JP2003228451A - Online manual system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an online manual system that can display manual for each product from an external database via the Internet, can select a manual in accordance with the level of a reader thereof, and can update a manual to its current version or perform maintenance of the manual, whenever necessary. <P>SOLUTION: A digital camera 1 is connected to a personal computer 3 (hereinafter referred to as PC) for performing operation and for producing a screen display, using a USB cable 2. The Internet 5 is connected to the PC 3 and a broadband circuit 4 of an ISDN, an ADSL, an optical fiber or the like. A manual data center 10 has a manual server 6 and an information database 7. The manual server 6 is connected to the Internet 5 by a high speed circuit 8. The information database 7 is connected to the manual server 6 with a cable 9 to record and store various information data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an on-line manual system, and more particularly, by connecting an operation manual information, service information, etc. of a home electric appliance to a computer, a home electric appliance can be directly displayed on a computer screen via the Internet. Related to the online manual system to display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent computers, the method of using the attached software is displayed on the screen, and when the purchaser cannot understand how to use the software or if some trouble occurs, the user can use the software while watching the screen display. And how to deal with troubles.

As a result, an instruction manual as a paper medium becomes unnecessary, and the efficiency of resources can be improved. As an example of such a technique, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-
The "image forming system" described in Japanese Patent No. 250047, the "camera" described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-66684, and the "camera" described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-64947 are known.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-250047, a digital camera and a dedicated printer are connected to each other, and a help key of the printer is pressed to display a help menu on the display unit of the digital camera. A technique is described in which a help menu is selected and displayed by a key operation of a digital camera, and the display content is printed by pressing a print switch.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-66684, a plurality of button keys and information corresponding thereto are stored as help data inside the camera body, and when a desired button key is pressed, the monitor section of the camera is displayed. A technique for displaying desired help data on a screen is described.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-64947, a confirmation item processing procedure for various operations as to whether or not each unit of the camera normally operates is stored in a memory,
There is described a technique of displaying a confirmation processing procedure by pressing a designated confirmation switch and displaying an explanation of a camera operation stored in a memory.

[0007]

In any of the conventional online manual systems described above, operation procedures and confirmation operation processing procedures stored in the memory built into the camera body are displayed on the display unit of the body by pressing a key switch on the body. Since it is displayed and printed on a printer connected to the camera as needed, it is limited to a manual specific to the camera body, and has a drawback that it cannot be used for all other products.

The explanation of the manual depends on the user level.
For example, since it targets people at a certain standard level regardless of people such as beginners, advanced people, and old people, it has the drawback of being difficult to understand.

Further, since the manual is stored in the memory of the camera body, it has a drawback that it is not easy to maintain the latest manual and misprints. The object of the present invention is not limited to cameras, but manuals for all general products can be displayed from an external database via the Internet, can be selected according to the level of the person reading the manual, and the latest version of the manual and maintenance can be performed at any time. To provide an online manual system.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems] As a first means for solving the above problems, "an operation manual for electric appliances is
An online manual system, which is transmitted from a manual data center connected to the Internet via a computer connected to the appliance and the Internet, and is displayed on a display unit of the appliance (claim 1). "I will provide a.

[0012] As a second means for solving the above-mentioned problems, "an electric appliance;
A computer having an operation unit and a display unit; the Internet connected to this computer via a broadband line; the Internet connected to this Internet via a high-speed line,
A manual server that performs server processing; an information database that is connected to the manual server by a cable and records and stores various information data including a manual of the electric appliance, and terminals of the electric appliance and the computer. When the computer is started up with this cable connected by the cable, the computer automatically recognizes the electric appliance and installs the driver, and the computer is connected via the broadband line, the Internet and the high-speed line. Then, the moving image data and the operation description which are connected to the manual server and recorded and stored in the information database are sent from the manual server via the high speed line, the Internet and the broadband line, and the moving image data and Explanation course difficulty The operation description corresponding is displayed on the display unit of the computer, providing an online manual system (claim 2) ", characterized in that it selects the operating instruction from the display unit.

[0012] As a third means for solving the above-mentioned problems, "the electric appliance is connected to a portable telephone having an internet function in place of the computer. Online manual system (Claim 3) ".

As a fourth means for solving the above-mentioned problems, "operation explanation corresponding to the degree of difficulty of the explanation course,
An online manual system (claim 4) according to claim 2, characterized in that the contents are for beginners, intermediate users, professionals and elderly people.

As a fifth means for solving the above problems, the online manual system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is characterized in that the electric appliance is a digital camera. Claim 5) "is provided. As a sixth means for solving the above-mentioned problems, “the image is displayed on the display unit through the Internet with the sound mixed therein,” according to any one of claims 1 to 5. An online manual system (claim 6) ”is provided.

