Image forming device and control method of the same

Abstract

To solve the problem that if a user touches a feed key or a cut key which are arranged adjacent to a pause key by mistake, when trying to touch the pause key, a roll sheet may be cut at a position not intended by the user or may be conveyed against an intention of the user.SOLUTION: An image forming device, which forms an image on a continuous roll sheet, has a touch panel and also has an operation part that receives operation by a user through the touch panel, displays, on the touch panel, a first screen that is displayed in a state where image formation operation is not executed and a second screen that is displayed while image formation operation is executed by the image forming device; displays a pause key for receiving an instruction for temporary stop from the user on the first screen, at a position adjacent to a key involved in controlling the roll sheet; does not display the key involved in controlling the roll sheet but displays the pause key, on the second screen; and makes a touch sensing region where the touching on the pause key is sensed on the second screen, larger than a touch sensing region where the first screen is displayed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a control method thereof. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a roll sheet, an image is formed on the roll sheet while the roll sheet is being transported. In such an image forming apparatus, as in the recording apparatus described in the cited document 1, a configuration is adopted in which an operation unit is provided with a pause key as a hardware key for a user to temporarily stop operations related to the transport of the sheet and the recording of an image. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-194529 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, it has become desirable to display hardware keys provided on the operation unit of a conventional recording device as software keys and to mount a touch panel for receiving input by a user's touch operation. However, in the case of an image forming device that records an image on a roll sheet as described above, if the keys displayed as software keys are adjacent to each other, there is a risk that the user will touch the adjacent software key by mistake instead of the key he or she intended to touch. For example, if the user intended to touch the pause key but mistakenly touched the adjacent feed key or cut key, there is a risk that the roll sheet will be cut at a position not intended by the user or transported in an unintended manner.

[0005] In this case, it is possible to prevent erroneous touching of adjacent software keys by making the touch operation detection range of the software key smaller than the display range of the software key. However, depending on the type of screen displayed on the touch panel, there is a risk that the user's operability will be reduced when the touch operation detection range is made smaller than the display range. For example, even if there is no software key adjacent to the pause key, if the touch operation detection range of the pause key is small, there is a risk that the user's operability will be reduced.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to enable operation using keys displayed on a touch panel and to improve operability for a user in an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a continuous roll sheet. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention has the following configuration: an image forming unit that forms an image on a continuous roll sheet; an operation unit having a touch panel and receiving an operation by a user via the touch panel; a control unit that displays, on the touch panel, a first screen that is displayed when the image forming unit is not performing an image forming operation, and a second screen that is displayed while the image forming unit is performing an image forming operation, The control unit displays a pause key for receiving a pause instruction from a user on the first screen adjacent to keys related to control of the roll sheet, hides the keys related to control of the roll sheet on the second screen and displays the pause key, and enlarges a touch detection area on the second screen for detecting when the pause key is touched compared to the touch detection area when the first screen is displayed. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, in an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a continuous roll sheet, it is possible to perform operations using keys displayed on a touch panel, and it is possible to improve operability for a user.

[0009] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components throughout the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a printing system including an image forming apparatus and a host computer according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a control unit that controls the main body of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a home screen displayed on a touch panel of an operation unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a printing screen displayed on a touch panel of an operation unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a print stop screen displayed on a touch panel of an operation unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 6 is a flowchart for explaining screen transitions and pause key display control when the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment executes printing. [Figure 8] 5 is a diagram for explaining a touch detection range of a pause key on a home screen displayed on a touch panel of an operation unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9]5 is a diagram for explaining a touch detection range of a pause key on a printing screen displayed on a touch panel of an operation unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0012] First, the terms used in this embodiment are defined as follows. ·“Formation” In this specification, "formation" does not only mean the formation of meaningful information such as characters or figures. It does not matter whether it is meaningful or insignificant, and whether it is manifested so that humans can perceive it visually or not. It also broadly means the formation of images, patterns, etc. on a recording medium, or the processing of a medium. Furthermore, formation does not matter whether it is manifested so that humans can perceive it visually or not. "Recording media" The recording medium refers not only to paper used in general image forming devices, but also to a wide range of materials that can accept ink, such as cloth, plastic film, metal plates, glass, ceramics, wood, and leather. ·"ink" The term "ink" should be interpreted broadly in the same way as the definition of "formation" above, and refers to a medium containing a recording material that can be applied to a recording medium to form an image, design, pattern, etc., or to process the recording medium, or to treat the ink. It is liquid in terms of physical properties. The ink treatment mentioned above refers to, for example, solidification or insolubilization of the coloring material in the ink applied to the recording medium. ·"nozzle" Unless otherwise specified, the term "nozzle" refers to an ejection port. Inside the nozzle, there is a communicating liquid path and an element that generates energy used to eject ink.

