JP5080845B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile transmitter / receiver, and a multifunction machine having these functions, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a display screen for displaying information for a user.

  As a prior art related to this type of image forming apparatus, there is a display control apparatus for a printer including a plurality of components (see Patent Document 1). In this prior art, a plurality of display data for each type of component is stored in a plurality of storage areas of the storage device, and combination information of one type of component is stored in advance in the storage device. .

According to the above prior art, even when there are ten or more types of paper feeding devices, print control devices, paper discharge devices, etc. as elements constituting one printer, the display data is stored for each type of component. These can be combined and displayed as appropriate based on the combination information of the printer device configuration. For this reason, in the prior art, it is not necessary to store all display data for each type of printer device configuration, and the capacity of the storage device can be reduced accordingly.
Japanese Patent No. 3484151

  As in the prior art, when display data is stored for each type of component such as a paper feed device, print control device, paper discharge device, etc., each time the configuration (combination) of the entire device changes, it is displayed each time. Therefore, there is a problem that the burden of data processing is large.

  Further, in the case of the prior art, until display data is actually displayed on the screen, display data that is fragmented and stored for each type is collected, and one display data is collected from the collected display data. It requires a complicated process of building and transferring the constructed display data as it is every time and outputting it to the screen. For this reason, the prior art method is not efficient in terms of processing speed.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of reducing the burden required for data transfer and processing and improving the processing speed.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus in which a main body is installed alone, or is installed in a state where a single or a plurality of attachments are connected to the main body. Of these, the main body has a function of printing an image formed based on image data on a medium. The attachment portion is installed in connection with the main body portion, and for example, assists the function of the main body portion or adds another function. In this case, there are a plurality of configurations as the entire system according to the number of appendages (0 to the maximum number).

An image display is provided in the main body or the accessory, and a morphological image imitating the form of the entire system configuration constituting the image forming apparatus is displayed on the display screen. Display data for displaying an image on the display screen is stored in the data storage unit, and display data is transferred to the data storage unit from another data storage unit. The display of the image by the image display is controlled based on the display data stored in the data storage unit. At this time, the display area necessary for displaying the morphological image on the display screen is divided into a plurality of divided areas. The divided areas are individually switched between display and non-display for the morphological image . In the non-displayed divided area, the display data of the corresponding morphological image is rewritten to blank data.

  The display data stored in the data storage unit is for displaying a morphological image imitating the entire form when the maximum number of attachments are connected to the main body, and this display data is stored in the data storage. Forwarded to the department. However, when it is instructed that display of the morphological image should be started on the display screen of the image display device, the necessity of display for each divided region is also notified.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the morphological image is displayed as it is in the divided area in which it is notified that the morphological image display start is instructed when it is instructed. In the notified divided area, the morphological image is not displayed. That is, there is one type of display data stored in the data storage unit, but the display data is in a non-display state in a divided area that does not need to be displayed on the screen. A street morphological image is displayed.

  For this reason, for example, if the display data is transferred and stored in the data storage unit only once at the first time, it is only necessary to notify the necessity of display for each divided area when the system configuration is changed. Display / non-display can be switched for each divided region depending on the presence / absence of an attachment. As a result, it is possible to display a morphological image of a system configuration (only the main unit alone) with no attachments on the screen, or multiple system configurations with 1 to the maximum number of attachments connected It is also possible to display a morphological image corresponding to.

  In the present invention, it is possible to detect the attachment part actually connected to the main body part and notify the necessity of display for each divided region based on the detection result. As a result, it is possible to reliably display a morphological image that accurately simulates the actual configuration of the entire system.

  Further, only one type of display data is transferred, but the morphological image is configured by combining a plurality of individual images. That is, the morphological image is configured by combining an individual image that imitates the form of the main body part alone and an individual image that imitates the form of each attachment part alone. In this case, the divided areas can be divided on the display screen so as to correspond to the individual images. Specifically, the range in which the individual image of the main body is displayed in the display area can be divided as one divided area, and the range in which the individual appendages are displayed can be divided as divided areas.

  In this case, since each divided area on the display screen corresponds to an individual image of the main unit or an individual image of each attachment, display is performed for each divided area according to the presence or absence of the attachment in the actual system configuration. / Can be switched.

