JP2007047874A - User interface device, software component management method and software component management program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently acquire UI application data relating to an UI application to be executed by using user interface(UI) components by display on one screen. <P>SOLUTION: When a screen is generated by a screen transition sub-system 50, an AI/transition table generation sub-system 60 acquires data necessary for generating an AI table 70 and a screen transition table 80 from a UI configuration information table 90. The AI/transition table generation sub-system 60 generates an AI table 70 based on data acquired from the UI configuration information table 90. Then, an AI sub-system 20 generates a data bridge class configured of screen elements to be started relevantly to a display screen and the UI application data of an UI application to be executed by starting the screen elements. Afterwards, the AI sub-system 20 stands by for calling the operation of the data bridge class by a model class. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a user interface device, a software component management method, and a software component management program for managing a user interface (UI) software system as components.

  In recent years, with the increase in performance and cost reduction of computer hardware, the increase in the scale of software and the complexity of the problems that are the subject of the increase have been increasing year by year. On the other hand, the development cycle of these software products or devices incorporating the software tends to be shortened year by year. In the software industry placed in such an environment, improvement in development efficiency is a necessary requirement.

  One way to improve development efficiency is software componentization. This method is a method of making a software component having a highly versatile function used in various software and using the component in software development. This avoids redevelopment of equal functions for each software and improves development efficiency.

  A GUI using a screen display device has been increasingly adopted for a user interface of software in consideration of user usability and understanding. Such software generally employs a mechanism for displaying processing results on various interfaces by dividing a part that controls the user interface and a part that controls the core of the software. For example, in the statistical processing software, by separating the user interface unit and the statistical processing unit, the statistical results can be displayed in various forms such as a pie chart and a bar graph. The part that controls this user interface often requires the same function in various software, and is highly valued as a component. There are already many software components and frameworks for efficiently developing software user interfaces.

In Patent Document 1, software components are developed by separating the configuration of software components into control objects and control methods, improving reusability of components from the viewpoint of display, control, and data, and facilitating maintenance. User interface devices and software component management methods that reduce the burden on the user and improve development efficiency have been proposed.
JP 2004-54683 A

  However, the above invention has the following problems.

  In conventional user interface devices and software component management methods, the relationship between each screen and the screen elements constituting the screen, the transition relationship between the screens, and software using the screen elements and the user interface components (hereinafter referred to as user interface (UI)) The correspondence relationship with the application is arbitrarily set by the user, and screen elements related to the displayed screen, a transition destination screen, and a UI application are extracted according to the setting. In other words, because transition destination screens, screen elements, and UI applications related to the displayed screen are managed independently, operations that occur in relation to one screen are efficiently extracted and executed. I couldn't.

  Also, even if each software is managed as a component, it is not managed in association with each other, so it is not possible to efficiently change other components due to the addition or correction of one component. It was.

  Therefore, the present invention manages the displayed screen, the screen elements constituting the screen, and UI application data (hereinafter referred to as UI application data) executed by the activation of the screen element in association with each other. The user interface device and the software component that can efficiently acquire UI application data related to a UI application executed using a UI component and execute an operation related to the UI application by displaying one screen. The object is to propose a management method and a software component management program.

  The invention according to claim 1 controls a transition of the screen in a user interface device having an input unit for inputting information and an operation panel having a screen display unit for displaying a response result to the input by the input unit on a screen. A screen subsystem that manages screen components of the screen display unit, and a panel subsystem that manages devices of the operation panel as independent software components, and uses the software components A UI application, an AI subsystem for associating the UI application with the screen component, exchanging data with the screen subsystem, and control means for controlling the operation of the operation panel using the software component; The screen subsystem is connected to the AI subsystem. A model part that delivers data, a view part that outputs data of the model part, and a controller part that manages the input of the data and operates the model part and the view part, respectively, In accordance with a combination of the view component and the controller component by the control means, the model component, the view component, and the controller component realize a desired function in cooperation with each other.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the user interface device according to claim 1, further comprising an AI table that manages the screen displayed on the screen display unit, the screen component, and the UI application in association with each other. The AI subsystem associates the screen components with the UI application based on the AI table, and exchanges data with the screen subsystem.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the user interface device according to the first or second aspect, an operation executed by displaying the screen on the screen display unit is associated with the screen component, and the screen subsystem and data It has a screen transition subsystem that performs delivery, and the controller component requests the screen transition subsystem to perform an operation associated with the display of the screen on the screen display unit.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the user interface device according to claim 3, further comprising a screen transition table that manages the screen, the screen component, and the operation in association with each other, and the screen transition subsystem includes: The screen component and the operation are associated with each other based on the screen transition table, and the operation is executed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the user interface device according to the third or fourth aspect, the operation is a transition from a screen displayed on the screen display unit to a transition destination screen.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the user interface device according to the fourth or fifth aspect, the UI configuration information table that manages the screen configuration elements in a table for each screen and the UI configuration information table are used to manage the screen configuration elements. And generating means for generating an AI table and the screen transition table.

