JP2007072170A - State display device of image forming device, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a user recognize clearly at a glance a dynamically changing state of an image forming device. <P>SOLUTION: The state display device collects states changing by use of a complex machine, for example, a remaining paper amount in a paper tray, a job being performed or standing by, an error occurrence frequency, and the like, and displays each collected state in color on a predetermined position such as an operation panel of the complex machine in shape and size. That is, a background color within an operation panel range assigned to each mechanism, for example, a scanner or the like according to an error occurrence frequency thereof is determined and displayed in color. Also, on the left side of the operation panel, each elliptical display area for displaying a remaining paper amount for each tray is prepared, and colors for reminding of the remaining amounts such as green and red, and a color display range of the color display in each display area according to each remaining amount are determined and displayed in color. Further, on the left side of the operation panel, triangular colors, sizes and the like are determined so that job sizes such as the kinds of jobs and the number of sheets to be printed can be known, and displayed in color in order of execution of the jobs. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a status notification of an image forming apparatus, and more specifically, a dynamically changing image forming apparatus.

  Recent multifunction peripherals have a network function, so that users can request processing such as printing via the network without having to move to the location of the multifunction peripheral and perform direct operations, improving convenience. ing. For example, when printing is requested from a PC installed in his / her seat to a multifunction device connected to the network, the user moves to the place where the multifunction device is installed and picks up a printed matter when printing is completed. However, when performing such network printing, whether or not the requested printing has actually ended is determined by whether there is printed matter in the output tray, and whether or not the printed matter is your own. It is customary to check the print contents. Further, it is assumed that a print request is made via a network when another person directly operates the MFP and makes an intermittent copy. In this case, there is a case where the printing requested by the user is executed while the multifunction device is not temporarily used, for example, the paper set by another person is replaced. In this case, whether the print request made by the user has been completed or not is determined by moving to the multifunction device and checking for the presence of printed matter.

  The convenience of multifunction devices has improved due to higher functionality and networking, but on the other hand, the number of opportunities for processing to be requested almost simultaneously by multiple users has increased, so the demands for printing etc. that were made via the network have actually increased. In many cases, it is difficult to confirm whether it has been carried out without moving to the multifunction device. In other words, the state of the multifunction device dynamically changes depending on use, such as the end of a job (print / fax, etc.), the remaining number of print sheets, etc., but the state of the multifunction device does not move to the multifunction device. It is convenient if you can confirm it.

  Conventionally, as a method of confirming the state of a multifunction peripheral, for example, there is a method of browsing the progress of a job using a browser via a network. In addition, a beeping warning sound is continuously generated to inform the user that the printing paper has run out of the tray during printing.

  However, it is cumbersome to launch and operate a browser to check the progress of a job via the network. Therefore, it is usual to confirm by moving to the installation location of the multifunction machine as described above.

  In addition, there is a method of generating a sound to notify that the paper has run out, but this warning sound is a noise that hinders work, and there is a problem in that work efficiency is reduced. In particular, in network printing, the user who requested printing may not be near the multi-function peripheral, which increases the problem because the warning sound continues to be long.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to allow a user to clearly recognize a dynamically changing state of an image forming apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, the status display device of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention inputs the current status information of the status that dynamically changes due to the use of the image forming device, and is an image that can be identified from the current status information. It has a state display control means for generating color display instruction information for representing the current state of the forming apparatus by color display, and a color display means for performing display according to the color display instruction information.

  Further, the color display instruction information includes a display instruction for specifying at least one of a color display position, a display shape and size, and a color pattern that are determined in advance to represent the current state. .

  Further, the display means uses an operation panel erected on the image forming apparatus.

  Alternatively, the display unit may be formed of a color light emitter that is erected in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus.

  In addition, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the above-described status display device according to each invention.

  The status display program according to the present invention inputs current status information of a status that dynamically changes as the image forming apparatus is used, and color display instruction information for expressing the current status of the image forming apparatus by color display that can be identified from the current status information It is made to function as a state display control means for generating.

