation input device including a touch panel capable of detecting an operation on a display unit, and is performed by a user who operates the display unit based on an operation mode on the display unit. The method includes determining a dominant hand and setting one of the predetermined left and right specific regions corresponding to the user's dominant hand on the display unit as the operation restriction region.

  According to the present invention, an operation input device, an information processing device, and an operation input method capable of setting an operation restriction area according to a dominant hand of a user are realized.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating 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 an example of a first specific operation performed on the operation display unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first specific operation on the operation display unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a pop-up image displayed on the operation display unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a pop-up image when the display position is not changed by the second display control unit. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a pop-up image when the display position is changed by the second display control unit. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an area setting process performed by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the dominant hand determination process performed by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings to provide an understanding of the present invention. Note that the following embodiments are merely examples embodying the present invention, and do 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 invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the configuration of the operation display unit 6.

  In the description below, the left side of the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is the front (front) of the image forming apparatus 10. In the operation display unit 6 shown in FIG. 3, the description will be made assuming that the vertical direction of the paper is the vertical direction D1 of the display unit 61 and the horizontal direction of the paper is the horizontal direction D2 of the display unit 61.

  The image forming apparatus 10 is a multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile function and a copy function, as well as a scan function of reading image data from a document and a print function of forming an image based on the image data. Here, the image forming apparatus 10 is an example of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention. The present invention is applicable to information processing devices such as a scanner device, a printer device, a facsimile device, a copier, a personal computer, a notebook computer, a smartphone, and a tablet terminal.

  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, an operation display unit 6, and a storage unit 7.

  The ADF 1 conveys a document read by the image reading unit 2. Specifically, the ADF 1 includes a document setting unit, a plurality of transport rollers, a document presser, and a paper discharge unit.

  The image reading section 2 can read image data from a document. Specifically, the image reading unit 2 includes a document table, a light source, a plurality of mirrors, an optical lens, and a CCD.

  The image forming unit 3 can form a color or monochrome image by an electrophotographic method based on the image data read by the image reading unit 2. The image forming unit 3 can also form an image based on image data input from an information processing device such as an external personal computer. 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. Note that the image forming section 3 may form an image by another image forming method such as an ink jet method.

  The paper feed unit 4 supplies a sheet to the image forming unit 3. Specifically, the paper feed unit 4 includes a paper feed cassette and a plurality of transport rollers. In the image forming apparatus 10, a color or monochrome image is formed on a sheet supplied from the paper supply unit 4, and the sheet after image formation is discharged to the discharge tray.

  The control unit 5 includes control devices such as a CPU (not shown), a ROM, a RAM, and an EEPROM (registered trademark). The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processing. The ROM is a nonvolatile storage device 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 device, and the EEPROM is a nonvolatile storage device. The RAM and the EEPROM are used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU. In the control unit 5, the CPU executes various control programs stored in the ROM in advance. Thus, the control unit 5 controls the image forming apparatus 10 as a whole. The control unit 5 may be configured by an electronic circuit such as an integrated circuit (ASIC), and is a control unit provided separately from a main control unit that controls the image forming apparatus 10 in an integrated manner. You may.

  The operation display unit 6 is a user interface in the image forming apparatus 10. The operation display unit 6 is provided on the front surface of the image forming apparatus 10 so that a user standing in front of the image forming apparatus 10 can operate (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the operation display unit 6 includes a display unit 61, a touch panel 62, and hard keys 63.

  The display unit 61 displays various information according to a control instruction from the control unit 5. For example, the display unit 61 is a liquid crystal display. For example, the display unit 61 displays a setting operation screen used for setting operations of various jobs executed in the image forming apparatus 10.

  The touch panel 62 can detect an operation performed on the display unit 61 by a user. For example, the touch panel 62 detects a contact position (touch position) with the object on the display unit 61 when an object such as a user's finger contacts the display unit 61 by a resistive film method. Note that the touch panel 62 may detect contact between the object and the display unit 61 using another detection method such as a capacitance method.