As a seventh means for solving the above-mentioned problems, "the broad band line is ISDN, ADSL or optical fiber-is characterized in that:
An on-run manual system according to any one of claims (claim 7) "is provided.

As an eighth means for solving the above-mentioned problems, "an electric appliance; a computer connected to the electric appliance by a cable and having an operation unit and a display unit; an Internet connected to the computer by a broadband line; A manual server that connects to the Internet via a high-speed line and performs server processing; and an information database that connects to the manual server via a cable and records and stores various types of information data including manuals for the electric appliances An online manual method, comprising a mode switching step of switching the electric appliance to a status output mode; connecting the electric appliance and the computer with the cable, and using a wireless LAN.
A determination step of determining whether or not the wireless LAN interface is equipped; and when the wireless LAN interface is equipped, the electric appliance is directly connected to the server and the database by the Internet.
Connection step of the wireless LAN in the determination step
A second connection step for connecting to the computer when not equipped with the interface; a power step for turning on the power of the computer; and the computer automatically detects that the electric appliance is connected. A step of detecting whether the driver is installed in the computer, and if it is already installed, proceed to another step; otherwise, proceed to the next step Installation determination step; A driver installation step in which the driver is automatically installed when the driver for the electric appliance is not installed in the computer; A server connecting step for connecting to the server and the information database; a display step for displaying an initial screen on the computer when connected; and a main menu content corresponding to user menus according to proficiency levels on the initial screen. A menu input step in which a still image or a moving image is displayed on the menu screen and the menu is input; and after the display, the manual server sends the product code of the electric appliance from the computer,
A data transmission step of transmitting serial number, date of manufacture, firmware version, data of self-diagnosis result; echo in which the data is echoed back from the manual server to the computer or the electric appliance side, and answerback data is transmitted. Backstep;
An explanation display step in which an explanation of the selected function is automatically displayed on the screen by selecting and inputting the menu screen; and an operation determination step of determining whether or not any operation has been performed on the electrical appliance; When an operation is performed, an operation explanation display step for displaying the explanation of the corresponding operation screen; and an end processing step for turning on the end button and executing the end processing when all the explanation operations are completed, An online manual method (claim 8) ”is provided.

As a ninth means for solving the above problems, there is provided an "online manual method (claim 9) according to claim 8, characterized in that the electric appliance is a digital camera".

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an online manual system of the present invention.

The present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a digital camera 1 as a general home electric appliance, and a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) which is connected to the digital camera 1 by a USB cable 2 to perform an operation and a screen display. ) 3 and
This PC3, ISDN, ADSL (Asymmetri
c Digital Subscriber Lin
e: asymmetric digital subscriber line), the Internet 5 connected by a broadband line 4 such as an optical fiber,
It is composed of a manual server 6 connected to the Internet 5 via a high-speed line 8, and an information database 7 connected to the manual server 6 via a cable 9 and recording and storing various information data.

The manual server 6 and the information database 7 form a manual data center 10.
The customer who purchased the camera is the U of the digital camera 1 and PC3.
Each USB terminal is connected by the SB cable 2.
In addition to parallel cables such as USB cables, there are serial cables and wireless interfaces for this interface. When the PC3 is started up in this connected state, the PC3 automatically recognizes the digital camera 1 and installs the driver, and then the broadband data line 4, the Internet 5 and the high speed line 8 are passed to the manual data center 1
It is connected to the manual server 6 of 0.

In the sense that the connection is completed in this state, the moving image (animation etc.) data and the manual data recorded and stored in the information database 7 of the manual data center 10 are transmitted from the manual server 6 to the high speed line 8, the Internet 5 and the broadband. Video (animation etc.) data and manual data sent from the PC via line 4
The screen is displayed on the display of 3.

On this display screen, a menu screen is displayed in addition to the above-mentioned moving image data, and a corresponding explanation course (for beginners, intermediate users, professionals, silver "from the new year", etc.) can be selected from the screen. .

As a method of checking the state of the shutter etc. of the digital camera 1, a method of polling every few milliseconds so that the PC 3 sends status information to the digital camera 1 and an interface such as UBS are always used. There is a method of making the PC 3 read the state and the PC 3 reads the state, and one of them is selected.

That is, the state is read at the time of startup on the PC 3 side, and the shutter is turned off by the state change.
Detected to turn on. Shutter ON-OF
When F is detected, the status code is added to the user ID and the current processing mode (manual mode) and sent back to the manual server 6.

The manual server 6 side sends to the PC 3 a menu and a brief explanation screen for dividing the explanation about the shutter from the received state data "shutter on". As described above, it is possible to exchange information with the actual device, which is a home electric appliance such as the digital camera 1, via the PC 3 and the Internet 5. As information contents, operation information, service information, failure diagnosis information, maintenance information, etc. can be obtained.

