JP2011034515A - Information processing apparatus and setting operation method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus, whose operability is improved in a process from selection to determination of a setting item desired to be subjected to setting change, and to provide a setting operation method. <P>SOLUTION: The information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus which performs an information processing operation according to a setting parameter and can turn ON/OFF or change the setting parameter by operating an operation component, and includes: a display control means for displaying a setting screen configured including a plurality of display areas and an operation component in the display areas; an operation inputting means for inputting a movement operation instruction of the operation component; a determining means for determining whether the operation component is subjected to a movement operation among a plurality of display areas on the basis of the movement operation instruction; and a setting changing means for changing the setting parameter, wherein the setting changing means sets the setting parameter associated with the operation component to ON when the determining means determines that the operation component displayed in a first display area is subjected to a movement operation into a second display area. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to the fields of an information processing apparatus and a setting operation method.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an image forming apparatus that is a multi-function peripheral (MFP) in which a plurality of functions such as a printer, a copy, and a scanner are housed in a single housing is known. In addition to these basic functions such as printers, copiers, and scanners, image forming apparatuses have a variety of functions as digital image technology becomes more advanced and technologies related to MFPs evolve. provide.

  As such image forming apparatuses become more sophisticated, setting screens and setting items for setting various functions and processing operations tend to increase. In order to cope with an increase in setting items, a hierarchical structure is often adopted for the setting screen. In this case, when performing a setting operation for the user, the operation of operating the setting buttons and tabs occurs many times while moving the setting screen of each layer. For this reason, an easy-to-understand and easy-to-use user interface and operation method are also required from the viewpoint of improving operability.

  Furthermore, when not only a beginner but also a physically handicapped person performs an operation, it takes time to place and release a hand on the setting screen, so it is necessary to provide a setting environment with higher operability.

  Here, as a technology that allows a desired processing function to be easily applied to a predetermined page (setting screen), it is realized by superimposing an application icon associated with a function to be processed on an associated document icon on the predetermined page. The technology that can be done is known.

  As a related technique, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an application in which a function to be processed is associated with a document icon for the purpose of easily performing the work required for selecting a page to which the processing function is applied without requiring time and effort. An invention to which a processing function can be applied by overlapping icons is disclosed.

  However, according to the conventional technology, when setting is canceled and resetting, an icon that can be canceled is placed on the document, and then an icon associated with the processing to be performed needs to be superimposed, and applied to one document. When there are a plurality of processes to be performed, there has been a problem that it is necessary to repeatedly overlap icons.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and a setting operation method that improve the operability in the process from selection to determination of a setting item to be changed.

  In order to solve the above problem, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus that performs an information processing operation according to a setting parameter and can turn on / off or change the setting parameter by operating an operation component, Based on a setting screen including a plurality of display areas, a display control means for displaying an operation component in the display area, an operation input means for inputting an operation operation for moving the operation parts, and a plurality of operations based on the movement operation instructions. Determining means for determining whether or not the operation component has been moved between the display areas, and setting changing means for changing the setting parameter. The setting changing means is displayed in the first display area by the determining means. When it is determined that the operated operation part has been moved into the second display area, the setting parameter associated with the operation part is set to ON.

  In order to solve the above problems, a setting operation method according to the present invention performs an information processing operation according to a setting parameter, and the setting operation method in an information processing apparatus capable of turning on / off or changing the setting parameter by operating an operation component. A setting screen including a plurality of display areas, a display control procedure for displaying an operation component in the display area, an operation input procedure for inputting a movement operation instruction for the operation component, and the movement A determination procedure for determining whether the operation component has been moved between the plurality of display areas based on an operation instruction; and a setting change procedure for changing the setting parameter. When it is determined that the operation component displayed in the first display area is moved and operated in the second display area by the determination procedure, the operation component is associated with the operation component. To set a constant parameter to ON.

