JP5042257B2 - Information processing system, information processing apparatus, information processing method, control program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to user support for an information processing apparatus.

  In recent years, the operation of information home appliances such as flat-screen TVs, digital video recorders and mobile phones has become increasingly complex, and the number of scenes where general users cannot understand the operation has increased, and the importance of user support has increased further than before. Yes.

  Remote support is useful as a user support method. Although it is on a PC (Personal Computer), the remote assistance function of Windows (registered trademark) is a typical example. With the remote assistance function, when the operation is lost, the user (supported person) can call the support person with the instant message function, and the support person can remotely operate the support person. At this time, the screen of the supportee's PC is displayed on the supporter's PC, and operations can be performed on the screen of the supporter's PC.

  By connecting a USB camera or the like to a personal computer, it is now possible to easily make a videophone (also called video communication, video chat, etc.). In a video conference system that performs a conference by connecting a remote place with a videophone, functions such as a whiteboard and application sharing can be used in addition to video (for example, see Patent Document 2 and Non-Patent Document 1). These are functions that allow multiple computers to share screens and windows. The same window is displayed on the screens of multiple computers connected to the video conferencing system via the network, and input to shared applications (displayed) (Input to the window) can also be performed from each computer. As a similar function, there is a function called remote assistance that allows a supporter to view and operate a personal computer screen that requires assistance from a remote personal computer in order to support the operation of the computer (see Non-Patent Document 2).

  Although this remote assistance function is useful, the supporter does not know what operation the supporter has performed, so the supporter calls the supporter every time he encounters the same scene, or to avoid such a situation, It becomes necessary to be instructed by an instant message.

  In order to deal with this problem, in Patent Document 1, an operation event such as a mouse or keyboard input on the supporter side is converted into a character or an animation indicating a procedure for mouse operation or keyboard input and displayed on the screen of the supportee side. is doing.

JP 2004-355059 A JP-A-6-337915

NetMeeting Home, http: // www. Microsoft. com / windows / netmeeting / Step-by-Step Guide to Remote Assistance, http: // www. Microsoft. com / windowsxp / pro / techinfo / deployment / remoteguide /

  However, if the supporter and the supportee are not using the same operation device, for example, if the supportee is using a television or a remote control, it would be useless to explain the operation using a mouse or keyboard.

  Although it is possible to prepare the same operation device on the supporter side as on the supportee side, as represented by iPhone (registered trademark), the operation device determines the product value, and the innovative operation device moves from one to the next. At present, it is not realistic in terms of cost.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a supporter and a supportee who use different operation devices. An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus that can appropriately convey an operation method to a supportee side even when the user is using it.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus includes at least a first information processing apparatus and a second information processing apparatus, and the first information processing apparatus includes operation information generation means for generating operation information, The information processing apparatus 2 includes an operation unit, and the first information processing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus each include an output unit that presents information to a user, and the first information processing apparatus and the first information processing apparatus An information processing system in which two information processing apparatuses are connected, and includes an input means information acquisition means for acquiring operation means information that is information relating to an operation means of the second information processing apparatus, and the operation information generation Conversion means for converting the operation information generated by the means into operation support information along the operation means of the second information processing apparatus based on the operation means information, and the operation support information as the second information processing apparatus Present to other users The information processing system comprising: the presentation unit, is provided.

  Thereby, in the second information processing apparatus, it is possible to receive support for performing an operation suitable for the first information processing apparatus. Since the operation procedure according to the operation means on the support recipient side can be presented regardless of the operation means on the support person side, the cost of the supporter side device can be reduced.

  Furthermore, it is preferable to have means for prompting confirmation of the operation support information presented by the second information processing apparatus. Thereby, the operation learning by the person to be supported can be ensured.

  Further, it is preferable that the second information processing apparatus does not accept an input from an input unit of the first information processing apparatus until the operation information is confirmed. It is possible to prevent the operation on the supporter side from being too fast and the supportee side from following the operation procedure.

  There are a plurality of operation means that can be used by the second information processing apparatus, the operation means information includes information indicating a priority order among the plurality of operation means, and the conversion means converts the priority order in consideration. You may do it. It is possible to present operation support information for the operation device according to the user's preference and the service provider's intention (priority order).

