JP2007034647A - Display device, display method, image forming device and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and rapidly obtain the entire text content on user side even for text data having characters larger in number than a maximum characters displayable on a display frame. <P>SOLUTION: This device comprises a touch panel display 12 including a display frame whose displayable maximum characters is restricted to a predetermined value; a CPU 5 controlling the touch panel display 12, when the characters of text data to be displayed to the display frame exceeds the predetermined value, to display the test data in the display frame with a display mode where characters of the text data are partially omitted, and applying any one of a plurality of display modes different in the character omission part of the text data; and a display switching button switching the display mode applied by the CPU 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device capable of displaying text data, an image forming apparatus and an electronic apparatus including the display device, and a display method.

  Generally, when displaying text data (a character string composed of character codes) on a display screen such as a small liquid crystal panel, the number of characters of the text data to be actually displayed can be displayed in the display frame of the display screen. When the number of characters is larger than the maximum number of characters (hereinafter also referred to as “displayable characters”), the number of characters that can be displayed is extracted from the front side (first side) of the text data and displayed. For example, if the number of characters in the text data is 25 and the number of displayable characters is 20, up to 20 characters from the front side of the text data are displayed, and the remaining 5 characters are not displayed.

  In accordance with such a display method, for example, when displaying a plurality of FAX destination information on the display screen of the operation panel of a digital multi-function peripheral having a FAX (facsimile) function, the destination information is the company name and department name of the FAX transmission partner. If registered in the order of names, the following problems may be caused. That is, if the number of characters in the text data including the company name and the department name exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed, the name of the FAX transmission partner is not displayed on the display screen of the operation panel. For this reason, when several persons who belong to the same department of the same company are designated (selected) as FAX destinations, the display contents of each person displayed as the destination information are all the same. For this reason, the operator cannot identify the FAX transmission partner from the destination information displayed on the display screen.

  Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1 below, there is a display size modulation adjusting means for changing and adjusting the size of the display object displayed on the display screen according to the technology related to the mobile phone device according to the maximum number of display objects that can be displayed on the display screen. What is provided is described. According to this prior art, when the number of characters in the text data is larger than the number of characters that can be displayed as described above, the text size (font size) is reduced and displayed, thereby displaying more characters in the text data. Can do.

JP 2003-60767 A

  However, in the above prior art, the character size of the text data displayed on the display screen is reduced, so that the readability of the display characters is lowered. As another method, there is a method of displaying all of the text data by scroll display. However, in this method, (1) it is difficult to see because the text moves, (2) it is difficult to recognize the content of the text, (3) There was a drawback that it took time to grasp the contents of the entire text.

  The display device according to the present invention includes a display unit including a display frame in which the maximum number of characters that can be displayed is limited to a predetermined number, and text data when the number of characters of text data to be displayed in the display frame exceeds a predetermined number. The display means is controlled to display the text data in the display frame in a display form in which a part of the character is omitted, and any one of a plurality of display forms with different character omitted parts of the text data is applied. Display control means for switching, and switching means for switching the display form applied by the display control means.

  In the display device according to the present invention, when the number of characters of the text data to be displayed in the display frame of the display means exceeds a predetermined number, the text data is displayed in the display frame in a display form in which some of the characters of the text data are omitted. When the display form that is displayed and applied to the display of the text data is switched, the character omission portion of the text data changes in accordance with this, for example, the back side, the front side, or the middle of the text.

  According to the present invention, even when the number of characters of text data to be displayed in the display frame of the display means exceeds a predetermined number, the content of the entire text can be changed by appropriately switching the display form applied to the display of the text data. The user can easily and quickly grasp it. Further, since it is not necessary to reduce the character size of the text data, it is possible to avoid a decrease in the readability of the display characters.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, a case where the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various display devices, mobile phones, electronic devices such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), etc. It can also be applied to equipment.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an image forming apparatus (digital multifunction peripheral) to which the present invention is applied. The illustrated image forming apparatus generally includes a controller 1, an operation panel 2, a scanner unit 3, and a printer unit 4.

