JP2005241993A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus that makes confirmation of input image data and various functions mounted on the image forming apparatus easy to use. <P>SOLUTION: A first foot switch X1 is for scrolling up display information 3d and provided with a slide variable resistor Xa inside, and so configured that a contact position of the variable resistor changes through a stepping-in operation. A second foot switch X2 is for scrolling down the display information 3d and its internal constitution is similar to that of the foot switch X1. A third foot switch X3 is for starting printing and provided with an unillustrated switch inside, and the switch is turned ON through a stepping-in operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including an auxiliary operation unit such as a foot switch.

  In recent years, image forming apparatuses configured as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a complex machine thereof have been manufactured with a model provided with a foot switch for starting printing. In an image forming apparatus provided with such a foot switch, the user has a lot of documents, etc., so that both hands cannot be used freely, or the size of the document on the platen is large. When it is difficult for the user to operate the print start button, such as when the print start button is hidden, it is possible to start printing simply by depressing the foot switch. Even if the document is thick or uneven, the user can press down the foot switch while holding down the document with both hands to stabilize the document position on the document table during printing. Printing can be performed. In this case, since the user can press the document against the document table with both hands, the gap between the document table and the document is eliminated, and the entry of extraneous external light from the gap is prevented, and a stable image can be obtained.

  As such a conventional image forming apparatus provided with a foot switch for starting printing, there are apparatuses described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

  The image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed as having a foot switch for starting printing on the front plate of the main body of the image forming apparatus and the bottom plate at the lower part of the left and right side surfaces. In this image forming apparatus, the operability at the time of printing is improved by the user operating a foot switch at a location according to the convenience of the user depending on the occasion of printing.

  Further, the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 2 has been proposed as including a document detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a document on a document table, in addition to a foot switch for starting printing. In this image forming apparatus, when the document detection unit detects that there is no document on the document table, the printing process is not started even when the foot switch is depressed. In this case, a message indicating that there is no document is also displayed on a display unit such as a display panel.

Furthermore, Patent Document 2 also discloses an apparatus that starts the image forming apparatus by shifting from the normal copy mode, which performs the same operation as when the print start button is pressed, to the continuous copy mode by depressing the foot switch several times. Has been. In this continuous copy mode, printing of a document is started only by placing the document on the document table without depressing the foot switch. At this time, by providing a certain amount of time (hereinafter referred to as a copy operation delay time) from when the document on the document table is detected by the document detection means to when printing is started, the document on the document table is given to the user. It is easy to stabilize the position. The copy operation delay time can be set for each user from a display unit such as a display panel.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-45718 JP-A-5-72838

  The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 only disclose the start control of the copying operation in conjunction with the foot switch depression, for example, the printing process is started simultaneously with the foot switch depression. It wasn't. For this reason, the setting of various functions installed in the image forming apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as function setting by combining function selection and function determination in this specification) may be performed by the user as in the past. He needed to operate with his finger.

  Therefore, although it is not necessary to use the print start operation, the user has to use the hand for setting various functions. For example, when you press a book or large-size document such as a book with both hands and print it once, then change the setting conditions and print again, or you have a lot of things in both hands However, it was difficult to use the hand (finger) for setting various functions.

  Further, since various functions are installed in recent image forming apparatuses, not all the functions are displayed on the display screen of the display unit, and display information that protrudes from the display screen is provided on a scroll bar. Some of them are designed to display protruding display information by pressing the key or down key to scroll.

  Other display information includes, for example, preview display for easily displaying image data input to the image forming apparatus on a display screen, thumbnail display for displaying a plurality of image data in a list, and the like. Some of these preview displays and thumbnail displays can be displayed by scrolling display information. These were also scrolled by operating with a finger. Moreover, the scrolling speed is constant. Therefore, the situation that it is very difficult to use as described above may occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus that makes it easy to check input image data and set various functions installed in the image forming apparatus. There is to do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 includes a main operation unit for performing input related to operation of the image forming apparatus, a sub operation unit that can be operated by a stepping operation, and a display screen. An image forming apparatus including a display unit capable of scrolling and displaying the displayed information on the display screen, the stepping amount detecting unit for detecting the stepping amount of the sub-operation unit, and the stepping amount detecting unit An image forming apparatus comprising scroll speed adjusting means for adjusting the scrolling speed in accordance with a detection amount. An example of the sub operation unit is a foot switch.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the sub-operation unit includes an upper scroll sub-operation unit that scrolls upward and a lower scroll sub-operation unit that scrolls downward. An image forming apparatus.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising a second sub operation unit that starts a printing operation by a stepping operation.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the depression amount detection means for detecting the depression amount of the sub operation unit, and the scroll speed adjustment means for adjusting the scrolling speed in accordance with the detection amount of the depression amount detection means. Therefore, the display information that protrudes from the display screen can be scrolled and displayed on the display screen without using a hand (finger). Therefore, it becomes very convenient. Further, if an upper scrolling sub-operation unit that scrolls upward and a lower scrolling sub-operation unit that scrolls downward are provided separately, it becomes easier to operate. If a second sub-operation unit that starts the printing operation by a stepping operation is further provided, a series of operations from the confirmation of the display screen to the printing start operation can be performed without using a hand (finger). It will be a thing.

  Embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention. The following embodiments and examples are examples embodying the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus A according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment), FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a display operation unit, and FIG. 3 is a foot switch X1. , X2 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of X2, (a) is a diagram showing the state when not depressed, (b) is a diagram showing the state when depressed, and FIG. 4 is a main configuration of the control system FIG. 5 is a block diagram, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart.

  First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus A according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described mainly with reference to FIG. The image forming apparatus A is a multifunction machine having a copy function and a printer function, which includes a foot switch as an example of a sub-operation unit that inputs a designation for starting a printing process of a document on the document table 22 by a stepping operation. Three foot switches are provided, which will be described later.

  Here, the foot switch provided in the image forming apparatus A is connected to the image forming apparatus A with a dedicated cable (FIG. 1), but the foot switch is directly provided at the lower part on the image forming apparatus main body side or the like. The present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus. Further, the image forming apparatus A mentioned in the present embodiment relates to a monochrome developing apparatus, but it goes without saying that it may relate to color development.

  The image forming apparatus A includes a sheet feeding unit for mounting a plurality of cassettes 5 below, a duplex unit 6 is disposed above the sheet feeding unit, and an image forming unit 7 is disposed above the unit. A fixing device 20 for fixing toner to a sheet such as transfer paper is provided beside the image forming unit 7, and a scanner 8 for reading an image and an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) 9 are mounted on the fixing device 20. ing. When the document is placed directly, the ADF is opened and the document is placed on the document table.

  A display operation unit 3 such as a liquid crystal touch panel is arranged on the upper surface of the main body of the image forming apparatus A. The display operation unit 3 includes a main operation unit 3a and a display unit 3b (see FIG. 3). The main operation unit 3a is provided with various keys. By operating these keys, image quality mode selection, paper size selection, variable magnification selection, density selection, sheet processing (staple processing, punch processing, etc.) selection are performed. Various functions can be selected. The main operation unit 3a is also provided with a print execution key 3c.

  The display unit 3b includes a display screen 3e that displays display information 3d and a scroll bar 3f. The display information 3d displayed on the display screen 3e includes, for example, a preview image that simply displays image data input to the image forming apparatus A. In the present embodiment, the display information 3d protrudes from the display screen 3e, and the entire display information 3d cannot be displayed. Therefore, by pressing the upper key 3g or the lower key 3h of the scroll bar 3f, the display information 3d can be scrolled upward or scrolled downward. Here, the upward scroll refers to a scroll in which the image information 3d moves upward, and the downward scroll refers to a scroll in which the image information 3d moves downward.

  Note that the scroll operation can also be performed by a foot switch described later. The display information 3d may be thumbnail images that display a list of image data input to the image forming apparatus A, or various function keys.

  The image forming unit 7 is provided with an image forming unit 15 in which a charging device 12, a developing device 13, and a cleaning device 14 are arranged around the photosensitive drum 11, and is opposed to the photosensitive drum 11 below. A transfer device 16 is arranged. The photosensitive drum 11 has a photosensitive layer formed on the surface of an aluminum cylinder having a diameter of 84 mm, for example, and is driven to rotate clockwise in FIG. The charging device 12 charges the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 11 to several hundred volts by corona discharge. On the downstream side of the charging device 12 on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 in the rotational direction, the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is exposed by an exposure device 18 including an LED array head and a Selfoc lens to form an electrostatic latent image. Is done. Image data used for controlling the light emission output of the exposure device 18 is input from the image processing unit 4.

  The outline of the printing process performed in the image forming apparatus A will be described below. After the document placed on the document table is scanned by the scanner 8 as a light source, the reflected light of the document enters a CCD 10 (Charge-Coupled Device; a device that converts an image signal into an electrical signal) via a mirror. Here, the image data is A / D converted and input to the image processing unit 4 as digital image data (original image data) and temporarily stored, and predetermined image processing is performed on the original image data. Thereafter, when the original image data after image processing is input to the exposure apparatus control means 19, the exposure apparatus control means 19 controls the exposure apparatus 18 so that exposure is performed according to the input original image data. To do.

  In the developing device 13, the developing roller rotates so that the magnetic brush formed on the surface of the developing roller comes into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 11, and a charged toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image. The toner image is conveyed in the transfer device 16 in a state where the sheet conveyed from one of the cassettes 5 is sandwiched between the photosensitive drum 11 and the transfer belt 17 that moves at the same speed as the peripheral speed. While being charged, the toner image is transferred onto the sheet. Further, a cleaning device 14 is disposed on the downstream side of the transfer device 16, and toner and other deposits remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 are removed. The sheet on which the toner image is transferred by the transfer device 16 is conveyed to a fixing device 20 provided on the downstream side in the conveyance direction. Note that the transfer device 16 of the image forming apparatus A employs a transfer belt, but this can be replaced with a transfer roller.

