JP3521434B2 - Information device control system, control method therefor, and information device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information equipment control system, a control method therefor , and an information equipment . For example, for a portable personal computer,
An information equipment control system and its control method for automatically starting an application program according to the environment of the place where this personal computer is used ,
And information equipment .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A portable personal computer (for example, a notebook personal computer, hereinafter referred to as a PC) has become widespread, and various application programs used by the PC have been provided. In these PCs, the user manually activates a predetermined application program required depending on the place of use or preference.

For example, in the case of an office building, the PC is often used as a word processor for minutes in a conference room of the office building. In this case, an application program as a word processor program for the PC is used. Is manually activated by the user. At the same time, the user also manually activates an application program for displaying a clock for managing the progress of the conference, if necessary.

Further, for example, in the vicinity of a telephone installation place placed in a corridor, there is a high probability that a telephone number management program is required, and when this is required, the user also manually operates the telephone number management program by himself. It is made to start. At the same time, it is necessary to activate a freehand editor program capable of recording a memo if necessary, and in this case also, the user manually activates the freehand editor program.

[0005]

As described above, in the above-mentioned conventional PC, the user needs to manually start the required application program, so that the user can carry the PC to a place where he or she intends to use it. In that case, it is essential to load the application program that is needed on the spot.

The present invention has been made in view of these points. For example, when a PC is carried in a conference room, it is generally used in the conference room as an application as a word processor program for minutes. To automatically start the program, and at the same time, to automatically start the application program for displaying the clock for managing the progress of the conference, to provide an information device or the like having a user interface function capable of further saving time. This is an issue.

[0007]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information device control system, wherein a transmitter is installed in advance at a place where the information device is supposed to be used, and different IDs are provided depending on the environment of each installation place. The information device transmits an ID signal and the information device receives the ID signal transmitted by the transmitter, the ID signal receiving means, the correspondence between the ID signal and the application program to be started, and the ID signal and the application program.
Passed to the application program when the
Storage means for storing the application list corresponding relationship is previously described with argument, from the application list, the application program to be selected on the basis of the ID signal received by the ID signal receiving means, corresponding to the ID signal And an application program starting means for starting using the argument .

[0008]

[0009] The information device has an application program
When starting the application, the application program
Check whether the available memory capacity is sufficient
From the confirmation means and application list, select the ID
Selected based on the ID signal received by the signal receiving means.
In the installed application program,
Priority to prioritize boot order according to local environment
A provision means can be further provided.

It is possible to further provide transmission management means for controlling, via a network, the transmission device to transmit different ID signals according to the environment of each installation location. The control method of the information device control system according to claim 4, wherein the transmitting device is installed in advance in a place where the use of the information device is expected, and a transmitting step of transmitting different ID signals according to the environment of each installation place. Equipped with information equipment,
A receiving step of receiving the ID signal transmitted by the transmitting step, and an application program selected from the application list based on the ID signal received in the receiving step are started by using an argument corresponding to the ID signal. And an application program starting step. The information equipment according to claim 5 is an ID signal receiving means for receiving different ID signals, which are transmitted from a transmission device installed in advance and are different according to the environment of a place where the use is expected, and the information equipment is activated with the ID signal. Storage means for storing an application list in which the correspondence relationship between a desired application program and the correspondence between an ID signal and an argument passed to the application program when the application program is started is stored, and an ID is selected from the application list. It is characterized by comprising an application program starting means for starting an application program selected based on the ID signal received by the signal receiving means by using an argument corresponding to the ID signal. In this information device, when the application program is started, a confirmation unit that confirms whether or not there is enough memory capacity to load the application program, and an I signal received by the ID signal reception unit from the application list.
The application program selected based on the D signal can be further provided with a priority assigning means for prioritizing the boot order according to the environment of the installation location of the transmitter .

