JP2006293585A - Electronic device, and display method and control program of electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device that enables a user to easily put the language of a message displayed on a display panel back to a language that the user can read even if changing the language to a language that the user can not read, and a display method and a control program of the electronic device. <P>SOLUTION: Even when a language setting of a menu is a language that the user can not read, messages of the set language and messages of a default set language are displayed side by side for "Setup Menu" in a printer setting picture 42 and "Lang=" in a language change picture 43. The user reads the menu "Setup Menu" in the printer setting picture 42 and the menu "Lang=" in the language change picture 43 in the default set language to easily change language settings of menus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device that includes a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel and can switch a language of a message displayed on the display panel, a display method of the electronic device, and a control program.

  In recent electronic devices, a display panel for displaying various information such as the state of the electronic device or an operation instruction / operation method to a user is provided in the electronic device body. Electronic devices such as liquid crystal panels that can perform dot-matrix display are often used for display panels, and by displaying messages using graphics that visually inform many characters or information, the user can An easy operating environment is provided. Also, in order to support users in each country, the language of the characters included in messages displayed on the display panel (hereinafter referred to as display language) can be selected from multiple languages, and the display language setting can be changed to another language. May be switchable. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique that can switch the display language setting by operating a changeover switch.

  Here, in order to enable the user to switch the setting of the display language, an operation method, an operation procedure, and the like for switching with a switch or the like are displayed on the display panel. However, if the user accidentally switches to a language that cannot read the display language setting, the contents of the message cannot be read. In addition, even when another user switches the display language setting to another language, a situation in which the user cannot read the message content occurs. In this way, once the user has switched to a language that cannot be read, all messages cannot be read, so it is difficult to perform a language switching operation even when switching to a language that can be read. is there. Therefore, in order to easily switch to a readable language, Patent Document 2 describes a technique for displaying the names of language choices together with a switched language and a certain language. .

JP-A-63-198121 JP 2002-254775 A (see FIG. 9 on page 9)

  However, even if the names of language options are displayed in a plurality of languages in Patent Document 2, it is difficult to perform an appropriate operation because it is not known what the option is for. For example, since the message displayed in the title bar of FIG. 9 of Patent Document 2 is displayed in Japanese, for the user who cannot read Japanese, what language should be selected on the screen of FIG. I don't know what to choose.

  As described above, in the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, once the setting of the display language is switched to a language that the user cannot read, there is a problem that an operation of switching the language setting becomes difficult. .

  Therefore, the present invention provides an electronic device that can easily perform a language switching operation even when the language of a message displayed on the display panel is switched to a language that the user cannot read. An object is to provide a method and a control program.

  In order to solve the above problems, an electronic device according to the present invention displays a message based on a display unit that displays a message having characters, an operation unit that accepts a language switching operation for switching the language of the message, and a language switching operation. A language for switching messages to be displayed on the display unit, and for messages related to language switching operations, a control unit that performs control to display a message in a predetermined language on the display unit in addition to the message in the switched language. Features.

  According to this configuration, when the operation unit receives a language switching operation for switching the language of the message, the language of the message displayed on the display unit is switched based on the language switching operation. Further, regarding the message related to the language switching operation, a message in a predetermined language is displayed in addition to the message in the switched language. Even if the user switches the language by operating the operation unit, the operation related to the language switching operation can always be performed by reading a message related to the language switching operation in a predetermined language. Therefore, even when the language is switched to a language that cannot be read by the user by the language switching operation, the language switching operation can be easily performed.

  Here, when menu options for operating the electronic device are displayed on the display unit, the message regarding the language switching operation changes the setting of the electronic device including the language setting among the menu options. Preferably, the message represents a menu for

  In this way, when menu options for operating the electronic device are displayed on the display unit, a menu for changing the settings of the electronic device including the language setting is selected from the menu options. The message to be displayed is displayed in a predetermined language. Therefore, even when the language is switched to a language that cannot be read by the user by the language switching operation, it is easy to read the message displayed in the predetermined language and change the setting of the electronic device including the language setting. To be able to do that.

