Image Forming Apparatus Error Badge Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
In image forming apparatuses, unresolved errors are not effectively communicated to users, leading to inconvenience as error messages are not appropriately re-notified until the errors are resolved, restricting access to other functions.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with error information storage, a notifier, a determiner, an error information deleter, a counter, and a number displayer that visually displays unresolved errors in badges near function or process selection images, allowing re-notification of error messages when specific conditions are met.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If error messages are kept displayed on the operation panel until errors are resolved, then users can recognize unresolved errors, but operation panel usage is blocked and other functions cannot be accessed
Solution Approach 1:
The error notification function is segmented from the main operation panel display. Instead of occupying the entire operation panel, error messages are displayed in a separate notification bar at the top of the display screen, allowing the operation panel to remain accessible for other functions while error information is preserved and visible.
Solution Approach 2:
A notification bar is introduced as an intermediary element between the error information and the main operation panel. This notification bar serves as a mediator that displays error messages without blocking the operation panel, enabling both error notification and continuous access to other functions simultaneously.
2Reliability
If the operation panel is blocked to ensure error resolution, then error acknowledgment is improved, but access to other functions is restricted which is inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The display area is segmented into multiple regions: a notification bar for error messages and the main operation panel for function access. This segmentation allows the system to maintain reliability by tracking unresolved errors while preserving adaptability by keeping the operation panel accessible for other functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The error notification system dynamically manages display priority. When errors occur, notifications are displayed in the notification bar without statically blocking the operation panel. The system adapts between maintaining error awareness and allowing function access based on the error state, rather than forcing a fixed blocking mode.
3Device complexity
If error messages are dismissed after being read, then the display remains clear, but unresolved errors are not tracked leading to repeated notifications
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring whether errors have been resolved and updating the notification display accordingly. When an error occurs, it is displayed in the notification bar; when resolved, the notification is automatically updated or removed. This feedback mechanism prevents information loss while maintaining display simplicity by only showing currently relevant error states.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary tracking of error resolution status before user dismissal actions. By pre-establishing the error state and resolution tracking mechanism, the system ensures that error information is preserved and properly managed regardless of user interaction, preventing information loss while maintaining a simple display interface.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a CPU. When an error occurs, the CPU notifies a user or the like of the error and adds information about the error to an error table. When the error is resolved, the CPU deletes the information about the resolved error from the error table. The CPU refers to the error table and displays, on a display, a home screen in which a badge indicating the number of unresolved errors in each operation mode is displayed. When a mode selection button on which the badge is displayed is touched, the CPU re-notifies the user of the unresolved errors.