JP2002344674A - Operation panel and image forming apparatus including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an operation panel having an interrupt key reduced in size and an image forming apparatus having the same. When a plurality of jobs can be sequentially executed and at least one of a running job and a waiting job is present, the running job is temporarily stopped and another job is executed. Alternatively, an operation panel 1 provided in an image forming apparatus capable of executing an interrupt operation for executing another job prior to a waiting job and having an interrupt key for giving an instruction to the control unit 8 to execute the interrupt operation , A touch panel 3 that displays information for operating the image forming apparatus main body and gives an instruction corresponding to a position touched by a user to the control unit 8 when the user touches the touch panel 3, and the interrupt key is displayed on the touch panel 3. This key is displayed only when the key is displayed on the display and the interrupt operation is enabled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for executing a plurality of jobs sequentially, and when there is at least one of a running job and a waiting job, the running job is temporarily stopped and another job is executed. Operation panel provided in an electronic device capable of executing an interrupt operation for executing a job of the same type or executing another job prior to a waiting job, particularly an operation panel suitably used for a composite image forming apparatus And an image forming apparatus including the operation panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, copy functions, printer functions,
Recently, many complex image forming apparatuses having various functions such as a facsimile (hereinafter, abbreviated as FAX) function and an e-mail transmission function (SCAN TO E-mail function) have appeared. Note that the e-mail transmission function is a function of transmitting an image of a scanned document as e-mail.

Conventionally, in a composite image forming apparatus having such various functions, a group of operations of various functions is managed as one job, and a user can instruct execution of a plurality of jobs. In recent years, many jobs that sequentially execute designated jobs have been developed.

[0004] Jobs include a copy job for copying one document or a series of multiple documents placed on a document table, a print job for printing a specified page of one electronic document specified by a user, and a document. FAX transmission job for facsimile transmission of one document or a series of plural documents placed on the mounting table, reception FAX print job for printing one or more documents received by FAX, There is an e-mail transmission job (SCAN TO E-mail job) for transmitting one original or a series of plural originals as electronic mail (e-mail) via a network.

In such a composite type image forming apparatus, when a plurality of jobs are designated, one job is executed and another job is set as a waiting job (waiting job).
The waiting jobs are stored in the memory, and are sequentially processed after the first job is executed.

In such a composite type image forming apparatus, a user may want to interrupt a running job or a waiting job and execute the job. That is,
While the image forming apparatus is executing a certain job, the user may want to cancel the running job and execute another job, or execute another job prior to the waiting job. For example, while the image forming apparatus is executing a print job instructed via a LAN by a user of a personal computer remote from the installation location, a user who comes near the image forming apparatus There is a case in which the user wants to execute a copy job by interrupting the program.

Conventionally, for an interrupt job of the above-described copy, an interrupt key is provided as a hard key on an operation panel, and by operating the interrupt key, the currently executing job is temporarily interrupted to temporarily stop the copy job. Is performed.

Further, a copying machine has been conventionally known in which an interrupt key for copying is provided as a hard key on an operation panel.

However, providing the interrupt key as a hard key on the operation panel is a hindrance to miniaturization from the viewpoint of the recent miniaturization of image forming apparatuses. Because, as the number of hard keys on the operation panel increases, it becomes more difficult to reduce the size of the operation panel itself, and it is necessary to secure a large space for disposing the operation panel in the image forming apparatus.
This is because it greatly hinders downsizing of the image forming apparatus.

Furthermore, if an interrupt key is provided as a hard key on the operation panel, an interrupt operation can be performed simply by pressing the key, so that at first glance it seems that the user's operation is easy. However, since the state of the image forming apparatus may be in a state where interruption is possible and in a state where interruption is not possible, even if the user presses the interruption key to execute an interruption job, interruption may not be performed. Therefore, it is necessary for the user to press the interrupt key after confirming that the image forming apparatus is in an interruptible state, which causes a problem that the operation for executing the interrupt job cannot be smoothly performed. ing.

On the other hand, in recent years, with the spread of touch panels, various keys are displayed on soft keys on the touch panel, that is, at predetermined positions on the touch panel, and when the user touches the display position, an instruction corresponding to the display position is given to the electronic device main body. It is also widely implemented to be implemented as a key to be given to a user. This eliminates the need for a space for disposing a large number of hard keys on the operation panel, so that the operation panel can be downsized.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-31594 discloses an operation panel of a copying apparatus having an interrupt function.
A display unit (touch panel) with touch keys, which serve as selection keys along with the display of functions, arranged on the display surface
And hard keys such as a start key and a numeric keypad are disclosed.

[0013]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional operation panel, the interrupt key is provided as a hard key, so that a space for arranging the interrupt key hinders downsizing of the operation panel.

The interrupt key is different from a key for performing a normal operation, and is a key for determining whether or not to use the interrupt key according to the situation at each time. Therefore, operability cannot be improved simply by displaying the interrupt key as a soft key without considering the manner of display.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a downsized operation panel having an interrupt key and an image forming apparatus having the same. is there. It is another object of the present invention to provide an operation panel capable of improving the operability of the user by displaying the interrupt key in a manner that is easy for the user to understand, and an image forming apparatus including the same.

[0016]

An operation panel according to the present invention comprises:
In order to solve the above problem, a plurality of jobs can be sequentially executed, and if there is at least one of a running job and a waiting job, the running job is temporarily stopped and another job is executed. Or an electronic device capable of executing an interrupt operation for executing another job prior to a waiting job, and an interrupt key for giving an instruction to the electronic device body to execute the interrupt operation. An operation panel having a touch panel for displaying information for operating the electronic device main body and for giving an instruction to the electronic device main body when the user touches the touched position, wherein the interrupt key is displayed on the touch panel. Key that is displayed on the screen and that it is displayed only when the interrupt operation is enabled. It is a symptom.

According to the above configuration, since the interrupt key is displayed as a key (soft key) on the display on the touch panel, it is not necessary to provide the interrupt key as a hard key on the operation panel. Therefore, the operation panel can be reduced in size, the number of components of the operation panel can be reduced, and the configuration of the operation panel can be further simplified.

Further, according to the above configuration, the interrupt key is displayed only when the interrupt operation is possible, so that it is only necessary to confirm whether or not the interrupt key is displayed, and the interrupt operation is enabled. You can check if there is. Therefore, the work of checking whether or not the user can perform the interrupt operation is facilitated, and the operability is improved.

The keys other than the interrupt key on the operation panel may be hard keys or keys (soft keys) on a display displayed on the touch panel.

The operation panel can display normal operation keys on the touch panel as keys on the display.
It is preferable that the interrupt key is switchable with a normal operation key whose operation content corresponds to the interrupt key, and when the interrupt operation is impossible, it is preferable to display the normal operation key corresponding to the interrupt key and the operation content. Thus, the normal operation keys are also displayed as keys (soft keys) on the display, so that the configuration of the operation panel can be further simplified.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operation panel comprising: an operation panel configured as described above; image forming means for forming an image on a recording material; and image forming means based on an instruction from the operation panel. Control means for controlling the image forming apparatus, wherein the control means can execute at least an image forming job for causing the image forming means to form an image as the job.

According to the above configuration, since the operation panel is miniaturized as described above, the installation space for the operation panel can be reduced, and a miniaturized image forming apparatus can be provided. According to the above configuration, since the operation panel having the simplified configuration is provided as described above, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having a simplified configuration. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, since the operation panel having the improved operability is provided as described above, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus with improved operability.

The operation panel according to the present invention preferably includes an image reading means for reading a document image, a receiving means for externally receiving print data prepared in advance,
A control unit configured to control the image forming unit, the reading unit, and the receiving unit based on an instruction from the operation panel, wherein the control unit is configured to control the print job received by the receiving unit as the image forming job. A print job that causes the image forming unit to form an image based on the data of the document, and a copy job that causes the image forming unit to form an image based on the document image read by the reading unit. The key is used to interrupt the current print job and execute the copy job when there is at least one of the active print job and the standby print job, or to copy the print job before the standby print job. An interrupt copy key for giving an instruction to execute a job to the control unit.

According to the above configuration, the content of the interrupt operation designated by the interrupt key is to interrupt the print job being executed or to lower the priority of the waiting print job and execute the copy job. Copy. Since this interrupt copy operation delays the completion of the print job being executed or the print job waiting, it may not be necessary to perform the interrupt copy operation depending on the situation. Therefore, whether or not to execute the interrupt copy operation at the discretion of each user varies. Therefore, it is desired that the interrupt copy key for executing this interrupt operation is particularly excellent in operability. In the above configuration, the operability of the interrupt copy key can be improved, so that the effect of improving the operability is particularly remarkable.

The touch panel can further display a copy key for giving an instruction for a normal copy operation to execute the copy job without interrupting the print job to the control means. Preferably, the copy key is displayed in the same display area as the interrupt copy key when the operation is not possible.

