JP2013115633A - Information terminal and control program for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve convenience while reducing power consumption, in an information terminal.SOLUTION: A display 102 is turned off when no operation is performed to a touch sensor 103 and a button 104 and a user's look is not detected in an image taken by a camera 120, continuously for a specific period of time after information processing is started. And, when the information processing under execution is completed, completion of the information processing is reported in other methods other than display on the display 102, such as a sound from a loudspeaker 107 and vibration by a vibrator 109.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information terminal and a control program therefor, and more particularly, to an information terminal that performs display control for reducing power consumption and a control program therefor.

  Conventionally, various techniques for reducing power consumption in information terminals have been disclosed. For example, a technology for turning off the backlight of a liquid crystal display device has been put into practical use on the condition that the terminal has not been operated for a specific time.

  In addition, according to such a technique, there is a case where the backlight is turned off even when the user continues to watch the screen without performing an operation such as watching a moving image.

  In this regard, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-252650) further includes a camera for photographing the user who views the display screen from the front, and turns off the backlight when the user is viewing the screen. Techniques that do not allow it have been proposed.

  In addition, about the judgment whether a user is looking at the screen, the driving assistance apparatus like patent document 2 (Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2005-267108) is disclosed. The apparatus determines whether or not the driver needs to see an object to be viewed using not only the current driver's visual behavior but also past visual behavior.

  Techniques are also disclosed for control using user's line-of-sight information. For example, Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-255015), Patent Document 4 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-298015), and Patent Document 5 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-59147) describe human eyeball movement and human A line-of-sight detection system that detects the direction of eyes and the position of eyes and moves the cursor on the display based on the direction is disclosed.

Various techniques for improving user convenience have also been proposed.
For example, Patent Document 6 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-271591) discloses a technique for determining the contents of processing by each application program in accordance with whether an application is active or inactive in a multi-window system. Patent Document 7 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-62849) discloses a technique for switching an operation method and display contents based on a detection result of a horizontal state of a lower case of a mobile phone or an open / closed state of an upper case. ing.

  Various proposals have also been made regarding technologies related to power saving. For example, in Patent Document 8 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-245105), the camera wastes power by appropriately switching between a shooting preparation state in which predetermined power is required and a standby state in which power consumption is lower than the predetermined power. Techniques for reducing the above are disclosed.

  Furthermore, as a technique for detecting the state of a person, Patent Document 9 (Patent No. 3293308) discloses a technique for determining by detecting the state of a person's line of sight, and Patent Document 10 ( Japanese Patent No. 3272906 discloses a technique for detecting in which direction a person's line of sight is directed by cutting out an image including an eye portion from an image of a face portion.

JP 2009-252650 A JP-A-2005-267108 JP-A-4-255015 JP-A-5-298015 JP 2006-59147 A JP 2009-271591 A JP 2010-62849 A JP 2008-245105 A Japanese Patent No. 3293308 Japanese Patent No. 3272906

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not take into account the case where the user wants to know only the end timing of the process being executed.

  In other words, according to the conventional technique, even when it is desired to know the end timing of the process being executed, the backlight is turned off unless an operation is continuously performed for a specific time. Unless the information terminal is operated in order to turn on the light again, it is impossible to know whether or not the process being executed has been completed.

  Even with the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to know the end timing of a process being executed, at least the user needs to look at the screen.

  In recent years, an information terminal may execute a process with a relatively large amount of data handled, such as deleting a plurality of files or transmitting a large amount of mail data to a network due to an improvement in processing capability. When the user requests such processing from the information terminal, when the user wants to request another processing after the end of the processing, the user waits for the result of the first requesting processing for a specific time. It was necessary to perform each operation or keep watching the display screen.

  It is considered that the information terminal needs to be operable at the timing preferred by the user. Therefore, although it is not necessary to pay attention to the terminal that is executing the process, such as when the user operates the terminal in parallel with other work that does not use the information terminal, the user is notified of the end timing of the process. It is thought that there are many situations where this is beneficial to the user.

  Moreover, it can be said that it is important from the viewpoint of extending the battery life to suppress the power consumption according to the user's operation mode, such as turning off the backlight when the user does not perform the operation for a specific time. In particular, in recent years, while the display screen of information terminals has increased in size and power consumption has increased, information terminals have become more multifunctional and more scenes have been used by users. It is thought that this is what the user strongly desires.

  As described above, although it is important to achieve both reduction in power consumption and improvement in convenience of the terminal, the conventional techniques including the above-described documents have not been particularly studied.

  The present invention has been conceived in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve convenience while reducing power consumption of the information terminal.

