JP2022140510A - Image processing apparatus, control method of image processing apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability in making transition of an icon from a current page to another page by drag and drop.

SOLUTION: A method includes: detecting whether any of ends of an icon has contacted a display frame of a page (S505) irrespective of a position of a finger or a pen for operation; and when a contact state continues for a predetermined period (S506), making transition of the page (S507). This enables smooth and intuitive movement of the icon to a subsequent page.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a function of moving between pages by dragging an icon to which a function related to image formation is assigned.

2. Description of the Related Art A computer equipped with a touch panel has a function of moving content displayed on the screen to an arbitrary page or position by a drag-and-drop operation with a user's finger. For example, in a smart phone, an application icon can be moved to an arbitrary page by a drag-and-drop operation. Specifically, it is detected that an application icon is selected by a finger by a drag operation and moved to the left or right edge of the screen, and that the finger is in contact with the left or right edge area for a predetermined time or longer. Then, page transition is performed. By moving the icon after the page transition and then releasing the finger from the screen, the icon can be moved to an arbitrary position.
Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200002 discloses that pages are switched by a touch operation in an electronic book.

JP 2012-79315 A

In a page where many application icons are arranged, such as the smartphone described above, when the user moves a specific icon from the current page to an arbitrary page, the drag-and-drop operation is intuitive and understandable for the user. Easy operation. However, when the method used in conventional smartphones is applied to a device with a large screen size, the amount of movement of the icon to the left and right ends of the screen by dragging becomes large. Therefore, the user is burdened with the operation. Further, for example, depending on the timing of the operation, there are cases where the finger cannot be detected at the left and right edges of the screen. In this case, it is recognized that the finger has been removed from the icon before the page is switched, and the icon returns to its original position on the original page. Therefore, there is a problem that the operation when switching pages becomes complicated. This problem is not limited to application icons, and can commonly occur when content displayed on the screen is moved to a different page by a drag-and-drop operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The main object of the present invention is to provide a user interface device that enhances user convenience when moving content to a different page.

The user interface device of the present invention comprises display means for displaying a page in which content is arranged in an area surrounded by a display frame; display control means for switching a displayed page to another page based on the position of the first content being moved according to the movement operation by the input indicator, regardless of the position of the input indicator; placement means for placing the first content on the other page in accordance with a movement operation by the input indicator accepted by the input means after the display control means switches to the other page.

According to the present invention, when the content is moved, the page is switched when one of the edges of the content touches the display frame regardless of the position of the input pointer. You can move it to another page. As a result, it is possible to improve the user's convenience when moving between pages of content.

2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. (a) to (c) are diagrams showing examples of changes in the display screen. The figure which showed the example of a display screen. (a) to (f) are diagrams showing examples of changes in the display screen. (a) and (b) are diagrams for explaining the operation procedure of the image forming apparatus. The figure which showed the example of the display screen in 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a processing procedure in the second embodiment; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a processing procedure in the third embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a processing procedure in the fourth embodiment;

<First Embodiment>
An embodiment in which the user interface device of the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus will be described below. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The image forming apparatus 101 is configured by connecting various functional components to the system bus 110 . The functional parts include a computer having a CPU 111, a RAM 112 and a ROM 113 as a basic configuration. A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 101 by executing the control program of the present invention. In other words, the control program is for operating the computer as the image forming apparatus 101 . A RAM (Random Access Memory) 112 is a volatile rewritable storage medium and functions as a work area for the CPU 111 . A ROM (Read Only Memory) 113 is a non-rewritable storage medium, and stores a boot program for the CPU 111 and the like.

The system bus 110 also includes an input unit 114 , a display control unit 115 , an external memory I/F (I/F is an abbreviation for interface; the same shall apply hereinafter), a printer I/F 117 , a scanner I/F 118 , a communication I/F controller 119 . is also connected. Components 111 to 119 connected to system bus 110 are configured to be able to exchange data with each other via system bus 110 .