  Here, when the menu option for changing the setting of the electronic device is displayed on the display unit, the message regarding the language switching operation is the language setting among the menu options for changing the setting of the electronic device. It is preferable that the message represents a menu for changing.

  In this case, when the menu option for changing the setting of the electronic device is displayed on the display unit, the language setting of the menu option for changing the setting of the electronic device is changed. A message representing the menu is displayed in a predetermined language. Therefore, even when the language is switched to a language that cannot be read by the user by the language switching operation, it is possible to easily read the message displayed in a predetermined language and change the language setting. become.

  Here, when a language option is displayed as a message having characters on the display unit, the message regarding the language switching operation is preferably a message for prompting selection from the language option.

  In this way, when a language option is displayed as a message having characters on the display unit, a message for prompting selection from the language option is displayed in a predetermined language. Therefore, even when the language is switched to a language that the user cannot read by the language switching operation, the user can change the language from the option according to the message for prompting selection from the language option displayed in the predetermined language. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform an operation of switching languages.

  The present invention may also be a method invention. That is, the display method of the electronic device of the present invention is based on a display step of displaying a message having characters on the display unit, an operation step of accepting a language switching operation for switching the language of the message, and a language switching operation. And switching the language of the message displayed on the display unit, and regarding the message related to the language switching operation, in addition to the message in the switched language, a control step of performing control to display the message in the predetermined language on the display unit, Features.

  Furthermore, the present invention may be a control program. An electronic device control program according to the present invention includes a display step of displaying a message having characters on a display unit on a computer, an operation step of receiving a language switching operation for switching the language of the message, and a plurality of language switching operations. The data is read from the storage unit that stores the data representing the message in the language, and the language of the message displayed on the display unit is switched. Regarding the message related to the language switching operation, in addition to the message in the switched language, a predetermined language is used. A control step of performing control for reading out message data in a language from a storage unit and displaying a message in a predetermined language on a display unit is performed.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printer according to the present invention. The printer 1 is a laser printer that performs printing in units of pages, and includes a controller (control unit) 4, a print engine 5, and an operation panel 6 as shown in FIG. 1. The controller 4 includes an input interface (hereinafter referred to as input I / F) 10, a CPU 11, a RAM 12, an EEPROM (storage unit) 13, an engine interface (hereinafter referred to as engine I / F) 14, and an operation interface (hereinafter referred to as operation I / F). 15). The printer 1 is connected to the host computer 2, receives a print request and image data transmitted from the printer driver 3 provided in the host computer 2, and prints on a sheet as a print medium.

  The input I / F 10 is a part that receives a print request and image data transmitted from the host computer 2. The RAM 12 is a volatile memory mainly used as a memory for storing received image data and the like and a working memory used when the CPU 11 performs various processes. The EEPROM 13 is a non-volatile memory that can be electrically written and read, and stores information such as various programs for controlling the printer 1 and various tables described later.

  The printer 1 is connected to the host computer 2, receives a print request and image data transmitted from the printer driver 3 provided in the host computer 2, and prints on a sheet as a print medium.

  The CPU 11 is a part that controls various processes performed in the printer 1. In particular, a process for storing received image data in the RAM 12, a color conversion / correction process, a screen process, and a print process suitable for the print engine 5. And a process for controlling the operation panel 6 forming the user interface via the operation I / F 15. The processing executed by the CPU 11 is mainly performed according to a program (control program) stored in the EEPROM 13.

  When the input I / F 10 receives a print request and image data from the host computer 2, the printer 1 starts a printing process, and temporarily stores the image data received by the input I / F 10 in the RAM 12. The image data stored in the RAM 12 is converted into an image signal in a format that can be processed by the print engine 5 by performing color conversion / correction processing and screen processing by the CPU 11, and then the print engine 5 via the engine I / F 14. To be handed over. The print engine 5 prints an image on a sheet as a print medium based on the received image signal.