  According to the present invention, since the current state of the dynamically changing state of the image forming apparatus is displayed in color in a predetermined form, the state of the image forming apparatus can be grasped at a glance.

  In addition, by using the operation panel erected on the image forming apparatus or the color body erected near the image forming apparatus as the display unit, the user of the image forming apparatus does not have to approach the image forming apparatus. The state of the image forming apparatus can be known at a glance.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a status display device of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The status display device according to the present embodiment is built in the multifunction device 2 that is a status display target. The multifunction machine 2 may be a general-purpose image forming apparatus. However, in the present embodiment, the operation panel 4 is not embeddable in the apparatus main body but is erected from the apparatus main body as shown in FIG. The use of the attached multifunction machine 2 is assumed. Since the operation panel 4 is erected, it is possible to check the display color even from a distance even if the characters displayed on the operation panel 4 cannot be read.

  The state display device includes a state collection unit 10, a state display control unit 12, a color display master 14, and a state information holding unit 16. The state collection unit 10 collects the dynamically changing state of the multifunction machine 2. The dynamically changing state handled in the present exemplary embodiment includes tray information related to the sheets of the tray of the multifunction device 2, consumable information related to consumables such as a toner cartridge, types of jobs processed by the multifunction device 2, and each job. The job information and failure information related to the failure detected in the MFP 2 are input.

  Registered in the color display master 14 is master information for displaying the current state of the multifunction device 2 for each type of dynamically changing state and for each current state in each state such as a job. . An example of the master information is shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the remaining amount / state of the paper stored in the paper tray of the multifunction device 2 and the relationship between the remaining amount / state and the degree of the three primary colors (RGB).

  The status display control unit 12 refers to the color display master 14 and, if necessary, the status information holding unit 16 to display color display instruction information for displaying in color the current state of the MFP 2 collected by the status collection unit 10. Generate and send to the operation panel 4. The operation panel 4 performs display according to the received color display instruction information.

  It should be noted that constituent elements inherently possessed by the multifunction peripheral are omitted from FIG. The state collection unit 10 and the state display control unit 12 in the present embodiment are realized by a cooperative operation of a software program that exhibits a processing function of each component and hardware resources such as a computer installed in the multifunction machine 2. The

  Next, the overall flow of the status display process in the present embodiment will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The state collection unit 10 collects information regarding the state of the multifunction machine 2 (step 111). Here, the information to be collected is information relating to a state that can be changed by using the multifunction device 2, and in this embodiment, as described above, the tray information, the consumable information, the job information, and the failure information are handled. Take the case as an example. For example, paper is consumed by performing copying and printing. The consumption of paper can be grasped by the remaining amount of paper stored in the paper tray included in the tray information. Further, the amount of toner consumables used by printing can be grasped from the remaining amount of toner included in the consumable information. Note that the toner usage amount can be obtained by analyzing the image data to be printed, and in this case, the image data corresponds to the consumable information. Information on the job status is obtained by extracting job information managed by the computer from the computer mounted on the multifunction device 2, and the types of jobs that can be executed by the multifunction device 2, such as copying, printing, and fax, For attribute information, for example, a print job, information such as paper size and number of sheets can be obtained.

  The state display control unit 12 recognizes the current state of the MFP 2 from the information collected by the state collection unit 10 and detects whether there is a change in each state (step 112). Incidentally, for example, tray information indicating the state of the remaining amount of paper stored in the paper tray can be obtained from the multi-function device 2, but the change that the remaining amount has changed (usually decreased unless the paper is replenished) is changed. It is possible to grasp the fact that the state of the remaining amount has changed only after the previous remaining amount is temporarily held and the previous remaining amount and the current remaining amount are compared. Regarding job information, a new job registration can detect a change in state depending on the presence or absence of the job. Regarding a job being executed, a change in state can be detected by comparing the current execution status obtained from the multifunction machine 2 with the immediately preceding status (for example, the number of prints out of 20). In this way, the state display control unit 12 detects the presence / absence of a state change from the information collected by the state collection unit 10 or compares / calculates the content of the information (state value). Is detected. Note that the state display control unit 12 holds information on the immediately previous state in the state information holding unit 16. FIG. 5 shows status information about the paper tray held by the status information holding unit 16 and FIG. 6 shows status information about the consumables.