  According to the present invention, even when displaying morphological images adapted to various system configurations, only one type of display data is used, and this display data is transferred to the data storage unit only once. After that, it is only necessary to individually notify the necessity of display for a plurality of divided areas and to switch the display / non-display. Therefore, it is not necessary to repeatedly transfer data when displaying a morphological image, the data processing load is reduced accordingly, and the processing speed required for displaying the morphological image can be improved to increase efficiency.

  Needless to say, even when the system configuration pattern changes in multiple ways, it is not necessary to have duplicate data for each configuration pattern, and the amount of data to be held can be minimized.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view schematically showing an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. The front face in FIG. 1 corresponds to the front face of the image forming apparatus 1 facing the user. Further, the right side in FIG. 1 is the right side surface of the image forming apparatus 1, and the left side is the left side surface of the image forming apparatus 1. A solid arrow in FIG. 1 indicates a sheet conveyance path and its conveyance direction in the image forming apparatus 1.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is, for example, a copying machine, a multifunction peripheral, a network multifunction peripheral (MFP), or the like. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a box-shaped main body 2 called an in-body discharge type. Therefore, an in-body type paper discharge tray 15 is formed inside the main body 2. The paper printed by the image forming apparatus 1 is discharged from the left side of the main body 2 toward the right side of the paper discharge tray 15. The user can take out the paper discharged to the paper discharge tray 15 from the front side (or right side) of the main body 2. The image forming apparatus 1 may be provided with a discharge tray that is not an in-body discharge type, and is connected to a post-processing device (not shown) that performs post-processing such as punching processing and stapling processing. Also good.

  A document feeder 8 is mounted on the upper side of the main body 2. When the image forming apparatus 1 is used as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a network scanner, a document can be set on the document feeder 8 and read. An optical image reading unit 9 is built in an upper position of the main body unit 2. The image reading unit 9 includes a contact glass (not shown), and an image surface of a document placed on the upper surface thereof or a document conveyed by the document feeder 8 is optically read by the image reading unit 9.

  The document feeder 8 is coupled to the main body 2 via a hinge mechanism (not shown). The hinge mechanism is located at the rear end portion of the main body 2, and the document feeder 8 operates so as to jump upward with the hinge mechanism as a fulcrum, so that the upper surface of the image reading unit 9 can be opened.

[Option example]
In the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a sheet supply unit (attachment unit) 50 can be connected to the lower side of the main body unit 2 as a standard or option. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a large-capacity paper feed unit (attachment unit) 80 can be optionally connected to the side of the main body unit 2 (right side in this example). For example, assuming that a configuration in which the one-stage sheet supply unit 50 is connected to the main body unit 2 is a standard configuration of the image forming apparatus 1, the example in FIG. This is an optional configuration in which the large capacity sheet feeding unit 80 is coupled to the right side.

  First, the paper supply unit 50 is provided with a paper cassette 52, a paper feed unit 54, a paper path 56, and a transport roller 58, respectively. Among them, the sheet cassette 52 contains a stack of sheets P, and the sheets P are fed out from the uppermost layer to the upper left by the sheet feeding unit 54 and vertically upward through the sheet passage 56. Be transported. The sheet P transported upward is taken over by the transport roller 46 of the main body 2 and sent into the sheet transport path 42.

  Further, the sheet path 56 is in a state where the upper end and the lower end are connected to each other when viewed between the sheet supply units 50 that overlap in the vertical direction. For this reason, the sheet P fed out of the three-stage sheet supply section 50 located in the lower layer of the second and subsequent stages from the top moves vertically upward while being taken over by the conveying roller 58 in the upper sheet path 56. It will be transported.

  The paper P sent out from the paper supply unit 50 is delivered to the registration roller 7 through the paper conveyance path 42. Further, the paper P sent out from the manual feed tray 5 is transported horizontally from the right side to the left in the main body 2, joins the paper transport path 42, and is delivered to the registration roller 7.

  The large-capacity paper feed unit 80 can accommodate a larger number of sheets P than the paper supply unit 50. The large-capacity paper feed unit 80 is provided with a paper stacking plate 82, a lift unit 84, a paper feed unit 86, a supply roller 88, and a paper path 90. Among these, a relatively large amount of sheets P can be stacked and accommodated on the sheet stacking plate 82. These sheets P are lifted in the vertical direction by the power of the lifting unit 84, and the uppermost layer is held at a certain height. Has been. The paper P is fed leftward by the paper feed unit 86 in order from the top layer, and is fed into the main body 2 through the paper path 90 by the supply roller 88. The transported paper P is taken over by the transport roller 48 of the main body 2 and sent into the paper transport path 49, transported leftward in the main body 2, and then merged into the paper transport path 42, and registration rollers Delivered to 7.

