Electrographic reproduction apparatus are provided with an operator control panel for allowing an operator to program the apparatus for a reproduction run. In its simplest form, the control panel includes several dedicated (hard) buttons and switches for selecting features for a reproduction run, as well as visual indicators for informing the operator which features were selected. The operator control panel can also have a display for displaying messages. The control panel also includes keys and buttons for altering the display to indicate selected options. (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,222, issued May 12, 1992, to Wilson et al.) The display may also include a touchscreen overlay having "soft buttons" for providing operator input to the reproduction apparatus. (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,880, issued Sep. 3, 1991 to Evanitsky et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,958, issued Oct. 29, 1991 to Bunker et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,220, issued Apr. 14, 1992 to Knodt et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,931, issued Sep. 17, 1991 to Knodt; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,551, issued Apr. 23, 1991 to Goldsmith et al.)
Because of the complexity and diversity of features of electrographic reproduction apparatus, it is difficult for an operator to possess all of the information needed to understand all of these features. Therefore, it is common to provide an information button to allow access by the operator to additional information about a feature stored in an information system of the reproduction apparatus, as discussed in the aforementioned patents. A problem arises, however, with the speed with which information about a specific feature is available. Typically, actuating the information button causes a main menu screen to appear on the display, and requires scanning through one or more feature screens before the desired information is displayed. Such scanning is both time-consuming and inefficient.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds