JP7225154B2 - image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to image forming apparatuses such as facsimiles, copiers, and multi-function printers (MFPs).

In recent years, the adoption of an operation unit equipped with a touch panel as an input device for image forming apparatuses has progressed. Not only image forming apparatuses that output A3 size paper, but also A4 size paper can be output and placed on the desktop. It is also spreading to small image forming apparatuses that are expected to be installed in the market.

In recent years, there has been a trend toward a flat design that eliminates steps on the surface of the operation panel (except for various buttons and keys), makes the touch panel surface and the cover surface of the operation panel almost flush, and does not create height differences at the boundaries. oriented.

There are multiple types of touch panels, and the resistive type (pressure-sensitive type) has been the mainstream in the past. is also progressing. These methods have advantages and disadvantages. For example, at present, when cost is a priority, the resistive film type is used, and when operational feeling is a priority, the capacitance type is used.

Furthermore, as a recent technology, mounting of short-range wireless communication means (generally abbreviated as NFC from Near Field Communication) is progressing. This is a technology that enables various authentications from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, and enables printout operations of image forming apparatuses from mobile devices. The NFC is often placed near the touch panel from the viewpoint of accessibility, ease of recognition of input information from mobile devices, and the like.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which an NFC and a touch panel are arranged on the same surface, a process is performed according to an operation received by the NFC, and the operation received by the touch panel is invalidated.

JP 2015-179311 A

However, in the configuration described in Patent Literature 1, when the mobile device is held over the mark portion for NFC detection, the end of the mobile device or the finger holding the mobile device touches the touch panel, resulting in an unintended operation by the user. I had a problem to bring it up.

An object of the present invention is to prevent unintended erroneous operations at the time of detection by short-range wireless communication means.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet, comprising: an apparatus main body; a tiltable operation unit provided at a position in front of the image reading unit in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body, wherein the operation unit communicates with a communication device brought close to a detection range by short-range wireless communication. A short-range wireless communication unit capable of communication, a touch panel that receives an instruction from a user via a touch operation, and a cover unit that covers the short-range wireless communication unit, wherein the short-range wireless communication is performed when the short-range wireless communication is performed. a cover portion provided with a mark as a target for holding a device within the detection range of the short-range wireless communication portion, wherein the mark is positioned outside the touch panel in a plane parallel to the surface of the touch panel. and at a position on the front side of a center line passing through the center of the touch panel and extending in the left-right direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and the vertical direction, and on the right side of the right end of the touch panel. When viewed from the front side in the front-rear direction, at least a part of a discharge space provided between the image reading section and the apparatus main body, in which sheets are discharged from the apparatus main body, is positioned further than the left end of the operation section in the left-right direction. It is characterized by being visually recognized on the left side.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent unintended erroneous operations at the time of detection by short-range wireless communication means.

1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 1 is an exterior side view of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is an external front view of an operation unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an operation unit according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an operation unit according to Example 1; 4A and 4B are perspective views of the operation unit using NFC according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of an operation unit according to Embodiment 2; FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of an operation unit according to Example 3; FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of an operation unit according to Example 4; (a) and (b) are side views showing examples of NFC detection of the operation unit according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of an operation unit according to Example 5; (a) and (b) are side views showing an example of NFC detection of the operation unit according to the fifth embodiment.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be exemplarily described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative positions of components described in the following embodiments should be appropriately changed according to the configuration of the device to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. Therefore, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them unless specifically stated otherwise.

[Example 1]
An embodiment of an image forming apparatus provided with an input device according to the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus provided with an operation section as an input device according to Embodiment 1, and FIG. 2 is an external side view of the image forming apparatus provided with the operation section.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, an image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming apparatus main body 101 for forming an image on a sheet such as a recording sheet to be printed, and an original document to be read, which is arranged above the image forming apparatus main body 101 . It has an image reading device 201 for reading an image on a sheet such as the one shown in FIG. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an operation section 10 as an input device. The operation unit 10 has a touch panel 1 and a short-range wireless communication means (generally abbreviated as NFC from Near Field Communication, hereinafter referred to as NFC) 3, which will be described below.

