JP2020102229A - Portable information terminal and method for recommending application - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a desirable usage to a user about recommendation of application software in the portable information terminal.SOLUTION: The portable information terminal uses an application as a recommendation candidate when the situation of the portable information terminal satisfies the condition for the application, and recommends the application when the application also satisfies a preset recommendation permission condition. In that way, a portable information terminal easily usable for a user and a method for recommending the application can be provided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to application software recommendation technology and screen display control technology for mobile information terminals.

2. Description of the Related Art Mobile information terminals such as mobile phones, smart phones, and tablet terminals are significantly improved in performance and multifunction. Many useful application software (hereinafter referred to as "apps") are also provided, and it is common to store various apps in the built-in storage of a mobile information terminal and use the apps properly according to the situation. Has become.

However, it is difficult for the user to always recognize what kind of application is suitable for use according to each situation, and there is a problem that an opportunity to use an appropriate application is missed. As a method for solving this problem, for example, there is a technique disclosed in US Patent Publication 2013/0339345 (Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 describes that, according to the location of the mobile information terminal, a suitable application is recommended for the location.

US Publication No. 2013/0339345

Patent Document 1 describes that it is possible to use an appropriate application according to the location of the mobile information terminal from among many applications. However, the recommendation of the application according to Patent Document 1 is made based on the condition (location) that the condition of the mobile information terminal satisfies, and in some cases, the number of recommended applications becomes too large, and a display is displayed when there are many recommended 1 applications. The method is not taken into consideration, and there is a possibility that it may be less convenient. For example, when the recommendation application introduces a service of a store, the recommendation of the application may be congested in a densely populated area such as a downtown area. When the recommendation of the application is based on the icon display, there may be a problem that the icons cannot be displayed depending on the size of the display area.

Further, although Patent Document 1 describes a method of narrowing down recommended applications from ranking data of applications at that location, there is a problem that this method does not necessarily reflect user preferences.

An object of the present invention is to provide a portable information terminal capable of providing a user with more suitable usability in consideration of the above problems, and an application recommendation method thereof.

In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, the composition described in a claim is adopted, for example. The present invention includes a plurality of means for solving the above problems. As an example thereof, a portable information terminal is a candidate for recommendation when the situation of the portable information terminal satisfies a condition corresponding to the application. In addition, the application is recommended when the application further satisfies a preset recommendation permission condition.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the portable information terminal which can provide a user with suitable usability, and the application recommendation method can be provided.

1 is a configuration diagram of a communication system including a mobile information terminal according to a first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the mobile information terminal according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an application recommendation process according to the first embodiment. 6 is a detailed flowchart illustrating an application recommendation process according to the first exemplary embodiment. 6 is a screen display example illustrating recommendation permission condition setting of the recommendation application according to the first embodiment. 6 is a screen display example illustrating a display of a recommended application according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating cooperation between a mobile information terminal according to a second embodiment and a wristwatch type display terminal different from the portable information terminal. FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating cooperation between a mobile information terminal according to a second embodiment and a display terminal of a different glasses type. 7B is a display example of the wristwatch type display terminal of FIG. 7A. 7B is another display example of the wristwatch type display terminal of FIG. 7A. It is an example of a display of the spectacles type display terminal of FIG. 7B. 8 is another display example of the glasses-type display terminal of FIG. 7B. 13 is a screen display example illustrating a display of a recommended application according to the third embodiment. 13 is a screen display example illustrating another display of the recommended application according to the third embodiment. 13 is a screen display example illustrating another display of the recommended application according to the third embodiment. 13 is a screen display example illustrating another display of the recommended application according to the third embodiment. 13 is a screen display example illustrating another display of the recommended application according to the third embodiment. 9 is a screen display example illustrating a display restriction of a recommended application according to a fourth embodiment. 14 is another screen display example for explaining the display restriction of the recommended application according to the fourth embodiment. 17 is a screen display example illustrating setting of permission to refer to information for selecting a recommended application according to the fifth embodiment. 17 is a screen display example illustrating a setting for saving an icon of a recommended application according to the sixth exemplary embodiment. 19 is a screen display example illustrating option setting of a recommended application according to a seventh embodiment. 19 is a screen display example illustrating a history screen of a recommended application according to the eighth embodiment. 16 is a screen display example for setting a condition for prohibiting recommendation of an application according to the ninth embodiment. 21 is a screen display example for setting recommendation conditions of an application according to the tenth embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a communication system including a mobile information terminal 100 according to the present embodiment. 1, the communication system includes a portable information terminal 100, a wide area public network 201 such as the Internet and its wireless communication access point 202, a base station 203 of a mobile telephone communication network, an application server 211a, an application recommendation server 211b, and the Internet. It is composed of a mail server 212 and a mobile telephone communication server 213. The application server 211a may also serve as the application recommendation server 211b.

The mobile information terminal 100 may be a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet terminal, etc., or may be a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) or a notebook PC (Personal Computer). Further, it may be a music player, a digital camera, a portable game machine, or the like having a communication function, or another portable digital device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the portable information terminal 100 in this embodiment. 2, the portable information terminal 100 includes a main control unit 101, a system bus 102, a ROM 103, a RAM 104, a storage unit 110, a video processing unit 120, an audio processing unit 125, an operation unit 130, a communication processing unit 140, a sensor unit 150, The application recommendation unit 160 and the extension interface unit 170 are included. The main control unit 101 is a microprocessor unit that controls the entire mobile information terminal 100 according to a predetermined program. The system bus 102 is a data communication path for transmitting and receiving data between the main control unit 101 and each unit in the mobile information terminal 100. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 103 is a memory that stores a basic operation program of the mobile information terminal 100, such as an operating system and predetermined application software, and is rewritable such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Program ROM) and a flash ROM. ROM is used. By updating the program stored in the ROM 103, it is possible to upgrade the version of the basic operation program and expand its functions. Note that the ROM 103 may use a partial storage area in the storage unit 110 instead of the independent configuration shown in FIG. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 104 serves as a work area for executing a basic operation program or various application software. The ROM 103 and the RAM 104 may be integrated with the main control unit 101.

The storage unit 110 is used to store each operation setting value of the mobile information terminal 100, user information, various operating application software, and the like. The storage unit 110 includes a display array storage area 111 that stores information regarding the layout of icons associated with each application (or data created by each application) on the display screen, other information regarding the screen layout, and the like. An operation history storage area 112 for storing an operation history of the user with respect to the mobile information terminal 100, a schedule table storage area 113 for storing the action schedule of the user input by the user of the mobile information terminal 100, and other general The other information storage area 114 for storing information. The storage areas do not have to be fixed in position in the storage unit 110. The storage unit 110 needs to hold the stored information even when the mobile information terminal 100 is not powered. Therefore, for example, a device such as a flash ROM, SSD (Solid State Drive), HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or the like is used.

All or some of the functions of the ROM 103 may be replaced with a part of the other information storage area 114. Further, the portable information terminal 100 can be expanded in function by downloading new application software from the application server 211a via the wide area public network 201 and the wireless communication access point 202 or the base station 203 of the mobile telephone communication network. It is possible. At this time, the downloaded new application software may be stored in the other information storage area 114. The new application software stored in the other information storage area 114 is expanded on the RAM 104 and executed, so that the mobile information terminal 100 can realize various new functions.

The video processing unit 120 includes a video display unit 121, a video signal processing unit 122, and a video input unit 123. The video display unit 121 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and provides the user of the mobile information terminal 100 with the video signal processed by the video signal processing unit 122. The video signal processing unit 122 includes a video RAM (not shown), and implements screen display by inputting video data to the video RAM. Further, the video signal processing unit 122 has a function of performing format conversion, superimposing processing of a menu and other OSD (On Screen Display) signals, and the like as necessary. The video input unit 123 is a camera that inputs the image data of the surroundings or the object by converting the light input from the lens into an electric signal.

The voice processing unit 125 includes a voice output unit 126, a voice signal processing unit 127, and a voice input unit 128. The audio output unit 126 is a speaker and provides the user of the mobile information terminal 100 with the audio signal processed by the audio signal processing unit 127. The voice input unit 128 is a microphone and converts the voice of the user into voice data and inputs the voice data.

The operation unit 130 is an instruction input unit that inputs an operation instruction to the portable information terminal 100, and in the present embodiment, is configured by an operation key in which a touch panel and a button switch arranged in an overlapping manner on the video display unit 121 are arranged. And Note that only one of them may be used. Further, the portable information terminal 100 may be operated using a keyboard or the like connected to the expansion interface unit 170 described later. The touch panel function may be included in the video display unit 121.

The communication processing unit 140 includes a LAN communication unit 141, a mobile telephone network communication unit 142, and a close proximity wireless communication unit 143. The LAN communication unit 141 connects to the wireless communication access point 202 of the wide area public network 201 by wireless communication and transmits/receives data. The mobile telephone network communication unit 142 performs telephone communication (call) and data transmission/reception by wireless communication with the base station 203 of the mobile telephone communication network. The close proximity wireless communication unit 143 performs wireless communication when it is in close proximity to a corresponding reader/writer. The LAN communication unit 141, the mobile telephone network communication unit 142, and the close proximity wireless communication unit 143 are each equipped with a coding circuit, a decoding circuit, an antenna, and the like.

The sensor unit 150 is a sensor group for detecting the state of the portable information terminal 100, and in this embodiment, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit 151, an acceleration sensor 152, a gyro sensor 153, a geomagnetic sensor 154, an illuminance sensor 155. , Proximity sensor 156. With these sensor groups, it is possible to detect the position, movement, tilt, direction, and ambient brightness of the portable information terminal 100, the proximity of surrounding objects, and the like. Note that other sensors may be further provided.

The application recommending unit 160 estimates and recommends an application that the user of the mobile information terminal 100 desires to use from the information about the current location of the mobile information terminal 100, the information about the current time, or other information. I do. Details regarding the application recommendation process will be described later. Note that the application recommending unit 160 may realize the same function by the main control unit 101 executing predetermined application software using the RAM 104 as a work area, instead of the independent configuration shown in FIG. ..

The expansion interface unit 170 is an interface group for expanding the functions of the portable information terminal 100, and in this embodiment, it is configured to include a video/audio interface, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface, a memory interface, and the like. .. The video/audio interface inputs a video signal/audio signal from an external video/audio output device and outputs a video signal/audio signal to the external video/audio input device. The USB interface connects a keyboard and other USB devices. The memory interface connects with a memory card to send and receive data.

Note that the configuration example of the portable information terminal 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes many configurations not essential to the present embodiment, such as the proximity wireless communication unit 143, the illuminance sensor 155, and the proximity sensor 156, but these are provided. Even if the structure is not provided, the effect of the present embodiment is not impaired. Further, a configuration (not shown) such as a digital television broadcast receiving function or an electronic money settlement function may be added.