  The invention according to claim 7 is a screen transition that includes an input unit for inputting information and an operation panel having a screen display unit for displaying a response result to the input by the input unit on a screen, and controls the transition of the screen. A UI application that includes a subsystem, a screen subsystem that manages screen components of the screen display unit, and a panel subsystem that manages devices of the operation panel as independent software components, and uses the software components; A user interface device comprising: an AI subsystem for associating the UI application with the screen components and exchanging data with the screen subsystem; and control means for controlling the operation of the operation panel using the software component Software component management method, wherein the screen subsystem is A model part that exchanges data with the AI subsystem, a view part that outputs data of the model part, and a controller part that manages the input of the information and operates the model part and the view part, respectively A step of independently providing the model part, the view part, and the controller part in cooperation with each other to realize a desired function in accordance with a combination of the view part and the controller part by the control unit. It is characterized by that.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the software component management method according to claim 7, wherein the user interface device associates and manages the screen displayed on the screen display unit, the screen component, and the UI application. An AI table is included, and the AI subsystem includes a step of associating the screen component with the UI application based on the AI table, and exchanging data with the screen subsystem.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the software component management method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the user interface device associates the operation executed by displaying the screen on the screen display unit with the screen component, A screen transition subsystem for transferring data to and from the screen subsystem, and the controller component includes a step of requesting the screen transition subsystem to perform an operation associated with display of the screen on the screen display unit, To do.

  A tenth aspect of the present invention is the software component management method according to the ninth aspect, wherein the user interface device includes a screen transition table for managing the screen, the screen component, and the operation in association with each other, The screen transition subsystem includes a step of associating the screen component with the operation based on the screen transition table and executing the operation.

  The invention according to claim 11 is a screen transition that includes an input unit for inputting information and an operation panel having a screen display unit for displaying a response result to the input by the input unit on a screen, and controls the transition of the screen. A UI application that includes a subsystem, a screen subsystem that manages screen components of the screen display unit, and a panel subsystem that manages devices of the operation panel as independent software components, and uses the software components; A user interface device comprising: an AI subsystem for associating the UI application with the screen components and exchanging data with the screen subsystem; and control means for controlling the operation of the operation panel using the software component A software component management program for A system part that exchanges data with the AI subsystem, a view part that outputs data of the model part, a controller part that manages the input of the information and operates the model part and the view part And a process in which the model part, the view part, and the controller part realize a desired function in cooperation with each other according to a combination of the view part and the controller part by the control unit. It is characterized by having.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the software component management program according to the eleventh aspect, the user interface device manages the screen displayed on the screen display unit, the screen component, and the UI application in association with each other. An AI table is included, and the AI subsystem includes processing for associating the screen component with the UI application based on the AI table and exchanging data with the screen subsystem.

  The invention according to claim 13 is the software component management program according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the user interface device associates an operation executed by displaying the screen on the screen display unit and the screen component, A screen transition subsystem for transferring data to and from the screen subsystem, and the controller component includes processing for requesting the screen transition subsystem to perform an operation associated with display of the screen on the screen display unit, To do.

  The invention according to claim 14 is the software component management program according to claim 13, wherein the user interface device includes a screen transition table for managing the screen, the screen component, and the operation in association with each other, The screen transition subsystem includes a process of associating the screen component with the operation based on the screen transition table and executing the operation.

  The present invention manages the displayed screen, the screen elements constituting the screen, and the UI application data of the UI application executed by starting the screen element in association with each other by displaying one screen, It is possible to efficiently acquire UI application data related to a UI application executed using a UI component and execute an operation related to the UI application.

