Image forming apparatus, method for controlling display screen of image forming apparatus, and program for controlling display screen of image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus that allows a user to easily change an icon layout on a home screen of a new machine to an icon layout on a home screen of a previous machine.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: a display control unit 1 that displays, on a user interface unit 20, a first home screen on which a first icon group is arranged; a first changing unit 2 that changes a layout of the first icon group on the first home screen through a user operation on the user interface unit 20; an acquisition unit 3 that acquires image data of a second home screen on which a second icon group is arranged; and a second changing unit 4 that performs image analysis of the image data to specify a layout of the second icon group arranged in the second home screen together with function classes of icons in the second icon group, and changes the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen according to the layout of the second icon group in the second home screen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus, a method for controlling a display screen of the image forming apparatus, and a program for controlling the display screen of the image forming apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] In recent image forming apparatuses (here, mainly meaning multifunction printers), generally, a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a fax function, a printer function, and a scanner function are standardly provided. And a configuration is adopted in which an icon group for executing these various standard functions is displayed on the home screen of a user interface unit (hereinafter abbreviated as "UI unit").

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In such an image forming apparatus, usually, at the time of delivery, instead of a customer engineer setting everything, a user setup function is often provided that allows a user to make some settings according to the user's preferences and usage habits.

[0005] Such a user setup function is useful when switching from another image forming apparatus (hereinafter also referred to as "predecessor machine") to a new image forming apparatus (hereinafter also referred to as "new machine"). The user often applies the settings made on the predecessor machine to the new machine using the user setup function.

[0006] Against such a background, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for automatically reflecting setting information in a first device in a second device.

[0007] On the one hand, since users generally desire an operation experience similar to that of their previous device, there is also a demand for changing the icon layout displayed on the home screen of the new device to the icon layout of the home screen set on the previous device.

[0008] However, in the prior art such as Patent Document 1, due to differences in the format of setting information and the like, it is not possible to automatically reflect such an icon layout displayed on the home screen as it is. Therefore, in order for the user to change the icon layout displayed on the home screen of the new device to the icon layout of the home screen of the previous device, the user needs to move the position of each icon one by one on the home screen of the new device using the user setup function. Therefore, there is a problem that the burden on the user is large until the setup of the new device is completed.

[0009] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems. That is, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an image forming apparatus that enables a user to easily change the icon layout of the home screen of a new device to the icon layout of the home screen of a previous device. In another aspect, an object is to provide a display screen control method for the image forming apparatus. In yet another aspect, an object is to provide a display screen control program for the image forming apparatus.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] The main disclosure for solving the above problems is a display control unit that displays a first home screen in which a first icon group for receiving execution commands for various functions of the present image forming apparatus is arranged on a user interface unit; a first change unit that receives a movement instruction for each icon of the first icon group in the first home screen via a user operation on the user interface unit, and changes the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen to a layout corresponding to the movement instruction; An acquisition unit that acquires image data of a second home screen on which a second icon group for receiving execution commands of various functions, which is adopted in another image forming apparatus, is arranged; An image analysis of the image data is performed to identify the layout of the second icon group arranged in the second home screen together with the function type of each icon in the second icon group, and a second change unit that changes the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen according to the layout of the second icon group in the second home screen; An image forming apparatus comprising:

[0011] In another aspect, A first process of displaying, on a user interface unit, a first home screen on which a first icon group for receiving execution commands of various functions of the present image forming apparatus is arranged; A second process of receiving a movement instruction for each icon in the first icon group in the first home screen via a user operation on the user interface unit, and changing the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen to a layout corresponding to the movement instruction; A third process of acquiring image data of a second home screen on which a second icon group for receiving execution commands of various functions, which is adopted in another image forming apparatus, is arranged; An image analysis of the image data is performed to identify the layout of the second icon group arranged in the second home screen together with the function type of each icon in the second icon group, and a fourth process of changing the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen according to the layout of the second icon group in the second home screen; A display screen control method for an image forming apparatus that performs:

[0012] In another aspect, On a computer, A first process of displaying, on a user interface unit, a first home screen on which a first icon group for receiving execution commands of various functions of the present image forming apparatus is arranged; Receiving a movement instruction for each icon in the first icon group on the first home screen via a user operation on the user interface unit, and changing the layout of the first icon group on the first home screen to a layout corresponding to the movement instruction; a second process; A third process of acquiring image data of a second home screen on which a second icon group for receiving execution commands of various functions, which is adopted in another image forming apparatus, is arranged; Performing image analysis of the image data to specify the layout of the second icon group arranged in the second home screen together with the function type of each icon in the second icon group, and changing the layout of the first icon group on the first home screen according to the layout of the second icon group on the second home screen; a fourth process; A display screen control program for an image forming apparatus that causes the above to be executed.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] According to the image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure, a user can easily change the icon layout of the home screen of a new machine to the icon layout of the home screen of a previous machine.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

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Figure 13A

Figure 13B

Figure 14

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

[0016] <Overall Configuration of the Image Forming Apparatus> First, an image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as "image forming apparatus U") according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The image forming apparatus U according to the present embodiment is a multifunction device having a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a fax function, a printer function, and a scanner function.

