JP2014016850A - Method for sharing application window display, information terminal device, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method which enables a plurality of information terminals interconnected by a network to share a content displayed by an application program.SOLUTION: An information terminal 11a displays a content on an application window. A user performs a one action operation on the information terminal 11a that does not influence display of the content currently displayed. In response to the one action operation, the terminal device 11a transmits sharing information for displaying the content currently displayed in the terminal device 11a to any or all of information terminals 11b to 11d via a network 10. In response to reception of the sharing information, the information terminals 11b to 11d display the content corresponding to the sharing information.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for sharing content displayed on an application window between information terminals connected via a network, and more particularly to a technology for sharing while preventing the display of content from being affected.

  If a plurality of information terminals are connected via a network, the content displayed in the application window can be easily exchanged. Therefore, the user of the information terminal may want to share content such as a Web browser or document application program that is displayed with the information terminal of another user. In a face-to-face conference in the same room or a teleconference with a remote party, it is convenient if the same content can be displayed on each information terminal as the topic progresses.

  Furthermore, if you want to display content that was displayed on the small screen of a smartphone or tablet terminal on a large screen such as a notebook personal computer (notebook PC) or smart TV with a simple operation, or a desktop that is easy to input There is a case where it is desired to perform the operation by displaying on a PC. As one method of sharing a Web site, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a Web page acquired from a Web browser is distributed by mail, and the user of the information terminal that receives the URL clicks the URL pasted in the mail. It is possible to access the link destination embedded there. Other methods include linking a plurality of URLs to a public site established on the server so that anyone can access it, or using a data base server. There is also a method of using cloud computing.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for sharing a URL between computers connected via a network. In this document, when a computer first links a browsing session of another computer that shares the URL, and then distributes the URL to the browsing session of the other computer linked, It is described that the site corresponding to is displayed. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which a peer device participates in a collaborative web browsing session of a web site opened by an automatic peer. This document describes that peer devices participating in a joint web browsing session are linked peer-to-peer.

US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0241032 US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0241032

  When participants share content displayed by their Web browsers for a meeting, it takes a long time from transmission to reception, the sender has trouble viewing their content, or the sharing operation is troublesome. It is not preferable that it is applied. In the method of transmitting a URL by e-mail, operations such as acquisition of a URL from a Web browser, activation of a mailer, creation of a mail with a URL pasted, and transmission of an e-mail are required at a transmitting information terminal.

  Further, if the mailer window overlaps the web browser window, browsing of the sender's web browser is hindered. In the information terminal on the receiving side, operations such as receiving a mail and clicking a pasted URL are required. In addition, it is necessary to delete the mail box as the URL transfer frequency increases. Furthermore, since there is a delay time until the information terminal confirms the reception of the mail with respect to the mail box, it cannot be shared in real time. Moreover, it is difficult to share between information terminals such as computers and smart TVs that do not employ the same mail system.

  The method of sharing a public site requires maintenance of the public site. In particular, when a Web server or data base server on the Internet is used, security measures are also required, which cannot be introduced by companies that do not permit the use thereof. The method using cloud computing cannot be used by users who cannot share a cloud ID, or in companies that do not allow data storage on an external server.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method of sharing content displayed by a plurality of information terminal devices connected via a network with other information terminal devices without affecting their browsing. Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sharing method with reduced influence and dependency on network devices. A further object of the present invention is to provide a sharing method excellent in security. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for sharing in real time. A further object of the present invention is to provide an information terminal device and a computer program for realizing such a method.

  The present invention provides a method in which a plurality of information terminal devices connected to a network share the display of an application window. The first information terminal device and the second information terminal device are connected to the network. Subsequently, the first information terminal device displays the content in the application window. Subsequently, in response to a one-action operation that does not affect the display of the content, the first information terminal device transmits shared information corresponding to the content to the second information terminal device. Subsequently, the second information terminal device displays the content in the application window in response to receiving the shared information.

