JP4655779B2 - Portable information terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable information terminal having a small display and a small number of keys.

  When an operator performs operation input on various information terminals using, for example, a keyboard, it may be difficult to understand this input method. For this reason, generally, operation guide information for explaining the input method is stored in advance in the information terminal. The operator can grasp the input method by reading the operation guide information stored in the information terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The help guidance method disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes data input means, storage means for storing data or a program, and display means for screen display. The display means includes a main processing screen and a help screen. Is always displayed so that they do not overlap. The main process performs a screen display requesting to continuously perform a plurality of unit information processes performed by operating the data input means for each of a plurality of screens, and the help process is currently requested on the main process screen. The help guidance is performed by displaying a display example of the main process screen at the time of unit process operation of any one unit process. According to this method, the user can easily understand visually, and the user can use it easily.
JP 2004-30446 A

  According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, although it is easy for a user to visually understand, this technical idea is a technical idea related to a computer device such as a personal computer, and can only be applied to a device having a relatively wide screen. It is. That is, since the display means is configured so that the main processing screen and the help guidance can be displayed on one screen at the same time, the portable information terminal has only a small display device for portable use as a constituent element. However, the technical idea described in Patent Document 1 cannot be applied, and even if it is applied, a practical operation guide cannot be displayed.

  Furthermore, the portable information terminal has only a small number of keys as compared with a personal computer or the like, and may require a complicated operation as necessary. In an application that requires a complicated operation with a small number of keys, it is troublesome because the operator must memorize the functions assigned to the keys.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is an application that requires a complicated operation in a portable information terminal equipped with a small display and an input means having a small number of keys. It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable information terminal that allows an operator to input easily.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the user inputs one specific key at each stage of information processing, the search means includes a plurality of input methods for explaining input methods related to the keys of the input means. The operation guide information corresponding to the situation during the operation is searched from the operation guide information according to the priority order , and the control means searches for the operation guide searched by the search means when the one specific key is pressed. Since the information is displayed on the display means, operation guide information considered necessary by the operator can be displayed on the display means, and the operator can easily input even in applications requiring complicated operations. Will be able to.

Further , the control means displays the operation guide information searched by the search means on the display means, and when the operation of the specific key is canceled, the state before the specific key is operated immediately or after a predetermined time Therefore, the display of the operation guide information can be erased without requiring any special operation.

Further, the operation guide information storage means stores a plurality of pieces of operation guide information in a state in which priorities are given corresponding to the operating status at each stage of information processing, and the search means stores the operation guide information according to the priorities. Since the information is searched, it is displayed from the operation guide information having a high priority, and convenience is improved.

Moreover, the search unit, after the pressing of one particular key is released, the one on when a particular key is pressed, for then sequentially searches the high priority operation guide information was example Misao author Even if the operation guide information that is considered necessary is not displayed on the display means, the operation guide information with the next highest priority is displayed by operating a specific key again, thereby improving convenience.
In addition, when the operation guide information does not exist, the search means has operation guide information necessary for displaying the contents of the hardware of the portable information terminal main body or an operation guide common to application software executable by the control means. Since the information is used as the search result, the operator can know the operation guide information related to the hardware or the operation guide information of the application software.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the priority order update means sequentially increases the display priority order of the operation guide information required by the operator in order to raise the priority set in the operation guide information searched last by the search means. Can be updated. That is, when the operation guide information is next searched, the operation guide information is searched according to the updated priority order, and the operator can display the necessary operation guide information as quickly as possible.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the priority order update means updates the priority order set in the operation guide information searched last by the search means by incrementing by one when the priority order is other than the highest priority order. It is desirable to do. By configuring in this way, a more appropriate priority order can be set.

