JP7287168B2 - Display control device, display control method and display control program - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a display control device, a display control method, and a display control program.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-100000 describes a technique of showing changes in the remaining amount of coloring agent over time in a line graph, and predicting when to replace the cartridge using an approximate straight line obtained from the change in the remaining amount of coloring agent shown by the broken line. ing.

JP 2012-123311 A

However, there is a problem that the user of the image forming apparatus cannot understand how the coloring agent has been used and how the remaining coloring agent has decreased due to the change in the remaining amount of the coloring agent over time alone. rice field.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, it is desirable to provide a technology that can easily acquire information for understanding the cause of the decrease in the remaining amount of coloring agent.

A display control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a display unit, an input unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to execute storage control processing, first display processing, selection processing, and second display processing. The storage control process acquires consumables information used for specifying or estimating the remaining amount of each colorant of a plurality of colors used in the image forming apparatus each time a predetermined acquisition condition is satisfied. Store in the storage unit. In the first display process, based on the consumables information stored in the storage unit by the storage control process, a plurality of periods included from the past point in time to the present point in time, and a plurality of colors of coloring agents changed in each of the plurality of periods. The relationship with the remaining amount of each colorant is graphed for each of a plurality of colorants, and a graph display area including the plurality of graphs is displayed on the display unit. The selection process is performed by specifying at least one point on any one of a plurality of graphs in the graph display area displayed on the display unit by an input operation on the input unit. If done, select one colorant corresponding to one specified graph and at least one time period corresponding to at least one location on one specified graph. The second display process displays, on the display unit, usage status information regarding the usage status of the colorant of one color during at least one period selected by the selection process.

According to the display control device configured in this way, when an operation to specify at least one point on any one of the plurality of graphs is performed by an input operation on the input unit, , one colorant and at least one time period are selected. In this case, usage status information regarding the usage status of one colorant in at least one selected period is displayed on the display section. Therefore, the user can obtain the desired period by simply specifying at least one point corresponding to the desired period in the graph corresponding to one colorant for which usage information is desired. You can know the usage information that

A display control method executed by a control unit in the display control device, a display control program for causing the control unit to execute the above-described processes in the display control device, a computer-readable recording medium storing the control program, and an image An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a forming apparatus and including the display control apparatus, an image forming system including the information processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the display control apparatus, and the display control apparatus. The image forming apparatus and the like are also novel and useful.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image processing system. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing information acquisition processing. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing information accumulation processing. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the first part of the first display process. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the second part of the first display process. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the second display process. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the graph display window. FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a graph display window and a popup window. FIG. 8(B) is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged pop-up window in FIG. 8(A). FIG. 9A is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the graph display window and the popup window. FIG. 9(B) is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged pop-up window in FIG. 9(A). FIG. 10A is an explanatory diagram showing still another example of the graph display window and the popup window. FIG. 10(B) is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged pop-up window in FIG. 10(A). FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a pop-up window containing two remaining ink objects.

Next, the above-described display control device, display control method, and display control program will be described with reference to exemplary embodiments.
[Configuration of image processing system]
As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing system 1 includes an information processing device 10 (for example, a personal computer) and an image forming device 20 (for example, a multifunction machine). The information processing apparatus 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 are each connected to the LAN 30 and configured to be able to communicate with each other via the LAN 30 .

The information processing device 10 includes a control section 11 , a storage section 12 , a display section 13 , an input section 14 and a communication section 15 . The control unit 11 has a CPU. The control unit 11 executes processing and control according to a program stored in the storage unit 12, which is a non-transitional substantive recording medium, and implements various functions of the information processing apparatus 10. FIG. However, the various functions realized by the control unit 11 are not limited to being realized by executing a program, and a part or all of them may be realized using one or a plurality of pieces of hardware.

The storage unit 12 includes a semiconductor memory represented by, for example, ROM, RAM, NVRAM, flash memory, and the like. The storage unit 12 stores various software and data. In this embodiment, the storage unit 12 stores a display control program 12A as software. The display control program 12A is a program for executing display control processing (more specifically, information acquisition processing, information storage processing, first display processing and second display processing), which will be described later. The display unit 13 includes a display device (for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display) and is configured to display various images.

The input unit 14 includes an input device (for example, a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard) and an input controller that processes input from the input device. A user can input various commands to the information processing apparatus 10 by performing an input operation on the input unit 14 . The communication unit 15 includes a network interface controller complying with LAN standards. Note that the communication unit 15 may be configured to be able to communicate via either a wireless LAN or a wired LAN. Also, the communication unit 15 may be configured with a communication interface conforming to a communication standard other than the LAN standard (for example, the USB standard).

