JP4640973B2 - Information display apparatus, information display method, program for causing computer to execute the method, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information display device, an information display method, a program for causing a computer to execute the method, and an image forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a digital multi-function peripheral has a problem that it is difficult to see an edit menu displayed when editing settings are made because an attached touch panel is very narrow. In particular, such problems become serious as the number of setting items increases as the number of functions increases. For this reason, it has been desired that only editing items that are highly necessary are displayed with the simplest possible operation.

  In order to solve such a problem, for example, when the “1” key of the numeric keypad in the operation unit is pressed twice or continuously pressed for a predetermined time or more, the lower hierarchy item is selected. Thus, a technique has been devised for determining edit items and setting edit items (paragraph 0010 of Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-234714 A

  However, according to this technique, there is a case where the troublesome operation can be omitted in that the lower-level editing items are automatically set depending on how the numeric keypad is pressed. It is unclear whether an edit item is set, and there has been a problem that it is necessary to memorize the method of pressing and the lower level editing items corresponding to the pressing.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and its object is to determine and display setting information that is highly likely to be set while receiving setting input, and thus has high operational efficiency for the operator. An information display apparatus, an information display method, a program for causing a computer to execute the method, and an image forming apparatus are provided.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the first invention is attached to an electronic device, receives a setting input for the electronic device from an operation display means, and receives the received setting information as the operation display means. In the information display device to be displayed, the contact coordinate detection means for detecting the contact coordinates that are the position of the contact input received from the operation display means, and the contact time detection for detecting the duration of the contact input received from the operation display means Setting information including at least one of the setting item and the setting value of the electronic device based on the means, the contact coordinates detected by the contact coordinate detection means, and the duration detected by the contact time detection means And a display control unit for displaying the setting information determined by the setting determination unit on the operation display unit. , Wherein the setting determination unit determines based on the setting item corresponding to the contact coordinate on the duration, wherein the display control unit, to the operation display unit, the determination of the setting determining means Based on this, the setting information corresponding to the contact coordinates and the duration and the setting information corresponding to the contact coordinates and not corresponding to the duration are displayed .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information display method for an information display device that is attached to an electronic device, receives a setting input to the electronic device from an operation display unit, and displays the received setting information on the operation display unit. A contact coordinate detection step of detecting a contact coordinate that is a position of the contact input received from the operation display means by the detection means, and a contact that detects a duration of the contact input received from the operation display means by the contact time detection means. Based on the time detection step and the contact coordinates detected in the contact coordinate detection step by the setting determination means and the duration detected in the contact time detection step, at least one of the setting item and the setting value of the electronic device A setting determination step for determining setting information including the above and the setting determined in the setting determination step by the display control means. Comprising a display control step of displaying information on the operation display unit, wherein the setting determining step, said the setting item corresponding to the contact coordinate determined based on the duration, wherein the display control step, the operation The display means displays the setting information corresponding to the contact coordinates and the duration and the setting information corresponding to the contact coordinates and not the duration based on the determination in the setting determination step. It is characterized by.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided image data acquisition means for acquiring image data, and image data acquired by the image data acquisition means is displayed on the operation display means, and setting information received and received is displayed. An image forming apparatus comprising: an information display device for performing image data output by performing setting processing on image data according to setting information displayed and set on the information display device, wherein the information display The apparatus includes a contact coordinate detection unit that detects a contact coordinate that is a position of a contact input received from the operation display unit, a contact time detection unit that detects a duration of the contact input received from the operation display unit, and the contact Based on the contact coordinates detected by the coordinate detection means and the duration detected by the contact time detection means, the setting items of the electronic device and Setting determination means for determining setting information including at least one of fixed values, display control means for causing the operation display means to display the setting information determined by the setting determination means, and the operation display means by the display control means and a reception means for transmitting to said output means from the setting information displayed by receiving the designation settings, the setting determining means determined based on the setting item corresponding to the contact coordinate on the duration The display control means corresponds to the operation display means based on the determination of the setting determination means, the setting information corresponding to the contact coordinates and the duration, and the contact coordinates corresponding to the duration. The setting information is not displayed .

According to the first invention, the setting information including at least one of the setting item and the setting value of the electronic device based on the contact coordinate that is the position of the contact input received from the operation display unit and the duration of the contact input. By displaying the determined setting information on the operation display means, it is possible to display the items and setting values that are to be set with high possibility, so that the setting that is accurate and highly efficient for the operator. There exists an effect that the information display device which can be operated can be provided.

According to the second invention, the setting information including at least one of the setting item and the setting value of the electronic device based on the contact coordinate that is the position of the contact input received from the operation display unit and the duration of the contact input. By displaying the determined setting information on the operation display means, it is possible to display the items and setting values that are to be set with high possibility, so that the setting that is accurate and highly efficient for the operator. There is an effect that an information display method that can be operated can be provided.

According to the third invention, the setting information including at least one of the setting item and the setting value of the electronic device based on the contact coordinates that are the position of the contact input received from the operation display unit and the duration of the contact input. Display the determined setting information on the operation display means, display the item or setting value to be set with a high probability, and display the input image data according to the displayed setting information. Since the setting process is performed and the image is output, there is an effect that it is possible for the operator to provide an image forming apparatus capable of a setting operation with high convenience and efficiency.

  Exemplary embodiments of an information display device, an information display method, a program for causing a computer to execute the method, and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It demonstrates in detail along the modifications 1-5.

(1. Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus including an information display apparatus according to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus includes a scanner 1, an image processing unit 2, a touch panel 3, an editing processing unit 4, an image output unit 5, a memory (HDD) 6, and an information display device 10.

  The information display device 10 according to the first embodiment is applied to an image forming apparatus. The information display device 10 accepts setting input from the touch panel 3 by the operator for the image data read by the scanner 1 and displays setting information determined by the accepted setting input on the touch panel 3. Then, the setting input by the operator is accepted via the setting information displayed on the touch panel 3.

  The scanner 1 reads a document image. The image processing unit 2 converts the read document image into digital data to generate image data, and transmits the image data to the information display device 10. The touch panel 3 accepts contact input from the operator. The touch panel 3 displays the read image data. Further, the touch panel 3 accepts a setting input by contact input from setting items displayed on the touch panel 3.

  The touch panel 3 receives an input by making contact via a human fingertip, a stylus pen, or other contact input tool. The touch panel 3 detects coordinate signals at each position on the panel surface to be displayed by a known technique such as a resistance film method, an infrared detection method, or an analog capacitive coupling method that detects a change in resistance by pressing from a fingertip or a pen tip. To do.

  Hereinafter, as an input form, a touch input (hereinafter referred to as a touch input) that performs input by touching the touch panel 3 will be described as an example. However, only touch input is not necessarily an embodiment of the present invention. For example, an input position can be detected by applying a position detection technique using infrared rays. Various input methods including a mouse and a keyboard can be applied as the input method. In addition, it is possible to provide an operation unit (not shown) that mechanically accepts pressing by the operator and performs input. Further, the operation unit can include a push button for instructing execution of printing.

  The information display device 10 performs a setting process on the image data received from the image processing unit 2 based on the setting item. The editing processing unit 4 performs editing processing based on the processing items set by the information display device 10 and transmits the processed processing to the image output unit 5. The image output unit 5 prints out based on the image data subjected to the editing process.

  The information display device 10 according to Embodiment 1 includes a contact coordinate detection unit 11, a contact time detection unit 12, a reception unit 13, a setting determination unit 14, and a display control unit 15.

  The contact coordinate detection unit 11 generates coordinate information from position signals on the patch panel 3 detected by touch input on the touch panel 3. The contact coordinate detection unit 11 detects contact coordinates at the start of contact input. Further, the contact coordinate detection unit 11 may be configured to detect even at the end of the contact. Moreover, the contact coordinate detection part 11 can be set as the structure which detects wrinkles for every predetermined time. This is because the detected coordinate position is fed back over time.

  When a touch input is made on the touch panel 3, the contact time detection unit 12 detects the duration of the touch input. Here, the contact time detection unit 12 detects the duration based on the start and end times of the contact input.

  The setting determination unit 14 includes at least one of setting items and setting values in the image forming apparatus based on the contact coordinates detected by the contact coordinate detection unit 11 and the duration detected by the contact time detection unit 12. Determine information.

  The hard disk 6 stores a correspondence table that associates coordinates detected by touch input to the touch panel 3 and the duration of the touch input with setting information such as setting items and setting values. The setting determination unit 14 reads the setting information corresponding to the input contact coordinates and the contact time from the correspondence table, and uses it as a determination result.

  The display control unit 15 displays the read image data on the touch panel 3. Further, the display control unit 15 displays the setting information read and determined by the setting determination unit 14 on the touch panel 3.

  When the user inputs a setting via the setting information displayed on the touch panel 3, the receiving unit 13 receives the setting input via the touch panel 3 and transmits the received setting information to the editing processing unit 4.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating that a contact input is received from the touch panel. In FIG. 2, the read original image 200 is composed of paragraphs, titles, photographs, and the like and is displayed on the touch panel 3. Now, the operator performs touch input on a point on the touch panel 3 represented by reference numeral 201.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence table used when the setting determination unit determines a setting item. In the correspondence table 300 of FIG. 3, an item number 301, a rectangular range 302 input on the touch panel, a contact input duration (seconds) 303, and a setting item 304 are defined.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining detection of coordinates input from a display image. Here, the user performs touch input on the touch panel 3 with a finger or a stylus pen. The x-axis and y-axis for setting the position data of the contact point in the contact input are set as shown in FIG. Each of these axes is conveniently set in the main scanning line direction and the sub-scanning line direction in the image forming apparatus.

  A rectangular area in the xy coordinate system is defined by a set of two parameters (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) in the rectangular range shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, when the contact time is 3 seconds to 6 seconds within the rectangle defined by the coordinate points (10, 20) and (30, 70), the item to be set is item number 1. “Binding allowance” 305 is applicable. If the contact time is 0.3 seconds to 3 seconds in the rectangle defined by the coordinate points (20, 50) and (40, 80), the item to be set is item number 2. “Punch hole” 306 corresponds to this. Here, the duration for dividing the setting of the binding margin and the punch hole is a threshold value of 3 seconds. That is, when it is shorter than 3 seconds, it is determined as a punch hole, and when it is 3 seconds or more and 6 seconds, it is determined as a binding margin.

