JPH05289838A - Usable function and support screen conversation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To adapt the function of a device to the demand of a prescribed location or a market by instructing selection of one function interaction use permitting means and moving this means to the picture desk top to fix it in the device. CONSTITUTION: A memory card 102 includes encoded data which starts introduction of a specific editing function conversation to the screen desk top. When the card 102 is inserted into a slot, a control part detects it to give a pop-up frame 105. The frame 105 includes a marker editing function 106, a handwriting editing function 108, a creative editing function 110, and a text message for function introduction. When an operator pushes, for example, the marker editing button 106, a function 105A is moved to the desk top on a display device 51, and the control part writes information, which indicates that the device includes the function 106A, in a memory, and therefore, the function 106A can be used on the desk top at the time of start. Simultaneously, data of the card 102 is automatically changed so as to inhibit introduction of the screen conversation to another device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device for selectively enabling device functions, including modification of support interface screen interactions, and more particularly to using function cards to enable such.

Since copiers such as copiers and printers are becoming more and more complex and multifunctional, in order to use the apparatus completely effectively, the user interface between the apparatus and the operator or the user is required. Must be expanded. A suitable interface must provide the controls, the display, and the necessary messages to operate the program to operate the device in different states for different skill levels of the operator.

Unlike a simple copy machine, where the visible operator controls are only copy number selectors for selecting the number of copies and "on", "off" and "start" buttons,
In recent high-performance copiers, many confusing switches,
The commands are lined up, including buttons, dials, lights and various operator routines available. To take full advantage of the copier's capabilities, it may be necessary for the operator to properly operate these controls in various combinations prior to initiating or successfully completing copying.

Another consideration when using the device is that the same functionality of the device is not suitable for all locations or markets. For example, poster expansion,
Features such as irregular magnification, autocenter, mirror image, handwriting edit, merge image, user-registered color, bidirectional image shift, full copy, and expert color adjustment may not be suitable for any device location. However, the device already possesses these functions, and the interface screen of the device allows the operator to be provided with corresponding displays and instructions for using these functions. The increased number of additional screen displays poses a threat to the operator and is confusing and confusing. Also,
The owner of the device may find it unpleasant to consider that the price of the device includes features that are inappropriate for his location.

In order to solve the above problems, it is possible to provide a highly adaptable device, and in particular, a highly adaptable device that selectively provides a function corresponding to each location and market. desirable.

US Pat. No. 4,879,645 to Tamada et al.
No. discloses an IC card for use in a read / write terminal device. This IC card has a CPU, a PROM that stores programs, and a RAM that stores the results of arithmetic operations. The PROM stores a table in which the name of each program is registered. The RAM has an execution counter that counts each time each program is executed and stores the number of times the specific program is executed. When the execution count value of a program exceeds a predetermined value, execution of the program is prohibited.

However, none of the prior art devices have solved the problem of adapting the functionality of the device and associated screen interface interactions to various situations. It has also been found that various software packages within the controller of the device can be enabled by appropriate entry into the persistent memory. However, the problem with this approach is that it requires the intervention of a service agent to introduce the feature and its associated hardware and make appropriate changes to the persistent memory.
It would be desirable to eliminate the visit of costly service agents.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved technique for adapting the functionality of the device to the requirements of a given location or market simply and quickly.
Another object of the invention is to eliminate the costly visits of service agents to adapt the device to change requests by providing a feature card that the operator inserts into the device. Still another object of the present invention is to enable an operator to selectively present an icon and an operator instruction message corresponding to a related device function on a screen. Other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description below.

In summary, the present invention is directed to a technique for presenting an operator with a screen interaction for a predetermined function of the device that is selectively stored in the portable memory device of the image processing device, the predetermined memory for the portable memory device. A step of providing a screen dialogue regarding a function, a step in which an operator inserts the portable memory device into a device and reads it by a device control unit, and a step of displaying a specific dialogue frame on an interface screen in response to the device control unit, The steps include instructing the operator to confirm the introduction of the selected screen dialog and automatically setting the controller NVM so that the selected screen dialog can be fixed in the device. A further feature is the automatic modification of data in the portable memory device so that introduction of screen interactions to another device can be prohibited.

To make the present invention more comprehensible, description will be made with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view showing various actuating members and subsystems of a typical device incorporating the present invention.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are front views of the touch monitor screen of the device of FIG. 1, showing touch selection icons.

