JPH08220943A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To ensure the smooth setting of operation mode by switching a warning method. CONSTITUTION: A set mode deciding means 11 judges whether a combination of control modes, specified from a transparent-sheet-like touch switch 4 superimposed on a display part 3, is proper or not. A warming control means 12 outputs a warning sound at first in the case of an inhibited combination of the specified control modes, and outputs a warning image from a display part 3 in the case the inhibited combination of control modes is continuously specified, thereby letting an operator know misoperation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to improvement of operability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an operation display unit of a copying machine includes a display unit made of liquid crystal or the like and an input unit provided thereon. Some copying machines equipped with such display means and input means can prohibit or permit designation for each function of the copying machine.

For example, in the operation display device of a copying machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-120572, a display element such as a liquid crystal display or a fluorescent display tube is used to display a function relating to a copying operation such as information on a paper cassette of a transfer sheet. Display means, a setting means formed as a transparent sheet-shaped matrix touch switch and stacked on the display element to perform settings such as sheet cassette selection in response to detection of the pressed position, and a touch switch for each function. By using the control means that prohibits or permits the pressing,
Specification is prohibited or permitted for each function of the copier.

When an operation mode that cannot be combined with the currently set operation mode is designated on the operation display device of the copying machine, a warning screen is displayed to explain the cause of the error to the operator. Can be told.

[0005]

However, when the warning screen is displayed on the entire screen, no key operation can be performed until the warning screen is released. When the operator starts using the copier, the warning screen will help the operator to operate, but as the operator gets used to the copier, the warning screen will be displayed even if the user makes a mistake in the input operation. It may be an obstacle.

The present invention has been made in order to eliminate such disadvantages, and an object thereof is to smoothly perform a setting operation by switching a warning method.

[0007]

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention has setting mode determining means and warning control means, and the setting mode determining means is provided so as to overlap a display section for displaying a selection screen of an operation mode. Input the operation mode designation using the transparent sheet-shaped touch switch section to determine the suitability of the specified operation mode combination, and the warning control means will first determine if the specified operation mode is a prohibited combination. Outputs a warning sound and subsequently outputs a warning screen indicating the content of the operation error from the display section when the prohibited operation mode of the combination is designated.

Further, the warning control means always displays a warning screen according to a preset condition to warn when an operation mode which is not suitable for the combination is designated, or warns without displaying the warning screen at first. Switch whether to warn by sound.

[0009]

In the present invention, the setting mode determination means determines whether or not the combination of operation modes designated by the touch switch portion provided on the display portion is appropriate. The warning control means first outputs a warning sound when the specified operation mode is due to the prohibited combination, and subsequently when the operation mode due to the prohibited combination is specified, the operation error content from the display section. Is output to notify the operator of an operation error.

Further, the warning control means always displays a warning screen according to a preset condition to warn when an operation mode which is not suitable for the combination is designated, or a warning sound is displayed without displaying the warning screen at first. The warning method can be changed according to the operator by switching the warning.

[0011]

1 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The image forming apparatus includes a CPU 1, an LCD controller 2,
LCD module 3, touch switch unit 4, keyboard 5, LED driver 6, ROM 7, RAM 8, image RO
It has an M9, an image RAM 10, a setting mode determination means 11, a warning control means 12, a mode setting means 13, a buzzer device 14 and an optical transceiver 15. The CPU 1 controls the entire image forming apparatus.

