JP2009205492A - Computer remote operation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote operation method which can perform switching operation of an active window in an operated computer in which a plurality of windows are open even from an operating side computer having no coordinate designating device easily and by minimizing waste in communication. <P>SOLUTION: An active application selection control unit generates and displays an application tabulated list based on application list information, and if new application software is selected from the list, generates active application selection information. An active application setting control unit sets new active application software according to the selection information. An active window screen information generation control unit acquires new active window screen information. An active window display control unit displays screen information corresponding to a new active window on a display screen based on the screen information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for remotely operating a computer.

  A computer remote control system (for example, a “remote desktop” system used in a Windows (registered trademark) OS) that operates a computer at a remote location using another computer is known. A technique using a mobile phone as a computer on the operation side has been proposed. If a mobile phone can be used as the computer on the operating side, anyone can operate a remote computer from anywhere, anytime, from the penetration rate, portability rate, mobile phone wireless network maintenance status, etc. This is advantageous because it is possible.

  However, on the premise of the multitasking function that allows a plurality of application software (application programs) to be activated at the same time, the computer on the operated side has a plurality of windows (each application software on the display screen) It is common to have a multi-window function that simultaneously opens a display area for On the other hand, even if a multi-window function is provided, an input operation or the like can be performed only from the currently active window.

  In this case, in order to display the display screen of the operated computer on the mobile phone in a readable state, only a part of the display screen is displayed because the display screen of the mobile phone is small. Therefore, in order to perform an input operation on the currently active window, it is necessary to perform a scroll operation on the mobile phone in order to display the active window to be operated on the display screen of the mobile phone. This operation is complicated.

  Thus, in order to solve such a problem, a technique has been proposed in which only the currently active window is transmitted to the mobile phone and displayed (see Patent Document 1). According to this technique, complicated scroll operations can be reduced, and unnecessary communication can be omitted.

  However, this technique is effective when an input operation or the like is performed on a window that is currently active, but no consideration is given to an operation for switching a currently inactive window to an active window. On the other hand, in reality, when an operated computer having a multi-window function is remotely operated, the frequency of operations for switching active windows is extremely high. For this reason, the problem is how to facilitate this operation.

  In order to switch the active window, it is necessary to move the pointer from the active window currently displayed on the screen of the mobile phone to the inactive window.

  However, a mobile phone generally does not include a coordinate designation device (such as a mouse, a touch pad, or a touch panel) for directly designating a pointer position (coordinates) in the screen. Therefore, a method of moving the pointer position using a direction indicating device such as a cross key can be considered.

  On the other hand, as described above, the display screen of the mobile phone is often smaller than that of the computer on the operated side, so that only a part of the operated screen is displayed on the display screen of the mobile phone. Become. In such a case, the operated screen must be scrolled within the display screen of the mobile phone, and the direction indicating device described above must be used to indicate the direction of scrolling. For this reason, a direction indicating device such as a cross key cannot be used as a dedicated device for moving the pointer position.

  In this case, a method in which the function of the direction indicating device is switched between the pointer position movement mode and the scroll mode by another key operation or the like can be considered. However, in the case of a mobile phone, since compactness is emphasized, the actual situation is that the arrangement and operability of each key are not considered so much, and the key operation is not always easy. On the other hand, since the display screen is small, the switching frequency between the pointer position movement mode and the scroll mode is high. For this reason, with such a method, it is difficult to perform an operation of switching an inactive window to an active window without stress.

  As a technique for solving such a problem, a technique for interlocking scrolling and pointer movement on the operated screen has been proposed (see Patent Document 2). If this technique is used, scrolling and pointer movement can be performed simultaneously only by operating the cross key of the mobile phone, so that the stress of the operation of switching the active window using the mobile phone can be reduced.

However, even if the scroll operation and the pointer movement operation are unified to simplify the operation, a two-dimensional scroll operation must be performed on the display screen of the mobile phone in order to switch the inactive window to the active window. It still has to be a complicated operation. In addition, in this technique, even screen information of an inactive window that cannot be operated from the outside is also subject to communication, so there is a lot of waste of communication.
JP 2004-348380 A JP 2006-155327 A

  The present invention solves the problems of such a conventional system, and an active window in an operated computer in which a plurality of windows are opened even from an operating computer having no coordinate designation device such as a general mobile phone. It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer remote control system and the like that can easily perform the switching operation with less waste of communication.

  A remote operation system for a computer according to the present invention includes a server device having a multi-window function, and a remote operation device that includes a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit and remotely operates the server device via an information communication network. The server device includes an application list information generation control unit that controls to generate application list information that is list information of application software that is running on the server device and transmit the application list information to the remote operation device. The apparatus generates an application list based on the application list information received from the server apparatus and displays the application list on the display screen. The application software selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list is newly activated. An active application selection control unit that controls to generate and transmit active application selection information to the server device, and the server device further includes, according to the active application selection information received from the remote operation device, An active application setting control unit that controls to set active application software in the server device, and active window screen information that is screen information displayed in an active window that is a display area for the active application software is generated and transmitted to the remote control device. An active window screen information generation control unit that controls transmission, and the remote control device further receives the active window screen received from the server device Based on the distribution, on a display screen, further comprising an active window display control unit, which controls to display the screen information corresponding to the active window in the server apparatus, characterized by.

  A remote operation device according to the present invention is a remote operation device that includes a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit and remotely operates a server device having a multi-window function via an information communication network. The application list information, which is the list information of the application software, is received from the server device, the application list is generated based on the received application list information, displayed on the display screen, and operated from the displayed application list An active application selection control unit that controls to generate and transmit active application selection information indicating that the application software selected by the unit is new active application software; Active window screen information, which is screen information displayed in an active window that is a display area for active application software set in the server device according to the application selection information, is received from the server device, and the received active window screen information is received. Based on this, an active window display control unit that controls the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device is provided.

