JP2018027667A - Image forming apparatus, display control method, and display control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of improving operability for setting items hidden in a pop-up screen.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus includes a display 109, and a first display control part 151 for displaying a setting screen for receiving settings on the image forming apparatus in the display 109. The setting screen includes a plurality of setting items for receiving different settings respectively. The image forming apparatus further includes a second display control part 152 for displaying a pop-up screen for receiving settings on the image forming apparatus, which is superimposed on the setting screen, on the basis of the reception of a predetermined call operation, and a third display control part 154 for displaying the setting items on the display 109 when it is determined that a current setting content for the pop-up screen is related to the setting items hidden by the superimposed display of the pop-up screen on the basis of a related table 124 that prescribes setting items related to the setting content for each setting content for the pop-up screen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present disclosure relates to display control of an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to display control of setting items hidden on a pop-up screen.

  As the image forming apparatus such as an MFP (Multi-Functional Peripheral) is highly functionalized, the contents of the screen are complicated. There is a technique for popping up a setting screen based on a predetermined call operation in order to effectively use a limited display area. The user can effectively use the limited display area by popping up the setting screen as necessary. Hereinafter, a setting screen popped up by a predetermined calling operation is also referred to as a “pop-up screen”. The setting screen superimposed by displaying the pop-up screen is also referred to as a “lower layer setting screen”.

  Regarding a technique for displaying a pop-up screen, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-199799 (Patent Document 1) discloses an image forming apparatus that can facilitate the input of a numeric keypad as a pop-up screen. The image forming apparatus displays the numeric keypad in the margin area to prevent the popped up numeric keypad from overlapping the button on the lower layer setting screen.

  Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2010-79412 (Patent Document 2) discloses an information display device for preventing a pop-up screen from being superimposed on a button of a lower layer setting screen. More specifically, the information display device reduces and displays the buttons on the lower layer setting screen when the pop-up screen is displayed. Thereby, the information display apparatus prevents the pop-up screen from overlapping the button of the lower layer setting screen.

JP 2012-199799 A JP 2010-79412 A

  The lower layer setting screen includes a plurality of setting items (for example, buttons) that accept different settings. These setting items may be hidden by the pop-up screen display. In this case, the user cannot operate the hidden setting item, and the operability for the setting item is deteriorated. Therefore, it is desired to improve the operability for the setting items hidden on the pop-up screen.

  Whether or not an operation on a setting item hidden on the pop-up screen is necessary depends on the setting content on the pop-up screen. As an example, assume that the pop-up screen is a numeric keypad, and the numeric keypad accepts the setting for the number of copies to be printed. In this case, the setting items that need to be operated change according to the setting of the number of copies for the numeric keypad. For example, when a plurality of copies are set as the number of print copies, a page sort setting is required. However, when a single copy number is set as the number of print copies, such a page sort setting is not necessary. Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose improving the operability of the setting screen when displaying the pop-up screen, and do not disclose improving the operability with respect to the setting items hidden on the pop-up screen. .

  The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object in one aspect is to provide an image forming apparatus that can improve operability with respect to setting items hidden on a pop-up screen. . An object in another aspect is to provide a display control method capable of improving operability with respect to setting items hidden on a pop-up screen. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a display control program that can improve the operability with respect to setting items hidden on a pop-up screen.

  According to a certain aspect, the image forming apparatus includes a display device and a first display control unit for displaying on the display device a first setting screen for accepting settings relating to the image forming device. The first setting screen includes a plurality of setting items each accepting a different setting. The image forming apparatus further includes a second display control for superimposing and displaying a second setting screen for accepting a setting relating to the image forming apparatus on the first setting screen based on receiving a predetermined calling operation. And the setting content for the second setting screen, the current setting content for the second setting screen is based on the information defining the setting items related to the setting content. A determination unit for determining whether the setting item is hidden by the superimposed display, and the determination unit determines that the current setting content is related to the hidden setting item And a third display control unit for displaying the hidden setting item on the display device.

  Preferably, the third display control unit displays the hidden setting item in a display area different from a display portion of the second setting screen.

  Preferably, the second setting screen receives a setting for the number of copies to be printed. The setting content defined in the information includes setting of a plurality of copies. A setting item for accepting print settings related to the number of copies is associated with the setting of the number of copies.