  An image is formed in the image forming apparatus 1 as follows. In the main body 2, the print engine 10 and the transfer unit 11 are provided at a downstream position when viewed in the paper conveyance direction from the paper conveyance path 42. Among these, the print engine 10 forms an electrostatic latent image based on image data obtained by processing a read image or image data transmitted from an external device, and further forms (develops) a toner image from the electrostatic latent image. The

  In order to form an electrostatic latent image by the print engine 10, a laser scanning unit 20 is disposed adjacent to the right side thereof. The laser scanning unit 20 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum of the print engine 10 with a scanning beam, as indicated by a one-dot chain line arrow in FIG.

  The registration roller 7 corrects the oblique feeding of the paper P and sends the paper P toward the transfer unit 11 while synchronizing with the toner image formed by the print engine 10. In the transfer unit 11, the toner image is transferred to the paper P that is sent while being synchronized by the registration roller 7.

  The fixing device 12 is disposed on the downstream side of the transfer unit 11 when viewed in the sheet conveyance direction. The paper P on which the unfixed toner image is transferred by the transfer unit 11 is sent to the fixing device 12. The fixing device 12 includes a heat roller 12a and a pressure roller 12b. When the sheet P passes through the nip therebetween, the sheet P is heated and pressed here to fix the toner image.

  When double-sided printing is not performed (in the case of single-sided printing), the paper P discharged from the fixing device 12 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 15 by the discharge roller 13. When duplex printing is performed, the paper P is once sent halfway toward the paper discharge tray 15 by the discharge roller 13, and then the conveyance direction is switched and the paper P is drawn into the paper reverse path 32. The drawn paper P is conveyed downward in the paper reversing path 32 along the left side surface of the main body 2, and then reversed upward at a position above the paper supply unit 50 and sent to the registration roller 7.

  An operation / display unit 60 is provided on the exterior cover of the image forming apparatus 1, and various operation buttons, a liquid crystal display, and the like are installed in the operation / display unit 60. Among these, an operation input by the user is performed on the operation buttons. In addition to displaying various character information (status, operation menu, etc.) for the user on the display screen of the liquid crystal display, a morphological image imitating the form of the image forming apparatus 1 and its attached part is displayed. It has become. For example, such a morphological image visually indicates to the user the position where a paper jam has occurred during the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 or the out-of-paper state of the paper supply unit 50 or the large-capacity paper supply unit 80. It is used for the purpose of communicating to. The morphological image display control in the present embodiment will be described in detail below.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram relating to control of the liquid crystal display 100 installed in the operation / display unit 60. The liquid crystal display 100 is controlled by, for example, the display control unit 102. Here, examples of the configuration of the display control unit 102 include a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 104, a buffer memory 105, an LCD controller 106, and an interface 108.

  The display control unit 102 can be configured as a single circuit board built in the main body 2 of the image forming apparatus 1, for example. Each component described above is mounted on the circuit board and connected to each other via a wiring pattern or a bus (not shown). A general-purpose device can be used for the CPU 104 and the LCD controller 106. Note that the CPU 104 may be a dedicated application (ASIC) or a package with a built-in buffer memory 105. The buffer memory 105 is a VRAM having a storage capacity corresponding to the display performance (maximum resolution, number of colors, etc.) of the liquid crystal display 100, for example. An operation signal using the operation button (reference numeral 60a in FIG. 2) is input through the interface 108.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a main body control unit 120 in addition to the display control unit 102. The main body control unit 120 is configured as a unit that controls the image forming operation by the main body unit 2. The main body control unit 120 includes a CPU 122, a display data memory 124, a RAM 126, an interface 128, and the like. These are mounted on the same circuit board and connected via a wiring pattern or a bus (not shown).

  The CPU 122 stores a control program in a built-in ROM, for example, and controls an image forming operation by the image forming apparatus 1 in accordance with the execution of the control program. The display data memory 124 is a storage device such as a ROM or an EEPROM, for example, and a storage area (memory block) of the display data memory 124 includes display data (bits) to be a material of an image displayed on the liquid crystal display 100. Map data) is stored. Details of the display data will be described later.

