JPH11259353A - Information operating device, information processor, and its method, and storage medium for recording information processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To move or copy information of an information processor to the same or another information processor by requesting the information processor to input information stored in a storing part at a preliminarily designated position and also sending the information. SOLUTION: A user designates a display position (input position) of information to be copied. The position specification is performed by an operation on a screen using an information pickup device 1 and a mouse provided in an inputting part. The user operates a paste switch of the device 1 body after designating the input position. The device 1 sends a paste request to an information processor 11B from a communicating part when the paste switch is operated and sends information which is acquired from an information processor 11A and stored in a RAM. When the processor 11B receives the paste request from the device 1, it executes receiving processing of information sent from the device 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information operating apparatus which can perform an operation of moving or copying information between information processing apparatuses as if moving an article. The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that performs copying, an information processing method in the information processing apparatus, and a recording medium that stores an information processing program that executes the information processing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer has a copy (or cut) in which information can be moved or copied (hereinafter, these operations are simply referred to as copying) even between different applications. & Paste function is provided. As is well known, the copy and paste function is a function (copy function or cut function) for loading information such as characters and figures designated by the user on the screen into a memory (clipboard), and another function designated by the user. (Paste function). Note that the copy function leaves information at the original position, and the cut function leaves no information at the original position.

In copying information by a copy and paste function, an operation of designating information on a screen, an operation of loading this information into a clipboard, an operation of designating a copy position on a screen, and an operation of pasting information at a designated copy position Is performed, but for the user, this operation can be performed as if moving an article,
Copying of information in the information processing device was easy.

[0004] The copy and paste function only supports the user to copy information in the information processing apparatus, but does not support copying of information between information processing apparatuses. That is, the information taken into the clipboard cannot be pasted to another information processing device. For this reason, when copying information from one information processing apparatus to another information processing apparatus, some communication software is started, data communication is performed between these information processing apparatuses, and one information processing apparatus transmits the other information. This is done by transferring information to the processing device.

[0005]

However, since the operation of starting communication software and starting data communication between information processing apparatuses is complicated, it is difficult to move articles as in the copy and paste described above. There is a problem that a user who cannot operate with a feeling and is unfamiliar with the information processing apparatus cannot easily copy data between the information processing apparatuses.

An object of the present invention is to provide a function of mediating information when transferring or copying information from an information processing apparatus to the same or another information processing apparatus, thereby providing an article as if it were a known copy and paste. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information operation device which can be operated with a feeling of moving.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of moving or copying information by the information operating device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information processing method in the above information processing apparatus and a recording medium recording an information processing program for executing the information processing method.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an information operating device used to take in information of an information processing device and move or copy the information to the same or another information processing device. A first communication unit for receiving the information transmitted from the information processing apparatus, a storage unit for storing the information received by the first communication unit, and a storage unit for storing the information in a predetermined position. A second communication unit for making an input request for the information stored in the unit and transmitting the information.

In this configuration, the first communication means requests the information processing device to transmit information specified in advance, and receives and stores the information transmitted from the information processing device.
Further, the second communication unit requests the information processing apparatus to input information stored in the storage unit at a position designated in advance, and transmits the information. The information processing apparatus that has received the input request inputs the transmitted information to the designated position. Thereby, the information of the information processing device can be moved or copied to the same or another information processing device.

As described above, the information to be moved or copied in the information processing apparatus is specified in advance, and the input position of the information to be moved or copied is also specified in advance. Further, since the storage unit of the information operating device functions similarly to the clipboard in copy and paste, information can be moved or copied to the same or another information processing device as if exchanging articles. Therefore, a user who is not used to operating the information processing apparatus can easily move or copy information.

Further, the first communication means and the second communication means
Operability of the information operating device is improved, and transfer or copying of information between information processing devices can be performed more easily.

Further, the first communication means and the second communication means
By providing the notification means for notifying the communication state of the communication means, the user can be notified of the communication state (error occurrence, communication completion, etc.) with the information processing apparatus.

Further, the information processing apparatus of the present invention transmits predetermined information when receiving the transmission request from the information operating device, and receives the information at a predetermined position when receiving the display request. And a control unit for inputting the obtained information.

