JP6094999B2 - Electronic device, communication system, and icon display method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an icon display technique in an electronic apparatus using a tethering function.

  Currently, tethering communication technology that connects a mobile multifunction terminal represented by a smartphone as an external modem and connects the electronic device to the network via the portable multifunction terminal by connecting the electronic device to the portable multifunction terminal. Is popular. For example, in an in-vehicle electronic device, a scene in which data communication is performed using a tethering function of a smartphone and using the smartphone in the same manner as a wireless LAN access point is increasing. Thereby, the user can use the application service and the cloud service in the in-vehicle electronic device.

  Users can easily use data communication by using the tethering function. However, since the traffic volume of carriers is greatly increased, multiple carriers set a permissible amount that can be communicated by tethering communication. If the permissible amount is exceeded, measures to limit the data communication speed are taken. I'm taking it. For example, a communication speed of 10 Mbps or more can be obtained in a normal time when the communication speed is not limited, but if the communication speed restriction is applied, the communication speed may be limited to 128 Kbps.

  On the other hand, on the user side, there is a case where the total data communication amount is checked by itself so that the communication speed limit is not applied. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for restricting or disconnecting the communication line in order to suppress the data communication amount. (Patent Document 1).

  Also, in mobile communications, like in-vehicle electronic devices, the communication environment changes significantly with movement. Therefore, whether or not each content can be received until reaching a point where communication is difficult is determined based on the state of communication during travel. A technique for judging and notifying the judgment result is disclosed (Patent Document 2).

JP 2004-208199 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-247907

  In electronic devices that use tethering communication, applications used by users include, for example, a high-speed data communication environment such as YouTube (registered trademark) for streaming video distribution, and Twitter (registered trademark). , Facebook (registered trademark) and the like, which mainly include text and still images, and do not require high-speed data communication are mixed.

  If the communication speed restriction is applied, the communication speed is extremely reduced, so that an application based on a high-speed data communication environment cannot be comfortably used. However, when starting up an application in a communication environment to which communication speed restrictions are applied, an application that can be comfortably used by a user and an application that cannot be comfortably used and that is based on high-speed data communication. Could not be determined.

  The present invention solves such a conventional problem and provides an electronic device, a communication system, and an icon display method capable of identifying and displaying an application that cannot be comfortably used based on the current communication environment. For the purpose.

  The electronic device according to the present invention is in a state where high-speed communication is possible or a communication speed according to the data communication speed of the display means for displaying each icon corresponding to a plurality of applications and the tethering function. A communication state determining means for determining whether or not the communication speed is restricted, and an extraction for extracting an application corresponding to high-speed data communication when the communication state determining means determines that the communication speed is in a restricted state And an identification display means for identifying and displaying an icon according to the extraction result of the extraction means, and executes an application using a tethering function in the portable terminal.

  Preferably, the communication state determination unit includes a communication rate acquisition unit that monitors a data communication rate by the tethering function and acquires a data communication rate, and the communication rate acquisition unit includes a communication base station and a mobile terminal, or The data communication speed between the portable terminal and the electronic device is acquired.

  Preferably, the electronic device further includes a list in which communication information regarding the plurality of applications is registered, and extracts an application corresponding to high-speed data communication based on the communication information registered in the list. Preferably, the list includes information regarding a recommended communication speed of the application, a recommended communication environment, or a past communication speed record.

  Preferably, the identification display means displays an icon corresponding to an application corresponding to high-speed data communication so as to be identified from an application not corresponding to high-speed data communication. Preferably, the identification display means identifies and displays an application corresponding to high-speed data communication and an application not corresponding to high-speed data communication in groups.

  A communication system according to the present invention includes a portable terminal having a tethering function and an electronic device that executes an application using the tethering function of the portable terminal, the portable terminal having a data communication speed with a communication base station, Or providing means for monitoring the data communication speed with the electronic device and providing the data communication speed to the electronic device, the electronic device displaying each icon corresponding to a plurality of applications; , A communication state for determining whether a high-speed communication capable of high-speed communication according to the data communication speed output from the mobile terminal or a communication speed limited state in which the communication speed is limited When it is determined by the determining means and the communication state determining means that the communication speed is limited, an application corresponding to high-speed data communication is It has an extraction means for output, for identifying and displaying the icon according to the extracted result of the extraction means.