In the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 100, first, an image is stored in the apparatus by an image reading device 201 or an image input means (not shown) such as a personal computer connected to the main body of the apparatus. Next, sheets to be recorded are sent out one by one from a sheet cassette 102 provided below the apparatus, and the stored image is transferred to the sheets by an image forming section inside the apparatus, and the sheets are output to a discharge tray 103 . .

At this time, various output conditions such as the number of sheets to be output and image size are input from the operation unit 10, and the apparatus is controlled based on such information. The operation unit 10 is generally arranged in front of the image reading device 201, such as in front of the image reading device 201, for ease of input. Here, the side on which the operation unit 10 is provided is the front side (front side) of the image forming apparatus, and the opposite side is the rear side (rear side) of the image forming apparatus. Also, when viewed from the front side of the device, one of the width directions perpendicular to the front and back direction of the device is defined as the right side, and the other is defined as the left side.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a touch panel, and information is input by touching the panel surface, and user's operation is accepted. A cover 2 serves as an exterior member, and has an exterior surface that is substantially the same surface as the touch panel 1 . That is, the touch panel 1 is arranged so as to be substantially flush with the surface (exterior surface) of the cover 2 of the operation unit 10 . As shown in FIG. 5, NFC 3 communicates with a sensing object, such as a mobile device, brought within sensing range. The NFC 3 is provided near the periphery of the touch panel 1 and inside the cover 2 . 2a is a detection position of the NFC 3, which is a position corresponding to the NFC 3 provided inside the cover 2. As shown in FIG.

There are multiple types of touch panel 1, and they can be broadly classified into a resistive film type (pressure-sensitive type) that converts physical contact with the panel surface into electrical information, and a touch panel type that detects minute electrical signals held by a finger in contact with the panel surface. There is a capacitance type. Capacitive sensors have high sensitivity and can easily handle detailed operations, so they are expected to become mainstream in the future. Therefore, in this embodiment, a resistive (pressure-sensitive) touch panel is adopted.

Here, as an image forming apparatus, an image forming apparatus that handles A4 size sheets is exemplified. In the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus main body 101 and the image reading apparatus 201 are similar in width and depth. The image forming apparatus 100 has an operation unit 10 using a touch panel 1 of a predetermined size (here, 5 inches) protruding from the main body toward the front side of the apparatus. By arranging the operation part 10 to protrude from the main body, the operation part 10 can be tilted on the spot, and can be always used at an easy-to-see angle for tall users to wheelchair users.

3 is an external front view of the operation unit according to the first embodiment, FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the operation unit, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the operation unit, and FIGS. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a state in which NFC is used by bringing a mobile device (detection target) close to the operation unit;

In the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 is arranged on one side of the touch panel 1 as seen from the front of the apparatus (here, on the right side as seen from the front of the apparatus). suppresses the amount of protrusion to the front side of the image forming apparatus main body 101. The detection position 2a of the NFC 3 protrudes more than the touch panel 1 from the surface of the operation unit 10 (the same surface as the touch panel 1). Furthermore, the detection position 2a of the NFC3 is inclined with respect to the surface of the operation unit 10 so that the side closer to the touch panel 1 is higher than the side farther from the touch panel 1. Specifically, the detection corresponding to the NFC3 on the cover 2 is performed. The position 2a is inclined so that the amount of protrusion from the touch panel 1 on the side closer to the touch panel 1 is about 5 mm, and the amount of protrusion from the touch panel 1 on the side farther from the touch panel 1 is 0 to 1 mm. The detection position 2a of the NFC 3 is raised from the surface of the touch panel 1 by about 5 mm on the touch panel 1 side (left side) and by about 0.5 mm on the side away from the touch panel 1 (right side), and is tilted while protruding. As a result, when the mobile device 20 is brought closer to the detection position 2a of the NFC 3, the mobile device 20 can be guided to approach according to the shape of the detection position 2a, which is the projecting surface and the inclined surface of the cover 2. , the touch panel 1 is not touched by the mobile device 20 or the hand or fingers holding the mobile device 20. - 特許庁

