Display unit, image forming apparatus, and display control method for additional display

Abstract

To provide a display unit and the like that can increase visibility and readability of a display item to be displayed as additional display to improve convenience for a user.SOLUTION: A display unit comprises a display that displays an operation screen including an object, and a control unit that controls display of additional display corresponding to the object on the basis of a user's operation on the object. The control unit changes a display mode of the additional display according to the positional relationship between the arrangement position of the object on the operation screen and the position of the user's operation relative to the object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a display device and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART There is known a technique for displaying information (supplementary information) about an object such as a button or icon on an operation screen of a display device as additional information on the screen by performing an operation such as hovering or long pressing the mouse over the object.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that when a tooltip showing information related to a target item (object) selected by a user is displayed as an additional display, if the display of the tooltip covers the target item, the display position of the target item is adjusted so that the display of the tooltip does not overlap the target item. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-123364 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide a display device or the like that can improve the visibility and readability of display items displayed in additional display, thereby improving user convenience. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the display device according to the present disclosure includes a display unit that displays an operation screen including an object, and a control unit that controls the display of an additional display corresponding to the object based on a user's operation on the object, and the control unit is characterized in that it changes the display mode of the additional display depending on the positional relationship of the object on the operation screen and the positional relationship between the user's operation position on the object.

[0007] In addition, the image forming device according to the present disclosure includes a display unit that displays an operation screen including an object, a control unit that controls the display of an additional display corresponding to the object based on a user's operation on the object, and an image forming unit, and the control unit changes the display mode of the additional display depending on the positional relationship between the object's placement position on the operation screen and the user's operation position on the object.

[0008] In addition, the display control method for additional displays according to the present disclosure is characterized in that it displays an operation screen including an object, controls the display of additional displays corresponding to the object based on a user's operation on the object, and changes the display mode of the additional displays according to the positional relationship between the object's placement position on the operation screen and the user's operation position on the object. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a display device or the like that can improve the visibility and readability of display items displayed in additional display, thereby improving user convenience. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a functional configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus incorporating a display device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3]1 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow according to the third embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation according to the third embodiment. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation according to the sixth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are examples for explaining the present disclosure, and the technical content of the description set forth in the claims is not limited to the following description.

[0012] There is known a technique for displaying information (supplementary information) about an object displayed on an operation screen of a display device as additional information when the object is selected by a user operation (for example, by long pressing on the object).

[0013] The additional display is known as a display form such as a tooltip or a balloon. The additional display may be displayed as a rectangle or a speech bubble. The additional display may also be displayed as a pop-up. In the following, a rectangular tooltip will be described as one form of additional display.

[0014] Tooltips, a form of additional display, display information (supplementary information) about an object within a rectangular display area. However, when the operating screen of the display device is small, for example, about 4 inches, and there is multiple pieces of information to display, even when using tooltips, it can be difficult to display all of the information the user wants to check.

[0015] In the present disclosure, the following embodiments realize a display device or the like that can improve the visibility and readability of display items displayed by additional displays such as tooltips, thereby improving user convenience.

[0016] [1 First Embodiment] [1.1 Functional Configuration] 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 equipped with a display device 103 according to the first embodiment. Note that in the first embodiment, a multifunction peripheral will be described as an example of the image forming apparatus 100 equipped with the display device 103, but the image forming apparatus 100 is not particularly limited as long as it is equipped with the display device 103 according to the first embodiment, and may be, for example, a printer, a copier, a fax machine, or the like, with limited types of job functions.

[0017] Fig. 2(a) is a diagram illustrating the device configuration of an image forming apparatus 100. The image forming apparatus 100 has a control device 101, a display device 103, an image processing device 105, and a printing device 107. The devices shown in Fig. 2(a) may be formed integrally, or may be configured as a combination of multiple devices. For example, the image processing device 105 and the printing device 107 may be a single device.

[0018] Fig. 2(b) is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100. Each of the functions shown in Fig. 2(b) may be provided by each of the devices shown in Fig. 2(a) as needed.

[0019] The image forming apparatus 100 includes, as functional components, a control unit 11, a display unit 13, an operation input unit 15, a communication unit 17, a storage unit 19, and an image forming unit 21.

[0020] The control unit 11 controls the entire image forming apparatus 100. The control unit 11 can be configured with one or more processing devices (for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an SoC (System on Chip), etc.). The control unit 11 realizes its functions by reading and executing various programs stored in the storage unit 19.

[0021] The display unit 13 displays various information to the user. The display unit 13 can be configured, for example, by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, or the like. The display unit 13 displays an operation screen (e.g., a home screen, a setting screen for executing each job, a history information screen, etc.) according to the state of the image forming apparatus 100. The display unit 13 according to the present disclosure has a display area of, for example, about 4 inches, which is a relatively small display size compared to a display area of ​​about 10 inches. Note that the operation screen of the display unit 13 described below has a system area (described later) and a selection area that scrolls to display selectable items, and will be described as having a screen configuration in which the number of selectable items in the selectable area (on one screen) is five or less.

