JPH1069262A - Information providing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily prepare and change the screen of information to be provided, without the knowledge of programming. SOLUTION: Various information providing screens 30 are prepared with the set of objects 31-36 consisting of character data or image data showing information to be provided and control data for regulating the display mode of these data. The various screens 30 so prepared are controllably stored by pages with a means for filing information providing screens. With the objects 31-36 specified on the information providing screens 30, judgment is made if the control data of the objects 31-36 contain item data in the next page of the information providing screen. Then, if the item data of the next page are detected, the next page screen corresponding to such data is obtained from the storage/control data of the means for filing information providing screens, and is displayed in a display part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus for displaying information such as a bargain item on a display unit at a retail store and providing the information to a shopper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as an information providing device for a mass retailer such as a supermarket, a display of a CRT display or the like selectively displays a product information screen such as a special sale product or a recommended product, or a service information screen such as a regular holiday or a privilege. There are some that can be displayed. A conventional information providing device of this type displays a menu screen on a display unit so that the shopper can quickly provide desired information with a simple operation by the shopper himself. 1 by operation
When the user moves over a menu item and performs a designated operation (click), a screen of information to be provided corresponding to the menu item is displayed on the display unit.

[0003]

However, in this kind of conventional information providing apparatus, when a screen of information to be provided is created or the content of the screen is changed, software must be changed. However, there is a problem that it is not practical because a person who does not have specialized knowledge of programming cannot easily create or change a screen.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an information providing apparatus which can easily create a screen of information to be provided without any knowledge of programming and can enhance the practicality. Another object of the present invention is to provide an information providing apparatus capable of easily changing the screen of information to be provided without re-creating software, and improving the practicality.

[0005]

The invention according to claim 1 of the present application provides various kinds of information by a set of objects consisting of character data or image data representing information to be provided and control data defining a display mode of the data. Information providing screen creating means for creating a providing screen, information providing screen file means for storing and managing various information providing screens created by the creating means in page units, and objects on the information providing screen displayed on the display unit Next page determining means for determining whether the control data of the object specified by the specifying means includes the item data of the next page of the information providing screen, and the next page item data by the determining means. Is detected, the screen of the next page corresponding to the data is obtained from the information provision screen file means and displayed on the display unit. Is obtained by an information providing screen display control unit that presents.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing mode for selectively displaying various information providing screens on a display unit in addition to the information providing screen creating means, the information providing screen file means and the object designating means. Mode switching means for switching between an information editing mode for changing the content of an information providing screen, and input means for inputting character data, image data, and control data constituting the object, wherein the object is provided in a state where the information providing mode is selected. When the object is designated by the designation means, it is determined whether or not the control data of the designated object includes the item data of the next page of the information providing screen, and if it is included, the control data of the next page corresponding to the data is determined. The screen is obtained from the information provision screen file means and displayed on the display unit, and the information editing mode is selected. When an object is designated by the object specifying means, in which so as to modify the input value input by the input means data that constitutes the given object.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment,
The present invention is applied to an information providing device that is installed at a store entrance or a service counter of a mass retailer such as a supermarket, and in which a customer himself / herself operates an operation unit to obtain information on a bargain item or the like from an information providing screen displayed on a display unit. Shows the case where is applied.

The information providing apparatus is a computer-mounted device, and as shown in FIG. 1, a CPU (Centrl Processing Unit) 1 for controlling various processes such as instructions, storage and calculation.
0 and a ROM (Read Only Memoly) 11 in which fixed data such as operating system programs are stored in advance.
And a random access memory (RAM) having various memory areas for temporarily storing input data, arithmetic processing data, and the like.
Memoly) 12.

In addition to a clock section 13 for measuring the date and time, a communication interface 14 for controlling communication with other computer-equipped devices, reading of data stored in a floppy disk 15 and writing of data to the floppy disk 15 Controlling the floppy disk drive 16 that performs
DD controller 17, HDD controller 20 for controlling hard disk device 19 forming data file 18, keyboard controller 22 for controlling keyboard 21 as input means for inputting various data and commands, display unit for displaying information providing screen and the like CRT as
A display controller 24 for controlling the display 23, an I / O port 27 for inputting a signal from a mouse 25 functioning as an operation unit, and outputting a digital data signal given from the CPU 10 to the voice synthesizer 26 are provided. The CPU 10 and the ROM 11, RA
M12, clock unit 13, communication interface 14, FDD
Controller 17, HDD controller 20, keyboard controller 22, display controller 24 and I / O
The port 27 is connected to a bus line 28 such as an address bus and a data bus to constitute a control circuit of the information providing apparatus.