According to the above configuration, the copy operation interrupt key is displayed when the interrupt copy operation is possible, and when the interrupt copy operation is not possible, the interrupt is displayed in the same display area as the interrupt copy key. There are no copy keys for normal copy operations as keys on the display (soft keys). Thus, the interrupt copy key and the copy key can be displayed in the same display area, so that the display area of the touch panel can be used more efficiently, and the operation panel can be further reduced in size. As a result, a further downsized image forming apparatus can be provided.

Further, according to the above configuration, regardless of whether or not the interrupt copy operation is possible, the copy operation is executed when the user operates a key (interrupt copy key or normal copy key) in the same display area. Therefore, the operability is further improved. Further, since the copy key is also displayed as a soft key, the configuration of the operation panel can be further simplified.

The copy key does not need to indicate the copy operation itself, and may be, for example, a copy mode key for switching the mode from the print mode to the copy mode.

The image forming apparatus further includes an image reading means for reading an original image and a receiving means for externally receiving data for printing prepared in advance. A copy mode for forming an image based on the image read by the image reading means;
A composite type capable of executing at least two of a printer mode for forming an image based on data received by a receiving unit and a facsimile receiving mode for printing based on image data received from the outside via a telephone line. An image forming apparatus is preferred. According to the above configuration, in the case of an image forming apparatus having a plurality of modes, the number of keys for operating a normal operation is increased, and an interrupt operation may be performed in a plurality of modes. With the provision, the normal operation and the interruption operation can be easily operated.

Further, the image forming apparatus further comprises a transmitting means for transmitting the image data to the outside, and an e-mail transmission mode for transmitting the image data to the outside by e-mail based on the image read by the image reading means ( A SCAN TO E-mail mode) or a FAX transmission mode for transmitting image data to the outside through a telephone line based on an image read by the image reading means may be provided.

[0031]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Before describing an embodiment of the present invention, first, a basic configuration of a composite image forming apparatus (electronic apparatus) common to two embodiments of the present invention described below with reference to FIG. A description will be given based on FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the composite image forming apparatus of this basic configuration has an operation panel 1, a key input controller 6, a liquid crystal display controller 7, a control unit (control means) 8, and a storage unit. Unit (storage unit) 9, scanner unit (image reading unit) 10, printing unit (image forming unit) 11, post-processing unit 12, interface (I /
F) section (receiving means, transmitting means) 13 and modem 15 (receiving means, transmitting means).

This image forming apparatus is a multifunction peripheral having a copy function, a printer function, a facsimile transmission function, a facsimile reception function, and an e-mail transmission function. The former four functions are the same as those of the copier, the printer, the FAX transmitter, and the FAX receiver. On the other hand, the e-mail transmission function is a function of transmitting an image read by the scanner unit 10 from the modem 15 as e-mail.

The operation panel 1 has a hard key group 2 for sending a unique instruction signal to a key input controller 6 described later when the user presses the key, and a touch panel 3 for displaying a soft key group. The touch panel 3 also serves as a display unit and an input unit. The touch panel 3 displays information for operating the image forming apparatus main body and displays a plurality of keys for operating the image forming apparatus main body. When the user touches the display position, an instruction signal corresponding to the touched key is sent to a key input controller 6 described later. Hereinafter, keys on the display realized by the touch panel 3 are appropriately referred to as soft keys. The touch panel 3 has a transparent tablet 4 attached to a display screen of a display device. In the present embodiment, a liquid crystal display (hereinafter abbreviated as LCD) 5 is used as a display device from the viewpoint of miniaturization, low power consumption, high resolution, and the like.

The hard key group 2 and the touch panel 3
While connected to the key input controller 6, the LCD
Reference numeral 5 is connected to the LCD display controller 7. The specific functions of the operation panel 1 will be described later.

The key input controller 6 outputs an instruction signal (key input signal or key operation signal) input from the hard key group 2 or the transparent tablet 4 to the control unit 8. The LCD display controller 7 outputs a display signal (display data) corresponding to the content to be displayed to the LCD 5 based on a command from the control unit 8 so that an image based on the display data is displayed on the screen of the LCD 5. It has become.

The key input controller 6 and the LCD display controller 7 together constitute input / display control means for controlling the hard key group 2 and the touch panel 3 which are input / display devices. Therefore, these controllers 6 and 7 output the input information input from the hard key group 2 and the touch panel 3 to the image forming apparatus main body (control section 8), and are processed by the image forming apparatus main body and then hard key again. Various information output to the group 2 and the touch panel 3 is received, and the display of the LCD 5 is controlled based on the various information.

The storage unit 9 includes a ROM (Read-Only Memory) 9
a and a random access memory (RAM) 9b. The ROM 9a stores programs such as a display program, a coordinate conversion program, a key input processing program, and a function execution program. Also, RAM 9
b includes storage areas such as an icon image memory, a display image memory, and a processing condition memory.

The scanner unit 10 is a single document placed on the document table 10a (see FIG. 2), or a plurality of documents transported one by one from the automatic document feeder 16 (see FIG. 2) to the document table 10a. Image information is generated by reading image information from a document and temporarily storing the image data in the RAM 9b. The specific configuration of the scanner unit 10 is not particularly limited. The image data is appropriately image-processed by an image processing unit (not shown) under the control of the control unit 8, and then output to the printing unit 11.

The printing unit 11 forms (prints) an image on a recording material such as paper based on the image data read from the RAM 9b. The specific configuration of the printing unit 11 is as follows.
Although not particularly limited, for example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus can be used.

The post-processing unit 12 performs post-processing such as staple processing, punching processing, or bookbinding processing on a recording material such as paper printed by the printing unit 11. The specific type of the post-processing is appropriately selected depending on the use conditions of the image forming apparatus.

The interface unit 13 is a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as PC) 1 as an information terminal.
4 is connected to a network such as a local area network (LAN), so that data can be transmitted to and received from the PC 14. Interface part 1
3 receives, from the PC 14, data for a print job or data for an e-mail transmission job created in advance,
The data is temporarily stored in the AM 9b.

The modem 15 connects the image forming apparatus main body to an external telephone line. The modem 15 is
At the time of X transmission, after reading the image data from the ROM 9a and converting the image data into an analog signal, the analog signal is transmitted to an external FAX receiver through a telephone line. Further, when receiving a fax, the modem 15 receives an analog signal from an external fax transmitter via a telephone line, converts the received analog signal into image data, and temporarily stores the image data in the RAM 9b.

Further, the modem 15 can be connected to a network such as the Internet through a telephone line by using a communication protocol such as PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol). Also, the modem 15
Can send an e-mail to a destination through a telephone line and a network using a mail transmission protocol such as an e-mail transfer protocol (SMTP).

The control unit 8 operates keys (hard key group 2) operated on the operation panel 1 based on an instruction from the operation panel 1.
And one of a soft key group), and an image is displayed on the screen of the LCD 5 corresponding to the operated key. The control unit 8 communicates with and controls the scanner unit 10, the printing unit 11, the post-processing unit 12, and the like.

The control unit 8 includes a scanner unit 10, a printing unit 11, a post-processing unit 12,
A plurality of jobs can be executed by controlling the interface unit 13, the modem 15, and the like.

The control unit 8 (1) forms an image based on the print data which is input from the external PC 14 to the main body of the image forming apparatus via the interface unit 13 and temporarily stored in the RAM 9b. Print job (hereinafter, referred to as a PC print job), and (2) formation of an image based on image data output from the modem 15 and temporarily stored in the RAM 9b when a fax is received.
(Hereinafter, referred to as a received fax print job), and (3) RAM output from the scanner unit 10
A job for causing the printing unit 11 to form an image based on the document image data temporarily stored in the printer 9b (hereinafter, referred to as a copy job); (4) output from the scanner unit 10 and temporarily stored in the RAM 9b Transmitting the original image data from the modem 15 to the destination computer via a telephone line and a network as an e-mail (hereinafter, referred to as an e-mail transmission job); and
(5) A job for converting the document image data output from the scanner unit 10 and temporarily stored in the RAM 9b into an analog signal by the modem 15 and transmitting the fax to a telephone line (hereinafter, referred to as a fax transmission job). It is feasible.

The control unit 8 can receive a plurality of instructions for executing these various jobs from the operation panel 1 and store and manage information on the designated jobs in the RAM 9b. In addition, the control unit 8
The instructed jobs are sequentially executed based on the job information stored in the AM 9b. Normally, each job is executed in the order in which the instructions are received from the operation panel 1.

The types of jobs executed by the control unit 8 are not limited to the five types of jobs described above. For example, the control unit 8 transmits the original image data output from the scanner unit 10 and temporarily stored in the RAM 9b to the destination computer from the modem 15 through a telephone line and a network in addition to the five types of jobs described above. FTP transmission job (SCAN T) for transferring image files using the file transfer protocol (FTP)
O FTP job).

The composite type image forming apparatus having this basic configuration is not shown in FIG. 1, but in addition to these components, as shown in FIG. An automatic document feeder 16 capable of transporting the document material to the document table 10a of the scanner unit 10, a paper feed unit 17 for supplying the recording material to the printing unit 11, and receiving the recording material printed by the printing unit 11. Tray 18 for receiving the recording material post-processed by the post-processing unit 12, and the like.