  The user of the first information terminal device can send the displayed content to the second information terminal device with only one action. The shared information when the application window is created by the web browser is the URL of the browsed web page. The shared information when the application window is created by the document creation software is character information or image information. The content may be not only a still image such as a character or an image but also a moving image.

  The second information terminal device can be configured to start a program for displaying content corresponding to the shared information in response to reception of the shared information. In this case, it is not necessary to perform any operation on the second information terminal device in order to share the content. If the program has already been started, if another window is opened to display the content corresponding to the received shared information, the content displayed so far on the second information terminal device can be displayed. Can be easily restored.

  If the shared information is transmitted by the peer-to-peer communication method not via the mail server, accumulation of a large amount of content in the mail server can be prevented. Further, since shared information is not left on the external server, security can be ensured. Furthermore, it can be employed even in companies where access to external servers is restricted. Furthermore, if distributed by push communication, the display can be shared in real time.

  When a one-action operation is performed, shared information corresponding to the content displayed in the application window displayed in the foreground can be transmitted. In this case, for example, since participants can quickly share contents along a topic in a meeting, the amount of information to be exchanged can be increased and the quality of communication can be improved.

  If the first information terminal device and the second information terminal device acquire the other party's IP address before transmitting the shared information, even if the information terminal device does not use a fixed IP address. The display of content can be shared by peer-to-peer communication. By adopting the peer-to-peer communication method, dependency on an external server can be lowered and security is not lowered. When the IP address of the second information terminal device is unknown when connected to the network, the IP address may be transmitted using a communication system other than the network. As a communication system other than the network in this case, a short-range communication system using a medium such as radio waves, voices, or infrared rays can be used.

  If the short-range communication system cannot be used, the IP address may be transmitted using a mail server connected to the network. When one of the information terminal devices becomes a base point and exchanges IP addresses with other information terminal devices, only the base information terminal device has the IP addresses of all other information terminal devices. Become. In this case, if the information terminal device that is the base point transmits the IP address of the information terminal device that the information terminal device does not have to each of the other information terminal devices, any information terminal device can be peer-to-peered.・ You can share the display of content by peer communication.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method of sharing content displayed by a plurality of information terminal devices connected via a network with other terminal devices without affecting their browsing. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sharing method with reduced influence and dependency on network devices. Furthermore, according to the present invention, a sharing method excellent in security could be provided. Further, according to the present invention, a method for sharing in real time could be provided. Furthermore, according to the present invention, an information terminal device and a computer program for realizing such a method could be provided.

It is a figure explaining the general | schematic method that an information terminal shares a display of an application window mutually via a network. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the information terminal 100 as an example of information terminal 11a-11d. It is a figure explaining an example of a structure of the web browser displayed on the desktop. It is a figure explaining an example of one action operation. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure when an information terminal shares the content of a web browser.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline method in which information terminals share the display of application windows with each other via a network. The plurality of information terminals 11 a to 11 d, the mail servers 13 and 15, and the web server 17 are each connected to the network 10. In the present invention, predetermined groups selected from the information terminals 11a to 11d or all share contents displayed by windows generated by the same type of application program.

  The same type of application program means that it can be displayed without losing the identity of the content. The network 10 further includes LAN, WAN, and other network devices that make up the Internet. The information terminals 11a to 11d are connected to the network 10 by wired or wireless communication modules. As an example, the information terminals 11a to 11d can be configured such that any one or more of a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a notebook PC, a desktop PC, and a smart TV are mixed.

  Any one of the information terminals 11a to 11d becomes a sender (initiator) of shared information, and any other or a plurality of information terminals simultaneously become receivers (targets). Simultaneously means that shared information can be transmitted only by a one-action operation described later, and a plurality of targets do not need to be received at the same time. In one example, any of the information terminals 11a to 11d can be configured to have both the initiator and target functions. In another example, any information terminal can be configured to be dedicated to an initiator or a target. For example, a smartphone can be used exclusively for an initiator, a smart TV can be used exclusively for a target, and a notebook PC and a tablet terminal can be used both for an initiator and a target.

