Display control device, image processing device and display control method

• US 8,006,198 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2007
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Sato, Maki, Sasaki, Yasutsugu, Motegi, Tsunehiro, Nakamura, Mahina, Okuma, Yumiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Pitaro; Ryan F
• Application Number:
  US11/736,688
• Publication Number:
  US 20070247641A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,588 Days
• Field of Search: 715/834, 715/827, 715/853, 399/81, 399/85
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/502 relating to the structure of the control menu, e.g. pop-up menus, help screens
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, 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 1/00424 using a list of graphical elements, e.g. icons or icon bar
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00469 with enlargement of a selected area of the displayed information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00474 outputting a plurality of functional options, e.g. scan, copy or print
• 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 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception

Abstract

A technique is provided, which can help the user to know well that process modes have been switched among them, thereby enabling the user to work more efficiently.

A display control device is provided, which comprises: a selection information acquisition unit 201 that acquires selection information representing which process mode has been selected from a plurality of process modes in which different processes are performed; and a control unit 202 that displays display objects corresponding to set items related to the process mode selected, in a first display region on a screen, and display objects corresponding to any process mode not selected, in a second display region narrower than the first display region on the screen, on the basis of the selection information acquired by the selection information acquisition unit 201.

Claims

1. A display control device comprising:

a selection information acquisition unit that acquires selection information representing which process mode has been selected from a plurality of process modes in which different processes are performed;

a control unit that displays first display objects corresponding to set items related to the process mode selected, in a first display region on a screen, and second display objects corresponding to any process mode not selected, in a second display region narrower than the first display region on the screen, on the basis of the selection information acquired by the selection information acquisition unit;

in which the first display region is composed of first to n-th substantially ring-shaped regions (n is 2 or a greater integer) that are concentric to one another, and the (x−

1)th substantially ring-shaped region (x is 2 or a greater integer) is located within the x-th substantially ring-shaped region, which further comprises an importance-information acquisition unit that acquires information items representing the importance degrees of the first display objects to be displayed in the first display region, and in which the control unit displays first display objects, which are more important than the first display objects displayed in the x-th substantially ring-shaped region, in the (x−

1)th substantially ring-shaped region; and

at least one first display object for inputting operation instructions to designate the processing object in selected process mode is displayed in the innermost region of the first ring-shaped region.

2. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein, of the second display objects corresponding to process modes displayed in the second display region, the second display objects corresponding to any process mode related to any process mode corresponding to the first display objects displayed in the first display region are more emphatically displayed by the control unit than the second display objects corresponding to any other process modes displayed in the second display region.

3. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein, of the second display objects corresponding to process modes displayed in the second display region, the second display objects corresponding to any process mode that is frequently selected next to the process mode corresponding to the first display objects displayed in the first display region are more emphatically displayed by the control unit than the second display objects corresponding to any other process modes displayed in the second display region.

4. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein, of the second display objects corresponding to process modes displayed in the second display region, the second display objects corresponding to any process mode that is frequently selected next to the process mode corresponding to the first display objects displayed in the first display region are displayed by the control unit at a position above or on the left of the second display objects corresponding to any other process modes displayed in the second display region.

5. The display control device according to claim 1, which further comprises an incomplete-process detection unit that detects any one of the process modes corresponding to second display objects displayed in the second display region, whose jobs have not been completed after a setting operation has been started, and in which the control unit emphatically displays, in the second display region, the second display objects corresponding to any process mode whose job have been detected as not completed by the incomplete-process detection unit.

6. The display control device according to claim 5, wherein the process mode whose jobs have not been completed after a setting operation has been started is a process mode being set or a process mode whose jobs are being performed, or both.

7. The display control device according to claim 2, wherein the second display objects displayed include characters or icons, or both, and the control unit changes a state in which the characters or icons, or both, are displayed, thereby to emphatically display the display objects.

8. The display control device according to claim 1, which further comprises a display setting unit that sets a position at which any second display object is to be displayed in the second display region, and in which the control unit displays the second display object at the position set by the display setting unit.

9. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a display control device;

an operation input unit that receives operation instructions a user has input on the basis of the items displayed on the display control device; and

an image-processing unit that performs an image processing in accordance with the operation instructions received by the operation input unit; and

the display control device comprising;

a selection information acquisition unit that acquires selection information representing which process mode has been selected from a plurality of process modes in which different processes are performed;

a control unit that displays first display objects corresponding to set items related to the process mode selected, in a first display region on a screen, and second display objects corresponding to any process mode not selected, in a second display region narrower than the first display region on the screen, on the basis of the selection information acquired by the selection information acquisition unit;

in which the first display region is composed of first to n-th substantially ring-shaped regions (n is 2 or a greater integer) that are concentric to one another, and the (x-1) th substantially ring-shaped region (x is 2 or a greater integer) is located within the x-th substantially ring-shaped region, which further comprises an importance-information acquisition unit that acquires information items representing the importance degrees of the first display objects to be displayed in the first display region, and in which the control unit displays first display objects, which are more important than the first display objects displayed in the x-th substantially ring-shaped region, in the (x-1)th substantially ring-shaped region; and

at least one first display object for inputting operation instructions to designate the processing object in selected process mode is displayed in the innermost region of the first ring-shaped region.