  Now, it is assumed that the contact time detection unit 12 measures that the time when the point 201 illustrated in FIG. 2 is touch-inputted to start contact and the touch input is in a non-detection state is 4 seconds. Now, the contact coordinate detection unit 11 has detected the touch input point as (25, 60). Both of items 1 and 2 correspond to the detected coordinates. Since the setting determination unit 14 is a case where the measured contact time is 3 to 6 seconds, the setting determination unit 14 refers to the correspondence table illustrated in FIG. And the punch hole of the item 2 which is a case where contact time is 0.3-3 second was determined as a 2nd candidate. When the setting determination unit 14 determines that the binding margin is set, a numerical value of 5 mm set as a default as the binding margin is displayed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the setting determination unit determines setting items and setting values and displays setting information on the touch panel. The display control unit 15 displays the items determined by the setting determination unit 14 (reference numeral 501). The display control unit 15 displays “binding margin” on the touch panel 3 as the setting item determined by the setting determination unit 14 (reference numeral 502). Then, 5 mm is displayed as the setting value of the binding margin determined as the default value (reference numeral 503). It is desirable that this numerical value can be changed by a touch input from the user. “Punch hole” is displayed as the next most likely setting item (reference numeral 504).

  The user selects and inputs a desired setting item from the setting item candidates 501 displayed on the touch panel 3 in order to perform setting input via the displayed item. The receiving unit 13 receives information about the setting items received by touch input and transmits the information to the editing processing unit 4. The editing processing unit 4 performs editing processing on the document image data based on the received setting item information, and transmits it to the image output unit 5.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an information display procedure according to the first embodiment. The touch panel 3 detects a contact input (step S101), and when the input is detected (Yes in step S101), the contact time detection unit 11 resets the contact time. This is to start measuring the duration of contact (step S102).

  The contact coordinate detection unit 12 detects contact coordinates on the touch panel 3. Assume that the contact coordinates are (25, 60) (step S103). The touch panel 3 detects whether or not the contact input is in a non-detection state (step S104). When the touch input is in the non-detection state (Yes in step S104), the contact time detection unit 11 determines the contact time until then. To detect. Here, it is assumed that the contact duration is 5 seconds (step S105).

The setting determination unit 14 determines the setting information based on the contact coordinate value and the contact time illustrated in FIG. Here, it is determined that the corresponding setting item is “binding margin” as the first candidate from FIG. 3. Further, it is determined that the second candidate is a “punch hole” (step S106). The display control unit 15, the touch panel 3 the setting information determined by setting the determination unit 14 Manzanillo, display like reference numerals 501-50 3 in FIG. 5, for example. Here, 5 mm, which is the default value of the binding margin, is shown at the same time (step S107).

  The accepting unit 13 detects whether or not an input has been accepted from the setting information displayed on the touch panel 3 (step S108). If not detected (No in step S108), the process returns to the beginning, and the touch panel 3 enters a state of detecting contact input (step S101).

  When the reception unit 13 receives an input from the touch panel 3 (Yes in step S108), the editing processing unit 4 performs an editing process according to the received setting content (step S109). The image output unit 5 outputs an image based on the edited image data (step S110).

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure in which the setting determination unit determines the setting item. This setting item determination procedure is the detailed procedure of step S108 in FIG. The setting determination unit 14 determines whether or not the detected coordinate value of the contact input is within the i-th predetermined rectangular range. In the drawing, Li and Ri define a range in the x direction, and Ti and Bi define a range in the y direction (step S201). By changing the value of i (step S202), a rectangular range touch-inputted on the touch panel 3 is specified (Yes in step S201).

  The contact time determination unit 12 measures the duration of contact. The setting determination unit 14 determines whether or not the measured duration is longer than a threshold value. In this case, it is assumed that 3 seconds is a threshold for short-time contact and long-time contact (step S203). If it is determined that the contact duration is longer than 3 seconds (Yes in step S203), the setting item determined by the long-time contact is selected. CLi → C represents setting a setting item by long-time contact in the i-th region. Here, “binding margin” is shown in FIG. At this time, the default value of 5 mm is simultaneously selected (step S204).

Then, “punched hole” which is an item of short-time contact is selected as the next candidate as shown in FIG. Here, the CSi → C, the setting item by the short contact time in the i-th region representing the set Teisu Rukoto (step S205). The display control unit 15 displays the selected setting item information on the touch panel 3 (step S107).

  Thus, the setting information including at least one of the setting item and the setting value of the electronic device is determined based on the contact coordinates that are the position of the contact input received from the touch panel 3 and the duration of the contact input. By displaying the setting information on the touch panel 3, it is possible to determine and display a highly likely item or setting value to be set and receive an operator's input, thereby enabling highly efficient setting operation. .

(2. Embodiment 2)
FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of the information display device according to the second embodiment. The information display device 20 according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it includes a time measuring unit 27, and the contact coordinate detection unit 11 detects the contact coordinates every predetermined time from the time when the contact input is started. The contact time detection unit 12 detects the duration for every predetermined time, the setting determination unit 24 determines the setting information for each predetermined time unit based on the contact coordinates and the duration, and the display control unit 25 The setting information is displayed on the touch panel 3 for each time unit.

