JP2011205254A - Information terminal and screen display method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user to easily return from a basic operation screen, e.g., a standby screen or a desktop (screen), to a previously displayed screen.SOLUTION: A cellular phone 10 includes a history storage unit 11 which stores information indicating a started application program and a screen displayed on a display unit 105 by that program as a screen history in a database 12, a receiving unit 13 which receives a specific key input when a standby screen is displayed on the display unit 105, and a display control unit 14 which reads the screen history from the database 12 in response to reception of the key input, starts an application program indicated by the screen history, and controls the application program so that the screen indicated by the screen history is displayed on the display unit 105.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information terminal that displays a basic operation screen such as a standby screen or a desktop (screen), and a screen display method thereof.

  Conventionally, an information terminal that displays a basic operation screen such as a standby screen or a desktop (screen) is known. The user can display a desired screen on the terminal by performing a predetermined operation from the basic operation screen. For example, Patent Document 1 described below describes a portable terminal device that displays a function menu when a user performs a predetermined operation while a standby screen is displayed.

JP 2009-38494 A

  When returning to the basic operation screen from a desired screen (for example, a website screen or a terminal function setting screen), the user must perform the necessary operation from the beginning to display the screen that was viewed before returning. . For example, when the user returns to the basic operation screen due to an erroneous operation, the user needs to redo the operation up to that point, which takes time and effort. As a result, the user feels dissatisfied.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an information terminal and a screen display method that can easily return to a previously displayed screen from a basic operation screen such as a standby screen or a desktop (screen).

  The information terminal of the present invention has a storage means for storing information indicating a started application program and a screen displayed on the monitor by the program in a database as a screen history, and when a basic operation screen is displayed on the monitor. A receiving unit that accepts a specific key input, and a screen history is read from the database when a specific key input is received by the receiving unit, and an application program indicated by the screen history is started, and the screen history Display control means for controlling the application program so that the displayed screen is displayed on the monitor.

  The screen display method of the present invention is a screen display method executed by an information terminal including a monitor, and stores information indicating a started application program and a screen displayed on the monitor by the program as a screen history in a database. A storage step, a reception step for receiving a specific key input when the basic operation screen is displayed on the monitor, and a screen history is read from the database when the specific key input is received in the reception step. And a display control step of starting the application program indicated by the screen history and controlling the application program so that the screen indicated by the screen history is displayed on the monitor.

  According to such an invention, first, the history of the screen displayed by the application program is stored in the database. Thereafter, when a predetermined key input is performed during the display of the basic operation screen, the application program is started based on the screen history in the database, and the previously displayed screen is displayed again. Therefore, the user can easily return to the previously displayed screen from the basic operation screen.

  In the information terminal of the present invention, the storage means stores information indicating the activated application program and the last screen displayed on the monitor by the program as a screen history in the database, and the display control means reads from the database. The application program indicated by the screen history may be activated, and the application program may be controlled such that the last displayed screen indicated by the screen history is displayed on the monitor.

  In this case, since the screen that was last displayed while the application program was running is displayed again, the user returns to the state immediately before the program was terminated, and if necessary, performs a new operation from there. be able to.

  In the information terminal of the present invention, the accepting means accepts another key input when the screen indicated by the screen history is displayed under the control of the display control means, and the display control means accepts another key input by the accepting means. Upon receiving the request, another screen history is read from the database, the application program indicated by the other screen history is started, and the last displayed screen indicated by the other screen history is displayed on the monitor. The application program may be controlled as described.

  In this case, since the last displayed screen is redisplayed for each application program every time a key input is accepted, the user can trace to another application program screen in a short time.

  According to such an information terminal and a screen display method, when a predetermined key input is performed during display of the basic operation screen, the previously displayed screen is redisplayed based on the history. It is possible to easily return to the previously displayed screen from the basic operation screen.

