JP4783139B2 - Operation setting device, operation setting method, and operation setting program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation setting device, an operation setting method, and an operation setting program for changing settings of operation units of various devices such as an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printer, a personal computer, and a mobile phone.

  For operation of various devices, a physical user interface such as a switch or button, a graphical user interface (GUI), or the like is used. The space available on the device for these user interfaces is finite. Especially in embedded devices, the space in which displays, switches, and buttons can be placed is often small. For this reason, when equipment becomes multifunctional, the operation is usually complicated. It becomes difficult for the user to grasp all the operations because the combinations of keys to be operated become diversified or the number of menu items and levels increases.

  Moreover, even if it is a user of the same apparatus, the utilization form changes with individual users. Some users use a specific function at a high frequency, and some users do not use the function at all. It is practically difficult to design an operation system that satisfies all usage forms.

  For this reason, for example, in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3, the operation system is dynamically changed according to the use frequency of the user. In Patent Document 1, each icon is ranked according to the frequency of selecting a user's icon, and the icon is registered in the shortcut menu or deleted from the menu according to the rank. In Patent Document 2, shortcut keys are set in descending order of execution frequency. Patent Document 3 counts the number of activations of an application program and registers an application program with a large number of activations in a shortcut area.

As described above, by dynamically changing the operation system according to the usage frequency of the user, high operability corresponding to the user's usage mode is realized. The user can more easily perform operations that the user performs on a daily basis.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-105360 JP 2000-148885 A JP 2003-101629 A

  If the operation is performed at a high frequency, the user is accustomed to the operation. Therefore, the user does not hesitate to use the function corresponding to the operation. However, some of the functions of the device are used for frequent operations. If other functions are to be used, an operation that is unusual for the user is performed. The user is lost in the operation method and cannot easily use a desired function.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems in the conventional technology, and provides an operation setting device, an operation setting method, and an operation setting program that enable a user to smoothly use various functions of a device. The purpose is to do.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the operation setting device provided by the present invention includes an extra operation detection unit that detects an extra operation for a GUI operation unit that provides a plurality of operation items on an operation screen, and the operation items. Hierarchy management data storage means for storing hierarchy management data indicating the hierarchy to which the data belongs, weight data storage means for storing weight data in association with the hierarchy position of the operation item, and an operation item corresponding to the detected extra operation, , Based on the hierarchy management data and the weight data, extra operation number counting means for counting the number of extra operations, and extra operation data relating to the number of extra operations counted up to the target operation, Based on the extra operation data, the extra operation number storage means for storing the operation item in association with the target operation, the predetermined target object A setting for changing the setting of the GUI operation unit by setting an icon for the determined operation item in a predetermined operation area provided on the operation screen and target operation item determination means for determining a work item Changing means .

In the operation setting device according to the present invention, the weight data storage means stores a plurality of types of weight data in association with the hierarchical position of the operation item, and the target operation item determination means has a setting or input value given in advance. Based on the selection of one of a plurality of types of weight data, the extra operation number counting means is selected by the operation item corresponding to the detected extra operation, the hierarchy management data, and the target operation item determining means. The number of extra operations is counted based on the weight data.

In the operation setting device according to the present invention, the extra operation data is an aggregate value for each operation item of the number of extra operations, and the target operation item determining means is configured such that the aggregate value indicated by the extra operation data is a threshold value. Is determined for each operation item, and if the total value exceeds the threshold value, the operation item having the total value is determined as a predetermined target operation item.

In the operation setting device according to the present invention, the extra operation data is for each operation item of the number of extra operations counted in the same counting period as the number of operations, which is the number of times the operation item is counted up in a certain period. The target operation item determination means determines for each operation item whether the ratio indicated by the extra operation data exceeds a threshold value, and if the ratio exceeds the threshold value, The operation item of the ratio is determined as a predetermined target operation item.

In the operation setting device according to the present invention, the GUI operation unit further provides one or a plurality of display change items for displaying an operation item different from the operation item displayed on the operation screen, When the operation item displayed by the operation of the display change item is not used, the extra operation detection unit further corresponds to the operation item displayed by the operation of the display change item. Detect as an extra operation.

In the operation setting device according to the present invention, the inter-operation time counting means for acquiring the time required from the first operation for the display change item to the second operation for the same or another display change item; Operation error determination means for determining whether or not the first operation is an operation error based on the time acquired by the time measuring means, and the extra operation detection means is included in the determination result of the operation error determination means. Based on this, the first operation is excluded from the extra operation.