The image forming apparatus 20 includes a control section 21 , a storage section 22 , a display section 23 , an input section 24 , a communication section 25 , a printing section 26 and a cartridge detection section 27 . The control unit 21 has a CPU. The control unit 21 executes processing and control according to a program stored in the storage unit 22, which is a non-transitional substantive recording medium, and implements various functions of the image forming apparatus 20. FIG. However, the various functions realized by the control unit 21 are not limited to being realized by executing a program, and a part or all of them may be realized using one or a plurality of pieces of hardware.

The storage unit 22 includes a semiconductor memory represented by, for example, ROM, RAM, NVRAM, flash memory, and the like. The storage unit 22 stores software and data for controlling each unit of the image forming apparatus 20 . The display unit 23 includes a display device (for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display) and is configured to display various images. The input unit 24 includes an input device for receiving various input operations. The input unit 24 of this embodiment includes a transparent touch panel as an input device. This transparent touch panel is placed over the display device of the display unit 23 .

The printing unit 26 is configured to be able to print an image on a sheet-like recording medium. In the case of this embodiment, the printing unit 26 includes an inkjet printing mechanism. The communication unit 25 includes a network interface controller complying with LAN standards. Note that the communication unit 25 may be configured to be able to communicate via either a wireless LAN or a wired LAN. Further, the communication unit 25 may be configured with a communication interface complying with a communication standard other than the LAN standard (for example, the USB standard).

The cartridge detector 27 is configured to be able to detect attachment and detachment of the cartridge 28 . The cartridge 28 contains a coloring agent (ink in this embodiment) used for printing. In the case of this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 has a color printing function and a monochrome printing function, and can be equipped with four cartridges 28 each containing four colors (black, cyan, magenta, and yellow) of coloring agents. is configured to The cartridge detection section 27 is configured to output a mounting signal to the control section 21 when the cartridge 28 corresponding to each of the four colorants is mounted.

The image forming apparatus 20 also includes four sub-tanks 29 corresponding to the four cartridges 28, respectively. When the cartridge 28 is attached to the image forming apparatus 20 , the coloring agent contained in the cartridge 28 is supplied to the sub-tank 29 . When the printing section 26 prints, the colorant stored in the sub-tank 29 is supplied to the recording head 26A provided in the printing section 26 . By providing such a sub-tank 29, printing can be continued until the remaining amount of the coloring agent stored in the sub-tank 29 is exhausted even when the remaining amount of the coloring agent contained in the cartridge 28 is exhausted. . In addition, since the cartridge 28 can be replaced while printing is continued using the colorant in the sub-tank 29, it is possible to prevent or suppress the occurrence of a period in which printing is not possible when the cartridge 28 is replaced. be able to.

[Information Acquisition Processing]
Next, information acquisition processing executed by the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The information acquisition processing shown in FIG. 2 is processing executed by the control unit 11 when the control unit 11 detects that an event to be processed has occurred. When the information acquisition process is started, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 11 determines whether or not an event indicating that the cartridge 28 has been replaced has been acquired (S110). If it is determined in S110 that an event indicating that the cartridge 28 has been replaced has been acquired (S110: YES), the control unit 11 stores the replacement date and time of the cartridge 28 in the storage unit 12 (S120), and starts the information acquisition process. finish.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S110 that an event indicating that the cartridge 28 has been replaced has not been obtained (S110: NO), the control unit 11 determines whether an event indicating that printing has been performed by the image forming apparatus 20 has been obtained. (S130). Specifically, control unit 11 determines that printing has been performed by image forming apparatus 20 when a print completion notification indicating that printing has been completed is acquired from image forming apparatus 20 . If it is determined in S130 that an event indicating that printing has been performed by the image forming apparatus 20 has been acquired (S130: YES), the control unit 11 adds the current number of printed pages to the accumulated number of printed pages for each color, and performs cumulative printing. The number of pages is updated, and the current printing ink usage amount is added to the cumulative printing ink usage amount of each color to update the cumulative printing ink usage amount of each color (S140). After completing S140, the information acquisition process ends.

If it is determined in S130 that an event indicating that printing has been performed by the image forming apparatus 20 has not been acquired (S130: NO), the control unit 11 cleans the printing mechanism (more specifically, the recording head 26A). is acquired (S150). Specifically, the control unit 11 determines that the cleaning has been performed in the image forming apparatus 20 when the cleaning completion notification is obtained from the image forming apparatus 20 . If it is determined in S150 that an event indicating that cleaning has been performed has been acquired, the controller 11 adds the current number of cleanings to the cumulative number of cleanings for each color to update the cumulative number of cleanings for each color (S160). Specifically, since each color of colorant is consumed during cleaning, the number of times cleaning is performed is counted for each color of colorant consumed in cleaning. Also, since cleaning may be performed manually or automatically, these cases are distinguished and the number of times cleaning is performed is counted in each case. After finishing S160, the information acquisition process ends.

