JP5069768B2 - Operating device and electronic device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an operating device and an electronic device having a help function.

  In recent years, MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals) having functions such as scanners, facsimiles, printers, and copiers have been used in offices and the like. A multifunction machine is often used in a situation where it is connected to an information processing terminal such as a personal computer through a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network). Then, it functions as an image forming device that prints image data input from the information processing terminal on paper, functions as an image reading device that acquires image data used in the information processing terminal, and searches document image data. It functions as a document management device that accumulates as possible.

  In such a multifunction device with various functions, it is difficult for the user to grasp the usage and operation method of all functions, so a help message indicating the usage and operation method of the function is displayed. Help function to display on request is provided. Various techniques for improving the convenience of using such a help function have been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus that automatically displays a help guidance screen and a help menu screen when the amount of contraction of a user's facial muscle is detected and determined to be in a confused state. Patent Document 2 discloses an image forming apparatus having a function of extending the display of help information and changing the display form of help information according to the knowledge of the user. Further, Patent Document 3 discloses an image forming apparatus that automatically displays a help screen by determining that the user is confused about an operation when the user performs an irrelevant operation a predetermined number of times.

  On the other hand, image forming apparatuses are shipped and sold not only in Japan but also overseas. For this reason, many have a function of arbitrarily selecting a language displayed on the operation screen (hereinafter referred to as a display language) from a plurality of languages. The display language is set to a predetermined language for each device, for example, when the device administrator operates the system menu.

  When the shipping destination or sales destination of the image forming apparatus is determined, the display language to be set in the image forming apparatus is automatically determined. In addition, once shipped image forming devices are rarely moved to areas where other languages are regularly used, and there was little need to change the display language, the system menu for switching the display language is placed in a deep hierarchy. It is often configured such that it cannot be operated by a general user.

  However, in recent years, multinationalization and globalization have progressed, and users with different native languages often work in the same office. In such an office, users with different native languages use the same image forming apparatus. Under these circumstances, for example, when a user accesses the system menu and changes the display language to another language and then forgets to return to the original language, the other language is displayed on the operation screen. to continue. In this case, other users who do not know how to access the system menu will be confused.

  In view of such a situation, Patent Document 4 described later proposes an image forming apparatus capable of easily switching the display language. This image forming apparatus has a language selection unit on a standby screen for each function such as a scanner function, a copy function, a printer function, and a facsimile function, and can select a display language independently for each function from the standby screen.

JP 2002-258682 A JP 2006-337414 A JP 2008-171067 A JP 2006-15623 A

  In general, users who work in the same office have language skills that can understand to some extent the languages that are commonly used in the office, even if the users have different native languages. That is, even when the display language of the image forming apparatus is set to a language that is regularly used in the office, a user with a different native language can perform basic operations such as copying and facsimile transmission.

  A user whose native language is different from the display language also refers to the help message when using a function that is not normally used. However, since a function that needs to refer to a help message is a function that the user does not know or rarely uses, the content of the help message is often difficult for the user. That is, the content of the help message displayed in the display language cannot be easily understood by a user whose native language is different from the display language.

  If the technique disclosed in Patent Document 4 described above is applied as a countermeasure, the display language can be switched as appropriate. In this case, it is necessary to provide a language switching button as a hard key or a soft key of the display screen. . However, as described above, depending on the usage environment, there is a case where language switching may not be required, so it is not practical to provide a language switching button hard key that may not be used on the operation panel. In recent multi-functional image forming apparatuses, the amount of information to be displayed on the display screen of the operation panel has increased dramatically. Under such circumstances, a language switching button is always provided on the display screen. It is not preferable to provide a display area for display. In addition, by operating the operation screen, it is possible to display a screen including language switching buttons provided in a lower hierarchy on the operation screen. However, in order to display the screen, a special operation by the user is required. Necessary and cumbersome.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and when a user or the like whose native language is different from the display language refers to a help message, the user can easily understand the contents, and An object of the present invention is to provide an operating device and an electronic device that can be smoothly operated thereafter.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the operating device according to the present invention employs the following technical means. First, the present invention is premised on an operating device having a help function. The help function is a function for displaying a help message indicating the usage of the function assigned to the operation button and the introduction / explanation of the operation method of the operation device in response to a user request. The operation device according to the present invention includes an operation unit, a message storage unit, a display unit, a language detection unit, and a display language switching unit. The operation unit has an operation button accompanied by display in a display language designated in advance. An operation by the user is accepted through the operation button. The message storage unit stores help messages having the same contents written in a plurality of languages. The display unit sequentially displays the help messages stored in the message storage unit. The language detection unit detects the language referred to by the user in the help message displayed on the display unit. The display language switching unit switches the display language of the operation unit to the language detected by the language detection unit. The display language switching unit switches the display language of the operation unit to the previously specified display language when the display language switching end condition registered in advance is satisfied after the display language is switched.