[0017] FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are diagrams schematically showing an overall configuration example of the image forming apparatus U.

[0018] The image forming apparatus U shown in Fig. 1 is an intermediate transfer type color image forming apparatus that uses electrophotographic process technology. That is, the image forming apparatus U primarily transfers the Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) toner images formed on the photosensitive drum 413 to the intermediate transfer belt 421. Then, after superimposing the four-color toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 421, the toner images are formed by secondarily transferring them to the paper S.

[0019] Further, in the image forming apparatus U, the photosensitive drums 413 corresponding to the four colors of YMCK are arranged in series in the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt 421. And a tandem method is adopted in which the respective color toner images are sequentially transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 421 in one procedure.

[0020] The image forming apparatus U includes an image reading unit 10, a UI unit 20, an image processing unit 30, an image forming unit 40, a paper conveyance unit 50, a fixing unit 60, a communication unit 71, a storage unit 72, a control unit 100, and the like.

[0021] The control unit 100 includes a CPU 100a, a ROM 100c, a RAM 100b, and the like. And the control unit 100 has the CPU 100a read out a program corresponding to the processing content from the ROM 100c and expand it to the RAM 100b, and centrally controls the operations of the respective blocks of the image forming apparatus U in cooperation with the expanded program. At this time, various data stored in the storage unit 72 are referred to. The storage unit 72 consists of a storage device such as a non-volatile semiconductor memory or a hard disk, and stores various processing programs and data related to various processes.

[0022] The control unit 100 performs transmission and reception of various data with an external device (for example, a personal computer) connected to a communication network such as a LAN or a WAN via the communication unit 71. The control unit 100, for example, receives image data transmitted from an external device, and forms a toner image on the paper S based on this image data. The communication unit 71 is composed of a communication control card such as a LAN card.

[0023] The image reading unit 10 is configured to include an automatic document feeder 11 called an ADF, a document image scanning device 12, and the like.

[0024] The automatic document feeder 11 conveys the document D placed on the document tray by a conveyance mechanism and sends it to the document image scanning device 12. The automatic document feeder 11 can continuously read the images (including both sides) of a large number of documents D placed on the document tray all at once.

[0025] The document image scanning device 12 optically scans the document conveyed onto the contact glass from the automatic document feeder 11 or the document placed on the contact glass. Then, the reflected light from the document is imaged on the light receiving surface of the CCD sensor 12a, and the document image is read. The image reading unit 10 generates input image data based on the reading result by the document image scanning device 12. Predetermined image processing is performed on this input image data in the image processing unit 30.

[0026] The UI unit 20 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display with a touch panel and functions as a display unit 21 and an operation unit 22. The display unit 21 performs displays such as various operation screens, image status displays, and operation statuses of each function according to the display control signal input from the control unit 100. The operation unit 22 is provided with various operation keys such as numeric keys and a start key, accepts various input operations by the user, and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 100.

[0027] The image processing unit 30 includes a circuit or the like that performs digital image processing on the input image data according to initial settings or user settings. For example, the image processing unit 30 performs correction processing on the input image data based on the color correction data (LUT) stored in the storage unit 72. The image processing unit 30 performs various correction processes such as gradation correction, color correction, and shading correction, and compression processing, etc. on the input image data based on the color correction data. Then, the image forming unit 40 is controlled based on the image data subjected to these processes.

[0028] The image forming unit 40 includes an image forming unit 41Y, 41M, 41C, 41K, and an intermediate transfer unit 42, etc.

[0029] The image forming units 41Y, 41M, 41C, 41K for the Y component, M component, C component, and K component have the same configuration. For the sake of convenience of illustration and description, common components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and when distinguishing them, Y, M, C, or K is added to the reference numerals. In FIG. 1, only the components of the image forming unit 41Y for the Y component are labeled with reference numerals, and the components of the other image forming units 41M, 41C, 41K are omitted.

[0030] The image forming unit 41 includes an exposure device 411, a developing device 412, a photosensitive drum 413, a charging device 414, and a drum cleaning device 415, etc.

[0031] The photosensitive drum 413 is a negatively charged organic photosensitive member in which an undercoat layer, a charge generation layer, and a charge transport layer are sequentially laminated on the peripheral surface of a conductive cylindrical body made of, for example, aluminum. The charge generation layer is made of an organic semiconductor in which a charge generation material is dispersed in a resin binder, and generates a pair of positive charges and negative charges by exposure with the exposure device 411. The charge transport layer is made of a material in which a hole transportable material is dispersed in a resin binder, and transports the positive charges generated in the charge generation layer to the surface of the charge transport layer.