  The operation panel 6 is a part that constitutes an interface for the user to operate the printer 1 and includes a liquid crystal display, various lamps, various operation buttons, and the like. The operation panel 6 can display a message to the user by receiving a display command and display image data transmitted from the CPU 11 of the controller 4 via the operation I / F 15. When the operation panel 6 receives an operation from the user, the operation panel 6 transmits an operation signal to the controller 4 via the operation I / F 15, thereby performing various setting actions such as setting of printing conditions in the printer 1 and instructions for executing printing. Operations are performed.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the operation panel 6. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation panel 6 includes a display panel (display unit) 20 which is a liquid crystal display, and an up switch 21 for performing an operation of selecting a menu to be executed from a plurality of menus displayed on the display panel 20. And a down switch 22, an execution switch 23 for executing processing in accordance with the selected menu, and a back switch 24 for moving the selected operation backward by one. Furthermore, the operation panel 6 also includes various lamps 25 to 27 that notify an error, a print enable switch 28 that instructs execution of print processing, and a cancel switch 29 for canceling the job. Various settings of the printer 1 can be operated by operating the various buttons described above according to the screen displayed on the display panel 20. The up switch 21, the down switch 22, the execution switch 23, and the back switch 24 that are operated to select and execute the menu are referred to as operation switches (operation units) 30.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining various screens displayed on the display panel 20 in order to set the printer 1, and particularly shows various screens displayed when the display language is switched. . As shown in FIG. 3, the display panel 20 displays a standby screen 40, a menu selection screen 41, a printer setting screen 42, and a language selection screen 43. The standby screen 40 is in an operation waiting state when no operation is performed, and the menu selection screen 41 is a screen for selecting a desired operation menu from a plurality of menus for operating the printer 1. is there. The printer setting screen 42 is a screen for selecting contents for changing printer settings, and the language selection screen 43 is a screen for selecting a language to be switched when language selection is selected on the printer setting screen 42. .

  In the various screens described above, the up switch 21 and the down switch 22 are operated and the execution switch 23 is pressed to switch to the next screen, and the back switch 24 is pressed to switch to the previous screen. When the cancel switch 29 is pressed, the operation on each screen is canceled and the screen is switched to the standby screen 40. Then, the display language setting is switched by selecting a desired language and pressing the execution switch 23 on the language selection screen 43. As described above, the printer 1 according to the present embodiment operates the operation switch 30 (language switching operation) while proceeding through the standby screen 40, the menu selection screen 41, the printer setting screen 42, and the language selection screen 43 in order. By performing the above, the setting of the display language can be switched.

  Various screens displayed on the display panel 20 will be further described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing various screens displayed on the display panel 20 when the display language is set to Japanese. First, when the operation panel 6 is not operated, the printer 1 displays a standby screen 40 shown in FIG. The standby screen 40 displays the remaining amount of each color toner remaining in the print engine 5.

  When the execution switch 23 is pressed on the standby screen 40, the printer 1 displays a menu selection screen 41 shown in FIG. 4B on the display panel 20. As shown in FIG. 4B, the menu selection screen 41 has menus such as “printer information”, “paper feeder setting”, “printer mode setting”, “print format setting”, and “printer setting” as options. They are displayed vertically. The user can select a desired menu by operating the up switch 21 and the down switch 22 to change the selected menu up and down. At this time, as shown in the “printer setting” menu in FIG. 4B, the selected menu is selected by displaying the selected menu character and the rectangular area around the character in black and white reversed. The display emphasizes that it is.

  In the example of FIG. 4B, five menus are displayed, but it is possible to select from a larger number of menus. By further operating the down switch 22 from the state where the menu displayed at the bottom is selected, other menus are newly displayed and the menu displayed at the top is not displayed. The menu scrolls down. Similarly, when the menu displayed at the top is selected and the up switch 21 is further operated, a new menu is additionally displayed and the menu displayed at the bottom is not displayed. The menu scrolls up.

