JP2001260499A - Imaging apparatus having language switching function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an imaging apparatus having a function for switching the language displayed on an operating panel in which a language switching method for selecting a target language from a plurality of languages can be selected and that method can be sustained even when power is turned off. SOLUTION: When a language displayed on the operating panel of an imaging apparatus is switched to a target language, any one of a language switching method 1 for switching a plurality of languages sequentially or a language switching method 2 for selecting an arbitrary language among a plurality of optional languages on the language selection screen of the operating panel is selected. Language is switched by a selected language switching method and the selected method is stored in a nonvolatile memory.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc., having a language switching function capable of selectively designating a display language on an operation panel from a plurality of display languages. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent image forming apparatuses, many image forming modes such as a double-sided mode and an image editing mode are prepared, and multifunctional functions such as using these modes in combination are progressing. On the other hand, since the setting method of the image forming mode is becoming more complicated while the functions are being multiplied, an operation panel using a display device such as an LCD is adopted, and not only the mode setting means (keys and the like) are displayed but also An operator-guided operation panel that simultaneously displays a description of a setting method is becoming mainstream. By the way, this description is preferably displayed in the language of the country where the device is used, and it is common to use the language of the operation panel display, especially for foreign companies and areas where multiple ethnic groups are mixed. There is known a language switching function in which a plurality of language data are mounted in advance, and a language to be displayed is switched by an operator selectively or by determining a language to be displayed by the device.

For example, a plurality of LCD controllers having different languages are provided on an operation panel of a copying machine, and one of them is automatically selected from a set paper or a power supply voltage to replace a liquid crystal module. Language switching without language (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-127457),
Add a navigator system to the facsimile, receive the radio wave from the satellite, calculate the position on the earth from the received radio wave, determine the place of use (country of use), automatically control the operation panel, NCU, voice message ROM A device that can be used immediately in the brought-in language, such as by switching and automatically displaying the operation panel in the language of the country of use (Japanese Patent Laid-Open
06-046179) In the image output device, the LCD message language can be set, and the default paper size can be switched in conjunction with the switching of the language displayed on the LCD of the panel operation unit. Such a configuration (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-164685) is known.

[0004]

In an image forming apparatus having a language switching means for switching a display language on an operation panel, a first language switching method capable of sequentially switching languages by pressing an operation means such as one button. When the (language switching method 1) is used, there is a possibility that a user who tries to switch to a target language erroneously presses an operation means such as a button once more. A procedure is required in which the user presses operation means such as a repetition button for the number of selectable languages.
Conversely, when using the second language switching method (language switching method 2) in which an arbitrary language can be selected from the options on the language selection screen called up by the operation means such as a button, the user selects the language selection screen. Although the language switching method 1 can be used to select a language while confirming the above, problems such as the case of using the language switching method 1 are improved, but the number of procedures for switching languages is increased, and operability is deteriorated. In other words, it is considered that the language switching method 1 has better operability for an experienced user.
Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to make it possible to select between the language switching method 1 and the language switching method 2 and to switch between them as necessary to improve both problems and optimize the language switching means. That is.

In implementing the first object of the present invention, a user can select a language switching method according to his / her preference and purpose. However, this selection procedure must be repeated every time the power is turned off / on. There is. Therefore, a second object of the present invention is to store the selected language switching method in the non-volatile memory so as to maintain the selected language switching method even when power supply is repeatedly turned off / on. , To avoid repetition of the above selection procedure.

In order to implement the first object of the present invention, operating means such as operating means such as a language switching button used in language switching method 1 and operating means such as a language selection screen call button used in language switching method 2 However, while one language switching method is selected, operating means such as operating means such as buttons required by the other language switching method are not used. Therefore, a third object of the present invention is to share the operating means such as buttons used in the two language switching methods, thereby avoiding the addition of unnecessary operating means such as buttons, reducing costs and reducing language switching. It is to unify the means.

An image forming apparatus having a language switching means for switching a display language on an operation panel has a language option setting means for selecting a type of language that can be switched and a method for switching a plurality of display languages. The user has to select the plurality of settings appropriately. However, the setting of the language options and the selection of the language switching method are not necessarily independent in terms of the number of the language options, but rather are considered to be dependent settings. That is, even if the language switching method is fixed, such as the language switching method 1 when the number of selected language options is small, and the language switching method 2 if the number is large, there is no operational complaint. . Therefore, a fourth object of the present invention is to optimize the language switching means by automatically determining the language switching method according to the setting of the language options.

