Patent Application
20140068454
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-191187, filed Aug. 31, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The embodiments described herein relate to a technique for creating a user interface displayed on a display of a device by which a user operates the device.
There has been proposed a print on-demand system in which a user can print a document stored in a server using a multi-function peripheral (MFP) set in a shop or a public institution such as a school and the like.
In the print on-demand system, the server controls a display unit of the MFP to display an input screen (e.g., a user interface) for acquiring information corresponding to an operation desired by a user. The user interface displays, for example, a button that the user would operate to search for a document which the user wants to print and an icon indicating the document. Through the input on the user interface, a user can search for his or her desired document and print it out using the MFP.
However, the structure of the user interface is different depending on a system provider, because needs of the users of the different systems vary. Therefore, a user interface needs to be customized for every system provider, and during this process, the structure of components (for example, color, shape, and arrangement position of a button and icons) has to be reconsidered.
Embodiments provide a technique capable of customizing a user interface for each system provider more easily.
Generally, the method according to the embodiment is for creating a user interface including one or more components that is to be displayed on an operation display of a device. The method includes acquiring layout information indicating a layout of the user interface in which one or more components are arranged, controlling a setting display to display information indicating the layout and a setting panel on which each of the components can be selected from a list of one or more components available for the layout and a function to be associated with each of the selected components can be selected, recognizing the component and the function that are selected on the setting panel, acquiring component information associated with the recognized component, and creating the user interface based on the acquired layout information, the recognized function, and the acquired component information.
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following description, an example of the system including the server according to the embodiment will be explained by using a print on-demand system.
In this specification, a user means a person who is provided with a service such as printing of a document by using the system. Specifically, the user includes a customer visiting a shop and a user in public institutions such as a school and a civic office. A system provider means a party who provides a user with the service through the system and specifically, includes shops and public institutions such as a school and a civic office. Even if a person is employed in the party of the system service provider, he or she may receive the system service and in this case, the person corresponds to the user. For example, if an employee of a shop prints a document such as a shift table and a time-off request through the print on-demand system, the employee corresponds to the user in this specification.
Further, a screen producer means a party who produces a screen to be displayed on a display unit (for example, a display on MFP) included in a terminal where a user enters an operation request at a time of using a system, according to a request of the system provider.
As illustrated in
Each component of the server 300 and the client PC 400 has the standard elements installed in a general purpose computer. For example, as the standard elements, there are a CPU (300a, 400a), a storage area (300b, 400b) such as RAM, ROM, hard disk, and an external memory, a network interface, a display (300c, 400c), and an operation unit (300d, 400d) such as a keyboard and a mouse. Similarly, the MFP 200 includes the standard elements such as a CPU 200a, a storage area 200b such as RAM, ROM, and a hard disk, a scanner, a printer, a display unit (display) 200c, an operation unit 200d such as a touch panel display and buttons, and an interface for communicating with the outside.
The server 300 controls the MFP 200 to execute a predetermined operation by the internal CPU 300a executing an application program stored in the storage area 300b such as ROM.
For example, the server 300 controls the MFP 200 to display on the display unit 200c a screen (a user interface) for a user's entering his or her request, which is stored in the storage area 300b. A user searches for a document stored in a document database (document DB) within the storage area 300b of the server 300 or requests the printing of a document, through the request acquiring panel displayed on the display unit 200c of the MFP 200. Further, when receiving a printing request from a user through the user interface, the server 300 transfers the data of the selected document stored in the document DB to the MFP 200, and controls the MFP 200 to print the document.
In the following description, for the sake of easy understanding, in order to distinguish the user interface from a setting screen, the user interface and a template screen which can become the user interface as the result of edits may be referred to as a panel.
The client PC 400 creates a document by the internal CPU 400a executing an application program stored in the storage area 400b such as ROM. The created document can be printed by the MFP 200 according to a user's request acquired through the MFP 200 and is stored, for example, in the document DB within the storage area 300b of the server 300. Within the document DB, a document can be stored associated with attributes (for example, created date and category of the document).
The MFP 200 has a monochrome or color copy function, a monochrome or color scanner function, and a monochrome or color printer function. Further, the MFP 200 is configured to perform the functions of a network printer and facsimile, to transmit a scanned image to a desired destination using E-mail by the MFP 200 being connected to a network, and to store the scanned image in an exchangeable way on a network.
Further, the MFP 200 displays the user interface on the display unit 200c according to a control of the server 300 and acquires a request corresponding to a user's operation through the user interface. The MFP 200 transfers the acquired request to the server 300. Further, according to a control of the server 300 in reply to the transferred request, the MFP 200 displays a new user interface which is determined to be displayed next on the display unit or performs a predetermined printing.
Next, the creation of a user interface in the server 300 according to the embodiment will be described.