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the user flicks on the screen of the touch panel 1 such as to move between pages, the user often moves the finger up, down, left, or right from the center of the touch panel 1 . At this time, if the size of the touch panel 1 is as small as 5 inches or less, flicking the finger Y in the direction of the arrow A from the center of the touch panel 1 causes the finger to be swung to the outside of the touch panel 1 . For example, in the case of the touch panel 1 of 5 inch size, the screen width is about 11 cm, and when flicking 50 mm from the center of the screen, the finger Y is positioned at the edge of the screen. In the case of a flick , since the finger is swung even at a position away from the touch panel 1 , the finger touches the convex shape of the detection position 2 a of the NFC 3 arranged on the side of the touch panel 1 . The screen width of the 7-inch touch panel is about 15 cm, and depending on the flick and the swing width of the finger Y, there is a possibility that the convex shape of the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 arranged on the side of the touch panel 1 will be touched.

Therefore, the detection position 2 a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2 is arranged at a position away from the vicinity of the center line CL of the touch panel 1 . Specifically, the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 is arranged such that the distance B from the center line CL of the touch panel 1 to the upper end of the convex shape of the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 is 5 mm or more. Here, the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 is arranged with the distance B from the center line CL of the touch panel 1 being 13 mm. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the convex shape of the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 from interfering with the flick operation, and it is possible to prevent discomfort due to touching the convex shape by flicking . Here, the center line CL of the touch panel 1 is a horizontal straight line passing through the center C of the touch panel 1 (one-dot chain line shown in FIG. 3).

As for other flick actions, the screen layout may determine the starting point of the flick . For example, this is the case of touching and flicking near the line to be moved, such as advancing the line. In this embodiment, a horizontally written touch panel screen is adopted, and since the screen is displayed left-justified, any place on the left side of the screen of the touch panel 1 is the starting point. Since the operation is to flick up and down from there, the convex shape of the detection position 2 a of the NFC 3 arranged on the right side of the touch panel 1 is not touched.

On the other hand, when a vertical writing touch panel screen is adopted, the back side of the screen (upper side of the screen of the touch panel 1 in FIG. 3) becomes the starting point of the flick . Since the operation is to flick left and right from there, the convex shape of the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 arranged on the front side (lower side of the screen of the touch panel 1 in FIG. 3) from the center of the touch panel 1 is not touched. When a vertically written touch panel screen is adopted, the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 is arranged on the front side of the touch panel 1 (under the screen of the touch panel 1 in FIG. 3), not on the right side of the touch panel 1 shown in FIG. You may

Further, in order to perform access by NFC3, it is necessary to hold the mobile device 20 (see FIG. 6) within a predetermined distance from NFC3. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a mark (cross mark) 2b for clearly indicating the detection position is provided at the detection position 2a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2 as a mark for holding the mobile device 20 over. there is

As shown in FIG. 5 , the detection position 2 a of the NFC 3 is projected from the upper surface of the operation unit 10 more than the touch panel 1 . Further, the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 is set such that the height of the protrusion from the touch panel 1 on the touch panel 1 side (left side) is about 5 mm, and the height of the protrusion from the touch panel 1 on the side away from the touch panel 1 (right side) is about 0.5 mm. It is tilted. As a result, the distance from the NFC 3 (specifically, the NFC detection board having the detection unit) to the detection position 2a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2 is set to 5 mm or less. This is also to satisfy the lower limit of 5 mm of the NFC3 detection standard of the mobile device 20 .

By arranging the NFC 3 adjacent to and in parallel with the detection position 2a of the cover 2 facing it, the height of the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 can be made higher than 5 mm.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the operation unit 10 has the NFC3 detection position 2a arranged on the right side of the touch panel 1, and the NFC3 detection position 2a is arranged from the center of the touch panel 1 toward the front side of the device. As a result, the hand T holding the mobile device 20 is positioned away from the touch panel 1, thereby preventing erroneous operations by fingers or the like.

As shown in FIG. 6(b), even when a small mobile device 20 (about 80 mm wide) held by the hand T is brought into contact with the detection position 2a of the NFC 3, the surface of the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 protrudes. and tilted. As a result, the end portion of the mobile device 20 on the touch panel side is in a state of floating from the surface of the touch panel 1 by a predetermined height (here, about 15 mm), thereby preventing the finger from unintentionally touching the touch panel 1 .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the mobile device 20 is held over the detection position 2a corresponding to NFC3, the end of the mobile device or the finger holding the mobile device touches the touch panel. Unintentional erroneous operations can be prevented.

