Embodiments described herein relate generally to an input apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and an input method.
Conventionally, there is known an input apparatus for detecting an operation input by a user through a touch panel.
However, there is a case in which it is difficult for the input apparatus to correctly detect the operation input by the user due to the undesired application of external noise to the touch panel.
In accordance with an embodiment, an input apparatus comprises a touch panel, a hardware key, a sensor, and a controller. The sensor detects a signal indicating an operation by a user received by the touch panel. The controller determines whether or not an external noise is contained in the signal. The controller controls operations of the touch panel and the hardware key based on a determination result of the determination section.
In accordance with another embodiment, an input method, associated with an input apparatus comprising a touch panel and a hardware key, involves detecting a signal indicating an operation from a user received by the touch panel; determining whether or not an external noise is contained in the signal; and controlling operations of the touch panel and the hardware key based on a determination result.
Hereinafter, an input apparatus of an embodiment is described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The image forming apparatus 1 forms an image on a sheet-like image receiving medium (hereinafter, referred to as a “sheet”) such as a paper. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 is an MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) which is a multifunction machine, a printer, a copying machine and the like. The sheet is not limited to the paper, but includes a plastic sheet such as an OHP (overhead projector) sheet.
The image forming apparatus 1 includes a controller 10, a control panel 20, a printing section 30, a scanner section 40, and a sheet feed section 50.
The control panel 20 includes various keys or a touch panel for receiving an operation by a user. In an example of the present embodiment, the control panel 20 includes a touch panel 21 which is formed integrally with a display section and a hardware key 22. The touch panel 21 and the hardware key 22 receive the operation by the user. The operations by the user include, for example, an operation of setting image formation on the sheet, an operation of instructing a processing displayed on the touch panel 21, an operation of executing a processing assigned to the hardware key 22, and the like.
The scanner section 40 includes a reading section that reads a copied object. The scanner section 40 sends image information indicating an image of the read copied object to the printing section 30.
Based on the image information sent from the scanner section 40 or an external device, the printing section 30 forms an output image (hereinafter, referred to as a “toner image”) with a developer such as a toner. The printing section 30 transfers the toner image onto the surface of the sheet. The printing section 30 applies heat and pressure to the toner image transferred onto the sheet to fix the toner image on the sheet.
The sheet feed section 50 supplies the sheets one by one in accordance with a timing at which the printing section 30 forms the toner image.
The controller 10 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The controller 10 controls the control panel 20, the printing section 30, the scanner section 40 and the sheet feed section 50. The controller 10 is formed of a control circuit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory).
The details of the control panel 20 are described below.
For example, the home image 81 shows various processing executed by the image forming apparatus 1. The various processing executed by the image forming apparatus 1 include, for example, copying, scanning, faxing, printing of the image information and various settings. The touch panel 21 receives an operation executed by the user on the touch panel 21. The operation executed by the user on the touch panel 21 is, for example, an operation for instructing a certain position on the touch panel 21 (hereinafter, referred to as an instruction operation). The user instructs a certain position on the touch panel 21 by the instruction operation. Hereinafter, the certain position on the touch panel 21 instructed through the instruction operation by the user is described as an instructed position.
Here, the touch panel 21 of the control panel 20 is, for example, a capacitance type touch panel. In this case, the touch panel 21 includes a plurality of sensors for detecting a change in the capacitance together with the instruction operation by the user and outputting the detected change by the electric signal. In the touch panel 21, the sensor is placed on a matrix. The touch panel 21 detects a position where an electric signal indicating the change in the electrostatic capacity output by the sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value (hereinafter, referred to as a threshold value TH) as the instructed position. The touch panel 21 supplies information (hereinafter, referred to as instructed position information) indicating the instructed position on the touch panel 21 by the XY coordinates to the controller 10. The controller 10 recognizes the operation based on the image 80, the operation associated with the image 80, the position of the operation on the image 80, and the instructed position information. In the following description, the sensors provided in the touch panel 21 are simply described as a sensor. The sensor is an example of the signal detection section.
As shown in
In the above description, a case in which the hardware key 22 receives the operation by the user different from the operation received by the touch panel 21 is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. A matching operation may be associated with the touch panel 21 and the hardware key 22. In this case, the user inputs an operation using either the touch panel 21 or the hardware key 22.