[Embodiment 1] An embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, in the composite type image forming apparatus having the basic configuration shown in FIGS. 2 and 1, the control unit 8 determines that at least one of a running job and a waiting job is provided. In this case, it is possible to interrupt the currently executing job and execute another job, or to execute an interrupt operation for executing another job prior to the waiting job. Then, the touch panel 3 sets an interrupt key for inputting an instruction signal for executing the interrupt operation to the control unit 8 via the key input controller 6 only when the interrupt operation is possible.
For example, it is displayed only when there is at least one of a running job and a waiting job.

According to the above configuration, since the interrupt key is a key displayed on the touch panel 3, it is not necessary to provide the interrupt key as a hard key on the operation panel 1, and the operation panel 1 can be downsized. At the same time, the number of parts of the operation panel 1 can be reduced,
The configuration of the operation panel 1 can be further simplified. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the interrupt key is displayed only when the interrupt operation is possible, so it is only necessary to check whether or not the interrupt key is displayed, and it is determined whether the interrupt operation is possible. Can be confirmed. Therefore, the work of checking whether or not the user can perform the interrupt operation is facilitated, and the operability is improved.

Next, the operation panel 1 according to the present embodiment
Will be described in detail.

The operation panel 1 according to the present embodiment is provided on the scanner unit 10 side of the image forming apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 1, a hard key group 2 and a touch panel 3 are provided.

The hard key group 2 includes a start key 20, a numeric keypad 21, a clear key 22, an all clear key 23,
And a condition key group 24.

The start key 20 is a key for starting the operation of the image forming apparatus under the conditions displayed on the screen of the touch panel 3. The numeric keypad 21 is a key for inputting (inputting a number) a set value such as a set copy number displayed on a copy number display section (not shown) of the touch panel 3. The clear key 22 is a key for setting the set value set by the numeric keypad 21 to zero or canceling the immediately preceding input value. The all clear key 23 is a key for returning the display content of the touch panel 3 to the default screen, or for stopping the operation of the image forming apparatus if the image forming apparatus is operating.

The condition key group 24 includes a print mode key 2
5, a scan mode key (image transmission key) 26, a copy mode key 27, and a job status key 28.

The print mode key 25 is a key for switching the operation mode of the image forming apparatus to a print mode capable of executing a print function, for example, a PC print job or a received fax print job when pressed. The execution of the PC print job or the received FAX print job is instructed by the user pressing the print mode key 25, making various settings on the print mode screen, and finally pressing the start key 20.

The scan mode key 26 is used for the scanner unit 1
A scanning function for causing the scanner unit 10 to read the image information of the original by operating the scanner unit 10 and generating the image data and transmitting the generated image data to the outside from the modem 15 via a telephone line, such as a facsimile transmission job and an e-mail transmission job. A key for switching a mode of the image forming apparatus main body to a scan mode that can be executed. The facsimile transmission job, the e-mail transmission job, and the like are instructed to be executed by the user pressing the scan mode key 26, making various settings on the scan mode screen, and finally pressing the start key 20.

The copy mode key 27 is a key for switching the operation mode of the image forming apparatus main body to a copy mode in which a copy job can be executed when pressed. The copy job is instructed to be executed by the user pressing the copy mode key 27, making various settings on the copy mode screen, and finally pressing the start key 20.

The job status key 28 is a key for displaying a job list indicating the progress status (job status) of various jobs described later on the screen of the touch panel 3.

In the condition key group 24, an on-line (ON LINE) lamp 7 is provided near the print mode key 25.
0 and a data (DATA) lamp 71 are provided. The online lamp 70 is lit / non-lit to indicate whether the connection with the external PC 14 is in the online state in the print mode. Data lamp 71
Indicates whether data is transferred from the external PC 14 by lighting / non-lighting. Similarly, a line (LINE) lamp 72 and a data (DATA) lamp 73 are provided near the scan mode key 26. The line lamp 72 indicates by lighting / non-lighting whether or not the modem 15 is connected to the telephone line in the scan mode. The data lamp 73 indicates whether data transmitted from the outside via a telephone line is read by the modem 15 by lighting / non-lighting. Further, the condition key group 24 is provided with custom setting keys 74 for setting various conditions. In the following description, among the condition key group 24, the print mode key 25, the scan mode key 26, and the copy mode key 27 are collectively referred to as "mode keys".

The display screen of the touch panel 3 displays, in addition to displaying various operating conditions, a group of keys for changing the display format of the job list, and a group of soft keys as interrupt keys. Is displayed. Further, the display screen of the touch panel 3 is
When the job status key 28 is pressed, information on the job being executed, on standby, and the completed job (contents and progress of the job, etc.) is displayed as a job list in the order of execution.

Hereinafter, a display screen of the touch panel 3 when the job status key 28 is pressed (hereinafter, referred to as a job status screen) will be described based on a specific example. Here, the interruption operation designated by the interruption key interrupts the print job being executed (the received FAX print job and the PC print job) to execute the copy job, or precedes the waiting print job. An interrupt copy operation for executing a copy job will be described.

First, the soft key group displayed on the job status screen will be described with reference to FIG. However, the display page switching key will be described later.

At the right end of the job status screen, a display area for a display switching key 35 is secured. Also,
At the lower end of the job status screen, there is provided a function soft key area 38 for displaying a display key and an interrupt key for switching types of jobs to be displayed in a list in a job list display area 37 described later. The area other than the display area of the display switching key 35 and the function soft key area 38 on the job status screen is a job list display area 37 for displaying a list of jobs. The job list display area 37 will be described later in detail.

The display switching key 35 is used to change the display format of the job list in the job list display area 37 into a waiting job list display (job queue (JOB QUEUE) display) for displaying a list of running and waiting jobs. This key is used to switch between a completed job list display in which a list of jobs whose execution has been completed is displayed in a list. The display switching key 35 has characters “JOB QUEUE” indicating the display of the standby job list and characters “COMPLETE” indicating the display of the completed job list displayed up and down. Accordingly, one of the characters is shaded (the shaded display is shown by a rectangular frame in FIG. 4). In FIG. 4, the standby job list display is selected, as is apparent from the fact that the character "JOB QUEUE" is surrounded by a rectangular frame.

In the function soft key area 38, as shown in FIG. 4, from the left side, a print job list display key 30, an e-mail transmission job list display key 31, a FAX transmission job list display key 32, and an all job list display key 3
3, and an interrupt key (interrupt copy key) 34 described later are displayed in this order. Key 30-33
Can be selected, and the selected key is displayed in a frame thicker than the frames of the other keys.

A print job list display key 30 displays a print job that is waiting or being executed in the job list display area 37 as a standby print job list when the display switching key 35 has selected the standby job list display. On the other hand, when the completed job display is selected by the display switching key 35, the print job that has been completed is displayed in the job list display area 37 as a completed print job list.

E-mail transmission job list display key 31
When the standby job list display is selected by the display switching key 35, the electronic mail transmission job in standby or in execution is displayed as a standby electronic mail transmission job list in the job list display area 37, and the display switching key When the display of the completed job is selected at 35, the e-mail transmission job that has been completed is displayed as a completed e-mail transmission job list in the job list display area 37.
Is displayed.

The FAX transmission job list display key 32 is
When the standby job list display is selected by the display switching key 35, the waiting or executing fax transmission job is displayed as a standby fax transmission job list in the job list display area 37, and the completed job is displayed by the display switching key 35. When the display is selected, the facsimile transmission job that has been executed is displayed in the job list display area 37 as a completed facsimile transmission job list.

The all job list display key 33 is a key for displaying all types of jobs, and is used in combination with the display switching key 35. When the standby job list display is selected by the display switching key 35, the all job list display key 33 is used for all types of jobs that are waiting or being executed (print job, copy job, e-mail transmission job, and facsimile transmission). The job is displayed in the job list display area 37 as a list of all the waiting jobs, and when the display of the completed job list is selected by the display switching key 35, all types of jobs (print job, copy job, The electronic mail transmission job and the fax transmission job) are displayed in the job list display area 37.

Next, the job list display area 37 will be described in detail.

The job list display area 37 is the
Eight types of job lists are displayed in the job list display area 37 depending on which one of the three keys 30 to 33 is selected and which one of the standby job list display and the completed job list display is selected by the display switching key 35. (Standby print job list, completed print job list, standby e-mail transmission job list, completed e-mail transmission job list, standby FAX transmission job list, completed FAX transmission job list, all standby job list, and all completed job list) Can be done.

Next, among these eight types of job lists, a standby print job list will be described with reference to FIGS.