Next, the application recommendation process performed by the mobile information terminal 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in the mobile information terminal 100 of the present embodiment, the conditions of the application for which recommendation is permitted are set in advance (S11). For example, it is a condition setting such that the application is divided into categories and recommendation of only the designated category is permitted. It is also possible to set a negative condition that prohibits recommendation. Next, the status information of the portable information terminal 100 is acquired (S12). Specifically, it is position information and the like. Next, a condition set for each application, that is, a condition corresponding to each application, that matches the situation of the mobile information terminal 100 is selected as a recommended application candidate (S13). For example, it is set as the recommendation condition of the application that the mobile information terminal 100 is located near a certain specific point. Finally, an application that satisfies the recommendation permission condition set in S11 is actually recommended in the mobile information terminal 100 from the application candidates (S14). The specific method of recommendation is the icon display of the application, but other formats may be used. Needless to say, the condition of the application for which the recommendation is permitted in the mobile information terminal 100, which is performed in S11, can be changed on the mobile information terminal 100 as necessary.

Hereinafter, the application recommendation process performed by the mobile information terminal 100 of the present embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the mobile information terminal 100 of the present embodiment, first, the recommendation permission condition of the application that permits the recommendation is set in advance (S100). FIG. 5 shows an example of application recommendation permission condition setting. Here, the application is divided into categories according to the type of facility, and recommendation permission/non-permission is set for each category. When on is permitted and off is not permitted, for example, when it is on, the icon of the recommended application is displayed, and when it is off, the icon of the recommended application is hidden. Also, by tapping the on/off character portion, on/off is switched. Note that the setting of the recommendation permission condition is not limited to category classification, and can be arbitrary. For example, in the case of an application that must be downloaded from the server, the condition may be set in the price range of the usage fee. In addition, the condition may be set in a predetermined time zone that is an application execution time.

Returning to FIG. 4, after setting the above conditions, the reason why the application is actually recommended is that the situation of the mobile information terminal 100 satisfies a specific condition, that is, a condition corresponding to each application. Here, an example regarding position information and time information is shown. First, the GPS receiving unit 151 receives radio waves from GPS satellites to acquire position information (S101). Next, the main control unit 101 acquires the current position information by referring to the map data using the position information acquired in the process of S101 (S102). Further, the main control unit 101 acquires current time information (S103).

The map data may be previously stored in the other information storage area 114 or the like by the mobile information terminal 100, or may be stored in a map data server (not shown). good. When the map data server stores the map data, in the process of S102, the position information acquired by the main control unit 101 in the process of S101 is used as the LAN communication unit 141 (or the mobile telephone network communication unit 142) and the wide area. The current location information may be acquired by transmitting it to the map data server via the public network 201.

The process of acquiring the current time information in S103 may be performed by referring to the clock function built in the main control unit 101. Alternatively, it may be performed by communicating with a time server (not shown) via the LAN communication unit 141 (or the mobile telephone network communication unit 142) and the wide area public network 201.

After the main control unit 101 acquires the current location information and the current time information in the processing of S102 and S103, the main information is notified to the application recommendation server 211b (S104). When the application recommendation server 211b determines the current location, the location information may be notified instead of the current location information. Next, the application recommendation server 211b judges from the status information of the mobile information terminal 100, selects a recommended application that seems to be suitable for the user, and notifies the mobile information terminal 100 of the information of the application as a recommendation candidate (S105). ). Finally, after acquiring the recommended app information from the application recommending server 211b, the application recommending unit 160 refers to the recommendation permission condition set by the user in advance, and the app that is permitted or not permitted. Is recommended only (S106). Here, as described above, the recommendation permission condition may be set for each category, may be set in a predetermined time zone, or may be set in a predetermined price zone.

Further, the series of application recommendation processing may be performed only by referring to the current location information acquired in S102, or may be performed only by referring to the current time information acquired in S103. Although not shown in the flow chart of FIG. 4, the operation history of the user of the portable information terminal 100 stored in the operation history storage area 112 in addition to the current location information and the current time information, with respect to the portable information terminal 100. Etc. may be referred to, or the action schedule etc. input by the user of the portable information terminal 100 stored in the schedule table storage area 113 may be referred to. You may make it further refer to the output of each sensor group with which the portable information terminal 100 is equipped. Furthermore, the application recommendation process may be performed when the position of the mobile information terminal 100 is changed by a predetermined distance or more, or may be performed every time a predetermined time elapses.

Next, the series of application recommendation processes will be described with a specific example. For example, when the current location information acquired in S102 is substantially the same as the location of a certain station of a certain railway company, an application that displays the timetable of the certain station, a transfer guidance application, and a railway line that includes the certain railway company. An application or the like that displays a map of the net may be a recommendation candidate. Further, when the current location information acquired in S102 substantially matches the location of a certain theme park, an application that displays a map of the certain theme park, a wait time at each attraction of the certain theme park, and a congestion level are provided. An application or the like to be used may be a recommendation candidate. If the current location information acquired in S102 substantially matches the location of the company where the user of the mobile information terminal 100 is registered, which is registered in advance by the user of the mobile information terminal 100, the scheduler, spreadsheet application, translation An application used for business such as an application may be a recommendation candidate. Further, when it is determined from the current location information acquired in S102 that the portable information terminal 100 is in a vehicle traveling on a highway, an application that displays traffic information or an application that displays a route map of the highway. Etc. should be candidates for recommendation.

