JP4690739B2 - Information processing apparatus and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a display function and a program for controlling the information processing apparatus.

  In recent years, PCs (Personal Computers) have a tendency to be multifunctional and highly functional, and accordingly, various types of various AV (Audio Visual) functions can be mounted. Along with this, for example, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) inserted into a built-in DVD drive, a digital camera connected via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable, a TV connected via a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) Data from various sources such as tuners can be handled. As a result, the number of data that can be handled by one PC has been dramatically increased, and a GUI (Graphical User Interface) that can easily handle each data is required. Conventionally, as a technique for improving the user-friendliness, for example, a technique for displaying a list of thumbnails of images in an electronic camera (see, for example, Patent Document 1), or a plurality of windows divided into vertical directions for each function is displayed. There was a technique (for example, refer to Patent Document 2).

JP 2001-052191 A JP 2003-091347 A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 displays only image data in the electronic camera, and does not consider the case of having a plurality of data sources. The technique described in Patent Document 2 aims to improve operability by dividing a window for each function, but does not consider improvement in searchability for various data sources.

  In addition, for example, when a DVD is inserted into a built-in DVD drive of a PC or when a digital camera is connected via USB, a window is displayed to recognize this, and the data of the DVD or digital camera is displayed. Computers having a function of displaying icons are also commercially available, but they are displayed as separate windows, and they are often displayed in an overlapping manner, so that the operability is not necessarily high.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus that is excellent in operability in handling data from a plurality of data sources.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention, in an information processing apparatus that handles data from a plurality of data providing sources, display means for displaying an operation window on which an icon corresponding to the data is arranged on a display screen; Determining means for determining whether or not each of the plurality of data providing sources can be accessed; operating means for selecting an icon on the operation window; and providing a plurality of data determined to be accessible by the determining means A source , an icon area in which icons corresponding to the plurality of data providing sources are arranged, and attribute information of data corresponding to the icon selected by the operation means are displayed on the operation window and accessible Control means for changing a display position of the displayed icon area according to whether or not the icon area is displayed.

The program of the present invention is a program for controlling an information processing apparatus that handles data of a plurality of data providing sources, a determination function for determining whether or not each of the plurality of data providing sources is accessible, and an icon corresponding to the data A screen creation function for creating an operation window in which an icon is arranged, and an operation function for selecting the icon on the operation window according to an input from a user, and the screen creation function is accessible by the determination function A plurality of determined data providing sources , an icon area in which icons corresponding to the plurality of data providing sources are arranged, and attribute information of the data corresponding to the icons selected by the operation function are displayed on the operation window. And the display position of the displayed icon area is changed according to whether or not the access is possible. Characterized in that to.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus that is excellent in operability in handling data from a plurality of data sources.

  Hereinafter, an information processing apparatus of the present invention and a program for controlling the information processing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a system in which a notebook PC (information processing apparatus) according to an embodiment of the present invention is used. This system includes a notebook PC 1, a TV tuner 2 (data providing source), and a digital camera 3 (data providing source). The TV tuner 2 is connected via the LAN 4, and the digital camera 3 is connected via the USB cable 5. It is connected to the notebook PC 1. The notebook PC 1 can view the video from the TV signal received by the TV tuner 2 and can also view the image data stored in the digital camera 3.

  The TV tuner 2 receives TV broadcast program data of a channel requested to be viewed from the notebook PC 1 via the LAN 4. The TV broadcast program data is converted into compressed and broadcast TV broadcast program data via a built-in NTSC decoder and MPEG encoder. When the user views or records TV broadcast program data, the TV tuner 2 passes this to the notebook PC 1 as stream data.

  FIG. 2 is an external configuration example of the notebook PC 1. The notebook PC 1 includes a main body 11 and a display unit 12. The display unit 12 is attached to the main body 11 so as to be rotatable between an open position and a closed position. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the display unit 12 of the notebook PC 1 is opened with respect to the main body 11. The display unit 12 incorporates an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 13 (display screen).

