OPERATION CONSOLE, IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND DISPLAY METHOD

• US 20120050779A1
• Filed: 08/18/2011
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tani, Takeshi, Tohki, Shinsaku
• Granted Patent: US 8,928,900 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.13
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00392 Other manual input means, e.g. digitisers or writing tablets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00411 the display also being used for user input, e.g. touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0044 for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00477 Indicating status, e.g. of a job for control or supervision between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N2201/3219
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00482 outputting a plurality of job set-up options, e.g. number of copies, paper size or resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception

Abstract

In order to provide an operation console having superior operability and visibility, a touch-panel display includes a display panel displaying a copy mode basic screen image with virtual keys, and a touch-panel receiving an input operation to the virtual keys. On the copy mode basic screen image, a group of virtual ten keys for inputting the number of copies are displayed. When image data is input by a document reading unit, the touch-panel display causes a preview image based on the image data to be displayed with higher priority than the group of virtual ten keys, in the copy mode basic screen image.

Claims

1. An operation console provided on an image processing apparatus including an image input device for inputting image data, and an output device for outputting the image data input by said image input device, comprising:

a display device having a display area for displaying a virtual key; and

a first input receiving device receiving an input operation to said virtual key;

wherein

said virtual key includes ten keys for inputting a set value related to an output by said output device;

said operation console further comprising;

a first display control device displaying, when the image data is input by said image input device, an image based on said image data on said display device with higher priority than said ten keys.

2. The operation console according to claim 1, further comprising a request key display device displaying, when the image data is input by said input device, a request key for requesting display of said ten keys with higher priority than said image on said display area, in place of said ten keys.

3. The operation console according to claim 2, wherein

said display device further includes a setting value display area for displaying a set value related to the output by said output device;

and

said request key display device displays said request key close to said setting value display area.

4. The operation console according to claim 1, further comprising:

an instruction receiving device receiving an instruction requesting display of said ten keys with higher priority than said image; and

a second display control device, responsive to said instruction receiving device receiving said instruction, for causing said display device to display said ten keys superposed in front of said image with at least a part of said image displayed viewable.

5. The operation console according to claim 4, wherein said ten keys are transparent images.

6. The operation console according to claim 5, further comprising:

a second input receiving device receiving an input operation on said image; and

a request key display device, responsive to said second input receiving device receiving said input operation, for causing said display device to display a request key requesting display of said ten keys with higher priority than said image, in place of said ten keys.

7. The operation console according to claim 5, further comprising a request key display device causing said display device to display a request key requesting display of said ten keys with higher priority than said image, in place of said ten keys, when a predetermined, prescribed time passes without any input operation on said ten keys.

8. The operation console according to claim 4, further comprising:

a second input receiving device receiving an input operation on said image; and

a request key display device, responsive to said second input receiving device receiving said input operation, for causing said display device to display a request key requesting display of said ten keys with higher priority than said image, in place of said ten keys.

9. The operation console according to claim 4, further comprising a request key display device causing said display device to display a request key requesting display of said ten keys with higher priority than said image, in place of said ten keys, when a predetermined, prescribed time passes without any input operation on said ten keys.

10. The operation console according to claim 1, wherein a start key for requesting output by said output device is always displayed as said virtual key on said display area.

11. The operation console according to claim 10, further comprising:

a start instruction receiving device receiving an input operation to said start key; and

a returning device, responsive to said start instruction receiving device receiving said input operation, for returning display state of said display device to a state before the input data is input by said input device.

12. An image processing apparatus, comprising:

an operation console according to any of claims 1 to 11;

said image input device; and

said output device;

wherein

said output device outputs image data input by said image input device in accordance with a setting by said operation console.

13. A method of display in an operation console provided on an image processing apparatus including an image input device for inputting image data and an output device for outputting the image data input by said image input device, said operation console including a display device having a display area for displaying a virtual key and an input receiving device receiving an input operation to said virtual key;

said method comprising the steps of;

displaying, as said virtual key, ten keys for inputting a set value related to an output by said output device, on said display area; and

displaying, when image data is input by said image input device, an image based on said image data with higher priority than said ten keys, on said display device.