Print Job List Icon Display for Efficient Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Users face difficulties in locating and managing print jobs in a list, especially when multiple jobs are present, making it hard to identify and delete specific jobs or execute printing processes efficiently.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with an information acquisition section, display controller, and print controller that acquires job information, displays print jobs as a list with setting information represented as icons, allowing users to easily select and execute print jobs based on their settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If print jobs are displayed in a list format, then users can select and manage print jobs, but it becomes difficult to locate specific jobs when multiple jobs are present
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the print job list by grouping jobs with similar characteristics (such as the same document name or settings) together. This segmentation allows users to locate specific jobs more easily by navigating through grouped entries rather than individual items, resolving the contradiction between maintaining a comprehensive job list and enabling quick job location.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs visual differentiation (analogous to color changes) by highlighting or marking specific print jobs with distinct visual indicators based on their characteristics, such as priority status, document type, or settings. This visual coding enables users to quickly detect and locate target jobs within the list without increasing the structural complexity of the display.
2Loss of information
If detailed print settings are displayed for each job, then users can identify specific jobs, but the list becomes more complex and harder to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential identification information from detailed print settings and displays only those key attributes in the job list. By taking out and displaying only necessary information (such as document name, priority level, or status) while omitting redundant detailed settings, the system maintains job identification accuracy without increasing list complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an additional dimension of organization by grouping jobs based on shared characteristics rather than displaying all individual settings linearly. This dimensional reorganization allows users to perceive job similarities and differences more effectively, reducing the cognitive load required to identify specific jobs without displaying every detailed setting.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an image forming apparatus capable of displaying a screen so that the contents of print jobs can be grasped immediately.The image forming apparatus includes an information acquisition section that acquires job information at least including information for identifying target print jobs to be displayed in a list and setting information for designating settings of print processes included in the target print jobs in order to display a list of print jobs output from terminals connected to the image forming apparatus so as be able to perform data communication on a screen; a display controller that displays a list of print jobs on the screen based on the job information acquired by the information acquisition section, in which the settings of the print processes designated by the setting information are displayed on a list screen as graphics representing the content of the setting for each setting item; and a print controller that controls execution of print jobs selected by an operation input from among the print jobs displayed in the list.