[0013] [Embodiment 1] First, a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a printing system including an image forming apparatus 100 and a host computer 104 according to the first embodiment.

[0015] The image forming apparatus 100 includes an apparatus main body 101 provided with a touch panel 102, and a feed section 103 for mounting and feeding a roll sheet wound into a roll, which is a recording medium. The image forming apparatus 100 prints image data received from a host computer 104 on a label attached to the roll sheet while conveying the roll sheet by a conveying means. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 and the host computer 104 are connected via a printer cable 105. Note that, although the first embodiment shows a configuration in which the image forming apparatus 100 and the host computer 104 are connected by the printer cable 105, they may be connected by wireless communication using Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc.

[0016] The operation unit 102 displays software keys on an LCD (liquid crystal) panel 102A (FIG. 3) and can accept information input by contact (touch operation) to a touch operation unit 102B (FIG. 3). That is, the operation unit 102 can input information by displaying software keys and detecting that the software keys have been touched. The panel size of the operation unit 102 according to the first embodiment is 480 pixels×272 pixels. The touch operation unit 102B may be of any of a resistive film type, a capacitive type, and an optical type such as infrared. Here, the touch panel module and the liquid crystal module are described as separate bodies, but they may be integrated as long as input by touch operation is possible. In this embodiment, the touch panel refers to one including both the touch panel module and the liquid crystal module. In this embodiment, "displaying on the touch panel" also includes displaying on the liquid crystal module in a structure in which the touch panel module and the liquid crystal module are provided as separate bodies.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0018] The roll sheet may be a marked sheet with a plurality of marks regularly placed in the conveying direction of the sheet as a recording medium, a continuous roll sheet with no marks, or a label sheet with labels laminated on a roll sheet as a mount. In the following, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described taking as an example a case where a roll sheet with marks regularly placed is used as a recording medium.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming apparatus main body 101 and a feeding section 103. The feeding section 103 includes a roll sheet holder 10A and a pair of roll sheet conveying rollers 10B. The roll sheet M mounted in the roll sheet holder 10A is placed on the pair of roll sheet conveying rollers 10B, and is supplied to the apparatus main body 101 by the rotation of the roll sheet conveying rollers 10B. The apparatus main body 101 includes a conveying section 20 that conveys the roll sheet M, an image forming section 30 that forms an image on the label of the roll sheet, a discharge section 40 that discharges the roll sheet, and a control section 50 (see FIG. 3) that controls the image forming apparatus 100. The apparatus main body 101 also includes a sheet detection sensor 70A and a post-processing sheet detection sensor 80A.

[0020] The conveying section 20 conveys the roll sheet M fed from the feeding section 10 to the image forming section 30 and the discharge section 40 in that order. The image forming section 30 forms an image on the fed roll sheet M. The discharge section 40 cuts the roll sheet M conveyed from the image forming section 30 by the conveying section 20 and discharges it outside the machine. The control section 50 controls the operation of each section of the image forming apparatus 100, such as the feeding section 10, the conveying section 20, the image forming section 30, and the discharge section 40. The configuration of each section will be described in detail below.

[0021] The conveying section 20 has a conveying roller 20A, an endless conveying belt 20B stretched around the conveying roller 20A, and a conveying motor 20C (see FIG. 3) that drives the conveying belt 20B, and is configured to convey the rolled sheet M by the conveying belt 20B. An image forming section 30 is provided at a position facing the conveying surface of the conveying belt 20B that conveys the rolled sheet. A sheet detection sensor 70A is disposed upstream of the image forming section 30 in the sheet conveying direction. The image forming section 30 has a recording head unit 30A and an ink cartridge 30B.