[0015]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of an information pickup device (information operation device according to the present invention) according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the structure of the information pickup device. FIG. The information pickup device 1 of this embodiment is a pen-type device as shown in FIG. The information pickup device 1 includes a control unit 2 that includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and controls the operation of the main body, a communication unit 3 that communicates with an information processing device, and an operation unit 4 that includes a start switch for processing to be described later.
And a display unit 5 for displaying information and the like obtained from the information processing device. The communication unit 3 performs communication with the information processing apparatus by using the well-known IrDA (infrared data communication), and the light emitting element 3a and the light receiving element 3
b. The operation unit 4 executes a process of acquiring information from the information processing device (first communication means in the present invention) and executes a process of inputting information to the copy switch 4a and the information processing device (in the present invention). (Second communication means) A paste switch 4b is provided. The ROM (not shown) provided in the control unit 2 stores a program for controlling the operation of the main body, and the program executes the operation described later.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing apparatus of this embodiment. The information processing apparatus 11 includes a control unit 12 that controls the operation of the main body, a communication unit 13 that communicates with the information pickup device 1, an input unit 14 that has input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, and data that is input. And a display unit 15 for displaying. Control unit 12
Includes a ROM storing an operation program and a RAM used as a working area during operation. The communication unit 13 communicates with the information pickup device 1 by IrDA. The display unit 15 is provided with a well-known touch panel, and has a configuration in which an input operation can be performed on a screen. When the information processing apparatus 11 is started, the operation program is supplied to the control unit 2 from a recording medium such as a ROM or a hard disk, and performs the following operations.

Next, a process of copying information of one information processing apparatus 11A to another information processing apparatus 11B using the information pickup device 1 of this embodiment will be described. The information processing device 11A and the information processing device 11
B is the configuration shown in FIG. In this processing, the information of the information processing apparatus 11A is temporarily
The information is copied from the information pickup device 1 to the information processing apparatus 11B (see FIG. 4). Thus, the information pickup device 1 functions as a mediator of information between the information processing apparatuses 11A and 11B.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of the information pickup device, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of the information processing apparatus which has received a copy request from the information pickup device, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a paste request from the information pickup device. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the information processing apparatus which received. The user presses the tip of the information pickup device 1 on the display screen of the information processing device 11A as shown in FIG.
1B, information to be moved or copied (hereinafter, these operations are simply referred to as copying) is designated. Information processing device 11A
Detects the position on the screen of the display unit 15 pressed by the tip of the information pickup device 1 by the touch panel 21, thereby recognizing the information specified on the screen. Note that the information may be designated so as to surround the information on the screen at the tip of the information pickup device 1 as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 8), and FIG.
As shown in (C), the user may specify two points X and Y, and information in a rectangle in which a line connecting the two points X and Y is a diagonal may be the specified information. Further, desired information can be designated by moving a cursor on the screen with a mouse or the like provided in the input unit 14. When the user specifies the information, the user operates the copy switch 4a of the information pickup device 1.

When the copy switch 4a is operated (n1), the information pickup device 1 operates
A copy request is transmitted to A (n3). The information pickup device 1 and the information processing device 11 are IrD
Communicate with A. Proceeding to FIG. 6, the information processing apparatus 11A
When a copy request is received from the information pickup device 1, information specified in advance on the screen by the user is stored in the clipboard (n21), and the information stored in the clipboard is transmitted from the communication unit 13 to the information pickup device 1.
(N22). If an error occurs in the transmission of this information, the information processing apparatus 11A performs error processing and ends the processing (n23 → n24). If no error occurs, the information processing apparatus 11A performs error processing without performing error processing. The process ends.

Returning to FIG. 5, the information pickup device 1 receives the information transmitted from the information processing apparatus 11A by the communication unit 3 (n4), and provides the received information to the control unit 2 if no error occurs. (N5)
→ n6). If an error occurs during the reception of the information, an error process is performed and the process ends (n5 → n).
7). In addition, the information pickup device 1 displays a message indicating that communication is in progress on the display unit 5 while receiving information from the information processing apparatus 11A, and switches the display to “communication completed” when communication is completed. This display notifies the user of the communication state with the information processing apparatus 11A. In addition, even if the received information is displayed on the display unit 5 instead of the above-described display during communication, the user can be notified of the progress of the communication. Further, the communication state may be notified by blinking an indicator lamp or beeping sound. Further, when an error occurs, an error message is displayed on the display unit 5 to notify the user of the occurrence of the error.

Next, a process of transmitting information from the information pickup device 1 to the information processing apparatus 11B will be described. The user specifies the display position (input position) of the information to be copied. This position can also be specified by an operation on the screen by the information pickup device 1 or an operation of a mouse provided on the input unit 14. After designating the input position, the user operates the paste switch 4b of the information pickup device 1 main body.