  The controller 1 comprehensively controls the processing operation of the image forming apparatus, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 5, a memory 6, a modem 7, a hard disk (HDD: Hard Disk Drive) 8, and a panel interface ( A panel I / F) 9, an input interface (input I / F) 10, and an output interface (output I / F) 11 are provided.

  The CPU 5 reads out a control program stored in the hard disk 8 to the memory 6 and controls the processing operation of the entire image forming apparatus according to the control program. The memory 6 is composed of, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), and is used as a work area when the CPU 5 reads a program from the hard disk 8 and executes it.

  The modem 7 provides a FAX function for transmitting and receiving FAX data. The hard disk 8 stores various programs and data. The panel interface 9 exchanges data between the controller 1 and the operation panel 2. The input interface 10 exchanges data between the controller 1 and the scanner unit 3, and the output interface 11 exchanges data between the controller 1 and the printer unit 4.

  The operation panel 2 serves as a UI (user interface) for a user using the image forming apparatus to input various information and display various information to the user. For example, the operation panel 2 includes a touch panel display 12 and three operation buttons (push buttons) 13, 14, and 15. The touch panel display 12 is obtained by attaching a touch panel to a display surface of a liquid crystal display, for example.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a basic screen when using FAX displayed on the touch panel display 12 of the operation panel 2. The illustrated basic FAX screen includes destination display frames 16 to 19 that can specify up to four FAX destinations, a destination display switching button 20, a destination table button 21, and a keyboard button 22. The maximum number of characters (predetermined number) that can be displayed when displaying text data in each of the destination display frames 16 to 19 is 13 characters.

  The destination display switching button 20 is a button for switching the display form of the destination information displayed in each of the destination display frames 16 to 19. Each time the user presses the destination display switching button 20, the display mode of the destination applied to each of the destination display frames 16 to 19 is switched according to the switching transition table shown in FIG. Here, as an example, when the destination display switching button 20 is pressed, all the display forms of the destinations (text data) applied to the destination display frames 16 to 19 are switched at the same time. The destination display form applied to each of the destination display frames 16 to 19 may be configured to be individually switchable. The switching transition table is stored in the hard disk 8 in advance as one of control data when the CPU 5 performs display control of the touch panel display 12. In the switching transition table, three display forms such as “rear omission”, “front omission”, and “intermediate omission” are registered in accordance with the application order when the CPU 5 applies the text data display form.

  Among these, the display form of “rear omission” indicates that the number of characters of text data registered in the destination table as the destination name of the destination information is the maximum number of characters (13 characters) that can be displayed in each of the destination display frames 16 to 19. If there is a character that cannot be displayed in the display frame, the text will be displayed preferentially from the front (first) character of the text data in the text string direction, and the text exceeds the number of displayable characters. This is a display format that omits the display of characters at the back of the data. Incidentally, in the character string direction of text data, the front side refers to the reading start side (writing start side), and the rear side refers to the reading end side (writing end side).

  In addition, the display form “Omitted on the front side” is displayed preferentially from the character on the back side of the text data when there are text data characters that cannot be displayed in the destination display frame due to the limitation on the number of displayable characters as described above. A display form in which the display of characters in front of text data exceeding the number of displayable characters is omitted. The destination display form of “middle omission” is given priority from the front and rear characters of text data when there are characters that cannot be displayed in the destination display frame due to the limitation on the number of displayable characters as described above. A display form in which the display of characters in the middle of text data exceeding the number of displayable characters is omitted.

