JP2003140900A - Device, method and program for processing information - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize remote operation of an application program. SOLUTION: A browser program 48a demands an operation determined for a music contents replay program 28a to a waiting program 28c of a server computer 1 via a network 2. The waiting program 28c outputs the operation demand to the music contents replay program 28a by a message. The music contents replay program 28a executes processing corresponding to the operation demand, writes an acting condition in a kernel object 71a of a common memory 71, and transmits variation of the acting condition to the waiting program 28c as a message. The waiting program 28c accesses to the kernel object 71a of the common memory 71 based on the message notifying the variation of the acting condition, reads the acting condition of the music contents replay program 28a, converts it into html, and transmits it to PDA 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a program, and in particular, information for remotely controlling application software (application program) operating on a computer via a network. The present invention relates to a processing device and method, and a program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A technique for remotely operating an application program through a network is becoming popular. Up to now, when an application program is operated from a remote place by a computer possessed by a user (operator) via a network, the application program displays an image of a user interface displayed on the computer in which the application program is installed. Data through the network
When a command corresponding to the operation content by the user is returned based on the displayed user interface by transmitting it to a computer owned by the operator and displaying it, the remote operation is performed by executing the operation according to the command. It was operated from the ground.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned configuration, when the application program is operated from a remote place on the palmtop computer, the image displayed on the computer in which the application program is installed is Often, it does not fit the display screen size of the palmtop computer, which can cause the user interface screen to appear off-screen, resulting in the user seeing the entire user interface screen. Therefore, there was a problem that it cannot be operated from a remote place.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and makes it possible to remotely operate an application program by various computers via a network.

[0005]

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention receives a command for an application program transmitted from another information processing apparatus via a network and storage means for storing the operating state of the application program. Command receiving means, a command notifying means for notifying the application program of the content of the command according to the content of the command received by the command receiving means, and a detecting means for detecting whether or not the operating state of the application program has changed, The reading means for reading the operating state of the application program stored in the storing means according to the content of the command received by the command receiving means or the presence or absence of a change in the operating state, and the application program read by the reading means motion The state, via the network, characterized in that it comprises transmitting means for transmitting to another information processing apparatus.

[0006] The command receiving means may receive a command for an application program transmitted from another information processing apparatus via a network by communication using http.

The transmitting means indicates the operating state of the application program read by the reading means.
The communication using http can be transmitted to another information processing apparatus via the network.

The command may include a command for starting the application program when the application program is not started.

The detecting means may detect whether or not the operating state of the application program has changed by a message command output from the application program.

The information processing method of the present invention includes a storage step of storing the operating state of the application program, a command receiving step of receiving a command for the application program transmitted from another information processing apparatus via the network, According to the content of the command received in the processing of the command receiving step, a command notifying step of notifying the application program of the content of the command, a detecting step of detecting the presence or absence of a change in the operating state of the application program, and a command receiving step. Depending on the content of the command received in the process or the presence or absence of a change in the operating state, the reading step for reading the operating state of the application program stored in the storing step and the reading in the reading step The operating state of the application program, via the network, characterized in that it comprises a transmission step of transmitting to another information processing apparatus.

The program of the present invention includes a storage control step for controlling storage of the operating state of the application program, and a command reception for controlling reception of a command to the application program transmitted from another information processing apparatus via the network. A control step, and a command notification control step for controlling notification of the content of the command to the application program according to the content of the command received in the processing of the command reception control step,
Depending on the content of the command whose reception is controlled in the processing of the command reception control step and the detection control step that controls the detection of whether or not there is a change in the operating state of the application program, or the presence or absence of a change in the operating state, a storage control step Other information processing device via the network of the read control step for controlling the read of the operating state of the application program whose storage is controlled by the processing of step 5 and the operating state of the application program of which the read is controlled by the processing of the read control step And a transmission control step for controlling transmission to the computer.

In the information processing apparatus and method and program of the present invention, the operating state of the application program is stored, and the command for the application program transmitted from another information processing apparatus via the network is received and received. The application program is notified of the content of the command according to the content of the received command, the presence or absence of a change in the operating state of the application program is detected, and the content of the received command or the presence or absence of a change in the operating state is detected. The stored operating state of the application program is read, and the read operating state of the application program is transmitted to another information processing apparatus via the network.

[0013]

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a remote control system according to the present invention. An application program is installed in the server computer 1, and various types of processing can be executed. The application program installed on the server computer 1 runs on the PDA via the network 2.
(Personal Digital Assistant) 3 allows remote control.

In the following, the server computer 1 will be provided with a music content reproduction program and a TV (Televisi).
on) The case where two application programs of the program display program are installed will be described. However, the number of application programs installed in the server computer 1 may naturally be more, or The application program may also be a program other than the music content reproduction program or the TV program display program.