  The main body 11 has a substantially box shape, and a pointing device 14 (operation means) and a keyboard unit 15 (operation means) are arranged on the upper surface of the main body 11. An infrared receiver 16 capable of communicating with a remote controller described later is provided on the front surface of the main body 11. A USB terminal 17 is provided on the side surface of the main body 11. The digital camera 3 is connected to the USB terminal 17 via the USB cable 5.

  Although not shown, the main body 11 is further connected to the TV tuner 2 via the LAN 4, a power button for turning on / off the notebook PC 1, a slot for inserting / removing a DVD (data providing source) as a medium of the DVD drive, and the LAN 4. For example, a LAN terminal is provided.

  When the notebook PC 1 is turned on when the power button is operated, the OS is first started. Thereafter, under the control of a launcher program (hereinafter referred to as LP), which will be described later, a launcher function operation window is displayed in which icons assigned to the LCD 13 are arranged by data source. The LP may operate in conjunction with the activation of the OS or may be activated by a user operation. FIG. 3 is an example of the operation window 80.

  In the operation window 80, icons assigned to currently available files are arranged in the vertical direction (predetermined one direction) for each data source. In the example of FIG. 3, the operation window 80 includes an HDD column 81 (icon area) created by data icons stored in the built-in HDD of the notebook PC 1, and a digital camera column 82 (icon region) created by data icons stored in the digital camera 3. The icons are arranged in the icon region), the TV column 83 (icon region) created by the icon of the TV channel received from the TV tuner 3, and the DVD column 84 (icon region) created by the chapter icon of the DVD stored in the DVD drive. Yes. An attribute information area 85 for displaying attribute information of the selected file is arranged between the digital camera column 82 and the TV column 83.

  Next, the configuration of the notebook PC 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The notebook PC 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301 (control means, determination means), a north bridge 302, a south bridge 303, a main memory 304, a graphic controller 305 (display means), an LCD 13, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 306 (data). Source), BIOS-ROM 307, embedded controller 308, power switch 309, keyboard unit 15, infrared receiver 16, DVD drive 310, USB terminal 311 and LAN terminal 312.

  The CPU 301 is a processor provided to control the operation of the notebook PC 1. The CPU 301 executes a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) stored in the BIOS-ROM 307, and an OS (Operating) read from the HDD 306 to the main memory 304. (System) 304a and various application / utility programs are executed. In the present embodiment, in the initial stage after the system is started, the processing of the LP 304b that performs display control of the operation window 80 and input control associated with the operation is executed under the control of the OS 304a.

  The north bridge 302 is a bridge device that connects the local bus of the CPU 301 and the south bridge 303. The north bridge 302 includes a memory controller that controls access to the main memory 304. A graphic controller 305 is connected to the north bridge 302.

  The main memory 304 stores an OS 304a, LP 304b, utility program, and various application programs executed by the CPU 301.

  The graphic controller 305 controls data displayed on the LCD 13, and displays an operation window 80 as shown in FIG. 3 under the control of the LP 304b, for example.

  The south bridge 303 is a bridge device connected to the north bridge 302. Connected to the south bridge 303 are an HDD 306, a BIOS-ROM 307, an embedded controller 308, a DVD drive 310, a USB terminal 17, a USB terminal 311, and a LAN terminal 312.

  The HDD 306 stores various execution target application programs including the OS 304 a and the LP 304 b, data such as music and video reproduced by the application program, and the programs and data are transferred to the main memory 304. The BIOS executed by the CPU 301 is stored in the BIOS-ROM 307.

  The DVD drive 310 is connected to the south bridge 303, and performs read / write access to the loaded DVD to record and reproduce various AV contents and the like. Various reproduced AV content data is transferred to the graphic controller 305 via the bus bridge, converted into display data by the graphic controller 305, and then displayed on the LCD 13.

  The USB terminal 17 is an interface connected to the digital camera 3 via the USB cable 5. Image data or the like stored in the digital camera 3 is transferred to the CPU 301 via the bus bridge. The LAN terminal 312 is an interface connected to the TV tuner 2 via the LAN 4, and TV program data from the TV tuner 2 is transferred from the LAN terminal 312 to the CPU 301 via the bus bridge.