[0022] The operation input unit 15 accepts information input by a user or the like. The operation input unit 15 can be configured with various input devices such as operation keys, such as hard keys or software keys, and buttons. The operation input unit 15 can also be configured as a touch panel that allows input via the display unit 13. When configured as a touch panel, the operation input unit 15 can detect a user's touch, tap, swipe, or other operation on an object displayed via the display unit 13, and acquire coordinate information, pressure-sensitive information, and the like on the touch panel. The acquired coordinate information, pressure-sensitive information, and the like can be used to determine the user's operation position and operation time on the object. The input method for the touch panel can be, for example, a common method such as a resistive film method, an infrared method, an electromagnetic induction method, or a capacitive method.

[0023] The communication unit 17 includes a wired / wireless interface or both for communicating with other external terminal devices (not shown) via a network NW such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), the Internet, a telephone line, a FAX line, etc. Furthermore, the communication unit 17 may include an interface related to (short-range) wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication 1), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), IrDA (Infrared Data Association), or wireless USB (Universal Serial Bus).

[0024] The storage unit 19 is one or more storage devices that store various programs and various data required for the operation of the image forming apparatus 100. The storage unit 19 can be configured with storage devices such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), an SSD (Solid State Drive), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or a ROM (Read Only Memory).

[0025] In the first embodiment, the storage unit 19 stores a control program 191, a display control program 193, an operation position determination program 195, and a job control program 197, and reserves a screen information storage area 199.

[0026] The control program 191 is a program that is read by the control unit 11 when performing overall control of the display device 103 and the image forming apparatus 100. The control unit 11 that reads the control program 191 controls the driving of hardware such as the display unit 13, the operation input unit 15, the communication unit 17, and the image forming unit 21.

[0027] The display control program 193 is a program that the control unit 11 reads out when controlling the output of an operation screen displayed on the display unit 13 or the operation input unit 15 configured as a touch panel. The control unit 11 that reads out the display control program 193 forms operation screens such as a home screen, a setting screen related to the execution of each job, and a history information screen by controlling the arrangement position of objects on the operation screen based on screen information related to the objects stored in the screen information storage area 199. Furthermore, the control unit 11 that reads out the display control program 193 changes the display mode of the additional display in accordance with the arrangement position of the object on the operation screen and the user's operation position (position of the user's finger) relative to the object determined based on the operation position determination program 195.

[0028] The operation position determination program 195 is a program that is read by the control unit 11 when determining the operation position of a user with respect to an object on the operation screen. After reading the operation position determination program 195, the control unit 11 determines the operation position and operation time with respect to the object from coordinate information, pressure-sensitive information, etc. based on user operations such as touching and dragging acquired from the operation input unit 15 configured as a touch panel.

[0029] The job control program 197 is a program that the control unit 11 reads when executing a print job related to printing, copying, etc., or a job related to faxing or image transmission. After reading the job control program 197, the control unit 11 transitions to a job mode (print mode, copy mode, fax mode, image transmission mode, etc.) for executing each job and executes the job. When executing a job, the control unit 11 can display an operation screen that accepts the selection of setting values ​​and functions required for executing the job from the user as necessary. The control unit 11 executes the job based on the setting values ​​and functions accepted via the operation screen.

[0030] The screen information storage area 199 is a storage area for storing screen information related to objects, layout information for arranging objects to form an operation screen, etc. In addition to the screen information related to objects, the screen information storage area 199 also includes screen information related to tooltips as additional displays for displaying information (supplemental information) about the objects.

[0031] The image forming unit 21 includes a printing unit 211 and an image processing unit 213. The printing unit 211 feeds paper from a paper feed unit 25, forms an image on the paper based on image data, and then discharges the paper to a paper discharge unit 27. The printing unit 211 can be configured, for example, by a laser printer that employs an electrophotographic method. In this case, the printing unit 211 forms an image using toner supplied from a toner cartridge (not shown) that corresponds to a toner color (for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, or black).

[0032] The image processing unit 213 generates image data by scanning an original. The image processing unit 213 can be configured as a scanner device having, for example, an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CIS (Contact Image Sensor), an automatic document feeder (ADF), a flatbed for placing and reading an original, and the like. The image processing unit 213 is not particularly limited in configuration as long as it is capable of generating image data by reading a reflected light image from an original image with an image sensor. The image processing unit 213 can also be configured as an interface capable of acquiring image data stored in a storage medium such as a USB memory or image data transmitted from an external terminal device (not shown). The image processing unit 213 may be configured to perform, for example, shading correction or density correction on image data input from the scanner device to generate image data for image transmission.