[0022] The recording head unit 30A holds recording heads 30A1, 30A2, 30A3, and 30A4 of each color, each having a plurality of nozzles (6000 in the first embodiment). The recording heads 30A1, 30A2, 30A3, and 30A4 each have a heating element (not shown) built in, and ink is heated by the heating element to eject the ink from the nozzle. The ink cartridges 30B1, 30B2, 30B3, and 30B4 are disposed below the conveyor belt 20B in the device main body 101. The ink cartridges 30B1, 30B2, 30B3, and 30B4 are connected to the recording heads 30A1, 30A2, 30A3, and 30A4 of the corresponding colors by flexible tubes (not shown) or the like, and are configured to supply ink of each color. The maintenance cartridge 30C is a portion for storing ink that is ejected in excess during printing, recovery operations, and the like.

[0023] The sheet detection sensor 70A can detect the leading edge of the rolled sheet M in the transport direction and the position of a mark on the rolled sheet M. This sheet detection sensor 70A detects the leading edge of the rolled sheet M in the transport direction and the presence or absence of a mark on the rolled sheet M before image formation by the recording head unit 30A. For this reason, it is disposed at a position upstream of the recording head unit 30A in the transport direction. In the case of the first embodiment, the sheet detection sensor 70A is a reflective sensor having a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit disposed on one side of the rolled sheet M transported by the transport belt 20B, and the light irradiated from the light emitting unit toward the transport belt 20B and reflected light is received by the light receiving unit.

[0024] The discharge section 40 also has a cutter unit 40A and a cutting motor 40B (FIG. 3) that drives the cutter unit 40A. The cutter unit 40A has a cutter 40A1 that can cut the roll sheet M and a lifting mechanism (not shown) that can raise and lower the cutter 40A1 in the vertical direction, and is disposed downstream of the recording head unit 30A in the conveying direction. The cutting motor 40B can raise and lower the cutter 40A1 in the vertical direction by driving the lifting mechanism. The cutting motor 40B is driven by the control section 50 (described later) to cause the lifting mechanism to raise and lower the cutter 40A1, so that the roll sheet M can be cut at a position set by the control section 50 or between any images designated by the user.

[0025] The post-processing sheet detection sensor 80A is disposed at a position upstream of the cutter unit 40A in the transport direction and is a reflective sensor like the sheet detection sensor 70A, and is used to detect the leading edge of the roll sheet M in the transport direction and the presence or absence of a mark on the roll sheet M. The control unit 50 can determine the cutting position by the cutter unit 40A based on the result of sheet detection by the post-processing sheet detection sensor 80A.

[0026] Next, the control unit 50 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a control unit 50 that controls the apparatus body 101 of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0028] The control unit 50 includes a main controller 50A, a driver controller 50B, a ROM 50C, a RAM 50D, an image buffer memory 50E, a head driving circuit 50F, a driving circuit 50G, and a sensor circuit 50H.

[0029] The main controller 50A controls the entire image forming apparatus 100 and has a function of storing data in the ROM 50C, a function of controlling data, and a function as a setting unit that changes the operation of the main body based on the setting data. The main controller 50A is connected to the host computer 104 and can exchange signals with the host computer 104. The ROM 50C is a memory that is connected to the main controller 50A and stores control programs, and the CPU 300 operates as the main controller 50A using the RAM 50D as a working memory. The main controller 50A is also connected to the touch panel 102, and the user can access the functions of the image forming apparatus 100 using the touch operation unit 102B that can recognize that a software key displayed on the liquid crystal panel 102A has been touched and input information.

[0030] The image buffer memory 50E, which serves as a storage means for recording data, includes image buffer memories 50E1, 50E2, 50E3, and 50E4 for each color, Bk (black), C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow). The image buffer memory 50E stores image data in bitmap format for each color transmitted from the host computer 104. The head driving circuit 50F is a driving circuit for driving the heating elements (not shown) built into the recording heads 30A1, 30A2, 30A3, and 30A4 of each color. Here, the recording heads 30A1, 30A2, 30A3, and 30A4 are recording heads that eject inks of Bk (black), C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow). The control unit 50 can form an image using the recording head unit 30A using these configurations. Specifically, a driver controller 50B connected to a main controller 50A controls the driving of the recording head unit 30A via a head driving circuit 50F based on image data stored in an image buffer memory 50E, thereby recording an image.