  The information terminal for both the initiator and the target operates as either an initiator or a target in an equal position at the moment of sharing the content. The information terminals 11a to 11d may all belong to the same user or different users. When the information terminals 11a to 11d are connected to the network 10, a global IP address or a private IP address (hereinafter referred to as an IP address) is assigned. Since these IP addresses are assigned different values depending on the DHCP server or router every time they are connected to the network 10, the information terminals 11a to 11d recognize the IP addresses of other information terminals at the moment of connection to the network 10. Not done.

  The information terminals 11 a to 11 d before acquiring the IP addresses of other information terminals can communicate with the other information terminals via the mail servers 13 and 15 connected to the network 10. The information terminals 11a to 11d that have acquired IP addresses by some method can transmit or receive shared information to each other by a communication method called peer-to-peer (P2P) that does not involve the mail servers 13 and 15. In a preferred example of this embodiment, peer-to-peer communication is used for transmission of shared information.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of the information terminal 100 as an example of the information terminals 11a to 11d. The information terminal 100 has both initiator and target functions. Those skilled in the art can easily understand an information terminal having a dedicated function of an initiator or a target from the description of FIG. For example, the shared information may be a URL of a Web page that is displayed by the Web browser accessing the Web server 17.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of the Web browser displayed on the desktop of the information terminal 100. A plurality of icons 143, a task bar 145, a web browser application window 151, and other application windows 147 are displayed on the desktop 141 displayed on the display unit 107 (FIG. 2).

  The window 151 is located in the foreground, and the window 147 is located in the background. Although the window 151 and all the child windows included in the window 151 are displayed in a reduced size, the area other than the task bar 145 on the desktop screen is occupied by the window of the application program when the maximum display is performed. The window 151 includes a title bar 153, an address bar 155, tabs 157 a to 157 c, a favorite bar 159, a command bar 161 and a content display area 167.

  The content display area 167 displays the content of the web page acquired from the web server 17. In the address bar 155, the URL of the Web page displayed in the content display area 167 is displayed. When a URL is directly input to the address bar 155, a Web page corresponding to the content display area 167 is displayed. The tabs 157a to 157c are created when a plurality of content display areas 167 are created in the window 151. When a plurality of tabs are created, a web page is associated with each tab, and the corresponding web page is displayed in the content display area 167 corresponding to the selected tab 157a. The command bar 161 includes a plurality of icons for operating the window 151.

  Each functional block of FIG. 2 includes software such as an application program, an OS, and a device driver, a main hardware and display such as a CPU, a main memory, and a chipset that execute the software, a disk drive, a wireless module, and the like It consists of peripheral devices. In the present embodiment, it can be configured by well-known elements other than software.

  The operation detection unit 101 generates an operation signal for sharing content in response to a user operation. The operation signal includes a signal corresponding to an operation for transmitting an IP address and a signal corresponding to an operation for transmitting a URL. The operation detection unit 101 can be configured to include an acceleration sensor or a camera. Furthermore, the operation detection unit 101 can be configured by a display and an icon displayed on the screen and a mouse for operating the icon. Furthermore, the operation detection unit 101 can also be configured by a voice recognition system.

  The operation detection unit 101 generates an operation signal in response to one input operation (one-action operation) by the user. The basic element of the one-action operation is that it does not affect the display of the content display area 167 displayed on the display unit 107 at that time. As long as the display of the content display area 167 is not affected, browsing of the content by the user is not hindered. Therefore, the sender of the URL can transmit the content with a sense of unity as a part of his browsing work. . Therefore, the display of the title bar 153 and the command bar 161 other than the content display area 167 of the window 151 may be affected.

