JP7735359B2 - Information processing device, work environment reproduction method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, a work environment reproduction method, and a program.

Conventionally, there are known techniques for automatically saving and restoring a work environment. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that, when a temperature abnormality is detected in a CPU or a peripheral device, saves data necessary to restore the work environment and then forcibly turns off the system power.
Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a system that associates access information, which is information accessed by a user, with work items for which a work period is set and stores them in a memory unit, monitors user operations, and, when access to information by a user is detected, retrieves the related access information from the memory unit and displays it as a virtual desktop.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-240367 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-294946

In recent years, the spread of remote work and other trends has led to a diversification of the environments in which information processing devices are used. For example, in terms of peripheral device environments, it is conceivable that at home, a user might connect an external display and work in a multi-display environment, while when away from home, the user might work using only the information processing device without connecting an external display. Therefore, when recreating a work environment, it is necessary to take into account the connection status of such peripheral devices.

The present invention was made in light of these circumstances, and aims to provide an information processing device, a work environment reproduction method, and a program that can reproduce a work environment that takes into account the connection of peripheral devices such as external displays.

One aspect of the present invention is an information processing device comprising: a work environment information creation means that, when predetermined conditions are met, creates work environment information including information on a running application and information on whether an external display is connected and stores the information in a storage means; an event detection means that detects the occurrence of an event related to a user's input operation; a search condition generation means that, when the occurrence of the event is detected, determines whether an external display is connected and generates search conditions including information on whether the external display is connected and information on the running application; a search means that searches the storage means based on the search conditions; and an environment reproduction means that reproduces a work environment based on the work environment information obtained as a search result.

One aspect of the present invention is a work environment reproduction method in which a computer executes the following steps: a work environment information creation step that, when predetermined conditions are met, creates work environment information including information on a running application and information on whether an external display is connected and stores the information in a storage device; an event detection step that detects the occurrence of an event related to a user's input operation; a search condition generation step that, when the occurrence of the event is detected, determines whether an external display is connected and generates search conditions including information on whether the external display is connected and information on the running application; a search step that searches the storage device based on the search conditions; and an environment reproduction step that reproduces a work environment based on the work environment information obtained as a search result.

One aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to function as the above-mentioned information processing device.

This invention makes it possible to recreate a work environment that takes into account the connection of an external display.

1 is a schematic external view of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram showing an example of functions provided in an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a work environment reproduction method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes an information processing device, work environment reproduction method, and program according to one embodiment of the present invention, with reference to the drawings. Examples of information processing devices include notebook PCs, desktop PCs, tablet devices, and smartphones. For ease of explanation, the following description will use a notebook PC as an example of information processing device 1.

Fig. 1 is a schematic external view of an information processing device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the information processing device 1 includes, for example, a main body housing 2 and a display housing 3. The main body housing 2 and the display housing 3 can be opened and closed by, for example, a plurality of connecting members.
The main body housing 2 includes an input unit 4. The input unit 4 is a user interface that allows a user to perform input operations. Examples of the input unit 4 include a keyboard, a touchpad, and a pointing device. Examples of the pointing device include a mouse, a trackpad, and a trackball.

The display-side housing 3 includes a display unit 5 that displays images. Examples of the display unit 5 include a touch panel display, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display, etc.

Next, the hardware configuration of the information processing device 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the input unit 4 and display unit 5 described above, the information processing device 1 also includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit: processor) 11, a main memory 12, a secondary storage 13, an external interface 14, and a communication interface 15. These units are interconnected directly or indirectly via a bus 18, and work together to execute various processes.

The CPU 11 controls the entire information processing device 1 using, for example, an OS (Operating System) stored in the secondary storage device 13 connected via the bus 18, and performs various processes by executing various programs stored in the secondary storage device 13. There may be one or more CPUs 11, which may work together to perform various processes.

The main memory device 12 is composed of writable memory such as cache memory or RAM (Random Access Memory), and is used as a working area for reading programs executed by the CPU 11 and writing data processed by the programs.

The secondary storage device 13 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Examples of the secondary storage device 13 include a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and semiconductor memory. Examples of the secondary storage device 13 include a ROM (Read Only Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), and flash memory. The secondary storage device 13 stores, for example, an OS for controlling the entire information processing device, such as Windows (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), or Android (registered trademark), a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), various device drivers for operating peripheral devices, various application software, and various data and files. The secondary storage device 13 also stores programs for implementing various processes and various data required for implementing various processes. Multiple secondary storage devices 13 may be provided, and the above-mentioned programs and data may be stored separately in each secondary storage device 13.