  The configuration and operation of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

  First, the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  An image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a ROM 1, a RAM 2, an NVRAM 3, an operation unit 4, a reading unit 5, a storage unit 6, a communication unit 7, a modem 8, a host I / F 9, and a CPU 10. .

  The ROM 1 stores program codes, fonts, and other static data. The RAM 2 is used as a temporary storage location. The NVRAM 3 stores nonvolatile data. The operation unit 4 includes an operation panel 4a and a panel control unit 4b, and manages an interface with the user. The reading unit 5 includes a scan / print engine 5a and an engine control unit 5b, and executes reading of a paper document and printing on a transfer sheet as an image data input / output unit. The storage unit 6 includes a storage device 6a and a disk driver 6b, and is used as a storage place for a large amount of image data and a database. The communication unit 7 is connected to a network such as Ethernet (registered trademark), and enables communication with an external device. It is also possible to use for communication between the operation unit 4 and the reading unit 5. The modem 8 is connected to a public line and realizes communication with an external device. The host I / F 9 can communicate with an external device using an interface such as Centronics or RS-232C.

  Depending on whether or not the operation unit 4 and the reading unit 5 share the same CPU resource, the configuration of FIG. 1 or 2 can be considered. In the present embodiment, the hardware configuration corresponds to either configuration.

  Next, the software configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The software of the image forming apparatus 100 includes an application program 11, a panel control program 12, an engine control program 13, a communication control program 14, a panel driver 15, an engine driver 16, a communication driver 17, and an operation system 18. .

  The application program 11 manages the execution of functions such as copying, faxing, and printers. The panel control program 12 controls the operation panel 4a via the panel control unit 4b, transmits information from the user to the application program 11, and transmits information from the application program 11 to the user. The panel driver 15 controls the operation panel 4 a via the operation system 18 according to an instruction from the panel control program 12. The engine control program 13 controls the scan / print engine 5b via the engine driver 16, transmits information from the scan / print engine 5b to the application program 11, and transmits information from the application program 11 to the scan / print engine 5a. . The engine driver 16 controls the physical scanner / print engine 5 via the operation system 18 according to an instruction from the engine control program 13. The communication control program 14 controls network communication via the communication driver 17, transmits information from a communication partner (PC 300) on the network 200 to the application program 11, and transmits information from the application program 11 to a communication partner on the network 200. (PC300) The communication driver 17 controls physical network communication via the operation system 18 according to an instruction from the communication control program 14. The operation system 18 controls the physical device based on instructions from various drivers, transmits information on the physical device to each device driver, and transmits information from each device driver to the physical device.

  Next, user interface components (hereinafter referred to as UI components) constituting the software of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The software component is a set of controllable resources existing in the image forming apparatus 100. In this embodiment, a graphical user interface architecture is used to classify software components of the screen subsystem into five categories.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the UI component includes an application interface (hereinafter referred to as AI) subsystem 20, a screen subsystem 30, a panel subsystem 40, a screen transition subsystem 50, and an AI / transition table generation subsystem 60. It is divided into five layers.

  Further, a screen transition table 80 corresponds to the screen transition subsystem 30. Further, the screen subsystem 40 corresponds to a model-dependent panel process (including panel parts) included in the UI configuration information table 90. Furthermore, the panel subsystem 40 corresponds to device control included in the UI configuration information table 90. The screen subsystem 40 controls the view and the controller in the MVC (Model / View / Controller) shown in the related art in association with each other.

  Here, the concept and class of MVC are shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), respectively. In FIG. 5A, a model (Model) used in MVC specializes in data management, obtains necessary UI application data (View Data) from the AI subsystem 20 or the screen transition subsystem 50, and views ( View). The view requests acquisition of UI application data from the model according to an instruction from the controller (Controller), and displays (outputs) the data model in response to a display position or form change notification from the model. The controller receives a request from a user (in this case, an instruction from a view), and sends a message to the model, view, and screen transition subsystem 50. The MVC data structure and data manipulation are as shown in FIG.

  Next, the structure of software components around the screen subsystem 30 is shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 6, the view includes independent menu parts, label parts, window parts, and the like as windows, and the controller includes independent focus control parts and selection control parts. In the present embodiment, the appropriateness relationship of the combination of the view and the controller described above is set in advance, and necessary parts are called and reused while limiting the combination. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a relationship table (included in the relationship setting means) in which the appropriateness of the combination of the view component and the controller component is registered is stored in the ROM 1, NVRAM 3, storage device 6 and the like in an updatable manner. It may be left.

