Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Mikiya Okada

Terumi Hayashi

Takeshi Tani

Tsutomu Itai

Naohiro Andoh

Hirohito Morioka

Masanori Yamada

Kenichi Ueda

Yoshikazu Kondoh

Hirotaka Kodama

Yoshinori Hayashi

Toshihiro Shoji

Yoshinori Nakahira

Masaaki Kawakami

Kimiko Watanabe

Toshinori Tsujii

An image forming apparatus includes a controller, a storage that stores data, and an image former that forms an image, based on the data. The controller stores data received from an external apparatus, in an individual folder to which a name based on information on the external apparatus is assigned, enables settings for the individual folder, and displays, on a screen that displays the individual folder, the individual folder that is set to satisfy a display condition, regardless of whether or not data is stored in the individual folder.

Image forming apparatus generates folder to store data, appropriately controlling display a folder that satisfy a display condition, and folder display control method

An information processing apparatus includes a display, a storage, and a controller. The controller displays either an execution screen that accepts an execution command of a job or a simple execution screen whose displayed contents are simplified from those of the execution screen, on the display. The storage stores history information related to the job which was instructed to be executed through either the execution screen or the simple execution screen. The controller displays the execution screen or the simple execution screen on the display unit, in accordance with the history information selected by the user.

Information processing apparatus and image communication apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a display device that displays an input screen image and a touch-panel arranged on the display device, and has a trial copy function of producing, when instructed to produce multiple copies of a document, a copy or a copies to allow the user to confirm that the copy or copies are well. When the trial copy function is designated and a copy start key displayed on the input screen image is pressed, the image forming apparatus produces one copy or copies of the document, erases the copy start key from the input screen image, and displays a trial copy key, a trial end key and a balloon including help information. Since keys related to the trial copy are displayed in place of normally displayed keys, operation errors can be reduced and the user can easily execute the trial copy function.

Image forming apparatus and control method thereof

An image forming apparatus includes a display device that displays an input screen image and a touch-panel arranged on the display device, and has a trial copy function of producing, when instructed to produce multiple copies of a document, a copy or copies to allow the user to confirm that the copy or copies are well. When the trial copy function is designated and a copy start key displayed on the input screen image is pressed, the image forming apparatus produces one copy or copies of the document, erases the copy start key from the input screen image, and displays a trial copy key, a trial end key and a balloon including help information. Since keys related to the trial copy are displayed in place of normally displayed keys, operation errors can be reduced and the user can easily execute the trial copy function.

A display operation device has a display-integrated operation panel with a display screen, on which a monochrome copy start key and a color copy start key are displayed. When black-toner-out or color-toner-out occurs, on the monochrome copy start key and the color copy start key, another UI component such as black-toner-out key and color-toner-out key is displayed. Such a UI component is displayed at the display position of the monochrome copy start key and the color copy start key, being superposed on these keys.

Display operation device allocating a plurality of functions to a key, image processing apparatus, and method of receiving user operations

An operation unit is provided with a touch panel display which includes a touch panel, a display panel, and a control portion which causes the display panel to display an operation screen so as to allow the touch panel to provide an operation instruction. The control portion is provided with an area display control portion which displays a function setting area and a task trigger area at positions opposing each other by taking a preview area as a reference on the operation screen, and a display position switching control portion which switches a positional relation in which the function setting areaand the task trigger areaare displayed.

Operation setting device and image forming apparatus provided with the same

An image communication apparatus includes: a display; an input device displaying an address input dialogue on the display, receiving a user input to designate an address of a transmission destination of multicast transmission; storage storing multicast transmission history; an extracting device, connected to the input device and the storage, responsive to the input device receiving an input of an address of a transmission destination of multicast transmission, for extracting, from the multicast transmission history, a multicast transmission history record including the address received by the input device as a transmission destination, and extracting an address different from the address received by the input device, included in the extracted multicast transmission history record, as a candidate of multicast transmission destination; and a control device controlling the display such that the extracted candidate of multicast transmission destination is displayed in the address input dialogue.