  When the execution switch 23 is pressed in the menu selection screen 41 with the “printer setting” menu selected, the printer 1 displays the printer setting screen 42 shown in FIG. 4C on the display panel 20. As shown in FIG. 4C, in the printer setting screen 42, “display language” indicating the display language of the message displayed on the display panel 20, “timeout” defining the operation waiting time until returning to the standby screen 40, A menu of “paper feed port setting” for setting the paper feed port of the paper to be fed and “MP tray priority” for setting the priority of the paper feed port are displayed. The “display language” menu shows the name of the currently displayed display language, as “display language = Japanese” is displayed in FIG. The “display language” menu is a menu for displaying the name of the display language and for switching to the language selection screen 43. By operating the up switch 21 and the down switch 22, the “display language” menu is selected. By pressing the execution switch 23 after that, the language selection screen 43 is displayed.

  FIG. 4D shows a language selection screen 43. On the language selection screen 43, as shown in FIG. 4D, “printer setting” and “display language =” are displayed in order from the top, and a plurality of language names as options are displayed. In the example of FIG. 4D, three languages are displayed, but the language to be selected can be selected from a large number of languages. Similar to the menu selection screen 41, the language that is not displayed is scroll-displayed by operating the up switch 21 and the down switch 22. The display language can be switched by operating the up switch 21 and the down switch 22 to select a desired language and then pressing the execution switch 23. At this time, language setting information indicating the switched language is stored in the EEPROM 13. Thereafter, display in the language switched according to the language setting information stored in the EEPROM 13 is performed.

  The menu structure displayed on each screen has been described above. The types of menus constituting the screens 40 to 43 described above are stored in the EEPROM 13 as structure data indicating the types of menus to be displayed for each screen. For example, the structure data of the printer setting screen 42 includes data indicating that a menu such as “printer setting”, “display language”, “timeout”, “paper feed port setting”, “MP tray priority” should be displayed. It is. Each screen is displayed based on the structure data.

  The messages displayed on each screen are stored in the EEPROM 13 as a table indicating messages corresponding to the language of each menu. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a message table showing messages for each country. As shown in FIG. 5, the message table MT shows messages translated into a plurality of languages corresponding to menus displayed on each screen. For example, messages corresponding to the “printer setting” menu displayed on the printer setting screen 42 are stored as “Setup Menu” in English, “INDSTILLINGER” in Danish, “printer setting” in Japanese, and the like. By reading data from the message table MT of the EEPROM 13, message data for each language can be obtained.

  Further, as described above, a plurality of language names as options are listed on the language selection screen 43 in FIG. The data displayed at this time is stored in another table (hereinafter referred to as a language table) on the EEPROM 13, and the message table MT stores only the address information where the corresponding data is located. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a language table that stores language names as options. In the language table GT, the languages “English”, “Dansk”, “Japanese”, and the like as selection candidates on the language selection screen 43 are stored in order from a predetermined address. For example, when the language selection screen 43 in FIG. 4D is displayed, data of “printer setting” and “display language =% X” is read from the message table MT. Here, “% X” indicates that the data to be displayed is in the area of the address X of the language table GT. The message data in each language is read from the language table GT in order from the address indicated by “% X”, and the language data as an option on the language selection screen 43 is acquired. In addition, messages indicating each language are displayed in the language itself, such as “English” for English and “Japanese” for Japanese.

  The messages for each menu shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are stored in the EEPROM 13 as character code data for each country language. However, it may be stored as bitmap data corresponding to the resolution of the display panel 20.

  The EEPROM 13 also stores default language setting information indicating a certain language regardless of the display language set on the language selection screen 43. The default language setting information is information used to display a predetermined message in the default language, separately from the language setting on the language selection screen 43. In this embodiment, the default language is English.

  In the language selection screen 43, when the language switch operation is performed by operating the operation switch 30 and pressing the execution switch 23 in a state where a desired language is selected, the message data corresponding to the selected language is displayed in the message table MT and the language. The display language of the menu can be switched by reading from the table GT.

  Here, when the display language is changed by mistake or when the user who has been using it has changed the display language, all the messages displayed on the display panel 20 are changed according to the changed display language. If displayed, the user may not be able to read the displayed message. Furthermore, even if the setting is switched to a language that can be read, the message cannot be read, and the operation becomes difficult.