In the operation setting device according to the present invention, when the first operation of the display change item is performed, the inter-operation time counting means starts counting using a built-in timer and is displayed by the first operation. When the second operation of another display operation item is detected without the operation item being operated, the time measurement is terminated, and the hierarchy to which the operation item displayed by the second operation belongs is the first operation. It is determined whether it is the same or higher than the hierarchy to which the operation item displayed by (1) belongs, and if it is the same or higher, the time obtained by the time measurement is acquired.

In the operation setting device according to the present invention, the operation error determination unit determines that the first operation is an operation error when the time acquired by the inter-operation time counting unit is a threshold value or less, The extra operation detection unit excludes the first operation from the extra operation when the operation error judgment unit judges that the first operation is an operation error.

In the operation setting device according to the present invention, the extra operation detecting unit further detects an extra operation on the SUI operation unit corresponding to the physical operation key, and the extra operation number counting unit is further detected. The number of extra operations for the SUI operation unit is counted, and the setting changing unit further changes the setting of the SUI operation unit based on the counted number of extra operations for the SUI operation unit.

According to another aspect, the present invention can provide an operation setting method corresponding to the above-described operation setting device. In this operation setting method, a procedure for detecting an extra operation for a GUI operation unit that provides a plurality of operation items on the operation screen, an operation item corresponding to the detected extra operation, and the hierarchical management data storage means are stored. A step of counting the number of extra operations based on hierarchy management data indicating a hierarchy to which each of the operation items is assigned and weight data stored in weight data storage means in association with a hierarchy position of the operation item And a procedure for storing extra operation data related to the number of extra operations counted until the target operation in the extra operation count storage means in association with the operation item corresponding to the target operation, and the extra operation data A predetermined operation area and a predetermined operation area provided on the operation screen. By setting the icon for the arm, and a procedure for changing the settings of the GUI operation unit.

  According to still another aspect, the present invention can provide an operation setting program for causing a computer to execute the operation setting method described above, and a computer-readable recording medium recording the operation setting program.

  By adopting the configuration as described above, in the present invention, the user can smoothly use various functions of the device.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is embodied as a digital copying machine having a liquid crystal display with a touch panel in an operation unit.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an operation panel of the copying machine according to the present embodiment. In this copier, the operation panel 101 includes a liquid crystal display 102 and a physical operation key group 103. The display 102 displays an operation screen 104 that provides a GUI. A touch panel is arranged on the display 102. By pressing the touch panel in accordance with the display 102, the user can make various settings for the copying machine such as paper, toner density, and magnification. The physical key group 103 includes a ten key 105, a start key 106, and a cancel key 107. The user can use the numeric keypad 105 to specify the number of copies and input a numerical value necessary for setting. By operating the start key 106, it is possible to instruct the machine to start copying. A cancel key 107 can be used to instruct to cancel the setting or stop the operation.

  The operation screen 104 includes a shortcut key area 110 in addition to a setting area 108 for performing settings for the copying machine and a status display area 109 indicating the status of the copying machine. The setting area 108 displays a plurality of setting pages 111 as tabs. When the tab button 112 such as “basic”, “user function”, or “function list” is operated, the setting page 111 to be displayed is switched. In each setting page 111, various icons 113 for setting the copying machine and the like are arranged. For example, on the “basic” setting page 111, various icons 113 such as an icon indicating a paper source or paper size, an icon for calling a density setting screen, and an icon for specifying whether sorting is necessary are arranged. Yes. When the tab button 112 is operated to switch to another page 111, these icons are hidden and other icons are displayed. The user can perform various settings and operations related to the copying machine by appropriately switching the pages 111 and operating the icons. The status display area 109 displays the setting status and the operating status of the apparatus. In this example, in addition to a message indicating the status of the apparatus “Ready to copy”, settings for paper, magnification, and number of copies are displayed.