  The hard key 63 inputs various information to the control unit 5 in accordance with a user operation. For example, the hard keys 63 include a power key used to control power supply to each unit of the image forming apparatus 10 and a start key used to instruct various jobs to be executed.

  The storage unit 7 is a nonvolatile storage device. For example, the storage unit 7 is a storage device such as a flash memory, an SSD (solid state drive), or an HDD (hard disk drive). The storage unit 7 stores image data and the like read by the image reading unit 2. The storage unit 7 stores user authentication information. For example, the authentication information is a user name and a password. Note that the storage unit 7 may be the RAM or the EEPROM of the control unit 5.

  By the way, there is known an information processing apparatus capable of setting an operation invalid area on the display unit 61 in accordance with a display position of an operation target image on the display unit 61 in order to suppress an erroneous operation on the display unit 61.

  On the other hand, the area of the display unit 61 where an erroneous operation is likely to occur differs depending on the dominant hand of the user who operates the display unit 61.

  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 the occurrence of an erroneous operation on the display unit 61 in consideration of the dominant hand of the user.

  Specifically, an area setting program for causing the CPU of the control section 5 to execute an area setting process (see the flowchart of FIG. 7) described below is stored in the ROM of the control section 5 in advance. Note that the area setting program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD, a DVD, or a flash memory, and may be installed from the recording medium into a storage device such as the storage unit 7.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 5 includes an authentication processing unit 51, a human detection unit 52, a storage processing unit 53, a determination processing unit 54, a setting processing unit 55, a first display control unit 56, and a second A display control unit 57 is included. Specifically, the CPU of the control unit 5 executes the area setting program stored in the ROM. Thereby, the control unit 5 functions as the authentication processing unit 51, the human detection unit 52, the storage processing unit 53, the determination processing unit 54, the setting processing unit 55, the first display control unit 56, and the second display control unit 57. . Here, the configuration including the control unit 5, the operation display unit 6, and the storage unit 7 is an example of the operation input device in the present invention.

  The authentication processing unit 51 executes a login process for authenticating a user according to a predetermined authentication operation.

  For example, the authentication processing unit 51 causes the operation display unit 6 to display an authentication screen used for the authentication operation as necessary. Then, the authentication processing unit 51 receives the authentication operation by the user on the authentication screen. For example, the authentication operation is an input operation of login information such as a user name and a password. Thereafter, when the login information input from the operation display unit 6 is included in the authentication information stored in the storage unit 7, the authentication processing unit 51 determines that the authentication has been completed, and determines that the user has completed the image forming apparatus 10 Login to. Note that, when a logout operation is performed on the operation display unit 6, when a preset time has elapsed, or when another user is logged in, the authentication processing unit 51 logs out the currently logged-in user. Execute the process.

  The person detection unit 52 detects a person existing in a predetermined range in front of the display unit 61.

  For example, the image forming apparatus 10 is provided with a motion sensor 8 as shown in FIG. For example, the motion sensor 8 can detect a person existing in the range in front of the display unit 61 using infrared rays. Here, the range is a range of a distance at which a user who operates the operation display unit 6 can be detected, for example, a range of 50 cm. The person detection unit 52 detects a person existing in the range in front of the display unit 61 using the human sensor 8.

  The storage processing unit 53 causes the storage unit 7 to store operation mode information indicating the detected operation mode each time an operation on the display unit 61 is detected by the touch panel 62.

  Here, the operation mode detected by the touch panel 62 includes an operation type, an operation time, an operation position, an operation direction, and the like. For example, the types of operations detected by the touch panel 62 include a tap operation, a swipe operation, and a flick operation. Here, the tap operation is an operation in which the user brings a finger into contact with the display unit 61 and releases the finger on the spot. In addition, the swipe operation is an operation in which a user brings a finger into contact with the display unit 61 and slides the finger on the display unit 61. The flick operation is an operation in which the user touches the display unit 61 with a finger and flips the finger in any direction.