Further, for example, when the current location information obtained in S102 substantially coincides with the location of a certain station of a certain railway company, further, the current time information is a general meal time zone according to the current time information obtained in S103. If so, a gourmet-based application or the like that introduces a restaurant near the certain station may be set as a recommendation candidate, and an application or the like that displays the timetable may be set as a recommendation candidate in other time zones. If the current location information obtained in S102 substantially coincides with the location of a certain theme park, further, if the current time information is near the closing time of the certain theme park according to the current time information obtained in S103, An app that displays traffic jam information on expressways, an app that displays the timetable of the nearest station of the certain theme park, etc., and an app that displays the map in the park, etc., in other time zones, should be a candidate for recommendation. May be.

When the current location information acquired in S102 substantially matches the location of the company in which the user of the mobile information terminal 100 works, the current time information is the user of the mobile information terminal 100 according to the current time information acquired in S103. In the case of the average leaving time zone, an application or the like that displays the timetable of the nearest station of the company may be set as the recommendation candidate, and in other time zones, the application used in the business may be set as the recommendation candidate. As for the information on the average work time zone of the user of the portable information terminal 100, for example, the position information or the current location information history of the portable information terminal 100 is stored in the operation history storage area 112, and the position information is stored. Alternatively, the average time at which the mobile information terminal 100 moves from the location of the company to another place is calculated from the history of the current location information, and the calculated time is treated as the average leaving time of the user of the mobile information terminal 100. Just do it. The user of the mobile information terminal 100 may register the leaving time in the schedule table storage area 113 or the like in advance.

When it is determined that the mobile information terminal 100 is located on the highway from the current location information acquired in S102, the mobile information terminal 100 further determines whether the mobile information terminal 100 is on the highway by a predetermined value by referring to the output of the acceleration sensor 152 or the like. When it is determined that the user is moving at a speed, the user of the mobile information terminal 100 may carry an application that displays an estimated arrival time to the destination, an application that displays tourist information of the destination, or the like. When it is determined that the information terminal 100 is moving on the highway at a speed lower than a predetermined speed or is stopped, an application that displays accident information, traffic jam information, or the like may be set as the recommendation candidate. ..

Further, for example, by referring to the action schedule input by the user of the mobile information terminal 100 and stored in the schedule table storage area 113, a route map to the destination of the user of the mobile information terminal 100 is displayed. You may make an application etc. into a recommendation candidate. Further, an application or the like that displays a guide map of the moving destination may be a recommendation candidate.

Note that the number of applications that are candidates for recommendation by the application recommendation process is not limited to one, and may be multiple. Conversely, if the application recommendation server 211b determines that there is no application that the user of the mobile information terminal 100 desires to use, even if the current location information, the current time information, and other information are referred to, It is not necessary to notify the recommendation candidate of.

Further, if the application determined by the process of S104 that the user of the mobile information terminal 100 desires to use is already stored in the storage unit 110 or the like of the mobile information terminal 100, the application is directly carried. It may be recommended as an application that the user of the information terminal 100 may want to use. When the application determined to be desired by the user of the mobile information terminal 100 is not stored in the storage unit 110 or the like of the mobile information terminal 100 but is stored in the application server 211a or the like, The application installation software or the like may be a recommendation candidate as an application that the user of the portable information terminal 100 may want to use. Alternatively, the browser software linked to the web page introducing the application may be a candidate for recommendation as an application that the user of the portable information terminal 100 may desire to use.

FIG. 6 is a screen display example showing an example of the layout of the basic screen in the standby state of the portable information terminal 100 in this embodiment. In the figure, those having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 5 are assumed to have the same configurations/operations as those in FIG. Further, the touch panel 130t and the home key 130h are components of the operation unit 130, and in particular, by pressing the home key 130h during execution of various applications, the function of terminating the running application and displaying the basic screen is performed. Shall have.

In the standby state during normal operation, the video data of the layout of the basic screen of the portable information terminal 100 stored in the display array storage area 111 is input to the RAM 104. On the other hand, after performing the application recommendation process of the present embodiment, the main control unit 101 performs the screen display control process according to the result of the application recommendation process to cause the main control unit 101 to select the application recommended in the application recommendation process of S104. The video data of the screen layout which makes it easy for the user of 100 to select is input to the RAM 104. By these processes, the display screen that facilitates the selection of the recommended application is presented to the user of the mobile information terminal 100. Needless to say, when various applications stored in the mobile information terminal 100 are selected and executed, the video data of the application execution screen is input to the RAM 104.

The icons i13 to i20 illustrated in FIG. 6 are icons associated with various applications (or data created by each application) stored in the mobile information terminal 100, respectively, in the display area of the video display unit 121. Displayed in. By selecting one of these icons, it is possible to activate the application associated with the icon (or the application used to create the data associated with the icon). It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the selection of an icon is performed by performing an operation such as a tap or a double tap on a portion where the icon is displayed on the touch panel 130t.

On the other hand, the icons i1 to i4 displayed at the bottom of the video display unit 121 are icons of the application for which the recommendation is executed. That is, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, when there is an application to be recommended to the user of the portable information terminal 100 as a result of the application recommendation process in S106, the recommended application resulting from the application recommendation is executed. Is the icon. It is not displayed on the screen until the recommendation is executed. If these applications have already been downloaded to the mobile information terminal 100, selecting the icon activates the corresponding application. If the recommended application is not yet downloaded to the mobile information terminal 100, by selecting an icon, the application is connected to the application server 211a that can download the corresponding application and the download is enabled. When the user wants to use the application, the user only has to download and launch the application.