  An information terminal according to the present invention has an operation means for accepting an external operation, a display, a detection means for detecting that the user is looking at the display, and a notification operation in a mode other than the display on the display A control means for executing information processing, and the control means has no operation on the operation means continuously for a specific time or more during execution of the information processing, and the user When the detection means does not detect the state of watching the display, the display is turned off, and further, the notification means is notified that the information processing is completed.

  Preferably, the detection unit detects a state in which the user is looking at the display based on an image captured by a camera capable of photographing at an angle at which it can be determined whether or not the user is looking at the display.

  Preferably, the notification unit performs the notification operation by display on a display unit provided separately from the display, vibration, voice, or communication with another device.

  Preferably, when the information processing being executed is abnormally terminated, the control means informs the notification means that the information processing has been completed, and when the information processing being executed is normally completed, the control means Will not notify you that has ended.

  Preferably, during execution of information processing, the control means displays that the information processing is being executed on the display, continues for a specific time or longer, and there is no operation on the operation means and the user is looking at the display. Is different from information processing when the operation of the operation unit is performed after the display is turned off, or when the detection unit detects the state where the user is looking at the display. Information for accepting other processing instructions is displayed on the display.

  Preferably, the control means displays information indicating that the information processing is being executed together with information for receiving an instruction for another process on the display.

  An information terminal control program according to the present invention is an information terminal comprising an operation means for accepting an external operation, a display, and a notification means for executing a notification operation in a mode other than the display on the display. A program executed by a computer, wherein the information terminal has a step of detecting that the user is looking at the display; and during execution of information processing, there is no operation with respect to the operating means continuously for a specified time; and If the detection means does not detect that the user is looking at the display, the step of turning off the display, and the information processing is finished when the information processing is finished after the display is turned off. Inform the means.

  According to the present invention, in the information terminal, when information processing is being executed, there is no operation on the operation unit continuously for a specific time or more, and the detection unit does not detect a state in which the user is looking at the display. The display is turned off, and the end of information processing is notified in a manner other than the display on the display.

  Thereby, the convenience can be improved while reducing the power consumption of the information terminal. Further, the user who is not looking at the display is surely notified of the end of the information processing.

It is a figure which shows an example of the external appearance of the information terminal of one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the information terminal of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the processing content performed in an information terminal. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the processing content performed in an information terminal. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the display mode in the display of FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the other example of the display mode in the display of FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the further another example of the display mode in the display of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a lighting device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, elements having the same function and action are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will not be repeated.

[First Embodiment]
<Configuration of information terminal>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of an information terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the information terminal.

  Referring to FIG. 1, information terminal 100 includes a touch panel 106 on the outer surface of the housing. In addition, an operation button 104 and a camera 120 are provided on the outer surface adjacent to the touch panel 106. The information terminal 100 may have a call function and a mail transmission / reception function like a mobile phone, or may have only a communication function like a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), or a communication function. May not be included. The information terminal 100 may be an electronic book reader, a display used together with a personal computer, a television receiver, or the like.

  The camera 120 is provided for photographing a user who views a display (display 102 described later) included in the touch panel 106. Note that such a camera is provided separately from the information terminal 100, and the information terminal 100 has a configuration for detecting such a user as long as an image captured by the camera can be acquired. If so, the camera 120 may not be provided.

  The camera 120 only needs to be arranged at a position where it can be photographed at an angle at which it can be determined whether or not the user is looking at the display. For example, the camera 120 is the same as the surface on which the display of the information terminal 100 is installed. Provided on the surface. However, the camera 120 does not need to be installed on the same surface as the display. If the main body of the information terminal 100 is configured by a plurality of casings connected by hinges, for example, if the camera is installed at an angle capable of shooting at the above angle, It may be provided in a housing different from the housing in which the display 102 is provided.

  Referring to FIG. 2, information terminal 100 further includes a memory 101, a communication interface 105, a speaker 107, a clock 108, a vibrator 109, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110. The touch panel 106 includes a display 102 and a touch sensor 103 disposed on the display 102.

  The memory 101 is various types of RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read-Only Memory), a hard disk, and the like. The memory 101 stores various information including a control program executed by the CPU 110.

  Note that the CPU 110 may execute a program recorded on a storage medium that is detachable from the information terminal 100. Further, data used when the CPU 110 executes the program may be recorded in a storage medium 101A that can be attached to and detached from the information terminal 100.

  Such storage media include CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk-Read Only Memory), USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, memory card, FD (Flexible Disk), Hard disk, magnetic tape, cassette tape, MO (Magnetic Optical Disc), MD (Mini Disc), IC (Integrated Circuit) card (excluding memory card), optical card, mask ROM, EPROM, EEPROM (Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only) A medium for storing the program in a nonvolatile manner such as Memory).

