Image formation device

Abstract

To improve user's convenience further in an image formation device which enables shortcuts to be created for setting items of the image formation device through a touch panel.SOLUTION: In a case that a plurality of shortcut pages, on which shortcuts of setting items of an image formation device are created through a touch panel, exists, when a software key corresponding to a shortcut is pressed for a long time in a shortcut editing mode, the image formation device allows input of a command for changing the page on which the shortcut is located.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a roll sheet. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus for recording an image on a roll sheet, an image is recorded on the roll sheet while the roll sheet is being transported. In such an image forming apparatus, an operation unit for receiving instructions from a user is provided, as in the recording apparatus described in Cited Document 1. The operation unit includes a display unit for displaying each menu and operation keys as hardware keys. [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, there has been a demand for a touch panel that displays hardware keys provided on the operation unit of a conventional recording device as software keys and receives input by a user's touch operation.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving user convenience when a touch panel is installed on an operation unit of an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a roll sheet. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a continuous roll sheet, and is equipped with a feeding unit that feeds the roll sheet, an image forming unit that forms an image on the roll sheet fed by the feeding unit, a touch panel that can input settings related to the image forming apparatus, and a control unit that switches the screen displayed on the touch panel based on the settings input via the touch panel, wherein the control unit is capable of displaying on the touch panel a first shortcut screen that displays software keys related to an item arbitrarily selected by a user from a plurality of setting items related to settings of the image forming apparatus, a second shortcut screen that is a screen different from the first shortcut screen and displays software keys related to an item arbitrarily selected by the user from the plurality of setting items, and an editing screen for editing the software keys displayed on the first shortcut screen and the second shortcut screen, and when a predetermined touch operation is performed on the software key on the editing screen, an input screen is displayed on the touch panel that allows an instruction to move from the shortcut screen on which the software key is located, one of the first shortcut screen and the second shortcut screen, to another shortcut screen. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, in an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a continuous roll sheet, it is possible to enable operation using keys displayed on a touch panel, and it is possible to improve convenience for the user.

[0008] 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]

[0009] 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 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 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 the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a menu screen displayed on a touch panel of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a shortcut screen displayed on a touch panel of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] 6 is a flowchart for explaining control when registering shortcuts for item keys in a middle hierarchy in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a shortcut registration screen displayed on a touch panel of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a shortcut registration screen displayed on a touch panel of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 12] 6 is a flowchart showing a process for transitioning from a shortcut screen to a shortcut editing mode or a shortcut registration mode in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 13] 6 is a flowchart showing processing in a shortcut editing mode of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 14]5A and 5B are diagrams showing an example of a shortcut edit mode screen displayed on a touch panel of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 15] 5A and 5B are diagrams showing an example of a pop-up display screen displayed on a touch panel of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] 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.

[0011] 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 and figures. It does not matter whether it is meaningful or insignificant, and whether it is manifested so that humans can perceive it visually. It also broadly means the formation of an image, pattern, etc. on a recording medium, or the processing of the medium. Furthermore, it does not matter whether it is manifested so that humans can perceive it visually. "Recording medium" Recording medium refers not only to paper used in general image forming devices, but also to cloth, plastic film, metal plate, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, and other materials that can accept ink. "Ink" Ink should be interpreted broadly in the same way as the definition of "formation" above, and refers to a medium including a recording material that can be applied to a recording medium to form an image, pattern, etc., or to process the recording medium, or to treat the ink. It is liquid in terms of physical properties. The ink treatment above refers to, for example, solidification or insolubilization of coloring materials 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 the energy used to eject ink.

[0012] First Embodiment First, a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0013] 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.

[0014] 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.

[0015] 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.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0017] 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.

[0018] 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.

[0019] 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.

[0020] 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.

[0021] The recording head unit 30A holds therein recording heads 30A1, 30A2, 30A3, and 30A4 of each color, each having a plurality of nozzles (6,000 in the first embodiment). The recording heads 30A1, 30A2, 30A3, and 30A4 each have a built-in heating element (not shown), and ink is heated by the heating element to eject the ink from the nozzles. 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 part that stores excess ink discharged during printing, recovery operations, etc.

[0022] 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.

[0023] 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.

[0024] 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.

[0025] Next, the control unit 50 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0026] 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.

[0027] 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.

[0028] 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.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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.

[0032] 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 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.