The icon of the recommended application may be displayed until the condition related to the situation of the mobile information terminal 100 does not satisfy the recommended condition, or may be displayed for a certain period of time. Alternatively, a method of erasing by an operation such as flick by the user may be used.

Note that the information for selecting the recommended candidates for the application includes estimating the position and time of the mobile information terminal 100, the season, the weather at the position of the mobile information terminal 100, and estimating the application desired by the user. All useful information is acceptable.

The timing at which the main control unit 101 notifies the application recommendation server 211b of information in order to start the application recommendation process is, for example, when the portable information terminal 100 transitions from the power-off state to the power-on state, and the sleep state is It may be released, the home key 130h, or a predetermined operation key may be pressed. An icon for executing the application recommendation process may be prepared on the video display unit 121, and may be performed at the timing when the icon is selected and executed. It may be performed at other timings, such as according to a predetermined schedule.

Alternatively, the application recommending unit 160 may select a recommendation candidate by obtaining a list of recommended applications and recommendation conditions from the application recommending server 211b.

As described above, by performing the series of processes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4, the mobile information terminal 100 according to the present embodiment becomes a recommendation candidate based on the current location information, other information, and the like. Among the applications that the user of the mobile information terminal 100 desires to use, only applications that satisfy the recommendation permission condition set in advance in the mobile information terminal 100 are recommended by displaying icons or the like. That is, when the condition of the portable information terminal satisfies the condition corresponding to the application, the application is set as a recommendation candidate, and when the application further satisfies the preset recommendation permission condition, the application is recommended.

As a result, it is possible to reduce congestion of recommendation of applications and provide a user with suitable usability.

In the first embodiment, the icon of the recommended application is displayed on the video display unit of the mobile information terminal, but in the present embodiment, the icon of the recommended application is displayed on the terminal having another display function that cooperates with the mobile information terminal 100. An example will be described. The structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified. Therefore, in the following, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and common points will be omitted to avoid duplication. Further, also in the portable information terminal 100 of this embodiment, the application recommendation process is performed in the same manner as in the above-described first embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a conceptual diagram for explaining the cooperation between the portable information terminal according to the present embodiment and a wristwatch type display terminal different from that. In FIG. 7A, a watch-type display terminal 1000 that cooperates with the portable information terminal 100 is provided, and the icon of the recommended application is displayed on the watch-type display terminal 1000 that is a wearable terminal worn on the wrist. Thereby, the portable information terminal 100 can confirm the icon of the recommended application on the wristwatch type display terminal 1000 even when it is put in the bag or the like.

Further, FIG. 7B shows a conceptual diagram for explaining the cooperation between the portable information terminal according to the present embodiment and a display terminal of a different glasses type. In FIG. 7B, a glasses-type display terminal 2000 that cooperates with the mobile information terminal 100 is provided, and the icon of the recommended application is displayed on the glasses-type display terminal 2000 that is a wearable terminal worn on the head. Thereby, the portable information terminal 100 can confirm the icon of the recommended application on the glasses-type display terminal 2000 even when the portable information terminal 100 is put in a bag or the like.

FIG. 8A shows a display example of the wristwatch type display terminal of FIG. 7A. Reference numeral 1100 is a main body of the wristwatch type display terminal 1000, 1211 is a video display unit, 1130t is a touch panel, and icons i1 to i4 displayed at the bottom of the video display unit 1121 are icons of recommended applications for which recommendation is performed. is there. The selection of the icon is performed by performing an operation such as a tap or a double tap on the portion where the icon is displayed on the touch panel 1130t.

FIG. 8B is another display example of the wristwatch type display terminal of FIG. 7A. What is different from FIG. 8A is that the icon i2 of the recommended application is displayed large. That is, in the case of a wristwatch type display terminal, since the display area is small, only one icon i2 of the recommended application is displayed in a large size so that it is easy to see and use. In addition, in the present embodiment, the icons of the three recommended applications are displayed, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of icons may be displayed. Further, a part of the icons of the plurality of recommended applications may be displayed, and the other icons may be scroll-displayed. Further, the icon may be displayed in the same size during normal display and enlarged when selected.

FIG. 9A shows a display example of the glasses-type display terminal of FIG. 7B. 2500 is a video display unit, and the icons i1 to i4 displayed on the video display unit 2500 are icons of recommended applications for which recommendation is executed.

FIG. 9B is another display example of the glasses-type display terminal of FIG. 7B. What is different from FIG. 9A is that the icon i2 of the recommended application is displayed in a large size. That is, in the case of a glasses-type display terminal, since the display area is small, only one icon i2 of the recommended application is displayed in a large size so that it can be easily used when operating with an input device. In addition, in the present embodiment, the icons of the three recommended applications are displayed, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of icons may be displayed. Further, a part of the icons of the plurality of recommended applications may be displayed, and the other icons may be scroll-displayed. Further, the icon may be displayed in the same size during normal display and enlarged when selected.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the icon of the recommended application is displayed on the terminal having another display function that cooperates with the mobile information terminal, so that the mobile information terminal can be recommended even in a bag or the like. You can check the application and provide a mobile information terminal that is easy to use.