If the digital camera 1 or the like has a display screen, it is displayed on the actual machine. When the display part of the PC 3 or the digital camera 1 has a display part, images (moving images, still images, etc.) and audio are mixed and displayed through the Internet 5. The connection method is serial line / telephone line / wireless line.

Further, when the actual machine is carried, the information such as the manual can be known even if the manual is not carried around by connecting the actual machine to the mobile phone and using the telephone line / wireless line.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. 2 and 3 are flowcharts showing the operation procedure of the online manual system of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an initial screen. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a screen when the user presses the shutter. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen in which the user wants to see a desired portion in close-up. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing uploading using the thumbnail screen.

The product (for example, the digital camera 1) is switched to the status output mode (step 1: S in FIG. 2).
1). USB between product digital camera 1 and PC 3
Connect with cable 2. Next, it is judged whether or not the wireless LAN interface is equipped (step 2 in FIG. 2:
S2), if equipped with a wireless LAN interface such as parallel cable, serial cable, etc., the digital camera 1 directly uses the Internet 5 to connect to the server 6
And the database 7 and skip to step 10 (FIG. 2, step 3: S3).

If the wireless LAN interface is not provided in step 2, the PC 3 is connected (step 4: S4 in FIG. 2). Next, the power of the PC 3 is turned on (step 5 in FIG. 2: S5). PC3 is automatically digital camera 1
Is connected (step 6: S in FIG. 2).
6).

Next, it is determined whether or not the driver is installed in the PC 3, and if it has been installed, the process proceeds to step 9, and if it has not been installed, the process proceeds to step 8 (FIG. 2, step 7: S7).

If the driver of the digital camera 1 is not installed in the PC 3 in step 7, the driver is automatically installed (step 8 in FIG. 2).
S8).

Next, since the digital camera 1 is in the status output mode, it is automatically connected to the manual server 6 and the information database 7 constituting the manual data center 10 through the Internet 5 (step 9: S9 in FIG. 2). At the moment of connection, the initial screen of Fig. 4 is a PC
It is displayed in 3.

Here, the user menu on the initial screen indicates the proficiency level of the user, and the main menu corresponding to the proficiency level, for example, beginner, intermediate level, advanced level, silver (for elderly), and professional. Since the content of is displayed as a still image or a moving image on the screen 1, the user inputs a menu (step 10 in FIG. 2: S10).

After displaying, the PC 3 is displayed on the manual server 6.
From the digital camera 1, data such as a product code, a serial number, a manufacturing date, a firmware version, and a self-diagnosis result are sent (step 11 in FIG. 2, S11).

At this time, these data are echoed back from the manual server 6 to the PC 3 or the digital camera 1 side, and necessary answer back data is also sent (step 12 in FIG. 2: S12).

If there is no problem, the operation is performed through the operation button of the digital camera 1. Regarding the display, if the digital camera 1 is equipped with a sufficient display function,
It is displayed not only on the display section of the personal computer 3 but also on the digital camera 1.

For example, when the digital camera 1 is in the manual mode, when the shutter button is pressed, the explanation of the shutter automatically starts. By selecting and inputting on the menu screen, the explanation of the function is automatically started (step 13 in FIG. 3: S13).

Next, it is determined whether or not any operation has been performed on the digital camera 1 (step 1 in FIG. 3).
4: S14), for example, when an operation such as turning on the shirt, squeezing, and levers is performed, the explanation of the corresponding operation screen is displayed (step 15 in FIG. 3: S15).

The screen of FIG. 5 shows an explanation screen when the user presses the shutter. As described above, the user menu indicates the proficiency level of the user. Also, the user can select any content from the chapter menu.

In the screen of FIG. 6, when the user pays attention and drags and zooms a desired portion, the portion is automatically displayed as a large copy on the screen 3. This is useful when you want to see the details.

Further, the user can receive the data storage service on the Internet by using the screen (thumbnail screen etc.) of FIG. When all the explanation operations are completed, the end button is turned on (step 16: S16 in FIG. 3), and thereby the end process is executed (step 17 in FIG. 3: S1).
7).

In the above description, a digital camera is explained as a general home electric appliance, but the present invention is not limited to a digital camera, and a video camera, an ITV, a stereo, a personal computer, an electric washing machine, an air conditioner, a home security. It is applied to all electric appliances such as systems. Since the manuals of these electric appliances and the updated latest manuals are always transferred and stored from the manufacturer side to the information database 7 via the manual server 6, the user can always see the latest manuals.

When carrying a digital camera, a video camera or the like as a general household appliance when going out, it is not necessary to carry a manual, and instead of connecting the digital camera or the video camera to the PC 3, a mobile phone having an internet function. By connecting to, the manual server 6 is connected in the same manner as described above, and the manual can be viewed directly on the actual device of the digital camera or video camera.

