JP2005067147A - Operating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an easily-operable operating device for operating a devise such as a printer for performing a predetermined operation and can set and display a plurality of conditions at a time before the practice of the operation in the device to be operated. <P>SOLUTION: The operating device for operating a device for performing a predetermined operation after setting a plurality of condition items comprises a display means 3 that has a plurality of display regions 5, assigns each of the condition items to the respective display regions 5 and displays the conditions respectively set to the assigned condition items to the respective display regions 5, and a plurality of operating means 4 which are provided corresponding to the respective display regions 5, disposed in the vicinity of corresponding display regions 5, respectively, for setting each of the conditions with respect to the respective condition items assigned to the corresponding display regions 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an operating device for operating a device that executes a predetermined process such as a printing device, and more particularly, to an operating device that can set the condition and display the condition of the process before executing the process in the operation target device. .

  Devices such as household appliances are generally provided with operation devices such as operation buttons and a display panel for operating them. As such an operation device, for example, there is an operation panel of a printer disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. The operation panel includes a display having a plurality of display areas and a plurality of switches corresponding to the respective display areas. When the switch is operated, processing of contents displayed in the display area corresponding to the switches is executed. It is like that. Since the contents displayed in each display area can be changed, one switch can be used in various ways, and there is an advantage that the function of the device (printer) can be expanded.

On the other hand, in recent apparatuses, functions are becoming more sophisticated and diversified, and it is possible to execute various processes with changing various conditions. In order to deal with such a function, an operation device in a recent apparatus such as a printer can set a plurality of conditions for the process before executing the process, and further display the set conditions. Yes. For example, a display panel that displays a plurality of condition items to be set and conditions set in the items, and a selection in the display panel to operate a desired item from the items displayed on the display panel Operation buttons such as a movement button for moving the displayed position, scrolling the displayed content, and a determination button for determining the setting content are provided.
JP-A-4-175182

  However, the operation device described in Patent Document 1 causes the operation target device (printer) to execute a predetermined process by operating the switch, and sets a plurality of conditions before the process. The displayed condition cannot be displayed. Therefore, it can be said that the operation device is not suitable for a recent device capable of executing one process under various conditions.

  Further, in the conventional operation device capable of setting and displaying the conditions described above, there is no correspondence between the display area (display position) in the display panel and the operation buttons, and the display is performed by the set of operation buttons. The setting operation is performed for all conditions to be set displayed on the panel. Therefore, it is necessary for the operator to always pay attention to which item is currently selected on the display panel for operation, and it is more sensuous than when the function is fixed for each operation button. There was a face that operation was not possible and operation was not easy. In particular, it is inconvenient for a user who is unfamiliar with such an operation, and the possibility of an operation error is great.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is an operating device for operating a device that executes a predetermined process such as a printing device, and is capable of setting a plurality of conditions and displaying a condition before the processing is executed in the operation target device. And it is providing the operating device with easy operation.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, an operating device for operating a device that executes a predetermined process after setting a plurality of condition items has a plurality of display areas, Each condition item is assigned to each display area, and display means for displaying the conditions set for the assigned condition item in each display area; and each display area of the display means A plurality of operation means that are provided corresponding to the respective display areas, are arranged in the vicinity of the corresponding display areas, and set conditions for the condition items assigned to the corresponding display areas, respectively. is there. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a user interface that can cope with an operation of a process that requires a plurality of condition settings before execution, and that is easy and does not easily cause an operation error.

  Furthermore, in the above invention, a preferable aspect thereof is that when the condition item is set by the operation means, the condition of the condition item that has not been set is displayed in an assigned display area. It is characterized by.

  In the above invention, a preferable aspect is that the plurality of operation means includes a first operation means including a condition item capable of performing a setting operation on the corresponding display area, and the corresponding display area is set. There is a second operation means that does not include a condition item that can be operated, and the first operation means and the second operation means can be visually discriminated.

  Furthermore, in the above invention, a preferred aspect is characterized in that information is displayed in a display area corresponding to the second operation means.

  Furthermore, in the above invention, a preferable aspect is that when the condition is set for the condition item by the operation means, additional information related to the condition is displayed in a display area other than the display area to which the condition item is assigned. The display is performed for a predetermined time.

