Image Forming Apparatus Print Data Selection Screen
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Solution Overview
Problem
In image forming systems where the acquisition source of bibliographic information and print data differ, users face inconvenience as unacquirable print data is displayed alongside acquirable data, making it difficult to distinguish between the two.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus is designed to communicate with external devices, featuring a display unit, storage unit, and control unit that processes bibliographic information to differentiate between acquirable and unacquirable print data, displaying them in distinct states on the selection screen.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the image forming apparatus displays all print data including unacquirable data on the selection screen, then the completeness of information is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates because users cannot easily distinguish between acquirable and unacquirable print data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different visual properties to different types of print data. Acquirable print data is displayed with one visual state (e.g., normal display), while unacquirable print data is displayed with a different visual state (e.g., different color, icon, or highlighting). This allows all data to be displayed complete while making it easy for users to distinguish between acquirable and unacquirable data at a glance.
2Quantity of substance
If the image forming apparatus displays identification information for all print data in a list, then the quantity of information provided is improved, but the ease of operation worsens due to inconvenience in distinguishing acquirable from unacquirable data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes color changes as a visual differentiation method. Different colors or color intensities are applied to identify acquirable versus unacquirable print data in the list. This maintains the complete information display while providing immediate visual cues that help users quickly identify which data can be acquired and which cannot, thereby improving ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an image forming apparatus including a display, a storage unit, an image forming unit, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to perform acquiring bibliographic information about a plurality of print data including the first print data and the second print data, and then displaying a print data selection screen on the display unit based on the bibliographic information so that an instruction to select the print data based on which the image forming unit forms the image can be issued, determining that the first print data can be acquired from the external apparatus and bringing the selection screen into a first display state, and determining that the first print data cannot be acquired from the external apparatus and bringing the selection screen into a second display state.