Program and method for controlling portable information terminal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing remote control systems for home devices are cumbersome, requiring multiple steps to operate and lack the ability to finely adjust settings, such as partially opening or closing electric shutters, and often limit display resources, making them unsuitable for complex operations.
Innovation Solution
A method using a touch panel display to show a floor plan with device icons, including an electric shutter device icon, which, when selected, displays an operation screen with a shutter image, allowing swipe operations to control the shutter's movement and position, enabling partial opening or closing, and integrating operation and state confirmation on a single screen.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a floor plan with device icons is displayed on a separate operation screen, then device control functionality is provided, but the number of operation steps increases and operation becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the floor plan display and device operation interface into a single integrated screen. Device icons are overlaid directly on the floor plan, allowing users to select and control devices without navigating to separate operation screens. This merging of functions reduces the number of operation steps while maintaining full device control capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor plan screen serves multiple functions simultaneously: it displays the building layout, shows device locations, provides device selection capability, and enables direct device control. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate dedicated operation screens for each device type.
2Ease of operation
If traditional remote control interfaces are used, then device operation is possible, but display space is limited and complex operations cannot be performed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional linear or grid-based remote control layouts to a spatial floor plan representation. Devices are positioned according to their actual locations in the building, and interaction occurs through spatial gestures (tapping, dragging) on the visual map. This dimensional change allows efficient use of display space while supporting complex device operations.
3Ease of operation
If electric shutter devices are controlled with basic on/off commands, then simple control is achieved, but fine adjustment of shutter position is not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control of electric shutter devices by allowing continuous position adjustment through drag operations. Instead of static on/off states, the shutter position can be dynamically changed to any intermediate position by dragging the device icon along a trajectory, providing both simplicity and fine adjustment capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system changes from discrete binary states (open/closed) to continuous positional parameters. The shutter position is represented as a variable that can take any value within a range, allowing precise control of the shutter's opening degree while maintaining intuitive interaction through visual drag operations.
Data Source
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AI summary
A control method of the present disclosure causes a computer of an information apparatus to: display on the touch panel display, a display screen representing a floor plan of a building; display device icons on the display screen representing the floor plan, the device icons representing the one or more target devices respectively, the device icons including an icon representing an electric shutter device that is capable of opening or closing a shutter through a remote operation; display an operation screen on the display screen representing the floor plan, when selection of the icon representing the electric shutter device, among the one or more target devices, is sensed, the operation screen including a shutter image representing the shutter of the electric shutter device; and output a movement control command to the network when a swipe operation is sensed on the shutter image included in the operation screen, the movement control command being for moving the shutter of the electric shutter device in a swipe direction of the swipe operation, the electric shutter device corresponding to the selected icon.