Returning to FIG. 5, when the paste switch 4b is operated (n2), the information pickup device 1
The paste request is transmitted from the communication unit 3 to the information processing device 11B (n8), and the information acquired from the information processing device 11A and stored in the RAM is transmitted in the above processing (n9). Proceeding to FIG. 7, upon receiving the paste request from the information pickup device 1, the information processing apparatus 11B executes a process of receiving information transmitted from the information pickup device 1 (n31). When an error occurs in communication with the information pickup device 1, the information processing apparatus 11B performs error processing and ends the processing (n35). On the other hand, when the communication is completed without any error, the received information is stored in the clipboard (n33), and the information stored in the clipboard is pasted at a position designated in advance on the screen (n34). Thereby, the information processing device 11
The information of A is copied to the information processing device 11B.

Returning to FIG. 5, the information pickup device 1 terminates this processing if no error occurs in the information transmission processing in n9, and performs an error processing in n11 if an error occurs, and executes this processing. finish. In the information pickup device 1, the information processing device 11
Also at the time of communication with B, a display such as "communicating" is displayed in the same manner as at the time of communication with the information processing apparatus 11A, to notify the user of the communication state.

As described above, copying of data between the information processing apparatuses 11 includes an operation of designating information of the information processing apparatus 11A on the screen, an operation of taking this information into the information pickup device 1 (an operation of the copy switch 4a),
The operation can be performed by four operations: an operation of designating an information input position on the screen of the information processing device 11B, and an operation of pasting information from the information pickup device 1 to the information processing device 11B (operation of the paste switch 4b). These four operations are almost the same as the conventional copy and paste,
Information processing device 11 as if moving an article
Information can be copied between the two. Therefore, the copying operation of information between the information processing apparatuses 11 can be easily performed, and it is possible to support the copying of information between the information processing apparatuses 11 to a user unfamiliar with the operation of the information processing apparatuses 11. Further, the information pickup device 1 is a pen-type device as described above, and is arranged at a position where the copy switch 4a and the paste switch 4b can be operated while holding the information pickup device 1 like a pen. The above-described series of operations can be performed without switching, and operability is also good.

In the above-described embodiment, the communication between the information pickup device 1 and the information processing apparatus 11 is performed by IrDA. However, the communication may be performed by radio communication by electromagnetic waves or communication by wire.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which information of one information processing apparatus 11A is copied to the other information processing apparatus 11B.
From the information processing device 11
By making a paste request to A and transmitting the information, the information taken in from the information processing device 11A can be copied to the same information processing device 11A. For example, even if the information processing apparatus 11A is once turned off after information is extracted from the information processing apparatus 11A to the information pickup device 1, the information is copied to the information pickup device 11A immediately after the power is turned on again. Can be.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. The information pickup device 1 of this embodiment sequentially takes in a plurality of pieces of information from the information
Can be stored in AM. A plurality of pieces of information stored in the RAM can be displayed on the display unit 5, and a selection switch 4c for selecting arbitrary information from the information is provided (see FIG. 9). When the paste switch 4b is operated, the information selected by the selection switch 4c is transmitted to the information processing device 11.

The information pickup device 1 of this embodiment is also substantially the same as that of the above-described embodiment, but when the copy switch 4a is operated, the information transmitted from the information processing device 11A is transferred to another RAM in the RAM. The information is stored in an area where no information is stored. Thereby, a plurality of pieces of information can be stored in the RAM of the information pickup device 1. If there is no free area for storing information in the RAM, the oldest information stored in the RAM is deleted in order, and the information is stored (overwritten) in that area.

As shown in FIG. 10A, a plurality of pieces of information stored in the RAM are sequentially displayed on the display unit 5.
The currently selected information is highlighted on the display unit 5 (surrounded by a broken line in the figure), and is shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C by operating the selection switch 4c. The selected information is switched in sequence. When the paste switch 4b is operated, the information pickup device 1 transmits a paste request to the information processing device 11B, and transmits information selected at that time. Therefore, the information selected by the information pickup device 1 can be copied to the information processing device 11B.