[0031] The drive circuit 50G can drive the aforementioned conveying motor 20C and cutting motor 40B, and is controlled by the main controller 50A. The sensor circuit 50H includes a sheet detection sensor 70A and a post-processing sheet detection sensor 80A, and the main controller 50A can control the image forming operation, the cutting operation of the roll sheet M, and the like, based on a signal input from the sensor circuit 50H.

[0032] Next, the layout of the display screen displayed on the touch panel of the operation unit 102 of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0033] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a home screen 400 displayed on the touch panel of the operation unit 102 of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. This home screen (first screen) 400 is an example of a screen displayed when the image forming apparatus 100 is waiting for an instruction for image formation to be received. In other words, the home screen 400 in Fig. 4 is a screen displayed when the image forming apparatus 100 is in a standby state in which image formation can be started after the image forming apparatus 100 is powered on.

[0034] The home screen (initial screen) 400 has a header section 401 that displays the status of the image forming apparatus 100, the connection line, and the setting status of special printing, and a shortcut key 402 that displays a screen in which shortcuts for executing functions of the image forming apparatus 100 are registered. It also has an information key 403 that displays help and guidance regarding the image forming apparatus 100, and a menu key 404 that displays an overall menu for setting each function of the image forming apparatus 100. It also includes a backfeed key 405 and a forward feed key 406 related to the transport of the roll sheet M, a cut key 407 that cuts the roll sheet M, and a pause key 408 that temporarily stops the printing process by the image forming apparatus 100. The home screen 400 also includes a consumables remaining amount display section 409 that displays the remaining ink amounts of the installed ink cartridges 30B1, 30B2, 30B3, and 30B4 and the maintenance cartridge 30C, and a counter display section 410 that displays a counter number related to printing.

[0035] On the home screen 400 in FIG. 4, the user can temporarily stop the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 by touching the pause key 408. That is, by touching the pause key 408 to put the image forming apparatus 100 in a paused state (so-called offline state) when no image forming job is being accepted, it is possible to prevent an operation related to image formation from being started immediately even if an image forming job is accepted. For example, by putting the image forming apparatus 100 in a paused state (offline state), it is possible to prevent an image forming operation from being started based on an image forming job transmitted from an external device while the user is touching the menu key 404 or the like to set each function. In this case, the user can touch the pause key 408 before changing the settings, and touch the pause key 408 again after completing the setting change to return the image forming apparatus 100 to an online state, thereby executing the image forming job accepted during the pause.

[0036] Since the home screen 400 in Fig. 4 is before printing has been performed, the header section 401 displays "Printing possible" indicating that printing is possible, and the counter display section 410 displays the number of printed sheets as "0", and the number of jobs indicating the number of jobs executed is also "0". When printing starts on the home screen 400, the screen transitions to the printing screen 500 in Fig. 5. Here, the number of printed sheets means, for example, the number of labels printed in the case of label sheets.

[0037] 5 is a diagram showing an example of a printing screen 500 displayed on the touch panel of the operation unit 102 of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the embodiment 1. This printing screen 500 is an example of a screen (second screen) that is displayed when the image forming apparatus 100 is forming an image.

[0038] In the printing screen 500, the keys related to the control of the roll sheet M displayed in the home screen 400, i.e., the backfeed key 405, the forward feed key 406, and the cut key 407, are hidden. The header section 401, the pause key 408, the consumables remaining amount display section 409, and the job print count display section 501 are displayed. In the printing screen 500, the shortcut keys 402, the information key 403, and the menu key 404 are displayed, but these keys are grayed out and cannot be operated even by touching them. In this embodiment, "hidden" includes a state in which the keys are not displayed on the screen, and a state in which the keys are displayed on the screen but cannot be touched. For example, it also includes a state in which the backfeed key 405, the feed key 406, and the cut key 407 are displayed with other display contents superimposed on them, thereby making it impossible to touch the backfeed key 405, the feed key 406, and the cut key 407.