  Further, the state display control unit 12 handles failure information regarding the state change, and performs failure prediction with reference to an increment value of the number of occurrences of errors that can be specified by the failure information (step 113). For example, errors are collected and aggregated for each function such as an error that occurred when using the FAX function of the MFP 2 and an error that occurred when using the print function. The total value, incremental pace, etc. are detected as a change in state.

  If no change in state is detected in the above processing, the process returns to step 111 (step 114). As described above, the timing for collecting information related to the state of the multifunction device 2 is implemented as a scheduled process in this embodiment, and the presence or absence of a state change is detected. However, the detection of the state change is used as a trigger. You may do it.

  As described above, the state display control unit 12 generates color display instruction information that indicates the current state of the state in color display for the state in which a change in the state such as the remaining amount of paper and job is detected (step 115). . Then, the generated color display instruction information is transmitted to the operation panel 4 so that the color display indicating the state is executed at the location designated by the designated color, shape and size (step 116).

  By the way, as described above, the state display control unit 12 detects the presence / absence of a change in state, and generates color display instruction information for the changed state. In other words, color display instruction information is not generated for a state where there is no change. This is because the generated color display instruction information can be reused instead of not displaying the state without change. That is, the presence / absence of a change in state is detected in this way in consideration of the generation processing efficiency of the color display instruction information. However, color display instruction information for all states may be generated each time from the state information collected from the multifunction device 2 without detecting the presence or absence of a change.

  Although the overall processing flow in the present embodiment has been described above, the processing in the present embodiment, particularly the processing in the state display control unit 12, is further focused on each changing state of the multifunction device 2. Details will be described. As described above, in this embodiment, the tray information, the consumable information, the job information, and the failure information are collected. However, based on these information, the remaining amount of paper in the paper tray, the job, and the failure prediction information. An example in which each state of the multifunction device 2 represented by the above is displayed on the operation panel 4 will be described.

  First, the status display of the remaining amount of paper in the paper tray will be described. FIG. 5 shows an example of status information related to the paper tray held by the status information holding unit 16. Are collected. The state display control unit 12 detects a change in state by comparing the current state information sent from the state collection unit 10 with the immediately preceding tray information held by the state information holding unit 16. Then, color display instruction information is generated for the tray in which the change in state is detected. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of the operation panel 4 during normal use. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the remaining amount of paper in each tray is displayed on the operation panel 4 in accordance with the generated color display instruction information. It is the figure which showed the example of a display. Here, the display example shown in FIG. 8 will be described. In the present embodiment, the display space of the storage tray state is assigned to the left side of the display screen, and the tray 1 of the multifunction device 2 that is the target of state display is provided. The states 4 to 4 correspond to the display areas 20 to 23 in order from the top. The correspondence between this state and the display position on the operation panel 4 is preset in the color display master 14. Further, the color display master 14 is set to green when the remaining amount of paper is 100 to 51%, yellow when it is 50 to 26%, and orange when it is 25% or less. The display colors in the display areas 20 to 23 are determined according to the remaining amount of paper in the respective trays 1 to 4 ascertained from the tray information collected by the state collection unit 10. Since the tray 3 is not mounted, the red color indicating that is preferentially set. In addition, the size to be displayed in each display area 20 to 23 is determined not only by the color scheme but also by the remaining amount of paper in each tray 1 to 4. Basically, the smaller the remaining amount of paper, the smaller the display. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a color gradation is added.

  As described above, the state display control unit 12 determines and displays the color and size in accordance with the current state of the remaining amount of paper in each of the trays 1 to 4 in the predetermined display areas 20 to 23. Although it is considered that the specific contents of the color display instruction information generation processing performed by the status display control unit 12 can be easily estimated from the above display examples, the status display control unit 12 determines the remaining sheets of paper in each tray 1 to 4. Color display instruction information for determining the color and size to be displayed on the operation panel 4 with reference to the current state of the quantity and displaying it in a predetermined shape in each of the predetermined display areas 20-23. Will be generated. Then, the color display indicating the state is performed on the operation panel 4 in accordance with the generated color display instruction information, whereby the display illustrated in FIG. 8 is realized.