  In addition, a small pop-up window may be displayed on the content display area 167 as long as content browsing is not substantially prevented. However, when a one-action operation is performed, the window 151 displayed at that time is minimized, or another window that is large enough to interfere with content browsing is displayed on the window 151. In this case, an operation such as maximization of the window or activation of the window 151 is required again, so that it cannot be said to be a one-action operation.

  The first additional element of the one-action operation means that it is not necessary to input a URL by inputting characters into the address bar 155. The second additional element of the one-action operation means that it is not necessary to input a URL by copying and pasting the mouse operation to the address bar 155. A third additional element of the one-action operation refers to not displaying a window of an application program that displays target content such as a mailer. The one-action operation may be a combination of any one or more of the first, second, and third additional elements with the basic element.

  The one-action operation when the operation detection unit 101 includes an acceleration sensor includes an operation of rotating the information terminal 100a such as a smartphone shown in FIG. 4A horizontally to transmit an IP address, and a URL. For transmission, as shown in FIG. 4B, the information terminal 100a can be held vertically and shaken once or a plurality of times. At this time, the operation detection unit 101 can generate an operation signal having a different meaning depending on the number of swings.

  One-action operation when the operation detection unit 101 includes an acceleration sensor is an operation that causes the housing to vibrate by lightly hitting the information terminal 100 once or twice or tapping the information terminal 100 lightly. It can be. In this case, an operation signal having a different meaning can be generated depending on the number of occurrences of the collision. The one-action operation in the case where the operation detection unit 101 includes a camera can be a gesture in which the arm is shaken once or a plurality of times in the same direction in front of the camera, or a gesture in which the arm is shaken once in a different direction.

  In this case, the operation detection unit 101 can generate a signal having a different meaning depending on the number of times or the direction in which the arm is shaken. When the operation detection unit 101 includes a mouse and an icon, it can be configured to include a plurality of icons. At this time, if an icon is formed in the command bar 161 of the window 151 or the task bar 145 of the desktop, it is possible to perform a one-action operation with the mouse without affecting the display of the content display area 167. . When the operation detecting unit 101 includes a voice recognition system, the user may give an instruction such as “IP address transmission” or “URL transmission” to the microphone.

  The event generation unit 103 recognizes the operation signal received from the operation detection unit 101 and generates an event corresponding to the type of operation. When the event generation unit 103 generates an event for transmitting a URL, the event generation unit 103 transfers the event to the shared information processing unit 111. When the event generation unit 103 generates an event for transmitting the IP address, the event generation unit 103 further decodes the event and transfers it to either the IP address transmission unit 123 or the CODEC 119.

  Display unit 107 includes a display for displaying application window 151. The image data generation unit 109 generates image data to be displayed on the display unit 107. The image data generation unit 109 includes existing Web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox (registered trademark), Google Chrome (registered trademark), Internet Explorer (registered trademark), Opera (registered trademark), and Safari (registered trademark).

  The shared information processing unit 111 is located in the application layer of the TCP / IP protocol layer. The shared information processing unit 111 acquires the URL of the Web page displayed on the display unit 107 by the Web browser from the image data generation unit 109 and stores it in the shared information storage unit 105. The shared information processing unit 111 keeps the number of URLs stored in the shared information storage unit 105 constant by updating the old URL by the FIFO method every time the URL accessed by the Web browser changes. When the shared information processing unit 111 receives an event from the event generation unit 103, the shared information processing unit 111 sends the single or plural URLs acquired from the shared information storage unit 105 to the network transmission / reception unit 115.

  At this time, the shared information processing unit 111 acquires the IP address of the destination information terminal from the IP address storage unit 117. The network transmission / reception unit 115 includes a wireless WAN card and a wireless LAN card, and is located in each of the transport layer, network layer, data link layer, and physical layer of the TCP / IP protocol layer. The physical layer of the network transmission / reception unit 115 may be wired.