  In the information terminal 100, the communication interface 105 communicates with other devices such as a server by connecting to a network or directly. The communication interface 105 is realized by a network card or the like. The communication method may be wireless or wired. The communication mode may be Bluetooth (registered trademark), wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN that has received Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) authentication, or a short distance. Wireless communication may be used, and wired communication using an ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) bus or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) bus may be used.

The speaker 107 outputs sound based on an instruction from the CPU 110.
The clock 108 performs a time measuring operation. The CPU 110 uses the time counting function of the clock 108 when referring to the time measured by a timer described later.

  Vibrator 109 vibrates the main body of information terminal 100 based on an instruction from CPU 110, and is used for notification of an incoming call in the manner mode or the like.

  The operation of the touch panel 106 may be in accordance with any system such as a matrix switch system, a resistive film system, a surface acoustic wave system, an infrared system, an electromagnetic induction system, or a capacitance system.

<Processing content>
3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the processing contents when information processing is executed in the information terminal 100. FIG.

  First, referring to FIG. 3, when a condition for starting information processing is established in information terminal 100, CPU 110 starts the process in step S10 and advances the process to step S20. Here, the establishment of the information processing start condition means, for example, that the operation for starting the process is performed on the touch sensor 103 and / or the button 104 in the information terminal 100 and the process is started. That a predetermined time has arrived, and that an instruction to start the processing is received from another device via the communication interface 105.

  In step S20, CPU 110 starts a timer for measuring a specific time, and proceeds to step S30.

  In step S30, CPU 110 causes display 102 to display that the information processing started in step S10 is being executed, and proceeds to step S40.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a display mode on the display 102. Hereinafter, in this specification, display on the display 102 is also referred to as display on the touch panel 106.

  In FIG. 5, a message “Downloading” is displayed on the touch panel 106. In this specification, as an example of information processing executed in the information terminal 100, a file from a server (not shown) is cited. The character corresponds to a display indicating that the process started in step S10 is being executed.

  In FIG. 5, a software button “cancel” is displayed on the touch panel 106 (display 102). In this state, when an operation is performed on the button, the operation for the process being executed, that is, the download operation is canceled as in the known technique.

  The file download described above is merely an example of information processing executed on the information terminal 100. The type of information processing executed in the information terminal 100 involved in the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to this, and deletion of a file registered in the memory 101, movement of a file between directories in the memory 101, Further, it may be editing of a photograph or video taken by the camera 120.

  Returning to FIG. 3, in step S <b> 40, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the process started in step S <b> 10 has ended. When it is determined that the process has ended, the process proceeds to step S <b> 50. The process proceeds to S60.

  In step S50, CPU 110 causes touch panel 106 to display the completion of the above process, and returns to the standby state. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed in step S50.

  Referring to FIG. 6, a message “Download completed” is displayed on touch panel 106. In the information terminal 100, the message shown in FIG. 6 corresponds to the display of the end of the process started in step S10 in step S50.

  Returning to FIG. 3, in step S <b> 60, the CPU 110 determines whether or not an operation has been performed on the information terminal 100 before the time measurement of the timer started in step S <b> 20, that is, the touch sensor 103 or the button 104. On the other hand, it is determined whether or not an operation has been performed. If it is determined that an operation has been performed, the process returns to step S20, and the timer operation starts again from the beginning. On the other hand, when determining that such an operation has not been performed, CPU 110 advances the process to step S70.

  In step S70, the CPU 110 causes the camera 120 to perform a shooting operation and advances the process to step S80.

  In step S80, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the user's line of sight is included in the image captured by the camera 120 in step S70. If it is determined that the image is included, the process returns to step S20, and the timer counts. Start over from the beginning. On the other hand, if the line of sight cannot be detected, CPU 110 advances the process to step S90.

  Note that the determination of whether or not the line of sight is included in the image in step S80 is realized by a known technique, that is, for example, pattern recognition for the image. Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, it may be realized by recognizing a human face image based on a photographed image and performing face detection.

  In step S90, CPU 110 turns off display 102 and proceeds to step S100.

  Referring to FIG. 4, in step S <b> 100, CPU 110 determines whether or not the information processing started in step S <b> 10 has been completed. If determined, the process proceeds to step S130.

  In step S110, the CPU 110 determines whether or not an operation has been performed on the information terminal 100, that is, whether or not an operation has been performed on the touch sensor 103 or the button 104. If the CPU 110 determines that an operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S120. The process proceeds and if it is determined that it has not been made, the process returns to step S100.