In practicing the fourth object of the present invention,
Even when the number of language options set is only one, the operation when the operation means such as the language switching button is operated must be defined by any one of the language switching methods. Therefore, a fifth object of the present invention is to prevent the display language switching operation from being performed even when an operation means such as a language switching button is operated when the number of language options is one, thereby preventing unnecessary operations from occurring. It is to avoid.

In practicing the fourth object of the present invention,
The user can set language choices according to his / her preference and purpose, but it is necessary to repeat this selection procedure every time the power is turned off / on. Therefore, a sixth object of the present invention is to store the selected language option setting by storing the selected language option setting in the non-volatile memory, so that the selected language option setting is maintained even when the power supply is repeatedly turned off / on. The purpose is to avoid repeating the above procedure.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, comprising: means for storing a plurality of display data in different languages; language switching means for switching a display language on an operation panel; An image forming apparatus having a language switching function, characterized by having means for selecting a switching method, and switching a display language according to the selected language switching method.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus having the language switching function according to the first aspect, the plurality of language switching methods include a first language switching method for sequentially switching languages, and a language selection method. An image forming apparatus having a language switching function, which is a second language switching method for selecting an arbitrary language from options on a screen.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, a nonvolatile memory for storing the selected language switching method is provided. Image forming apparatus.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the means for selecting the language switching method has a common language selecting operation means in each language switching method. An image forming apparatus having a language switching function.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, a language option setting means for selecting a type of language which can be switched by the language switching means, and the language switching method is provided. Means for automatically selecting according to the number of switchable languages set by the language option setting means. The image forming apparatus has a language switching function.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect, when the number of switchable languages set by the language option setting means is only one, the display language is not switched. An image forming apparatus having a language switching function, characterized by having control means for performing control in this manner.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect, further comprising a non-volatile memory for storing a type of switchable language selected by the language option setting means. Is an image forming apparatus provided with:

[0017]

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, arrows indicated by thick lines indicate the flow of image data. Documents such as paper documents set on the contact glass (not shown) are CCD
1, the image data is sent to the reading control unit 2 and subjected to AD conversion and the like, and thereafter, flows from the reading control unit 2 to the image processing unit 3 and the writing control unit 4 and is output to the LD 5. As a result, laser writing is performed on a photosensitive drum (not shown), and an electrostatic latent image is created together with a charging process (not shown). The above control is performed by the CPU 10, and the operation program is stored in the ROM 8. Reference numeral 9 denotes a RAM, which is a work memory for executing a program. CPU10
The reading control unit 2, image processing unit 3, writing control unit 4, print control unit 6, CD control unit 12, and input port 14 are connected to each other by an address bus and a data bus. RO
The M8 has a copy, printer, F
Language data (character font, text, icon bitmap data) for displaying the operation unit of each AX is also stored. The nonvolatile RAM 16 is for storing setting contents and machine states that need to be remembered even when the power is shut off. Reference numeral 17 denotes a timer, which is used for calculating an elapsed time or a fixed time. Reference numeral 12 denotes an LCD control unit which transfers the bitmap developed by the CPU 10 in the VRAM 11 to the LCD module via the control unit 12. LCD
Reference numeral 13 denotes a liquid crystal display unit, which is shown as an operation panel or a liquid crystal display unit 13 in the outline drawing of the operation unit in FIG.

The operation contents of the language switching key 23 and the initial setting key 24 shown in FIG. 2 are transmitted through the input port 14 of FIG.
Read by U10. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 28 denotes a copy application (application) key, reference numeral 29 denotes a printer application key, reference numeral 30 denotes a FAX application key. The application is switched by these operations, and the VRAM 11 in FIG.
Is drawn for each application, and the operation screen on the LCD is switched.

Next, the memory layout shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
A method of writing data to the VRAM 11 will be described using the data flow diagram of FIG. In FIG. 4, a circle represents processing, an arrow represents data flow, a square represents a terminator, and a parallel line represents a store (store corresponds to ROM or RAM). FIG.
, The block described as 1st language data is data for one language (for example, Japanese). Similarly 2n
The block described as d-language data is data for another language (for example, English). Although not shown,
There are other similar language data up to Nth language data. The data includes data for an operation unit display and data for a print image, and data for an operation unit display includes a text portion (character code) and a bitmap portion (binary). In both the text portion and the bitmap portion, a character string displayed on a key and a character string displayed on a message column are arranged in order, and these are arranged on a ROM.
The arrangement order is a predetermined order and must be followed, and its size is also a predetermined size. That is, "Key 1" is for an automatic paper selection key, and if the first language is Japanese, "Auto paper selection"
Is stored. In this case, since the data is text, if the data ends within the allocated size, the end of the text can be expressed by using a control character such as a line feed. The character code is unique in the system of the present embodiment. The advantage of using the text method is that for characters that are used repeatedly on different screens, only one bitmap pattern is used as a font, and the rest is in character code format, so that the total memory (in this case, ROM) That is, efficiency can be improved.

