Terminal apparatus and storage medium

• US 9,370,042 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2013
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sako, Yoichiro, Takehara, Mitsuru, Sakoda, Kazuyuki, Watanabe, Kazuhiro, Tange, Akira, Hayashi, Kazunori, Kamada, Yasunori, Kon, Takayasu, Hanaya, Hiroyuki, Koga, Yuki, Asada, Kohei, Onuma, Tomoya
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Tuan A
• Application Number:
  US14/045,422
• Publication Number:
  US 20140106815A1
• Time in Patent Office: 985 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

There is provided a terminal apparatus including a search unit configured to search for an apparatus group including an input apparatus or an output apparatus, the input apparatus and the output apparatus being wirelessly connectable to the terminal apparatus, a recommendation unit configured to recommend, to a user, a predetermined input apparatus or a predetermined output apparatus from the apparatus group that has been searched for by the search unit, in accordance with current time, a place in which the user is currently present, or an attribute of the user, and a setting unit configured to set the predetermined input apparatus or the predetermined output apparatus as an input unit or an output unit of the terminal apparatus, respectively, the predetermined input apparatus and the predetermined output apparatus having been recommended by the recommendation unit.

Claims

1. A terminal apparatus comprising:

a search unit configured to search for an apparatus group including an input apparatus or an output apparatus, the input apparatus and the output apparatus being wirelessly connectable to the terminal apparatus;

a recommendation unit configured to recommend, to a user, a predetermined input apparatus or a predetermined output apparatus from the apparatus group that has been searched for by the search unit, in accordance with current time, a place in which the user is currently present, or an attribute of the user; and

a setting unit configured to set the predetermined input apparatus or the predetermined output apparatus as an input unit or an output unit of the terminal apparatus, respectively, the predetermined input apparatus and the predetermined output apparatus having been recommended by the recommendation unit,

wherein, when the user is in a private space, the recommendation unit recommends a highest-performance apparatus from the apparatus group that has been searched for, and when the user is in a public space, the recommendation unit recommends an apparatus other than the highest-performance apparatus from the apparatus group that has been searched for.

2. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recommendation unit recommends, to the user, only the predetermined input apparatus.

3. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminal apparatus is a smartphone or a mobile telephone terminal.

4. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminal apparatus is a tablet terminal.

5. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit sets, as an input unit or an output unit of the terminal apparatus, an apparatus selected by the user from apparatuses that have been recommended by the recommendation unit.

6. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit automatically sets, as an input unit or an output unit of the terminal apparatus, an apparatus that has been recommended by the recommendation unit.

7. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recommendation unit recommends the predetermined input apparatus or the predetermined output apparatus in accordance with whether the current time belongs to a nighttime period or a daytime period, the nighttime period and the daytime period being set in advance.

8. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute of the user is information indicating a sex, an age, an occupation, a body shape, or a preference of the user.

9. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage unit configured to store the current time, the place in which the user is currently present, or the attribute of the user in association with the predetermined input apparatus or the predetermined output apparatus,

wherein the recommendation unit recommends the predetermined input apparatus or the predetermined output apparatus by referring to the association stored in the storage unit.

10. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminal apparatus automatically determines that the predetermined input apparatus and the predetermined output apparatus recommended by the recommendation unit are acceptable if a predetermined time has passed without any manipulation of the user.

11. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit configured to display a list of the searched input apparatus or the searched output apparatus within the apparatus group.

12. The terminal apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined input apparatus or the predetermined output apparatus is highlighted from the apparatus group.

13. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recommendation unit recommends, to the user, the predetermined input apparatus or the predetermined output apparatus from the apparatus group that has been searched for by the search unit, in accordance with sex, age, occupation and body shape of the user.

14. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recommendation unit is further configured to recommend the predetermined input apparatus or the predetermined output apparatus from the apparatus group that has been searched for by the search unit, in accordance with power consumption of the apparatus group.

15. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recommendation unit recommends, to the user, the predetermined input apparatus or the predetermined output apparatus from the apparatus group that has been searched for by the search unit, in accordance with the current time, the place in which the user is currently present, and the attribute of the user.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a program stored therein, the program causing a computer to function as:

a search unit configured to search for an apparatus group including an input apparatus or an output apparatus, the input apparatus and the output apparatus being wirelessly connectable to a terminal apparatus;

a recommendation unit configured to recommend, to a user, a predetermined input apparatus or a predetermined output apparatus from the apparatus group that has been searched for by the search unit, in accordance with current time, a place in which the user is currently present, or an attribute of the user; and

a setting unit configured to set the predetermined input apparatus or the predetermined output apparatus as an input unit or an output unit of the terminal apparatus, respectively, the predetermined input apparatus and the predetermined output apparatus having been recommended by the recommendation unit,

wherein, when the user is in a private space, the recommendation unit recommends a highest-performance apparatus from the apparatus group that has been searched for, and when the user is in a public space, the recommendation unit recommends an apparatus other than the highest-performance apparatus from the apparatus group that has been searched for.