Patent Grant
10939003
This Nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No. 2015-210368 filed in Japan on Oct. 27, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to an information processing device capable of setting a plurality of functional items relating to information processing including image information processing and an image forming apparatus provided with such an information processing device.
Conventionally, a technique in which various print settings with respect to an image forming apparatus are performed by a computer device has been proposed. In such print settings, by utilizing a tab in which print items are uniformly divided into functions, for example, the display density of the print setting items is reduced and the operability at the time of setting is ensured. Additionally, in recent years, the number of tabs also increases with the increase of the number of print setting items, and, since high frequently used print items and low frequently used print items are mixed and displayed, efficient use is prevented from the standpoint of a user. In view of the foregoing, a technique such as use of a shortcut key and an efficient arrangement of a print setting item or a tab in order to ensure the use efficiency has been known.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-285968 discloses a print setting processing device that achieves an efficient use by changing and displaying the display mode of a function setting item. In other words, the print setting processing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-285968 measures the frequency of use of a function setting item, makes a low frequently used function setting item not-displayed, sequentially lowers the display ranking of the tab including the low frequently used function setting item and finally makes the tab not-displayed, and enables a user to easily select and use a plurality of function setting items. On the one hand, the procedure of changing a non-display state back to a redisplay state through a button operation from a management screen is also employed.
According to the print setting processing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-285968, since each tab includes the function setting items previously divided by function, it is not desirable that a low frequently used tab is not displayed because some of the plurality of function setting items are eliminated from a use area, which, on the contrary, causes a problem in convenience, such that a user may be forced to perform an operation to return the non-display state to the redisplay state. On the other hand, in a case in which a certain function setting item is set, since the list of all the function setting items divided into the tab including this function setting item is always displayed, efficient display and use is limited to some degree.
In view of the foregoing, preferred embodiments of the present invention are directed to provide an information processing device that enables creation of an individual tab peculiar to a user and ensures efficient display and use by making a list page not-displayed when all the functional items in the list page of the individual tab are deleted, and an image forming apparatus including such an information processing device.
An information processing device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is capable of executing a plurality of functions relating to information processing and includes: a screen creation portion that is connected to a terminal including a display portion and an operating portion through a network and displays an individual tab on the terminal, the individual tab including a plurality of functional items previously arranged for each screen and having a list page in which a functional item among the plurality of functional items for each screen is able to be arbitrarily registered and deleted; and a setting processing portion that receives a command to register and delete the functional item from the terminal and then performs the registration and deletion of a selected functional item with respect to the list page, and also guides a screen of the list page of a result of the registration and deletion to the display portion of the terminal. The screen creation portion, when receiving from the terminal a command to delete a functional item to be last with respect to the list page, creates a screen in which the list page is not displayed and guides the screen to the display portion of the terminal.
The foregoing and other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
An image forming apparatus 100, as shown in
The image forming portion 10 is provided with a laser scanning unit 1 and image forming portions 10A to 10D each of which has a similar structure. The laser scanning unit 1 has a housing in which optical components such as a laser element and a polygon mirror for laser scanning for each color are arranged inside. The laser scanning unit 1 scans by exposures the surfaces of photoreceptor drums 2A to 2D of the image forming portions 10A to 10D in an axial direction (primary scanning direction) with laser light modulated corresponding to the image data of each color after conversion, and forms an electrostatic latent image of each color. The image forming portion 10A as a representative example of the image forming portions 10A to 10D is provided with the photoreceptor drum 2A and is also provided with a charging device 3A, a developing device 4A, and a cleaning portion 5A around the photoreceptor drum 2A in the rotational direction (secondary scanning direction) of the photoreceptor drum 2A.
The intermediate transfer portion 20 is provided with an intermediate transfer belt 21, a driving roller 22, an idle roller 23, and primary transfer rollers 24A to 24D and primarily transfers toner images formed on the peripheral surfaces of the photoreceptor drums 2A to 2D on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21. The secondary transfer portion 30 secondarily transfers the toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 onto a recording paper sheet. The fixing portion 40 heats and fixes the toner image transferred onto the recording paper sheet and outputs the toner image to a paper output tray. The paper feed portion 50 is provided with a paper feed cassette or a manual feed tray and feeds a selected recording paper sheet from a corresponding paper feed cassette to the paper sheet feed path 60. It is to be noted that the paper feed portion 50 may be configured to be provided with two or more paper feed cassettes that store a recording paper sheet of various sizes.
Although not illustrated in
As illustrated in
Moreover, the image forming apparatus 100 is provided with a control portion 90 consisting of a computer that controls the apparatus in an integrated manner. The control portion 90 is connected to a storage portion 90a that includes a memory area in which a processing program is stored and a work area in which the information processing and processing details are temporarily stored, a display portion 101 that displays an image, an operating portion 102 including a key or a button that receives an operation from a user, a communication portion 103, and an image processing portion 110. It is to be noted that, although not illustrated, the control portion 90 includes a driver made of software that makes each of the image information processing modes performed.
The control portion 90 is provided with an image formation processing portion 91 that controls the execution of each of the image information processing modes by the image processing portion 110, and a terminal screen processing portion 92 that functions as a UI (User Interface) that configures a screen on the side of the terminal, the screen being changed corresponding to the operation on the side of the terminal 200. Since the image processing portion 110 and the image formation processing portion 91 are publicly known, the descriptions are omitted.
The terminal screen processing portion 92, by executing a processing program, responds to an operation from the terminal 200, and functions as an authentication portion 921, an operation details determination portion 922, a screen creation portion 923, and a communication processing portion 924.
Here, the terminal 200 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described briefly with reference to
Subsequently, a description will be given of each function portion of the terminal screen processing portion 92 of the image forming apparatus 100, and each function portion of the control portion 210 of the terminal 200
To begin with, a functional item, a tab, and a list page will be described. When a type of the functional item used for the image information processing is exemplified according to the image information processing modes, such as printer settings, copy settings, facsimile/image transmission settings, a printer settings mode includes basic settings, standard condition settings, and other various functions. The copy settings mode includes basic settings, standard condition settings, print menu settings, character settings of a print menu in the lower layer of the settings, and other various functions. Similarly, the facsimile/image transmission settings mode includes facsimile/image transmission settings, common settings, basic settings in the lower layer of the settings, prohibition settings, transmission source registration, and classification settings, also includes scanner settings, standard condition settings in the lower layer of the settings, basic settings, a default destination address, and other various functions, and further includes a large number (several tens to several hundreds) of functional items.
The image forming apparatus 100, with respect to each of the image information processing modes as described above, previously sets standard specification as a default while, by allowing a user to previously set the specification, setting the specification details of each of the image information processing modes to specification details desired by the user. Since a large number of functional items are prepared for each screen (each page), a plurality of functional items, for example, may be previously divided by function and may be prepared as a plurality of standard tabs, which thus reduces display density and makes an operation easier. The functional items that have centrally or hierarchically been divided into each of the standard tabs may preferably be provided (transmitted) to and displayed on the terminal 200 as a user interface, by the terminal screen processing portion 92. On the other hand, with respect to the standard tabs, an individual tab having a list page that a user can register and delete may preferably be prepared, for the functional item that the user often uses among the plurality of functional items, and may preferably be provided to and displayed on the terminal 200, by the terminal screen processing portion 92, and thus much easier operability is further ensured.
The authentication portion 921 authenticates the validity of login from the terminal 200. For example, at the time of connection to the image forming apparatus 100, the login screen illustrated in
The screen display portion 211 receives a screen image transmitted from the terminal screen processing portion 92, and displays a login screen, a home screen, and a screen to be created corresponding to operation details.
