Patent Application
20120089946
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique to optimally display an operation screen of a control target apparatus on a display unit of a control apparatus when a user remotely controls the control target apparatus via a network.
(2) Description of the Related Art
The improvement in home networking has diffused the use of applications for remotely controlling specific functions between apparatuses through the network. Due to the recent diversification of network-connected apparatuses, such applications inevitably require users to have extra works and cause inconvenience to the users because the applications develop drawbacks such that preparing an application for each function is inefficient and the firmware of the apparatuses needs to be updated to meet new functions.
Conventional function-independent remote control techniques include a client-server technique employing scripting languages, such as the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) and JavaScript (trademark). This technique allows a client apparatus; namely a commanding apparatus, to remotely control a server apparatus; namely a commanded apparatus.
In addition, Patent Literature 1 (See Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-341041) discloses a technique to change to present a display image according to the size of the screen of a control apparatus.
Compared to stationary apparatuses, mobile apparatuses including a digital camera and a portable audio player have a smaller screen than that of the stationary apparatuses. Furthermore, some smart phones are operated via a touch panel. Thus, if all the commanding apparatuses use the same scripting language for remote control, some of the apparatuses will cause deteriorating visibility and operability. The following exemplary problems develop when the user try to display an operation screen of a TV on the display unit of a cellular phone: Letters become too small to read, and space between selection buttons becomes so narrow that, when the user pressed a button, he or she would inadvertently press a neighboring wrong button.
The present invention is conceived in view of the above problems and has an object to provide a control apparatus and a script conversion method which are capable of displaying an excellent screen suitable to the display capability and an operation procedure of a control target apparatus, even though the control apparatus and the control target apparatus are different in display capability and operation procedure.
In order to solve the above problems, a control apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes: an obtaining unit which obtains screen display operational information on a control target apparatus; an operating unit which receives an input from a user; a converting unit which converts the screen display operational information such that the screen display operational information conforms to an input method of the operating unit; and a display unit which displays a screen formed based on the converted screen display operational information.
This structure allows the control apparatus to convert the screen display operational information according to the input method of the operating unit. Thus, the control apparatus can change the script that is the screen display operational information, such that (i) in the case where the operating unit is a touch screen, a selectable area is highlighted as a selection button with a frame and (ii) in the case where the operating unit is a pointing device, a selection button is highlighted with a frame when the pointer is on the selectable area.
The control apparatus executes the converted screen display operational information to display an excellent operation screen which suits various input methods of operating units.
It is noted that, instead of an apparatus, the present invention may also be provided as (i) an integrated circuit including processing units which the apparatus has (ii) a method which implements the processing units included in the apparatus as steps (iii) a program causing a computer to execute the steps, and (iv) information, data, and a signal showing the program. The program, program, information, data, and signal may be distributed via a recording medium such as a Compact Disc-Read Only (CD-ROM), and a communications medium such as the Internet.
The present invention makes it possible to provide an optimum screen display which suits to the display capability and an operation procedure of a control target apparatus, even though the control apparatus and the control target apparatus are different in display capability and operation procedure. Accordingly, the user can remotely control the control target apparatus without losing an operational feeling.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that illustrate a specific embodiment of the present invention. In the Drawings:
Described hereinafter is an embodiment of the present invention including an electronic appliance system.
In
In
Before using the remote UI, the user of the control apparatus 100 registers the apparatus ID of the control apparatus 100 in the control target apparatus 200 to obtain a script from the control target apparatus 200 (S601),In other words, upon receiving a script transmission request from the control apparatus 100, the script transmitting unit 211 in the control target apparatus 200 causes the communicating unit 201 to transmit the script stored in the script storage unit 212 to the control apparatus 100 via the communication path 3. Furthermore, in the control apparatus 100, the script receiving unit 120 receives the script transmitted by the control target apparatus 200 via the communications unit 101.
The script includes screen information and operational information of the control target apparatus 200. The script converting unit 130 obtains the screen information and the operational information out of the received script (S602).The screen information shows the size of a display area of the display unit (the TV 300 or an external monitor, for example) on which the control target apparatus 200 shows the operation screen. The operational information shows whether or not the control target apparatus 200 has a touch screen.
Here, the apparatus specifications obtaining unit 140 inquires of the display unit 150 and the operating unit 160 for their specifications. Through the inquiries, the apparatus specifications obtaining unit 140 obtains the display unit information on the display unit 150 and the input method information on the operating unit 160 (S603).
Suppose the control apparatus 100 is a portable apparatus having a small screen display area. The script converting unit 130 interprets the received script to determine whether or not the operation screen of the control target apparatus 200 fits into the display unit 150 of the control apparatus 100 in one screen. In the case where the operation screen shown in the received script does not fit in one screen, the script converting unit 130 resizes the operation screen such that the operation screen fits into the display unit 150.