The details of the external noise applied to the touch panel 21 are described below with reference to
The vertical axis in
If the user executes the instruction operation on the touch panel 21, the sensor value rises. The waveform W1 depicted in
Here, if the external noise is applied to the image forming apparatus 1 (the touch panel 21), the sensor value output by the sensor is biased. In this case, even if the touch panel 21 does not receive the instruction operation by the user, there is a possibility of erroneously detecting the instruction operation.
The image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment receives the operation by the user without using the touch panel 21 if the external noise is applied to the image forming apparatus 1 (the touch panel 21). A specific constitution of the image forming apparatus 1 is described below.
Based on the electric signal output by the sensor, the determination section 11 determines whether or not the external noise is contained in the electric signal.
The input controller 12 controls the operations of the touch panel 21 and the hardware key 22 based on the determination result of the determination section 11.
The display controller 13 displays the image 80 stored in the storage section 14 on the touch panel 21 based on the determination result of the determination section 11.
The storage section 60 stores image data received from a client terminal or a scanner. The storage section 60 is an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive).
Hereinafter, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is described with reference to the drawings.
If the external noise is not applied, the image forming apparatus 1 (the touch panel 21) operates in the normal operation mode (ACT 100). Hereinafter, details of the processing in ACT 100 are described with reference to FIG. 9.
The touch panel 21 determines whether or not the touch panel 21 receives the operation by the user (ACT 101). The state in which the touch panel 21 receives the operation by the user refers to, for example, a state in which each section of the image forming apparatus 1 operates based on the operation of the user received by the touch panel 21. If the operation by the user is received (No in ACT 101), the touch panel 21 does not execute a processing (hereinafter referred to as a determination processing) that determines whether or not the external noise is applied. If the touch panel 21 does not receive the operation by the user (Yes in ACT 101), the sensor detects the electric signal accompanying the determination processing (ACT 102). The determination section 11 determines whether or not the external noise is contained in the electric signal detected by the sensor (ACT 103).
The case in which the determination section 11 determines that the external noise is not contained in the electric signal includes a state in which the external noise is not contained in the electric signal at all. The case in which the determination section 11 determines that the external noise is not contained in the electric signal includes a state of containing the external noise to the extent that the external noise does not affect the operation of the touch panel 21. The case in which the determination section determines that the external noise is contained in the electric signal includes a state in which a plurality of the instructed positions is detected and a state in which the instructed position indicating a plurality of operations is detected according to the electric signal. In other words, the case in which the determination section 11 determines that the external noise is contained in the electric signal refers to a case in which it is difficult to recognize the operation by the user according to the electric signal.
The determination section 11 determines that the touch panel 21 can operate in the normal operation mode (ACT 104) if the external noise is not contained in the electric signal (Yes in ACT 103). In this case, the input controller 12 enables the touch panel 21 and the hardware key 22 to normally operate (ACT 105). The normal operation of the touch panel 21 is, for example, an operation of receiving the instruction operation corresponding to the image 80 displayed on the touch panel 21. If the touch panel 21 executes the normal operation, the controller 10 controls each section of the image forming apparatus 1 based on the instructed position information acquired from the touch panel 21 to execute various processing. The normal operation of the hardware key 22 is, for example, an operation of receiving operations previously associated with the hardware keys 22a to 22f. If the touch panel 21 executes the normal operation, the controller 10 controls each section of the image forming apparatus 1 based on the information indicating the operation received by the hardware key 22 to execute various processing.
The controller 10 executes the determination processing (ACT 101 to ACT 105) at predetermined time intervals.
The determination section 11 determines that the control panel 20 operates in a substitution input mode (ACT 106) if the external noise is contained in the electric signal (No in ACT 103). The substitution input mode refers to an operation method of receiving an operation received by the touch panel 21 by the hardware key 22. The controller 10 proceeds to the processing in ACT 200.
Returning to
The input controller 12 disables the operation received by the touch panel 21 if the control panel 20 operates in the substitution input mode (ACT 201). Specifically, the input controller 12 masks the instructed position information output from the touch panel 21. In this case, the controller 10 does not control each section based on the instructed position information output by the touch panel 21.