  The icon display method according to the present invention includes a step of determining whether a high-speed communication is possible or a communication speed limit state in which the communication speed is limited depending on the data communication speed. When it is determined that the communication speed is in a limited state, the application includes a step of extracting an application corresponding to the high-speed data communication, and a step of identifying and displaying an icon according to the extraction result of the extracting step. It is applied to the icon display of an application installed in an electronic device having a function.

  According to the present invention, in an electronic device that uses a tethering function, when an application is used, an application that cannot be comfortably used can be identified by the display form of the icon according to the current communication state. .

It is a figure which shows an example of the utilization aspect of the communication system which utilizes the tethering function based on the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the smart phone which has a tethering function based on the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the tethering function part of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the vehicle-mounted electronic apparatus which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data communication speed list regarding application software. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function of the control part of a vehicle-mounted electronic device. It is a flowchart regarding the identification display process of the icon of this invention. It is the example of a display of the icon at the time of application starting. It is an example of icon identification display at the time of application activation. FIG. 10A shows another example of icon identification display according to the present invention, FIG. 10A shows a display example by mark superimposed display, and FIG. 10B shows a display example by changing the arrangement order of icons.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The communication system which concerns on the preferable aspect of this invention is equipped with the smart device (multifunctional portable terminal) which has a tethering function, and the electronic apparatus which can use an application service by connecting the smart phone as an access point.

  The electronic device of the present invention can be an electronic device including a notebook PC, a tablet PC, a personal computer, a car navigation device, a game device, and other communication devices, such as USB (registered trademark), WiFi (registered trademark). ) Or Bluetooth (registered trademark) and connected to the smartphone as an external electronic device. In addition, a plurality of application software is installed in the electronic device, and a display unit that displays a plurality of icons corresponding to the applications is provided.

  An electronic device that activates an application using a tethering function in a smartphone acquires a storage unit that stores a plurality of applications, a display unit that displays icons corresponding to the plurality of applications, and a data communication speed by the tethering function A communication state for determining whether the communication speed acquisition means is in a high-speed communication capable state capable of high-speed communication or a communication speed limited state in which the communication speed is limited according to the acquired data communication speed. When it is determined that the communication speed limit state is determined by the determination means, the communication state determination means, an extraction means that extracts an application corresponding to high-speed data communication that cannot be used comfortably, and a response corresponding to the extraction result Identification display means for identifying and displaying an icon to be displayed.

  Next, a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates one usage mode of a communication system using the tethering communication technique of this embodiment. The communication system 10 includes a communication base station 20 that is a base station of a communication company, a smartphone 30 that receives a service from the communication company and is connected to the network via the communication base station 10, and is connected to the smartphone 30 wirelessly or by wire. In addition, the tethering function of the smartphone 30 includes the in-vehicle electronic device 40 that connects the smartphone 30 as an access point to the network. The smartphone 30 has a tethering function and can connect a plurality of other external electronic devices in addition to the in-vehicle electronic device 40.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration example of a smartphone equipped with a tethering function. The smartphone 30 typically controls the display of the input unit 100 that receives input from the user, the communication unit 110 that enables telephone communication, data communication, and the like with the communication base station of the carrier. Display control unit 120, audio output unit 130 for controlling audio output from a speaker, control unit 140 for controlling each unit by executing a program including a microcontroller, a microprocessor, and the like, and a program such as application software and firmware Includes a program memory 150 for storing various data, a data memory 160 for storing various data, and a tethering function unit 170 for connecting an external electronic device such as the in-vehicle electronic device 40 to a network.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tethering function unit 170 includes an access unit 172 for accessing the communication base station 20 via the communication unit 110, a data communication speed between the communication base station 20 and the smartphone 30, or the smartphone 30. A communication speed monitoring unit 174 that monitors a data communication speed with the in-vehicle electronic device 40, and a device connection unit 176 that permits connection with an external electronic device within a certain distance from the smartphone 30, such as the in-vehicle electronic device 40; And a communication information storage unit 178 for storing communication information related to tethering communication such as an identification code of the external electronic device and communication speed information.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the in-vehicle electronic device. The in-vehicle electronic device 40 includes a multimedia playback unit 200 that plays back audio data and video data obtained from CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, hard disk devices, terrestrial digital TV broadcasts, and the like, and a road map around the vehicle position. A communication unit 220 that displays or guides a guidance route to a destination, a tethering function unit 170 of the smartphone 30 and communicates using the smartphone 30 as an access point, and a data communication speed by the communication unit 220 A communication information acquisition unit 230 that acquires communication information of the communication speed monitoring unit 174 of the smartphone 30, a display unit 240 that displays various images such as a startup screen of multiple applications and a display mode of icons, Accompanying media playback and guidance route guidance An audio output unit 250 that outputs audio, a storage unit 260 that stores programs, data, and the like, an input unit 270 that receives instructions from the user, and a control that controls each unit by executing programs including a microcontroller and a microprocessor A portion 280 is included.