5-9 are front views of a touch monitor screen illustrating the transfer of device functionality to the desktop in accordance with the present invention.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below, but it should be understood that the embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention.

The figures are provided with reference numerals so that the features of the invention may be generally understood. Like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall structure of a color copying machine to which the present invention can be applied. A color copying machine to which the present invention can be applied is provided with a main body 30, that is, a basic structural unit, which includes a platen glass plate 31 on which original sheets are placed, an image input terminal (IIT), and an electric control device. Container 33, image output terminal (IOT) 34, paper tray 35, and user interface (U / I) 3
6 and further includes an editing pad 61, an automatic document handler (ADF) 62, a sorter 63, and a film projector (F / P) 64 as optional parts.

Electrical hardware is required to control the above-mentioned IIT, IOT, U / I, etc., and IIT, IP for performing image forming processing on an output signal from the IIT.
Each processing unit such as S, U / I, F / P is provided with a plurality of control boards, and these control panels also perform SY for controlling these.
It is housed in the electric control device container 33 together with the S-board and the MCB board (apparatus control board) that controls the IOT, AFD, sorter and the like.

The IIT 32 is composed of an image forming unit 37, a wire 38 for driving the unit, a drive pulley 39, etc., and the three primary colors B (blue), G (green) and R (red) of the color original paper. Is read by a CCD line sensor and a color filter provided inside the image forming unit 37, the data thus obtained is converted into a digital image signal, and the signal is output to the IPS.

In IPS, the B, G and R signals are the primary colors of toner, that is, Y (yellow), C (cyan) and M.
After being converted to (magenta) and K (black), and subjected to various data processing on the data thus obtained to improve the fidelity and precision of reproducibility, the IPS displays The processed color toner signal is converted into a binary toner signal and output to the IOT 34.

The IOT 34 provided with the scanner 40 and the photosensitive material belt 41 converts the image signal from the IPS into an optical signal at the laser output section 40a, and the polygon mirror 4
0b, the f / O lens 40c and the reflecting mirror 40d form a latent image on the photosensitive material belt 41 corresponding to the image on the original sheet. A cleaner 41b, a charging unit 41c,
The developing devices for Y, M, C, and K, and the transfer device 41e are arranged. In addition, this transfer device 41e
The sheet fed from the sheet tray 35 through the sheet transport channel 35a, and then Y,
A transfer unit 42 that transfers colors in the order of M, C, and K is provided, and the transfer unit 42 rotates four times in a full-color copy using all four colors, for example. The sheet on which the image is transferred in this way is conveyed from the transfer unit 42 to the fixing device 45 by the vacuum conveyance device 43, fixed there, and then sent out. Further, the paper transport channel 35a can receive the paper sent from the SSI (single-cut sheet insertion section) 35b.

The U / I 36 is structured so that a user can select a desired function and give a command regarding a condition for executing the selected function. This apparatus includes a color display unit 51 and its display. A hardware control board 52 is provided next to the unit and is combined with an infrared touch board 53 so that commands can be entered directly with "soft buttons" on the screen.

Next, optional parts of the main body 30 will be described. One of the options is the edit pad 61,
This is an input device based on a coordinate system, and by placing it on the platen glass plate 31, various types of images can be edited with an input pen or a memory card. Further, the main body 30 has a structure in which the existing AFD 62 and the existing sorter 63 can be installed.

Further, one of the features of this embodiment is that a color copy can be directly produced from a color film. A mirror unit (M / U) 65 is attached to a platen glass plate 31, and a film image is F / P 64. Is projected onto the unit and the projected image is read as an image signal by the image forming unit 37 of the IIT32. Original sheet materials used for this processing include negative film, positive film and slide, and this unit is equipped with an automatic changing device for a correction filter.

The main feature of this device is to provide a fully automatic device that performs a full copy process from the entrance to the exit of a copying operation, while having a very diverse and various kinds of functions that can sufficiently cope with user's requests. At the same time, it is possible to manufacture a device that anyone can easily operate by the functions such as the selection of the functions displayed on the CRT screen of the user interface, the selection of the execution conditions, and the display of the other items of the menu. is there.

The main function of this apparatus is that various functions can be selected by touching the soft buttons on the main screen. Start, stop, all clear, ten keys, interruption, information and language, that is, operation flow. The operation of switching the elements that cannot be restricted by is performed on the hardware operation panel. In addition, since the mechanism that allows you to select various editing functions such as marker editing, business editing, creative editing, etc. by touching the pathway tab corresponding to the pathway that represents the area for function selection, this device is very easy to operate. Since full-color and black-and-white copying operations can be carried out, the copying machine of the present invention can be used as if it were a conventional copying machine.

In addition to having a four-color full-color copying function as a main feature, this apparatus can also select three-color copying or black-and-white copying. For paper feeding,
The device is capable of automatic paper selection as well as selection of a particular paper size. For reduction and enlargement, this device is 5
The magnification can be set in steps of 1% from 0% to 400%, and a differential magnification function and an automatic magnification setting function for independently setting the vertical magnification and the horizontal magnification are provided.

For black and white originals, the copy density is determined by automatic density adjustment. In the case of a color original, this apparatus performs automatic color balance adjustment, and the user can specify a color to be thinned when making a copy for color balance. In the job program, reading and writing of jobs can be performed with a memory card that can store up to 8 jobs. The memory capacity is 32 kilobytes, and the programming of the job can be performed in the modes other than the film projector mode.

In addition to these, the present apparatus is a copy output,
It has additional functions such as copy sharpening, copy contrast, copy position, film projector, page programming and margin.

FIG. 2 shows a basic user interface screen, FIG. 3 shows an example of a pop-up screen displayed on a basic copy screen, and FIG. 4 shows a paint of a creative editing process. The example of the screen for 1 is shown.

In the user interface of the present invention, the basic copy mode screen for setting the copy mode shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 is displayed as an initial menu screen. The copy mode setting screen forms a "soft" control panel, which is a screen divided into two areas, a message area A and a pathway B, as shown in FIG.

Message area A occupies the top three lines of the screen, the first line is used for status messages,
The 2nd and 3rd lines form the areas for the guide message when there is a contradiction in the function selection, the message for the abnormal state of the device, and the message for displaying the warning information, and the specified message is in this area. Is displayed. Further, the right margin of the message area A is assigned to an area for displaying the number of sheets, and the set number of sheets to be copied and the number of copies being made, which are input by the ten keys, are displayed here.

Pathway B constitutes an area for selecting various functions, and has basic copy, editing function, marker editing, business editing, handwriting editing, creative editing and toolway. A pathway tab C is displayed corresponding to each of the individual pathways.
Further, each of the pathways is provided with a pop-up menu for improving the simplicity and efficiency of the operation. In Pathway B, a "soft" button D forming a list of selection branches is displayed. With this, an appropriate button, an icon E (picture) that changes according to the selected function and represents a specific function, and reduction / enlargement The function is selected by touching the indicator F or the like showing the ratio. "soft"
These functions shown in the pop-up menu by operating the buttons have the pop-up mark G (triangle mark).
Indicated by Also, touching the pathway tab C will open the pathway and the function of that particular pathway can be selected by touching a soft button. The function selection by touching the soft button is designed so that the operation is regularly performed from the upper left portion of the screen to the lower right side in terms of operation efficiency.

In FIG. 5, for example, full color, black and single color are displayed under the color mode column, automatic paper size is displayed under the paper selection column, tray 1 and tray 2 are automatically reduced and enlarged under the reduction / enlargement column, 100%. And a screen 51 on which a simplified display is provided with operation buttons for variable reduction and enlargement.
Note that this is typically only a sample of the various control buttons displayed on the screen shown in FIG. However, the screen 51 of FIG. 5 shows a space area 101 indicated by a dotted line representing the marker editing, business editing, handwriting editing and creative editing functions as shown on the right side of the screen of FIG. There is. Edit these markers,
It is assumed that the business editing, handwriting editing and creative editing functions are available in advance in the device control section as operator functions.

The present invention allows the operator to selectively enable these editing functions with the appropriate icons and text required or suitable for each device location. Thus, even though these editing functions are available on the machine, they are not trained to use them in the form of jobs performed at that machine location that require them. It would be better not to make those features available to the operator for various reasons, such as in this way,
Even if a function is available on the device, providing a visual display and an instruction message for a function that is not used only complicates the screen 51 and may cause operator confusion. Some functions are made available to the operator as shown in FIG. 2 and space 10 is shown in FIG.
Either function may be disabled to the operator, as indicated at 1, or a select number of functions may be enabled. In the illustrated embodiment, 4
Two features can be enabled or disabled. However, it should be understood that the present invention may have any number and form of features that are selectively available to an operator on a user interface screen.