If it is determined in S150 that an event indicating that cleaning has been performed has not been acquired (S150: NO), the controller 11 executes another process (S170). The processing executed in S170 is processing corresponding to the occurrence of an event other than cartridge replacement, printing, and cleaning. However, since this process has little relevance to the main part of the present disclosure, further explanation will be omitted.

[Information accumulation processing]
Next, information accumulation processing executed by the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The information accumulation process shown in FIG. 3 is a process for accumulating the information acquired by the above-described information acquisition process on a daily basis. The information accumulation process is a process executed by control unit 11 when control unit 11 detects that a predetermined time has arrived. When the information accumulation process is started, the control unit 11 determines whether it is the regular acquisition date and time (S210), as shown in FIG. The regular acquisition date and time is a time that can be arbitrarily set by the user.

If it is determined in S210 that it is the regular acquisition date and time (S210: YES), the control unit 11 stores the date and time, the amount of ink remaining in each color, the cumulative number of cleanings for each color <<automatic}, and the cumulative number of cleanings for each color <<. Manual>>, the cumulative number of printed pages for each color and the cumulative amount of ink used during printing for each color are stored in the storage unit 12 (S220). The cumulative number of cleanings for each color «automatic» and the cumulative number of cleanings for each color «manual» are distinguished between manual cleaning and automatic cleaning as described above. It means the number of times counted separately. After completing S210, the information accumulation process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S210 that it is not the regular acquisition date and time (S210: NO), the control section 11 executes another process (S230). The process executed in S230 is a process corresponding to the arrival of a time other than the regular acquisition date and time. However, since this process has little relevance to the main part of the present disclosure, further explanation will be omitted. After completing S230, the information accumulation process ends.

[First display process]
Next, the first display process executed by the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. The first display process is a process that is executed when the user instructs display of information about the image forming apparatus 20 by performing an input operation on the input unit 14 . When the first display process is started, the control unit 11 sets the graph display start date to M month D day (S310). In S310, for example, based on the current time, the month six months before the current month is set as the M month, and the first day of the month is set as the D day. However, setting M month as "6 months before this month" is just an example, and it may be other than "6 months before" (for example, 9 months or 12 months before), or several months before. The user may be able to arbitrarily set whether to Also, setting the D day to “1 day” is an example, and the user may arbitrarily set the day of each month.

Subsequently, the control unit 11 sets the date D2 of the M2 month to be after a certain period of time from the D date of the M month (S310). In S310, for example, based on the D day of the M month, the M2 month is set to the next month of the M month, and the D2 day is set to the 1st day. That is, the certain period of time in S310 does not have to be a certain period of time in the strict sense, but a period of one month on the calendar (for example, a period that can be anywhere from 28 days to 31 days). It is a concept that includes However, setting M2 month D2 as one month later as described above is an example, and it may be set to other than one month later (for example, two months later in monthly units or 30 days later in daily units), The user may be able to arbitrarily set how many days after.

Subsequently, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the date M2 month D2 is before the present (S330). In S330, if it is determined that M2 month D2 is earlier than the present (S330: YES), the control unit 11 selects the "color ink "remaining amount" is recorded (S340). Subsequently, the control unit 11 determines the “number of cleanings within the period for each color <manual>”, the “number of cleanings for each color within the period<<<,” based on the difference between before and after the total period from M month D day to M2 month D2 day. Auto>>”, “the number of prints for each color within the period”, and “the amount of ink used during printing for each color during the period” are calculated (S350).

Subsequently, the control unit 11 calculates the average coverage and the number of sheets in ISO conversion from M month D day to M2 month D2 day (S360). The average coverage is calculated by "(cumulative amount of ink used during printing within the period)/(cumulative number of printed pages within the period)/(amount of ink used when printing on A4 paper with 100% coverage)". The ISO-converted number of sheets is calculated by "(cumulative amount of ink used during printing within the period)/(reference amount of ink used for ISO conversion)".

Subsequently, the control unit 11 sets the M2 month D2 set in S320 as a new M month D day (S370), and returns to S320. Accordingly, in S320, a new M2 month and D2 day is set based on the new M month and D day set in S370. At S330, it is determined whether or not the new date M2 month D2 set at S320 is earlier than the current date. Therefore, S320-S370 are repeatedly executed while it is determined in S330 that the date M2 month D2 is before the present.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S330 that the date M2 month D2 is after the present (S330: NO), the control unit 11 proceeds to S440 in FIG. The "remaining amount of ink of each color" at the end is recorded (S440). Subsequently, the control unit 11 determines the total number of times of cleaning for each color within the period <<manual>> and the number of times of cleaning within the period for each color <<automatic>> according to the difference between the total period from M month and D day to the present. , "the number of prints for each color within the period" and "the amount of ink used during printing for each color during the period" are calculated (S450). Subsequently, the control unit 11 calculates the average coverage within the period from M month D day to the present and the ISO conversion number of sheets (S460). The formulas for calculating the average coverage and the number of sheets converted to ISO are the same as in S360.