  In addition, what applied the arbitrary combination of the component of this invention, expression, or a component to a method, an apparatus, a system, a computer program, a recording medium, etc. is also effective as an aspect of this invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the information processing apparatus and the setting operation method which improved the operativity in the process from selection of the setting item which wants to change a setting to determination can be provided.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance of an operation panel 11 of the image forming apparatus 1. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a main functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. It is an example of the figure which shows the setting screen 100 which concerns on embodiment. It is an example of the figure which shows operation item movement operation. It is an example of the figure which shows the setting screen 100 after moving operation. It is an example (modification) of the figure which shows the setting screen 100 after moving operation. It is an example of the figure which shows movement operation | movement of a sub operation item. It is an example of the figure which shows the setting screen 100 after operation. It is an example of a figure showing movement operation of a plurality of operation items. It is an example of the figure which shows the setting screen 100 after moving operation. It is an example of the figure which shows movement operation | movement of a sub operation item. It is an example of a screen for performing an initial setting of the setting screen. An example of the screen information which comprises the setting screen 100 is shown. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing of the image forming apparatus 1. FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings in each embodiment. As an example of the information processing apparatus, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus will be described. The image forming apparatus is a multi-function peripheral (MFP) in which a plurality of functions such as a printer, a copy, and a scanner are housed in a single casing. In addition to these basic functions, it has a variety of functions as digital image technology is advanced and technology related to MFPs evolves, and various usage forms are provided in the user environment.

[System configuration]
(hardware)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes an operation panel 11, a storage medium I / F 12, a controller 13, a data communication I / F 14, a scanner 15, a plotter 16, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 17. Are connected to each other.

  The operation panel 11 includes an input device 11a and a display device 11b. The input device 11a includes hard keys and the like, and is used to input each operation signal to the image forming apparatus 1. Further, the display device 11b is configured by a display or the like, and displays, for example, various types of information regarding the image forming operation.

  The data communication I / F 14 includes an interface device 14a, and is an interface that connects the image forming apparatus 1 to a data transmission path such as a network or a fax machine. The HDD 17 stores various data such as received document data and read image data handled by the image forming apparatus 1. Further, the HDD 17 manages these various data by a predetermined file system or DB (Data Base).

  Various data stored in the HDD 17 includes data input from the recording medium 12b. The recording medium 12b is set in the drive device 12a included in the storage medium I / F 12, and various data are stored in the HDD 17 from the recording medium 12b via the drive device 12a.

  The controller 13 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13b, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 13c. The ROM 13a is executed when the image forming apparatus 1 is activated. Program and various data are stored. The RAM 13b temporarily stores various programs and data read from the ROM 13a and the HDD 17. Further, the CPU 13c executes a program temporarily stored in the RAM 13b. For example, when the print data is received via the data communication I / F 14, the controller 13 reads a program (PDL parser) that can read PDL (Page Description Language) read from the ROM 13a onto the RAM 13b by the CPU 13c. Execute and interpret the print data to generate a bitmap image.

  The scanner 15 includes an image reading device 15a, and optically reads a document placed on a reading surface and generates image data. The plotter 16 has a printing device 16a and prints a bitmap image on a recording sheet by, for example, an electrophotographic process method.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance of the operation panel 11 of the image forming apparatus 1. As described above, the operation panel 11 includes the input device 11a and the display device 11b. More specifically, the operation panel 11 includes, for example, a display 18 that displays various types of information related to an image forming operation, and a hard key 19 such as a physical button or a dial for a user to give an operation instruction. . In addition, since the display 18 of this embodiment is a touch panel type display by a tactile sensor, it is possible to perform an operation instruction related to an image forming operation by a contact operation on the display.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment realizes a plurality of functions such as a copy, a printer, a facsimile, and a scanner by the above hardware configuration.

(function)
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the main functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a display unit 301, an operation input unit 302, a determination unit 303, a setting change unit 304, and a storage unit 305. Details will be described in the processing operation, and will be briefly described here.

  The display control unit 301 has a function of controlling display of a setting screen including a plurality of display areas and an operation component in the display area. The operation component is also called a display component, and is embodied as an operation item such as a setting button, for example. A specific example of the setting screen including the operation component and the display area will be described later again with reference to the drawings.

  The operation input unit 302 has a function of inputting an operation component moving operation instruction. Specifically, this function can be realized by the touch panel display 18 described above. When the user operates an operation component (for example, a setting button) displayed on the touch panel display 18 (for example, pressing or moving operation), this is detected as an operation instruction signal.