  The shortcut key area 110 displays a shortcut key icon 114. The shortcut key icon 114 is an icon for performing the same operation as any of the icons 113 on the setting area 108. Since the shortcut key area 110 is provided separately from the setting area 108, the shortcut key area 110 is not hidden by switching the page 111 with the tab button 112. By registering the shortcut key icon 114 in the shortcut key area 110, the corresponding operation can be performed more easily.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation panel when the page to be displayed on the display is switched. In this example, the “user function” setting page 111 is displayed on the operation screen 104. Various icons 113 such as an icon for calling a duplex / split setting screen, an icon for calling an original image quality setting screen, an icon for calling an original size selection screen, and an icon for calling an image composition setting screen are also displayed on this page 111. Has been placed. In the state of FIG. 1, since the “user function” and other setting pages 111 are not displayed, the user cannot immediately know what settings can be performed on those setting pages 111. If you don't remember it, you'll look for an icon to make the desired settings. If there is no icon for making a desired setting on the “user function” setting page 111, a search is further made on the setting page 111 of the “function list”. Therefore, the user performs a switching operation using the tab button 112, and performs an extra operation that is not necessary if the user knows in advance. Therefore, in this copying machine, the shortcut key icon 114 registered in the shortcut key area 110 is changed in accordance with the operation status of the user.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the operation panel after changing the setting of the shortcut key area. If an extra operation is frequently performed when the icon 113 on the setting area 108 is frequently operated, the copying machine changes the setting of the shortcut key area 110 to change the icon of the shortcut key corresponding to the icon 113. 114 is displayed on the shortcut key area 110. In this example, an “image composition” icon 114 is newly added on the shortcut key area 110. If the “image composition” icon 114 is registered in the shortcut key area 110, the icon 114 is displayed in the shortcut key area 110 even when the “basic” setting page 111 is displayed in the setting area 108. ing. By displaying the shortcut key icon 114 corresponding to the setting in which extra operations are frequently performed on the shortcut key area 110, the user can perform the operation without hesitation even if the operation is not performed on a daily basis. It becomes possible to do. Since operations that are performed on a daily basis are already grasped by the user, there is no hesitation in the operation. For this reason, the user can smoothly perform various operations.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the appearance of the copying machine according to the present embodiment. The copying machine 401 has a space in the cylinder for discharging a sheet on which an image is copied. An image reading unit 402 that reads an image of a document is disposed above the space, and an image forming unit 403 that forms an image on a sheet is disposed below the space.

  The operation panel 101 is provided on the front side of the image reading unit 402. On the operation panel 101, the above-described display and physical keys are arranged. The user uses the operation panel 101 to make a copy setting or give an instruction to copy or cancel the copy to the machine.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the overall configuration of the copying machine. In the copying machine 401, an image reading unit 402 reads an image of a document and generates digital data of the image. The image reading unit 402 has a document table 501 such as contact glass on the top surface of the housing. The document can be placed on the document table 501. A scanning optical system 502 is disposed below the document table 501. The scanning optical system 502 includes a first carriage 503, a second carriage 504, and a condenser lens 505. The first carriage 503 is provided with a linear light source 506 and a mirror 507, and the second carriage 504 is provided with mirrors 508 and 509. A light source 506 illuminates the document. The mirrors 507 to 509 guide the reflected light from the document to the lens 505, and the lens 505 forms an optical image on the light receiving surface of the line image sensor 510. In the scanning optical system 502, the first carriage 503 and the second carriage 504 are provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the sub-scanning direction 511. By moving the first carriage 503 and the second carriage 504 in the sub-scanning direction 511, the image of the document placed on the document table 501 can be read by the image sensor 510. The image sensor 510 generates image data of a document from a light image incident on the light receiving surface.

  The image forming unit 403 prints image data obtained by the image reading unit 402 or image data received from another device via a network on a sheet. The image forming unit 403 is provided with a photosensitive drum 512. The photosensitive drum 512 rotates in the arrow direction 513 at a constant speed. Around the photosensitive drum 512, a charger 514, an exposure unit 515, a developing unit 516, a transfer unit 517, and the like are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the rotation direction. The charger 514 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 512. The exposure device 515 irradiates the uniformly charged surface of the photosensitive drum 512 with light according to image data, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 512. The developing device 516 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image and forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum 512. The transfer unit 517 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 115 to a sheet. These processes are performed in series by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 512.

  The image forming unit 403 feeds paper from the manual feed tray 518, the paper feed cassettes 519 and 520, and the like to the transfer unit between the photosensitive drum 512 and the transfer unit 517. Various sizes of paper can be placed or stored in the manual feed tray 518 and the cassettes 519 and 520. The image forming unit 403 selects a sheet specified by the user or a sheet corresponding to the automatically detected document size, and pulls out the selected sheet from the tray 518 or the cassettes 519 and 520 by the feeding roller 521. The drawn paper is sent to the transfer unit by the conveyance roller 522 and the registration roller 523. The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 524. The fixing device 524 includes a fixing roller 525 and a pressure roller 526, and fixes the toner image on the sheet by heat and pressing force. The image forming unit 403 discharges the sheet that has passed through the fixing device 524 to the discharge tray 527 or 528. The switching claw 529 controls which of the paper discharge trays 527 and 528 discharges, and the paper is discharged to one paper discharge tray by the discharge rollers 530 or 531.