  On the other hand, the CPU 5 controls the touch panel display 12 to display the destination in each of the destination display frames 16 to 19 by applying any one of the above three display forms. In this display control, when the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on and the basic screen of FAX is displayed on the touch panel display 12, the CPU 5 first displays "rear side omission" according to the application order of the switching transition table. Apply. Thereafter, when the destination display switching button 20 is pressed, the CPU 5 applies the display form of “front side omission”, and when the destination display switching button 20 is further pressed, applies the display form of “intermediate omission”. Thereafter, each time the destination display button 20 is pressed, the CPU 5 applies the display modes in the same order as described above. At this time, the application order of the switching transition table is changed so that the display form first applied by the CPU 5 can be changed from, for example, “rear omission” to “front omission” or “intermediate omission” according to user preference. A configuration that can be arbitrarily set is desirable.

  The destination table button 21 is a button for switching the display screen of the touch panel display 12 to the destination table screen. When the user presses the destination table button 21, a list of destinations registered (input) as text data in advance and a button (to be described later) for designating (selecting) a FAX destination from the list are displayed. The

  The keyboard button 22 is a button for switching the display screen of the touch panel display 12 to a keyboard screen (not shown). When the user presses the keyboard button 22, the keyboard screen is displayed on the touch panel display 12. Therefore, the user can directly input a FAX destination (FAX number or the like) by operating the keyboard screen.

  Here, a specific operation procedure when designating a FAX destination and a processing procedure of the image forming apparatus based on this will be described.

  First, on the FAX basic screen shown in FIG. 2, no destination is designated. Under this display state, for example, when the user presses the address table button 21, coordinate data indicating the pressed position is input from the operation panel 2 to the CPU 5 via the panel interface 9. Thus, the CPU 5 determines that the destination table button 21 has been pressed by the user, and switches the display screen of the touch panel display 12 from the basic screen to the destination table screen shown in FIG. The FAX destination table screen is a screen displayed for the user to specify (select) a FAX destination from a list of destinations based on registration data (input data) in the destination table.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the data structure of the destination table registered in the hard disk 8 as text data. In this destination table, each destination information (destination name and FAX number) is registered by inputting the destination name and FAX number as text data in association with the data number. According to the registration information, the destination name screen of FIG. 4 displays a list of destination names of the destination information. The destination table screen is provided with a detail button 23, a cancel button 24, an enter button 25, and page turning buttons 26 and 27 as operation buttons for the user to specify (select) a destination.

  The detail button 23 is a button for displaying on the touch panel display 12 a destination detail screen showing details of destination information registered in the destination table in the hard disk 8. For example, in the destination table screen shown in FIG. 4, when the display character portion of the destination information registered at the top (displayed at the top) is pressed, the CPU 5 that has received the coordinate data changes the destination information of the top. Based on this setting, for example, the background color of the display character portion of the selection candidate is changed.

  When the user presses the detail button 23 with the selection candidates set in this way, the coordinate data is received, and the CPU 5 switches the display screen of the touch panel display 12 from the destination table screen to the destination detail screen shown in FIG. On this destination detail screen, details (destination name and FAX number) of the destination information currently set as a selection candidate are displayed. Further, a close button 28 is provided on the destination detail screen, and when the user presses the close button 28, the CPU 5 that has received the coordinate data changes the display screen of the touch panel display 12 from the destination detail screen to the destination table screen (original Screen).

  The cancel button 24 is a button for canceling the display of the destination table screen. When the user presses the cancel button 24, the CPU 5 that has received the coordinate data switches the display screen of the touch panel display 12 from the destination table screen to the basic screen.

  The decision button 25 is a button for confirming the selection candidate set as described above as a FAX destination. When the user presses the enter button 25, the CPU 5 having received the coordinate data holds the destination name of the destination information set as a selection candidate in the memory 6, and the display screen of the touch panel display 12 from the destination table screen. Switching to the basic screen, the destination name is displayed in the destination display frame 16 corresponding to “Destination 1” in the basic screen.