The server 300 according to the embodiment can create a user interface 3A as illustrated in
For example, in the header 3AH, a title and a logo such as a company name, or UI for switching language can be inserted as the component. In the footer 3AF, for example, the UI with a function of returning to the initial screen, moving to the next screen, or printing can be arranged. In the main region 3AM, for example, a button, a thumbnail, a check box, a calendar view and a list view showing file names and icons, and a radio button can be arranged. By arranging the components in these three regions, a user interface of uniform design can be created easily.
In the user interface 3A illustrated in
The server 300 displays, for example, a screen as illustrated in
As illustrated in the screen of
The server 300 according to the embodiment includes the storage area 300b, an edit request acquiring unit 301, a layout information acquiring unit 303, a presentation unit 305, an edit operation acquiring unit 307, a panel edit unit 309, and a component information acquiring unit 302.
When the link 512 is clicked on the screen illustrated in
The edit request acquiring unit 301 acquires the request for creating a user interface and the information for identifying the selected panel entered into the server 300 by the screen producer through the operation unit 300d. The edit request acquiring unit 301 informs the layout information acquiring unit 303 that it has received the request for creating a user interface from the screen producer and at the same time, transfers the information for identifying the selected panel to the layout information acquiring unit 303.
In addition to the above-mentioned document DB and created user interface, the layout information, set screen information, component information, component list information, and layout list information are stored in the storage area 300b.
The layout information is information which can be used for creating a user interface and associating each component with each function, including the information indicating a predetermined layout of the components within a panel. Further, the layout information may include information related to the layout indicated by the above information (referred to as layout-related information; for example, information indicating the created date of the layout and the components used in the layout and information indicating the panel using the relevant layout). The layout-related information having various contents may be stored in the storage area 300b as the layout information.
The layout list information is information in which part or all of the available layouts which are stored in the storage area 300b are listed.
The component information is information indicating the contents of each component that can be arranged within a panel. Specifically, the component information may include a button, a thumbnail, a check box, a calendar view and a list view showing file names and icons, and a radio button.
The component list information is information in which part or all of the available components which are stored in the storage area 300b are listed.
The setting screen information is information used by the presentation unit 305 for presenting a list of layouts and components and a function of each component set within the panel.
The layout information acquiring unit 303 acquires the layout information stored in the storage area 300b, in response to the notice from the edit request acquiring unit 301. Here, using the information for identifying the selected panel transferred from the edit request acquiring unit 301, if the layout information used for the selected panel exists in the storage area 300b, the layout information acquiring unit 303 acquires the relevant layout information. On the other hand, if the layout information already used is not in the storage area 300b, the unit 301 acquires the layout information corresponding to a default layout (a layout to be presented to the screen producer by default) from the storage area 300b. The layout information acquiring unit 303 transfers the acquired layout information to the presentation unit 305 and the panel edit unit 309.
The presentation unit 305 presents the screen layout and the available components to the screen producer. Specifically, upon receipt of the layout information from the layout information acquiring unit 303, the presentation unit 305 creates a setting screen, for example, as illustrated in
On the setting screens illustrated in
On the setting screen shown in
Here, a reference numeral 811 is a list box for selecting a component. A reference numeral 815 is a list box for selecting a user's operation on the component to trigger the function. A reference numeral 816 is a list box for selecting the function to be executed through the manipulation of the component. Further, a reference numeral 817 is a button for temporarily storing the operation defined for the above component into the storage area 300b.
The component specifying information for specifying each component to be arranged within the panel and the function information as for the functions to be executed based on the user's input on each of the components, each of which is associated with each component shown in the component specifying information, are entered into the server 300, according to a user's input on the above setting screen.
The edit operation acquiring unit 307 acquires the component specifying information and the function information entered through the 300d (for example, by touching the button 715 illustrated in
The component information acquiring unit 302 acquires the component information corresponding to the components shown by the component specifying information, which is stored in the storage area 300b, according to the component specifying information transferred from the edit operation acquiring unit 307. The component information acquiring unit 302 transfers the acquired component information to the panel edit unit 309.
The panel edit unit 309 creates a user interface by using the layout information acquired by the layout information acquiring unit 303, the function information acquired by the edit operation acquiring unit 307 (part operation acquiring unit), and the component information acquired by the component information acquiring unit 302. The panel edit unit 309 stores the created request acquiring panel into the storage area 300b.
The list box 711 may be operated on the setting screen illustrated in
The edit operation acquiring unit 307 acquires the layout identifying information for identifying a layout, through the screen producer's input in the list box 711 based on the presentation of the layout list information by the presentation unit 305. The edit operation acquiring unit 307 informs the layout information acquiring unit 303 of the acquired layout identifying information. The layout information acquiring unit 303 acquires the layout information as for the identified layout from the storage area 300b, according to the acquired layout identifying information and transfers the layout information to the presentation unit 305 and the panel edit unit 309. According to this, a user interface is created based on a newly selected layout.
