JP2003256100A - Information processor, application starting method, application starting program and computer readable recording medium for recording application starting program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the deterioration of a display device, and to designate the application executed in the next place without executing special operation. <P>SOLUTION: This information processor has an input device for accepting input from a user, a display device capable of displaying prescribed information, an HD driving device for correspondingly prestoring an application program and an icon, a display control means (S5) for controlling the display device so as to make a display while moving at least one of stored icons when the input is not accepted for a prescribed period by the input device (S1), and a control means (S6) for extracting (S4) and executing the application program corresponding to the selected icon when accepting indication for selecting the icon displayed by the input device (S3). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an application starting method, an application starting program, and a computer-readable recording medium recording the application starting program, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus capable of executing a plurality of application programs, The present invention relates to an application starting method, an application starting program, and a computer-readable recording medium recording the application starting program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a computer has a function generally called a screen saver in order to prevent a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or a cathode ray tube (CRT) from being burned. The screen saver function is a function of stopping the display of an image for protecting the display device or the display of the screen on the display device when the user does not perform an input operation on the computer for a certain period of time.

In the computer having the screen saver function, it is necessary to input arbitrary information from an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse or a touch panel in order to cancel the operation of the protection function. If there is any input from the input device, the screen saver function is canceled assuming that the user intends to use the computer.

When the protection function of the display device by the screen saver function is canceled, the information displayed on the display device is the information displayed by the application program or the like running on the computer before the protection function operates. I do not know if it will be displayed in a normal state.

Further, in a conventional computer having a screen saver function, some information must be input from an input device in order to cancel the screen saver. Further, inputting arbitrary information from the input device only cancels the protection state by the screen saver function, and cannot cause the computer to execute another operation desired by the user.

In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-
In Japanese Patent No. 232758, it is possible to operate a pointing device such as a mouse by inputting a specific key in a state of being protected by a screen saver function, and select an icon arranged on the screen with a pointing device such as a mouse. By doing so, a control method is described in which the user can start the application in the protected state by the screen saver.

[0007]

However, in the control method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-232758, when a desired application program is started, an operation of pressing a specific key while the screen saver function is in a protected state is performed. However, there is a problem that the processing becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and one of the objects of the present invention is to prevent deterioration of a display device and to specially operate an application program to be executed next. An object is to provide an information processing apparatus, an application starting method, an application starting program, and a computer-readable recording medium in which the application starting program can be specified without any specification.

[0009]

According to one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, an information processing apparatus is capable of displaying input information for accepting an input from a user and predetermined information. A display unit, a storage unit in which an application program and a marker are stored in association with each other, and a display for moving and displaying at least one of the stored markers when the input unit does not accept input for a predetermined period. The display control means for controlling the means and the control means for executing the application program corresponding to the selected sign when the instruction to select the sign displayed by the input means are received.

According to the present invention, when an input from the user is not accepted for a predetermined period, at least one of the stored markers is displayed while being moved, and an instruction to select the displayed marker is accepted. , The application program corresponding to the selected indicator is executed. For this reason, when not used for a predetermined period of time, the display screen is changed by using the indicator for instructing the execution of the application, so that the deterioration of the display device is prevented and the application to be executed next does not require a special operation. An information processing device that can be designated can be provided.

Preferably, the storage means stores the plurality of application programs in order of priority, and the display means displays the stored indicators based on the priority order of the application programs.

According to the present invention, since the indicator is displayed based on the priority of the application program, it becomes possible to easily select and execute the application program having a high priority.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an application starting method is an application starting method executed by an information processing apparatus having a storage unit that stores an application program and a sign in association with each other for a predetermined period. When there is no input from the user, a step of displaying while moving at least one of the stored signs, and an application corresponding to the selected sign when the user inputs an instruction to select the displayed sign Executing the program.

According to the present invention, when there is no input from the user for a predetermined period, at least one of the stored signs is displayed while being moved, and the user inputs an instruction to select the displayed sign. In this case, the application program corresponding to the selected indicator is executed. Therefore, when not used for a predetermined period, the display screen changes using the indicator stored in association with the execution command of the application program, so that deterioration of the display device is prevented and the next execution is performed. It is possible to provide an application starting method capable of specifying an application program without performing a special operation.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the application starting program is executed by a computer having a storage unit in which an application program and a sign are stored in association with each other, and no input is made by a user for a predetermined period. In this case, a step of displaying while moving at least one of the stored signs, and a step of executing an application program corresponding to the selected sign when a user inputs an instruction to select the displayed sign Causes the computer to execute.