The waiting print job list is shown in FIGS.
Is displayed in the job list display area 37 when the display of the standby job list is selected by the display switching key 35 and the print job list display key 30 is selected. The queued print job list includes print jobs being executed and waiting (P
C print job and received fax print job). Also, details will be described later,
The interrupt copy job is also displayed in the waiting print job list. Note that the standby print job list in FIGS. 4 and 5 shows a standby print job list when there is one active print job and six standby print jobs. In this case, since the number of jobs that can be displayed in the job list display area 37 at one time is four, the standby print job list is displayed in two pages, and FIG. 4 shows the first page and FIG. The page number is shown. On the other hand, the job status screen of FIG. 6 shows a standby print job list in a state where there is no print job being executed or a print job waiting. At this time, interrupt key 3
4 is not displayed.

In the standby print job list, the leftmost column (column) is a number column indicating the priority processing order (order of execution) as shown in FIGS. , 1, 2, 3... Are numbered for each job. Hereinafter, the jobs numbered as 1, 2, 3,... Are referred to as job 1, job 2, job 3,.

In the waiting print job list, the column next to the number column (on the right side) is an icon column in which icons indicating the type of job are displayed, as shown in FIGS. In the normal state in which the interrupt copy job is not executed, the icon column of the standby print job list includes a PC print icon representing a PC print job or a reception FAX according to the type of the print job.
One of the received fax print icons representing the print job is displayed. In the example of FIG. 4, Job 1, Job 2, and Job 4 are PC print jobs, and Job 3 is a received FAX print job.
While the PC print icons are displayed in rows 2 and 4,
A received fax print icon is displayed on the job 3 line.

In the standby print job list, a column described as “user name / mode name (USER / MODE)” next to the icon column is a user name / mode name column for displaying a user name, a mode name, and the like. . In the case of the standby print job list, in the user name / mode name column, the user name is displayed on the line of the PC print job, and the FAX number of the transmission destination or its registered name is displayed on the line of the received FAX print job. FIG.
In the example, jobs 1, 2, and 4 that are PC print jobs
, A user name is displayed, and a fax number of a transmission destination is displayed in a row of job 3 which is a received fax print job.

In the standby print job list, a column labeled “Registration time (SET TIME)” next to the user name / mode name column is a registration time column indicating the date and time when the job was registered in the standby print job list. It has become. In the registration time column of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the time is displayed on the left side, and the date and time are displayed on the right side. Note that, depending on the usage environment of the image forming apparatus, it may not always be necessary to display the date and time.

In the standby print job list, a column described as “number of pages (SETS)” next to the registration time column indicates the number of pages that have been completed and the total number of pages of the job (the number of pages that have been completed). And the number of waiting pages). In the page number column of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the number of completed pages and the total number of pages of the job are displayed on the left and right sides, respectively, with three-digit numbers including the leading zero. A slash is displayed between the numbers. In all the waiting jobs before being executed, the number on the left side (the number of pages that have been executed) is “000”.
It has become. For example, in the job 2 in FIG. 4, all pages are in a standby state because the job 1 is being executed at this time, and the number on the left side (the number of pages that have been executed) is “000”. ing. Since the job 2 is a job for printing seven pages, the number on the right side (total number of pages of the job) is “007”. On the other hand, since the job 1 being executed at the time of FIG. 4 is a job for executing printing of 15 pages, the number on the right side is “015”. At this point, since the printing of five pages of job 1 has been completed, the number on the left side is “005”.

In the standby print job list, a column labeled “progress status (STATUS)” next to the page number column indicates a progress status indicating whether the job is currently being executed or is in a standby state. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the character of "JOBBING" is displayed on the line of the currently executed job 1, while the job 2 and the subsequent jobs in the standby state are displayed. The text "WAITING" is displayed on the line. The progress column need not be provided when the progress is displayed in another column. As a method of displaying the progress in other columns, for example, a method of blinking only the number of the running job among the numbers displayed in the number column,
A method of changing the character color between the line of the running job and the line of the waiting job, a method of highlighting the entire line representing the running job (horizontal arrangement orthogonal to the columns), and the like can be considered.

In the standby print job list, at the rightmost side of the job list and adjacent to the area of the display switching key 35, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the display page number and the total number of pages of the job list are displayed. And a display page switching key 36 for switching the display page of the job list. The displayed page number of the job list indicates the number of the currently displayed page among the total pages of the job list. The display page number and the total number of pages in the job list are displayed in a format of “(display page number) / (total number of pages)”. For example, in FIG. 4, since the first page out of the total number of two pages is displayed, "1/2" is displayed. On the other hand, in FIG. 5, since the second page of the total two pages is displayed, "2/2" is displayed.

In this embodiment, the display page switching key 36
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an up key 36a for switching the display to display the previous page and a down key 36b for switching the display to display the next page are arranged up and down. The arrangement is arranged. In the displayed page switching key 36, the up key 36a is an arrow key pointing upward, and the down key 36b is an arrow key pointing downward. The up key 36a is
When it is valid, that is, when the previous page exists, it is displayed in a normal density (for example, black), and when it is invalid, that is, when there is no previous page, it is displayed in a light color (for example, gray). Similarly, the down key 36b
Is displayed in a normal density (for example, black) when it is valid (operable), that is, when the next page exists, and is displayed in a light color when it is invalid (inoperable), that is, when there is no next page. (Eg, gray). By displaying the invalid key in a light color in this way, it becomes easy for the user to recognize that the key is invalid. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the first page is displayed, since the previous page does not exist, the up key 36a is lightly displayed and operation becomes impossible. When displaying the first page, if there is a second or subsequent page, the down key 36b is displayed at a normal density and can be operated. on the other hand,
As shown in FIG. 5, when the second page is displayed, on the contrary, the up key 36a is displayed at a normal density and becomes operable.
In this case, since the second page is the last page and there is no next page, the down key 36b is lightly displayed and cannot be operated. Of course, in the examples of FIGS.
Since the page is a page, the down key 36b is lightly displayed in the display of the second page. However, when the third and subsequent pages are present, the down key 36b is not displayed lightly in the display of the second page, and the display is performed at normal density. Displayed and operable.

Next, the completed print job list will be described with reference to FIG.
It will be described based on.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show the completed print job list.
Is displayed by operating the display switching key 35 in the state of. That is, as shown in the job status screen of FIG.
Is displayed in the job list display area 37 when the completed job list display is selected (shaded display) and the print job list display key 30 is selected.

The completed print job list is almost the same as the waiting print job list except that the completed job (PC print job, received fax print job, or interrupt copy job) is displayed. However, in the completed print job list, no number is displayed in the number column.
In the completed print job list, in the progress column,
The character "OK" indicating completion is displayed.

Next, the standby electronic mail transmission job list will be described with reference to FIG.

The waiting e-mail transmission job list is shown in FIG.
6 is displayed by switching to the e-mail transmission job list display key 31 in the state of FIG. That is,
As shown in the job status screen of FIG. 8, when the standby job list display is selected by the display switching key 35 and the e-mail transmission job list display key 31 is selected as shown in the job status screen of FIG. It is displayed in the list display area 37.

At this time, the displayed standby e-mail transmission job list is almost the same as the standby print job list shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 except that the type of the displayed standby job is an e-mail transmission job. is there. First, in the waiting e-mail transmission job list, from the leftmost column, a number column, an icon column, a user name / mode name column,
A registration time column, a page number column, and a progress status column are displayed. However, in this case, an icon indicating the e-mail transmission job is displayed in the icon column. In the user name / mode name column, a destination e-mail address is displayed. Further, in the example of FIG. 8, since there are only two jobs in execution or waiting and only one page to be displayed, the display page switching key 36 includes the up key 36a and the down key 36b.
Are lightly displayed and operation is disabled.

The completed e-mail transmission job list is displayed when the display is switched to the completed job list display by the display switching key 35 in the state of FIG. Although not shown, the completed e-mail transmission job list is almost the same as the waiting e-mail transmission job list except that the completed jobs are displayed. However,
In the completed e-mail transmission job list, the character "OK" indicating completion is displayed in the progress column.

Next, the standby FAX transmission job list will be described with reference to FIG.

The standby FAX transmission job list is displayed when the print job list display key 30 is selected as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, or when the SCAN TO E-mail job list display key 31 is selected as shown in FIG. In this state, it is displayed by switching to the FAX transmission job list display key 32.
That is, as shown in the job status screen of FIG.
Is displayed to select the standby job list, and
When the X transmission job list display key 32 is selected,
It is displayed in the job list display area 37.

At this time, the displayed standby FAX transmission job list is almost the same as the standby print job list shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 except that the displayed standby job type is a FAX transmission job. However, an icon indicating a fax transmission job is displayed in the icon column. In the user name / mode name column, the destination F
The AX number is displayed.

The completed fax transmission job list is displayed when the display is switched to the completed job list display by the display switching key 35 in the state of FIG. Although not shown, the completed FAX transmission job list is almost the same as the standby FAX transmission job list except that the completed jobs are displayed. However, in the completed fax transmission job list, the character “OK” indicating completion is displayed in the progress column.

In the case of the all waiting job list, the display switching key 35 is used to select the waiting job list display.
In addition, when the all job list display key 33 is selected, it is displayed in the job list display area 37. Although not shown, the all standby job list is a sum of a standby print job list, a standby standby email transmission job list, and a standby FAX transmission job list.