  Preferably, the setting item for receiving the print setting relating to the plurality of copies includes a setting item for designating the printing order of the plurality of copies.

  Preferably, the setting item for accepting the print setting relating to the plurality of copies includes a setting item for confirming the print contents of the plurality of copies.

  Preferably, the second setting screen receives a setting of the type of printing paper. The information defines setting items related to the type of the printing paper.

  According to another aspect, a display control method for a computer including a display device includes a step of displaying, on the display device, a first setting screen for accepting settings related to the computer. The first setting screen includes a plurality of setting items each accepting a different setting. The display control method further includes a step of superimposing and displaying a second setting screen for accepting settings relating to the computer on the first setting screen based on receiving a predetermined calling operation; and the second setting screen For each setting content for the setting item, the current setting content for the second setting screen is hidden by the superimposed display of the second setting screen based on information defining the setting items related to the setting content If the current setting content is determined to be related to the hidden setting item in the determining step and the determining step, the hidden setting item is And displaying on the display device.

  If another situation is followed, the display control program of a computer provided with a display apparatus will make the said computer perform the step which displays the 1st setting screen which receives the setting regarding the said computer on the said display apparatus. The first setting screen includes a plurality of setting items each accepting a different setting. The display control program further includes a step of superimposing and displaying on the first setting screen a second setting screen for accepting a setting relating to the computer based on receiving a predetermined calling operation; and the second setting screen For each setting content for the setting item, the current setting content for the second setting screen is hidden by the superimposed display of the second setting screen based on information defining the setting items related to the setting content If the current setting content is determined to be related to the hidden setting item in the determining step and the determining step, the hidden setting item is And displaying on the display device.

  In one aspect, the operability for the setting items hidden on the pop-up screen can be improved.

  The above and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

1 is an external view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the display control by the image forming apparatus according to 1st Embodiment in time series. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the relevance table according to 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the main structures of the image forming apparatus according to 1st Embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing a part of processing executed by the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the display control by the image forming apparatus according to 2nd Embodiment in time series. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the relevance table according to 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the display control by the image forming apparatus according to 3rd Embodiment in time series. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the relevance table according to 3rd Embodiment. 10 is a flowchart representing a part of processing executed by an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts and components are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated. Each embodiment and each modified example described below may be selectively combined as appropriate.

<First Embodiment>
[Image forming apparatus 100]
The image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of the image forming apparatus 100.

  FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus 100 as an MFP. The MFP is a device having a printing function, a scanning function, a FAX function, and the like. The image forming apparatus 100 as an MFP will be described below, but the image forming apparatus 100 is not limited to the MFP. For example, the image forming apparatus 100 may be a monochrome printer, a color printer, a scanner, a FAX, or other information processing including a display device. It may be a device.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes a scanner 106, a printer 107, and an operation panel 108. The scanner 106 reads the set paper and generates an image representing the paper. The printer 107 prints, for example, paper read by the scanner 106 as an image by an electrophotographic method. The operation panel 108 includes a display 109 as a display device. A touch panel is overlaid on the display 109, and the display 109 receives an operation on the image forming apparatus 100 by a touch operation.

[Display Control of Image Forming Apparatus 100]
Display control by the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of display control by the image forming apparatus 100 in time series.

  In step S1, it is assumed that a setting screen 30 (first setting screen) as a top screen is displayed on the display 109 of the image forming apparatus 100. The setting screen 30 receives a setting input (for example, print setting) for the image forming apparatus 100. The setting input is realized by a touch operation on the display 109, for example.

  The setting screen 30 includes setting items 31, 32A to 32G that accept different print settings. More specifically, the setting item 31 receives a setting for the number of copies to be printed. The setting item 32A accepts an output format (for example, color setting) of printing paper. The setting item 32B receives a density setting at the time of printing. The setting item 32C receives a print paper size setting. The setting item 32D accepts the setting of the enlargement ratio of the print data printed on the printing paper. The setting item 32E accepts the setting of the print sheet arrangement order. The setting item 32F receives a setting for designating whether or not to close the printing paper with staples. The setting item 32G accepts the setting of the number of print data to be collected on one sheet.

  In step S <b> 2, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 100 receives a call operation for the pop-up screen 34. As a result, the pop-up screen 34 is displayed on the display 109. The pop-up screen 34 is displayed by, for example, a touch operation on the setting item 31. The pop-up screen 34 receives print settings related to the image forming apparatus 100. As an example, the pop-up screen 34 is a numeric keypad that accepts settings for the number of copies to be printed. The numerical value input to the pop-up screen 34 is reflected in the setting item 31 as the number of copies.