  In the copying machine 401, a document conveying device 532 is attached to the upper side of the image reading unit 402 so as to be opened and closed. The document transport device 532 includes a document tray 533, a transport path 534, and a paper discharge tray 535. The user places a document on the document table 501 or sets the document on the document transport device 532. The document conveyance device 532 sends the documents set on the document tray 533 one by one to the conveyance path 534. There is an image reading position 536 on the conveyance path 534. On the upper surface of the housing of the image reading unit 402, not only the document table 501 but also a reading glass 537 for the image reading position 536 is provided. When reading an image of a document set on the document conveying device 532, the image reading unit 402 temporarily fixes the first carriage 503 and the second carriage 504 according to the image reading position 536. When the original passes through the image reading position 536, the original is illuminated through the reading glass 537, and the image of the original is read. The document that has passed the image reading position is discharged to the paper discharge tray 535.

  Such a copying machine 401 forms an image on a sheet set in the tray 518 or the cassettes 519 and 520 according to the setting input on the operation panel.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for simply explaining the control circuit of the operation panel of the copying machine. In the control circuit 601, a bus 602 connects a ROM 603, a panel interface 604, a RAM 605, and a CPU 606. The ROM 603 stores a file for saving the setting data 607 related to the operation panel 101, a file of the panel control program 608 for controlling the operation panel 101, and the like. A rewritable nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory can be used for the ROM 603, and the contents of these files are updated as needed. The operation panel 101 is connected to the panel interface 604. The operation panel 101 includes a display 102, a touch panel 609, and physical operation keys 103. The panel interface 604 inputs a display image received from the bus 602 to the display 601 and outputs an input value from the touch panel 609 or the operation key 103 to the bus 602. The RAM 605 is used for temporarily storing an image to be displayed on the display 102 and providing a work area. The CPU 606 operates according to a command from the panel control program 608. The panel control program 608 is read from the ROM 604 when the power of the copying machine 401 is turned on, and the program 608 is operated on the RAM 605. The CPU 606 controls the operation panel 101 by inputting / outputting data to / from the panel interface 603, the RAM 606, the ROM 607, and the like according to instructions from the panel control program 608. By this operation, the copying machine 401 functions as an operation setting device of the present invention.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the operation setting device according to the present embodiment. In the operation setting apparatus 701, the operation unit 702 includes a GUI operation unit 703 and a SUI operation unit 704. The GUI operation unit 703 provides a plurality of operation items on the operation screen. The operation item is, for example, various icons displayed on the operation screen. In addition, the GUI operation unit 703 can further provide one or a plurality of display change items for displaying operation items different from the operation items displayed on the operation screen. This display change item is an item used not for setting but for operation itself. For example, key items for calling other screens, tab display, and the like correspond to this. The SUI operation unit 704 corresponds to a physical operation key. This operation key includes, for example, an execution key for executing copying and a cancel key for canceling various operations. The CPU reads the setting data 607 from the ROM when the power of the copying machine is turned on, and creates an operation screen according to the setting data and defines the relationship between functions and operations.

  The extra operation detection unit 705 detects an extra operation with respect to the operation unit 702. When the operation item displayed on the operation screen is not used by the operation of the display change item, the operation of the display change item can be handled as an extra operation. For example, when a tab is switched on the operation screen but the tab is switched again without operating the icon included in the tab screen, the previous tab switching operation is detected as an extra operation. The CPU can obtain the contents of the operation from the panel interface.

  The extra operation number counting unit 706 counts the number of extra operations detected by the extra operation detection unit 705. For example, the number of extra operations counted until the target operation is performed is counted for each target operation. When the target operation is an image composition setting, if the user is looking for an icon for the setting, the number of extra operations required to find the icon is counted. Whether or not the target operation is performed can be determined from a setting state when the user operates the execution key of the SUI operation unit 704. The CPU manages the count value on the RAM.

  The extra operation count storage unit 707 stores the extra operation data related to the extra operation count counted by the extra operation count counter 706 in association with the operation item corresponding to the target operation. The extra operation data is, for example, a total value for each operation item of the number of extra operations. An operation in which a large number of people frequently get lost increases the total value. For this extra operation count storage unit 707, the control circuit reserves an area in the ROM.

  The setting change unit 708 changes the setting of the operation unit 702 based on the detection result of the extra operation detection unit 705. In this embodiment, the setting of the GUI operation unit 703 in the operation unit 702 is changed. For example, a change is made to display an icon for the operation item in a shortcut key area on the operation screen. The setting can be changed by the CPU updating the setting data 607 on the ROM.