According to the invention of claim 4 , the weight update means increases the weight corresponding to the priority of the operation guide information searched last by the search means with respect to the initial weight assigned corresponding to the priority, The search means searches the operation guide information in descending order of the weight updated by the weight update means. Thereby, an appropriate priority order can be set.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the operation guide information having the next highest priority is sequentially searched and the operation guide information does not exist, the search means uses the operation guide information corresponding to the highest priority as the search result. Therefore, for example, even when there is an operator's operation mistake, the operation guide information set to the highest priority can be displayed again as a search result, and convenience is improved.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the operation guide information is divided into a plurality of sections related to each other and the priority is set for each of the sections, and the search means has the next priority in the predetermined section. When the operation guide information having a higher rank is searched, if the operation guide information does not exist, the operation guide information requested by the operator is searched to search for the operation guide information in another category previously associated with the predetermined category. However, even if it is not possible to search within a predetermined section, the operation guide information can be searched for in another section, and convenience can be improved.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, the embodiment will be described by being applied to the case where the portable information terminal 1 is used for a business that performs inventory management, order management, and sales management. FIG. 1A schematically shows the electrical configuration of the portable information terminal, and FIG. 1B shows the appearance of the portable information terminal.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the portable information terminal 1 includes a control circuit 2 as a control means and a search means, a display 3 as a display means connected to the control circuit 2, a buzzer 4, An operation switch group 5 as input means and an external memory 6 as operation guide information storage means are provided.

  The control circuit 2 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM (all not shown) and the like, and controls each component connected to the control circuit 2. As shown in FIG. 1B, the display 3 is configured by, for example, an LCD or an LED, and is configured to be able to notify various information based on the control of the control circuit 2. The buzzer 4 is configured to sound various sounds based on the control of the control circuit 2. As shown in FIG. 1B, the operation switch group 5 is composed of switches that can be operated by an operator, and the control circuit 2 accepts this operation signal when an operation is input by the operation switch group 5. The operation input information of these operation switch groups 5 is stored as a history in the external memory 6 or the like. The operation switch group 5 is provided with a power key PW, numeric keys, enter key ENT, clear key C, various function keys F1 to F3, and a plurality of specific keys 5a for realizing special functions ( (See the M1 key to M4 key in FIG. 1B).

  A specific function is assigned to each of the plurality of specific keys 5a in advance, and the operator operates these specific keys 5a to display various operation guide information on the display 3. Is realized. Details of this will be described later.

  The external memory 6 stores an OS (operating system) and a business program that allow the control circuit 2 to execute information processing in the main body of the portable information terminal 1 and a work memory. Also, the external memory 6 stores a plurality of operation guide information (help guidance information) for assisting the operator's operation input. The operation guide information indicates guidance for explaining an operation input method of the operation switch group 5. FIG. 2 shows the content of guidance stored in the external memory as a guidance table T.

  This guidance table T is predetermined for each of a plurality of sections. Specifically, it is divided into business start guidance, date / time guidance, inventory / order / sales management guidance, portable terminal common guidance, and application common guidance, and operation guide information is stored for each of these divisions.

  The business start guidance indicates a category of guidance that is expected to be required when the operator inputs necessary information immediately after starting the portable information terminal 1 and cannot understand the input method. In this business start guidance category, operation guide information for shifting to inventory management business, order management business or sales management business, and operation guide information for returning to various menu screens are set. Priorities are given to these operation guide information, and a display control method based on these priorities will be described later.

  The date / time guidance indicates a category of guidance that is expected to be required when the operator cannot understand the input method when setting the date / time. In the date / time guidance category, operation guide information for the operator to input date / time setting and operation guide information for the operator to check the date / time are set.

  The inventory / order / sales management guidance indicates the category of guidance that is expected to be required when the operator cannot understand the input method for inventory management, order management, and sales management. . In particular, the inventory / order / sales management guidance indicates a category of guidance common to each business that is necessary for the operator to understand the input method when performing each business. In this stock / order / sales management guidance category, operation guide information for shifting to inventory management business, order management business or sales management business, and operation guide information for returning to the menu screen are set.