The operation reception portion 212 receives a click operation to a button, an icon, or another display position that are desired in the screen currently being displayed, and acquires position information (display coordinate information) on the clicked screen. The clicked position information is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 by the communication processing portion 213 each time the position information is acquired.
The operation details determination portion 922 determines the operation details in the terminal 200 according to the position information transmitted from the terminal 200. Since the position coordinate of the display portion 221 of the terminal 200 is associated with the button, the icon or other display addresses that are displayed, from acquired position information, the details of the button, the icon, or other images that are displayed at the position are able to be identified. The operation details determination portion 922, from identified details, specifies the details that have been operated by the user on the side of the terminal 200.
The screen creation portion 923 creates a screen image on the side of the terminal 200 corresponding to the operation details every time the operation details of the user are specified by the operation details determination portion 922. The communication processing portion 924 transmits a created screen image to the terminal 200.
Here, a description will be given of each screen (see
It is to be noted that a screen 221a displays two windows. The window on the left side is a page selection area 2211a, and the window on the right side of the screen 221a is a function setting area 2211b. In addition, a cursor 2212 for vertical scrolling is displayed on the right end of the screen 221a, and a logout button 2213 is displayed on the upper right of the screen 221a so as to be able to be operated.
In
Subsequently, the operation will be described. To begin with, a description will be given of processing that the control portion 210 of the terminal 200 executes with reference to the flow chart illustrated in
Subsequently, the terminal 200 receives the authentication result from the image forming apparatus 100 (step ST11) and determines whether or not the result is matched (step ST13). If the result is not matched (No in step ST13), in other words, if authentication fails, the display of an authentication error is performed (step ST15), and the processing returns to step ST5. On the contrary, if the result is matched, in other words, if the authentication succeeds, a home screen (
Subsequently, the presence of selection (click operation, for example) with respect to a position on the screen 221a is determined (step ST21), and, in a case in which the presence of the selection is determined, the information on a selection position is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 (step ST23). On the side of the image forming apparatus 100, from received position information, the operation details in the terminal 200 are determined and a screen corresponding to the operation details is created and transmitted to the terminal 200 (step ST17). Hereinafter, by repeating similar processing, each processing to selection (registration, deletion) of a functional item and function settings is performed in each screen and, accordingly, the display and non-display processing of the “shortcut” tab as well as the shortcut symbol is executed.
Subsequently, the reception of the position information corresponding to the operation details on the side of the terminal 200 is performed (Step S17). When the position information is received, to begin with, whether or not received position information is in the display area of the logout button 2213 in the display screen, in other words, whether or not the logout button 2213 has been selected, is determined (Step S19). If the logout button 2213 has been selected, the processing returns to transmission processing of a login screen (Step S3).
On the other hand, if the logout button 2213 is not selected, subsequently, whether or not a position is in the page selection area 2211a (see
On the other hand, if the position is not in the page selection area 2211a in Step S21, subsequently, whether or not the position is in the function setting area 2211b (see
If the page is an unregistered page, whether or not a shortcut tab is present is determined (Step S39), if a shortcut tab is present, the processing proceeds to Step S43, and, however, if no shortcut tab is present, a screen to which a “shortcut” tab 2210a is added (see
In Step S43, a shortcut is additionally registered, and then a page screen (
On the other hand, if determination that the page is not an unregistered page in Step S37 is made, an identical shortcut that has been already registered is deleted (Step S49), and then a screen in which the shortcut symbol 2215 is turned off (not displayed) (Step S51) is created and transmitted to the terminal 200 (Step S53). Next, whether or not a remainder of the shortcut that has been registered as a shortcut is present is determined (Step S55), and, if the remainder is present, the processing returns to Step S17. On the other hand, if the remainder is not present, all the shortcuts are considered to have been deleted, a screen in which the shortcut tab is deleted (
However, when determination that the position is in the function setting area 2211b is made in Step S25, whether or not the current screen is the screen of the shortcut tab (
In addition, in Step S27, if the current screen is the screen of the shortcut tab, whether or not a shortcut button is selected is determined (Step S63), if a shortcut button is selected, a screen that displays a corresponding page is created and transmitted to the terminal 200 (Step S65), and the processing then returns to Step S17.