  A server device according to the present invention is a server device having a multi-window function, which can be remotely operated via an information communication network from a remote operation device having a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit, and is activated in the server device An application list information generation control unit that controls to generate application list information that is list information of application software in the application software and transmit the generated application list information to the remote operation device, and is generated in the remote operation device based on the application list information and displayed on the display screen Active application selection information indicating that the application software selected from the application list by the operation unit as new active application software is received from the remote control device, and the received active application In accordance with the selection information, an active application setting control unit that controls to set active application software in the server device, and active window screen information that is displayed on the active window that is a display area for the active application software is generated. And an active window screen information generation control unit for controlling the active window screen information to be transmitted to the remote operation device in order to display the screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device on the display screen of the remote operation device. , Provided.

  A program according to the present invention causes an operated computer to function as a server device having a multi-window function, and the operating computer includes a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit, and remotely operates the server device via an information communication network. An application list information generation control unit configured to function as a remote operation device, wherein the server device generates application list information that is list information of application software that is running in the server device and transmits the application list information to the remote operation device. The remote operation device generates an application list based on the application list information received from the server device, displays the application list on the display screen, and is selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list An active application selection control unit that controls to generate and transmit active application selection information indicating that the application software is new active application software, and the server apparatus further receives the information from the remote operation device An active application setting control unit that controls to set active application software in the server device in accordance with the active application selection information, and active window screen information that is screen information displayed on an active window that is a display area for the active application software An active window screen information generation control unit that controls to generate and transmit to the remote operation device, and the remote operation device further includes Based on the active window screen information received from the server device, a display screen, further comprising an active window display control unit, which controls to display the screen information corresponding to the active window in the server apparatus, characterized by.

  The program according to the present invention is a program that causes an operating computer to function as a remote operation device that includes a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit and remotely operates a server device having a multi-window function via an information communication network. The remote control device receives the application list information, which is the list information of the application software being activated in the server device, from the server device, generates the application list based on the received application list information, and displays the application list on the display screen. At the same time, it generates active application selection information indicating that the application software selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list is the new active application software, and transmits it to the server device. An active application selection control unit for controlling the active window screen information, and active window screen information which is screen information displayed on an active window which is a display area for active application software set in the server apparatus according to the active application selection information. And an active window display control unit for controlling the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device based on the received active window screen information. .

  A program according to the present invention causes a computer to be operated to function as a server device having a multi-window function that can be remotely operated via an information communication network from a remote operation device having a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit. The server device, based on the application list information and the application list information generation control unit that controls to generate application list information that is list information of the application software that is running in the server device and to transmit the application list information to the remote operation device Active application selection information indicating that application software selected by the operation unit from the application list generated on the remote operation device and displayed on the display screen is the new active application software. Is received from the remote control device, and is displayed in an active window that is a display area for the active application software, and an active application setting control unit that controls to set active application software in the server device according to the received active application selection information Active window screen information is generated, and the active window screen information is transmitted to the remote control device in order to display the screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device on the display screen of the remote control device. And an active window screen information generation control unit for controlling to do so.

  A remote operation method for a computer according to the present invention is a method for remotely operating a server device having a multi-window function through an information communication network using a remote operation device having a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit. An application list information generation step for controlling to generate application list information, which is list information of application software being activated in the server device, and transmitting the generated information to the remote operation device, and an application based on the application list information received from the server device A list is generated and displayed on the display screen, and an active application indicating that the application software selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list is the new active application software. Active application selection step for generating and selecting application selection information to be transmitted to the server device, and active application setting step for controlling to set active application software in the server device in accordance with the active application selection information received from the remote control device Active window screen information generation step for controlling active window screen information to be generated and transmitted to the remote control device, and received from the server device. Based on the active window screen information, the display screen is controlled to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device. Further comprising a revertive window display step, the features a.

  The features of the present invention can be broadly shown as described above, but the configuration and contents thereof, together with the objects and features, will be further clarified by the following disclosure in view of the drawings.

  A remote operation system for a computer according to a first invention of the present application includes a server device having a multi-window function, a display device having a display screen, and a remote operation device for remotely operating the server device via an information communication network. It is a system equipped with.

  The server device constituting the system includes an application list information generation control unit that controls to generate application list information that is list information of application software that is running on the server device and to transmit the generated application list information to the remote operation device.

  The remote operation device constituting the system generates an application list based on the application list information received from the server device and displays it on the display screen, and is selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list An active application selection control unit that controls to generate and transmit active application selection information indicating that the application software is new active application software.

  The server device further includes an active application setting control unit that controls to set active application software in the server device in accordance with the active application selection information received from the remote operation device.

  The server device further generates an active window screen information that is screen information displayed in an active window that is a display area for active application software, and controls to generate and transmit the active window screen information to a remote control device, It has.

  The remote operation device further includes an active window display control unit that controls the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device based on the active window screen information received from the server device. .

  A remote operation device according to a second invention of the present application is a remote operation device that includes a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit, and remotely operates a server device having a multi-window function via an information communication network.

  The remote control device receives application list information, which is list information of application software being activated in the server device, from the server device, generates an application list based on the received application list information, and displays the application list on the display screen. An active application selection control unit configured to generate active application selection information indicating that application software selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list is set as new active application software, and transmit the active application selection information to the server device; It has.

  The remote control device further receives, from the server device, active window screen information that is screen information displayed in an active window that is a display area for active application software set in the server device according to the active application selection information, Based on the received active window screen information, an active window display control unit for controlling the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device is provided.

