Information display device for displaying guidance information on status of operation

• US 6,750,878 B1
• Filed: 06/26/2000
• Issued: 06/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Syoichiro, Yoshiura, Akihiko, Itoh, Kohki, Fukuda, Tatsuo, Nomura, Keiichi, Hasegawa
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Sy D.
• Application Number:
  US09/603,011
• Time in Patent Office: 1,450 Days
• Field of Search: 345/700, 345/705-715, 345/733, 345/740, 345/764, 345/771-772, 345/781, 345/788, 345/790, 345/798-801, 345/810, 345/821, 345/823, 345/835, 345/629, 345/634, 345/636, 345/660, 345/667, 345/671, 345/473, 399/81-83
• US Class Current: 715/705
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/46 Printing mechanisms combined with apparatus providing a visual indication
• 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 15/55 Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00341 Jam handling in document feeder
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00548 Jam, error detection, e.g. double feeding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00408 Display of information to the user, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00411 the display also being used for user input, e.g. touch screen
• 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 1/00482 outputting a plurality of job set-up options, e.g. number of copies, paper size or resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0093 Facsimile machine H04N2201/0094 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception

Abstract

An operation panel includes a mode which can selectively set the display form, whether new image information is formed by a dynamic image forming section, and a plurality of static image information are sequentially displayed in a display section together with static image information controlled in a guidance information control section, to thereby display for guidance to a user as continuous guidance image information, or the static image information controlled in the guidance information control section is displayed for guidance to a user as guidance image information.

Claims

1. An information display device comprising:

a display section for displaying guidance information of operation to an operator, regarding equipment to be operated;

a guidance information control section for storing and controlling a plurality of said guidance information to be displayed in said display section; and

a display control section for selectively displaying said guidance information controlled in said guidance information control section in said display section;

wherein said guidance information includes a sketch drawing of the entire equipment to be operated and status information representing a status change of the equipment to be operated;

when the status change occurs in said equipment to be operated, said display control section displays said status information with respect to the status change, by overlapping said status information on a part of said sketch drawing which has been displayed; and

wherein said status information is a partially enlarged diagram of a portion of the equipment to be operated where the status change occurred.

2. An information display device according to claim 1, wherein said display control section displays said status information so as to leave at least a part of said sketch drawing.

3. An information display device according to claim 1, wherein said status information is a plurality of transition display information regarding a method of handling the portion where the status change occurred, and said plurality of transition display information are transitionally displayed approximately in the same position in said sketch drawing.

4. An information display device according to claim 3, wherein said sketch drawing is maintained and displayed in a predetermined position on a display screen area of said display section.

5. An information display device according to claim 3, wherein the display forms of said sketch drawing and said status information are respectively different.

6. An information display device according to claim 5,

wherein said status information is displayed on said display section in a state of being emphasized relative to said sketch drawing.

7. An information display device according to claim 5,

wherein the difference of the display form in said display section of said sketch drawing and said status information may be optionally set.

8. An information display device according to claim 5, wherein

said status information is displayed on said display section in a state of being emphasized relative to said sketch drawing.

9. An information display device according to claim 5, wherein

the difference of the display form in said display section of said sketch drawing and said status information can be optionally set.

10. An information display device according to claim 1, wherein said sketch drawing is maintained and displayed in a predetermined position on a display screen area of said display section.

11. An information display device according to claim 1, wherein the display forms of said sketch drawing and said status information are respectively different.

12. An information display device according to claim 11,

wherein said status information is displayed on said display section in a state of being emphasized relative to said sketch drawing.

13. An information display device according to claim 11,

wherein the difference of the display form in said display section of said sketch drawing and said status information may be optionally set.

14. An information display device according to claim 1,

further comprising an image forming section for forming, from at least two static image information showing the status change of said equipment to be operated, at least one interpolated image information corresponding to a state during the status change;

wherein said status information is an interpolated partially enlarged diagram formed by said image forming section based on at least two partially enlarged diagrams.

15. An information display device according to claim 14, wherein said guidance information control section stores and controls static image information in which the display position of a portion not interpolated and displaced is fixed and the display position of a displaced portion is changed in said image forming section.

16. An information display device according to claim 14, wherein said guidance information control section controls the information by dividing them into background image information in which there is no change in display position, and changed image information in which the display position changes, and

said image forming section forms at least one interpolated image information from at least two changed image information, corresponding to the state during the change, and synthesizes the interpolated image information with the background image information.