Image communication apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a document reader, a storage for storing image data and a control unit. The control unit includes a display image generator, a display panel and a control unit-side controller for giving display guidance on the input status of image data from the document reader, on the display panel. The control unit-side controller has the function that, when image data is input from the document reader, displays display images generated by the display image generator, sequentially in the order of input and displaying the latest display image preferentially in the preview region during input of image data.

Image forming apparatus for sequentially displaying the display images in the input order and displaying the latest display image during input of the image data

In an MFP, use history information collecting functions frequently used user by user and combination information collecting combinations of functions set by users are received from a server and stored in a use history management table and a function combination management table. When a mode is selected by a logged-in user, the use history management table is read and a function highly frequently used by the user is displayed on a touch-panel. When the selected function is established, the function combination management table is read, and a function or functions frequently combined with the established function are displayed on the touch-panel. When a job ends, the selected combination of functions is transmitted to the server.

Information processing apparatus processing function-related information and image forming apparatus including the information processing apparatus or a communication apparatus communicable with the information processing apparatus

A CPU of an MFP executes a program including: a step of receiving information collecting combinations of functions set by a user using an MFP connected to a network from a server computer and storing the information in a function combination management table; a step of reading the function combination management table when a function selected in an MFP is established; a step of displaying three functions of higher priority that are combined with high frequency with the established function, as recommendations; and a step of transmitting, when a job is completed, the combination of selected functions to the server computer, as a job ending process.

Image forming apparatus comprising an information processing apparatus, a combination storage unit, a selecting unit, and a display unit

A CPU of an MFP executes a program including: a step of receiving combination information collecting combinations of functions set by a user from a server computer and storing the information in a function combination management table; a step of reading the function combination management table, when a user logged in to a certain MFP selects a function; a step of reading not-to-be-displayed recommended function for the user from a not-to-be-displayed function management table; a step of displaying a function or functions combined with high frequency with the established function and not set to be not-to-be-displayed, as recommendations on a touch panel display; and a step of storing, when a recommended menu setting button is pressed and a function set as not-to-be-displayed function is established, storing the selected function as the not-to-be-displayed recommended function, in the not-to-be-displayed function management table.

Image forming apparatus displaying function-related information

In an MFP having various and many functions and part of the functions introduced as optional functions, in order to appropriately introduce an optional function related to a frequently used function, a CPU of the MFP executes a program including the steps of; receiving and storing information of an optional function recommended for a standard function used frequently, from an FSS server computer (S); when a function is selected by a logged-in user (YES at S), determining whether or not any recommended optional function is stored (S); when a recommended optional function is stored (YES at S), displaying an image recommending the optional function related to the function selected by the user (S); and transmitting, as a job completing process, selected functions to the FSS server computer (S).

Information processing apparatus presenting recommended optional function to image forming apparatus, and image forming system

An image processing apparatus includes: a platen; a document cover mounted to be opened/closed on the platen; a document reader provided in relation to the platen, for reading an image of a document placed on the platen; an opening/closing detector provided in relation to the platen and the document cover, for detecting opening/closing of the document cover; an operation panel designating how the read document is to be arranged at the time of output; a document output device arranging and outputting the document images read by the document reader, in accordance with the arrangement designated by the operation panel; and a reading operation controller inhibiting document reading, when a specific arrangement of document images is designated by the operation panel and opening/closing operation of the document cover is not detected by the opening/closing detector.

Image processing apparatus and method with reading mistake preventing function during document reading

An image forming system providing a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a processing controller for selecting at least one of the apparatuses and causing the selected apparatus to perform image formation, the plurality of image forming apparatuses and the processing controller being connected to one another through a network, wherein each of the image forming apparatuses includes an other-apparatus information storage section for storing information about one or more other image forming apparatuses as other-apparatus information, and the processing controller includes: an information acquiring section for acquiring the other-apparatus information stored in the other-apparatus information storage section of the selected apparatus through the network; a distributed-processing determination section for determining at least one of the one or more other apparatuses to be used for image formation in cooperation with the selected apparatus or determining that only the selected apparatus should be used for image formation, on the basis of the acquired other-apparatus information; and a commanding section for commanding the corresponding image forming apparatus(es) to perform the image formation, on the basis of the determination made by the distributed-processing determination section.

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Osaka, Japan

Mikiya Okada