The LCD controller 2 is an LC which is a display unit.
The display of the D module 3 is controlled, and an operation mode selection screen or a warning screen is displayed from the LCD module 3. The LCD module 3 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal screen as shown in FIG. 2, and displays an operation state or a message. For example, when the image forming apparatus is ready for copying after the power is turned on, the LCD module 3 displays the operation mode selection screen as shown in FIG. Here, the operation mode selection screen includes a message area 21, a copy number display section 22, an automatic density adjustment key 23, an automatic paper selection key 24, a paper designation scaling key 25, a sort key 26, a stack key 27, a staple key 28, and a special key. Document feed key 2
9, scaling key 30, double-sided / page continuous shooting key 31, erase /
The display includes a move key 32 and a cover / insert sheet key 33.
The message area 21 displays a message such as "You can copy" or "Please wait". This allows the operator to know the state of the image forming apparatus. The number-of-copies display section 22 displays the number of sheets set in the upper stage and the number of sheets copied in the lower stage. The automatic density adjustment key 23 is a key for designating an automatic density adjustment mode for automatically adjusting the image density. The automatic paper selection key 24 is a key for designating an automatic paper selection mode for automatically selecting a transfer paper. The paper designation scaling key 25 is a key for designating a paper designation scaling mode for automatically enlarging or reducing according to the size of the transfer paper. The sort key 26 is a key for designating a sort mode in which copies are arranged part by page in order.
The stack key 27 is a key for designating a stack mode in which copies are sorted for each page. The stapling key 28 is a key for designating a stapling mode for designating a process of partially closing the sorted products. When the operator presses a key while checking the key displayed on the screen, the touch switch unit 4 provided on the display unit 3 detects the pressing of the key, and the pressed key is input.

The touch switch section 4 includes a touch panel 41 made of a transparent sheet member and a touch panel detection circuit 42.
The touch panel 41 detects the depressed position of the touch panel 41 and inputs the operation mode designation. The touch panel 41 is provided so as to overlap the LCD module 3.
In the touch panel detection circuit 42, for example, the circuits of Y1 and Y2 terminals are pulled up as shown in FIG. 4, so when the controller 421 sets the detection / measurement terminals to the High state, the X1, X2, Y1, and Y2 terminals are When the touch panel 41 is off as shown without the combination of 5
1 becomes + 5V, and Y when the touch panel 41 is on.
1 becomes 0V. This signal is connected to the A / D converter 422 to obtain the position of the pressed portion. The X coordinate and the Y coordinate are switched by switching the signals of the detection / measurement terminal and the X / Y terminal with the controller 421.

The keyboard 5 includes a ten key 51, a guidance key 52, a program key 53, a brightness adjusting knob 54,
It has a mode clear key 55 and an interrupt key 56. The ten key 51 is used to input settings such as the number of copies. The guidance key 52 is used when shifting to a mode for displaying a function explanation or an operation method. The program key 53 is used to register or call frequently used settings. The brightness adjustment knob 54 is used when adjusting the brightness of the display unit 3. The mode clear key 55 is used to cancel the set contents or to continuously press for more than a predetermined time to bring the remaining heat state. The interrupt key 56 is used to copy an original for each interrupt during the copy operation.

The LED driver 6 has a mode clear key 55.
Blinks the LED in the etc. The ROM 7 stores the control program of the CPU 1 and the like. The RAM 8 stores an error flag set when an input operation error is made, an operation mode setting, and the like. The image ROM 9 stores a control program for the LCD controller 2. Image RAM1
0 is displayed on the LCD module 3 but stores an elephant or the like.

The setting mode determination means 11 manages the combination of operation modes and determines whether or not the operation mode designated by the touch switch section 4 is a prohibited combination. The warning control means 12 determines that the input operation mode is due to a prohibited combination and the setting mode determination means 11
When it is determined that the operation mode by the prohibited combination is continuously designated, the error flag stored in the RAM 8 is inspected, and the buzzer device 14 outputs a warning sound or the LCD according to the state of the error flag. It controls whether to output a warning screen indicating an operation error content from the LCD module 3 via the controller 2. Mode setting means 1
Reference numeral 3 sets the designated operation mode when the setting mode determination means 11 determines that the operation mode designated by the touch switch unit 4 is not the prohibited combination of operation modes. The buzzer device 14 includes, for example, a buzzer and a buzzer drive circuit, and generates a warning sound.

The operation of designating the operation mode in the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When no operation mode is designated in the image forming apparatus, normally, the number of copies is set to one, and the automatic density mode, the automatic paper selection mode and the normal size mode are set. Therefore, the LCD controller 2 displays the operation mode selection screen as shown in FIG. 3 from the LCD module 3 (step S1). In this case, since the automatic density adjustment mode and the automatic paper selection mode have already been initialized, the parts of the automatic density adjustment key 23 and the automatic paper selection key 24 are displayed darker than the other parts.