For the bitmap, the dot size in the vertical direction and the dot size in the horizontal direction are described in order at the head of each bitmap. Since it is a bitmap, empty data (for example, 0) may be described at an unnecessary position. By defining the storage locations for each of these display purposes (keys and messages), they can all be represented by offset addresses. For example, if a program is written in C language, it is described on the left side of FIG. For example, the key 1,... Message 1.
If a structure is defined as shown in FIG. 3, one pointer to the structure is prepared in the RAM, and when switching languages, the pointer is used as the start address of each language data (FIG. 3).
Then, it is only necessary to initialize to the address corresponding to "key 1".

In the data flow diagram of FIG. 4, the data flow "display request" includes an identifier indicating whether the data is a text or a bitmap, an offset address of display data, and an LC.
It is represented by the display position on D. FIG. 5 shows the processing of the circle in FIG.
That is, it is a flowchart showing the operation unit display processing 48. That is, when there is an operation unit display request, the "display request" is analyzed to check whether it is a text, and the real address of the data is calculated from the offset addresses of the "current display language" and the "display request" (S101). . Here, in the case of text (S102, Yes), the calculated address is read to obtain a character code (S103). If this is a carriage return (CR) (S104, Yes)
The operation unit display processing ends. Otherwise (s10
4, No), the bitmap corresponding to the character code is read from the “character font” store 42 in FIG. 4 (S1).
05). Here, the “character font” store 42 is a bitmap using a character code as a search key. Next, the obtained bitmap data is written into the VRAM 11 (S106), and the address of the VRAM 11 corresponds to the position specified by the "display request". This write result is reflected for each data transfer cycle to the LCD 13 of the LCD control unit 12 in FIG. The address of one character is incremented by writing (S107), and the process returns to step S103.
Here, the font size is fixed.

On the other hand, if the bit map is determined in step S102 (S102, No), the contents of the passed address are read to obtain the bitmap size (S108), and the bitmap size storage address is incremented. (S109). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the size obtained in step S108 has been completed (S11).
0), the bitmap data indicated by the address is read (S111), and the value is written to the VRAM 11 (S112) until the operation is completed, and the address is incremented. VR
The AM address corresponds to the position specified in the “display request”. The processing ranges shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 do not depend on the display language.

FIG. 6 is a data flow diagram showing the language switching operation including FIG. 6, the operation unit display processing 48, the operation panel (VRAM) 13 (11), the language data text 44, the language data bitmap 43, and the character font 42 are as described above. In this data flow diagram, the reference of the current display language is compared with that of the single language specification shown in FIG.
And the operation unit display processing 48. Here, as the content of the current display language, one of a plurality of languages implemented in the meaning of = [1st language | 2nd language | ... | Nth language] is shown. It is assumed that the current display language has an index that can directly or indirectly refer to the Nth language data from the 1st language data in FIG.

