Embodiments described herein relate generally to a user interface technique suitable for an information processing apparatus including a wireless communication function.
Many television receivers (hereinafter, referred to as TV apparatuses) are capable of remote operations by a remote controller. Instead of dedicated remote controllers, tablet terminals and smartphones have recently been starting to be used to operate TV apparatuses.
Various proposals have heretofore been made for remote controls of information processing apparatuses including TV apparatuses.
To make TV apparatuses operable by tablet terminals, smartphones, and the like, TV apparatus manufacturers provide application programs for operating tablet terminals, smartphones, and the like as a remote controller (hereinafter, tablet terminals, smartphones, and the like used as a remote controller may be referred to as platform terminals).
However, the manufacturers need to develop application programs (for remotely operating a TV apparatus) for respective platform terminals. Meanwhile, if, for example, a user wants to operate a plurality of types of TV apparatuses by a tablet terminal, the user needs to install a plurality of application programs provided for the respective plurality of types of TV apparatuses.
A general architecture that implements the various features of the embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate the embodiments and not to limit the scope of the invention.
Various embodiments will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In general, according to one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes a wireless communication module, a first information receiver, an operation screen transmitter, a second information receiver and a controller. The first information receiver is configured to receive first information associated with a display function of an external device from the external device by wireless communication by the wireless communication module. The operation screen transmitter is configured to generate an operation screen for operating the apparatus based on the first information received by the first information receiver and to transmit a video signal of the generated operation screen to the external device by wireless communication by the wireless communication module. The second information receiver is configured to receive second information associated with content of an operation on an operation screen from the external device by wireless communication by the wireless communication module. The operation screen is displayed using the video signal transmitted by the operation screen transmitter. The controller is configured to control operation of the apparatus based on the second information received by the second information receiver.
The TV apparatus 1 includes a wireless communication function compliant with a Wi-Fi™ standard, for example, and can transmit a video signal by wireless communication through a procedure compliant with a Wi-Fi Display standard. The Wi-Fi Display standard is capable of transmitting EDID (Extended Display Identification Data). A smartphone 2a and a tablet terminal 2b also include a wireless communication function complied with the Wi-Fi™ standard, for example, and can receive a video signal by wireless communication through a procedure compliant with the Wi-Fi Display standard. The smartphone 2a and the tablet terminal 2b also include a touch screen display capable of touch operations on the display.
For example, when a session for wireless communication with the smartphone 2a is established, the TV apparatus 1 receives EDID from the smartphone 2a, and acquires screen environment information such as a screen size, an aspect ratio, and resolution of the touch screen display included in the smartphone 2a from the EDID (a1 in
Acquiring the screen environment information about the smartphone 2a, the TV apparatus 1 generates an operation screen (for operating the TV apparatus 1) suitable for the touch screen display included in the smartphone 2a, and transmits a video signal thereof to the smartphone 2a (a2 in
Since the touch screen displays included in the smartphone 2a and the tablet terminal 2b are somewhat limited in type, the generation of the operation screen may include selecting one from a plurality of operation screens prepared in advance.
According to the procedure compliant with the Wi-Fi Display standard, UIBC (User Interface Back Channel) including operation information about a touch operation and the like can be transmitted and received. When a touch operation is made on the touch screen display displaying the operation screen, the smartphone 2a transmits operation information to the TV apparatus 1 (a3 in
The TV apparatus 1 then analyzes the content of the operation on the operation screen based on the operation information, and performs operation control such as zapping channels and displaying a program guide.
Similarly, when, for example, a session for wireless communication with the tablet terminal 2b is established, the TV apparatus 1 receives EDID from the tablet terminal 2b and acquires screen environment information about the touch screen display included in the tablet terminal 2b from the EDID (a1′ in
Suppose that the touch screen display included in the smartphone 2a and the touch screen display included in the tablet terminal 2b have significantly different screen sizes. Here, the smartphone 2a displays an operation screen (for operating the TV apparatus 1) on which operation buttons are arranged according to the screen size of the touch screen display included in the smartphone 2a. Meanwhile, the tablet terminal 2b displays an operation screen (for operating the TV apparatus 1) on which operation buttons are arranged according to the screen size of the touch screen display included in the tablet terminal 2b.
The same application program for performing the foregoing operation is installed in the smartphone 2a and the tablet terminal 2b. That is, according to the TV apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it first becomes unnecessary to develop application programs for respective platform terminals.
In addition, the application program can be installed to operate a plurality of types of TV apparatuses 1 (that are capable of the foregoing operation) by a platform terminal. This eliminates the need to install a plurality of application programs.
That is, the TV apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can improve the convenience of remote operations by platform terminals. A mechanism for supporting remote operations which the TV apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment provides will be described in detail below.