[0011]

In the information equipment control system according to the first aspect and the control method of the information equipment control system according to the fourth aspect , the transmitting device is installed in advance at a place where the information equipment is supposed to be used, and each installation is performed. Different I according to the environment of the place
The D signal is transmitted. Further, the information equipment receives the transmitted ID signal, and the correspondence relationship between the received ID signal and the application program to be started and the ID signal.
Issue and the application program is launched.
Correspondence between the arguments passed to the publication programs are stored in advance the described application list, from the application list, the application program to be selected based on the received ID signal, that
It is activated using the argument corresponding to the ID signal .

The application program activated at this time is automatically selected in accordance with the environment of the place where the information device is carried, and the action closer to the user's action is provided. A time-saving user interface function is automatically provided.

[0013]

[0014] In the information device control system according to claim 2, in information devices, when an application program is started, whether there is a margin in the capacity of a memory which the application program is loaded is checked, the application list From among the multiple application programs selected based on the ID signal,
The priority order of the starting order is set according to the environment of the installation location of the transmitting device.

Further, in the information equipment control system according to a third aspect of the present invention, transmission control of different ID signals corresponding to the environment of each installation location to the transmission device is performed via the network. The information device according to claim 5, wherein different ID signals, which are transmitted from a transmission device installed in advance and are different according to the environment of a place where the use is supposed, are received, and the received ID signal and an application to be activated. An application list is stored in which correspondence relationships between programs and ID signals and arguments passed to the application programs when the application programs are activated are stored in advance, and based on the received ID signals from the application list. The selected application program is started using the argument corresponding to the ID signal. In addition, when starting the application program, it is confirmed whether or not there is enough memory capacity to load the application program, and it is sent to the application program selected based on the received ID signal from the application list. The boot order is prioritized according to the environment of the device installation location .

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a control system for information equipment according to the present invention, and is a network diagram showing the floor of an office building as an example. At the management center of the office building, a transmitter management computer 1 forming part of the ID signal transmitting means is arranged.
The transmitter management computer 1 is connected to transmitters 3a to 3p arranged in various places such as rooms or corridors via a network 2 set up in the building. As will be described later, the transmitter management computer 1 is provided with a transmission management means for transmitting an ID signal according to the environment of the place to be transmitted to each of the plurality of transmitters 3a to 3p.

Each of the transmitters 3a to 3p spatially outputs different ID signals indicating a place (environment) where the transmitter is installed. Infrared light is preferable for this, as will be described later, but radio waves may be used instead. For example, the transmitter 3a installed at the ceiling angle of the office A4 outputs an ID signal including the fact that the office is A at regular intervals. Further, the transmitter 3b is also installed on the desk 5 of the office A, but a signal indicating that it is on the desk is output from here. There are two types of signals that can be output from this transmitter 3b: (1) "Office A and on the desk." (2) "On the desk." But office A
There is a need for a method of avoiding a signal collision with the transmitter 3a arranged at the ceiling angle of 1. In this case, a method such as time division can be considered.

The signals from the transmitters 3a to 3p are received by the receiver R as an ID signal receiving means provided in the portable personal computers (PC) 6a, 6b and the like. Based on the received location information (ID signal), the PCs 6a, 6b, etc. (1) use 0 or 1 or more data as arguments, and (2) activate one or more application programs.

For example, when the information received by the PC 6a is "this is a conference room", the PC 6a activates a word processor program for minutes. It also starts a clock (meeting progress management) program if necessary. Furthermore, the PC 6 is located near the telephone 7 in the corridor.
When b is carried (this is judged from the signal strength etc.), the telephone number management program is started in the PC 6b, and at the same time, the freehand editor program capable of recording a memo is also started.

The above is the overall configuration and the concept of its operation in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the more detailed configuration of each of the above-mentioned parts. In FIG. 2, a plurality of transmitters are connected to a transmitter management computer 1 via a network 2 set up in a building. In FIG. 2, the configuration of the transmitters 3a and 3b surrounded by broken lines is shown as a representative, but the other transmitters 3c to 3p are shown.
The same configuration is used in.