  Therefore, in the printer 1 of the present invention, even when the display language setting is switched, the message for performing the language switching operation displays a message in the default language in addition to the message in the switched language. By doing so, the display language can be easily switched. Hereinafter, a process executed when the printer 1 switches the language setting after displaying the printer setting screen 42 will be described in detail.

  When the execution switch 23 is pressed in a state where the menu of the “printer setting” is selected after the menu selection screen 41 is displayed, the controller 4 displays a display command and an image to be displayed via the operation I / F 15. Processing for transmitting the image data and displaying the printer setting screen 42 on the display panel 20 is performed. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing for displaying the printer setting screen 42. Hereinafter, it demonstrates according to a flowchart.

  When the process of displaying the printer setting screen 42 is started, first, in step S1, the controller 4 acquires the currently set display language and default setting language. Actually, the CPU 11 reads the language setting information and default language setting information stored in the EEPROM 13.

  Next, in step S <b> 2, the controller 4 specifies the type of menu to be displayed from the structure data on the printer setting screen 42. Here, the CPU 11 reads the structure data of the printer setting screen 42 stored in the EEPROM 13, so that “printer setting”, “display language”, “timeout”, “feed port setting” are displayed on the printer setting screen 42. Specify what menu should be displayed.

  Next, in step S3, the printer setting screen 42 is displayed. Here, the CPU 11 of the controller 4 determines the address where the message of the corresponding language is stored in the message table MT from the language setting information acquired in step S1, and accesses the address calculated by the EEPROM 13 to access the printer. Message data corresponding to the menu of the setting screen 42 is acquired. The acquired data is expanded into display image data corresponding to the display panel 20 and transmitted to the operation panel 6, thereby displaying the printer setting screen 42 on the display panel 20.

  Next, in step S4, the controller 4 accepts a language switching operation. Here, according to the displayed printer setting screen 42, the user operates the up switch 21 and the down switch 22 to select the “display language =” menu and presses the execution switch 23, so that the language A selection screen 43 is displayed. When a language switching operation for selecting and executing a desired language is performed on the language selection screen 43 in order for the user to switch the display language, the operation panel 6 transmits an operation signal indicating the operation content, and the CPU 11 receives the operation signal. The language setting information of the language switched based on the operation signal is stored in the EEPROM 13, and the process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S5, the controller 4 acquires the set display language and the default language. Here, the CPU 11 reads the language setting information and default language setting information stored in the EEPROM 13 to recognize the language set by switching and the default setting language.

  Next, in step S6, the controller 4 acquires data of default setting language corresponding to the menus of “printer setting” and “display language”. Here, the CPU 11 calculates the address of the EEPROM 13 in which the message data of the language of the default setting corresponding to the menus of “printer setting” and “display language” is stored from the default language setting information acquired in step S6. To do. By accessing the calculated address, data corresponding to the menu of “printer setting” and “display language” is acquired.

  Next, in step S <b> 7, the controller 4 acquires message data corresponding to the set display language for menus other than “printer setting” and “display language”. Here, the CPU 11 determines the address where the message in the corresponding language is stored in the message table MT from the language setting information acquired in step S1, and accesses the EEPROM 13 to make “printer setting” and “display language”. Get the data corresponding to the menu other than. For example, the data of “TIMEOUT =% Y” and “PAPIKI KILDE =% Z” expressed in Danish (Dansk) is read out from the menu of “timeout” and “paper feed setting” of the structure data, get.

  Next, in step S8, the controller 4 reads data from the language table GT based on the address of the data read in step S8. For example, based on “Lang =% X”, the data stored after the address “X” of the language table GT is sequentially read, and the data of the language as an option is read and acquired. Similarly, for the “timeout” and “paper feed port setting” menus, the addresses indicated by “% Y” and “% Z” are accessed to read out the message data to be displayed.

  Next, in step S <b> 9, the controller 4 displays a printer setting screen 42 on the display panel 20. Here, the CPU 11 expands the data of the printer setting screen 42 obtained by assigning the message acquired in steps S6 to 8 to each menu indicated by the structure data into display image data corresponding to the display panel 20. At this time, for the “printer setting” and “display language” menus, the data corresponding to the set language and the default language are read in steps S6 and S7. In addition to the message in the default language, the display image data of the printer setting screen 42 in which the message in the default language is also written is generated. The CPU 11 displays the printer setting screen 42 on the display panel 20 by transmitting the developed display image data to the display panel 20 via the operation I / F 15.