  Each paper supply unit 50 is provided with, for example, a drawer type option connector 130, and when the paper supply unit 50 is coupled to the main body unit 2, the option connector 130 is connected at the same time. Further, when the paper supply units 50 are connected in a plurality of stages, the option connector 130 is connected to the main body unit 2 in a cascade. Further, for example, a cable-type side option connector 132 is installed in the large-capacity paper feeding unit 80, and when connecting the large-capacity paper feeding unit 80 to the main body 2, the side option connector is inserted into the insertion port of the main body 2. 132 is connected.

  Each option connector 130 and side option connector 132 are grounded to the same ground level as the main body control unit 120, and the main body control unit 120 is based on a connection signal (ON or OFF) of each option connector 130 and side option connector 132. Thus, the number of stages of the paper supply unit 50 can be detected, or the presence or absence of the large-capacity paper supply unit 80 can be detected. When there are a plurality of types in the paper supply unit 50 and the large-capacity paper supply unit 80, the connection signal further includes information for identifying the type (about 4 bits).

  The main body control unit 120 detects the number of connection stages of the paper supply unit 50 and the presence / absence of the large-capacity paper feeding unit 80 and generates system configuration information of the image forming apparatus 1. This system configuration information indicates the configuration of the entire system when the paper supply unit 50 is connected to the main body unit 2 of the image forming apparatus 1 as a standard or option, or the large-capacity paper supply unit 80 is connected as an option. It is for identifying. Specifically, whether the system of the image forming apparatus 1 has a configuration of the main body unit 2 alone, a configuration in which one paper supply unit 50 is connected to the main body unit 2, or a configuration in which two paper supply units 50 are connected. Information for identifying whether it is a configuration in which three or four or more paper supply units 50 are connected, or a configuration in which a large-capacity paper supply unit 80 is connected.

  The CPU 122 of the main body control unit 120 reads connection signals of the option connector 130 and the side option connector 132 when the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, and generates system configuration information. Then, the CPU 122 stores the generated system configuration information in the RAM 126, for example. When the option connector 130 and the side option connector 132 correspond to so-called hot plugs (for example, USB, IEEE 1394), the CPU 122 captures these connection signals by an external interrupt, and updates the system configuration information each time.

〔Indicated Area〕
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the display screen 100 a of the liquid crystal display 100. In the present embodiment, a display area A indicated by a one-dot chain line is defined on the display screen 100a, and the entire bitmap image (morphological image) B0 is displayed in the display area A. Yes. This bitmap image B0 is the form of the entire system when the maximum number (three in this case) of paper supply units 50 is connected to the main body unit 2 and the large-capacity paper supply unit 80 is connected (maximum option configuration). It is imitated.

[Division area]
Further, the display area A is divided into a plurality of divided areas R1 to R6 in the display screen 100a. Individual rectangular areas defined by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 3 correspond to the divided areas R1 to R6, respectively. Of these, the five divided regions R1 to R5 are arranged vertically adjacent on the left side on the display screen 100a. In this example, the divided regions R1 to R5 are arranged in five stages in the vertical direction. The remaining one divided region R6 is arranged vertically on the right side on the display screen 100a. In this example, the divided region R6 is adjacent to all the divided regions R1 to R5. Note that the outline of the display area A and the alternate long and short dash lines that divide the divided areas R1 to R6 are not displayed on the actual display screen 100a.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the bitmap image B0 and the divided regions R1 to R6 separately. 4A is an overall view of the bitmap image B0, and FIG. 4B is an overall view of the divided regions R1 to R6.

[Form image]
In FIG. 4, (A): The bitmap image B0 is stored in the display data memory 124 as one display data as a whole. The display data is constructed by monochrome binary data in bitmap format, 16-gradation 4-bit data, or the like.

[Individual image]
The bitmap image B0 includes six individual images B1 to B6. Of these, the individual image B1 corresponds to an image simulating the form of the document feeder 8 shown in FIG. The individual image B2 corresponds to an image imitating the form of the main body 2. Similarly, the individual images B3, B4, and B5 correspond to images imitating the form of the paper supply unit 50 in each stage. Further, the individual image B6 corresponds to an image simulating the form of the large-capacity paper feeding unit 80. Then, in the state where these six individual images B1 to B6 are combined, one bitmap image B0 simulating the form of the entire system of the image forming apparatus 1 is configured. The distinction between the individual images B1 to B6 here is only when viewed as a visible image, and the display data in the bitmap format is not divided into six data units.