Information on only the manual can be viewed on the screen of the mobile phone by connecting the mobile phone to the manual server 6 through a telephone line.

[0046]

As described above, the online manual system of the present invention is very easy to understand and has no waste because the user can listen to the instruction manual while touching the actual machine and listening to the explanation. Have an effect.

Since the manuals are digitized and centrally managed by the manual server, there is an effect that the latest and better manuals can be used. Since the state of the actual machine of the user can be always grasped, it has an effect that the maintenance is effectively performed.

Since the explanation is interactive, it has the effect that the user's manual and the data of the feeling of use can be collected in a timely manner, which part is difficult to understand.

Further, even if the user does not bring the manual with him / her when he goes out, it is connected to the manual server with a mobile telephone or a telephone line and can be seen on an actual machine, which is advantageous in terms of convenience.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an online manual system of the present invention.

[Fig. 2]

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the online manual system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an initial screen.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a screen when a user presses a shutter.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen in which a user wants to see a close-up of a desired part.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing uploading using a thumbnail screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Digital camera 2 ... USB cable 3 ... PC 4 ... Broadband line 5 ... Internet 6 ... Manual server 7 ... Information database 8 ... High-speed line 9 ... Cable 10 ... Manual Data Center

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An electric appliance operation manual is transmitted from a manual data center connected to the Internet via a computer connected to the electric appliance and the Internet, and is displayed on a display unit of the electric appliance. An online manual system featuring. 2. An electric appliance; a computer which is connected to the electric appliance by a cable and has an operation unit and a display unit; an Internet which is connected to this computer by a broadband line; A manual server for carrying out the above; and an information database which records and stores various information data including a manual of the electric appliance, which is connected to the manual server by a cable, and which includes the electric appliance and terminals of the computer. When the computer is connected with the cable and the computer is started up in this connected state, the computer automatically recognizes the electric appliance and installs the driver, and then, via the broadband line, the Internet and the high speed line. With the manual server Next, the moving image data and operation explanations recorded and stored in the information database are sent from the manual server through the high-speed line, the Internet and the broadband line, and the moving image data and the explanation course are set to the difficulty level. An online manual system characterized in that the corresponding operating instructions are displayed on a display unit of the computer, and the operating instructions can be selected from the display unit. 3. The online manual system according to claim 1, wherein the electric appliance is connected to a mobile phone having an internet function instead of the computer. 4. The online manual system according to claim 2, wherein the operation explanation corresponding to the degree of difficulty of the explanation course has contents for beginners, intermediate users, professionals and elderly people. 5. The online manual system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the electric appliance is a digital camera. 6. The online manual system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an image is displayed on the display unit with the voice mixed through the Internet. 7. The broadband circuit is ISDN, ADSL
The optical fiber is an optical fiber, and the on-run manual system according to any one of claims 2 to 6. 8. An electric appliance; a computer connected to the electric appliance by a cable and having an operation unit and a display unit; an Internet connected to the computer via a broadband line; a connection to the Internet via a high-speed line for server processing An online manual method comprising: a manual server for carrying out; and an information database which records and saves various information data including a manual of the electric appliance, which is connected to the manual server by a cable. A mode switching step of switching to a status output mode; a judgment step of determining whether or not the electric appliance and the computer are connected by the cable and equipped with a wireless LAN interface; If yes, A first connecting step in which the electrical storage product is directly connected to a server and a database via the Internet; and a second connecting step in which when the determination step is not equipped with the wireless LAN interface, the computer is connected to the computer; Power on the computer
A power supply step for making the computer automatically detect that the electric appliance is connected; and a step for judging whether or not a driver is installed in the computer, and another step if the driver is already installed If it is not already installed, proceed to the next step; an installation determination step; and in this installation determination step, if the driver of the electric appliance is not installed in the computer, the driver is automatically installed. A step of automatically connecting to the manual server and the information database forming a manual data center through the Internet; and an initial screen is displayed on the computer when connected. And a menu input step in which the contents of the main menu are displayed as a still image or a moving image on the menu screen corresponding to the user menu according to the skill level on the initial screen, and the menu input step is performed; A data transmission step of transmitting the product code, serial number, date of manufacture, firmware version, self-diagnosis result data of the electric appliance from the computer to the server; the data being transmitted from the manual server to the computer or the electric appliance side. An echo back step in which answer back data is sent back to; and an explanation display step in which an explanation of the selected function is automatically displayed on the screen by selecting and inputting the menu screen; Determines whether any operation has been performed Operation determination step; an operation explanation display step in which, when an operation is performed, an explanation of the corresponding operation screen is displayed; and an end processing step in which the end button is turned on and the end processing is executed when all the explanation operations are completed An online manual method characterized by having and; 9. The online manual method according to claim 8, wherein the electrical appliance is a digital camera.