[0010] The information providing apparatus having the above-described configuration provides an information providing screen to be displayed on the CRT display 23,
It is created by a set of objects consisting of character data or image data representing information to be provided and control data defining a display mode of the data. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, various objects such as a text object 31, a button object 32, an area object 33, an icon object 34, a bitmap object 35, and a timer object 36 are displayed on a screen 30 of the CRT display 23. And create an information provision screen.

Here, the text object 31 is a data aggregate for displaying a set sentence on the screen 30. The button object 32 causes a heading character surrounded by a frame like a key button to be displayed on the screen 30, and causes the cursor 37 on the screen 30 to be positioned within the frame to perform a specified operation (click). It is a data aggregate.

The area object 33 is a data for displaying a picture or a picture which has been bit-mapped on the screen 30 and executing a predetermined operation by placing a cursor 37 in a frame surrounding the picture or the picture and performing a designated operation. It is an aggregate.
The icon object 34 is a data aggregate for displaying an icon (pictogram) on the screen 30 and executing a predetermined operation by pointing the cursor 37 at the icon and performing a designation operation.

The bitmap object 35 is displayed on the screen 3
This is a data aggregate for displaying a picture or a picture that has been bit-mapped on 0. The timer object 36 is displayed on the screen 30
This is a data aggregate that displays the time data set above and executes a predetermined operation after the set time has elapsed. Note that the predetermined operation is an operation of reproducing sound, an operation of switching a screen to a designated next page, and the like.

In the present embodiment, one screen of the information providing screen created by appropriately combining the various objects described above is called a "page", and the information providing apparatus stores various information providing screens in page units. Managing. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a page file 41, a font file 42, a background color file 43, an audio file 44, an icon file 45, a bitmap file 46, a text object file 47, a button object file 48, an area object file 49, Various data files 18 of the icon object file 50, the bitmap object file 51, and the timer object file 52 are set in the hard disk device 19.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the page file 41 includes pages P1 and P1 for identifying various information providing screens.
P2, P3,... Are files storing ID codes for individually specifying objects incorporated in the information providing screen. Incidentally, the ID code [TXnn] is the ID code of the text object 31, and [BUnnn]
Is an ID code of the button object 32 and [AR
nn] is the ID code of the area object 33,
[ICnn] is an ID code of the icon object 34, and [BMnn] is a bitmap object 35
[TMnn] is the ID code of the timer object 36.

The font file 42 is a file in which various font data for designating the font (basic characters, italic characters, emphasized characters, outline characters, etc.) of the characters of the object to be displayed on the screen are stored for each file number. The background color file 43 is a file in which various color data specifying the background color in the frame of the object displayed on the screen are stored for each file number.

The audio file 44 is a file in which various audio data generated when an object displayed on the screen is designated are stored for each file number. The icon file 45 is a file storing various icon data displayed as icon objects for each file number.

The bitmap file 46 is a file in which various bitmap data displayed as a bitmap object or an area object are stored for each file number. Each object file 47, 4
8, 49, 50, 51, and 52 store, for each ID code of the object incorporated in the various information providing screens, character data or image data forming the object and control data defining the display mode of the data. The stored file.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the text object file 47 includes the display reference position coordinates (X,
Y) and data for designating the size of the frame (W: width, H: height), and control data of a font file number and a background color file number. Button object file 4
Reference numeral 8 denotes the display reference position coordinates (X, Y) and the frame size (W: width), together with the character data of the heading character, corresponding to the ID code [BUnn] of the button object, as shown in FIG. , H: height),
Each control data includes a font file number, a background color file number, a voice file number, and next page data.

The area object file 49 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), corresponding to the ID code [ARnn] of the area object, the display reference position coordinates together with the file number of the bitmap file 46 storing the bitmap data to be displayed in the area as image data. (X, Y) and data for designating frame size (W: width, H: height), audio file number, and next page data are stored. As shown in FIG. 5D, the icon object file 50 corresponds to the ID code [ICnn] of the icon object,
In addition to the file number of the icon file 45 in which the icon data is stored, data specifying the display reference position coordinates (X, Y) and control data of the next page data are stored.