As described above, in the information pickup device 1 having this configuration, a plurality of pieces of information taken from the information processing apparatus 11A can be sequentially copied to the information processing apparatus 11B. Therefore, even when the information processing apparatus 11A and the information processing apparatus 11B are installed in remote places and a plurality of pieces of information stored in the information processing apparatus 11A are copied to the information processing apparatus 11B, A plurality of pieces of information are sequentially taken into the pickup device 1 from the information processing apparatus 11A. The user goes to the installation location of the copying apparatus 11B, and sequentially reads the information stored in the information pickup device 1.
Copy to 1. It can be done with such a simple operation. For example, the information processing device 11
If B is an automatic resident card issuance machine that inputs multiple information such as addresses and names installed in city halls and issues a resident card for the relevant person, Incorporate in advance in the information pickup device 1,
By going to a city hall with this information pickup device 1 and pasting the necessary information to the automatic resident's card issuing machine from the information pickup device 1 one by one, multiple pieces of information such as addresses and names can be easily input. You can receive a resident card.

Further, the information pickup device 1 may be provided with a reset switch so that the selected information is deleted when the reset switch is operated, or all information stored in the information pickup device 1 may be erased. May be deleted. This allows
Unnecessary information stored in the information pickup device 1 can be erased. Further, a function of displaying the free space of the RAM by a numerical value (a converted value of the number of bytes or the number of characters), a graph, or the like may be provided. This allows the user to recognize how much information can be stored in the information pickup device 1.

The operation modes of the information pickup device 1 include a mode in which information stored in the RAM is erased when pasted into the information processing apparatus 11, a mode in which the information stored in the RAM is held until reset, and a mode in which the information is stored in the RAM. A mode may be provided in which the information is overwritten with newly imported information, and the user may select an arbitrary mode from the three modes.

Further, the information processing apparatus 11 may be provided with a function of compressing information and transmitting it to the information pickup device 1 and a function of expanding information received from the information pickup device 1. By doing so, the storage capacity of the information pickup device can be reduced. Conversely, the same effect can be obtained by providing a function of compressing and storing the information received by the information pickup device 1 and a function of expanding and outputting the stored information.

As shown in FIG. 11A, not only the information body but also the data format (text data, image data, audio data, etc.) and the name of the information (address, name, date of birth, etc.) The information may be exchanged between the information pickup device 1 and the information processing apparatus 11 by having it. In this case, if not only the information body but also its name is displayed on the display section 5 of the information pickup device 1 (see FIG. 11B), desired information can be selected from the information stored in the information pickup device 1. You will be able to choose easily. Furthermore, if the data format is transmitted to the information processing device 1 in addition to the information body, the information processing device 1 recognizes the data format of the information transmitted from the information pickup device 1 and performs processing according to the data format. The program can be activated and processed, and the information transmitted from the information pickup device 1 can be appropriately processed.

Further, the information processing apparatus 11 may be provided with a function of converting the information received from the information pickup device 1 into a common code system that is not defined by a specific application such as text or GIF. In this way, information can be copied between the information processing apparatuses 11 having different OSs.

Further, the information pickup device 1 is provided with a function of instructing the information processing device 11 to move the cursor displayed on the screen of the information processing device 11 (input operation similar to a mouse) by IrDA. By doing so, the information pickup device 1 can be used as an input device equivalent to a mouse.

The information processing apparatus 11A may be provided with a function of transmitting, when a copy request is received from the information pickup device 1, information specified together with a paste request to the information processing apparatus 11B for copying the information. (See FIG. 12). This makes it possible to copy information from the information processing device 11A to the information processing device 11B more easily.

If the information specified at the time of receiving the copy request from the information processing apparatus 11 is larger than a predetermined capacity, a function of dividing the information into a predetermined capacity and transmitting the information to the information pickup device 1 is provided. You may. here,
Assuming that the predetermined capacity is the storage capacity of the information in the information pickup device 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, by copying between the information processing apparatuses 11 by a predetermined capacity, the storage capacity of the information pickup device 1 is exceeded. Large-capacity information is also transmitted from the information processing device 11A to the
1B.