[0033] 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 for displaying 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 executes cutting of 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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 refers to the number of labels printed in the case of label sheets, for example.

[0036] 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 displayed when the image forming apparatus 100 is forming an image.

[0037] 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.

[0038] 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, the screen transitions to a print stop screen 600 (FIG. 6).

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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 transport motor 20C is rotated in the opposite direction to the transport direction during printing, and the transport belt 20B is operated to rewind the roll sheet M. This allows the user to return the roll sheet M, which is clamped between the pair of transport rollers, to a position where it is no longer clamped, for example, when replacing the roll sheet M. When the forward feed key 406 is touched, the transport belt 20B continues to feed the roll sheet M, even when printing is not in progress, in the same way as when printing is in progress. This allows the user to transport a desired amount of roll sheet M, for example when installing a roll winding device as a post-processing device downstream of image forming apparatus 100. When cut key 407 is touched, roll sheet M is cut at the current roll sheet transport position and discharged outside the apparatus. When pause key 408 is touched again on print stop screen 600, print processing by image forming apparatus 100 is resumed.

[0041] 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.

[0042] On the home screen 400 in FIG. 4 or the print stop screen 600 in FIG. 6, the user can touch the menu key 404 to set the image forming apparatus 100 or execute each function. FIG. 7 shows a menu screen 700 that is displayed when the menu key 404 is touched. The header of the menu screen 700 includes a home key 701 for moving from the menu screen 700 to the home screen 400, and a back key 702 for moving from the paper remaining amount display setting menu screen 720 to the previous layer. In addition, the menu screen 700 displays item keys of multiple layers such as item keys 703a to 703e of the top layer, and items are classified into multiple layers such as a high layer and a middle layer below that. By touching the item keys of each layer, the user can display item keys of lower layers related to each of the items, and finally display the item keys of the lowest layer to perform settings and execute functions corresponding to the items.

[0043] When a user performs each setting or function, the user must repeat the selection from the menu screen 700 until the lowest level of each item is reached, and the deeper the level of the items, the more complicated the operation becomes, which may impair user operability. Therefore, it is possible to register shortcuts for items selected by the user at will, such as items that the user uses frequently.

[0044] FIG. 8 shows a shortcut screen 800 that is displayed when the shortcut key 402 displayed on the home screen 400 or the print stop screen 600 is touched. The shortcut screen 800 displays a close key 801 for closing the shortcut screen and a page move key 802 for moving pages of the shortcut screen 800. The shortcut screen also displays registered shortcut keys 803a to f. FIG. 8 shows a state in which shortcuts are registered in four of the six shortcut keys, 803a to 803d, and shortcuts are not registered in two shortcut keys, 803e and 803f. When any of the shortcut keys 803a to 803d is touched, the screen transitions to a screen corresponding to the item displayed on each key. For example, when the shortcut key 803a is touched, the screen transitions to a screen for selecting whether or not to display the print speed of the image forming apparatus 100 on the home screen. In this embodiment, six shortcut keys are displayed on one page, but the number of shortcut keys may be five or less, or seven or more.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 8, when there are many shortcuts to be registered, the maximum number of shortcuts that can be registered on the shortcut screen 800 may be exceeded. In addition, when the items are in the same hierarchy, the more shortcuts are registered, the more work the user has to do, and the convenience may decrease. For example, the items corresponding to the shortcut keys 803a to 803d shown in FIG. 8 are all set in the same hierarchy, "home screen display". In this case, if only the lowest hierarchy of item keys can register shortcuts, the convenience of the user may decrease. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to further improve the convenience of the user, shortcuts can be registered not only for the lowest hierarchy of item keys that can be selected from the menu screen 700, but also for item keys in the middle hierarchy. Details of this will be described below. The following control is performed by the control unit 50 detecting a touch operation by the user via the touch panel.

[0046] Fig. 9 is a flow chart showing the process of registering a shortcut for an item key in a middle hierarchy. When the control unit 50 detects that the user has touched the menu key 402 via the touch panel (S901 Yes), it displays the menu screen 700 shown in Fig. 7. Then, when the system setting item key 703C of the menu screen 700 is pressed (S903 Yes), it displays the system setting menu screen 900 (Fig. 10(a)). Then, when the shortcut registration item key 901c of the item keys 901a to 901e of the system setting menu screen 900 is touched (S905 Yes), it displays a pop-up display 910 (Fig. 10(b)) (S906).