[0033] The functions described above may be provided redundantly when each of the control device 101, the display device 103, the image processing device 105, and the printing device 107 realizes the function individually. For example, the display device 103, the image processing device 105, and the printing device 107 may each have a control unit 11, a memory unit 19, etc. Furthermore, each device may share and use the control unit 11, the memory unit 19, etc.

[0034] [1.2 Processing flow] Next, a description will be given of a processing flow according to the first embodiment. Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for changing display items of a tooltip as an additional display in accordance with the positional relationship between the arrangement position of an object on the operation screen and the user's operation position relative to the object.

[0035] 3 is executed by the control unit 11 by reading out the display control program 193, the operation position determination program 195, etc. In the description of FIG. 3, it is assumed that a transmission history including an object having a [Destination] area that displays the destination address as a caption and an [Address] area that displays the address information of the destination as a caption is displayed on the operation screen.

[0036] The control unit 11 determines whether or not a user operation has been detected in the [Destination] area of ​​the object displayed on the operation screen (step S100). If the control unit 11 determines that a user operation in the [Destination] area has been detected, the control unit 11 displays a tool tip with a character string representing the [Destination] as a display item, and ends the process (step S100; Yes → step S110 → “End”).

[0037] On the other hand, if the control unit 11 determines that a user operation in the [Destination] area has not been detected, it determines whether a user operation has been detected in the [Address] area of ​​the object (Step S100; No→Step S120).

[0038] If the control unit 11 determines that a user operation in the [Address] area has been detected, it displays a tooltip with the character string representing the [Address] as the display item, and terminates the processing (step S120; Yes → step S130 → “End”).

[0039] If the control unit 11 determines that it has not detected a user operation in the [Address] area, it determines whether it has detected a user operation in the area between the [Destination] area and the [Address] area of ​​the object (Step S120; No → Step S140).

[0040] If the control unit 11 determines that it has detected a user operation in the area between the [Destination] area and the [Address] area, it displays a tooltip with the character strings representing the [Destination] and [Address] as display items, and terminates the processing (step S140; Yes → step S150 → “End”).

[0041] On the other hand, if the control unit 11 determines that a user operation has not been detected in the area between the [destination] area and the [address] area, it ends the process (step S140; No→"end").

[0042] [1.3 Example of operation] Prior to describing an example of operation according to the first embodiment, an example of the display size and number of lines of a character string of a tooltip that can be displayed on image forming apparatus 100 (display device 103) according to the present disclosure will be described.

[0043] 4(a) is a diagram illustrating a tooltip 20a having a display size of 600px wide x 70px high. The tooltip 20a is an example of a tooltip that can display one line of 17 double-byte characters.

[0044] 4(b) is a diagram illustrating a tooltip 20b having a display size of 600px wide x 110px high (70px + 40px). Tooltip 20b is an example of a tooltip that can display two lines of text, each containing 17 full-width characters.

[0045] 4(c) is a diagram illustrating a tooltip 20c having a display size of 600px wide x 150px high (110px + 40px). The tooltip 20c is an example of a tooltip that can display three lines of text, each containing 17 full-width characters.

[0046] 4(d) is a diagram illustrating a tooltip 20d having a display size of 300px wide x 70px high. The tooltip 20d is an example of a tooltip that can display one line of seven double-byte characters.

[0047] 4(e) is a diagram illustrating a tooltip 20e having a display size of 300px wide x 110px high (70px + 40px). The tooltip 20e is an example of a tooltip that can display two lines of text, each containing seven full-width characters.

[0048] 4(f) is a diagram illustrating a tooltip 20f having a display size of 300px wide x 150px high (110px + 40px). Tooltip 20f is an example of a tooltip that can display three lines of text, each containing seven full-width characters.

[0049] For example, when displaying a tooltip consisting of character strings representing [Destination] and [Address] in step S150 or the like of the flowchart in FIG. 3, in order to make both the character string representing [Destination] and the character string representing [Address] easier to see (read), the number of lines of character strings displayed in tooltip 20 is changed to two lines, and the character string representing [Destination] and the character string representing [Address] are displayed on each line. In this case, "changing the number of lines to two lines" means changing the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip by switching the display of tooltip 20 from tooltip 20a or 20d (single line display) shown in FIG. 4 to tooltip 20b or 20e (two lines display). Note that, when changing the number of lines to three, it is sufficient to switch the display of tooltip 20 from tooltip 20a or 20d (single line display) shown in FIG. 4 to tooltip 20c or 20f (three lines display).

[0050] In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the tool tips (20a to 20f) illustrated in FIG. 4, they will simply be referred to as tool tips 20.

