JPH11305882A - Computer system and method for controlling start of application program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To start an application program from a power off-state with one time key operation using a remote controller. SOLUTION: Upon receiving an infrared signal for indicating the start of an application program in a state that power supply to a system main body is stopped, an infrared ray receiving unit controller 24 requests a power supply controller 25 to resume power supply to the system main body, and stores in an I/O register a key code for instructing the start of the application program to a start-up program. On the other hand, when power supply to the system main body is resumed, an operating system is started, and the start-up program is started according to this start. Then, the start-up program started at that time reads the key code stored in the I/O register, and starts the application program.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a computer system which can be remotely controlled by a remote controller, and a method of controlling the activation of an application program applied to the computer system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the spread of computers has been remarkable, and with this spread, various personal computers (personal computers) have been developed. Also, recently, not only a document creation program and a spreadsheet program can be operated, but also home appliances such as an externally connected Internet television, telephone, and DVD (digital video disk) player can be operated.
Personal computers equipped with so-called multimedia functions have been emerging. In a personal computer equipped with this multimedia function, an externally connected home appliance can be operated by running an application program for operating the home appliance on the computer system main body.

[0003] Also, since many home appliances are configured to be remotely controlled by a remote controller today, personal computers equipped with the multimedia function can be remotely controlled by a remote controller. It is composed of

A remote controller for remotely operating a personal computer equipped with the multimedia function includes a power key for instructing power on / off of a computer system main body, and operates on the computer system main body (for example, At least an application key for instructing activation of an application program for operating an Internet TV). For example, when an infrared signal indicating that a power key is pressed is transmitted from an infrared light emitting unit mounted on a remote controller, the computer In the system body, the infrared signal is received by the infrared light receiving unit, and the infrared signal received by the infrared light receiving unit is converted into a key code by the infrared light receiving unit controller.

When the infrared signal indicates that the power key has been pressed, the infrared receiving unit controller transfers the converted key code to the power controller via the control signal line. Then, the power supply controller receiving the transfer of the key code switches on / off the power supply of the computer system main body.

When an infrared signal indicating that any application key is pressed is received by the infrared light receiving unit, the infrared light receiving unit controller notifies the interrupt controller of the reception of the infrared signal via the control signal line. Then, the interrupt controller notifies the CPU of the interrupt request via the control signal line, while
U inquires the interrupt controller of the interrupt content via the system bus. The interrupt controller replies to the inquiry via the system bus that the interrupt is caused by the reception of the infrared signal. The CPU that recognizes the reception of the infrared signal based on this response controls the execution of the event management program that performs the process when receiving the infrared signal.

On the other hand, the event management program first obtains the contents of the infrared signal. This acquisition is performed by the CPU
Is executed by inquiring of the infrared signal received by the infrared light receiving unit controller via the system bus. In response to the inquiry, the infrared light receiving unit controller returns the converted key code to the CPU via the system bus. . Then, the event management program that recognizes the pressing of any application key by this response activates the application program associated with the application key.

As described above, in a personal computer equipped with a multimedia function, it is possible to turn on / off the power of the computer system main unit and start an application program by a remote controller.

[0009]

By the way, in the personal computer equipped with the above-mentioned multimedia function, the start control procedure of the application program when the application key of the remote controller is pressed must be such that the power state of the system is ON. It is considered on the assumption. Therefore, for example, when using the Internet TV using the remote controller when the power of the computer system is off, first, the power key of the remote controller is pressed to turn on the power of the computer system. Then, after the power of the computer system body is turned on, it is necessary to press an application key (for Internet television) of the remote controller.

That is, in a conventional personal computer equipped with a multimedia function, when the computer system main unit activates any application program using a remote controller from a power-off state, two key operations are required. Had to force the user.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is applied to a computer system capable of starting an application program from a power-off state by a single key operation of a remote controller, and to the computer system. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling the activation of an application program.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided a computer system having a remote operation function for operating a system main body in response to an infrared signal transmitted by a remote controller. An infrared light receiving unit that receives the received infrared signal, an infrared light receiving unit controller that converts the infrared signal received by the infrared light receiving unit into a key code, and centrally manages power supply for operating the system main body. A power controller; and a determination unit configured to determine whether the infrared signal instructs the infrared light receiving unit controller to start an application program executed and controlled by the CPU. Start-up Inquiring means for inquiring the power supply controller about the power supply state to the system main body when it is determined that the instruction is to be issued, and a reply that the inquiry means has stopped power supply from the power supply controller to the system main body. Program start control for requesting the power supply controller to resume power supply to the system main body when receiving the converted key code, and transferring the converted key code to a utility program executed and controlled by the CPU for starting the application program. Means is provided.

According to the present invention, when an infrared signal indicating activation of an application program is received in a state where power supply to the system main body is stopped, the infrared light receiving unit controller causes the power supply controller to restart power supply to the system main body. At the same time, a key code indicating the activation of the application program is delivered to a utility program that activates the application program. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to start the application program from the power-off state by one key operation.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a computer system having a multimedia function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the computer system of this embodiment is configured so that a remote controller 10 can remotely control a computer system main body 20.