  Thus, since the setting information determined based on the contact coordinates and the duration of the contact input is fed back and displayed on the touch panel 3 for each predetermined time unit, the setting determined differently depending on the change in the duration. Items can be presented to the operator.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an image display procedure according to the second embodiment. The touch panel 3 detects a contact input (step S301). When the touch input is detected (Yes in step S301), the time measuring unit 27 resets the contact time (step S302). The timer 27 detects whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (step S303), and when detected (Yes in step S303), the contact coordinate detector 11 detects the contact coordinates (step S304) and detects the contact time. The unit 12 detects the contact time (step S305).

  Here, the reason for detecting whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed is to detect the contact coordinates and the contact time in increments of the predetermined time. Therefore, the predetermined time is a unit of about 0.05 seconds, 0.1 seconds, or 0.3 seconds, for example.

  The setting determination unit 24 determines the setting information based on the contact coordinates and the contact continuation time after a predetermined time has elapsed. For example, when the determination is made according to the table shown in FIG. 3, when the contact coordinate area corresponds to the item numbers 1 and 2 and the duration up to the present is 2 seconds, the setting determination unit 24 The item number 2 “punch hole” is determined to be the first candidate, and the item number 1 “binding margin” is determined to be the second candidate (step S306). In the setting information of “hole”, “binding margin” is displayed as the second candidate capital (step S307).

  However, if the user wants to set the “binding margin” as the second candidate here, the setting input is not performed. Therefore, the user keeps pressing the button and there is no input from the receiving unit 13 (No in step S308), and the process returns to step S302. Thus, the time for touching by touch input elapses. When the contact time detection unit 12 detects the elapse of 3 seconds or more (step S305), the setting determination unit 24 determines the corresponding “binding margin” from FIG. 3 as a setting item (step S305). In step S306, the display control unit 25 displays (step S307).

  If the receiving unit 13 determines that an input is received from the displayed setting information (Yes in step S308), the process proceeds to step S109 (FIG. 5). If it is determined that no input is received (No in step S308), the process returns to step S302. Return.

  Here, the coordinate position has been described as not changing, but it is possible to determine and display settings such as enlargement / reduction by changing the coordinate position for touch input. Alternatively, a margin width can be set.

  In this way, by detecting the contact coordinates and duration of the contact input for each predetermined time unit, determining the setting information and displaying it on the touch panel 3, setting information based on the contact coordinates and the contact time by the contact input Is fed back over time and displayed on the touch panel 3, so that even if the content to be set changes with time, it is accurately determined and displayed, and the setting operation is highly efficient by the operator. Is possible.

(3. Embodiment 3)
The information display device according to the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the information display device further includes a correspondence information generation unit that generates correspondence information from the history information of the contact time and the setting information, and the setting determination unit includes the duration time, The setting information is determined based on the correspondence information generated by the correspondence information generation unit. Thereby, since the statistical feature of the setting by the operator is included in the correspondence information, the item to be set can be determined and displayed by taking into account the habit and feature of the operator.

  FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of the information display device according to the third embodiment. The correspondence information generation unit 37 included in the information display device 30 collects the history data of the touch input duration time and the setting items received by the receiving unit 13, stores the historical data in the HDD 6. The correspondence information generation unit 37 rewrites the history information according to the received setting item. The setting determination unit 34 determines the setting information with reference to the contact input duration and the history information rewritten by the correspondence information generation unit 37.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of history information. This history file represents the frequency of the operator setting and inputting the punch hole and binding margin by touch input in association with the time axis. In FIG. 11, the input frequency appears in the form of two peaks depending on the difference between the long and short contact times. The first peak on the left is when a punch hole is input, and the peak on the right is when a binding margin is input.

  In the first setting, as shown in the graph 1101, the threshold value is set to be longer by 3 seconds. In other words, the setting determination unit 34 first determines that the hole is a punch hole if the contact time is 3 seconds or less as before, and determines that the binding margin is longer than 3 seconds. However, when the height h1 of the valley between the two peaks is sufficiently low, in this case, the distance L1 between the peaks is relatively large, but the threshold can be set to a shorter time.

  On the other hand, the graph 1102 is a frequency graph when the threshold is set to 2 seconds. Since the judgment of long and short is based on 2 seconds, there are a lot of mistaken inputs, and the height h2 of the valley between the two peaks is higher than h1. When the height h2 of the valley is larger than a predetermined value, there is a problem that the difference between the length and the length is too small.

  Therefore, the graph 1103 is a case where the threshold is increased again to 2.5 seconds. In this case, the height h3 of the valley and the distance L3 between the two peaks take intermediate values of those shown in the graphs 1101 and 1102.

  Here, the setting determination unit 34 determines a threshold value based on the history information 1100 so that the height of h is not more than a certain value. In this way, the setting determination unit 34 initially sets the threshold value to a long value, and if the threshold value is set to a short value and causes inconvenience, the setting determination unit 34 further sets the threshold value to the middle. Asymptotically, the threshold value is changed as a reference. Accordingly, the setting determination unit 34 can set a threshold value for determining the optimum long and short contact time.