To explain the operation, it is possible to identify which specific functions are enabled and to display these specific functions on the screen 51.
In order to start displaying on the display, the controller is provided with a memory configuration table of flag indicators. If none of the editing functions are available as shown by space 101 and you want to introduce a selected set of editing functions, insert the memory card 102 into the memory card slot 104. The memory card contains coded data that is read by the user interface and device controller to initiate the introduction of a particular editing function interaction into the screen desktop 51A. Introduced means that the feature identification is added to a possibly permanent bill of memory that is scanned at device startup and available on the desktop.

When the memory card 102 is inserted, the device controller detects the card and gives the pop-up window or frame 105 shown in FIG. In the pop-up frame 105 for the above purpose shown in FIG. 6, the marker editing function 106, the handwriting editing 108, and the creative editing function 1
Only 10 are included, as well as an appropriate text message to press the button to install the feature. These are functions that allow the card 102 to be transferred to the desktop 51A of the screen 51. It should be noted that card 102 can be used to introduce one or several functions, and how many functions can be provided on a card is a matter of choice.

In the illustrated embodiment, inserting the card 102 into the slot 104 allows the operator to select three editing functions, marker, handwriting and creative, to install on the desktop. When a specific editing function button is pressed, the specific function moves to the desktop 51A of the display 51.

For example, FIG. 7 shows the operator pressing the marker edit button 106 to move the marker edit function 106A to the desktop of the screen. As a result, the controller writes to the configuration table in permanent memory that the device includes a marker editing function. This allows the operator to use the marker editing function on the desktop 51A when starting the device. At the same time, the memory card is marked as having its functionality removed from it. This is the preferred way to prevent the same card from being used to introduce functional interaction to the desktop of another device. This security and control method can monitor the usage status of functions at individual locations. It should be noted that various modifications can be envisaged within the scope of the invention with regard to the identification and use of the memory card and the auditing of functional interactions on a particular device.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the operator edits marker 106, handwriting 108 and creative editing 1
Each of the 10 functional interactions has been moved to the desktop 51A of screen 51 as shown by marker edit 106A, handwriting edit 108A and creative edit 110A.
It should be noted that depending on the location of the device, only the edits needed for that location need to be removed from the card 102, rather than all editing interaction. Slot 1
When the memory card 102 is removed from 04, the pop-up frame or window disappears, and the moved function becomes permanently available on the desktop 51A as shown in FIG. The card 102 is returned to the audit center or copy center to record and keep a record of available device capabilities at available device locations.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the illustrated embodiments, various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view showing various actuating members and subsystems of an exemplary apparatus incorporating the present invention.

2 is a front view of a touch monitor screen of the device of FIG. 1, showing touch selection icons. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a touch monitor screen of the device of FIG. 1, showing touch selection icons.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a touch monitor screen of the device of FIG. 1, showing touch selection icons.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a touch monitor screen illustrating the transfer of device functionality to a desktop according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a touch monitor screen illustrating the transfer of device functionality to a desktop according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a touch monitor screen illustrating the transfer of device functionality to a desktop according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a touch monitor screen illustrating the transfer of device functionality to a desktop according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a touch monitor screen illustrating the transfer of device functionality to the desktop according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

30 color copier body, 31 platen glass plate, 3
2 image input terminal (IIT), 33 electric control device container, 34 image output terminal, 35 paper tray, 36 user interface (U / I), 37 imaging unit,
38 wire, 39 drive pulley, 40 scanner, 4
1 photosensitive material belt, 42 transfer unit, 43 vacuum transfer device, 45 fixing device, 51 color display unit, 61 editing pad, 62 automatic document handler (ADF), 63 sorter, 64 film projector (F / P), 102 memory card

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location H04N 1/00 C 7046-5C

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A technique for presenting a predetermined functional dialogue to an operator of an image processing apparatus provided with a control unit having an interface screen and a means for enabling the functional dialogue selectively stored in a portable memory device. Then, the method including the following steps: Insert the portable memory device into the device, read it by the machine control unit, display the dialogue frame that clearly indicates the means for enabling functional dialogue on the interface screen, and select one available means. To the operator and then move the enablement means to the screen desktop to automatically set up the control so that the selected enablement means can be fixed in the device.