17. An information display device according to claim 14,

wherein said guidance information control section controls the information by dividing them into background image information in which there is no change in the display position, and displacement data of a portion where the display position changes, and

said image forming section forms a partially interpolated image information representing the displaced state, based on the displacement data, and synthesizes said partially interpolated image information and said background image information.

18. An information display device according to claim 14, wherein a guidance information control section is provided also in a peripheral equipment connected to the equipment to be operated, and said peripheral guidance information control section controls at least two static image information showing status change of said peripheral equipment, and the image forming section forms at least one image information corresponding to the image during the status change from said at least two image information.

19. An information display device according to claim 18, wherein the static image information controlled in said peripheral guidance information control section is image information including image information of the equipment to be operated and a peripheral equipment.

20. An information display device according to claim 19,

wherein the static image information controlled in said peripheral guidance information control section is preferentially displayed as on the display section, without invalidating said guidance information controlled in the guidance control section of the equipment to be operated.

21. An information display device according to claim 14, wherein said guidance information control section is provided in said equipment to be operated, said image forming section is provided in an image forming apparatus positioned outside of the equipment to be operated, and the image information in said guidance information control section is transmitted to said image forming apparatus to thereby form an image.

22. An information display device according to claim 21,

wherein said display control section is provided with a first information display mode for displaying only the information controlled in said guidance information control section on the display section, and a second information display mode for displaying the information including the image information formed by said image forming section on the display section, thereby enabling the selection of one of these.

23. An information display device according to claim 22, wherein said image forming section is constituted so as to be added as an extended unit, and hence can be additionally operated selectively.

24. An information display device according to claim 21,

wherein

said image forming section is constituted so as to be added as an extended unit, and hence can be additionally operated selectively.

25. An information display device according to claim 14, wherein said display control section is provided with a first information display mode for displaying only the information controlled in said guidance information control section on the display section, and a second information display mode for displaying the information including the image information formed by said image forming section on the display section, thereby enabling the selection of one of these.

26. An information display device according to claim 25,

wherein

said image forming section is constituted so as to be added as an extended unit, and hence can be additionally operated selectively.

27. An information display device according to claim 14, wherein said image forming section is constituted so as to be added as an extended unit, and hence can be additionally operated selectively.

28. An information display device comprising:

a display section for displaying guidance information of operation to an operator, regarding equipment to be operated;

a guidance information control section for storing and controlling a plurality of said guidance information to be displayed in said display section; and

a display control section for selectively displaying said guidance information controlled in said guidance information control section in said display section;

wherein said guidance information includes a sketch drawing of the entire equipment to be operated and status information representing a status change of the equipment to be operated;

when the status change occurs in said equipment to be operated, said display control section displays said status information with respect to the status change in the vicinity of a portion of said sketch drawing where the status change occurred, with said sketch drawing of the entire equipment to be operated being displayed; and

wherein said status information is a partially enlarged diagram of a portion of the equipment to be operated where the status change occurred.

29. An information display device comprising:

a display section for displaying guidance information of operation to an operator, regarding equipment to be operated;

a guidance information control section for storing and controlling a plurality of said guidance information to be displayed in said display section; and

a display control section for selectively displaying said guidance information controlled in said guidance information control section in said display section;

wherein said guidance information includes a sketch drawing of the entire equipment to be operated and status information representing a status change of the equipment to be operated;

when the status change occurs in said equipment to be operated, said display control section displays said status information with respect to the status change, by overlapping said status information on a part of said sketch drawing which has been displayed;

wherein said status information is a partially enlarged diagram of a portion of the equipment to be operated where the status change occurred; and

wherein before displaying said status information, said sketch drawing displays a mark indicating a position where the status change has occurred.

30. An information display device comprising:

a display section for displaying guidance information of operation to an operator, regarding equipment to be operated;

a guidance information control section for storing and controlling a plurality of said guidance information to be displayed in said display section; and

a display control section for selectively displaying said guidance information controlled in said guidance information control section in said display section;

wherein said guidance information includes a sketch drawing of the entire equipment to be operated and status information representing a status change of the equipment to be operated;

when the status change occurs in said equipment to be operated, said display control section displays said status information with respect to the status change in the vicinity of a portion of said sketch drawing where the status change occurred, with said sketch drawing of the entire equipment to be operated being displayed;

wherein said status information is a partially enlarged diagram of a portion of the equipment to be operated where the status change occurred; and

wherein before displaying said status information, said sketch drawing displays a mark indicating a position where the status change has occurred.