On the other hand, if a shortcut button is not selected in Step S63, whether or not the edit button 2216 is selected is determined (Step S67), and, if the edit button 2216 is not selected, the processing returns to Step S17. If the edit button 2216 is selected in Step S67, a screen that displays an edit page (
In a case in which the operation is the release command in Step S73, the registration of the shortcut of a corresponding page is deleted (Step S75), and subsequently the shortcut symbol of the corresponding page is turned off (Step S77). Next, whether or not a remainder of the shortcut that has been registered as a shortcut is present is determined (Step S79), and, if the remainder is present, the processing returns to Step S17. On the other hand, if the remainder is not present, the last shortcut is considered to have been deleted and the shortcut tab is deleted from the screen (Step S81), and the screen in which the shortcut tab 2210a is not displayed (
The details of the functional item included in the shortcut tab 2210a (individual tab) that has been set up as described above are registered in units of user or without distinction among the users, into the storage portion 90a. When the details are registered without distinction among users, details to be set later are overwritten and registered. It is to be noted that, in a case in which an image forming job is executed after registration, a job in which the setting details are reflected is executed if user authentication is performed from the terminal 200 or by using an authentication card (short-range communication card or the like) that a user possesses.
While, in a first preferred embodiment, the plurality of functional items are previously divided into a plurality of standard tabs, alternatively, a mode in which the plurality of functional items are stored in one standard tab or arrayed and displayed without a tab may be employed.
While, in the first preferred embodiment, the display and non-display of the shortcut symbol are able to be identified in a mode in which the frame is displayed and the entirety is filled in color, instead, color, density (brightness), lighting and flashing display, and size may be used for identification.
In addition, while, in the first preferred embodiment, the display and non-display are displayed in an identifiable mode, which enables the display area to be effectively used only at one place since the shortcut symbol is also used as the shortcut button, as a second preferred embodiment, a shortcut symbol may be literally made displayed or not-displayed and a shortcut button may be constantly displayed in another mode.
Moreover, while, in the first preferred embodiment, the display efficiency and utilization efficiency of a large number of functional items that the image forming apparatus includes is enhanced by using a shortcut function, as a third preferred embodiment, in place of the image forming apparatus, information processing devices such as a server and a host computer are able to be employed and applied. For example, in a mode in which information and data are centrally or hierarchically classified into various categories and registered in an information processing device and also are divided and managed in a fixed tab, furthermore, with respect to a user, an individual tab as a custom-build list page may be able to be used, and a mode in which a user can register or delete and use a tab, taking a frequency in use and importance into consideration when necessary, may be applied to the individual tab. In such a case, a list page may be made not-displayed when no registration information is in the individual tab. In addition, the individual tab, as long as being provided for the efficient utilization of information, is not limited to a shortcut function.
Moreover, while, in the first preferred embodiment, a mode in which the shortcut tab is created for each user is employed, a user may be able to browse the content of a shortcut tab of other users by selecting the update button in the screen and may add the content to an own shortcut tab when necessary.
The foregoing preferred embodiments are illustrative in all points and should not be construed to limit the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined not by the foregoing preferred embodiment but by the following claims. Further, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the scopes of the claims and within the meanings and scopes of equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2015-210368 | Oct 2015 | JP | national |
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| 20110252346 | Chaudhri | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20130246509 | Sakiyama et al. | Sep 2013 | A1 |
| 20150121194 | Patten | Apr 2015 | A1 |
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| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1991746 | Jul 2007 | CN |
| 103312928 | Sep 2013 | CN |
| 2006-285968 | Oct 2006 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20170118361 A1 | Apr 2017 | US |