Further, the complete job list is displayed in the job list display area 37 when the display of the completed job list is selected by the display switching key 35 and the all job list display key 33 is selected. is there. Although not shown, the complete job list is a sum of a completed print job list, a completed waiting e-mail transmission job list, and a completed FAX transmission job list.

The display format of the job list is not limited to the above example. For example, in the above-described example, the display is switched between the standby job list display and the completed job list display, but both the standby job and the completed job may be displayed in a list. In this case, if the currently executed job is normally displayed on the first line and the completed job is displayed when the up key 36a is pressed, the user can easily understand the job execution status. In the above-described example, the job list is scroll-displayed in page units, but may be scroll-displayed in job units.

Next, an interrupt key which is a feature of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, an interrupt key 34 is displayed in the function soft key area 38 at a slight interval from the keys 30 to 33. The interrupt key 34 is a key for temporarily suspending the currently executed print job and allowing the execution of the copy job. The interrupt key 34 is not always displayed, but is displayed only when a copy job can be interrupted for a print job, that is, only when there is at least one of a running job and a waiting job. It has become. Therefore, as shown in the example of the job status screen shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, there is a print job being executed (job 1) or a print job waiting (jobs 2 to 7), and a print interrupt is possible. In the meantime, the interrupt key 34 is always displayed regardless of whether the first page is displayed as shown in FIG. 4 or the second page is displayed as shown in FIG. You. On the other hand, as shown in the job status screen shown in FIG. 6, when there is no print job being executed or a print job waiting, and a print interrupt is not possible, the interrupt key 34 is not displayed.

In the above-described operation panel 1 of the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, the user operates the interrupt key 34 to execute copying by interruption while the standby print job list shown in FIG. 4 is displayed. When you indicate that
First, the job status screen shown in FIG. 4 changes to a job status screen 39 shown in FIG. That is, the interrupt copy job is inserted in the first line of the standby print job list shown in FIG. 4, and the other jobs are displayed one line lower. At this time, the interrupt key 34 is not displayed in the function soft key area 38 in order to notify the user that the interrupt instruction of the user has been accepted. Further, the display may be performed in a display mode (density, color, presence or absence of blinking, etc.) different from that before the interrupt is instructed. The key operation may be invalidated by changing it to, for example.

The standby print job list after the interrupt copy job is inserted is basically the same as the standby print job list shown in FIG. However, in the line of the interrupt copy job, the character “IN” representing the interrupt is displayed in the number column, and the copy job icon representing the copy job is displayed in the icon column. In addition, since the user name is not input in the interrupt copy job, the copy mode name is displayed instead of the user name in the user name / mode name column of the line of the interrupt copy job. Further, in the case of a copy job, since the total number of pages of the job is unknown until the image reading operation is completed, the symbol "###" indicating that the total number of pages of the job in the line of the interrupt copy job is unknown. Is displayed. Also,
In the progress column of the line of the interrupt copy job, after the reading operation of the original image is started, the character of `` Reading (SCANNING) '' is displayed instead of the character of `` Executing '' until printing starts. It has become.

At this time, the image reading operation of the interrupt copy job is started. In this case, the image of the document set on the automatic document feeder 16 is transferred to the scanner unit 1.
The reading operation is started by 0. However, at this point, the print job that was being executed when the interrupt key 34 was operated until the print operation of the interrupt copy job was executed (in FIG. 4 and FIG. 10, the user name is “OK”).
AMOTO "job 1) is continuously executed.

As described above, since the execution of the print job is continued during the image reading operation of the interrupt copy job, the delay of the print job due to the interruption of the copy job can be minimized.

After the job status screen 39 shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel 3, after a lapse of a predetermined time, the copy mode screen 40 is overlapped with the job status screen 39 as shown in FIG. Is displayed. At this time, the copy mode screen 40 displays
Although displayed so as to overlap most of the job status screen 39 of FIG. 10 including the user name / mode name column, a part of the number column, the icon column, and the user name / mode name column of the standby print job list are It remains displayed on the copy mode screen 40 without being hidden.

As described above, a part of the standby print job list is displayed even while the copy mode screen 40 is being displayed, so that the user can execute the print job list while the copy mode screen 40 is being displayed. And information on the waiting job can be obtained.

In the copy mode screen 40, an external view 47 of the image forming apparatus is displayed at the center. In the external view 47, the position where the document is to be set, that is, the automatic document feeder 16 is displayed as a black inverted triangle. At the upper end of the copy mode screen 40, a message "Interrupt copying is possible. Enter conditions or set a document" is displayed. Also, at the right end of this message, that is, at the upper right end on the copy mode screen 40, a number indicating the number of copies, in this case, 1
The number "1" representing a sheet is displayed. On the left end of the copy mode screen 40, copy function keys such as a special function key 41, a single-sided copy / double-sided copy switching key 42, and an output key 43 are displayed in a default state. For example, one-sided copy / two-sided copy switching key 4
In 2, the default state is one-sided copy.
Further, at the right end of the copy mode screen 40, an exposure condition key 44, a paper selection key 45, and a copy magnification key 4
6 are displayed, and these keys 44 to 4 are displayed.
Reference numeral 6 displays the current conditions (exposure conditions, selected paper, and copy magnification) in addition to the characters indicating the type of key. For example, in FIG. 11, each condition is set to a default value, the exposure condition is automatic exposure adjustment, the selected paper is A4 size paper of automatic paper supply (paper supply by the paper supply unit 17), and the copy magnification is 100%. Has become.

Here, when the paper selection key 45 of the condition keys is operated on the copy mode screen 40 of FIG. 11, the copy mode screen 40 is switched to a copy mode screen for setting the selected paper. This copy mode screen displays keys for setting the selected paper instead of the keys 41 to 43 and the external view 47. For example, when three paper cassettes are vertically mounted on the paper supply unit 17 of the image forming apparatus, the copy mode screen becomes a copy mode screen 50 shown in FIG.
That is, instead of the keys 41 to 43 and the external view 47,
A paper cassette selection key 51 for selecting the upper paper cassette corresponding to the position of the paper cassette, and a paper cassette selection key 5 for selecting the middle paper cassette
2, and a paper cassette selection key 53 for selecting the lower paper cassette are displayed in this order from the top. The paper cassette selection keys 51 to 53 themselves are configured to display a paper size or the like. In this case, “1.B5 vertical”, “2.A3 vertical”, and “3.A4
"Landscape" is displayed. Paper cassette selection key 5
Next to 1 to 53, what kind of paper is set is displayed. In FIG. 12, "plain paper" is displayed. In FIG. 12,
The paper cassette selection key 53 displayed as “3. A4 landscape” is in a selected state, and the frame of the paper cassette selection key 53 is displayed thick.

When the one-sided copy / two-sided copy switching key 42 displaying "one-sided copy" is operated on the copy mode screen 40 of FIG.
Switching to double-sided copying is performed as shown in FIG. Each time the single-sided copy / double-sided copy switching key 42 is operated, the single-sided copy and the double-sided copy are switched.

The user operates the copy mode screen 40 shown in FIG.
When the start key 20 on the operation panel 1 shown in FIG. 3 is operated after inputting various conditions as described above and setting the conditions, the reading of the original by the scanner unit 10 is started, and the operation shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, a message "Reading interrupt copy." Is displayed at the upper end of copy mode screen 40. Note that this case shows a case where the set conditions are two-sided copy, A3 size paper of automatic paper feed, and a copy magnification of 100% (default state). Then, the scanner unit 10
When the reading of the original image is completed, as shown in FIG. 15, the above message displayed at the upper end of the copy mode screen 40 indicates that the reading of the interrupt copy has been completed.
Message.

Scanner unit 1 by interrupt copy job
When the reading of 0 is completed, the job 1 with the user name "OKAMOTO" being executed at the time of the interruption is temporarily suspended. That is, until the reading of the scanner unit 10 by the interrupt copy job is completed, the job 1 being executed at the time of the interrupt is continued. When the job is interrupted, among the image data of job 1 stored in the image memory area for printing in the RAM 9b, the image data of the unprinted page is evacuated to another storage area of the RAM 9b, and up to what page Whether the printing has been performed is stored in the RAM 9b.

On the touch panel 3, after a display screen for displaying a message indicating that the reading of the interrupt copy has been completed, that is, the display screen shown in FIG. 15 is displayed for a predetermined time, the copy mode screen 40 is deleted. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, a job status screen almost similar to the job status screen 39 of FIG. 10 is displayed again. However, unlike the job status screen 39 on this job status screen, the interrupt copy job has a number of 1
The job is displayed in the standby print job list as the (first priority job) job, and the numbers of the other jobs increase by one. At this point, since the total number of pages of the interrupt copy job is known, the total number of pages is also displayed in the page number column of the interrupt copy job.

At this point, the printing operation of the interrupt copy job is started. When the printing operation of the interrupt copy job is started, the interrupt key 34 is not displayed. At this point, the print job that was being executed at the time of the interruption (the print job with the user name “OKAMOTO”) is still being executed, although “in progress” is still displayed in the progress column. Instead of suspending.