  Specifically, when an operation on the display unit 61 is detected by the touch panel 62, the storage processing unit 53 stores the operation mode information in the storage unit 7 in association with the user authenticated by the authentication processing unit 51. Let it.

  The storage processing unit 53 stores the operation mode information in the storage unit 7 when a person existing in the range is detected by the human detection unit 52 when an operation on the display unit 61 by the touch panel 62 is detected. Let it. On the other hand, the storage processing unit 53 stores the operation mode information in the storage unit 7 when the person existing in the range is not detected by the human detection unit 52 when the operation on the display unit 61 by the touch panel 62 is detected. Do not memorize.

  Note that the control unit 5 may not include one or both of the authentication processing unit 51 and the human detection unit 52.

  The determination processing unit 54 determines the dominant hand of the user who operates the display unit 61 based on the operation mode of the display unit 61.

  Specifically, the determination processing unit 54 determines the dominant hand of the user based on the plurality of pieces of operation mode information stored in the storage unit 7 by the storage processing unit 53.

  The determination processing unit 54 determines, for each user authenticated by the authentication processing unit 51, the dominant hand of the user based on the operation mode information corresponding to the user.

  For example, when the user has been authenticated by the authentication processing unit 51, the determination processing unit 54, when the number of the operation mode information corresponding to the authenticated user reaches a predetermined reference number, Determine the dominant hand of the user. Here, the reference number is an arbitrarily determined value.

  In addition, as the reference number increases, the determination accuracy of the dominant hand improves, but the time until the determination increases. Therefore, it is desirable that the reference number is determined in consideration of such a trade-off relationship between the determination accuracy and the time until the determination.

  Specifically, the determination processing unit 54 counts the number of times of each of the predetermined first specific operation and the second specific operation based on the operation mode information of the reference number.

  Here, the first specific operation is an operation predetermined as determination data necessary for determining that the dominant hand of the user is the right hand. Further, the second specific operation is an operation that is predetermined as determination data necessary for determining that the dominant hand of the user is the left hand.

  For example, in the image forming apparatus 10, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation of moving the touch position on the display unit 61 in the upper right direction D31 and the operation of moving the touch position in the lower left direction D32 are determined as a part of the first specific operation. Have been. Specifically, the first specific operation includes the swipe operation and the flick operation in each of an upper right direction D31 and a lower left direction D32.

  A part of the first specific operation is determined as described above. For a right-handed user, the swipe operation on the display unit 61 in the upper right direction D31 and the swipe operation on the lower left direction D32 are performed as follows. This is because the operation is easier than the swipe operation in other directions.

  That is, when the user who operates in front of the display unit 61 is right-handed, the swipe in the upper right direction D31 or the lower left direction D32 is performed only by rotating the right forearm around the right elbow. It is possible to perform operations. On the other hand, a right-handed user performing an operation in front of the display unit 61 needs to move not only the right elbow but also the right shoulder in order to perform the swipe operation in a direction other than the upper right direction D31 and the lower left direction D32. . Therefore, for a right-handed user who operates in front of the display unit 61, it can be said that the swipe operation in the upper right direction D31 or the lower left direction D32 is easier to operate than the swipe operation in other directions. The same applies to the flick operation.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 10, as shown in FIG. 5, a touch operation on the right region in the operation target image G1 displayed on the display unit 61 is determined as a part of the first specific operation. Specifically, the first specific operation includes the tap operation on the right region in the operation target image G1 displayed on the display unit 61. This is because, for a right-handed user who operates in front of the display unit 61, the right area in the operation target image G1 is easier to operate than the left area because the distance to the right hand is short.

  In the image forming apparatus 10, the operation of moving the touch position on the display unit 61 in the upper left direction D41 (see FIG. 4) and the operation of moving the touch position in the lower right direction D42 (see FIG. 4) are one of the second specific operations. Department has been established. Specifically, the second specific operation includes the swipe operation and the flick operation in each of the upper left direction D41 and the lower right direction D42.

