JPH09269882A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: A display device capable of improving the operability of a copying machine or other electronic equipment by displaying the display information of the keys in a display means for displaying various keys in an easily recognizable state. . SOLUTION: The number of presses of each key displayed on the display unit is counted, the display size of each key is changed according to the magnitude of the value, or the display information of each key 501 to 504, for example, of various trays. Paper size (A4 / A3 / B4 / B
5) or the remaining amount of paper, etc., for example, display control means for changing the display size of each key such as 505 to 508 in the order in which various trays are set, or in the order in which the remaining amount of paper is large, for example. It is characterized by having.

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 such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a composite machine thereof, and a display device installed in other electronic equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image display device such as a copying machine is provided with a display device which serves as both a display section and an operation section. In this type of display device, a front surface of a display unit such as a CRT or LCD is covered with a transparent matrix touch switch, and a desired operation can be performed while confirming a key (object) displayed in a pattern on the display unit. By pressing the display part of the key with a finger, input for various operations can be performed.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional display device, the size of the keys displayed on the display unit is always the same, and the keys that are not used often are displayed in the same size as the frequently used keys. Therefore, there is an inconvenience that it is difficult for a user to find a key that is often used when performing an input operation. In addition, even a key that also serves as an information display means, such as a tray key in a copying machine, which displays information such as various paper sizes and remaining papers, is always displayed in a fixed size, so the display content There was also the inconvenience that it was difficult for the user to understand even when the value changed. An object of the present invention is to improve the operability and visibility of a frequently used key more than that of a less frequently used key, and to display the display information of the key in a state in which it can be easily recognized by the user. It is to provide a display device capable of improving the operability of a copying machine and other electronic devices.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the display device according to claim 1 displays various keys on a display portion by a pattern or the like, and presses a display portion of the key corresponding to a desired operation. A display device capable of inputting various operations by providing a display control means for changing the display size of each key according to the frequency of use of each key displayed on the display section. Is characterized by. The display control means includes, for example, counting means for counting the number of times each key is pressed displayed on the display unit and means for determining the display size of each key according to the magnitude of the count value by the counting means. it can. According to the display device of the first aspect, since the display size of the frequently used key can be displayed larger than the display size of the less frequently used key, it is easy to perform the pressing operation of the frequently used key. Also, even when a large number of keys are displayed on the display unit, it becomes easy to find the key that is frequently used, so that the operability is improved.

In the display device according to the second aspect, various keys are displayed on the display unit as a pattern, and by pressing the display portion of the key corresponding to the desired operation, the display for inputting various operations can be performed. In the device, display information of the key,
For example, paper sizes for various trays (A4 / A3 / B4 / B
(5, etc.) and remaining amount of paper (large / small, number of sheets), for example, a display for changing the display size of each key in the order in which various trays are set, or in the order in which the remaining amount of paper is large, for example. A control means is provided. According to the display device of the second aspect, the display information of the key is displayed in a state in which it can be easily recognized by the user, and the operability is improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the display control means of the first or second aspect has a function of changing the display size of only the keys displayed in a specific display area or the keys belonging to a specific group. It is characterized by being According to the display device of the third aspect, only a specific display area or only keys belonging to a specific group are displayed with different key sizes, and there is no need to change the key size. By displaying the keys having the same size with respect to the keys belonging to, it is possible to display only the necessary keys or the information represented by the keys in an easy-to-understand manner for the user, so that the operability can be further improved. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the device configuration according to the third aspect, the display device further comprises input means for setting a key displayed in the specific display area or a key belonging to the specific group. It is characterized by that. According to the display device of the fourth aspect, it is possible to set the key whose size is changed according to the frequency of use and the like so that the user can easily use the key, so that the operability can be further improved.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In this embodiment, a case where the display device according to the present invention is applied to an operation display unit of a copying machine will be described as an example. FIG. 1 is a device configuration diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a copying machine including a display device according to the present invention. The copying machine includes an apparatus main body A, an automatic document feeder B arranged on the apparatus main body A, a paper discharge tray apparatus C connected to a paper discharge port side of the image forming apparatus main body A, and an operation display. And part 200.
The image forming apparatus main body A includes a reading optical system D and an image forming unit E.
And a paper feed unit F. The reading optical system D includes a light source 102 configured to be movable back and forth in the direction of an arrow at a position directly below the contact glass 101, a first mirror 103 that moves together with the light source 102 (above first traveling body), and a first mirror 103. A mirror 104 that constitutes a second traveling body that moves forward and backward independently of the traveling body, a lens 105, and the reflected light of the document collected by the lens 105 on the photoconductor that constitutes the image forming unit E. It has a mirror 106 and the like for irradiating the same. Light source 10
The reflected light of the original that is emitted from No. 2 and reflected by the original surface on the contact glass 101 is imaged on the photoconductor through the mirrors 103 and 104 and the lenses 105 and 106.