In cooperation with the CPU 111, the input unit 114 functions as input means for receiving operations such as dragging and moving of the content arranged on the page displayed on the screen by the input indicator. The content is an image of a certain display size such as an icon to which a function related to image formation is assigned. The input indicator is the user's hand, finger, or electronic pen. When receiving a user operation using an input indicator, the input unit 114 generates a control signal according to the content of the operation and supplies it to the CPU 111 .
The input unit 114 has a touch panel 120 as an input device that receives user operations. The touch panel 120 is, for example, an input device configured to output coordinate information corresponding to a touched position to an input unit configured in a plane. The CPU 111 controls each section of the image forming apparatus 101 according to a control program based on a control signal generated and supplied by the input section 114 according to a user operation performed on an input device. Thereby, the image forming apparatus 101 can be caused to perform an operation according to the user's operation.

The display control unit 115 has a display 121 and functions as display means for displaying a page in which content is arranged on a screen surrounded by a display frame in cooperation with the CPU 111 . Specifically, it outputs a display signal for displaying a page on which a plurality of contents are arranged on the display 121 . The display signal is generated based on a display control signal generated by the CPU 111 according to the control program received from the CPU 111 . The display 121 displays a GUI screen constituting a GUI (Graphical User Interface) based on the display control signal.

The touch panel 120 is configured integrally with this display 121 and functions as a touch panel display. For example, the touch panel 120 is configured so that the light transmittance does not interfere with the display of the display 121 and is attached to the upper layer of the display surface of the display 121 . Then, the input coordinates on the touch panel 120 and the display coordinates on the display 121 are associated. As a result, it is possible to configure a GUI as if the user could directly operate the screen displayed on the display 121 .
As the touch panel 120, any one of various types of touch panels such as a resistive film type, a capacitive type, a surface acoustic wave type, an infrared type, an electromagnetic induction type, an image recognition type, and an optical sensor type is used. can be

An external memory 122 such as a hard disk, CD, DVD, or memory card can be attached to the external memory I/F 116 . Based on the control of the CPU 111 , data is read from the external memory 122 attached and data is written to the external memory 122 . The external memory 122 stores the above-described control programs and the like, which are appropriately called to the RAM 112 and executed.

A printer 123 is connected to the printer I/F 117 . Under the control of the CPU 111, image data to be printed by the printer 123 is transferred to the printer 123 via the printer I/F 117, and the printer 123 prints out the image data on a recording medium.
A scanner 124 is connected to the scanner I/F 118 . Under the control of the CPU 111, the scanner 124 reads the image on the document and generates image data. The generated image data is stored in RAM 112 , ROM 113 and external memory 122 via scanner I/F 118 . Also, the printer 123 prints based on the image data generated by the scanner 124, thereby realizing a copy function.
A communication I/F controller 119 performs communication with various networks 102 such as a LAN, the Internet, a wired network, and a wireless network under the control of the CPU 111 . For example, image data generated by the scanner 124 can be transmitted to the outside via the network 102 , and image data received from the outside via the network 102 can be printed by the printer 123 .

Note that the CPU 111 detects the following operations, states, and the like on the touch panel 120 .
(i) Touchdown: Touching a touch panel with a finger or pen (object).
(ii) Move: Move while touching the touch panel with your finger or pen.
(iii) Touch-on: A state in which a finger or pen touches the touch panel.
(iv) Touch-up: A state in which the finger or pen that was in contact with the touch panel is removed.
(v) After detecting a touchdown within the area of the software button displayed on the display 121, the finger or pen moves outside the area of the software button while still in contact with it.

Note that the touch panel 120 is a touch panel capable of multi-touch detection. That is, when a touchdown, a touchon, a move, a touchup, or the like is performed simultaneously with a plurality of fingers or pens, the operation and state can be detected. These operations and the coordinates of the position where the finger or pen is touching the touch panel 120 are notified to the CPU 111 through the system bus 110, and the CPU 111 determines what kind of operation has been performed on the touch panel based on the notified information. judge. Regarding the move, the moving direction of a finger or pen moving on the touch panel 120 can also be determined for each vertical component/horizontal component on the touch panel 120 based on changes in position coordinates.