The external interface 14 is an interface for connecting to an external device. Examples of external devices include an external display, an external camera, a USB memory stick, and an external HDD. Note that although only one external interface is shown in the example shown in Figure 2, multiple external interfaces may be provided.

The communication interface 15 functions as an interface for connecting to a network to communicate with other devices and sending and receiving information. For example, the communication interface 15 communicates with other devices via wired or wireless connections. Examples of wireless communication include communication via lines such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), Wi-Fi, mobile communication systems (3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, LTE, etc.), and wireless LANs. An example of wired communication is communication via lines such as a wired LAN (Local Area Network).

3 is a functional configuration diagram showing an example of functions provided in the information processing device 1. As shown in FIG.
The work environment reproduction system 20 includes, for example, a work environment information creation unit 21, a work environment information database (storage unit) 22, an event detection unit 23, a search condition generation unit 24, a search unit 25, and an environment reproduction unit 26.

The series of processes for realizing the various functions of the work environment reproduction system 20 are stored, for example, in the form of a program in the secondary storage device 13, and the CPU (processor) 11 reads this program into the main storage device 12 and executes information processing and arithmetic operations to realize the various functions. The program may be pre-installed in the secondary storage device 13, provided in a state stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, or distributed via wired or wireless communication means. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media include magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and semiconductor memories.

When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the work environment information creating unit 21 creates work environment information including information on the activated application and information on whether an external display is connected. For example, when an application is activated by the user, the work environment information creating unit 21 may create work environment information when an event (activation of an application by the user) is detected by the event detecting unit 23 described later.
Furthermore, when a user launches an application, the work environment information creation unit 21 may create work environment information after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the launch of the application. For example, depending on the content of the work, the work may be performed using multiple applications in parallel. In such a case, when starting the work, the user will launch multiple applications in sequence, open the necessary files, and perform the work. Therefore, by creating work environment information based on the state after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the first launch of the application, it is possible to create work environment information that reflects information on multiple applications, etc., used by the user when performing a certain work.

Furthermore, the work environment information creating unit 21 may be configured to use the start of an application as a trigger and continuously create work environment information at predetermined time intervals over a predetermined period of time thereafter, and store the information in the work environment information database 22. This makes it possible to obtain more work environment information, such as information on files used in conjunction with the use of a certain application and information on other application information.
After creating the work environment information, the work environment information creating unit 21 stores the created work environment information in a work environment information database (storage unit) 22 .

In addition to the above-mentioned information on whether or not an external display is connected, the work environment information may include at least one of the following: the application being launched, location information, network information used, date and time information, day of the week information, executable file information, and OS setting information.
Examples of location information include GPS position information. Examples of network information include identification information of the network to which the communication interface 15 is connected, such as an SSID (Service Set Identifier). Examples of executable file information include the file path of the executable file. Examples of OS setting information include display settings (multi-display settings, layout, brightness, etc.), sound settings (output device, volume, microphone, etc.), virtual display settings, etc.

For example, the work environment of the information processing device 1 may change depending on the location, time, day of the week, etc. For example, in the case of a student, the subjects of classes may differ depending on the day of the week, time, and location, and the applications and files used may differ depending on the subject. In addition, in the case of an office worker, the work environment at home is often different from the work environment when away from home (for example, at a visiting place, in a cafe, etc.), and the work environment also changes depending on the day of the week and time. In this way, by including information such as the day of the week, time, location, and network information used as additional information in the work environment information, it is possible to accumulate information that is useful for learning about the user's work environment trends.

The event detection unit 23 detects the occurrence of an event related to a user's input operation. For example, the event detection unit 23 detects the occurrence of an event when an application is launched by the user.

When the event detection unit 23 detects the occurrence of an event, the search condition generation unit 24 determines whether an external display is connected and generates search conditions including information on whether an external display is connected and information on the running application. The search conditions may further include at least one of location information, network information used, date and time information, and day of the week information.

When an external display is not connected, the search condition generation unit 24 may determine whether another pre-set information processing device is present on the network, and if another information processing device is present, generate search conditions assuming that an external display is connected. For example, another information processing device (e.g., a tablet terminal, smartphone, etc.) may be connected via a wireless line such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and used as an external display. In anticipation of such a case, when a pre-set information processing device (e.g., an information processing device under the management of the user account, an information processing device with a connection history, etc.) is present on the network, it may be deemed to be in a state where it can be connected as an external display, and search conditions may be generated assuming that an external display is connected.

