The present invention relates to xerography or printing systems, in particularly, those systems having a color print output. More specifically, the subject invention relates to a user interface for selectively adjusting hue of a color print. However, it will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that the invention could be readily adapted for other adjustable features of a print or display output as, for example, chroma, luminescence, or where similar user interfaces are employed to implement operator preferences.
The printing or display of image information via a printer, copier, or personal computer can be controlled by an operator through a variety of interfaces. Common interfaces comprise a number of systems and devices such as a combination touch pad and display screen, a keypad or a mouse control often accessing a tool bar for icon display of system features and options, all having some capacity for controlling a printer or display. To facilitate operator ease of use of the interface controls, such systems are known to include a representative illustration identifying a consequence of a control command. Such illustrations typically comprise an icon which will represent a state or change of state in response to a user instruction. A common example is a representation of paper size in a copying system as the user adjusts printing output from letter, to A4 to legal or other sizes. A problem with such representative icons is that they fail to communicate an accurate identification of consequences of subtle appearance changes in the output such as may occur in color printing from minor adjustments of the input controls. In particular, an icon representing a system state may fail to adequately communicate an accurate indication of the system output. On the other hand, where a number of controls are being adjusted, an icon identifying relative adjustment away from a preexisting default state, can merely identify a tendency away from the default state, but also cannot accurately and adequately represent the consequence on the output. For example, adjustments in hue control such as hue shift are usually available to a user to satisfy a particular user""s preferences. The phrases xe2x80x9chue shiftxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chue controlxe2x80x9d are used to describe the changes in the attributes of the perceived color by an operator throughout a full color spectrum. Such a spectrum is directly related to different light wave lengths as perceived by a human user and, for example, will comprise a continuous color spectrum comprising red, yellow, green, blue, purple and magenta. See Billmeyer and Saltzman, Principles of Color Technology, Second Edition, Chapter 2, xe2x80x9cDescribing Color xe2x80x9dJohn Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1981.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art implementation of a control interface for a color copier for shifting color hue. The interface comprises a screen on an LCD display also including touch screen controls. In this implementation, concentric color spectrum rings are used to suggest an effect of a user adjustment. More particularly, the inner ring 10 defines a reference of the red, yellow, green, cyan, blue and magenta spectrum as an indicator of how the colors of the original input image should be perceived by the copier system.
The outer ring 12 comprises an identical spectrum which at a default state is exactly aligned with the inner ring to indicate that the output print will have an identical system hue as the input hue. However, a user upon checking the print output, may determine that the output hue is unacceptable or improvable. As a practical matter, most users will endeavor to shift color hue in an effort to improve skin tone of the output print image, but present systems provide no representative image which is more accurately indicative of how the shift will affect the overall output, and the user will often have to step through a number of copy operations until, by trial and error, an acceptable print output is obtained. Without such trial and error operations, it is very difficult for an operator to envision changes to a color hue as they are implemented throughout the entire spectrum of output print colors merely as a consequence of trying to improve a skin tone so that such effort can be a tedious problem to overcome.
More specifically and with reference to a copying operation, this feature allows a shift in all of the colors towards the adjacent hue. Another example of where this can be useful is when the document being copied does not have quite the correct colors for the application. By touching one of the two arrow buttons (14, 16) one can cause the overall copy colors to be shifted.
The inner color ring 10 represents the colors of the document being copied and rotates to indicate the direction in which the colors shift. The outer ring 12 represents the colors that appear on the copy (not shown). For example, if the right arrow button 14 is selected, the red colors R shift towards the yellow hue Y, blue colors B shift towards the magenta hue M, and green colors G, shift towards the cyan hue C. All colors in between these colors also shift in the same direction.
If the left arrow button 14 is selected, the red colors R shift towards the magenta hue M, blue colors B shift towards the cyan hue C, and green colors G shift towards the yellow hue Y. Again, all colors in between these colors also shift in the same direction.
The interface system of FIG. 1, although suggesting a shift in color hue, fails to apprise a user of an accurate consequence of the shift for an adequate determination of how much or how little shift is appropriate. Trial and error must be used.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved hue shift control system which overcomes the problems referenced above and others to provide a new color controller which is simple in design, readily understandable by a user, easy to operate, and which provides improved communication of hue shift commands with reference to a dynamic image representation of a print output.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a control system for a color printer or copier including a user interface for selectively adjusting a print output. The system comprises an illustrative representation of an adjustable color spectrum suggesting to the user a color range for the output. The user interface also has a selective control including an indicator of the user input command and for representing an effect of the user command on the output. A dynamic image representation suggesting the effect on the print output concurrently communicates an adjustment in the appearance of the print output in accordance with the implementation of the user commands. The image representation thus provides a good indicator to the user of the effect of a change in hue command across the whole entirety of the color spectrum so that the user can more quickly and efficiently identify the likely effects of such control commands on the print output.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the selective control comprises a slide bar suggestive of the color hue spectrum. A touch-sensitive mechanism overlay allows the user to implement commands so that the slide bar moves relative to the representation of the color spectrum to suggest to the user the consequences in hue shift as a result of the input control command.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, the dynamic image representation includes a skin tone portion displayed in an environment substantially including the rest of the color spectrum. The consequence of hue shift commands can thus be perceived by the user not only with reference to the skin tone of the image representation but of the effects on other portions of the image representation.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, both the indicator and the dynamic image representation concurrently communicate consequences of the user commands to jointly indicate to the user the probable consequences of the commands on the print output.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, the interface includes a selective default setting for a relative setting of the hue control.
One benefit obtained by use of the present invention is a control system wherein the user interface provides a dynamic image representation as part of a display or control panel wherein a direct indication is displayed of the effect of a change or shift in the feature of the output resulting from the user command. The image is represented in concert with a reference representation of a spectrum of printed attributes for accurately communicating an identified change in a basic spectrum relative to the associated image representation.
Another benefit obtained by use of the present invention is a control system which provides improved communication of the effects in hue shifts. When a user shifts overall copier or print color to an adjacent hue, the effect of the color shift on the entire spectrum is appreciable along with the likely consequence of the change in appearance of a print output.
A more limited benefit of the subject invention is that the controller has a default position for a predetermined standard position for the controller, which standard position also is easily understood and represented by the user interface and image representation.
Other benefits and advantages for the subject new user interface and printer controller will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the specification.