2 and 3 are diagrams showing examples of changes in the screen displayed on the display 121 of the image forming apparatus 101. FIG. The image forming apparatus 101 optically reads a document on a paper medium and converts it into electronic data. It also has a copy function of performing image processing and printing on another paper medium, and a send function of transmitting read electronic data to another apparatus via the network 102 . It also has a box function for storing electronic data in the external memory 122 . It also has a web browser function for formatting and displaying content such as HTML obtained from an external server or the like via the network 102 . Application programs (abbreviated as APs) for realizing these functions are independently stored in the ROM 113 as different APs in the image forming apparatus 101 . A necessary AP is executed by the CPU 111 and a screen is displayed on the display 121 according to the user's operation instruction.

FIG. 2A shows a custom menu screen displayed on the display 121 under the control of the CPU 111. FIG. The custom menu stores AP setting values and displays button icons (referred to as application buttons for convenience) corresponding to AP functions, which are examples of content, on the screen. When the user presses a desired application button, the stored setting values are reproduced, and then the AP corresponding to the application button is called.
In FIG. 2A, a plurality of application buttons are displayed in a display area 201, which is a screen surrounded by a display frame. Each of the application buttons displayed here is associated with an AP that can be executed by the image forming apparatus and a setting value related to image formation that is set there. When one of the plurality of application buttons displayed in the display area 201 is pressed, the screen is switched to the AP screen associated with that application button. Also, the setting value associated with the application button is reflected. Also, the application buttons displayed in the display area 201 can be associated with user information authenticated by user authentication. A title and a comment can be set for each application button, and the setting contents can be arbitrarily determined by the user who registered the application button.

For example, the copy button 202 has a title of "copy" and a comment such as "both sides, 2 copies". Each application button displays an AP name associated with the application button, an icon, a title related to setting values, a comment, and the like. The copy button 202 is associated with a copy AP, and as its setting values, a setting for double-sided printing and a setting value for setting two copies as the number of copies are associated. When the copy button 202 is selected by the user, the screen is switched to the screen shown in FIG. 3, which will be described later.

My button 203 in FIG. 2A is an application button for displaying only the application button associated with the currently authenticated user in the display area 201 . The shared application button 204 is an icon (button image) for displaying in the display area 201 only application buttons that are associated with all users, that is, can be used by all users. A page position display mark 205 is also displayed in the display area 201 . The page position display mark 205 schematically indicates each page with a circle mark, and indicates that a plurality of pages are virtually arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. The example of FIG. 2A indicates that there are three pages of custom menus. It also indicates that the screen currently being displayed is the screen of the first page, which is virtually arranged on the far left.

Page switching buttons 206 and 207 are also displayed in the display area 201 . The page switching button 206 is an icon for manually instructing a transition (page switching) to a page virtually arranged on the right side of the currently displayed page. A page switching button 207 is an icon for instructing a transition to a page that is virtually arranged on the left side. If there is no other page in the direction in which the application button can be moved, the CPU 111 displays that fact on the screen and invalidates the movement. In this case, the page switching buttons 206 and 207 are grayed out. In the example of FIG. 2A, since there is no page on the left side of the currently displayed page, the application button 207 is grayed out and movement is disabled.

When the page switching button 206 is pressed on the screen of FIG. 2(a), the application button list in the display area 201 scrolls to the left side of the screen (FIG. 2(b)), and the screen of FIG. 2(c) appears. Transition. In the screen of FIG. 2(c), the page position display mark 205 has moved to the middle of the three. This indicates that the second page of the three pages is currently being displayed. A rearrange button 208 is an icon for activating movement of the application buttons. When the rearrangement button 208 is set to ON, the application button can be moved between pages by a drag-and-drop operation. In other words, you can place an app button from one page anywhere on any page. In this example, the place where the application button can be placed can be placed anywhere on pages 1 to 3. When the rearrange button 208 is set to OFF, drag-and-drop operations cannot be performed.