The search unit 25 searches the work environment information database 22 based on the search conditions generated by the search condition generation unit 24 .
For example, the search unit 25 acquires the work environment information that is most similar to the search criteria, in other words, the most likely work environment information, as the search result. Furthermore, the search unit 25 may determine that there are no search results if the similarity is equal to or less than a predetermined value.
Here, the search method is not particularly limited. For example, machine learning, such as a classifier, may be used, or other known methods may be used.

The environment reproduction unit 26 reproduces the work environment based on the work environment information obtained as a search result. For example, the environment reproduction unit 26 includes an operation information database 26a and an automatic operation unit 26b that creates a processing procedure (program) for reproducing the work environment based on the information stored in the operation information database 26a and reproduces the work environment by sequentially executing the created processing procedure.

The operation information database 26a stores information required to generate a procedure for reproducing a work environment, such as algorithms, rules, and various data (parameters, tasks, etc.) of command scripts for reproducing a work environment corresponding to setting items.
For example, setting items are broadly categorized into OS settings, application startup, and operation-related settings. For example, command scripts used for OS settings include WinAPI, batch scripts, and shell scripts. Command scripts used for application startup include commands and shell scripts. For operation-related settings, commands differ depending on the application, so UI operation commands corresponding to various applications are stored.

When recreating a work environment, processes may need to be executed in a predetermined order. For example, if an external display is not connected and another pre-configured information processing device is present on the network, and work environment information indicating an external display is connected is obtained as a search result, it is first necessary to execute a process to connect to the other information processing device via the communication network, and then execute a process to set that information processing device as an external display. For example, when launching and displaying an application on an external display that is a second display, it is necessary to execute the OS settings for setting the external display as a second display before launching the application. Furthermore, when configuring the UI for an application, it is necessary to launch the application before configuring the UI. For processes with a predetermined execution order, information regarding the processing procedures is stored as processing procedure rules in the operation information database 26a.

The automatic operation unit 26b uses the information stored in the operation information database 26a to create a processing procedure for reproducing the work environment acquired as a search result, and reproduces the work environment by executing the created processing procedure in order. Regarding the processing procedures, if processes can be executed in parallel, the time required to reproduce the work environment can be shortened by executing them in parallel.
The method for reproducing the work environment is not limited to the above-described method, and any known technique can be appropriately adopted.

Next, the work environment reproduction process (work environment reproduction method) executed by the information processing device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure for the work environment reproduction process according to one embodiment of the present invention. This process is started, for example, when the information processing device 1 is started, and ends when the information processing device 1 is shut down.

The work environment reproduction system 20 first determines whether an event has occurred (SA1). Specifically, it determines whether any application has been launched by the user. As a result, if no event has occurred (SA1: NO), it enters a standby state. If an event has occurred (SA1: YES), it generates search conditions based on the current work situation (SA2). Specifically, it determines whether an external display is connected, and obtains the launched application, location information, network information used, date and time information, and day of the week information, and generates search conditions that include this information. At this time, if it determines that an external display is not connected, it further determines whether other pre-set information processing devices exist on the network, and if other information processing devices exist, it generates search conditions assuming that an external display is connected.

Next, the work environment information database 22 is searched based on the generated search criteria (SA3). It is then determined whether search results have been obtained (SA4). If no search results have been obtained (SA4: NO), for example, if no work environment information with a similarity to the search criteria equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold has been stored in the work environment information database 22, work environment information is created based on the current work situation (SA5), stored in the work environment information database 22 (SA6), and the process returns to step SA1.

On the other hand, if a search result is obtained in step SA4 (SA4: YES), the work environment is reproduced based on the work environment information obtained as the search result (SA7). This generates processing procedures for realizing the work environment obtained as the search result, and the work environment is reproduced by executing the generated processing procedures in order. Once the reproduction of the work environment is complete, the process returns to step SA1 and the above-mentioned processing is repeated.