Further, in the creation of a user interface, when one or plural associated images (also referred to as an associated panel) associated with function of a component shown in the function information are, for example, stored in the storage area 300b, if a user operates the component which is associated with the function shown in the function information on the user interface, the panel edit unit 309 can create another user interface so that the associated image should be displayed on the display unit 200c of the MFP 200.
For example, when receiving the function information, the panel edit unit 309 determines whether the associated panel which is associated with the function shown in the function information is stored in the storage area 300b. The associated panel includes, for example, the information related to the correlation with a specific function, within the association information. If the associated panel of the function shown in the function information is determined to be stored in the storage area 300b, the panel edit unit 309 creates a user interface so that the associated panel should be displayed when a user operates the component corresponding to the function.
For example, an example of a shift of the user interface created when the associated image of printing execution is stored in the storage area 300b, will be specifically described as follows.
When the icon of a document file is clicked in the user interface shown in
As mentioned above, a shift of the panels corresponding to a specific function is designed in module and this is associated with the component related to the specific function in the user interface; therefore, a screen producer can create a user interface customized more easily.
Next, a flow diagram of creating a user interface in the server 300 according to the embodiment will be described using
In Act 201, in reply to a request from a screen producer, the server 300 displays a panel list stored in the storage area 300b. Based on the input using the list, the edit request acquiring unit 301 acquires a request for creating a user interface and the information for identifying the selected panel from a screen producer (Act 202).
In Act 203, the layout information acquiring unit 303 acquires the layout information stored in the storage area 300b, in response to the notice from the edit request acquiring unit 301. The layout information acquiring unit 303 transfers the acquired layout information to the presentation unit 305 and the panel edit unit 309. In Act 204, the presentation unit 305 creates a setting screen, for example, as illustrated in
If the screen layout is not changed on the setting screen (No in Act 205), a component selection is entered through the list box 811. The server temporarily stores the entered selection in the storage area (receiving the component specifying information in Act 206). Continuously, a function corresponding to the component is defined through the boxes 815 and 816. The server 300 temporarily stores the information about the function associated with the component into the storage area (receiving the operation information in Act 207). The server 300 checks whether there is such a component that is not defined (Act 208). If there remains a component that is not defined (Yes in Act 208), Act 207 and Act 208 are repeated. On the other hand, if there is no component as such (No in Act 208), the button 715 is touched and the edit operation acquiring unit 307 acquires the component specifying information and the function (Act 209). In Act 210, the component information acquiring unit 302 acquires the component information by using the component specifying information acquired from the edit operation acquiring unit 307. In Act 211, the panel edit unit 309 creates a user interface, by using the layout information acquired from the layout information acquiring unit, the function information acquired from the edit operation acquiring unit 307 (part operation acquiring unit), and the component information acquired from the component information acquiring unit 302.
On the other hand, when a request for presenting a layout list is entered through the list box 711 on the setting screen, the edit operation acquiring unit 307 acquires the above request and the presentation unit 305 displays the layout list information in the list box 711 (Act 212). In Act 213, the edit operation acquiring unit 307 acquires the layout identifying information entered through the list box 711 based on the presentation of the layout list information by the presentation unit 305.
As mentioned above, although one embodiment of the server has been described, it is not restricted to this embodiment. Other forms are possible.
By way of example, although the form of performing the operation for creating a user interface through the operation unit 300d of the server 300 and displaying the setting screen on the display unit 300c has been described, it is not restricted to this form. For example, a client PC may be used to perform the above operation, hence to create a user interface in the server through the network.
Although the embodiment has been described using a button in which a shift to another screen is defined, another type of components may be used. Further, a box or a window for specifying a component and defining a function as for the specified component may be changed in the contents depending on the type of the component.
By way of example, a language switching button, which is set in the header, is provided as illustrated in
Further, although the print on-demand system has been described by way of example of the system including the server 300, it is not restricted to such a system. The system may be configured to display a user interface on a display unit included in an equipment working as a terminal for a user to enter an operation request, according to a control of the server. Byway of example, there is a product management system, in addition to the print on-demand system and as a terminal for a user to enter an operation request, there is, for example, RFID reader.
In the disclosed embodiments, the processing can be accomplished by a computer-executable program, and this program can be realized in a computer-readable memory device. In the embodiments, the memory device, such as a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk (CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, and so on), an optical magnetic disk (MD and so on) can be used to store instructions for causing a processor or a computer to perform the processes described above. Furthermore, based on an indication of the program installed from the memory device to the computer, OS (operation system) operating on the computer, or MW (middle ware software), such as database management software or network, may execute one part of each processing to realize the embodiments.
As mentioned above, according to the server of the embodiment, components and the functions as for each component are set on a panel where the arrangement of the components is previously defined; therefore, a user interface customized for every system provider can be created more easily than ever.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-191187 | Aug 2012 | JP | national |