According to the present invention, when there is no input from the user for a predetermined period, at least one of the stored signs is displayed while being moved, and the user inputs an instruction to select the displayed sign. In this case, the application program corresponding to the selected indicator is executed. Therefore, when not used for a predetermined period of time, the display screen changes using the indicator associated with the application program, so that deterioration of the display device is prevented and special operation of the application program to be executed next is performed. It is possible to provide a computer-readable recording medium in which an application launching program and an application launching program that can be designated without being recorded are recorded.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding members, and the duplicated description will not be repeated.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, an information processing device 10 includes a display device 106 including a CRT or a liquid crystal display device, and a central processing unit (CP) for controlling the entire information processing device 10.
U) 100, a memory including a read only memory (ROM) 102 and a random access memory (RAM) 101, and a communication network 11 such as the Internet.
1 and a communication device 103 for connecting the information processing device 10
An FD drive device 108 in which a flexible disk (FD) can be freely attached and detached, a mouse 104, and a keyboard 1
Including 05 and. Each component of the information processing device 10 is connected to each other via a bus 110.

The ROM 102 is mainly the information processing apparatus 1
An operating system (OS) and application programs executed by the CPU 100 for controlling the entire 0 are stored. The RAM 101 is used as a work area and a data storage area required when the CPU 100 executes an application program.

The display device 106 and the keyboard 105
And may be integrally configured to form a display type touch panel.

Hard disk (HD) drive device 107
Is a storage device for storing data and application programs. It is possible to read and write a large amount of data. Also, the HD boot device has a CP
A plurality of application software to be executed by the U100 is recorded.

The communication network 111 includes the Internet, and various communication lines such as a telephone line, ISDN and ADSL can be applied.

The FD drive device 108 reads a program or data recorded on a flexible disk (FD) and sends it to the CPU 100. Further, according to an instruction from the CPU 100, necessary data is written in the flexible disk (FD).

Here, the program is a concept including not only a program directly executable by the CPU 100 but also a program in a source program format, a compressed program, an encrypted program and the like.

The computer is not limited to the flexible disk (FD), and a computer-readable recording medium can be used. As a computer-readable recording medium,
Tape systems such as magnetic tapes and cassette tapes, magnetic disks (hard disks, etc.) and optical disks (CD-ROM)
Disk systems such as / MO / MD / DVD), card systems such as IC cards (including memory cards) and optical cards,
Alternatively, it is a medium that carries a program fixedly, such as a mask ROM, an EPROM, a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory. Further, the recording medium may be a recording medium that fluidly carries the program so that the program may be downloaded from a network.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the application starting process executed by the information processing apparatus according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, information processing device 10 detects that there is no input from the user from an input device such as keyboard 105 or mouse 104 for a certain period of time (step S1). The information processing device 10 has a timer for measuring time. Then, the period during which the user is not operating the keyboard 105 or the mouse 104 is measured, and when a time longer than a preset period has elapsed, it is detected that there is no input from the user for a certain period of time. If it is detected that there is no input from the user for a certain period of time, the process proceeds to step S2, and if not, the standby state is entered. Instead of the standby state, if it is determined that the input from the user has not been made for a certain period of time, an interrupt may be generated and the following process may be executed.

In step S2, the HD drive 10 is previously
The icon recorded in No. 7 is displayed on the display device 106. Here, the icons displayed on the display device 106 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence table in which icons are associated with application programs. Referring to FIG. 3, the correspondence table is “icon N
o. , Item of “icon name”, and item of “application name”. By thus pairing the icon name and the application name, the icon and the application program are stored in a form associated with each other.

For example, the icon No. Item is "1"
In this data, the icon having the icon name “icon 1” and the application name “return to original” are associated with each other. When the application name is "return to the original", the application program corresponding to the icon of "icon 1" is the application program that was executed immediately before.

Further, the icon No. The data of “2” is associated with the icon of icon name “icon 2” and the application program of application name “mail software”.

The icon name may be the path to the file of the icon itself. The icon name and the path of the file may be associated separately.

In this case, "application name"
For the sake of convenience, the name of the application program that represents the operation is used in the item, but the file path to the application program may be registered. Further, not only the application program but also a file name or a URL (Uniform Resource L) indicating the position of a web (Web) page on the network is included in the “application name” item
Creators), a set of files and application programs that handle the files, and the like may be registered. In the case of the file name, the application associated with the file is started, and in the case of the URL, the browser program is started and the page specified by the registered URL is displayed.

The correspondence table may be stored in the HD drive device 107 in advance, or the user may create a correspondence table and store it in the HD drive device 107. The correspondence table stored in the drive device 107 may be changed, data may be added, or data may be deleted. Furthermore, a correspondence table may be automatically created for all application programs that can be executed by the information processing device 10.

Here, the application program and the icon are associated with each other, but the invention is not limited to the icon, and the image is not limited to the icon as long as it is an image that can be displayed on the display device 106 such as a symbol, a table, or an input screen.

The correspondence table shown in FIG. 3 associates icons with application programs. For example,
The application name "return to original" is recorded in the correspondence table in association with "icon 1". For this reason,
When the icon with the icon name “icon 1” is specified, the application program that was being executed immediately before is executed. Further, the application name of "mail software" is recorded in the correspondence table in association with "icon 2". Therefore, when the icon having the icon name “icon 2” is designated, the application program of “mail software” is executed.

Returning to FIG. 2, in step S2, the icon No. is referred to by referring to the correspondence table stored in the HD drive device 107. The data stored in the correspondence table is accessed in ascending order of the item numbers. And
The icon of the item having the icon name of the data obtained by the access is displayed on the display device 106. In the correspondence table shown in FIG. 3, the icon No. If they are read out in the order of the numbers, the icon names are "icon 1", "icon 2",
The "icon 3" and the "icon 4" are read in this order and displayed on the display device 106.

In step S3, it is determined whether the user has selected the icon. In the selection of the icon, it is detected whether or not the user has selected the icon displayed on the display device 106 by pointing the pointer with the input device such as the keyboard 105 or the mouse 104. If it is detected that the user has selected the icon, the process proceeds to step S4, and if not, the process proceeds to step S5. Here, it is the keyboard 1 that advances to step S5.
In addition to the case where there is no input from the input device such as 05 or the mouse 104, the case where there is input from the input device but the icon is not selected is also included.

For selecting an icon, for example, when the icon is selected using the keyboard 105, the up arrow key and the down arrow key move the object to be selected. Here, the case where the icon 1 is the selection target will be described as an example. By pressing the down arrow key, the icon 2 is changed to the selection target. Then, the information processing apparatus 10 detects that the icon 2 is selected by pressing the line feed key while the icon 2 is the selection target.

Although the up arrow key, the down arrow key, and the line feed key have been described here as an example, the key assignment is not limited to this, and other keys may be assigned. When selecting an icon using the mouse 104, the mouse cursor is displayed on the screen 20 by moving the mouse 104, the mouse cursor is aligned with the displayed icon image, and the mouse button is clicked to perform selection. Be done. At that point, it is detected that the icon is selected by the information processing device 10.
The mouse cursor may be continuously displayed on the screen 20 while the icon is displayed, or the mouse cursor may not be displayed temporarily until it is detected that the mouse 104 moves.

In step S5, the display position of the icon displayed on the display device 106 is set at a fixed time interval or
Display differently at irregular time intervals. By doing so, the same icon is not displayed in the same place for a long time, and it is possible to prevent the image sticking of the display device 106. That is, moving the display of the icon itself has the same effect as the screen saver function. The display position of the icon can be changed with the passage of time, for example, by continuously shifting the icon in a certain direction, by displaying a random number, or by randomly changing the display position. is there. The user can also select and specify these display methods from these display methods.

Further, when the icons included in the correspondence table shown in FIG. 2 are displayed, the icons 1 to 4 displayed on the display device 106 are displayed in a stopped state on the screen of the display device 106. Instead, it is displayed in such a manner that the center of the screen is moved arbitrarily. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the icon from being stopped and displayed at a certain position of the display device 106, and thus to prevent the display device 106 from being deteriorated.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying icons on the display device 106. Referring to FIG. 4, icons 1 to 4 are displayed on screen 20.
The icons 1 to 4 are displayed by moving in the screen in arbitrary directions.

In step S3, although the icon is not selected, when the user inputs something from the input device such as the keyboard 105 or the mouse 104, the movement of the icon moving on the screen is stopped. You may do it. By doing so, it becomes easy to select a moving icon with a mouse or the like. In this case, if there is no further input for a predetermined time after stopping the movement of the icon, the process proceeds to step S3.

Further, the icons may be displayed according to the priority order of the application programs. In this case, in the correspondence table stored in the HD drive device 107, the priority order is stored in advance in association with each application program. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence table to which priority orders are added.
The correspondence table shown in FIG. 5 is obtained by adding an item of “priority order” to the correspondence table shown in FIG. With reference to FIG. But "1", "4", "3",
The priority order is set in the order of "2". Display device 10
As a method of displaying icons according to the order of priority in 6, there is a method of displaying the icons larger in order of higher priority. For example, "icon 1" is replaced by "icon 2"
4 times the size of "icon 4", "icon 4" is 3 times the size of "icon 2", "icon 3" is "icon 2"
It is displayed in twice the size of.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which icons are displayed in different sizes according to the priority order. Referring to FIG. 6, icon 1 is displayed four times as large as icon 2, icon 4 is displayed three times as large as icon 2, and icon 3 is displayed twice as large as icon 2. The scaling factor is not limited to the scaling factor shown in FIG. 6, and other scaling factors may be used, or conversely, icons having lower priorities may be displayed larger.