[0039] The job print count display section 501 displays the number of sheets printed since printing began for the current job up to the present time. The counter display section 410 displays the print speed, the total number of sheets printed, and the number of jobs that have been printed. When the pause key 408 is touched, printing by the image forming apparatus 100 is temporarily stopped, and the transport of the roll sheet M and the image forming operation by the recording heads 30A1, 30A2, 30A3, and 30A4 are temporarily stopped. In this way, when the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 100 is temporarily stopped, a print stop screen 600 (FIG. 6) is displayed.

[0040] 6 is a diagram showing an example of a print stop screen 600 displayed on the touch panel of the operation unit 102 of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the embodiment 1. This print stop screen 600 is also an example of a screen displayed when the image forming apparatus 100 is waiting to receive an instruction for image formation.

[0041] The print stop screen 600 includes a header section 401, a shortcut key 402, an information key 403, a menu key 404, a back feed key 405, a forward feed key 406, a cut key 407, and a pause key 408. The print stop screen 600 further includes a print data delete button 601 for deleting print data, and a consumables remaining amount display section 409. In the print stop screen 600, the shortcut key 402, the information key 403, and the menu key 404 are operable, and are therefore displayed in the normal form, similar to the home screen 400. When the shortcut key 402 is touched, the screen transitions to a screen that displays registered shortcuts. When the information key 403 is touched, the screen transitions to a screen that displays help and guidance regarding the image forming apparatus 100. When the menu key 404 is touched, the screen transitions to a menu screen where each function, such as settings of the image forming apparatus 100, can be selected and executed. When the back feed key 405 is touched, the conveying motor 20C is rotated in the opposite direction to the conveying direction during printing, and the conveying belt 20B is operated to rewind the roll sheet M. This allows the user to return the roll sheet M, which is sandwiched between the pair of conveying rollers, to a position where the clamping is released, for example, when replacing the roll sheet M. When the forward feed key 406 is touched, the conveying belt 20B is operated to convey the roll sheet M in the same manner as during printing, even when printing is not in progress. This allows the user to convey the roll sheet M by an arbitrary amount, for example, when installing a roll winding device as a post-processing device downstream of the image forming apparatus 100. When the cut key 407 is touched, the roll sheet M is cut at the current conveying position of the roll sheet and discharged outside the apparatus. When the pause key 408 is touched again on the print stop screen 600, the print process by the image forming apparatus 100 is resumed.

[0042] In this embodiment, the pause keys 408 shown in Figs. 4 to 6 are all pause keys for accepting a pause instruction from a user. The pause key 408 is a software key for accepting an instruction to put the image forming apparatus 100 in an offline state (paused state) on the home screen 400 shown in Fig. 4. Also, on the printing screen 500 shown in Fig. 5, it is a software key for accepting an instruction to pause the image forming operation by the image forming apparatus 100. Also, on the printing stop screen 600 shown in Fig. 6, it is a software key for accepting an instruction to resume the image forming operation after the pause.

[0043] In this way, when a user operates a software key displayed on the operation unit 102, unlike a hardware key, there is a risk that the user may erroneously touch a key adjacent to the key that is to be touched. In the image forming apparatus 100, which is a label printer as in this embodiment, when a user tries to touch the pause key 408 for temporarily stopping the operation of the image forming apparatus 100, there is a risk that the user may erroneously touch the adjacent cut key 407. In this case, the roll sheet M may be cut at a position not intended by the user. Therefore, in the embodiment, in order to suppress the user from touching the software key by mistake, the touch operation detection range of each software key is controlled to be smaller than the display range of the software key. In other words, the touch operation detection range of each of the back feed key 408, the forward feed key 406, the cut key 407, and the pause key 408 is made smaller than the display range of each key. This makes it possible to suppress erroneous detection that the cut key 407 has been touched, even if the user touches an edge of the display range of the pause key 408 in an attempt to touch the pause key 408 to put the image forming apparatus 100 into an offline state.