Thereafter, when the printing operation of the interrupt copy job is completed, the interrupted print job (job 1) with the user name "OKAMOTO" being executed is restarted. Further, the completed interrupt copy job is added to the completed print job list as shown in FIG. 7, and the job status screen is returned to the state where the standby print job list before the interrupt is displayed as shown in FIG. At this time, if there is at least one of a running job and a waiting job, the interrupt key 34 is displayed.

A series of controls in the image forming apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

First, as shown in FIG. 18, it is determined whether there is at least one of a job being executed (in progress) and a waiting job (S1). If it is determined that there is no running job or waiting job,
As shown in FIG. 6, the standby print job is not displayed in the job list display area 37 of the job status screen, and the interrupt key 34 is not displayed (S2).

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not a fax is received (input of a fax signal from the telephone line to the modem 15) (S3). If a fax is received in S3, the analog signal received by the modem 15 is converted into data and stored in the RAM.
The memory receiving operation for storing the data in the memory 9b is performed (S4). Thereafter, a job for printing the received fax data stored in the RAM 9b by the printing unit 11 is registered as a received fax print job in the standby print job list (S5), and the process returns to S1.

On the other hand, if no fax is received in S3, it is determined whether or not a print job has been received from the PC 14, that is, whether or not print data has been received from the PC 14 via the interface unit 13 (step S3). S6). S
If a print job has been received from the PC 14 in
P is the job for printing the print data received from
C in the standby print job list as a print job (S
7) Return to S1.

Further, if a print job has not been received from the PC 14 in S6, it is determined whether any of the mode keys 25 to 27 has been operated (S8). If any one of the mode keys 25 to 27 is operated, a corresponding mode screen (for example, a job status screen for displaying a standby e-mail transmission job list as shown in FIG.
Is displayed on the touch panel 3 (S9), and the process returns to S1.

Further, if none of the mode keys 25 to 27 is operated in S8, condition keys of any of the displayed mode screens (for example, keys 41 to 46 of the copy mode screen 40 shown in FIG. 11). It is determined whether or not is operated (S10). If any condition key is operated, the condition is displayed on the mode screen corresponding to the condition key (S11), and the process returns to S1.

Further, if the condition key of any mode screen is not operated in S10, it is determined whether or not the start key 20 is operated in any mode screen (S1).
2). If the start key 20 is operated on any mode screen, the operation of the corresponding mode is started (S13), and
Return to 1.

Further, if the start key 20 has not been operated in S12, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed without any key operation (S14). When a predetermined time elapses without any key operation in S14, a standby default screen is displayed (S15), and the process returns to S1. On the other hand, S14
If the predetermined time does not elapse without any key operation, the process directly returns to S1.

If there is at least one of a running job and a waiting job in S1, for example, the process shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a list of standby print jobs is displayed in the job list display area 38 of the job status screen.
Interrupt key 34 on display screen (job status screen)
Is displayed (S16). Then, S17 shown in FIG.
Then, in S17, it is determined whether or not the interrupt key 34 has been operated.

If the interrupt key 34 has not been operated, the job is executed in a mode having at least one of a running job and a waiting job (S1).
8). That is, if there is a running job, the job is executed, and if there is no running job, the waiting job is executed. After executing the job, the process returns to S1.

If the interrupt key 34 has been operated in S17, the interrupt key 34 is not displayed (S19). Alternatively, at this time, the interrupt key 34 may be displayed on the display screen in a different display form. Next, as shown in FIG. 10, for example, the interruption copy job is displayed in the standby print job list on the job status screen, and the interruption position of the copy job is displayed (S20). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (S21). If the predetermined time has not elapsed in S21, this step is repeated until the predetermined time has elapsed. When a predetermined time has elapsed, for example, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the copy mode screen 40
Is displayed (S22).

Next, the process proceeds to S23 in FIG. 20, and the remaining time (Ti) of the interrupt cancel timer is set to a preset value (t1). Thereafter, a copy mode screen 40 with a message as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed to inform the user that input of conditions or setting of a document is necessary (S24). Further, after the interruption cancel timer is started (S25), it is determined whether the timer is up, that is, whether the remaining time (Ti) has become 0 or whether the all clear key 23 (AC key) has been operated (S26). . If the timer is up in S26 or if the all clear key 23 has been operated, the interrupt mode is released (S27) and S1 in FIG.
Return to 7.

If the interrupt cancel timer has not expired in S26 and the all clear key 23 has not been operated, it is determined whether or not the start key 20 has been operated (S28). If the start key 20 has been operated, it is determined whether or not there is a document (S29). S2
If there is no original in S9, the reading operation is stopped (S3
0) After that, the user is notified that a document needs to be set (S31), and the process returns to S26.

If the start key 20 has not been operated in S28, it is determined whether or not the copy condition key (the keys 41 to 46 of the copy mode screen 40 shown in FIG. 11) has been operated (S32). If the copy condition key is operated in S32, the condition corresponding to the operated copy condition key is displayed as shown in, for example, FIGS. 12 and 13 (S3).
3) Then, the process returns to S26.

If the copy condition key is not operated in S32, it is determined whether or not the ten key 21 is operated (S34). If the numeric keypad 21 has been operated in S34, the numerical value input with the numeric keypad 21 is displayed (numbered) on the copy number display section of the touch panel 3 as the copy set number (S35), and the process returns to S26.

Further, if the ten key 21 has not been operated in S34, it is determined whether or not the clear key 22 (C key) has been operated (S36). Clear key 22 in S41
Is operated, the number of copies displayed (number) on the copy number display section of the touch panel 3 is cleared, that is, 0
(S37), the process returns to S26. On the other hand, S36
If the clear key 22 is not operated in step S26,
Return to

If there is an original in S29, the flow advances to S38 in FIG. 21, and in S38, the reading operation of the original by the scanner unit 10 is started, and it is displayed that the reading operation is being performed, for example, as shown in the display screen of FIG. . After the start of the reading operation, it is determined whether or not reading of all the originals by the scanner unit 10 is completed (S39). If the reading has not been completed, it is determined whether or not the document has jammed (jammed) (S40). If there is no paper jam in S40,
It returns to S39.

On the other hand, if there is a document jam in S40, the reading operation is interrupted (S41), and the user is notified of the occurrence of the document jam and the processing (jam processing) necessary to remove the jam. (S42). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the process (recovery) for removing the jam of the document is completed by the user (S43). S43 is repeated until the process of removing the jam of the document is completed. However, when the process of removing the jam of the document is completed, the reading operation is restarted (S44), and the process returns to S39.

If the reading operation of all the originals is completed in S39, it is displayed that the reading operation is completed, for example, as shown in the display screen of FIG. It is determined (S45).

If the remaining number of print jobs currently being executed is larger than the predetermined number in S45, the currently executed print job is interrupted (S46), and the progress of the currently executed print job is stored (S47). Then, the image data of the currently executed print job is saved from the work area in the RAM 9b to another area (S48), and the interrupt copy job is registered at the head of the standby print job list (S50). For example, the number column of the interrupt copy job initially displayed as "IN" as shown in FIG. 10 is changed to the number "1" as shown in the display screen shown in FIG.

If the remaining number of print jobs currently being executed is equal to or smaller than the predetermined number in S45, it is determined whether or not the currently executed print job has been completed (S49). The step of S49 is repeated until the currently executed print job is completed, and when it is determined that the currently executed print job is completed, the interrupt copy job is registered at the head of the standby print job list (S50). .

As described above, in the present embodiment, if the number of remaining print jobs currently being executed is larger than the predetermined number, the currently executed print job is interrupted, while the number of remaining print jobs currently being executed is equal to the predetermined number. If the number is equal to or less than the number of sheets, the currently executing print job is not interrupted, but continues until completed. As a result, when the remaining number of print jobs currently being executed is equal to or less than the predetermined number, the completion of the currently executed print job is expedited. Accordingly, the completion of the currently executed print job can be expedited within a range in which the user who has executed the interrupt copy does not have to wait for a long time.

After S50, as shown in FIG. 16, the copy mode screen 40 is closed, and a job status screen in which the interrupt copy job is inserted at the head of the standby print job list is displayed (S51). Thereafter, the process proceeds to S52 in FIG. 22, and the printing operation of the interrupt copy job is started. At this time, the interrupt copy job is inserted into the waiting print job list. At this time, since the interrupt operation is being performed, the interrupt key 34 is not displayed. However, the interrupt key 34 is displayed in a different form from that before the interrupt operation is started so that the interrupt operation is being performed. The operation of 34 may be invalidated.

Next, it is determined whether or not printing of the interrupt copy job has been completed (S53). If the printing of the interrupt copy job has not been completed, it is determined whether there is a paper jam (S54). If there is no paper jam, the process returns to S53. If there is a paper jam, the printing operation of the interrupt copy job is interrupted (S55), and the user is notified of a process (paper jam process) necessary to remove the paper jam. (S56). Next, it is determined whether or not the paper jam processing by the user has been completed (S57). This step is repeated until the paper jam processing by the user is completed. When the paper jam process is completed, the printing operation of the interrupt copy job is restarted (S58), and the process returns to S53.