[0047] If the selection key 911a of the selection keys 911a and 911b displayed in the pop-up display 910 is touched (S907 Yes), the mode switches to shortcut registration mode (S908) and displays the shortcut registration screen 920 shown in Fig. 10(c). On the other hand, if the selection key 911b of the selection keys 911a and 911b displayed in the pop-up display 910 is touched (S907 No), the mode returns to S904 and the system setting menu screen 900 is displayed.

[0048] In the shortcut registration mode, when any of the item keys 921a to 921e is pressed and held (S909 Yes), a shortcut registration screen 930 is displayed (S910). The shortcut registration screen 930 displays selection keys 931a to 931d for selecting whether to not register a shortcut or to register the shortcut on one of pages 1 to 3 of the shortcut registration screen 800. When one of the setting keys, selection key 931b to 931d, which relates to page selection on the shortcut registration screen 800, is selected (S911 Yes), the item corresponding to the item key pressed and held in S909 is registered as a shortcut on the shortcut registration screen 800 based on the selected page number (S912), and a pop-up display 940 (FIG. 10(e)) is displayed (S913).

[0049] If the selection key 941a out of the selection keys 941a and 941b displayed in the pop-up display 940 is touched (S914 No), the process returns to S909 and waits until any of the item keys is pressed and held while the shortcut registration screen 920 is displayed. In this case, the shortcut registration screen 920 displayed displays the page number for which the shortcut is registered on the item key 921a of the shortcut registration screen 920, as shown in Fig. 11(a). Fig. 11(a) shows an example in which the selection key 921a is pressed and held on the shortcut registration screen 920 in Fig. 10(c) and a shortcut is registered on Page 1 for an item displayed on the home screen.

[0050] On the other hand, if the selection key 941b of the selection keys 911a and 911b displayed in the pop-up display 940 is touched (S914 Yes), the shortcut registration mode is ended and the normal system setting menu screen 900 is displayed (S915).

[0051] If none of the item keys 921a to 921e has been pressed long in S909, the control unit 50 determines whether any of the item keys 921a to 921e has been pressed short (S916). In this embodiment, a short press refers to a state in which a software key is touched for a time shorter than a long press. For example, the control unit 50 detects a long press when the software key continues to be touched for 1000 ms, and detects a short press when the software key is touched for less than 1000 ms.

[0052] When the control unit 50 detects that any of the item keys 921a to 921e has been pressed for a short time, the control unit 50 displays a menu screen of an item that corresponds to the touched item key (S917). After that, the process returns to S909 and repeats the process.

[0053] When a shortcut is registered in this manner, the shortcut screen 800 that is displayed when the shortcut key 402 is touched on the home screen 400 or the like displays the item for which the shortcut is registered. For example, when a shortcut is registered for an item on the home screen display, as shown in FIG. 11(b), the shortcut key 803a displays the item on the home screen display.

[0054] Next, the process when the shortcut screen is displayed will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the process when transitioning from the shortcut screen to a shortcut edit mode or a shortcut registration mode. When the shortcut key 402 is touched on the home screen 400 or the like (S1201 Yes), the control unit 50 displays the shortcut screen 800 (S1202). Then, it is determined whether any of the shortcut keys 803a to 803f is touched on the shortcut screen 800 (S1203).

[0055] If any of the shortcut keys 803a-f is touched (S1203 Yes), and if the touched shortcut key has an item registered thereto (S1204 Yes), it is determined whether or not the touch operation detected in S1203 was a long press (S1205). As described above, a long press is detected by whether or not the software key is continuously touched for a predetermined period of time or more. In this embodiment, the control unit 50 detects a long press when the software key is continuously touched for 1000 ms.

[0056] If the touch operation detected in S1203 is a short press rather than a long press (S1205 Yes), a screen for the corresponding item is displayed (S1206). For example, if a shortcut for displaying the home screen is registered as shown in Fig. 11(b) and the shortcut key 803a is touched on the shortcut screen 800, a menu screen 1100 for displaying the home screen is displayed as shown in Fig. 11(c).

[0057] If the touch operation detected in S1203 is a long press (S1205 Yes), the mode is switched to shortcut edit mode (S1207). The shortcut edit mode will be described later.