  In the image forming apparatus 10, a touch operation on the left region in the operation target image G1 (see FIG. 5) displayed on the display unit 61 is determined as a part of the second specific operation. Specifically, the second specific operation includes the tap operation on the left region in the operation target image G1 displayed on the display unit 61.

  Then, the determination processing unit 54 determines the dominant hand of the user based on which of the first specific operation and the second specific operation, which are counted based on the operation mode information of the reference number, has a larger number of operations. I do. That is, the determination processing unit 54 determines that the dominant hand of the user is the right hand when the first specific operation is more than the second specific operation. When the number of the second specific operations is larger than the number of the first specific operations, the determination processing unit 54 determines that the dominant hand of the user is the left hand.

  Thereafter, the determination processing unit 54 causes the storage unit 7 to store the determination result information indicating the determination result of the dominant hand of the user in association with the authentication information.

  Note that the control unit 5 may not include the storage processing unit 53. In this case, when either one of the first specific operation and the second specific operation is detected by the touch panel 62, the determination processing unit 54 may determine the dominant hand of the user based on the detected operation.

  The setting processing unit 55 sets one of the predetermined specific regions on the display unit 61 corresponding to the dominant hand of the user determined by the determination processing unit 54 as the operation restricted region. .

  Here, the pair of left and right specific regions is a region predetermined as a region in which an erroneous operation is likely to occur in each of a right-handed user and a left-handed user. For example, the pair of left and right specific regions is determined based on the length of time covered by the hand of the user operating the display unit 61. For example, in the image forming apparatus 10, the lower right corner region R1 of the display unit 61 shown in FIG. 4 is defined as the specific region corresponding to right-handedness. In the image forming apparatus 10, the lower left corner region R2 of the display unit 61 shown in FIG. 4 is defined as the specific region corresponding to left-handed use.

  The operation restriction area is an area in which the detection of an operation on the area or the execution of a process corresponding to the detection of an operation on the area is restricted. For example, in the image forming apparatus 10, the execution of the processing according to the detection of the operation on the operation restricted area is prohibited.

  In the image forming apparatus 10, the position, size, and shape of the specific area may be arbitrarily determined. Further, in the image forming apparatus 10, the operation restriction area may be an area where detection of a touch operation is invalidated. Further, the operation restriction area may be an area in which the touch operation detection sensitivity is lower than other areas. Further, the operation restriction area may be an area in which execution of a part of processing according to detection of a touch operation is prohibited.

  When the image displayed on the display unit 61 after the setting of the operation restriction area by the setting processing unit 55 overlaps with the operation restriction area, the first display control unit 56 changes the display position of the image on the display unit 61 to the image. And the operation restriction area are changed to a position where they do not overlap.

  For example, in the image forming apparatus 10, when a touch operation exceeding a predetermined reference time for a predetermined specific operation target image among the operation target images displayed on the display unit 61 is detected, the touch operation is performed. A pop-up image indicating information related to the specified operation target image is displayed on the display unit 61. For example, the pop-up image is displayed at a position specified according to a display position of the specific operation target image on the display unit 61 and a position of a touch operation on the specific operation target image.

  Here, an example of the pop-up image displayed on the display unit 61 is shown in FIG. FIG. 6 shows a state in which a pop-up image P1 is displayed in response to a touch operation on the specific operation target image G2 displayed on the display unit 61 exceeding the reference time. In FIG. 6, the pop-up image P1 is displayed below the specific operation target image G2 and to the left of the position of the touch operation on the specific operation target image G2.