[0032] The control unit 100 rotates the photosensitive drum 413 at a constant peripheral speed by controlling the drive current supplied to the drive motor that rotates the photosensitive drum 413.

[0033] The charging device 414 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 413 having photoconductivity to a negative polarity. The exposure device 411 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor laser, and irradiates the photosensitive drum 413 with laser light corresponding to the images of each color component. Positive charges are generated in the charge generation layer of the photosensitive drum 413 and transported to the surface of the charge transport layer, whereby the surface charges of the photosensitive drum 413 are neutralized. An electrostatic latent image of each color component is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 413 due to the potential difference from the surroundings.

[0034] The developing device 412 is, for example, a developing device using a two-component developing method, and forms a toner image by visualizing an electrostatic latent image by attaching toner of each color component to the surface of the photosensitive drum 413.

[0035] The drum cleaning device 415 has a drum cleaning blade or the like that is in sliding contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 413. Then, it removes the transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 413 after primary transfer.

[0036] The intermediate transfer unit 42 includes an intermediate transfer belt 421 as an image carrier, a primary transfer roller 422, a plurality of support rollers 423, a secondary transfer roller 424, a belt cleaning device 426, and the like.

[0037] The intermediate transfer belt 421 is formed of an endless belt and is looped around a plurality of support rollers 423. At least one of the plurality of support rollers 423 is a driving roller, and the others are driven rollers. For example, it is preferable that a roller 423A disposed on the downstream side in the belt running direction from the primary transfer roller 422 for the K component is a driving roller. This makes it easier to keep the running speed of the belt constant in the primary transfer section. When the driving roller 423A rotates, the intermediate transfer belt 421 runs at a constant speed in the direction of arrow A.

[0038] The primary transfer roller 422 is disposed on the inner peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 421 facing the photosensitive drum 413 for each color component. By pressing the primary transfer roller 422 against the photosensitive drum 413 with the intermediate transfer belt 421 interposed therebetween, a primary transfer nip for transferring the toner image from the photosensitive drum 413 to the intermediate transfer belt 421 is formed.

[0039] The secondary transfer roller 424 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 421 so as to face the backup roller 423B disposed on the downstream side in the belt running direction of the driving roller 423A. With the secondary transfer roller 424 pressed against the backup roller 423B with the intermediate transfer belt 421 interposed therebetween, a secondary transfer nip for transferring the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 421 to the sheet S is formed.

[0040] When the intermediate transfer belt 421 passes through the primary transfer nip, the toner image on the photoreceptor drum 413 is sequentially superimposed and primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 421. Specifically, a primary transfer bias is applied to the primary transfer roller 422, and charges of the opposite polarity to the toner are applied to the back surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 421, whereby the toner image is electrostatically transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 421.

[0041] Thereafter, when the sheet S passes through the secondary transfer nip, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 421 is secondarily transferred onto the sheet S. Specifically, a secondary transfer bias is applied to the secondary transfer roller 424, and charges of the opposite polarity to the toner are applied to the back surface side of the sheet S, whereby the toner image is electrostatically transferred onto the sheet S. The sheet S onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed toward the fixing unit 60.

[0042] The belt cleaning device 426 has a belt cleaning blade or the like that is in sliding contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 421, and removes the residual transfer toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 421 after secondary transfer.

[0043] The fixing unit 60 includes an upper fixing unit 60A having a fixing surface side member disposed on the fixing surface side of the sheet S, a lower fixing unit 60B having a back surface side support member disposed on the back surface side of the sheet S, a heating source 60C, and the like. With the back surface side support member pressed against the fixing surface side member, a fixing nip for sandwiching and conveying the sheet S is formed.

[0044] The fixing unit 60 fixes the toner image on the sheet S by secondarily transferring the toner image and heating and pressing the conveyed sheet S with a fixing nip. The fixing unit 60 is arranged as a unit in the fixing device F. Further, an air separation unit 60D for separating the sheet S from the fixing surface side member by blowing air is arranged in the fixing device F.

[0045] The sheet conveyance unit 50 includes a paper feeding unit 51, a paper discharging unit 52, a conveyance path unit 53, and the like. Sheets S identified based on basis weight, size, etc. are stored in the three paper feeding tray units 51a to 51c that constitute the paper feeding unit 51 for each preset type. The conveyance path unit 53 has a plurality of conveyance roller pairs such as a registration roller pair 53a.

[0046] The sheets S stored in the paper feeding tray units 51a to 51c are sent out one by one from the top and conveyed to the image forming unit 40 by the conveyance path unit 53. At this time, the inclination of the fed sheet S is corrected and the conveyance timing is adjusted by the registration roller unit provided with the registration roller pair 53a. Then, in the image forming unit 40, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 421 is secondarily transferred all at once to one side of the sheet S, and a fixing process is performed in the fixing unit 60. The sheet S on which the image is formed is discharged outside the machine by the paper discharging unit 52 including a paper discharging roller 52a.

[0047] <Detailed configuration of the control unit> The image forming apparatus U according to the present embodiment has a function that can easily change the icon layout displayed on the home screen of the UI unit 20 of the new machine to the layout of the icon group set on the home screen of the UI unit of the previous machine.

[0048] Here, the image forming apparatus U according to the present embodiment corresponds to the image forming apparatus that the user newly introduces this time as the replacement destination. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the image forming apparatus U according to the present embodiment will be referred to as "this image forming apparatus U" or "new machine U". Further, for another image forming apparatus (typically, a multifunction printer) that the user has used so far, it will be referred to as "another image forming apparatus T2" or "previous machine T2".

[0049] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration realized by the control unit 100 by executing various control programs.

[0050] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the home screen M1 of the new machine U. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the layout data D1 of the home screen M1 of the new machine U. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the home screen M2 of the previous machine T2.

[0051] FIGS. 7, 8, 9, and 10 are diagrams for explaining the processing of the second modification unit 4. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the processing of the second modification unit 4. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the second modification unit 4. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the layout data of the home screen M2 of the previous machine T2 extracted by the processing of the second modification unit 4. FIG. 10 shows a mode of updating the layout data D1 of the home screen of the new machine U by the processing of the second modification unit 4.

[0052] The control unit 100 functions as a display control unit 1, a first modification unit 2, an acquisition unit 3, and a second modification unit 4.

[0053] Incidentally, the layout data D1 and the discriminator model data D2 shown in FIG. 3 are stored in advance in the storage unit 72, for example. The layout data D1 is layout information of various icons displayed on the home screen and the like of the UI unit 20. Further, the discriminator model data D2 (hereinafter abbreviated as "discriminator D2") is model data of a discriminator for specifying the function type of each icon displayed on the home screen of the previous machine T2.

[0054] The display control unit 1 displays, on the UI unit 20, a home screen M1 in which icon groups A1 to A4 for receiving execution commands of various functions of the new machine U are arranged according to the layout data D1 (see FIG. 4). Incidentally, hereinafter, the home screen M1 of the new machine U is also referred to as the "first home screen M1", and the icon groups A1 to A4 arranged on the first home screen M1 are also referred to as the "first icon groups A1 to A4".

[0055] The first home screen M1 has, for example, an icon arrangement template in which each icon is arranged in a grid pattern divided at predetermined intervals, and in accordance with the icon arrangement template, each icon in the first icon groups A1 to A4 is arranged. For example, the first home screen M1 according to FIG. 4 is an icon arrangement template in which the entire screen of the UI unit 20 is divided into a 2-row × 4-column grid pattern, and an icon is arranged in each small area.

[0056] The layout data D1 stores, for example, the icon ID of each icon, in association with the address of the icon in the first home screen M1, the icon image, the text data attached to the icon image, and the function ID. In FIG. 5, the address in the first home screen M1 is represented by (row number, column number) in the icon arrangement template of the first home screen M1. For example, the icon related to the scan function at (1, 1) is arranged in the uppermost left area in the first home screen M1.

[0057] In the first home screen M1 of FIG. 4, four icons A1 to A4 related to "Copy" (icon A1), "Scanner function" (icon A2), "Box function" (icon A3), and "Address book function" (icon A4) are displayed. The "Copy function" is a function for executing a copy operation in the image forming apparatus U. The "Scanner function" is a function for executing a scan operation in the image forming apparatus U. The "Box function" is a function for storing the image data generated by the scan operation in the image forming apparatus U in a box folder on a predetermined cloud. The "Address book function" is a function for setting the destination of the transmission destination of the image data generated by the scan operation or the like in the image forming apparatus U.

[0058] The first changing unit 2 individually receives a movement instruction for each icon in the first icon groups A1 to A4 in the first home screen M1 via a user operation on the UI unit 20. Then, the layout of the first icon groups A1 to A4 in the first home screen M1 is changed so as to be a layout corresponding to the movement instruction.

[0059] The first modification unit 2 is configured to exhibit functions when the user long-presses an icon on the first home screen M1, for example, on the touch panel. For example, the user can long-press the icon to be moved on the first home screen M1 and perform drag-and-drop to move the icon to a desired position in the first home screen M1. When a movement instruction is given to the icon to be moved, the first modification unit 2 changes the layout data D1 of the first home screen M1 so that the icon is arranged at the position where it is dropped on the first home screen M1. Incidentally, when there are other icons at the movement destination of the icon, the first modification unit 2 moves the other icon to a blank space in the first home screen M1, for example.