  The operation means of the second information processing apparatus is a pointing device, the presentation means of the second information processing apparatus is a display means, the conversion means generates coordinates on the display means, The display means may display operation support information in the vicinity of the coordinates. Thereby, operation support can be performed more intuitively.

  The operation means of the second information processing apparatus includes key input means, and holds an application for inputting at least one key of the key input means with the first information processing apparatus and converting it into the operation information. Input application holding means may be provided. As a result, it is possible to input a key unique to the supported person device.

  The operation information may be position designation information, and the conversion means may convert the position designation information into operation support information based on the operation means of the second information processing apparatus.

  The operation means includes a cursor key, the second information processing apparatus manages current item information indicating a currently selected item and inter-item transition information indicating a transition relationship between items, and the operation support information is stored in the cursor key. It is preferable that the conversion means generates the pressing information of the cursor key based on the current item information and the transition information between items from the position designation information.

  The operation information may be character input information, and the conversion unit may convert the character input information into operation support information based on the operation unit of the second information processing apparatus.

  The operation information is character input information, the operation means includes a numeric keypad, the second information processing apparatus manages correspondence information between character input information and numeric keypad pressing information, and the operation support information is the numeric keypad. The conversion means may generate the ten-key press information from the character input information based on correspondence information between the character input information and the ten-key press information. The conversion means is preferably located in the second information processing apparatus.

  A second information processing apparatus connected to a first information processing apparatus comprising: an operation information generating means for generating operation information; and a first output unit for presenting information to a user, the operation means A second output unit that presents information to the user, an input unit information acquisition unit that acquires operation unit information that is information related to the operation unit of the second information processing apparatus, and an operation generated by the generation unit Conversion means for converting information into operation support information along the operation means of the second information processing apparatus based on the operation means information, and presentation means for presenting the operation support information to a user of the second information processing apparatus A second information processing apparatus is provided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, connected to a first information processing apparatus including an operation information generation unit that generates operation information and a first output unit that presents information to a user, the operation unit, And a second output unit that presents information to a user, and a control method in a second information processing apparatus, the input acquiring operation means information that is information related to the operation means of the second information processing apparatus A means information acquisition step, a conversion step for converting the operation information generated by the generation means into operation support information along the operation means of the second information processing apparatus based on the operation means information, and the operation support information Presenting to the user of the second information processing apparatus. A control method for the second information processing apparatus is provided.

  The present invention may be a control program that causes a computer to execute the information processing method described above, or may be a computer-readable recording medium that records the control program. The program may be acquired by a transmission medium such as the Internet.

  According to the present invention, the second information processing apparatus can receive support for performing an operation suitable for the first information processing apparatus.

It is a figure which shows the example of schematic structure of the information processing system by one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the state transition in the information processing system by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a display in the information processing system by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation part of the remote control of the assistance receiver apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a display in the operation procedure presentation area by the side of the assistance recipient apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the assistance receiver apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a state transition of the operation interpretation part of the assistance receiver apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the operation interpretation part by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of 1 structure of the specific operation information of a assistance receiver apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the transition information between items in the content normal state management part of the assistance recipient apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of a process in the operation assistance information generation part of the assistance receiver apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the conversion table from the operation command to specific operation instruction information in the operation assistance information generation part of the assistance recipient apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows another example of a display in the operation procedure presentation area by the side of the assistance recipient apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a display which does not use the operation procedure presentation area by the side of the assistance recipient apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the remote control key of another supportee apparatus by this Embodiment, and the example of a display of a corresponding supporter apparatus.

  One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, an information processing apparatus is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a PC (Personal Computer), various information appliances, and the like. In addition, as correspondence with the following specifications and claims, the first information processing device is the following supporter device, and the second information processing device is the following supportee device.

<Outline of the present invention>
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, this system includes, for example, a supportee device 2, a supporter device 5, and an application server 6 via a wired / wireless network 1 such as the Internet or LAN based on the Internet Protocol (IP). Composed.