  A server device according to a third invention of the present application is a server device having a multi-window function that can be remotely operated via an information communication network from a remote operation device including a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit.

  The server device includes an application list information generation control unit that controls to generate application list information, which is list information of application software that is running on the server device, and to transmit the generated application list information to the remote operation device.

  The server device further has an active application indicating that the application software selected by the operation unit from the application list generated in the remote operation device based on the application list information and displayed on the display screen is the new active application software. An active application setting control unit that receives selection information from the remote control device and controls to set active application software in the server device in accordance with the received active application selection information.

  The server device further generates active window screen information, which is screen information displayed in the active window, which is a display area for the active application software, and corresponds to the active window in the server device on the display screen of the remote control device. In order to display screen information to be displayed, an active window screen information generation control unit that controls to transmit the active window screen information to the remote control device is provided.

  A program according to a fourth invention of the present application causes an operated computer to function as a server device having a multi-window function, and the operating computer includes a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit, and the server device is provided via an information communication network. This is a program that functions as a remote control device for remote control.

  The server device includes an application list information generation control unit that controls to generate application list information, which is list information of application software that is running on the server device, and to transmit the generated application list information to the remote operation device.

  The remote control device generates an application list based on the application list information received from the server device and displays it on the display screen, and newly adds application software selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list. An active application selection control unit that controls to generate and transmit active application selection information to the server apparatus.

  The server device further includes an active application setting control unit that controls to set active application software in the server device in accordance with the active application selection information received from the remote operation device.

  The server device further generates an active window screen information that is screen information displayed in an active window that is a display area for active application software, and controls to generate and transmit the active window screen information to a remote control device, It has.

  The remote operation device further includes an active window display control unit that controls the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device based on the active window screen information received from the server device. .

  A program according to a fifth invention of the present application causes an operating computer to function as a remote operation device that includes a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit and remotely operates a server device having a multi-window function via an information communication network. It is a program.

  The remote control device receives application list information, which is list information of application software being activated in the server device, from the server device, generates an application list based on the received application list information, and displays the application list on the display screen. An active application selection control unit configured to generate active application selection information indicating that application software selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list is set as new active application software, and transmit the active application selection information to the server device; It has.

  The remote control device further receives, from the server device, active window screen information that is screen information displayed in an active window that is a display area for active application software set in the server device according to the active application selection information, Based on the received active window screen information, an active window display control unit for controlling the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device is provided.

  A program according to a sixth invention of the present application is a server device having a multi-window function, which can remotely operate an operated computer from a remote operation device having a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit via an information communication network. It is a program that makes it work.

  The server device includes an application list information generation control unit that controls to generate application list information, which is list information of application software that is running on the server device, and to transmit the generated application list information to the remote operation device.

  The server device further has an active application indicating that the application software selected by the operation unit from the application list generated in the remote operation device based on the application list information and displayed on the display screen is the new active application software. An active application setting control unit that receives selection information from the remote control device and controls to set active application software in the server device in accordance with the received active application selection information.

  The server device further generates active window screen information, which is screen information displayed in the active window, which is a display area for the active application software, and corresponds to the active window in the server device on the display screen of the remote control device. In order to display screen information to be displayed, an active window screen information generation control unit that controls to transmit the active window screen information to the remote control device is provided.

  A recording medium storing a program according to the seventh invention of the present application stores the program according to any one of the fourth to sixth inventions of the present application.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remote operation method for a computer, which uses a remote operation device including a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit to remotely operate a server device having a multi-window function via an information communication network. It is a method to do.

  The method is based on an application list information generation step for controlling to generate application list information, which is list information of application software being activated in the server device, and transmitting the generated information to the remote control device, and application list information received from the server device. An application list is generated and displayed on the display screen, and active application selection information indicating that application software selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list is set as new active application software is generated and the server is generated. In accordance with the active application selection step for controlling transmission to the device and the active application selection information received from the remote control device, the server device Active application setting step for controlling to set active application software and active window screen information that is displayed on the active window that is a display area for the active application software is generated and transmitted to the remote control device An active window screen information generation step for controlling, and an active window display step for controlling the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device, based on the active window screen information received from the server device. I have.

  That is, in these systems, devices, programs, and recording media and methods storing the programs, the server device generates application list information that is list information of application software that is running on the server device, and transmits it to the remote control device. .

  The remote operation device generates an application list based on the received application list information and displays the application list on the display screen. The remote operation device converts the application software selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list to the new active application software. Active application selection information to the effect is generated and transmitted to the server device.

  The server device sets active application software in the server device in accordance with the received active application selection information.

  The server device further generates active window screen information, which is screen information displayed in the active window, which is a display area for active application software, and transmits it to the remote control device.

  The remote control device displays screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device on the display screen based on the received active window screen information.

  Therefore, the user of the remote control device can select the desired application software from the application list displayed on the display screen of the remote control device, and the application software is set as new active application software. A new active window is displayed on the display screen of the remote control device.

  Therefore, when switching the active window, for example, the user moves the cursor on the application list displayed on the display screen of the remote control device by operating the up / down direction key of the cross key, and the cursor is moved. The active window can be switched with a simple and few operation of operating the selection key when the part corresponding to the desired application software is reached. Therefore, unlike the conventional case, there is no need for complicated operations such as two-dimensional scrolling of the display screen of the remote control device in order to switch the active window. Further, when switching an active window, even screen information constituting an inactive window is not subjected to communication, and communication is not wasted.