Further, an embodiment in which the information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to home electric appliances will be described. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. In this embodiment,
An Internet TV 21 that provides recipes (heating temperature, heating time, and the like) of dishes delivered via the Internet and the like, and a range 22 that cooks based on a specified recipe
The information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to the present invention. Note that the Internet television 21 has a function of capturing and outputting information distributed via the Internet. The information pickup device 1 functions as a mediator of information between the Internet television 11 and the range 22.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a range process, and FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an Internet TV process. Further, the information pickup device 1 executes the processing shown in FIG. The user can operate the Internet television 21 to search for a recipe related to a desired dish from recipes of dishes distributed on the Internet. The user first operates the ID oscillation button 22a provided in the range 22. Range 2
When the ID oscillation button 22a is operated (n4
1) Wait for a copy request from the information pickup device 1 (n43). The user operates the copy switch 4a of the information pickup device 1 to transmit a copy request to the range 22. When receiving the copy request, the range 22 transmits the ID code to the information pickup device 1, and ends this processing (n44). Note that I
The D code is information indicating the model of the range 22.
The information pickup device 22 sets this ID code to R
Store in AM.

Subsequently, the user operates the paste switch 4b of the information pickup device 1 to transmit the ID code stored in the above processing to the Internet television 21. Upon receiving the ID code (n51), the Internet television 21 displays a list of recipes for the range 22 of the ID code (n52), and accepts the designation of the recipe (n53). The display screen of the Internet television 21 is provided with a touch panel, and is configured so that the user can specify a desired recipe from the recipes displayed on the screen. After specifying the recipe, the user operates the copy switch 4a. This allows
A copy request is transmitted to the Internet television 21.
Upon receiving the copy request (n54), the Internet television 21 transmits the recipe specified in n53, and ends this processing (n55). Information pickup device 1
Stores the recipe transmitted in n55 in the RAM.

Next, the user operates a recipe addition button 22b provided in the range 22. Range 22 is
When the recipe addition button 22b is operated (n42), it waits for a paste request from the information pickup device 1 (n45). The user operates the paste switch 4a of the information pickup device 1. Thereby, the information pickup device 1 transmits the recipe fetched from the Internet television 22 to the range 22. Range 22
Stores the transmitted recipe and ends the process (n46). The range 22 allows a user to specify an arbitrary recipe from recipes stored by a predetermined operation, and performs cooking by determining a heating temperature, a heating time, and the like based on the specified recipe.

As described above, cooking can be performed by adding a recipe delivered to the range 22 via the Internet or the like. Further, the information processing apparatus of the present invention can be applied to other types of home appliances.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation for moving or copying the information of the information processing apparatus to the same or another information processing apparatus can be performed as if moving an article. Thus, it is possible to assist a user who is unfamiliar with the information pickup device in moving or copying information between information processing apparatuses.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an appearance of an information pickup device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information pickup device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of information between information processing apparatuses.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing of the information pickup device of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing of the information pickup device of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing of the information pickup device of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an information selection operation in the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an appearance of an information pickup device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example on a display unit of an information pickup device according to another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example on a display unit of an information pickup device according to another embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating communication between an information pickup device and an information processing apparatus according to another embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating communication between an information pickup device and an information processing apparatus according to another embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating communication between an information pickup device, a range, and an Internet TV according to another embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a range process.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing processing of the Internet television.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-information pickup device 2-control unit 3-communication unit 3a-issuing element 4-operation unit 4a-copy switch 4b-paste switch 5-display unit 11 (11A, 11B) -information processing unit 12-control unit 13-communication Unit 14-Input unit 15-Display unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] An information operating device used to capture information of an information processing device and move or copy the information to the same or another information processing device, wherein the information operating device requests transmission of information specified in advance, and A first communication unit for receiving information transmitted from the processing device, a storage unit for storing information received by the first communication unit, and a request for inputting information stored in the storage unit at a predetermined position And a second communication means for transmitting the information. 2. The information operating device according to claim 1, further comprising an activation switch for said first communication means and said second communication means. 3. The information operating device according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit for notifying a communication state of the first communication unit and the second communication unit. 4. The information operating device according to claim 1, wherein said information requesting device transmits predetermined information when receiving said transmission request, and transmits said predetermined information when receiving said display request. An information processing apparatus including a control unit that inputs information received at a position. 5. An information operating method for taking in information of an information processing device and moving or copying the information to the same or another information processing device, wherein when a request for transmitting information specified in advance is received, An information processing method for transmitting information and inputting the transmitted information to a designated position when a request for inputting information to a designated position is received. 6. A recording medium storing an information operation program for fetching information of an information processing device and moving or copying the information to the same or another information processing device, wherein a transmission request of information designated in advance is provided. Recording an information processing program having a step of transmitting the information when receiving the information, and a step of inputting the transmitted information to the specified position when receiving a request for inputting information to a predetermined position. Recording medium.