  In the invention described above, a preferred aspect is characterized in that the display means alternately displays two different display contents at a predetermined time interval.

  In the above-mentioned invention, a preferred aspect is characterized by further comprising means for instructing an apparatus that executes the predetermined process to execute the process.

  Further objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments of the invention described below.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, such an embodiment does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In the drawings, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals or reference symbols.

  FIG. 1 is an external view according to an embodiment of an operating device to which the present invention is applied. The operating device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an operating device according to the present embodiment. When the printing device 2 that is an operation target executes a predetermined process, an interface with high operability is provided to the operator. It is what.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the operating device 1 is arranged on the front surface of a printing device 2 that is an operation target, and includes a display unit 3 (display unit), four setting buttons 4 (operation unit) provided around the display unit 3 and others. The operation buttons, a control unit (not shown), and the like. The display unit 3 and the setting button 4 are characteristic portions of the operating device 1 and will be described in detail later. The display unit 3 is a portion that mainly displays each setting condition when causing the printing device 2 to execute processing. is there. Moreover, the setting button 4 is a part which an operator operates in order to set those conditions.

  As operation buttons other than the setting button 4, an execution button for instructing the printing apparatus 2 to execute a predetermined process is provided. In addition, the control unit of the operation device 1 controls display on the display unit 3 and gives instructions to the printing device 2 of the operation contents of each operation button such as the setting button 4.

  FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of the display unit 3 and the setting button 4 of the operation device 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the display unit 3 is divided into four display areas 5 </ b> A, 5 </ b> B, 5 </ b> C, and 5 </ b> D, and the display content can be changed for each display area 5. As described above, four setting buttons 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are arranged around the display unit 3, and each setting button 4 is associated with each display area 5 on a one-to-one basis. . Specifically, each display area 5 is associated with each setting button 4 arranged in the vicinity thereof, and the display content of the display area 5 is operated by the associated setting button 4. For example, the display area 5A is associated with the setting button 4A, and the display content of the display area 5A is changed by operating the setting button 4A.

  The display unit 3 displays various information related to the printing apparatus 2 such as an operation state of the printing apparatus 2 and an error message. The information is mainly set when the printing apparatus 2 executes a predetermined process. A plurality of conditions are displayed, and the setting button 4 is used for setting or changing the conditions.

  The printing apparatus 2 that is the operation target of the operation apparatus 1 has a plurality of functions such as a function of copying an original and a function of printing photo data stored in a removable memory. In the processing to be performed, items of conditions to be set before the processing (hereinafter referred to as condition items) are determined. When a process to be executed by the operation button or the like is selected, each condition item for that process is assigned to each display area 5 of the display unit 3. The condition items assigned to each display area 5 are set with the setting button 4 associated with the display area 5 as described above.

  For example, in the process of copying a document, four condition items of “paper type”, “printing speed”, “magnification”, and “paper size” are defined, and when that process is selected, Each of these condition items is assigned to the display areas 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D, respectively. When the condition item “paper type” is assigned to the display area 5A, the “paper type” is set by the setting button 4A, and the set condition is displayed in the display area 5A. For example, when “plain paper” is set, “FLOW” is displayed.

  Therefore, in the operation device 1, if the process to be executed is changed, the condition items assigned to the display areas 5 of the display unit 3 are also changed, that is, the condition items set by the setting buttons 4 are changed. In the example of the operation device 1, four display areas 5 and four setting buttons 4 corresponding thereto are provided, but the number of display areas 5 and setting buttons 4 may not be four.

  A specific operation method of the display unit 3 and the setting button 4 of the operation device 1 having the functions described above will be described below. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of display contents displayed on the display unit 3 when a predetermined process is selected. The state shown in FIG. 3 is an example when the copying process of the printing apparatus 2 is selected, and each display area 5 of the display unit 3 has a condition item for the copying process, that is, “paper type”. "," Print speed "," Magnification ", and Default conditions for" Paper size "are displayed.