Then, the script converting unit 130 determines whether or not the operating unit 160 employs a touch screen style according to the input method information on the operating unit 160 obtained by the apparatus specifications obtaining unit 140 (S604). Here, the control apparatus 100 operates itself and another apparatus through a touch screen. The script converting unit 130 determines whether or not a selection button appearing on the resized operation screen is smaller than a reference size (S605). Here, the reference size of a selection button is a large enough for the user to recognize which button has been pressed in pressing a selection button with his or her finger. Specifically, suppose the case where two or more selection buttons appear on an area of contact between the touch screen and a finger tip. The user inadvertently presses the two or more buttons at a time, and cannot tell on the touch screen which selection button has been pressed. Thus, in an apparatus equipped with a touch screen, each of selection buttons has a minimum required reference size predetermined when the selection buttons are displayed. Together with the information showing that the input method is a touch screen style, the reference size is stored in the operating unit 160 or read-only memory (ROM) of the operating unit 160 as the input method information on the operating unit 160.
In the case where the selection button is smaller than the reference size, the script converting unit 130 changes the script such that each of the selection buttons is equal to or larger than the reference size (S606).
It is noted that the script converting unit 130 checks whether or not the selection button is in the minimum required size; that is, whether or not the selection button is equal to or larger than the reference size, only in the case where the operating unit 160 employs a touch screen style as the input method. When the selection button is smaller than the reference size, the script converting unit 130 changes the script such that the selection button becomes larger than the reference size; however, adjustment in size of appearance shall not be limited to the selection button on the touch screen. For example, when the operation screen of the control target apparatus 200 is resized to fit in the display unit 150 of the control apparatus 100, the size of a character appearing on the operation screen may be adjusted such that the character size is not smaller than a predetermined size. The predetermined size is the minimum required size for the user to be able to see the character on the resized operation screen. Such a predetermined size may be preset by a manufacturer of the control apparatus 100 or may be designated by the user. For example, the predetermined size may be a font size for e-mail texting.
Then, the script converting unit 130 interprets the changed script to double-check whether or not the operation screen can fit on the display unit 150 of the control apparatus 100 in one screen (S607). In the case where the operation screen cannot be displayed in one screen, the script converting unit 130 displays only n selection buttons displayable on the display unit 150 of the control apparatus 100. Specifically, the script converting unit 130 changes the script according to the priority of the selection buttons such that only the top n selection buttons are to be displayed (S608).
Described below is how to determine whether or not the operation screen can fit in one screen. In most cases, the display units of the control target apparatus 200 and the control apparatus 100 differ with each other in display aspect ratio. Thus, first, the script converting unit 130 arranges all the selection buttons appearing one operation screen at all available positions, and calculates the size of an area required to display all the selection buttons. Suppose, for example, that each of the selection buttons appearing on the operation screen is in the reference size. When (i) the selection buttons are arranged at the positions defined by the received script as shown in (a) in
In the case where the result of the double check in Step S607 shows that the operation screen after the script conversion fits on display unit 150 of the control apparatus 100 in one screen, the script converting unit 130 ends the process.
It is noted that, instead of ending the process, the script converting unit 130 may, for example, change the script such that the script highlights an area to be selectable as a selection button for the user with the operating unit 160. The changed script is informed of the script executing unit 121, and executed. The operation screen is displayed on the display unit 150. The user operates the operation screen, using the operating unit 160.
It is noted that exemplified here is an apparatus having a touch-screen operating unit. In the case where the control apparatus 100 has an operating unit of a pointing device, the script may be converted such that a selectable area is not always highlighted;
instead, the selectable area is highlighted only when the pointer is moved on the selectable area.
As described above, in operating an apparatus having a touch-screen operating unit or a pointing-device operating unit, the user has difficulty in telling which selection button is selectable, and would have to go through trial and error to operate the operating unit. As described in the embodiment, previously showing the user a selectable area contributes to promising improvement in the operability of the apparatus. The embodiment also allows an apparatus having a smaller screen to have fewer GUI components each of which appears larger in size, which contributes to promising improvement in the operability and the visibility of the apparatus.
It is noted that a component part (an object) on the operation screen; namely a selection button, with a higher priority assigned to is (i) a selection button which is highlighted by default or (ii) a selection button which is positioned closer to the selection button to be selected. Among the selection buttons, another selection button with a higher priority assigned to may be the one at a position where the user can select the selection button with fewer operational steps. Here, the position where the user can select the selection button with fewer operational steps may be an optional position found in a different hierarchy. Similarly, in the case of the operation screen of a UI utilizing a pointing device, a selection button which is positioned closer to the default position of the pointer has a higher priority assigned to.