  In this operation device, when the user refers to a help message written in a language different from the display language, the display language is switched to the written language of the referenced help message. That is, when the user refers to a help message written in an easy-to-understand language among help messages displayed in a plurality of languages, the display language of the operation unit is changed until the display language switching termination condition is satisfied. Switches to the language of the referenced help message. Therefore, even if the user's native language is different from the display language, the contents of the help message can be easily understood and the subsequent operations can be performed smoothly.

  In addition, since there is no need to provide a language switching button as a hard key or soft key on the display screen, unused hard keys may be placed on the operation panel, or the amount of information to be displayed on the operation screen may be sacrificed. Absent. In addition, no special operation by the user for language switching is required.

  As the display language switching end condition, for example, an elapsed time from the time when the display language of the operation unit is switched to the language detected by the language detection unit can be adopted.

  In another aspect, the present invention can also provide an electronic device including the above-described operation device.

  According to the present invention, even if the user's native language is different from the display language of the operation unit, the content of the help message can be easily understood, and subsequent operations can be performed smoothly.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an operation panel of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows an example of the language switching procedure which the multi-function machine in one Embodiment of this invention implements The figure which shows an example of the setting screen which the multifunctional machine in one Embodiment of this invention displays The figure which shows an example of the help message which the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention displays. The figure which shows an example of the state which the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention displayed the help message The figure which shows an example of the setting screen in the display language switching state which the multifunctional machine in one Embodiment of this invention displays The figure which shows the operation panel in the display language switching state of the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the present invention is embodied as a digital multifunction machine.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a main body 101 including an image reading unit 120 and an image forming unit 140, and a platen cover 102 attached above the main body 101. A document table 103 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 101, and the document table 103 is opened and closed by a platen cover 102. Further, the platen cover 102 includes a document conveying device 110.

  An image reading unit 120 is provided below the document table 103. The image reading unit 120 reads an image of a document with the scanning optical system 121 and generates digital data of the image. The document can be placed on the document table 103 or the document transport device 110. The scanning optical system 121 includes a first carriage 122, a second carriage 123, and a condenser lens 124. The first carriage 122 is provided with a linear light source 131 and a mirror 132, and the second carriage 123 is provided with mirrors 133 and 134. The light source 131 illuminates the document. The mirrors 132, 133, and 134 guide reflected light from the document to the condenser lens 124, and the condenser lens 124 forms an optical image on the light receiving surface of the line image sensor 125. In the scanning optical system 121, the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 are provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the sub-scanning direction 135. By moving the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 in the sub-scanning direction 135, the image of the document placed on the document table 103 can be read by the image sensor 125. When reading an image of a document set on the document conveying device 110, the image reading unit 120 temporarily fixes the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 according to the image reading position, and passes the image reading position. Are read by the image sensor 125. The image sensor 125 generates image data of a document corresponding to, for example, each color of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) from the light image incident on the light receiving surface.