  The page turning buttons 26 and 27 are buttons for advancing the page of the destination table screen to the next page or returning to the previous page. Among these, when the user presses the page turning button 26, the CPU 5 that has received the coordinate data returns the destination table screen displayed on the touch panel display 12 to the previous page. However, if the page turning button 26 is pressed by the user while the first page of the destination table screen is displayed, the display of the first page of the destination table screen is continued. When the user presses the page turning button 27, the CPU 5 receiving the coordinate data advances the destination table screen displayed on the touch panel display 12 to the next page. However, when the page turning button 27 is pressed by the user while the last page destination display screen is displayed, the last page destination table screen is displayed as it is.

  Here, for example, when the user presses the enter button 25 with the destination information registered in the first address table screen shown in FIG. 4 as a selection candidate, the basic screen as shown in FIG. Then, according to the same operation procedure as described above, when the user presses the enter button 25 with the destination information registered in the second destination table screen as a selection candidate, as shown in FIG. A basic screen is displayed on the touch panel display 12.

  On the basic screen shown in FIG. 7B, in the vicinity of the destination display switching button 20, characters “rear side omission” indicating the display mode of the current destination are displayed. On the other hand, the destination information registered in the destination table No. 1 and the destination information registered in the No. 2 destination address are both entered in the order of company name, department name, and name. The department name is the same, only the name is different. In addition, the number of characters of the text data including the company name and the department name is 12, and the number of characters of the text data of the entire destination name including the name exceeds 13 characters. That is, the number of characters of the text data indicating the destination name exceeds the maximum number of characters (13 characters) that can be displayed in the destination display frame.

  In such a case, the CPU 5 controls the display of the touch panel display 12 so that the text data of the destination name is displayed in the corresponding destination display frame in a display form in which a part of the text data indicating the destination name is omitted. In such display control, the CPU 5 first applies a display form of “rear omission” in accordance with the switching transition table shown in FIG. 3, and in this display form, the text data of the destination name is displayed in each destination display frame. indicate.

  Therefore, for example, if a character part that is omitted from the display in the text data is displayed by replacing it with an abbreviation mark “...” of one full-width character, when the display form “rear omission” is applied, The destination name of information is displayed up to 12 characters from the front, and an ellipsis mark is displayed in the last character space for the remaining one character. For this reason, on the basic screen shown in FIG. 7B, the text data characters displayed in the destination display frame 16 of “Destination 1” and the text data displayed in the destination display frame 17 of “Destination 2” are displayed. The characters are exactly the same.

  When the user presses the destination display switching button 20 in such a situation, the CPU 5 that has received the coordinate data displays the display form of the destination applied to the destination display frame in the basic screen as shown in FIG. “Omitted” is switched to “Omitted on the front side” shown in FIG.

  In this way, when the display format of the destination is switched to “front side omission”, the destination name of the destination information is displayed up to 12 characters from the rear side, and the omission mark is displayed in the first character space for the remaining one character. The For this reason, in the basic screen shown in FIG. 8 above, a part of the company name and the department name as the destination name of the destination information are displayed on the destination display frame 16 of “Destination 1” and the destination display frame 17 of “Destination 2”, respectively. And name are displayed. In this case, the name displayed in the destination display frame 16 is “Taro Fuji”, and the name displayed in the destination display frame 17 is “Jiro Yamada”.

  When the user further depresses the destination display switching button 20 in such a situation, the CPU 5 that has received the coordinate data displays the display form of the destination applied to the destination display frame in the basic screen from the “front side omission” shown in FIG. Switch to “intermediate omission” shown in FIG.

  In this way, when the display format of the destination is switched to “intermediate omission”, the destination name of the destination information is displayed in a total of 12 characters, up to 6 characters from the front and up to 6 characters from the back, and the remaining 1 character. An ellipsis is displayed in the middle character space. For this reason, on the basic screen shown in FIG. 9, a part of the company name and the name are displayed as the destination name of the destination information in the destination display frame 16 of “Destination 1” and the destination display frame 17 of “Destination 2”, respectively. Is done.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the destination address applied to the destination display frames 16 to 19 in the basic screen displayed on the touch panel display 12 when the user uses the FAX function. The display mode can be easily switched with the destination display switching button 20. Therefore, when the user operating the operation panel 2 cannot identify the destination displayed in the destination display frames 16 to 19 in the basic screen displayed on the touch panel display 12, the user presses the destination display switching button 20. Then, by appropriately switching the display form of the destination, each destination can be easily and quickly identified.

