JPH06187163A - Control device for information equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To automatically start the application program required by the personal computer according to the environment of the place of use. [Structure] A transmitter management computer 1 is arranged in a management center of an office building, and the transmitter management computer 1 is arranged in each room or corridor via a network 2 set up in the building. Transmitter 3
a to 3p are connected. An ID signal according to the environment of the place is transmitted from each of the transmitters 3a to 3p. For example, when the portable computer 6b is used near the telephone 7 arranged in the hallway, In the computer 6b, a telephone number management program is automatically started, and at the same time, a freehand editor program capable of recording a memo is also started.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control device for information equipment, for example, for a portable personal computer to automatically start an application program corresponding to the environment of the place where the personal computer is used. The present invention relates to a control device for information equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A portable personal computer (for example, a notebook personal computer, hereinafter referred to as a PC) has become widespread, and various application programs used by the PC have been provided. In these PCs, the user manually activates a predetermined application program required depending on the place of use or preference.

For example, in the case of an office building, the PC is often used as a word processor for minutes in a conference room of the office building. In this case, an application program as a word processor program for the PC is used. Is manually activated by the user. At the same time, the user also manually activates an application program for displaying a clock for managing the progress of the conference, if necessary.

Further, for example, in the vicinity of a telephone installation place placed in a corridor, there is a high probability that a telephone number management program is required, and when this is required, the user also manually operates the telephone number management program by himself. It is made to start. At the same time, it is necessary to activate a freehand editor program capable of recording a memo if necessary, and in this case also, the user manually activates the freehand editor program.

[0005]

As described above, in the above-mentioned conventional PC, the user needs to manually start the required application program, so that the user can carry the PC to a place where he or she intends to use it. In that case, it is essential to load the application program that is needed on the spot.

The present invention has been made in view of these points. For example, when a PC is carried in a conference room, it is generally used in the conference room as an application as a word processor program for minutes. (EN) A control device for information equipment having a user interface function capable of further saving time by automatically starting a program and at the same time automatically starting an application program for displaying a clock for managing conference progress. This is an issue.

[0007]

A control device for an information equipment according to claim 1, which is formed to achieve the above object, is provided with a plurality of transmitters, for example, for each room. I according to the environment of the place where the transmitter is installed
ID signal transmitting means such as infrared light for transmitting D signal, and I
The ID signal receiving means comprises a receiver having an infrared light receiving element or the like for receiving an ID signal according to the environment of the place transmitted by at least one transmitter in the D signal transmitting means, and the ID signal receiving means receives the ID signal. It is characterized in that it is provided with an information input / output means such as a PC that starts an application program based on an ID signal and can input or output information according to the application program.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control device for information equipment according to the first aspect, further comprising the step of activating an application program in the information input / output means.
It is characterized in that a confirmation means for confirming whether or not the capacity of the memory in which the application program is loaded has a margin is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control device for information equipment, wherein in the configuration according to the first aspect, the information input / output means starts an application program.
It is characterized in that it is provided with a priority order giving means for giving a priority order to the starting order of a plurality of application programs.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the control device for information equipment according to the first aspect, the transmitting means should transmit to each of the plurality of transmitters via the transmitter management network. It is characterized in that a transmission management means including a transmission management computer or the like is provided to transmit an ID signal according to the environment of the place.

[0011]

In the control device for information equipment according to claim 1, for example, a transmitter is provided as an ID signal transmitting means for radiating infrared light or the like to each room or to a predetermined portion of a corridor, respectively. An ID signal corresponding to the environment of the place where the transmitter is installed is transmitted from the transmitter. A receiver as an ID signal receiving means provided with an infrared light receiving element or the like for receiving an ID signal according to the environment of the place transmitted by the at least one transmitter is prepared, and the ID signal received by this receiver is provided. Based on the above, the application program in the information input / output means such as a PC is started.

The application program started at this time is automatically selected according to the environment of the place where the PC is carried, and the operation closer to the user's action is provided and the application time is further increased. Saving user interface features are automatically provided.

Further, in the control device of the information equipment according to the second aspect, the information input / output means such as a PC is further provided with a confirmation means, and the capacity of the memory in which the application program is loaded when the application program is started. It is confirmed whether there is room. If the memory capacity is not sufficient, a routine for asking whether to end the operation of the application program is entered to enable the newly required application program to be started.