  The supporter device 5 is, for example, a general PC, and is connected to an input unit 5a such as a keyboard and a mouse and a display unit (display) 5b. In this PC, for example, Windows is used as an operating system (OS), and an application having a remote support function described later is installed.

  The application server 6 is a general web server, and transmits a document described in HTML (HTML document) in response to a request from the client, or stores information input by the client in a database (not shown).

  The supported person device 2 has a web browser function and downloads an HTML document from the application server 6. The download document is interpreted and displayed, and output to the output device 4 as visual information. Further, it receives a user operation transmitted from the remote controller 3, downloads a document corresponding to the link in the document from the application server 6, and transmits information input by the user to the application server 6.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the supported person device 2 has two types of states, a stand-alone state C1 and a supported state C2. The stand-alone state C1 is a state in which nothing is exchanged with the supporter device 5 and general web browsing is performed with the application server 6, and the supported state C2 is in a stand-alone state. In this state, the person device 5 is added. When power is turned on (L1) in the stand-alone state C1, the user requests support from the supporter device 5 (L2), transitions to the supported state C2, and the user instructs the end of support in the supported state C2 ( L3), returning to the stand-alone state C1. The operation in the supported state C2 will be described later.

  Moreover, although the function which performs a voice call via the network 1 between the supporter apparatus 5 and the supportee apparatus 2 is provided, since it is not related to the main point of this invention, description is abbreviate | omitted here.

<Remote control of supported device>
An example of the key arrangement of the remote controller 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, a numeric keypad 3a is provided at the top of the remote control 3, and a cursor key 3b, an enter key 3c, and a cancel key 3d are provided at the bottom.

  The key codes of the numeric keypad 3a and the cursor key 3b can be generated by pressing the numeric keypad and the cursor key of the supporter device 5. Further, the decision key 3c and the cancel key 3d can generate the same key code by a return key and an escape key (not shown) of the supporter device 5, respectively.

<Operation overview in supported state>
The operation in the aforementioned supported state will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a display example of the display screen 4a on the output device 4 connected to the supportee device, which is obtained by interpreting and displaying the HTML document downloaded from the application server 6 as described above. It is. A display example on the supported person device is provided in the upper part 4b, an operation procedure presentation unit 4c is provided in the lower part, and operation procedure information described later is displayed in the operation procedure presentation unit 4c.

  FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display 5b of the supporter device 5 that is performing remote support when FIG. 3A is displayed. Here, a remote support application is activated as a Windows application and its window is displayed on the screen. Further, the contents of the window are synchronized with the contents shown in FIG. 3B, and the same contents are displayed.

  The operations during remote support are as follows. For example, when the supportee operates the cursor key 3 b of the remote controller 3 to move the cursor onto the “male” radio button in FIG. 3A and presses the enter key, the “displayed” is displayed on the output device 4. The display changes to a state in which the “male” radio button is checked, and the display on the supported person side device 5 is also changed to the same content in synchronization therewith.

  Next, on the window displayed on the supporter side device 5, for example, when the “female” radio button is clicked with the mouse, the “male” radio button displayed on the output device 4 becomes unchecked, and “female” The display changes to a state in which the radio button is checked, and the display is also reflected in the display on the supporter device 5.

  At this time, the operation procedure presenting unit 4c described above displays the operation shown in FIG. 5A in which the operation device operation on the supporter side is converted into the operation of the cursor key that is the operation device of the supportee. In the supported person device 2, when the user confirms the operation procedure, the determination key is pressed. Note that operations other than the operation of the supporter-side device 5 and the determination key of the supportee-side device 2 are not accepted until the determination key is pressed.

  Further, the technique according to the present embodiment supports not only simple selection operation but also character input. For example, when the supporter side device 5 is operated by a keyboard and the supporter side device 2 is operated by multi-tap input using a numeric keypad often used in a mobile phone, the supporter side device 5 has a keyboard. When “U” is input at the above-described operation procedure presenting unit 4c, the display shown in FIG. 5B is made. Alternatively, a soft keyboard is displayed on the screen, and when selecting from the soft keyboard, operation information up to the corresponding key of the soft keyboard is displayed.