  The image forming unit 140 prints image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 or image data received from another device (not shown) connected to the network 162 via the network adapter 161 on a sheet. The image forming unit 140 includes a photosensitive drum 141. The photosensitive drum 141 rotates in one direction at a constant speed. Around the photosensitive drum 141, a charger 142, an exposure unit 143, a developing unit 144, and an intermediate transfer belt 145 are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the rotation direction. The charger 142 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 141. The exposure device 143 irradiates the surface of the uniformly charged photoconductor drum 141 with light according to the image data, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor drum 141. The developing device 144 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image and forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum 141. The intermediate transfer belt 145 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 141 onto a sheet. When the image data is a color image, the intermediate transfer belt 145 transfers each color toner image onto the same sheet. The RGB color image is converted into C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black) format image data, and the image data of each color is input to the exposure unit 143.

  The image forming unit 140 feeds paper from the manual feed tray 151, the paper feed cassettes 152, 153, and 154 to the transfer unit between the intermediate transfer belt 145 and the transfer roller 146. Various sizes of paper can be placed or stored in the manual feed tray 151 and the paper feed cassettes 152, 153, and 154. The image forming unit 140 selects a sheet specified by the user or a sheet corresponding to the automatically detected document size, and pulls out the selected sheet from the manual feed tray 151 and the cassettes 152, 153, and 154 by the feeding roller 155. The pulled-out paper is sent to the transfer unit by the conveyance roller 156 and the registration roller 157. The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 148 by the conveyance belt 147. The fixing device 148 has a fixing roller 158 and a pressure roller 159 with a built-in heater, and fixes the toner image on the sheet by heat and pressing force. The image forming unit 140 discharges the sheet that has passed through the fixing device 148 to the discharge tray 149.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance of an operation panel included in the multifunction peripheral. The user can use the operation panel 200 to give the MFP 100 a start of copying and other instructions, and to confirm the status and settings of the MFP 100. On the operation panel 200, a display 201 with a touch panel and operation keys 203 are arranged. The display 201 includes a display surface including a liquid crystal display that displays operation buttons, messages, and the like, and a sensor that detects a pressed position on the display surface. The detection method of a press position is not specifically limited. Any method such as a resistance film method, a capacitance method, a surface acoustic wave method, and an electromagnetic wave method can be employed. The user can input through the display 201 using his / her finger or the touch pen 202.

  The display 201 displays an operation screen having a button display unit 204, a message display unit 205, and a status display unit 206. A plurality of tabs 208 are prepared in the button display unit 204, and operation buttons corresponding to the tab category are arranged on each tab. The “easy setting” tab has operation buttons used for basic setting. In the example of FIG. 2, operation buttons for setting paper size, copy magnification, density, printing surface, page aggregation, and post-processing are arranged. For example, when the user performs an operation of pressing the “density” button 207a, a pop-up screen having selection buttons such as “light”, “normal”, and “dark” for selecting the density is displayed over the operation button. The density is set by the user's selection (pressing). In the example of FIG. 2, in addition to the “easy setting” tab, a “document / paper / finish” tab, a “color / image quality” tab, a “layout / edit” tab, and an “application / others” tab are also provided. The user can switch to the display of these tabs by performing an operation of selecting the tab button 208. While one tab is selected, other tabs and their elements are hidden on the operation screen.

  The message display unit 205 displays a message notifying the user of settings such as whether copying is possible and the number of copies. In the example of FIG. 2, the message “Copying is possible (full color)” and “Number of copies: 1” are displayed on the message display unit 205. This message means that the user has set to output one copy in full color printing.

  The status display unit 206 displays device status information as necessary. In this display, detection results of various sensors included in the multifunction peripheral 100 are reflected. The device status information means a message that notifies the user of a warning that prompts the user to respond to an abnormality although the device is in an operable state. For example, the fact that the remaining amount of paper is low, the document platen 103 is dirty, and the facsimile document is stored in the memory when the facsimile memory reception is set is included. Further, the device status information may include out-of-paper, conveyance jam, and the like.