[0060] The acquisition unit 3 acquires the image data of the home screen M2 on which the icon groups B1 to B4 for receiving execution commands of various functions, which are adopted in the previous device T2, are arranged (see FIG. 6). Incidentally, hereinafter, the home screen M2 of the previous device T2 is also referred to as the "second home screen M2", and the icon groups B1 to B4 arranged on the second home screen M2 are also referred to as the "second icon groups B1 to B4". Also, the image data of the second home screen M2 is also referred to as "migration image data DD".

[0061] Incidentally, the migration image data DD is generated by, for example, the screen capture function of the previous device T2. Also, the image data may be generated by photographing the second home screen M2 displayed on the UI unit of the previous device T2 with a camera using another terminal device. Also, the image data may be generated by reading the image of the second home screen M2 printed on a paper medium by the printing function of the previous device T2 with the scanning function of the new device U.

[0062] That is, in the image forming apparatus U according to the present embodiment, the acquisition unit 3 is configured to acquire the layout information of the second home screen M2 of the previous machine T2 as the image data of the second home screen M2. This is because, generally, it is often difficult to directly apply the setting information of the previous machine T2 to the new machine U as it is, due to differences in the icon arrangement templates of the home screens, data formats, etc. between the new machine U and the previous machine T2.

[0063] In this regard, by using the image data of the second home screen M2 itself of the previous machine T2 as the layout information of the second home screen M2, it becomes possible to reflect the layout of the second home screen M2 of the previous machine T2 on the first home screen M1 of the new machine U.

[0064] Generally, in the home screen of the UI unit of an image forming apparatus, icons related to standard functions such as the copy function and the fax function, which are standardly installed in the image forming apparatus, are displayed. Therefore, basically, icons for common functions such as the copy function and the fax function are arranged on both the first home screen M1 of the new machine U and the second home screen M2 of the previous machine T2.

[0065] Here, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the migration image data DD, for example, by receiving data from an external terminal via the communication unit 71 of the image forming apparatus U. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 3 may acquire the migration image data DD by receiving data from an external terminal via a memory device connection connector (e.g., a USB connector) of the image forming apparatus U. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 3 may acquire the migration image data DD via the image reading unit 10 of the image forming apparatus U. Here, the external terminal mentioned here means any external terminal such as the previous machine T2 or the user's mobile terminal.

[0066] The second change unit 4 performs image analysis on the migration image data DD to specify the icon layout of the second home screen M2 together with the function type of each icon. Then, the icon layout of the first home screen M1 is changed according to the icon layout of the second home screen M2.

[0067] As a specific processing flow of the second modification unit 4, it is as shown in FIG. 8.

[0068] The second modification unit 4 acquires migration image data DD (step S1). Next, the second modification unit 4 identifies the layout data of the second home screen M2 by image analysis of the migration image data DD (step S2).

[0069] At this time, the second modification unit 4 identifies, for example, an icon arrangement template of the second home screen M2 that divides the entire screen into a 2-row × 3-column grid as shown in FIG. 7. Then, the addresses and function types of the respective icons of the second icon groups B1 to B4 arranged in the icon arrangement template are identified.

[0070] Incidentally, FIG. 9 shows the layout data of the second home screen M2 identified by image analysis of the second modification unit 4. In FIG. 9, for each icon in the second home screen M2, the address of each icon in the second home screen M2 and the function type of each icon are identified. Here, the icon arrangement template (here, 2 rows × 3 columns) of the second home screen M2 is estimated from, for example, the pixel positions of the second icon groups B1 to B4 arranged in the second home screen M2.

[0071] Next, the second modification unit 4 performs an association between the function types of the respective icons of the first icon groups A1 to A4 on the first home screen M1 and the function types of the respective icons of the second icon groups B1 to B4 on the second home screen M2 (step S3).

[0072] Next, the second modification unit 4 changes the addresses of the respective icons on the first home screen M1 of the new machine U to the addresses of the respective icons on the second home screen M2 of the previous machine T2 associated by function type. Incidentally, at this time, the second modification unit 4 changes the icon arrangement template of the first home screen M1 of the new machine U so as to conform to the icon arrangement template (here, 2 rows × 3 columns) of the second home screen M2 of the previous machine T2.

[0073] At this time, when the second modification unit 4 modifies the icon arrangement template of the first home screen M1, for example, the entire screen of the first home screen M1 may be evenly divided into a grid of 2 rows × 3 columns.