When the printing of the interrupt copy job is completed in S53, the interrupt copy job is transferred to a print completed job (S59), and it is determined whether or not the print job is interrupted at the start of the interrupt copy job (S60).
If the print job is not interrupted at the start of the interrupt copy job, the interrupt copy job is deleted from the standby print job list on the job status screen, and the next print job is displayed at the top of the standby print job list (S6).
1). Thereafter, the printing operation of the next print job is started (S62), and the process returns to S1 in FIG.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S60 that the print job was interrupted at the start of the interrupt copy job,
The progress status of the interrupted print job is read (S63),
The interrupted copy job is deleted from the standby print job list on the job status screen, and the interrupted print job is displayed first (S64). Then, the interrupted print job is restarted (S65), and the process returns to S1 in FIG.

As described above, the operation panel 1 according to the present embodiment can execute a plurality of jobs sequentially, and when there is at least one of a job being executed and a job waiting, the job being executed is temporarily stopped. A hard key group 2 including a plurality of keys provided in an electronic device (image forming apparatus) capable of executing an interrupt operation for executing another job by canceling or preceding a waiting job; Operation panel including a display unit for displaying information for the display and a touch panel 3 also serving as an input unit, wherein various keys for operating the electronic device main body (image forming apparatus main body) can be displayed as soft keys on the display. The hard key group 2 includes only normal operation keys related to operations of normal operations other than the interruption operation of the electronic device main body (image forming apparatus main body). Further, the touch panel 3, an interruption key for operating the interrupt operation, interrupt operation in the ready only a configuration to be displayed as a soft key.

According to the above configuration, the interrupt key is displayed as a soft key as appropriate, so that it is not necessary to provide the interrupt key as a hard key.
Can be reduced, and the operation panel 1
Can be further simplified. Whether the interrupt operation is possible depends on the operation status of the electronic device main body (image forming apparatus main body). However, according to the above configuration, the interrupt key is displayed only when the interrupt operation is possible.
The case where the interruption is possible and the case where the interruption is not clear become clearer, and the operation status of the electronic apparatus main body (image forming apparatus main body) related to the interruption can be displayed in a user-friendly manner.

As described above, the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment has the operation panel 1 having the hard key group including a plurality of keys and the touch panel 3 also serving as the display means and the input means, and the storage for storing the image data. A printing unit 11 for performing a printing operation on a recording material; and an operation panel 1, a storage unit 9, and a control unit 8 for controlling the operation of the printing unit 11. Is read, it is possible to cause the printing unit 11 to sequentially execute a plurality of print jobs, and when there is at least one job being executed or waiting, the job being executed is temporarily stopped. In an image forming apparatus capable of performing an interrupt operation for executing another job ahead of a waiting job, the touch panel 3 displays various keys for operating a print operation. Thereby enabling the display as soft keys on a hard key group 2, and consist of only normal operation keys related to the operation of the normal operation other than the interruption operation in the printing operation, further, the touch panel 3,
In this configuration, an interrupt key for operating the interrupt operation is displayed as a soft key only when the interrupt operation is possible.

According to the above configuration, an interrupt key not used when operating the normal operation is displayed as a soft key on the touch panel 3 when necessary, so that it is not necessary to provide the interrupt key as a hard key on the operation panel 1. The configuration of the image forming apparatus itself can be made compact by making the entire operation panel 1 smaller, and the configurations of the operation panel 1 and the image forming apparatus can be further simplified.

In the touch panel 3 of this embodiment,
In the state before the interruption operation is performed, a single window is displayed as shown in FIG. 4 and the like, but a plurality of windows may be displayed in a superimposed manner. When displaying a plurality of windows in a superimposed manner, it is preferable to always display the interrupt key in the foreground window among the plurality of windows. The reason will be described.

When a plurality of windows are displayed in a superimposed manner, if the interrupt key is displayed in the window on the back, the interrupt key 34 may be hidden by the window on the front depending on the display position of the interrupt key 34. May disappear. If the user attempts to execute the interruption operation in such a state, it is necessary to move the window including the interruption key 34 to the foreground before touching the interruption key 34, and the operation of the user becomes complicated.

When the interrupt key 34 is displayed in the window on the back of the plurality of windows, the user can confirm whether or not the interrupt operation is possible in the state as it is. Can not do it.
The reason is that if the interrupt key is not visible, the user does not know whether the interrupt key 34 is hidden by the window in the foreground, or whether the interrupt key 34 is not displayed because the interrupt operation is impossible. It is. Therefore, in order to confirm whether or not the interrupt operation is possible in such a state, the user moves the window including the interrupt key 34 to the foreground and confirms whether or not the interrupt key 34 is displayed. There is a need to. Therefore, the user cannot instantaneously check whether or not the interrupt operation is possible.

On the other hand, according to the above configuration, when a plurality of windows are displayed in a superimposed manner, the interrupt key 34 is always displayed in the foreground window. Therefore, the user can always execute the interruption operation by simply touching the interruption key 34, and the operation of the user is further simplified. Further, the user can confirm whether or not the interrupting operation is possible only by checking whether or not the interrupt key 34 is displayed in the foreground window. Therefore, it is possible for the user to instantly confirm whether or not the interrupt operation is possible. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the operability of the image forming apparatus can be further improved.

When a plurality of windows are displayed in a superimposed manner, it is preferable that the foreground window displaying the interrupt key 34 is a standby window in the copy mode. According to this, usually, only the copy mode among the plurality of modes is a target for performing the timely interrupt operation.
By setting the standby window in the copy mode to the frontmost window, the operability of the image forming apparatus can be further improved.

The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment performs a printing operation (copy job, received FA
X print job, PC print job), an e-mail transmission operation for transmitting image data and the like to the outside by e-mail (e-mail transmission job), and a facsimile transmission operation for transmitting image data from an external FAX terminal and the like by FAX ( FAX transmission job) can be performed in parallel.
Therefore, in the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, in addition to interruption of a copy job (copy operation), interruption of an e-mail transmission job or a fax transmission job may be performed. When interrupting an e-mail transmission job or a facsimile transmission job, it is not possible to interrupt a currently transmitting (executing) job and interrupt another job. You only have to interrupt the job.

In order to enable interruption of a plurality of types of jobs as described above, the interruption key 34 is set to one key,
The screen of each mode in which the interrupt job executed by the interrupt key 34 is displayed (copy mode screen, e-mail mode screen, or FAX mode screen)
May be changed (decided) in response to. However, as shown in FIG. 23, the interruption key 34 includes a copy interruption key 34a for instructing interruption of a copy job, an E-MAIL interruption key 34b for instructing interruption of an e-mail transmission job, and FAX transmission. FA for instructing job interruption
It is preferable that the X interrupt key 34c is a total of three independent keys. With this configuration, the user can easily perform the operation. That is, in such a configuration, in any mode (especially, an e-mail mode or a FAX mode in which a transmission operation whose operation state is difficult to understand), the presence or absence of a waiting job or a running job is immediately determined. Not only can it be confirmed, but it can be immediately interrupted by each interrupt job.

[Embodiment 2] Another embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment differs from the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment in that an operation panel 60 shown in FIG. 24 is provided instead of the operation panel 1 shown in FIG. It has a similar configuration. Operation panel 60
Is provided on the scanner unit 10 side of the image forming apparatus, similar to the operation panel 1, and includes a hard key group 61 and a touch panel 62 as shown in FIG.

The operation panel 60 according to the present embodiment
In the operation panel 1 of the first embodiment, the mode switching keys (keys 25 to 28) included in the hard key group 2 become soft keys, that is, keys (soft keys) on the display displayed on the touch panel 62. Embodiment 1
Is different from the operation panel 1 of FIG.

The hard key group 61 is the same as the hard key group 2 except that the hard key group 61 does not include a mode switching key, and includes a start key 20, a ten key 21, a clear key 22, an all clear key 23, and a custom setting as a condition key group. A key 74 and lamps 70 to 73 are provided.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 24, the touch panel 62 has print mode keys 65, scan mode keys 66, and copy mode keys 6 as mode switching keys.
7 and the job status key 68 can be displayed as soft keys. FIG. 24 shows a state in which there is no print job waiting or no print job being executed. At this time, the interrupt key is not displayed.

Next, the display screen of the touch panel 62 when the job status key 68 is operated will be described with reference to FIG.
It will be described based on. The display screen of FIG. 25 shows the same job contents and progress status as the job status screen of FIG.
The case where the selection states of Nos. To 36 are the same as the job status screen of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 25, the display screen of the touch panel 62 has a display area 69 for displaying a job status screen almost similar to the job status screen displayed on the touch panel 3 in the above embodiment. The print mode key 65, scan mode key 66, interrupt key 64, and job status key 68 can be displayed as soft keys at the right end (the area on the right side of the display area 69) as mode switching keys. However, in the first embodiment, the interrupt key 34 is displayed at the right end of the function soft key area 38. However, in the present embodiment, the interrupt key 64 is
It is displayed in an area on the right side of the display area 69 (an area where keys 65 to 68 are displayed).