[Example 2]
An operation unit according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus and the basic configuration of the operation unit are the same as those of the first embodiment described above, so description thereof will be omitted. Further, in this embodiment, members having functions equivalent to those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment, a position other than the detection position 2a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2 is made to protrude from the touch panel 1 in the same manner as the detection position, and the side closer to the touch panel 1 is higher than the side farther from the touch panel 1. It is slanted so that

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of an operation unit according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 7, 4 is a convex shape provided so as to be flush with the convex inclined surface of the NFC detection position 2a. While the convex shape of the detection position 2 a is provided on the front side of the operation unit 10 from the center line CL of the touch panel 1 , the convex shape 4 is provided on the back side of the operation unit 10 from the center line CL of the touch panel 1 .

When a large tablet is used as the mobile device, the operation unit 10 may be hidden from view due to the NFC position of the tablet. At this time, the back side of the tablet may be lower than the front side with respect to the operation unit 10, and the back side of the tablet may touch the touch panel 1, resulting in erroneous detection.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the above-described convex shape 4 is provided on the back side of the operation unit 10 separately from the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 provided on the front side of the operation unit 10 . As a result, the convex shape 4 can first contact and receive the tablet on the back side of the operation unit 10, and when the tablet is brought close to it as it is, the convex shape 4 can receive it at two places, the NFC detection position 2a and the convex shape 4.例文帳に追加As a result, even when a large tablet is used as the mobile device 20, erroneous operations on the touch panel 1 can be prevented.

Further, the position of the convex shape 4 is arranged at a position away from the center line CL of the touch panel 1 by 5 mm or more (here, 30 mm) to the inner side. As a result, flicking when operating the touch panel 1 is not hindered.

[Example 3]
An operation unit according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus and the basic configuration of the operation unit are the same as those of the first embodiment described above, so description thereof will be omitted. Further, in this embodiment, members having functions equivalent to those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the first and second embodiments described above, considering the case where the touch panel 1 is relatively small in size, the detection position 2a of the NFC 3 and the convex shape 4 are provided at positions that do not interfere with flicking when the touch panel 1 is operated. The configuration is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view of an operation unit according to the third embodiment. In the operation unit 10 shown in FIG. 8, the touch panel 1 has a sufficiently large size for the flick operation. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the convex shape of the detection position 2a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2 may be provided not partially but on the entire right side.

In this way, if the touch panel 1 is made sufficiently large for the flick operation, even if the convex shape of the detection position 2a corresponding to the NFC 3 is provided on the entire right side, the flick will not be hindered, and NFC detection will not occur. Unintentional erroneous operation can be prevented.

[Example 4]
An operation unit according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. Note that the schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus and the basic configuration of the operation unit are the same as those of the first embodiment described above, so description thereof will be omitted. Further, in this embodiment, members having functions equivalent to those of the above-described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the above-described embodiment, the operation unit 10 has no information input means other than the touch panel, but the configuration is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 9, the operation unit 10 according to the present embodiment includes various keys such as a numeric keypad 40 and a start key 41 as information input means other than the touch panel.

On the other hand, the mounting size of the touch panel 1 in the image forming apparatus has been gradually widened starting from the apparatus capable of outputting large paper such as A3, and it is not uncommon for the size of the touch panel 1 to exceed 10 inches diagonally. The size of the touch panel 1 in FIG. 9 is 10 inches, and the various keys described above are provided on the right side thereof.

In the operation unit 10 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, in order to avoid further increase in the width dimension of the touch panel 1, the NFC 3 is placed near the periphery of the touch panel 1 on the front side of the touch panel 1 (front side). side). That is, the detection positions 2a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2 are arranged on the front side of the touch panel 1 instead of on the left and right sides.

