Content viewing method, content viewing apparatus, and storage medium in which a content viewing program is stored

• US 20080126979A1
• Filed: 11/20/2007
• Published: 05/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sako, Yoichiro, Abe, Yuichi, Nakamura, Takatoshi, Takehara, Mitsuru, Kawakami, Itaru
• Granted Patent: US 8,347,224 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/781
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/54 Browsing; Visualisation therefor

Abstract

In a content viewing apparatus, an acquisition unit acquires a content set including one or more contents, and a conversion unit converts each content in the content set acquired by the acquisition unit into a predetermined format. An arrangement unit arranges indication information of each content subjected to the conversion performed by the conversion unit such that the indication information of each content is displayed on a display device in such a manner that indication information of each content is arranged along a time axis according to date/time information associated with each content thereby making it possible to use each content via the corresponding indication information. In accordance with an operation command input by a user, a display control unit controls displaying of the indication information of all contents as a whole, displayed on the display device by the arrangement unit, along the time axis.

Claims

1. A content viewing method comprising the steps of:

acquiring a content set including one or more contents;

converting each content in the content set acquired in the acquisition steps into a predetermined format;

arranging indication information of each content subjected to the conversion in the conversion step such that the indication information of each content is displayed on a display device in such a manner that indication information of each content is arranged along a time axis according to date/time information associated with each content thereby making it possible to use each content via the corresponding indication information; and

in accordance with an operation command input by a user, controlling displaying of the indication information of all contents as a whole, displayed in the arrangement step on the display device, along the time axis.

2. The content viewing method according to step 1, wherein

in the arrangement step, if content indication information of a content set is already displayed, indication information of contents of a new content set specified to be displayed is arranged in a line parallel to a line in which the already displayed content indication information lies, without changing the time axis, and

in the display control step, the indication information of all contents of the new content set is displayed in parallel to the already displayed indication information.

3. The content viewing method according to step 1, wherein the display control step including scrolling the indication information in a direction along the time axis or enlarging or reducing the indication information along the time axis in accordance with an operation command input by a user.

4. The content viewing method according to step 2, wherein the display control step including one or more of the following substeps as required, deleting a content set, exchanging content sets, combining content sets, moving a content set in terms of time, expanding a content set in terms of time, reducing content set in terms of time, and automatically updating a content.

5. A content viewing apparatus comprising:

acquisition means for acquiring a content set including one or more contents;

conversion means for converting each content in the content set acquired by the acquisition means into a predetermined format;

arrangement means for arranging indication information of each content subjected to the conversion performed by the conversion means such that the indication information of each content is displayed on a display device in such a manner that indication information of each content is arranged along a time axis according to date/time information associated with each content thereby making it possible to use each content via the corresponding indication information; and

display control means for, in accordance with an operation command input by a user, controlling displaying of the indication information of all contents as a whole, displayed on the display device by the arrangement means, along the time axis.

6. The content viewing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the arrangement means is adapted to arrange indication information such that if content indication information of a content set is already displayed, indication information of contents of a new content set specified to be displayed is arranged in a line parallel to a line in which the already displayed content indication information lies, without changing the time axis, and

the display control means is adapted to display the indication information of all contents of the new content set in parallel to the already displayed indication information.

7. The content viewing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display control means is adapted to scroll the indication information in a direction along the time axis or enlarge or reduce the indication information along the time axis in accordance with an operation command input by a user.

8. The content viewing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display control means is adapted to perform, as required, one or more of processes including deleting a content set, exchanging content sets, combining content sets, moving a content set in terms of time, expanding a content set in terms of time, reducing content set in terms of time, and automatically updating a content.

9. A storage medium in which a content viewing program is stored, the program being executable by a computer of a content viewing apparatus including acquisition means for acquiring one or more contents, conversion means for converting the acquired contents as required, arrangement means for arranging indication information of the contents and displaying the indication information at arranged locations, and display control means for controlling displaying of the indication information displayed on the display device, the program including the steps of:

acquiring, via the acquisition means, a content set including one or more contents;

converting, via the conversion means, each content in the content set acquired by the acquisition means into a predetermined format;

arranging, by the arrangement means, indication information of each content subjected to the conversion performed by the conversion means such that the indication information of each content is displayed on a display device in such a manner that indication information of each content is arranged along a time axis according to date/time information associated with each content thereby making it possible to use each content via the corresponding indication information; and

controlling, in accordance with an operation command input by a user, displaying of the indication information of all contents as a whole, by the arrangement means, on the display device along the time axis.

10. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein

in the arrangement step, if content indication information of a content set is already displayed, indication information of contents of a new content set specified to be displayed is arranged in a line parallel to a line in which the already displayed content indication information lies, without changing the time axis, and

in the display control step, the indication information of all contents of the new content set is displayed in parallel to the already displayed indication information.

11. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the display control step including scrolling the indication information in a direction along the time axis or enlarging or reducing the indication information along the time axis in accordance with an operation command input by a user.

12. The storage medium according to claim 10, wherein the display control step includes one or more of the following substeps as required, deleting a content set, exchanging content sets, combining content sets, moving a content set in terms of time, expanding a content set in terms of time, reducing content set in terms of time, and automatically updating a content.

13. A content viewing apparatus comprising:

an acquisition unit adapted to acquire a content set including one or more contents;

a conversion unit adapted to convert each content in the content set acquired by the acquisition unit into a predetermined format;

an arrangement unit adapted to arrange indication information of each content subjected to the conversion performed by the conversion unit such that the indication information of each content is displayed on a display device in such a manner that indication information of each content is arranged along a time axis according to date/time information associated with each content thereby making it possible to use each content via the corresponding indication information; and

a display control unit adapted to, in accordance with an operation command input by a user, control displaying of the indication information of all contents as a whole, displayed on the display device by the arrangement unit, along the time axis.