Information terminal device, operation supporting method, and operation supporting program

• US 7,478,072 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2003
• Issued: 01/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kato, Kazuomi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirl; Joseph P
• Application Number:
  US10/680,242
• Publication Number:
  US 20040070591A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,924 Days
• Field of Search: 706/10, 706/11, 706/47, 703/22, 709/203
• US Class Current: 706/11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2477 for selecting a function from a menu display H04M1/2474 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72472 wherein the items are sorted according to specific criteria, e.g. frequency of use

Abstract

An information terminal device and an operation supporting method for enhancing operability by anticipating, based on a history of previous operations performed by a user, a next operation to be performed after a specific operation input by the user, and supporting a user'"'"'s operation input based on the anticipation. An operation history storing section stores information about an operation input by the user to an input section. Based on the operation history information, an operation anticipating section anticipates a next operation likely to be executed by the user. An operation supporting section supports execution of a function corresponding to the operation anticipated by the operation anticipating section. In the operation supporting section, an anticipated operation executing section 15 automatically executes the anticipated operation, or a user notification section notifies the user if an operation subsequently input to the input section does not coincide with the anticipated operation.

Claims

1. An information terminal device for executing, based on an operation input by a user, a function corresponding to the operation, comprising:

an input section for inputting an operation required by the user;

an operation history storing section for storing information about the operation input to the input section and about a time at which the operation is inputted as an operation history;

an operation anticipating section for anticipating, when the operation is input to the input section, a next operation to be subsequently input by the user from operations determined as consecutive operations in accordance with the time, based on the operation history information stored in the operation history information storing section; and

an anticipated operation supporting section for comparing an actual next operation, which is newly input from the input section, after the operation anticipating section has anticipated the next operation, with the anticipated next operation, and providing the user with a notification indicating that the actual next operation does not coincide with the anticipated next operation when the anticipated next operation is different from the actual next operation, not providing the user with a notification to indicate that the actual next operation coincides with the anticipated next operation when the actual next operation is the same as the anticipated next operation, and reducing the possibility of automatic execution, wherein automatic execution occurs when the operation anticipating section notifies an anticipated operation executing section of an operation, by reducing statistics with respect to the history of the consecutive operations causing the automatic execution.

2. The information terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the operation history storing section stores the operation history information, which is operation information described in order of operations consecutively performed by the user.

3. The information terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the operation history storing section stores the operation history information, which is operation information classified in accordance with an item of operations consecutively performed by the user.

4. The information terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the operation anticipating section is further operable to calculate a frequency of a next operation subsequently operated after the operation previously input to the input section, based on the operation history information, and anticipate, based on the calculated frequency, a next operation having a highest probability of being subsequently executed, as a next operation to be input by the user.

5. The information terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the operation anticipating section is further operable to calculate a frequency of a next operation subsequently operated after the operation previously input to the input section, based on the operation history information, and anticipate, based on the calculated frequency, a next operation having a highest probability of being subsequently executed, as a next operation to be input by the user.

6. The information terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the operation anticipating section is operable to calculate the frequency from at least one operation subsequently executed before the operation input to the input section.

7. The information terminal device according to claim 5, wherein the operation anticipating section is operable to calculate the frequency from at least one operation subsequently executed before the operation input to the input section.

8. The information terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the operation anticipating section is operable to calculate the frequency based on the operation history information every time an operation is input to the input section.

9. The information terminal device according to claim 5, wherein the operation anticipating section is operable to calculate the frequency based on the operation history information every time an operation is input to the input section.

10. The information terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the user is allowed to select whether a most recent frequency or a previous frequency is used for anticipating a next operation.

11. The information terminal device according to claim 5, wherein the user is allowed to select whether a most recent frequency or a previous frequency is used for anticipating a next operation.

12. The information terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the operation anticipating section causes a next operation, which is opposite or contradictory to the operation input to the input section and included in next operations subsequently executed after the operation input to the input section, to be ruled out as a next operation to be anticipated.

13. The information terminal device according to claim 5, wherein the operation anticipating section causes a next operation, which is opposite or contradictory to the operation input to the input section and included in next operations subsequently executed after the operation input to the input section, to be ruled out as a next operation to be anticipated.

14. The information terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising an operation detecting section for determining whether or not the operation input to the input section is a predetermined operation, wherein

the operation anticipating section anticipates a next operation to be input by the user with respect only to an operation determined by the operation detecting section as a predetermined operation.