[0051] 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the display configuration of the operation screen W10 related to the transmission history. The operation screen W10 related to the transmission history is an operation screen that displays the transmission history related to transmission jobs such as FAX or image transmission, and can be called up, for example, from the home screen (not shown) or an operation screen related to the execution of each FAX or image transmission job.

[0052] Such an operation screen W10 includes a system area R10 and a selection area R20 that scrolls to display selectable items. The system area R10 is provided, for example, in the header portion of the operation screen W10 and includes operation buttons such as a home button B10 that accepts screen transition to a home screen (not shown), a trash can button B12 that accepts an instruction to delete an object, and an OK button B14 that accepts an instruction to end the display of the operation screen W10 by reflecting various settings and changes. The system area R10 can have a display configuration that is common to other operation screens (not shown), except for a display area (e.g., "send history") that indicates which operation screen the operation screen W10 is.

[0053] The selection area R20 is provided in the body portion below the system area R10, and in the first embodiment, is configured so that five (or less) objects (objects O10 to O18) can be selected as items. For example, when one of the objects O10 to O18 is selected and an instruction to select the OK button B14 is received, the control unit 11 transitions to an operation screen for a transmission job that applies the [Destination] and [Address] corresponding to the selected object. The user can then send a fax or image to the [Address] specified by the selected [Destination].

[0054] Each object (e.g., object O10) includes a [Destination] area OR10 and an [Address] area OR12 that can be operated by the user. The [Destination] area OR10 is a display area that displays the destination for a transmission job such as fax or image transmission. The [Address] area OR12 is a display area that displays address information (such as an email address or path information related to the storage destination of image data) specified by the destination for a transmission job such as fax or image transmission.

[0055] Here, in the [Destination] area OR10, [Address] area OR12, if the caption string cannot be displayed due to the limitations of the display frame of the area and an ellipsis symbol "..." is displayed indicating that part of the string has been omitted, an instruction to display a tooltip that displays the omitted string as supplementary information can be accepted.

[0056] For example, when the [Destination] area OR101 of object O14 is operated (instructed) by the user, the control unit 11 displays "Legal Department_Shared Folder" as a tooltip 20 as supplementary information for "Legal Department Shared Folder...", which supplements the omitted "..." portion.

[0057] 6 shows an example of the display configuration of a tooltip displayed by the control unit 11 when the [Address] field OR102 of the object O12 is operated (instructed) by the user. In this case, the control unit 11 displays "James.Oliver@example.com" as a tooltip 20 to supplement the omitted "..." portion as supplementary information for "James.Oliver@example...".

[0058] 5 and 6 show an example in which tooltips 20 with different display items are individually displayed when the user operates either the [Destination] area (e.g., [Destination] area OR101) or the [Address] area (e.g., [Address] area R102). On the other hand, for example, depending on the user's operation position, it is also possible to change the display mode of tooltip 20 from tooltip 20a (20d) which can display one line of character string as shown in FIG. 4 to tooltip 20b (20e) which can display two lines of character string, thereby displaying two lines of character string in tooltip 20.

[0059] 7 shows an example of the display configuration of a tooltip 20 displayed by the control unit 11 when the area OR103 between the [Destination] area and the [Address] area of ​​the object O14 is operated (instructed) by the user. In this case, the control unit 11 displays the character string representing the [Destination] and the character string representing the [Address] on each line ("Legal Department_Shared Folder \\server\legal") to make both the character string representing the [Destination] and the character string representing the [Address] easily visible (readable). Note that in this case, the captions displayed in the [Destination] area and the [Address] area only need to omit part of the character string in one of the areas; it is not necessary to omit part of the character string in both the [Destination] area and the [Address] area.

[0060] 5 to 7 can be displayed in both display modes depending on the user's operation position. For example, when the user operates near either the [Destination] area or the [Address] area, the control unit 11 displays the tool tip 20 corresponding to the [Destination] area or the [Address] area individually, and when the user operates near the area between the [Destination] area and the [Address] area, the control unit 11 can also display the tool tip 20 corresponding to the [Destination] area and the [Address] area.

[0061] In addition, as the user moves their operation position (for example, from left to right in Figure 7), the display of the tooltip 20 corresponding to the [Destination] area, the display of the tooltip 20 corresponding to the area between the [Destination] area and the [Address] area, and the display of the tooltip 20 corresponding to the [Address] area may be switched sequentially.

[0062] As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to change the display items of a tooltip as an additional display depending on the positional relationship between the placement position of an object on the operation screen and the user's operation position relative to the object, thereby improving the visibility and readability of the display items displayed in the tooltip.

[0063] [2 Second Embodiment] The second embodiment is a mode in which, when the display items displayed in the tooltip 20 exceed the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20, character strings as display items are scrolled to display all the character strings.