The control apparatus 100 causes the display unit 150, of a cellular phone equipped with a touch-screen input unit, to display the details of the record list 700 as a record list 750. Here, the record list 700 is converted into the record list 750 such that the details of the record list 700 are displayed on the display unit 150 in one screen. According to an operation of the user on the record list 750, the control apparatus 100 causes the DVD recorder to reproduce the desired program. The record list 700 is created landscape-oriented to fit the display area in the viewing area of the TV monitor. Thus, when the control apparatus 100 is a cellular phone, there is too much information to fit on the display area of the display unit 150 that not all the information can be fit in one screen. Thus, the script converting unit 130 carries out the script conversion such that each of the program information items works as a selection button, and that fewer selection buttons are to be displayed, as shown in the record list 750 in (b) in
The script converting unit 130 obtains a script for displaying the menu screen 800 from the TV, interprets the script, and converts the script such that the menu screen 800 can be displayed on the display unit 150 of the control apparatus 100. Here, eight icons are displayed on the menu screen 800 of the TV. In the case where the script converting unit 130 determines that (i) the control apparatus 100 is a cellular phone equipped with a touch screen and (ii) the touch screen cannot display all the icons in one screen as selection buttons larger than the reference size, the script converting unit 130 extracts, as a higher priority, an icon closer to a criss-cross direction from the person icon, and displays a menu screen 850 on the display unit 150. The person icon shows the default position of the menu screen 800. Here, top four icons are extracted in the descending order of priority, and displayed as selection buttons. As shown in (b) in
It is noted that the above script conversion is carried out by, for example, JavaScript (Trademark). However, the present invention shall not be limited to JavaScript. Any script is applicable as far as the script is capable of changing some of the parts allocated on the viewing area, as JavaScript does.
In the above embodiment, furthermore, the script converting unit 130 is to be included in the control apparatus 100; however, the present invention shall not be limited to this. The script converting unit 130 may be included in the control target apparatus 200. Here, the control apparatus 100 transmits, to the control target apparatus 200, the apparatus ID of the control apparatus 100 to start remote UI. Before the script conversion, the control target apparatus 200 requests, via an IP communication path, the apparatus specifications obtaining unit 140 in the control apparatus 100 to inquire about the information on the display unit 150 and the operating unit 160. In response to the request of the inquiry from the control target apparatus 200, the apparatus specifications obtaining unit 140 sends inquiries to the display unit 150 and the operating unit 160. Then, through the communications unit 101 and the communication path 3, the apparatus specifications obtaining unit 140 sends the control target apparatus 200 the inquiry result; that is the information on the display unit 150 and the operating unit 160. Moreover, the script receiving unit 120 receives the converted script from the control target apparatus 200, and forwards the script to the script executing unit 121. The script executing unit 121 executes the script received from the script receiving unit 120 in order to transmit a command corresponding to an operated selection button to the command receiving unit 221 in the control target apparatus 200.
Here, before the script conversion, the control target apparatus 200 does not necessarily request the apparatus specifications obtaining unit 140 in the control apparatus 100 to inquire about the information on the display unit 150 and the operating unit 160. For each of apparatuses to be designated as the control apparatus 100, for example, the control target apparatus 200 may previously store, in the memory, information on the display unit 150 and the operating unit 160 in the control apparatus 100 in association with the apparatus ID of the apparatus. This feature allows the control target apparatus 200 to read the information on the display unit 150 and the operating unit 160 from the memory and carry out the script conversion, eliminating the need for sending an inquiry to the control apparatus 100.
As described above, the embodiment makes it possible to provide an optimum screen display which suits the display capability and the operation procedure of a control target apparatus even though the control apparatus and the control target apparatus, expected to have high demand, differ with each other in display the capability and the operation procedure. Accordingly, the user can remotely control the control target apparatus without losing an operational feeling.
It is noted that in the embodiment, the TV 300 is connected with the control target apparatus 200 via HDMI; meanwhile, the TV 300 may be connected via the communication path 3.
It is noted that each of the functional blocks in the block diagrams (
For example, the functional blocks other than the memory may be made in a single chip.
Here, the functional blocks are referred to as LSI; however, the functional blocks may also be referred to as IC, LSI, super LSI, and ultra LSI, due to a difference in the degree of integration.
Furthermore, the means for circuit integration is not limited to an LSI, and implementation in the form of a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor is also available. In addition, it is also acceptable to use a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that is programmable after the LSI has been manufactured, and a reconfigurable processor in which connections and settings of circuit cells within the LSI are reconfigurable.
Furthermore, if integrated circuit technology that replaces LSI appears thorough progress in semiconductor technology or other derived technology, that technology can naturally be used to carry out integration of the functional blocks. Biotechnology can be applied to the integrated circuit technology.
Moreover, among the functional blocks, a unit storing content may be formed in a different part, instead of being included in a single chip.
Although only an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiment without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the present invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention
A control apparatus of the present invention is useful as an apparatus for remote UI. In particular, the control apparatus is useful for a cellular phone equipped with a touch-screen control unit, and for a mobile device such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). Moreover, a control target apparatus of the present invention is useful for an apparatus for remote UI. In particular, the control target apparatus is useful as a TV displaying information on a large monitor, and a DVD recorder.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-145407 | Jun 2010 | JP | national |
This is a continuation application of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/JP2011/003589 filed on Jun. 23, 2011, designating the United States of America, which is based on and claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-145407 filed on Jun. 25, 2010. The entire disclosures of the above-identified applications, including the specifications, drawings and claims are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2011/003589 | Jun 2011 | US |
| Child | 13329680 | US |