  Thus, since the operation procedure along the operation device on the support recipient side can be presented regardless of the operation device on the supporter side, the cost of the supporter side device can be reduced. In addition, by displaying a confirmation message such as “Please press the enter key if you like” on the supported person side device 2 regarding the operation procedure and prompting the user to confirm, the operation learning of the supported person side device 2 is ensured. In addition, it is possible to prevent the operation of the supporter side device 5 from being too fast and failing to keep up with the operation procedure in the supportee side device 2 (being unable to follow up).

<System configuration of supported device>
FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of the supported person device 2 according to the present embodiment. The supported person device 2 is a device that provides a web browser function. As shown in FIG. 6, the operation receiving unit 10, the operation interpretation unit 20, the content state management unit 30, the content acquisition unit 40, the output unit 50, the unique operation information holding unit 60, the operation support information generation unit 70, the rendering unit 80, The composition unit 90 is configured to include a transmission / reception unit 100 and an overall control unit 110. Hereinafter, each processing unit will be described.

  The transmission / reception unit 100 transmits / receives information to / from the supporter device 5 and the application server 6 through the network 1.

  The content acquisition unit 40 acquires an HTML document and transmits user input information to the application server 6 via the transmission / reception unit 100.

  The content state management unit 30 interprets the acquired HTML and holds the result. Also, transition information between items (transition information between items, which will be described later), a current selection item (current item), and the like are managed. Further, according to an operation command from the operation interpretation unit 20 described later, the current item is changed or an HTML document is requested from the application server 6 through the content acquisition unit 40 based on the link information described in the activated item. . In addition, in response to unique operation information described later, a command is issued to the rendering unit 80 to display a soft keyboard when an item requires character input.

  The rendering unit 80 renders a screen image according to the information of the content state management unit 30. It also manages at which coordinates in the screen image each item is drawn (item coordinate information).

  The operation receiving unit 10 receives operation information transmitted from the remote controller 3. In the supported state, operation information transmitted from the supporter device 5 is also accepted via the network 1 and the transmission / reception unit 100. When the operation information is received, information (source information) for distinguishing whether the source of the operation is remote or local is added and sent to the operation interpretation unit 20.

  The operation interpretation unit 20 converts the operation information received from the operation reception unit 10 into a command (operation command) independent of the operation device based on information from the content state management unit 30 and the rendering unit 80, and the content state management unit 30. Send to. At this time, if the source of the operation is remote with reference to the source information, various information necessary for generating the operation support information is transmitted to the operation support information generating unit 70. The details of the operation interpretation unit 20 will be described later.

  The unique operation information holding unit 60 stores operation devices that are currently usable by the person being supported 2 and user preference information (preferences) for each operation device. Details will be described later.

  The operation support information generation unit 70 generates operation support information based on the information from the operation interpretation unit 20 and the unique operation information provided from the unique operation information holding unit 60. Specifically, the screen is as shown in FIGS.

  The synthesizing unit 90 synthesizes the screen of the HTML document drawn by the rendering unit 80 and the operation procedure presenting unit generated by the operation support information generating unit 70 to generate the image shown in FIG. The generated image is sent to the output unit 50. In the supported state, the generated image is transmitted to the supported person device 2 through the transmission / reception unit 100 at the same time.

  The output unit 50 encodes the image output from the synthesizing unit 90 into a signal received by the output device 4 and sends the encoded signal to the output device 4.

  The overall operation unit 110 controls the entire processing unit described above.

<Configuration of operation interpretation unit>
The configuration of the operation interpretation unit 20 of the supported person device 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.
As shown in FIG. 7, the operation interpretation unit 20 takes three types of states: a stand-alone operation state C11, a supported operation state C12, and a confirmation operation state C13. In the stand-alone operation state C11 that transitions when the power is turned on (L11), only the supported person's operation is accepted, and the supported operation state C12 is a state in which the operations of both the supported person and the support person are accepted. State C13 is a state in which only a decision key for confirmation from the supportee is received.

