ELECTRONIC DEVICE, COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM, AND HELP DISPLAY METHOD

• US 20100088599A1
• Filed: 07/01/2009
• Published: 04/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kyocera MITA Corporation (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Morimoto, Toshimitsu
• Granted Patent: US 8,739,036 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/705
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

An electronic device comprising: a display unit configured to display a setting menu; an operation unit configured to receive an operation from a user; an operation detection unit configured to detects the operation received by the operation unit; a timer unit configured to measure an elapsed time that has elapsed since a start operation relating to a setting of a given function received by the operation unit is detected by the operation detection unit; and a help display processing unit configured to cause the display unit to display help information thereon when an end operation relating to the given function to the operation unit has not been detected by the operation detection unit before the elapsed time measured by the timer unit reaches a predetermined time.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a display unit configured to display a setting menu;

an operation unit configured to receive an operation from a user;

an operation detection unit configured to detect the operation received by the operation unit;

a timer unit configured to measure an elapsed time that has elapsed since a first start operation relating to a setting of a given function received by the operation unit is detected by the operation detection unit; and

a help display processing unit configured to cause the display unit to display help information thereon when an end operation relating to the given function has not been detected by the operation detection unit before the elapsed time measured by the timer unit reaches a predetermined time.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein, when the operation detection unit detects a second start operation received by the operation unit before the elapsed time reaches the predetermined time, the timer unit resets the elapsed time that has been measured up until detection of the second start operation, and start to measure an elapsed time that has elapsed since the second start operation was detected by the operation detection unit.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an operation history recording unit configured to record an operation history of operations received by the operation unit after the first start operation was detected by the operation detection unit; and

a help information selection unit configured to select help information based on the operation history recorded by the operation history recording unit,

wherein the help display processing unit is configured to cause the display unit to display the help information selected by the help information selection unit.

4. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein, when the help information selection unit determines that one or more specific tabs have been displayed a predetermined number of times by switching operations between the tabs in the setting menu, the help information selection unit selects help information relating to setting items corresponding to the one or more specific tabs.

5. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein, when the help information selection unit determines that an operation of scrolling up and down a setting screen in the setting menu has been performed a predetermined number of times, the help information selection unit selects help information relating to a setting item on the setting screen.

6. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein:

the setting menu has a hierarchical structure; and

when the help information selection unit determines that an operation of moving back and forth between an upper-layer setting screen and a lower-layer setting screen in the hierarchical structure has been performed a predetermined number of times, the help information selection unit selects help information relating to a setting item on an upper-layer setting screen.

7. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein:

the setting menu has a hierarchical structure; and

when the help information selection unit determines that an operation of moving back and forth between an upper-layer setting screen and a lower-layer setting screen in the hierarchical structure has been performed a predetermined number of times, the help information selection unit selects help information relating to a setting item on an undisplayed setting screen of the lower-layer setting screen.

8. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein, when the help information selection unit selects a plurality of setting items, the help display processing unit causes the display unit to display a list of the selected plurality of setting items thereon, and causes the display unit to display the help information relating to a setting item selected from the list according to the operation received by the operation unit.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein:

the setting menu has a hierarchical structure; and

the operation detection unit is further configured to detect the end operation for a lower-layer setting item as the start operation for an upper-layer setting item.

10. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the timer unit is configured to independently measure respective elapsed times with respect to a plurality of the start operations, and stop measuring the elapsed times with regard to the plurality of the start operations in accordance with detection of the end operation.

11. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the timer unit is configured to independently measure respective elapsed times with respect to a plurality of the start operations, stop measuring when the operation detection unit detects a second start operation, and restart measuring when the operation detection unit detects the end operation corresponding to the second start operation.

12. A computer readable medium recording a help display program configured to cause a computer built into an electronic device to function as:

a display unit configured to display a setting menu;

an operation unit configured to receive an operation from a user;

an operation detection unit configured to detect the operation received by the operation unit;

a timer unit configured to measure an elapsed time that has elapsed since a start operation relating to a setting of a given function received by the operation unit is detected by the operation detection unit; and

a help display processing unit configured to cause the display unit to display help information thereon when an end operation relating to the given function has not been detected before the time measured by the elapsed timer unit reaches a predetermined time.

13. A help display method comprising:

detecting an operation input by a user into an operation unit;

measuring an elapsed time that has elapsed since detection of a start operation relating to a setting of a given function received by the operation unit; and

causing the display unit to display help information thereon when an end operation relating to the given function has not been detected before the elapsed time reaches a predetermined time.