  The operation keys 203 include a main power key 209, a numeric keypad 210, a start key 211, a clear key 212, a help key 213, and the like. For example, the main power key 209 is used to switch the main power supply of the multifunction peripheral 100 on and off. The numeric keypad 210 can be used for specifying the number of copies and setting the copy magnification. The start key 211 is used for a start instruction for copying or image printing. The user operates the clear key 212 when canceling the setting made by the user. Whether the machine accepts the setting by the user can be determined from the display on the message display unit 205. Therefore, the clear key 212 may be operated if the setting becomes unnecessary. A help key 213 is used to display on the display 201 an introduction / explanation of the usage of the function of the copying machine 100 and the operation method.

  FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a control system in the multifunction machine. The multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 302, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 303, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 304, an original transport device 110, and an image reading unit 120. A driver 305 corresponding to each drive unit in the image forming unit 140 is connected via an internal bus 306. The ROM 303, the HDD 304, and the like store programs, and the CPU 301 controls the multifunction peripheral 100 in accordance with the instructions of the control program. For example, the CPU 301 uses the RAM 302 as a work area, and controls the operation of each driving unit by exchanging data and commands with the driver 305. The HDD 304 is also used to store image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 and image data received from other devices through the network adapter 161.

  An operation panel 200 and various sensors 307 are also connected to the internal bus 306. The operation panel 200 receives a user operation and supplies a signal based on the operation to the CPU 301. The display 201 displays the above-described operation screen according to a control signal from the CPU 301. The sensor 307 includes various sensors such as an open / close detection sensor for the platen cover 102, a document detection sensor on the document table 103, a temperature sensor for the fixing device 148, and a detection sensor for the conveyed paper or document. The CPU 301 executes, for example, a program stored in the ROM 303 to realize each of the following means (functional blocks) and controls the operation of each means according to signals from these sensors.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the MFP according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment includes a message storage unit 401, a language detection unit 402, a display language switching unit 403, a display control unit 404, an operation recognition unit 405, and an operation control unit 406. In this example, the operation panel 200, the message storage unit 401, the language detection unit 402, the display language switching unit 403, the display control unit 404, and the operation recognition unit 405 constitute the operation device 400.

  The message storage unit 401 stores help messages having the same contents written in a plurality of languages. The help message includes a message indicating the use of the function of the multifunction peripheral 100, an introduction / explanation of the operation method, and the use of the function assigned to the operation button on the operation screen. The help message is read by the display control unit 404 and displayed on the display surface of the display 201. Note that, in the present embodiment, as a particularly preferable form, a configuration is adopted in which the display 201 functions as a display unit that displays a help message. However, when there is no layout limitation, a display unit that displays a help message A configuration in which the display 201 is different may be adopted. In the present embodiment, the operation screen displayed on the display 201 functions as an operation unit having an operation button accompanied by a display in a display language designated in advance (hereinafter referred to as a default display language). Here, Japanese is set as the default display language.

  The display control unit 404 displays the above-described operation screen, a message display screen for displaying a help message, and the like on the display surface of the display 201. The display control unit 404 holds information (for example, coordinates on the display surface) indicating the display position of each element such as operation buttons and messages included in the operation screen and the message display screen. The operation performed on the display surface of the display 201 is detected by a sensor that detects the pressed position of the display 201, and the coordinates of the pressed position are acquired by the operation recognition unit 405. The operation recognition unit 405 recognizes the operation content of the user based on the coordinates of the screen elements held by the display control unit 404 and the pressed position. The operation recognition unit 405 also recognizes pressing of the operation key 203 on the operation panel 200.

  For example, when the user presses the help key 213 and the operation recognition unit 405 recognizes the pressing, the display control unit 404 reads a help message to be displayed from the message storage unit 401 and displays the help message on the display 201. At this time, the display control unit 404 sequentially displays help messages having the same contents written in a plurality of languages, as will be described later. Here, the display control unit 404 recognizes a help message regarding an item included in the operation screen displayed on the display 201 as a help message to be displayed. When the user presses the help key 213, the display control unit 404 displays the selection buttons associated with the help message stored in the message storage unit 401 on the display 201 by classifying them. The configuration may be such that a help message corresponding to the selected selection button is recognized as a help message to be displayed.