  The determination unit 303 has a function of determining whether or not the operation component has been moved between a plurality of display areas based on the input movement operation instruction. The operation of moving the operation component is, for example, a drag and drop operation of a setting button. That is, specifically, the determination unit 303 determines whether the setting button has been dragged and dropped between the plurality of display areas. This point and details will be described later again.

  The setting change unit 304 has a function of changing setting parameters stored (stored) in the storage unit 305. In the setting change unit 304 according to the present embodiment, as a setting parameter change timing, the determination unit 303 determines that the operation component displayed in the first display area has been moved and operated in the second display area. At this time, the setting parameter associated with the operation component is set to ON. Details of this point will be described later.

  The storage unit 305 stores setting parameters. The setting parameter is a setting value for setting (defining) the processing operation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 performs a processing operation including image formation according to the value of the setting parameter. Specific examples of setting parameters include “black and white”, “full color”, and “grayscale” in color setting. The paper size setting includes “A4”, “B4”, “A3”, and the like. The reading resolution setting includes “100 dpi”, “200 dpi”, “300 dpi”, and the like. The user can make the image forming apparatus 1 perform a desired processing operation by enabling or disabling or selecting these setting parameters. The storage unit 305 is realized by the HDD 17 or the like.

  These functions are actually realized by the computer (image forming apparatus 1) by a program executed by the CPU 13c.

[Setting operation]
(Setting operation example 1)
FIG. 4 is an example of a diagram illustrating a setting screen 100 according to the embodiment. The setting screen 100 can be an initial setting screen displayed on the display 18 on the operation panel 11 when the image forming apparatus 1 is activated, for example. The setting screen 100 includes a display area of a setting item display area 110, a selection area 120, and a determination area 130. In the setting item display area 110, a plurality of operation items (setting buttons) as setting items are arranged. For example, an operation item “color” (referred to as a color button) is linked to a setting parameter relating to color.

  As the setting item “color”, the setting parameter can be selected from, for example, “black and white”, “full color”, and “grayscale”. A setting operation example for specifically changing the color setting from “monochrome” to “full color” will be described below. In the setting screen 100, the color setting (setting parameter) is “monochrome” (default value).

  FIG. 5 is an example of a diagram illustrating an operation item moving operation. First, when changing the color setting, the user performs a drag-and-drop operation on a color button as an operation item. As shown in the figure, the color button is moved into the selection area 120 as a destination. This moving operation is preferably performed on the touch panel display 18 of the operation panel 11, but of course, the moving operation may be performed using another operation device such as a mouse.

  If the color button is moved into the determination area 130, the intended setting cannot be uniquely specified (determined) only by this operation, and the moving operation is invalidated (ignored). This point will be described later again.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a diagram illustrating the setting screen 100 after the moving operation. When the color button is moved to the selection area 120, options are displayed in a list according to the number of setting parameter options that can be set by color setting, as shown in the figure. That is, in the “color” setting, the parameter can be selected from “black and white”, “full color”, and “grayscale” as the setting parameters. Therefore, after the moving operation, “black and white” and “full color” are selected in the selection area 120, respectively. , “Grayscale” options are displayed in a list (referred to as a list display method).

  FIG. 7 is an example (modified example) of the diagram showing the setting screen 100 after the moving operation. As a modified example of the list display method of FIG. 6, it is an example in the case of displaying by adopting a divided area display method. That is, in the divided area display, after the moving operation, the selection area 120 is divided into three areas, which are displayed as “monochrome”, “full color”, and “grayscale” areas, respectively. In the divided area display method, the selection area 120 is divided into areas and an area is assigned to each option. Therefore, when performing an operation of selecting one of the options from the selection area 120, the operability is high because the operable area is large. On the other hand, in the case of the list display method, since the selection area 120 has room, it is possible to move other operation items (buttons) from the setting item display area 110 to the selection area 120 at the same time. The options for a plurality of setting items can be expanded.

  FIG. 8 is an example of a diagram illustrating a sub operation item moving operation. Next, the user performs a drag-and-drop operation on the sub-operation item (operation item that is selectively branched from the operation item) displayed as “full color” from the selection area 120 to the determination area 130. Do.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the setting screen 100 after the operation. When the full color button as the sub operation item is moved and arranged in the decision area 130, the “color” setting can select the parameter from “black and white”, “full color”, and “grayscale” as the setting parameter. Setting parameters are determined. That is, the color setting is changed from “monochrome” to “full color” (setting change is determined). In this regard, referring to FIG. 9, at the timing when the full color button is arranged in the determination area 130, the display of the color button in the setting item display area 110 is changed from (monochrome) to (full color).

