The present invention relates to a system of registering operation keys, and more particularly to a system of registering operation keys in arbitrarily selected areas of a coordinate input device.
With the incorporation of multiple functions into copying machines, facsimile machines, and so forth, proposals have hitherto been made for techniques for integrating the data input from a coordinate input device connected to a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or the like with the information read from an original document by such a machine.
Among the prior art cases which have disclosed a copying machine connected with a coordinate input device are Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication Nos. Sho. 63-190472 and Sho. 63-23470.
The former discloses a technique for achieving a smaller size digitizer (coordinate input device) by displaying a mode selecting section in the coordinate position detecting area of the digitizer and by permitting the selection of a mode by the operation of a mode change-over switch. Moreover, the latter discloses a technique for specifying the coordinates by pushing desired points on a tablet of a coordinate input device and for specifying a character by pushing a desired block on the tablet after pushing a character key.
Moreover, a prior art case disclosing a facsimile machine connected with a coordinate input device is found, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. Sho. 63-151258. In this Official Publication is disclosed a technique for transmitting graphic information input from a coordinate input device in synthesis with the information read from an original document for transmission.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. Sho. 61-40665 discloses a technique for offering a simple way to register non-built-in, special characters from a coordinate input device connected to a character processing system operated on a computer, such as a personal computer and a Japanese-language word-processor.
The present assignee is now in the course of developing such an apparatus as will satisfy the users' tastes as well as improve the operational efficiency by enabling them freely to set function keys of a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or the like on a coordinate input surface of a coordinate input device connected to such a machine. One of the inventions made in one phase of this project is a "Single Block Registration system of Operating Steps", Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 1-261767 filed in the name of the present assignee.
In this Single Block Registration System, arbitrarily selected areas on the coordinate input surface of a coordinate input device are allocated to function keys. Thus, a method of allocating such selected areas to the function keys becomes necessary, but the prior art mentioned above does not present any technique that fulfills this requirement.