  Next, specific configurations and processes of the AI subsystem 20, the screen transition subsystem 50, and the AI / transition table generation subsystem 60 will be described.

  The AI subsystem 20 manages each screen and an application in association with each other based on the AI table 70. The screen transition subsystem 50 manages each screen by associating each screen with a transition destination screen or an operation executed by displaying the screen based on the screen transition table 80. The AI / transition table generation subsystem 60 extracts information necessary for generating the AI table 70 and the transition table 80 from the UI configuration information table 90, and stores the AI table 70 and the screen transition table 80 for associating each screen with an application. Generate.

  Here, the UI configuration information table 90 (shown in Tables 1 and 2) is a CSV file and takes the following format. Arrange screen elements (View) to be arranged for each window. Each screen element includes a screen ID, coordinates, corresponding application data ID, presence / absence of a transition destination, transition destination screen ID, and related operations as attributes. If the UI is more complicated, the number of attributes increases, and the type and number of attributes described for each screen element change.

  First, a specific configuration and processing of the AI / transition table generation subsystem 60 will be described. The AI / transition table generation subsystem 60 extracts screen elements from the UI configuration information table 90, generates a table that associates each screen element with a screen, and generates UI application data from the UI configuration information table 90. It consists of a screen element table generation class that extracts and generates a table that associates each UI application data with each screen element. FIG. 8 is a diagram in which the AI / transition table generation subsystem 60 is expressed by a UML (Unified Modeling Language) class diagram. Here, UML is a system modeling language compiled by an organization called OMG (Object Management Group), and defines a notation for describing the results of system modeling. The UML is generally used in object-oriented software development.

  The rectangle indicating each class has three sections, and from the top, it is called a name section indicating the class name, an attribute section indicating the data (attribute) of the class, and an operation section indicating the processing (operation) of the class. . For example, a rectangular name section indicating a screen generation class indicates that the class name of the class is “screen table generation unit”, and the operation section includes operations “AI table generation ()” and “ “Screen transition table generation ()”.

  Thus, each class has an attribute section for possessing data (attribute) and an operation section for possessing processing (operation) for writing and reading such an attribute. Since these classes are included as part of the program, when this program stored in the ROM 1 in advance is executed, each class is materialized in a predetermined area of the RAM 2 and each data ( Attribute) is expanded on the RAM 2. Therefore, the object in which the class is materialized can write and read each data (attribute) on the RAM 2.

  In addition, if a "-" symbol is attached to the left side of a class element such as attribute or operation, this indicates that the element is private to external classes, and if a "+" symbol is attached, this element Indicates that it is open to external classes. In addition, as for the operation, it is usual to add a “()” symbol like “AI table generation ()”.

  Here, the class diagram shown in FIG. 8 will be described in detail. The screen table generation unit class is a class that generates a table including screens displayed on the operation panel 4. Specifically, the screen table generation unit class has “AI table generation ()” and “screen transition table generation ()” as operations.

  When AI table generation () and screen transition table generation () are called, the screen table generation unit class extracts a screen from the UI configuration information table 90 and generates a table for each screen.

  The screen element table generation unit class has “AI table generation ()” and “screen transition table generation ()” as operations. When the table of each screen is generated by the screen table generation unit class and the AI table generation () and the screen transition table generation () are called, the screen element table generation unit class displays the screen elements of each screen as the UI configuration information table 90. To generate a table for each screen composed of screen elements of each screen.

  The screen element table generation unit class is a button table generation unit class that generates a table for each screen composed of one button of the screen element, and a text table generation unit that generates a table for each screen composed of one text of the screen element. Has an instance such as a class. An instance can be added as an instance of the screen element table generation unit class as appropriate when a new screen element constituting the screen is added. Therefore, the development efficiency by the software developer when adding a new screen element can be improved. Further, the AI / transition table generation subsystem 60 generates only the screen elements necessary for displaying the requested screen from the UI configuration information table 90 and generates the AI table 70 and the screen transition table 80. Efficiency can be improved.

