Print Job Display Control for New Arrival Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses require manual selection of newly-registered print jobs, leading to inefficiencies as users must sift through multiple jobs to find and deselect unnecessary ones, often resulting in incorrect selections during the printing process.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with a registration unit, display control unit, and storage unit that tracks the state of print jobs, allowing users to easily select and print only newly-arrived jobs by displaying unread jobs separately and enabling collective selection and deselection based on user operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual selection of print jobs is used, then users can select specific jobs, but users must sift through multiple jobs to find newly-arrived jobs, increasing operation time and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies visual differentiation by displaying newly-arrived jobs with distinct visual indicators (such as different colors or icons) in the job list, allowing users to quickly identify and select newly-arrived jobs without manually searching through all jobs. This visual cue system resolves the contradiction by making newly-arrived jobs immediately recognizable, thereby improving ease of operation while reducing the time required to locate and select them.
2Ease of operation
If all print jobs are collectively selected, then selection process is simplified, but print jobs other than newly-arrived jobs are also selected, causing incorrect printing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the job list into distinct categories: newly-arrived jobs and existing jobs. By providing separate selection mechanisms for each category (such as a dedicated button for newly-arrived jobs), the system allows users to selectively print only the desired jobs. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by maintaining simple selection operations while ensuring accurate job selection through category-based differentiation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses visual indicators to distinguish newly-arrived jobs from existing jobs in the list. This visual differentiation allows users to understand what will be selected before confirming the operation, thereby maintaining simple selection processes while improving selection accuracy and preventing incorrect printing of unwanted jobs.
3Ease of operation
If manual cancellation of selected jobs is allowed, then users can deselect unwanted jobs, but users must find and deselect each unwanted job one by one, increasing operation complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent provides separate selection buttons for different job categories (newly-arrived jobs vs. all jobs). This segmentation eliminates the need for manual deselection by allowing users to directly select only the desired category, thereby maintaining the ability to control job selection while significantly reducing operation complexity.
4Ease of operation
If no visual indication of newly-arrived jobs is provided, then the interface is simpler, but users cannot easily identify which jobs are newly-arrived
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces visual indicators (such as color coding or icons) to mark newly-arrived jobs in the display interface. These indicators provide immediate visual feedback to users about which jobs are newly-arrived, thereby improving ease of identification. The design carefully balances this added functionality with interface simplicity by using intuitive visual cues rather than complex display mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus registers print jobs based on received print data and executes image formation based on a print job selected from the registered print jobs. The image forming apparatus stores a new arrival/not-new arrival state of print jobs, which enables selection of just the newly-arrived print jobs.