As explained above, the information processing device 1, work environment reproduction method, and program according to this embodiment include a work environment information creation unit 21 that, when predetermined conditions are met, creates work environment information including information on active applications and whether an external display is connected and stores the information in a work environment information database 22; an event detection unit 23 that detects the occurrence of an event related to a user's input operation; a search condition creation unit 24 that, when an event is detected, determines whether an external display is connected and generates search conditions including whether the external display is connected and information on the active applications; a search unit 25 that searches the work environment information database 22 based on the search conditions; and an environment reproduction unit 26 that recreates a work environment based on work environment information obtained as a search result.

In this way, when a predetermined condition is met, work environment information including information on the activated application and whether or not an external display is connected is created and stored in the work environment information database 22. This makes it possible to accumulate information on the user's work environment.
Furthermore, when an event occurs, search conditions are generated that include the current work environment, i.e., information about currently running applications and information about whether an external display is connected, and the work environment information database 22 is searched based on the generated search conditions. If work environment information is obtained as a search result, the work environment is reproduced based on the work environment information. As a result, when a user performs an input operation such as launching an application, work environment information based on a similar input operation in the past is acquired and reproduced, thereby improving the user's work efficiency. Furthermore, because the work environment information and search conditions include information about whether an external display is connected, it is possible to reproduce a work environment that takes into account the connection of peripheral devices such as an external display.

Although the present invention has been described above using the above-mentioned embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above-mentioned embodiments. Various modifications or improvements can be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention, and such modifications or improvements are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the above-mentioned embodiments may be combined as appropriate.
Furthermore, the processing procedures according to the above embodiments are also examples, and unnecessary processing steps may be deleted, new processing steps may be added, or processing steps may be rearranged within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, if work environment information is obtained as a search result, the user may be notified of the work environment and asked whether or not it needs to be reproduced (inquiry means). Specific methods of inquiry include displaying a message in a dialog box or notifying the user by voice.

In addition, before work environment information can be obtained as a search result, a sufficient amount of work environment information must be stored in the work environment information database 22. For this reason, until the amount of work environment information stored in the work environment information database 22 reaches a predetermined value, searches based on search conditions may be omitted and only the creation and storage of work environment information may be performed. In this case, for example, a step may be added as the next step after the event occurrence (SA1) shown in Figure 4 to determine whether the number of work environment information pieces is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If the number of work environment information pieces is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process may proceed directly to step SA2, and if the number of work environment information pieces is less than the predetermined value, the process may proceed to step SA5.

1: Information processing device 2: Main body side housing 3: Display side housing 4: Input unit 5: Display unit 11: CPU
12: Main memory device 13: Secondary memory device 14: External interface 15: Communication interface 18: Bus 20: Work environment reproduction system 21: Work environment information creation unit 22: Work environment information database 23: Event detection unit 24: Search condition generation unit 25: Search unit 26: Environment reproduction unit 26a: Operation information database 26b: Automatic operation unit

Claims (8)

a work environment information creating means for creating work environment information including information on the application to be started and information on whether an external display is connected, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and storing the information in a storage means;
an event detection means for detecting the occurrence of an event related to a user's input operation;
a search condition generating means for determining whether an external display is connected when the occurrence of the event is detected, and generating search conditions including information on whether the external display is connected and information on the activated application;
a search means for searching the storage means based on the search conditions;
and an environment reproducing means for reproducing a work environment based on the work environment information acquired as a search result. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the search condition generation means, when the external display is not connected, determines whether other pre-set information processing devices exist on the network, and, if other information processing devices exist, generates the search conditions assuming that the external display is connected. The information processing device described in claim 2, wherein, when the external display is not connected and another pre-set information processing device is present on the network, and the work environment information indicating an external display connection is obtained as a search result, the environment reproduction means executes processing to connect to the other information processing device. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the work environment information creation means, when an application is launched by a user, creates the work environment information a predetermined period of time after the launch of the application and stores it in the storage means. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein the work environment information further includes at least one of location information, network usage information, date and time information, day of the week information, executable file information, and operating system setting information. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising an inquiry means for notifying the user of the work environment information obtained as a result of the search and inquiring whether reproduction is required. a work environment information creating step of creating work environment information including information on the application to be started and information on whether an external display is connected, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and storing the work environment information in a storage means;
an event detection step of detecting an occurrence of an event related to a user's input operation;
a search condition generating step of determining whether an external display is connected when the occurrence of the event is detected, and generating search conditions including information on whether the external display is connected and information on the activated application;
a search step of searching the storage means based on the search conditions;
and an environment reproducing step of reproducing a work environment based on the work environment information acquired as a search result. A program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.