  In FIG. 4, (B): The configuration of the display area A and the divided areas R1 to R6 is as described above. As described above, the display area A corresponds to the entire bitmap image B0. The plurality of divided regions R1 to R6 are divided corresponding to the six individual images B1 to B6 included in the bitmap image B0. The CPU 104 of the display control unit 102 can perform control of switching between display and non-display for each of the divided areas R1 to R6. In the divided areas R1 to R6 that are switched to non-display, the CPU 104 corresponds on the actual display screen 100a. The individual images B1 to B6 to be displayed are not displayed. The switching between display and non-display will be further described later.

[System configuration information update processing]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the system configuration information update process executed by the main body control unit 120 (CPU 122). When the image forming apparatus 1 is powered on, the main body control unit 120 and the display control unit 102 each perform predetermined initialization processing. When communication between the main body control unit 120 and the display control unit 102 becomes possible, the main body control unit 120 executes the system configuration information update process of FIG. Hereinafter, the order of steps will be described.

  Step S <b> 1: The CPU 122 of the main body control unit 120 reads display data from the display data memory 104124 and transfers it to the display control unit 102. The display data transferred at this time is the entire bitmap image B0 shown in FIG. Although not shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, the CPU 104 of the display control unit 102 performs a process of storing the transferred display data in the buffer memory 105.

Step S2: The CPU 122 of the main body control unit 120 refers to connection signals of the option connector 130 and the side option connector 132.
Step S3: Next, the CPU 122 generates system configuration information based on the connection signal.

  Step S4: The CPU 122 of the main body control unit 120 determines whether or not a change has occurred in the connection signal while referring to the connection signal of the option connector 130 and the side option connector 132 by an external interrupt. In particular, if there is no change in the connection signal (No), the CPU 122 continues to monitor the change in the connection signal.

  When a change occurs in the connection signal due to a change in system configuration (addition or removal of options) in the middle (Yes), the CPU 122 generates system configuration information again. As a result, the system configuration information stored in the RAM 126 is updated to the latest contents.

[Control signal transmission processing]
Next, FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing for transmitting a control signal from the main body control unit 120 to the display control unit 102. While the image forming apparatus 1 is operating, the main body control unit 120 executes control signal transmission processing, for example, at regular intervals.

  Step S10: The CPU 122 of the main body control unit 120 determines whether or not the liquid crystal display 100 should start displaying morphological images. For example, when an event such as paper jam (clogging), out of paper, or paper size specification difference occurs during image formation, the image forming apparatus 1 displays the form image of the entire system on the display screen 100a, thereby causing the paper jam. It is necessary to perform an operation of visually transmitting a location where such an event has occurred to the user. In this case, the main body control unit 120 determines that the display of the morphological image needs to be started (Yes), and proceeds to the processing after step S11. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not particularly necessary to display the morphological image (No), the CPU 122 of the main body control unit 120 ends the control signal transmission process for the time being.

  Step S11: The CPU 122 of the main body control unit 120 transmits an instruction signal for starting display of the morphological image to the display control unit 102.

Step S12: The CPU 122 reads the system configuration information stored in the RAM 126.
Step S13: At the same time, the CPU 122 notifies the display control unit 102 of the necessity of display for each of the divided areas R1 to R6 based on the read system configuration information.

[Display control processing]
Next, FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a display control process executed by the display control unit 102 (CPU 104). During the operation of the image forming apparatus 1, the CPU 104 of the display control unit 102 executes display control processing at a constant cycle, for example.

Step S21: The CPU 104 of the display control unit 102 waits for a control signal transmitted from the main body control unit 120. The control signals awaited here include the following, for example.
(1) Instruction signal for instructing start of display of morphological images by the liquid crystal display 100 (2) Notification signal for notifying the necessity of display for each of the divided regions R1 to R6

  When the CPU 104 of the display control unit 102 receives the signals (1) and (2) (Yes), the CPU 104 proceeds to processing subsequent to step S22. If no control signal is received (No), the CPU 104 ends the display control process for the time being.

  Step S22: The CPU 104 of the display control unit 102 reads the display data accumulated in the buffer memory 105. The accumulated display data corresponds to the entire bitmap image B0.