  In this way, the correspondence information generation unit 37 can generate correspondence information based on the history information. The setting determination unit 34 determines the setting information by referring to the correspondence information based on the history information generated by the correspondence information generation unit 37, and the display control unit 15 displays the setting information determined by the setting determination unit 34.

  Here, the correspondence information generation unit 37 further generates correspondence information by associating the contact coordinates with the setting information, and the setting determination unit 34 further determines the setting information based on the contact coordinates and the correspondence information. It is desirable. For this, instead of the duration and frequency graph shown in FIG. 11, the frequency is set to the third dimension with respect to the xy two-dimensional coordinates, thereby generating correspondence information in consideration of history information by the same method. be able to.

  In addition, the setting determination unit 34 can optimally set a coordinate threshold value on the xy coordinate plane in the generated history information. And the setting determination part 34 can determine a setting item based on the correspondence information including the contact time and the contact coordinates optimized with the history information taken into consideration.

  Here, it supplements about the method of adapting the threshold value of long and short time to a user automatically. When the distribution of the touch time is obtained from the past operation history of the user, the distribution of the two peaks basically becomes as described above, because different setting items are displayed by long and short touches, This is because it is based on a natural movement that consciously distinguishes between a touch and a long-time touch.

  In general, a long touch must be greater than or equal to a set threshold, so the right mountain is near the threshold. How long a short touch is depends on the user. Therefore, generally, the position of the left mountain is different for each user. Here, when the left mountain and the right mountain are vacant (when the distance between the two mountains is long), the operator may feel frustrated because it takes a long time to determine a long touch. Conceivable. Therefore, the threshold value is moved to the left to the foot of the left mountain. Then, the time for determining a long touch is shortened, and it is solved that the operator is frustrated. In the subsequent operation pattern, the right mountain may move to the left. Thus, the history information is stored in the HDD 6 and the threshold value is automatically adjusted to converge to the optimum waiting time.

  In this way, history information that associates the contact time with the setting information is generated, and correspondence information is generated based on the duration time and the history information to determine the setting information. Since the setting information is determined and displayed in consideration of the habit, the contents to be set are accurately displayed in consideration of the personal habit, and a highly efficient setting operation is possible.

  Further, the history information is generated by associating the contact coordinates with the setting information, and the setting information is determined based on the contact coordinates and the history information. Since the setting information is determined and displayed in consideration of the habit of a typical operation, the contents to be set are accurately displayed, and a highly efficient setting operation is possible.

(4. Embodiment 4)
The image display apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that at least one of a continuous change and a discrete change is made in at least one of a change in voice strength and a level based on a duration time. In the aspect of the change, an audio output unit for outputting is further provided.

  FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram of the image display apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. The image display device includes 40, a speaker 47, and an audio output control unit 48, and outputs audio with continuous or discrete changes in volume as the contact time elapses. Alternatively, it may be an audio output accompanied by a change in sound level instead of the volume.

  For example, in a personal computer (PC), it is possible to give a plurality of meanings to different clicks to the same position, such as “while pressing the shift key” or “right click”. However, since such various operation settings are basically impossible on a touch panel, the actual situation is that the degree of freedom of operation is extremely limited. Therefore, the present invention has a plurality of meanings depending on the length of the touching time.

  However, in a shared device such as an MFP (digital multifunction peripheral), it is generally desirable that an operator can guess a certain operation method without looking at a paper manual. For this reason, it is desirable that the user can naturally find out from the operation experience that there are two meanings regarding the setting depending on the length of the contact time for contact input.

  However, as long as the operation is performed with a short touch, information indicating that the display of the setting item is different with a long touch is not fed back to the user. Therefore, it is difficult to discover the fact that the setting item varies depending on the length of the input time.

  The present embodiment is characterized in that it presents an opportunity to make an assumption that “a long touch has other operational meaning” even for an operator who operates for the first time. That is, in the present embodiment, feedback that prompts the user to try to touch for a long time is performed through the display screen.

  For example, a sound whose height continuously changes while touching is continuously output. This constitutes the continuous change of sound in the present invention.

  Moreover, when the time (threshold value) which becomes a boundary between long and short is exceeded, sounds having different heights and different volumes are output. This constitutes a discrete change of speech in the present invention. That is, if the contact is continued, for example, the sound generated by the contact gradually increases, and the sound is output such that the temperature suddenly becomes high as soon as the threshold is exceeded.

  By outputting sound in such a manner of continuous change and discrete change, it is possible for the user to predict that something will change due to a change in time during which the touch input is continued. With such a configuration, it is possible to increase the possibility that the user will make an attempt to press and hold.

(Modification 1)
The display control unit 45 of the image display device desirably displays information in the form of continuous change and discrete change in the image displayed on the touch panel 3 based on the duration. Further, it is desirable that the display control unit 45 displays information on the touch panel 3 in the form of a changing animation image as an image.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of image display according to the first modification. The figures indicated by reference numerals 1301 and 1302 are indicator-like figures indicating the passage of time. The triangle 1303 on the trapezoidal shape moves from the left end to the right as time passes.

  The trapezoidal shape on which the triangle 1303 is placed is divided into two regions with a threshold value 1304 as a boundary. For example, when the triangle 1303 is on the left side of the threshold value 1304 (figure 1301), punch holes are determined and displayed as setting items. When the triangle 1303 is on the right side of the threshold 1304 (figure 1302), since the elapsed time exceeds the threshold, the binding margin is determined as a setting item.

  In this way, changes in time are displayed by changes in dynamic figures, so the operator feels foreseeable or predicts that something will happen when the triangle touches for a long time and the triangle enters the area on the right side. can do.

  In order to express such a feeling of change due to graphics, it is particularly desirable to use animation. This is because it is possible to give a sense of setting change that is easy to understand by the simplified dynamic design. In this case, it is desirable that the sound and the display color intensity on the touch panel 3 are gradually increased over time, and a loud sound is output or emphasized by exceeding the threshold. This is because the feeling of change can be emphasized.

(Modification 2)
Further, when the one-dimensionally expanded display indicated by reference numerals 1301 and 1302 in FIG. 13 is an obstacle to operation, for example, as indicated by reference numerals 1311 to 1313 in FIG. Is desirable. Here, a large and small concentric circle 1311 is displayed around the touched point, and the small circle inside the concentric circle continuously changes from light blue to pink while spreading like a ripple with the passage of time (reference numerals 1311 and 1311). 1312) When the threshold value is exceeded, it can be displayed with a design (reference numeral 1313) in which only a great circle 1313 with a dark red color is formed.

  Alternatively, there is a large circle with a constant pink radius, and as a continuous change, the concentric small circle gradually increases until it reaches the great circle, a short touch, after which the setting item is judged as a long touch And can be configured to be displayed. In this case, when the great circle is reached, the two circles are overlapped and displayed, for example, highlighted in red. Such a change is an example of an intermittent or discrete change.

(Modification 3)
As another modification, based on the duration of the touch input, the change in the strength of at least one of the haptic information including vibration, heat, and tactile information is changed continuously or discretely. The aspect further includes a force information output unit for outputting.

  FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram of an information display device according to the third modification. The information display device 50 includes a haptic information output control unit 58 and a vibrator 57. The operator can change the setting information determined by the vibrator 57 according to the continuous change and the intermittent change of the vibration by the vibrator 57. It is something to let you know.

  In addition, the touch panel 3 is vibrated using other haptics (haptics) devices, and while it is touching, the vibration intensity is gradually increased or the vibration intensity is intermittently increased. The operator can be expected to change.

In this way, according to the elapse of the contact time, that is, the duration of contact, the voice strength, level change, and force information change are output by outputting them in a continuous and discrete manner. Therefore, it is possible to make the operator expect a change in the content, so that an efficient setting operation can be performed for the operator.

(Modification 4)
Regarding the transition of the touch input time displayed on the touch panel 3, in addition to the design of the aspect already described, for example, it has a clock-like long hand and a scale, and the passage of time is displayed by the rotation of the long hand. Desirable design. This is because it is easy to imagine that the passage of time is meaningful because it resembles the design of a watch that operators are familiar with.

  Further, it is desirable to set a long press time threshold at a position half the rotation angle (180 °) of 360 °, and to distinguish between colors and brightness before and after that. This is a threshold value, and it is easy to recall that the setting changes when the button is kept pressed beyond this time.

  In this time-lapse display design for a clock, for example, 360 ° is divided into six, and one round is set to about 6 seconds. In this case, the design is changed with a threshold value of 3 seconds as a boundary. Further, as described in the embodiment, when this threshold value is changed, it is desirable to change the design as a boundary.

(Modification 5)
In the embodiments so far, the example in which the information display apparatus is mainly applied to the image forming apparatus has been described, but the information display apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to such application. For example, a mobile phone is given as an electronic device to be applied. The information display device of the present invention can be applied to the display and operation input screen of a mobile phone (not shown) provided with a communication means, a reception means, and a communication means for transmitting and receiving a call and reception.

  When the information display device of the present invention is applied to a mobile phone, the information display device described above is applied to a liquid crystal screen that displays the functions of the mobile phone, settings of transmission / reception items, etc., and inputs settings by the operator. can do. This makes it possible for the operator to roughly change the contents used for the narrow information display and operation input screen of the mobile phone, and it is easy for the operator to understand and allows convenient and efficient setting operations. .

  Further, the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone and can be applied to any electronic device that has an item to be set and has an operation display unit that inputs a screen while displaying the setting. For example, for various electronic devices (not shown) including digital cameras, digital video cameras, television receivers, video recorders, DVD recorders, hard disk recorders and other image recording devices, various test electronic devices, and so-called digital home appliances. It is applicable.

(5. Hardware configuration)
FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus having the image display apparatus according to the embodiment. This image forming apparatus is configured as a multifunction peripheral (MFP) having multiple functions such as a fax machine and a scanner. As shown in the figure, this MFP has a configuration in which a controller 1210 and an engine unit 2260 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The controller 2210 is a controller that controls input from the FCUI / F 2230 and the operation display unit (touch panel) 2220 such as control of the entire MFP, information display control, various controls, and image processing control. The engine unit 2260 is an image processing engine that can be connected to a PCI bus, and includes, for example, an image processing portion such as error diffusion and gamma conversion for acquired image data.