  Here, a procedure for generating the AI table 70 and the screen transition table 80 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the AI / transition table generation subsystem 60 calls the AI table generation () of the screen table generation unit class (step S901). Then, the screen table generation unit class extracts a screen from the UI configuration information table 90 and generates a table for each screen. Furthermore, the screen table generation unit class calls AI table generation () of the screen element table generation unit class (steps S902 to S904). The screen element table generation unit class extracts the screen elements of each screen from the UI configuration information table 90, and generates a table for each screen including the screen elements of each screen. In the present embodiment, a case where there are three types of screen elements constituting the screen will be described. Accordingly, in steps S902 to S904, the screen table generation unit class calls AI table generation () of the three screen element table generation unit classes.

  Next, the AI / transition table generation subsystem 60 calls screen transition table generation () of the screen table generation unit class (step S905). Then, the screen table generation unit class extracts a screen from the UI configuration information table 90 and generates a table for each screen. Furthermore, the screen table generation unit class calls screen transition table generation () of the screen element table generation unit class (steps S906 to S908). The screen element table generation unit class extracts the screen elements of each screen from the UI configuration information table 90, and generates a table for each screen including the screen elements of each screen.

  Next, the AI table 70 and the screen transition table 80 generated by the AI / transition table generation subsystem 60 will be described with reference to FIG. The AI table 70 and the screen transition table 80 shown in FIG. 10 relate the screen extracted from the UI configuration information table 90 by the AI / transition table generation subsystem 60, screen elements, and UI application data by object-oriented design. It is a table. FIG. 10 is a class diagram in the case where the AI table 70 and the screen transition table 80 are configured in a unified manner.

  The AI table 70 includes a screen class composed of displayed screens, a screen element class composed of screen elements constituting the screen, and a UI application data class composed of UI application data of a UI application executed by the activation of the screen element. It is comprised. The AI subsystem 30 provides UI application data to the screen subsystem 30 based on a class diagram that associates the screen class stored in the AI table 70 with the UI application data class. As shown in FIG. 15, UI application data can be extracted more efficiently by providing an input data class and an output data class focusing on a user's usage as an instance of UI application data.

  The AI table 70 shown in FIG. 11 includes a screen object, two screen element objects constituting the screen object, and two UI application data objects of a UI application executed by the activation of the screen element object. This is an example.

  The screen transition table 80 includes a screen class, a screen element class, a transition class, and an operation class. The screen transition subsystem is composed of a screen class composed of displayed screens, a screen element class composed of screen elements constituting the screen, and an operation (for example, transition) executed by starting the screen element. A class and a screen class of a transition destination composed of a screen generated by the operation. In addition, as shown in FIG. 16, the transition operation from one screen has a multi-branch transition class with a plurality of transitions, and a single transition class with only a single transition as an instance of the transition class. The transition destination screen can be extracted from the screen more efficiently.

  The screen transition table 80 shown in FIG. 11 is an instance of a screen object, three screen element objects constituting the screen object, an action class composed of actions executed by activation of the screen element object, and the action class. It is an example having a transition class.

  Next, a specific configuration and processing of the AI subsystem 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The AI subsystem 20 provides UI application data related to the screen element activated based on the AI table 70 to the screen subsystem 30 as described above.

  As illustrated in FIG. 12, the AI subsystem 20 generates a data bridge that represents the correspondence between the screen displayed based on the AI table 70 and the UI application data of the UI application that is activated by the display of the screen. A data bridge generation unit class and a data bridge class generated by the data bridge generation unit class are configured.

  Here, processing in each class of the AI subsystem 20 will be described in detail. The data bridge generation unit class is a class that generates a data bridge representing a correspondence relationship between a screen to be displayed based on the AI table 70 and UI application data. Specifically, the data bridge generation unit class has “data bridge generation ()” as an operation.

  The data bridge class has “data update ()” and “data acquisition ()” as operations. When a data bridge class is generated and data acquisition () is called from the model class of the screen subsystem 30, the data bridge class provides the UI application data of the UI application that is activated by displaying the displayed screen to the model class. To do. Also, when the data update () is called by the model class, the UI application data of the UI application that is activated by displaying the displayed screen is updated.

  Next, a specific configuration and processing of the screen transition subsystem 50 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the screen transition subsystem 50 executes the transition from the original screen to the transition destination screen based on the screen transition table 80 as described above.

  As illustrated in FIG. 13, the screen transition subsystem 50 includes a transition generation unit class that generates a transition class that executes a transition from the original screen to the transition destination screen, and a transition that executes a transition from the original screen to the transition destination screen. A screen and a screen class including a transition destination screen are configured.