The remote controller 10 includes a keyboard 11, an infrared unit controller 12, and an infrared light emitting unit 13.
As shown in FIG. 7, a power key a for instructing power on / off of the computer system main body 20 and a power key a for instructing activation of, for example, an Internet television, a telephone, a DVD device, etc.
And a plurality of keys including an application key b for instructing activation of an application program for operating these home appliances that operate on.

The infrared unit controller 12
The infrared light emitting unit 13 is configured such that, when any key of the keyboard 11 is pressed, an infrared signal indicating that key is pressed is transmitted from the infrared light emitting unit 13.
Drive control.

The infrared light emitting unit 13 sends out various infrared signals in response to an instruction from the infrared unit controller 12. On the other hand, the computer system main body 20 includes an interrupt controller 21, a CPU 22, a system memory 23, an infrared unit controller 24, a power supply controller 25, an I / O register 26, an I / O controller 27, and an infrared light receiving unit 28.

The interrupt controller 21 receives, via a control signal line, all interrupt request notifications including a notification that an infrared signal has been received from the infrared unit controller 24, and receives the interrupt request via the control signal line. , And responds to an inquiry about the contents of the interrupt from the CPU 11 via the system bus which occurs after the notification. The interrupt controller 21 also manages priority when receiving a plurality of interrupt request notifications at one time.

The CPU 22 stores the operating system 10 shown in FIG.
0, execution control of a utility program including a start-up program 101 and an event management program 102, and an application program 103. The operating system 100 controls the entire computer system main body 20, and a utility program including a startup program 101 and an event management program 102 and an application program 103 operate under the operating system 100. Note that the start-up program 101 is a program that is started as a process at the time of starting the operating system.
A program 02 is resident in the system memory 23 after the operating system is started, and is called every time the infrared light receiving unit 28 receives an infrared signal.

The system memory 23 is a memory device for storing an operating system 100 controlled by the CPU 22, a utility program including a start-up program 101 and an event management program 102, an application program 103, and various data used for executing these programs. It is.

The infrared unit controller 24 has a function of notifying the interrupt controller 21 via the control signal line when the infrared light receiving unit 28 receives an infrared signal, and an infrared signal received by the infrared light receiving unit 28. Function to convert to
2, when the contents of the infrared signal received via the system bus are inquired, a function of returning the converted key code, and the power supply controller 25 is provided with a power supply state to the computer system body 20 via a control signal line. It has a function of inquiring and a function of storing the converted key code in the I / O register 26 via the system bus. And this infrared unit controller 24
Another feature of the present invention is that a function of inquiring the power supply controller 25 of the power supply state to the computer system main body 20 and a function of storing the converted key code in the I / O register 26 are provided. Handling of these functions will be described later.

The power controller 25 centrally manages the supply of power for operating the computer system main body 20. Note that the power supply controller 25 always keeps supplying power to the infrared unit controller 24 and the infrared light receiving unit 28 even when the power supply to the computer system main body 20 is stopped.

The I / O register 26 is a memory device having a plurality of entries each having a predetermined address. Each of the entries has, for example, a key code transmitted from the infrared unit controller 24 via the system bus. Is stored.

The I / O controller 27 is connected to, for example, an Internet television, a telephone, a DVD device, etc.
It controls the transmission and reception of data between them by the computer system body 20.

Then, the infrared light receiving unit 28 receives the infrared signal transmitted by the infrared light emitting unit 13 of the remote controller 10 and delivers it to the infrared unit controller 24.

Next, the operation procedure of the computer system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation procedure of the infrared unit controller 24 of this embodiment.

The infrared unit controller 24 waits for the infrared signal sent by the infrared light emitting unit 13 of the remote controller 10 to be received by the infrared light receiving unit 28 (step A1). When the infrared signal is received (YES in step A1), the infrared unit controller 24 sends the signal to the power supply controller 25 via the control signal line to the computer system main body 20.
Inquiry about the power supply status for
2).

Here, when a response indicating that power is being supplied to the computer system main body 20 is received via the control signal line (YES in step A3), the infrared unit controller 24 controls the reception of the infrared signal. The interrupt controller 21 is notified via a signal line (step A4). Thereafter, when the content of the received infrared signal is asked by the CPU 22 via the system bus, the infrared unit controller 24 returns the converted key code.

On the other hand, upon receiving a response to the effect that power supply to the computer system main body 20 has been stopped via the control signal line (NO in step A3), the infrared unit controller 24 transmits the received infrared signal to the power key a. Alternatively, it is determined whether or not the application key b is pressed (step A5). Here, if it is determined that the received infrared signal is due to the depression of the power key a or the application key b, the infrared unit controller 24 restarts the power supply to the computer system main body 20 via the control signal line. (Step A6). That is, in the computer system of this embodiment, the power supply to the computer system main body 20 is restarted not only by pressing the power key a but also by pressing the application key b.

