Image forming apparatus, information processing terminal, and computer readable storage medium

• US 10,642,553 B2
• Filed: 01/02/2019
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Fukuda, Shin
• Primary Examiner(s): Goodard, Tammy Paige
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dottin, Darryl V
• Application Number:
  US16/238,018
• Publication Number:
  US 20190212952A1
• Time in Patent Office: 489 Days
• Field of Search: 358 115
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1211 Improving printing performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1259 Print job monitoring, e.g. job status
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/126 Job scheduling, e.g. queuing, determine appropriate device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1264 by assigning post-processing resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1282 High volume printer device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00411 the display also being used for user input, e.g. touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence

Abstract

Provided is an image forming apparatus for allowing easy recognition of an image forming job corresponding to a sheet bundle on a sheet discharge tray. An image region in which an entire configuration of the image forming apparatus and a sheet discharge apparatus is displayed and a list region in which processed image forming jobs are listed are displayed on a monitor screen of the image forming apparatus. In the image region, sheet images corresponding to processed jobs are mapped at corresponding positions of the sheet discharge trays. When a sheet image is designated by a cursor, a processed job corresponding to a cursor position is identified, and a corresponding sheet image is displayed in an emphasized manner with a color different from that for other sheet images.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:

an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet by executing an input image forming job;

a plurality of sheet stacking units, on each of which sheets having images formed thereon are to be stacked;

a memory configured to store first information representing a configuration of the image forming apparatus, and second information including information representing a correspondence between the sheets having the images formed thereon in each of the plurality of sheet stacking units and an image forming job executed for the sheets having the images formed thereon; and

a controller configured to;

generate a configuration image by visualizing the configuration based on the first information,

generate a plurality of sheet images by visualizing a stacking state of the sheets having the images formed thereon in a corresponding one of the plurality of sheet stacking units that is identified based on the second information,

display, on a display unit, a screen in which the sheet images are mapped at respective sheet stacking positions of the configuration image,

display a processed job list, which is a list of a plurality of the image forming jobs already performed,

receive, via the screen displayed on the display unit, a user instruction for selecting one of the plurality of sheet images,

update, in response to the received user instruction, the display of the screen so as to distinguish the selected sheet image from the other sheet images not selected, and

update the display of the processed job list so as to distinguish the image forming job corresponding to the selected sheet image that is identified based on the second information from the other image forming jobs in the processed job list.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a detector configured to detect a change in the stacking state of the sheets having the images formed thereon; and

a controller configured to update display of the sheet image in accordance with a detection result of the detector.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the user instruction includes input for designating a position on the sheet images, and

wherein the controller is configured to identify the image forming job corresponding to the position based on the detection result and the user instruction.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the image forming unit is configured to receive input of at least one image forming job to perform image formation on the sheet for each input image forming job, and

wherein, on each of the plurality of sheet stacking units, the sheets having the images formed thereon are to be stacked as a sheet bundle being a bundle of the sheets for each input image forming job.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to:

identify the sheet bundle from the designated position;

identify the image forming job corresponding to the identified sheet bundle from the second information; and

display the identified image forming job on the display unit.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the controller is configured to arrange image forming jobs, for which discharge of the sheets having the images formed thereon is completed, as processed jobs in a list to display the list on the display unit.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to display the image forming job corresponding to the sheet image selected by the user instruction in a display mode different from a display mode for the processed jobs.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the controller is configured to:

detect the user instruction;

identify the image forming job corresponding to each sheet bundle included in the configuration image from the second information; and

display each identified image forming job on the display unit.

9. An information processing terminal, comprising:

a communicator configured to communicate with an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit and a plurality of sheet stacking units, on each of which sheets having images formed thereon are to be stacked, the image forming unit being configured to form an image on a sheet by executing an input image forming job;

a memory configured to;

receive, from the image forming apparatus, first information representing a configuration of the image forming apparatus, and second information including information representing a correspondence between the sheets having the images formed thereon in each of the plurality of sheet stacking units and an image forming job executed for the sheets having the images formed thereon, and

store the received first information and the received second information; and

a controller configured to;

generate a configuration image by visualizing the configuration based on the first information,

generate a plurality of sheet images by visualizing a stacking state of the sheets having the images formed thereon in a corresponding one of the plurality of sheet stacking units that is identified based on the second information,

display, on a display unit, a screen in which the sheet images are mapped at respective sheet stacking positions of the configuration image,

display a processed-job list, which is a list of a plurality of the image forming jobs already performed,

receive, via the screen displayed on the display unit, a user instruction for selecting one of the plurality of sheet images,

update, in response to the received user instruction, the display of the screen so as to distinguish the selected sheet image from the other sheet images not selected, and

update the display of the processed-job list so as to distinguish the image forming job corresponding to the selected sheet image that is identified based on the second information from the other image forming jobs in the processed-job list.

10. The information processing terminal according to claim 9,

wherein the display unit includes a first display layer and a second display layer present on the first display layer, and

wherein the controller is configured to display the configuration image in the first display layer and display the sheet image in the second display layer.

11. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program to cause a computer, which is configured to communicate with an image forming apparatus including a plurality of sheet stacking units, on each of which sheets having images formed thereon are to be stacked, and an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet by executing an input image forming job, to function as:

a memory configured to;

receive, from the image forming apparatus, first information representing a configuration of the image forming apparatus, and second information including information representing a correspondence between the sheets having the images formed thereon in each of the plurality of sheet stacking units and an image forming job executed for the sheets having the images formed thereon, and

store the received first information and the received second information; and

a controller configured to;

generate a configuration image by visualizing the configuration of the plurality of sheet stacking units based on the first information,

generate a plurality of sheet images by visualizing a stacking state of the sheets having the images formed thereon in a corresponding one of the plurality of sheet stacking units that is identified based on the second information,

display, on a display unit a screen in which the sheet images are mapped at respective sheet stacking positions of the configuration image,

display a processed-job list, which is a list of a plurality of the image forming jobs already performed,

receive, via the screen displayed on the display unit, a user instruction for selecting one of the plurality of sheet images,

update, in response to the received user instruction, the display of the screen so as to distinguish the selected sheet image from the other sheet images not selected, and

update the display of the processed-job list so as to distinguish the image forming job corresponding to the selected sheet image that is identified based on the second information from the other image forming jobs in the processed-job list.