  When the user presses the start hard key 19 on the operation panel 11, the image forming apparatus 1 performs an image forming process (for example, an output process) according to the determined setting parameter. If the setting parameters (see FIG. 9) are confirmed more specifically, “color (full color)”, “resolution (200 dpi)”, “size (A4 landscape)”, “File format (PDF)”, “reading surface ( Image forming processing is performed under the setting conditions of “single side)”, “automatic density (ON)”.

  Note that the sub-operation item moved to the determination area 130 in FIG. 9 can be displayed by the divided area display method in FIG. 7 (not shown). In this case, the determination area 130 is divided according to the number of sub operation items arranged in the determination area 130, and an area is allocated for each sub operation item. When the sub-operation item in the determination area 130 as will be described later is moved, the operability is high because the area that can be operated is large.

(Setting operation example 2)
FIG. 10 is an example of a diagram illustrating a movement operation of a plurality of operation items. Since a plurality of operation items (setting buttons) as setting items are arranged in the setting item display area 110 of the setting screen 100, the above-described movement operation can be continuously performed for a plurality of operation items. That is, as shown in the figure, the operation item or sub-operation item can be dragged and dropped from the setting item display area 110 to the selection area 120 and the determination area 130 for a plurality of operation items.

  As shown in FIG. 10, in the “reading surface” setting, the parameter can be selected from “single side” and “double side” as setting parameters. By moving the double-sided button to the determination area 130, the “reading surface” is set. The setting can be changed to “Duplex”.

  FIG. 11 is an example of a diagram showing the setting screen 100 after the moving operation. As shown in the figure, the color setting is changed from “black and white” to “full color”, and the reading surface setting is changed from “single side” to “double side”. At the timing when the double-sided button is arranged in the determination area 130, the display of the reading side button in the setting item display area 110 is changed from (single side) to (double side).

  As described above, when a certain image forming process is performed on the image forming apparatus 1, it is possible to apply a plurality of setting items, that is, a plurality of setting parameter changes.

(Setting operation example 3)
FIG. 12 is an example of a diagram illustrating a sub operation item moving operation. In the setting screen 100 of FIG. 12, a full color button as a sub operation item is moved and arranged in the determination area 130. However, when it is desired to cancel the change to “full color”, as shown in the figure, a moving operation for excluding the full color button from the determination area 130 is performed. If the full color button is moved to the selection area 120, a list of options is displayed again according to the number of setting parameter options that can be set in the color setting. That is, in the “color” setting, the parameter can be selected from “black and white”, “full color”, and “grayscale” as the setting parameters. Therefore, after the moving operation, “black and white” and “full color” are selected in the selection area 120, respectively. , “Grayscale” options are displayed in a list. Then, as described above, the change to the setting parameter can be determined by moving the monochrome button or the gray scale button to the determination area 130.

  If the full color button is moved from the determination area 130 to an area other than the determination area 130 or the selection area 120, for example, the setting item display area 110, the change to “full color” itself is canceled, It is also possible to return the color setting to “black and white”.

  11 is maintained even after the user presses the start hard key 19 on the operation panel 11 and the image forming apparatus 1 performs image forming processing (for example, output processing) according to the determined setting parameter. Therefore, it is possible to perform a movement operation for the purpose of a cancel operation or a change operation from the setting history.

(Initial setting example)
FIG. 13 is an example of a screen for initial setting of the setting screen 100. As an example of the initial setting screen displayed on the display 18 on the operation panel 11, the setting screen 100 is shown in FIG. In the setting item display area 110 of the setting screen 100, a plurality of operation items (setting buttons) in which default setting parameters are set are arranged. Here, a user (for example, an administrator) can perform initial setting of the setting screen 100 via the screen shown in FIG. 13 in advance.

  In “default setting value” 1301, a setting item displayed as a default in the setting item display area 110 and a default value of a setting parameter corresponding to the setting item can be set. If a check is placed in the “display required / unnecessary” column, the corresponding operation item is displayed in the setting item display area 110 of the setting screen 100. In addition, an initial setting parameter (value) can be selectively set in the “default value” column.

