JP2016071815A - Portable terminal and keyboard application program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a keyboard application program increasing the general versatility of a portable terminal, and a portable terminal with high general versatility.MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM: A portable terminal 1 includes a portable information terminal 5 and a reader 3 reading data from a data storage 7 storing a bar code, for example. The reader 3 and the portable information terminal 5 are connected to each other via an input/output interface 11. The portable information terminal 5 has a processing unit 17, which includes an OS unit 19 controlling the input/output interface 11, a user application unit 23, and a keyboard application unit 27. The keyboard application unit 27 captures read data from the reader 3 via the OS unit 19 and inputs the captured read data into the user application unit 23 as keyboard data. With the configurations set forth above, the portable terminal 1 can contain the user application 23 for various different applications, thereby increasing the general versatility of the portable terminal 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal having a portable information terminal and a reader, and a keyboard application program installed in the portable terminal.

  Patent Document 1 describes a portable terminal including a barcode scanner and a portable information terminal connected by a wireless input / output interface called Bluetooth (registered trademark). A standard driver called a human interface device (hereinafter referred to as HID) is incorporated in an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) incorporated in such a portable information terminal. The bar code scanner transmits data read by a method defined by HID. The OS of the portable information terminal recognizes the received data as keyboard data and inputs it to the running application program. As described above, since the input / output interface is controlled using the standard driver of the OS to transmit and receive data, the application program itself does not require communication processing.

  However, the standard driver may not be used depending on the input / output interface between the portable information terminal and the barcode scanner and the OS of the portable information terminal. In this case, it is necessary to incorporate a unique communication process for the barcode scanner into the application program itself installed in the portable information terminal. As a result, application programs that can acquire information of a reading device such as a barcode scanner are limited, and the use of portable terminals is limited.

JP 2013-17157 A

  An object of this invention is to provide the keyboard application program which improves the versatility of a portable terminal, and to provide a portable terminal with high versatility.

A portable terminal of the present invention functions according to a user's purpose of use, and includes a portable information terminal in which a user application unit having an input receiving means for receiving input of keyboard data is incorporated, and the portable information terminal via an input / output interface A portable terminal comprising a reading means capable of communicating with each other,
The portable information terminal includes a keyboard application unit that acquires the read data read by the reading unit through the input / output interface and inputs the read data to the input receiving unit as the keyboard data. Features.

The keyboard application program of the present invention includes a user application program having an input receiving unit that functions according to the user's purpose of use and receives keyboard data input, and can communicate with the reading unit via an input / output interface. On the terminal computer,
An acquisition step of acquiring read data read by the reading unit through the input / output interface and an input step of inputting the acquired read data to the input receiving unit as the keyboard data are executed.

  In the portable terminal and the keyboard application program according to the present invention, the read data is transmitted to the portable information terminal through the input / output interface. The keyboard application unit acquires this read data and inputs it to the input receiving means of the user application unit. As described above, since the keyboard application unit is interposed between the user application unit and the reading unit to acquire and input the read data, it is not necessary to incorporate communication processing with the reading unit in the user application unit itself. Therefore, various user application units that use the read data can be developed and incorporated, and a highly versatile portable terminal can be provided.

It is a block diagram which shows the portable terminal which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart of the keyboard application program which concerns on embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol shown throughout each figure shows the same or the same thing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 1 includes a reading device 3 and a mobile information terminal 5.

  The reading device 3 is typically a device that reads data recorded on the data recording body 7. The data recording body 7 is provided with a one-dimensional barcode or a two-dimensional symbol, or has an RF tag. The data recorded in the data recording body 7 is not particularly limited, and includes identification data for identifying an article to which the data recording body 7 is attached, article data that is information related to the article, and the like. For reading these data, for example, a known machine-readable technique can be used. The reader 3 controls a sensor such as a camera or an antenna to read data recorded on the data recording body 7 and data read by controlling the input / output interface 11 (hereinafter referred to as read data). Communication control means 13 for transmitting to the portable information terminal 5.

  The portable information terminal 5 is typically a Personal Digital Assistant, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like, and includes a touch panel 15 and a processing unit 17. The touch panel 15 displays the execution result of the processing unit 17 on the display screen, and detects the position coordinates in the display screen touched by the user.

  The processing unit 17 is a part that functions when a processor such as a CPU loads a program stored in the auxiliary memory into the main memory and executes the loaded program. The processing unit 17 is connected to the reading device 3 via the input / output interface 11. A typical input / output interface 11 is a serial interface including a circuit for performing serial communication by connecting via a connector. The processing unit 17 includes an operating system unit (hereinafter referred to as an OS unit 19) and an application unit 21.

  The OS unit 19 functions by executing an operating system, performs basic processing of the portable information terminal 5, and controls the input / output interface 11. The OS unit 19 has a standard keyboard input unit 25 for inputting keyboard data to an input receiving unit (not shown) of the user application unit 23 described later. A typical standard keyboard input unit 25 displays a list of characters and numbers on the display screen of the touch panel 15 and inputs the characters and numbers displayed at a position designated by the user as keyboard data to the input receiving unit. A good keyboard (software keyboard).

  The application unit 21 is a part that functions by executing an application program installed in the portable information terminal 5, and includes a user application unit 23 and a keyboard application unit 27. The user application unit 23 and the keyboard application unit 27 cooperate with each other, and data can be transferred from the keyboard application unit 27 to the user application unit 23. Data can be transferred directly from the keyboard application unit 27 to the user application unit 23. Alternatively, the data can be received indirectly from the keyboard application unit 27 via a delivery unit (not shown) of the OS unit 19 that passes this data to the user application unit 23 being executed.

  Typically, the user application unit 23 is connected to a text creation application unit that performs text creation, a spreadsheet application unit that performs spreadsheets, and a web server by inputting character or numeric keyboard data. A browser application unit for receiving and browsing services, a tracking application unit for tracking delivery of articles using barcode data attached to the articles, a sales information management application unit for managing sales of merchandise, and the like. As described above, the user application unit 23 is one or a plurality of parts that cause the portable information terminal 5 to function according to the purpose of use of the user, and includes an input receiving unit that receives input of keyboard data. As typical input receiving means, there are an input box for receiving character input and a text box.

  The keyboard application unit 27 is a part that functions by executing a keyboard application program described later. The keyboard application unit 27 acquires the read data via the OS unit 19 and inputs this to the input receiving unit as keyboard data. When the input receiving unit is in the receiving state, one of the keyboard application unit 27 and the standard keyboard input unit 25 is executed by the OS unit 19 based on the user's selection.

  Next, the keyboard application program of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The case where the portable information terminal 5 and the reading device 3 are connected by a serial interface will be described as an example.

  This keyboard application program is started when the input receiving unit of the user application unit 23 being executed is in the receiving state, and the acquisition step s10 and the input step s20 are performed on the computer (processing unit 17) of the portable information terminal 5. Let it run.

  The acquisition step s10 is a step for causing the computer to acquire read data, and includes a connection start step s11 and a reception step s12.

  The connection start step s11 is a step of causing the computer to control the serial interface to start communication connection with the reading device 3. If the communication connection fails due to reasons such as the reader 3 not being connected, a message to that effect may be displayed on the display screen of the touch panel 15.

  When the connection start step s11 is successful, the reading device 3 executes a reading step s31 and a transmission step s32. The reading step s31 is a step for causing the reading unit 9 to read the read data. For example, a known machine-readable technique is used for reading the read data. The transmission step s32 is a step in which the communication control unit 13 controls the serial interface to transmit the read data to the portable information terminal 5. At the time of transmission, the read data is converted into a character code such as an ASCII code for each character, and transmitted sequentially from the first character. It is preferable that a predetermined character code such as a line feed code is added to the end of the read data. Thereby, when a plurality of data recording bodies 7 are read, it is possible to indicate the separation of each read data.

  The receiving step s12 is a step for causing the computer to control the serial interface to receive the read data. The reception of the read data is performed, for example, for each character sent from the reading device 3 and stored in the memory for each character in the order received. In addition, you may display on the display screen of the touch panel 15 that it is receiving. Further, after the reception, the received content such as the character string of the read data, the number of characters, and the number of read data read may be displayed.

  The input step s20 is a step for causing the computer to input the received read data to the input receiving means as keyboard data. At the time of input, for example, input is performed in order for each received character. Note that a character string may be created by combining the characters stored in the memory and input for each character string. Further, the received read data may be processed and input. For example, a predetermined character string can be added to the read data, or a character string can be extracted from the read data based on a predetermined rule.

  In the portable terminal 1 and the keyboard application program according to the present embodiment, read data is transmitted to the portable information terminal 5 through the input / output interface 11. In addition, the keyboard application unit 27 acquires the read data via the OS unit 19 and inputs the read data to the user application unit 23. As described above, since the keyboard application unit 27 is interposed between the user application unit 23 and the reading device 3 to acquire and input read data, it is not necessary to incorporate communication processing in each of the user application units 23. Therefore, various user application units 23 using read data can be developed and incorporated, and a highly versatile portable terminal can be provided. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to incorporate communication processing in each of the user application units 23, memory used can be saved. The present embodiment is particularly suitable for the portable information terminal 5 having the OS unit 19 that cannot use a standard device driver such as HID.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be implemented in variously modified, modified, and modified forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All the embodiments belong to the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, a serial interface is used as the input / output interface 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a parallel interface that performs parallel communication may be used. The communication using the input / output interface 11 is not limited to communication performed using a circuit that transmits and receives electrical signals via a connector, and may be wireless communication performed using an infrared transmission / reception circuit or a radio wave transmission / reception circuit. .

  A typical example of the reading device 3 that reads data from the data recording body 7 includes a barcode scanner and an RFID reader. However, the mode of the reading device 3 is not limited to this. For example, a device that periodically reads (detects) a heart rate from a sensor that detects the heart rate and transmits the read data (heart rate data).

  Further, the reading step s31 and the transmission step s32 by the reading device 3 may be performed at an arbitrary timing. For example, the computer of the portable information terminal 5 may execute the reading request step and the transmission request step after the connection start step s11. The reading request step is a step of transmitting reading request data to the reading device 3. The reading device 3 receives the read request data and executes the reading step s31. The transmission request step is a step of transmitting transmission request data to the reading device 3. The reading device 3 receives the transmission request data and executes a transmission step s32.

  Further, the reading request step and the transmission request step may be executed based on a user input. For example, the computer of the portable information terminal 5 is caused to execute a display step of displaying a switch on the display screen of the touch panel 15 and an input detection step of detecting that the displayed button is touched. The request step and the transmission request step may be executed. Further, the reading device 3 may include a switch electrically connected to the input terminal of the reading unit 9, and the reading step s31 and the transmission step s32 may be performed based on the input of the switch.

  In addition, when there are a plurality of standard keyboard input means such as a kana input means, a romaji input means, an alphanumeric input means, etc., when the input reception means is in a reception state, the keyboard application part and the plurality of standard keyboard input means One of these is executed by the OS unit 19 based on the user's selection.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Portable terminal 3 ... Reading apparatus 5 ... Portable information terminal 7 ... Data recording body 9 ... Reading means 11 ... Input / output interface 19 ... OS part 23 ... User application part 27 ... Keyboard application part

Claims (2)

A portable information terminal incorporating a user application unit that functions according to the user's purpose of use and has an input receiving means for receiving input of keyboard data;
Reading means capable of communicating with the portable information terminal via an input / output interface;
A mobile terminal comprising:
The portable information terminal includes a keyboard application unit that acquires the read data read by the reading unit through the input / output interface and inputs the read data to the input receiving unit as the keyboard data. A featured mobile terminal. A user application program having an input receiving unit that functions according to the purpose of use of the user and receives input of keyboard data is incorporated, and the computer of the portable information terminal that can communicate with the reading unit via the input / output interface,
An acquisition step of acquiring read data read by the reading means through the input / output interface;
An input step of inputting the acquired read data as the keyboard data to the input receiving means;
Keyboard application program for running

Images