  In the information terminal 100, the communication interface 105 also functions as an interface for an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse connected to the information terminal 100. In this specification, “the operation has been performed on the information terminal 100” includes that information corresponding to the operation performed on the input device is input to the CPU 110 via the communication interface 105.

  In step S120, CPU 110 causes touch panel 106 to display a menu screen and waits for further instruction input. In this state, CPU 110 waits to accept an operation for new information processing while executing the process started in step S10 in the background.

  In the menu screen displayed in step S120, a display indicating that the information processing started in step S10 is being executed may be performed together. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the touch panel 106.

  In FIG. 7, the touch panel 106 displays a screen in which the icon 100A is added to the menu screen as shown in FIG. The icon 100A is an icon indicating that information processing (file download in this specification) being executed in the background is being executed.

  The CPU 110 displays the icon 100A on the touch panel 106 during the period in which the above-described information processing is being performed (in the background). Then, CPU 110 deletes the display of icon 100A from touch panel 106 when the above-described information processing is completed.

  On the other hand, in step S130, CPU 110 determines whether or not notification is necessary. If it is determined that notification is necessary, CPU 110 proceeds to step S160. If it is determined that notification is not necessary, CPU 110 proceeds to step S140.

  In the information terminal 100, after the display 102 is turned off in step S <b> 90, the setting contents regarding the necessity of notification of information processing executed by the CPU 110 can be registered. The setting content can be input and changed, for example, when the user operates the touch sensor 103 or based on content instructed from another device via the communication interface 105. The setting contents are registered in the memory 101, for example. In step S130, the CPU 110 executes the process of step S130 by reading the setting contents registered in the memory 101.

  Specifically, for example, when the user wishes to receive notification of the end timing of the process after the display 102 is turned off once during the execution of the process, the user registers the setting content that the notification is necessary. Keep it. Thereby, in step S130, it is determined that notification is necessary, and the process proceeds to step S160.

  In step S160, CPU 110 notifies the end of information processing started in step S10 by a method different from the notification method in step S50, and further starts a timer for measuring a certain time, and then proceeds to step S170. Proceed with the process. Note that “another method” includes, for example, voice output via the speaker 107, voice output to an external device via the communication interface 105, and transmission of an information display instruction signal.

  In step S170, CPU 110 determines whether or not the timer that started timing in step S160 has ended. If it is determined that the timer has not yet ended, the process proceeds to step S180.

  In step S180, CPU 110 determines whether or not operation has been performed on touch sensor 103 and / or button 104. If it is determined that no operation has been performed, the process returns to step S170, and if it is determined that operation has not been performed, processing returns to step S190. Proceed with the process.

  In step S190, the CPU 110 informs the touch panel 106 of the end of information processing started in step S10 as described with reference to FIG. 6 by display, and shifts to a standby state.

  In step S170, if CPU 110 determines that the timer that started timing in step S160 has expired, the process proceeds to step S200.

  In step S200, CPU 110 stands by until operation is performed on touch sensor 103 and / or button 104, and if it is determined that the operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S210.

  In step S210, the CPU 110 causes the touch panel 106 to display a menu screen as described with reference to FIG. 1, and shifts to a standby state.

  In step S140, CPU 110 determines whether or not operation has been performed on touch sensor 103 and / or button 104. If it is determined that operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S150. In step S150, CPU 110 causes touch panel 106 to display a menu screen as shown in FIG. 1 and shifts to a standby state.

  In the present embodiment described above, after the information terminal 100 turns off the display 102 (step S90) and the information processing started in step S10 is completed, the information terminal 100 is set to require notification. The end of the process is notified by a method other than the display on the touch panel 106.

  The notification method here may be any method as long as it is a method other than the display on the extinguished display 102 (touch panel 106). For example, sound output from the speaker 107 and vibration of the vibrator 109 may be used. When the information terminal 100 is provided with an LED (Light Emitting Diode) separately from the display 102, the communication interface 105 is used. By outputting a signal instructing the notification operation, the LED may be displayed in a predetermined pattern.

  In step S160, the information terminal 100 is intended to execute at least a minimum process for executing a notification operation. In other words, the information terminal 100 itself is not limited to performing a final notification operation such as sound output or vibration of the housing, but can perform a notification operation using sound or light via the communication interface 105. Even when a signal instructing the notification operation is output to the device, it is intended to be included in the processing content of step S160. In this case, the information terminal 100 executes processing for realizing the final notification operation realized in the “external device”.

  In the present embodiment, the notification means is configured by the speaker 107, the vibrator 109, the communication interface 105, and the like for realizing the notification by the “method other than the display on the display 102” described above.

