Image forming apparatus and method of controlling the image forming apparatus

• US 20060056871A1
• Filed: 09/06/2005
• Published: 03/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: S-Printing Solution Co., Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: S-Printing Solution Co., Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kim, Haeng-nan
• Application Number:
  US11/218,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20060056871A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/81
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5016 User-machine interface; Display panels; Control console
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/502 relating to the structure of the control menu, e.g. pop-up menus, help screens
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5075 Remote control machines, e.g. by a host
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00109 Remote control of apparatus, e.g. by a host

Abstract

An image forming apparatus and a method of controlling the same. The method includes creating menu screens corresponding to one or more the image formation-related functions using a web browser provided to the image forming apparatus, and displaying each of the created menu screens by the web browser. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a menu screen only with a simple and fast producing process.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an image forming apparatus having one or more image formation-related functions, the method comprising:

creating menu screens corresponding to one or more image formation-related functions using a web browser provided to the image forming apparatus; and

displaying each of the created menu screens by the web browser.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the creating of the menu screens comprises:

driving the web browser when power is applied to the image forming apparatus;

downloading an applet from a web server of the image forming apparatus through the web browser; and

creating a main menu screen with main menu screen information stored in a memory of the image forming apparatus by the applet.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the creating of the main menu screen comprises:

requesting the web server for the main menu screen information by the web browser;

reading and providing the main menu screen information to the web browser by the web server according to the request for the main menu screen information by the web browser; and

creating the main menu screen by the applet, based on the provided main menu screen information provided.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the creating of the menu screens further comprises:

creating a submenu screen corresponding to one of the image formation-related functions with sub main menu screen information regarding the one of the image formation-related functions stored in the memory of the image forming apparatus by the applet when a submenu screen-displaying command corresponding to the one of the image formation-related functions is input.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the creating of the submenu screen corresponding to the one of the image formation-related functions comprises:

requesting the web server for the sub main menu screen information regarding the one of the image formation related functions by the web browser;

reading and providing the submenu screen information regarding the one of the image formation related functions to the web browser by the web server, according to the request for the submenu screen information regarding the one of the image formation related functions; and

creating the submenu screen corresponding to the one of the image formation related functions by the applet, based on the submenu screen information regarding the one of the image formation related functions provided.

6. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the main menu screen information and the submenu screen information regarding the one of the image formation related functions comprise at least one web document of an extendible markup language (XML) and a web document hypertext markup language (HTML).

7. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the main menu screen information and the submenu screen information regarding the one of the image formation related functions comprises at least one of information regarding menu screen constituting elements to be displayed on each of the main and sub menu screens and information regarding a menu screen structure including a position, a size, and a color of the menu screen constituting elements which are displayed on each of the menu screens.

8. A method of controlling an image forming apparatus, comprising:

requesting a menu screen to be displayed on a display of the image forming apparatus;

automatically creating the requested menu screen using a web based language; and

displaying the created menu screen on the display of the image forming apparatus.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the requesting of the menu screen comprises:

automatically requesting a main menu screen when power is supplied to the image forming apparatus.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the automatically creating of the requested menu screen comprises:

loading predetermined main menu information stored in a memory of the image forming apparatus; and

creating the main menu screen having one or more selectable submenus according to the predetermined main menu information using the web based language.

11. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the requesting of the menu screen comprises:

selecting a submenu from a main menu screen displayed on the display of the image forming apparatus; and

requesting a submenu screen corresponding to the selected submenu.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, the automatically creating of the requested menu screen comprises:

loading information regarding the selected submenu stored in a memory of the image forming apparatus; and

creating the requested submenu screen according to the loaded information regarding the selected submenu using the web based language.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the displaying of the created menu screen comprises:

replacing the main menu screen displayed on the display of the image forming apparatus with the created submenu screen.

14. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the automatically creating of the requested menu screen comprises:

downloading a predetermined applet from an Internet source using a web browser; and

creating the requested menu screen in the downloaded applet using the web based language.

15. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the web based language comprises one of extendible markup language (XML) and hypertext markup language (HTML).

16. A method of controlling an image forming apparatus, comprising:

creating a main menu web page having one or more selectable submenus when power is supplied to the image forming apparatus;

displaying the main menu web page on a display of the image forming apparatus;

sensing a selection of one of the one or more submenus of the displayed main menu web page;

creating a submenu web page having one or more selectable settings of the image forming apparatus corresponding to the selected one of the one or more submenus when the selection of the one of the one or more submenus is sensed; and

displaying the created submenu web page on the display of the image forming apparatus.

17. An image forming apparatus having one or more image formation-related functions, comprising:

a displaying section; and

a menu screen-processing section to create menu screens corresponding to the one or more the image formation-related functions by using a web browsing operation to process and the created menu screens to be displayable on the displaying section.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the menu screen-processing section creates a main menu screen of the menu screens when a power is applied to the image forming apparatus, and then processes the created main menu screen to display the main menu screen on the displaying section.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, further comprising:

a user input section to select a display-requested menu screen of the menu screens to be displayed on the displaying section,

wherein the menu screen-processing section creates the selected display-requested menu screen selected.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, further comprising:

a memory section to store menu screen information regarding each of the menu screens; and

a web server module to read information regarding the display-requested menu screen from the memory section when the information regarding the display-requested menu screen is requested from the menu screen-processing section, and to transmit the display-requested menu screen information read to the menu screen-processing section,

wherein the menu screen-processing section creates the display-requested menu screen according to the information about the display-requested menu screen transmitted.

21. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20, wherein the menu screen information comprises at least one of information regarding menu screen constituting elements to be displayed on the menu screens and information regarding a menu screen structure regarding a position, a size, and a color of the menu screen constituting elements which are displayed on each of the menu screens.

22. A computer readable storage medium having executable codes to perform a method of controlling an image forming apparatus having one or more image formation-related functions, the method comprising:

creating menu screens corresponding to one or more image formation-related functions using a web browser provided to the image forming apparatus; and

displaying each of the created menu screens by the web browser.

23. A computer readable storage medium having executable codes to perform a method of controlling an image forming apparatus, the method comprising:

requesting a menu screen to be displayed on a display of the image forming apparatus;

automatically creating the requested menu screen using a web based language; and

displaying the created menu screen on the display of the image forming apparatus.