  In the “selection area display” 1302, the display format of the selection area 120 can be set. In the “decision area display” 1303, the display area of the determination area 130 is set to list display (format) or divided area display (format), respectively. It can be set selectively from. Since the list display (format) or the divided area display (format) is as described above, description thereof is omitted here (for example, FIGS. 6 and 7).

  FIG. 14 shows an example of screen information that configures the setting screen 100. Referring again to FIG. 4, on the setting screen 100, a plurality of operation items are arranged and displayed in the setting item display area. The position and display of these operation items are configured as screen information. This screen information is stored (stored) in the storage unit 305.

  In FIG. 4A, coordinate information is held as position information of the operation item corresponding to the setting item, and a sub-setting item (option) branching selectably from the setting item and a sub-operation item corresponding to the sub-setting item. Coordinate information and setting state (ON / OFF) information of these sub-setting items are held. Since this setting state (ON / OFF) indicates a setting parameter, the sub-setting item (option) is valid when the setting state is ON. As described above, in this embodiment, the setting parameter is stored (stored) in the storage unit 305 by being included in the screen information.

  In FIG. 4B, information defining each area frame is held. Thus, the setting screen 100 is displayed based on the screen information. In more detail, an operation component (display component) associated with the setting item ID or the sub-setting item ID is called and output and displayed in the setting screen 100. The reason why the coordinate information of the sub setting item ID is blank is that the sub setting item (or sub operation item) is not arranged in the selection area 120 or the determination area 130. On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, when a full color button or a double-sided button as a sub operation item is arranged, coordinate information corresponding to the arrangement position is held.

[processing]
Next, processing of the image forming apparatus 1 accompanying the above setting operation will be described. Here, in accordance with the setting operation example 1 described above, the processing of the image forming apparatus 1 when the color setting parameter is changed from the default “black and white” to “color” on the setting screen 100 in FIG. Will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing of the image forming apparatus 1.

(First half processing)
First, as the first half process, a process when the color button is moved from the setting item display area 110 to the selection area 120 will be described. It is assumed that the setting screen 100 shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display 18 of the operation panel 11. This setting screen 100 is displayed based on the screen information in the storage unit 305.

  First, when the user performs a drag-and-drop operation on a color button as an operation item, the operation input unit 302 detects an operation of the color button as an operation instruction signal. Since the operation instruction signal means coordinate information, the coordinate information on the setting screen 100 is acquired at this time. Particularly in the case of a drag-and-drop operation, a plurality of pieces of coordinate information from the start point to the end point are continuously acquired. The acquired coordinate information is sent to the display control unit 301 (S1501).

  The display control unit 301 updates the setting screen 100 based on the input coordinate information and screen information (held as a premise when the setting screen 100 is already displayed), and moves the color button as an operation item. Is displayed (reflected) on the screen (S1502). Specifically, a list of sub-operation items is displayed in the selection area 120 (FIG. 6).

  The display control unit 301 updates the screen information together (S1503). As the update location, the coordinates (X, Y) of the sub-setting items are stored. Specifically, referring to FIG. 6, sub-operation items “monochrome”, “grayscale”, and “full color” are arranged and displayed in the selection area 120 in accordance with the movement operation. This is because it is necessary to hold the coordinate information of the sub-setting items corresponding to these sub-operation items in the screen information.

  If the color button is moved from the setting item display area 110 to the determination area 130, the display control unit 301 determines this based on the input coordinate information and screen information, and ignores the movement operation. Take control. In other words, the moving operation of the color button as the operation item is not displayed (reflected) on the screen by ignoring the moving operation (a display for calling attention such as “the operation is invalid” may be performed on the screen) ). The reason why the display control unit 301 ignores the moving operation is that the moving operation of only the operation items whose settings can be uniquely specified should be permitted in the determination area 130. That is, even if the color button is moved to the determination area 130, the setting cannot be made unique, so the display control unit 301 performs control to ignore the movement operation. However, on the contrary, in the case of an operation item whose setting can be uniquely specified, a moving operation from the setting item display area 110 to the determination area 130 is possible. For example, in the case of an automatic density button, there are only two setting parameters, ON and OFF. Therefore, without moving to the selection area 120 and expanding sub-operation items as options, ON → OFF or OFF → The setting can be changed to ON. In this case, the display control unit 301 determines that the moving operation from the setting item display area 110 to the determination area 130 and the moving operation are possible based on the input coordinate information and screen information, and the operation item (for example, Display (reflect) the movement operation of the automatic density button) on the screen.