  In addition to the programs essential for system operation, the storage unit 260 stores a plurality of application software installed by the user, specification data related to the application software, and a data communication speed list for each application created based on the specification data. ing. In a preferred embodiment, the data communication speed list is created by the control unit 280, and the data of the data communication speed list is referred to during tethering communication.

  FIG. 5 is an example of a data communication speed list related to application software. The data communication speed list 262 is created from the specification information of the application software, and includes items such as identification information for identifying the application, recommended communication speed of the application, recommended communication environment, and past communication speed results. Communication speed information for various applications is listed.

  The recommended communication speed can be individually registered by the user based on the recommended communication speed in the specification disclosed by the provider or the like when installing the application. The user can also register in advance whether the recommended communication environment is based on the recommended communication speed and is premised on high-speed communication or can be used in low-speed communication. If the application includes specification data and this specification data includes data such as recommended communication speed, the recommended communication speed and recommended communication environment are automatically listed based on the specification data at the same time as the installation. It may be made to be. Further, the past communication speed when using the application is automatically registered in the past communication speed record. Here, as the communication speed record, for example, an average communication speed or a maximum communication speed when the application is used is registered. Alternatively, the latest communication speed is registered. It is also possible to update as appropriate by designating a predetermined period by the user.

  FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions of the control unit of the in-vehicle electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 280 includes a communication rate acquisition unit 300 that acquires the current data communication rate during tethering communication from the communication information acquisition unit 230, a communication rate list reading unit 310 that reads the data communication rate list 262 from the storage unit 260, and a communication Communication state determination for determining whether a high-speed communication is possible based on the current data communication speed acquired by the speed acquisition unit 300 or a communication speed limited state in which the communication speed is limited Extraction processing for extracting an application corresponding to high-speed data communication that cannot be comfortably used based on the data communication speed list 262 when the means 320 and the communication state determination means 320 determine that the communication speed is in a restricted state. Receiving the extraction result by means 330 and extraction processing means 330, the corresponding icon is identified And a icon identification unit 340 that.

  If the current data communication speed acquired by the communication speed acquisition means 300 is equal to or higher than the threshold value S, for example, Mbps order or higher, the communication state determination means 320 determines that the high-speed communication is possible, and sets the threshold value S If it is less than, for example, the order of Kbps, it is determined that the communication speed is limited. Such a threshold value S can be determined according to an agreement (communication speed information when a restriction is applied) of a communication provider providing a communication service. As another determination method, the communication state determination unit 320 restricts the communication speed when the current data communication speed decreases to a certain rate or ratio, for example, 1/1000 within a predetermined period. It may be determined that it is in the state. Note that the threshold value S in such a determination condition can be set as appropriate by the user, and the threshold value S can be updated according to the usage situation.

  For example, the communication speed limit varies depending on each communication company, and depending on the communication company, the communication speed limit condition may be changed. Therefore, the user can use the in-vehicle electronic device 40 to access the communication provider's site and appropriately set the determination condition for determining the communication speed limit state based on the disclosed communication speed limit information. it can.

  When it is determined that the extraction processing unit 330 is in the communication speed limit state, for example, based on the recommended communication speed of each application in the data communication speed list 262, the extraction processing unit 330 sets a communication speed equal to or higher than the threshold S, in this example, Mbps order. What is needed is identified as an application that cannot be comfortably used, and is extracted. And the extraction result is output to the icon identification means 340 so that a corresponding icon may be identified and displayed. If the recommended communication speed cannot be obtained, the extraction processing means 330 can be used comfortably based on any one of the recommended communication environment and the past communication speed record in the data communication speed list 262. Applications that cannot be extracted. Upon receiving the extraction result from the extraction processing unit 330, the icon identification unit 340 controls the display unit 250 to identify and display an icon corresponding to the application.

  Next, an application identification display procedure in the in-vehicle electronic device will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the communication speed acquisition unit 300 acquires the current data communication speed via the communication information acquisition unit 230 (S101). Here, the data communication speed during tethering communication using the smartphone 30 such as 14 Mbps or 120 Kbps is acquired.

  Next, the communication state determination unit 320 determines the current communication state from the acquired current data communication speed (S102). For example, when the current data communication speed is 14 Mbps, the data communication speed is equal to or higher than the threshold value S, and thus the communication state determination unit 320 determines that the high-speed communication is possible. On the other hand, when the current data communication speed is 120 Kbps, the data communication speed is less than the threshold value S, and therefore the communication state determination unit 320 determines that the communication speed is in the communication speed limit state. Thereafter, the communication state determination unit 320 provides the determination result to the extraction processing unit 330.

  Next, the extraction processing unit 330 receives information about the communication state as a determination result from the communication state determination unit 320, and when the current data communication state is a high-speed communication enabled state (S103), the communication speed is limited. Therefore, it is assumed that all installed applications can be used comfortably, and all icons are displayed as usual (S104). Therefore, the icon identification display is not performed. An example of icon display at the time of application activation in this case is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a display screen of the display unit 240 of the in-vehicle electronic device 40, and icons 400 corresponding to a plurality of application software are arranged and displayed. By selecting these icons 400, the user can activate and use the corresponding application. Since it is assumed that all of a plurality of applications can be comfortably used in such a state where there is no restriction on the communication speed, the identification display of the icon 400 is not performed.

  On the other hand, when the communication state determination unit 320 determines that the communication speed limit state is set, the extraction processing unit 330 reads the data communication speed list 262 from the storage unit 260 by the communication speed list reading unit 310 (S105). The data communication speed list 262 lists recommended communication speeds, recommended communication environments, and past communication speed results as data communication speeds necessary for the operation of each application. The extraction processing unit 330 uses any one of the above items in the data communication speed list 262 to extract an application that cannot be comfortably used in the communication speed limited state (S106).

  For example, when the recommended communication speed or the past communication speed record is used, those having a communication speed of the Mbps order or higher are extracted as applications that cannot be comfortably used. When the recommended communication environment is used, an application corresponding to high-speed data communication is extracted as an application that cannot be comfortably used. Then, the extraction processing unit 330 outputs the extracted extraction result to the icon identification unit 340.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of icon identification display when the application is activated. The icon identification display means 340 controls the display so as to identify and display the corresponding icon according to the extraction result received from the extraction processing means 330 (S107). For example, an application based on high-speed communication cannot be used comfortably in a communication speed limited state, so the icon 400 is grayed out as in APP-03, APP-07, APP-08, APP-12. The identification display is performed by a scale display, a shaded display, or a display having a relatively small size. In order to grasp the current data communication environment, a state display 402 regarding whether or not communication is restricted may be displayed on a part of the display screen. The control unit 280 ends this sequence when the tethering communication ends.

  10A and 10B show other icon identification display examples. FIG. 10A shows a display example by mark superimposed display, and FIG. 10B shows a display example by changing the arrangement order of icons. In FIG. 10A, the icon identification display means 340 is difficult to use on the icons 400 of APP-03, APP-07, APP-08, and APP-12 that cannot be comfortably used. A mark display 404 is superimposed. As a result, the user can distinguish between applications that can be used comfortably and applications that cannot be comfortably used.