Bitmap object file 51
As shown in FIG. 5 (e), in accordance with the ID code [BMnn] of the bitmap object, together with the file number of the bitmap file 46 storing the bitmap data to be displayed as image data, the display standard Position coordinates (X, Y) and image size (W:
(Width, H: height).
As shown in FIG. 5F, the timer object file 52 stores the ID code [TMnn] of the timer object.
, Data for specifying the display reference position coordinates (X, Y) and control data for the next page data are stored together with the data of the set time (minute, second).

Here, page file 41, font file 42, background color file 43, audio file 44, icon file 45, bitmap file 46, text object file 47, button object file 48, area object file 49, icon object file The various data files 18, 50, the bitmap object file 51 and the timer object file 52 constitute an information providing screen file means.

Thus, the information providing apparatus according to the present embodiment selectively displays the information providing screen on the CRT display 23 to provide the shopper with information such as a bargain item, and the information providing mode of the information providing screen. The keyboard 21 is provided with mode switching means 29 (see FIG. 1) for switching between a screen editing mode for creating, changing, and deleting.

An information providing service program is installed so that the CPU 10 executes the processes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 to 10 in accordance with the mode selected by the mode switching means 29. The information providing business program is stored on a floppy disk 15, for example, as a computer-readable recording medium, read by the floppy disk device 16, and loaded into the program area of the RAM 12.

That is, the CPU 10 controls the RAM 1 under the control of the operating system program in the ROM 11.
As shown in FIG. 6, when the information providing business program loaded into the program 2 is started, the type of the mode selected by the mode switching means 29 is first determined as ST (step) 1. Here, when the information provision mode is selected, an initial menu screen of the information provision screen created by the collection of various objects is displayed on the CRT display 23 in ST2. Note that this initial menu screen acquires corresponding object data from each of the object files 47 to 52 based on the object ID code managed in the page P1 of the page file 41, and displays the object represented by the object data in one screen. It was created by sticking to.

Next, in step ST3, the CPU 10 waits until an object on the screen is designated by operating the mouse 25 functioning as object designating means. However, if the mode switching operation by the mode switching means 29 is detected in step ST4 during this standby, the process returns to step ST1 to determine the type of the newly selected mode.

If it is detected in ST3 that one of the objects on the screen has been designated by the mouse 25, the CPU 10 proceeds to ST5 and stores the object data corresponding to the ID code of the designated object in the corresponding object file. 47, 48, 49, 50,
Acquired from 51 or 52.

First, in step ST6, it is determined whether or not the audio data number is included in the object data. If an audio file number is detected, audio reproduction processing is performed in step ST7. That is, audio data corresponding to the audio file number is taken out from the audio file 44 and given to the audio synthesizer 26 via the I / O port 27 to reproduce the audio. Next, in ST8, it is determined whether the next page data is included in the object data (next page determination means). Then, when the next page data is detected, it is determined whether or not the next page data is “NONE” indicating that there is no next page in ST9.

If the next page data is not "NONE", first, at step ST10, the page file 4 is read.
From 1, the object ID code of the page corresponding to the next page data is read. Next, in ST11, object data corresponding to the read object ID code is obtained from each of the object files 47 to 52, and the information providing screen is edited by attaching the object represented by the object data to one screen. If the newly edited information providing screen is displayed on the CRT display 23 in ST12 (information providing screen display control means), the process returns to ST3. If the next page data does not exist in the object data in ST8, and if the next page data is “NONE” in ST9, the display of the current information providing screen is continued and the ST
Return to 3.

On the other hand, when the screen editing mode has been selected in ST1, the CPU 10, as shown in FIG.
In step ST13, the CRT display 23 displays a selection menu screen for tasks related to editing the information providing screen (screen creation task, screen change task, screen deletion task). In addition,
The screen editing task selection menu screen is a screen in which, for example, a serial number is associated with each task name, and the task corresponding to the number is selected by inputting the key by inputting the serial number or designating with the mouse 25. I can do it.

Then, the CPU 10 waits for any one of the tasks in the screen editing task menu to be selected by the key operation of the keyboard 21 or the designation operation of the mouse 25 in ST14. However, if the mode switching operation by the mode switching means 29 is detected in step ST15 during this standby, the process returns to step ST1 to determine the type of the newly selected mode.

If it is detected in ST14 that any one of the tasks in the screen editing menu has been selected, the CPU
10 executes the processing of the selected task. That is, when the screen creation task is selected in ST16, the screen creation process shown in FIG. 8 is executed (information providing screen creation means). First, as ST21, the page file 41
A value P obtained by adding “1” to the last page of the information processing screen stored and managed is issued as a page (newest page P) of the information providing screen to be newly created.