Note that the detection range of the mobile device 20 by NFC3 may be as wide as about 100 mm, which is used in automatic ticket gates on trains. At the portion 10, it is about 20 mm. Therefore, when accessing NFC, it is necessary to hold the mobile device close to the touch panel 1 so that the mobile device falls within this range.

FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of the operating section 10 according to the fourth embodiment, and FIGS. 10A and 10B are side views of the operating section 10 according to the fourth embodiment.

The operation unit 10 according to the present embodiment has a detection position 2a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2 on the front side of the touch panel 1, as shown in FIG. Also, the detection position 2 a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2 is inclined so that the touch panel side is higher than the side away from the touch panel 1 . That is, an inclined surface 5 having a predetermined inclination with respect to the surface of the touch panel 1 is provided at the detection position 2a of the cover 2 corresponding to the NFC 3 . This inclined surface 5 is provided over the entire width of the front side of the touch panel 1 .

Also, in order to access by NFC, it is necessary to hold the mobile device 20 within a predetermined distance from the NFC 3 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, a mark (cross mark) 2b for clearly indicating the detection position is provided at the detection position 2a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2 as a mark for holding the mobile device 20 over.

When the mobile device 20 is held over the mark 2b by the operation unit 10, an effect of guiding the user to hold the mobile device 20 parallel to the inclined surface 5 including the detection position 2a can be expected. Since the inclined surface 5 is inclined so that the touch panel 1 side is lifted, if the mobile device 20 is held parallel to or brought into contact with the inclined surface 5, the end portion 20a of the mobile device 20 on the touch panel 1 side is It will naturally lift. FIG. 10B shows the mobile device 20 in contact with the mark 2b (see FIG. 9) on the inclined surface 5, but the end 20a of the mobile device 20 moves away from the touch panel 1. known to be induced.

As described above, in the present embodiment, by providing the inclined surface 5, the touch panel of the mobile device 20 can be realized with a low cost and simple configuration without increasing the cost of the input device such as the operation unit or degrading the design. It is possible to obtain the effect of reducing erroneous operations on the No. 1 screen.

It should be noted that the inclined surface 5 does not necessarily cover the entire width of the operation unit 10, and as long as the width is equal to or greater than the width of the mobile device 20, even if the inclined surface 5 is partially provided, it can reduce erroneous screen operations. effect is obtained.

[Example 5]
An operation unit according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. Note that the schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus and the basic configuration of the operation unit are the same as those of the first embodiment described above, so description thereof will be omitted. Further, in this embodiment, members having functions equivalent to those of the above-described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of the operating section 10 according to the fifth embodiment, and FIGS. 12(a) and 12(b) are side views of the operating section 10 according to the fifth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, the operation unit 10 according to the present embodiment has a detection position 2a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2 provided on the front side of the touch panel 1, similarly to the operation unit 10 according to the fourth embodiment. there is Also, the detection position 2 a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2 is inclined so that the touch panel side is higher than the side away from the touch panel 1 . That is, an inclined surface 5 having a predetermined inclination with respect to the surface of the touch panel 1 is provided at the detection position 2a of the cover 2 corresponding to the NFC 3 . Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the inclined surface 5 is a convex inclined surface that protrudes by a predetermined amount (protrusion amount) L from the surface of the cover 2 that is substantially flush with the touch panel 1. It's becoming

Also, as in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, a mark (cross mark) for clearly indicating the detection position is used as a mark for holding the mobile device 20 over the detection position 2a corresponding to the NFC 3 on the cover 2. 2b is provided.

When the mobile device 20 is held over the mark 2b by the operation unit 12, an effect of guiding the user to hold the mobile device 20 parallel to the projecting inclined surface 5 including the detection position 2a can be expected. Since the protruding inclined surface 5 is inclined so that the touch panel 1 side is lifted, if the mobile device 20 is held parallel to or brought into contact with the protruding inclined surface 5, the mobile device 20 on the touch panel 1 side will move. The end portion 20a is naturally lifted.

Further, the inclined surface 32 of this embodiment protrudes from the surface of the cover 2 by a predetermined amount (protrusion amount) L. As shown in FIG. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12B, when the mobile device 20 is held over the mark 2b, the mobile device 20 comes into contact with the inclined surface 5 before the touch panel 1 does. This prevents the mobile device 20 from touching the touch panel 1 . That is, the effect of preventing the mobile device 20 from contacting the touch panel 1 can be more positively obtained by the protrusion amount L. FIG.

