Print Setting Screen Display Layout for Incompatible Condition Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printing apparatuses face challenges in providing clear visibility and easy operability for setting print conditions, particularly for beginners, due to complex menu structures and the need for multiple operations to confirm and set print conditions, leading to potential user errors.
Innovation Solution
A display control system that organizes print condition items into separate areas, allowing only compatible items to be selected by disabling incompatible options, and displaying setting condition contents in a lattice-like arrangement to enhance visibility and simplify operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a hierarchical menu and wizard format are used to display print condition setting screen, then the display area can accommodate many functions and print conditions, but the visibility for confirmation of print condition setting deteriorates and complicated operations are required
Solution Approach 1:
The display screen is divided into multiple display areas, with each area dedicated to specific print condition items. This segmentation allows numerous functions and settings to be organized into distinct regions, improving visibility and ease of access without requiring complex hierarchical navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a hierarchical, multi-level menu structure to a spatial, multi-area display layout. By arranging print condition items across different display areas on a single screen, the system enables users to grasp all settings at a glance without navigating through multiple menu levels.
2Ease of operation
If a check screen is provided to enhance visibility for confirmation of print condition setting, then visibility improves, but much time and effort are required to access the check screen and matching settings with check screen content
Solution Approach 1:
The setting screen and check screen functions are merged into a single integrated display. Print condition items are displayed in multiple display areas on the same screen where settings are made, eliminating the need to navigate to a separate check screen and reducing the time required to confirm settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a display control section that acts as an intermediary, automatically organizing and presenting setting information across multiple display areas. This mediator ensures that setting content and confirmation information are consistently displayed without requiring user effort to match them manually.
3Ease of operation
If segments are formulated in a matrix to improve visibility, then visibility improves, but a layered menu results leading to poor visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the hierarchical menu structure and replaces it with a flat, multi-area display layout. By removing the layered navigation complexity, the system maintains improved visibility through spatial organization without introducing the drawbacks of complex menu structures.
4Ease of operation
If a wizard format is used to display setting items sequentially, then operation is simplified, but setting order differs according to each operator and job differences deteriorate user operability
Solution Approach 1:
The display control section dynamically adjusts the arrangement of print condition items across display areas based on the selected job type and operator preferences. This dynamic reorganization maintains simplicity while adapting to different operational contexts, eliminating the rigidity of fixed wizard sequences.
Data Source
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AI summary
A printing apparatus provided with: a display section to display a screen for setting print condition; and a display control section which controls to display in such a way that a plurality of print condition items are displayed in a first display area on the screen, and in a case where a user has selected a plurality of items out of the items displayed in the first display area, setting condition contents related to the selected items are laid out in a second display area different from the first display area, wherein the display control section determines whether each of the print condition items having been selected can coexist with an other print condition item different from the each of the items, and if not, controls the other item not to be selectable from the first display area.