JP2013246536A - Icon display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow even a user viewing an icon for the first time to grasp as much as possible a content of the icon, while icons as many as possible are made displayable on a screen.SOLUTION: An icon display device is configured to: tally up the number of times representing how many times a help display displaying a detail content of an icon is hit; and, for an icon whose number of times is less than a predetermined number of times, cause the icon to be displayed by a first icon made by simplifying its content, and for an icon whose tallied-up number of times is equal to or more than the predetermined number of times, cause the icon to be displayed by a second icon composed of a character string representing a content of the icon and larger in size than the first icon. Thereby, for an icon whose number of times is large, it is considered that a user does not grasp a content of the icon, and a display is thus performed by the second icon. For an icon whose number of times is small, it is considered that the user grasps a content of the icon, and a display is thus performed by the first icon, so that the user is likely to be able to grasp the icon. Further, the total number of times relating to the second icon can be reduced as much as possible.

Description

  The present invention relates to an icon display device that displays on a display an icon composed of a simplified button-like graphic indicating the contents of a job such as a program or a file or a character string.

  Generally, in a personal computer or the like, an icon is displayed on a display screen. This icon is a simplified representation of the contents of a job such as a program or file that is processed by a personal computer with button-like graphics such as simple symbols, characters, and patterns. The user operates the icon. The job corresponding to the icon can be executed. When such an icon is used, the job contents are displayed in a button-like graphic, so that a list of many jobs can be displayed in a limited display area of the display.

  In addition to the icons that can be operated as described above, there are icons for simply displaying the contents of character strings that simply indicate states. Such an icon is used in order to represent the state of the person or the object by being arranged in the vicinity of the information indicating the person or the object.

  By the way, when displaying with an icon, if the symbol, character, pattern, etc. of the icon is too simple, the user may not be able to grasp the contents only by looking at the icon. In order to solve such a problem, when a cursor that can be freely moved on the screen of the display moves on the icon, a technique for displaying a help indicating the detailed contents of the icon is known (for example, (See Patent Document 1).

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, when the icon help display count is large, help display is performed after a predetermined waiting time has elapsed since the cursor moved over the icon. Thereby, an unnecessary help display can be suppressed when the same icon is repeatedly used. Further, since an icon with a small number of times of help display is displayed without waiting time, a user who views the help can grasp the detailed contents of the icon.

  In addition, among icons, icons that use a typical character string that indicates the contents of a job, icons that use a character string that indicates the contents of a job, etc., in addition to these, the contents of a job, etc. There are an icon using a picture to be shown, an icon using only a picture showing the contents of a job, and the like.

  Among these icons, the icon that uses a typical character of the character string indicating the content of the job, the icon that is a typical character plus a design, or the icon that consists only of a design, If the contents of the icon are not recognized, there is a problem that it is impossible to grasp the detailed contents of the icon just by looking at the icon.

  On the other hand, with icons that use character strings indicating the contents of jobs as they are, or icons that use patterns that show the contents of jobs in addition to this, even if the user does not recognize the contents of these icons, You can understand the contents of the icon to some extent just by looking at the icon. However, since the character strings displayed on the icons increase, when trying to make the user visually recognize these character strings, the icons themselves need to be displayed in a large size, and there is a problem that the display area of the icons increases. .

  In order to solve these problems, there is a technology that displays the details of jobs with low versatility in detail in character strings, and displays the details of jobs with high versatility with icons in a simple manner. It is known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP-A-9-319541 JP 2010-4301 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 2 described above, whether to display a detailed character string or a simple icon is set depending on the frequency of the job, that is, the number of times the icon is used by selecting the icon. Therefore, when an icon display device that displays an icon is shared by multiple users, there is a possibility that the user who sees the icon for the first time may not be able to grasp the contents of the icon. there were.