  In this way, when a process to be executed is selected, default values for the conditions that need to be set in order to execute the process are displayed in each display area 5. The operator checks the displayed default condition and, if he / she wants to set a different condition, operates the setting button 4 corresponding to the display area 5 in which the condition to be changed is displayed to set a desired value (condition). ).

  In the example shown in FIG. 3, the “paper size” condition item is assigned to the display area 5D and “A4” is displayed as the default value. For example, when changing this condition, the setting button 4D is displayed. Make that change by pressing. Specifically, each time the setting button 4D is pressed, candidate conditions prepared in advance for the “paper size” condition item, for example, “A4”, “B4”, “B5”,. Since it is displayed on 5D, the operator presses the setting button 4D until a desired condition is displayed. Since it is determined that the value displayed in each display area 5 is a set condition, a desired condition is set by this operation.

  In this way, the operator performs the same operation on the condition items that need to be changed, and instructs the execution of the processing with the execution button when all the conditions displayed on the display unit 3 have reached the desired values. In response to this operation, the printing apparatus 2 executes processing according to the conditions set by the operator. For example, if the execution button is operated in the state shown in FIG. 3, copying at the same magnification as the original is made on A4 size plain paper at a high printing speed.

  The default value displayed on the display unit 3 when a process is selected may be predetermined for each process, or may be a condition set when the process is executed last time.

  As described above, in the operating device 1 according to the present embodiment, the display unit 3 and the setting button 4 can set conditions for the processing before causing the printing device 2 to be operated to execute the processing. Since the conditions set together with this can be displayed, it is possible to cope with processing operations that require a plurality of condition settings before execution. In addition, since the setting (change) of the conditions displayed in each display area 5 of the display unit 3 is performed with the setting button 4 arranged in the vicinity of the display area 5, a sensory operation is possible and easy and easy to operate. It is possible to provide a user interface in which mistakes are unlikely to occur.

  Further, in the operation device 1, during the condition changing operation, the display of the conditions set for the condition items other than the condition items related to the change is continued. Therefore, the condition setting operation can be performed efficiently without mistakes. In any process, all the conditions set for the process can be displayed on the display unit 3 at once, in other words, the condition items to be set for one process. By providing the display area 5 having the maximum number or more and the setting button 4 corresponding to the display area 5, it is possible to further improve the ease and certainty of the operation.

  Further, depending on the processing, there may be a case where the number of condition items is smaller than the number of display areas 5 and setting buttons 4 provided. In such a case, there are a setting button 4 to which a condition item is assigned and can be operated, and a setting button 4 to which a condition item capable of setting operation is not assigned and cannot be operated. In such a case, the setting button 4 that can be set (operated) is turned on and the setting button 4 that cannot be set (operated) is turned off so that the operator can easily grasp whether the operation is possible or not. May be. Thus, the operability can be further improved by making it possible to visually determine whether the operation is possible or not. Note that the above-described lighting / extinguishing is merely an example, and it is possible to take a method such as lighting with a different color depending on whether the operation is possible or not.

  As described above, when there are the setting buttons 4 that have few condition items and cannot be operated, the display area 5 corresponding to the setting buttons 4 may be used for providing information to the operator. Specifically, for example, conditions set by other than the setting buttons 4 or additional information on conditions set and displayed by the settable setting buttons 4 may be displayed. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example thereof. FIG. 4 shows an example of a case where the printing apparatus 2 executes a process of printing photo data stored in the removable memory. Since there are three condition items in this process, the setting button 4A that is lit is displayed. ... 4C can be operated, and the setting button 4D which has been turned off cannot be operated. In this example, information “2 vans”, which is the number of a photograph to be printed, is displayed in the display area 5D corresponding to the setting button 4D that cannot be operated. The information “2 vans” is set by the operator by means other than the setting buttons 4A to 4D. Thus, the user interface can be further improved by using the display area 5 corresponding to the setting button 4 that cannot be set for providing information to the operator.