  Note that the criterion for determining whether or not to notify the end of information processing after the display is turned off may be matters other than the setting contents registered in the memory 101 or the like. For example, it may be determined whether or not the notification by another method described above is performed depending on whether the end mode of the information processing started in step S10 has ended normally or abnormally.

  The abnormal termination means that the processing is terminated without achieving the purpose of the processing started in step S10. As a specific example, communication with the server is disconnected during file download, and a predetermined number of times. There is a case in which the communication is not recovered during the retry and the download process is stopped.

<Other variations, etc.>
In the present embodiment described above, after the information processing is started, the touch sensor 103 and the button 104 are not operated continuously for a specific time counted by the above-described timer, and the camera 120 takes an image. If the user's line of sight is not detected in the displayed image, the display 102 is turned off (step S90). When the information processing being executed is completed, the end of the information processing is notified by a method other than the display on the display 102, such as sound from the speaker 107 and vibration of the vibrator 109.

  In the present embodiment, the user watching the display 102 is based on face recognition and face detection for an image photographed by the camera 120 provided in the vicinity of the display 102. Note that in the information terminal of the present embodiment, the detection mode of the user looking at the display on the display is not limited to this.

  For example, a device such as an IC (Integrated Circuit) card is mounted on a part where the user moves in conjunction with the user's line of sight, and the information terminal 100 performs near field communication with the IC card in the vicinity of the display 102. Based on the state of communication with the device, such as a device capable of communicating with the device such as a device for detecting the presence of an IC card within the predetermined range in the device, It may be detected that the user is looking at the display on the display.

  Further, it is intended that the user watching the display is detected using all possible means other than the above-described modes, such as an optical, electrical, or magnetic method. .

  In addition, the notification by a method other than the display on the display 102 described above may be realized by the CPU 110 transmitting a signal instructing the notification operation to another device via the communication interface 105. In response to this, the end of the information processing started in step S10 is notified, for example, by displaying a predetermined message on another display device or the like possessed by the user.

  The information terminal 100 is operated after the display is turned off on the condition that the operation has not been performed for a specific time or longer and the user has not detected that the user is looking at the display (step S110). ), While executing the process being executed in the background, it enters a state of accepting an input of another instruction (step S120).

  In addition, in step S110, the information terminal 100 may shift to a state in which another instruction input is accepted on the condition that the user is looking at the display instead of the operation input.

  Each embodiment disclosed this time must be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  In addition, the inventions described in the embodiments and modifications thereof are intended to be implemented alone or in combination as much as possible.

  100 information terminal, 100A icon, 101 memory, 102 display, 103 touch sensor, 104 button, 105 communication interface, 106 touch panel, 107 speaker, 108 clock, 109 vibrator.

Claims (7)

Operation means for accepting external operation;
Display,
Detecting means for detecting a state in which the user is looking at the display;
Informing means for executing an informing operation in a mode other than the display on the display;
Control means for executing information processing,
The control means, during the execution of information processing, when there is no operation on the operation means for a specified time or more and the state where the user is looking at the display is not detected by the detection means,
Turn off the display, and
An information terminal that causes the notification means to notify that the information processing has been completed.   The detection means detects a state in which the user is looking at the display based on an image captured by a camera capable of photographing at an angle at which it can be determined whether or not the user is looking at the display. 1. The information terminal according to 1.   The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit performs a notification operation by display on a display unit provided separately from the display, vibration, voice, or communication to another device. . The control means includes
When the information processing being executed abnormally ends, the information means is notified that the information processing has ended,
The information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the information processing being executed is normally completed, the information processing is not notified. The control means is executing information processing,
Indicating that the information processing is being performed on the display,
If the detection means does not detect that the operation means has not been operated for a specific time or more and the user is looking at the display, the operation is not performed after the display is turned off. The information for accepting an instruction for another process different from the information processing is displayed on the display when the information is made or when the state of the user looking at the display is detected by the detection means. The information terminal according to claim 4.   The information terminal according to claim 5, wherein the control means displays information indicating that the information processing is being executed on the display together with information for receiving an instruction for the other processing. A program executed by a computer of an information terminal including an operation unit for receiving an operation from outside, a display, and a notification unit for executing a notification operation in a mode other than the display on the display,
In the information terminal,
Detecting a state in which a user is looking at the display;
A step of turning off the display when there is no operation on the operation means for a specified time or more during execution of information processing and the detection means does not detect that the user is looking at the display; ,
An information terminal control program for causing the notification means to notify that the information processing is completed when the information processing is completed after the display is turned off.

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