  Due to the display of the pop-up screen 34, the setting items 32E and 32F of the setting screen 30 are hidden by the pop-up screen 34. The image forming apparatus 100 determines whether to display the setting items 32 </ b> E and 32 </ b> F that are hidden on the pop-up screen 34 based on the setting content for the pop-up screen 34. As an example, this determination is made based on the relationship table 124 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the relationship table 124.

  In the relevance table 124, for each setting content for the pop-up screen 34, setting items related to the setting content are defined. The relationship between “setting contents” and “setting items” in the relevancy table 124 may be defined in advance or may be arbitrarily changed by the user. The image forming apparatus 100 determines whether or not the current setting content for the pop-up screen 34 is related to the setting items 32E and 32F hidden by the superimposed display of the pop-up screen 34 based on the relevancy table 124.

  As an example, the “setting contents” defined in the relevancy table 124 includes setting of a singular copy and setting of a plurality of copies. In the example of FIG. 3, no setting item is associated with the “single copy” setting defined in the relationship table 124. A setting item 32E for accepting print settings related to the number of copies is associated with the setting of “number of copies” defined in the relevancy table 124. As described above, the setting item 32E accepts a setting for specifying a printing order of a plurality of copies. The setting of the printing order is specified by selecting, for example, “group setting” for printing a plurality of sheets per page or “sort setting” for printing a plurality of sheets for each copy.

  Referring to FIG. 2 again, in step S2, it is assumed that the user has set the number of copies “1” for the pop-up screen 34. In this case, the image forming apparatus 100 refers to “setting contents” defined in the relevancy table 124 and searches for setting items associated with “number of singular copies”. Since the setting item having high relevance to “the number of singular copies” is not defined in the relevance table 124, when the number of print copies is a singular number of copies (ie, “1”), the image forming apparatus 100 displays a pop-up screen. The setting items 32E and 32F hidden by 34 are not displayed.

  In step S <b> 3, it is assumed that the user sets the number of copies “2” for the pop-up screen 34. In this case, the image forming apparatus 100 refers to “setting contents” defined in the relevance table 124 and searches for setting items associated with “multiple copies”. As a result, the setting item 32E is hit. The image forming apparatus 100 displays the same setting item 36 on the display 109 as the setting item 32E that has been hit.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 performs the pop-up on the basis of the relevance table 124 (information) that defines the setting items related to the setting content for each setting content for the pop-up screen 34 (second setting screen). It is determined whether or not the current setting content for the screen 34 is related to the setting item hidden by the superimposed display of the pop-up screen 34. When the image forming apparatus 100 determines that the current setting content for the pop-up screen 34 is related to the setting item hidden in the pop-up screen 34, the image forming apparatus 100 displays the setting item on the display 109 (display device). Thereby, the operability for the setting items hidden on the pop-up screen 34 is improved.

  Preferably, the image forming apparatus 100 displays the setting item 32E hidden on the pop-up screen 34 in a display area different from the display portion of the pop-up screen 34. Typically, the setting item 32E hidden on the pop-up screen 34 is displayed in the vicinity of the pop-up screen 34. The vicinity means a predetermined range outside the edge portion of the pop-up screen 34. Since the setting item 32E hidden on the pop-up screen 34 is displayed side by side with the pop-up screen 34, the user can perform setting input for both the pop-up screen 34 and the setting item 32E.

[Functional Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 100]
The function of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a main configuration of the image forming apparatus 100.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a control device 101 and the above-described display 109 (see FIG. 1). The control device 101 includes a first display control unit 151, a second display control unit 152, a determination unit 153, and a third display control unit 154 as functional configurations.

  The first display control unit 151 displays on the display 109 a setting screen 30 (see FIG. 2) that accepts print settings related to the image forming apparatus 100. The setting screen 30 is a top screen of the image forming apparatus 100, for example. The first display control unit 151 displays the setting screen 30 on the display 109 based on the reception of the top screen calling operation.