  In FIG. 10B, the icon identification display means 340 performs processing to change the order in which the icons are arranged and displayed. As a result, applications that can be used comfortably can be preferentially arranged at higher positions, and applications that can be used comfortably and applications that cannot be used comfortably can be spatially separated. Can be identified easily for the user.

  As described above, when the user activates the application, the user can easily identify the application that can be comfortably used and the application that cannot be comfortably used, thereby improving the convenience of the electronic device.

  In the above-described embodiment, the communication state determining unit 320 determines that the communication speed is in a restricted state when the communication speed is below the Kbps order. For example, if the current data speed is less than Kbps, the communication state determining unit 320 determines that the communication is difficult. Then, the extraction processing unit 330 extracts the application corresponding to the high-speed data communication as an application that cannot be used, and the icon identification display unit 340 can identify that the application cannot be used. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the data communication speed list is exemplified, but it is not always necessary to create such a list, and whether or not the icon or application supports high-speed data communication is individually set with a flag or the like. May be.

  In the above-described embodiment, the application of the icon identification display on the application startup screen displayed on the in-vehicle electronic device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the same icon identification display technology is used for the display unit of the smartphone serving as the access point. It is also possible to identify and display icons.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the invention described in the claims. Is possible.

20: Communication base station 30: Smart phone 40: On-vehicle electronic device 170: Tethering function unit 172: Access means 176: Device connection means 178: Communication information storage unit 230: Communication speed acquisition unit 240: Display unit 262: Data communication speed list 280: Control unit 300: Communication speed acquisition means 310: Communication speed list reading means 320: Communication speed determination means 330: Extraction processing means 340: Icon identification display 400: Icon 402: Status display 404: Mark display

Claims (8)

An electronic device that executes an application using a tethering function in a mobile terminal,
Display means for displaying each icon corresponding to a plurality of applications;
A communication state determining means for determining whether a high-speed communication capable state of high-speed communication or a communication speed limited state in which the communication speed is limited, according to the data communication speed by the tethering function;
Extracting means for extracting an application corresponding to high-speed data communication when the communication state determining means determines that the communication speed is in a restricted state;
Identification display means for identifying and displaying an icon according to the extraction result by the extraction means;
An electronic device. The communication state determination means includes a communication speed acquisition means for monitoring the data communication speed by the tethering function and acquiring the data communication speed,
The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication speed acquisition unit acquires a data communication speed between a communication base station and a mobile terminal or between the mobile terminal and the electronic apparatus. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a list in which communication information related to the plurality of applications is registered, and extracting an application corresponding to high-speed data communication based on the communication information registered in the list. . The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the list includes information related to a recommended communication speed of an application, a recommended communication environment, or a past communication speed record. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the identification display unit displays an icon corresponding to an application corresponding to high-speed data communication so as to be identified from an application not corresponding to high-speed data communication. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identification display unit divides and displays applications corresponding to high-speed data communication and applications not corresponding to high-speed data communication in groups. A communication system including a mobile terminal having a tethering function and an electronic device that executes an application using the tethering function of the mobile terminal,
The portable terminal is
Providing means for monitoring a data communication speed with a communication base station or a data communication speed with the electronic device and providing the data communication speed to the electronic device;
The electronic device is
Display means for displaying each icon corresponding to a plurality of applications;
Communication state determination for determining whether a high-speed communication is possible or a communication speed restriction state in which a communication speed is restricted according to the data communication speed output from the mobile terminal Means,
An extraction means for extracting an application corresponding to high-speed data communication when it is determined by the communication state determination means that the communication speed is limited
A communication system for identifying and displaying an icon in accordance with an extraction result by the extraction means. An icon display method for an application installed in an electronic device having a data communication function using a tethering function in a portable terminal ,
Determining whether it is in a high-speed communication enabled state capable of high-speed communication or a communication speed limited state in which the communication speed is limited according to the data communication speed by the tethering function ;
Extracting an application corresponding to high-speed data communication when it is determined that the communication speed is limited;
A step of identifying and displaying an icon according to the extraction result of the extracting step;
An icon display method.

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