[0074] Also, at this time, the second modification unit 4 may configure an icon arrangement template in a grid of 2 rows × 3 columns so that each section area in the grid has a predetermined aspect ratio (for example, a square). Also, the second modification unit 4 may be configured to be able to select whether to evenly divide the entire screen of the first home screen M1 into a grid of 2 rows × 3 columns or to make each section area in the grid of 2 rows × 3 columns have a predetermined aspect ratio.

[0075] Through such processing, the second modification unit 4 can change the icon layout in the first home screen M1 of the new machine U according to the icon layout in the second home screen M2 of the previous machine T2 (see FIG. 7).

[0076] In particular, the second modification unit 4 according to the present embodiment is configured to determine the arrangement positions of the icons of the first icon groups A1 to A4 in the first home screen M1 so as to conform to the icon arrangement template of the second home screen M2. Therefore, even when the icon arrangement templates are different between the first home screen M1 and the second home screen M2, it is possible to accurately change each icon on the first home screen M1 according to the icon layout of the second home screen M2.

[0077] Here, a more preferable aspect of the image analysis method of the image data performed by the second modification unit 4 will be described.

[0078] When the second modification unit 4 identifies the function types of the icons of the second icon groups B1 to B4, in particular, it is preferable to perform image analysis by focusing on the text attached to each icon. That is, the second modification unit 4 preferably has an OCR function of selectively recognizing the text part of the image data and converting it into character data.

[0079] Generally, the icon images of various functions adopted in the home screen of the UI unit of the image forming apparatus and / or the text attached to the icon images are similar regardless of the manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus. Among them, as the text attached to the icon image, those common to various different image forming apparatuses such as "Copy", "Scanner", etc. are often adopted.

[0080] Therefore, it is possible to easily identify the correspondence relationship between the icons on the first home screen M1 of the new machine U and the icons on the second home screen M2 of the previous machine T2 by image analysis of the transition image data DD.

[0081] As the image analysis executed by the second changing unit 4, pattern recognition processing using the learned discriminator D2 is preferably performed. That is, the second changing unit 4 preferably recognizes the text attached to each icon on the second home screen M2 and / or the pattern of each icon by pattern recognition processing using the learned discriminator D2, and specifies the function type of each icon.

[0082] ≪Configuration of Discriminator D2≫ FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the discriminator D2.

[0083] As the discriminator D2, for example, a convolutional neural network (CNN: Convolutional Neural Network) as shown in FIG. 11 can be used. The convolutional neural network has a feature extraction unit Na and a discrimination unit Nb. Then, the feature extraction unit Na performs a process of extracting image features from the input image, and the discrimination unit Nb discriminates the category for each pixel region in the image from the extracted image features. Since the process of the convolutional neural network itself is a known technique, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

[0084] The convolutional neural network is trained using images with correct categories, and the network parameters (for example, the weight coefficients and biases of the convolutional layer, the weight coefficients and biases of the fully connected layer) are adjusted to function as described above.

[0085] That is, the discriminator D2 is trained using a dataset that associates the icon images on the home screen with the function types, which is adopted in image forming apparatuses of various different models. As a result, the trained discriminator D2 can recognize the text attached to each icon and / or the pattern of each icon from the image of the second home screen M2, and identify the function type of each icon.

[0086] Note that the discriminator D2 used by the second modification unit 4 is not limited to a convolutional neural network and is arbitrary. As the discriminator D2, for example, an SVM (Support Vector Machine) discriminator, a Bayesian discriminator, or template matching may be used.

[0087] Further, as preprocessing, the second modification unit 4 may perform area determination of the second home screen M2 and first perform processing for specifying the icon arrangement area on the second home screen M2. For example, the second modification unit 4 may perform such area determination processing using a known split & merge method or the like.

[0088] <Effect> As described above, the image forming apparatus U according to the present embodiment includes a display control unit 1 that displays a first home screen M1 in which first icon groups A1 to A4 for receiving execution commands of various functions of the present image forming apparatus U are arranged on a user interface unit 20; a first modification unit 2 that receives a movement instruction for each icon of the first icon groups A1 to A4 in the first home screen M1 via a user operation on the user interface unit 20, and changes the layout of the first icon groups A1 to A4 in the first home screen M1 to a layout corresponding to the movement instruction; An acquisition unit 3 that acquires image data of a second home screen M2 on which a second icon group B1 to B4 for receiving execution commands of various functions, which is employed in another image forming apparatus T2, is arranged; An image analysis is performed on the image data to identify the layout of the second icon group B1 to B4 arranged in the second home screen M2 together with the function types of the respective icons of the second icon group B1 to B4, and a second change unit 4 that changes the layout of the first icon group A1 to A4 in the first home screen M1 according to the layout of the second icon group B1 to B4 in the second home screen M2; It is provided with.