  In the stand-alone operation state C11, when a transition from the above-described stand-alone state C1 (FIG. 2) to the supported state C2 occurs, a transition is made to the supported operation state C12 (L12). In the supported operation state C12, when a transition from the aforementioned supported state C2 to the stand-alone state C1 occurs, the operation proceeds to the stand-alone operation state C11 (L15), and the confirmation operation is performed when the operation information from the supporter is received. Transition to state C13 (L13). In the confirmation operation state C13, when the support person's confirmation operation is performed (L14), the state shifts to the support operation state C12, and when the transition from the support state C2 to the stand-alone state C1 occurs, the stand-alone operation is performed. Transition to the operation state C11 (L15). When the user (supported person) instructs the end of support and transitions from the supported state C2 illustrated in the state transition of FIG. 2 to the stand-alone state C1, the transition is made from the confirmation operation state C13 to the confirmation stand-alone operation state C11. (L16).

  As shown in FIG. 8, the operation interpretation unit 20 includes an input dispatcher 20a, a pointing device handler 20b, a key device handler 20c, and a control unit 20d.

  The input dispatcher 20a distributes handlers according to the type of operation of the operation information received from the operation receiving unit 10. Specifically, if the operation information is from a pointing device such as a mouse or a touch panel, the operation information is transmitted to the pointing device handler 20b. If the operation information is from a keyboard device such as a cursor key, the operation information is transmitted to the keyboard handler 20c. To do. At that time, the source information added by the operation receiving unit 10 is also sent as it is.

  The pointing device handler 20b converts the operation information by the pointing device received via the input dispatcher 20a into an operation command and transmits it to the control unit 20d. At that time, the source information added by the operation receiving unit 10 is also sent as it is. The operation information includes action information such as button press / release and coordinate information where the action has occurred. The pointing device handler 20b refers to the item coordinate information held by the rendering unit 80 and converts the coordinate information into an item ID. The result is finally converted into activate (item) into one of the operation commands select (item). Here, select (item) means that an item whose item ID is item is selected, and activate (item) means that an item whose item ID is item is activated.

  The key device handler 20c converts operation information by the key device received via the input dispatcher 20a into an operation command, and transmits the operation command to the control unit 20d. At that time, the source information added by the operation receiving unit 10 is also sent as it is. The operation information includes a key code corresponding to the input key. The key device handler 20c converts this operation information into a command called keyin (keycode). Here, keycode corresponds to a key code.

  The control unit 20d manages the state transition described above and controls the exchange of information between the operation interpretation unit 20 and other processing units according to the state. The operation commands transmitted from the pointing device handler 20b and the key device handler 20c are sent to the content state management unit. In the supported operation state, an operation command and additional information are sent to the operation support information generation unit 70 at the same time. Here, the additional information is current item and item transition information. Further, as described above, the control unit 20d bridges the reference of the item coordinate information held by the rendering unit 80 by the pointing device handler 20b.

  Further, in the confirmation operation state, by referring to the above-mentioned source information, only the support person's operation determination key is accepted, and when it is accepted, the state shifts to the support operation state.

<Unique operation information (operation means information)>
With reference to FIG. 9, the unique operation information held in the unique operation information holding unit 60 of the supported person device 2 according to the present embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 9, the unique operation information is managed in a table, and a record for storing the related information is prepared for all operation devices connectable to the support target device of this system. Each record includes fields for an operation device, device availability, character input operation preference, and operation selection preference. Each field will be described below.

  The operation device field stores the ID of the operation device corresponding to the record. The device availability field stores information indicating whether or not the operation device corresponding to this record is currently usable by the supportee device that holds this unique operation information. It should be noted that the value of this field can be dynamically changed by attaching / detaching the operation device. In the example of FIG. 9, the numeric keypad and the cursor key can be used at present.

  The character input operation preference field is a field for storing information on which operation device the user prefers to use when inputting characters. Here, the information defines four levels of “like”, “permitted”, “not like”, and “unusable”, and numerical values “2”, “1”, “0”, and “−1” are respectively assigned. In the example of FIG. 9, it is preferable to use the numeric keypad for character input.