  The fixing device 20 includes a fixing roller 1 and a pressure roller 2 provided with a pressure mechanism facing the fixing roller 1. The toner image adhering to the sheet conveyed from the transfer device 16 by the transfer belt or the transfer roller is caused by the heat of the fixing roller 1 while the sheet passes between the fixing roller 1 and the pressure roller 2. The image is melted and fixed, and the sheet is pressed against the fixing roller 1 by the pressure roller 2 to be fixed on the sheet. The sheet on which the toner image has been fixed by the fixing device 20 is then sent to the sheet processing apparatus B side, subjected to predetermined processing, and then discharged from a predetermined sheet discharge port. Although not shown, the sheet processing apparatus B includes a stapling processing unit S that performs stapling processing on a sheet or a sheet bundle on which an image is formed and a punch processing unit P that performs punching processing.

  Next, the foot switch according to the present embodiment will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. Three foot switches are provided in the present embodiment. The first foot switch X1 is for scrolling the display information 3d upward, and its internal configuration is provided with a slide volume Xa inside as shown in FIG. The volume contact position changes.

  The second foot switch X2 is for scrolling the display information 3d downward, and its internal configuration is the same as that of the foot switch X1. The third foot switch X3 is for performing printing start execution. Although not shown, a switch is provided inside, and the switch is turned on by a stepping operation. .

  These three foot switches are electrically connected as shown in the block diagram of FIG. The slide volume Xa inside the foot switch X1 includes an A / D converter D for A / D converting the voltage level of the volume contact of the slide volume Xa, and a footage from a value converted into digital data by the A / D converter D. It is electrically connected to the control unit 30 via a depression amount detection means S that detects the depression amount of the switch X1. The same applies to the foot switch X2.

  The control unit 30 includes a scroll speed adjusting unit 31 that adjusts the scroll speed of the display information 3d according to the amount detected by the stepping amount detecting unit S, and a screen information display control for controlling display of a preview image as the screen information 3d. Means 32 are included. The display operation unit 3 is also connected to the control unit 30.

  Next, control by the stepping operation of the foot switches X1, X2, and X3 will be described with reference to FIG. First, image data read by the scanner 8, image data transmitted via a network such as a personal computer (not shown), or image data such as image data received by fax is input to the image forming apparatus A (S1). A preview image as a display image 3d is displayed on the screen 3e. When the preview image protrudes from the display screen 3e, the user may check the input image by scrolling the preview image with the foot switches X1 and X2.

  In S2, it is determined whether or not the foot switch X1 has been depressed. If the foot switch X1 has been depressed (Yes in S2), scrolling is performed upward according to the detection amount by the depression amount detection means S (S3). If it is not depressed (No in S2), the process proceeds to S4 without scrolling upward. In S4, it is determined whether or not the foot switch X2 has been depressed. If the foot switch X2 has been depressed (Yes in S4), scrolling is performed downward according to the detection amount by the depression amount detection means S (S5). If it has not been depressed (No in S4), the process proceeds to S6 without scrolling downward.

  In S6, it is determined whether or not the foot switch X3 has been depressed. If the foot switch X3 is depressed (Yes in S6), printing is executed (S7). If the foot switch X3 is not depressed (No in S6), the process returns to S2.

  In this embodiment, the foot switch stepping amount is detected using the slide volume. Instead, the foot switch stepping amount is detected using a rotary volume at the fulcrum portion of the foot switch. It doesn't matter if you do. Alternatively, a plurality of switches may be received to detect several steps.

  In addition, a separate switching key can be provided so that the upper and lower scrolls can be scrolled with a single foot switch without separately providing an upper scroll foot switch and a lower scroll foot switch. It doesn't matter.

1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus A according to an embodiment of the present invention. The schematic diagram of a display operation part. The figure which shows the internal structure of foot switch X1, X2. The main block diagram of the control system. flowchart.

Explanation of symbols

3. Display operation unit 3b ... Display unit 3d ... Display information 3e ... Display screen 30 ... Control unit X1, X2, X3 ... Foot switch

Claims (3)

A main operation unit for performing input related to operation of the image forming apparatus, a sub-operation unit that can be operated by a stepping operation, and a display unit that can scroll and display display information that protrudes from the display screen on the display screen An image forming apparatus comprising:
A depression amount detecting means for detecting a depression amount of the sub operation unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a scroll speed adjusting unit that adjusts the scrolling speed according to a detection amount of the stepping amount detection unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sub operation unit includes an upper scroll sub operation unit that scrolls upward and a lower scroll sub operation unit that scrolls downward. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second sub operation unit that starts a printing operation by a stepping operation.

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