  In other words, even from an operating computer that does not have a coordinate designating device such as a general mobile phone, the switching operation of the active window in the operated computer having a plurality of open windows can be performed easily and with less waste of communication. be able to.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a remote operation system 2 which is a remote operation system for a computer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The remote operation system 2 includes a server device (operated computer) 4 and a remote operation device (operation side computer) 6, which are a LAN (local area network), a WAN (wide area network). Network) and an information communication network 8 such as the Internet. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the remote operation system 2 including detailed configurations of the server device 4 and the remote operation device 6, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the remote operation device 6 acquires screen information (visual information such as icons, character strings, and images displayed on the display screen) and other information of the server device 4 through the information communication network 8. Based on the acquired information, the operated screen is displayed on the display screen 12 of the remote operation device 6.

  The user 100 (see FIG. 1) of the remote operation device 6 operates the operation unit 26 of the remote operation device 6 while viewing the operated screen displayed on the display screen 12 of the remote operation device 6. The control unit 18 of the remote operation device 6 performs internal information processing or generates a remote operation command based on information input from the operation unit 26 and sends it to the server device 4 via the information communication network 8. Or

  Here, the “remote operation command” is generated directly or indirectly based on a signal from the operation unit 26 of the remote operation device 6 or is generated by information processing inside the remote operation device 6. A signal transmitted to the server device 4 via the information communication network 8 in order to operate the server device 4.

  The server device 4 performs information processing based on the transmitted remote operation command. When it becomes necessary to send new screen display information to the remote operation device 6 due to a change in the screen display information of the server device 4 due to this information processing, a request from the remote operation device 6 automatically or This is transmitted via the information communication network 8.

  By repeating such processing, the user 100 can remotely operate the server device 4 using the remote operation device 6. Of the remote operation system 2, general remote operation processing is performed by, for example, a “remote desktop” system used in a Windows (trademark) OS or a “VNC (virtual network computing)” system of RealVNC. Since it is the same as the processing in the conventional known remote control system, detailed description is omitted.

  Next, the remote control system 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The remote operation device 6 constituting the remote operation system 2 includes a display unit 10 having a display screen 12, a storage unit 14, a communication interface unit 16 for communicating with the server device 4 via the information communication network 8, and a control. A unit 18 and an operation unit 26 are provided.

  The operation unit 26 includes a direction instruction operation body 28, a selection operation body 30, and a character string operation body 32.

  The direction indicating operation body 28 is mainly used to indicate a direction, for example, at least one direction (typically four directions) in the display screen 12 of the remote control device 6. Of the direction indicating operation objects, the operation object used to indicate the upward direction is used as the upward instruction indicating operation object, the operation object used for indicating the downward direction is used as the downward indicating operation object, and used to indicate the left direction. The operation body to be used is called a left direction indicating operation body, and the operation body used for instructing the right direction is called a right direction indicating operation body. Further, the up direction indicating operation body and the down direction indicating operation body are collectively referred to as the up / down direction indicating operation body, the left direction indicating operation body, and the right direction indicating operation body are referred to as the left / right direction indicating operation body.

  The character string operation body 32 is used for inputting a character string. Here, the “character string” refers to one or more sentence components and is a concept including letters, numbers, and symbols.

  The selection operation body 30 is mainly a selection corresponding to the position of a pointer (or highlighted display of a cursor or the like; the same applies hereinafter) among the selection target elements constituting the operated screen displayed on the display screen 12 of the remote operation device 6. Used to select the target element. Here, the “selection target element” refers to an element to be selected by the selection operation body. For example, in addition to visual information on the display screen, such as icons, character strings, and part or all of the image, these visual elements are displayed. This is a concept including coordinate points on a display screen on which information is defined or definable. Further, “putting a selection target element into a selected state” means designating the selection target element as an information processing target to be executed later.

  The control unit 18 acquires screen information and other information of the server device 4 via the information communication network 8 and displays the operated screen on the display screen 12 of the remote operation device 6 based on the acquired information. Based on a signal from the operation unit 26 of the operation device 6 or in accordance with a predetermined procedure, internal processing is performed or a remote operation command is generated and sent to the server device 4 via the information communication network 8. Control.

  The control unit 18 includes an active application selection control unit 20 and an active window display control unit 22. These will be described later.

  On the other hand, the server device 4 constituting the remote operation system 2 includes a display unit 110 having a display screen 112, a storage unit 114, and a communication interface unit 116 for communicating with the remote operation device 6 via the information communication network 8. The control unit 118 and the operation unit 126 are provided.

  The operation unit 126 includes a coordinate designation operation body 128, a selection operation body 130, and a character string operation body 132.

  The coordinate designating operation body 128 is mainly used for directly designating arbitrary coordinates, for example, a pointer position (two-dimensional coordinates) in the display screen 112 of the server device 4.

  The character string operation body 132 is used for inputting a character string.

  The selection operation body 130 is mainly used to select a selection target element corresponding to the pointer position among the selection target elements constituting the screen displayed on the display screen 112 of the server device 4.

  The control unit 118 acquires screen information and other information in the server device 4 and transmits the screen information and other information to the remote operation device 6 via the information communication network 8 and performs information processing based on a remote operation command from the remote operation device 6. And control to send the result of the information processing to the remote operation device 6 via the information communication network 8.

  The control unit 118 includes an application list information generation control unit 120, an active application setting control unit 122, and an active window screen information generation control unit 124.

  The application list information generation control unit 120 that constitutes the control unit 118 of the server device 4 controls to generate application list information that is list information of the application software being activated in the server device 4 and to transmit it to the remote operation device 6.

  The active application selection control unit 20 constituting the control unit 18 of the remote operation device 6 generates an application list based on the application list information received from the server device 4 and displays it on the display screen 12 of the remote operation device 6. In addition, active application selection information indicating that application software selected by the operation unit 26 of the remote operation device 6 from the displayed application list is used as new active application software is generated and transmitted to the server device 4. Control as follows.

