DISPLAY CONTROL APPARATUS AND DISPLAY CONTROL METHOD

• US 20100122214A1
• Filed: 11/09/2009
• Published: 05/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Sengoku, Takamitsu
• Granted Patent: US 9,201,582 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/830
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/462 Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72

Abstract

A display control apparatus includes a display control means. In the display control apparatus, the display control means is configured to scroll-display a plurality of contents. If it is determined that the speed of the scroll display has increased to reach a first predetermined value, then the display control means classifies and groups the plurality of contents by using group classification information corresponding to the plurality of contents and displays the grouped contents. On the other hand, if it is determined that the scroll speed has decreased to reach a second predetermined value, then the display control means sorts the plurality of contents in order according to a selected grouping method and displays group classification information images at a group classification level one stage lower than the current group classification level.

Claims

1. A display control apparatus for displaying a plurality of content items, the display control apparatus comprising:

group allocation means for allocating at least one of the plurality of content items into each of a plurality of groups according to attribute information associated with the content items; and

display control means for controlling a scroll-display of images representing the groups wherein the images are scrolled across a display, wherein

the display control means is configured to change the display from scroll-displaying a first set of images representing groups with fewer content items to scroll-displaying a second set of images representing groups of more content items than in the first set of images; and

the change of the display is carried out in accordance with a change of state of the scroll display.

2. A display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the state of the scroll display comprises the scrolling speed of the images, and

the display control apparatus comprises means for changing the scrolling speed of the scroll display, wherein, when the scrolling speed of the scroll display is increased, the display control means is configured to change the display from scroll-displaying the first set of images to scroll-displaying the second set of images.

3. A display control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when the scrolling speed is reduced, the display control means is further configured to change the display from scroll-displaying the second set of images to scroll-displaying the first set of images.

4. A display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first set of images comprises images representing individual content items.

5. A display control apparatus according to claim 1, comprising input means for enabling a user to define the state of the scroll display.

6. A display control apparatus according to claims 1, wherein the state of the scroll display is predefined.

7. A display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the state of the scroll display is the number of times an image representing a group of content items is displayed in a predefined area of the display, and

when an image representing a group of content items is displayed more than a threshold number of times, the display control means is configured to change the display from displaying the first set of images to displaying the second set of images.

8. A display control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, when an image representing a group of content items is displayed less than a threshold number of times, the display control means is configured to change the display from displaying the second set of images to displaying the first set of images.

9. A display control apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising display means for displaying the number of times an image has been displayed in the predefined area of the display.

10. A display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein groups of content items overlap in their content such that one content item may be allocated to more than one group.

11. A display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control means is configured to cause the images to scroll in at least one of:

vertically, horizontally, diagonally, and around a virtual 2-D or 3-D shape.

12. A display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the displayed images are still or moving images and the display control means is configured to change the images from being still images to being moving images when the images enter a predefined area of the display.

13. A display controlling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying grouping options, the grouping options being for enabling a user to choose which attribute information of the content items is to be used to allocate the content items into the groups.

14. A method of scroll-displaying a plurality of content items, the method comprising:

allocating at least one of the plurality of content items into each of a plurality of groups according to attribute information associated with the content items;

scrolling, on a display, images representing the groups; and

changing the display from scrolling a first set of images representing groups with fewer content items to scrolling a second set of images representing groups of more content items than in the first set of images,

the change in display being in accordance with a change of state of the scrolling.

15. A computer program containing code that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to carry out the method of claim 14.

16. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the computer program of claim 15.