Next, the configuration of the server computer 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 is
Application programs described below and basic OS
(Operating System) (For example,
Actually run Windows (registered trademark) 98, 2000, etc. ROM (Read-Only Memory) 22 is generally a CPU
It stores basically fixed data of the program used by 21 and the parameters for calculation. In addition, CPU21
Is the input / output interface 25 and the drive 10.
1 are connected to the magnetic disk 111, the optical disk 112, the magneto-optical disk 113, or the semiconductor memory 114 to read programs and data stored in the RAM 23 for execution, or various programs and Record the data.

A RAM (Random-Access Memory) 23 is a CPU
The program used in the execution of 21 and the parameters that change appropriately in the execution are stored. These are CP
They are mutually connected by a host bus 24 composed of a U bus or a memory bus. In addition, RAM23,
It functions as a shared memory 71 (FIG. 4) which will be described later, and the operating state of itself is described and stored as a kernel object 71a (FIG. 4) by an application program. Further, the kernel object 71a in which the operating state of the application program recorded in the shared memory 71 is described is read or recorded by the standby program 28c (FIG. 4) as necessary. The operations of the application program and the standby program 28c will be described later with reference to FIG.

The host bus 24 is a bridge (not shown).
Via PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect / In
terface) bus and other input / output interfaces 25.

The operation unit 26 is composed of a keyboard or a mouse, and is operated by the user when inputting various commands to the CPU 21 or when instructing or selecting points on the screen of the display unit 27. . Display 27
Is a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or liquid crystal display (LC
D: Liquid Crystal Display) etc., and displays various information as text and images.

The storage unit 28 is, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk D
rive) or FDD (Flexible Disk Drive), which drives a hard disk or a flexible disk, respectively, and causes them to record or reproduce programs or various data to be executed by the CPU 21 (in the case of a program, in the storage unit 28). Installed and run). A music content reproduction program 28a, a TV program display program 28b, and a standby program 28c are installed in the storage unit 28. The music content reproduction program 28a is an application program for reproducing the music content recorded on the optical disc 112 represented by, for example, a CD (compact disc). The TV program display program 28b is an application program that controls the tuner 30 to receive a TV broadcast signal and display it on the display unit 27.
The TV program display program 28b also stores the TV program received through the tuner 30 as moving image data in the storage unit 2.
It is also possible to carry out so-called reserved recording, in which the recording start time, recording end time, and recording channel are set. Standby program 2
Reference numeral 8c is a music content reproduction program 28a, which is an application program input from the PDA 3 via the network 2 by controlling the communication unit 29, or
A command for controlling the TV program display program 28b from a remote location is received, and a command called a message (message command) is sent to the application program according to the content of the command to control the operation of the application program. . Further, the standby program 28c reads out the information on the operating state of the application program from the kernel object 71a stored in the shared memory 71, and outputs the html (Hyper Te
xt Markup Language) and send to PDA3.

The communication unit 29 is, for example, a modem, and a CP
Controlled by U21, PDA via network 2
Exchange data with 3. The tuner 30 is controlled by the CPU 21 and receives a TV (Television) broadcast signal of a predetermined frequency.

Next, the configuration of the PDA 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

The basic structure of the PDA 3 is almost the same as the structure of the server computer 1 described above. That is,
CPU 41, ROM 42, RAM 43, host bus 44, input / output interface 45, operation unit 46, display unit 47, storage unit 48, communication unit 49, drive 121, magnetic disk 13
1, the optical disc 132, the magneto-optical disc 133, and the semiconductor memory 134 are CPs of the server computer 1.
U21, ROM22, RAM23, host bus 24, input / output interface 25, operation unit 26, display unit 27, storage unit 2
8, communication unit 29, drive 101, magnetic disk 11
1, the optical disk 112, the magneto-optical disk 113, and the semiconductor memory 114. However, since the PDA 3 is designed with emphasis on portability, various performances may be slightly inferior to those of the server computer 1, but each has a similar function.

The PDA 3 is different from the server computer 1 in that the tuner 30 is not provided.
The type of application program installed in the storage unit 48. Therefore, here, the application program installed in the storage unit 48 will be described. The storage unit 48 has a browser program 48.
a is stored (installed). This browser program 48a is, for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer (trademark), or
Netscape Navigator Netscape Navigator ™
For example, various kinds of data in html format transmitted from the server computer 1 via the network 2 and the communication unit 49 are displayed on the display unit 47, and when the operation unit 46 is operated by the user, the operation content. Is transferred to the server computer 1.

Next, referring to the control block diagram of FIG.
The control system of the program installed in each of the server computer 1 and the PDA 3 will be described.