  The selection operation preference field is a field for storing information on the priority (priority order) of operation device selection, which operation device the user prefers to use when selecting an item, in other words. The definition of the preference information is the same as the character input operation preference field. In the example of FIG. 9, the user likes the mouse and the touch panel with respect to the selection operation, and allows the cursor keys.

  By preparing the preference field as described above, when there are a plurality of methods for performing a character input operation and a selection operation using an operation device that can be used by the supportee device 2, the operation device suits the user's preference. It is possible to present operation support information.

  Note that the value stored in the preference field may be set by the user himself, or a frequently used value may be automatically set from the user's usage history. Further, it may be set from the outside through the network 1 so that the value of the operation device recommended by the service provider is increased.

<Transition information between items> (30 in FIG. 6)
The inter-item transition information managed by the content state management unit 30 of the supported person device 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
Inter-item transition information corresponds to information representing transition of the current item with respect to key operations in an HTML document, and is automatically generated by the rendering unit 80 based on the positional relationship between items, and content state management is performed when screen rendering is completed. To the unit 30.

  FIG. 10 illustrates the transition information between items. When the page display (L21) is performed, the display changes to a male / female radio button C21. In addition, the postal code (upper digit) text box C22, the postal code (lower digit) text box C23, the address text box C24, the send button C25, and the cancel button C26 can be changed by operations from L21 to L36. For example, when the current item is a “male” radio button or a “female” radio button, the zip code 1 (upper digit) text box becomes the current item when the down key is pressed.

<Operation command processing> (70 in FIG. 6)
The operation command processing in the operation support information generation unit 70 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 11A shows a processing flow when the operation support information generation unit 70 receives an operation command from the operation interpretation unit 20. First, the unique operation information is acquired from the unique operation information holding unit 60 (S10a), and the operation device is specified (S10b). This process determines to which operation device the operation instruction information is to be generated, and the specific process will be described later.

  Next, operation instruction information unique to the operation device is acquired from the identified operation device and operation command. Specifically, the conversion table illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B is referred to and converted into unique operation instruction information. In this conversion table, KEYIN (keycode) indicates operation instruction information for inputting characters corresponding to the keycode with a full keyboard, and MULTITAP (keycode) indicates operation instruction information for character input corresponding to the keycode with multi-tap input. SELECT (item) indicates operation instruction information for setting the item specified by item as the current item. POINT (item) means operation instruction information that directly points to an item specified by item using a pointing device such as a touch panel, a mouse, or a trackball.

  For example, when the numeric keypad is selected as the operation device and the operation command is keyin (keycode), the operation command is converted into unique operation instruction information called MULTITAP (keycode).

  Next, presentation information is generated from the unique operation instruction information (S10d). Specifically, the unique operation instruction information is generated as character information or image information explaining the operation, and is transmitted to the synthesis unit 90. Since this process has been described in the prior art, the details will not be described, but FIGS. 12A and 12B are typical examples. In the case of FIG. 12A, the shortest key operation for reaching the target item item from the current item is searched for and displayed from SELECT (item). In the case of FIG. 12B, a key operation necessary to select a character corresponding to the keycode is displayed with reference to a table (not shown) for MULTITAP (keycode).

  When a pointing device such as a touch panel is connected instead of the remote controller 3, the operation support information can be displayed on the application screen in a superimposed manner as shown in FIG. In this case, the operation procedure presentation unit need not be provided.

  In step S10d, the operation support information generation unit 70 acquires the coordinates on the application screen of the item specified by the operation instruction information POINT (item) from the rendering unit 80 and reflects it in the drawing. More specifically, for example, a location touched on the connected touch panel is reflected on the screen by clearly indicating “I touched here”.

  Finally, the operation device specifying process (S10b), which has been described later, will be described with reference to FIG. First, referring to the unique operation information, usable items are extracted (S20a). Next, devices that can be used for each operation are sorted in descending order of preference values (S20b), and the first device is selected (S20c).

  Through the above processing, it is possible to generate operation support information that is currently available on the supportee's device and that matches the supportee's preference.