  Here, processing in each class included in the screen transition subsystem 50 will be described in detail. The transition generation unit class is a class that generates a transition class including an operation (for example, transition) executed by displaying a screen displayed based on the screen transition table 80. Specifically, the transition generation unit class has “transition generation ()” as an operation.

  The transition class is a class that generates a transition destination screen. Specifically, the operation has “execute ()” and generates a transition destination screen.

  The screen class is a class including a transition destination screen generated by the transition class. Specifically, the screen class has “screen update ()” as an operation, and executes an update from the original screen to the transition destination screen.

  When a screen transition is requested from the control class of the screen subsystem 30 to the transition class and execution () is called, the transition class generates a screen class including the transition destination screen and calls screen update (). The screen class executes screen update to the transition destination screen. The transition class is generated by the transition generation class based on the screen transition table 80 as a class representing a correspondence relationship between the original screen and the transition destination screen when the original screen is generated.

  Here, the screen generation sequence of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The operation when generating a screen for each component is shown below.

  When the screen is generated by the screen transition subsystem 50, the AI / transition table generation subsystem 60 acquires data necessary for generating the AI table 70 and the screen transition table 80 from the UI configuration information table 90 (step S1401). . The AI / transition table generation subsystem 60 generates the AI table 70 and the screen transition table 80 based on the data acquired from the UI configuration information table 90 (step S1402). Next, the AI subsystem 20 generates a data bridge class including a screen element activated in association with the displayed screen and UI application data of a UI application executed by the activation of the screen element (step) S1403). Further, the screen subsystem 30 generates a transition class executed by displaying the original screen based on the screen transition table 80 using the transition generation class (step S1404). Thereafter, the AI subsystem 20 and the screen transition subsystem 30 wait for a call of an operation of the data bridge class or transition class by the model class or the controller class.

  As described above, by managing the displayed screen, the screen elements constituting the screen, and the UI application data of the UI application executed by activation of the screen element, it is possible to display one screen. The UI application data related to the UI application executed by using the UI component can be efficiently acquired, and the operation related to the UI application can be executed. In addition, by managing the displayed screen, the screen elements constituting the screen, and the operations executed by the activation of the screen elements, the operations executed by displaying one screen can be efficiently performed. Can be executed.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of user interface components. It is a block diagram explaining the concept and class of MVC. It is a class diagram which shows the structure of a screen subsystem. It is a figure of a relationship table. FIG. 5 is a class diagram showing a configuration of an AI / transition table generation subsystem. It is a sequence diagram which shows a screen generation sequence. It is a class diagram when the AI table and the screen transition table are unified. It is a class diagram when the AI table and the screen transition table are unified. It is a class diagram which shows the structure of AI subsystem. It is a class diagram which shows the structure of a screen transition subsystem. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement by UI components concerning this embodiment. It is a class diagram of the example which provided the subclass in the application data class. It is a class diagram of the example which provided the subclass in the transition class.

Explanation of symbols

1 ROM
2 RAM
3 NVRAM
4 Operation Unit 4a Operation Panel 4b Panel Control Unit 5 Reading Unit 5a Scan / Print Engine 5b Engine Control Unit 6 Storage Unit 6a Storage Device 6b Disk Driver 7 Communication Unit 8 Modem 9 Host I / F
10 CPU
11 Application Program 12 Panel Control Program 13 Engine Control Program 14 Communication Control Program 15 Panel Driver 16 Engine Driver 17 Communication Driver 18 Operation System 20 AI Subsystem 30 Screen Subsystem 40 Panel Subsystem 50 Screen Transition Subsystem 60 AI / Transition Table Generation subsystem 70 AI table 80 Screen transition table 90 UI configuration information table 100 Image forming apparatus 200 Network 300, 400 PC

Claims (14)