  The control method in the active application selection control unit 20 when selecting new active application software from the application list displayed on the display screen 12 of the remote operation device 6 is not particularly limited. Control is performed so that the movement of the pointer on the application list by one operation of the direction indicating operation body 28 of the remote operation device 6 is moved by one item to be selected corresponding to the application software. When the selection operation body 30 of the remote control device 6 is operated in a state where it is on the element to be selected corresponding to the application software on the list, an action indicating that the application software is set as new active application software. It generates I blanking application selection information can be configured to control to transmit to the server device 4.

  The active application setting control unit 122 configuring the control unit 118 of the server device 4 controls to set the active application software in the server device 4 according to the active application selection information received from the remote operation device 6.

  The active window screen information generation control unit 124 that constitutes the control unit 118 of the server device 4 is an active window that is screen information displayed on an active window that is a display area for active application software on the display screen 112 of the server device 4. Control is performed so that screen information is acquired and transmitted to the remote control device 6.

  Based on the active window screen information received from the server device 4, the active window display control unit 22 constituting the control unit 18 of the remote operation device 6 changes the display screen 12 of the remote operation device 6 to the active window in the server device 4. Control to display the corresponding screen information.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the server device (operated computer) 4 and the remote operation device (operation side computer) 6 constituting the remote operation system 2 shown in FIG. This is an example of using a mobile phone 6. In this example, a mobile phone wireless network 8a and the Internet 8b are used as the information communication network 8.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile phone 6 is a recording medium storing a program on the mobile phone 6 side of this system, and executes a program stored in the memory 70 corresponding to the storage unit 14 in FIG. For communicating with the server device 4 and the like via the CPU 62 corresponding to the control unit 18, the LCD (liquid crystal display device) 64 corresponding to the display unit 10, the operation key group 74 corresponding to the operation unit 26, and the information communication network 8. A communication interface 72 corresponding to the communication interface unit 16, a microphone 66 and a speaker 68 are provided.

  The operation key group 74 includes a first function key 76a and a second function key 76b (also referred to as function keys 76), a cross key 78 that functions as the direction indicating operation body 28, a selection key 80 as the selection operation body 30, and A numeric keypad 82 (consisting of a plurality of keys) is provided as the character string operating body 32.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cross key 78 is an upward direction key 78a corresponding to each of the upward direction operation body, the downward direction operation body, the left direction operation body, and the right direction operation body. , A down direction instruction key 78b, a left direction instruction key 78c, and a right direction instruction key 78d. The up direction key 78a and the down direction key 78b are collectively referred to as an up / down direction key, and the left direction key 78c and the right direction key 78d are collectively referred to as a left / right direction key.

  The function key 76 is used, for example, to change the scale of the operation screen displayed on the display screen 12 of the remote operation device 6. The mobile phone 6 has functions inherent to the mobile phone such as a transmission / reception function. However, since these functions and the hardware configuration for realizing these functions are the same as those in the related art, the description thereof is omitted. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the server device 4 has the same configuration as a general personal computer or server computer. The server device 4 includes a hard disk 50 that is a recording medium storing a program on the server device 4 side of the system, and a memory 51 including a main memory into which the program stored in the hard disk 50 is loaded. The hard disk 50 and the memory 51 correspond to the storage unit 114 in FIG.

  The server device 4 further includes a CPU 42 corresponding to the control unit 118 that executes a program loaded in the main memory, an LCD 44 corresponding to the display unit 110, a keyboard 46 and a mouse 48 corresponding to the operation unit 126, and the information communication network 8. The communication interface 52 corresponding to the communication interface unit 116 for communicating with the mobile phone 6 or the like is provided.

  The keyboard 46 functions as the character string operation body 132 of FIG. The mouse 48 functions as a coordinate specifying operation body 128 and a selection operation body 130.

  FIG. 4 is a drawing showing an example of the external configuration of the mobile phone 6 (a front view in use). An LCD 64 is arranged at the top of the drawing, and an operation key group 74 is arranged below the LCD 64.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow in the remote operation system 2. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing transition of display contents on the display screen 112 of the server device 4. 7A and 7B are diagrams showing the transition of the contents of the application list information. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing the transition of the display content (screen corresponding to the active window) of the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing transition of display contents (application list) on the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6.

  Processing in the remote operation system 2 will be described mainly based on FIGS. The CPU 62 (see FIG. 3) of the mobile phone 6 monitors the generation of a remote operation command. As shown in FIG. 5, the CPU 62 (see FIG. 3) performs remote control based on predetermined key operations on the mobile phone 6 or internal processing results on the mobile phone 6. When a screen acquisition command that is an operation command is generated, a screen acquisition command is sent to the server device 4 (step S1).

  The CPU 42 (see FIG. 3) of the server device 4 monitors the reception of a remote operation command from the mobile phone 6, and when receiving a screen acquisition command that is a remote operation command, the CPU 42 (refer to FIG. Screen information of the entire middle screen (see FIG. 6A) is acquired, and the acquired screen information is stored as full screen information in a full screen information storage area provided in the memory 51 of the server device 4 (step S2).

  Next, the CPU 42 of the server device 4 generates application list information, which is list information of the application software being activated in the server device 4, and transmits the generated application list information to the remote operation device 6 (step S3).

  When receiving the application list information from the server device 4, the CPU 62 of the mobile phone 6 stores the acquired application list information in the application list information storage area provided in the memory 70 of the mobile phone 6 (step S4).

  FIG. 7A shows an example of the data structure of the application list information. The application list information includes the application specification information (in this example, the name of the application software) that is information for specifying the application software being activated in the server device 4 and the overlapping order of the application software windows on the display screen 112 of the server device 4. Is the information that associates the display priority order for each application software.