[0064] The functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 incorporating the display device 103 according to the second embodiment can be the same as the functional configuration according to the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0065] [2.1 Processing flow] A processing flow according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating processing for scrolling character strings as display items to display all character strings when the display items displayed in the tooltip 20 exceed the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20. The processing described in FIG. 8 is processing executed by the control unit 11 by reading out the display control program 193, the operation position determination program 195, etc. Note that the processing described in FIG. 8 will be described assuming that any tooltip 20 is displayed, with character strings representing [Destination], [Address], or both [Destination] and [Address] as display items, based on the processing described in the flowchart of FIG. 3.

[0066] The control unit 11 determines whether or not the display items displayed in the tooltip 20 displayed on the operation screen exceed the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 (step S200).

[0067] If the control unit 11 determines that the display items to be displayed in the tooltip exceed the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20, it scrolls the character strings as the display items to display all the character strings and terminates the processing (step S200; Yes → step S210 → “End”).

[0068] On the other hand, if the control unit 11 determines that the display item to be displayed in the tooltip does not exceed the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20, it displays the character string as the display item and terminates the processing (step S200; No → step S220 → “End”).

[0069] [2.2 Example of operation] 9 shows an example of the display configuration of the tooltip 20 displayed by the control unit 11 when the [Address] area OR104 of the object O20 is operated (instructed) by the user. At this time, if it is determined that the display items to be displayed in the tooltip exceed the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20, the control unit 11 displays the tooltip 20 that can display all of the character string "James.Oliver_test_mail@example.com" by scrolling the character string related to "James.Oliver_test_mail..." in either direction of the arrow in the figure.

[0070] As described above, according to the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, when the display items displayed in the tooltip exceed the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip, the character strings as the display items can be scrolled to display all the character strings, so that the user can also check the character strings that are not displayed as display items.

[0071] [3 Third embodiment] The third embodiment is an embodiment in which, when the display items displayed in the tooltip 20 exceed the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20, the display position of the character string as the display item is changed.

[0072] The functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 incorporating the display device 103 according to the third embodiment can be the same as the functional configuration according to the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0073] [3.1 Processing flow] The flow of processing according to the third embodiment will be described. Fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing for changing the display position of a character string as a display item when a display item displayed in the tooltip 20 exceeds the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20. The processing described in Fig. 10 is executed by the control unit 11 reading out the display control program 193, the operation position determination program 195, etc.

[0074] The control unit 11 determines whether or not a user operation has been detected in the latter part (area) of the object displayed on the operation screen (step S300). Here, the latter part of the object may be the latter part of an area obtained by simply dividing the area from the display start position to the display end position of the character string in either the [destination] area or the [address] area of ​​the object into two equal parts, or the latter part of the object's position (area) may be set based on the number of (displayable) characters in the character string including the ellipsis character "...".

[0075] If the control unit 11 determines that it has detected a user operation in the latter position (area) of the object, it displays the string in the latter part of the display item representing [Destination] or [Address] as a tooltip and terminates the processing (step S300; Yes → step S310 → “End”).

[0076] On the other hand, if it is determined that a user operation has not been detected in the latter part (area) of the object, the control unit 11 determines whether a user operation has been detected in the former part (area) of the object (step S300; No → step S320).If it is determined that a user operation has been detected in the former part (area) of the object, the control unit 11 displays the character string of the first half of the display item representing [Destination] or [Address] as a tooltip and ends the process (step S320; Yes → step S330 → "End").

[0077] On the other hand, if the control unit 11 determines that no operation by the user has been detected in the first half position (area) of the object, it ends the process (step S320; No→"end").

[0078] [3.2 Example of operation] 11(a) is an example of the display configuration of a tooltip 20 displayed by the control unit 11 when the latter part (area) of the [Address] area OR104 ("James.Oliver_test_mail...") of the object O20 is operated (instructed) by the user. When the control unit 11 detects a user operation on the latter part (area) of the [Address] area OR104, it displays the latter part of the display item representing [Address] ("er_test_mail@example.com") in the direction of the arrow in the figure (to the left) as the tooltip 20.

[0079] 11(b) is an example of the display configuration of the tooltip 20 displayed by the control unit 11 when the first half (area) of the [Address] area OR104 ("James.Oliver_test_mail...") of the object O20 is operated (instructed) by the user. The control unit 11 displays the first half ("James.Oliver_test_mail@example") of the display item representing [Address] as the tooltip 20 in the direction of the arrow in the figure (to the right).

[0080] As described above, according to the third embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, when the display item to be displayed in the tooltip exceeds the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip, the display position of the character string as the display item to be displayed in the tooltip can be changed depending on the user's operation position, thereby making it possible to determine the character string to be displayed in the tooltip depending on the display position of the object that the user wishes to display, thereby further improving convenience.

[0081] [4 Fourth embodiment] The fourth embodiment is an embodiment in which, when the display items displayed in the tooltip 20 exceed the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip, the display start position of the character string is changed according to the type of caption displayed in the object.

