Capacitive Touch Screen Hierarchical Navigation Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current display control systems for image forming apparatuses, such as multifunction printers, lack an intuitive and efficient method for hierarchically displaying functions and managing screen transitions based on user interactions, leading to a cumbersome user experience.
Innovation Solution
A display control device with an operation-display unit and a controller that uses a touch panel to detect object approaches and touches, temporarily displaying next screens associated with selected functions in modes corresponding to their relationship with the original screen, such as full-screen, superimposition, or split-screen displays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multiple functions are displayed hierarchically using multiple screens, then the organization of functions is improved, but the complexity of screen transitions and user operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The display screen is segmented into multiple hierarchical levels, with each level showing specific functions or sub-functions. This allows complex functions to be organized in a structured manner, improving ease of operation while managing complexity through systematic division of display content.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension to screen transitions by temporarily displaying next screens in anticipation of user selection. This predictive display approach reduces the operational steps required for navigation, as users can see potential next screens before fully committing to a selection, thereby improving ease of operation without proportionally increasing control complexity.
2Speed
If the next screen is temporarily displayed in anticipation of object approach, then the responsiveness to user input is improved, but the processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by temporarily displaying the next screen before the user completes their selection. This predictive display is triggered by detecting object approach to a function, allowing the system to prepare the next screen in advance. This improves responsiveness and perceived speed without requiring complex real-time processing during the actual transition.
Solution Approach 2:
The display system dynamically adjusts its behavior based on detected user interaction. When an object approaches a function, the system dynamically transitions from showing the current screen to temporarily displaying the next screen. This dynamic adaptation improves responsiveness to user intent while keeping the control logic relatively simple through event-driven state changes.
3Loss of information
If the display mode corresponds to the relationship between original screen and next screen, then the contextual relevance is improved, but the control logic complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from the hierarchical relationship between screens to determine display behavior. By analyzing the positional relationship (e.g., parent-child, sibling) between the original screen and the next screen, the system selects appropriate display modes that preserve contextual information. This feedback-based approach improves contextual relevance while keeping control logic manageable through systematic relationship classification.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances user interaction by providing an intuitive hierarchical display of functions, allowing users to navigate services like copying, printing, and scanning more efficiently through contextually appropriate screen transitions without requiring constant screen switching.
Implementation Method 1
a touch panel, and accepts an operation performed through an approach or touch of an object
Data Source
AI summary
A display control device includes an operation-display unit and a controller. The operation-display unit hierarchically displays multiple functions using multiple screens and accepts an operation performed through an approach or touch of an object. The controller performs control so that, when the object approaches a function displayed on an original screen, a next screen associated with the function selected as a result of the approach of the object is temporarily displayed using a display mode corresponding to a relationship between the original screen and the next screen.