[0058] If there is no item registered to the touched shortcut key (S1204 No), the control unit 50 switches to shortcut registration mode (S1208) and displays the shortcut registration screen 920 shown in Fig. 10(c). Note that the shortcut registration mode is similar to the processing contents of S908 to S915 described above, and therefore the description will be omitted.

[0059] If any of the shortcut keys 803a-f has not been touched (S1203 No) but the close key 801 has been touched (S1209 Yes), the shortcut screen 800 is closed and the screen that was displayed before the shortcut key was touched in S1201 is displayed (S1210).

[0060] Next, the shortcut edit mode will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing in the shortcut edit mode. When switching to the shortcut edit mode in the above-mentioned S1207, the control unit 50 displays the shortcut edit mode screen 1000 (FIG. 14(a)) on the touch panel (S1301). Here, it is assumed that the items "External control mode setting" and "Use RAW printing" have been registered as shortcuts in advance, and "External control mode setting" An example of moving the shortcut key for " is described below.

[0061] The shortcut edit mode screen 1000 displays a close key 1001, a page move key 1002 for moving between pages of the shortcut screen 1000, a display 1003 showing the page number, and shortcut keys 1004a to 1004f, similar to the shortcut screen 800. Note that the background color of the shortcut screen 800 is changed in the shortcut edit mode screen 1000.

[0062] If a registered shortcut key among the shortcut keys 104a-f is touched (Yes in S1302), it is determined whether the touch operation in S1302 was a long press (S1303). The definition of a long press in this embodiment is as described above. If a shortcut key is long pressed (Yes in S1301), the shortcut key is allowed to be moved within the same page (S1304). For example, if the shortcut key 1004a for "External control mode setting" is long pressed, the shortcut key icon can be moved by accepting a slide operation on the touch panel, limited to within Page 1.

[0063] On the other hand, if the shortcut key is pressed for a short time instead of a long time (S1301 No), the color of the icon of the shortcut key 1004a is changed as shown in FIG. 14(b), and the shortcut edit mode screen 1000 becomes dark overall. Then, an edit list menu 1010 is displayed on the shortcut edit mode screen 1000 (S1305). The edit list menu 1010 displays item keys 1011 and 1012 for executing an operation to move the icon of the shortcut key registered as a shortcut to another page, and an item key 1013 for executing an operation to delete the shortcut. In this embodiment, since the shortcut key for "External control mode setting" exists on page 1, two items for executing an operation to move to another page are displayed: an item key 1011 for moving to Page 2 and an item key 1012 for moving to Page 3.

[0064] When either the item key 1011 or 1012 of the editing list menu 1010 is touched (Yes in S1306) and there is a blank page (an icon with no registration) corresponding to the selected item key (Yes in S1307), the icon of the shortcut key touched in S1302 is moved to the page corresponding to the item key touched in S1306 (S1308). When the item key 1011 is touched in the example shown in FIG. 14(b), the shortcut key 1004a for "External control mode setting" is moved to Page 2. Then, the editing list menu 1010 is closed (S1310). In addition, the movement to the selected page is performed in the same manner as when the item key 1012 for moving to Page 3 of the editing list menu is touched in S1306.

[0065] When the shortcut key 1004a for "External Control Mode Setting" is moved to Page 2 in S1308, the shortcut key 1004a for "External Control Mode Setting" disappears from Page 1 as shown in FIG. 14C, and the shortcut key 1004b for "Use RAW Printing" is moved to the position where the shortcut key 1004a for "External Control Mode Setting" was displayed. In this way, the shortcut keys with registered shortcuts are moved from the top center to the top left, from the top right to the top center, from the bottom left to the top right, from the bottom center to the bottom left, and from the bottom right to the bottom center so that the shortcut keys with registered shortcuts are always aligned to the top left. As a result, the "Not registered" icon that is generated by the shortcut key (icon) that has been moved between pages is always displayed on the bottom right.

[0066] In addition, when the shortcut key 1004a for "External control mode setting" is moved to Page 2, the shortcut key for "External control mode setting" is displayed on Page 2 as shown in FIG. 14(d). The registration location of the shortcut key (icon) on the destination page is also set to the location where the highest priority unregistered icon is registered, with the priority being the top left, top center, top right, bottom left, bottom center, and bottom right, so that the shortcut key is aligned to the top left. When the shortcut key is moved, the page number displayed on the shortcut registration screen shown in FIG. 11(a) is also changed. In other words, when the shortcut key for "External control mode setting" is moved from Page 1 to Page 2, the notation "Page 1" displayed to the right of the item key for "External control mode setting" is changed to "Page 2" accordingly.