In this example, an example of a drag-and-drop operation using the rearrange application button 208 is described, but other examples are also possible. For example, by long-pressing an application button to be moved, a drag operation mode is enabled, and the application button can be moved and placed anywhere. Therefore, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to other embodiments as well.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a copy AP setting screen displayed when the copy button 202 in FIG. 2(a) is selected. Here, the double-sided button 301 indicates that double-sided printing is set. Also, the number of copies to be printed area 302 indicates that the number of copies to be printed is set to 2 copies.

Next, examples of drag-and-drop operations will be described with reference to FIGS. 4(a) to 4(f). The display screen of FIG. 4A shows how the copy button 202 is moved by dragging 401 in the display frame 402 . Here, an example of switching pages displayed on the screen while maintaining the display state in which the copy button 202 is dragged will be described.
FIG. 4(a) shows the first page of the display screen. In this example, the copy button 202 operated by dragging 401 is in contact with the display frame 402 . Although the processing procedure at this time will be described later, when the copy button 202 being operated by the drag 401 is in contact with the display frame 402, the next page is transitioned and the drop becomes possible. Assume that the next page is the page on the right of the screen. Let the upper left coordinates 403 of the copy button 202 to be moved by dragging 401 be (x1, y1) and the width 404 be w1. Let the upper left coordinates 405 of the display frame 402 be (x2, y2) and the width 406 be w2.
In this case, it is determined that the copy button 202 is in contact with the display frame 402 when the value of x1+w1 exceeds w2+x2. Conversely, assume that the copy button 202 is moved to the left page. In this case, when the value of x1 is less than x2, it is determined that the display frame 402 is touched.

FIG. 4B shows the second page of the display screen. The contact shown in FIG. 4A moves the copy button 202 to the second page, and the operation of the drop 407 indicates that the copy button 202 moved by the drag 401 is arranged in a blank position. . The order in which the copy button 202 is moved by the operation of the drop 407 is tied to the order in which the application buttons are arranged when the custom menu screen is generated.

An example in which the order in which the copy button 202 moves is linked to the order in which the application buttons are arranged will be described with reference to FIGS. 4(d) and 4(e). FIG. 4(d) shows the first page of the display screen in this example, and FIG. 4(e) shows the initial state of the second page of the display screen. These figures show examples in which the application buttons are arranged in the order selected by the user when the screen of the custom menu is generated. In the illustrated example, application buttons are arranged at positions 409-420. The display size of the application button can be set to S size, M size, or L size. Here, it is assumed that the size is M and six application buttons can be arranged on one screen. In FIG. 4(e), 415, 418 to 420 are blank positions as indicated by broken lines in the figure, and no application buttons are arranged. When the layout of the copy button 202 changes, the layout of other application buttons also changes. Then, by being rearranged, the custom menu newly updates the arrangement information.

The copy button 202 initially placed at the position 411 in FIG. 4(d) is placed at the blank position 419 on the second page in the initial state shown in FIG. 4(e) as shown in FIG. ). By this operation, each application button (including blank) arranged at positions 412 to 414 in FIG. 4(d) and 415 in FIG. 4(e) moves to positions 411 to 414 in FIG. 4(d). do. In addition, each application button (including blanks) arranged at positions 416 to 419 in FIG. 4(e) is changed to positions 415 to 418 in FIG. moving.
FIG. 4(c) shows the case where the copy button 202 is moved to the second page by contact shown in FIG. 4(a), and then the drop 408 is operated at the position 416 where the mail button is arranged shows an example of In this case, the copy button 202 initially placed at position 411 in FIG. 4(d) is moved to position 416 in FIG. Each application button (including a blank) arranged at position 415 in e) has moved to positions 411 to 414 in FIG. 4(d). Also, the mail button located at the position 416 in FIG. 4(e) has been moved to the position 415 in FIG. 4(e) as shown in FIG. 4(c).

Here, an example has been described in which, when an application button is moved, a plurality of other application buttons are rearranged so as to complement the position before the movement, but other methods may be used.
For example, according to the movement of the application button, the position may be exchanged with another application button arranged at the destination. Specifically, when the copy button 202 placed at position 411 is dragged and dropped at position 416 , the mail button originally placed at position 416 is rearranged at position 411 . In this case, the layout of other buttons does not change.