When an arbitrary mode selection key portion displayed on the LCD module 3 is depressed while the operation mode selection screen is displayed, the touch switch section 4 detects the depressed selection key ( Step S2). When the touch switch section 4 detects the pressed mode selection key, the CPU 1 instructs the setting mode determination means 11 to check the consistency of the mode selection key. The setting mode determination means 11 checks whether or not a combination of the operation mode indicated by the input mode selection key and the operation mode that has already been set is possible (step S3). For example, when the cover / insert sheet key 33 for specifying the mode for adding the cover is selected, the cover / insert mode for specifying the mode for adding the cover cannot be set under the automatic sheet selection mode. Therefore, the setting mode determination means 11 determines that the input operation mode is prohibited.

When the setting mode determination means 11 determines that the input operation mode is prohibited by the combination, the warning control means 12 checks the error flag stored in the RAM 8 (step 4). If the error flag is not set, the warning control means 12 makes an error in the first input operation. Therefore, after a buzzer sound is generated from the buzzer device 14 as a warning sound to invalidate the mode designation (step S
5), an error flag is set (step S6). If the error flag is set in the warning control means 12,
Detecting that you made an operation mistake several times in a row,
A warning screen as shown in (1) is displayed on the LCD module 3 via the LCD controller 2 to invalidate the mode designation (step S7). Here, since the cause of the operation error is displayed on the warning screen as shown in the figure, the operator can correct the operation error according to the display on the screen. In this way, the image forming apparatus outputs a warning sound for the first operation error,
If a mistake is made in the operation, the warning screen is displayed. Therefore, in the case of a simple mistake in the input operation, the trouble of releasing the warning screen can be omitted, and the operation mode setting operation can be performed smoothly.

Further, the setting mode determination means 11 must be set if the specified operation mode is not prohibited by the combination with other operation modes already set when the operation mode is specified.
If it is determined (step S3), the setting mode determination means 11 resets the error flag stored in the RAM 8 (step S8), and the mode setting means 13 sets the designated operation mode (step S9).

When a specific key is pressed from the keyboard 5, a warning method selection screen is displayed as shown in FIG. 8, and when the "ON" key on the screen is pressed, there is an input operation error. In this case, the warning screen may always be displayed. When it is preset to always display a warning screen when there is an input operation error, the warning means does not check the error flag stored in the RAM 8 and always displays a warning screen for an input operation error. Then, the operator is notified of the content of the input operation error. This can assist the operation when the operator is not yet accustomed to the operation of the image forming apparatus.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, the suitability of the combination of the operation modes designated by the touch switch portion provided on the display portion is judged, and the combination of the designated operation modes is prohibited. If it is one, a warning sound will be output first, and if an operation mode with a prohibited combination is specified, a warning screen showing the operation error will be output from the display unit. In this case, the trouble of releasing the warning screen can be omitted, and the operation mode setting operation can be performed smoothly.

Further, when an operation mode based on a prohibited combination is designated, a warning screen is always displayed to warn by a preset condition, or a warning sound is first displayed without displaying the warning screen. Since the warning method is changed depending on the operator, the versatility can be increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a layout view of an LCD module and a keyboard.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an operation mode selection screen.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a touch switch unit.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a signal state of a touch switch unit.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation when an operation mode is designated.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a warning screen.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a warning method selection screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 LCD controller 3 LCD module 4 Touch switch section 41 Touch panel 42 Touch panel detection circuit 8 RAM 11 Setting mode determination means 12 Warning sound output section 13 Mode setting means 14 Buzzer device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A setting mode for determining the suitability of a combination of operation modes designated by a transparent sheet-like touch switch portion which is provided on a display unit for displaying an operation mode selection screen and which inputs an operation mode designation. When the judging means and the designated operation mode are due to the prohibited combination, the warning sound is output first, and subsequently, when the prohibited combination operation mode is designated, the operation error content is displayed from the display section. An image forming apparatus having warning control means for outputting a warning screen indicating 2. The warning control means always displays a warning screen and gives a warning according to a preset condition when an operation mode based on a prohibited combination is designated, or without displaying the warning screen at first. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein whether to warn with a warning sound is switched.