Next, at ST22, various objects (text object 31, button object 3
2, area object 33, icon object 3
4, bitmap object 35, timer object 36, etc.) on the CRT display 2
3 is displayed. The object selection menu screen is, for example, a screen in which a serial number and each object name are displayed in association with each other. I can do it.

Then, the CPU 10 waits for any one of the objects in the object menu to be selected by the key operation of the keyboard 21 or the designation operation of the mouse 25 in ST23. If it is detected that any one object is selected, S
At T24, the data editing screen of the selected object is displayed on the CRT display 23. This data editing screen is a screen that displays data items that must be input for the corresponding object.
By specifying an item in 5 and inputting desired characters, numerical values, and the like from the keyboard 21, data of the specified item can be input.

Incidentally, in the case of the text object 31, text data, data for specifying display reference position coordinates (X, Y) and frame size (W: width, H: height), font file number, background color file Number is a required data item. In the case of the button object 32, data specifying the character data of the heading character, display reference position coordinates (X, Y), and frame size (W: width, H: height);
The font file number, background color file number, audio file number, and next page data are essential data items.

In the case of the area object 33, data specifying the file number of the bitmap file 46, display reference position coordinates (X, Y) and frame size (W: width, H: height), an audio file number, Next page data is an essential data item. In the case of the icon object 34, the data items that specify the file number of the icon file 45, the display reference position coordinates (X, Y), and the next page data are essential data items.

In the case of the bitmap object 35,
The file number of the bitmap file 46, display reference position coordinates (X, Y), and image size (W: width, H:
Height) is a required data item. In the case of the timer object 36, data of the set time (minute, second), data specifying the display reference position coordinates (X, Y), and next page data are essential data items.

After displaying the data editing screen, the CP
U10 accepts data input of essential items of the object selected in ST25. The input data is displayed in a corresponding item area of the data editing screen. If the input is canceled by a key operation or the like in ST26 while accepting the input, the process returns to ST22 and returns to the display of the object selection menu screen.

When the CPU 10 confirms in step ST27 that the end of data entry of essential items has been declared by key operation or the like, the CPU 10 determines in step ST28 the object files 47, 48, 49, 50, and 5 of the selected object.
In 1 or 52, data of each item input together with the new object ID code is additionally registered. Also, S
If the new object ID code additionally registered in the object file in ST28 is set in the area of the latest page P in the page file 41 in T29, the process returns to ST22, and the object selection menu screen is displayed again.

Thereafter, if any one of the objects in the object menu is newly selected in ST23, the processes in ST24 to ST29 are repeated. After all objects constituting one page of the information providing screen are selected and essential data is input to the object, when the end of screen creation is declared by key operation or the like in ST30, the CPU 10 proceeds to ST31. From the page file 41, all the object ID codes set corresponding to the latest page P are read.
Next, in ST32, the object data corresponding to the read object ID code is acquired from each of the object files 47 to 52, and the object represented by the object data is attached to one screen, and the information providing screen created this time is displayed. After editing, ST33
The information providing screen is displayed on the CRT display 23.

Thereafter, when approval of the information providing screen created this time is declared by key operation or the like in ST34, S
Returning to T13 (see FIG. 7), the screen editing work selection menu screen is displayed again. If the cancellation of the information providing screen created this time is declared by a key operation or the like in ST35, all the object ID codes set corresponding to the latest page P are deleted from the page file 41 in ST36. In step ST37, object data corresponding to the deleted object ID code is stored in a corresponding one of the object files 47 to 47.
52. Thereafter, returning to ST22, the object selection menu screen is displayed again.

In FIG. 7, when the screen change job is selected from the screen edit job selection menu displayed on the CRT display 23 in ST17, the screen change process shown in FIG. 9 is executed. First, in step ST41, a screen showing a list of pages P1, P2, P3,... Of various information providing screens stored and managed in the page file 41 and a corresponding object structure (object ID code) is displayed on the CRT display 23. .

Next, in step ST42, the process waits for a page (change page P) of the information providing screen to be changed by a key operation of the keyboard 21 or a designation operation of the mouse 25 to be input. Then, if the changed page P is input, all object IDs set corresponding to the changed page P from the page file 41 are inputted in ST43.
Read the code. Then, in step ST44, object data corresponding to the read object ID code is obtained from each of the object files 47 to 52.
The object represented by the object data is 1
When the information providing screen to be changed is edited according to the screen, the information providing screen is displayed on the CRT display 23 in ST45.

