ELECTRONIC APPARATUS WITH DISPLAY UNIT, INFORMATION-PROCESSING METHOD, AND COMPUTER PRODUCT

• US 20080072172A1
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hiroshi Morikawa, Michinari Shinohara
• Original Assignee: Hiroshi Morikawa, Michinari Shinohara
• Inventors: SHINOHARA, Michinari, Morikawa, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,327,283 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/772
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/632 for displaying or modifying preview images prior to image capturing, e.g. variety of image resolutions or capturing parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/634 Warning indications

Abstract

An electronic apparatus with a display unit that can display icons indicating an apparatus state or an operating condition based on an on-screen display function includes an apparatus-condition detecting unit that detects a change of the apparatus state or a change of a setting of the operating condition; an icon assigning unit that assigns an icon indicating the apparatus state or the operating condition for which the change is detected by the apparatus-condition detecting unit; and an on-screen-display controller that displays the icon assigned in a shape different from the icon before being assigned.

Claims

1. An electronic apparatus, comprising:

a display unit configured to display at a time one of a close-up mode icon and a distant-view mode icon at a predetermined position of a screen, the close-up mode icon being displayed when a photographing mode of the electronic apparatus is set to a close-up mode and the distant-view mode icon being displayed when the photographing mode of the electronic apparatus is set to a distant-view mode;

an operating unit configured to input an instruction to switch the photographing mode from the close-up mode to the distant-view mode or from the distant-view mode to the close-up mode; and

a display controller configured to cause the close-up mode icon to disappear from the predetermined position of the screen and display the distant-view mode icon at the predetermined position of the screen when the instruction to switch the photographing mode from the close-up mode to the distant-view mode is input.

2. The electronic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display controller is further configured to display the distant-view mode icon first in an enlarged size and subsequently in a reduced size on the screen.

3. The electronic apparatus of claim 2, wherein the display controller is further configured to gradually decrease the size of the distant-view mode icon from the enlarged size to the reduced size.

4. The electronic apparatus of claim 3, wherein the display controller is further configured to display the distant-view mode icon having the enlarged size in a center portion of the screen, and the distant-view mode icon having the reduced size in a peripheral portion of the screen.

5. The electronic apparatus of claim 4, wherein the electronic apparatus includes one of a camera, a portable phone, and a personal digital assistant device.

6. A method of controlling an electronic apparatus provided with a display unit having a screen, the method comprising:

displaying a close-up mode icon at a predetermined position of the screen when a photographing mode of the electronic apparatus is set to the close-up mode;

determining whether an instruction to switch the photographing mode of the electronic apparatus from the close-up mode to a distant-view mode is input; and

displaying a distant-view mode icon at the predetermined position of the screen while causing the close-up mode icon to disappear from the predetermined position of the screen when the step of determining determines that the instruction is input.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

displaying the distant-view mode icon in an enlarged size on the screen before the step of displaying the distant-view mode at the predetermined position of the screen, the distant-view mode being displayed at the predetermined position having a size smaller than the enlarged size.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

gradually decreasing the size of the distant-view mode icon from the enlarged size to the reduced size.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the distant-view mode icon having the enlarged size is displayed in a center portion of the screen, and the distant-view mode icon having the reduced size is displayed in a peripheral portion of the screen.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the electronic apparatus includes one of a camera, a portable phone, and a personal digital assistant device.

11. A computer readable recording medium including computer program instructions which cause a computer to execute a method of controlling an electronic apparatus provided with a display unit having a screen, the method comprising:

displaying a close-up mode icon at a predetermined position of the screen when a photographing mode of the electronic apparatus is set to the close-up mode;

determining whether an instruction to switch the photographing mode of the electronic apparatus from the close-up mode to a distant-view mode is input; and

displaying a distant-view mode icon at the predetermined position of the screen while causing the close-up mode icon to disappear from the predetermined position of the screen when the step of determining determines that the instruction is input.

12. The medium of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

displaying the distant-view mode icon in an enlarged size on the screen before the step of displaying the distant-view mode at the predetermined position of the screen, the distant-view mode being displayed at the predetermined position having a size smaller than the enlarged size.

13. The medium of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

gradually decreasing the size of the distant-view mode icon from the enlarged size to the reduced size.

14. The medium of claim 13, wherein the distant-view mode icon having the enlarged size is displayed in a center portion of the screen, and the distant-view mode icon having the reduced size is displayed in a peripheral portion of the screen.