When the language switching method selection key (in this embodiment, the initial setting key 24 in FIG. 2 is used) is operated, the language switching method selection processing 62 (see FIG. 9) in FIG. Set the language switching method and save the contents
Store in RAM. When the language switching key 23 in FIG. 2 is operated, the current language switching method 6 is performed in the display language switching process 67 in FIG.
Examine 5 and switch the language in each method. In the case of the language switching method 1, the current display language 69 is checked,
Switch to the next display language data. Language switching method 2
If so, the display language switching process 67 (see FIG. 8)
To select the display language, and switch to the selected display language data. After the switching, the current display language 69 is rewritten, and a display request is sent to the operation unit display processing 48. The display requests here are a plurality of display requests for the currently displayed screen. 7A and 7B show the current display language 69 of FIG.
Represents the transition of. FIG. 7A shows the case of the language switching method 1 and shows that the language is switched in order from the first language data 71 to the Nth language data 73 each time the language switching key 23 in FIG. 2 is pressed. Also, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the current display language is Nth language data, the language switching key 23
When is operated, the process returns to the first language data. FIG. 7B shows the case of the language switching method 2, in which any language data (here, the second language data 76) is selected in the display language switching process 67 (see also FIG. 8) in FIG. At the stage when the key is operated, it indicates that the language data to be displayed next is undetermined.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a language selection screen displayed when the language switching key 23 of FIG. 2 is operated when the current language switching method 65 of FIG. 6 is the language switching method 2. Language data can be selected from all display languages. In this embodiment, the keys 81 to 83 are keys for selecting the '1st language', the '2nd language', and the '3rd language', and three selectable language options are displayed. The '1st language' shaded represents the current display language 69 in FIG. 6, and 81 to 8 in FIG.
Pressing 3 selects that language as the next current display language, but is updated only when the end key 84 is pressed. After pressing the end key, the display language setting screen returns to the original screen, and the display on the operation panel 13 in FIG. 2 is rewritten with the current display language data.

FIG. 9 is an example of an initial setting screen displayed when the initial setting key 24 (language switching method selection key) in FIG. 2 is operated. 9 are keys for selecting “language switching method 1” and “language switching method 2”, and select one of the language switching methods. In this embodiment, the language switching method 1 is shaded, indicating that the language switching method 1 is selected in the current language switching method 65 in FIG. When the user presses 92, the language switching method 2 is selected as the next current language switching method. The language switching method selected on this screen is updated only when the end key 93 is pressed. After the end key is pressed, the language switching method selection screen returns to the original screen, and the selected language switching method is stored in the nonvolatile RAM.
To memorize.

FIG. 10 shows language switching control when the language switching key 23 of FIG. 2 is operated. That is, when the language switching key is pressed (S201), the current language switching method 65 of FIG. 6 is checked (S102). If the result is 'language switching method 1' (S203, Yes), the current display language 69 is checked (S204), and the current display language is switched to the next selectable display language (S205). Thereafter, the display on the operation panel is rewritten in the current display language (S20).
6). In step S203, 'language switching method 1'
No, that is, in the case of 'language switching method 2' (S203, N
o), the display language selection screen of FIG. 8 is displayed (S20).
7) Here, when any of the display language keys 81 to 83 is operated (S209), the key display is set to a selected state (shaded in the example of FIG. 8) (S210). When the end key 84 in FIG. 8 is pressed in step S208 (S208, Yes), the display language in the selected state is switched to the current display language (S211). afterwards,
The display on the operation panel is rewritten in the current display language (s206).

FIG. 11 shows the control when the initial setting key (language switching method selection key) 24 of FIG. 2 is operated. When the language switching method selection key 24 is pressed (S30)
1, Yes), a language switching method selection screen is displayed (S3)
02). Here, the end key is not ON (S303, N
o) When the language switching method keys 91 and 92 of FIG. 9 are further operated (S304, No), the key display is switched to the selected state (shaded in the example of FIG. 9) (S305). In step S303, when the end key is pressed (S
303, Yes), the language switching method 65 (FIG. 6) in the selected state is switched to the current language switching method, and the contents are stored in the nonvolatile RAM (S306).

FIG. 12 is still another data flow diagram showing the language switching operation including the processing of FIG. Operation unit display processing 48, VRAM 11, image data text 4
4. The language data bitmap 43 and the character font 42 are as described with reference to FIG. This data flow diagram is different from that of the single language specification shown in FIG.
8 has a reference to the current display language. The content of the current display language is: [[1st language | 2nd language | ...]
| Nth language] One of multiple languages implemented in the sense of
Show one. It is assumed that the current display language 168 has an index for directly or indirectly referring to the Nth language data from the first language data in FIG.

When the language option setting key (see FIG. 14) is operated on the initial setting screen displayed when the initial setting key 24 of FIG. 2 is operated, the language option switching process 162 (see FIG. 14) of FIG. The switching language option is set in ()), and the content is written in the language option 165. If there is a change in the language choice, a change notification is issued at the same time to prompt the language switching method automatic selection processing 163 to change the language switching method. Here we look up language choice 165,
The number of options is counted and the optimal language switching method is written in the language switching method 164. For example, when the number of selected language options is small (the number can be arbitrarily set in consideration of usability) Write the language switching method 1. If the number of choices is 1, data meaning "no language switching" is written. When the language switching key 23 of FIG. 2 is operated, the language switching method 164 is checked in the display language switching process 167 of FIG. 12, and the language is switched by each method.
In the case of the language switching method 1, the current display language 168
And switch to the next display language data. In the case of the language switching method 2, the display language switching processing 167
The display language is selected in (see FIG. 8), and the display language data is switched to the selected display language data. After the switching, the current display language 169 is rewritten, and a display request is sent to the operation unit display processing 48. The display requests here are a plurality of display requests for the currently displayed screen. If the language is not switched, no processing is performed.

