Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-18
2003-09-16
Cabeca, John W. (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06621508
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing system, and more particularly to an information processing system which synchronizes data between a host and terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, display devices and the like called PDAs (Personal Digital Assistance) which serve as easily-portable compact information processing devices, have come to be known in the field of portable devices. As shown in
FIG. 57
, a common usage configuration for information processing devices such as PDAs, personal computers (PC), palm-top devices, word processors, etc., is to transfer various types of data from an information processing device
2000
such as a desktop PC or the like which remains stationary at the home or office, to a portable terminal
2010
beforehand, following which the contents of the data in the portable terminal
2010
are used independently at another location, e.g., the contents are updated.
That is to say, the data held in the portable terminal and that in the information processing devices are updated asynchronously, thus necessitating an updating process for maintaining conformity of the data. Generally, portable terminals are connected to the information processing device set up in the home or office using one or more of various methods such as physical cable connection or wireless connection such as infra-red beam communication, and the updated data is re-transmitted from the portable terminal to the information processing device, thereby maintaining conformity (or synchronizing).
Also, regarding known art for a system which simplifies transfer of data between an information processing device and a portable device, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-110546 for example discloses a system wherein a gateway synchronizes differing protocols between a host computer and wireless portable terminal device, so that the user of the wireless portable terminal device can transfer data according to normal communication procedures without necessitating any particular consideration that the communication is that to a host computer.
With the above-described known method for synchronizing updated data by re-transferring the information updated at the portable terminal device to the information processing device such as a PC or the like, there are problems since each time the user sends updated data to the information processing device such as a PC, cable connections need to be made, application software must be started, certain procedures must be followed, and so forth, making the operation troublesome, and further, operation mistakes may occur, such as incorrectly storing the updated data, or forgetting to transfer the data at all.
Also, the above data transfer system is a way of simplifying data transfer by synchronizing the communication protocols between the host computer and portable terminal device, and there is no difference with the earlier art from the perspective that the operator must perform the operation of transferring and updating data from the portable terminal device. Accordingly, this arrangement has not by any means solved the above-described problems.
Now, the display screen of a PDA is smaller than that of a normal PC, so the display thereupon is also smaller, and accordingly, there has been a problem in that it is difficult for the user to understand what is being displayed and the function thereof. Also, font display has been problematic in that the characters are difficult to read and the display screen is not easily understood by the user. For example, displayed Japanese characters are easily read at a font size of 24 dots by 24 dots or larger, but display screen size restrictions have made such font sizes implausible, making Kanji and the like unreadable.
Also, with known devices such as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-173139, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-168482, etc., explanatory displays for indicating the detailed meaning of icons and the like which serve as objects in the metaphor environment are provided so that the user does not have to bear such a load of remembering the meaning of each. However, with such a device, information such as keywords and symbols are attached to the icons, and even though this might be effective for users who can understand the attached symbols and keywords, it is a burden for users without any such prior knowledge to remember new symbols and keywords, lowering the operation efficiency. Moreover, the characters are difficult to read, so this arrangement is not practical for PDAs.
Such devices are problematic in that it is a burden for users without prior knowledge to remember new symbols and keywords, and the reading of the attached explanations itself is a troublesome process, so the efficiency of operation decreases.
Also, an arrangement may be conceived wherein icons such as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-28157 are displayed, but in order for the user to select the desired function from the plurality of icons displayed in such a general icon display form, the user has no choice but to judge where the desired function is from the design and function name of each of the icons. Also, experienced users who have remembered which functions correspond to which icons and where the desired icon is located, displaying a great number of icons in a matrix layout allows for speedy selection of the desired icon, but a certain amount of time is needed for novices to understand the functions themselves which correspond to the icons, and time to remember where on the screen each icon corresponding with each function is located. Accordingly, it is easy for novices to make mistakes and select the wrong icon.
Particularly, the small display size of PDAs in general makes it difficult to understand which function starts up by selecting an icon, and further, each icon is small and difficult to select.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the known art, and accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing system wherein mutual data is maintained the same between a information processing device and a portable information processing device, and furthermore wherein a menu screen (user interface) corresponding with the display screen of each is formed, such that the user can easily understand the functions correlated with the icons and so forth, thereby improving operability.
To this end, according to a first aspect of the present invention, an information processing system comprises: a first information processing device which performs display processing of at least one piece of first icon information which is displayed on a menu screen; and a second information processing device which performs display processing of at least one piece of second icon information which is displayed on a menu screen, the second icon information having the same concept as the first icon information; and wherein the first information processing device comprises: a first storage unit for storing the first icon information and display data corresponding to the first icon information; a first display unit for displaying at least the first icon information; a first control unit for performing display control of the first icon information upon the first display unit; and a first communication unit for performing transmission and reception of the display data between the first information processing device and the second information processing device; and wherein the second information processing device comprises: a second storage unit for storing the display data and second icon information corresponding to the display data; a second display unit for displaying the second icon information which is formed smaller than at least the first display unit; a second control unit for performing display control of the second icon information upon the second display unit; and a second communication unit for perf
Nakashima Roy
Shiraishi Atsushi
Tsuji Keisuke
Cabeca John W.
Seiko Epson Corporation
Thai Cuong T.
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