In the control device for the information equipment according to the third aspect, the information input / output means such as a PC is further provided with a priority order giving means, and when the application programs are started, the order of starting the plurality of application programs is set. Prioritized. As a result, the application programs are automatically started in the order of high utility depending on the place where the PC is used, and a more advanced user interface function is exhibited.

Further, in a control device for information equipment according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the ID signal transmitting means is further provided with a transmission managing means comprising a transmission managing computer, and each of the plurality of transmitters is provided via a transmission managing network. On the other hand, a command is supplied to each to transmit an ID signal according to the environment of the place to be transmitted.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a control device for information equipment according to the present invention, and shows a network diagram taking the floor of an office building as an example. The management center of the office building is provided with a transmitter management computer 1 which constitutes a part of the ID signal transmission means, and the transmitter management computer 1 is provided in each room via a network 2 set up in the building. Alternatively, transmitters 3a to 3p arranged at various places such as a corridor are connected. As will be described later, the transmitter management computer 1 is provided with a transmission management means for transmitting an ID signal according to the environment of the place to be transmitted to each of the plurality of transmitters 3a to 3p.

Each of the transmitters 3a to 3p spatially outputs different ID signals indicating a place (environment) where the transmitter is installed. Infrared light is preferable for this, as will be described later, but radio waves may be used instead. For example, the transmitter 3a installed at the ceiling angle of the office A4 outputs an ID signal including the fact that the office is A at regular intervals. Further, the transmitter 3b is also installed on the desk 5 of the office A, but a signal indicating that it is on the desk is output from here. The signal output from the transmitter 3b can be of two types: (1) "office A and on the desk." (2) "on the desk." But office A
There is a need for a method of avoiding a signal collision with the transmitter 3a arranged at the ceiling angle of 1. In this case, a method such as time division can be considered.

The signals from the transmitters 3a to 3p are received by the receiver R as an ID signal receiving means provided in the portable personal computers (PC) 6a, 6b and the like. Based on the received location information (ID signal), the PCs 6a, 6b etc. use (1) 0 or 1 or more data as an argument, and (2) activate one or more application programs.

For example, when the information received by the PC 6a is "this is a conference room", the PC 6a activates a word processor program for minutes. It also starts a clock (meeting progress management) program if necessary. Furthermore, the PC 6 is located near the telephone 7 in the corridor.
When b is carried (this is judged from the signal strength etc.), the telephone number management program is started in the PC 6b, and at the same time, the freehand editor program capable of recording a memo is also started.

The above is the overall configuration and the concept of its operation in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the more detailed configuration of each of the above-mentioned parts. In FIG. 2, a plurality of transmitters are connected to a transmitter management computer 1 via a network 2 set up in a building. In FIG. 2, the configuration of the transmitters 3a and 3b surrounded by broken lines is shown as a representative, but the other transmitters 3c to 3p are shown.
The same configuration is used in.

The transmitters 3a and 3b are network communication modules 3a1 and 3b1 respectively connected to the transmitter management computer 1 via the network 2.
, Transmission signal latch sections 3a2, 3b2 for latching transmission signals received by the communication modules 3a1, 3b1
, PPM (Pulse Posi) for identifying the transmission signals latched by the latch units 3a2 and 3b2.
transmission signal identifying units and encoding units 3a3 and 3b3, and infrared LED drive units 3a4 and 3b4 that spatially output the signals encoded by the transmitting signal identifying units and encoding units 3a3 and 3b3 as infrared signals. It is made up of.

A portable personal computer (P
C) A receiver R as an ID signal receiving means is provided on the 6 side. That is, the receiver R, as indicated by the broken line, has an infrared signal receiving section R1 including a photodetector for receiving the infrared light transmitted from the transmitters 3a, 3b ....
And an infrared signal decoding unit R2 for demodulating the PPM signal received by the photodetector R1 and converted into an electric signal, and a decoding signal latching unit R3 for latching the ID signal decoded by the decoding unit R2. .

Decode signal latch unit R3 of the receiver R
Is connected to the bus line 601 of the PC 6, and the CPU (central processing unit) 60 is connected to the bus line 601.
2. The ROM 603 and the RAM 604 are connected, and the external storage device 606 is connected via the external storage interface 605. The bus line 601 has a tablet and pen interface 60.
7, a pen 608 and a tablet 609 are connected to each other, and a display unit 611 and a VRAM are connected from a bus line 601 via a display controller 610.
612 is connected.

