FILE MANAGEMENT APPARATUS AND IMAGE DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 20070147178A1
• Filed: 12/27/2006
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Masuda, Hiroki, Ishizuka, Kensaku, Hayashi, Masakazu, Matsumura, Eriko, Nomura, Masaru
• Granted Patent: US 8,375,318 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 368/29
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance

Abstract

A file management apparatus includes the following elements: a representative image storage device storing representative image data of each of a plurality of content files in association with a creation time of the content file; a rendering unit rendering the representative image data at a position corresponding to the creation time with a calendar continuous over days, months, and years serving as a background; a display state maintaining unit maintaining, as a display state, a time-axis range of the calendar being displayed and a position thereof; an operation receiving unit receiving a change operation to change the display state, the change operation commonly being a scrolling operation in a time-series direction in any time-axis range; and a controller controlling, in response to the change operation, the rendering means to render the representative image data on the calendar on the basis of the display state.

Claims

1. A file management apparatus comprising:

representative image storage means for storing representative image data of each of a plurality of content files in association with a creation time of the content file;

rendering means for rendering the representative image data at a position corresponding to the creation time with a calendar continuous over days, months, and years serving as a background;

display state maintaining means for maintaining, as a display state, a time-axis range of the calendar being displayed and a position thereof;

operation receiving means for receiving a change operation to change the display state, the change operation commonly being a scrolling operation in a time-series direction in any time-axis range; and

control means for controlling, in response to the change operation, the rendering means to render the representative image data on the calendar on the basis of the display state.

2. The file management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the time-axis range is expressed in units of days, months, or years.

3. The file management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the rendering means renders an image indicating the units in accordance with the units of the time-axis range.

4. The file management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the rendering means renders units other than a core unit as inactive in accordance with the units of the time-axis range.

5. The file management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the core unit is a unit with a largest display area among the units.

6. The file management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the rendering means renders information about the core unit when the calendar crosses a boundary of the units of the time-axis range during the scrolling operation.

7. The file management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, in the case where the time-axis range is expressed in units of months, when a day on the calendar is selected, the control means switches the time-axis range so that the time-axis range is expressed in units of days, and

wherein, when the creation time belongs to the selected day, the rendering means renders an image indicating the selected day, and, when the creation time does not belong to the selected day, the rendering means renders an image indicating a closest future day to which the creation time belongs.

8. The file management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when the time-axis range is expressed in units of days, the rendering means renders the calendar and the representative image data only for a day to which the creation time belongs.

9. The file management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when the time-axis range is expressed in units of days, the rendering means renders an image indicating a break point between groups, each group serving as a range of continuous days to which the creation times belong.

10. The file management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when the time-axis range is expressed in units of days, the rendering means renders an image to be displayed from the content file corresponding to the representative image data selected on the calendar.

11. The file management apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the rendering means renders, together with the rendered image, representative image data belonging to a group serving as a range of continuous days to which the creation times belong.

12. The file management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the operation receiving means receives a movement operation to move a cursor, and

wherein the rendering means renders the cursor in accordance with the movement operation, and, when the cursor is moved over one of the units of the time-axis range, the rendering means renders information about the unit.

13. The file management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the operation receiving means is a mouse receiving at least first and second clicking operations, and

wherein the control means switches the time-axis range so that the time-axis range is expressed in smaller units in response to the first clicking operation and switches the time-axis range so that the time-axis range is expressed in larger units in response to the second clicking operation.

14. An image display apparatus comprising:

representative image storage means for storing representative image data of each of a plurality of content files in association with a creation time of the content file;

rendering means for rendering the representative image data at a position corresponding to the creation time with a calendar continuous over days, months, and years serving as a background;

display state maintaining means for maintaining, as a display state, a time-axis range of the calendar being displayed and a position thereof;

operation receiving means for receiving a change operation to change the display state, the change operation commonly being a scrolling operation in a time-series direction in any time-axis range;

control means for controlling, in response to the change operation, the rendering means to render the representative image data on the calendar on the basis of the display state; and

display means for displaying details rendered by the rendering means.

15. A file management method comprising the steps of:

rendering representative image data of each of a plurality of content files at a position corresponding to a creation time of the content file with a calendar continuous over days, months, and years serving as a background;

receiving a change operation to change a time-axis range of the calendar being displayed and a position thereof, the change operation commonly being a scrolling operation in a time-series direction in any time-axis range;

switching, when the change operation is a first clicking operation, the time-axis range so that the time-axis range is expressed at the position in smaller units; and

switching, when the change operation is a second clicking operation, the time-axis range so that the time-axis range is expressed at the position in larger units.

16. A program for allowing a computer to execute the steps of:

rendering representative image data of each of a plurality of content files at a position corresponding to a creation time of the content file with a calendar continuous over days, months, and years serving as a background;

receiving a change operation to change a time-axis range of the calendar being displayed and a position thereof, the change operation commonly being a scrolling operation in a time-series direction in any time-axis range;

switching, when the change operation is a first clicking operation, the time-axis range so that the time-axis range is expressed at the position in smaller units; and

switching, when the change operation is a second clicking operation, the time-axis range so that the time-axis range is expressed at the position in larger units.

17. A file management apparatus comprising:

a representative image storage device operable to store representative image data of each of a plurality of content files in association with a creation time of the content file;

a rendering unit operable to render the representative image data at a position corresponding to the creation time with a calendar continuous over days, months, and years serving as a background;

a display state maintaining unit operable to maintain, as a display state, a time-axis range of the calendar being displayed and a position thereof;

an operation receiving unit operable to receive a change operation to change the display state, the change operation commonly being a scrolling operation in a time-series direction in any time-axis range; and

a controller operable to control, in response to the change operation, the rendering means to render the representative image data on the calendar on the basis of the display state.