<Variation>
In the above embodiment, the operation of the supportee device 2 is described by taking a key operation as an example. However, the operation is not limited to the key operation, and as mentioned in the description of the embodiment, It may be a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball. Furthermore, it goes without saying that even operations by voice input using voice recognition can be applied.

  In the present embodiment, the supporter device 5 is a general-purpose PC, but may be a dedicated device. Further, it is only necessary that the operation can be transmitted to the supportee device 2, and neither a display nor a keyboard may be provided.

  In the present embodiment, the network 1 is an IP-based network. However, any transmission means may be used as long as the operation of the supporter device 5 can be transmitted to the supportee device 2. May be.

  Moreover, although this Embodiment demonstrated the example which has requested | required confirmation of a to-be-supported person, when presenting operation assistance information, this invention is not limited to it. For example, it is possible to obtain the effect of presenting the operation support information corresponding to the operation device of the supported person device, which is the main object of the present invention, without performing the confirmation process to the supported person device as shown in FIG. it can.

  Further, in this embodiment, an example in which the operation of the supporter device converted into the operation command is transmitted to the content state management unit in the supported operation state has been described. It goes without saying that the main object of the present invention can be achieved only by displaying the operation support information to the user as shown in FIG. 13B without transmitting the operation.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the generation of operation support information along the operation device used by the supportee is performed by the device on the supportee side, but the present invention is not limited to that form. Absent. For example, it may be performed by a supporter device, or may be performed by another device such as a conversion server (not shown) on the network 1.

  In this embodiment, the operation support information is displayed on the same display screen as the application. However, the operation support information is displayed on a screen different from the application, for example, the display screen on the remote controller 3. It may be. Further, the output may be other than the video output as long as the operation method can be presented to the user. For example, it may be read out by voice or the corresponding key on the remote controller may be illuminated.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the example in which the operation unit and the output unit of the supported person device 2 are separate from the supported person device has been described, but the integrated type in which these are integrated. There may be.

  In the present embodiment, the application running on the supportee device 2 is downloaded from the application server 6 via the network 1, but the application is pre-installed in the supportee device 2. However, it goes without saying that it may be stored in removable media that can be read by the supportee device 2.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the screen image of the supported person device 2 is transmitted as it is to the supporter device 5 has been described. However, only the difference may be transmitted. In addition, a drawing command defined by X-Window or the like may be transmitted.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that all the keys of the remote controller 3 are directly input from the keyboard of the supporter device 5, but using the keys unique to the supportee device 2 as follows. Is also possible.

  For example, when the remote controller 3 is provided with the four color keys 3f shown in the middle of FIG. 15A, the soft keyboard 4a- as shown in FIG. 1, 4b-1, 4c-1, and 3-1 are displayed, and when the color key 3x-1 on the soft keyboard is pressed, the same key code as when the color key 3f of the remote controller 3 is pressed is issued. do it.

  In order to realize this function, the ID indicating the soft keyboard application and the operation means of the supportee device 2 is selected from the supportee device 2, supporter device 5, and the server (not shown) on the network 1 on this system. And stored in the supporter device 5 at the start of the supported state. By doing in this way, it becomes possible to deal with a key unique to the person being supported 2.

  Finally, each block of the supportee device 2 and the supporter device 5 may be configured by hardware logic, or may be realized by software using a CPU as follows.

  That is, the supportee device 2 and the supporter device 5 expand a CPU (central processing unit) that executes instructions of a control program that realizes each function, a ROM (read only memory) that stores the program, and the program. A RAM (random access memory), a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the program and various data, and the like are provided. The object of the present invention is to enable the computer to read the program codes (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of the control programs of the supportee device 2 and the supporter device 5 which are software for realizing the functions described above. This can also be achieved by supplying the recording medium recorded in (1) to the recording / reproducing apparatus, and reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium by the computer (or CPU or MPU).

  Examples of the recording medium include a tape system such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. Card system such as IC card, IC card (including memory card) / optical card, or semiconductor memory system such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

  Further, the supportee device 2 and the supporter device 5 may be configured to be connectable to a communication network, and the program code may be supplied via the communication network. The communication network is not particularly limited. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication. A net or the like is available. Also, the transmission medium constituting the communication network is not particularly limited. For example, even in the case of wired such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL line, etc., infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth ( (Registered trademark), 802.11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network, and the like can also be used. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The information processing system of the present invention is useful when supporting user operations from a remote location, and can be suitably used for digital home appliances and PC software with complicated operations.