  For example, when the pop-up image displayed on the display unit 61 after the setting of the operation restriction area by the setting processing unit 55 overlaps the operation restriction area, the first display control unit 56 sets the display position of the pop-up image to the Change to a position that does not overlap with the operation restriction area.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, if the pop-up image P1 is displayed on the left side of the position of the touch operation on the specific operation target image G2, the pop-up image is displayed when the left-handed user operates the specific operation target image G2. The image P1 may overlap the region R2 set as the operation restriction region (see FIG. 7). In this case, the first display control unit 56 changes the display position of the pop-up image P1 to, for example, the right side of the position of the touch operation on the specific operation target image G2 (see FIG. 8).

  Note that, when the display screen on the display unit 61 is switched after the setting processing unit 55 sets the operation restriction area, the first display control unit 56 displays the operation target image displayed on the switched display screen in the operation restriction area. In the case of overlapping, the position of the operation target image on the display screen after switching may be changed to a position that does not overlap with the operation restriction area.

  The second display control unit 57 displays the operation restricted area so as to be identifiable.

  For example, the second display control unit 57 changes the display of an area overlapping the operation restriction area on the screen displayed on the display unit 61 to a translucent display.

  Note that the second display control unit 57 may execute a blurring process or a mosaic process on an area of the screen displayed on the display unit 61 that overlaps the operation restriction area. Further, the second display control unit 57 may change the display color of an area on the screen displayed on the display unit 61 that overlaps the operation restriction area. Further, the second display control unit 57 may turn off an area of the display unit 61 that overlaps the operation restriction area.

[Area setting process]
Hereinafter, an example of a procedure of an area setting 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 the processing procedures (steps) executed by the control unit 5.

<Step S11>
First, in step S11, the control unit 5 determines whether a user has logged in to the image forming apparatus 10.

  Specifically, the control unit 5 determines that the user has logged in to the image forming apparatus 10 when the login process is executed. Here, the process of step S11 is executed by the authentication processing unit 51 of the control unit 5.

  Here, when determining that the user has logged in to the image forming apparatus 10 (Yes in S11), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S12. If the user has not logged in to the image forming apparatus 10 (No in S11), the control unit 5 waits for the user to log in to the image forming apparatus 10 in step S11.

<Step S12>
In step S12, the control unit 5 determines whether the dominant hand is determined for the logged-in user.

  Specifically, when the determination result information is associated with the authentication information corresponding to the logged-in user, the control unit 5 determines that the determination of the dominant hand is performed for the logged-in user.

  Here, when determining that the dominant hand is determined for the logged-in user (Yes in S12), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S14. If the dominant hand has not been determined for the logged-in user (No in S12), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S13.

<Step S13>
In step S13, the control unit 5 executes a dominant hand determination process described below.

[Dominant hand judgment processing]
Here, an example of the procedure of the dominant hand determination process executed in step S13 of the region setting process will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the description of the area setting processing after step S14 will be performed after the description of the dominant hand determination processing ends.

<Step S21>
First, in step S21, the control unit 5 determines whether or not an operation on the display unit 61 is detected by the touch panel 62.

  Here, when determining that the operation on the display unit 61 is detected by the touch panel 62 (Yes in S21), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S22. If the operation on the display unit 61 is not detected by the touch panel 62 (No in S21), the control unit 5 waits for the operation on the display unit 61 to be detected by the touch panel 62 in step S21.

<Step S22>
In step S22, the control unit 5 determines whether or not there is a person in front of the display unit 61.

  Specifically, the control unit 5 determines that a person is present in front of the display unit 61 when the presence sensor 8 detects a person existing in the range in front of the display unit 61. Here, the process of step S22 is executed by the human detection unit 52 of the control unit 5.

  Here, when determining that there is a person in front of the display unit 61 (Yes in S22), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S23. If there is no person in front of the display unit 61 (No in S22), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S21.

<Step S23>
In step S23, the control unit 5 causes the storage unit 7 to store the operation mode information indicating the mode of the operation detected in step S21 in association with the logged-in user. Here, the process of step S23 is executed by the storage processing unit 53 of the control unit 5.

<Step S24>
In step S24, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the number of the operation mode information corresponding to the logged-in user stored in the storage unit 7 has reached the reference number.