  In addition, since the destination display switching button 20 is provided in the touch panel display 12, the user can switch the display form of the destination without taking his eyes off the touch panel display 12.

  In the data structure of the destination table shown in FIG. 5, the destination names (text data) of the destination information registered in Nos. 1 to 3 are input in the order of company name, department name, and name, respectively. On the other hand, the destination names of the destination information registered in No. 4 and No. 5 are obtained by inputting the company name and department name in parentheses after the name. Therefore, when the destination information registered in No. 4 and No. 5 is designated by “Destination 1” and “Destination 2” on the basic screen (selected by the decision button 25), as shown in FIG. By applying the display form “omitted”, the destination displayed in the destination display frames 16 and 17 can be identified on the user side.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, one destination display switching button 20 is provided in the FAX basic screen of the touch panel display 12, and each time the user presses this destination display switching button 20, the CPU 5 performs “rear side omission” “ One of the three display forms such as “Omission on the front side” and “Intermediate omission” is applied in order. In addition to this, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, the destination display is displayed in the FAX basic screen of the touch panel display 12. Three buttons 20A, 20B, and 20C are provided for switching, a display form of “rear omission” is displayed on the button 20A, a display form of “rear omission” is displayed on the button 20B, and an “intermediate omission” is displayed on the button 20C. Forms are associated in advance, and when the button 20A is pressed, the CPU 5 applies the display form of “rear omission” and the button 20B is pressed. If it is applied to the display form of the CPU5 is "front omit", if the button 20C is pressed is also possible CPU5 to adopt a configuration for applying a display mode of the "intermediate omitted".

  In such a configuration, when the user presses the button 20A while the FAX basic screen is displayed on the touch panel display 12, the display form in the destination display frames 16 and 17 is “back side omission” as shown in FIG. When the user presses the button 20B, the display form in the destination display frames 16 and 17 switches to “Omitted on the front side” as shown in FIG. 12B, and when the user presses the button 20C, the destination display frame 16 , 17 are switched to “intermediate omission” as shown in FIG. Therefore, the user can directly switch the display form desired to be applied to the destination display frames 16 to 19 with one touch.

  As another embodiment of the present invention, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, in the operation panel 2 including the touch panel display 12, a destination display switching button 29 is provided on the operation panel 12 separately from the touch panel display 12. Each time the user presses the destination display switching button 29, the destination display mode is applied in the order of “rear omission”, “front omission”, and “intermediate omission”. You may employ | adopt the structure switched in order of FIG. 12 (A)-(C).

  As shown in FIG. 14, in the operation panel 2 including the touch panel display 12, three buttons 30 </ b> A, 30 </ b> B, and 30 </ b> C for switching destination display are provided on the operation panel 12 separately from the touch panel display 12. When 30A is pressed, the display form of “rear omission” is applied and the destination of the basic screen is displayed as shown in FIG. 12A, and when the button 30B is pressed, “front omission” is displayed. The form is applied to display the destination of the basic screen as shown in FIG. 12B, and when the button 30C is pressed, the display form of “intermediate omission” is applied to set the destination of the basic screen as shown in FIG. You may employ | adopt the structure displayed like A).

  As described above, by providing the destination display switching button separately from the touch panel display 12, more destinations can be simultaneously displayed on the display screen of the touch panel display 12. That is, when the destination display switching button is provided in the touch panel display 12, four destinations can be displayed simultaneously. However, when the destination display switching button is provided separately from the touch panel display 12, five destinations are simultaneously displayed. It can be displayed. Therefore, it is possible to increase the number of destinations that can be specified at one time on the FAX basic screen.