Subsequently, the control unit 11 determines the number of times of cleaning for each color within the period <<manual>>, the number of times of cleaning for each color within the period <<auto>>, and the number of prints within the period for each color from M month D to M2 month D2. ' and 'the amount of ink used during printing for each color during the period' are calculated (S470). The predicted value calculated in S470 for each item is "(Accumulated count value of each item from M month D day to the present) × (Number of days from M month D day to M2 month D2 day) / (M month D day number of days until the present)”.

Subsequently, in S480, based on the consumables information arranged in S310-S470, the control unit 11 selects a plurality of periods from the past to the present and four colors that changed during each of the plurality of periods. A line graph is drawn for each of the four colorants, and the graph display area including the four line graphs is displayed on the display unit 13 (S480). After completing S480, the first display process is terminated.

When S480 is executed, the display unit 13 displays a graph display window 51 including a graph display area as illustrated in FIG. In FIG. 7, four line graphs are drawn with different line thicknesses and line types (solid lines and dashed lines) for the convenience of expressing the graphs as black-and-white binary images. However, the actual polygonal line graph is composed of a color image, and the four polygonal lines are represented by polygonal lines of the same color as the ink color. As a result, a user viewing the graph can intuitively understand which color of ink each polygonal line corresponds to. The four polygonal lines shown in FIG. 7 are a thick solid line, a thick dashed line, a thin solid line, and a thin dashed line in order from the top in the figure, and correspond to black, magenta, cyan, and yellow in order from the top. are doing.

The vertical axis of the graph indicates the remaining amount of ink when the sum of the capacity of the cartridge 28 and the capacity of the sub-tank 29 is taken as 100%. In this embodiment, the cartridges 28 and sub-tanks 29 corresponding to black ink have larger capacities than the cartridges 28 and sub-tanks 29 corresponding to other colors. Therefore, even if the remaining amount of ink on the graph is the same, the remaining amount of black ink in that case is larger than the remaining amount of black ink in comparison with the remaining amounts of other colors. The horizontal axis of the graph indicates the period from the graph display start date set in S310 to the present time.

[Second display processing]
Next, the second display process executed by the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The second display process is a process that is executed when the user performs an input operation on the input unit 14 and an operation pointing to a portion included in the above-described graph display area is detected. An example of the pointing operation is, for example, an operation of pointing a point included in the graph display area with a mouse cursor. For example, if a point included in the graph display area is pointed by the tip of the mouse cursor and the mouse is clicked in that state, it may be determined that the point pointed by the tip of the mouse cursor has been pointed. Further, it is arbitrary whether or not to use the click as a trigger for the determination. For example, a portion included in the graph display area is pointed by the tip of the mouse cursor. It may be determined that the point pointed at by the tip of the cursor has been pointed.

When the second display process is started, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the input operation on the input unit 14 is pointing to the line of the graph (S510). In S510, in the graph display area as illustrated in FIG. 7, an operation of designating one place on the graph (that is, an operation of pointing) is performed for any one of the four line graphs. determine whether or not

In S510, if it is determined that the operation was to point to the line of the graph (S510: YES), the control unit 11 selects one colorant corresponding to the designated graph on the designated graph based on the point location. is selected (S520). For example, if a graph line corresponding to yellow ink is pointed and the point is within the range corresponding to the period 2019/1/1-1/31, then in S520 yellow ink and the period 2019/1/31 are 1-1/31 is selected.

Subsequently, the control unit 11 determines whether the period selected in S520 is the latest period (S530). The latest period is a period including the current time point, and in the case of the example shown in FIG. 7, the period after 3/1 is the latest period. If it is determined in S530 that it is not the latest period (S530: NO), the control unit 11 causes the display unit 13 to display usage status information regarding the usage status of one colorant in one period selected in S520. (S540).

When S540 is executed, as shown in FIG. 8A, a pop-up window 53 is displayed on the display unit 13 in addition to the graph display window 51 displayed by S480. In this pop-up window 53, as shown enlarged in FIG. 8B, there are text objects such as the period to be displayed, the number of times of manual cleaning in that period, the number of times of automatic cleaning, the number of prints, the average coverage, and the number of prints converted to ISO. included. The pop-up window 53 also includes a remaining ink object 54, which is an image object indicating changes in the amount of remaining ink.