The shared memory 71 uses a predetermined area of the RAM 23, and is a kernel object, which is information shared by the music content reproduction program 28a, the TV program display program 28b, and the standby program 28c, which are application programs. 71a is stored. In this case, the shared memory 71 is RAM
An example of using a predetermined area of 23 will be described.
A dedicated memory may be provided separately from the M23.

When the music content reproduction program 28a and the TV program display program 28b are activated, their window handles are communicated to the standby program 28c previously described in the kernel object 71a.
Through this processing, the standby program 28c describes the list of application programs that are currently being activated in the kernel object 71a.

The kernel object 71a is Windows
It is used on a (registered trademark) OS and describes shared information used when sharing a memory space or a file pointer between programs. In addition, the kernel object 71a is the standby program 2 as described above.
The window handle 8c and the list of application programs are not only described, but also the music content reproduction program 28a which is an application program.
Alternatively, the operating state thereof is also described and stored by the TV program display program 28b. Kernel object 7
1a is provided with an identifier for identifying each described information, and the information is read or written (updated) based on the identifier.

The standby program 28c is a program that is always activated when the server computer 1 is activated. When the server computer 1 is activated, the standby program 28c accesses the shared memory 71 and declares its own window handle (WH: Window Handle) to make a kernel object. 71a. Here, the window handle is the Windows (registered trademark) O
It is used on S and is an identifier for identifying each program (identifying each process). The window handle is a value that is set each time the server computer 1 is activated, and is not a constant value. Therefore, the window handle of the standby program 28c also changes each time the server computer 1 is activated, and the window handle of the standby program 28c set at the time of activation is described in the kernel object.

FIG. 5 shows the kernel object 71 described above.
It shows an example of description of a. Thus, in the kernel object 71a, the corresponding information is described together with the identifier. In this case, X is described as the window handle of the standby program 28c in the identifier "001" (WH = X). The identifier "002" describes the operation state of the music content reproduction program, the identifier "003" describes the operation state of the TV program display program, and the identifier "004" indicates the list of application programs. Information is described. In this list of application programs, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the corresponding window handle is described together with the list of application programs. In the present case, the window handle of the music content reproduction program 28a is set to WH = Y, and the TV program display program 28b is set to WH = Z.

The standby program 28c is the PDA3.
When the browser program 48a of the above is operated by the user and receives the input command via the network 2, the browser program 48a for the music content reproduction program 28a and the TV program display program 28b activated according to the content of the command is displayed. Send the message corresponding to the command. Here, the message is used in Windows (registered trademark), and is a means for exchanging information between programs. The message specifies the program to which the message is sent by the window handle, and is sent with the window handle of the program that is the sender.

Further, when the stand-by program 28c receives a message indicating that the operation state has changed from the music content reproduction program 28a or the TV program display program 28b, it accesses the kernel object 71a and, in response to the identifier, Get operating status.

As described above, the message is also used as means for transmitting to the standby program 28c that the information of the kernel object 71a has been updated by the music content reproduction program 28a and the TV program display program 28b.

When the standby program 28c accesses the kernel object 71a stored in the shared memory 71 and obtains predetermined information, http (Hyper-Text)
It is supplied to the browser program 48a of the PDA 3 via the network 2 by communication based on the Transfer Protocol.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
A process of registering the window handle of the music content reproduction program 28a in the kernel object 71a, which is necessary when exchanging information between the programs by the above message, will be described.

In step S1, the standby program 28c is activated. The activation of the standby program 28c is started together with the activation of the server computer 1.

In step S2, the standby program 28c writes its window handle in the kernel object 71a. For example, in the case of the kernel object shown in FIG. 5, "001" is set as the identifier in the kernel object 71a, and the standby program 2 is set as the content of the corresponding kernel object 71a.
X which is the window handle of 8c is described (WH =
X).

In step S3, the standby program 28c determines whether or not a message indicating the activation of the application program has been transmitted, and repeats the processing until it is determined that the message has been transmitted.

At this time, when the operation section 26 is operated by the user and a predetermined process is performed, the music content reproducing program 28a executes a starting process in step S11. In step S12, the music content reproduction program 28a acquires the window handle of the standby program 28c from the kernel object 71a of the shared memory 71. For example, in the case of the kernel object 71a as shown in FIG. 5, since the window handle of the standby program 28a is described in the identifier "001" by the processing of step S2, the music content playback program 28c uses this identifier "001". "WH = X", which is the information corresponding to the above, is acquired as the window handle of the standby program 28a.

In step S13, the music content reproduction program 28a describes its own operating state in the kernel object 71a. That is, in the case of the kernel object 71a shown in FIG. 5, the music content reproduction program 28a describes the information of its own operation state as the identifier “002”.

In step S14, the music content reproduction program 28a updates the kernel object 71a by starting the program with the window handle (WH = X in this case) of the standby program 28c as the destination, and its own window. The handle (WH = Y in the example of FIG. 5) is sent as a message to the standby program 28c.

