JP2002254775A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device which can avoid an inconvenience when an operator changes over a display language selectively. SOLUTION: A storage means (ROM8) to storage plural display data by different languages, an operation panel 21 to display a name of one to be selected among the languages and also to display in a fixed language, and a language change-over means to change over the display language on the operation panel 21 are provided.

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 having a full dot or character display and capable of selectively designating one of a plurality of display languages.

[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, while the number of functions is increasing, the setting method of the image forming mode is becoming more complicated,
An operation panel using an operation panel using a display device such as an operator-guided operation panel, which not only displays mode setting means (keys and the like) but also displays a description of a setting method at the same time, has become mainstream. .

It is desirable that the description be displayed in the language of the country in which the device is used. Generally, the operation panel display corresponds to each language, and especially foreign companies and a plurality of ethnic groups are mixed. For a region, a language switching function is known in which a plurality of language data is mounted in advance, and the display language is switched by the operator selectively or by determining the language to be displayed by the device.

[0004] The setting information of the image forming apparatus includes:
There is setting information that requires character input. In order to input the setting information, a soft virtual keyboard is displayed on the display unit together with a setting information input unit (character input unit) which is an area where the setting information is input on the screen of the display unit. There is known a function of inputting setting information using a keyboard and displaying the input character string on an installation information input unit.

The following is known as a technique related to the above. The invention of JP-A-5-127475 is
The language to be displayed is determined from the set paper and the power supply voltage. The invention of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-164885 relates a paper selecting function and a language switching function in conjunction with each other. The invention of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-32669 is to download language data to be displayed from a host computer. The invention of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-231307 improves operability when switching the language to the default display language. JP 2000-23533
In the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3 (2004), the default display language is determined based on the frequency of use of the language. JP 2000-2353
The invention of Japanese Patent Publication No. 34 is for switching a display language for each of a plurality of applications.

[0006]

As described above, there is known a language switching function in which an operator selectively switches a display language. For example, a user switches from a screen currently displayed in French to Japanese. When the user tries to switch back to the original French after switching and making the desired copy, and the language choice is displayed in the French equivalent of the language choice, such as "francais", the user can change the French language. If you do not know, it is unclear which option to choose.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of avoiding inconvenience when an operator selectively switches display languages.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a storage means for storing a plurality of display data in different languages, and a name of a language option is displayed in the language. In addition, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus comprising: an operation panel for displaying in a certain language; and a language switching unit for switching a display language on the operation panel.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a storage means for storing a plurality of display data in different languages, a name of a language option is displayed in the language, and the language selected and displayed at that time is selected. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, comprising: an operation panel displayed by a user interface; and language switching means for switching a display language on the operation panel.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a storage means for storing a plurality of display data in different languages, an operation panel for displaying names of language options in all selectable languages, and a display on the operation panel The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a language switching unit for switching languages.

According to the first aspect, the convenience of the user can be improved by displaying the name of the language option on the language switching screen in a certain language such as English, in addition to displaying the name of the language option in that language.

Even in the case of claim 1, if the user does not know the language he wants to select (French in the above example) or a certain language (English in the above example), he or she still has to choose which option. Become unknown. Therefore, in the second aspect, the convenience is improved by displaying the name of the language option on the language switching screen in the language selected and displayed at that time, in addition to displaying the name of the language option in that language.

Even in the first and second aspects, there is a possibility that the language known by the user is not displayed as a language option and it is unclear which option to select. For example, a case where a user who knows only German switches from a Japanese display screen to French is applicable. In claim 3, the language switching screen displays the names of the language options in all selectable languages, thereby improving convenience.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Arrows indicated by bold lines are image data. A paper document set on a contact glass (not shown) is read by the CCD 1 and sent to the reading control unit 2. The read control unit 2 performs AD conversion and the like. Image data 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).