It is a figure which shows the function structure of the mobile telephone which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example in which a screen history is accumulate | stored in the database shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen switching by the process of the display control part shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the screen history storage process performed with the mobile telephone shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the screen switching process performed with the mobile telephone shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the information terminal according to the present invention is applied to a mobile phone. In the description of the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  First, the function and configuration of the mobile phone 10 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The mobile phone 10 is a communication terminal having a call function, a mail function, a web browser function, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 10 includes a history storage unit 11, a database 12, a reception unit 13, and a display control unit 14 as functional components.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cellular phone 10 includes a CPU 101 that executes an operating system, application programs, and the like, a main storage unit 102 that includes a ROM and a RAM, and an auxiliary storage unit 103 that includes a memory. The communication control unit 104 performs data communication, the display unit 105 includes a liquid crystal monitor, and the operation unit 106 includes input keys. Each function shown in FIG. 1 reads a predetermined program on the CPU 101 and the main storage unit 102 and operates the communication control unit 104, the display unit 105, and the operation unit 106 under the control of the CPU 101, and the main storage unit. This is realized by reading or writing data to 102 or the auxiliary storage unit 103. Data necessary for the database and processing is stored in the main storage unit 102 or the auxiliary storage unit 103.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the history storage unit 11 is information indicating an application program (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “application”) started in the mobile phone 10 and a screen displayed on the display unit 105 by the application. Is stored in the database 12 as a screen history.

  The history storage unit 11 is activated when the mobile phone 10 is turned on and a standby screen is displayed, and starts monitoring the activation and operation of the application, the transition of the screen displayed by the application, and the like. Here, the standby screen is a basic operation screen displayed when the mobile phone 10 is turned on and its operating system (OS) is activated. This standby screen (basic operation screen) can be said to be an initial screen when the OS is started or a screen equivalent to the initial screen. The user can start a desired application or open a desired screen by performing a predetermined operation via the operation unit 106 while the standby screen is displayed.

  Examples of applications include, but are not limited to, web browsers, mail software, music playback software, address book management software, image display software, terminal setting software, and the like. As a screen displayed by the application, for example, a website displayed by a web browser, a received mail reference screen displayed by mail software, a music playback screen displayed by music playback software, or an address book management software Examples include an address list screen, a still image displayed by image display software, a function setting menu displayed by terminal setting software, and the like, but naturally the types of screens are not limited to these.

  The history storage unit 11 determines that an application corresponding to the process or task has started by detecting that a process or task has occurred in the mobile phone 10 by a user operation via the operation unit 106. If the application is to be monitored, the history storage unit 11 subsequently acquires information on the screen displayed by the application. Subsequently, the history storage unit 11 generates a screen history including a history number for specifying the history, application information for specifying the activated application, and screen information regarding the acquired screen, and stores the screen history in the database 12.

  Note that the type of screen stored as the screen history or the type of screen excluded from the target of the screen history may be designated in advance. For example, the menu screen of the first hierarchy displayed when a predetermined button is pressed once on the standby screen, the screen displaying the transmitted mail, and the like may be excluded from the target of the screen history.

  Thereafter, when the screen is switched in the running application, the history storage unit 11 acquires the information of the screen after switching, and the screen information of the screen history of the application stored in the database 12 is updated. Overwrite with screen information about the screen. The history storage unit 11 can repeatedly execute such overwrite processing until one active application is terminated. Therefore, when a certain application ends, the screen information of the screen history related to the application is related to the last displayed screen.

  Thereafter, when another application to be monitored is started, the history storage unit 11 generates a screen history including a new history number, application information for specifying the other application, and screen information regarding the acquired screen. And stored in the database 12. Thereafter, the history storage unit 11 executes the overwriting process as described above as necessary until the other application is terminated.

  An example of the processing of the history storage unit 11 and the screen history stored in the database 12 along with the processing will be described with reference to FIG. After the history storage unit 11 is activated, when the user performs an operation for referring to the received mail list and the mail software is activated and the received mail list screen is displayed, the history storage unit 11 displays the history number “ 1 ”, application information“ mail software ”, and screen history Ha including screen information indicating“ received mail list screen ”are generated and stored in the database 12 (new registration). Thereafter, when the user performs an operation of selecting one received mail A from the received mail list and the display screen changes from the received mail list screen to the received mail A display screen, the history storage unit 11 displays the screen information of the screen history Ha. Is updated from information related to the “received mail list screen” to information related to the “received mail A display screen”.

  Thereafter, when the user performs an operation of closing (closing) the mail software and subsequently performing an operation of opening a terminal setting menu, the history storage unit 11 stores the history number “2” and the application information “terminal setting software”. And the screen history Hb including the screen information indicating the “menu B display screen” is generated and stored (newly registered) in the database 12.

  Thereafter, when the user performs an operation of closing (closing) the terminal setting menu and subsequently performing an operation of opening the web browser, the history storage unit 11 stores the history number “3”, the application information “web browser”, and “web A screen history Hc including screen information indicating “screen of site C” is generated and stored in the database 12 (new registration).