  Step S23: Next, the CPU 104 of the display control unit 102 processes the display data based on the necessity of display for each of the divided regions R1 to R6 notified by the notification signal of (2). Specifically, a process of rewriting the address area corresponding to the divided areas R1 to R6 notified as not necessary to be displayed in the two-dimensional address of the display data to “NULL (blank data)” is performed. Note that the rewritten display data is accumulated (read-modify-write) in the buffer memory 105 or written on the built-in RAM of the CPU 104.

Step S24: The CPU 104 transfers (copies) the processed display data to the LCD controller 106.
Step S25: The LCD controller 106 of the display control unit 102 drives the liquid crystal display 100 based on the transferred display data.

[Display operation example 1]
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display operation example 1 of the liquid crystal display 100 in accordance with the execution of the display control sequence. This display operation example 1 corresponds to a system configuration in which a two-stage paper supply unit 50 is optionally connected in addition to the standard configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 (main body unit 2 + paper supply unit 50 × 1 stage). It is. In this case, unlike the configuration example shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 does not include the large-capacity paper feeding unit 80.

  In the system configuration described above, in step S13 of the control signal transmission process shown in FIG. 6, it is notified that the divided areas R1 to R5 need to be displayed, and the remaining divided area R6 does not need to be displayed. Will be notified.

  For this reason, in step S23 of the display control process shown in FIG. 7, the range corresponding to the divided region R6 in the display data is rewritten with “NULL (= blank data)”. As a result, although the individual images B1 to B5 in the bitmap image B0 are displayed in the divided areas R1 to R5 on the display screen 100a, the display content in the divided area R6 is blank, and the bitmap image B0 as a whole is displayed. Displayed in a partially masked state. The bitmap image B0 partially masked in this way is a morphological image that correctly mimics the entire configuration of the actual system configuration (main body 2 + 3-stage paper supply unit 50).

[Display operation example 2]
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display operation example 2 of the liquid crystal display 100 in accordance with the execution of the display control sequence. This display operation example 2 corresponds to a system configuration in which only the first-stage paper supply unit 50 is optionally connected in addition to the standard configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 (main unit 2 + sheet supply unit 50 × 1 stage). Is. In this case, unlike the configuration example shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is not provided with the third-stage paper supply unit 50 and the large-capacity paper supply unit 80.

  In the system configuration in this case, in step S13 of the control signal transmission process shown in FIG. 6, it is notified that the divided areas R1 to R4 need to be displayed, and the divided areas R5 and R6 need to be displayed. Notified that there is no

  Therefore, in step S23 of the display control process shown in FIG. 7, the ranges corresponding to the divided regions R5 and R6 in the display data are each rewritten with “NULL (= blank data)”. As a result, in the divided areas R1 to R4 on the display screen 100a, the individual images B1 to B4 in the bitmap image B0 are displayed, but the display contents in the divided areas R5 and R6 are all blank, and the whole is a bit. The map image B0 is displayed in a partially masked state. The bitmap image B0 partially masked in this way is a morphological image that correctly mimics the form of the entire actual system configuration (main body 2 + 2-stage paper supply unit 50).

[Other display operation examples]
Although not particularly illustrated, the main body control unit 120 executes the system configuration information update process shown in FIG. 5 and constantly updates the latest system configuration information, for example, the actual image forming apparatus 1 as described below. A display operation suited to the system configuration can be realized.

(1) For example, when the system of the image forming apparatus 1 is changed to a standard configuration having only the main body unit 2 and one sheet supply unit 50, in step S23 of the display control process shown in FIG. The ranges corresponding to the divided regions R4, R5, R6 are rewritten with “NULL (= blank data)”. As a result, the individual images B4, B5, and B6 are not displayed on the display screen 100a, and a morphological image that combines the individual images B1, B2, and B3 is displayed.

(2) Alternatively, if the document feeder 8 is not installed as an option and the system configuration is changed to a system in which the two-stage paper supply unit 50 is connected to the main body unit 2, the steps of the display control process shown in FIG. In S23, the ranges corresponding to the divided areas R1, R5, and R6 in the display data are each rewritten with “NULL (= blank data)”. As a result, the individual images B1, B5, and B6 are not displayed on the display screen 100a, and a morphological image that combines the individual images B2, B3, and B4 is displayed.

(3) If the system is changed to a system configuration in which the document feeder 8 is not installed as an option and only the one-stage sheet supply unit 50 is connected to the main body unit 2, step S23 of the display control process shown in FIG. The ranges corresponding to the divided areas R1, R4, R5, and R6 in the display data are each rewritten with “NULL (= blank data)”. As a result, the individual images B1, B4, B5, and R6 are not displayed on the display screen 100a, and a morphological image combining only the individual images B2 and B3 is displayed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the display data of the entire bitmap image B0 is transferred from the main body control unit 120 to the display control unit 102, and thereafter, the individual divided regions R1 to R6 are matched to the actual system configuration. It only notifies the necessity of display. For this reason, if the display data is transferred only once at the beginning, even if the system configuration is subsequently changed, it is not necessary to transfer the display data each time, and the load required for data processing and transfer is increased accordingly. And the time required for data processing and transfer is reduced.

  Also, even if the system configuration changes, it is only necessary to use one type of display data at all times. Therefore, a plurality of display data can be transferred according to the system configuration, or these can be arranged in a memory space for transfer. There is no need to build data. Therefore, both the main body control unit 120 and the display control unit 102 are less burdened with data processing, and data can be transferred efficiently.

  The present invention can be implemented with various modifications without being limited to the above-described embodiments. In the system configuration of the embodiment, an example is given in which the main body 2 and the standard paper supply unit 50 are separated. However, the main body 2 may include the paper supply unit 50 integrally.

  The display area A, the divided areas R1 to R6, the bitmap image B0, and the like given in the embodiment are only preferable examples, and these can be appropriately modified and implemented.

  In the embodiment, the document feeder 8 and the paper supply unit 50 are cited as optional attachments. However, a finisher (post-processing device) may be connected to the main body 2 as other attachments.

  In the embodiment, the liquid crystal display 100 is installed in the main body 2. However, the liquid crystal display 100 and the like may be installed in an attachment unit such as the document feeder 8 or the finisher.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration in which an attachment is connected to a main body of an image forming apparatus. It is a block diagram regarding control of a liquid crystal display. It is the schematic which shows an example of a display screen. It is a figure which shows a bitmap image and its display area separately. It is a flowchart of the system configuration information update process executed by the main body control unit. It is a flowchart of the process which transmits a control signal from a main body control part to a display control part. It is a flowchart of the display control process performed in a display control part. It is a figure which shows the display operation example 1 of a liquid crystal display accompanying execution of a display control sequence. It is a figure which shows the display operation example 2 of a liquid crystal display accompanying execution of a display control sequence.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Main-body part 8 Document feeder (accessory part)
50 Paper supply section (attachment section)
80 Large capacity paper feeder (accessory)
100 Liquid Crystal Display 102 Display Control Unit (Display Control Unit)
104 CPU
105 Buffer memory (data storage unit)
106 LCD controller 120 Main body control unit (data transfer means, control instruction means)
124 display data memory (data storage unit)
130 Optional connector (configuration detection means)
132 Side option connector (configuration detection means)

Claims (3)

A main body that prints an image formed based on image data on a medium, and an attachment that can be connected to the main body, the main body being installed alone, or In the image forming apparatus installed in a state where the attachment part is connected to one or more,
An image display provided in the main body part or the attachment part;
A data storage unit for storing display data for displaying an image on a display screen of the image display;
The operation of the image display device is controlled based on the display data stored in the data storage unit, and the display area necessary for displaying the morphological image on the display screen is divided into a plurality of divided areas. a display control means for rewriting these divided regions have line control to switch to a separate display or hide the the anatomical image, the display data of the form image corresponding to the divided region is switched to the non-display blank data,
A data storage unit for storing, as display data, a morphological image simulating the entire form when the maximum number of the attachments are connected to the main body;
Data transfer means for transferring and storing display data stored in the data storage unit to the data storage unit;
Instructing the display control means that display of the morphological image should be started on the display screen of the image display device, and notifying the necessity of display for each of the divided areas together, the display An image forming apparatus comprising: control instruction means for executing control by the control means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
It further comprises a configuration detection means for detecting the appendage part actually connected to the main body part,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control instruction unit notifies the necessity of display for each of the divided regions based on a detection result by the configuration detection unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The data storage unit stores the morphological image as one display data in a state in which a plurality of individual images each imitating the respective shapes of the main body and the attachment unit are combined.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit divides the divided area in accordance with the individual images displayed in the display area.

Images