Apparatus for Enabling to Control at Least One Media Data Processing Device, and Method Thereof

• US 20080005690A1
• Filed: 09/08/2005
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Van Vugt, Henry
• Application Number:
  US11/574,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20080005690A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/765
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of enabling to control at least one media data processing device (181-187), the method comprising the steps of:—(410) presenting a first set of first items (310, 510) and a second set of second items (330, 550) on a display (120), wherein an arrangement of the first or second items on the display is changeable,—(420) presenting on the display an indicator (360) for indicating a predetermined arrangement of a particular one of the first items (340, 515) and a particular one of the second items (350, 555), to form an operation for the at least one device on the basis of a combination of the particular first and second items,—(430) enabling a user to select the particular one (340, 515) of the first items and/or the particular one (350, 555) of the second items, and—(450) enabling to form the operation on the basis of the selected first and second items. In one embodiment, two carrousels with the particular first and second items are presented. Where the carrousels touch, the operation with the corresponding first and second items is generated.

Claims

1. A method of enabling to control at least one media data processing device (181-187), the method comprising the steps of:

(410) presenting a first set of first items (310, 510) and a second set of second items (330, 550) on a display (120), wherein an arrangement of the first or second items on the display is changeable,

(420) presenting on the display an indicator (360) for indicating a predetermined arrangement of a particular one (340, 515) of the first items and a particular one (350, 555) of the second items, in which predetermined arrangement an operation for the at least one media data processing device is executable on the basis of a combination of the particular one of the first items and the particular one of the second items,

(430) enabling a user to select the particular one (340, 515) of the first items and/or the particular one (350, 555) of the second items, and

(450) enabling to execute the operation for the at least one media data processing device on the basis of the selected particular first and second items.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step (440) of presenting the selected first and second items in the predetermined arrangement.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, when the selected first and second items are presented in the predetermined arrangement, a distance between them is shorter than to the other first and second items.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set or the second set is a first list (510) of the first items or a second list (550) of the second items respectively, and the arrangement is a position of one of the first items in the first list or one of the second items in the second list.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first or second list has a curved or circle presentation.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined arrangement is a predetermined position of the particular one of the first or second items in the first or second list.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the position of the first items in the first list or the position of the second items in the second list is changeable by rotating the first list or the second list relative to a fixed point on the display.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of the selected first and/or second items comprises a step of enabling a user to change the arrangement of the first or second items on the display.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of the selected first and/or second items comprises obtaining a respective command generated by a remote control unit (1010).

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first items and the second items are associated with source media data processing devices (510) and destination media data processing devices (550) respectively, and the operation relates to a media content transfer between the particular one of the source media data processing devices and the particular one of the destination media data processing devices.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first items and the second items are associated with media content items and the media data processing devices for processing the media content items respectively.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first items and the second items are associated with media content items and a plurality of the operations with the media content items performable by the at least one media data processing device respectively.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of adding or removing at least one first or second item from the first or second set.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the adding or removing is automatically performed on the basis of a user profile indicating user preferences with respect to the first and/or second items, or on the basis of a selection history profile indicating a frequency of selecting at least one of the first or second items by a user.

15. An apparatus for enabling to control at least one media data processing device (181-187), the apparatus comprising display means (120) and a processor (110) configured to:

present a first set of first items (310, 510) and a second set of second items (330, 550) on the display means, wherein an arrangement of the first or second items on the display means is changeable,

present on the display means an indicator (360) for indicating a predetermined arrangement of a particular one (340, 515) of the first items and a particular one (350, 555) of the second items, in which predetermined arrangement an operation for the at least one media data processing device is executable on the basis of a combination of the particular one of the first items and the particular one of the second items,

enable a user to select the particular one (340, 515) of the first items and/or the particular one (350, 555) of the second items, and

enable to execute the operation for the at least one media data processing device on the basis of the selected particular first and second items.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to present the selected first and second items in the predetermined arrangement.

17. A computer program product enabling a programmable device when executing said computer program product to function as the apparatus as defined in claim 15.