In this embodiment, another display example of the recommended application on the mobile information terminal will be described. The structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified. Therefore, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and description of common points will be omitted to avoid duplication.

Although a display example of the recommended application on the portable information terminal in the first embodiment has been described with reference to FIG. 6, a display example in the present embodiment is shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, those having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 6 have the same configuration/operation as those in FIG. 6, and the description thereof will be omitted. 6 is different from FIG. 6 in that the image display unit 121 is divided into 121a and 121b, and the display area 121a includes icons i13 to which are associated with various applications (or data created by each application) stored in the mobile information terminal 100. i20 is displayed, and icons i3 to i6 of recommended applications are displayed in the display area 121b. As described above, by completely dividing the icon display area of the recommended application from the icon display areas of the various applications stored in the normal portable information terminal 100, swipe or the like in each area can be performed individually. It is possible to prevent erroneous operation. Moreover, the visibility of the recommended application is improved by completely separating the display area.

FIG. 11 is another display example in this embodiment. 11, those having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 6 have the same configuration/operation as those in FIG. 6, and the description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 6, the icon of the recommended application is displayed for each individual application, but in FIG. 11, the icon is displayed for each category that is the type of facility related to the application. That is, in FIG. 11, an icon i101 is an icon for selecting a recommended application related to public facilities, an icon i102 is an icon for selecting a recommended application related to a restaurant, and an icon i103 is selected for selecting a recommended application related to a retail store. The icon and the icon i104 are icons for selecting other recommended applications. In this way, representative icons are displayed for each type of recommended application. By selecting the icons i101 to i104 for each category, the recommended application for each category can be hierarchically selected. As described above, according to the present embodiment, there is an advantage that the icon display area of the recommended application can be reduced and the display area of the portable information terminal can be effectively used.

FIG. 12 shows still another display example in this embodiment. In FIG. 12, components having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 6 have the same configuration/operation as those in FIG. 6, and the description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 12, the feature of this embodiment is that an icon i201 is provided. That is, the icon i201 is an icon displayed when there is a recommended application, and is an icon indicating that the application is recommended. The recommended application can be selected by selecting the icon i201. Even if there is no recommended application, the icon i201 may be displayed to change the color or shape to notify that there is a recommended application. In addition, the location of the icon i201 may be fixed to improve the visibility of the recommended application. According to the present embodiment, the recommended application can be displayed with only one icon, which is advantageous in that the display area of the portable information terminal can be effectively used.

FIG. 13 shows still another display example in this embodiment. In FIG. 13, those having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 6 have the same configuration/operation as those in FIG. 6, and the description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 13, icons i1 to i4 are icons of recommended applications, and an R mark (meaning “Recommendation”) indicated by m1 indicates a state in which the recommended application has not been downloaded to the mobile information terminal 100. The white R mark indicated by m2 indicates that the application indicated by the icon has already been downloaded to the mobile information terminal 100. In this way, by displaying the mark indicating downloaded/not downloaded on the icon of the recommended application, it is possible to judge whether the recommended application has been downloaded or not by looking at the icon. The effect is that it can be omitted. Therefore, for example, when there is no time, it is possible to realize a decision to download a recommended application that has not been downloaded yet without any unnecessary operation.

FIG. 14 shows still another display example in this embodiment. 14, components having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 6 have the same configurations/operations as those in FIG. 6, and the description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 14, icons i1 to i4 are icons of recommended applications, and the display indicated by m3 indicates the usage charge of the recommended applications. In this way, by displaying the usage fee of the application in advance, for example, if it is free, it is possible to simply ignore it as an advertising application, and it is not necessary to check it on the website one by one. There is.

In this embodiment, display restriction of recommended applications on a mobile information terminal will be described. The structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified. Therefore, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and description of common points will be omitted to avoid duplication.

FIG. 15 is a screen display example for explaining the display restriction of the recommended application in the present embodiment. In FIG. 15, those having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 6 have the same configuration/operation as those in FIG. 6, and description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 15, reference numeral 500 is a display window that appears when the icon i2 of the recommended application is flicked, for example, and if the user does not want to accept the recommended application i2, it is possible to prohibit the subsequent recommended application processing. Is displayed. When prohibiting subsequent recommended application processing, by selecting the “Yes” button 501, display of subsequent recommended applications can be prohibited. That is, by having a setting function of prohibiting the recommendation of a specific application, it is possible to set so that the preset application is not recommended.

FIG. 16 is another screen display example for explaining the display restriction of the recommended application in the present embodiment. In FIG. 16, icons of recommended applications for each category, which is the type of facility related to the application corresponding to FIG. 11, are displayed as i101 to i104. For example, a display window that appears when any one of i101 to i104 is flicked is 510, and the display of the recommended application can be prohibited for each category in which the flicking is performed. For example, when the recommended app is not necessary for the restaurant, the icon i102 is flicked to display the selection screen of 510, and “Yes” of 511 is selected to display the recommended app for the restaurant thereafter. Can be banned. That is, by having a setting function of prohibiting recommendation of a specific type of application, it is possible to set so that recommendation of an application of a preset type is not made.

Note that the recommended app icons may be hierarchically displayed by selecting the recommended app icons i101 to i104 for each category, and the display of the recommended app corresponding to the icon may be prohibited.