[0044] In addition, when the screen transitions from the home screen to the printing screen 500 in a state where the touch operation detection range is made smaller than the display range of the software key on the home screen, if the display range of the pause key 408 does not change even in a state where there is no software key adjacent to the pause key 408, and the touch operation detection range remains smaller than the display range, there is a risk that the operability of the pause key 408 on the printing screen 500 will deteriorate. Therefore, in the embodiment, the touch operation detection range of the pause key 408 is changed between the home screen 400 and the printing screen 500. That is, the touch operation detection range of the pause key 408 on the printing screen 500 is made larger than the touch operation detection range of the pause key 408 on the home screen 400 where the software key adjacent to the pause key 408 (the cut key 407 in the embodiment) is located. This makes it possible to improve the operability of the pause key 408 in a state where no other software key is adjacent to it. The configuration will be described in detail below.

[0045] 7 is a flowchart for explaining screen transitions and pause key display control when the image forming apparatus 100 according to the embodiment 1 executes printing. Note that the processing shown in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 300 of the main controller 50A executing a program stored in the ROM 50D.

[0046] When printing is started with the home screen 400 displayed in S701, the process proceeds to S702, in which the CPU 300 displays the printing screen 500 on the operation unit 102. On the printing screen 500, the back feed key 405, the forward feed key 406, and the cut key 407 are hidden, as shown in FIG. 9 . Furthermore, in S703, the CPU 300 sets the touch detection range 800 of the pause key 408 to 92 pixels vertically and 118 pixels horizontally. This touch detection range 800 is an enlargement of the detection range 800 for detecting a touch operation of the pause key 408 with respect to the home screen 400.

[0047] 8 shows an example of the same home screen 400 as in FIG. 4, where the size of touch detection range 800 of pause key 408 is, for example, 52 pixels vertically and 68 pixels horizontally. The size of this touch detection range 800 is smaller than the size (display area) of pause key 408. In FIG. 8, only touch detection range 800 of pause key 408 is visually shown, but backfeed key 405, feed key 406, and cut key 407 also have touch detection ranges of the same size as touch detection range 800. This makes it possible to suppress erroneous detection that cut key 407 has been touched, even if the user touches an edge part of the display range of pause key 408 in an attempt to touch pause key 408 to put image forming apparatus 100 into an offline state.

[0048] Fig. 9 shows an example of the printing screen 500, which is the same as Fig. 5, and shows a state in which the touch detection range 800 is expanded to match the size (display area) of the pause key 408. The size of the touch detection range 800 at this time is, for example, 92 pixels vertically and 118 pixels horizontally. Note that in Figs. 8 and 9, only the touch detection range 800 of the pause key 408 is visualized to make the embodiment easier to understand.

[0049] In this way, printing screen 500 does not display keys related to feeding roll sheet M or keys for cutting roll sheet M, thereby preventing the user from accidentally feeding or cutting roll sheet M during printing. Also, by making touch detection range 800 of pause key 408 larger than that of home screen 400, it becomes easier for the user to touch pause key 408, which may be operated during printing, thereby improving operability.

[0050] Furthermore, on the home screen 400, the touch detection range for detecting touch operations of the pause key 408 and the adjacent cut key 407 is smaller than the display size of each key and arranged inside. This makes it possible to prevent the user from accidentally touching the adjacent cut key 407 when touching the pause key 408, thereby preventing the user from cutting the raw sheet unintentionally.

[0051] Next, the process proceeds to S704, in which the CPU 300 determines whether the pause key 408 has been pressed while the printing in progress screen 500 is being displayed. If it is determined that the pause key 408 has been pressed, the process proceeds to S705, in which the CPU 300 displays, for example, a print stop screen 600 as shown in Fig. 6 on the operation unit 102. This print stop screen 600 displays the back feed key 405, forward feed key 406, and cut key 407, which were hidden on the printing in progress screen 500. Furthermore, in S706, the CPU 300 again reduces the touch detection range 800 of the pause key 408 from 92 pixels vertically to 52 pixels and from 118 pixels horizontally to 68 pixels.