In a user interface device having an input unit for inputting information and an operation panel having a screen display unit for displaying a response result to an input by the input unit on a screen,
The screen transition subsystem that controls the transition of the screen, the screen subsystem that manages the screen components of the screen display unit, and the panel subsystem that manages the device of the operation panel as independent software components,
A UI application that uses the software component;
An AI subsystem for associating the UI application with the screen component and for passing data to and from the screen subsystem;
Control means for controlling the operation of the operation panel using the software component,
The screen subsystem manages model parts that exchange data with the AI subsystem, view parts that output data of the model parts, input of the data, and operate the model parts and the view parts Controller parts to be provided independently,
The user interface device, wherein the model part, the view part, and the controller part cooperate with each other to realize a desired function according to a combination of the view part and the controller part by the control means. An AI table for managing the screen displayed on the screen display unit, the screen component, and the UI application in association with each other;
The user interface device according to claim 1, wherein the AI subsystem associates the screen component with the UI application based on the AI table, and exchanges data with the screen subsystem. A screen transition subsystem for associating an operation executed by display of the screen on the screen display unit with the screen component and transferring data to and from the screen subsystem;
The user interface device according to claim 1, wherein the controller component requests the screen transition subsystem to perform an operation associated with display of a screen on the screen display unit. A screen transition table for managing the screen, the screen component, and the operation in association with each other;
The user interface device according to claim 3, wherein the screen transition subsystem associates the screen component with the operation based on the screen transition table and executes the operation.   5. The user interface device according to claim 3, wherein the operation is a transition from a screen displayed on the screen display unit to a transition destination screen. A UI configuration information table for managing the screen components in a table for each screen;
6. The user interface apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a generating unit that generates the AI table and the screen transition table using the UI configuration information table. A screen transition subsystem having an input unit for inputting information, an operation panel having a screen display unit for displaying a response result to the input by the input unit on a screen, and controlling the transition of the screen; and the screen display unit A screen subsystem for managing the screen components and a panel subsystem for managing the devices of the operation panel as independent software components, a UI application using the software components, the UI application, and the screen configuration A software component management method for a user interface device, comprising: an AI subsystem that associates elements with each other and exchanges data with the screen subsystem; and a control unit that controls the operation of the operation panel using the software component. ,
The screen subsystem manages model parts that exchange data with the AI subsystem, view parts that output data of the model parts, input of the information, and operate the model parts and the view parts Providing the controller parts to be independently provided,
The model component, the view component, and the controller component realize a desired function in cooperation with each other in accordance with a combination of the view component and the controller component by the control means. Parts management method. The user interface device has an AI table for managing the screen displayed on the screen display unit, the screen component, and the UI application in association with each other;
The software component management according to claim 7, wherein the AI subsystem includes a step of associating the screen component with the UI application based on the AI table and exchanging data with the screen subsystem. Method. The user interface device associates an operation executed by displaying a screen on the screen display unit and the screen component, and has a screen transition subsystem for transferring data to and from the screen subsystem,
9. The software component management method according to claim 7, wherein the controller component includes a step of requesting the screen transition subsystem to perform an operation accompanying display of a screen on the screen display unit. The user interface device has a screen transition table for managing the screen, the screen component, and the operation in association with each other,
The software component management method according to claim 9, wherein the screen transition subsystem includes a step of associating the screen component with the operation based on the screen transition table and executing the operation. A screen transition subsystem having an input unit for inputting information, an operation panel having a screen display unit for displaying a response result to the input by the input unit on a screen, and controlling the transition of the screen; and the screen display unit A screen subsystem for managing the screen components and a panel subsystem for managing the devices of the operation panel as independent software components, a UI application using the software components, the UI application, and the screen configuration A software component management program for a user interface device, comprising: an AI subsystem that associates elements and exchanges data with the screen subsystem; and a control unit that controls the operation of the operation panel using the software component. ,
The screen subsystem manages model parts that exchange data with the AI subsystem, view parts that output data of the model parts, input of the information, and operate the model parts and the view parts A process of independently providing controller parts to be
Software having a process in which the model part, the view part, and the controller part realize a desired function in cooperation with each other according to a combination of the view part and the controller part by the control means Parts management program. The user interface device has an AI table for managing the screen displayed on the screen display unit, the screen component, and the UI application in association with each other;
The software component management according to claim 11, wherein the AI subsystem includes a process of associating the screen component with the UI application based on the AI table and exchanging data with the screen subsystem. program. The user interface device associates an operation executed by displaying a screen on the screen display unit and the screen component, and has a screen transition subsystem for transferring data to and from the screen subsystem,
The software component management program according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the controller component has a process of requesting the screen transition subsystem to perform an operation associated with display of a screen on the screen display unit. The user interface device has a screen transition table for managing the screen, the screen component, and the operation in association with each other,
14. The software component management program according to claim 13, wherein the screen transition subsystem includes processing for associating the screen component with the operation based on the screen transition table and executing the operation.

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