  When the printer setting screen 42 is displayed, the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. By operating the operation panel 6 according to the printer setting screen 42, the user can perform an operation for switching to a desired language while switching various screens as shown in FIG.

  In the above description, the processing when the printer setting screen 42 is displayed has been described as an example. However, when the menu selection screen 41 and the language selection screen 43 are displayed, the same processing is performed to perform “printer setting”. In addition, the message in the default language is displayed in addition to the message of the set language in addition to the message of “display language”. That is, when the menu selection screen 41 or the language selection screen 43 is displayed, the same processing as in steps S5 to S9 is performed. In particular, in step S6, a menu to be displayed is specified from the structure data corresponding to the screen to be displayed, and message data corresponding to the default language of the message table MT is displayed in the “printer setting” and “display language” menus. To get. In step S9, in addition to the message in the set language, the display image data of the menu selection screen 41 or the language selection screen 43 in which the message in the default setting language is written is transmitted to the display panel 20, A menu selection screen 41 or a language selection screen 43 is displayed.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing various screens displayed in the present embodiment. 8A to 8D respectively show a standby screen 40, a menu selection screen 41, a printer setting screen 42, and a language selection screen 43 when the display language is switched to Danish. As shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, the menu indicating “printer setting” that needs to be selected in order to switch the display language of the printer 1 includes a default “INDSTILLINGER” message in Danish. The message “Setup Menu” is also displayed in English, which is the setting language. In addition, in addition to Danish, messages in English are also written as messages for the menus “printer setting” and “display language” on the language selection screen 43. If the user cannot read Danish but can read English, the menu of the menu selection screen 41 “Setup Menu” and the printer setting screen 42 “Lang” can be selected in order. A selection screen 43 can be displayed. On the language selection screen 43, since the messages “Setup Menu” and “Lang” are written in English, the user can know that the language setting operation should be performed on the screen.

  According to the present embodiment, regardless of the language setting displayed on the display panel 20, a message in the default language is displayed for the “printer setting” and “display language” menus related to the language switching operation. Therefore, even if the language is set so that the user cannot read, if the default language can be read, the printer setting screen 42 and the language selection screen 43 are traced in order and displayed on the language selection screen 43. Language settings can be changed. As described above, since the language switching operation can be performed by the message of the default language, the display language can be easily switched regardless of the set language.

  Of the menu options for operating the electronic device according to claim 2, a message indicating a menu for changing the setting of the electronic device including the language setting is “Printer setting” on the menu selection screen 41. Corresponds to the message "". The message representing the menu for changing the language setting among the menu options for changing the setting of the electronic device according to claim 3 is a message of “printer setting” and “display language” on the printer setting screen 42. It corresponds to. The message for prompting selection from the language options described in claim 4 corresponds to a message “printer setting” and “display language =” on the language selection screen 43.

  7 corresponds to the display process, step S4 corresponds to the operation process, and steps S5 to S9 correspond to the control process.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Hereinafter, a modification will be described.

  (Modification 1) In the above embodiment, an example of the message “printer setting” and “language selection” as the message related to the language switching operation has been described. However, if the message relates to the language switching operation, the message in the above embodiment is used. It is not limited to. For example, in order to display the language selection screen 43, when it is necessary to perform an operation on a screen different from the above-described embodiment, a message required for an operation for switching the language setting may be displayed in the default language.

  (Modification 2) In the above embodiment, the default language is English, but of course, the default language is not limited to this. Also, the default language may be switched. For example, if a default language can be set by performing a predetermined operation from the operation panel 6, the default language can be set according to the user who uses the printer 1.

  (Modification 3) In the above embodiment, the predetermined message is always displayed together with the message in the default language in addition to the message in the display language, but the predetermined switch provided on the operation panel 6 is displayed. Only when the button is pressed, a message in the default language may be displayed together. Further, only when the “printer setting” and “display language” menus are selected by operating the operation switch 30, a message in the default setting language may be written together with the selected message.