  Although not shown, the same effect can be obtained even when the destination display switching button is assigned to an operation button such as a remote controller. Further, when the destination display switching button is provided in the touch panel display 12, when the destination text data is displayed by applying one display form (for example, “rear omission”) to any of the destination display frames, The same effect can be obtained when a configuration is adopted in which a destination display switching button is provided in the display frame and the display mode of the destination applied to the destination display frame is sequentially switched every time the display frame is pressed by the user.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating a basic FAX screen. It is a figure which shows a display transition table. 6 is a diagram showing a FAX destination table screen. FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of a destination table. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a FAX destination detail screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating a basic FAX screen. FIG. 10 illustrates a basic FAX screen (No. 3); FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 4) illustrating a basic FAX screen; FIG. 10 illustrates a basic FAX screen (No. 5). FIG. 6 illustrates a basic FAX screen (No. 6). It is a figure which shows the example of a display when the display form of text data is switched. It is FIG. (1) explaining other embodiment of this invention. It is FIG. (2) explaining other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Controller, 2 ... Operation panel, 5 ... CPU, 12 ... Touch panel display, 16-19 ... Destination display frame, 20 ... Destination display switching button

Claims (17)

Display means including a display frame in which the maximum number of characters that can be displayed is limited to a predetermined number;
When the number of characters of text data to be displayed in the display frame exceeds the predetermined number, the display is performed so that the text data is displayed in the display frame in a display form in which some of the characters of the text data are omitted. Display control means for controlling the means, and applying any one of a plurality of display forms having different character omitted parts of the text data;
And a switching unit that switches the display mode applied by the display control unit. The display control means includes, as the plurality of display forms, a first display form in which characters behind the text data are omitted, and a second display in which characters in front of the text data are omitted. The display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a display form; and a third display form in which an intermediate character of the text data is omitted. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the switching unit includes a display switching button operated by a user. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising an initial setting unit that sets a display mode that is first applied by the display control unit from among the plurality of display modes. The display device according to claim 3, wherein the display control unit sequentially applies one of the plurality of display forms each time the display switching button is pressed. The display means comprises a touch panel display,
The display device according to claim 3, wherein the switching display button is provided in the touch panel display. The display means comprises a touch panel display,
The display device according to claim 3, wherein the switching display button is provided separately from the touch panel display. The display switching button includes a plurality of buttons associated with the plurality of display forms,
The display device according to claim 3, wherein when one of the plurality of buttons is pressed, the display control unit applies a display form corresponding to the pressed button. The switching display button is provided in the display frame when the text data is displayed by applying one of the plurality of display forms to the display frame of the touch panel display. 6. The display device according to 6. An image forming apparatus comprising the display device according to claim 1. An electronic apparatus comprising the display device according to claim 1. For a display frame in which the maximum number of characters that can be displayed is limited to a predetermined number, when the number of characters of text data to be displayed in the display frame exceeds the predetermined number,
Displaying the text data in the display frame in a display form in which some of the characters of the text data are omitted, and applying any one of a plurality of display forms with different character omitted parts of the text data; A display method characterized in that the display form to be applied can be switched. As the plurality of display forms, a first display form in which characters behind the text data are omitted and displayed, a second display form in which characters before the text data are omitted, and the text The display method according to claim 12, further comprising: a third display form in which intermediate characters of the data are omitted. The display method according to claim 12, wherein the display mode is switched by a display switching button operated by a user. The display method to be applied first is set from among the plurality of display modes. The display method according to claim 12. The display method according to claim 14, wherein each time the display switching button is pressed, one of the plurality of display forms is sequentially applied. The display switching button includes a plurality of buttons associated with the plurality of display forms,
The display method according to claim 14, wherein when one of the plurality of buttons is pressed, a display form corresponding to the pressed button is applied.

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