In step S3, for example, when the information indicating the activation of the program is transmitted by the processing of step S14, the stand-by program 28c determines that the information indicating the activation has been transmitted, and the processing is step S4. Proceed to.

In step S4, the standby program 28c acquires the window handle of the application program included in the message. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the standby program 28c is assumed to have acquired WH = Y as the window handle of the music content reproduction program 28a.

In step S5, the stand-by program 28c is the acquired music content reproduction program 28c.
the window handle of a to the kernel object 71
A is added to the application program list, and the process returns to step S3. That is, in this case, the standby program 28c stores the window handle WH = Y of the music content playback program 28a as a corresponding table as shown in FIG.
It is described in association with the identifier “004” indicated by.

As described above, steps S3 to S
By repeating the processing of step 5, even when the TV program display program 28b is started, for example, the same processing is performed to display the TV program display program 28b at the position corresponding to the identifier "003" as shown in FIG. Of the TV program, the application program list of the identifier “004” is updated, and as shown in FIG.
WH = Z is described as the window handle of the program display program 28b. TV program display program 2
The process of registering the window handle of 8b is similar to the process of registering the window handle of the music content reproduction program 28a, and therefore the description of the process is omitted.
The processing is the same for application programs other than these application programs.

Next, referring to the flow chart of FIG.
A process of remotely controlling the music content reproduction program 28a by the PDA 3 will be described.

In step S41, when the operation unit 46 is operated by the user, the browser program 48a controls the communication unit 49 in accordance with the operation content, and the browser program 48a sends the application program to the server computer 1 via the network 2. Request a list.

In step S61, the standby program 28c of the server computer 1 determines whether or not a request for information on the list of application programs is received, and the processing is continued until it is determined that a request for information on the list of application programs is received. repeat. For example,
If it is determined by the process of step S41 that there is a request for the list of application programs, the process proceeds to step S62.

In step S62, the stand-by program 28c acquires the information of the list of application programs from the kernel object 71a stored in the shared memory 71, controls the communication unit 29, and transmits it to the PDA 3 via the network 2. To do. For example, when the kernel object 71a has the configuration shown in FIG. 5 by the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 7, the standby program 28c searches for the identifier “004” and acquires the information of the list of application programs, Send to PDA3. In the present case, as shown in FIG. 6, the information of the list of specific application programs includes the music content reproduction program 28a and the TV program display program 2
Since 8b is described, these two application programs are transmitted as list information.

In step S42, the browser program 48a acquires the information on the list of application programs transmitted from the server computer 1 via the network 2 and displays the selection screen as shown in FIG. That is, the display column 91 shown in FIG.
The button 101 for selecting the music content reproduction program 28a and the button 102 for selecting the TV program display program 28b are displayed in correspondence with the information of the list of application programs in FIG. The corresponding application program is selected by pressing the button 103.

In step S43, the browser program 48a determines whether any application program has been selected, and the processing is repeated until any application program is selected. In step S43, for example, the operation unit 46 is operated by the user, and as shown in FIG.
3 is pressed down while being moved to the music content reproduction program 101, and the music content reproduction program 28
If a is selected, the browser program 48a determines that an application program has been selected, and the processing proceeds to step S44.

In step S44, the browser program 48a requests the server computer 1 for the operation result information of the selected application program together with the selection result.

In step S63, the standby program 28c of the server computer 1 determines whether or not a request for the information and status information of the selected application program has been received, and the processing is repeated until it is determined that the request has been received. In step S63, for example, when the information of the selected application program and the information of the operating state of the selected application program is requested by the processing of step S44 and it is determined that the request is received, the processing is It proceeds to step S64.

In step S64, the standby program 28c accesses the shared memory 71, refers to the information of the kernel object 71a corresponding to the selected application program, and sends the status information to the browser program 48a of the PDA 3, Specifically, in the case of the kernel object 71a as shown in FIG. 5, since the music content reproduction program 28a is selected as the application program, the standby program 28c indicates that the music content reproduction program corresponding to the identifier "002" is in the operating state. Read this and html
(Hyper Text Markup Language) to convert to TCP / IP
(Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol)
To the browser program 48a of the PDA 3 by communication using http (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol).

In step S45, the browser program 48a determines whether or not the operation state information has been transmitted, and repeats the processing until the operation state information is transmitted. For example, by the processing of step S64, the selected application program If it is determined that the operation state information has been transmitted, the process proceeds to step S46.

In step S46, the browser program 48a controls the display unit 47 to display the received html operation state information, for example, as shown in FIG. That is, the operation state of the music content reproduction program 28a is directly reflected and displayed on the display unit 47. In FIG. 10, “Playing” is displayed, and now,
It is shown that the music content reproduction program 28a is reproducing music content. Further, below that, as the information of the content being reproduced, "Bona Petit" is displayed in the album name display field 121, and "1 party party, 2 chamomile, 3 midnight night game" is displayed in the song title display field 122. 4 Summer Lover, 5
Every day is special ”is displayed. In this case, it is shown that the content "Camomile" with the album name "Bonapeti" is being reproduced.