  Here, when the control unit 5 determines that the number of the operation mode information corresponding to the logged-in user has reached the reference number (Yes in S24), the process proceeds to step S25. If the number of operation mode information corresponding to the logged-in user has not reached the reference number (No in S24), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S21.

<Step S25>
In step S25, the control unit 5 determines the dominant hand of the user based on the operation mode information corresponding to the logged-in user stored in the storage unit 7. Here, the process of step S25 is executed by the determination processing unit 54 of the control unit 5.

  Specifically, the control unit 5 tallies the number of times of each of the first specific operation and the second specific operation based on the reference mode of the operation mode information. Then, the control unit 5 determines the dominant hand of the user based on the one of the totaled first specific operation and the second specific operation that has been operated more frequently. Thereafter, the control unit 5 causes the storage unit 7 to store the determination result information indicating the determination result in association with the authentication information.

  Here, in the dominant hand determination process, the dominant hand of the user is determined based on the plurality of pieces of operation mode information. As a result, it is possible to enhance the determination accuracy of the dominant hand of the user.

  In the dominant hand determination process, the operation mode information is stored in the storage unit 7 only when a person is present in front of the display unit 61 when an operation on the display unit 61 is detected. This prevents the storage unit 7 from storing the operation mode information indicating the mode of the operation when the operation is performed from a direction other than the front of the display unit 61. Therefore, it is possible to exclude the operation mode information that may cause an erroneous determination result from the determination data.

  In the dominant hand determination process, the processes of step S22, step S23, and step S24 may be omitted.

  Thus, the description of the dominant hand determination processing ends, and the description of the area setting processing resumes.

<Step S14>
In step S <b> 14, the control unit 5 sets any one of the pair of left and right specific regions on the display unit 61 corresponding to the dominant hand determined by the dominant hand determination process as the operation restriction region. Here, the process of step S14 is executed by the setting processing unit 55 of the control unit 5.

  Specifically, the control unit 5 sets one of the specific areas as the operation restriction area based on the determination result indicated by the determination result information corresponding to the logged-in user. As a result, the operation restriction area according to each user is set.

  For example, the control unit 5 prohibits execution of a process according to detection of an operation on the operation restriction area. This prevents the palm or wrist of the user operating the display unit 61 from touching the display unit 61 and the image forming apparatus 10 from executing a process not intended by the user. The setting of the operation restriction area set in step S14 may be canceled in accordance with a predetermined operation.

  Note that, in step S14, the control unit 5 may set the detection sensitivity of the touch panel 62 in the operation restricted area to be lower than in other areas. Also in this case, it is possible to avoid an erroneous operation by the user. In addition, it is possible to save the user who operates the operation target image displayed in the operation restriction area from performing the operation of canceling the setting of the operation restriction area.

<Step S15>
In step S15, the control unit 5 displays the operation restriction area set in step S14 in an identifiable manner. Here, the process of step S15 is executed by the second display control unit 57 of the control unit 5.

  For example, the control unit 5 changes the display of the area overlapping the operation restriction area on the screen displayed on the display unit 61 to a translucent display. This makes it possible to avoid unnecessary operation by the user on the operation restriction area, as compared with a configuration in which the operation restriction area cannot be identified.

<Step S16>
In step S16, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the pop-up image is displayed on the display unit 61.

  For example, the control unit 5 determines that the pop-up image is displayed on the display unit 61 when a touch operation on the specific operation target image displayed on the display unit 61 that exceeds the reference time is detected.

  Here, when determining that the pop-up image is displayed on the display unit 61 (Yes in S16), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S17. If the pop-up image is not displayed on the display unit 61 (No in S16), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S19.

<Step S17>
In step S17, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the pop-up image displayed on the display unit 61 overlaps the operation restriction area set in step S14.

  If the control unit 5 determines that the pop-up image displayed on the display unit 61 overlaps the operation restriction area (Yes in S17), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S18. If the pop-up image displayed on the display unit 61 does not overlap the operation restriction area (No in S17), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S19.