Thereafter, the CPU 10 waits for an object on the screen to be designated by operating the mouse 25 functioning as object designating means in ST46. Then, when it is detected that one object on the screen is designated, the data editing screen of the selected object is displayed on the CRT display 23 in ST47. Note that this data edit screen is a screen that displays data items that must be input for the corresponding object, similar to the data edit screen at the time of the screen creation process. The object data corresponding to the object ID code is displayed. Then, by specifying the item to be changed with the mouse 25 and inputting the changed character, numerical value, etc. from the keyboard 21, the data of the specified item can be changed.

Then, the CPU 10 receives the data input of the change item in ST48. Note that, if the cancellation of the input is declared by a key operation or the like as ST49 during the reception of the input, the process returns to ST43, executes the processes of ST43 to ST45, and returns to the display of the information providing screen to be changed.

When the CPU 10 confirms in step ST50 that the data input end of the changed item has been declared by a key operation or the like, in step ST51, the CPU 10 replaces the data of the object file corresponding to the object ID code of the object whose change is specified with the changed one. Update by rewriting the data (object updating means). Thereafter, the process returns to ST43, and executes the processing of ST43 to ST45 to display the changed information providing screen on the CRT display 23.

Thereafter, if it is confirmed in ST46 that one of the objects on the screen has been designated again,
Steps ST47 to ST51 and ST43 to ST45 are repeated. On the other hand, when the end of the change is declared by a key operation or the like in ST52, the process returns to ST41, and the pages P1, P2, P3,... Of the various information providing screens and the list screen of the corresponding object structures are displayed on the CRT display 23. To be displayed again.

Here, if the page P of the information providing screen to be changed in ST42 is input again, the process proceeds to ST43.
To 51 are repeated. On the other hand, if the end of the change is declared by key operation or the like in ST53,
Returning to T13 (see FIG. 7), the screen editing work selection menu screen is displayed again.

In FIG. 7, when it is confirmed from the screen editing task selection menu displayed on the CRT display 23 that the screen deleting task has been selected in ST18, the screen deleting process shown in FIG. 10 is executed. First, ST
As 61, the pages P1, P2, P3,... Of the various information providing screens stored and managed in the page file 41 and a list screen of the corresponding object structures are displayed on the CRT display 23.

Next, in step ST62, the process waits for a page of the information providing screen (deletion page P) to be deleted by a key operation of the keyboard 21 or a designation operation of the mouse 25. Then, if the deletion page P is input, all object IDs set corresponding to the deletion page P are set from the page file 41 in ST63.
Read the code. Then, in step ST64, object data corresponding to the read object ID code is obtained from each of the object files 47 to 52.
The object represented by the object data is 1
When the information providing screen to be deleted is edited according to the screen, the information providing screen is displayed on the CRT display 23 in ST65.

Here, if the deletion of the information provision screen is declared by key operation or the like in ST66, ST
Returning to 61, pages P1, P2, P of various information provision screens
Return to the display of the list screen of the object structure corresponding to 3,. On the other hand, when the deletion of the information providing screen is declared by key operation or the like in ST67,
In ST68, all the object ID codes set corresponding to the above-mentioned deleted page P are deleted from the page file 41. In step ST69, the object data corresponding to the deleted object ID code is deleted from the corresponding object files 47 to 52. Further, if the sorting process of the page file 41, that is, the process of moving up the data after the deleted page P deleted one page at a time in ST70, is performed.
Returning to T61, pages P1, P2 and P2 of various information providing screens
A list screen of P3,... And the corresponding object structure is displayed on the CRT display 23 again.

Here, if the page P of the information providing screen to be deleted in ST62 is input again, the process proceeds to ST63.
Steps 70 to 70 are repeated. On the other hand, if the end of deletion is declared by key operation or the like in ST71, S
Returning to T13 (see FIG. 7), the screen editing work selection menu screen is displayed again.

In the information providing apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above, the mode switching means 2 of the keyboard 21
By selecting the screen editing mode and further selecting the screen creation operation by the user, an information providing screen can be easily created without special programming.