[0067] On the other hand, if there is no free space on the page corresponding to the item key touched in S1306 (No in S1307), a pop-up display 1520 is displayed to inform the user that there is no free space on the corresponding page, as shown in FIG. 15(a) (S1309). The specific shortcut key movement in S1309 is to move all shortcut icons 1004b-f except for the "External Control Mode Setting" shortcut key 1004a in Page 1 from the center of the upper row to the left of the upper row, from the right of the upper row to the center of the upper row, from the left of the lower row to the right of the upper row, from the center of the lower row to the left of the lower row, and from the right of the lower row to the center of the lower row so that they are all aligned to the top left. Then, the "External Control Mode Setting" shortcut key 1004a is moved to the location in Page 1 where the unregistered icon with the highest priority in the above priority order was registered. In other words, it is moved to the end of the shortcut keys registered as shortcuts. Then, the editing list 1010 is closed (S1310).

[0068] When the editing list 1010 is closed, the color of the icon changed when the editing list menu shown in FIG. 14(b) is displayed is returned to the original color. When the item key 1013 for deleting shortcuts in the editing list menu 1010 is touched (S1311), the icon of the shortcut key for "External control mode setting" is deleted (S1312), and the editing list menu is closed (S1310). When the "External control mode setting" icon is deleted (S1312), the shortcut key 1004a for "External control mode setting" disappears from page 1 as in FIG. 14(c), and the remaining shortcut key icons are moved from the center of the upper row to the left of the upper row, from the right of the upper row to the center of the upper row, from the left of the lower row to the right of the upper row, from the center of the lower row to the left of the lower row, and from the right of the lower row to the center of the lower row so that they are all aligned to the top left. When deleting a shortcut registration (S1311), unlike the movement between pages, the icon of the deleted shortcut key does not appear on any page and is deleted from the shortcut screen. In conjunction with this, the "Page 1" notation that was displayed to the right of the "External Control Mode Setting" item key will also be removed.

[0069] Furthermore, when the shortcut edit list menu 1010 is displayed, if an area outside the shortcut edit list menu 1010 is touched (S1311 No), the edit list menu 1010 is also closed (S1110). Furthermore, when the edit list menu 1010 is closed, the shortcut edit mode screen 1000 that was darkened when the edit list menu 1010 was displayed is restored to its dark state.

[0070] If the close key 1001 is touched (S1313 Yes), the pop-up display 1500 (FIG. 15(b)) is displayed (S1314). If the selection key 1501a is selected in S1315 (S1315 Yes), the pop-up display 1500 is closed, the shortcut edit mode is terminated, and the display returns to the shortcut screen 800. If the selection key 1501b is selected in S1315 (S1315 No), the pop-up display 1500 is closed, and the display returns to the shortcut screen. (S1316) The icon of the close key 1001 may be displayed in a different way, and for example, the icon itself may be displayed to indicate its function, such as a "confirm" key.

[0071] As described above, for example, on the shortcut screen, by pressing and holding a shortcut key registered as a shortcut, the mode can be switched to the shortcut key edit mode. This allows the user to change the layout of the shortcut keys while checking the shortcut screen, improving user convenience.

[0072] In the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which the shortcut edit list menu was displayed by pressing and holding the shortcut icon after switching to the shortcut edit mode, but switching to the shortcut edit mode may also be triggered by another operation method, such as a double tap.

[0073] Furthermore, when a shortcut icon is moved or deleted, the icon may not be moved to the left, and the location where the shortcut was registered before the move may be set to no longer registered.

[0074] The present specification and drawings disclose the following image forming apparatus.

[0075] an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a continuous roll sheet, comprising: a feeding unit that feeds the roll sheet; an image forming unit that forms an image on the roll sheet fed by the feeding unit; a touch panel that allows settings related to the image forming apparatus to be input; and a control unit that switches screens to be displayed on the touch panel based on the settings input via the touch panel, wherein the control unit is capable of displaying on the touch panel a first shortcut screen that displays software keys related to an item arbitrarily selected by a user from among a plurality of setting items related to settings of the image forming apparatus; a second shortcut screen that is a screen different from the first shortcut screen and displays software keys related to an item arbitrarily selected by the user from among the plurality of setting items; and an editing screen for editing the software keys to be displayed on the first shortcut screen and the second shortcut screen, and when a predetermined touch operation is performed on the software key on the editing screen, the image forming apparatus displays on the touch panel an input screen that allows an instruction to move from one of the shortcut screens on which the software key is located to another shortcut screen, of the first shortcut screen and the second shortcut screen.