  The language detection unit 402 detects the language referred to by the user in the help messages in a plurality of languages displayed on the display 201. The detection is performed when the user finishes referring to the help message (closes the help message display screen).

  The display language switching unit 403 switches the display language of the operation screen to the language detected by the language detection unit 402. The display language switching unit 403 switches the display language of the operation screen to the default display language when the display language switching end condition registered in advance is satisfied after the display language is switched.

  The operation control unit 406 executes generation of image data in the image reading unit 120, printing of image data in the image forming unit 140, and the like based on a user instruction through the operation panel 200 recognized by the operation recognition unit 405.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display language switching procedure executed by the operation device 400 included in the multifunction peripheral 100. The procedure starts, for example, when the operation recognition unit 405 detects that the help key 213 has been pressed. The following description is based on an example in which the user presses the “page aggregation” button 207b on the operation screen illustrated in FIG. 2 and the help key 213 is pressed while the page aggregation setting screen is displayed on the display 201. .

  First, the page aggregation setting screen will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page aggregation setting screen. In this example, the page aggregation setting screen 601 is a page aggregation type selection column 602, a layout selection column 603, an option selection column 604, and “cancel” used for canceling the setting and displaying the initial operation screen shown in FIG. ”Button 605 and an“ OK ”button 606 that is selected when the setting is completed.

  The page aggregation type selection field 602 includes a “not set” button for selecting a page aggregation type, a “2 in 1” button for integrating two pages of a document on one page of paper, and four pages of a document on one page of paper. “4 in 1” buttons are arranged.

  In the layout selection field 603, an “upper left >> right” button, an “upper right >> left” button, an “upper left >> lower” button, and an “upper right >> for selecting the arrangement order of each page at the time of page aggregation. The “Down” button is arranged. FIG. 6 illustrates a layout selection field 603 that is displayed when the “4 in 1” button is selected in the page aggregation type selection field 602.

  In the option selection field 604, there are arranged a “boundary line” selection field for selecting presence / absence of a boundary line, and an “original setting direction” selection field for selecting the direction of the document placed on the document table 103 or the document conveying device 110. Yes.

  When the user presses the help key 213 while the page aggregation setting screen 601 is displayed on the display 201, the display control unit 404 reads the help message to be displayed from the message storage unit 401 as described above. Are displayed in order on the display 201 (step S501).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a help message displayed on the display 201 by the display control unit 404 at this time. Here, for the sake of explanation, the help message 700 is composed of only a group of messages explaining the “page aggregation” and “layout” items, and omits messages about other items. FIG. 7 shows an example in which four types of languages are used, but it goes without saying that the number of languages is arbitrary.

  The help message 700 includes a message portion 701 written in Japanese as a default display language, a message portion 702 written in English as a second display language, a message portion 703 written in French as a third display language, A message unit 704 written in Chinese as the fourth display language is provided. The message units 701 to 704 include message units 711, 721, 731, and 741 related to the item “page aggregation” and message units 712, 722, 732, and 742 related to the item “layout”, respectively. The message parts 701 to 704 are arranged in the vertical direction which is the scroll direction (described later) on the message display screen in the order of the default display language, the second display language, the third display language, and the fourth display language. The help message 700 is configured. Therefore, when the user scrolls the help message 700 on the message display screen, the message portions 701 to 704 described in each display language are displayed in order.

  Note that the entire help message 700 may be stored in the message storage unit 401 as one message. However, it is stored in the message storage unit 401 as an individual message for each display language and further for each item, and when the display control unit 404 displays a help message, the help message 700 is generated by combining the individual messages. Preferably there is. With the latter configuration, it is possible to easily change or add a message, and further add another display language. In addition, the display order of the second display language, the third display language, and the fourth display language can be changed according to each reference frequency.

  FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating an example of a message display screen displayed when the user presses the help key 213 in a state where the page aggregation setting screen 601 is displayed on the display 201. FIG. . As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the message display screen 801 includes a message display field 802 for displaying a help message, a scroll bar 803 provided at the right end of the message display field 802, and a message display screen 801. And an “OK” button 804 that is selected when returning to the page aggregation setting screen 601.

