Entertainment device, menu display method, and information recording medium

• US 20020122068A1
• Filed: 03/01/2001
• Published: 09/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tsuruoka, Taizo
• Application Number:
  US09/797,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20020122068A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/810
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/77 involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/95 Storage media specially adapted for storing game information, e.g. video game cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/206 Game information storage, e.g. cartridges, CD ROM's, DVD's, smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/308 Details of the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/06 using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or retain programs

Abstract

An entertainment device and a method of operating the device in which menu display is automatically modified in accordance with actually realizable functions. The entertainment device includes an operation controller that references application modules that hold application programs provided for each application, and a menu creation unit that creates and displays a menu of extracted applications and receives selection of the application to be started.

Claims

1. An entertainment device comprising

an operation controller that references application modules that hold application programs for each application and extracting applications said operation controller decides to be executable;

and

a menu creation unit that creates and displays a menu of said extracted applications and accepts a selection of the application to be started.

2. The entertainment device as described in claim 1, wherein

said application module holds the required hardware information which is the hardware information necessary for an application to operate, and

said operation controller decides whether said application is executable, based on information on devices said entertainment device is connected to and required hardware information held in said application module, and extracts the applications it judges to be executable.

3. The entertainment device as described in claim 1, wherein

said application module holds application version information, and

said operation controller, upon detecting multiple application modules in which the same application is registered, extracts a new-version application based on said version information.

4. The entertainment device as described in claim 1, wherein

said operation controller, upon detecting said multiple application modules in which the same application is registered, extracts from among said multiple application modules the best one for the environment of the entertainment device.

5. The entertainment device as described in claim 1, wherein

said application modules also have menu information for menu display, and

said menu creation unit creates said menu based on said menu information.

6. The entertainment device as described in claim 1, wherein

said application modules are held in at least one of an external storage medium connected to the entertainment device, a storage medium mounted on the entertainment device, and a storage medium built into the entertainment device, and

said operation controller includes means that searches said external storage medium and the built-in storage medium and detects said application modules.

7. An entertainment device comprising

an operation controller that references application modules provided for each application that hold programs for each application and menu information for menu display and prepares a menu information table in which menu information for each application is registered;

and

a menu creation unit that references said menu information table, creates and displays a menu of applications based on the menu information registered in said menu information table, and accepts a selection of the application to be started.

8. The entertainment device as described in claim 7, wherein said menu information is three-dimensional image data.

9. The entertainment device as described in claim 7, wherein said menu information is programs.

10. An entertainment device comprising

an operation controller that references application modules provided for each application that hold programs for each application and detects applications;

and

a menu creation unit that creates and displays at least some of said detected applications and accepts a selection of the application to be started, wherein

said application modules are held in at least one of an external storage medium connected to the entertainment device, a storage medium mounted on the entertainment device, and a storage medium built into the entertainment device, and

said operation controller includes a means that searches at least one of said external storage medium, said mounted storage medium, and said built-in storage medium and detects said application modules.

11. A menu display method comprising the steps of

referencing application modules that hold application programs for each application are referenced and applications extracting there from;

and

creating and displaying a menu of said extracted applications.

12. A menu display method comprising the steps of

referencing application modules that hold application programs for each application and menu information for menu display are referenced, and a menu information table is created in which menu information for each application is registered, and

a step in which said menu information table is referenced, and based on the menu information registered in said menu information table a menu of applications is created and displayed.

13. A menu display method in an entertainment device, comprising the steps of detecting application modules that hold application programs for each application by searching at least one of an external storage medium connected to the entertainment device, a storage medium mounted on the entertainment device, and a storage medium of a memory device built into the entertainment device;

and

creating and displaying a menu of at least some of the applications corresponding to said detected application modules.

14. Information recording medium on which is recorded a computer-readable and executable software program for realizing a menu display method, said program comprising the steps of

referencing application modules that hold application programs for each application and extracting applications therefrom, and

creating and displaying a menu of said extracted applications.

15. Information recording medium on which is recorded a computer-readable and executable software program for realizing a menu display method, said program comprising the steps of:

referencing application modules that hold application programs for each application and menu information for menu display, to create a menu information table in which menu information for each application is registered; and

creating and displaying, based on the menu information registered in said menu information table, a menu of applications.

16. Information recording medium on which is recorded a computer-readable and executable software program for realizing a menu display method in an entertainment device, said program comprising the steps of:

detecting application modules that hold application programs for each application by searching at least one of an external storage medium connected to the entertainment device, a storage medium mounted on the entertainment device, and a storage medium of a memory device built into the entertainment device; and

creating and displaying a menu of at least some of the applications corresponding to said detected application modules.