Below that, from the left, the play button 11
1, a stop button 112, a pause button 113, a fast rewind button 114, and a fast forward button 115 are displayed.

At this time, the display screen of the music content reproduction program 28a is displayed on the display unit 27 of the server computer 1 as shown in FIG.
That is, in the field 131, from the top as a list of contents, "1 party party, 2 chamomile,
3 Night game at midnight, 4 Summer Lover, 5 days is special ”is displayed, and it is also shown that“ 2 chamomile ”is being played.

In the upper part of FIG. 11, the field 1
A stop button 141 for executing the reproduction processing of the music content displayed on 31, and a reproduction button 14 for executing the reproduction
2. When the pause button 143 for pause, the fast-reverse button 144 for performing fast-reverse, and the fast-forward button 145 for performing fast-forward are displayed respectively, and the operation unit 26 of the server computer 1 is operated by the user, Can be executed.

That is, the information on the display screen of FIG. 11 displayed by the music content reproduction program 28a operating on the server computer 1 is stored as operation information in the kernel object 71a, and further converted into html by the standby program 28c. After that, it is transferred to the PDA 3 and displayed on the display unit 47 by the browser program 48a as shown in FIG.

Here, the description returns to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S47, the browser program 48a determines whether or not any operation request has been selected, and repeats the processing until any operation request is made. In step S47, for example, when the stop button 112 shown in FIG. 10 is pressed and the stop of the music content reproduction program 28a is instructed, it is determined that there is an operation request, and the process proceeds to step S48.

In step S48, the browser program 48a sends the selected operation request information to the server computer 1. That is, in this case, since the stop button 112 has been pressed, the browser program 48a
Requests the stop operation to the server computer 1.

In step S65, the standby program 28c determines whether or not an operation request is received, and repeats the processing until the operation request is received. Step S
In the processing of 65, for example, when the stop operation request is transmitted from the PDA 3 in the processing of step S48,
The standby program 28c determines that there is an operation request, and the process proceeds to step S66.

In step S66, the standby program 28c sends the requested operation contents as a message to the window handle of the corresponding application program. That is, in this case, the requested operation content is stop, and the target application program is the music content playback program 28.
Since it is a, the standby program 28c refers to the information of the application program list by the identifier "004" when the kernel object 71a is as shown in FIG. 5, and is the target as shown in FIG. The window handle (WH = Y) of the music content reproduction program 28a is acquired, and a stop request is transmitted to the window handle (WH = Y).

In step S81, the music content reproduction program 28a, which is the target application program, determines whether or not there is an operation request, and repeats the processing until it is determined that there is an operation request.
For example, when the operation request message is transmitted by the process of step S66, the music content reproduction program 28a determines that the operation request is made, and the process proceeds to step S82.

In step S82, the music content reproduction program 28a executes the process corresponding to the message operation request. In this case, since the stop request has been transmitted by the process of step S66, the reproduction process of the music content is stopped as the corresponding process.
That is, the same process as when the stop button 141 shown in FIG. 11 is pressed is executed, and the music content reproduction process is stopped.

In step S83, the music content reproduction program 28a updates the kernel object 71a in the operating state changed by the operation processing. That is, when the kernel object has a configuration as shown in FIG. 5, the music content reproduction program 28a accesses the shared memory 71 to set the operation state of the music content reproduction program 28a corresponding to the identifier “002”.
What was in the playback state until then is updated to the stopped state.

In step S84, the music content reproduction program 28a is executed by the kernel object 71a.
To obtain the window handle of the standby program 28a. That is, kernel object 7
When 1a has the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the music content reproduction program 28a indicates that the window handle (WH ==) of the standby program corresponding to the identifier “001”.
X) is acquired.

In step S85, the music content reproduction program 28a controls the communication section 29 to acquire the window handle (W
(H = X) as a destination, the standby program 2 receives a message indicating that its own operating state has changed (updated).
8c.

In step S67, the stand-by program 28c determines whether or not it has been notified as a message that the operating state has been updated, and repeats the processing until the update of the operating state is notified as a message.
For example, when the message indicating the update of the operating state is transmitted by the process of step S85, the standby program 28c determines that the message indicating the update of the operating state is notified, and the process proceeds to step S68.

In step S68, the standby program 28c causes the kernel object 7 in the shared memory 71 to
1a to access the music content reproduction program 28
The information on the operating state of a is read. More specifically, when the kernel object 71a has a configuration as shown in FIG. 5, the standby program 28c is the updated music content reproduction program 2 corresponding to the identifier “002”.
As the operation information of 8a, in this case, the operation information in the stopped state is read.