  The setting change unit 708 can include a target operation item determination unit 709. The target operation item determination unit 709 determines a target operation item for setting an icon in the shortcut key area based on the extra operation data. For example, it is determined for each operation item whether or not the total value indicated by the extra operation data exceeds a threshold value. When the total value exceeds the threshold value, the operation item is determined as an operation item for which an icon is set in the shortcut key area. This determination and determination can be performed by the CPU by reading the setting data on the ROM.

  By realizing the function of each part of the operation setting device 701 as described above, the user can smoothly use various functions in the copier according to this embodiment. Even if the operation is infrequent and complicated, since the icon is provided in the shortcut key area, the user can easily perform the operation without hesitation.

  The operation setting device 701 can further include an inter-operation time counting unit 710 and an operation error determination unit 711. The inter-operation time counting unit 710 acquires the time required from the first operation for the display change item to the second operation for the same or another display change item. Even when the called screen is deleted from the operation screen by operating the icon for calling another screen twice, the time required until the second operation is acquired. The time can be acquired by the CPU using a timer.

  The operation error determination unit 711 determines whether or not the first operation is an operation error based on the time acquired by the inter-operation time counting unit 710. For example, when two operations are performed for a time equal to or less than the threshold value, it is determined that the first operation is an operation error. If the operation is performed twice in a short time, the user does not hesitate to operate, and the subsequent operation can be treated as an operation re-executed due to an operation error. This determination can be made by the CPU.

  When such an inter-operation timing unit 710 and an operation error determination unit 711 are used, the extra operation detection unit 705 excludes the first operation from the extra operation based on the determination result of the operation error determination unit 711. be able to. As a result, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of extra operations.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of extra operation data. The extra operation data file can be stored in the ROM of the control circuit in the same manner as the setting data. The CPU counts the number of extra operations detected until the target operation is performed, and updates the extra operation data file using the data. In this example, extra operation data is managed in a table format. Each record in the table includes data of name, hierarchy, upper item ID, number of operations, and number of extra operations for each operation item ID.

  The operation item ID is a code for uniquely identifying various icons displayed in the setting area of the operation screen. This code can be written in numbers, alphabets, other symbols, or combinations thereof. The name data is a name given to the icon corresponding to the operation item ID. In this example, data such as “double-sided / divided”, “original image quality”, “trial copy”, “original size selection”, “frame erasure”, and “image composition” are included. These names correspond to icons displayed on the setting page of “user function”. Similarly, data corresponding to icons displayed on the setting page is stored in the file as extra operation data.

  The hierarchy data indicates the hierarchy to which each operation item belongs. When tab display, menu display, screen calling, or the like is performed, a hierarchical relationship is formed between operation items. The icons on the setting pages displayed in tabs belong to the same hierarchy. Using the tab button, an icon to be displayed among icons belonging to the same hierarchy is switched. When the display is changed with a display change item in order to use an operation item at a deeper level, the operation of the display change item is an operation necessary for performing a target operation and cannot be said to be an extra operation. On the other hand, when a display change item is operated to display operation items belonging to the same hierarchy or higher hierarchy, the operation of the display change item performed before that can be said to be an extra operation. If the level to which an icon belongs becomes deeper, it becomes difficult for the user to find the icon, and therefore, extra operations usually increase.

  The upper item ID is a code that uniquely identifies a setting page or other object on which the operation item is arranged. In the case of operation items such as “double-sided / divided” and “original image quality”, an ID for identifying a setting page of “user function” is stored. Here, the ID is “01002”. When menu display is employed, the ID of the operation item directly above can be used as the upper item ID.