The USB terminal 311 is connected to the pointing device 14. An operation signal from the pointing device 14 is passed to the CPU 301 via the bus bridge.
The embedded controller 308 is a one-chip microcomputer in which an embedded controller for power management and a keyboard controller for controlling the keyboard unit 15 are integrated. The keyboard unit 15, the infrared receiver 16, the power button 309, and the like are connected to the embedded controller 308, and the notebook PC 1 is powered on / off according to the operation of the power button 309 by the user. Further, the embedded controller 308 emits an internal processing command according to the command code received by the infrared receiver 16 from the remote controller 40 (operation means), and passes the command to the CPU 301 via the bus bridge.

  FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of the remote controller 40. The remote controller 40 is provided with various buttons for controlling the AV function such as a volume button. As buttons related to the launcher function according to the present embodiment, an up button 41 for instructing up, down, left and right directions, a down button 42, a left button 43, a right button 44, and an enter button 45 for confirming are provided. For example, when the upper button 41, the lower button 42, the left button 43, and the right button 44 are operated in the operation window 80 shown in FIG. 1, the selected icon is enlarged and displayed, and the icon corresponds to the icon on the icon. Data to be played back. When the ENTER button 45 is pressed, a program assigned in advance to data corresponding to the selected icon is executed.

  Hereinafter, the processing procedure of the LP 304b will be described with reference to FIGS. When the user presses the power button 309, power is supplied to the device group constituting the notebook PC 1, and then the CPU 301 activates the OS 304 a by executing a BIOS system activation processing routine provided in the BIOS-ROM 307. After executing the initialization process routine, the CPU 301 loads the LP 304b stored in the HDD 306 into the main memory 304 and executes the process of the LP 304b. The LP 304b executes processing of the operation window 80 and input processing associated with the screen operation.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the flow of processing until the operation window 80 is displayed. The LP 304b first creates an icon HDD column 81 from the data stored in the HDD 306 (S501). For example, icons are created for image data, video data, music data, and the like stored under a predetermined directory. Note that thumbnails obtained by reducing image data and video data are used for this icon.

  Next, the LP 304b accesses the DVD drive 310, and determines whether or not a DVD is inserted in the DVD drive 310 (S502). If a DVD has been inserted (Yes in S502), icons are created from the chapters of the DVD, and these are arranged to create a DVD row 84 (S503).

  After finishing the processing relating to the DVD row 84 (No in S502, S503), the LP 304b determines whether or not the TV tuner 2 can be accessed via the LAN terminal 312 (S504). This can be confirmed by a method such as whether or not an IP address assigned to the TV tuner 2 is accessible. If the TV tuner 2 can be accessed (Yes in S504), icons are created for the channels that can be received by the TV tuner 2, and these are arranged to create the TV column 83 (S505). At this time, each channel is received from the TV tuner 2 for a predetermined time, and one image of the video data is set as an icon of each channel.

  After finishing the processing of the TV column 83 (No in S504, S505), the LP 304b determines whether or not the digital camera 3 can be accessed via the USB terminal 17 (S506). If the digital camera 3 is accessible (Yes in S506), icons are created for the image data, audio data, etc. stored in the digital camera 2, and these are arranged to create the digital camera row 82 (S507). . At this time, for the icons such as image data and video data, the thumbnail of the image data is an icon.

  Finally, a predetermined icon (for example, the icon displayed at the upper left) in the created icon row is made active (ie, selected) (S508). Through the processing as described above, the operation window 80 as shown in FIG. 3 is created by the LP 304b.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of processing by a user operation from the keyboard unit 15, the pointing device 14, or the remote controller 40. In the following description, a user input from the remote controller 40 will be described as an example.

  First, the LP 304b displays an enlarged active icon (S601). That is, the user can recognize that the icon is selected by enlarging the icon. In the example of FIG. 3, the icon 86 is selected by the user (that is, activated) and is displayed larger than the other icons.