In step S69, the standby program 28c determines whether the read information is the information indicating the end of the operation. In this case, since the music content reproduction program 28c is in the reproduction stopped state, it is determined that the operation information has not ended, and the process proceeds to step S70.

In step S70, the standby program 28c causes the kernel object 7 in the shared memory 71 to
1a is accessed, the read operation status information of the music content reproduction program 28a is converted into html, and PDA3
, And the process returns to step S65. In this case, the operation information indicating that the music content reproduction program 28a is in the stopped state is read out, converted into html, and the PDA3
Sent to.

In step S46, the browser program 48a causes the display section 47 to display a screen corresponding to the updated operation information, and the subsequent processing is repeated.

In step S49, the browser program 48a determines whether or not the end is selected, and when it is determined that the end is not selected, the process returns to step S46. That is, the processes of steps S46 to S49 are repeated until the end is selected. In the process of step S48, for example, when the end button 116 of FIG. 10 is pressed, in step S49, the browser program 48a determines that the end is selected, and ends its process.

When the standby program 28c determines in step S69 that the operation state of the music content reproduction program 28a on the kernel object 71a is stopped, the processing is ended. That is, the processes of steps S65 to S70 are repeated until it is determined that the operation state of the music content reproduction program 28a on the kernel object 71a is stopped.

Further, in the processing of step S43, the selection screen as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed, and the button 102
Is pressed by the pointer 103 to select the TV program display program 28b, the TV program is selected as the selected application program in step S44.
Information on the operating state of the program display program 28b is requested. In step S64, the kernel object 7
From 1a, the TV corresponding to the identifier "003" shown in FIG.
The operation status of the program display program 28b is read and
Converted to ml and sent to PDA3. In step S46, for example, a recording reservation screen as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed. That is, from the top in FIG. 12, the year display column 141, the month display column 142, the day display column 143, the selected channel display column 144, and the recording start time / time display column 14 from the top of the recording reservation date.
5, a recording start time / minute display field 146, a recording end time / time display field 147, a recording end time / minute display field 148, a G code display field 149, and a program name display field 150 are displayed. These can be directly input by the operation unit 46, or, for example, other information is displayed along with the input of the G code input field 149. In this case, "2001" is displayed in the year display field 141,
“10” is displayed in the month display field 142, “5” is displayed in the day display field 143, and “4” is displayed in the selected channel display field 144.
“19” is displayed in the recording start time / time display field 145, “00” is displayed in the recording start time / minute display field 146, “21” is displayed in the recording end time / time display field 147, and recording end time / minute display field 148 is displayed. Is "00", but the G code display field 149 "117
891 ”and“ Drama BB ”are displayed in the program name display field 150, respectively, and recording reservation information is recorded on channel 4 on October 5, 2001 at 19:00.
The recording from 12:00 to 21:00 is reserved, the G code of the program is 117891, and the program name is "Drama B.
B ".

In the lower part of FIG. 12, a reservation button 161, which is pressed to confirm the recording reservation, a confirmation button 162 for confirming the recording contents, and a cancel button 16 for canceling the recording reservation.
3 and an end button 164 for ending the TV program display program 28b are displayed. Further, a reservation information display field 165 is provided below that, and reservation information is displayed. In this case, 200 from the top
From 15:00 to 17:00 on October 1st, 1st, 2nd on October 2nd, 2001 at the program title "World Legend" of channel 6 whose G code is specified by "11456": From 00:00 to 19:00, the program name "Drama A" of the 4th channel whose G code is specified by "3466" is the third, 15:00 to 15:00 on October 5, 2001.
At 9:00, the program name "News A" on channel 1 with the G code specified by "1234", and fourthly, from October 5, 2001, 19:00 to 21:00.
Shows that the broadcast of the program name “Drama BB” of channel 4 designated by the G code “117891” is reserved for recording. In the present case, the fourth recording reservation information (the portion indicated by the shaded portion in the figure) is selected and displayed at the top.

At this time, the program table is displayed on the display unit 27 of the server computer 1 as shown in FIG. 13, and in this case, the date display field 191 shows "2001/10/5".
Is displayed and 1 channel 18:00 to 19:00
News A whose G code is displayed as "1234"
However, from 19:00 to 20:00, the G code is "13.
The variety A displayed as "56" and the historical drama where the G code is displayed as "7789" are displayed from 20:00 to 21:00. In addition, the G code is "56" from 18:00 to 19:00 of channel 4.
News B displayed as "78" is from 19:00 to 2
At 1:00, the drama BB whose G code is displayed as "117891" is displayed. In addition, the news C whose G code is displayed as "9101" is displayed between 18:00 and 19:00 of channel 6, and the baseball whose G code is displayed as "12557" between 19:00 and 21:00. Each relay is displayed. A variety of Manga A whose G code is displayed as “1122” between 18:00 and 19:00 on Channel 8 and a G code which is displayed as “999” between 19:00 and 20:00 From 20:00 to 21:00 B, the drama AA in which the G code is displayed as "888" is displayed.