  According to the present embodiment, the state that changes in the multi-function device 2 is represented by a color change, specifically, one or more colors, a color mixture, a color gradation, a color display position, a display area, and the like. The state of the multifunction device 2 is displayed by expressing it. The correspondence between the color representation of the operation panel 4 registered in the color display master 14 and the dynamic state is also defined in the instruction manual so that the user can refer to it. By matching the correspondence between the impression received from the design and the dynamic state (for example, if the paper is out, yellow to red, etc.), the user can naturally learn the meaning of the color expression. Like that. In this embodiment, the environmental effect is used in this way. The environmental effect is an effect of human ability to empirically link colors and events such that a person who sees that the window is orange knows that it is evening.

  In the present embodiment, as is apparent from the display example shown in FIG. 8, the user can grasp the remaining amount of each paper tray at a glance by looking at the display on the operation panel 4. If the color arrangement of each part displayed on the operation panel 4 is taken into consideration, the operation buttons can be visually observed even when the paper tray state is superimposed on the normal copy screen display as shown in FIG. It does not reduce operability at all. In the present embodiment, the state of the remaining amount of paper is expressed by both the color arrangement and the size in the display areas 20 to 23. However, the present invention is not limited to this correspondence, and for example, the display size is changed. It may be adjusted to the paper size stored in the tray. Such a setting can be dealt with by changing the setting of the color display master 14. In the present embodiment, the consumable status display, which is not described here, can be realized by substantially the same processing as the above-described status display of the remaining amount of the paper tray.

  Next, job status display will be described. Each job such as printing, scanner, etc., for which processing has been requested, is logged in the multifunction device 2, and an example of the log information is shown in FIG. Then, the execution status of each job in the MFP 2 is collected by the status collection unit 10, and the status display control unit 12 displays the current status of the job in the status information holding unit 16 after generating the color display instruction information. Hold as. An example of job status information held by the status information holding unit 16 is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example when the status of each job is displayed on the operation panel 4 in accordance with the generated color display instruction information. Here, the display example shown in FIG. 11 will be described. In the present embodiment, a display space for job status is allocated on the right side of the display screen, and the MFP 2 that is the status display target is executing and waiting. Displays the status of each job in order from the right. While the tray remaining amount display is elliptical, the job status is represented by a different triangle. In FIG. 11, the rightmost status display 24 indicates a job that is being executed and a job for copying three copies of a two-page paper document. On the left side, the status of the job waiting next is displayed. The status display 25 of the waiting job indicates a print request for a 30-page document. In this embodiment, since the job type is set to blue when copying, and the engine color when printing, the status display control unit 12 sets the status display 24 to blue and the next status display 25 to the engine color. Each determines the color. Then, the triangle size is determined in proportion to the amount of processing such as the number of printed sheets.

  The process of displaying the job status will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12. The status display control unit 12 extracts job information of the job being executed from the job information received from the status collection unit 10 ( Step 121). Then, referring to the job information, for example, if it is a print job, the size of the triangle to be displayed is determined from the number of processed sheets such as the number of prints (step 122), and the display color corresponding to the type of job is further determined. (Step 123). Since the correspondence between the job type and the display color is preset in the color display master 14, the status display control unit 12 determines the size and display color by referring to the color display master 14. Can do. Since what is processed here is a job being executed, the display position is determined on the rightmost side of the operation panel 4 (step 124).

  Subsequently, the status display control unit 12 extracts job information of the waiting job from the job information received from the status collection unit 10 (step 125). If a plurality of jobs are waiting, job information of a job to be processed next recognized based on the order of arrangement of log information is extracted. If there is a corresponding waiting job, the size of the triangle to be displayed is determined as in the case of the job being executed (step 127), and the display color corresponding to the type of job is further determined (step 127). 128). Then, the display position is determined to the left of the display position of the job being executed (step 129). The processes in steps 127 to 129 are performed for all waiting jobs. Of course, since the display area is limited by the screen size of the operation panel 4, if the information of all jobs cannot be displayed, the status display is omitted or the size of the triangle is reduced. Correspond.