  The display control unit 301 notifies the determination unit 303 of the coordinate information (S1504). When the display control unit 301 performs control to ignore the moving operation, the display control unit 301 does not notify the determination unit 303 of the coordinate information (ends the processing). This is because the movement operation should be invalidated in the first place, and therefore setting parameters cannot be changed.

  On the other hand, when acquiring the received coordinate information, the determination unit 303 requests screen information from the storage unit 305 and acquires it (S1505). The screen information includes position information of setting items and sub-setting items and position information of each area (FIG. 14).

  Based on the coordinate information (start point coordinate information and end point coordinate information) from the operation input unit 302 and the screen information, the determination unit 303 grasps which operation item is moved from which region to which region, and It is determined whether the operation component has been moved between display areas (S1506). In this example, specifically, since the color button is moved from the setting item display area 110 to the selection area 120, it is determined that the operation component has been moved between the display areas, and this determination result is used as the setting change unit 304. (S1507). At this time, both input information and screen information are notified.

  The setting change unit 304 acquires the determination result, input information, and screen information from the determination unit 303, and determines whether to change the setting (S1508). Here, the color button is moved from the setting item display area 110 to the selection area 120, and the color button has a sub setting item and cannot specify a setting parameter that should be uniquely changed. Therefore, the setting is not changed. Judge.

(Second half process)
Next, as a second half process, a process when the full color button is moved from the selection area 120 to the determination area 130 will be described. As a premise, sub-operation items “monochrome”, “grayscale”, and “full color” are arranged and displayed in the selection area 120 after the first half process described above. The description will be continued with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

  When the user performs a drag-and-drop operation on the determination area 130 with respect to the full color button in the selection area 120 (FIG. 8), the operation input unit 302 detects the operation of the color button as an operation instruction signal. Since the operation instruction signal means coordinate information, coordinate information on the setting screen 100 is acquired, and the acquired coordinate information is sent to the display control unit 301 (S1511).

  The display control unit 301 updates the setting screen 100 based on the input coordinate information and screen information (held as a premise when the setting screen 100 is already displayed), and moves the full color button as a sub-operation item. The operation is displayed (reflected) on the screen (S1512). Specifically, a full color button is displayed in the decision area 130 (FIG. 9).

  The display control unit 301 updates the screen information together (S1513). As the update location, the coordinates (X, Y) of the sub setting item are updated. Specifically, referring to FIG. 8, since the sub-operation item “full color” is arranged and displayed in the determination area 120 in accordance with the movement operation, the setting screen 100 uses this sub-operation in the screen information. This is because it is necessary to update the coordinate information of the sub-setting item corresponding to the item. Also, the coordinate information of the sub operation items (“black and white”, “gray scale”, “full color”) arranged and displayed in the selection area 120 becomes unnecessary with the moving operation and is deleted.

  Then, the display control unit 301 notifies the determination unit 303 of the coordinate information (S1514).

  When the determination unit 303 acquires the sent coordinate information, the determination unit 303 requests screen information from the storage unit 305 and acquires it (S1515). The screen information includes position information of setting items and sub-setting items and position information of each area (FIG. 14).

  Based on the coordinate information (start point coordinate information and end point coordinate information) from the operation input unit 302 and the screen information, the determination unit 303 grasps which operation item is moved from which region to which region, and It is determined whether the operation component has been moved between display areas (S1506). Specifically, in this example, since the full-color button is moved from the selection area 120 to the determination area 130, it is determined that the operation component has been moved between display areas, and the determination result is notified to the setting change unit 304. (S1517). At this time, both input information and screen information are notified.