  The network transmission / reception unit 115 generates an IP packet having the URL received from the shared information processing unit 111 as data and outputs the IP packet to the network 10. The network transmission / reception unit 115 generates an IP packet having the IP address received from the IP address transmission unit 123 as data and outputs the IP packet to the network 10. The network transmission / reception unit 115 receives IP packets from other information terminals via the network 10. The IP packet data received by the network transmission / reception unit 115 includes either the IP address of another information terminal or the URL of a Web page accessed by a Web browser.

  The reception information processing unit 113 is located in the application layer of the TCP / IP protocol layer and includes a memory-resident HTTP program that functions as a server. The reception information processing unit 113 processes URLs and IP addresses received by the network transmission / reception unit 115 from other information terminals. When the reception information processing unit 113 detects that the network transmission / reception unit 115 has received an IP packet having URL as data, the reception information processing unit 113 sends the URL to the image data generation unit 109. The reception information processing unit 113 activates the Web browser when the image data generation unit 109 does not execute the Web browser at the time of receiving the IP packet.

  When the image data generation unit 109 is executing the Web browser at the time of receiving the IP packet, the reception information processing unit 113 creates a window different from that window and sets the received URL there. The image data generation unit 109 accesses the received URL and displays a Web page. When the reception information processing unit 113 detects that the network transmission / reception unit 115 has received an IP packet whose data is the IP address of another information terminal, it stores it in the IP address storage unit 117.

  The reception information processing unit 113 includes an interface for the user to make settings related to URL sharing. The reception information processing unit 113 provides the user with three setting items of “ignore”, “delay display”, and “permission dialog” through the display unit 107. When the user sets “ignore”, the reception information processing unit 113 does not transfer the URL received by the network transmission / reception unit 115 to the image data generation unit 109.

  When the user sets “delay display”, the reception information processing unit 113 does not transfer the URL received by the network transmission / reception unit 115 to the image data generation unit 109 until a predetermined time has elapsed. When the user sets the “permission dialog”, the reception information processing unit 113 displays a prompt on the display unit 107 asking the user whether or not to share when the network transmission / reception unit 115 receives the URL. Thereafter, when the user permits, the received information processing unit 113 transfers the URL received by the network transmission / reception unit 115 to the image data generation unit 109, and does not transfer it when not permitted.

  The IP address storage unit 117 stores the IP address of another information terminal that shares its own IP address and URL. When the CODEC 119 receives an event from the event generation unit 103, the CODEC 119 acquires and encodes its own IP address from the IP address storage unit 117, and sends it to the IP address transmission / reception unit 121. When the CODEC 119 receives the IP address of another information terminal encoded from the IP address transmission / reception unit 121, the CODEC 119 decodes it and stores it in the IP address storage unit 117.

  The IP address transmission / reception unit 121 is a short-range communication system for communicating with other information terminals without going through the network 10. The IP address transmission / reception unit 121 converts the encoded IP address received from the CODEC 119 into a predetermined signal and outputs it. The IP address transmission / reception unit 121 receives the encoded IP address from another information terminal and sends it to the CODEC 119. The IP address transmission / reception unit 121 may include a module that generates a DTMF tone corresponding to the encoded IP address received from the CODEC 119 and a speaker that outputs the module.

  Further, the IP address transmission / reception unit 121 can include a microphone that collects DTMF tones generated by other information terminals and a module that outputs the microphone to the CODEC 119. In this case, an ultrasonic signal can be used instead of the acoustic signal. Alternatively, the IP address transmission / reception unit 121 is configured by an infrared communication system, an NFC (Near Field Communication) system, or Bluetooth (registered trademark) that can transmit and receive an encoded IP address with another information terminal. Can do.