  In this embodiment, the job information is read each time and the status is displayed. However, when the job status changes, the status is displayed on the rightmost as being executed. A display method may be employed in which when the job is completed, the status display of the job is deleted, and the status display of the job being displayed is sequentially shifted to the right. In addition, the status display of the newly waiting job is additionally displayed at the left end of the status display. Further, when a waiting job is cancelled, it is necessary to adjust the status display such as displaying the status display of the job located on the left side of the job with right justification.

  According to the present embodiment, as is apparent from the display example shown in FIG. 11, even the status of a job that is waiting is displayed even if it is not being executed. In the present embodiment, the display color is changed depending on the type of job. For example, if the display color is changed depending on the input (transmission) destination, and the job issuer is notified of his / her display color, The user looks at the display on the operation panel 4 to see whether his / her job sent to the MFP 2 is being executed or is waiting, and what number is being processed during waiting. It is possible to grasp at a glance.

  Finally, the status display of the multifunction machine 2 will be described. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an error report managed and generated by the multifunction device 2. The state collection unit 10 collects data included in the error report as failure information. The state display control unit 12 accumulates this failure information in the state information holding unit 16, and totals the number of error occurrences for each mechanism such as a printer and a scanner every predetermined period (for example, 12 hours). This totaled result is used as failure prediction information, and this is displayed on the operation panel 4 as the state of the multifunction device 2. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a display example when failure prediction information is displayed on the operation panel 4. In the present embodiment, the left side of the display screen of the operation panel 4 is a failure prediction information display area 26 relating to the scanner mechanism of the multifunction device 2, and the right side of the display screen is a failure prediction information display area 27 relating to the printer mechanism of the multifunction device 2. It was. Then, the failure prediction information of each mechanism is expressed by the background color in each of the display areas 26 and 27 on the display screen. Hereinafter, failure prediction information in the present embodiment, that is, status display processing of the multifunction device 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  As described above, the state collection unit 10 collects error reports generated in the MFP 2 due to the occurrence of an error as failure information, and the state display control unit 12 sequentially accumulates the failure information in the state information holding unit 16. It is. Here, when the state display control unit 12 detects that a predetermined time has elapsed (step 131), the state display control unit 12 adds up the number of pieces of failure information accumulated during the period (step 132). When the total number of errors is four or more (step 133), the display color is determined for each mechanism of the scanner mechanism and the printer mechanism according to the number of error occurrences (step 134). That is, in each mechanism, the color is green when the number of error occurrences is 1 or more and less than 3 times, yellow when it is 4 or more and less than 8 times, and red when it is 8 or more times. Further, the size of display on the operation panel 4 is determined in proportion to the number of error occurrences for each mechanism. That is, since the scanner mechanism is displayed on the left side of the screen as described above, the display range to be displayed on the left side of the screen is determined in accordance with the number of error occurrences of the scanner mechanism (step 135). Similarly, since the printer mechanism is displayed on the right side of the screen as described above, the display range to be displayed on the right side of the screen is determined according to the number of error occurrences of the printer mechanism (step 136). Note that either of the order of steps 135 and 136 may be first. In this manner, when the color and range to be displayed on the background of the operation panel 4 are determined according to the number of error occurrences of each mechanism, color display instruction information according to the determination is generated. On the other hand, in step 133, when the number of error occurrences is less than 4, color display instruction information is generated with the content of displaying the entire background in green. The background color of the operation panel 4 is displayed in color according to the instruction information.

  According to the present embodiment, since the failure prediction information, that is, the state of the multifunction device 2 is displayed by the background color of the operation panel 4, the user displays the error occurrence frequency as the background color or its color. Depending on the scope or both, it is possible to grasp at a glance without checking an error report or the like.

  Note that the predetermined period described above can be set to an appropriate value, and the threshold value of the number of error occurrences for determining the background color can also be set to a desired value.