As shown in
The processor 11 is a module that handles the operation control of the TV apparatus 1. The processor 11 loads various programs from the external storage device 13 into the main memory 12 and executes the programs to make the TV apparatus 1 functions as various means. The various programs include a remote operation support program 100 for enabling remote operations by platform terminals. Examples of the external storage device 13 include a nonvolatile memory.
The display device 14 is a module that is in charge of the output side of a user interface the TV apparatus 1 provides. On the other hand, the input device 15 is a module that is in charge of the input side of the user interface the TV apparatus 1 provides. More specifically, the input device 15 accepts a user's instruction. The result of processing executed by, for example, the various programs according to the instruction is presented to the display device 14. The display device 14 also displays an image obtained by decoding television program data received by the TV tuner 16. The decoding of the television program data may be performed by software or hardware. Sound obtained by decoding the television program data is output from the audio output device 17.
The wireless communication device 18 is a module that performs wireless communication compliant with the foregoing Wi-Fi™ standard, for example.
As shown in
The screen environment information reception module 101 is a module that receives screen environment information about a platform terminal by wireless communication by the wireless communication device 18. The operation screen generation module 102 is a module that generates an operation screen suitable for the platform terminal based on the screen environment information received by the screen environment information reception module 101. The operation screen transmission module 103 is a module that transmits the operation screen (image data) generated by the operation image generation module 102 to the platform terminal.
The operation information reception module 104 is a module that receives operation information from the platform terminal by wireless communication by the wireless communication device 18. The operation content analysis module 105 is a module that analyzes the content of the operation on the operation screen based on the operation information received by the operation information reception module 104. The operation control module 106 is a module that controls the operation of the TV apparatus 1 based on the content of the operation analyzed by the operation content analysis module 105.
When operating the TV apparatus 1 by the tablet terminal 2b, the user activates the application program (for operating external devices including the TV apparatus 1) installed in the tablet terminal 2b. The application program on the tablet terminal 2b, when activated, attempts to establish a session for performing wireless communication with the TV apparatus 1 (b1 in
Establishing the session, the tablet terminal 2b transmits EDID to the TV apparatus 1 (b2 in
The tablet terminal 2b displays the operation screen by using the video signal. If a touch operation is made on the operation screen, the tablet terminal 2b transmits coordinate data indicating the touched position to the TV apparatus 1 as operation information (b5 in
In
As shown in “A” of
As shown in “B” of
The user can make a touch operation on a video image he/she wants to view, whereby the channel broadcasting the video image is selected. That is, the user can select channels while checking the video images of the respective channels on the tablet terminal 2b side.
Such a simultaneous display of a plurality of video images is only available to the tablet terminal 2b which includes the touch screen display having a large screen size. This indicates the effectiveness of performing the generation of an operation screen including the arrangement of operating objects according to the screen size and/or aspect ratio.
It will be understood, for example, that the display area for displaying the video image(s) of the channel(s) being received by the TV tuner(s) 16 need not necessarily be arranged on the operation screen.
Suppose, for example, that a touch operation is made on a position other than the group of operation buttons c2 (including the display area c1) on the operation screen for the smartphone 2a shown in “A” of
Establishing a session for performing wireless communication with a platform terminal (block A1), the TV apparatus 1 initially receives screen environment information from the platform terminal (block A2). The TV apparatus 1 generates an operation screen (for operating the TV apparatus 1) based on the received screen environment information (block A3), and transmits video data thereof to the platform terminal (block A4).
The TV apparatus 1 receives operation information from the platform terminal (block A5), and analyzes the content of the operation on the operation screen based on the operation information (block A6). Based on the analysis result, the TV apparatus 1 performs the operation control of the TV apparatus 1 (block A7).
As described above, according to the TV apparatus 1, (a) application programs need not be developed for respective platform terminals, and (b) a plurality of application programs need not be installed in a platform terminal.
That is, according to the TV apparatus 1, the convenience of remote operations by platform terminals can be improved.
Since the operation procedure of the present embodiment can be implemented by software, similar effects to those of the present embodiment can be easily obtained by introducing the software into an ordinary computer via a computer-readable storage medium.
The various modules of the systems described herein can be implemented as software applications, hardware and/or software modules, or components on one or more computers, such as servers. While the various modules are illustrated separately, they may share some or all of the same underlying logic or code.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2013-017131 | Jan 2013 | JP | national |
This application is a Continuation application of PCT Application No. PCT/JP2013/058399, filed Mar. 22, 2013 and based upon and claiming the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-017131, filed Jan. 31, 2013, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2013/058399 | Mar 2013 | US |
Child | 14060328 | US |