Also, if another app button is placed at the destination, the other app button is relocated to complement the position before the move, and if the destination is a blank position, the other app button may not be rearranged. Specifically, when the copy button 202 placed at position 411 is dragged and dropped at position 416, each application button placed at positions 412 to 416 moves to positions 411 to 415. relocation is performed. On the other hand, if the copy button 202 is dropped at the blank position of 415, the copy button 202 is placed at the position of 415 and no other app buttons are rearranged. Therefore, the position of 411 becomes blank.

In addition, when dragging the application button, the droppable positions may be indicated by coloring in order to make it easier to understand the droppable positions. FIG. 4(f) shows an example in which droppable positions are colored. In this way, the user can easily recognize the position where the application button being dragged can be arranged by coloring the server button 417 that overlaps the copy button 202 being dragged. If the copy button 202 being dragged is at blank positions 415, 418 to 420, these blank positions may also be displayed in color.

Next, an example of a content operation method by the image forming apparatus 101 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, an example in which the content to be operated is an icon is shown. FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams of procedures of processing executed when the custom menu screen shown in FIG. 2 is displayed on the display 121 in the image forming apparatus 101. FIG. Each processing step is executed by the CPU 111 executing a program stored in the ROM 113 or the external memory 122 .

Referring to FIG. 5A, the CPU 111 and the display control unit 115 cause the display 121 to display a list of icons included in the custom menu screen according to a predetermined user operation (S501). The CPU 111 determines whether or not a touchdown has been detected on a certain icon (first content, first icon) (S502). When a touchdown is detected on the first icon (S502: YES), the CPU 111 determines whether the icon rearrangement flag is enabled, that is, whether the flag is set (S503). When the rearrangement flag is set, the mode is switched to a mode in which the first icon can be moved by dragging 401 shown in FIG. 4(a). The icon rearrangement flag is set by the CPU 111 when the rearrangement application button 208 is set to ON. Conversely, when the rearrangement application button 208 is set to OFF, the CPU 111 clears the icon rearrangement flag. Note that it is also possible to configure so that an icon rearrangement flag is set when a touchdown for a predetermined time or longer is detected on the first icon.

In S503, if the icon rearrangement flag is set for the first icon (S503: YES), the CPU 111 moves the dragged first icon according to the user's operation (S504).
If no touchdown is detected on the first icon in S502 (S502: NO), and if the icon rearrangement flag is not set in S503 (S503), the CPU 111 ends the process.

After that, the CPU 111 determines whether or not the first icon and the display frame are in contact (S505). As described above, if the x-coordinate of the left edge of the first icon is x1, the width of the first icon is w1, the x-coordinate of the left edge of the display frame is x2, and the width of the display frame is w2, x1+w1≧w2+x2 or x1≦ When x2 is reached, it is determined that the first icon and the display frame are in contact. If they are in contact (S505: YES), the CPU 111 determines whether or not the contact state continues for a predetermined time based on a threshold (time threshold) (S506). The time threshold is for example 0.1 to several seconds. If the contact time is less than the threshold, the process returns to S505 (S506: NO). If it is equal to or greater than the threshold (S506: YES), the CPU 111 causes page transition (S507). After that, the CPU 111 executes icon drop processing (S508) and ends the processing.
In S505, if the first icon and the display frame are not in contact (S505: NO), the icon drop process is executed immediately (S508), and the process ends.

FIG. 5(b) is a detailed procedure explanatory diagram of the icon drop processing of S508 in FIG. 5(a). Referring to FIG. 5B, the CPU 111 determines whether or not the dragging finger has been touched up (S509). If the finger being dragged is not touched up (S509: NO), the process returns to S55. If the finger is touched up during dragging (S509: YES), the CPU 111 determines whether or not the first icon overlaps another icon (second content, second icon) already displayed ( S510). If they overlap (S510: YES), the CPU 111 determines whether to shift the position of the second content or place the first content in a blank position according to the degree of overlap. In this example, the second icon is shifted, the first icon is arranged (S511), and the process ends. Whether or not the first icon and the second icon overlap is determined by the degree of overlap between the area of the first icon and the area of the second icon. If the overlap is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that there is overlap. In the present embodiment and subsequent description, the overlap threshold is assumed to be 60%.
In S510, if the first icon does not overlap the second icon (S510: NO), the CPU 111 places the first icon in a blank position (S512), and ends the process.