  Thereafter, when the user performs an operation of closing (closing) the web browser and subsequently performing an operation of opening a terminal setting menu, the history storage unit 11 stores the history number “4” and the application information “terminal setting software”. A screen history Hd including screen information indicating “menu D display screen” is generated and stored (newly registered) in the database 12. Regarding the terminal setting software, the screen history Hb is already stored in the database 12. However, since the process or task of the terminal setting software started this time is different from that of the terminal setting software started last time, the history storage unit 11 does not update the screen history Hb but generates a new screen history Hd. And store. In other words, even if the types of applications are the same, when one process (task) ends once and then a new process (task) is generated, the history storage unit 11 creates a new screen history for the software. Is generated.

  Note that the maximum number of screen histories stored in the database 12 is arbitrary, and may be 1 or 20, for example. If a new screen history is generated when the database 12 is full, the oldest screen history is deleted from the database 12 and the history number is reassigned from 1, and the new screen history is stored in the database 12. Store it.

  The reception unit 13 is a unit that receives a key input for returning the display screen from the standby screen to the previous screen when the standby screen is displayed on the display unit 105. As a key for performing such an operation, for example, a soft key displaying “return” or the left key of the cross key can be considered, but specific key assignment and setting in the operation unit 106 are possible. It may be determined arbitrarily. Hereinafter, in order to simplify the description, the key input for returning the display screen from the standby screen to the previous screen is referred to as “return” key input.

  The receiving unit 13 determines whether the screen currently displayed on the display unit 105 is a standby screen and analyzes the received key input signal to determine whether the “return” key is input. Determine. If it is determined that the “return” key has been input while the standby screen is displayed, the reception unit 13 generates an instruction signal for instructing screen transition and outputs the instruction signal to the display control unit 14. . At this time, if the “return” key is input a plurality of times, the receiving unit 13 generates and outputs an instruction signal each time. On the other hand, when it is determined that the “return” key has not been input, the reception unit 13 ends the process.

  The display control unit 14 reads the screen history from the database 12 when the input of the “return” key is accepted, starts the application indicated by the screen history, and displays the screen indicated by the screen history as the display unit. 105 is a means for controlling the application so as to be displayed in 105.

  When the first instruction signal is input from the reception unit 13 after the standby screen is displayed or redisplayed, the display control unit 14 stores the information about the screen history having the largest history number, that is, the information about the last displayed screen. 12 is read out. Subsequently, the display control unit 14 activates an application corresponding to the read application information of the screen history, and outputs an instruction for displaying the screen indicated by the screen information of the history to the application. As a result, the activated application displays a screen indicated by the screen information on the display unit 105.

  Thereafter, each time another instruction signal is input, the display control unit 14 reads the screen history in descending order of the history number, and switches the screen display each time. That is, the display control unit 14 terminates the currently activated application, and then activates an application corresponding to the application information of the next read screen history, and an instruction to display the screen indicated by the screen information of the history Is output to the newly started application.

  If no screen history is stored in the database 12, the display control unit 14 ends the process after accessing the database 12. As a result, the standby screen is continuously displayed on the display unit 105.

  An example of screen switching when the screen histories Ha to Hd shown in FIG. 3 are stored in the database 12 will be referred to with reference to FIG. When the “return” key B is pressed while the standby screen Sw is displayed on the display unit 105, the terminal setting software is activated based on the screen history Hd by the processing of the display control unit 14 described above, and the menu A screen Sd related to D is displayed. Thereafter, when the “return” key B is further pressed, the activated application is changed to the web browser based on the screen history Hc, and the display is switched to the screen Sc relating to the website C. Thereafter, when the “return” key B is further pressed, the activation application is changed to the terminal setting software based on the screen history Hb, and the display is switched to the screen Sb related to the menu B. When the “return” key B is further pressed thereafter, the activation application is changed to mail software based on the screen history Ha, and the display is switched to the screen Sa related to the received mail A.

  Next, the operation of the mobile phone 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 and the screen display method according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, the process (storage step) for storing the screen history will be described with reference to FIG. When the history storage unit 11 detects the activation of the monitoring target application (step S11; YES), the history storage unit 11 acquires information on the screen displayed by the application (step S12). Then, the history storage unit 11 creates a screen history based on the acquired application information and screen information, and stores (new registration) in the database 12 (step S13). Thereafter, when the screen is switched in the active application (step S14; YES), the history storage unit 11 overwrites the screen information of the screen history stored in step S13 with information about the screen after switching. Thereafter, when another application to be monitored is activated, the history storage unit 11 executes the processes of steps S11 to S15 again. Through such processing, the screen history is accumulated in the database 12.