<Step S18>
In step S18, the control unit 5 changes the display position of the pop-up image displayed on the display unit 61 to a position that does not overlap with the operation restriction area. Here, the process of step S18 is executed by the first display control unit 56 of the control unit 5.

  As a result, the pop-up image is displayed at a position distant from the operation restriction area, which is often covered by the hands operating the display unit 61 (see FIGS. 7 and 8). Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which it is difficult for the user to confirm the content of the pop-up image displayed on the display unit 61.

<Step S19>
In step S19, control unit 5 determines whether or not the user has logged out of image forming apparatus 10.

  Specifically, when the logout process is executed, the control unit 5 determines that the user has logged out of the image forming apparatus 10.

  Here, when determining that the user has logged out of the image forming apparatus 10 (Yes in S19), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S11. If the user has not logged out of the image forming apparatus 10 (No in S19), the control unit 5 shifts the processing to step S16.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus 10, the dominant hand of the user is determined based on the operation mode of the user on the display unit 61. Then, of the pair of right and left predetermined specific areas on the display unit 61, one of the specific areas corresponding to the determined dominant hand of the user is set as the operation restriction area. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of an erroneous operation on the display unit 61 in consideration of the dominant hand of the user.

1 ADF
2 Image reading unit 3 Image forming unit 4 Paper feeding unit 5 Control unit 6 Operation display unit 7 Storage unit 8 Human sensor 10 Image forming device 51 Authentication processing unit 52 Human detection unit 53 Storage processing unit 54 Judgment processing unit 55 Setting processing unit 56 first display control unit 57 second display control unit 61 display unit 62 touch panel 63 hard key

Claims (6)

A touch panel capable of detecting an operation on the display unit,
A determination processing unit that determines a dominant hand of a user who operates the display unit based on an operation mode of the display unit;
A setting processing unit that sets one of the specific regions corresponding to the dominant hand of the user determined by the determination processing unit among a pair of predetermined left and right specific regions in the display unit as an operation restriction region,
Each time an operation on the display unit is detected by the touch panel, a storage processing unit that stores operation mode information indicating a detected operation mode in a storage unit,
A person detection unit that detects a person existing within a predetermined range in front of the display unit,
Equipped with a,
The storage processing unit, when the person is detected by the human detection unit at the time of detecting the operation on the display unit by the touch panel, the operation mode information is stored in the storage unit,
The determination processing section, the operation input device you determine handedness of the user based on the plurality of the operation mode information. An authentication processing unit that authenticates the user according to a predetermined authentication operation,
The storage processing unit, when an operation to the display unit is detected by the touch panel, the operation mode information is stored in the storage unit in association with the user authenticated by the authentication processing unit,
The determination processing unit determines a dominant hand based on the operation mode information corresponding to the user for each user authenticated by the authentication processing unit,
The operation input device according to claim 1 . When an image displayed on the display unit after the setting of the operation restriction area by the setting processing unit overlaps the operation restriction area, the display position of the image on the display unit may overlap the image and the operation restriction area. A first display control unit for changing to a position where
The operation input device according to claim 1 . A second display control unit that displays the operation restriction area in a distinguishable manner;
The operation input device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Information processing apparatus including an operation input device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. An operation input method executed by an operation input device including a touch panel capable of detecting an operation on a display unit,
Determining the dominant hand of the user operating the display unit based on the operation mode of the display unit;
Setting one of the specific regions corresponding to the dominant hand of the user among a predetermined pair of left and right specific regions in the display unit as an operation restriction region;
Each time an operation on the display unit is detected by the touch panel, causing the storage unit to store operation mode information indicating the detected operation mode;
Detecting a person present in a predetermined range in front of the display unit,
Only including,
When the person is detected when the operation on the display unit by the touch panel is detected, the operation mode information is stored in the storage unit, and the dominant hand of the user is determined based on a plurality of the operation mode information. operation input how.

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