The transmitters 3a and 3b are network communication modules 3a1 and 3b1 respectively connected to the transmitter management computer 1 via the network 2.
, Transmission signal latch sections 3a2, 3b2 for latching transmission signals received by the communication modules 3a1, 3b1
, PPM (Pulse Posi) for identifying the transmission signals latched by the latch units 3a2 and 3b2.
transmission signal identifying units and encoding units 3a3 and 3b3, and infrared LED drive units 3a4 and 3b4 that spatially output the signals encoded by the transmitting signal identifying units and encoding units 3a3 and 3b3 as infrared signals. It is made up of.

A portable personal computer (P
C) A receiver R as an ID signal receiving means is provided on the 6 side. That is, the receiver R, as indicated by the broken line, has an infrared signal receiving section R1 including a photodetector for receiving the infrared light transmitted from the transmitters 3a, 3b ....
And an infrared signal decoding unit R2 for demodulating the PPM signal received by the photodetector R1 and converted into an electric signal, and a decoding signal latching unit R3 for latching the ID signal decoded by the decoding unit R2. .

Decode signal latch unit R3 of the receiver R
Is connected to the bus line 601 of the PC 6, and the CPU (central processing unit) 60 is connected to the bus line 601.
2. The ROM 603 and the RAM 604 are connected, and the external storage device 606 is connected via the external storage interface 605. The bus line 601 has a tablet and pen interface 60.
7, a pen 608 and a tablet 609 are connected to each other, and a display unit 611 and a VRAM are connected from a bus line 601 via a display controller 610.
612 is connected.

In the configuration of FIG. 2, the transmitter management computer 1 is equipped with a transmission management means, and each transmitter 3a, 3b ... Sends a message sequence to be transmitted by each transmitter 3a, 3b. Output to. This transmission instruction outputs an ID signal including contents corresponding to the room or place where each transmitter 3a, 3b ... Is installed. Examples of this signal content are "meeting room", "near telephone", "near fax", "near desk", "office", etc.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a message sequence transmitted by the transmitter management computer 1 to each of the transmitters 3a, 3b .... In this example, the header unit 101, the target transmitter ID 102, the transmission place name ID 103, and the tail unit 104 are set as one set. This is sequentially transmitted to each of the transmitters 3a, 3b ... Through the network 2. Network communication module 3 in each transmitter 3a, 3b ...
a1 3b1 ... Receives the transmission character string transmitted from the transmitter management computer 1 and holds the transmission signal in the latch sections 3a2 3b2. In the example shown in FIG. 3, of the 11 bits of the target transmitter ID, the upper 3 bits are defined as the group ID and the lower 8 bits are defined as the individual ID. Then, the transmission signal identifying sections 3a3, 3b3 ... Identify the target transmitter ID code in the transmission character string held in the latch sections 3a2, 3b2.

For example, group ID = 100, individual ID =
A transmitter defined as 00000000 (for example, 3
When the transmission signal as shown in FIG. 3 is sent to a), the network communication module 3a1 of the transmitter 3a receives the transmission signal and then transmits the transmission character string (in this example, the target transmitter ID and the transmission place name ID). It is held in the transmission signal latch section 3a2. After that, the transmission signal identification section and the encoding section 3a3
Determines whether the target transmitter ID of this transmission character string matches its own group ID or individual ID. When they match, the subsequent transmission place name ID is PPM-encoded, and the transmission place name ID (ID corresponding to the place environment) is transmitted through the infrared LED drive unit 3a4.

FIG. 4 illustrates the PPM encoding operation in the transmission signal identifying section and the encoding section 3a3. That is, the transmission location name ID is the reader code 201 and the transmission location ID code 20 as shown in FIG.
2, the stop code 203 is a set, and the reader code 201 has a minimum pulse width unit of T as shown in FIG.
In this case, the transmission location ID code 202 is a combination of a 4T “H” output and a subsequent 1T “L” output, and the transmission location ID code 202 is a combination of a 1T “H” output and a subsequent 1T “L” output. Represents a "0", and a 2T "H" output followed by a 1T "L" output forms an 8-bit code system representing a "0". The stop code 203 is a 2T "H" output. It is formed by the output and the subsequent 48T "L" output.

Therefore, the transmission place name ID code is, for example, "1".
In the case of 1001010 ", the PPM signal as shown in FIG. 6 is formed, which is the infrared LED drive unit 3
It is supplied to a4 and emitted as infrared light.

