JP2001282408A - Operation display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation display device capable of generating a user setting picture on which an operator's request is reflected and intelligibly performing a switching operation between an initial setting picture and a user setting picture. SOLUTION: User setting picture generation data inputted from an operation display part interface 11 is stored in an operator picture information memory 25. Correspondence to various setting items stored in an initial picture information memory 24 is simultaneously stored in a data ROM 12 and the operator picture information memory 25 as well. Since a correspondence program is previously stored in a ROM 6, only corresponding data are inputted. Check and design can be performed by a PC by using a program capable of deciding display by presetting plural required items and changeable designs of touch keys for every item, selecting and combining the required item and the design among them. The display desired by the operator is performed since variation of display exists.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation display device for performing input and display in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, facsimile machines, printers, etc. have been advanced in function through network connection and multiple processing. Therefore, an operation display device having a touch-panel display screen is used for setting these functions. However, such a display method of the apparatus incorporates various functions on one screen, so that many operators find it difficult to view the screen. In particular, elderly people, people with visual impairments, etc., have difficulty reading fine characters. In addition, some operators want to make only basic functions larger than special processing to make them easier to see.
Thus, the demands of the operator for the operation display device are diversifying.

On the other hand, as an invention in which an operation display device or the like can have a plurality of screens, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 11-194669 and 11-2
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 03007. The "operation unit of the image forming apparatus" disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-194669 has a simplified display screen, and displays a screen display of a portion for performing an operation on a document in the display screen of the copier operation unit. One of the abbreviated display with a small number of display items and the expanded display with a large number of display items can be set as a basic screen (initial screen), and even if it has a high function, it is easy to operate and understand, and various requirements of the user It provides an operation unit that can answer the question.

[0004] Further, the "image forming apparatus, display screen changing method and recording medium" disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-203007 includes a black-and-white inversion of a screen in a black-and-white display, a background color in a color display, It is possible to change the color of characters and figures, and the digital color copier changes its display color on a display screen that displays the contents set based on the input operation of each key of the operation unit. In the display color changing process of the display screen by this program, the display color setting state includes a normal state in which information is displayed on the display screen in two display colors, white and black, and a normal state. By switching the display screen between black and white, where the white display area is black and the black display area is white, the white display area is black and the black display area is white Change in so that, is that provides a function and an image forming apparatus capable of changing the display color of the display screen for displaying the setting contents including the contents by a simple input operation.

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned publication merely allows a plurality of screens to be displayed, and sufficiently responds to the demands of operators for diversifying operation display units. Was not.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and is intended to easily input externally-generated data desired by an operator into a storage unit for storing screen-generated data and control the data. Thus, a user setting screen that reflects an operator's request can be generated for diversified operation display devices, and an operation display device capable of easily performing a switching operation between an initial setting screen and a user setting screen is provided. It is done for the purpose of.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operation display device for an image forming apparatus, comprising: an operation display unit interface for inputting data and a control program;
A data storage device for storing data, and a user setting screen different from an initial setting screen which is initially set is selected from the operation display unit interface according to any selectable item and / or design of the image forming apparatus. An image generation data control program including screen generation data to be displayed and item correspondence between the initial setting screen and the user setting screen; and the initial setting screen and the user setting screen sharing the state history of the image forming apparatus with each other. And a switching control program for switching between screens, wherein the data storage device stores the screen generation data, and can reflect an operator request for a diversified operation display device. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the operation display device of the image forming apparatus, the operation display device includes an operation display unit interface for inputting data and a control program, and a data storage device for storing data. From the interface, screen generation data that enables the items of the same content as the items of the initial setting screen that are initially set to be displayed with a desired design, and the initial setting screen and the initial setting screen that share the state history of the image forming apparatus with each other A switching control program for performing screen switching with a user setting screen is input, and the data storage device is characterized by storing the screen generation data, so that an operator request for a diversified operation display device can be reflected, In addition, by making the items on the initial setting screen the same as those on the Those were.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to recognize which of the initial setting screen and the user setting screen is being displayed, and to make changes including characters. It is characterized in that graphics such as illustrations or icons are displayed on all the screens, so that the switching operation between the initial setting screen and the operator request screen is easily understood.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the input of data or the like to the operation display interface is performed via a data storage medium such as a memory card. The feature is that an operator request for a diversified operation display device can be reflected by a simple method.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the input of data or the like to the operation display interface is performed through a communication line such as a telephone line or a LAN line. Thus, the demands of the diversified operation display devices can be reflected by a simple method.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment of an operation display device according to the present invention.
1A is an overall block diagram, and FIG. 1B is a detailed block diagram of an operation display unit 3 in FIG. 1A, wherein 1 is a document reading unit, 2 is a recording unit, 3 is an operation display unit, 4 is a main control unit (CP
U), 5 is a peripheral unit, 6 is a program ROM, 7 is R
AM, 8 an image storage device, 9 a transport / drive unit, 10 an optical writing unit, 11 an operation display interface, 12 a data ROM, 13 a system bus, 14 an automatic document separation / transport device, 15 Recording paper peripheral device, 16 a facsimile communication device, 20 an operation display panel, 21 a display unit, 22 an operation unit, 23 a sub CPU, 24 an initial screen information memory,
25 is an operator screen information memory. Although the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a digital copying machine, the image forming apparatus to which the operation display device according to the present invention is applied is not limited to the digital copying machine, and the main configuration is in the image forming apparatus. Because of the similarity, it can be applied to the entire image forming apparatus.

The main control unit (CPU) 4 is a microcomputer that performs overall control of the copying machine main body based on control programs and data. Program ROM (Read
A processing program executed by the main control unit 4 is stored in the only memory 6, and various data necessary for executing the processing program are stored in the data ROM 12, and voice messages and the like are also stored in this part. I can put it. A RAM (random access memory) 7 constitutes a work area of the main control unit 4. The document reading unit 1 extracts image information obtained by reading the document image at a predetermined resolution, and the recording unit 2 records the image at a predetermined resolution on the recording paper separated and conveyed by the conveyance / drive unit 9.
The operation display unit 3 includes various displays for displaying the operation state of the apparatus and operation keys for the operator to perform various operations.

Recent digital copiers are very multifunctional and highly functional, and can be set in various ways.
CRT or L
Some display devices such as a CD (liquid crystal panel) use an operation panel in which a transparent touch panel is combined. In such a panel, various setting information can be displayed step by step and instantaneously in an interactive manner, and multifunctional settings can be incorporated. The operation can be performed by adding additional keys without using the existing panel. However, by increasing the number of operation keys and expanding the operation unit, basic operations such as numeric keys, stop, and start keys can be performed. Other than keys, they are often incorporated into the panel display.

The peripheral unit 5 includes an automatic document separation / transport device 14 of ADF (automatic document feeder) or RDH (circulation type automatic document feeder), a sorter with a staple function for performing special processing after recording ( S / S) device, recording paper peripheral device 15 such as a large paper feed tray device (LCT), FAX
A FAX communication device 16 including a modem, a network control unit, and an encoding / decoding unit for enabling transmission / reception of the FAX is connectable.

In the facsimile transmission / reception, the encoding / decoding unit compresses the image information to be transmitted by encoding according to a known encoding method such as the MH method, and also receives the encoded and compressed image data. The information is decoded and the original image information is reproduced. The image storage device 8 is for storing a large number of image information in a coded and compressed state. The modem modulates / demodulates the image information encoded by the encoding / decoding unit and demodulates the received image information, and transmits various procedural signals for transmission control. In the network controller, a line (not shown), a modem and a telephone (not shown)
Line control such as switching of connection with the telephone circuit included in.

The system bus 13 is a signal line through which the above-mentioned units exchange various control signals and data with each other. The image storage device 8 may be used for special image processing in addition to the above-described use. The detailed description of the operation of each device is omitted in the present invention.
In the present invention, the operation display unit interface 11 for inputting the generation data and the control program of the operator (user) setting screen of the operation display unit 3 is added.

The operation display unit 3 is controlled by a sub CPU 23 such as a microcomputer chip dedicated to operation display.
Display unit 21 of a display device such as an RT or a liquid crystal panel
And an operation display panel 20 in which an operation unit 22 such as a transparent touch panel is combined. Then, the operation unit 22
An initial screen information memory 24 and an operator screen information memory 25 for storing various control information on the operation display panel 20 such as data input from the PC and information to be displayed on the display unit 21 are provided.

The initial screen information memory 24 stores operation screen information, help screen information of the apparatus, information for handling abnormalities, and the like from an initial stage. The reason for providing the sub CPU 23 is that if all control is left to the CPU 4 of the main body, other processing is also performed, and the display speed is reduced due to the restriction of the transmission speed. It is only necessary to read the command “display such a screen” and the input data from the operation display unit 3.

In the present invention, the operator (user) setting screen generation data input from the operation display interface 11 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is stored in the operator screen information memory 25. At the same time, the correspondence between the various setting items stored in the initial screen information memory 24 and the data R
OM 12 is stored in the operator screen information memory 25. Therefore, the storage location of the data input from the operation unit 22 can be made common, so that not only the data transfer from the operation display unit 3 but also the memory capacity can be reduced. The corresponding program is the program R
Since the data is stored in the OM 6, only the corresponding data needs to be input. The thing to keep in mind here is
If all the items contained in the initial setting screen are not set somewhere on the operator screen, there is a possibility that the apparatus runs away or does not operate normally due to insufficient setting.

If all of these operations are performed manually, the development period and cost will increase, and shortage of setting items may occur as described above. Therefore, according to the present invention, a plurality of necessary items and the design of the touch keys that can be changed are set in advance for each item, and the display can be determined by selecting and combining the selected items from the PC. Check and design. Due to the display variations, it is possible to perform almost the display desired by the operator. If only the design is changed with the same content items as the initial screen, it is simpler and the number of errors is reduced. Furthermore, although the display changes, the description in the instruction manual can be used as it is.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a screen display of the operation display device according to the present invention. FIG. 2A shows an example of an initial setting screen, and FIG. 2B shows an example of an operator setting screen. By the way, some operators find that the standard initial setting screen is easier to see than the operator setting screen. Therefore, a switching key is set on each screen. In this setting, as shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to know which display is currently being displayed and, at the same time, to switch the screen by simply switching the figure.

The example shown in FIG. 2B is the same content item as the initial setting screen (FIG. 2A), in which only the design display is changed. The operability has been improved to make it easier to understand. The paper size, paper remaining amount display and scaling function are displayed in large size, and are usually the most frequently used keys. The paper special function is set as the main heading only on the next screen when the key is pressed.

Further, in FIG. 2B, the symbol ▼ indicates that there are other settings in addition to the standard setting. By pressing the symbol ▼, all settings are displayed on the next screen. It has become. In the present invention, the only data actually input is screen layout information (key layout information) and information corresponding to initial screen keys. These data are input from the operation display unit interface 11 using a memory card, and from the operation display unit interface 11 via a communication line.
Can be assumed, and both can be input by a simple operation.

[0025]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the operation display unit of the image forming apparatus, a screen different from the initially set screen is displayed by an arbitrary item and design that the operator can select for the image forming apparatus. An interface and input for inputting a control program including screen generation data to be displayed and an item correspondence of generation data of an initial setting screen and a control program for switching between an initial setting screen and a user setting screen by sharing a device state history with each other and switching between an initial setting screen and a user setting screen Since a storage device for storing data is provided, a user setting screen can be set as desired.

(2) Effects of the Second Embodiment In the operation display section of the image forming apparatus, screen generation data and apparatus state history enabling the same content items as the initially set screen to be displayed in a design desired by the operator. Are shared with each other, and an interface for inputting a control program for switching between an initial setting screen and a user setting screen and a storage device for storing generated data are provided, so that a desired user setting screen can be set.

(3) Advantages of the invention according to claim 3 In the operation display device according to claim 1 or 2, the operator can recognize which of the initial setting screen and the user setting screen is displayed and can change it. Since graphics such as illustrations and icons including characters are displayed on all screens, screen switching suitable for the operator can be easily performed.

(4) An effect of the invention according to claim 4 In the operation display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, an interface for inputting data or the like for generating a user setting screen via a data storage medium such as a memory card. Is provided, the user setting screen can be easily set.

(5) Effect of the invention of claim 5 In the operation display device of any one of claims 1 to 3, input of data or the like for generating a user setting screen is performed through a communication line (telephone line, LAN line, etc.). Since the interface is provided, the user setting screen can be easily set.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment of an operation display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a screen display example of the operation display device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Original reading part, 2 ... Recording part, 3 ... Operation display part, 4 ... Main control part (CPU), 5 ... Peripheral device part, 6 ... Program R
OM, 7 RAM, 8 image storage device, 9 transport / drive unit, 10 optical writing unit, 11 operation display unit interface, 12 data ROM, 13 system bus, 14
Automatic document separation / conveyance device, 15: peripheral device for recording paper, 16
... FAX communication device, 20 operation display panel, 21 display unit, 22 operation unit, 23 sub CPU, 24 initial screen information memory, 25 operator screen information memory.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An operation display device for an image forming apparatus, comprising:
An operation display unit interface for inputting data and control programs, and a data storage device that stores data, from the operation display unit interface, a user setting screen different from the initial setting screen that is initially set An image generation data control program including screen generation data that can be displayed according to any selectable item and / or design of the image forming apparatus, and an item correspondence between the initial setting screen and the user setting screen; An operation display device, wherein a switching control program for switching between the initial setting screen and the user setting screen that share a state history with each other is input, and the data storage device stores the screen generation data. . 2. An operation display device for an image forming apparatus, comprising:
An operation display unit interface for inputting data and control programs, and a data storage device for storing data, from the operation display unit interface, items having the same contents as the items of the initial setting screen that are initially set Screen generation data for enabling display of a desired design, and a switching control program for switching between the initial setting screen and the user setting screen that share the state history of the image forming apparatus with each other. An operation display device, wherein the storage device stores the screen generation data. 3. The operation display device according to claim 1, wherein it is possible to recognize which of the initial setting screen and the user setting screen is displayed, and
An operation display device characterized by displaying a graphic such as a changeable illustration or icon including characters on all screens. 4. The operation display device according to claim 1, wherein input of data or the like to the operation display interface is performed via a data storage medium such as a memory card. Operation display device. 5. The operation display device according to claim 1, wherein input of data or the like to the operation display interface is performed through a communication line such as a telephone line or a LAN line. Operation display device.