  The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and enables the user who first viewed an icon to grasp the contents of the icon as much as possible while displaying as many icons as possible on the display screen. The purpose is to do so.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the present invention, the number of times the help display for displaying the detailed contents of the icon is counted for each icon, and for an icon whose number is less than a predetermined number, The icon contents are displayed as a simplified first icon, and for icons whose total count is a predetermined number or more, it is composed of a character string indicating the icon contents and is larger in size than the first icon. The second icon is displayed.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, an icon with a large number of times of help display is considered that the user who viewed the icon cannot grasp the content. The icon that is displayed with the second icon and the help display frequency is low is considered to be understood by the user who viewed the icon, so the first icon that simplifies the icon content is displayed. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the user can grasp the icons displayed on the display screen. In addition, the icon that allows the user to grasp the contents even if it is displayed with the first icon is displayed in a simplified manner, and the second icon having a size larger than the first icon can be reduced. As many icons as possible can be displayed on the display screen.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the icon display apparatus by this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of the memory | storage part of the icon display apparatus by this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the icon display apparatus by this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the modification of the icon display apparatus by this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the icon display device according to the present embodiment. In the figure, an icon display device 1 is constituted by a personal computer, and displays an icon by executing a program stored in a storage device in the personal computer. Here, the icon display device 1 includes a control unit 2, a storage unit 3, an operation unit 4, a first display control unit 5, a totaling unit 6, a second display control unit 7, and an interface 8. .

  The control unit 2 controls each component of the icon display device 1 as will be described later, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and the like. The storage unit 3 includes a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk device, and includes identification information of each icon, first icon information indicating a first icon that is an image obtained by simplifying the contents of each icon, Second icon information indicating a second icon, which is an image having a size larger than the first icon, and help display information indicating the detailed contents of each icon. Pre-stored in association.

  Here, each icon differs depending on the purpose for which the icon display device 1 according to the present embodiment is used. For example, when the icon display device 1 according to the present embodiment is installed in a system for managing an elderly apartment house, icons indicating the status of each resident are used as shown in FIG. Specifically, for the icon having the identification information “0001”, image information graphically expressed by enclosing the characters “night” is used as the first icon information, and the characters “outdoor” are used as the second icon information. The image information that is graphically expressed by surrounding the box is used. Further, as the help display information of this icon, text information “resident is staying outside” is used.

  In addition, for the icon having the identification information “0002”, image information that is graphically expressed by surrounding the character “out” as the first icon information is used, and the character “out” is enclosed as the second icon information. Graphical image information is used. Further, as the help display information of this icon, text information “a resident is out” is used.

Similarly, for the icon with the identification information “0003”, image information graphically expressed by surrounding the “present” character is used as the first icon information, and the “resident” character is used as the second icon information. Image information that is graphically expressed in a box is used. As the help display information of this icon, text information “A resident is present” is used. As shown in FIG. 3, these icons are displayed in the display column together with the room number of each dwelling unit and the name of the resident.

  The operation unit 4 is configured by a mouse or the like which is a general personal computer operation means. The operation unit 4 is an operation for selecting an icon displayed on a display to be described later and displaying help. For example, it is possible to display help by clicking a mouse cursor on an icon.

  The first display control unit 5 is configured by a CPU, a memory, and the like. When it is detected that the operation unit 4 has been operated, the first display control unit 5 identifies an icon to be operated and acquires identification information of the icon. . And the 1st display control part 5 refers to the memory | storage part 3, extracts the help display information memorize | stored in association with the acquired identification information, and the coordinate by which the operation part 4 was operated on the screen of a display Help is displayed near the screen. That is, help display is performed in the vicinity of the operated icon. In the present embodiment, help display is performed near the icon, but help display may be performed at a predetermined position on the screen.

  The totaling unit 6 totals the number of times help display is performed for each icon. The number information indicating the number of times is stored in the storage unit 3 in association with the identification information of each icon.

  The second display control unit 7 is configured by a CPU, a memory, and the like, and determines whether or not the number-of-times information indicating the number of times counted by the counting unit 6 is a predetermined number or more. When the second display control unit 7 determines that the number of times information is less than the predetermined number of times, the second display control unit 7 refers to the storage unit 3 and associates it with the identification information of the icon. The stored first icon information is extracted and displayed on the coordinates where the operation unit 4 is operated on the screen of the display.

  Here, when the first icon is already displayed on the screen of the display, the second display control unit 7 continues the display of the first icon, and the second icon is displayed. In this case, the second display control unit 7 switches from displaying the second icon to displaying the first icon.

  Further, when the second display control unit 7 determines that the number of times information is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of times, the second display control unit 7 refers to the storage unit 3 and uses the identification information of the icon. The second icon information stored in association with each other is extracted and displayed on the coordinates where the operation unit 4 is operated on the screen of the display.

