INDICATING LAMP CONTROL PROGRAM, INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND INDICATING LAMP CONTROL METHOD

• US 20070236411A1
• Filed: 04/10/2007
• Published: 10/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Hirotaka, KUROSAKI, Daisuke
• Granted Patent: US 7,907,114 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1601 Constructional details related to the housing of computer displays, e.g. of CRT monitors, of flat displays constructional details related to flat displays integrated in a portable computer, e.g. laptop, handheld computer G06F1/1637; constructional details related to television receivers H04N5/64
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0613 The adjustment depending on the type of the information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0673 for control of gamma adjustment, e.g. selecting another gamma curve
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4131 home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/58 in dependence upon ambient light

Abstract

An indicating lamp control program adapted for a computer to perform processing for controlling an illuminating operation of indicating lamps disposed around a display surface of a display apparatus, includes as functions for the computer: window information acquiring means for acquiring information representing a back-to-forth position and a size of a window generated, with running of an application program; program determining means for determining whether or not the application program is a content display program adapted for the display apparatus to display the contents; and control means for providing control based on both of the information acquired by the window information acquiring means and a determination result obtained by the program determining means so as to turn down the indicating lamps less than a predetermined level when the window corresponding to the content display program is in a topmost position and has a predetermined size or more.

Claims

1. An indicating lamp control program adapted for a computer to perform processing for controlling an illuminating operation of indicating lamps disposed around a display surface of a display apparatus, said program comprising as functions for said computer:

window information acquiring means for acquiring information representing a back-to-forth position and a size of a window generated, with running of an application program;

program determining means for determining whether or not the application program is a content display program adapted for said display apparatus to display the contents; and

control means for providing control based on both of the information acquired by said window information acquiring means and a determination result obtained by said program determining means so as to turn down said indicating lamps less than a predetermined level when said window corresponding to said content display program is in a topmost position and has a predetermined size or more.

2. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 1, wherein said control means provides the control so as to keep the brightness of the indicating lamp in said predetermined level other than when said window corresponding to said content display program is in a topmost position and has a predetermined size or more.

3. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 1, wherein said control means provides the control so as to turn down said indicating lamps less than a predetermined level when said window corresponding to said content display program is in the topmost position and is sized to fill the whole of said display apparatus, while keeping said indicating lamps in said predetermined level of brightness.

4. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 1, wherein said control means provides the control so as to turn off said indicating lamps when said window corresponding to said content display program is in the topmost position and has the predetermined size or more, while turning on said indicating lamps in other cases.

5. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 1,

wherein said program determining means holds record information containing program identification information for providing identification of one ore more content display program, and determines that said program identification information given from said control means corresponds to said content display program, when said program identification information is contained in said record information, and

wherein said control means gives to said program determining means the program identification information of the application program corresponding to said window judged from the information acquired by said window information acquiring means to be a topmost window having the predetermined size or more, and provides the control so as to turn down said indicating lamps less than said predetermined level when it is determined that said program identification information corresponds to said content display program.

6. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 5, wherein said program determining means has a function for providing addition and deletion of the program identification information to and from said record information based on a control signal received in response to operational input given by the user.

7. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 1, wherein said control means forcibly controls a brightness of said indicating lamps depending on a type of input device for operating the information processing apparatus, when detection of an operation of input to said input device by the user is obtained in a state where said window corresponding to said content display window is in the topmost position.

8. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 7, wherein said control means controls the brightness of said indicating lamps based on the information acquired by said window information acquiring means and the determination result obtained by said program determining means, when no detection of the operational input to said input device is obtained for a certain time after processing of changing the brightness of said indicating lamps in accordance with the detection of the operational input to said input device.

9. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 7, wherein said control means provides the control so as to keep said indicating lamps in said predetermined level of brightness, when the detection of the operational input by the user to said input device wire-connected to said computer is obtained, with said indicating lamps kept dim.

10. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 7, wherein said control means provides the control so as to turn down said indicating lamps less than said predetermined level at least either when said window corresponding to said content display program reaches the predetermined size or more in the state where said window corresponding to said content display program is in the topmost position, or when the detection of the operational input by the user to said input device wireless-connected to said computer is obtained.

11. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 1, wherein said control means provides the control so as to keep said indicating lamps in said predetermined level of brightness when the detection of a request for an operation other than content reproducing start with said content display program through the operational input by the user is obtained, with said indicating lamps kept dim less than said predetermined level.

12. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 1, wherein said control means monitors a manner of content reproducing operation with said content display program to provide the control so as to turn down said indicating lamps less than said predetermined level when said window corresponding to said content display program is in the topmost position and has the predetermined size or more and the content reproducing operation with said content display window is in execution.

13. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 1, wherein said control means provides the control so as to keep said indicating lamps in said predetermined level of brightness, when there is no figure image in an image obtained from an imaging apparatus for imaging a predetermined range ahead of a display panel of said display apparatus even if said window corresponding to said content display program is in the topmost position and has the predetermined size or more.

14. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 1, wherein said control means provides the control so as to keep said indicating lamps in said predetermined level of brightness when there is given, based on a result of an analysis of an image obtained from an imaging apparatus for imaging a range ahead of a display panel of said display apparatus, a presumption that there is a figure image within a certain range of distance from said display apparatus, or when there is given no confirmation of the presence of any figure image in the image obtained by the imaging apparatus, even if said window corresponding to said content display program is in the topmost position and has the predetermined size or more.

15. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 1, wherein said control means provides the control so as to keep said indicating lamps in said predetermined level of brightness irrespectively of the size of the topmost window, when there is given, based on a result of an analysis of an image from an imaging apparatus for imaging a range ahead of a display panel of said display apparatus, a presumption that there is a figure image outside a certain range of distance from said display apparatus in the state where said window corresponding to said content display program is in the topmost position.

16. The indicating lamp control program according to claim 1, wherein when said computer has an image quality correction function for giving suited image quality correction at the time of display of the contents on said display apparatus, said control means outputs a control signal for turning on an operation of said image quality correction function when said window corresponding to said content display program is in the topmost position and has the predetermined size or more, while outputting a control signal for turning off the operation of said image quality correction function in other cases.

17. An information processing apparatus connected to a display apparatus having indicating lamps disposed adjacent to display surface, comprising:

window state management means for holding information representing a back-to-forth position and a size of a window generated, with running of an application program;

program information holding means for holding program identification information for providing identification of the application program; and

control means for providing control based on the information held by said window state management means and said program information holding means so as to turn down said indicating lamps less than a predetermined level when said window corresponding to a content display program adapted for said display apparatus to display the contents is in a topmost position and has a predetermined size or more.

18. The information processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein an integral structure with said display apparatus is provided.

19. An indicating lamp control method in an information processing apparatus connected to a display apparatus having indicating lamps disposed adjacent to a display surface, comprising the steps of:

providing window information acquiring means to acquire information representing a back-to-forth position and a size of a window generated, with running of an application program;

providing program determining means to determine whether or not the application program is a content display program adapted for said display apparatus to display the contents; and

providing control means to provide control based on both of the information acquired by said window information acquiring means and a determination result obtained by said program determining means so as to turn down said indicating lamps less than a predetermined level when said window corresponding to said content display program is in a topmost position, and has a predetermined size or more.