  FIG. 7A shows application list information in the state of FIG. 6A. From FIG. 7A, “Application A” is currently displayed on the top layer of the display screen 112 with the highest display priority (display priority is “1”), and is hereinafter referred to as “Application B”, “Application C”. "

  When the active application software is set, the display priority is “1”. FIG. 7A shows that “application A” is currently set as active application software. A window 84 of “Application A” shown in FIG. 6A is the current active window (display area for active application software, indicated by hatching).

  Next, the CPU 42 of the server device 4 generates active window screen information, which is screen information displayed on the active window of the server device 4, and transmits it to the mobile phone 6 (step S5).

  The method for generating the active window screen information is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, the active window screen information is generated based on the application list information obtained in step S3. That is, the CPU 42 of the server device 4 recognizes that the window of the application software corresponding to the display priority “1” of the application list information is the active window, and in step S2, the full screen information storage area of the memory 51 of the server device 4 The active window screen information is obtained by cutting out the screen information displayed in the active window from the full screen information stored in.

  When receiving the active window screen information from the server device 4, the CPU 62 of the mobile phone 6 displays screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device 4 on the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6 based on the received active window screen information. Displayed (step S6).

  As shown in FIG. 8A, in this embodiment, the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6 displays the same content as the display content of the active window (the “application A” window 84 shown in FIG. 6A) in the server device 4. Is done. That is, the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6 has an “application A” that is an active window among the “application A” window 84, the “application B” window 86, and the “application C” window 88 shown in FIG. 6A. Only the same content as that displayed in the window 84 is displayed.

  In this state, the CPU 62 of the mobile phone 6 monitors the operation of the selection key 80 of the mobile phone 6 (step S7). When the operation of the selection key 80 is performed, the server device 4 in step S4 The application list 90 is generated based on the application list information (see FIG. 7A) received and stored in the application list information storage area of the memory 70, and this is displayed on the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6 (step S8). .

  FIG. 9A shows an example of the application list displayed on the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6. The application list 90 includes application specific mark display areas 92, 94, and 96 corresponding to each application specific information in the application list information. In the application specific mark display area, the application specific information in the application list information may be displayed as it is, or an abbreviation or an icon of the application software may be displayed. In short, a mark for identifying the application software may be displayed in the application specific mark display area.

  In this embodiment, the application specific mark display areas 92, 94, and 96 are arranged on the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6 according to the display priority order of the corresponding application software. Therefore, the application specific mark display area at the top of the array (in the example of FIG. 9A, the application specific mark display area 92) corresponds to the active application software.

  As described above, the application specific mark display areas 92, 94, 96 are arranged according to the display priority order of the corresponding application software, so that the window 84, each application software on the display screen 112 of the server device 4 is displayed. Since the display state similar to the display states 86 and 88 can be reproduced on the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6, it is possible to alleviate the uncomfortable feeling in the switching operation of the active window in the mobile phone 6.

  In the example of FIG. 9A, the application specific mark display areas 92, 94, 96 are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other from the top to the bottom of the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6 according to the display priority. However, the arrangement of the application specific mark display areas is not limited to this. For example, the application specific mark display areas may be arranged from the bottom to the top of the display screen 12 according to the display priority. Depending on the display priority, the display screen 12 may be arranged from the left to the right (or from the right to the left).

  When an application specific mark display area corresponding to any application software is selected from the application list 90 displayed in this way by the operation key group 74 of the mobile phone 6, the CPU 62 of the mobile phone 6 Active application selection information (remote operation command) indicating that the application software corresponding to the selected application specific mark display area is the new active application software is generated and transmitted to the server device 4 (step S9).

  The selection operation of the application specific mark display area by the operation key group 74 of the mobile phone 6 is not particularly limited, but is performed as follows, for example. That is, the movement of the pointer on the application list 90 is configured to move by one application specific mark display area (selection target element) by one operation of the cross key 78 of the mobile phone 6. . When the selection key 80 of the mobile phone 6 is operated in a state where the pointer is on a specific application specific mark display area, the application specific mark display area is selected.

  For example, if step S8 is executed and the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6 is in the state shown in FIG. 9A, the pointer initially points to the application specific mark display area 92 corresponding to the current active window. Here, when the down direction instruction key 78 b of the cross key 78 of the mobile phone 6 is operated once, the pointer moves to the application specific mark display area 94. Here, when the selection key 80 is operated, the application specific mark display area 94 is selected.

  The pointer movement on the application list 90 is bi-directional, for example, moved downward by operating the down direction key 78b and moved upward by operating the up direction key 78a. It is preferable to do. In this case, for example, when the down direction key 78b is further operated from a state where the pointer points to the lowest application specific mark display area 96, the pointer moves to the highest application specific mark display area 92. You may comprise, and you may comprise so that a pointer may not be moved any more.

It is also possible to move the pointer on the application list 90 only in one direction. In this case, for example, when the downward direction key 78b is operated to move downward and the pointer points to the lowest application specific mark display area 96, the downward direction key 78b is further operated to move the pointer. What is necessary is just to comprise so that it may move to the highest level application specific mark display area 92.
Further, the pointer is moved on the application list 90 by operating the direction key for pointing the direction corresponding to the arrangement direction of the application specific mark display area in the application list 90 in the cross key 78. Such a configuration is preferable because it is visually uncomfortable, but is not limited to this.

  For example, when the arrangement direction of the application specific mark display area in the application list 90 is arranged vertically on the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6, the movement of the pointer on the application list 90 is changed using the cross key. Of these, the left and right direction instruction keys 78c and 78d may be used.

  Furthermore, the pointer can be moved on the application list 90 by operating other operation keys other than the cross key 78, for example, the function key 76.