Below that, a reservation button 181, which is pressed to confirm the reservation, a confirmation button 182 which is pressed to confirm the reservation content, a cancel button 183 which is pressed to cancel the reservation content, and a TV program. An end button 184 that is pressed to end the display program 28b
Is displayed.

At this time, the program for which reservation is selected is
The display is adapted to change, and in this case, it is indicated that "News A" and "Drama BB" displayed in the shaded area are reserved for recording.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the reservation information is the same. That is, as described above, in step S64, the stand-by program 28c accesses the shared memory 71, and the TV corresponding to the identifier “003”
Information on the display screen as shown in FIG. 13, which is the operation state of the program display program 28b, is read out and is read out as html (Hype
r Text Markup Language) and convert to TCP / IP (Transm
PDA via http (Hyper Text transfer Protocol) through ission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol
3 to the browser program 48a. Then, in step S46, the browser program 48a
By controlling the display unit 47, the received status information is displayed, for example,
It is displayed as shown in FIG.

Further, in step S47, for example, when the cancel button 163 shown in FIG. 12 is pressed,
That is, when the process of canceling the fourth reservation information is selected, in step S48, the browser program 48
a transmits a reservation cancellation operation request to the server computer 1. Further, in step S66, the standby program 28c transmits a reservation cancellation operation request addressed to the window handle (WH = Z) (FIG. 5) of the TV program display program 48b. In step S82,
The TV program display program 28b, which is the selected application program, executes the process when the cancel button 183 corresponding to the transmitted cancel request is pressed, and in step S83, the identifier "003" of the kernel object 71a. Update the operating status of the TV program display program corresponding to. Further, step S84
In step S85, the window handle (WH = X) of the standby program 28c is acquired.
The window handle (WH = X) is addressed to send a message notifying the update of the operating state.

In step S68, the stand-by program 28c accesses the kernel object 71a in response to the message, and the TV program display program 2
The information of the operation state of 8b is acquired, converted into html and transmitted to the PDA 3 in step S70. Then, in step S46, information on these operating states, that is, the operating state in which the reservation is canceled in this case, is displayed on the display unit 27.
Is displayed in.

In this way, the PDA 3 can realize an operation as if it were a remote controller of the TV program display program 28b. In the above description, an example in which the cancel button 163 in the TV program display program 28b is pressed has been described.
The same applies when the reservation button 161, the confirmation button 162, or the end button 164 is pressed. Further, while the TV program display program 28b controls the tuner 30 on the display unit 27 to display the received program, channel change processing and volume adjustment may be performed. The process is similar to that described above.

In the above example, the case where the application program on the server computer 1 is operated by the PDA 3 has been described. However, the server computer 1 that executes the application program or the PDA 3 executes the application program.
Other than this, 3 may be, for example, mutually portable personal computers. Further, for example, when operating an application program such as the music content reproduction program 28a, if the music content being reproduced is also written in the kernel object 71a, not only the operation state is displayed on the display unit 27, but also a voice is displayed. Music content can be played back by attaching an output speaker or the like, and can also function as a remote speaker.

When an application program used only at a remote place is used, the user interface screen to be displayed on the display unit 27 of the server computer 1 does not have to be set in particular, and the user interface screen is set as described above. As a result, the processing content of the server computer 1 can be reduced.

Further, in the above example, the description has been made on the assumption that the application program has been started in advance. However, the application program can be started from a device used at a remote place such as PDA 3 in the above example. You may let me.

In the above example, the standby program 28c and the music content reproduction program 28a, or the standby program 28c and the TV program display program 2
You may make it comprise the application program which combined 8a.

In the above, even in a portable information processing terminal such as the PDA 3, the operation status of the application program executed by the server computer 1 can be displayed by being converted into html, and as a result, the user can It becomes possible to grasp the operating state of the application program from a remote location and further operate it.

The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software. When a series of processes is executed by software, various functions can be executed by installing a computer in which a program configuring the software is incorporated in dedicated hardware or various programs. It is installed from a recording medium into a possible general-purpose personal computer or the like.

This recording medium is provided by the server computer 1 or the PDA 3 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and is provided to the user in advance. A magnetic disk 111 on which the program is recorded, which is distributed to provide the program to the user separately from the computer.
131 (including flexible disk), optical disk 1
12, 132 (CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memor
y), DVD (including Digital Versatile Disk), magneto-optical disks 113 and 133 (including MD (Mini-Disk) (registered trademark)), or semiconductor memories 104 and 134.
Consists of package media such as (including Memory Stick).