  The portable terminal common guidance indicates a classification of operation guide information related to hardware of the portable information terminal 1 main body, or a classification of operation guide information of a warranty contact information of the portable information terminal 1 main body. The mobile terminal common guidance is classified into operation guide information for issuing a barcode reading instruction, operation guide information for an input method for adjusting the contrast of the display 3, a remaining battery level and a buzzer 4. Operation guide information of an input method for adjusting volume information to be set is set.

  The application common guidance indicates a division of operation guide information common to application software that is stored in the external memory 6 of the portable information terminal 1 main body and can be executed by the control circuit 2. The application common guidance is classified into operation guide information related to an input method for transmitting aggregated data stored in the portable information terminal 1 and operation guide information related to an input method for updating master data. In addition, operation guide information such as how to deal with troubles, working hours and break times is set. Various sections other than this example may be set.

  In this guidance table T, priorities are assigned to the operation guide information for each section. This priority is set for the operation guide information that the operator is expected to obtain according to the number of times the operator has called the operation guide information.

The operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 schematically shows a screen image when the operator performs various tasks. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing by the application program, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing by the OS (operating system). As shown in FIG. 5, the control circuit 2 performs the program processing shown in FIG. 4 while performing the key interrupt processing described below by the OS stored in the external memory 6.

  First, processing by the OS will be described with reference to FIG. The control circuit 2 stands by while operating a timer (not shown) for a predetermined time until it detects the pressing of the specific key 5a (M1 key to M4 key in FIG. 1B) (steps S1 to S2). However, the timer does not start immediately after starting, so the time does not increase. When it is detected that the specific key 5a is pressed, the control circuit 2 searches the guidance table T for operation guide information (step S3).

  Next, when the control circuit 2 retrieves the operation guide information from the guidance table T, the control circuit 2 controls the display 3 to display the operation guide information (step S4). The display form of the operation guide information displayed at this time will be described later. When the operation guide information is being displayed on the display 3, the control circuit 2 continues to display the operation guide information until the non-pressed state of the specific key 5a is detected (step S5: NO).

  When the specific key 5a is not pressed down, the control circuit 2 restarts a timer (not shown) (step S6), and displays the contents displayed on the display 3 before displaying the operation guide information. Is controlled (step S7), and the process returns to step S1 to repeat these processes. Thereafter, when the operation guide information displayed in step S4 should update the display priority of the operation guide information, the control circuit 2 indicates that the elapsed time of the timer restarted in step S6 has elapsed a predetermined time. (Step S1: YES), the priority order is updated (Step S8).

  That is, the control circuit 2 receives the key interrupt of the specific key 5a (M1 key to M4 key) by performing a series of OS processes, and operates the operation guide information while detecting that the specific key 5a is pressed. Is controlled for the display 3. Further, the control circuit 2 updates the priority order while the specific key 5a is not pressed.

  When the operator instructs to start a job by operating the operation switch group 5 and instructs the execution of the application program, the control circuit 2 executes the application program whose processing contents are shown in FIG. The processing contents of the application program will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 schematically shows the processing contents of the application program in a flowchart, and FIG. 3 shows an example of a display screen on the display unit 3.
When an instruction to execute the application program is given, the control circuit 2 uses the work start screen table of the guidance table T as an initial setting (step T1) and is displayed on the display 3 as shown in FIG. The screen is initialized and the current time is displayed (step T2). At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the control circuit 2 displays the current time as the start date and time on the display 3, and controls the display of input screens such as employee number, affiliation, and person in charge (display screen G1). reference). Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the control circuit 2 shifts to an employee number input process in the program process (step T3).

  When the operator inputs the employee number and the input of the employee number is completed (step T4: YES), the control circuit 2 performs a process for displaying the employee information stored in the external memory 6 corresponding to the employee number. (Step T5) Acceptance of various key inputs is started (Step T6). At this time, when the operator operates the function keys F1 to F3 of the operation switch group 5, the control circuit 2 accepts this key operation, and depending on the type of the key, a program for inventory management business, a program for order management business, Execute a program for sales management.

  When the operator presses the enter key ENT of the operation switch group 5 and the control circuit 2 accepts the enter key ENT, the operation selection menu is displayed. When the operator depresses the function key F1 while depressing the shift key Shift of the operation switch group 5, and the control circuit 2 accepts these key operations, the date and time are set. When the operator operates the C key of the operation switch group 5 and the control circuit 2 accepts the C key, the clearing process is performed and the process returns to step T2, the screen is initialized, and then the input process and the display process are repeated.

  Although the control circuit 2 performs these processes on the application program, as described above, each operation on the display unit 3 is performed while the specific key 5a is pressed by the key interruption process of the OS process. Guide information is displayed. This function is provided because the operator may forget these key operation input methods.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the operator presses the specific key 5a (M1 key) while the business start screen G1 is displayed on the display 3, the control circuit 2 is stored in the external memory 6. The operation guide information expected to be obtained by the operator is retrieved from the operation guide information, and the display 3 is controlled for display. At this time, the control circuit 2 refers to the guidance table T and controls the display of the operation guide information on the display 3 in descending order of priority.

  The control circuit 2 specifies the operation guide information with the highest priority from among the initially set work start guidance categories, and controls display on the display 3. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, since the operation guide information with the highest priority is operation guide information related to the function keys F1 to F3, the operation guide information is displayed on the display 3 (FIG. 2). 3 display screen G2).

  Thereafter, when the operator releases the specific key 5a (M1 key), the control circuit 2 considers that the key operation has been canceled, and immediately before the key operation is performed (the screen displayed previously), that is, the input The display state is restored to the same screen as the screen G1 (see the display screen G3 in FIG. 3). The display state may be restored after a predetermined time. In such a case, since the display state can be automatically returned to the previous state without any special operation, convenience is improved.

  Thereafter, when the operation guide information required by the operator cannot be found, when the specific key 5a is pressed again, the control circuit 2 detects this key operation, refers to the guidance table T, and then determines the priority order. The high operation guide information is searched and the display 3 is controlled. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation guide information having the second highest priority in the business start guidance category is the operation guide information related to the enter key ENT and the clear key C. The operation guide information is displayed on the display unit 3.

  When the operator understands the operation guide information, inputs the employee number “1234567” and then presses the enter key ENT, the control circuit 2 displays the department information and the person-in-charge information corresponding to the employee number “1234567”. Search from the external memory 6 and display control of these information together with the employee number on the display 3 (see display screen G6 in FIG. 3). Thereafter, when the control circuit 2 detects the elapse of a predetermined time by the timer during the OS processing, it updates the priority in step S8 of FIG. In this priority update process, it is desirable that the priority is incremented by one on condition that the highest priority is not set. Specifically, in the category of the business start guidance shown in FIG. 2, the operation guide information by the function keys F1 to F3 is moved down by one rank, and the operation guide information by the enter key ENT and the clear key C is moved up by one rank and given the highest priority. Rank. In this case, an appropriate priority order can be set, and the control circuit 2 controls the display of the operation guide information according to the set priority order. The operation guide information that the operator thinks necessary (operation key information for the enter key ENT and clear key C) can be displayed on the display 3.

  Here, if the operator does not understand the input method again, the operator presses the specific key 5a again, but it is confirmed that a key other than the specific key 5a (in this case, the M1 key) is pressed. The operation guide information detected from the input history information of the operation switch group 5 and set to the highest priority is displayed on the display 3 (display screen G7 in FIG. 3).

  Similarly, when the operator releases the specific key 5a again, the control circuit 2 detects that the operation of the specific key 5a has been released, and the previously displayed screen (display screen G6: start date / time information or The employee number information, department information and person-in-charge information) are returned to the display 3 (display screen G8 in FIG. 3).

  When the operator depresses the specific key 5a again, the control circuit 2 detects that the specific key 5a has been depressed, and similarly to the above, the operation guide information with the next highest priority is displayed on the display 3. Is controlled (display screen G9 in FIG. 3). That is, the display control is performed on the operation guide information related to the function keys F1 to F3 set to the second priority. Thereafter, when the control circuit 2 detects that the specific key 5a is released, it returns to the original display screen (see the display screen G10 in FIG. 3).