  The second display control unit 152 superimposes and displays on the setting screen 30 a pop-up screen 34 (see FIG. 1) that accepts print settings related to the image forming apparatus 100 based on receiving a predetermined call operation. The predetermined calling operation includes, for example, a touch operation with respect to the setting item 31 described above, a press of a hardware key on the operation panel 108 (see FIG. 1), and the like.

  Based on the above-described relevance table 124 (see FIG. 3), the determination unit 153 relates to the setting items on the setting screen 30 in which the current setting content for the pop-up screen 34 is hidden by the superimposed display of the pop-up screen 34. Determine whether or not. Whether each setting item on the setting screen 30 is hidden on the pop-up screen 34 is determined by, for example, comparing the coordinate value of the pop-up screen 34 in the display 109 with the coordinate value of each setting item on the setting screen 30 in the display 109. It is judged by doing.

  The third display control unit 154 displays the hidden setting item on the display 109 when it is determined that the current setting content for the pop-up screen 34 is related to the setting item hidden on the pop-up screen 34. To do. As a result, setting items highly relevant to the current setting content are displayed on the display 109. On the other hand, setting items that are not highly related to the current setting content are not displayed on the display 109. That is, the setting items hidden in the pop-up screen 34 are displayed based on the setting contents for the pop-up screen 34.

[Control Structure of Image Forming Apparatus 100]
The control structure of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a part of processing executed by image forming apparatus 100. The processing in FIG. 5 is realized by the control device 101 (see FIG. 4) of the image forming apparatus 100 executing a program. In other aspects, some or all of the processing may be performed by circuit elements or other hardware.

  In step S110, the control apparatus 101 determines whether a pop-up screen call operation has been accepted. When control device 101 determines that a pop-up screen call operation has been received (YES in step S110), control device 101 switches control to step S112. When that is not right (in step S110 NO), the control apparatus 101 performs the process of step S110 again.

  In step S112, the control device 101 displays a pop-up screen as a numeric keypad on the display 109 (see FIG. 1) as the above-described second display control unit 152 (see FIG. 4).

  In step S120, the control apparatus 101 determines whether or not a plurality of copies is set as the setting of the number of copies for the numeric keypad. As an example, when two or more print copies are set, the control apparatus 101 determines that a plurality of copies are set. If control device 101 determines that a plurality of copies has been set as the setting for the number of copies for the numeric keypad (YES in step S120), control is switched to step S130. When that is not right (in step S120 NO), the control apparatus 101 performs the process of step S120 again.

  In step S <b> 130, the control apparatus 101 determines whether there is a setting item that is highly relevant to a plurality of copies of the print setting, among the setting items hidden in the pop-up screen, as the determination unit 153 (see FIG. 4). Judging. This determination is made based on the above-described relationship table 124 (see FIG. 3). When the control device 101 determines that there is a setting item that is highly relevant to the print settings for multiple copies among the setting items hidden in the pop-up screen (YES in step S130), the control device 101 switches the control to step S132. If not (NO in step S130), control device 101 ends the display control process shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 132, the control apparatus 101 displays the setting items that are determined to be highly relevant to the print settings for a plurality of copies. Preferably, the setting items are displayed side by side in the vicinity of the pop-up screen.

[Hardware Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 100]
An example of the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a control device 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, a communication interface 104, a scanner 106, a printer 107, An operation panel 108 and a storage device 120 are provided.

  The control device 101 is configured by at least one integrated circuit, for example. The integrated circuit includes, for example, at least one CPU (Central Processing Unit), at least one ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), at least one FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof.

  The control device 101 controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 by executing various programs such as the display control program 122 according to the present embodiment. The control device 101 reads the display control program 122 stored in the ROM 102 based on receiving the execution instruction of the display control program 122. The RAM 103 functions as a working memory and temporarily stores various data necessary for executing the display control program 122.

  An antenna (not shown) or the like is connected to the communication interface 104. The image forming apparatus 100 exchanges data with an external communication device via the antenna. The external communication device includes, for example, a mobile communication terminal such as a smartphone, a server, and the like. Image forming apparatus 100 may be configured such that display control program 122 according to the present embodiment can be downloaded from a server via an antenna.

  The scanner 106 optically reads a document set on the image forming apparatus 100 and generates image data of the document.

  The printer 107 converts image data read by the scanner 106 or print data transmitted from another communication device into data for printing using, for example, an electrophotographic method, and a document or the like based on the converted data. It is a device that prints the image.