In the present specification, the steps for writing the program recorded on the recording medium include, of course, the processing performed in a time series according to the described order, and of course, the processing is not necessarily performed in a time series. , Which include processes executed in parallel or individually.

In this specification, the system means
It represents the entire apparatus composed of a plurality of devices.

[0096]

According to the information processing apparatus and method and the program of the present invention, the operation state of the application program is stored and the command for the application program transmitted from another information processing apparatus via the network is received. Then, it notifies the application program of the content of the command according to the content of the received command, detects whether the operating state of the application program has changed, and detects whether the content of the received command or the operating state has changed. Accordingly, the stored operating state of the application program is read out, and the read operating state of the application program is transmitted to another information processing device via the network. Therefore, various other information can be transmitted via the network. Information processing device by processing device It is possible to remotely control the application program being executed in.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a remote control system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the PDA of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating the remote control system of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a kernel object.

6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an application program list of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a window handle registration process.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of an application program.

9 is a diagram illustrating a display screen displayed on the display unit in FIG.

10 is a diagram illustrating a display screen displayed on the display unit in FIG.

11 is a diagram illustrating a display screen displayed on the display unit in FIG.

12 is a diagram illustrating a display screen displayed on the display unit in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a display screen displayed on the display unit in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 server computer, 2 network, 3 PD
A, 26 operation unit, 27 display unit, 28 storage unit, 28a
Music content reproduction program, 28b TV program display program, 28c standby program, 29 communication unit, 30 tuner, 46 operation unit, 47 display unit, 4
8 storage unit, 48a browser program, 49 communication unit, 71 shared memory, 71a kernel object, 91 display column, 101, 102 button, 103
Pointer, 111 play button, 112 stop button,
113 Pause button, 114 Rewind button, 11
5 Fast forward button, 121 Album name display field, 122
Song title display field, 131 field, 141 stop button, 142 play button, 143 pause button, 144 fast rewind button, 145 fast forward button, 1
61 reservation button, 162 confirmation button, 163 cancel button, 181 reservation button, 182 confirmation button, 1
83 Cancel button

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kiyonobu Kojima             6-735 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Soni             -Inside the corporation F-term (reference) 5B076 BB02 BB06

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus in which an application program that operates in response to a command transmitted from another information processing apparatus via a network is installed, and a storage unit that stores the operating state of the application program. Command receiving means for receiving a command for the application program transmitted from the other information processing device via the network; and the application program according to the content of the command received by the command receiving means. Command notification means for notifying the content of the command, detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a change in the operating state of the application program, content of the command received by the command receiving means, or the presence or absence of a change in the operating state Then, the reading means for reading the operation state of the application program stored in the storage means, and the operation state of the application program read by the reading means to the other information processing device via the network. An information processing apparatus comprising: a transmitting unit for transmitting. 2. The command receiving unit receives a command for the application program transmitted from the other information processing apparatus via the network by communication using http. The information processing device according to 1. 3. The transmitting means transmits the operating state of the application program read by the reading means to the other information processing apparatus via the network by communication using http. The information processing device according to claim 1. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the command includes a command to start the application program when the application program is not started. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means detects whether or not the operating state of the application program has changed, by a message command output from the application program. 6. An information processing method for an information processing apparatus in which an application program that operates in response to a command transmitted from another information processing apparatus via a network is installed, and stores the operating state of the application program. A storage step, a command receiving step of receiving a command for the application program transmitted from the other information processing apparatus via the network, and a command receiving step according to the content of the command received in the processing of the command receiving step. A command notifying step of notifying the application program of the contents of the command, a detecting step of detecting the presence or absence of a change in the operating state of the application program, and a command received in the processing of the command receiving step. Content, or, depending on the presence or absence of a change in the operating state,
The reading step of reading the operating state of the application program stored in the processing of the storing step, and the operating state of the application program read in the processing of the reading step via the network, and the other information processing apparatus. And a transmitting step of transmitting the information to the information processing method. 7. A computer that controls an information processing apparatus in which an application program that operates corresponding to a command transmitted from another information processing apparatus via a network is installed, stores the operating state of the application program. A storage control step of controlling, a command reception control step of controlling reception of a command to the application program transmitted from the other information processing apparatus via the network, and received by the processing of the command reception control step. A command notification control step of controlling notification of the content of the command to the application program according to the content of the command, a detection control step of controlling detection of the presence or absence of a change in the operating state of the application program, Read operation status of the application program whose storage is controlled by the processing of the storage control step according to the content of the command whose reception is controlled by the processing of the command reception control step or the presence or absence of the change of the operation status. A read control step of controlling, and a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the operating state of the application program whose read is controlled in the processing of the read control step to the other information processing apparatus via the network Program to let.