The infrared signal receiving section R1 of the receiver R provided in the PC 6 receives the infrared light PPM-modulated by the ID code of the transmission place, converts it into an electric signal and supplies it to the infrared signal decoding section R2. To do. The infrared signal decoding unit R2 demodulates the PPM signal based on the code modulation / demodulation protocol shown in FIG. 5, extracts the transmission location name ID, and holds it in the decoding signal latch unit R3.

When the PC 6 recognizes that the decode signal is received by a method set by the system such as a hardware interrupt, the ROM 603, R
Processing for launching a desired application program from the application program desired to be started stored in the AM 604 or the external storage device 606 is performed.

The following application programs are prepared as the application programs. ==== Minutes Program ==== A text / graphics input editor with a form suitable for recording meetings, usually with dedicated fields where attendee names, dates, agendas, etc. can be written. ==== Clock program ==== This is a program for time management. In addition to the usual clock function, it has functions suitable for meeting time management such as alarm function and timer function. ==== Telephone Number Management Program ==== A program that allows you to easily search the telephone numbers stored in your computer ==== A freehand editor program ==== A program for recording simple notes . Free format editor.

The application list to be started is
For example, it is formed in the following ID-to-location correspondence table format. ID Location Desired application and priority 00000000 Conference room (1) Minutes program (2) Clock program 00000001 In front of the phone (1) Telephone number management program (2) Clock program (3) Freehand editor program ……………………… ………… 11111111 All places (1) Freehand editor program

That is, the start-desired application list describes the application programs that the user wishes to start at a certain location.
Basically, the application program name and the argument that the user desires to start are described for each location.

The following is an example of the application list to be started. # # If the place is a conference room, then # # first, start the minutes program. # # At this time, the arguments passed to the program are the room number and date of the conference room. # # The argument passed to the program at this time is none # # # # If the location is in front of the phone, # # First, start the phone number management program # # At this time, the program There is no argument to be passed to # ## Second, start the clock program ## At this time, the argument to be passed to the program is 3 minutes, back calculation ## Third, start the freehand editor program ## When the argument passed to the program is

The arguments passed to the minutes program (here, the room number and date of the conference room) are appropriately expanded in the minutes entry form opened by the started minutes program. That is, in this case, the conference room number is automatically entered in the field indicating the location, and the date and time at that point are automatically entered in the field indicating the date according to the argument. Further, in the case of a clock program used in front of a telephone, the countdown operation is designated by the argument "back calculation", and "3 minutes" is designated as the initial value.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the information equipment configured as described above, mainly in FIG.
The operation of the CPU 602 shown in FIG. CPU6
02 is triggered by the receiver R receiving a signal from the transmitters 3a, 3b.
It is prohibited to receive the position signal (transmission place name ID). This processing is not always necessary, but the position signal is prohibited to facilitate control. Next, in STEP 2, the received position signal and memory (ROM 603, R
The application program list to be started stored in the AM 604 or the external storage device 606) is input, and 0 or 1 or more application programs to be started are determined with priority and a scheduled application program list is generated. Then, it is held at an appropriate position in the memory (ROM 603, RAM 604, or external storage device 606). And ST
In EP3, the internal variable I indicating the read position of the scheduled application program list is initialized to 0.

Next, in STEP 4, it is judged whether or not there is enough memory capacity to operate the I-th program in the list of application programs to be started. If the memory capacity is insufficient, the process proceeds to STEP 5 and there is memory capacity. Then, proceed to STEP8. If the memory capacity is insufficient, the user is asked in STEP 5 whether or not to end the operation of the application program in the current operating state (or sleep state) in order to secure the memory capacity. The user interface in this case is arbitrary, but as an example, (a) application programs with the largest memory usage are presented in order and the user is allowed to select them. (B) The application programs are presented in order from the oldest activated application program so that the user can select them. Show the application program to be terminated from the system side. The application program name selected by the user to be terminated is stored in the memory (ROM 603, RA
M604, or external storage device 606).

Then, in STEP 6, if the user's reply is “end may be completed”, the process proceeds to STEP 7, and if not, the process proceeds to STEP 9. The ST
If the user's answer in EP6 is "end may end", in STEP 7, the operation of the application program selected by the user is ended by referring to the end application program list. And ST
Returning to EP4, it is again determined whether or not there is enough memory capacity to operate the I-th program in the application program list to be started.

On the other hand, if it is determined in STEP 4 that the memory capacity is available, in STEP 8, the I-th application program in the application program list to be activated is activated. And ST
In EP9, the read position of the application program list to be started is advanced by one. The above-mentioned STEP
In step 6, even if the user does not receive the reply "end may be finished", the process proceeds to step 9 and the read position of the application program list to be activated is advanced by one. Then, in STEP 10, it is determined whether or not there is an application program to be activated in the list of application programs to be activated. That is, it is determined whether the read position of the application program list to be started has reached the end. If it has reached the end, proceed to STEP 11 and proceed to S
The start-up application program list generated in TEP2 is deleted, and the position signal (transmission place name ID) reception prohibited state is released.

If it is determined in STEP 10 that the application program to be activated remains in the list of application programs to be activated, the procedure returns to STEP 4 to enter the activation routine for the other remaining application programs. As is clear from the above description, according to this information equipment control system , for example, a plurality of transmitters are prepared for each room, and the transmitters are arranged from the respective transmitters according to the environment of the place where the transmitters are installed. An ID signal such as infrared light is transmitted. Then, the ID signal is received by, for example, a receiver included in the portable personal computer, and the application program of the portable personal computer is automatically started based on the received ID signal. That is, the application program required by the portable personal computer according to the environment of the place where it is carried is automatically started, the operation closer to the behavior of the user is provided, and time is saved. Possible user interface functions are provided. According to other information devices , when automatically starting an application program,
It is confirmed whether or not there is enough memory capacity to load the application program. If the memory capacity is not sufficient, a routine for asking whether to end the operation of the already loaded application program is entered to enable the newly required application program to be started. According to still another information device , when activating an application program, the activation order of a plurality of application programs is prioritized. As a result, the application programs are automatically started in the order of high utility depending on the place where the portable personal computer is used, and a more advanced user interface function is exhibited. Further, according to the transmitting device , the ID signal transmitting means is further provided with a transmission managing means including, for example, a transmitter managing computer, and an environment of a place to be transmitted to each of the plurality of transmitters via the transmission managing network A command is supplied to transmit the corresponding ID signal. Therefore, when changing the layout of a room or corridor,
For example, by changing a part of the program or parameter in the transmitter management computer, each required ID signal can be converted, and collective management becomes possible.

As is clear from the above description, according to the information equipment control system of the first aspect and the control method of the information equipment control system of the fourth aspect , the transmitting device is
It is installed in advance in a place where the information device is supposed to be used, and different ID signals are transmitted according to the environment of each installation place.
The correspondence between the D signal and the application program to be started, and the ID signal and the application program
Arguments passed to the application program when it is activated
From correspondence between the number of pre-written application list, the application program to be selected based on the received ID signal, corresponding to the ID signal
It is invoked with arguments . Therefore, the operation closer to the user's action is provided, and the time saving user interface function is provided.

[0042]

According to the information equipment control system of the second aspect , when the application program is started, it is confirmed whether or not the capacity of the memory into which the application program is loaded has a margin. Further, the application programs selected based on the ID signal are prioritized in the starting order according to the environment of the installation location of the transmission device. As a result, the application programs can be activated in the order of high utility depending on the place of use, and a more advanced user interface function is exhibited.