  The operation panel 108 accepts an operation for calling a setting screen such as a top screen or a pop-up screen. The operation panel 108 includes a display 109 as a display device. The display 109 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or other display device. The display 109 is overlaid on the touch panel, and accepts various operations (for example, printing operations) on the image forming apparatus 100 by touch operations.

  The storage device 120 is a storage medium such as a hard disk or an external storage device. The storage device 120 stores the display control program 122 for realizing the processing according to the present embodiment and the above-described relationship table 124 (see FIG. 3). The storage location of the display control program 122 and the relationship table 124 is not limited to the storage device 120. For example, the display control program 122 and the relationship table 124 may be stored in other devices such as a storage area (for example, a cache area), the ROM 102, the RAM 103, and the server of the control apparatus 101.

  The display control program 122 may be provided by being incorporated in a part of an arbitrary program, not as a single program. In this case, the processing according to the present embodiment is realized in cooperation with an arbitrary program. Even such a program that does not include some modules does not depart from the spirit of the display control program 122 according to the present embodiment. Furthermore, some or all of the functions provided by the display control program 122 may be realized by dedicated hardware. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 100 may be configured in the form of a so-called cloud service in which at least one server executes a part of the processing of the display control program 122.

[Brief Summary]
As described above, image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment determines whether or not to display the setting item hidden on the pop-up screen based on the setting content for the pop-up screen. The image forming apparatus 100 displays the setting item when the current setting content on the pop-up screen is highly related to the setting item hidden on the pop-up screen. Thereby, the operability for the setting items hidden on the pop-up screen is improved. Further, since the image forming apparatus 100 does not display setting items that are less relevant to the setting contents for the pop-up screen, the display area can be used effectively.

<Second Embodiment>
[Overview]
Image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment displays a pop-up screen on a setting screen as a top screen. In contrast, image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment further displays a pop-up screen on a setting screen as a pop-up screen. The image forming apparatus 100 determines whether or not to display the setting item of the lower-level pop-up screen hidden by the upper-level pop-up screen based on the setting content for the upper-level pop-up screen.

  Since other points such as the hardware configuration of image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment are the same as those of image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, the description thereof will not be repeated below.

[Display Control of Image Forming Apparatus 100]
Display control by image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of display control by image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment in time series.

  In step S5, it is assumed that the user performs a call operation on the pop-up screen 41. As a result, the image forming apparatus 100 displays the pop-up screen 41 on the setting screen 30 that is the top screen. The pop-up screen 41 includes setting items 42A and 42B. The setting item 42A accepts the setting of the direction of the paper set in the image forming apparatus 100. The setting item 42B accepts the setting of the print preview confirmation method.

  In step S6, it is assumed that the user performs a call operation on the pop-up screen 34. As a result, the image forming apparatus 100 displays the pop-up screen 34 on the pop-up screen 41. The pop-up screen 34 is a numeric keypad for setting the number of copies to be printed, for example. When the pop-up screen 34 is displayed in the vicinity of the setting item 31 for displaying the number of prints, the setting item 42B of the lower-level pop-up screen 41 is hidden by the upper-level pop-up screen 34. The image forming apparatus 100 determines whether to display the setting item 42 </ b> B hidden on the pop-up screen 34 based on the setting content for the pop-up screen 34. As an example, this determination is made based on the relationship table 124A shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the association table 124A.

  In the relevance table 124A, for each setting content for the pop-up screen 34, setting items related to the setting content are defined. The relationship between “setting contents” and “setting items” in the association table 124A may be defined in advance or may be arbitrarily changed by the user. The image forming apparatus 100 determines whether or not the current setting content for the pop-up screen 34 is related to the setting items 42A and 42B hidden by the superimposed display of the pop-up screen 34 based on the relevancy table 124A.

  As an example, the “setting contents” defined in the relevancy table 124 </ b> A includes setting of a singular copy and setting of a plurality of copies. In the example of FIG. 8, no setting item is associated with the “single copy” setting defined in the relationship table 124A. A setting item 42B for accepting print settings related to the number of copies is associated with the setting of “number of copies” defined in the association table 124A. The setting item 42B is a setting item for accepting a setting for confirming the printing contents of a plurality of copies.