  (Modification 4) In the above embodiment, the message in the default language is written on the right side of the message in the display language. The position for displaying the message in the default language is not limited to this. For example, the message in the display language may be displayed on the lower side.

  (Modification 5) In the above embodiment, all messages in the default language are written on the right side of the message in the display language. If the number of characters to be displayed on the operation panel 6 is limited, and if a message in the default language is written together, the limit on the number of characters may be exceeded, and only a part of the message in the default language may be displayed. For example, on the menu selection screen 41, the “printer setting” menu is displayed as “INDSTILLINGER (Setup...)” To limit the number of characters.

  (Modification 6) In the above embodiment, the image is displayed on the display panel 20 provided in the printer 1, but may be displayed on a display (not shown) provided in the host computer 2.

  (Modification 7) In the above embodiment, the user operates the operation switch 30 while viewing the message displayed on the display panel 20. However, the display panel 20 functions as the operation switch 30. It may be a touch panel having both.

  (Modification 8) In the above-described embodiment, an example of a printer as an electronic device has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to various electronic devices capable of performing display in a plurality of languages and switching display languages. it can. For example, the present invention can be applied to various electronic devices such as a copying machine, a digital video camera, a digital still camera, and a mobile phone.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer according to the invention. The figure which showed the structure of the operation panel. The figure for demonstrating switching of the various screens displayed on a display panel. The figure which shows various screens when the display language is set to Japanese. (A) is a standby screen, (b) is a menu selection screen, (c) is a printer setting screen, and (d) is a language selection screen. The figure which showed the message table. The figure which showed the language table. 6 is a flowchart showing processing for displaying a printer setting screen. The figure which showed the various screens in this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer as electronic equipment, 2 ... Host computer, 3 ... Printer driver, 4 ... Controller as control part, 5 ... Print engine, 6 ... Operation panel, 10 ... Input I / F, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... RAM , 13 ... EEPROM as storage unit, 14 ... Engine I / F, 15 ... Operation I / F, 20 ... Display panel as display unit, 21 ... Up switch, 22 ... Down switch, 23 ... Execution switch, 24 ... Back Switch, 25-27 ... Lamp, 28 ... Printable switch, 29 ... Cancel switch, 30 ... Operation switch as operation unit, 40 ... Standby screen, 41 ... Menu selection screen, 42 ... Printer setting screen, 43 ... Language selection screen , MT ... message table, GT ... language table.

Claims (6)

A display for displaying a message having characters;
An operation unit for accepting a language switching operation for switching the language of the message;
Based on the language switching operation, the language of the message to be displayed on the display unit is switched, and a message related to the language switching operation is displayed on the display unit in addition to the message in the switched language. An electronic device comprising: a control unit that performs control. The electronic device according to claim 1,
When menu options for operating the electronic device are displayed on the display unit,
The message relating to the language switching operation is a message representing a menu for changing the setting of the electronic device including language setting among the menu options. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2,
When a menu option for changing the setting of the electronic device is displayed on the display unit,
The message relating to the language switching operation is a message representing a menu for changing a language setting among menu options for changing the setting of the electronic device. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
When a language option is displayed on the display unit as a message having the character,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the message related to the language switching operation is a message for prompting selection from the language options. A display step of displaying a message having characters on the display unit;
An operation step of accepting a language switching operation for switching the language of the message;
Based on the language switching operation, the language of the message to be displayed on the display unit is switched, and a message related to the language switching operation is displayed on the display unit in addition to the message in the switched language. And a control process for performing the control. On the computer,
A display step of displaying a message having characters on the display unit;
An operation step of accepting a language switching operation for switching the language of the message;
Based on the language switching operation, data is read from a storage unit storing data representing messages in a plurality of languages, and the language of the message displayed on the display unit is switched. In addition to the message in the switched language, the control step of reading the message data in the predetermined language from the storage unit and performing the control to display the message in the predetermined language on the display unit is executed. Control program.

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