[0089] According to the image forming apparatus U according to the present embodiment, even when switching from the previous machine T2 to the new machine U, the user can change the icon layout of the first home screen M1 of the new machine U to the icon layout of the second home screen M2 of the previous machine T2 without any burden.

[0090] <Modification Example 1> FIG. 12, FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining the processing of the second change unit 4 according to Modification Example 1.

[0091] When the manufacturer or model is different, the aspect ratio of the monitor of the new machine U may be significantly different from the aspect ratio of the monitor of the previous machine T2. In such a case, if the icon arrangement template of the second home screen M2 is adopted on the first home screen M1, the icon layout may become unbalanced in the first home screen M1, and conversely, the UI unit 20 of the new machine U may be difficult to use. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, in the horizontal ratio of the monitor of the new machine U (that is, the first home screen M1), in the icon arrangement template (2 rows × 3 columns) of the second home screen M2, the blank space size LL on the right side of the first home screen M1 may become too large. Here, the blank space size means the size of the icon non-arrangement area and the size between two adjacent icons.

[0092] In FIG. 12, a grid icon arrangement template of 2 rows × 3 columns (icon arrangement template of the second home screen M2) is applied to the first home screen M1 so that each grid section region is substantially square. As a result, after changing the icon layout, a blank region is generated at the end of the first home screen M1.

[0093] From such a viewpoint, in this modification example, the second changing unit 4 is configured to determine the degree of conformity of the icon arrangement template of the second home screen M2 of the previous device T2 with respect to the first home screen M1 of the new device U.

[0094] At this time, for example, the second changing unit 4 determines the above-mentioned degree of conformity based on the blank size when changing the arrangement of each icon in the first home screen M1 so as to conform to the icon arrangement template of the second home screen M2. In this case, for example, when the blank size in the first home screen M1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the second changing unit 4 determines that the icon arrangement template of the second home screen M2 is not suitable for the first home screen M1.

[0095] Alternatively, the second changing unit 4 may determine the degree of conformity based on the arrangement balance of each icon in the first home screen M1. In this case, for example, the second changing unit 4 may determine the above-mentioned degree of conformity based on the deviation of the icon arrangement region in the first home screen M1.

[0096] When the degree of conformity is high, the second changing unit 4 changes the arrangement of each icon in the first icon groups A1 to A4 in the first home screen M1 so as to conform to the icon arrangement template of the second home screen M2 (here, 2 rows × 3 columns). On the other hand, when the degree of conformity is low, the second changing unit 4 presents, as a layout alternative, a mode in which the arrangement of each icon in the first icon groups A1 to A4 in the first home screen M1 is changed so as to conform to the icon arrangement template of the first home screen M1 (here, 2 rows × 4 columns).

[0097] Further, when presenting alternative layouts, the second modification unit 4 preferably proposes two alternatives, for example, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B. FIG. 13A is a first proposal in which the arrangement of each icon in the first home screen M1 is changed so as to conform to the icon arrangement template of the second home screen M2. Further, FIG. 13B is a second proposal in which the arrangement of each icon in the first home screen M1 is changed so as to conform to the icon arrangement template of the first home screen M1. In this case, the second modification unit 4 adopts one of the two layouts, for example, according to the user's selection operation.

[0098] As described above, according to the image forming apparatus U according to this modification example, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the layout of each icon in the first home screen M1 becomes unbalanced among the first icon groups A1 to A4.

[0099] <Modification Example 2> FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the processing of the second modification unit 4 according to the second modification example.

[0100] Some users may wish to use the icon images of the previous machine T2 as well as the icon layout when switching from the previous machine T2 to the new machine U.

[0101] In this modification example, from such a viewpoint, the second modification unit 4 changes the image of the icon to the image of the icon of the previous machine T2 for those icons in the first home screen M1 of the new machine U whose icon and function type are common to those of the previous machine T2.

[0102] Further, the second modification unit 4 may obtain the data of such icon images from the migration image data DD after performing image analysis on the migration image data DD.

[0103] FIG. 14 shows the layout data D1 of the first home screen M1 of the new machine U after the layout of the first home screen M1 is updated by the second modification unit 4. In FIG. 14, for each icon in the layout data D1, in addition to the icon position, the data of the icon image is updated.

[0104] As described above, according to the image forming apparatus U according to this modification example, it is possible to make the mode of the first home screen M1 of the UI unit 20 of the new machine U closer to the mode of the second home screen M2 of the previous machine T2 according to the user's preference.

[0105] As described above, specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail, but these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above.

[0106] For example, in the above embodiment, only the layout control of the home screen of the UI unit has been described, but the same layout control technology may also be performed on operation screens other than the home screen. For example, regarding the operation screen for setting the copy function, it is also possible to change the layout of the icon group displayed on the copy function operation screen of the UI unit 20 of the new machine U to the layout set on the copy function operation screen of the previous machine T2.