  The data on the number of operations is the number of times the operation item is used for a certain period. Whether or not it has been used can be determined by, for example, the CPU confirming whether the setting using the operation item was valid when the start key was pressed. The number of extra operations is a value obtained by counting the number of extra operations counted by the CPU in the same counting period as the number of operations. Based on whether or not the value of the number of extra operations exceeds a threshold value, the CPU determines whether or not to register an icon in the shortcut key area. It is also possible to make the determination using both the number of operations and the number of extra operations. For example, even in an operation item that many people operate on a daily basis, if the number of operations increases, the number of extra operations may increase. In such a case, if the evaluation is performed only by the number of extra operations, the evaluation may not match the actual situation. For this reason, the evaluation may be performed based on the ratio of the number of extra operations to the number of operations. An operation item that is not used on a daily basis and has many extra operations has a larger value of this ratio than others. If evaluation is performed based on the ratio of the number of extra operations, an icon for such an operation item can be preferentially registered in the shortcut key area.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for counting the number of extra operations. When there is an input from the panel interface, the CPU of the control circuit determines whether the input is an operation of a display change item (procedure 901). When there is an operation on the display change item, the CPU initializes a variable on the RAM managing the number of extra operations, and starts counting the number of extra operations. At that time, in order to obtain time until the next display change item is operated, the CPU starts measuring time by using, for example, a built-in timer (procedure 902). The CPU determines whether or not an operation item has been operated based on an input from the panel interface (procedure 903). When the operation of the display change item is detected without the operation item being operated (procedure 904), the timing is terminated (procedure 905). Thereafter, the CPU reads from the extra operation data the operation item that has been displayed so far and the data of the hierarchy to which the newly displayed operation item belongs. Based on the read data, the CPU determines whether the hierarchy to which the newly displayed operation item belongs is the same as or higher than the hierarchy to which the operation item displayed so far belongs (procedure) 906). When the hierarchy to which the newly displayed operation item belongs is lower than the hierarchy to which the operation item displayed so far, the operation of the display change item is a necessary operation. For this reason, the procedure after procedure 903 is repeated. When the hierarchy to which the newly displayed operation item belongs is the same as or higher than the hierarchy to which the operation item displayed so far belongs, the CPU obtains the time obtained by measuring time (step 907). The CPU compares the acquired time with a threshold value, and determines whether the operation of the previous display change item is a mistake based on the comparison result (procedure 908). In the case of an operation mistake, the procedure after step 903 is repeated. If it is not an operation mistake, the CPU adds 1 to a variable on the RAM that manages the number of extra operations (procedure 909). For example, if there is an operation of pressing the tab button and a setting page is displayed, but the icon is not operated on the setting page and the setting page is switched to another setting page, 1 is added to the variable of the number of extra operations. .

  After detecting the operation item in step 903 or after step 909, the CPU determines whether or not an execution instruction has been obtained from the user by operating the start key (step 910). When an execution operation is not detected but an operation cancel instruction is received from the user by operating the cancel key (procedure 911), the CPU adds 1 to the variable value of the number of extra operations (procedure 912). After step 912, the CPU repeats the steps after step 901. When the cancellation of the operation is not detected in the procedure 911, the CPU repeats the procedure 910. When the execution operation is detected in the procedure 910, the CPU acquires the operation item ID of the operation item corresponding to the setting effective at that time (procedure 913). When the operation item ID is acquired, the CPU searches the extra operation data file for a record including the operation item ID, and adds 1 to the operation count data of the searched record. Further, the value of the variable on the RAM is added to the data of the number of extra operations of the retrieved record. As a result, the extra operation data is registered or updated (procedure 914).

  As described above, the CPU counts the number of operations and the number of extra operations for various operations of the copying machine performed for a certain period of time, and stores the total value in a file of extra operation data. When the counting period elapses, the CPU accesses a file of extra operation data, and searches the file for a record whose extra operation count exceeds a threshold value. When a record in which the value of the number of extra operations exceeds a threshold value is retrieved, the CPU acquires an operation item ID from the record. The CPU determines an operation item corresponding to the operation item ID as a setting change target item. In this case, icon data corresponding to the operation item ID is read from the setting data on the ROM, and the icon corresponding to the operation item ID is registered in the shortcut key area using the data. When the ID of the icon displayed in the shortcut key area is managed in the table, the icon ID corresponding to the searched operation item ID may be added. An operation item in which a large number of people perform extra operations with high frequency is preferentially displayed in the shortcut key area. If such an operation item is displayed in the shortcut key area, any user can immediately recognize the icon of the operation item, so that the possibility of getting lost in the operation can be significantly reduced.

  As described above, in the copying machine according to the present embodiment, the icon displayed in the shortcut key area is changed according to the number of extra operations, so that the user can smoothly use various functions of the copying machine.

  The panel control program used in the above-described embodiment can be provided to related parties or third parties by using an electric communication line such as the Internet or by storing it in a computer-readable recording medium. For example, a program command is expressed by an electric signal, an optical signal, a magnetic signal, etc., and the signal is placed on a carrier wave and transmitted, so that the program is provided on a transmission medium such as a coaxial cable, copper wire, or optical fiber. Can do. Computer-readable recording media include optical media such as CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, and DVD-RW, and magnetic media such as a flexible disk. A semiconductor memory such as a flash memory or a RAM can be used.

  The embodiments described above do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and various modifications and applications can be made within the scope of the present invention other than those already described.

