LIST DISPLAY APPARATUS, LIST DISPLAY METHOD AND GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE

• US 20090259975A1
• Filed: 03/16/2009
• Published: 10/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: ASAI, Atsushi
• Granted Patent: US 9,542,072 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/850
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

A list display apparatus includes: a picture generating unit for generating a three-dimensional list picture, the three-dimensional list picture having a plurality of lower item cards having a respective lower items in a hierarchical structure being unfolded and expanded in a bellows configuration when shifting from an upper level to a lower level of the hierarchical structure, or the plurality of lower item cards being folded and collapsed in a bellows configuration when shifting from the lower level to the upper level of the hierarchical structure; and a control unit for outputting the three-dimensional list picture to a predetermined display unit, thereby displaying the three-dimensional list picture.

Claims

1. A list display apparatus comprising:

a picture generating unit for generating a three-dimensional list picture, the three-dimensional list picture having a plurality of lower item cards having a respective lower items in a hierarchical structure being unfolded and expanded in a bellows configuration when shifting from an upper level to a lower level of the hierarchical structure, or the plurality of lower item cards being folded and collapsed in a bellows configuration when shifting from the lower level to the upper level of the hierarchical structure; and

a control unit for outputting the three-dimensional list picture to a predetermined display unit, thereby displaying the three-dimensional list picture.

2. The list display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when a particular upper item card is selected in the upper level, the control unit unfolds and expands the plurality of lower item cards associated with the upper item card in a bellows configuration and moves the upper item card to the top of the three-dimensional list picture.

3. The list display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the control unit displays the plurality of lower item cards as stopped in the process of being expanded in a bellows configuration.

4. The list display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when folding and collapsing the plurality of lower item cards in a bellows configuration, the control unit moves and displays a plurality of upper item cards in the upper level so as not to produce a blank area in the three-dimensional list picture.

5. A list display method comprising:

a picture generating step of generating a three-dimensional list picture with a picture generating unit, the three-dimensional list picture having a plurality of lower item cards having a respective lower items in a hierarchical structure being unfolded and expanded in a bellows configuration when shifting from an upper level to a lower level of the hierarchical structure, or the plurality of lower item cards being folded and collapsed in a bellows configuration when shifting from the lower level to the upper level of the hierarchical structure; and

a display control step of outputting the three-dimensional list picture to a predetermined display unit, thereby displaying the three-dimensional list picture.

6. The list display method according to claim 5, wherein

in the display control step, when a particular upper item card is selected in the upper level, the plurality of lower item cards associated with the upper item card are unfolded and expanded in a bellows configuration and the upper item card is moved to the top of the three-dimensional list picture.

7. The list display method according to claim 6, wherein

in the display control step, the plurality of lower item cards are displayed as stopped in the process of being expanded in a bellows configuration.

8. The list display method according to claim 5, wherein

in the display control step, when the plurality of lower item cards are folded and collapsed in a bellows configuration, a plurality of upper item cards in the upper level are moved and displayed so as not to produce a blank area in the three-dimensional list picture.