As another method of displaying the icons on the display device 106 according to the priority order, another icon may be prepared and displayed according to the priority order. Further, the colors may be displayed differently according to the priority order.
For example, an icon with a high priority is displayed with high brightness, and an icon with low priority is displayed with low brightness. Instead of the lightness, the hue may be different, or the lightness and the hue may be different.

Further, when the icons are displayed in an overlapping manner, the icons having a higher priority may be displayed on the upper side, and the icons having a lower priority may be displayed on the lower side.

In the case of displaying an icon on the display device 106, the background image may be the screen output by the application program that was operating immediately before the icon was displayed, or a black background with zero brightness. Good. Further, the image data designated by the user may be displayed. Further, for example, a dedicated program such as a program for displaying time may be operated with the background.

The item of priority shown in FIG. 5 indicates the priority of application programs. The priority value may be specified individually by the user for each application program, or may be registered in advance. Further, the priority order may be changed according to the frequency with which the application program is executed. For example, the higher the number of times the application program is executed, the higher the priority can be set.

Returning to FIG. 2, if the icon is selected in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4. When the user wants to activate the application program in the original state or desired state, the user operates the keyboard 105, the mouse 104, or the input device such as a touch panel included in the information processing device 10 as the user's operation. , Operation of selecting a desired icon.

In step S4, the application table corresponding to the selected icon is searched from the correspondence table stored in the HD drive 107 (step S4).

Then, the retrieved application program is read from the HD drive unit 107, and the CPU 10
It is executed at 0 (step S6). For example, the display device 1
A case where the screen 20 shown in FIG. 6 is displayed in 06 and the user selects the icon 3 will be described. In step S3, assuming that "icon 3" has been selected, the process proceeds to step S4. Then, in step S4, the correspondence table shown in FIG. 5 is searched, and data matching "icon 3" in the "icon name" field is searched. As a result, the icon No. The data of "3" is extracted, and the application name "Address book software" is extracted.

Next, the icon displayed on the display device 106 is erased, and control is passed to the application program started in step S6 (step S7).

By the application starting process described above, it is possible to prevent the display itself of the icon from exerting the screen saver function and degrading the display device 106. Further, since the icon for activating the application program is displayed to the user, the desired application can be easily activated.

As described above, in the information processing device 10 according to the present embodiment, when it is detected that there is no input from the user for a certain period of time, the icon registered in advance is displayed while moving to the display device. Then, when the icon is selected, the associated application program is executed. Therefore, even when the screen saver function is operating, the application program desired by the user can be directly activated without performing a special operation.

Further, since the display form of the icon displayed during the screen saver function is changed according to the priority order registered in advance, the user can easily select the desired application.

Although the information processing apparatus 10 has been described in the present embodiment, the method for executing the application starting process shown in FIG. 2 and the application starting for causing the computer to execute the application starting process shown in FIG. It goes without saying that the invention can be understood as a program.

It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are exemplifications in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description but by the claims, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the claims and all modifications within the scope.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of hardware of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of an application starting process executed by the information processing device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence table in which icons are associated with application programs.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen in which icons are displayed on a display device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence table to which priority orders are added.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which icons are displayed in different sizes according to priority.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 information processing device, 103 communication device, 104 mouse, 105 keyboard, 106 display device, 107
HD drive, 108 FD drive, 110 bus, 1
11 Communication network.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An input unit for receiving an input from a user, a display unit capable of displaying predetermined information, a storage unit in which an application program and a marker are stored in advance in association with each other, and predetermined by the input unit. Display control means for controlling the display means to display while moving at least one of the stored signs when the period input is not accepted, and an instruction for selecting the displayed sign by the input means. An information processing apparatus, comprising: a control unit that executes an application program corresponding to the selected marker when accepted. 2. The storage means stores a plurality of application programs in order of priority, and the display means displays the stored indicator based on the priority order of the application programs.
The information processing device according to 1. 3. A method for starting an application, which is executed by an information processing apparatus having a storage unit that stores an application program and a sign in association with each other, wherein the application is stored when there is no input from a user for a predetermined period. An application including: a step of displaying at least one of the markers while moving; and a step of executing an application program corresponding to the selected marker when an instruction to select the displayed marker is input by a user. starting method. 4. An application starting program executed by a computer having a storage unit that stores an application program and a sign in association with each other, wherein the stored sign is stored when there is no input from the user for a predetermined period. Causing the computer to execute a step of displaying while moving at least one and a step of executing an application program corresponding to the selected sign when an instruction to select the displayed sign is input by the user, Application launcher. 5. A computer-readable recording medium in which the application starting program according to claim 4 is recorded.