  In the present embodiment, since the two mechanisms of the scanner mechanism and the printer mechanism are focused, the operation panel 4 is divided into left and right to display the error status of each mechanism, but depending on the number of mechanisms The number of screen divisions of the operation panel 4 may be determined.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the shape of the display, the size of the shape, the color, the display range of the color, and the like displayed in the predetermined display area range on the operation panel 4 are set and adjusted to adjust the sheet tray, job, and multifunction device 2. Each state can be understood clearly at a glance. In addition, it is not necessary to selectively display any one of these changing states in the MFP 2, and a plurality of states are displayed on the screen by being adjusted by adjusting the display area, display color, and the like. You can also.

  In the present embodiment, the multi-function device 2 having a plurality of functions has been described as an example of an image forming apparatus. However, single-function apparatuses such as a FAX, a copy, a printer, and a scanner are also included in the image forming apparatus.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 16 is an overview diagram of the multifunction machine 2 according to the present embodiment. In this embodiment, a stand 18 dedicated to color display in the state is used instead of the operation panel 4. A stand 18 erected in the vicinity of the multi-function device 2 is an aggregate of lamps and LEDs that can issue a plurality of colors, and can emit different colors partially. FIG. 17 shows an example when the stand 18 emits light, but the state indicated by the light emission is equivalent to the operation panel 4 shown in FIG. Therefore, in FIG. 17, the same numbers are assigned to the parts displaying the same state as the reference numerals shown in FIGS.

  In this way, by providing a display-dedicated device separately from the main body of the multi-function device 2, the desired state of the multi-function device 2 can be displayed in an unconstrained form of the operation panel 4 which is a user interface. Further, the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus that does not have the operation panel 4.

  In the present embodiment, the stand 18 is taken as an example of the display unit dedicated to the status display of the multifunction device 2, but the image forming apparatus such as a display plate that can be attached to the front panel portion of the image forming apparatus is installed. The display means may be formed in an appropriate shape according to the place, environment, and the like.

1 is a block configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a status display device of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is an overview diagram of a multifunction machine according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a remaining amount / state of a sheet stored in a sheet tray of a multifunction peripheral and a relationship between each remaining amount / state and a degree of three primary colors as an example of master information used in the first embodiment. . 3 is a flowchart showing a state display process in the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating status information regarding a paper tray held by a status information holding unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing state information regarding consumables held by a state information holding unit in the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram showing a display example during normal use of the operation panel in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example when the state of the remaining amount of paper in each tray is displayed on the operation panel in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of log information recorded in the multifunction machine according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating status information regarding a job held by a status information holding unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example when the status of each job is displayed on the operation panel in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating job status display processing according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an error report managed and generated by the multifunction peripheral in the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram showing a display example when failure prediction information is displayed on the operation panel in Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a status display process of the multifunction machine according to the first embodiment. 3 is an overview diagram of a multifunction machine according to Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example when a state is displayed on a stand in the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  2 MFP, 4 operation panel, 10 status collection unit, 12 status display control unit, 14 color display master, 16 status information holding unit, 18 stand.

Claims (6)

State display control means for inputting current state information of a state that dynamically changes by use of the image forming apparatus and generating color display instruction information for representing the current state of the image forming apparatus by color display that can be identified from the current state information;
Color display means for displaying according to the color display instruction information;
A status display device for an image forming apparatus, comprising: The status display device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The color display instruction information includes a display instruction that specifies at least one of a color display position, a display shape and size, and a color pattern that are predetermined to represent the current state. Device status display device. The status display device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
A status display apparatus for an image forming apparatus, wherein the display means uses an operation panel installed on the image forming apparatus. The status display device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The status display device of an image forming apparatus, wherein the display means is a color light emitter standing in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus.   An image forming apparatus comprising the state display device according to claim 1.   Functions as status display control means for inputting current status information of a state that dynamically changes by use of the image forming apparatus and generating color display instruction information for representing the current status of the image forming apparatus by color display that can be identified from the current status information Status display program to be executed.