If the control panel 20 operates in the substitution input mode, the display controller 13 displays the image 80 stored in the storage section 14 on the touch panel 21 (ACT 202).
The details of the image 80 in the substitution input mode are described below.
Returning to
Based on the image 80 displayed on the touch panel 21, for example, the input controller 12 reads out the correspondence information associated with the image 80. The controller 10 recognizes the operation based on the correspondence information read out by the input controller 12 and the signal which is output accompanying the press on the hardware key 22. The controller 10 controls each section of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the recognized operation.
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The controller 10 determines whether or not the hardware key 22 receives the input (ACT 301). If the hardware key 22 receives an input (Yes in ACT 301), the controller 10 determines whether or not the input indicates an operation of switching the display (ACT 302). If the input does not indicate the operation of switching the display (No in ACT 302), the controller 10 controls each section of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the operation (ACT 303). If the input indicates the operation of switching the display (Yes in ACT 302), the display controller 13 displays the image 80 on the touch panel 21 in response to the operation (ACT 304). The input controller 12 reads out the correspondence information corresponding to the image 80 displayed on the touch panel 21 (ACT 305). Thereafter, the controller 10 recognizes the operation based on the correspondence information read by the input controller 12 and controls each section of the image forming apparatus 1.
Specifically, the substitution copy mode image 84 urges the user to press the hardware key 22a (“HOME” key shown in
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As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment comprises the controller 10, the touch panel 21 and the hardware key 22. The touch panel 21 includes the sensor. The controller 10 includes the determination section 11 and the input controller 12. The sensor detects the electric signal indicating the operation by the user received by the touch panel 21. The determination section 11 determines whether or not the external noise is contained in the electric signal detected by the sensor. The input controller 12 controls the operations of the touch panel 21 and the hardware key 22 based on the determination result of the determination section 11. In particular, the input controller 12 enables the control panel 20 to operate in the substitution input mode if the determination result of the determination section 11 indicates that the external noise is contained in the electric signal.
As a result, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can receive the operation by the user even if the touch panel 21 cannot receive the operation due to the external noise.
In the substitution input mode of the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a plurality of the hardware keys 22 is associated with different operations. Thereby, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can receive the plurality of operations by the hardware keys 22.
The image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment comprises the display section formed integrally with the touch panel 21 and the display controller 13. The display controller 13 displays the image 80 (e.g., the substitution mode image 83 and the substitution copy mode image 84) showing the correspondence between the operation by the user and the hardware key 22 on the display section. As a result, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can present various operations associated with the hardware key 22 in an easy-to-understand manner to the user.
The image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment displays the image (e.g., the substitution mode image 83 and the substitution copy mode image 84) including the notification indicating the substitution input mode on the display section. Thus, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can present that the operation is received by the hardware key 22 instead of the touch panel 21 in an easy-to-understand manner to the user.
The image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment associates the operation of switching the images 80 displayed on the touch panel 21 with the hardware key 22a in the substitution input mode. The display controller 13 switches the images 80 displayed on the touch panel 21 if the hardware key 22a receives the operation. For example, in the state in which the substitution mode image 83 is displayed, the display controller 13 displays the substitution copy mode image 84 if the hardware key 22a receives the operation. Thereby, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can receive more detailed setting relating to the image formation by the hardware key 22.
At the time the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment operates in the substitution input mode, if the determination section 11 determines that the external noise is not contained in the electric signal, the touch panel 21 receives the operation by the user under the control of the input controller 12.
Thereby, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can switch the devices for receiving the operation by the user according to a detection condition of the external noise without the input operation by the operator. In an example of the present embodiment, the devices that receive the operation by the user are the touch panel 21 and the hardware key 22. In other words, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can switch input from the touch panel 21 and the input from the hardware key 22 without intervention by the operator.
In the above description, the determination section 11 determines to operate in the substitution input mode if the external noise is included in the electric signal, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The touch panel 21 may calibrate levels of the electric signal on which the external noise is superimposed, for example. As a result, the touch panel 21 can receive the operation by the user by setting the electric signal superposed with the external noise as a reference level.
While certain embodiments have been described these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms: furthermore various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and there equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.