  In this way, when a desired application specific mark display area is selected, active application selection information is generated and transmitted to the server device 4. When this is transmitted to the server device 4, the CPU 42 of the server device 4 receives it from the mobile phone 6. In accordance with the selected active application information, new active application software in the server device 4 is set (step S10).

  The CPU 62 of the mobile phone 6 also monitors whether or not a remote operation command (other remote operation command) other than the remote operation command in step S1 or step S9 has been issued, and no other remote operation command is issued. In this case, the control is configured to return from step S9 to step S1.

  Therefore, in this case, the process after step S1 is executed again in the mobile phone 6 and the server device 4.

  That is, the CPU 62 of the mobile phone 6 requests the server device 4 to acquire full screen information of the display screen 112 of the server device 4 in which new active application software is set (step S1), and the CPU 42 of the server device 4 New full screen information is acquired (step S2), and new application list information is generated and transmitted to the remote control device 6 (step S3), and new active window screen information is generated and transmitted to the mobile phone 6. Transmit (step S5).

  The CPU 62 of the mobile phone 6 obtains new application list information from the server device 4 (step S4), receives new active window screen information, and displays a new active window on the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6. Screen information to be displayed is displayed (step S6).

  In this way, the active window switching operation in the server apparatus 4 having the multi-window function can be easily performed from the mobile phone 6.

  FIG. 6B shows a state of the display screen 112 of the server apparatus 4 in which new active application software (“application B” in this example) is set. FIG. 7B shows new application list information acquired by the mobile phone 6. FIG. 8B shows a state of the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6 displaying the screen information corresponding to the new active window. FIG. 9B shows an application list 90 displayed on the display screen 12 when the selection key 80 is operated while the screen information corresponding to the new active window is displayed on the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6. It is a drawing.

  When another remote operation command is issued, the CPU 62 of the mobile phone 6 issues the remote operation command following step S7 (when the selection key 80 is not operated in step S7) or step S9. Processing to transmit to the server device 4 is performed, and then control is returned to step S1 (step S11).

  In this case, when receiving the remote operation command from the mobile phone 6, the CPU 42 of the server device 4 performs a predetermined process according to the remote operation command (step S12).

  By repeating such processing, the server device 4 using the mobile phone 6 can be remotely operated.

  Note that step S1, step S4, step S6 to step S9, and step S11 in FIG. 5 correspond to the control unit 18 of the remote operation device 6 in FIG. Among these, Step S4 and Steps S7 to S9 correspond to the active application selection control unit 20. Step S 6 corresponds to the active window display control unit 22.

  Further, Steps S2 to S3, Step S5, Step S10, and Step S12 in FIG. 5 correspond to the control unit 118 of the server device 4 in FIG. Among these, step S3 corresponds to the application list information generation control unit 120. Step S5 corresponds to the active window screen information generation control unit 124. Step S 10 corresponds to the active application setting control unit 122.

  In this embodiment, the application list information is stored in step S4, and the application list is generated and displayed based on the application list information in step S8. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Is not to be done. For example, an application list may be generated and stored based on the application list information in step S4, and the application list may be displayed in step S8.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, a mobile phone has been described as an example of a remote control device. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In addition to the mobile phone, for example, a game computer, a television receiver, etc., as long as the device has a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit and can remotely control a server device having a multi-window function via an information communication network. The present invention can be applied to a machine, a car navigation device, a facsimile machine, and the like.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the cross key has been described as an example of the direction indicating operation body. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied when the direction indicating operation body is, for example, a joystick.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the server device and the remote operation device are connected one-to-one has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a case where a server device and a remote control device are connected in a one-to-many, many-to-one, or many-to-many manner.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the information communication network has been described as an example of a combination of the Internet and a mobile phone wireless network. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A variety of wireless or wired communication means alone or in any combination corresponds to the information communication network in the present invention.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the program on the remote operation device side constituting the remote operation system is executed by being installed in the memory of the remote operation device (cellular phone). Further, the server device side program constituting the remote operation system is loaded with the program stored in the hard disk of the server device and executed. However, the holding form of the program is not limited to these. For example, the program may be recorded on, for example, an external memory card, CD-ROM, flexible disk, magnetic tape or the like. Further, the program may be distributed via a wired or wireless information communication network.

  Further, the recording mode and distribution mode of the program and data are not particularly limited. In addition to being stored or distributed in a recording medium in a form that can be directly executed, it can be stored or distributed in a recording medium in a compressed form so as to be decompressed and used, for example.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where each function of FIG. 2 is realized using a computer has been described as an example. However, part or all of the function of FIG. 2 is configured using hardware logic. It may be.

  The above block diagram, hardware configuration, external configuration, flowchart, etc. are given as examples, and the present invention is not limited to the above block diagram, hardware configuration, external configuration, flowchart, etc. Absent.

  Although the present invention has been described above as a preferred embodiment, the terminology has been used for description rather than limitation and departs from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Without departing from the scope of the appended claims. Also, while the above describes only some exemplary embodiments of the present invention in detail, those skilled in the art will recognize the exemplary implementations described above without departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the present invention. It will be readily appreciated that many variations in form are possible. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the remote control system 2 by one Embodiment of this invention. 2 is a block diagram of a remote operation system 2 including detailed configurations of a server device 4 and a remote operation device 6, respectively. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a server device (operated computer) 4 and a remote operation device (operating computer) 6. FIG. 1 is a diagram (a front view in a use state) showing an example of an external configuration of a mobile phone 6; 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow in the remote operation system 2. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing transition of display contents on the display screen 112 of the server device 4. 7A and 7B are diagrams showing the transition of the contents of the application list information. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing the transition of the display content (screen corresponding to the active window) of the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing transition of display contents (application list) on the display screen 12 of the mobile phone 6.