  The IP address transmission unit 123 includes a mailer that employs a protocol such as SMTP or MIME located in the application layer of the TCP / IP protocol group. The IP address transmission unit 123 obtains in advance a mail address of a user who shares a URL by a known method. When the IP address transmission unit 123 receives the event from the event generation unit 103, the IP address transmission unit 123 receives the IP address acquired from the IP address storage unit 117 through the network transmission / reception unit 115, and the Send to address.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure when the information terminal shares the content of the Web browser. As a first sharing scenario, it is possible to assume a state in which a plurality of users each holding the information terminals 11a to 11d are having a meeting in the same room. As a second sharing scenario, it can be assumed that a plurality of users each having the information terminals 11a to 11d are in a conference call.

  However, the sharing scenario is not limited to this, and may be sharing between a plurality of information terminals belonging to the same user or sharing with a time delay. For example, it is possible to assume a sharing scenario in which when a favorite web page is accessed on a tablet terminal having a small screen, it is immediately displayed on a smart TV. Alternatively, a shared scenario in which a web page displayed on a smartphone on a train is displayed on a notebook PC after arriving at the company can be assumed.

  Blocks 201 to 221 indicate operations of the information terminal 11a, and blocks 301 to 315 indicate all or any of the operations of the information terminals 11b to 11d. In blocks 201 and 301, each information terminal is connected to the network 10. At this point, each information terminal does not recognize the IP addresses of other information terminals, and thus cannot perform P2P communication through the network 10. In order to form a group of information terminals sharing the URL in block 203, the information terminal 11a starts a sharing operation.

  In the case of the first sharing scenario, in the information terminal 11a, the event generation unit 103 generates an operation signal for sending an event to the CODEC 119 in response to the user's one-action operation. In the case of the second sharing scenario, in the information terminal 11a, the event generation unit 103 generates an operation signal for sending an event to the IP address transmission unit 123 in response to a user's one-action operation.

  However, the operation of the block 203 may be performed once for each of the information terminals 11b to 11d, and since the number of times is small, it is not always necessary to perform with one action. In block 205, the IP address of the information terminal 11a is transmitted to the information terminal 11b through the network transmission / reception unit 115 or the IP address transmission / reception unit 121. In the case of the first scenario, it is transmitted from the IP address transmission / reception unit 121, and in the case of the second scenario, it is transmitted from the network transmission / reception unit 115. At this time, the MAC address may be transmitted together.

  In block 303, the information terminal 11b receives the IP address of the information terminal 11a. In the case of the first sharing scenario, the IP address received by the CODEC 119 is stored in the IP address storage unit 117. In the case of the second sharing scenario, the reception information processing unit 113 that has detected that the network transmission / reception unit 115 has acquired the IP address arriving at the mail server 15 by pull communication is stored in the IP address storage unit 117. Store.

  In block 305, the reception information processing unit 113 of the information terminal 11b sends its own IP address to the information terminal 11a through the network 10. After establishing the TCP connection by the three-way handshake, the information terminal 11b generates an IP packet having the information terminal 11a as the destination and its own IP address as data, and sends it to the network transmission / reception unit 115 of the information terminal 11a. The reception information processing unit 113 of the information terminal 11 a that has detected reception of the IP address in block 207 stores the IP address in the IP address storage unit 117 and disconnects the TCP session.

  At this point, since the information terminals 11a and 11b have acquired the other party's IP addresses, P2P communication can be performed through the network 10 without passing through the mail servers 13 and 15. When the user of the information terminal 11a determines in block 209 that there is another information terminal to join the group, the process returns to block 203 to exchange the IP address with each of the information terminals 11c to 11d in the same procedure. At the time when the exchange of the IP address with the information terminal participating in the group is completed, the information terminal 11a has the IP addresses of all the other information terminals 11b-11d participating in the group, but the information terminals 11b-11d Each holds only the IP address of the information terminal 11a.