  Next, when the operator further presses the specific key 5a, the control circuit 2 detects the pressing of the specific key 5a. At this time, the control circuit 2 searches for the operation guide information in another category associated with the work start guidance because there is no operation guide information with the third highest priority order. That is, the operation guide information is searched within the date guidance section.

Therefore, the control circuit 2 controls the display 3 to display the operation guide information related to the shift key Shift + function key F1 set to the highest priority in the date / time guidance category (see the display screen G11 in FIG. 3). . That is, when there is associated operation guide information, the operation guide information is displayed on the display 3, so that the operator can understand other operation guide information. Will improve.
In this way, since the operation guide information is displayed on the display 3, the operator can easily understand the input method and can input easily. When a key described as operation guide information is operated, the control circuit 2 receives these key operation inputs and performs each information processing.

  Specifically, when the shift key Shift + function key F1 is pressed, the control circuit 2 detects this operation input and shifts to the date / time setting process. When the C key is pressed, the control circuit 2 performs a clear process for clearing the input information input so far, and shifts to the business start screen. When the enter key ENT is pressed, the control circuit 2 detects this operation input and shifts to a task menu display process. Further, when the function key F1 is pressed, the operation shifts to an inventory management operation, when the function key F2 is pressed, the operation shifts to an order management operation, and when the function key F3 is pressed, the operation shifts to a sales management operation.

  According to such an embodiment, the control circuit 2 displays the description of the input method related to the keys of the operation switch group 5 only while the specific key 5a is pressed according to the priority set in the guidance table T. Since display control is performed on the display 3, operation guide information required by the operator can be quickly displayed on the display 3. Thereby, even in an application that requires a complicated operation, the operator can easily input.

When the specific key 5a is pressed, and after the operation guide information of the highest priority is retrieved within the business start guidance section in the guidance table T, the specific key 5a is released and then the specific key 5a is pressed again. Since the control circuit 2 retrieves the operation guide information with the next highest priority and controls display on the display 3, the operation guide information set at the highest priority is not information required by the operator. However, the operation guide information required by the operator is more likely to be displayed next, and the convenience is improved.
Furthermore, when the operation guide information with the next highest priority is searched in the business start guidance category, if there is no operation guide information, the operation guide information with the highest priority is searched within the previously associated date and time guidance category. Therefore, convenience can be improved.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that weights are set corresponding to priorities, and priorities are set according to the weights. It is in the place where it is correcting. The same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and only different parts will be described below.

  FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C show weighting information associated with the priority order. The priority order information and the weighting information are stored in the external memory 6. As shown in FIG. 6 (a), in the initial setting, the weights are set larger in the order of higher priority. Specifically, the first priority is set as weight 100, the second priority is set as weight 95, the third priority is set as weight 90, and the fourth priority is set as weight 85. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the screen displayed last by the operator is the content of the second priority operation guide information. In the example of the above-described embodiment, the last screen displayed on the display device 3 is the display screen G4 in FIG. 3, and the operation guide information displayed on the display device 3 immediately before the employee number is input. Is shown.

  The control circuit 2 updates the weighting of the operation guide information corresponding to the last displayed screen so that the weight is increased by a predetermined number (for example, 3) by the OS process. The control circuit 2 has a function as a weight update unit. That is, when the weight of the operation guide information with the second priority is updated, the weight with the second priority becomes 95 + 3 → 98. In this case, since the weight corresponding to the first priority operation guide information is 100, the weight corresponding to the original priority first operation guide information is higher. Therefore, the priority order does not change.