[0082] The functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 incorporating the display device 103 according to the fourth embodiment can be the same as the functional configuration according to the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0083] [4.1 Processing flow] The flow of processing according to the fourth embodiment will be described. Fig. 12 is a flowchart illustrating processing for changing the display start position of a character string according to the type of caption displayed in an object when the display items displayed in the tooltip 20 exceed the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20. The processing described in Fig. 12 is processing executed by the control unit 11 by reading out the display control program 193, the operation position determination program 195, etc. Note that Fig. 12 describes an example of a character string related to an e-mail address as the type of caption displayed in an object.

[0084] The control unit 11 determines whether the type of caption of the object displayed on the operation screen is a character string related to an e-mail address (step S400).

[0085] When the control unit 11 determines that the type of caption of the object is a character string related to an e-mail address, it displays the character string before the e-mail address (before @) as a tooltip and ends the process (step S400; Yes → step S410 → "end"). Generally, the structure (character string) after "@" that constitutes an e-mail address is often standardized, so there is little need to display the character string after "@" in the tooltip 20. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, when the type of caption of the object is a character string related to an e-mail address, the display of the structure after "@" is omitted, and the character string before the e-mail address (before @) is displayed as the tooltip 20.

[0086] If it is determined that the type of caption of the object is not a character string related to an e-mail address, the control unit 11 changes the display method according to the operation position and ends the process (step S400; No → step S420 → “end”).

[0087] [4.2 Example of operation] 13 shows an example of the display configuration of the tooltip 20 displayed by the control unit 11 when the [Address] area OR104 ("James.Oliver_test_mail...") of the object O20 is operated (instructed) by the user. When the control unit 11 determines that the type of caption to be displayed in the [Address] area OR104 of the object O20 is a character string related to an e-mail address, it displays the character string ("James.Oliver_test_mail") related to the front part of the e-mail address (before the @) as the tooltip 20.

[0088] As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, it is possible to change the starting position of the character string display depending on the type of caption displayed in the object, making it possible to display a tooltip that eliminates the display of character strings that are not highly necessary as display items.

[0089] [5 Fifth embodiment] In the fifth embodiment, the display mode of the tooltip 20 is changed in accordance with a user's operation on an object. In the fifth embodiment, when the user's operation time on an object (the time during which the object is pointed to) exceeds a predetermined time, the size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 or the font size of the character string is enlarged / reduced.

[0090] The functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 incorporating the display device 103 according to the fifth embodiment can be the same as the functional configuration according to the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0091] [5.1 Processing flow] The flow of processing in the fifth embodiment will be described. Fig. 14 is a flowchart illustrating processing for enlarging the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 or the font size of the character string when the user's operation time on an object (the time during which the object is pointed to) exceeds a predetermined time. The processing described in Fig. 14 is processing executed by the control unit 11 by reading the display control program 193, the operation position determination program 195, etc.

[0092] The control unit 11 determines whether the user's operation time on the object (time during which the object is pointed to) is continuously 3 seconds or more (step S500).

[0093] If the control unit 11 determines that the user's operation time on the object (the time the object is pointed to) is three seconds or more, the control unit 11 gradually enlarges at least one of the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 and the font size of the character string, and ends the process (step S500; Yes → step S510 → “End”). On the other hand, if the control unit 11 determines that the user's operation time on the object (the time the object is pointed to) is less than three seconds, the control unit 11 ends the process (step S500; No → “End”). Note that, in FIG. 14, the continuous operation time by the user is described as three seconds (or more), but the continuous operation time is not limited to three seconds and may be five seconds, ten seconds, or the like. There is no limit to the operation time as long as the control unit 11 can detect the continuous operation by the user.

[0094] [5.2 Example of operation] Figure 15(a) shows an example of a display configuration in which the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 is enlarged when the [Address] area OR104 ("James.Oliver_test_mail...") of the object O20 is continuously operated (instructed) by the user. Note that in Figure 15(a), for ease of understanding, the character strings displayed in the tooltip 20 are represented by half-width numbers.

[0095] The control unit 11 gradually enlarges the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 when the [Address] area OR104 of the object O20 is operated by the user for a predetermined time or longer. FIG. 15(a) shows an example in which the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 is enlarged to a display size that can display three lines of 34 half-width numeric characters (corresponding to the display size of tooltip 20c or 20f in FIG. 4(c)) in response to the user's operation for a predetermined time or longer. Note that while FIG. 15(a) shows an example in which the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 is gradually enlarged in response to the user's operation for a predetermined time or longer, it is also possible to gradually reduce the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 in response to the user's operation time.