The image forming section E includes a drum-shaped photosensitive member 107, a charger (precharger) 108, an eraser 109, a developing device 110, a transfer device (charger) 111, and a separating device 1.
20, a cleaner 126, a registration roller 116, a conveyor belt 117, a fixing device 118, and the like. The paper feed section F is
Normal paper feed trays 112 and 113, large-volume paper feed tray 11
4, a double-sided tray 124, a conveyance path 115, a path 123 that guides the single-sided recording transfer sheet that has passed through the fixing device 118 to the double-sided tray 124 during double-sided copying, a branching claw 121, an inversion path 122, and the like. The automatic document feeder B has a document set table for setting a bundle of documents to be read, a sheet feed roller for feeding the documents on the table one by one, and
It has a conveyance belt that conveys the fed document to the reading position on the contact glass 101, a pair of discharge rollers 202, and a discharge tray 201. The paper ejection tray device C has a paper ejection path starting from a paper ejection receiving port directly connected to the paper ejection opening of the apparatus main body A, and a large number of bins (trays) are arranged along the ascending path of the paper ejection path to be raised. Paper is discharged onto each bin from a pair of paper discharge rollers arranged at predetermined intervals along the path.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the operation display unit 200. In the figure, 201 is a mode clear key, 202 is an interrupt key, 203 is a program key, 204 is a guidance key, 205 is a print key (start key),
206 is a clear / stop key, 207 is a numeric keypad, 2
08 is a display part. The mode clear key 201 is a key for returning various modes to the standard mode. By operating the mode clear key 201, the number of repeats is set to 1, the density is set to free density, the automatic feeding is selected for feeding, the scaling ratio is set to 1 ×, and other functions such as double-sided copying are canceled. The interrupt key 202 is operated when selecting interrupt copy. The program key 203 is a key for registering and calling a mode frequently used by the user. The guidance key 204 is a key operated when displaying a basic operation or an explanation of a function. The print key 205 is a key operated when starting a copying operation. This key 205 also serves as a ready / weight display section, and when ready, the green LED 205a lights up, and when waiting, the red LED 205b lights up.
The clear / stop key 206 is the clear key during standby,
It has the function of a stop key during the copying operation. The clear key is pressed to release the set number of copies. Also, the stop key is pressed when interrupting the copying operation,
The machine stops when the copying operation at that point is completed. The ten-key pad 207 is used for inputting the number of copies, zoom magnification, binding margin values, and the like. The display unit 208 is
It is a CRT (LED can be used) type display,
Displays various functions, status, messages, etc. of this copier. The display unit 208 is provided with transparent touch keys on its surface, and is also a touch panel key having various mode keys together with a display unit for functions and the like. The selected mode key is displayed in black with white characters, and the unselected mode key is displayed in white with black characters.

FIG. 3A shows an example of the touch panel detection circuit of the display unit 208. Reference numeral 210 in the figure denotes a touch panel key, and a controller (display control means) 212
Sets the detection terminals to the high state, and X1, X2, Y1, Y
2 is set as shown in FIG. Since the Y1 and Y2 circuits are pulled up by the resistor R, Y1 becomes +5 (V) when the touch panel key 210 is off, and 0 (V) when it is on. Therefore, the controller 212
The on / off state is confirmed from the output of the / D converter 211. When the controller 212 detects the ON state of the touch panel key 210, it switches to the measurement mode. In the X direction, X1 becomes +5 (V) and X2 becomes 0 (V), and the input potential X1 is input through the A / D converter 211 and the coordinates are calculated. Coordinates in the Y direction are also calculated by switching the circuit. With such a detection circuit, the touch panel 2
The pressed position of 10 is detected. The display control means includes, for example, counting means for counting the number of times each key is pressed displayed on the display unit and means for determining the display size of each key according to the magnitude of the count value by the counting means. it can.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the control system of the operation display unit 200. The operation display unit 200 is connected to the host copying machine (PPC) 220 by an optical transceiver 235 for serial communication for exchanging commands. The operation display unit 200 is a host PPC (copier).
When the command from the 220 side is received, the contents to be displayed on the CRT 223 are determined, and the ROM 2 which is a storage means is previously set.
A CGROM (a storage device in which a large number of bit patterns are stored, which is used to specify and read patterns by codes) 225, which is image data stored in 30, is expanded on the VRAM 221, and the CRT controller 222 is provided.
The bit pattern is displayed on the screen of the CRT 223 via. The bit pattern development area of the screen data in the VRAM 221 is divided into several parts, and the bit pattern of the screen different from the currently displayed screen can be developed, and the address of the display area of the VRAM 221 can be operated. By doing so, the screen can be rewritten in an instant. This allows screen development with CRT223 tablets. In addition to the above, the operation display unit 200 includes the LED driver 2
26, address decoder 228, address latch circuit 2
29, nonvolatile RAM 231, system reset circuit 2
32 and the like.

The operator of the copying machine selects a function from the various copying functions displayed on the display unit 208 when performing copying. The functions of this copier are shown below. Function Title Selection item Variable magnification Fixed magnification Double-sided Single-sided / Double-sided Double-sided / Double-sided / Single-sided binding Left binding Right binding Binding Edit Erase Synthetic cover / Slip sheet Front cover Back cover Chapter break Insert sheet Sort Sort 2-pin sort Stack staple Staple here The title is a name representative of a plurality of selectable functions, and at the same time, has a function selection key in a hierarchical structure. Therefore, by selecting the function title, the next selection item can be selected. Other than the above keys, there are the following frequently used keys. Automatic Density / Manual Density Automatic Paper Selection / Tray Selection Same Magnification / Paper Design Magnification Change FIG. 5A is an operation screen in the initial display state on the display unit 208. Here, a part of the key functions displayed on the operation screen will be described together with the operation procedure. Automatic concentration 301
Is a key for selecting a mode for automatically adjusting the image density. In this mode, the background density of the document screen is detected by a sensor, and a copy in which the background density is not output can be created. The manual density 302 is a key for manually setting the image density at the time of copying, and seven levels of image density can be selected by changing the image forming conditions according to the selected key. When the automatic paper selection 303 is selected, the optimum paper size is automatically selected according to the document size and the magnification. The tray selection 304 is a key for selecting a paper tray, and the paper in the selected tray is used unconditionally. When the paper setting scaling 305 is selected, the optimum magnification is automatically set based on the original size and the selected paper size.

Next, the scaling 306 which is one of the function titles will be described. The scaling 306 is a standard paper size of 200%, 141%, 1 according to a combination of A3, A4, A5, B4, B5, B6, etc.
22%, 115%, 93%, 87%, 82%, 71%,
61% and 50% can be selected.