[0052] Next, the process proceeds to S707, where the CPU 300 determines whether the pause key 408 was pressed while the print stop screen 600 was displayed, and if it determines that the pause key 408 was pressed, the process proceeds to S708, where the CPU 300 resumes the stopped printing. Then, as in S702, the print in progress screen 500 is displayed on the operation unit 102. Then, the process proceeds to S709, where the CPU 300 expands the touch detection range 800 of the pause key 408 from 52 pixels vertically to 92 pixels and from 68 pixels horizontally to 118 pixels, as in S703, and then proceeds to S704.

[0053] On the other hand, if in S704 the CPU 300 determines that the pause key 408 has not been pressed while the printing screen 500 is displayed, the process proceeds to S710, where the CPU 300 determines whether printing has finished. If it determines that printing has not finished, the process proceeds to S704, but if it determines that printing has finished, the process proceeds to S711. In S711, the CPU 300 displays the home screen 400 on the operation unit 102, and proceeds to S712. In S712, the CPU 300 reduces the touch detection range 800 of the pause key 408 from 92 pixels vertically to 52 pixels and from 118 pixels horizontally to 68 pixels, and ends this process.

[0054] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the touch operation detection range of each software key on the home screen is controlled to be smaller than the display range of the software key. This makes it possible to prevent the user from touching an adjacent key by mistake when touching the pause key.

[0055] Furthermore, on the printing screen and printing stop screen, the touch detection range of the pause key is larger than the touch detection range on the home screen, which improves the operability of the pause key 408 when it is not adjacent to other software keys.

[0056] [Other embodiments] In the above-described first embodiment, the back feed key 405, the forward feed key 406, the cut key 407, and the pause key 408 are displayed on the home screen of the image forming apparatus 101 equipped with the cutter unit 40A, as shown in Fig. 4. Although an example has been described in which the touch detection area of ​​the pause key is reduced in this manner when the cut key is displayed adjacent to the pause key, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0057] For example, in an image forming apparatus 400 that does not include a cutter unit 40A, three keys, a back feed key 405, a forward feed key 406, and a pause key 408, are displayed adjacent to each other on the home screen 400. Even in such a case, there is a risk that the user will execute an unintended operation by accidentally touching a key related to transport control of the roll sheet adjacent to the pause key 408. Therefore, even in such a case, the technology of the first embodiment that reduces the touch detection area of ​​the software keys can be adopted.

[0058] In the above embodiment, the touch detection range of the pause key is reduced, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when a plurality of software keys are arranged adjacent to each other on the home screen of the image forming apparatus, when the operating state of the image forming apparatus changes and transitions to another screen, the keys that are unnecessary or do not want to be operated in that operating state are hidden on that screen. As a result, on the screen displayed during operation, the keys that are unnecessary or do not want to be operated during operation are hidden, so that there are no software keys adjacent to the pause key. As a result, on the screen displayed during operation, the touch detection area of ​​the pause key is enlarged, making it easier to detect the touch operation of the pause key.

[0059] In the above embodiment, the software keys related to the transport of the rolled sheet and the cut key related to cutting the rolled sheet are displayed adjacent to the pause key, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, only the software keys related to the transport of the rolled sheet or the cut key related to cutting the rolled sheet may be displayed adjacent to the pause key.

[0060] In addition, although the example of narrowing the touch detection area of ​​only the pause key on the home screen has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the touch detection range of the feed key or cut key adjacent to the pause key may be narrowed in a direction away from the pause key by a certain distance, and the non-detection area between the pause key and the adjacent keys may be widened. This may prevent the user from accidentally touching the adjacent software key when operating the pause key.

[0061] In the first embodiment, the touch detection area of ​​the pause key is reduced with the display area of ​​the pause key at the center, but the area to be reduced may be limited to only the area on the side of the adjacent software key.

[0062] The touch operation unit may also detect a touch but disable touch input in a predetermined detection area without physically changing the detection area of ​​the sensor that can detect a touch on the pause key, thereby ultimately reducing the touch detection area of ​​the pause key.

[0063] The size of the pause key on the home screen and the size of the pause key on the printing screen may be different. For example, the size of the pause key on the printing screen may be larger than the size of the pause key on the home screen. This improves the visibility and operability of the pause key on the printing screen, improving operability when the user needs to stop the operation urgently.

[0064] (Other embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0065] This specification and drawings disclose the following image forming apparatus and its control method.