  The scroll bar 803 includes an upward movement arrow 831, a knob 832, and a downward movement arrow 833. As is well known, the upward movement arrow 831 is used to move the help message 700 displayed in the message display field 802 downward and display an area above the area currently displayed. . The downward movement arrow 833 is used to move the help message 700 displayed in the message display field 802 upward and display an area below the area currently displayed. As the scroll unit when the upward movement arrow 831 and the downward movement arrow 833 are used, an arbitrary unit such as every designated number of lines or every page can be set. The knob 832 is used for moving the display area, and indicates the position of the display area in the entire help message 700, the ratio of the display area to the entire help message 700, and the like. FIG. 8A shows a state where the uppermost part of the help message 700 is displayed in the message display field 802. FIG. 8B shows a state in which the lowermost line displayed in the message display field 802 in FIG. 8A is displayed as the uppermost line in the message display field 802.

  When the user presses the “OK” button 804 on the message display screen 801, the language detection unit 402 detects the language referred to by the user in the help message 700 displayed on the display 201 (steps S502 Yes, S503). In other words, when receiving an input indicating that the “OK” button 804 is pressed from the operation recognition unit 405, the language detection unit 402 acquires a help message display history from the display control unit 404. The language detection unit 402 detects the language referred to by the user based on the acquired help message display history.

  The help message display history is information indicating the history of the display state (display area and display time) of the help message 700 displayed in the message display field 802 from when the message display screen 801 is displayed until it is closed. .

  For example, it is recorded in the help message display history that when a message display screen 801 is closed, a help message in a single language (that is, only one of the message parts 701 to 704) is displayed. In such a case, the language detection unit 402 can detect the language as the language referred to by the user.

  When it is recorded that help messages in a plurality of languages are displayed when the message display screen 801 is closed, the language detection unit 402 occupies the message display field 802 from the help message display history. The language referred to by the user is detected based on the area ratio of both languages, the time during which each language is displayed, and the movement history.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 8B, a Japanese message part 701 and an English message part 702 are displayed in the message display field 802. In this example, it is recorded in the help message display history that the user has quickly moved from the state of FIG. 8A to the state of FIG. 8B, and has stopped for a certain period of time in the state of FIG. 8B. If so, the language detection unit 402 can detect English having a large area ratio as the language referred to by the user. Such a determination is made, for example, by calculating the sum of products of the time during which the message is displayed in the message display field 802 and the area ratio occupied in the message display field 802 at the time of the stop for each language message. Can also be implemented. In addition, when the downward movement and the stop are repeated, the language positioned on the upper side can be simply detected as the language referred to by the user.

  As described above, the language detection unit 402 that has detected the language referred to by the user inputs the detected reference language to the display language switching unit 403. Upon receiving the input, the display language switching unit 403 compares the display language of the operation screen displayed on the display 201 at that time with the input reference language (step S504). If the display language at that time matches the reference language, the display language switching unit 403 does nothing and the procedure ends as it is (Yes in step S504). If the display language at that time is different from the reference language, the display language switching unit 403 switches the display language of the operation screen displayed on the display 201 to the input reference language (No in steps S504 and S505). The switching of the display language is realized by the display language switching unit 403 instructing the display control unit 404 to switch the display language to the reference language.