In the configuration of FIG. 2, the transmitter management computer 1 is equipped with a transmission management means, and each transmitter 3a, 3b ... Sends a message sequence to be transmitted by each transmitter 3a, 3b. Output to. This transmission instruction outputs an ID signal including contents corresponding to the room or place where each transmitter 3a, 3b ... Is installed. Examples of this signal content are "meeting room", "near telephone", "near fax", "near desk", "office", etc.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a message sequence transmitted by the transmitter management computer 1 to each of the transmitters 3a, 3b .... In this example, the header unit 101, the target transmitter ID 102, the transmission place name ID 103, and the tail unit 104 are set as one set. This is sequentially transmitted to each of the transmitters 3a, 3b ... Through the network 2. Network communication module 3 in each transmitter 3a, 3b ...
a1 3b1 ... Receives the transmission character string transmitted from the transmitter management computer 1 and holds the transmission signal in the latch sections 3a2 3b2. In the example shown in FIG. 3, of the 11 bits of the target transmitter ID, the upper 3 bits are defined as the group ID and the lower 8 bits are defined as the individual ID. Then, the transmission signal identifying sections 3a3, 3b3 ... Identify the target transmitter ID code in the transmission character string held in the latch sections 3a2, 3b2.

For example, group ID = 100, individual ID =
A transmitter defined as 00000000 (for example, 3
When the transmission signal as shown in FIG. 3 is sent to a), the network communication module 3a1 of the transmitter 3a receives the transmission signal and then transmits the transmission character string (in this example, the target transmitter ID and the transmission place name ID). It is held in the transmission signal latch section 3a2. After that, the transmission signal identification section and the encoding section 3a3
Determines whether the target transmitter ID of this transmission character string matches its own group ID or individual ID. When they match, the subsequent transmission place name ID is PPM-encoded, and the transmission place name ID (ID corresponding to the place environment) is transmitted through the infrared LED drive unit 3a4.

FIG. 4 illustrates the PPM encoding operation in the transmission signal identifying section and the encoding section 3a3. That is, the transmission location name ID is the reader code 201 and the transmission location ID code 20 as shown in FIG.
2, the stop code 203 is a set, and the reader code 201 has a minimum pulse width unit of T as shown in FIG.
In this case, the transmission location ID code 202 is a combination of a 4T “H” output and a subsequent 1T “L” output, and the transmission location ID code 202 is a combination of a 1T “H” output and a subsequent 1T “L” output. Represents a "0", and a 2T "H" output followed by a 1T "L" output forms an 8-bit code system representing a "0". The stop code 203 is a 2T "H" output. It is formed by the output and the subsequent 48T "L" output.

Therefore, the transmission place name ID code is, for example, "1".
In the case of 1001010 ", the PPM signal as shown in FIG. 6 is formed, which is the infrared LED drive unit 3
It is supplied to a4 and emitted as infrared light.

The infrared signal receiving section R1 of the receiver R provided in the PC 6 receives the infrared light PPM-modulated by the ID code of the transmission place, converts it into an electric signal and supplies it to the infrared signal decoding section R2. To do. The infrared signal decoding unit R2 demodulates the PPM signal based on the code modulation / demodulation protocol shown in FIG. 5, extracts the transmission location name ID, and holds it in the decoding signal latch unit R3.

When the PC 6 recognizes that the decode signal is received by a method set by the system such as a hardware interrupt, the ROM 603, R
Processing for launching a desired application program from the application program desired to be started stored in the AM 604 or the external storage device 606 is performed.

The following application programs are prepared as the application programs. ==== Minutes Program ==== A text / graphics input editor with a form suitable for recording meetings, usually with dedicated fields where attendee names, dates, agendas, etc. can be written. ==== Clock program ==== This is a program for time management. In addition to the usual clock function, it has functions suitable for meeting time management such as alarm function and timer function. ==== Phone Number Management Program ==== Program that allows you to easily search for phone numbers stored in your computer ==== Freehand editor program ==== Program for recording simple notes . Free format editor.