These are controlled by a CPU 10 which operates according to a program stored in a ROM 8. R
AM9 is a work memory for executing a program. The control units denoted by reference numerals 2, 3, 4, 6, 14, and 12 and the CPU 10 are connected by an address bus and a data bus. ROM
8 has a copy, printer, FA,
X also stores language data (character font, text, bitmap data for icons) for displaying the operation unit. The non-volatile RAM 16 is for storing setting contents and machine states that need to be remembered even when the power is cut off. The timer 17 is used for calculating an elapsed time or a fixed time. The LCD control unit 12 includes a CPU 1
0 transfers the bitmap developed in the VRAM 11 via the LCD control unit 12 to the LCD 13 for display.

FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of the operation panel.
The operation panel 21 has an LCD (liquid crystal display) 13 at its center.
Having. The CPU 10 reads the language switching key 23 and the print key 24 via the input port 14 in addition to the numeric keypad 22. In FIG. 1, each key is generally denoted by reference numeral 15.
The mode clear key 25 is used for canceling the set mode and also for a password code canceling function. The application is switched by operating the copy application key 26, the printer application key 27, the FAX application key 28, and the like, the bitmap developed in the VRAM 11 is drawn for each application, and the operation screen on the LCD 13 is switched. 29 is a cree / stop key, 30 is a sharp key, and 31 is an initial setting key.

A method of writing data to the VRAM 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a memory layout diagram. FIG. 4 is a data flow diagram (circles are processes; arrows are data flows; squares are terminators; parallel lines are stores; stores correspond to ROM 8 or RAM 9).
The block described as 1st language data in FIG. 3 is data for one language. Similarly, a block described as 2nd language data is data for one language. Although not shown, there are other similar language data up to Nth language data. The data is for the operation unit display and for the print image. The data for the operation unit display includes a character code part, a text part, and a bitmap part (binary). The character code section stores a value indicating a character code (character font) used when displaying the language. In this example, "0" is a Japanese character code [FIG. 5 (1)], "1" is a Western character code [FIG. 5 (2)], and "2" is a Central European character code [FIG.
(3)].

In both the text portion and the bitmap portion, a character string displayed on a key, a character string displayed on a message box,
Character strings indicating language options are arranged in order. This is located on the ROM 8. The arrangement order is a predetermined order and must be observed. The size is also a predetermined size. That is, "key 1" is for an automatic paper selection key,
If the language is Japanese, a character code of "automatic paper selection" is stored. Because it is text, if it ends within the allocated size, the end of the text can be expressed by using control characters such as line feed. The character code is unique within the system of this 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 (ROM 8 in this case) Efficiency can be increased.

For the bitmap, the head size of the vertical direction and the dot size of the horizontal direction are described in order at the head. Since it is a bitmap, empty data (for example, 0) may be described at an unnecessary position. By specifying the storage location for each of these display uses (keys and messages), it becomes possible to express everything by an offset address. For example, when writing a program in C language, it is described on the left side of FIG. If a structure is defined as a block, 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 ("key It only needs to be initialized to the address corresponding to "1").

The “display request” in the data flow shown in FIG. 4 is represented by an identifier representing a text or a bitmap, an offset address of display data, and a display position on the LCD 13. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing of the circle in FIG. 4. In step S1, the "display request" is analyzed.
In S2, it is checked whether or not it is text. Further, the real address of the data is calculated from the offset addresses of the “current display language” and the “display request”. In the case of text, the address passed in S3 is read to obtain a character code. If this is a carriage return (CR), the process ends. Otherwise, the bit map corresponding to the character code is read from the "character font" store in FIG. The “character font” store is a bitmap using a character code as a search key, and uses the one specified in the character code part of FIG.
The bitmap data obtained in S5 is stored in VRAM1 in S6.
Write to 1. The address of the VRAM 11 is “display request”
Corresponds to the position specified by. This write result is LC
This is reflected for each data transfer cycle of the D control unit 12 to the LCD 13. In S7, the address of one character is incremented, and S3
Return to Here, the font size is fixed.

On the other hand, if the bit map is determined in S2, the contents of the address passed in S8 are read to obtain a bit map size. In S9, the bitmap size is incremented by the storage address. Thereafter, the bitmap data corresponding to the size acquired in S8 (determined in S10) is read in S11, and the value is written in the VRAM 11 in S12. The address of the VRAM 11 corresponds to the position specified by "display request". 4 and 5 do not depend on the display language.