[0076] [Item 2] The image forming device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit displays the editing screen on the touch panel when a touch operation is performed on the software key on the shortcut screen for a predetermined period of time or longer.

[0077] [Item 3] The image forming device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit displays the editing screen on the touch panel when a touch operation is performed on the software key on the shortcut screen a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined time.

[0078] [Item 4] The image forming device of any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the control unit displays on the touch panel a menu screen displaying a plurality of setting item keys related to settings of the image forming device, a first hierarchical screen displaying a plurality of setting item keys related to an item selected when any of the plurality of setting item keys displayed on the menu screen is selected, a second hierarchical screen displaying a plurality of setting item keys related to an item selected when any of the plurality of setting item keys displayed on the first hierarchical screen is selected, and a shortcut registration screen for registering shortcuts related to the plurality of setting item keys in the first hierarchical level.

[0079] [Item 5] An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a continuous roll sheet, comprising: a feeding unit that feeds the roll sheet; an image forming unit that forms an image on the roll sheet fed by the feeding unit; a touch panel that allows input of settings related to the image forming apparatus; and a control unit that switches a screen displayed on the touch panel based on the settings input via the touch panel, wherein the control unit switches a shortcut screen that displays software keys related to an item arbitrarily selected by a user from among a plurality of setting items related to settings of the image forming apparatus, and when a predetermined touch operation is performed on the software key on the shortcut screen, an editing screen for editing the software key displayed on the shortcut screen is displayed on the touch panel.

[0080] 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]

[0081] 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...shortcut screen, 1000...shortcut editing screen

Claims

1. an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a continuous roll sheet, comprising: a feeding unit that feeds the roll sheet; an image forming unit that forms an image on the roll sheet fed by the feeding unit; a touch panel that allows settings related to the image forming apparatus to be input; and a control unit that switches screens to be displayed on the touch panel based on the settings input via the touch panel, wherein the control unit is capable of displaying on the touch panel a first shortcut screen that displays software keys related to an item arbitrarily selected by a user from a plurality of setting items related to settings of the image forming apparatus; a second shortcut screen that is a screen different from the first shortcut screen and displays software keys related to an item arbitrarily selected by the user from the plurality of setting items; and an editing screen for editing the software keys to be displayed on the first shortcut screen and the second shortcut screen, and when a predetermined touch operation is performed on the software key on the editing screen, the image forming apparatus displays on the touch panel an input screen that allows an instruction to move from the shortcut screen on which the software key is located, of the first shortcut screen or the second shortcut screen, to another shortcut screen.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit displays the edit screen on the touch panel when a touch operation is performed on the software key on the shortcut screen for a predetermined period of time or longer.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit displays the edit screen on the touch panel when a touch operation is performed on the software key on the shortcut screen a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined time.

4. 2. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays on the touch panel a menu screen displaying a plurality of setting item keys related to settings of the image forming device, a first hierarchical screen displaying a plurality of setting item keys related to an item selected when any of the plurality of setting item keys displayed on the menu screen is selected, a second hierarchical screen displaying a plurality of setting item keys related to an item selected when any of the plurality of setting item keys displayed on the first hierarchical screen is selected, and a shortcut registration screen for registering shortcuts related to the plurality of setting item keys in the first hierarchical level.

5. An image forming device that forms an image on a continuous roll sheet, comprising: a feeding unit that feeds the roll sheet; an image forming unit that forms an image on the roll sheet fed by the feeding unit; a touch panel that can input settings related to the image forming device; and a control unit that switches the screen displayed on the touch panel based on the settings input via the touch panel, wherein the control unit displays a shortcut screen on the touch panel that displays software keys related to an item arbitrarily selected by a user from a plurality of setting items related to settings of the image forming device, and when a predetermined touch operation is performed on the software key on the shortcut screen, displays an editing screen on the touch panel for editing the software key displayed on the shortcut screen.

Images