  The controller 2210 includes a CPU 2211, a north bridge (NB) 2213, a system memory (MEM-P) 2212, a south bridge (SB) 2214, a local memory (MEM-C) 2217, and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). 2216 and a hard disk drive 2218, and the North Bridge 2213 and the ASIC 2216 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 2215. The MEM-P 2212 further includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 2212a and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 2212b.

  The CPU 2211 performs overall control of the MFP, has a chip set including the NB 2213, the MEM-P 2212, and the SB 2214, and is connected to other devices via the chip set.

  The NB 2213 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 2211 to the MEM-P 2212, SB 2214, and AGP 2215, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 2212, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

  The MEM-P 2212 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, and the like, and includes a ROM 2212a and a RAM 2212b. The ROM 2212a is a read-only memory used as a program / data storage memory, and the RAM 2212b is a writable / readable memory used as a program / data development memory, an image drawing memory during image processing, and the like.

  The SB 2214 is a bridge for connecting the NB 2213 to a PCI device and peripheral devices. The SB 2214 is connected to the NB 2213 via a PCI bus, and an FCUI / F 2230 and the like are also connected to the PCI bus.

  The ASIC 2216 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for multimedia information processing having hardware elements for multimedia information processing, and has a role of a bridge for connecting the AGP 2215, the PCI bus, the HDD 2218, and the MEM-C 2217, respectively.

  The ASIC 2216 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that is the core of the ASIC 2216, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 2217, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory) that perform rotation of image data by hardware logic or the like. An interface 2250 is connected to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2240 and IEEE (the Institute of Electrical Engineers) 1394 via the PCI bus between the Access Controller and the engine unit 2260.

  The MEM-C 2217 is a local memory used as a transmission image buffer and a code buffer, and the HDD 2218 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms.

  The AGP 2215 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card that has been proposed for speeding up graphics processing, and speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the MEM-P 2212 with high throughput.

  The operation display unit (touch panel) 2220 connected to the ASIC 2216 receives an operation input from the operator and transmits the operation input information received by the ASIC 2216.

  The information display program and the image forming program executed by the MFP according to the embodiment are provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  An information display program and an image forming program executed by the MFP according to the embodiment are files in an installable or executable format, such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). For example, the program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  Further, the information display program and the image forming program executed by the MFP according to the embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. . The information display program and the image forming program executed by the MFP according to the embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The information display program and the image forming program executed by the MFP according to the embodiment include the above-described units (contact coordinate detection unit 11, contact time detection unit 12, reception unit 13, setting determination unit 14, display control unit 15, and timing unit. 27, a correspondence information generation unit 37, a voice output control unit 48, and a haptic information output control unit 58), and the actual hardware includes a CPU (processor) from the ROM to an information display program. By reading and executing the image forming program, the above-described units are loaded on the main storage device, and the contact coordinate detection unit 11, the contact time detection unit 12, the reception unit 13, the setting determination unit 14, the display control unit 15, and the time measurement unit 27, the correspondence information generation unit 37, the audio output control unit 48, the haptic information output control unit 58, and the like are generated on the main storage device. To have.

  The embodiment or modification of the present invention described above is an example for description, and the present invention is not limited to these specific examples described here.

  As described above, the information display device, the information display method, the program for causing a computer to execute the method, and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention are useful for information display technology.

1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus including an information display device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure explaining receiving a contact input from a touch panel. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the corresponding | compatible table used when a setting determination part determines a setting item. It is a figure explaining the detection of the coordinate input from a display image. It is a figure explaining the example which the setting determination part determined the setting item and the setting value, and displayed setting information on the touch panel. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an information display procedure according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure in which a setting determination part determines a setting item. 6 is a functional block diagram of an information display device according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an image display procedure according to the second embodiment. 6 is a functional block diagram of an information display apparatus according to Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining an example of history information. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of an image display device according to a fourth embodiment. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of image display according to Modification 1. FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the information display apparatus by the modification 3. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus having an image display apparatus according to an embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Contact coordinate detection part 12 Contact time detection part 13 Reception part 14 Setting determination part 15 Display control part 27 Time measuring part 37 Correspondence information generation part 48 Audio | voice output control part 58 Haptic information output control part

Claims (20)