[0096] Figure 15(b) shows an example of a display configuration in which the font size of the text in the tooltip 20 is enlarged when the [Address] field OR104 ("James.Oliver_test_mail...") of the object O20 is operated (instructed) by the user for three seconds or more. Note that in Figure 15(b), for ease of understanding, the text displayed in the tooltip 20 is represented in half-width numbers.

[0097] The control unit 11 gradually increases the font size of the text in the tooltip 20 when the [Address] area OR104 of the object O20 is operated by the user for a predetermined time or longer. FIG. 15(b) shows an example in which the font size of the text in the tooltip 20 is increased, for example, from 12 pt to 14 pt in response to the user's operation (time). While FIG. 15(b) shows an example in which the font size of the text in the tooltip 20 is gradually increased when the user operates the object O20 for a predetermined time or longer, it is also possible to gradually decrease the font size of the text in the tooltip 20 in response to the user's operation for a predetermined time or longer. Note that the display size of the display area shown in FIG. 15(a) and the font size of the text in FIG. 15(b) may both be increased or decreased by the user's operation for a predetermined time or longer.

[0098] As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, when the user's operation time on an object (the time during which the object is pointed to) exceeds a predetermined time, it is possible to enlarge / reduce at least one of the size of the display area of ​​the tooltip and the font size of the text string, thereby further improving the visibility and readability of the tooltip that the user wishes to display.

[0099] [6 Sixth Embodiment] The sixth embodiment is another embodiment in which the display form of the tooltip 20 is changed in response to a user operation on an object. In the sixth embodiment, the size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 is changed in response to a user operation on the tooltip 20.

[0100] The functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 incorporating the display device 103 according to the sixth embodiment can be the same as the functional configuration according to the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0101] [6.1 Processing flow] The processing flow of the sixth embodiment will be described. Fig. 16 is a flowchart illustrating processing for changing the size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 in response to a user operation on the tooltip 20 displayed on the operation screen. The processing described in Fig. 16 is processing executed by the control unit 11 by reading out the display control program 193, the operation position determination program 195, etc.

[0102] The control unit 11 determines whether or not a state in which the user has not operated the tooltip 20 continues for, for example, one second or more after the tooltip 20 is displayed (step S600). If it is determined that a state in which the user has not operated the tooltip 20 continues for one second or more, the control unit 11 starts transparent display of the tooltip 20 (step S600; Yes → step S610). Note that if it is determined that a state in which the user has not operated the tooltip 20 continues for less than one second, the control unit 11 ends the process (step S600; No → "End").

[0103] Next, the control unit 11 determines whether or not a user operation (e.g., a touch operation) on the tool tip 20 after the start of the transparent display has been detected (step S620). If it is determined that a user operation on the tool tip 20 after the start of the transparent display has been detected, the control unit 11 ends the transparent display (step S620; Yes → step S630).

[0104] Then, the control unit 11 determines whether or not a user operation (e.g., a drag operation) on the tooltip 20 has been detected (step S640). If it determines that a user operation on the tooltip 20 has been detected, the control unit 11 changes the size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 to match the detected operation (drag operation range) and ends the process (step S640; Yes → step S650 → “End”).

[0105] Incidentally, if it is determined that a user operation such as a touch operation on the tooltip 20 after the start of transparent display has not been detected, the control unit 11 ends the display of the tooltip 20 and ends the process (step S620; No → step S660 → “End”). Also, if it is determined that a user operation such as a drag operation on the tooltip 20 has not been detected, the control unit 11 ends the process (step S640; No → “End”).

[0106] [6.2 Example of operation] Fig. 17(a) shows an example of the display configuration of the tooltip 20 that is transparently displayed by the control unit 11 when it is determined that no operation by the user has continued for one second or more after the tooltip 20 corresponding to the [Address] area OR104 ("James.Oliver_test_mail...") of the object O20 has been displayed. Note that the tooltip 20 shown in Fig. 17(a) is the latter half of the display item representing [Address] ("er_test_mail@example.com") shown in Fig. 11(a) of the third embodiment, displayed as a tooltip.

[0107] Fig. 17(b) is an example of the display configuration of tooltip 20 that is displayed by control unit 11 when an operation such as a drag operation by the user is detected from the transparent display state of Fig. 17(a). Fig. 17(b) is an example in which the display size of the display area of ​​tooltip 20 is expanded to a display size that can display a character string of "three lines" of 34 half-width numeric characters (corresponding to the display size of tooltip 20c in Fig. 4(c)) in response to an operation such as a drag operation by the user.

[0108] As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, it is possible to change the size of the display area of ​​the tooltip in response to the user's operation on the tooltip 20 displayed on the operation screen, and therefore, similar to the fifth embodiment, it is possible to further improve the visibility and readability of the tooltip that the user wishes to display.

[0109] [7 Seventh embodiment] The seventh embodiment is an embodiment in which at least one of the change in the display size of the display area of ​​the tooltip 20 and the change in the font size of the character string is applied as a default setting according to the user authenticated by user authentication.