In addition, FIG. 5 shows an example of setting the recommendation permission condition of the application, and has explained the point of setting the recommendation permission/non-permission for each category. Showing. The display restriction of the recommended application in the present embodiment is for selecting whether or not display restriction will be applied in the future for the recommended application.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to limit the display of recommended applications to the actually recommended applications.

In the present embodiment, setting of reference permission of information for selecting a recommended application for a mobile information terminal will be described. The structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified. Therefore, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and description of common points will be omitted to avoid duplication.

FIG. 17 is a screen display example for explaining setting of reference permission of information for selecting a recommended application in this embodiment. As information for selecting the recommended application, for example, the age, sex, address, occupation, etc. of the user of the mobile information terminal are transmitted to the application recommendation server 211b, and the application recommendation server 211b not only outputs status information of the mobile information terminal. It is conceivable to select a recommended application that is considered to be suitable for the user of the mobile information terminal in consideration of information related to the user of the mobile information terminal and notify the mobile information terminal of the information of the application. However, since the information regarding these users is personal information, it is necessary to set permission to refer to these information. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 17, a screen for setting permission/non-permission of reference to information about the user of the mobile information terminal such as age, sex, address, occupation of the user of the mobile information terminal is provided. Here, if on is permitted and off is not permitted, and if on, the information is transmitted to the application recommendation server 211b to provide the information. If it is off, the information is not transmitted to the application recommendation server 211b and the information is not provided. Also, by tapping the on/off display part, on/off is switched.

In addition to the information about the user of the mobile information terminal, information such as application usage history and shopping history is also effective as information for selecting a recommended application on the application recommendation server side. Therefore, the permission/non-permission of reference may be set for these as well.

In this way, since the information for selecting the recommended application on the application recommending server side can be set to allow/disallow referencing on the portable information terminal side, the personal information can be protected.

In the present embodiment, an example of saving the display of the recommended application on the mobile information terminal will be described. The structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified. Therefore, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and description of common points will be omitted to avoid duplication.

In the first embodiment, the icon of the recommended application may be displayed until the condition relating to the situation of the mobile information terminal does not satisfy the recommended condition, or may be displayed for a certain period of time. Alternatively, it has been described that a method of erasing by an operation such as a flick by the user may be used. The present embodiment is an example of the setting screen when the icon of the recommended application is saved once and it is desired to continue the display.

FIG. 18 is a screen display example for explaining the setting for saving the icon of the recommended application in the present embodiment. In FIG. 18, reference numeral 520 denotes a display window that appears when, for example, a flick operation is performed on the icon i2 of the recommended application, and the icon of the recommended application indicated by i2 is saved and can be selected when it is desired to continue the icon display. It shows an example in which various displays are made. If you want to save the icon of the recommended application, select the “Yes” button 521 to save the icon of the recommended application. For example, the condition related to the situation of the mobile information terminal does not satisfy the recommended condition. The display can be continued. Specifically, even if the user of the portable information terminal leaves the service app of a certain retail store from the vicinity of the retail store, the icon of the service app can be continuously displayed.

In this embodiment, option setting of a recommended application will be described. The structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified. Therefore, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and description of common points will be omitted to avoid duplication.

FIG. 19 is a screen display example for explaining option setting of the recommended application in the present embodiment. In FIG. 19, as the option setting, first, there is on/off of the history of the recommended application. Further, there is a setting as to whether or not a condition for accepting the recommendation is set. For example, the default setting is off, and the user of the portable information terminal does not set the setting, thereby eliminating the need for complicated setting. In addition, there is a setting as to whether or not an application frequently used by a user at a specific place is recommended. This can be used, for example, when recommending a popular application regardless of the status of the mobile information terminal, but it is set to off when it is desired to display the recommended application depending on the status of the mobile information terminal. Further, there is a setting as to whether or not to give priority to application recommendation in a narrower recommendation target area. This is an option to set when you want to recommend applications in a narrower range than the conventional target area.For example, it is effective when there are too many recommended applications in the target area and it is complicated, and you want to narrow down the number of cases a little more. Is. On the contrary, an option to prioritize application recommendation in a wide recommendation target area may be provided.

In this embodiment, the history screen of the recommended application will be described. The structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified. Therefore, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and description of common points will be omitted to avoid duplication.

FIG. 20 is a screen display example for explaining the history screen of the recommended application in the present embodiment. In FIG. 20, as the recommended application history screen, for example, as the recommendation history of the application A and the application B, the place and time when the recommendation is made are displayed. From this history screen, for example, when there is no time to check the recommended application while walking while being recommended, it is possible to check the recommended application later from this history screen. When it is desired to execute the recommended application, the target application can be executed by selecting the start button 531 in the display window 530 that appears by selecting the application. If the history of the recommended application is unnecessary, the target application can be deleted by selecting the delete button 532 in the display window 530.

In this embodiment, an example of setting a condition for prohibiting app recommendation will be described. The structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified. Therefore, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and description of common points will be omitted to avoid duplication.

FIG. 21 is a screen display example for setting conditions for prohibiting app recommendation in the present embodiment. In FIG. 21, as a prohibition condition for app recommendation, first, there is a setting for prohibiting recommendation at a predetermined place. For example, when a shopping area at a certain place is inundated with applications for advertising, it can be set to specify the place and prohibit recommendation. In addition, there is a setting that prohibits recommendation in a predetermined time zone. This cannot be handled even when the recommended application is displayed, for example, during work hours or during sleep, so that those time zones can be set as prohibited in advance. The combination with the day of the week is also possible. There is also a setting that prohibits recommendation in the app price range. This can be set when, for example, a low-priced item is unnecessary because it is low in value, or an application for advertising is free, so that it is unnecessary.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent unnecessary presentation of recommended applications by setting conditions for prohibiting application recommendation on the portable information terminal side.