FIG. 13 shows the language options 16 in FIG.
5 is an example of a language option table indicating the content of No. 5, and in the present embodiment, a case where the number of language data is six is described. This table is stored in the nonvolatile RAM 16. In this table, selectability information is stored for each language, and “1” indicates “selectable” and “0” indicates “selection impossible”. In this embodiment, '1st language', '3
'rd language' and '5th language' are 'selectable'.

Here, the current display language 16 in FIG.
The transition of No. 9 is as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, similarly to the data flow diagram of FIG. 6 already described. That is, FIG. 7A shows the case of the language switching method 1, and shows that the language is switched in order from the 1st language data to the Nth language data every time the language switching key 23 in FIG. 2 is pressed. FIG.
If the language switching key is operated when the current display language is the Nth language data as in A, the display returns to the first language data. In the case of the language switching method 2, as shown in FIG. 7B, in this case, any language data is selected in the display language switching 7 (see FIG. 8) of FIG. Indicates that the language data to be displayed is not determined. When the current language switching method 164 in FIG. 12 is the language switching method 2 and the language switching key 23 in FIG. 2 is operated, an example of a language selection screen displayed as shown in FIG. Select the language data from the display languages. Also in this example, the keys 81 to 83 are keys for selecting the '1st language', the '2nd language', and the '3rd language', and three selectable language options are displayed. The “1st language” indicated by hatching indicates the current display language 169 in FIG.
When the user presses .about.83, that language is selected as the next present display language, but is updated only when the end key 84 is pressed. After pressing the end key, the display language setting screen returns to the original screen, and the display on the operation panel 13 in FIG. 2 is rewritten with the current display language data. These are all the same as in the data flow diagram shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 shows an example of an initial setting screen displayed when the initial setting key 24 shown in FIG. 2 is operated, and is used to set operating conditions and the like of the apparatus. 121-
Reference numeral 126 denotes a language option setting key, which indicates whether or not each language can be selected. In this example, shaded keys indicate “selectable” and unshaded keys indicate “selectable”. When the end key 127 is pressed, the screen returns to the original screen from the language option setting screen.

FIG. 15 shows the control when the initial setting key (language option setting key) 24 of FIG. 2 is operated. First, when the language option setting key 24 is operated (S4
01), the language option setting screen shown in FIG. 14 is displayed, and when the language option keys 121 to 126 in the screen are pressed, the selectability information of the language option corresponding to the pressed language option key is displayed in FIG. It is checked from the option table (S402). If the result is 'selectable' (S40
(3, Yes), change the selectability information of the language option corresponding to the pressed language option key to "selection impossible" (S4).
04), if “selection is impossible” (S403, No), change to “selection possible” (S405). Next, the results are shown in FIG.
Update to reflect the language choice table of 3
It is stored in M (S406). When there is a change in the set option table (S407, Yes), a change notification is issued to urge a change in the language switching method (S408).

FIG. 16 shows the language switching control when the language switching key 23 of FIG. 2 is operated. When the language switching key is pressed (S501), the current language switching method 164 in FIG. 12 is checked (S502). If the result is "no language switching" (S503, Yes), no processing is performed. In the case of 'language switching method 1' (S1
24, Yes) Check the current display language 168 of FIG. 12 (S
505), the current display language is switched to the next selectable display language (S506). Thereafter, the display on the operation panel is rewritten in the current display language (S507). If the result of step S504 is not "language switching method 1", that is, "language switching method 2" (504, No), the display language selection screen of FIG. 8 is displayed (S508), and the end key of FIG. (S509, No) When the display language keys 81 to 83 are operated (S510), the key display is set to a selected state (shaded in the example of FIG. 8) (S511). When the end key is pressed in step S509 (S5
09, Yes), the display language that was in the selected state is switched to the current display language (S512), and then the screen is drawn in the selected display language, that is, the operation panel is displayed in the current display language. Is rewritten (S50
7). In the above-described processes for switching languages in the present invention, a program for executing each process is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and a flexible disk. It can be easily implemented by causing a computer of the image forming apparatus to read.

[0036]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, a function for selecting a language switching method is provided, so that a language switching method can be selected according to a user's purpose and preference, and unnecessary procedures are omitted. Can be. Specifically, when the selectable display languages are variable, if the number is small, the language switching method 1 is selected, and if the number is large, the language switching method 2 is selected. Good and optimal language switching means can be provided. An effect corresponding to claim 3; since the selected language switching method is stored in the nonvolatile memory,
The selected language switching method can be maintained even when the power supply is repeatedly turned off / on, and the operability can be improved. Advantageous Effects Corresponding to Claim 4 By using operating means such as buttons common to two different language switching methods, a language switching function can be realized with fewer operating means, leading to cost reduction. Effect corresponding to claim 5; By automatically selecting a language switching method, an optimal language switching method can be selected according to the number of set language options, and the language is switched every time the number of language options is changed. This eliminates the hassle of having to re-select a method and unnecessary steps. Effect corresponding to claim 6; when there is only one switching language option, it is clear that the setting state is such that the display language of the operation panel is not switched, and a malfunction or unnecessary operation by pressing an operating means such as a language switching button is unnecessary. Operation can be avoided beforehand. For example, in the case of the language switching method 1, when the operating means such as the language switching button is operated, the process of rewriting the currently displayed language as the language to be displayed next becomes unnecessary. In the case of the language switching method 2, The process of displaying a display language selection screen having no room for selection is not required. Effects corresponding to claim 7;
Since the type of switchable language selected by the language option setting means is stored in the non-volatile memory, the set language type can be maintained even when the power is repeatedly turned off / on. Operability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation unit of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of a control unit in a memory.

FIG. 4 is a data flow diagram for explaining a language switching operation.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the data flow diagram of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is another data flow diagram for explaining a language switching operation.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining transition of a current display language in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a language selection screen.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a language switching method selection screen.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating language switching control.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a language switching method selection control.

FIG. 12 is still another data flow diagram for explaining a language switching operation.

FIG. 13 is a language option table showing the contents of language options in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of an initial setting screen.

FIG. 15 is another flowchart for describing language option setting control.

FIG. 16 is another flowchart for describing language selection switching control.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... CCD, 2 ... Read control part, 3 ... Image processing part, 4 ... Control part, 5 ... LD, 6 ... Print control part, 8 ... ROM, 9 ... RAM, 10 ... C
PU, 11 ... VRAM, 12 ... CD control unit, 1
3 ... LDC (operation panel), 14 ... input port, 16 ... nonvolatile RAM, 42 ... character font, 43 ... data bitmap, 44 ... language data text, 48 ... .Operation part display processing, 62...
Language switching method selection processing, 162 ... Language option switching processing,

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 1/00 H04N 1/00 CF term (Reference) 2C061 AP03 AP04 BB10 CQ14 CQ24 CQ29 CQ34 CQ43 CQ47 5B021 AA01 AA05 AA19 CC06 PP04 PP06 5C062 AA02 AA05 AB20 AB25 AB41 AB43 AB45 AC02 AC05 AC22 AE08 AE15 5C082 AA13 AA22 AA27 AA32 BA02 BB32 CA76 CB05 CB10 DA35 MM09 MM10

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: means for storing a plurality of display data in different languages; language switching means for switching a display language on an operation panel; and means for selecting a plurality of language switching methods. An image forming apparatus having a language switching function, wherein a display language is switched according to a selected language switching method. 2. The image forming apparatus having a language switching function according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of language switching methods include a first language switching method for sequentially switching languages, and a language selection screen. An image forming apparatus having a language switching function, which is a second language switching method for selecting an arbitrary language from among them. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a nonvolatile memory for storing the selected language switching method. 4. A language switching function according to claim 1, wherein said means for selecting a language switching method has a common language selection operation means for each language switching method. An image forming apparatus comprising: 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a language option setting unit that selects a type of language switchable by the language switching unit, and the language switching method is performed by the language option setting unit. Means for automatically selecting according to the set number of switchable languages. An image forming apparatus having a language switching function. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
An image having a language switching function, comprising: a control unit that controls not to switch the display language when the number of switchable languages set by the language option setting unit is only one. Forming equipment. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
An image forming apparatus having a language switching function, characterized by having a non-volatile memory for storing the types of languages that can be switched selected by the language option setting means.