INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM

• US 20100053408A1
• Filed: 07/24/2009
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: TAKAOKA, Ryo, FURUE, Nobuki, OZAWA, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,312,374 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/333.10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/532 Query formulation, e.g. graphical querying
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00392 Other manual input means, e.g. digitisers or writing tablets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00411 the display also being used for user input, e.g. touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0044 for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00453 arranged in a two dimensional array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00461 marking or otherwise tagging one or more displayed image, e.g. for selective reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440263 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for displaying on a connected PDA
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• 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 23/631 Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure

Abstract

An information processing apparatus includes: display means for displaying an image; operation-input receiving means for receiving operation input of a user; and display control means for performing, when the operation-input receiving means receives predetermined operation for a root image displayed on the display means, display control for causing the display means to display a related image related to the root image.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

display means for displaying an image;

operation-input receiving means for receiving operation input of a user; and

display control means for performing, when the operation-input receiving means receives predetermined operation for a root image displayed on the display means, display control for causing the display means to display a related image related to the root image.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

degrees of relation between all images that could be the root image or the related image and other images are calculated on the basis of one or more classification items, and

the display control means retrieves one or more related images out of all the images on the basis of the degrees of relation between the root image and the other images and causes the display means to display the retrieved one or more related images.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the classification items are determined in advance on the basis of additional information concerning the images.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display control means retrieves the one or more related images when the display control means causes the display means to display the root image.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display control means causes, when operation by the user for moving a finger in a predetermined direction by a predetermined distance while keeping the finger in contact with the display means is represented as stroking operation, the display means to display the related image when the operation-input receiving means receives the stroking operation.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display control means causes the display means to display the related image in a position where the stroking operation ends.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

a predetermined one of the one or more classification items is associated with each of directions of the stroking operation, and

the display control means retrieves the one or more related images on the basis of degrees of relation calculated on the basis of the classification items corresponding to the directions of the stroking operation.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display control means causes the display means to sequentially display new related images every time the operation-input receiving means receives the stroking operation.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display control means sets, when the operation-input receiving means receives the stroking operation for the related image, the related image as a new root image and causes the display means to display a new related image related to the new root image.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the stroking operation is performed starting from the root image or the related image.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display control means further causes, when the operation-input receiving means receives contact operation for the root image by the finger of the user, the display means to display classification item images indicting the respective one or more classification items and retrieves, when contact operation by the finger of the user for a predetermined one of the one or more classification item images is detected, the one or more related images on the basis of a degree of relation calculated on the basis of the classification item indicated by the classification item image for which the contact operation is performed.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control means analyzes, when the operation-input receiving means receives the contact operation for the root image by the finger of the user, an image based on a position where the contact operation is performed, specifies the classification item on the basis of a result of the analysis, and retrieves the one or more related images on the basis of a degree of relation calculated on the basis of the specified classification item.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising storing means for storing history information of the display control by the display control means.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, as the display control, the display control means further causes, when the operation-input receiving means receives contact operation for the root image or the related image by the finger of the user, the display means to display the history information stored in the storing means.

15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the display control means retrieves, when the operation-input receiving means receives contact operation by the finger of the user for an image included in the history information, the one or more related images with the image set as the root image and causes the display means to display the related images.

16. An information processing method comprising the step of:

allowing an information processing apparatus that displays an image and receives operation input of a user to perform, when predetermined operation for a displayed root image is received, display control for causing display means to display a related image related to the root image.

17. A computer program for causing a computer that controls an information processing apparatus that displays an image and receives operation input of a user to execute, when predetermined operation for a displayed root image is received, display control for causing display means to display a related image related to the root image.

18. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a display unit configured to display an image;

an operation-input receiving unit configured to receive operation input of a user; and

a display control unit configured to perform, when the operation-input receiving unit receives predetermined operation for a root image displayed on the display means, display control for causing the display means to display a related image related to the root image.