[0066] [Item 1] an image forming unit that forms an image on a continuous roll sheet; an operation unit having a touch panel and receiving an operation by a user via the touch panel; a control unit that displays, on the touch panel, a first screen that is displayed when the image forming unit is not performing an image forming operation, and a second screen that is displayed while the image forming unit is performing an image forming operation, the control unit displays a pause key for receiving a pause instruction from a user on the first screen in a position adjacent to keys related to control of the rolled sheet, and displays the pause key while hiding the keys related to control of the rolled sheet on the second screen, and expands a touch detection area on the second screen for detecting a touch on the pause key to a size larger than the touch detection area when the first screen is displayed. 1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

[0067] [Item 2] The image forming device described in item 1, characterized in that the control unit makes the touch detection area of ​​the pause key on the first screen smaller than the display area displaying the pause key, and makes the touch detection area of ​​the pause key on the second screen the same size as the display area of ​​the pause key.

[0068] [Item 3] 3. The image forming device according to item 1 or 2, wherein the control unit reduces, on the first screen, a touch detection area of ​​the pause key from approximately the center of the display area of ​​the pause key to a predetermined range.

[0069] [Item 4] The image forming device of any one of items 1 to 3, characterized in that, on the first screen, the control unit reduces the touch detection area of ​​the pause key in a direction away from the adjacent key related to control of the roll sheet.

[0070] [Item 5] 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the keys relating to control of the roll sheet include a key for issuing an instruction to cut the roll sheet.

[0071] [Item 6] 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the keys relating to control of the rolled sheet include a key relating to transport of the rolled sheet.

[0072] [Item 7] 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first screen is a home screen.

[0073] [Item 8] 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first screen is a screen that is displayed when an image forming operation is stopped.

[0074] [Item 9] The image forming device of any one of items 1 to 9, wherein the control unit enables touch operations on a touch detection area of ​​the pause key that has been reduced to a size smaller than a predetermined size on the first screen, and disables touch operations on an area outside the reduced touch detection area of ​​the pause key, thereby reducing the touch detection area of ​​the pause key to a size smaller than the predetermined size.

[0075] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 50...control section, 50A...main controller, 100...image forming apparatus, 103...feed section, 102...operation section, 102A...liquid crystal panel, 102B...touch operation section, 300...CPU, 405...back feed key, 406...forward feed key, 407...cut key, 408...pause key, 800...touch detection range

Claims

1. an image forming unit that forms an image on a continuous roll sheet; an operation unit having a touch panel and receiving an operation by a user via the touch panel; a control unit that displays, on the touch panel, a first screen that is displayed when the image forming unit is not performing an image forming operation, and a second screen that is displayed while the image forming unit is performing an image forming operation, the control unit displays a pause key for receiving a pause instruction from a user in a position adjacent to keys related to control of the rolled sheet on the first screen, and displays the pause key while hiding the keys related to control of the rolled sheet on the second screen, and expands a touch detection area on the second screen for detecting a touch on the pause key to a size larger than the touch detection area when the first screen is displayed.

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

2. 2. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit makes the touch detection area of ​​the pause key on the first screen smaller than the display area displaying the pause key, and makes the touch detection area of ​​the pause key on the second screen the same size as the display area of ​​the pause key.

3. 2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit reduces, on the first screen, a touch detection area of ​​the pause key from approximately the center of a display area of ​​the pause key to a predetermined range.

4. 2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit reduces, on the first screen, a touch detection area of ​​the pause key in a direction away from an adjacent key relating to control of the roll sheet.

5. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the keys relating to control of the roll sheet include a key for instructing cutting of the roll sheet.

6. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the keys relating to control of the roll sheet include keys relating to transport of the roll sheet.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first screen is a home screen.

8. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first screen is a screen that is displayed when an image forming operation is stopped.

9. The image forming device according to claim 1, characterized in that, on the first screen, the control unit enables touch operations on a touch detection area of ​​the pause key that has been reduced to a predetermined size, and disables touch operations on an area outside the reduced touch detection area of ​​the pause key, thereby reducing the touch detection area of ​​the pause key to a size smaller than the predetermined size.

Images