[0110] For example, for a user who wants to increase the readability of a character string in the tooltip 20 by increasing the font size of the character string, the process of increasing the font size of the character string described in the fifth embodiment is enabled by default.

[0111] On the other hand, for users who do not want to increase the font size of the text in tooltip 20 but want to display the entire display area of ​​tooltip 20, the scrolling display of text in the second embodiment and the process of increasing the display size of the display area of ​​tooltip 20 in the sixth embodiment are enabled by default.

[0112] As described above, according to the seventh embodiment, depending on the user authenticated by user authentication, it is possible to apply at least one of changing the display size of the tooltip display area and changing the font size of the text string as a default setting, thereby realizing highly convenient operations for each user.

[0113] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. In other words, embodiments obtained by combining technical means that are appropriately modified within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0114] Furthermore, although the above-described embodiments are described separately for the sake of convenience, they may of course be combined and executed within the scope of technical feasibility.

[0115] In addition, the programs that run on each device in the embodiments are programs that control the CPU, etc. (programs that make a computer function) so as to realize the functions of the above-described embodiments. Information handled by these devices is temporarily stored in a temporary storage device (e.g., RAM) during processing, and then stored in various storage devices such as ROMs (Read Only Memories) and HDDs, and is read, modified, and written by the CPU as needed.

[0116] Here, the computer-readable non-transitory recording medium on which the program is recorded in the information processing device may be any of semiconductor media (e.g., ROM, non-volatile memory card, etc.), optical recording media / magneto-optical recording media (e.g., DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), MO (Magneto Optical Disc), MD (Mini Disc), CD (Compact Disc), BD (Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc, etc.)), magnetic recording media (e.g., magnetic tape, flexible disk, etc.). In this case, the program recorded on the recording medium is read by the computer of the information processing device and executed by the computer, thereby realizing not only the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments, but also the functions of the present disclosure, which are realized by processing in cooperation with an operating system or other application programs, etc., based on instructions from the program.

[0117] Furthermore, when distributing the program on the market, the program can be stored in a portable recording medium and distributed, or transferred to a server computer connected via a network such as the Internet. In this case, the storage device of the server computer is also included in the present disclosure.

[0118] Furthermore, each functional block or feature of the device used in the above-described embodiments can be implemented or performed by an electrical circuit, for example, an integrated circuit or multiple integrated circuits. The electrical circuit designed to realize the functions described herein may include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gates or Tronistor logic, discrete hardware components, or a combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or a conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The electrical circuit may be composed of digital circuits or analog circuits. Furthermore, as advances in semiconductor technology emerge, one or more aspects of the present disclosure may utilize new integrated circuits based on that technology. [Explanation of symbols]

[0119] 11 Control section 13 Display section 15 Operation input section 17 Communications Department 19 Memory section 191 Control Program 193 Display Control Program 195 Operation position determination program 197 Job Control Program 199 Screen information storage area 21 Image forming unit 211 Printing Department 213 Image Processing Unit 100 Image forming device 101 Control device 103 Display device 105 Image processing device 107 Printing device

Claims

1. a display unit that displays an operation screen including the object; a control unit that controls the display of an additional display corresponding to the object based on a user's operation on the object, The control unit A display device that changes a display mode of the additional display depending on a positional relationship between a position of the object on the operation screen and a position of the user operating the object.

2. The control unit 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display mode is to change the display items displayed in the additional display.

3. The control unit 3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display mode is a change in the display size of the display area of ​​the additional display.

4. The control unit 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein a display mode of a character string constituting a display item that exceeds the display size of the display area for the additional display is changed.

5. The control unit 5. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the character string is displayed by scrolling.

6. The control unit 5. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the display position of the character string is changed.

7. The control unit 5. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the display start position of the character string is changed depending on the type of caption displayed by the object.

8. The control unit 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a display area of ​​the additional display and a display size of character strings constituting the display items is changed in accordance with the continuation of the operation by the user.

9. The additional indication is: The display device of claim 1 , further comprising a tooltip.

10. The operation screen includes:

2. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a system area and a selection area for displaying selectable items in a scrolling manner, the number of selectable items being five or less.

11. a display unit that displays an operation screen including the object; a control unit that controls the display of an additional display corresponding to the object based on a user's operation on the object; an image processing unit; The control unit An image forming apparatus characterized in that it is provided with changing a display mode of the additional display depending on a positional relationship between a position of the object on the operation screen and a position of the user operating the object.

12. Display the operation screen containing the object, Controlling the display of an additional display corresponding to the object based on a user's operation on the object; A display control method for an additional display, characterized in that a display mode of the additional display is changed depending on a positional relationship between a position of the object on the operation screen and a position of the user operating the object.

Images