Operator control unit for a reproduction apparatus

• US 6,369,833 B1
• Filed: 10/28/1998
• Issued: 04/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Océ-Technologies B.V. (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Océ-Technologies B.V. (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Schliekelmann, Leo H. R. N., van Liempd, Joris
• Primary Examiner(s): Coles, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Carter, Tia A
• Application Number:
  US09/181,001
• Time in Patent Office: 1,259 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/1.13, 358/1.9, 358/401, 345/700, 345/705, 345/707, 345/714, 345/737, 345/780, 345/831, 345/543, 345/520, 707/102, 707/504, 710/12, 710/14
• US Class Current: 715/700
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0035 User-machine interface; Control console input or output arrangements for computers G06F3/00

Abstract

A reproduction device having an operator control panel provided with a display screen and a number of keys. The operator control panel displays a template sentence in which a number of word fields to be filled in by the user appear. The words possible for each word field are displayed at such word fields and the user can select one of them. If the user has selected a word for each word field then a command (for example, a question to be asked) is formed in natural language that can be interpreted by the reproduction device (for example, so that an answer can be provided). In this way, it is possible to input to the machine specifications for copy jobs, print jobs and scan jobs to be carried out, and to form help questions. The inputting of complex jobs or the formulation of a correct help question are in this way greatly simplified for the user.

Claims

1. An operator control unit for operator control of a reproduction system, the control unit comprising:

display means for displaying operating screens;

operator control means for making selections on said operating screens;

a first memory for storing a template sentence containing a series of words and word fields;

a second memory for storing word sets corresponding to the word fields, each said word set containing word units;

generator means for generating a first operating screen for displaying the template sentence and for displaying corresponding word sets near said word fields;

word unit means for selecting a word unit from one of said word sets in response to user actuation of said operator interface in order to include the word unit in a corresponding word field;

instruction selection means for selecting a processor instruction based upon said template sentence and the selected word units;

confirmation means for confirming the selected word units in response to further user actuation of said operator interface; and

processor means for performing the processor instruction selected by the instruction selection means when the confirmation means is activated by the user.

2. The operator control unit according to the preceding claim 1, wherein:

there are at least two corresponding word sets for each of said word fields, the operator control unit further comprising

word set selection means for selecting one of the at least two corresponding word sets for display on the screen near the corresponding word field, on the basis of a word unit selected in another word field.

3. The operator control unit according to claim 2, wherein said operator control means has a repetitive mode of operation such that word set selection is blocked for a period of the repetitive operation for the purpose of selecting a word unit in the other word field.

4. The operator control unit according to claim 1, wherein the first memory stores at least two template sentences and the operator control unit further comprises:

means for selecting a template sentence in dependence on the selections made so far by the operator on the operating screen.

5. The operator control unit according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for modifying a template sentence in dependence on selected word units.

6. The operator control unit according to claim 1, wherein said generator means depicts the template sentence along a first axis and said word sets along second axis extending perpendicularly to the first axis and intersecting the template sentence at the corresponding word fields, respectively.

7. The operator control unit according to claim 1, wherein the selected instruction instructs the processor means to display a help screen.

8. The operator control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control means is constructed as cascade keys.

9. A reproduction apparatus comprising:

at least one of a scanning unit for scanning images and a network interface for receiving print jobs;

a third memory for storing at least one of scanned images and print jobs, respectively;

a printing unit for printing at least one of scanned images and print jobs;

a central control unit for controlling said memory, said printing device and said at least one of said scanning device and said network interface to cooperate and so print printing at least one of scanned images and print jobs; and

an operator control unit including;

display means for displaying operating screens;

control means for making selections on said operating screens;

a first memory for storing a template sentence containing a series of words and word fields;

a second memory for storing word sets corresponding to the word fields, each said word set containing word units;

generation means for generating a first operating screen for displaying the template sentence and for displaying corresponding word sets near said word fields;

unit word means for selecting a word unit from one of said word sets in response to user actuation of said operator interface in order to include the word unit in a corresponding word field;

instruction selection means for selecting a processor instruction based upon said template sentence and the selected word units;

confirmation means for confirming the selected word units in response to further user actuation of said operator interface; and

processor means for performing the processor instruction selected by the instruction selection means when the confirmation means is activated by the user.

10. In an operator control unit for operator control of a reproduction system, a method of interfacing with a user, the method comprising:

storing, in a first memory, a template sentence containing a series of words and word fields;

storing, in a second memory, word sets corresponding to the word fields, each said word set containing word units;

generating a first operating screen depicting said template sentence and corresponding word sets near said word fields;

selecting a word unit from one of said word sets in response to user actuation of an operator interface in order to include the word unit in a corresponding word field;

selecting a processor instruction based upon said template sentence and the selected word units;

confirming the selected word units in response to further user actuation of said operator interface; and

executing the selected instruction in response to said step of confirming said selected instruction.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the template sentence is depicted along a first axis and said word sets are depicted along a second axis extending perpendicularly to the first axis and intersecting the template sentence at the corresponding word fields, respectively.