  The setting change unit 304 acquires the determination result, input information, and screen information from the storage unit determination unit 303, and determines whether to change the setting (S1518). Here, the full-color button is moved from the selection area 120 to the determination area 130, and the full-color button is a sub-setting item, so that the setting parameter to be changed can be uniquely specified. Accordingly, the setting change unit 304 determines to change the setting, and changes the setting of the setting parameter stored in the storage unit 305 (S1519). Specifically, in FIG. 14A, the setting state of the sub setting item “monochrome” is changed from “ON” to “OFF”, and the setting state of the sub setting item “full color” is changed from “OFF” to “ON”.

  When the setting change unit 304 changes the setting parameter setting, the setting change unit 304 notifies the display control unit 301 of the setting change. Upon receiving this notification, the display control unit 301 may perform control to display on the screen that the setting has been changed.

  The processing of the image forming apparatus 1 accompanying the setting operation has been described above. By such processing, the setting parameter setting change can be realized by the operation item moving operation.

[Summary]
Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described as a summary.

  In the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, an information processing operation is performed according to setting parameters, and the setting parameters can be turned on / off or changed by operating an operation component. A setting screen configured to include an area; display control means for displaying an operation part in the display area; operation input means for inputting a movement operation instruction for the operation part; and Determining means for determining whether or not the operation component has been moved between a plurality of display areas; and setting changing means for changing the setting parameter. When it is determined that the operation component displayed in the display area is moved to the second display area, the setting parameter associated with the operation component is set to ON. It is characterized in.

  According to this configuration, when the operation component displayed in the first display area and associated with the setting parameter is moved and operated in the second display area, the image forming apparatus 1 turns on the setting parameter. Since it is set to (valid), it is possible to change the setting for enabling the parameter (setting value) of the setting item to be changed by a simple operation.

  For example, in the “Color” setting, the parameter can be selected from “Monochrome”, “Full Color”, and “Grayscale” as setting parameters. In the first display area, there are monochrome buttons, full color buttons, and grayscale buttons. When the display is arranged, the color button in the first display area is moved to the second display area. Then, a full color button is arranged and displayed in the second display area. The “color” setting parameter is changed to “full color” at the timing when the full color button is arranged and displayed in the second display area.

  In the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the display control unit associates a setting parameter that can be selected from the setting parameter when the setting parameter to be set to ON is not uniquely specified. The operation parts displayed in the second display area are displayed in the second display area, and the setting change means moves the operation parts displayed in the second display area by the determination means into the third display area. When it is determined that an operation has been performed, a setting parameter associated with the operation component is set to ON.

  According to this configuration, in the case where the setting parameter to be set to ON is not uniquely specified, the image forming apparatus 1 displays a plurality of operation components associated with the selection item in the second display area so that the setting parameter can be selected. indicate. In addition, when an operation component displayed in the second display area and associated with the setting parameter is moved into the third display area, the setting parameter is set to ON (valid), so that simple operation is possible. The setting change to enable the parameter (setting value) of the setting item whose setting is to be changed can be performed.

  For example, in the “Color” setting, the parameter can be selected from “Monochrome”, “Full Color”, and “Grayscale” as the setting parameter. First, the color button in the first display area is placed in the second display area. Perform the move operation. Then, a monochrome button, a full color button, and a gray scale button are arranged and displayed in the second display area. Further, the full color button in the second display area is moved to the third display area. Then, a full color button is arranged and displayed in the third display area. The “color” setting parameter is changed to “full color” at the timing when the full color button is arranged and displayed in the third display area.

  Further, in the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the position information of the operation component moved and operated in the second or third display area is stored, and the setting change unit is determined by the determination unit. When it is determined that the moved operation component is moved outside the display area where the moved operation component is located, the setting parameter associated with the operation component is set to OFF.

  According to this configuration, the image forming apparatus 1 stores the position information of the display component on the screen even after setting the setting parameter to be valid by the display component moving operation. The position of the display component is displayed in the display area after the moving operation. In addition, if the operation component is moved outside the display area, the valid setting parameter is set to invalid. Therefore, when the setting parameter that has been previously set is changed again, the setting can be easily changed. It can be performed.

  For example, in the “color” setting, the parameter can be selected from “black and white”, “full color”, and “grayscale” as the setting parameter, and a full color button is arranged in the second display area or the third display area. By being displayed, the setting parameter is changed to “full color”. Here, the position information of the full color button is stored and held. Therefore, if the full color button displayed in the second display area or the third display area is moved outside the display area, the setting change is made to invalidate the “full color” setting. The For example, in this case, the default value “black and white” may be temporarily restored.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention has an effect of improving the operability in the process from selection to determination of a setting item whose setting is to be changed, and is effective as an information processing apparatus and a setting operation method. .