10. A display control method for use in a display control device comprising:

a selection information acquisition unit that acquires selection information representing which process mode has been selected from a plurality of process modes in which different processes are performed;

a control unit that displays first display objects corresponding to set items related to the process mode selected, in a first display region on a screen, and second display objects corresponding to any process mode not selected, in a second display region narrower than the first display region on the screen, on the basis of the selection information acquired by the selection information acquisition unit;

in which the first display region is composed of first to n-th substantially ring-shaped regions (n is 2 or a greater integer) that are concentric to one another, and the (x-1) th substantially ring-shaped region (x is 2 or a greater integer) is located within the x-th substantially ring-shaped region, which further comprises an importance-information acquisition unit that acquires information items representing the importance degrees of the first display objects to be displayed in the first display region, and in which the control unit displays first display objects, which are more important than the first display objects displayed in the x-th substantially ring-shaped region, in the (x-1)th substantially ring-shaped region; and

at least one first display object for inputting operation instructions to designate the processing object in selected process mode is displayed in the innermost region of the first ring-shaped region,

the display control method comprising;

acquiring selection information representing which process mode has been selected from a plurality of process modes in which different processes are performed; and

controlling the control unit to display, in a first display region on a screen, first display objects corresponding to set items related to the process mode selected, and, in a second display region narrower than the first display region on the screen, second display objects corresponding to any process mode not selected, on the basis of the selection information acquired by the selection information acquisition unit.

11. The display control method according to claim 10, wherein, of the second display objects corresponding to process modes displayed in the second display region, the second display objects corresponding to any process mode related to any process mode corresponding to the first display objects displayed in the first display region are more emphatically displayed than the second display objects corresponding to any other process modes displayed in the second display region.

12. The display control method according to claim 10, wherein, of the second display objects corresponding to process modes displayed in the second display region, the second display objects corresponding to any process mode that is frequently selected next to the process mode corresponding to the first display objects displayed in the first display region are more emphatically displayed.

13. The display control method according to claim 10, wherein, of the second display objects corresponding to process modes displayed in the second display region, the second display objects corresponding to any process mode that is frequently selected next to the process mode corresponding to the first display objects displayed in the first display region are displayed at a position above or on the left of the second display objects corresponding to any other process modes displayed in the second display region.

14. The display control method according to claim 10, which further comprises detecting any one of the process modes displayed in the second display region, whose jobs have not been completed after a setting operation has been started, and in which, in controlling the control unit, the second display objects corresponding to any process mode whose jobs have been detected as not completed by the incomplete-process detection unit are emphatically displayed in the second display region.

15. The display control method according to claim 14, wherein the process mode whose jobs have not been completed after a setting operation has been started is a process mode being set or a process mode whose jobs are being performed, or both.

16. The display control method according to claim 10, in which the first display region is composed of first to n-th substantially ring-shaped regions (n is 2 or a greater integer) that are concentric to one another, and the (x−

1)th substantially ring-shaped region (x is 2 or a greater integer) is located within the x-th substantially ring-shaped region, which further comprises acquiring information items representing the importance degrees of the first display objects to be displayed in the first display region, and in which the first display objects more important than the display objects displayed in the x-th substantially ring-shaped region are displayed in the (x−

1)th substantially ring-shaped region, in controlling the control unit.

17. The display control method according to claim 11, wherein the first display objects displayed include characters or icons, or both, and a state in which the characters or icons, or both, are displayed is changed in controlling the control unit, thereby to emphatically display the first display objects.

18. The display control method according to claim 10, which further comprises setting a position at which any second display object is to be displayed in the second display region, and in which the second display object is displayed, in controlling the control unit, at the position set by the display setting unit.

19. A display control device comprising:

selection information acquisition means for acquiring selection information representing which process mode has been selected from a plurality of process modes in which different processes are performed;

control means for displaying first display objects corresponding to set items related to the process mode selected, in a first display region on a screen, and second display objects corresponding to any process mode not selected, in a second display region narrower than the first display region on the screen, on the basis of the selection information acquired by the selection information acquisition means;

an importance-information acquisition means for acquiring information items representing importance degrees of the first display objects to be displayed in the first display region;

in which the first display region is composed of first to n-th substantially ring-shaped regions (n is 2 or a greater integer) that are concentric to one another, and the (x−

1)th substantially ring-shaped region (x is 2 or a greater integer) is located within the x-th substantially ring-shaped region,

in which the control means for displaying display objects, which are more important than the first display objects displayed in the x-th substantially ring-shaped region, in the (x−

1)th substantially ring-shaped region; and

at least one first display object for inputting operation instructions to designate the processing object in selected process mode is displayed in the innermost region of the first ring-shaped region.