  Further, when a condition is changed (set) for a certain condition item, the display area 5 other than the display area 5 for displaying the condition may be used for displaying additional information of the changed condition. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example thereof. In the state shown in FIG. 5A, the display area 5C corresponding to the setting button 4C displays “100%” as the “magnification” condition in the copying process. Here, when this condition is changed to “45%” by pressing the setting button 4C, the state shown in FIG. That is, as a matter of course, “45%” after the change is displayed in the display area 5C, but the display in the display area 5A is accordingly displayed in accordance with the currently set condition “Fujitsuushi” of the condition item assigned here. "" Changes to "A4 → postcard".

  The displayed “A4 → postcard” is additional information for explaining the set magnification “45%”, and the operator can confirm that the magnification set by himself / herself is correct by viewing this information. . Thereafter, after a predetermined time (for example, 2 seconds) has elapsed, the state shown in FIG. That is, the display in the display area 5A returns to “FLOW”, and a normal display state is obtained.

  In this way, by using the display area 5 for displaying items other than the condition item for which the setting operation is currently being performed for displaying additional information, the condition setting operation can be made more reliable and easy.

  Moreover, you may make it switch the whole display of the display part 3 for every predetermined time. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example thereof. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the condition set by each setting button 4 is displayed in each display area 5 (FIG. 6A), and the condition set by another operation button that is not the setting button 4 is displayed. The state ((b) of FIG. 6) is switched every predetermined time. Specifically, for example, after the state of FIG. 6A is displayed for 6 seconds, the state of FIG. 6B is displayed for 2 seconds repeatedly. 6A is a top screen that is displayed first when copy processing is selected, and FIG. 6B is a detailed copy copy condition “copy layout”. Is a screen for displaying the condition “Finashi” set for “”.

  In this way, by switching the entire display of the display unit 3 every predetermined time, information that cannot be displayed on one screen can be provided to the operator, and the user interface can be further improved. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the normal screen indicating the condition set by the setting button 4 and the screen indicating the detailed condition are switched. However, the normal screen and the process selected at that time, for example, You may make it switch to the screen which displays other information, such as the screen which displays "copy".

  As described above, in the controller device 1 according to the present embodiment, the display unit 3 has a plurality of display areas 5, and setting conditions displayed in the display areas 5 are set in the vicinity of the display areas 5. The setting buttons 4 are used for setting. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a user interface that can cope with an operation of a process that requires a plurality of condition settings before execution and that is easy to make an operation error.

  In the present embodiment, the printing apparatus is an operation apparatus that is an operation target. However, the present invention can be applied even if the operation object is an apparatus other than the printing apparatus.

  The protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but covers the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

It is an external view which concerns on the embodiment of the operating device to which this invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a layout diagram of a display unit 3 and a setting button 4 of the operating device 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of display content displayed on the display unit 3. It is a figure which shows the example using the display area 5 of the setting button 4 of an operation impossible. It is a figure which shows the example using display areas 5 other than the changed display area. It is a figure which shows the example which switched the whole display of the display part 3. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation apparatus, 2 Printing apparatus, 3 Display part (display means) 4, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D Setting button (operation means) 5, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D Display area

Claims (7)

An operating device for operating a device that executes predetermined processing after setting a plurality of condition items,
A display unit having a plurality of display areas, wherein each condition item is assigned to each of the display areas, and the display unit displays a condition set for the assigned condition item in each display area;
A plurality of conditions are provided corresponding to each display area of the display means, and are set in the vicinity of each corresponding display area, and each sets a condition for each condition item assigned to each corresponding display area And an operating device. In claim 1,
When the condition item is set by the operation unit, the condition item that has not been set is displayed in an assigned display area. In claim 1 or 2,
The plurality of operation means includes a first operation means including a condition item capable of performing a setting operation on the corresponding display area, and a condition item capable of performing a setting operation on the corresponding display area. There is not a second operating means,
An operating device characterized in that the first operating means and the second operating means can be visually discriminated. In claim 3,
An operating device for displaying information in a display area corresponding to the second operating means. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4,
When a condition is set for the condition item by the operation means, additional information relating to the condition is displayed for a predetermined time in a display area other than the display area to which the condition item is assigned. . In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
The operating device, wherein the display means alternately displays two different display contents at a predetermined time interval. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 6, Furthermore,
An operating device comprising: a device that executes the predetermined process; and a unit that instructs execution of the process.

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