For example, when creating the initial menu screen P1 of the information providing screen shown in FIG. 11A, the keyboard 21 and the mouse 25 are operated in the following procedure. That is,
Since the object selection menu screen is displayed on the CRT display 23 by selecting the screen creation job, first, a text object is selected in order to create a text object TX01 of the sentence "Today's special sale item". Then, the CRT display 23
Displays a text object data editing screen. According to the screen, the text data “Today's special sale item”, the display reference position coordinates and the frame size data “X1, Y
1, W1, H1 ", the font file number" 99 ", and the background color file number" 99 ", the data input end is declared.

Thus, in the text object file 47, the text data "today's special sale item", the display reference position coordinates and the frame size data "X1, Y1, W1, H" are stored in correspondence with the text object ID code TX01.
1 ", the font file number" 99 ", and the background color file number" 99 "are registered. The text object ID code TX01 is set in the page P1 area of the page file 41. The screen of the CRT display 23 returns to the object selection menu screen.

Next, a button object is selected to create a button object BU01 with the heading "Fruit". Then, a data editing screen of the button object is displayed on the CRT display 23.
According to the screen, heading data "fruit", display reference position coordinates and frame size data "X2, Y2, W2, H2",
Font file number “99”, background color file number “9”
9 ", the voice file number 11, and the next page data P2 are input, the end of data input is declared.

Thus, in the button object file 48, the heading data "fruit", the display reference position coordinates and the frame size data "X2, Y2, W2, H2" and the font file number "corresponding to the button object ID code BU01" 99, background color file number "99", audio file number 11, and next page data P2. The button object ID code BU01 is set in the page P1 area of the page file 41. The screen of the CRT display 23 returns to the object selection menu screen.

Next, the button object is selected again to create the button object BU02 of the heading "vegetables". Then, a data editing screen of the button object is displayed on the CRT display 23. According to the screen, the heading data "vegetable", the display reference position coordinates and the frame size data "X3, Y3, W3, H" are displayed.
3 ", font file number" 99 ", background color file number" 99 ", audio file number 22, next page data P3
Is input, declare the end of data input.

Thus, in the button object file 48, the heading data "vegetables", the display reference position coordinates and the frame size data "X3, Y3, W3, H3", and the font file number "corresponding to the button object ID code BU02" 99, background color file number "99", audio file number 22, and next page data P3. The button object ID code BU02 is set in the page P1 area of the page file 41. The screen of the CRT display 23 returns to the object selection menu screen.

Thereafter, similarly, a button object BU03 of the heading "Fresh Fish and Meat" and a button object BU04 of the heading "Others" are created. Then, declare the end of screen creation. Then, the object ID code group corresponding to the page P1 shown in FIG. 11B is read from the page file 41, and the object data shown in FIG. 11B is read from the text object file 47 and the button object file 48. Then, the initial menu screen P1 of the information providing screen created this time is displayed on the CRT display 23.

Therefore, if there is no problem on the initial menu screen P1 of the information providing screen, approval is declared. Then, the object ID of the page P1 shown in FIG.
The code data is stored and managed in the page file 41, and each object data shown in FIG. 11C is stored and managed in the text object file 47 and the button object file 48, respectively.

Next, a case where a special sale item information provision screen P2 shown in FIG. 12A is created as an information provision screen when the button object BU01 of the heading "fruit" on the initial menu screen P1 is designated and operated. , The keyboard 21 and the mouse 25 are operated in the following procedure. That is, in the state where the object selection menu screen is displayed on the CRT display 23, first, “Today's special sale item”
A text object is selected to create a text object TX01 of the following text. Then, C
The data display screen of the text object is displayed on the RT display 23. According to the screen, the text data "Today's special sale item", the display reference position coordinates and the frame size data "X1, Y1, W1, H1", the font file When the number “99” and the background color file number “99” are input, the end of data input is declared.

Thus, in the text object file 47, the text data "today's special sale item", the display reference position coordinates and the frame size data "X1, Y1, W1, H" corresponding to the text object ID code TX01 are stored.
1 ", the font file number" 99 ", and the background color file number" 99 "are registered. The text object ID code TX01 is set in the page P2 area of the page file 41. The screen of the CRT display 23 returns to the object selection menu screen.

Next, an area object is selected to create an area object AR01 displaying bitmap data "grape". Then, the data editing screen of the area object is displayed on the CRT display 23. According to the screen, the bitmap file data "BM No. 99", the display reference position coordinates and the frame size data "X6, Y6, W6, H6" , Audio file number 55, and next page data None, the end of data input is declared.

Thus, in the area object file 49, bitmap file data “BM No. 99”,
Display reference position coordinates and frame size data "X6, Y6, W
6, H6 ", audio file number 55, next page data N
One input data is registered. The area object ID code AR01 is set in the page P2 area of the page file 41. The screen of the CRT display 23 returns to the object selection menu screen.

Thereafter, similarly, a text object TX02 of a sentence "grape 1 pack" and "350 yen"
A text object TX03 of the following text, a button object BU05 of the heading “Go to the next”, and a button object BU06 of the heading “End” are created.

Thereafter, the end of screen creation is declared. Then, an object ID code group corresponding to the page P2 shown in FIG. 12B is read from the page file 41, and further, the text object file 47, the button object file 48, and the area object file 49 are shown in FIG. Each object data is read, and the special sale item information provision screen P2 created this time
Is displayed on the CRT display 23.

Then, if there is no problem on the special sale item information provision screen P2, the approval is declared. Then, FIG.
The object ID code data of the page P2 shown in (b) is stored and managed in the page file 41, and FIG.
Are stored and managed in a text object file 47, a button object file 48, and an area object file 49, respectively.

Thus, an initial menu screen is created as page P1, a special sale information providing screen for fruits is created as pages P2 and P6, a special sale information providing screen for vegetables is created as page P3, and fresh fish is created as page P4. And a meat sale item information providing screen is created, and another page of the special sale item information providing screen is created as page P5.

In this state, when the information providing mode is selected by the mode switching means 29, an initial menu screen P1 shown in FIG. 11A is displayed on the CRT display 23. Here, the shopper operates the mouse 25 to move the cursor 37 on the initial menu screen into the frame of the button object BU01 of “fruit” in order to obtain the special sale information of the fruit, and performs a designation operation. Since the next page data “P2” is set in the object data of the object BU01, the CRT display 2
3 shows a screen P for providing a special sale item information of fruits shown in FIG.
2 is displayed. This allows the shopper to know that today's special sale among fruits is “grape”.

Thereafter, the shopper operates the mouse 25 to move the cursor 37 on the special sale item information provision screen P2 to "next".
Is moved to the button object BU05, and the next page data “P6” is set in the object data of the button object BU05. Therefore, other fruits stored and managed as the page P6 on the CRT display 23 are displayed. Is displayed.

When the shopper operates the mouse 25 to move the cursor 37 on the bargain information providing screen P2 to the button object BU06 of "end" and designates it, the object data of the button object BU06 Is set to the next page data "P1", the screen of the CRT display 23 returns to the initial menu screen P1.

Now, the text in the text object TX03 on the special sale item information providing screen P2 is changed to “350”.
Assuming that the character is changed from "circle" to "300 yen" and the size of the font and the frame are also changed, the operator selects the screen editing mode by the mode switching means 29, and further selects the screen changing operation.

Then, on the CRT display 23, a screen showing a list of pages P1, P2, P3,... Of various information providing screens stored and managed in the page file 41 and a list of object structures (object ID codes) corresponding thereto. Then, the page P2 of the bargain information providing screen is input.

As a result, the special sale item information providing screen P2 shown in FIG. 12A is displayed on the CRT display 23, and the mouse 25 is operated to move the cursor 37 to the button object BU05 to be changed. Perform the specified operation. Then, the CRT display 23 is shown in FIG.
The data editing screen of the text object shown in FIG. 3 is displayed, and the text data “350 yen” in the screen is displayed.
To “300 yen” and display reference position coordinates and frame size data from “X8, Y8, W8, H8” to “Xa, Ya, W”.
a, Ha "and the font file number from" 99 "to" 8 ".
8 ".

Thereafter, the end of data input is declared. Then, the changed screen shown in FIG. 14A is displayed on the CRT display 23 as the special sale item information provision screen P2. After confirmation, the end of the change is declared. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14C, the data corresponding to the text object ID code TX03 in the text object file 47 becomes the text data “300”.
Circle ", display reference position coordinates and frame size data" Xa, Y
a, Wa, Ha ", the font file number" 88 ", and the background color file number" 99 ". The object I corresponding to the page P2 in the page file 41
The D code data and the object data corresponding to other objects on the screen P2 are not changed.

For example, when deleting the bargain information providing screen P2, the operator selects the screen editing mode by the mode switching means 29, and further selects the screen deleting operation.