It should be noted that the larger the projection amount L is, the more effective it is to prevent erroneous operations on the screen of the touch panel 1, but it is not unlimited. Since the detection range of the mobile device 20 by NFC3 is about 20 mm, the mobile device 20 cannot be detected if the protrusion amount L exceeds 20 mm. Therefore, in view of the balance between the erroneous operation prevention effect and the detection range, the protrusion amount L is preferably 10 mm or less, and is 5 mm in this embodiment (FIGS. 11 and 12).

As described above, in the present embodiment as well, by providing the protruding inclined surface 5, the mobile device 20 can be operated at a low cost and with a simple configuration without increasing the cost of the input device such as the operation unit or degrading the design. An effect of reducing erroneous operations on the screen of the touch panel 1 can be obtained.

The horizontal dimension of the protruding inclined surface 5 may be smaller than the horizontal width of the mobile device 20 or the horizontal width of the operation unit 10 because the effect of reducing erroneous operations does not change so much if the amount of protrusion L is the same. may be the entire area of .

Furthermore, the protruding inclined surface 5, which is the part of the detection position 2a corresponding to the NFC 3 of the cover 2, does not need to be integrated with the surface 30 of the cover 2 of the operation unit 10, and can be detachably attached to the operation unit 10. It can be.

[Other embodiments]
In the above-described embodiments, the touch panel adopts a resistive film type (pressure-sensitive type) that converts physical contact to the panel surface into electrical information, but the touch panel is not limited to this. It may be of a capacitance type that detects a minute electrical signal held by a finger in contact with the .

Further, the image forming apparatus may be other image forming apparatuses such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, etc., or other image forming apparatuses such as a multifunction machine combining these functions. Similar effects can be obtained by applying the present invention to input devices used in these image forming apparatuses.

CL...center line T...hand Y...finger 1...touch panel 2...cover 2a...detection position 2b...mark 4...convex shape 5...inclined surface 10...operation unit 20...mobile device 20a...end 100...image forming apparatus 101... Image forming apparatus main body 201 ... image reading device

Claims (6)

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet,
a device body;
an image reading unit provided above the apparatus main body in the vertical direction for reading an image of a document;
a tiltable operation unit provided at a position in front of the image reading unit in the front-rear direction of the device main body,
The operation unit is
a short-range wireless communication unit capable of communicating with a communication device brought close to a detection range by short-range wireless communication;
a touch panel that receives instructions from a user via touch operation;
A cover part for covering the short-range wireless communication unit, wherein a mark as a target to hold the communication device when performing short-range wireless communication is provided within the detection range of the short-range wireless communication unit. and
The mark is located outside the touch panel in a plane parallel to the surface of the touch panel, and is located in front of a center line that passes through the center of the touch panel and extends in the left-right direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the vertical direction. is provided on the right side of the right end of the touch panel,
When the image forming apparatus is viewed from the front side in the front-rear direction, at least a part of a discharge space provided between the image reading section and the apparatus main body, through which sheets are discharged from the apparatus main body, corresponds to the operation in the left-right direction. visible to the left of the left edge of the
An image forming apparatus characterized by: The mark is provided at a position that overlaps an area where the touch panel is provided in a direction orthogonal to the left-right direction on a plane parallel to the surface of the touch panel,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: At least a portion of the cover portion where the mark is provided includes a first portion near the edge of the touch panel and a portion closer to the edge of the touch panel than the first portion on a plane parallel to the surface of the touch panel. having a far second part and
The first part is inclined with respect to the surface of the touch panel so as to be higher than the second part,
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: At least a portion of the cover portion where the mark is provided protrudes with respect to the surface of the touch panel,
The protrusion amount of the first part is larger than the protrusion amount of the second part,
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: The operation unit is provided on the right side of the center of the device main body in the left-right direction,
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: When the image forming apparatus is viewed from the front side in the front-rear direction, a right end of the operation unit does not overlap the discharge space in the left-right direction.
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

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