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 101, when transitioning the icon to the next page, regardless of the position of the user's finger, it is determined whether any end of the icon is in contact with the display frame. . Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a UI operation area in the moving direction of the icon as in the conventional art, and it is not erroneously recognized that the finger has moved away from the icon even though the finger is being dragged. Therefore, it is possible to provide a more intuitive operating environment and improve user convenience.
Note that in the first embodiment, an example of a drag-and-drop operation at the time of listing icons included in the custom menu screen has been described. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to an example in which a plurality of icons are displayed in a list, and can be applied to operations for moving various contents that can be displayed on the screen.

<Second embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The configuration and the like of the image processing apparatus 101 are the same as those of the first embodiment. In the following description, the same elements as in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals. In the first embodiment, a simple example of determining whether the icon and the display frame are in contact when transitioning the icon to the next page has been described.
In the second embodiment, the display size of the first icon is detected (including cases where it is obtained in advance), and a threshold value for determining that the first icon has come into contact with the display frame is determined according to the display size of the first icon. to change The threshold in this embodiment is not a time threshold, but a threshold for determining whether or not to transition the page when the first icon protrudes from the display frame by how much. As for the method of setting and changing the threshold, the threshold and a predetermined display size (for example, S, M, L display sizes) used in the AP are mapped. Therefore, when the touchdown of the first icon is detected, it is possible to change the threshold for determining that the contact has occurred according to the display size.

Thereafter, while the first icon is being dragged, it is determined whether or not the first icon is in contact with the display frame based on a threshold determined according to the display size of the first icon. For example, if you want to move an app button to a page that exists on the right side of the display frame, if the size is M and the threshold is M1, the app button touches the display frame 402 when the value of x1+w1-M1 exceeds w2+x2. judge that there is Conversely, when it is desired to move the application button to the left page of the display frame, it is determined that the application button is in contact with the display frame 402 when the value of x1+M1 is less than x2. Here, it is assumed that the larger the display size of the icon is, the larger the threshold value is set. As a result, if the icon size is small, the page transition will occur if the icon overlaps the display frame even a little. If the icon size is large, the page transition will not occur if the icon overlaps the display frame even slightly can be controlled. The second embodiment will be described below, focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen in the second embodiment. Elements that are the same as those shown in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals. The display size of the icon of the copy button 202 in FIG. 2A is M size, but the copy button 601 in FIG. 6 is S size.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the processing procedure of the image forming apparatus 101 according to the second embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 5A of the first embodiment. The same processing steps as those in FIG. 5(a) are denoted by the same reference numerals. Similar to the first embodiment, the icon drop processing of S508 of FIG. 7 is shown in FIG. 5(b). The parts different from FIG. 5(a) will be described below.
Each processing step in FIG. 7 is realized by the CPU 111 executing a program stored in the ROM 113 or the external memory 122 of the image forming apparatus 101, as in FIG. 5A.

After the custom menu is displayed, the process is the same as in the first embodiment (FIG. 5A) until it is determined whether or not the first icon is selected and the icon rearrangement flag is set (S501 to S503). . In the second embodiment, when the icon rearrangement flag is set for the first icon (S503: YES), the CPU 111 detects (obtains) the display size of the first icon (S701). Then, a threshold for determining that the first icon and the display frame are in contact is set (S702). After that, the first icon is moved (S504).

The CPU 111 determines whether or not the moving first icon is in contact with the display frame based on the set threshold value (S703). When determining that there is contact, the CPU 111 determines whether or not the contact state continues for a predetermined time based on a threshold value (S704). If it is equal to or greater than the threshold value (S704: YES), the CPU 111 proceeds to the processes after S507 described above. If it is less than the threshold (S704: NO), the CPU 111 proceeds to the processing of S703 described above.