  For example, a weight may be given to the number of extra operations according to the hierarchy to which the operation item belongs. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the operation setting device includes a hierarchy management data storage unit 712 and a weight data storage unit 713. The hierarchy management data storage unit 712 stores hierarchy management data representing a hierarchy relationship between operation items. As the hierarchy management data, hierarchy data and higher item IDs included in the above-described extra operation data can be used. The weight data storage unit 713 stores weight data in association with the hierarchical position of the operation item. For example, a file in which weight data for each layer is described in a table format is prepared in the ROM. In this case, when the CPU acquires the hierarchy data from the extra operation data, the CPU can read out the weight data corresponding to the acquired hierarchy data from the file describing the weight data. If the value of the read data is added instead of adding 1 to the variable value in step 909 of FIG. 9, the weight of the number of extra operations can be reflected.

  Thus, by giving a weight to the number of extra operations, it is possible to appropriately reflect the user's operation status by setting the operation unit. For example, when there is an operation item in a shallow hierarchy and an extra operation is performed, the operation system may be inappropriate. In such a case, the user's operability can be improved by increasing the weight as the level to which the operation item belongs is shallower. Further, if the hierarchy to which the operation item belongs becomes deeper, in general, an extra operation increases in order to use the operation item. For this reason, it can be considered that the deeper the hierarchy to which the operation item belongs, the higher the need for improving operability. In such a case, the deeper the hierarchy to which the operation item belongs, the greater the weight should be. In this case, if the number of operations is smaller than the threshold value, the operation item may be excluded from the setting change target items. Even if the operation item belongs to a deep hierarchy and an extra operation is performed, if the number of times the operation item is used is extremely small, there is little need to improve the operability of the operation item.

  As described above, the weight data can be set according to various policies. This policy can be classified according to, for example, a copier installation location or a user group. Depending on the environment in which a copying machine is installed such as a general company, a design office, a convenience store, etc., a trend can be found in the frequency of use of each operation item and the number of extra operations.

  Therefore, the weight data storage unit 713 may store a plurality of types of weight data in association with the hierarchical position of the operation item. For example, a plurality of types of weight data can be stored according to the installation environment of the copying machine. In that case, the target operation item determination unit 709 can set the installation environment before shipment of the copier or input a value specifying the installation environment from the operation panel at the time of installation or maintenance of the copier. One of a plurality of types of weight data can be selected.

  In the above-described embodiment, the setting of the operation unit is changed by registering an icon in the shortcut key area. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, when a setting page to be displayed by default is defined, an icon of an operation item determined according to the number of extra operations may be registered in the setting page.

  Furthermore, although the setting of the GUI operation unit is changed in the above-described embodiment, the setting of the SUI operation unit may be changed. For example, a file describing settings and operation contents corresponding to each operation key of the SUI operation unit is stored in the ROM of the control circuit. The CPU rewrites the file and assigns settings and operations corresponding to operation items determined according to the number of extra operations to the operation keys of the SUI operation unit.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the number of extra operations for the GUI operation unit is counted, but the number of extra operations for the SUI operation unit may be counted. Even when the number of operation keys is limited as in the SUI operation unit, it is possible to perform an operation more than the number of operation keys by combining a plurality of operation keys. In such a case, the operation becomes complicated, and it becomes difficult for the user to learn various combinations of operation keys. It is possible to improve operability by counting extra operations on the SUI operation unit and changing the setting of the operation unit accordingly. In embedded devices, many operations are realized by a combination of operation keys, and the present invention is useful.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a copying machine. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as a facsimile, a printer, and a multifunction machine, and an image reading apparatus such as a scanner. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to various devices such as personal information terminals, mobile phones, and personal computers. For example, the present invention can be applied to an operation system of a printer driver that displays a setting dialog on a personal computer.

  According to the operation setting apparatus, the operation setting method, and the operation setting program according to the present invention, the user can smoothly use various functions of the device, and the image processing apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine can be used. It is useful for various devices such as mobile phones.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation panel of the copying machine according to the present embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation panel at the time of switching the page displayed on a display. It is a figure which shows the operation panel after the setting change of a shortcut key area | region. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a copying machine according to an embodiment. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overall configuration of a copying machine. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram for briefly explaining a control circuit of an operation panel of a copying machine. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the operation setting apparatus in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of extra operation data. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure which counts the number of extra operations.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Operation panel 102 Display 103 Operation key group 104 Operation screen 106 Start key 108 Setting area 110 Shortcut key area 111 Setting page 112 Tab button 113, 114 Icon 701 Operation setting apparatus 702 Operation part 703 GUI operation part 704 SUI operation part 705 Extra operation Detection unit 706 Extra operation count unit 707 Extra operation count storage unit 708 Setting change unit 709 Target operation item determination unit 710 Inter-operation time counting unit 711 Operation error determination unit 712 Hierarchy management data storage unit 713 Weight data storage unit

Claims (12)