In these operations, first, when the function scaling 306 of the function title is selected, the screen shown in FIG. 5B is opened, the fixed scale selection item key is displayed, and the required scale can be selected. . In addition, when performing double-sided copy, selecting the double-sided 307 opens the screen shown in FIG. 5C, and single-sided / double-sided, double-sided / double-sided, double-sided / single-sided selection item keys are displayed and the desired mode is selected it can. Similarly for other function selection, the operation procedure is to select the function title key of the required function and then select the item to be displayed. In this way, it is possible to select a desired function from a plurality of functions.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
Taking the case of the keys of the tray 304 shown in FIG. 6 as an example, description will be given according to the flowcharts of FIGS. However, here, description will be given using FIG. 6 (when there are four tray keys) in which some of the keys of the tray 304 of FIG. 5A are omitted. In the following description, the key size flag is a flag that determines the size of the key. Here, the largest key to be displayed is 1, and the larger the value of the key size flag, the smaller the key size. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure regarding the display of the keys. First, if it is determined in step S701 that the tray key is set to be displayed differently by changing the size of the tray key, the process branches to step S702, and the setting to display distinction is not made, that is, all tray keys are displayed in the same size. If yes, nothing is done and the process directly returns (S703). If the key size is always displayed in large or small, step S7
01 is passed through to step S702. Step S
Since the process for shifting to 703 is a normal key display process, the description thereof is omitted here. Step S70
In 2, 1 is substituted for the variable n indicating the tray number, and the process proceeds to step S704. In step S704, the nth tray key is displayed, and the flow advances to step S705. In step S705, 1 is added to the variable n and step S7 is performed.
If the variable n is larger than 4 (because the number of trays is 4 in this example), the process returns to step 06 (step S70).
7) If 4 or less, return to step S704.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the operation procedure in the n-th tray display processing in step S704. Here, first, if the key size flag of the nth tray is determined to be 1 in step S710, the process branches to step S711, and if the key size flag is not 1, the process branches to step S713. In step S711, 1
The n-th tray key is displayed in the largest size and the process returns to the flow of FIG. 8 (step S712). If the key size flag is 4 in step S713, the process branches to step S714, and if not, the process branches to step S715. In step S714, the n-th tray key is displayed with the smallest size, and the process returns to the flow of FIG. 8 (step S712). In step S715, if the key size flag of the nth tray is 2, the process branches to step S716, and if not, the process branches to step S717. In step S716,
The second largest size with the nth tray key displayed is shown in FIG.
The flow returns to step S712. Step S71
In step 7, the nth tray key is displayed in the second largest size and the process returns to the flow of FIG. 8 (step S712). As a result of the above processing, as shown in FIG. 6A, the tray keys 501 to 504, which are initially displayed in the same size, are displayed in FIG.
As shown in (b), the display is changed to a different size. It should be noted that the displayed key size may be the same size, except for the keys that are the largest and the keys that are the smallest (506 and 508 in this case).

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the operation procedure when the key size is determined according to the frequency of use. This control flow is a frequency detection flow of the selection state when the print key 205 is pressed. In this flow, first, if it is determined in step S801 that the print key is turned on, the process branches to step S802; otherwise, the process directly returns (step S80).
7). In step S802, a variable n representing the tray number
1 is substituted for and the process proceeds to step S803. If the n-th tray is selected in step S803, step S803
If it is not selected, the process branches to step 804 and step S80.
Branch to 5. In step S804, 1 is added to the n-th tray frequency counter and the process returns (step S70).
6). In step S805, 1 is added to the variable n and the process proceeds to step S806. If the variable n is larger than 4, the process returns (step S807). If it is 4 or less, the process returns to step S803. Further, the frequency is sorted in descending order of the frequency counter, and the display key size flag is sequentially set from 1 to 2,
The display size of the key is changed by substituting numerical values such as 3 ,. Note that the sorting procedure is well known and will not be described. Further, each time the non-selected state key becomes the selected state key, the frequency counter of the key may be incremented.

Next, the procedure for setting the key size display conditions will be described with reference to FIG. The setting of the display condition of the key size is started by first selecting the item of specifying the key size in a mode called a user tool. When the item of key size specification is selected,
The screen shown in FIG. 7A is displayed. Here, the key of the group whose key size is to be changed is selected. For example, when the key 602 of the paper feed tray is selected, the screen shown in FIG. 7B is displayed. Cancel key 621 in FIG. 7B
Is a key to close the screen by releasing the paper feed tray (setting to keep the key size unchanged), and the end key 622 is a key to close the screen with the contents set here. When the usage frequency key 623 is selected, a display in which the key size increases as the usage frequency increases is selected.
When 4 is selected, a display having different key sizes in the order of paper size is selected, and when the paper remaining amount key 625 is selected, a display in which the key size is increased as the remaining amount of paper is increased is selected.

Next, when the paper size key 624 is pressed, the screen shown in FIG. 7C is displayed, where the priority of the display key size is set according to the paper size. End key 640
Is a key to close the screen with the displayed contents. 64
The key layout of 1 represents the priority order (the paper size key set on the left side of the drawing is displayed larger, and the paper size key set on the right side is displayed smaller) 64
Reference numeral 2 denotes a paper size menu key that can be set in the 641 key layout. To set the priority order, select one key from 641 and then repeat the operation of selecting the key of the paper size you want to set the priority order from 641 to 641 for the number of paper sizes (6 in this case). Made by. For example, if the leftmost key of the priority keys is pressed and the A4 horizontal key of the paper size key is pressed, the A4 horizontal key is preferentially displayed in the maximum size, and vice versa.
When the rightmost key of the priority keys is pressed and the A4 horizontal key of the paper size key is pressed, the A4 horizontal key is preferentially displayed in the minimum size.

According to the above-described embodiment, the display size of the key that is frequently used is set to be larger than the display size of the key that is rarely used, or the paper size and the paper size are set by the user's setting operation. The key size can be set to be displayed differently according to the display information such as the remaining amount, and the priority can be set when the key size is displayed differently. So
It is possible to realize a display state suitable for the user.

[0022]

In summary, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained. According to the display device of claim 1, since the display size of the frequently used key can be displayed larger than the display size of the less frequently used key, the pressing operation of the frequently used key can be easily performed, In addition, even when a large number of keys are displayed on the display unit, it is easy to find a key that is frequently used, so that operability is improved. According to the display device of the second aspect, the display information of the key is displayed in a state in which it can be easily recognized by the user, and the operability is improved. According to the display device of claim 3, only a specific display area or only keys belonging to a specific group are displayed with different key sizes.
By displaying the keys with the same size for areas that do not need to be changed in size or for keys that belong to a group, only the necessary keys or information represented by the keys can be displayed in a user-friendly manner. Therefore, the operability is further improved. According to the display device of claim 4,
Since the key whose size is changed according to the frequency of use can be set so that the user can easily use it, the operability is further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a device configuration diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a copying machine including a display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an operation display unit provided in the copying machine of FIG.

3A is a diagram showing an example of a touch panel detection circuit provided on the display unit of the operation display unit of FIG. 2, and FIG.
Is a table showing the relationship between the input signal and the output signal in each part shown in the circuit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a control system of an operation display unit.

5A is an operation screen in an initial display state on the display unit of the operation display unit, FIG. 5B is a screen displayed by selecting a predetermined key in the screen of FIG. 5A, and FIG. (B)
This screen is displayed by selecting a predetermined key on the screen.

6A is a diagram showing a display state before changing a display key size of a tray key display section in the screen of FIG. 5A, FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display state after the display key size is changed.

7A to 7C are a series of explanatory diagrams showing a procedure for setting a display condition of a key size.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure for displaying keys.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure in the n-th tray display processing.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure in the case of determining a key size based on the frequency of use.

[Explanation of symbols]

 200 Operation Display Unit (Display Device) 208 Display Unit 212 CPU (Display Control Unit) 301 to 307 Keys 501 to 508 Keys 601 to 610 Keys 623 to 625 Keys 640 to 641 Keys

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masami Higuchi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoko Fukui 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Shares Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Hideki Tanaka 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh (72) Inventor Ryoichi Suzuki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A display device in which various keys are displayed on a display unit, and an input for various operations can be performed by pressing a display portion of a key corresponding to a desired operation. A display device comprising display control means for changing the display size of each key according to the frequency of use of each key. 2. A display device in which various keys are displayed on a display unit and an input for various operations can be performed by pressing a display portion of the key corresponding to a desired operation. A display device comprising display control means for changing the display size of each key in accordance with the above. 3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means changes the display size of only the keys displayed in a specific display area or the keys belonging to a specific group. 4. The display device according to claim 3, further comprising input means for setting a key displayed in the specific display area or a key belonging to a specific group.