The application list to be started is
For example, it is formed in the following ID-to-location correspondence table format. ID Location Desired application and priority 00000000 Conference room (1) Minutes program (2) Clock program 00000001 In front of the phone (1) Telephone number management program (2) Clock program (3) Freehand editor program ……………………… ………… 11111111 All places (1) Freehand editor program

That is, the start-desired application list describes the application programs that the user wishes to start at a certain location.
Basically, the application program name and the argument that the user desires to start are described for each location.

The following is an example of the application list to be started. ## If the place is a conference room, ## First, start the minutes program ## At this time, the arguments to be passed to the program are the room number and date of the conference room ## Second, the clock program # # The argument passed to the program at this time is none # # # # If the location is in front of the phone # # First, start the phone number management program # # At this time, the program No argument to be passed to # ## Second, start the clock program ## At this time, the argument to be passed to the program is 3 minutes, back calculation ## Third, start the freehand editor program ## When the argument passed to the program is

The arguments passed to the minutes program (here, the room number and date of the conference room) are appropriately expanded in the minutes entry form opened by the started minutes program. That is, in this case, the conference room number is automatically entered in the field indicating the location, and the date and time at that point are automatically entered in the field indicating the date according to the argument. Further, in the case of a clock program used in front of a telephone, the countdown operation is designated by the argument "back calculation", and "3 minutes" is designated as the initial value.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the control device for the information equipment constructed as described above, and mainly shows the operation of the CPU 602 shown in FIG. In the CPU 602, the receiver R is the transmitters 3a, 3b ...
First of all, triggered by receiving a signal from
1, the reception of the position signal (transmission place name ID) is prohibited. This processing is not always necessary, but the position signal is prohibited to facilitate control. Then S
In TEP2, the received position signal and memory (ROM
603, RAM 604, or external storage device 60
6) Inputting the desired application program list to be started stored in (6), 0 or 1 or more application programs to be started are determined with priorities, a scheduled application program list is generated, and the memory (ROM 603, It is held at an appropriate position in the RAM 604, or the external storage device 606).
Then, in STEP 3, the internal variable I indicating the read position of the scheduled application program list is initialized to 0.

Next, in STEP 4, it is judged whether or not there is enough memory capacity to operate the I-th program in the list of application programs to be started. If the memory capacity is insufficient, the process proceeds to STEP 5 and there is memory capacity. Then, proceed to STEP8. If the memory capacity is insufficient, the user is asked in STEP 5 whether or not to end the operation of the application program in the current operating state (or sleep state) in order to secure the memory capacity. The user interface in this case is arbitrary, but as an example, (a) application programs with the largest memory usage are presented in order and the user is allowed to select them. (B) The application programs are presented in order from the oldest activated application program so that the user can select them. Show the application program to be terminated from the system side. The application program name selected by the user to be terminated is stored in the memory (ROM 603, RA
M604, or external storage device 606).

Then, in STEP 6, if the user's reply is “end may be completed”, the process proceeds to STEP 7, and if not, the process proceeds to STEP 9. The ST
If the user's answer in EP6 is "end may end", in STEP 7, the operation of the application program selected by the user is ended by referring to the end application program list. And ST
Returning to EP4, it is again determined whether or not there is enough memory capacity to operate the I-th program in the application program list to be started.

On the other hand, if it is determined in STEP 4 that the memory capacity is available, in STEP 8, the I-th application program in the application program list to be activated is activated. And ST
In EP9, the read position of the application program list to be started is advanced by one. The above-mentioned STEP
In step 6, even if the user does not receive the reply "end may be finished", the process proceeds to step 9 and the read position of the application program list to be activated is advanced by one. Then, in STEP 10, it is determined whether or not there is an application program to be activated in the list of application programs to be activated. That is, it is determined whether the read position of the application program list to be started has reached the end. If it has reached the end, proceed to STEP 11 and proceed to S
The start-up application program list generated in TEP2 is deleted, and the position signal (transmission place name ID) reception prohibited state is released.

If it is determined in STEP 10 that the application program to be activated remains in the list of application programs to be activated, the procedure returns to STEP 4 to enter the activation routine for the other remaining application programs.