  Next, the LP 304b displays attribute information related to data corresponding to the active icon in the attribute information area 85 (S602). In the example of FIG. 3, as the attribute information, the title of the video data program, the date of recording, the time, the channel, and the description of this program are displayed. The attribute information to be displayed varies depending on the type of data. For example, in the case of music data, a singer name, an album name, etc., and in the case of image data, a shooting date and time, an image size, etc. are displayed.

  Further, the LP 304b reproduces data corresponding to the active icon on the icon (S603). For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the content data is reproduced on the icon 86 by a predetermined application program. This application program is associated in advance according to the file type and stored in the HDD 306. When the icon 86 is selected, an application program is read into the main memory 304, and data corresponding to the selected icon is reproduced.

  When the display processing of the operation window 80 is completed in this manner, the LP 304b enters a key input waiting routine (S604). When the operation window 80 is operated by the direction keys 41 to 44 (Yes in S605), an active icon is displayed. The original size is returned to the original size (S606), and the active icon is switched to the icon in the direction designated by the user (S607). After switching the active icon, the process returns to S601 and the same processing is performed.

  When the ENTER key 45 is operated by the user (No in S605, Yes in S608), it is determined that the selection by the user is confirmed, and the data corresponding to the active icon is stored in a predetermined application program. Play by. For example, in the case of video data, processing such as full screen display is performed by an application program that has been reproducing the data on the icon until now.

  When another command not related to the launcher function is input (No in S608 and Yes in S609), the process proceeds to the process according to the key input command. If the key operation is not assigned to another command (No in S608 and then No in S609), it waits for the next key input (S604).

  Next, the process of the LP 304b related to the deletion and creation of the icon string that operates in parallel with the process of FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the LP 304b related to deletion of an icon string. This process is performed by the LP 304b periodically (for example, every 10 seconds).

  First, the LP 304b determines whether or not there is a DVD row 84 on the operation window 80 (S701). If there is no DVD row 84 (No in S701), the LP 304b determines whether a DVD is inserted in the DVD drive 310 (S702). If a DVD is inserted (Yes in S702), a DVD row 84 is created (S703).

  If there is a DVD row 84 (Yes in S701), the LP 304b determines whether a DVD is inserted in the DVD drive 310 (S704). If a DVD is not inserted (S705), the DVD row 84 is deleted (S705).

  After the process related to the DVD column 84 is completed as described above (No in S702, S703, Yes in S704, S705), the TV column 83 is subsequently processed. The LP 304b determines whether there is a TV column 83 on the operation window 80 (S706). If there is no TV column 83 (No in S706), the LP 304b determines whether the TV tuner 2 can be accessed (S707). If the TV tuner 2 can be accessed (Yes in S707), the TV column 83 is created (S708).

  If there is a TV column 83 (Yes in S706), it is determined whether or not the TV tuner 2 is accessible (S709). If access to the TV tuner 709 is not possible (No in S709), the TV column 83 is deleted (S710).

  If the processing for the TV row 83 is completed (No in S707, S708, Yes in S709, S710), the processing for the digital camera row 82 is performed next. The LP 304b determines whether or not there is a digital camera column 82 on the operation window 80 (S711). If there is no digital camera column 82 (No in S711), the LP 304b determines whether or not the digital camera 3 is accessible (S712). ). If the digital camera 3 can be accessed (Yes in S712), the digital camera row 82 is created (S713).

  If there is a digital camera row 82 (Yes in S711), it is determined whether or not the digital camera 3 is accessible (S714). If access to the digital camera 3 is not possible (No in S714), the digital camera row 82 is deleted.