According to the second embodiment, when the display size of the icon is different, the threshold for determining that the icon and the display frame have come into contact is also changed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation due to page transition when the user does not recognize the contact between the icon and the display frame, and a more intuitive operation becomes possible.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment will be described. The configuration and the like of the image processing apparatus 101 are the same as those of the first embodiment. In the following description, the same elements as in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals. In the third embodiment, when the icon is in contact with the display frame, the movement of the icon stops (stops), and when the icon continues to contact for a predetermined time, page transition is performed. The third embodiment will be described below, focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the processing procedure of the image forming apparatus 101 according to the third embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 5A of the first embodiment. The same processing steps as those in FIG. 5A are denoted by the same numbers. Similar to the first embodiment, the icon drop processing of S508 of FIG. 8 is shown in FIG. 5(b). The following description will focus on the portions that differ from FIG. 5(a). Each processing step in FIG. 8 is realized by the CPU 111 executing a program stored in the ROM 113 or the external memory 122 of the image forming apparatus 101, as in FIG. 5A.

After the custom menu is displayed, the steps until it is determined whether or not the first icon and the display frame are in contact (S501 to S505) are the same as in the first embodiment.
In the third embodiment, if there is contact between the first icon and the display frame (S505: YES), it is determined whether or not the first icon is stationary (S801). The fact that the first icon is still means that a pixel movement corresponding to a predetermined number of pixels has not been detected within a predetermined period of time for determining whether the first icon is still. If the first icon is stationary (S801: YES), the CPU 111 proceeds to the processing of S506 described above. If the first icon is not stationary (S801: NO), the CPU 111 returns to S505.
Thus, according to the third embodiment, page transition cannot be performed unless the first icon is stationary. In other words, the page does not transition unless the user confirms that the page transition should be performed. Therefore, it is possible to avoid page transitions due to erroneous operations during dragging or unintended operations, thereby enhancing user convenience.

<Fourth Embodiment>
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. The configuration and the like of the image processing apparatus 101 are the same as those of the first embodiment. In the following description, the same elements as in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals. In the fourth embodiment, the page transition is performed when the icon is moved in the direction in which the page exists after it is detected that the icon is in contact for a predetermined time. The fourth embodiment will be described below, focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the processing procedure of the image forming apparatus 101 according to the fourth embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 5A of the first embodiment. The same reference numerals are given to the same processing steps as in FIG. 5(a). Similar to the first embodiment, the icon drop processing of S508 of FIG. 9 is shown in FIG. 5(b). The following description will focus on the portions that differ from FIG. 5(a). Each processing step in FIG. 9 is realized by the CPU 111 executing a control program stored in the ROM 113 or the external memory 122 of the image forming apparatus 101, as in FIG. 5A.

After the custom menu is displayed, the process is the same as in the first embodiment until it is determined whether or not the first icon and the display frame are in contact with each other and whether the contact time is a predetermined time (S501 to S506). .
In the fourth embodiment, when the first icon and the display frame are in contact continuously for a predetermined time (S506: YES), the CPU 111 detects whether or not the CPU 111 has detected movement by dragging in the direction in which another page exists. It is determined whether or not (S901). When movement is detected (S901: YES), the CPU 111 proceeds to S507 described above. If movement is not detected (S901: NO), the CPU 111 returns to S506. (S901)
According to the fourth embodiment, when page transition is performed, a user's drag movement operation is always required. Therefore, the user can change the page in the desired direction with his or her own intention, thereby improving convenience.

<Other embodiments>
Although the present invention has been described in detail based on its preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and includes various forms within the scope of the present invention. be Also, some of the above-described embodiments may be combined as appropriate.
Also, the content that can be scrolled and dragged and dropped on the display 121 is not limited to the information of the application button on the custom menu screen. The present invention can be applied to display of any other data as long as scroll display and drag-and-drop operation are possible.
Also, the present invention can be applied to display items other than application buttons as long as they are contents in which processing associated with the display item is executed when the user presses the display item. In addition, the present invention can be applied not only to content that scrolls horizontally, but also to content that scrolls in any direction, such as content that scrolls vertically or diagonally.