[0041]

As is apparent from the above description, claim 1
According to the information apparatus control device described in (1), for example, a plurality of transmitters are prepared for each room, and each transmitter transmits an infrared ray I or the like depending on the environment of the place where the transmitter is installed.
The D signal is transmitted. Then, the ID signal is received by, for example, a receiver included in the portable personal computer, and the application program of the portable personal computer is automatically started based on the received ID signal. That is, the application program required according to the environment of the place where the portable personal computer is carried is automatically started, and the operation closer to the user's action is provided.
A user interface function that saves time is provided.

Further, according to the control device of the information equipment according to the second aspect, the information input / output means such as the portable personal computer is further provided with the confirmation means, and when the application program is automatically started, the application program is It is confirmed whether or not the capacity of the loaded memory is sufficient. If the memory capacity is not sufficient, a routine for asking whether to end the operation of the already loaded application program is entered to enable the newly required application program to be started.

Further, according to the control device of the information equipment according to the third aspect, the portable personal computer is further provided with the priority assigning means, and when starting the application programs, the starting order of the plurality of application programs is prioritized. Can be ranked. As a result, the application programs are automatically started in the order of high utility depending on the place where the portable personal computer is used, and a more advanced user interface function is exhibited.

Further, according to the control device of the information equipment according to the fourth aspect, the ID signal transmitting means is further provided with a transmission managing means comprising, for example, a transmitter managing computer, and the plurality of transmitters are provided via a transmission managing network. A command is supplied to each of the above to transmit an ID signal corresponding to the environment of the place to be transmitted. Therefore, when changing the layout of a room or a corridor, for example, by changing a part of a program or a parameter in the transmitter management computer, it is possible to convert each required ID signal and perform collective management.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a control device for information equipment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of each unit of the control device for the information equipment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a format diagram showing an example of a message transmitted by the network computer in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a format diagram of an infrared light transmission signal transmitted by the transmitter in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram illustrating a PDM signal modulation / demodulation protocol used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram showing an example of modulation of an infrared light transmission signal used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control device for the information equipment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 transmitter management computer 2 network 3a to 3p transmitter (ID signal transmitting means) 4 office 5 desks 6, 6a, 6b portable computer (information input / output means) R receiver (ID signal receiving means)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of transmitters are provided, and at least the ID signal transmitting means transmits an ID signal from each transmitter according to the environment of the place where the transmitter is installed, and at least the ID signal transmitting means. ID signal receiving means comprising a receiver for receiving an ID signal according to the environment of a place transmitted by one transmitter, and an application program is activated based on the ID signal received by the ID signal receiving means, and An information device control apparatus, comprising: an information input / output unit capable of inputting or outputting information according to an application program. 2. A plurality of transmitters are provided, and at least the ID signal transmitting means transmits an ID signal from each transmitter according to the environment of the place where the transmitter is installed, and at least the ID signal transmitting means. ID signal receiving means comprising a receiver for receiving an ID signal according to the environment of a place transmitted by one transmitter, and an application program is activated based on the ID signal received by the ID signal receiving means, and An information input / output unit capable of inputting or outputting information according to an application program, wherein the information input / output unit has a memory capacity in which the application program is loaded when the application program is started. Is further provided with a confirmation means for confirming whether or not there is a margin. Information control unit of the device. 3. A plurality of transmitters are provided, and at least the ID signal transmitting means for transmitting an ID signal from each transmitter according to the environment of the place where the transmitter is installed, and at least the ID signal transmitting means. ID signal receiving means comprising a receiver for receiving an ID signal according to the environment of a place transmitted by one transmitter, and an application program is activated based on the ID signal received by the ID signal receiving means, and An information input / output unit capable of inputting or outputting information according to an application program, wherein the information input / output unit has priority over the start-up order of a plurality of application programs when the application programs are started. Of the information equipment, characterized by further comprising priority assigning means for ranking. Control device. 4. A plurality of transmitters are provided, and at least the ID signal transmitting means transmits an ID signal according to the environment of the place where the transmitter is installed from each transmitter, and at least the ID signal transmitting means. ID signal receiving means comprising a receiver for receiving an ID signal according to the environment of a place transmitted by one transmitter, and an application program is activated based on the ID signal received by the ID signal receiving means, and An information input / output unit capable of inputting or outputting information according to an application program is provided, and the transmitting unit transmits to each of the plurality of transmitters via a transmitter management network. Information equipment, further comprising transmission management means for transmitting an ID signal according to the environment of the place to be The control device.