Icon Connecting Interruption Handling in Image Forming Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatuses interrupt users' drag-and-drop operations with large alert screens, causing inconvenience and confusion about operation completion, especially when events like paper jams or empty trays occur during icon connecting processes.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus includes a display portion for connecting icons, a connection completion detector, an event detector, and a controller that stores screen composition information when an event occurs during icon connecting, allowing the original screen to be resumed after the alert screen disappears, or continuously displays the original screen until the operation is completed, depending on selected modes to minimize user disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an alert screen is displayed to notify users of events (paper jams, empty trays), then users are informed of the events, but the drag-and-drop operation is interrupted and users must restart it
Solution Approach 1:
The system detects the start of a drag-and-drop operation before the alert screen is displayed and stores the state information in advance. When the alert screen appears, the system can restore the operation state afterward, allowing users to resume rather than restart the operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the screen composition information and operation state when an event occurs during drag-and-drop. This copied state is stored and used to restore the operation after the alert screen disappears, preserving the user's work without requiring a complete restart.
2Reliability
If an alert screen is displayed during icon connecting operation, then users are notified of events, but users experience confusion about whether the operation was completed
Solution Approach 1:
The system copies and stores the screen composition information before the alert screen appears. After the alert disappears, the system restores this copied information, allowing users to see whether the icon connecting operation was completed based on the restored screen state, eliminating confusion about operation status.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback by restoring the screen composition after an alert. Users can observe the restored screen to determine whether the icon connecting operation was completed, receiving clear feedback about the operation status without ambiguity.
3Loss of information
If a confirmation screen is displayed after icon connecting operation, then users can confirm completion, but users must view the confirmation screen even without events occurring
Solution Approach 1:
The system stores screen composition information in advance when an event occurs during operation. This preliminary storage allows the system to provide confirmation only when necessary (when events occur), rather than always displaying confirmation screens, thus improving efficiency while maintaining necessary feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the display behavior based on whether an event occurs. When no event occurs, the system operates efficiently without additional confirmation screens. When an event occurs, the system restores and displays the screen composition to provide necessary confirmation, making the confirmation mechanism adaptive rather than static.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus comprises: a display which allows users to connect a first icon to a second icon on a first screen and is capable of displaying the first screen with a still image of the first icon in motion and a second screen matching an event; a completion detector which detects completion of the connecting operation; a processor which performs an operation predetermined for the first and second icon when the connecting operation is completed; an event detector which detects occurrence of an event during the connecting operation; and a controller which performs, if an event occurs before completion of the connecting operation, a control operation consisting of: storing composition information of the first screen with a still image of the first icon in motion; interrupting the first screen; and reproducing the first screen after disappearance of the second screen on the basis of the composition information.