In the present embodiment, an example of setting a recommendation condition for a known application will be described. The structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified. Therefore, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and description of common points will be omitted to avoid duplication.

FIG. 22 is a screen display example for setting the recommendation condition of the application in the present embodiment. In FIG. 22, the applications A, B, and C are known, and are used when the applications are requested to be notified as recommended applications according to the setting conditions. For example, with respect to the application A, if the user wants to see the latest information with the application when he or she goes to a certain location, the condition of the location is set. For the application B, the time condition is set in addition to the place condition. For example, it can be used when it is desired to use the daily service at a favorite store by narrowing down to the business hours of the store. For application C, weather conditions are set.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user of the portable information terminal sets the recommendation condition for the known application, and recommends the desired application under the predetermined condition. So you can prevent accidental forgetting.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, needless to say, the configuration for realizing the technique of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment. For example, the configuration of one embodiment may be combined with the configuration of another embodiment. All of these belong to the category of the present invention. Also, the numerical values, messages, etc. appearing in the text and in the drawings are merely examples, and the use of different values does not impair the effects of the present invention.

Further, the functions and the like of this embodiment may be realized by hardware by designing a part or all of them with, for example, an integrated circuit. Alternatively, the microprocessor unit or the like may be realized by software by interpreting and executing a program for realizing each function or the like. The program may be stored in the ROM 103 of the portable information terminal 100, the storage unit 110, or the like in advance, but the application server 211a on the wide-area public network 201 may be connected to the LAN communication unit 141 or mobile telephone network communication. It may be acquired via the unit 142. Further, the program stored in the memory card or the like may be acquired via the expansion interface unit 170.

Further, the control lines and information lines shown in the drawings are those considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines on the product. In practice, it may be considered that almost all configurations are connected to each other.

100: portable information terminal, 101: main control unit, 102: system bus, 103: ROM, 104: RAM, 110: storage unit, 111: display array storage area, 112: operation history storage area, 113: schedule table storage area , 114: other information storage area, 120: video processing unit, 121, 1121, 2500: video display unit, 122: video signal processing unit, 123: video input unit, 125: audio processing unit, 126: audio output unit, 127. : Voice signal processing unit, 128: voice input unit, 130: operating unit, 130h: home key, 130t: touch panel, 140: communication processing unit, 141: LAN communication unit, 142: mobile telephone network communication unit, 143: proximity Wireless communication unit, 150: sensor unit, 151: GPS receiving unit, 152: acceleration sensor, 153: gyro sensor, 154: geomagnetic sensor, 155: illuminance sensor, 156: proximity sensor, 160: application recommending unit, 170: extension interface Part, 211a: application server, 211b: application recommendation server, 1000: wristwatch type display terminal, 2000: spectacles type display terminal, 1100: wristwatch type display terminal body

Claims (8)

A personal digital assistant capable of communicating with an external terminal,
A display unit capable of displaying conditions preset by the user,
The first information indicating the status of the mobile information terminal is transmitted to the server, and the second recommendation candidate of the application operable on the mobile information terminal, which is determined based on the first information as satisfying a predetermined condition, is transmitted to the server. Communication unit that receives as information of
A control unit that determines, from the second information received by the communication unit, one that satisfies the condition preset by the user as a recommended application;
Equipped with
The communication unit further transmits the content related to the recommended application determined by the control unit to the external terminal as third information, and the result selected by the external terminal based on the third information is fourth information. Received as
The control unit determines whether the corresponding application is downloaded to the mobile information terminal based on the fourth information received by the communication unit, and if not, connects to the server. The application is ready to be downloaded, the communication unit is controlled to transmit the state to the external terminal, and the communication unit transmits the state to the external terminal. When predetermined instruction information is received from the external terminal later, the application is controlled so as to be downloaded from the server, activated, and displayed on the display unit according to the received instruction information. Mobile information terminal. The mobile information terminal according to claim 1,
The mobile information terminal is characterized in that the condition set in advance by the user is any one of application category setting, application usage price range setting, and application execution time period setting. The mobile information terminal according to claim 1,
The predetermined condition is any one of a position of the mobile information terminal, a season, a time, a weather at the position of the mobile information terminal, an attribute of a user of the mobile information terminal, or a plurality of conditions selected from them. A portable information terminal characterized by a combination of The mobile information terminal according to claim 1,
The portable information terminal, wherein the predetermined condition is history information. The mobile information terminal according to claim 1,
The portable information terminal further comprises a recording unit for recording the recommended application so that the recommended application can be referred to even after the condition of the portable information terminal does not satisfy the predetermined condition. The mobile information terminal according to claim 5,
The portable information terminal, wherein the recording unit records a history of the recommended application. The mobile information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The communication unit includes a first communication unit that performs wireless communication via an access point for wireless communication on the Internet, a second communication unit that performs wireless communication via a base station of a telephone communication network, and short-range wireless communication. And a third communication unit for performing the following. The mobile information terminal according to claim 7,
A mobile information terminal, wherein the first communication unit or the second communication unit transmits first information indicating a status of the mobile information terminal to a server.

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