  As described above, the operation window 80 is switched depending on whether or not the device can be accessed. FIG. 9 shows an example of the operation window 80 when access to the digital camera 3 becomes impossible in the state of the operation window of FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the digital camera row 82 is deleted, and the HDD row 81 is shifted slightly to the right and moved to the center of the right half. If the digital camera 3 is connected again in the state of FIG. 9, the operation window 80 is switched to that shown in FIG.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the data from the HDD 306, the TV tuner 2, the digital camera 3, and the DVD are displayed on the single operation window 80, so that the operation for selecting each data becomes simple. The operability can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, since the icons are arranged in a line in the HDD column 81, the digital camera column 82, the TV column 83, and the DVD column 84, the icons are easy to see and grasp.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the TV tuner 2 or the like is accessible. If the TV tuner 2 or the like is accessible, an icon row of the source is displayed on the operation window 80 and access is impossible. Since the source icon row is deleted from the operation window 80, it can be easily visually determined whether or not the data is available.

  Further, since the icon 86 is enlarged and displayed as compared with other icons, it is easy to grasp which icon is currently selected. Further, since data corresponding to the icon is reproduced on the icon, the contents of the data can be easily grasped as compared with a case where only one image is displayed as a thumbnail, for example. In particular, in the case of recorded data or the like, the CM is often a thumbnail, but in this embodiment, the video is displayed, so that the program is surely displayed after a while. Furthermore, since the attribute information regarding the data of the selected icon is displayed in the attribute information area 85, the contents of the data can be easily understood and the searchability can be improved.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system in which a notebook PC according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is used. The figure which shows the external appearance structure of the notebook PC which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the operation window of the notebook PC which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the notebook PC which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the external appearance structure of the remote control which operates the notebook PC which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the flow of a process of the launcher program which controls the notebook PC which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the flow of a process of the launcher program which controls the notebook PC which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the flow of a process of the launcher program which controls the notebook PC which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the operation window of the notebook PC which concerns on Example 1 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Notebook PC
2 ... TV tuner 3 ... Digital camera 4 ... LAN
5 ... USB cable 11 ... Main body 12 ... Display unit 13 ... LCD
14 ... Pointing device 15 ... Keyboard unit 16 ... Infrared receiver 17 ... USB terminal 40 ... Remote control 41 ... Up button 42 ... Down button 43 ... Left button 44 .. right button 80... Operation window 81... HDD column 82 .. digital camera column 83... TV column 84.・ CPU
302 ... North bridge 303 ... South bridge 304 ... Main memory 304a ... OS
304b ... LP
305 ... Graphic controller 306 ... HDD
307 ... BIOS-ROM
308 ... Embedded controller 309 ... Power button 310 ... DVD drive 311 ... USB terminal 312 ... LAN terminal

Claims (8)

In an information processing apparatus that handles data from a plurality of data providing sources,
Display means for displaying an operation window in which an icon corresponding to the data is arranged on a display screen;
Determining means for determining whether or not each of the plurality of data providing sources is accessible;
An operation means for selecting an icon on the operation window;
A plurality of data providing sources determined to be accessible by the determining means, an icon area in which icons corresponding to the plurality of data providing sources are arranged, and attribute information of data corresponding to the icons selected by the operating means Is displayed on the operation window, and control means for changing the display position of the displayed icon area in accordance with whether the access is possible or not is provided. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the control means aligns the icon with the icon area in a predetermined direction. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the control means displays the icon selected by the operation means in an enlarged manner than the icon not selected by the operation means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the control means reproduces the data corresponding to the icon selected by the operation means on the icon. In a program for controlling an information processing apparatus that handles data from a plurality of data providing sources,
A determination function for determining whether or not each of the plurality of data providing sources is accessible;
A screen creation function for creating an operation window in which an icon corresponding to the data is arranged;
An operation function for selecting the icon on the operation window in accordance with an input from a user;
With
The screen creation function includes a plurality of data providing sources determined to be accessible by the determining function, an icon area for arranging icons corresponding to the plurality of data providing sources , and the icon selected by the operation function. The program displays the corresponding attribute information of the data on the operation window and changes the display position of the displayed icon area according to whether or not the access is possible. The program according to claim 5,
The screen creation function arranges the icons in the icon area in a predetermined direction. The program according to claim 5,
The screen creation function is a program that enlarges the icon selected by the operation function more than the icon not selected by the operation function. The program according to claim 7, wherein
The screen creation function reproduces the data corresponding to the icon selected by the operation function on the icon.

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