  Here, when the second icon is already displayed on the screen of the display, the second display control unit 7 continues the display of the second icon, and the first icon is displayed. In this case, the second display control unit 7 switches from displaying the first icon to displaying the second icon.

  The interface 8 connects the icon display device 1 and a display, and outputs an image signal generated by the icon display device 1 to the display.

  In the icon display device configured as described above, in the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the second display control unit 7 determines that the icon specified by the identification information “0001” has a help display count less than a predetermined count. Since the determination is made, the first icon “night” is displayed in the display area near the resident “XX child” in the room 201. In addition, the icon specified by the identification information “0002” is determined by the second display control unit 7 that the help display count is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of times. The second icon “going out” is displayed in the display area in the vicinity of. In addition, the icon specified by the identification information “0003” is determined by the second display control unit 7 that the help display count is less than the predetermined count. Is displayed in the display area in the vicinity of.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, the counting unit 6 counts the number of times the help display for displaying the detailed contents of the icon by the operation of the operation unit 4 is performed for each icon. For an icon whose number of times is less than the predetermined number, the second display control unit 7 displays the icon content on the display screen with the first icon simplified, and the total number of times is equal to or more than the predetermined number. The second display control unit 7 is configured with a character string indicating the contents of the icon, and is displayed on the display screen with a second icon having a size larger than the first icon. Yes.

  As a result, an icon with a large number of times of help display is considered to be displayed as a second icon composed of a character string indicating the content of the icon because it is considered that the user who viewed the icon has not grasped the content. Because icons that have a small number of help displays are considered to be understood by the user who viewed the icons, the first icon with a simplified icon content is displayed. There is a high possibility that the icons displayed on the screen can be grasped. In addition, for icons that can be understood by the user even if they are displayed with the first icon, a simplified display is performed, and the total number of second icons having a size larger than the first icon may be reduced. As many icons as possible can be displayed in the display area on the display screen.

  In the above-described embodiment, the totaling unit 6 totals the total number of icons for which help display has been performed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the clock display unit 10 that records the current time may be provided in the icon display device 1 so that the counting unit 6 may count only the number of times within a predetermined time.

  In the above-described embodiment, the icon display form is varied depending on whether the number of times the help display has been performed is a predetermined number of times or less, but is not limited thereto. For example, the icon display form may be made different depending on whether the number of times the help display has been performed exceeds a predetermined number or less than a predetermined number.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, one icon has two display forms of the first icon and the second icon, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a third icon or the like showing more detailed contents than the second icon may be added so that each icon has three or more display forms.

  In the above-described embodiment, the second icon is expressed by a two-character string, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the second icon may be expressed by a character string of three characters or more.

  In addition, the said embodiment is only what showed the example in implementation in implementing this invention, and, as a result, the technical scope of this invention should not be interpreted limitedly. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit or main features thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Icon display apparatus 2 Control part 3 Memory | storage part 4 Operation part 5 1st display control part 6 Totaling part 7 2nd display control part 8 Interface

Claims (2)

An icon display device that displays a list of icons indicating job contents or simplified contents of character strings on a display screen,
Consists of identification information for identifying an icon, first icon information indicating a first icon in which the content of the icon is simplified, and a character string indicating the content of the icon, and a size larger than that of the first icon A storage unit that associates and stores second icon information indicating the second icon and help display information indicating the detailed contents of the icon;
An operation unit operated when performing a help display indicating the detailed contents of the icon displayed on the screen;
A first display control unit configured to extract help display information stored in association with identification information of the icon from the storage unit and display the help display information on the screen when the operation unit is operated;
A counting unit for counting the number of times the help display has been performed by the first display control unit;
For icons whose number information indicating the number of times counted by the counting unit is less than a predetermined value, the first icon information stored in association with the identification information of the icon is extracted with reference to the storage unit. For the icons whose number information indicating the number of times counted by the counting unit and displayed on the screen is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the icons are stored in association with the identification information of the icons with reference to the storage unit. A second display control unit for extracting second icon information and displaying it on the screen;
An icon display device comprising:   The icon display device according to claim 1, further comprising a clock unit that records a current time, wherein the counting unit counts only the number of times within a predetermined time using the clock unit.

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