In the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 101 having a plurality of functions such as a copy function and a scanner function has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to an image processing apparatus having only part of these functions. be. It may also be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as personal computers, PDAs, mobile phones, facsimiles, cameras, video cameras, and other image viewers.

An image processing apparatus having a plurality of functions including at least a copy function according to the present invention displays content for executing one of the plurality of functions on a screen surrounded by a display frame in association with a currently authenticated user. a first button for displaying on the screen the content that has been obtained, and a second button for displaying on the screen the content that can be used by users including users other than the currently authenticated user. input receiving means for receiving a drag operation by an input indicator to target content selected by a user from the contents arranged on the screen; and the object being moved according to the drag operation by the input indicator. display control means for switching a displayed first screen to a second screen, which is a screen subsequent to the first screen, when at least part of the content protrudes out of the display frame. The display control means switches the displayed first screen to the second screen and arranges the target content on the second screen.

Claims (12)

display means for displaying a page in which content is arranged in an area surrounded by a display frame;
an input means for receiving an operation of moving the first content arranged on the page by an input indicator;
display control means for switching a displayed page to another page based on the position of the first content being moved according to the movement operation by the input indicator, regardless of the position of the input indicator;
placement means for placing the first content on the other page in accordance with a movement operation by the input indicator accepted by the input means after the display control means switches to the other page. characterized by
User interface device. The display control means switches to the other page based on the movement of the first content to a position in contact with the display frame,
A user interface device according to claim 1. The display control means switches to the other page in accordance with a state in which the first content is in contact with the display frame for a predetermined period of time.
A user interface device according to claim 2. setting means for setting a threshold value for determining whether or not the first content has come into contact with the display frame, based on the display size of the first content;
determining means for determining whether or not the first content has come into contact with the display frame based on the threshold set by the setting means;
The display control means switches to the other page based on the determination result by the determination means,
A user interface device according to claim 2. The display control means stops the first content while it is in contact with the display frame, and switches to the other page when the stationary state continues for a predetermined time,
A user interface device according to claim 2. It is determined that the first content is stationary based on the fact that the first content has not moved a predetermined distance within the predetermined time,
A user interface device according to claim 5. When the display control means detects that the first content has been in contact with the display frame for a predetermined period of time and that the first content has moved after that, the page being displayed is changed to: characterized by switching to a page existing in the detected moving direction,
A user interface device according to claim 2. The display control means switches the displayed page to the other page while maintaining the display state in which the first content is dragged.
A user interface device according to claim 1. having setting means for setting whether to enable content movement,
When the movement of the content is set to be valid by the setting means, the input means receives a movement operation by the input indicator,
A user interface device according to claim 1. Equipped with a display, touch panel and control means,
The display displays a plurality of icons each assigned with a function related to image formation on a screen surrounded by a display frame,
The touch panel receives an operation of moving a first icon dragged by an input indicator among the plurality of icons being displayed,
The control means controls, regardless of the position of the input pointer, the moving first icon to be in contact with the display frame, the first icon to be stationary in the contacting state, and the stationary state to be The page displayed on the screen is switched to another page according to detection of the continuation for a predetermined time, and the first icon can be dropped on the switched page. do,
Image forming device. A user interface device comprising: display means for displaying a page in which content is arranged in an area surrounded by a display frame; and input means for receiving an operation of moving the first content arranged on the page by an input indicator. A control method of
moving the first content according to a movement operation by the input indicator received by the input means;
Switching the displayed page to another page based on the position of the first content during movement, regardless of the position of the input pointer;
arranging the first content on the other page according to a movement operation by the input indicator received after switching to the other page,
A control method for a user interface device. A user interface device comprising: display means for displaying a page in which content is arranged in an area surrounded by a display frame; and input means for receiving an operation of moving the first content arranged on the page by an input indicator. A storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the control method of
moving the first content according to a movement operation by the input indicator received by the input means;
Switching the displayed page to another page based on the position of the first content during movement, regardless of the position of the input pointer;
arranging the first content on the other page according to a movement operation by the input indicator received after switching to the other page,
storage medium.

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