In an information display device attached to an electronic device, receiving a setting input for the electronic device from an operation display unit, and displaying the received setting information on the operation display unit,
Contact coordinate detection means for detecting contact coordinates which are positions of contact inputs received from the operation display means;
Contact time detection means for detecting the duration of contact input received from the operation display means;
Setting determination for determining setting information including at least one of setting items and setting values of the electronic device based on the contact coordinates detected by the contact coordinate detection unit and the duration detected by the contact time detection unit Means,
Display control means for causing the operation display means to display the setting information determined by the setting determination means;
With
The setting determination means includes
Determining the setting item corresponding to the contact coordinates based on the duration ;
The display control means includes
Based on the determination of the setting determination unit, the setting information corresponding to the contact coordinates and the duration and the setting information corresponding to the contact coordinates and not corresponding to the duration are displayed on the operation display unit. information display device comprising <br/> to make.   The information display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a reception unit that receives a setting input via the setting information displayed on the operation display unit by the display control unit. The contact time detecting means detects the duration for each predetermined time unit,
The setting determination means determines the setting information for each predetermined time unit based on the contact coordinates and duration.
Wherein the display control unit, the information display device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the setting information is intended to be displayed on the predetermined time each unit on the operation display unit. The said setting determination means has the correspondence information which matches the said contact coordinate, the said continuation time, and the said setting information, The said setting information is determined based on the said correspondence information, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. The information display device according to any one of 3 . Correspondence information generating means for generating correspondence information for associating the duration with the setting information from history information of the duration and the setting information determined by the setting determination means at the duration;
The setting determining means, information display device according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the one in which correspondence information generation means determines the setting information based on the generated correlation information. The setting determination means includes
From the history information of the first duration for which the first setting information has been determined and the history information of the second duration for which the second setting information has been determined, the first setting information and the first The information display device according to claim 5 , wherein a threshold value of the duration for determining the setting information of 2 is determined. The setting determination means includes
Between the peak of the frequency distribution of the first duration for which the first setting information is determined and the peak of the frequency distribution of the second duration for which the second setting information is determined The information display device according to claim 6 , wherein the threshold value is determined so that the frequency of the duration in the valley portion is equal to or less than a predetermined value. The display control means displays, on the operation display means, an image to be displayed on the operation display means on the basis of the continuation time in a mode of change of at least one of a continuous change and a discrete change. The information display device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein: 9. The information display apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the display control means displays the operation display means in the form of a changing animation image as the image. In the information display method of the information display device attached to the electronic device, receiving a setting input for the electronic device from the operation display unit, and displaying the received setting information on the operation display unit,
A contact coordinate detection step of detecting a contact coordinate which is a position of a contact input received from the operation display unit by the contact coordinate detection unit;
A contact time detection step of detecting a duration of contact input received from the operation display means by the contact time detection means;
Setting information including at least one of setting items and setting values of the electronic device based on the contact coordinates detected in the contact coordinate detection step and the duration detected in the contact time detection step by the setting determination unit A setting determination step for determining
A display control step for displaying the setting information determined in the setting determination step on the operation display unit by a display control unit;
Including
The setting determination step includes
Determining the setting item corresponding to the contact coordinates based on the duration ;
The display control step includes
Based on the determination in the setting determination step, the setting information corresponding to the contact coordinates and the duration and the setting information corresponding to the contact coordinates and not corresponding to the duration are displayed on the operation display unit. <br/> information display method characterized by causing. The information display method according to claim 10 , further comprising a reception step of receiving a setting input by the reception unit via the setting information displayed on the operation display unit in the display control step. The contact time detecting step detects the duration for each predetermined time unit,
The setting determination step determines the setting information for each predetermined time unit based on the contact coordinates and duration.
Wherein the display control step, the information display method according to claim 10 or claim 11, characterized in that the setting information is intended to be displayed on the predetermined time each unit on the operation display unit. The said setting determination process determines the said setting information based on the correspondence information which matches the said contact coordinate, the said continuation time, and the said setting information, The any one of Claims 10-12 characterized by the above-mentioned. The information display method described. Correspondence information generation for generating correspondence information for associating the continuation time with the setting information from the history information of the continuation time and the setting information determined at the continuation time by the setting determination step. Further comprising a step,
The information display method according to claim 10 , wherein the setting determination step determines the setting information based on the correspondence information generated in the correspondence information generation step. The setting determination step includes
From the history information of the first duration for which the first setting information has been determined and the history information of the second duration for which the second setting information has been determined, the first setting information and the first The information display method according to claim 14 , wherein a threshold value of the duration for determining the setting information of 2 is determined. The setting determination step includes
Between the peak of the frequency distribution of the first duration for which the first setting information is determined and the peak of the frequency distribution of the second duration for which the second setting information is determined The information display method according to claim 15 , wherein the threshold value is determined so that the frequency of the duration in the valley portion is equal to or less than a predetermined value. In the display control step, an image to be displayed on the operation display unit is displayed on the operation display unit in a mode of change of at least one of a continuous change and a discrete change based on the duration. The information display method according to any one of claims 10 to 16 , wherein: The information display method according to claim 17 , wherein the display control step displays the image on the operation display unit in the form of a changing animation image. The program for making a computer perform the information display method as described in any one of Claims 10-18 . Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data;
An information display device for displaying the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means on the operation display means, receiving the setting information and displaying the setting information attached thereto;
Output means for performing image data setting processing according to setting information displayed and set on the information display device and outputting an image;
An image forming apparatus comprising:
The information display device includes:
Contact coordinate detection means for detecting contact coordinates which are positions of contact inputs received from the operation display means;
Contact time detection means for detecting the duration of contact input received from the operation display means;
Setting determination for determining setting information including at least one of setting items and setting values of the electronic device based on the contact coordinates detected by the contact coordinate detection unit and the duration detected by the contact time detection unit Means,
Display control means for causing the operation display means to display the setting information determined by the setting determination means;
Receiving means for accepting designation of settings from the setting information displayed on the operation display means by the display control means and transmitting to the output means;
The setting determination means includes
Determining the setting item corresponding to the contact coordinates based on the duration ;
The display control means includes
Based on the determination of the setting determination unit, the setting information corresponding to the contact coordinates and the duration and the setting information corresponding to the contact coordinates and not corresponding to the duration are displayed on the operation display unit. an image forming apparatus comprising <br/> to make.

Images