In the present embodiment, the interrupt copy job is regarded as a copy, and the copy mode key 67 and the interrupt key 64 are switched and displayed. Specifically, there is a waiting job (at least one of a running job and a waiting job) from a state where there is no waiting print job and no running print job as shown in FIG.
When the interrupt is enabled, the interrupt key 6 is placed in the same area in place of the copy mode key 67 as shown in FIG.
4 is displayed. For example, if a print job (job 1) with the user name “OKAMOTO” is being executed and there are several other waiting jobs (executing job and waiting job), the copy mode key 67 is replaced with the copy mode key 67. Interrupt key 64
Is displayed to clearly indicate that interrupt copying is possible.

On the other hand, as in the display screen shown in FIG. 26 (the display screen corresponding to FIG. 6), there is no job being executed or waiting, and there is no necessity to execute the interrupt copy job. A copy mode key 67 is displayed in place of the interrupt key 64 in the area of the display screen 25 where the interrupt key 64 is displayed.

When the interrupt key 64 is operated to execute the interrupt copy job, as shown in FIG. 27, the frame of the interrupt key 64 is displayed in bold to indicate that the interrupt operation is being executed. Similar to the display screen of FIG. 11 in the first embodiment, the copy mode screen 40 is displayed so as to overlap most of the job status screen.
Is displayed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the interrupt key 64 and the copy mode key 67 are switched and displayed according to the presence or absence of a waiting job (at least one of a running job and a waiting job). Since the soft keys are arranged in the same area as the mode keys 65 and 66, the number of soft keys to be displayed at one time can be reduced, and the display area of the soft keys can be reduced. In addition, since the mode switching keys 65 to 67 are collected and displayed in the same area of the display screen, the operability of the operation panel 60 can be improved.

[0164]

As described above, the operation panel of the present invention has the following features.
A touch panel that displays information for operating the electronic device body and gives an instruction to the electronic device body when a user touches the touched position, and an interrupt key is a key on the display displayed on the touch panel. And is displayed only when the interrupt operation is possible.

According to the above configuration, since the interrupt key is displayed as a key (soft key) on the display on the touch panel, it is not necessary to provide the interrupt key as a hard key on the operation panel. Therefore, the operation panel can be reduced in size, the number of components of the operation panel can be reduced, and the configuration of the operation panel can be further simplified. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the interrupt key is displayed only when the interrupt operation is possible. Therefore, it is only necessary to check whether or not the interrupt key is displayed to determine whether the interrupt operation is possible. Can be confirmed, and operability is improved. Therefore, the above-described configuration has an effect that a downsizing and a simplification of the configuration can be achieved, and an operation panel with improved operability can be provided.

As described above, the operation panel according to the present invention includes the operation panel having the above-described configuration, image forming means for forming an image on a recording material, and control for controlling the image forming means based on an instruction from the operation panel. Means, wherein the control means can execute at least an image forming job for causing the image forming means to form an image as the job.

According to the above configuration, since the above-described operation panel is provided, downsizing and simplification of the configuration are achieved.
In addition, an effect that an image forming apparatus with improved operability can be provided is obtained.

The operation panel of the present invention preferably includes an image reading means for reading a document image, a receiving means for externally receiving print data created in advance,
A control unit configured to control the image forming unit, the reading unit, and the receiving unit based on an instruction from the operation panel, wherein the control unit is configured to control the print job received by the receiving unit as the image forming job. A print job that causes the image forming unit to form an image based on the data of the document, and a copy job that causes the image forming unit to form an image based on the document image read by the reading unit. The key is used to interrupt the current print job and execute the copy job when there is at least one of the active print job and the standby print job, or to copy the print job before the standby print job. This is an interrupt copy key for giving an instruction to execute a job to the control means.

It is desired that the interrupt copy key for executing the interrupt copy operation, which may or may not be executed at the discretion of each user, has particularly excellent operability. In the above configuration, the operability of the interrupt copy key can be improved, so that the effect of improving the operability is particularly remarkable.

The touch panel can further display a copy key for giving an instruction for a normal copy operation to execute the copy job without interrupting the print job to the control means. Preferably, the copy key is displayed in the same display area as the interrupt copy key when the operation is not possible.

According to the above configuration, the interrupt copy key and the copy key can be displayed in the same display area, so that the display area of the touch panel can be used more efficiently and the operation panel can be further downsized. it can. As a result, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that is further downsized. Further, according to the above configuration, regardless of whether the interrupt copy operation is possible or not, the copy operation can be executed by the user operating the key in the same display area, so that the operability is further improved. The effect is also obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a configuration of an operation panel provided in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a job status screen displayed on the touch panel of the operation panel, showing a first page of a standby print job list.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating an example of a job status screen when a second page of a standby print job list is displayed.

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating an example of a job status screen when there is no print job registered in a standby print job list.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating an example of a job status screen when a completed print job list is displayed.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an example of a job status screen when a standby e-mail transmission job list is displayed.

FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating an example of a job status screen when a standby FAX transmission job list is displayed.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an example of a job status screen immediately after an interrupt key is operated while a standby FAX transmission job list is displayed.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an example of a display screen of the touch panel when a copy mode screen is displayed after a predetermined time has elapsed after operating an interrupt key.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an example of a display screen of the touch panel when a paper selection key on the copy mode screen is operated.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing an example of a display screen of the touch panel when a single-sided copy / double-sided copy switching key on the copy mode screen is operated.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing an example of a display screen of the touch panel when an operation of reading an interrupt copy is being performed.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an example of a display screen of the touch panel when an interrupt copy reading operation is completed.

FIG. 16 shows a display screen (job status screen) of the touch panel after a predetermined time has elapsed after the reading operation of the interrupt copy has been completed and the copy mode screen has been closed.
It is a top view which shows an example.

FIG. 17 is a display screen (job status screen) on the touch panel after the printing operation of the interrupt copy job is completed.
It is a top view which shows an example.

FIG. 18 is a part of a flowchart showing a series of controls in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows another part of the flowchart.

FIG. 20 is yet another part of the flowchart.

FIG. 21 is still another part of the flowchart.

FIG. 22 is the remaining part of the above flowchart.

FIG. 23 is a plan view showing an example of a display screen (job status screen) of the touch panel displaying a plurality of types of interrupt keys.

FIG. 24 is a plan view showing a configuration of an operation panel provided in an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a plan view showing an example of a job status screen displayed on the touch panel provided in the operation panel of FIG. 21 when the first page of the standby print job list is displayed.

26 is a plan view showing an example of a job status screen when there are no more print jobs registered in the standby print job list on the operation panel of FIG. 21.

FIG. 27 is a plan view showing an example of a display screen of the touch panel when a copy mode screen is displayed after a predetermined time has elapsed after operating an interrupt key on the operation panel of FIG. 21;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 operation panel 3 touch panel 8 control unit (control unit) 10 scanner unit (image reading unit) 11 printing unit (image forming unit) 13 interface unit (receiving unit) 15 modem (receiving unit) 34 interrupt key (interrupt copy key) 60 Operation panel 62 Touch panel 64 Interrupt key (interrupt copy key) 67 Copy mode key (copy key)

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AP03 AP04 AP07 CQ04 CQ24 CQ34 HN04 HR01 HR04 5C062 AA05 AB17 AB20 AB22 AB38 AC04 AC05 AC21 AC34 AE15

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of jobs can be sequentially executed and at least one of a running job and a waiting job exists, the running job is temporarily stopped and another job is executed. An operation panel provided in an electronic device capable of executing an interrupt operation for executing another job prior to a waiting job, and having an interrupt key for giving an instruction to execute the interrupt operation to the electronic device body. A touch panel that displays information for operating the electronic device main body and gives an instruction to the electronic device main body according to a touched position when the user touches the touch panel. The interrupt key is displayed on the touch panel. The operation is characterized in that the key is displayed only when the interrupt operation is enabled. Nell. 2. The control panel according to claim 1, further comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material; and a control unit that controls the image forming unit based on an instruction from the operation panel. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the means can execute at least an image forming job for causing the image forming means to form an image as the job. 3. An image reading means for reading a document image, a receiving means for externally receiving printing data prepared in advance, an image forming means, an image reading means based on an instruction from an operation panel. Means, and control means for controlling the receiving means, wherein the control means performs, as the image forming job, an image forming means for forming an image based on the print data received by the receiving means. A print job to be performed, and a copy job to cause the image forming unit to form an image based on the document image read by the reading unit. If there is at least one of the following, interrupt the current print job and execute the copy job, or 3. An image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said image forming apparatus is an interrupt copy key for giving an instruction to execute a copy job to said control means. 4. The touch panel can further display a copy key for giving an instruction for a normal copy operation to execute the copy job without interrupting the print job to the control means, and 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the copy key is displayed in the same display area as the interrupt copy key when the interrupt operation is not possible.