An extra operation detecting means for detecting an extra operation with respect to the GUI operation unit that provides a plurality of operation items on the operation screen;
Hierarchy management data storage means for storing hierarchy management data indicating the hierarchy to which each operation item belongs;
Weight data storage means for storing weight data in association with the hierarchical position of the operation item;
An extra operation number counting means for counting the number of extra operations based on the operation item corresponding to the detected extra operation, the hierarchy management data, and the weight data;
Extra operation count storage means for storing extra operation data related to the number of extra operations counted until the target operation in association with the operation item corresponding to the target operation;
Target operation item determination means for determining a predetermined target operation item based on the extra operation data;
An operation setting apparatus comprising: a setting change unit configured to change the setting of the GUI operation unit by setting an icon for the determined operation item in a predetermined operation area provided on the operation screen . The weight data storage means stores a plurality of types of weight data in association with the hierarchical position of the operation item,
The target operation item determining means selects one of a plurality of types of weight data based on a preset setting or input value ,
The number of extra operations based on the operation item corresponding to the detected extra operation, the hierarchy management data, and the weight data selected by the target operation item determination unit. The operation setting device according to claim 1, wherein The extra operation data is an aggregate value for each operation item of the number of extra operations,
The target operation item determining means determines, for each operation item, whether or not the total value indicated by the extra operation data exceeds a threshold value, and if the total value exceeds the threshold value, the total value operation setting device according to claim 1 or 2 for determining the operation item is an operation item of a given target. The extra operation data is a ratio for each operation item of the number of extra operations counted in the same counting period as the number of operations with respect to the number of operations that is the number of times of use of the operation item totaled in a certain period
The target operation item determining means determines, for each operation item, whether the ratio indicated by the extra operation data exceeds a threshold value, and if the ratio exceeds the threshold value, the operation item of the ratio The operation setting device according to claim 1 , wherein the operation setting device is determined as a predetermined target operation item . The GUI operation unit further provides one or more display change items for displaying an operation item different from the operation item displayed on the operation screen;
When the operation item displayed by the operation of the display change item is not used, the extra operation detection unit corresponds to the operation of the display change item corresponding to the operation item displayed by the operation of the display change item. The operation setting device according to claim 1, wherein the operation setting device is detected as an extra operation. An inter-operation time counting means for acquiring a time required from a first operation on the display change item to a second operation on the same or another display change item;
An operation error determination unit that determines whether the first operation is an operation error based on the time acquired by the inter-operation time counting unit;
The operation setting device according to claim 5 , wherein the extra operation detection unit excludes the first operation from the extra operation based on a determination result of the operation error determination unit. The inter-operation time counting means starts time measurement using a built-in timer when there is a first operation of the display change item, and there is no operation of the operation item displayed by the first operation. When the second operation of another display operation item is detected, the timing is terminated, and the hierarchy to which the operation item displayed by the second operation belongs is the hierarchy to which the operation item displayed by the first operation belongs. The operation setting device according to claim 6 , wherein it is determined whether or not the same or higher than the hierarchy, and if it is the same or higher, the time obtained by the time measurement is acquired . The operation error determination unit determines that the first operation is an operation error when the time acquired by the inter-operation time counting unit is equal to or less than a threshold value.
The operation setting according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein when the operation error determination unit determines that the first operation is an operation error, the extra operation detection unit excludes the first operation from the extra operation. apparatus. The extra operation detecting means further detects an extra operation on the SUI operation unit corresponding to a physical operation key,
The extra operation number counting means further counts the number of extra operations to the detected SUI operation unit,
The operation setting device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the setting change unit further changes the setting of the SUI operation unit based on the number of extra operations performed on the counted SUI operation unit. . A procedure for detecting an extra operation for a GUI operation unit that provides a plurality of operation items on an operation screen;
The operation item corresponding to the detected extra operation , the hierarchy management data indicating the hierarchy to which each operation item stored in the hierarchy management data storage unit belongs, and the weight data storage unit in association with the hierarchy position of the operation item A procedure for counting the number of extra operations based on the stored weight data ;
A procedure for storing extra operation data related to the number of extra operations counted until the target operation in the extra operation count storage means in association with the operation item corresponding to the target operation;
A procedure for determining a predetermined target operation item based on the extra operation data;
The predetermined operation area provided on the operation screen, by setting the icon for the determined operation items, operation setting method and a procedure for changing the settings of the GUI operation unit.   An operation setting program for causing a computer to execute the operation setting method according to claim 10.   A computer-readable recording medium on which an operation setting program for causing a computer to execute the operation setting method according to claim 10 is recorded.

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