  Next, a process of switching from the standby screen to the previously displayed screen will be described with reference to FIG. If the reception unit 13 determines that the “return” key has been input on the standby screen (step S21; YES, reception step), the display control unit 14 reads the screen history having the largest history number from the database 12 (step S22). Display control step). Then, the display control unit 14 activates an application based on the screen history and controls the application to display the screen indicated by the screen information of the history (step S23, display control step).

  Thereafter, when the reception unit 13 determines that there is an input of a further “return” key (step S24; YES, reception step), the display control unit 14 obtains a screen history having the next largest history number from the database 12. Read (step S25, display control step). Then, the display control unit 14 activates an application based on the screen history, and controls the application to display the screen indicated by the screen information of the history (step S26, display control step). The processes in steps S24 to S26 can be repeatedly executed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, first, the history of the screen displayed by the application program is stored in the database 12. Thereafter, when the “return” key is input while the standby screen is displayed, the application program is started based on the screen history in the database 12 and the previously displayed screen is displayed again. Therefore, the user can easily return to the previously displayed screen from the standby screen.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the screen that was last displayed while the application program was running is displayed again, the user returns to the state immediately before the program was terminated, and if necessary, a new one can be generated from there. The operation can be performed.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, every time an input of the “return” key is accepted, the last displayed screen is displayed again for each application program, so that the user can quickly switch to another application program. You can trace to the screen. 3 and 4, for example, even if a plurality of screens are displayed by the terminal setting software corresponding to the screen history Hd, the “return” key is input twice on the standby screen Sw. For example, the user can display the screen of the web browser that was activated before the software. This means that the user can quickly follow the desired application program.

  The present invention has been described in detail based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a mobile phone, but the present invention may be applied to a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable or stationary personal computer (PC), or other information terminals. It does not matter whether the communication function is present. For example, when the present invention is applied to a PC, the desktop screen corresponds to the basic operation screen.

  In the above embodiment, as a result, the history storage unit 11 stores only the screen information related to the last display screen in the database 12 for each application, but the method of storing the screen history is not limited to this. For example, the storage unit may unconditionally store the screen displayed on the display unit 105 in the database as a screen history. Accordingly, the display control means may simply switch the screen sequentially according to the screen history in response to a predetermined key input.

  In the above embodiment, only the processing when the “return” key input is accepted is shown, but the information terminal is configured so that it can freely move between the standby screen and one or more screens indicated by the screen history. Also good. For example, in the example of FIG. 4, the information terminal may be configured to be able to move from the screen Sb to the screen Sc.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Mobile phone (information terminal), 11 ... History storage part (storage means), 12 ... Database, 13 ... Reception part (reception part), 14 ... Display control part (display control part), 105 ... Display part (monitor) , Sw: Stand-by screen (basic operation screen).

Claims (4)

Storage means for storing information indicating a started application program and a screen displayed on the monitor by the program in a database as a screen history;
Receiving means for receiving a specific key input when a basic operation screen is displayed on the monitor;
The screen history is read from the database in response to the reception of the specific key input by the receiving means, the application program indicated by the screen history is started, and the screen indicated by the screen history is displayed on the monitor. Display control means for controlling the application program to be displayed;
An information terminal comprising: The storage means stores in the database as screen history information indicating an activated application program and a screen that was last displayed on the monitor by the program,
The display control means activates the application program indicated by the screen history read from the database, and the application screen is displayed so that the last displayed screen indicated by the screen history is displayed on the monitor. Control the program,
The information terminal according to claim 1. The accepting means accepts another key input when a screen indicated by the screen history is displayed under the control of the display control means;
The display control means reads another screen history from the database when the other key input is accepted by the accepting means, starts an application program indicated by the other screen history, and Controlling the application program so that the last displayed screen shown in another screen history is displayed on the monitor;
The information terminal according to claim 2. A screen display method executed by an information terminal including a monitor,
A storage step of storing information indicating a started application program and a screen displayed on the monitor by the program in a database as a screen history;
An accepting step for accepting a specific key input when a basic operation screen is displayed on the monitor;
When the specific key input is received in the receiving step, the screen history is read from the database, the application program indicated by the screen history is started, and the screen indicated by the screen history is displayed on the monitor. A display control step for controlling the application program to be displayed;
A screen display method comprising:

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