Then, a screen showing a list of pages P1, P2, P3,... Of various information providing screens stored and managed in the page file 41 and a list of object structures (object ID codes) corresponding thereto is displayed on the CRT display 23. Then, the page P2 of the bargain information providing screen is input. Thereby, the CRT display 23
, A special sale item information provision screen P2 shown in FIG. 12A is displayed, and a deletion execution is declared.

Then, the object ID codes TX01, A corresponding to page P2 are read from page file 41.
R01, TX02, TX03, BU05, and BU06 are deleted. Further, the object data of the ID codes TX01, TX02, TX03 is deleted from the text object file 47, and the button object file 4 is deleted.
8, the object data of the ID codes BU05 and BU06 is deleted, and the object data of the ID code AR01 is deleted from the area object file 49.

As described above, according to the information providing apparatus of the present embodiment, various information providing screens can be created without changing software, so that even a person who does not have specialized knowledge about programming can do so. Thus, a desired information providing screen can be created easily and in a short time. Also, when the created information providing screen is changed or deleted, it can be easily dealt with without changing the software. Therefore, even a person who does not have specialized knowledge about programming can freely create, change, and delete the information providing screen, thereby improving the practicality.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the mouse 25 is shown as the operation unit of the information providing device, but a keyboard, a joystick, or the like may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, the information providing business program is stored on the floppy disk 15. However, the CD-ROM which is a computer-readable recording medium is used.
The information providing business program may be stored in a ROM, a memory card, a magnetic tape, or the like, and a data reading mechanism for these recording media may be provided to load the information providing business program. In addition, it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0083]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide an information providing apparatus that can easily create a screen of information to be provided without any programming knowledge, and that can improve practicality. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information providing apparatus which can easily change the screen of information to be provided without re-creating software, and which can improve the practicality.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of an information providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of an object configuration of an information providing screen according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data file according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a data structure of a page file shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view showing a data structure of various object files shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an information provision mode selection process of the information provision business program in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a screen editing mode selection process of the information providing business program.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart specifically showing a screen creation process in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart specifically showing a screen change process in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart specifically showing a screen deletion process in FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is an exemplary view showing an example of an initial menu screen and a data structure of an information provision screen according to the embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a view showing an example of an information providing screen and its data structure in the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a view showing an example of a data editing screen in the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a view showing an example of a screen after changing the information provision screen shown in FIG. 12 and its data structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... CPU 11 ... ROM 12 ... RAM 15 ... Floppy disk 18 ... Data file 21 ... Keyboard 23 ... CRT display 25 ... Mouse 26 ... Voice synthesizer 29 ... Mode switching means 41 ... Page file 47 ... Text object file 48 ... Button object File 49: Area object file 50: Icon object file 51: Bitmap object file 52: Timer object file

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Agency reference number FI Technical display location G06F 17/60 G09G 5/36 530B G09G 5/36 530 G06F 15/21 Z

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An information providing apparatus for selectively displaying various information providing screens on a display unit, comprising: an object comprising character data or image data representing information to be provided and control data defining a display mode of the data. Information providing screen creating means for creating the various information providing screens by a set of information providing information providing screen file means for storing and managing the various information providing screens created by the creating means in page units; Object specifying means for specifying an object on the information providing screen, and next page determining means for determining whether control data of the object specified by the specifying means includes item data of the next page of the information providing screen, When the item data of the next page is detected by this judging means, the screen of the next page corresponding to the data is displayed at the previous page. Information providing apparatus to an information providing screen display control means acquires from the information providing screen file means to be displayed on the display unit, characterized by comprising a. 2. An information providing apparatus for selectively displaying various information providing screens on a display unit, wherein an object comprising character data or image data representing information to be provided and control data defining a display mode of the data. Information providing screen creating means for creating the various information providing screens by a set of information providing information providing screen file means for storing and managing the various information providing screens created by the creating means in page units; and the various information providing screens Mode switching means for switching between an information providing mode for selectively displaying the information on the display unit and an information editing mode for changing the content of the information providing screen; and input means for inputting character data, image data and control data constituting the object. Specifying an object on the information providing screen displayed on the display unit. When an object is specified by the object specifying unit in a state where the information providing mode is selected, whether the control data of the specified object includes the item data of the next page of the information providing screen Next page determining means for determining, and when the next page item data is detected by the determining means, information of the next page corresponding to the data is acquired from the information providing screen file means and displayed on the display unit. When an object is specified by the object specifying unit in a state where the information editing mode is selected, the data constituting the specified object is corrected to an input value input by the input unit. An information providing apparatus, comprising: