JP2021057703A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus that improves efficiency in paper jam resolving operations by using a foldable operation panel.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 1 comprises: a display unit 41 that is provided projecting from a front face of an apparatus body 11 and has short sides in a front face direction and long sides in a side face direction; and a control unit that performs display control of the display unit 41. The display unit 41 is foldable downward and toward a direction of a side face of the apparatus body 11 provided with side face covers 21, 22 of the apparatus body 11. When the display unit 41 is folded during the occurrence of paper jam the resolving of which requires opening of the side face covers 21, 22, the control unit causes the display unit 41 to display second guidance for resolving the paper jam with the short sides as the top and bottom of the display unit 41.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to display control of a display unit.

An image forming apparatus such as a copier, a facsimile, a printer, or a compound machine having a plurality of functions of these devices forms an image of a document on the paper fed from a paper feeding unit, and fixes the formed paper. Although the fixing process is performed on the part and the paper is discharged to the outside of the main body of the device, the original or paper may not be conveyed normally and a jam (paper jam) may occur. When a jam occurs, the image forming apparatus stops printing and displays a jam occurrence location, a jam release procedure, and the like on the display unit as guidance.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-511524 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-031884

The treatment method for jam depends on the place where the jam occurs. For example, if the paper is jammed in the paper feed section, the user pulls out the paper cassette toward the front of the device body, takes out the jammed paper, and if the paper is jammed in the fixing section, the user pulls out the side cover of the device body. Open and remove the jammed paper. The display unit is arranged at a position that is easy for the user standing in front of the main body of the device to see. Therefore, when the paper cassette is pulled out toward the front surface of the main body of the apparatus and the jammed paper is taken out, the guidance displayed on the display unit is relatively easy for the user to see.

However, when the side cover of the main body of the device is opened and the jammed paper is taken out, the guidance displayed on the display unit is difficult for the user to see. Therefore, the efficiency of the jam release work may decrease.

By the way, recently, various bendable operation panels have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 above). If a bendable operation panel is used for the image forming device and the display surface can be bent in a direction that makes it easy to see while working, the guidance will be easier to see even when the side cover is opened and the jam release work is performed. The efficiency of jam release work is improved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to improve the efficiency of jam release work by using a bendable operation panel.

The image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is provided with an image forming portion for forming an image on paper, a detecting portion for detecting the occurrence of jam, and a side surface of the apparatus main body so as to be openable and closable. In the side cover that exposes the inside of the device body, and the bending line that is provided so as to project forward from the front surface of the device body, the front side is the short side and the side side is the long side, and extends in the direction orthogonal to the long side. , A display unit whose display surface can be bent toward the side cover side, a control unit that controls the display of the display unit, and a determination unit that determines whether or not the display unit is in a bent state. The control unit is in a state where the display unit is bent by the determination unit when the detection unit detects the occurrence of a jam that requires the side cover to be opened to release the jam. When it is determined, the display unit displays guidance for releasing the jam that requires the opening of the side cover, with the two short sides of the display unit as the top and bottom.

According to the present invention, the display unit of the operation panel bent in the direction in which the side cover of the main body of the apparatus is provided displays the guidance with each short side of the display unit as the top and bottom, so open the side cover. Even when taking out the jammed paper, the guidance becomes easier to see and the efficiency of the jam release work is improved.

It is a functional block diagram which roughly showed the main internal structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which showed the appearance of the image forming apparatus which made the display part flat. It is a perspective view which showed the appearance of the image forming apparatus in the state which the display part was bent. It is the perspective view which showed the example of the display part schematicly, (A) shows a flat state, (B) shows a bent state. It is a figure which showed an example of the 1st guidance displayed on the display part. It is a perspective view which showed the image forming apparatus which the 1st guidance was displayed on the display part in a flat state. It is a figure which showed an example of the 2nd guidance displayed on the display part. It is a perspective view which showed the image forming apparatus which the 2nd guidance was displayed on the display part in the bent state. It is a flowchart which showed an example of the display processing by an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which showed an example of the 2nd guidance displayed on the display part. It is a figure which showed an example of the 2nd guidance displayed on the display part.

Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram schematically showing a main internal configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing the appearance of the image forming apparatus.

The image forming apparatus 1 is a compound machine having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. The apparatus main body 11 has a control unit 10, a document feeding unit 6, and an original. The reading unit 5, the image forming unit 12, the fixing unit 13, the paper feeding unit 14, the first right side cover 21, the second right side cover 22, the operation panel 4, the document sensor 31, the paper sensor 32, and the human body detection sensor 33. It is configured to include.

The document feeding unit 6 is an ADF (Auto Document Feeder), and is configured to be openable and closable on the upper surface of the document reading unit 5 by a hinge or the like shown in the drawing. It functions as a document holder cover when scanning a placed document.

A case where the document reading operation is performed by the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. The document reading unit 5 optically reads the image of the document supplied to the document reading unit 5 by the document feeding unit 6 or the document placed on the platen glass, and generates image data. The image data generated by the document reading unit 5 is stored in an image memory or the like (not shown).

A case where the image forming operation is performed by the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. The image forming unit 12 serves as a recording medium to be fed from the paper feeding unit 14 based on the image data generated by the document reading operation, the image data received from an external device (for example, a personal computer) connected to the network, and the like. A toner image is formed on the paper.

The fixing unit 13 heats and pressurizes the recording paper on which the toner image is formed by the image forming unit 12 to fix the toner image on the recording paper. It is discharged. The paper feed unit 14 includes paper feed cassettes 141 to 144.

The first right side cover 21 and the second right side cover 22 are covers that are opened to wipe off dirt inside the apparatus main body 11 and to take out jammed paper. The first right side cover 21 and the second right side cover 22 are provided on the side surface of the device main body 11 so as to be openable and closable, and expose the inside of the device main body 11 when opened.

The operation panel 4 is provided so as to project from the front surface of the apparatus main body 11. The operation panel 4 has a horizontally long display unit 41 in which each side extending in the front surface direction is a short side and each side extending in the side surface direction is a long side. That is, the display unit 41 is provided so as to project substantially horizontally from the front surface of the device main body 11. In the present embodiment, the display unit 41 projects substantially horizontally from the front surface of the device main body 11. The display unit 41 is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) having flexibility so as to be bendable. The display unit 41 has a touch panel function and displays operation guidance and the like to the user. An operation instruction of the image forming apparatus 1 is input to the display unit 41 by the user touching a button or the like displayed on the display unit 41 via the touch panel. The display unit 41 receives instructions from the user regarding various operations and processes that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 1 via the touch panel.

The operation panel is equipped with a moving mechanism that allows the display unit 41 to linearly move in the direction of the side surface of the device main body 11 provided with the first right side cover 21 and the second right side cover 22. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 41 sets the display surface on the first right side cover 21 and the second right side at the bending line (FIGS. 4A and 4B) extending in the direction orthogonal to the long side. It can be bent toward the cover 22 side. In the present embodiment, the display unit 41 can be bent downward and toward the right side surface on which the first right side surface cover 21 and the second right side surface cover 22 are provided.

4A and 4B are perspective views schematically showing an example of the display unit 41, in which FIG. 4A shows a flat state and FIG. 4B shows a bent state. The display unit 41 has two touch screens 411 and 412 arranged in parallel. The touch screen 412 is a display unit 41 portion other than the touch screen 411. The touch screens 411 and 412 are connected by a hinge or the like (not shown), and the touch screen 411 can be bent downward with the boundary portion between the touch screen 411 and the touch screen 412 as the bending line. The touch screen 411 is the first display unit, and the touch screen 412 is the second display unit.

The touch screen 411 is bent, but the touch screen 412 is not bent. For example, the touch screen 411 is supposed to be bent within a range of 90 degrees to 180 degrees at a right angle θ formed with the touch screen 412.

The display unit 41 has a built-in open / close detection sensor 42 (FIG. 1). The open / close detection sensor 42 detects the angle θ formed by the touch screen 411 and the touch screen 412. The open / close detection sensor 42 is, for example, a rotation angle sensor provided on the hinge, detects an angle θ formed by the touch screen 411 and the touch screen 412, and outputs the detected angle θ to the control unit 100. The open / close detection sensor 42 may be a motion sensor.

The document sensor 31 is mounted on the document feeding unit 6 in order to detect a paper jam of the document. The paper sensor 32 is appropriately arranged near the paper transport path in order to detect a paper jam.

The document sensor 31 and the paper sensor 32 are composed of a known reflective photoelectric sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element for detecting reflected light from the document or paper of light emitted from the light emitting element. Detect the tip or trailing edge.

The human body detection sensor 33 is provided on the front surface of the device main body 11 and detects an approaching person to the front surface of the device main body 11. The human body detection sensor 33 is, for example, a pyroelectric infrared sensor that receives infrared rays generated by the movement of the human body.

The control unit 10 includes a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a dedicated hardware circuit. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or the like. The control unit 10 includes a control unit 100, an operation reception unit 101, a detection unit 102, and a bending determination unit 103.

The control unit 10 serves as a control unit 100, an operation reception unit 101, a detection unit 102, and a bending determination unit 103 by operating the processor according to a control program stored in an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like (not shown). It works. However, the control unit 100 and the like can be configured by hardware circuits, regardless of the operation according to the control program by the control unit 10. Hereinafter, the same applies to each embodiment unless otherwise specified.

The control unit 100 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 100 is connected to a document feeding unit 6, a document reading unit 5, an image forming unit 12, a fixing unit 13, a feeding unit 14, an operation panel 4, a document sensor 31, a paper sensor 32, and a human body detection sensor 33. , Drive control of each of these parts is performed.

The operation reception unit 101 receives an operation input from the user. The operation reception unit 101 receives a user operation (touch operation) on the operation screen displayed on the display unit 41 by the touch panel function of the display unit 41.

The detection unit 102 detects the occurrence of jam based on the detection result of the document sensor 31 or the paper sensor 32. For example, in the detection unit 102, when the detection signal of the document sensor 31 (or paper sensor 32) is switched from OFF to ON, the tip of the document (or paper) is at the detection position of the document sensor 31 (or paper sensor 32). Is determined to have passed.

The detection unit 102 does not switch the detection signal of the document sensor 31 (or paper sensor 32) from ON to OFF even after a predetermined time has elapsed after determining the passage of the tip of the document (or paper). If it is determined that the rear end of the document (or paper) has not passed the detection position of the document sensor 31 (or paper sensor 32), it is determined that a jam has occurred.

Further, when the detection unit 102 detects the occurrence of jam based on the detection result by the document sensor 31, the detection unit 102 identifies the jam occurrence location (that is, the type of jam) as the document feeding unit 6. When the detection unit 102 detects the occurrence of jam based on the detection result by the paper sensor 32, the detection unit 102 identifies the location of the jam from the arrangement position of the paper sensor 32.

The bending determination unit 103 determines whether the display unit 41 is in a bent state or a flat state. The bending determination unit 103 determines whether the angle θ formed by the touch screen 411 and the touch screen 412 is within a predetermined range R1 (for example, 90 degrees to 160 degrees) based on the detection content of the open / close detection sensor 42. If the angle θ is within the range R1, the display unit 41 is determined to be in a bent state, and if the angle θ is not within the range R1, the display unit 41 is determined to be in a flat state. .. The open / close detection sensor 42 and the bending determination unit 103 are examples of the determination units within the scope of the claims.

The control unit 100 causes the display unit 41 to display various guidance and operation screens with each long side of the display unit 41 as the top and bottom.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the first guidance displayed on the display unit 41. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the image forming apparatus 1 in which the first guidance is displayed on the display unit 41 in a flat state. The first guidance G1 displayed on the display unit 41 is displayed with each long side of the display unit 41 as the top and bottom. That is, the first guidance G1 is displayed horizontally.

However, when the detection unit 102 detects that a jam that requires the opening of the first right side cover 21 or the second right side cover 22 has occurred in the control unit 100, the bending determination unit 100 is used. When it is determined by 103 that the display unit 41 is in a bent state, as shown in FIG. 7, each short side of the display unit 41 is set as the top and bottom, and the first right side cover 21 or the second right side cover 22 is used. The display unit 41 displays a predetermined second guidance for releasing the jam that requires the release of the jam. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the second guidance displayed on the display unit 41. The second guidance G2 displayed on the display unit 41 has each short side of the display unit 41 as the top and bottom. That is, the second guidance G2 is displayed vertically.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus 1 in which the second guidance G2 is displayed on the display unit 41 in a bent state. The control unit 100 displays the first display image of the upper half of the second guidance G2 on the touch screen 411, and displays the second display image of the lower half of the second guidance G2 on the touch screen 412. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the user bends the display surface of the display unit 41 on which the second guidance G2 is displayed toward the first right side cover 21 and the second right side cover 22. The display surface can be visually recognized from the first right side cover 21 and the second right side cover 22 side.

Next, an example of the display process performed by the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This process is executed when the detection unit 102 detects the occurrence of a jam that requires the opening of the first right side cover 21 or the second right side cover 22 to release the jam (S100). Yes).

In this case, the control unit 100 causes the display unit 41 to display a predetermined first guidance for releasing the jam, with each long side of the display unit 41 as the top and bottom (S1). For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the horizontally long first guidance G1 is displayed on the display unit 41.

Then, the bending determination unit 103 determines whether or not the display unit 41 is in a bent state based on the detection content by the open / close detection sensor 42 (S2). When the bending determination unit 103 determines that the display unit 41 is in a bent state (YES in S2), the control unit 100 uses each short side of the display unit 41 as the top and bottom to release the jam in advance. The defined second guidance is displayed on the display unit 41 (S3). For example, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the vertically long second guidance G2 is displayed on the display unit 41. At this time, the control unit 100 divides the display target image into two, displays the first display image which is one of the divided images on the touch screen 411, and displays the second display image which is the other divided image on the touch screen. It is displayed on 412.

Subsequently, in the control unit 100, the operation reception unit 101 displays the first display image displayed on the bendable touch screen 411 of the display unit 41 and the second display image displayed on the non-bendable touch screen 412 of the display unit 41. It is determined whether or not the user has accepted the instruction to replace the displayed image (S4). For example, when the user swipes the touch screen 411 in the upward direction, the operation receiving unit 101 receives the above-mentioned replacement instruction.

When the control unit 100 determines that the operation reception unit 101 has received the above-mentioned replacement instruction (YES in S4), the control unit 100 replaces and displays each display image in the second guidance displayed on the display unit 41 (S5). Specifically, the control unit 100 displays the first display image displayed on the touch screen 411 on the touch screen 412, and displays the second display image displayed on the touch screen 412 on the touch screen 411. As a result, the second display image is also displayed in a place that is very easy for the user to see.

After S5, or when the control unit 100 determines that the operation reception unit 101 has not received the above-mentioned replacement user instruction (NO in S4), the process proceeds to S6.

In S6, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the jam detected in S100 has been released (S6). When the control unit 100 determines that the jam has been released (YES in S6), the control unit 100 displays the original screen displayed before the jam occurs on the touch screens 411 and 412 of the display unit 41 (S7). ), A predetermined caution display is displayed on the display unit 41 in order for the user to return the display unit 41 to the flat state (S8). For example, the control unit 100 causes the display unit 41 to display a message such as "Please return the display unit to the flat state".

After S8, the bending determination unit 103 determines whether or not the display unit 41 is in a flat state based on the content detected by the open / close detection sensor 42 (S9). When the bending determination unit 103 determines that the display unit 41 is in a flat state (YES in S9), the control unit 100 hides the caution display displayed on the display unit 41 (S10), and S7. Display the original screen that was displayed in. After this, the process ends.

The process of S9 is repeated until the bending determination unit 103 determines that the display unit 41 is in a flat state (NO in S9).

Further, in S6, when the control unit 100 determines that the jam has not been released (NO in S6), the bending determination unit 103 states that the display unit 41 is flat based on the detection content by the open / close detection sensor 42. It is determined whether or not it is (S11).

When the bending determination unit 103 determines that the display unit 41 is in a flat state (YES in S11), the process returns to S1, and the control unit 100 uses the long side of the display unit 41 as the top and bottom and is horizontally long. The guidance is displayed on the display unit 41 (S1).

On the other hand, when the bending determination unit 103 determines that the display unit 41 is not in a flat state (in a bent state) (NO in S11), the process returns to S4.

Further, in S2, when the bending determination unit 103 determines that the display unit 41 is not in a bent state (a flat state) (NO in S2), the control unit 100 has a jam detected in S100. When it is determined whether or not the jam has been released (S12) and it is determined that the jam has been released based on the detection result of the detection unit 102 (YES in S12), the control unit 100 has the touch screens 411 and 412 of the display unit 41. To display the original screen that was displayed before the jam occurred (S13). After this, the process ends.

On the other hand, when the control unit 100 determines that the jam has not been released based on the detection result of the detection unit 102 (NO in S12), the process returns to S2.

According to this embodiment, each of the display units 41 is provided on the display unit 41 bent in the direction of the side surface of the device body 11 provided with the first right side cover 21 and the second right side cover 22 of the device body 11. Since the guidance with the short side up and down is displayed, even when the user opens the first right side cover 21 or the second right side cover 22 and takes out the jammed paper, the guidance is given from this work position. Is easier to see, and the efficiency of jam release work is improved. The display unit 41 may exchange data with the control unit 100 by wireless communication, and the display unit 41 may be detachable from the device main body 11.

In the above embodiment, a case where the second guidance is displayed on the entire display unit 41 by using not only the bendable touch screen 411 but also the non-bendable touch screen 412 is described. However, as the second embodiment, FIG. As shown in the above, when the second guidance is displayed on the display unit 41, the control unit 100 displays the second guidance G2 (the same size second guidance) on the bent touch screen 411 with the short side of the display unit 41 as the top and bottom. The touch screen 412, which displays a part of G2 or the entire reduced second guidance G2 and does not bend, is affected by the jam detected in S100 with each long side of the display unit 41 as the top and bottom. The operation screen D1 for a predetermined function that is not received may be displayed.

Further, as a third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, when displaying the second guidance on the display unit 41, the control unit 100 only displays the second guidance G2 (the same size second) only on the bent touch screen 411. A part of the guidance G2 or a reduced whole of the second guidance G2) may be displayed, and the non-bending touch screen 412 may be used as a non-display area in which an image is not displayed. At this time, the control unit 100 may turn off the backlight of the touch screen 412. As a result, power consumption can be suppressed and energy saving can be realized.

Further, as a further modification of the third embodiment, the control unit 100 sets the touch screen 412 as a non-display area when the human body detection sensor 33 does not detect an approaching person to the front surface of the device main body 11. When the human body detection sensor 33 detects an approaching person to the front surface of the device main body 11, the touch screen 412 is switched from the non-display area to the display area, and the touch screen 412 displays the display unit 41 as shown in FIG. The operation screen D1 for a predetermined function that is not affected by the jam detected in S100 may be displayed with each long side of the above as the top and bottom.

Further, the configuration and processing shown by the above-described embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11 are merely one embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not intended to be limited to the configuration and processing.

1 Image forming device 4 Operation panel 12 Image forming unit 33 Human body detection sensor 41 Display unit 42 Open / close detection sensor 100 Control unit 101 Operation reception unit 102 Detection unit 103 Bending determination unit 411,412 Touch screen

Claims (8)

An image forming part that forms an image on paper,
A detector that detects the occurrence of jam and
A side cover that is openable and closable on the side of the device body and exposes the inside of the device body when it is open.
A bending line that protrudes forward from the front surface of the main body of the apparatus, has a short side in the front surface direction and a long side in the side surface direction, and extends in a direction orthogonal to the long side, with the display surface facing the side surface cover side. A foldable display and
A control unit that controls the display of the display unit and
A determination unit for determining whether or not the display unit is in a bent state is provided.
When the control unit determines that the display unit is in a bent state when the detection unit detects the occurrence of a jam that requires the side cover to be opened for its release. An image forming apparatus that displays guidance on the display unit for releasing a jam that requires opening of the side cover, with the two short sides of the display unit as the top and bottom. The display unit has a first display unit that is bent toward the side cover side with the bending line as a boundary, and a second display unit other than the first display unit.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays the guidance on the first display unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit sets the second display unit as a non-display area in which an image is not displayed when the guidance is displayed on the first display unit. When the first display unit displays the guidance, the control unit is predetermined so that the second display unit is not affected by the jam that has occurred, with the two long sides of the display unit as the top and bottom. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, which displays an operation screen for a function. Further equipped with a human body detection sensor that detects an approaching person to the front surface of the device body,
The control unit displays the operation screen on the second display unit when the approaching person is detected by the human body detection sensor, and when the approaching person is not detected by the human body detection sensor, the second display unit displays the operation screen. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the display unit is set in a non-display area in which an image is not displayed. It also has an operation reception unit that accepts input of instructions from the user.
When the control unit receives an instruction to replace the displayed image to the operation receiving unit when the image is displayed on the first display unit and the second display unit, the control unit displays the image on the first display unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image is replaced with the image displayed on the second display unit. The control unit has determined that the display unit is in a bent state by the determination unit when the detection unit has not detected the occurrence of a jam that requires the opening of the side cover to release the jam. In the case, the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which causes the user to display a predetermined caution display on the first or second display unit in order to return the display unit to a flat state. .. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a moving mechanism that allows the display unit to move linearly in the direction of the side surface provided with the side surface cover.

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