  In addition, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, these are illustrations of this invention and can also employ | adopt various structures besides the above.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the display area of the setting screen 100 includes the display area of the setting item display area 110, the selection area 120, and the determination area 130, but there is no particular limitation. 5... X display areas may be included. It can be determined as appropriate according to the number of levels of setting items (number of layers such as operation parts, sub-operation parts, sub-sub-operation parts). In the case of a setting item having a deeper hierarchical structure due to continuous branching, it is assumed that the setting change becomes more complicated. However, by applying the present invention and finally performing a moving operation across the display area, finally, Unique configuration parameters can be set.

For example, in the above embodiment, the main functional blocks are shown in FIGS. 3 and 15 and the processing thereof has been described. However, there is no particular intention to limit to the functional units, and for example, the functional units may be realized by other functional units. . That is, since each functional unit is realized by a program executed by the CPU 13c, there can be various realization methods (processing methods).
The present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. For example, in the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus as an example of an information processing apparatus, and the setting operation method can be widely applied to other systems and apparatuses.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 11 Operation panel 11a Input device 11b Display apparatus 12 Storage media I / F
12a Drive device 12b Recording medium 13 Controller 13a ROM
13b RAM
13c CPU
14 Data communication I / F
14a Interface device 15 Scanner 15a Image reading device 16 Plotter 16a Printing device 17 HDD
18 Display 19 Hard key 100 Setting screen 110 Setting item display area 120 Selection area 130 Determination area 301 Display control section 302 Operation input section 303 Determination section 304 Setting change section 305 Storage section

JP 2007-280227 A

Claims (6)

An information processing apparatus that performs an information processing operation in accordance with a setting parameter and can turn on / off or change the setting parameter by operating an operation component,
A setting screen configured to include a plurality of display areas; display control means for displaying an operation component in the display area;
Operation input means for inputting a moving operation instruction of the operation component;
Determination means for determining whether the operation component is moved between the plurality of display areas based on the movement operation instruction;
Setting changing means for changing the setting parameter;
Have
The setting change means turns on the setting parameter associated with the operation component when it is determined by the determination means that the operation component displayed in the first display area has been moved into the second display area. Set to
An information processing apparatus characterized by the above. If the setting parameter to be set to ON is not uniquely specified, the display control means displays a plurality of operation components associated with a setting parameter that branches selectably from the setting parameter in the second display area. And
The setting change means, when it is determined that the operation component displayed in the second display area is moved and operated in the third display area by the determination means, the setting parameter associated with the operation component is set. Set it to ON,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The position information of the operation component moved and operated in the second or third display area is stored,
The setting changing unit sets the setting parameter associated with the operation component to OFF when it is determined by the determination unit that the operation component moved is moved outside the display area where the operation component is located;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. A setting operation method in an information processing apparatus that performs an information processing operation according to a setting parameter and can turn on / off or change the setting parameter by operating an operation component,
A setting screen configured to include a plurality of display areas, and a display control procedure for displaying an operation component in the display area;
An operation input procedure for inputting a moving operation instruction of the operation component;
A determination procedure for determining whether the operation component has been moved between the plurality of display areas based on the movement operation instruction;
A setting change procedure for changing the setting parameters;
Have
In the setting change procedure, when it is determined that the operation component displayed in the first display area is moved into the second display area by the determination procedure, the setting parameter associated with the operation component is turned on. Set to
A setting operation method characterized by. In the display control procedure, when a setting parameter to be set to ON is not uniquely specified, a plurality of operation components associated with a setting parameter that can be selected from the setting parameter are displayed in the second display area. And
In the setting change procedure, when it is determined that the operation component displayed in the second display area is moved and operated in the third display area by the determination procedure, the setting parameter associated with the operation component is set. Set it to ON,
The setting operation method according to claim 4. The position information of the operation component moved and operated in the second or third display area is stored,
The setting change procedure sets OFF a setting parameter associated with the operation component when it is determined by the determination procedure that the operation component operated to move is moved outside the display area.
The setting operation method according to claim 4 or 5.

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