Industrial Applicability

[0107] According to the image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure, the user can easily change the icon layout of the home screen of the new machine to the icon layout of the home screen of the previous machine.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0108] U Image forming apparatus 10 Image reading unit 20 User interface unit (UI unit) 30 Image processing unit 40 Image forming unit 50 Paper conveyance unit 60 Fixing unit 72 Memory unit 100 Control unit 1 Display control unit 2 First modification unit 3 Acquisition unit 4 Second modification unit D1 Layout data D2 Discriminator model data DD Transition image data

Claims

1. A display control unit that displays a first home screen on which a first icon group for receiving execution commands for various functions of the present image forming apparatus is arranged on a user interface unit; A first changing unit that receives a movement instruction for each icon of the first icon group in the first home screen via a user operation on the user interface unit, and changes the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen so as to have a layout corresponding to the movement instruction; An acquisition unit that acquires image data of a second home screen on which a second icon group for receiving execution commands for various functions, which is adopted in another image forming apparatus, is arranged; A second changing unit that performs image analysis of the image data, specifies the layout of the second icon group arranged in the second home screen together with the function type of each icon of the second icon group, and changes the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen according to the layout of the second icon group in the second home screen; An image forming apparatus comprising the above.

2. The present image forming apparatus and the other image forming apparatus are multifunction printers. The image forming apparatus according to Claim 1.

3. The acquisition unit acquires the image data from the outside by any one of data reception using the communication means of the present image forming apparatus, data reception using the memory device connection connector of the present image forming apparatus, or image reading via the scanner of the present image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to Claim 1.

4. The second changing unit performs the image analysis of the image data, selectively analyzes the text attached to each icon of the second icon group from among the icon images, and specifies the function type of each icon of the second icon group. The image forming apparatus according to Claim 1.

5. The image analysis executed by the second changing unit is a pattern recognition process, The second changing unit recognizes the text attached to each icon of the second icon group and / or the pattern of each icon from the image of the second home screen by the pattern recognition process, and specifies the function type of each icon of the second icon group. The image forming apparatus according to Claim 1.

6. The second changing unit performs the pattern recognition process using a learned discriminator. The learned identifier is trained using a dataset that associates an image related to an icon for a home screen that receives execution commands for various functions, which is adopted in image forming apparatuses of various different models, with the function type to be executed by the image. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5.

7. When the second changing unit changes the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen according to the layout of the second icon group in the second home screen, the second changing unit determines the arrangement positions of the icons of the first icon group in the first home screen so as to conform to the icon arrangement template of the second home screen. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

8. The second changing unit determines the degree of conformity of the icon arrangement template of the second home screen with respect to the first home screen. When the degree of conformity is high, the second changing unit changes the arrangement of each icon of the first icon group in the first home screen so as to conform to the icon arrangement template of the second home screen. When the degree of conformity is low, the second changing unit presents, as a layout alternative, a mode in which the arrangement of each icon of the first icon group in the first home screen is changed so as to conform to the icon arrangement template of the first home screen. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7.

9. Among the first icon group in the first home screen, for an icon whose function type is common to any one of the second icon group, the second changing unit changes the image of the icon to the image of the corresponding icon in the second icon group. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

10. The user interface unit is a touch panel that receives a touch operation of a user. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

11. A first process of displaying, on the user interface unit, a first home screen on which a first icon group for receiving execution commands for various functions of the present image forming apparatus is arranged; A second process of receiving, via a user operation on the user interface unit, a movement instruction for each icon of the first icon group in the first home screen, and changing the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen so as to have a layout according to the movement instruction. A third process of obtaining image data of a second home screen on which a second icon group for receiving execution commands of various functions, which is adopted in another image forming apparatus, is arranged; A fourth process of performing image analysis on the image data to specify the layout of the second icon group arranged in the second home screen together with the function type of each icon in the second icon group, and changing the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen according to the layout of the second icon group in the second home screen; A display screen control method for an image forming apparatus that performs the above.

12. On a computer, A first process of causing a user interface unit to display a first home screen on which a first icon group for receiving execution commands of various functions of the present image forming apparatus is arranged; A second process of receiving a movement instruction for each icon in the first icon group in the first home screen via a user operation on the user interface unit, and changing the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen so as to have a layout corresponding to the movement instruction; A third process of obtaining image data of a second home screen on which a second icon group for receiving execution commands of various functions, which is adopted in another image forming apparatus, is arranged; A fourth process of performing image analysis on the image data to specify the layout of the second icon group arranged in the second home screen together with the function type of each icon in the second icon group, and changing the layout of the first icon group in the first home screen according to the layout of the second icon group in the second home screen; A display screen control program for an image forming apparatus that executes the above.

Images