According to the information equipment control system of the third aspect, control for causing the transmission device to transmit different ID signals according to the environment of each installation site is performed via the network. Therefore, the conversion of the required ID signal becomes easy, and the collective management becomes possible. According to the information apparatus according to claim 5, when different ID signals according to the environment of the place where the use is supposed are transmitted from the transmission device installed in advance, they are received from the application list. Since the application program selected based on the ID signal is started by using the argument corresponding to the ID signal, it is possible to provide an operation closer to the behavior of the user and save time. Can provide interface functionality .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a control system for information equipment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of each unit of the control system for the information equipment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a format diagram showing an example of a message transmitted by the network computer in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a format diagram of an infrared light transmission signal transmitted by the transmitter in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram illustrating a PDM signal modulation / demodulation protocol used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram showing an example of modulation of an infrared light transmission signal used in the embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the information device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 transmitter management computer 2 network 3a to 3p transmitter (ID signal transmitting means) 4 office 5 desks 6, 6a, 6b portable computer R receiver (ID signal receiving means)

Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-6-119265 (JP, A) JP-A-4-84187 (JP, A) JP-A-4-154228 (JP, A) JP-A-5-46875 (JP , A) JP 59-47645 (JP, A) JP 4-86938 (JP, A) JP 3-192430 (JP, A) JP 4-30239 (JP, A) JP 4-201712 (JP, A) JP-A-6-46179 (JP, A) JP-A-3-36382 (JP, A) JP-A-6-34744 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 9/06 G06F 15/00 G06F 13/00 G06F 15/16 G06F 1/00 G06F 17/60 G06F 15/02 G01C 21/00 H04B 7/24-7/26 H04Q 7 / 00-7/04 H04Q 9/00 G09F 25/00 G09F 27/00 H04R 27/00 G08G 1/09 B60R 16/02 JST file (JOIS) CSDB (Japan Patent Office) INSPEC (DIALOG)

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A transmitting device for transmitting an ID signal, and receiving the ID signal transmitted from the transmitting device,
In an information device control system including an information device that performs a predetermined process, the transmission device is installed in advance at a place where the information device is supposed to be used, and the I device is different depending on the environment of each installation place.
The information device transmits a D signal, and the information device receives the ID signal transmitted by the transmitting device I
An application in which the D signal receiving means, the correspondence relationship between the ID signal and the application program to be started, and the correspondence relationship between the ID signal and the argument passed to the application program when the application program is started are described in advance. A storage unit that stores a list, and an application that starts an application program selected from the application list based on the ID signal received by the ID signal receiving unit using the argument corresponding to the ID signal. An information equipment control system comprising: a program starting means. 2. The information device, when starting an application program, confirming means for confirming whether or not the capacity of a memory in which the application program is loaded has a margin, and the ID signal from the application list. The application program selected based on the ID signal received by the receiving unit may further include a priority order assigning unit that prioritizes the boot order according to the environment of the installation location of the transmitting device. Item 1. The information device control system according to item 1. 3. The transmission management means for controlling the transmission device to transmit different ID signals according to the environment of each installation site, respectively, via a network. Information device control system described. 4. A transmission device for transmitting an ID signal, a correspondence relationship between the ID signal and an application program to be activated, and the ID signal and an argument passed to the application program when the application program is activated. In a control method of an information device control system, comprising: an information device having a storage unit that stores an application list in which correspondences are described in advance, wherein the transmitting device is installed in advance at a place where the use of the information device is assumed, Different I according to the environment of each installation site
A step of transmitting a D signal, wherein the information device receives the ID signal transmitted in the transmitting step, and based on the ID signal received in the receiving step from the application list, And a step of starting an application program selected by using the argument corresponding to the ID signal, the control method of the information equipment control system. 5. Different IDs transmitted from pre-installed transmitters according to the environment of the place where they are supposed to be used
An ID signal receiving means for receiving a signal, a correspondence relationship between the ID signal and an application program to be started, and a correspondence relationship between the ID signal and an argument passed to the application program when the application program is started are previously described. Storage means for storing the described application list; and an application program selected from the application list based on the ID signal received by the ID signal receiving means, using the argument corresponding to the ID signal. An information device, characterized by comprising: 6. When starting the application program, a confirmation means for confirming whether or not there is a sufficient memory capacity to load the application program, and the ID signal receiving means from the application list. 6. The application program selected on the basis of the ID signal is further provided with a priority order assigning unit for prioritizing the boot order according to the environment of the installation location of the transmission device. Information equipment .