  The reception information processing unit 113 of the information terminal 11a proceeds to block 211 when it is determined that there is no additional IP address for a certain period of time, or when there is no additional sharer according to an instruction from the user. In block 211, the information terminal 11a sends an IP address that has not yet been acquired to each of the information terminals 11b to 11d through the network transmission / reception unit 115, so that all the information terminals participating in the group acquire each other's IP address. As a result, in block 307, the IP address storage unit 117 of each information terminal 11a to 11d stores the IP addresses of all the information terminals 11a to 11d participating in the group.

  In block 213, the user of the information terminal 11a accesses the website through the web browser. The shared information processing unit 111 stores, in the shared information storage unit 105, the URL of the Web page that has been browsed most recently. When the user of the information terminal 11 a performs a one-action operation for transmitting the URL of the Web page displayed by the Web browser in block 215, the shared information processing unit 111 reads the predetermined information acquired from the shared information storage unit 105 in block 217. The URL and the IP address acquired from the IP address storage unit 117 are sent to the network transmission / reception unit 115.

  The network transmission / reception unit 115 establishes a TCP session and then uses a URL as data, generates a plurality of IP packets destined for the IP addresses of the other information terminals 11b to 11d, and transmits them in order. Alternatively, the network transmission / reception unit 115 may generate a UDP packet and transmit it to the destination all at once.

  Since the IP packet is P2P that does not pass through the mail servers 13 and 15 and is transferred to the information terminals 11b to 11d by the push communication method, the information terminals 11b to 11d do not need to perform an IP packet receiving operation. In the pull communication via the mail servers 13 and 15, a delay time occurs when the information terminals 11 b to 11 d check the mail box of the mail server 15, but the URL is received in real time by adopting push communication. can do.

  Note that the shared information processing unit 111 acquires and transmits the URL of the Web page displayed by the Web browser located in the foreground when the one-action operation occurs, instead of the URL stored in the shared information storage unit 105 in advance. You may do it. Further, when a plurality of tabs 157a to 157c are formed in the Web browser, the URLs of all tabs 157a to 157c may be transmitted in addition to the focused tab 157a.

  In block 309, the information terminals 11b to 11d send the received URLs to the image data generation unit 109 by the reception information processing unit 113, respectively. When the reception information processing unit 113 has set the “permission dialog”, a prompt for permission or prohibition of sharing is displayed. In block 311, in the information terminal in which the web browser is not operating when the URL is received, the reception information processing unit 113 activates the web browser. If the web browser has already been activated, the reception information processing unit 113 creates a new window. When the received URL is set in the Web browser activated by the reception information processing unit 113 or a newly opened window in block 313, the corresponding Web page is displayed on the display unit 107. The target information terminals 11b to 11d in the procedure so far do not require any operation for sharing the URL.

  Further, since the information terminal 11a serving as the initiator can transfer the URL with one action, the browsing state is not interrupted and the operation for sharing can be minimized. In block 217, the TCP session is disconnected when the URL transmission is completed. If there is a URL further transmitted by the user of the information terminal 11 a in block 219, the process returns to block 215. In blocks 221 and 315, when the information terminals 11a to 11d close the Web browser, the URL shared so far disappears from the information terminals 11a to 11d.

  Although the example in which the information terminal 11a is the initiator has been described in the block 215, since any of the information terminals 11a to 11d can be the initiator, the procedure from the block 213 to the block 219 is the same as that of the information terminals 11b to 11d. It may be. In the first sharing scenario, the content displayed by the Web browser can be shared without using a projector in the meeting. In the second sharing scenario, in addition to voice communication, the content displayed by the Web browser is shared in real time. In both cases, the amount of information for communication can be increased. Moreover, since the content can be transmitted by a one-action operation, the sender can share the content without interrupting his / her work.

  In this embodiment, since the P2P communication method is adopted to share the URL, the URL does not remain on an external server, and security can be ensured. Further, since the mail servers 13 and 15 need only be used for obtaining IP addresses, the capacity thereof is not affected. In addition, this embodiment can also be adopted in companies where the use of the cloud is restricted.