  However, when the operation guide information with the second priority is displayed last, the information is updated to increase the weight corresponding to the operation guide information, and the weight becomes 98 + 3 → 101. In this case, the weighting 100 corresponding to the operation guide information with the first priority is exceeded. Then, as shown in FIG. 6C, the control circuit 2 searches the operation guide information in descending order of weighting, and updates the corresponding operation guide information by raising the priority by one rank.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the control circuit 2 increases the weight corresponding to the priority of the operation guide information searched last, and changes the priority of the operation guide information in descending order of weight. The operation guide information can be searched in descending order of weighting. As a result, an appropriate priority order can be set.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and for example, the following modifications or expansions are possible.
In the above-described embodiment, the embodiment in which the priority information is set in the operation guidance information has been described. However, the priority may be set as necessary. Moreover, the weighting information set corresponding to the priority order information may be set as necessary. Although the embodiment set for each of a plurality of divisions has been shown, this may be divided as necessary.

  In the first embodiment, the embodiment has been described in which the operation guide information in the category is searched when the associated category exists. However, when the operation guide information of the associated category does not exist, The operation guide information corresponding to the highest priority may be used as the search result. In this case, even when the operator makes an operation mistake, the operation guide information set to the highest priority can be displayed again as a search result, and convenience is improved.

  Note that the operation guide information related to the hardware of the portable information terminal 1 may be displayed on the display device 3 as a search result. In this case, the operator can know information about hardware. Further, the display guide 3 may be controlled to display operation guide information common to application software executable by the control circuit 2 as a search result. In this case, the operator can know the operation guide information of the application software.

Explanatory drawing which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention ((a) The block diagram which shows an electrical structure, (b) is an external view) The figure which shows an example of a guidance table Diagram showing an example of the flow of the display screen Flowchart showing the details of processing by the program Flow chart schematically showing processing contents by OS Explanatory drawing which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention ((a)-(c) is a figure which shows the change of the priority according to weighting)

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a portable information terminal, 2 is a control circuit (control means, search means, priority update means, weight update means), 3 is a display (display means), 5 is a group of operation switches (input means), Reference numeral 6 denotes an external memory (operation guide information storage means).

Claims (6)

Display means;
An input means having a plurality of keys including a specific key;
Control means for executing information processing including input by the input means and display on the display means;
Operation guide information storage for storing a plurality of operation guide information for explaining an input method related to the keys of the input means in a state in which priority is given corresponding to the situation during operation at each stage of the information processing Means,
When one specific key is operated at each stage of the information processing, the operation guide information corresponding to the situation during the operation is selected from the operation guide information stored in the operation guide information storage unit. Search means for searching according to priority,
The control means controls the display means to display the operation guide information searched by the search means when the one specific key is pressed, and when the press of the one specific key is released , To restore the display state of the display means to a state immediately before pressing the one specific key after a predetermined time,
When the one specific key is pressed after the one specific key is released, the search means sequentially searches the operation guide information having the next highest priority, and the operation guide information exists. If not, the operation guide information related to the hardware of the portable information terminal main body or the operation guide information common to the application software executable by the control means as a search result,
The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls display of the search result searched by the search means on the display means.
2. The portable information terminal according to claim 1, further comprising priority update means for raising a priority set in the operation guide information searched last by the search means . Claim wherein the priority updating unit, when the last set to the retrieved operation guide information to the priority order by the retrieval means that priority other than the highest priority, characterized in that the updating in advance Rank 2. The portable information terminal according to 2 . An initial weighting is provided corresponding to the priority order, and weight updating means for increasing the weighting corresponding to the priority order of the operation guide information last searched by the search means,
4. The portable information terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the search means searches for the operation guide information in descending order of the weight updated by the weight update means . The searching means is the next time when the operation guide information obtained by sequentially searching high priority operation guide information does not exist, according to claim 1, characterized in that a search result operation guide information corresponding to the highest priority Thru | or 4. The portable information terminal in any one of 4 . The operation guide information is divided into a plurality of sections related to each other and a priority order is set for each section,
The search means searches for the operation guide information having the next highest priority in the predetermined section. If the operation guide information does not exist, the search means operates in another section previously associated with the predetermined section. 6. The portable information terminal according to claim 1 , wherein information is searched .

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