  In the present embodiment, the display language switching unit 403 that has input the instruction to the display control unit 404 monitors whether or not a display language switching end condition registered in advance is satisfied (step S506). Here, “elapse of a specific time (for example, 10 minutes) from notification of display language switching instruction” is registered in the display language switching unit 403 in advance as a display language switching end condition. Therefore, the display language switching unit 403 monitors the elapsed time from the instruction input to the display control unit 404, and when the elapsed time reaches a predetermined time, the display language of the operation screen is set as the default display language (here, Japan). (Step S506 Yes, S507). The display language switching is also realized by the display language switching unit 403 instructing the display control unit 404 to switch the display language to the default display language. Note that while the display language switching end condition is not satisfied, the state where the display language is switched to the reference language is maintained (No in step S506).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page aggregation setting screen displayed on the display 201 when the reference language detected by the language detection unit 402 when the user closes the message display screen 801 is English. In the example of FIG. 9, the display of the page aggregation type selection field 602, layout selection field 603, option selection field 604, “cancel” button 605, and “OK” button 606 provided on the page aggregation setting screen 901 are all changed to English. Yes.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an initial screen displayed on the display 201 when the user closes the page aggregation setting screen 901 before the display language switching end condition is satisfied. In the example of FIG. 10, the display of the button display unit 204, the message display unit 205, and the status display unit 206 provided in the operation screen is all changed to English.

  As described above, in the MFP 100, when the user refers to the help message written in a language different from the display language, the display language of the operation screen is switched to the help message writing language. That is, when the user refers to a help message written in an easy-to-understand language in help messages displayed in a plurality of languages, the display language of the operation screen is changed until the display language switching end condition is satisfied. Switches to the language of the referenced help message. Therefore, even a user whose native language is different from the display language can easily understand the content of the help message. In addition, the display language of the operation screen is automatically switched to a language that is easy for the user to understand in situations where an unknown function that requires referencing a help message is used, and subsequent operations can be performed smoothly. . Further, when the display language switching end condition registered in advance is satisfied, the display language is automatically switched to the default display language, so that other users are not confused. In addition, no special operation by the user for language switching is required.

  In addition, there is no need to provide a language switching button as a hard key or display screen soft key, so the layout flexibility of the operation screen and operation panel is not reduced, and other display languages can be easily added later. Can be implemented.

  The above-described embodiments do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and various modifications and applications other than those already described are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the description has been made based on an operation through the operation panel of the multifunction device. However, an operation is performed on the multifunction device via an information processing terminal such as a personal computer that is communicably connected to the multifunction device. May be. In this case, the function of the display 201 of the operation panel 200 in the above-described embodiment is provided by display means such as a display and input means such as a keyboard provided in the information processing terminal.

  Further, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the order of the steps can be appropriately changed within a range where the equivalent action is achieved. For example, in the above embodiment, the reference language is detected when the message display screen is closed. However, when the reference language is always detected and the message display screen is closed, the subsequent switching process is executed. However, the same effect can be obtained.

  Furthermore, in the above description, the elapsed time is adopted as the display language switching end condition. However, for example, when the multifunction peripheral 100 has an authentication function for identifying the user, the logout of the user may be set as the display language switching end condition. . Further, the display language switching end condition may be that the state in which the user does not operate the operation panel continues for a predetermined time. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to apply the language switching described above to a specific user.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is embodied as a digital multi-function peripheral. However, the present invention is not limited to a digital multi-function peripheral, and is not limited to a digital multi-function peripheral. It is also possible to apply. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to an arbitrary operation device having a help function.

  According to the present invention, even if a user whose native language is different from the display language of the operation unit, the content of the help message can be easily understood and the subsequent operation can be performed smoothly, which is useful as an operation device and an electronic device. .

100 MFP 200 Operation Panel 201 Display 401 Message Storage Unit 402 Language Detection Unit 403 Display Language Switching Unit 700 Help Message

Claims (3)

An operating device having a help function,
An operation unit having an operation button accompanied by display in a display language designated in advance;
A message storage unit for storing help messages having the same content written in a plurality of languages;
A display unit that sequentially displays help messages stored in the message storage unit;
In the help message displayed on the display unit, a language detection unit that detects a language referred to by the user;
When the display language of the operation unit is switched to the language detected by the language detection unit, and the display language switching end condition registered in advance is satisfied after the display language is switched, the display language of the operation unit is displayed in the previously designated display language. A display language switching section for switching to a language;
An operating device comprising:   The operating device according to claim 1, wherein the display language switching end condition is an elapsed time from the time when the display language of the operation unit is switched to the language detected by the language detection unit.   An electronic device comprising the operation device according to claim 1.

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