15. The information terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising an information managing section for managing special information about the operation input to the input section, wherein

the operation history storing section stores, as operation history information, information about the operation input to the input section along with the special information supplied from the information managing section, and

the operation anticipating section anticipates a next operation to be input by the user, based on the operation history information, which includes the special information, stored in the operation history storing section.

16. The information terminal device according to claim 15, wherein the special information includes at least any one of a date, and a day of a week when the operation was input to the input section, a user type, an area, and a traveling status.

17. An information terminal device for executing, based on an operation input by a user, a function corresponding to the operation, comprising:

an input section for inputting an operation required by the user;

a transmitting section for transmitting information about the operation input to the input section and about a time at which the operation is inputted to a server as an operation history;

a receiving section for receiving, from the server, information about a next operation anticipated by the server to be subsequently input by the user from operations determined as consecutive operations in accordance with the time the operations were inputted after the operation input to the input section; and

an anticipated operation supporting section for comparing an actual next operation, which is newly input from the input section after an operation anticipating section has anticipated the next operation, with the anticipated next operation, and providing the user with a notification indicating that the actual next operation does not coincide with the anticipated next operation when the anticipated next operation is different from the actual next operation, not providing the user with a notification to indicate that the actual next operation coincides with the anticipated next operation when the actual next operation is the same as the anticipated next operation, and reducing the possibility of automatic execution, wherein automatic execution occurs when the operation anticipating section notifies an anticipated operation executing section of an operation, by reducing statistics with respect to the history of the consecutive operations causing the automatic execution.

18. An information terminal device for executing, based on an operation input by a user, a function corresponding to the operation, comprising:

an input section for inputting an operation required by the user;

a storing section for storing, in a storage medium, information about the operation input to the input section and about a time at which the operation is inputted as an operation history;

an obtaining section for obtaining operation history information stored in the storage medium when the operation is input to the input section;

an operation anticipating section for anticipating a next operation to be subsequently input by the user from operations determined as consecutive operations in accordance with the time the operations were inputted after the operation input to the input section and based on the operation history information obtained by the obtaining section; and

an anticipated operation supporting section for comparing an actual next operation, which is newly input from the input section after the operation anticipating section has anticipated the next operation, with the anticipated next operation, and providing the user with a notification indicating that the actual next operation does not coincide with the anticipated next operation when the anticipated next operation is different from the actual next operation, not providing the user with a notification to indicate that the actual next operation coincides with the anticipated next operation when the actual next operation is the same as the anticipated next operation, and reducing the possibility of automatic execution, wherein automatic execution occurs when the operation anticipating section notifies an anticipated operation executing section of an operation, by reducing statistics with respect to the history of the consecutive operations causing the automatic execution.

19. An operation supporting method performed by an information terminal device executing, based on an operation input by a user, a function corresponding to the operation, comprising at least the following:

inputting an operation required by the user;

storing information about the operation input at said inputting step, as an operation history, in a predetermined storing section;

anticipating a next operation to be subsequently input by the user from operations determined as consecutive operations in accordance with the time the operations were inputted after the input operation, based on operation history information stored in the storing section when the operation is input at said inputting step;

comparing an actual next operation, which is newly input after said anticipating step, with the anticipated next operation; and

providing the user with a notification indicating that the actual next operation does not coincide with the anticipated next operation when the anticipated next operation is different from the actual next operation, not providing the user with a notification to indicate that the actual next operation coincides with the anticipated next operation when the actual next operation is the same as the anticipated next operation, and reducing the possibility of automatic execution, wherein automatic execution occurs when an operation anticipating section notifies an anticipated operation executing section of an operation, by reducing statistics with respect to the history of the consecutive operations causing the automatic execution.

20. A tangible computer readable medium having a program stored thereon to be executed by an information terminal device executing, based on an operation input by a user, a function corresponding to the operation, the program causing the information terminal device to execute the steps of:

inputting an operation required by the user;

storing information about the operation input at said inputting step, as an operation history, in a predetermined storing section;

anticipating a next operation to be subsequently input by the user from operations determined as consecutive operations in accordance with the time the operations were inputted after the input operation, based on operation history information stored in the storing section when the operation is input at said inputting step;

comparing an actual next operation, which is newly input after said anticipating step, with the anticipated next operation; and

providing the user with a notification indicating that the actual next operation does not coincide with the anticipated next operation when the anticipated next operation is different from the actual next operation, not providing the user with a notification to indicate that the actual next operation coincides with the anticipated next operation when the actual next operation is the same as the anticipated next operation, and reducing the possibility of automatic execution, wherein automatic execution occurs when an operation anticipating section notifies an anticipated operation executing section of an operation, by reducing statistics with respect to the history of the consecutive operations causing the automatic execution.