Display control method

• US 5,761,480 A
• Filed: 04/20/1995
• Issued: 06/02/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kohtani, Hideto, Fukada, Taisei
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FREJD, RUSSELL WARREN
• Application Number:
  US08/425,792
• Time in Patent Office: 1,139 Days
• Field of Search: 395/835, 395/828, 395/839, 395/183.01, 395/183.06, 395/183.09, 395/185.01, 364/550
• US Class Current: 345/501
• 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 15/5079 for maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/55 Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00109 Remote control of apparatus, e.g. by a host
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2228 Master detects and configures slaves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3013 where the computing system is an embedded system, i.e. a combination of hardware and software dedicated to perform a certain function in mobile devices, printers, automotive or aircraft systems testing or monitoring of control systems or parts thereof G05B23/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3055 Monitoring arrangements for monitoring the status of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring if the computing system is on, off, available, not available error or fault processing without redundancy G06F11/0703; error detection or correction by redundancy in data representation G06F11/08; error detection or correction by redundancy in operation G06F11/14; error detection or correction by redundancy in hardware G06F11/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/327 Alarm or error message display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/328 Computer systems status display G06F11/327 takes precedence
• 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 3/1225 Software update, e.g. print driver, modules, plug-ins, fonts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1296 Printer job scheduling or printer resource handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00352 Input means H04N1/00411 takes precedence; input arrangements for computers G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00387 Multiple functions per key
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00397 Switches, knobs or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00413 using menus, i.e. presenting the user with a plurality of selectable options H04N1/00464 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00477 Indicating status, e.g. of a job for control or supervision between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N2201/3219
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0097 Storage of instructions or parameters, e.g. customised instructions or different parameters for different user IDs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0074 : Arrangements for the control of a still picture apparatus by the connected apparatus arrangements for the control of the connected apparatus by the still picture apparatus H04N2201/0013; control of image communication with the connected apparatus H04N2201/0015
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 : Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0082 : Image hardcopy reproducer H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence

Abstract

A plurality of image processing apparatuses connected to a network share an external storage device such as a CDROM with each other to indicate a guidance when a trouble happens. Each image processing apparatus, when the troubles happens, outputs a request for transferring display data corresponding to a type of the trouble to the external storage device. This facilitates changing the guidance displayed. If the image processing apparatuses are used as peripheral units to a plurality of computers, and when a construction of the peripheral unit is varied, a driver program corresponding thereto is transferred to the plurality of computers.

Claims

1. A display control method in a system to which an external storage device and a plurality of image processing apparatuses are connected, said method comprising the steps of:

a) causing said plurality of image processing apparatuses to respectively detect statuses of their own;

b) outputting automatically a transfer requirement of display data corresponding to a specific status to said external storage device when the specific status is detected in said step a); and

c) transferring the display data from said external storage device in response to the transfer requirement to a display unit and displaying the display data on said display unit of said image processing apparatus,

wherein the display data stored in said external storage device are used in common to each of said plurality of image processing apparatuses.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein a trouble in said image processing apparatus is detected in said step a).

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein data indicating procedures of obviating the trouble is read in said step b).

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein said external storage device has a storage medium which is freely attachable and detachable.

5. A display control method in a system to which an external storage device and a plurality of image processing apparatuses are connected, each of said image processing apparatuses having a detecting means for detecting a trouble of said image processing apparatus, said method comprising the steps of:

a) Outputting a transfer requirement of display data indicating a countermeasure corresponding to a detected trouble from an image processing apparatus to said external storage device when said image processing apparatus detects the trouble; and

b) transferring the display data transferred from said external storage device in response to the transfer requirement to a display unit of said image processing apparatus and displaying the display data on said display unit,

wherein the display data stored in said external storage device are used in common to each of said plurality of image processing apparatuses.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein when the display data is not transferred from said external storage device, the display data corresponding to the trouble stored in a memory of said image processing apparatus is transferred to the display unit.

7. A display control method of an image processing apparatus, comprising steps of:

a) detecting a status of said image processing apparatus;

b) discriminating a type of the status detected in said step a;

c) transferring a display data corresponding to the status stored into a memory in said image processing apparatus to a display unit when the type of the status discriminated in said step b is a first type, and outputting a transfer requirement of the display data corresponding to the status to said external storage device when the type of the status discriminated in said step b is a second type and transferring the display data transferred from said external storage device to the display unit.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said step a detects a trouble in said image processing apparatus.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein said display data is data indicating a countermeasure of the detected trouble.

10. A method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of setting a type of a status to be included in the status of the second type.

11. A image processing system comprising:

a plurality of image processing apparatuses;

an external storage apparatus;

wherein each of said plurality of image processing apparatuses includes detecting means for detecting a status of said image processing apparatus;

communication means for outputting a transfer requirement of display data corresponding to a status detected by said detecting means and receiving the display data transferred from said external storage apparatus; and

display means for displaying the display data received, and

wherein said external storage apparatus stores the display data corresponding to various kind of statuses usable in common in said plurality of image processing apparatuses.

12. A system according to claim 11, wherein said detecting means detects a trouble in said image processing apparatus.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein said display data is data indicating a countermeasure of the detected trouble.

14. A system according to claim 11, wherein said external storage apparatus includes a freely attachable and detachable storage medium in which the display data is stored.

15. A display control apparatus of an image processing apparatus, comprising:

detecting means for detecting a status of said image processing apparatus;

discriminating means for discriminating a type of the status detected by said detecting means;

control means for transferring a display data corresponding to the status stored into a memory in said image processing apparatus to a display unit when the type of the status discriminated by said discriminating means is a first type, and outputting a transfer requirement of the display data corresponding to the status to said external storage device when the type of the status discriminated by said discriminating means is a second type and transferring the display data transferred from said external storage device to the display unit.

16. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said detecting means detects a trouble in said image processing apparatus.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said display data is data indicating a countermeasure of the detected trouble.

18. An apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising setting means for setting a type of a status to be included in the status of the second type.