Explanation of symbols

4: Server device 6: Remote operation device 12: Display screen 20: Active application selection control unit 22: Active window display control unit 120: Application list information generation control unit 122: Active application setting control unit 124: Active window screen information generation control Part

Patent Applicant Hitachi System & Service Co., Ltd. Applicant Agent Patent Attorney Koichi Tagawa

Claims (8)

A server device having a multi-window function;
A remote operation device that includes a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit and remotely operates the server device via an information communication network;
A system comprising:
Server device
An application list information generation control unit that controls to generate application list information that is list information of application software that is running in the server device and to transmit the generated information to the remote operation device;
With
Remote control device
Based on the application list information received from the server device, an application list is generated and displayed on the display screen, and application software selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list is set as new active application software. Active application selection control unit for controlling to generate active application selection information and transmit it to the server device,
With
The server device further
An active application setting control unit that controls to set active application software in the server device according to the active application selection information received from the remote control device;
An active window screen information generation control unit which controls to generate active window screen information which is screen information displayed in an active window which is a display area for active application software and to transmit to the remote control device;
With
The remote control device is further
An active window display control unit for controlling the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device, based on the active window screen information received from the server device;
Having
A remote control system for a computer. A remote operation device for remotely operating a server device having a multi-window function via an information communication network comprising a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit,
Application list information that is list information of application software that is running on the server device is received from the server device, an application list is generated based on the received application list information, displayed on the display screen, and the displayed application list An active application selection control unit that generates active application selection information indicating that the application software selected by the operation unit from the list is new active application software and transmits the active application selection information to the server device;
Active window screen information, which is screen information displayed in an active window, which is a display area for active application software set in the server device according to the active application selection information, is received from the server device, and the received active window screen information Based on the active window display control unit for controlling the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device,
Having
Remote control device characterized by. A server device having a multi-window function that can be remotely operated via an information communication network from a remote operation device having a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit,
An application list information generation control unit for controlling to generate application list information that is list information of application software that is running in the server device and to transmit the generated information to the remote operation device;
Active application selection information indicating that application software selected by the operation unit from the application list generated on the display screen and displayed on the display screen based on the application list information is new active application software. An active application setting control unit that controls to set active application software in the server device according to the received active application selection information;
Active window screen information that is screen information displayed in an active window that is a display area for active application software is generated, and screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device is displayed on the display screen of the remote control device. Therefore, an active window screen information generation control unit that controls to transmit the active window screen information to the remote control device;
Having
A server device. The operated computer is caused to function as a server device having a multi-window function, and the operation side computer is provided with a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit, and functions as a remote operation device for remotely operating the server device via an information communication network. A program,
Server device
An application list information generation control unit that controls to generate application list information that is list information of application software that is running in the server device and to transmit the generated information to the remote operation device;
With
Remote control device
Based on the application list information received from the server device, an application list is generated and displayed on the display screen, and application software selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list is set as new active application software. Active application selection control unit for controlling to generate active application selection information and transmit it to the server device,
With
The server device further
An active application setting control unit that controls to set active application software in the server device according to the active application selection information received from the remote control device;
An active window screen information generation control unit which controls to generate active window screen information which is screen information displayed in an active window which is a display area for active application software and to transmit to the remote control device;
With
The remote control device is further
An active window display control unit for controlling the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device, based on the active window screen information received from the server device;
Having
A program characterized by A program that causes an operating computer to function as a remote operation device that remotely operates a server device having a multi-window function via an information communication network including a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit,
Remote control device
Application list information that is list information of application software that is running on the server device is received from the server device, an application list is generated based on the received application list information, displayed on the display screen, and the displayed application list An active application selection control unit that generates active application selection information indicating that the application software selected by the operation unit from the list is new active application software and transmits the active application selection information to the server device;
Active window screen information, which is screen information displayed in an active window, which is a display area for active application software set in the server device according to the active application selection information, is received from the server device, and the received active window screen information Based on the active window display control unit for controlling the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device,
Having
A program characterized by A program for causing an operated computer to function as a server device having a multi-window function, which can be remotely operated via an information communication network from a remote operation device including a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit,
Server device
An application list information generation control unit for controlling to generate application list information that is list information of application software that is running in the server device and to transmit the generated information to the remote operation device;
Active application selection information indicating that application software selected by the operation unit from the application list generated on the display screen and displayed on the display screen based on the application list information is new active application software. An active application setting control unit that controls to set active application software in the server device according to the received active application selection information;
Active window screen information that is screen information displayed in an active window that is a display area for active application software is generated, and screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device is displayed on the display screen of the remote control device. Therefore, an active window screen information generation control unit that controls to transmit the active window screen information to the remote control device;
Having
A program characterized by   A recording medium storing the program according to claim 4. A method for remotely operating a server device having a multi-window function via an information communication network using a remote operation device including a display unit having a display screen and an operation unit,
An application list information generation step for controlling to generate application list information, which is list information of application software that is running in the server device, and to transmit it to the remote operation device;
Based on the application list information received from the server device, an application list is generated and displayed on the display screen, and application software selected by the operation unit from the displayed application list is set as new active application software. Active application selection step for controlling to generate and transmit active application selection information to the server device;
An active application setting step for controlling to set active application software in the server device according to the active application selection information received from the remote control device;
Active window screen information generation step for controlling to generate active window screen information, which is screen information displayed in an active window, which is a display area for active application software, and to transmit it to a remote control device;
An active window display step for controlling the display screen to display screen information corresponding to the active window in the server device, based on the active window screen information received from the server device;
Having
A remote control method for a computer.

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