  Referring to FIG. 7 again, it is assumed that the user has set the number of copies “2” for the pop-up screen 34 in step S6. In this case, the image forming apparatus 100 refers to “setting contents” defined in the relevancy table 124A and searches for setting items associated with “multiple copies”. As a result, the setting item 42B is hit. The image forming apparatus 100 displays the same setting item 45 as the hit setting item 42B in the vicinity of the pop-up screen 34.

<Third Embodiment>
[Overview]
Image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment displays a numeric keypad as a pop-up screen. In contrast, image forming apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment displays a setting screen for setting the type of printing paper as a pop-up screen. The image forming apparatus 100 determines whether or not to display the setting items on the lower setting screen hidden by the pop-up screen based on the setting content regarding the type of printing paper.

  Since other points such as the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment are the same as those of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, description thereof will not be repeated below.

[Display Control of Image Forming Apparatus 100]
Display control by image forming apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of display control by image forming apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment in time series.

  In step S11, it is assumed that the setting screen 30 as the top screen is displayed on the display 109 of the image forming apparatus 100. The setting screen 30 receives a setting input (for example, print setting) for the image forming apparatus 100. The setting input is realized by a touch operation on the display 109, for example.

  The setting screen 30 includes setting items 31, 32A to 32D, 32F, and 32H that accept different print settings. More specifically, the setting item 31 receives a setting for the number of copies to be printed. The setting item 32A accepts an output format (for example, color setting) of printing paper. The setting item 32B receives a density setting at the time of printing. The setting item 32C receives a print paper size setting. The setting item 32D accepts the setting of the enlargement ratio of the print data printed on the printing paper. The setting item 32F receives a setting for designating whether or not to close the printing paper with staples. The setting item 32H accepts a setting of a combination of a reading surface (one side or both sides) of a sheet to be read and a printing surface (one side or both sides) of print data.

  In step S <b> 12, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 100 receives a call operation for the pop-up screen 54. Thereby, the pop-up screen 54 is displayed on the display 109. The pop-up screen 54 receives, for example, setting of the type of printing paper. Due to the display of the pop-up screen 54, each setting item on the setting screen 30 is hidden by the pop-up screen 54. The image forming apparatus 100 determines whether to display each setting item hidden on the pop-up screen 54 based on the setting content for the pop-up screen 54. As an example, this determination is made based on the relationship table 124B shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the relationship table 124B.

  In the relevancy table 124B, for each setting content for the pop-up screen 54, setting items related to the setting content are defined. The relationship between “setting contents” and “setting items” in the relevancy table 124B may be defined in advance or may be arbitrarily changed by the user. As an example, the relevancy table 124B associates setting items related to the type for each type of printing paper.

  In the example of FIG. 10, “setting item 32F” and “setting item 32H” are associated with the printing paper “plain paper”. No setting items are associated with the printing paper “thick paper 1-4”. Normally, stapling and duplex printing settings are prohibited for thick paper. Therefore, setting items for accepting these settings are not associated with the cardboard. On the other hand, for plain paper, stapling settings and duplex printing settings are permitted. Therefore, setting items 32F and 32H for accepting these settings are associated with plain paper.

  Referring to FIG. 9 again, in step S12, it is assumed that the user selects “thick paper 4” on the pop-up screen 54. In this case, the image forming apparatus 100 searches for the setting item associated with “thick paper 4” with reference to “setting contents” defined in the relevancy table 124B. Since the setting item having high relevance to “thick paper 4” is not defined in the relevance table 124B, the image forming apparatus 100 is configured to hide the pop-up screen 54 when “thick paper 4” is selected. Do not display items.

  In step S13, it is assumed that the user selects “plain paper” on the pop-up screen 54. In this case, the image forming apparatus 100 searches for setting items associated with “plain paper” with reference to “setting contents” defined in the relationship table 124B. As a result, the setting items 32F and 32H are hit. The image forming apparatus 100 displays the same setting items 55 as the hit setting items 32F and 32H in the vicinity of the pop-up screen 54.

[Control Structure of Image Forming Apparatus 100]
A control structure of image forming apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a part of processing executed by image forming apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment. The processing in FIG. 11 is realized by the control device 101 (see FIG. 4) of the image forming apparatus 100 executing a program. In other aspects, some or all of the processing may be performed by circuit elements or other hardware. Steps S110 and S112 are as described with reference to FIG. 5, and therefore description thereof will not be repeated.

  In step S120A, control device 101 determines whether or not the setting content for the pop-up screen has been changed. As an example, when the print setting on the pop-up screen is changed to “plain paper”, the control apparatus 101 determines that the setting content for the pop-up screen has been changed. When control device 101 determines that the setting content for the pop-up screen has been changed (YES in step S120A), control device 101 switches control to step S130A. If not (NO in step S120A), control device 101 executes step S120A again.

  In step S130A, the control apparatus 101 determines whether there is a setting item highly relevant to the current setting content for the pop-up screen among the setting items hidden in the pop-up screen as the determination unit 153 (see FIG. 4). Judge whether or not. This determination is made based on the above-described relationship table 124B (see FIG. 10). Control device 101 switches control to step S132 when it is determined that among the setting items hidden in the pop-up screen, there is a setting item highly relevant to the current setting content for the pop-up screen (YES in step S130A). If not (NO in step S130A), control device 101 ends the display control process shown in FIG.

  In step S132A, the control apparatus 101 displays the setting items that are determined to be highly relevant to the current setting content for the pop-up screen in a pop-up screen. As an example, when the current setting content for the pop-up screen is “plain paper”, the stapling setting item, the double-sided printing setting item, etc., which are hidden in the pop-up screen, are displayed.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  30 setting screen 31, 32A to 32H, 36, 42A, 42B, 45, 55 setting item, 34, 41, 54 pop-up screen, 100 image forming device, 101 control device, 102 ROM, 103 RAM, 104 communication interface, 106 Scanner, 107 Printer, 108 Operation panel, 109 Display, 120 Storage device, 122 Display control program, 124, 124A, 124B Relevance table, 151 First display control unit, 152 Second display control unit, 153 Judgment unit, 154 3 display control unit.

Claims (8)

An image forming apparatus,
A display device;
A first display control unit for displaying on the display device a first setting screen for accepting settings relating to the image forming apparatus, the first setting screen including a plurality of setting items each accepting different settings; further,
A second display control unit configured to superimpose and display a second setting screen for accepting settings relating to the image forming apparatus based on receiving a predetermined calling operation;
For each setting content for the second setting screen, the current setting content for the second setting screen is displayed in a superimposed manner on the second setting screen based on information defining setting items related to the setting content. A determination unit for determining whether or not the setting item is hidden,
A third display control unit for displaying the hidden setting item on the display device when the determination unit determines that the current setting content is related to the hidden setting item; An image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third display control unit displays the hidden setting item in a display area different from a display portion of the second setting screen. The second setting screen accepts the setting of the number of print copies,
The setting content defined in the information includes a setting of a plurality of copies,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting of the plurality of copies is associated with a setting item for receiving a print setting relating to the plurality of copies.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the setting item for receiving the print setting relating to the plurality of copies includes a setting item for designating a printing order of the plurality of copies.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the setting item for receiving the print setting relating to the plurality of copies includes a setting item for confirming the printing contents of the plurality of copies. The second setting screen accepts settings for the type of printing paper,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information defines, for each type of the printing paper, a setting item related to the type. A display control method for a computer including a display device,
A step of displaying on the display device a first setting screen for accepting settings relating to the computer, wherein the first setting screen includes a plurality of setting items each accepting a different setting;
A step of superimposing and displaying a second setting screen for accepting a setting relating to the computer based on receiving a predetermined calling operation on the first setting screen;
For each setting content for the second setting screen, the current setting content for the second setting screen is displayed in a superimposed manner on the second setting screen based on information defining setting items related to the setting content. Determining whether it is related to a hidden configuration item;
And displaying the hidden setting item on the display device when it is determined in the determining step that the current setting content is related to the hidden setting item. . A display control program for a computer including a display device,
The display control program is stored in the computer.
Causing the display device to display a first setting screen for accepting settings relating to the computer, wherein the first setting screen includes a plurality of setting items each accepting a different setting;
A step of superimposing and displaying a second setting screen for accepting a setting relating to the computer based on receiving a predetermined calling operation on the first setting screen;
For each setting content for the second setting screen, the current setting content for the second setting screen is displayed in a superimposed manner on the second setting screen based on information defining setting items related to the setting content. Determining whether it is related to a hidden configuration item;
Display control for executing the step of displaying the hidden setting item on the display device when it is determined in the determining step that the current setting content is related to the hidden setting item program.