In the example shown in FIG. 8A, the mouse cursor 55 points to the line graph corresponding to yellow ink, and the point is within the range corresponding to the period 1/1-1/31. Therefore, in S540, a group of information to be displayed in the pop-up window 53 is extracted from the consumables information organized in the first display process, and based on the extracted information, the text object and Create an image object. The generated object is placed in the popup window 53 and displayed on the display unit 13 as a window separate from the graph display window 51 .

Among the text objects arranged in the popup window 53, some text objects are displayed in a manner different from text objects other than the said some text objects. In the case of the pop-up window 53 illustrated in FIG. 8B, only the text object "812 sheets" indicating the number of prints is displayed in a manner different from other text objects.

In FIG. 8B, the text object "812 sheets" is shaded to express that the display mode is different from that of other texts, for the convenience of expressing with a black-and-white binary image. However, since the actual pop-up window 53 is a color image, the text object "812 sheets" is displayed in red and the other text objects are displayed in black.

In other words, the different display modes referred to here may be display modes that allow the user to distinguish and identify two or more display modes. As such different display modes, in addition to the presence or absence of hatching and color differences as described above, for example, constant lighting and blinking, background color differences, brightness differences, normal display and reverse display, etc. are adopted. It is also possible to employ a combination of two or more of these.

In the case of this embodiment, if the ink usage during the period to be displayed is different from other periods, a text object indicating information presumed to be the cause (hereinafter also referred to as cause information). is displayed differently than other text objects. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 8B, the remaining amount of ink in the period to be displayed decreases more rapidly than in other periods. Therefore, by comparing the data of the same item between the display period and other periods, if there are items whose numerical values are overstated or understated compared to other periods, Change the display mode of the text object for the item.

In the case of the example shown in FIG. 8B, the number of printed sheets in the display target period is "812", and this number of sheets is a larger value than the other periods. Therefore, by making the display mode of the text object "812 sheets" different from the display mode of the other text objects, the display mode is set so that the user can easily pay attention to it. As a result, when the user feels that the amount of ink consumed during the display target period is higher than usual, the user can easily notice that one of the reasons for this is the large number of printed sheets.

Since various criteria for determining whether or not to change the display mode can be considered, desired criteria may be adopted for each item. To give a specific example, for example, if you compare multiple periods relatively and change the display mode of the top two for the period with the most excessive or insufficient numerical value, for example, the most recent 6 It is possible to know when a period such as a month is the most oversized or underestimated. Alternatively, if you want to set a target upper limit value or a target lower limit value, changing the display mode for the period when such target value is exceeded makes it easy to see the period during which the target was achieved and the period during which the target was not achieved. can be grasped.

FIG. 9(A) is an example of a pop-up window 61 that is displayed when the mouse cursor 55 points to a period different from that shown in FIG. 8(A). FIG. 9B is an enlarged view of the pop-up window 61 illustrated in FIG. 9A. The popup window 61 includes a text object similar to the popup window 53 and a remaining ink object 62 . In this example, the text objects corresponding to the number of times of automatic cleaning and the average coverage are displayed in a manner different from the others. Users who saw this display attributed the decrease in the amount of remaining ink during the displayed period to the fact that the number of times of automatic cleaning was relatively large, and that there were relatively many opportunities to print printed materials with high average coverage. can be easily inferred. After finishing S540, the second information display process shown in FIG. 6 ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S530 that it is the latest period (S530: YES), the control unit 11 collects the usage status information regarding the usage status of one colorant in the one period selected in S520 and is displayed on the display unit 13 (S550). When S550 is executed, as shown in FIG. 10A, a pop-up window 63 is displayed on the display unit 13 in addition to the graph display window 51 displayed by S480.

In addition to the information equivalent to the pop-up window 53 shown in FIG. is added, and a text object indicating the estimated number of times of cleaning and the number of printed sheets will be displayed on the last day of the upcoming period. The predicted value displayed here is the value calculated in S470. In the pop-up window 63, the ink remaining amount object 64 indicates changes in the remaining ink amount up to the present time with solid line arrows, and also indicates predicted changes in the ink remaining amount after the present time with broken line arrows. Therefore, the user who sees the display regarding these predictions can know the indication of when the cartridge 28 needs to be replaced and when the sub-tank 29 can be used to continue printing. After finishing S550, the second information display process shown in FIG. 6 ends.

If it is determined in S510 that the operation was not to point to the line of the graph (S510: NO), the control unit 11 executes another process (S560) to perform the second information display process shown in FIG. finish. The process executed in S560 is, for example, a process corresponding to an operation of pointing to a point other than the line of the graph. However, since this process has little relevance to the main part of the present disclosure, further explanation will be omitted.

In the pop-up windows 53, 61, 63 described above, an example in which one remaining ink object 54, 62, 64 is displayed is shown. As in 65, two remaining ink level objects 66 and 67 corresponding to the cartridge 28 before replacement and the cartridge 28 after replacement may be displayed. By adopting such a configuration, unlike the case where only the ink remaining amount object corresponding to the cartridge 28 after replacement is displayed, the amount of ink consumed within the display target period can be more intuitively understood. will be able to

[effect]
According to the information processing apparatus 10 configured as described above, an operation of designating at least one point on any one of the plurality of graphs is performed by an input operation on the input unit 14 . 8(B), 9(B), 10(B) and 11, pop-up windows 53, 61, 63 and 65 containing usage information are displayed on the display unit 13. . Therefore, the user can obtain the usage information corresponding to the desired period simply by specifying one point corresponding to the desired period in the graph corresponding to one colorant for which usage information is desired. You can know the usage information.

Further, in the case of the information processing apparatus 10, when at least one period in which the usage status of one colorant is different from the other periods is included in one selected period, The cause information presumed to be the cause of the situation being different from other periods is displayed in a manner different from the information other than the cause information. Therefore, the user can easily pay attention to the cause information, and can easily grasp the cause of the difference in the usage state of the coloring agent.

Further, in the case of the information processing apparatus 10, when the selected period is the latest period, in addition to the usage status information corresponding to the latest period, a usage amount for predicting the usage amount of the colorant after the current time point is added. The prediction information is displayed on the display unit 13 . Therefore, the user can consider the replenishment timing of the colorant by looking at the usage amount prediction information.

Further, in the case of the information processing apparatus 10, the predicted time when the remaining amount of the coloring agent contained in the cartridge 28 and the sub-tank 29 is expected to run out can be displayed on the display section 13. FIG. Therefore, the user can know when to replace the cartridge 28 and when the printing can be continued even if the replacement of the cartridge 28 is delayed.

Further, in the case of the information processing apparatus 10, for a period other than the latest period, how does the remaining amount of the coloring agent contained in the cartridge 28 and the sub-tank 29 change between the start point and the end point of the period? The display unit 13 displays an ink remaining amount object indicating whether or not the ink has been filled. Therefore, the user can know the past usage status of the cartridge 28 and the sub-tank 29 .

In addition, in the embodiment described above, the information processing device 10 corresponds to an example of the display control device referred to in the present disclosure. The information acquisition process and the information accumulation process executed by the control unit 11 correspond to an example of the storage control process referred to in the present disclosure. S520 executed by the control unit 11 corresponds to an example of the selection process referred to in the present disclosure.

[Other embodiments]
An embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, but the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented in various modifications.

Although the information processing device 10 is illustrated as an example of the display control device referred to in the present disclosure, the technology of the present disclosure can also be applied to devices other than the information processing device 10 . For example, the image forming apparatus 20 described above may incorporate a configuration corresponding to the display control apparatus referred to in the present disclosure.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which one pop-up window is displayed when a line of the line graph is pointed, but two or more pop-up windows may be displayed. For example, after one pop-up window is displayed by pointing on a line of a line graph, and then pointing to another point on the line of a line graph, the old pop-up window is usually closed and a new pop-up window is opened. It is only required that a pop-up window corresponding to the pointed location is opened. On the other hand, even if another point is pointed on the line of the line graph, a pop-up window corresponding to the new point may be additionally opened while the old pop-up window remains open. In this case, a button for closing the window may be displayed in each popup window, and the window may be closed when the button is clicked. Alternatively, display a pinning button in the popup window to prevent the window from being closed, and when the pinning button is clicked, only the target window will not be closed. may be configured.

In the above-described embodiment, the printing unit 26 including an inkjet printing mechanism was exemplified, but the printing method is not limited to the inkjet printing method. For example, the printing unit may be provided with an electrophotographic printing mechanism. If the printing unit has an electrophotographic printing mechanism, toner may be used as the colorant instead of the ink exemplified in the above embodiments.

A plurality of functions possessed by one component in the above embodiment may be realized by a plurality of components. A single function possessed by one component may be realized by a plurality of components. Also, a plurality of functions possessed by a plurality of components may be implemented by a single component. A single function implemented by a plurality of components may be implemented by a single component. Also, part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be omitted.

[supplement]
The display control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure may further include the following configuration.
(A) The first display process may include a process of displaying, on the display unit, a graph display area including a plurality of line graphs corresponding to colorants of a plurality of colors as a plurality of graphs. In the selection process, when an operation is performed to specify at least one point on any one line graph included in a plurality of line graphs, one line corresponding to the designated one line graph is selected. The process may include selecting a colorant for the color and at least one time period corresponding to at least one point on a specified line graph.

According to the display control device configured in this way, by performing a simple operation of designating at least one point on the line graph for one line graph, the colorant whose use status information is to be displayed can be displayed. You can choose the color and duration of the

(B) The second display process is performed when at least one period selected by the selection process includes at least one period in which the usage status of one colorant is different from other periods. , a process of displaying the cause information presumed to be the cause of the different usage status from other periods in a manner different from the information other than the cause information.

According to the display control device configured in this way, at least one selected period includes at least one period in which the usage status of one colorant is different from other periods. is displayed in a manner different from information other than the cause information, which is presumed to be the cause of the difference in usage from other periods. Therefore, the user can easily pay attention to the cause information, and can easily grasp the cause of the difference in the usage state of the coloring agent.

(C) In the second display process, when at least one period selected by the selection process includes the latest period up to the current point in time, the usage status corresponding to the latest period In addition to the information, a process of displaying usage amount prediction information that predicts the usage amount of the colorant after the current time on the display unit may be included.

According to the display control device configured in this manner, the usage amount prediction information as described above is displayed on the display section in addition to the usage status information as described above. Therefore, the user can consider the replenishment timing of the colorant by looking at the usage amount prediction information.

(D) The image forming apparatus may include multiple cartridges and multiple sub-tanks. The cartridge contains colorants of a plurality of colors, and is replaced when the remaining amount of the colorant contained therein is exhausted. The sub-tank temporarily stores the colorant supplied from each of the plurality of cartridges and supplies the stored colorant to the printing system. In the second display process, if at least one period selected by the selection process includes the latest period up to the current point in time, in addition to the usage information corresponding to the latest period In addition, a process of displaying on the display section the estimated time when the remaining amount of the coloring agent contained in each of the cartridge and the sub-tank is expected to run out may be included.

According to the display control device configured in this way, it is possible to display on the display unit the estimated time when the remaining amount of the coloring agent contained in each of the cartridge and the sub-tank is expected to run out. Therefore, the user can know when to replace the cartridge and when printing can be continued even if the replacement of the cartridge is delayed.

(E) The image forming apparatus may include multiple cartridges and multiple sub-tanks. The cartridge contains colorants of a plurality of colors, and is replaced when the remaining amount of the colorant contained therein is exhausted. The sub-tank temporarily stores the colorant supplied from each of the plurality of cartridges and supplies the stored colorant to the printing system. In the second display process, when at least one period selected by the selection process includes a period other than the latest period up to the current time, the period other than the latest period may include processing for displaying on the display section information indicating how the remaining amount of the coloring agent contained in each of the cartridge and the sub-tank changed between the start and end of the period.

According to the display control device configured in this way, information indicating how the remaining amount of the coloring agent contained in each of the cartridge and the sub-tank changed between the start point and the end point of the period to be displayed. is displayed on the display. Therefore, the user can know the past usage status of the cartridge and the sub-tank.

(F) The image forming apparatus may include a plurality of cartridges, each of which contains a plurality of colorants, and which is replaced when the remaining amount of the contained colorants is exhausted. The storage control process is executed when the cartridge is replaced, the image forming apparatus executes printing, the cleaning of the printing mechanism provided in the image forming apparatus is executed, and the predetermined information acquisition date and time. At least one of the acquisition conditions may be set as an acquisition condition, and the consumables information may be acquired and stored in the storage unit each time the acquisition condition is satisfied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Image processing system 10... Information processing apparatus 20... Image forming apparatus 11, 21... Control part 12, 22... Storage part 12A... Display control program 13, 23... Display part 14, 24... Input Sections 15, 25 Communication section 26 Printing section 26A Recording head 27 Cartridge detection section 28 Cartridge 29 Sub tank 30 LAN 51 Graph display window 53, 61, 63, 65 ... pop-up window, 55 ... mouse cursor.

Claims (9)

a display unit;
an input unit;
a storage unit;
a control unit;
A display control device comprising
The control unit
Consumables information used for specifying or estimating the remaining amount of each colorant of a plurality of colors used in the image forming apparatus is acquired each time a predetermined acquisition condition is satisfied and stored in the storage unit. a memory control process that causes
Based on the consumables information stored in the storage unit by the storage control process, a plurality of periods included from the past point to the present point in time and the colorants of the plurality of colors changed in each of the plurality of periods. a first display process for graphing the relationship with the remaining amount for each of the colorants of the plurality of colors and displaying a graph display area including the plurality of graphs on the display unit;
an operation of specifying at least one point on any one of the plurality of graphs in the graph display area displayed on the display unit by an input operation on the input unit; a selection process that, if performed, selects one colorant corresponding to the one specified graph and at least one period corresponding to the at least one location on the one specified graph; ,
a second display process of displaying, on the display unit, usage status information relating to the usage status of the colorant of one color during the at least one period selected by the selection process;
A display controller configured to perform The display control device according to claim 1,
The first display processing includes processing for displaying, on the display unit, the graph display area including, as the plurality of graphs, a plurality of line graphs corresponding to the colorants of the plurality of colors, respectively;
In the selection process, when an operation is performed to specify at least one point on any one line graph included in the plurality of line graphs, the specified one line graph is selected. selecting a corresponding colorant of one color and at least one period corresponding to the at least one location on the one line graph designated;
Display controller. The display control device according to claim 1 or claim 2,
In the second display process, the at least one period selected by the selection process includes at least one period in which the usage status of the colorant of one color is different from other periods. Including a process of displaying cause information presumed to be the cause of the usage status being different from the other period in a manner different from information other than the cause information,
Display controller. The display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
When the at least one period selected by the selection process includes the latest period up to the current time, the second display process corresponds to the latest period. In addition to the usage information, a process of displaying on the display section usage prediction information that predicts the usage of the colorant after the current point in time.
Display controller. The display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The image forming apparatus is
a plurality of cartridges containing the colorants of the plurality of colors, respectively, which are exchanged when the remaining amount of the colorants contained therein is exhausted;
a plurality of sub-tanks that temporarily store the colorant supplied from each of the plurality of cartridges and supply the stored colorant to a printing system;
with
When the at least one period selected by the selection process includes the latest period up to the current time, the second display process corresponds to the latest period. In addition to the use status information, a process of displaying on the display section a predicted time when the remaining amount of the coloring agent contained in each of the cartridge and the sub-tank is expected to run out,
Display controller. The display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The image forming apparatus is
a plurality of cartridges containing the colorants of the plurality of colors, respectively, which are exchanged when the remaining amount of the colorants contained therein is exhausted;
a plurality of sub-tanks that temporarily store the colorant supplied from each of the plurality of cartridges and supply the stored colorant to a printing system;
with
In the second display process, when the at least one period selected by the selection process includes a period other than the latest period up to the current time, the latest period For other periods, information indicating how the remaining amount of the coloring agent contained in each of the cartridge and the sub-tank changed between the start and end of the period is displayed on the display unit. including processing to
Display controller. The display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The image forming apparatus is
a plurality of cartridges containing the colorants of the plurality of colors, respectively, which are exchanged when the remaining amount of the colorants contained therein is exhausted;
with
The storage control process includes replacement of the cartridge, execution of printing by the image forming apparatus, execution of cleaning of a printing mechanism provided in the image forming apparatus, and acquisition of predetermined information. At least one of the date and time is set as the acquisition condition, and each time the acquisition condition is satisfied, the consumable information is acquired and stored in the storage unit.
Display controller. A display control method executed by the control unit in a display control device comprising a display unit, an input unit, a storage unit, and a control unit, comprising:
Consumables information used for specifying or estimating the remaining amount of each colorant of a plurality of colors used in the image forming apparatus is acquired each time a predetermined acquisition condition is satisfied and stored in the storage unit. and
Based on the consumables information stored in the storage unit, a relationship between a plurality of periods included from the past point to the present point in time and the remaining amount of each of the plurality of colorants that changed in each of the plurality of periods. are graphed for each of the colorants of the plurality of colors, and a graph display area including the plurality of graphs is displayed on the display unit;
an operation of specifying at least one point on any one of the plurality of graphs in the graph display area displayed on the display unit by an input operation on the input unit; selecting, if performed, a colorant corresponding to the one specified graph and at least one time period corresponding to the at least one location on the one specified graph;
displaying on the display section usage status information regarding the usage status of the colorant of one color during the at least one selected period;
display control methods, including A display control device comprising a display unit, an input unit, a storage unit, and a control unit,
to the control unit,
Consumables information used for specifying or estimating the remaining amount of each colorant of a plurality of colors used in the image forming apparatus is acquired each time a predetermined acquisition condition is satisfied and stored in the storage unit. a memory control process that causes
Based on the consumables information stored in the storage unit by the storage control process, a plurality of periods included from the past point to the present point in time and the colorants of the plurality of colors changed in each of the plurality of periods. a first display process for graphing the relationship with the remaining amount for each of the colorants of the plurality of colors and displaying a graph display area including the plurality of graphs on the display unit;
an operation of specifying at least one point on any one of the plurality of graphs in the graph display area displayed on the display unit by an input operation on the input unit; a selection process that, if performed, selects one colorant corresponding to the one specified graph and at least one period corresponding to the at least one location on the one specified graph; ,
a second display process of displaying, on the display section, usage status information relating to the usage status of the colorant of one color during the at least one period selected by the selection process;
A display control program that runs

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