1 Network 2 Supported Device 3 Remote Controller 4 Output Device 5 Support Device 6 Application Server 10 Operation Reception Unit 20 Operation Interpretation Unit 30 Content Status Management Unit 40 Content Acquisition Unit 50 Output Unit 60 Unique Operation Information Holding Unit 70 Operation Support Information Generation Unit 80 rendering unit 90 compositing unit 100 transmission / reception unit 110 overall control unit

Claims (15)

Having at least a first information processing device and a second information processing device;
The first information processing apparatus includes operation information generation means for generating operation information,
The second information processing apparatus includes an operation unit,
Each of the first information processing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus includes an output unit that presents information to a user,
An information processing system in which the first information processing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus are connected,
Comprising input means information acquisition means for acquiring operation means information which is information relating to the operation means of the second information processing apparatus;
Conversion means for converting the operation information generated by the operation information generation means into operation support information along the operation means of the second information processing device based on the operation means information;
Presenting means for presenting the operation support information to a user of the second information processing apparatus.   The information processing system according to claim 1, further comprising means for prompting confirmation of the operation support information presented by the second information processing apparatus.   3. The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the second information processing apparatus does not accept an input from an input unit of the first information processing apparatus until the operation information is confirmed. There are a plurality of operation means that can be used by the second information processing apparatus,
The operation means information includes information indicating a priority order among the plurality of operation means,
The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit performs conversion in consideration of the priority order. The operation means of the second information processing apparatus is a pointing device,
The presenting means of the second information processing apparatus is a display means,
The converting means generates coordinates on the display means for the operating means,
The information system according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays operation support information in the vicinity of the coordinates. The operation means of the second information processing apparatus includes key input means,
The input application holding means for holding an application for inputting at least one key of the key input means by the first information processing apparatus and converting it to the operation information. Information processing system. The operation information is position designation information,
The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit converts the position designation information into operation support information based on an operation unit of the second information processing apparatus. The operating means includes a cursor key,
The second information processing apparatus manages current item information indicating a currently selected item and inter-item transition information indicating a transition relationship between items,
The operation support information includes information on pressing the cursor key,
The information processing system according to claim 7, wherein the conversion unit generates the pressing information of the cursor key based on the current item information and inter-item transition information from the position designation information. The operation information is character input information,
The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit converts the character input information into operation support information based on an operation unit of the second information processing apparatus. The operation information is character input information,
The operating means includes a numeric keypad,
The second information processing apparatus manages correspondence information between character input information and ten-key press information,
The operation support information includes information on pressing the numeric keypad, and the conversion unit generates the information on pressing the numeric keypad based on correspondence information between the character input information and the keypad pressing information from the character input information. The information processing system according to claim 9.   The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit is located in the second information processing apparatus. A second information processing apparatus connected to a first information processing apparatus comprising operation information generating means for generating operation information and a first output unit for presenting information to a user;
An operating means, a second output unit for presenting information to the user,
Input means information acquiring means for acquiring operating means information that is information relating to operating means of the second information processing apparatus;
Conversion means for converting the operation information generated by the generation means into operation support information along the operation means of the second information processing device based on the operation means information;
Presenting means for presenting the operation support information to a user of the second information processing apparatus, and a second information processing apparatus. A second output that is connected to a first information processing apparatus that includes an operation information generating unit that generates operation information and a first output unit that presents information to a user, and presents information to the user. A control method in a second information processing apparatus comprising:
An input means information acquisition step for acquiring operation means information which is information relating to the operation means of the second information processing apparatus;
A conversion step of converting the operation information generated by the generation unit into operation support information along the operation unit of the second information processing apparatus based on the operation unit information;
A presentation step of presenting the operation support information to a user of the second information processing apparatus, and a control method for the second information processing apparatus.   A control program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 13.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the control program of Claim 14.

Images