  So far, the shared information has been described by taking the URL of the Web page as an example. However, the shared information and the application program for displaying it are not limited to this. For example, data corresponding to contents displayed in windows of various applications such as presentation, document creation, and spreadsheet can be transmitted and shared using the MIME protocol. It is also possible to configure a communication system in which an Internet telephone function is incorporated into an information terminal so that content display can be shared while performing voice communication over the telephone.

  Although the present invention has been described with the specific embodiments shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, and is known so far as long as the effects of the present invention are achieved. It goes without saying that any configuration can be adopted.

10 Network 11a-11d, 100, 100a Information terminal 151 Window of Web browser

Claims (20)

An information terminal device that can be connected to a network,
A display for displaying an application window;
An operation detection unit that generates a signal corresponding to a one-action operation that does not affect the display of the content of the application window;
An event generator that generates a predetermined event in response to the signal;
An information terminal device comprising: a shared information processing unit that transmits shared information for displaying the content on another information terminal device in response to the event to the network.   The receiving information processing part which receives the share information corresponding to the content which the other information terminal device received from the other information terminal device through the network displays, and displays the content on the application window. The information terminal device described.   The information terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the reception information processing unit opens the application window in response to the received shared information.   The information terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operation detection unit includes an acceleration sensor that detects an acceleration generated in a housing of the information terminal device.   The information terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the operation detection unit includes a camera that captures a user's gesture.   The information terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the operation detection unit includes a pointing device that operates an icon displayed on the display unit.   The information terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the shared information processing unit generates a packet whose destination is an IP address of the other information terminal device and transmits the shared information by a push communication method. .   8. The information terminal device according to claim 7, further comprising an IP address transmission / reception unit that transmits its own IP address to the other information terminal device without receiving the network and receives the IP address of the other information terminal device.   The said IP address transmission / reception part is comprised including either the element selected from the acoustic device which transmits and receives a DTMF signal, an infrared communication system, an NFC system, and the group containing Bluetooth. Information terminal device.   The information terminal device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the IP address transmitting / receiving unit can transmit its own IP address to the other information terminal device through the mail server in response to the one-action operation. .   The information terminal device according to claim 1, wherein a web browser displays the application window, and the shared information is a URL set in the web browser. A plurality of information terminal devices connected to a network share an application window display,
Connecting the first information terminal device and the second information terminal device to the network;
The first information terminal device displaying content in an application window;
Transmitting the shared information corresponding to the displayed content to the second information terminal device by the first information terminal device in response to a one-action operation that does not affect the display of the content;
The second information terminal device displaying the content in an application window in response to receiving the shared information.   The method according to claim 12, further comprising a step of activating a program for displaying content corresponding to the shared information in response to reception of the shared information by the second information terminal device.   The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein said transmitting step transmits in a peer-to-peer communication scheme.   The shared information corresponding to the content displayed in the application window displayed in the foreground when the one-action operation is performed is transmitted in the transmitting step. the method of. Before the sending step,
The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, further comprising a step in which the first information terminal device and the second information terminal device acquire each other's IP address.   The method according to claim 16, wherein obtaining the IP address utilizes a communication system other than the network.   The method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the step of obtaining the IP address uses a mail server connected to the network. The first information terminal device and the third information terminal device connected to the network mutually obtain the other party's IP address;
The first information terminal device transmitting an IP address of the second information terminal device to the third information terminal device;
The first information terminal device transmitting an IP address of the third information terminal device to the second information terminal device;
The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, further comprising the step of sharing the display of an application window between the second information terminal device and the third information terminal device. To information terminal devices connected to the network,
Displaying content in an application window;
Transmitting shared information corresponding to the content to the network in response to a one-action operation that does not affect the display of the content;
Displaying the content displayed by the other information terminal device in the application window in response to receiving shared information corresponding to the content displayed by the other information terminal device through the network. Computer program to let you.

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