When the power supply controller 25 reports the restart of the power supply to the computer system main body 20, the infrared unit controller 24 sends the converted key code to the I / O register 2 via the system bus.
6 (step A7).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation procedure of the operating system 100 of this embodiment. The operating system 100 is started when the power supply controller 25 resumes the power supply to the computer system main body 20. When the operating system 100 is started, first, the operating system 100 executes an initialization process including starting the event management program 102 (step B2). When this initialization process ends, the operating system 100
The startup program 101 is started (step B2).

The startup program 10
Upon completion of 1, the operating system 100
It waits for the occurrence of some interrupt (step B2).
When an interrupt occurs (step B3), the content of the interrupt is queried (step B4), and when the key of the remote controller 10 is pressed (YES in step B5), the already started event management program 102 is called (step B5). Step B6).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation procedure of the startup program 101 of this embodiment. The startup program 101 is started as a start process when the operating system is started, and when it is started, the I / O
It is checked whether the key code of the remote controller 10 is stored in the O register 26 (step C1). If a key code indicating the pressing of the application key b is stored in the I / O register 26,
The application program 103 corresponding to the key code is started (step C3).

That is, the computer system main body 20
When the application key b is pressed in a state where the power supply to the computer system is stopped, the power supply to the computer system main body 20 is restarted, and then the application program 103 is started by the startup program 101.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation procedure of the event management program 102 of this embodiment. The event management program 102 is called each time the infrared light receiving unit 28 receives an infrared signal. When called, first, the event management program 102 inquires about the content (key code) of the received infrared signal (step D1). If the key code indicates the press of the application key b (YE in step D2)
S), the application program 103 corresponding to the key code is started (step D3).

That is, the computer system main body 20
When the application key b is pressed while power is supplied to the application program 103, the event management program 102 starts the corresponding application program 103.

As described above, in the computer system of this embodiment, even when the power supply to the computer system main body 20 is stopped, the power is turned off by one key operation of the keyboard 11 of the remote controller 10. It is possible to start the application program from.

[0039]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, when an infrared signal indicating activation of an application program is received in a state where power supply to the system main body is stopped, the infrared light receiving unit controller operates as follows. A request to restart the power supply to the system body to the power controller, and a key code indicating the start of the application program is passed to the utility program that starts the application program. It is possible to start the application program from.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exemplary view showing a schematic configuration of a computer system having a multimedia function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view showing keys of a keyboard 11 of the remote controller 10 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing an operating system, a utility program, and an application program operating on the computer system of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an infrared unit controller 24 of the embodiment.
4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation procedure of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an operating system 100 according to the embodiment;
4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation procedure of FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a startup program 101 according to the embodiment.
4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation procedure of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining the operation procedure of the event management program 102 according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Remote controller 11 ... Keyboard 12 ... (Remote controller side) Infrared unit controller 13 ... Infrared light emitting unit 20 ... Computer system main body 21 ... Interrupt controller 22 ... CPU 23 ... System memory 24 ... (Computer system main body side) Infrared unit controller 25 ... Power supply controller 26 ... I / O register 27 ... I / O controller 28 ... Infrared light receiving unit 100 ... Operating system 101 ... Startup program 102 ... Event management program 103 ... Application program

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A computer system having a remote operation function for operating a system main body in response to an infrared signal transmitted by a remote controller, wherein the system main body comprises: a CPU; and an infrared ray receiving an infrared signal transmitted from the remote controller. A light receiving unit, an infrared light receiving unit controller that converts an infrared signal received by the infrared light receiving unit into a key code, and a power supply controller that centrally manages power supply for operating the system main body, Determining means for determining whether or not the infrared signal instructs an application program to be executed and controlled by the CPU; and determining that the infrared signal indicates activation of the application program. Inquiring means for inquiring the power supply controller of the power supply state to the system main body when the power supply controller receives a response indicating that the power supply to the system main body is stopped from the power supply controller. Application program activation control means for requesting the power supply controller to resume power supply to the system body and transferring the converted key code to a utility program executed and controlled by the CPU for activating the application program is provided. A computer system characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the application program activation control means transfers the converted key code to the utility program via a register provided in the system main body. 3. The utility program according to claim 1, wherein the utility program is started by a start-up process of an operating system executed and controlled by the CPU, which is started when power supply to the system main body is restarted. The computer system according to claim 1. 4. A method for controlling the activation of an application program applied to a computer system having a remote operation function for operating a system main body in response to an infrared signal transmitted by a remote controller, the infrared signal transmitted from the remote controller It is determined whether or not instructs to start the application program.When it is determined that the infrared signal is to instruct to start the application program, the power supply state to the system main body is acquired. When the power supply state to the system main body is in the stop state, the power supply to the system main body is restarted, and the utility program for starting the application program is instructed to start the application program. A key code to be transferred.