FIG. 7 is a data flow diagram showing the language switching operation including FIG. This is a configuration in which the display language switching function 7 is provided with reference to the current display language with respect to the monolingual specification. 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. The current display language is Nth directly or indirectly from the first language data in FIG.
It has an index that can refer to language data.

When the language switch key 23 in FIG. 2 is pressed, the display language switch function checks the current display language and switches the language. The language switching rule is embedded in the display language switching function, and there are a method of sequentially switching languages each time the language switching key is pressed, a method of displaying a menu and selecting a display language, and the like. LCD control unit 12 after updating to the language after switching
Display request is sent to The display requests here are a plurality of display requests for the currently displayed screen.

FIG. 8 is an example of a display language setting screen displayed when the language switching key 23 is pressed, and is used to set a language to be displayed on the operation panel. In this example, keys 41, 42, and 43 are keys for selecting "Japanese", "English", and "French". In the key, language messages corresponding to each language are displayed in that language. In the case of claim 2, the display is performed in the character font specified by the character code section in FIG. Note that the shaded “Japanese” indicates the currently selected language. When the end key 44 is pressed, the display language setting screen returns to the original screen.

<< Explanation of Claim 1 >> FIG. 9 shows another example of a display language setting screen displayed when the language switching key 23 is pressed, for setting a language to be displayed on the operation panel. belongs to. In this example, the keys 41 to 43 are keys for selecting "Japanese", "English", and "French". At the top of the key, language messages corresponding to each language are displayed in that language. In the lower part of the key, language messages corresponding to each language are displayed in a fixed language (English in this example). If the upper and lower languages have the same key, the lower display is omitted.

<< Explanation of Claim 2 >> FIG. 10 shows an example of a display language setting screen displayed when the language switching key 23 is pressed, for setting a language to be displayed on the operation panel. is there. In this example, the keys 41 to 43 are keys for selecting "Japanese", "English", and "French". At the top of the key, language messages corresponding to each language are displayed in that language. In the lower part of the key, language messages corresponding to each language are displayed in the currently displayed language (Japanese in this example). If the upper and lower languages have the same key, the lower display is omitted.

<< Explanation of Claim 3 >> FIG. 11 is an example of a display language setting screen displayed when the language switching key 23 is pressed, and is used to set a language to be displayed on the operation panel. is there. In this example, the keys 41 to 43 are keys for selecting "Japanese", "English", and "French". In the first row of the keys, language messages corresponding to each language are displayed in that language. In the second row of the keys, language messages corresponding to each language are displayed in Japanese. Similarly, language choices are displayed in all displayable languages, such as English on the third row and French on the fourth row.

[0028]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a user switches languages by displaying a language selection name in a certain language in addition to displaying the name of the language option on the language switching screen. Operability can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to displaying the names of the language options on the language switching screen in the language selected, the user can display the language selected and displayed at that time. Operability at the time of switching can be improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by displaying the names of language options in all selectable languages on the language switching screen, it is possible to improve operability when the user switches languages. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of an operation panel.

FIG. 3 is a memory layout diagram.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first example of a data flow diagram.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing character codes.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second example of a data flow diagram.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a first example of a display language setting screen.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a second example of a display language setting screen.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a third example of a display language setting screen.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a fourth example of a display language setting screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 8 ROM 21 Operation panel 23 Language switch key

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A storage means for storing a plurality of display data in different languages, an operation panel for displaying a name of a language option in the language, a display in a certain language, and a display on the operation panel. An image forming apparatus comprising: a language switching unit that switches languages. 2. A storage means for storing a plurality of display data in different languages, an operation panel for displaying a name of a language option in the language, and displaying the name in a language selected and displayed at that time. An image forming apparatus comprising: a language switching unit that switches a display language on an operation panel. 3. A storage means for storing a plurality of display data in different languages, an operation panel for displaying names of language options in all selectable languages, and a language switching means for switching a display language on the operation panel. An image forming apparatus comprising: