INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20130042205A1
• Filed: 01/26/2011
• Published: 02/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hiramatsu, Shuji, Enomoto, Shigeru, Kobayashi, Motoki, Morita, Toru, Tsuda, Munetaka
• Granted Patent: US 10,191,642 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/811
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

Provided is an information processing apparatus including a novel user interface capable of switching a number of images for display on a screen. The information processing apparatus displays a menu image representing one or more menu item images on a screen, displays, when any one of the one or more menu item images is selected, a selection target image associated with the selected menu item image on the screen, stores a selected order of already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images, displays, when one direction along one side of the screen is specified, another selection target image, which is selected in accordance with the stored selected order and the one direction, and redisplays the menu image when an opposite direction to the one direction is specified in a state in which the selection target image associated with the menu image selected most recently is displayed.

Claims

1-15. -15. (canceled)

16. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a menu image display unit that displays a menu image representing one or more menu item images respectively associated with any one of a plurality of programs on a screen;

a program-related image display unit that displays on the screen, when any one of the one or more menu item images is selected, a program-related image relating to a program associated with the selected menu item image, including an activation image to be subjected to an operation of activating the program;

a selected order storage unit that stores a selected order of already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images;

an image switching unit that displays, when one direction along one side of the screen is specified, another program-related image, which is selected in accordance with the selected order and the one direction, and redisplays the menu image when an opposite direction to the one direction is specified in a state in which the program-related image associated with the menu item image selected most recently is displayed; and

a program activation unit that activates, when an operation by the user is performed on the activation image included in the program-related image, the program relating to the program-related image, and displays on the screen an image generated by the program.

17. The information processing apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a symbol image display unit that displays a plurality of symbol images respectively corresponding to the already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images on the screen together with the program-related image along the one direction, and displays one of the plurality of symbol images corresponding to the program-related image displayed on the screen in a manner that is distinguishable from others.

18. The information processing apparatus according to claim 17,

wherein the symbol image display unit displays a predetermined number of symbol images including the plurality of symbol images respectively corresponding to the already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images on the screen, and displays the plurality of symbol images corresponding to the already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images in a manner that is different from others of the predetermined number of symbol images, and

wherein the selected order storage unit restricts the storing of the selected order of a number of the already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images that exceeds the predetermined number.

19. The information processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of symbol images corresponding to the already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images is an image that is different from other symbol images representing corresponding one of the one or more menu item images.

20. The information processing apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising a unit that updates, when one of the already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images is reselected in a state in which the menu image is displayed on the screen, the selected order stored in the selected order storage unit so as to indicate that the reselected menu item image is selected most recently,

wherein the symbol image display unit changes an order of arrangement of the plurality of symbol images corresponding to the already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images in accordance with the updated selected order.

21. The information processing apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a unit that updates, when one of the already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images is reselected in a state in which the menu image is displayed on the screen, the selected order stored in the selected order storage unit so as to indicate that the reselected menu item image is selected most recently.

22. The information processing apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a first representational image display unit that displays, when the program-related image or the menu image is displayed on the screen, a first representational image representing the another program-related image, which is selected in accordance with the selected order and the one direction, along a side connected to the one side on a side corresponding to the one direction.

23. The information processing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the first representational image is a part of the another program-related image, which is selected in accordance with the selected order and the one direction.

24. The information processing apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a second representational image display unit that displays, when the program-related image or the menu image is displayed on the screen, a second representational image representing still another program-related image, which is selected in accordance with the selected order and the opposite direction, or the menu image, along a side connected to the one side on a side corresponding to the opposite direction.

25. The information processing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the second representational image is a part of the still another program-related image, which is selected in accordance with the selected order and the opposite direction, or the menu image.

26. The information processing apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising an associated image display unit that displays on the screen, when one direction along a side connected to the one side of the screen is specified, an image associated with the program-related image or the menu image displayed on the screen.

27. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a menu image display unit that displays a menu image representing one or more menu item images respectively associated with a plurality of programs on a screen;

a program-related image display unit that displays on the screen, when any one of the one or more menu item images is selected, a program-related image relating to a program associated with the selected menu item image, including an activation image to be subjected to an operation of activating the program;

a program information storage unit that stores information identifying programs associated with already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images;

an image switching unit that displays on the screen a program-related image selected from among program-related images respectively relating to the programs identified by the information stored in the program information storage unit in response to an image switching instruction given by a user; and

a program activation unit that activates, when an operation by the user is performed on the activation image included in the program-related image, the program relating to the program-related image, and displays on the screen an image generated by the program.

28. An information processing method, comprising:

a menu image display step of displaying a menu image representing one or more menu item images respectively associated with a plurality of programs on a screen;

a program-related image display step of displaying on the screen, when any one of the one or more menu item images is selected, a program-related image relating to a program associated with the selected menu item image, including an activation image to be subjected to an operation of activating the program;

a selected order storage step of storing a selected order of already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images;

a step of displaying, when one direction along one side of the screen is specified, another program-related image, which is selected in accordance with the selected order and the one direction;

an image switching step of redisplaying the menu image when an opposite direction to the one direction is specified in a state in which the program-related image associated with the menu item image selected most recently is displayed; and

a program activation step of activating, when an operation by the user is performed on the activation image included in the program-related image, the program relating to the program-related image, and displaying on the screen an image generated by the program.

29. A non-transitory computer-readable information storage medium that stores a program including instructions that cause a computer to:

display a menu image representing one or more menu item images respectively associated with a plurality of programs on a screen;

display on the screen, when any one of the one or more menu item images is selected, a program-related image relating to a program associated with the selected menu item image, including an activation image to be subjected to an operation of activating the program;

store a selected order of already-selected ones of the one or more menu item images;

display, when one direction along one side of the screen is specified, another program-related image, which is selected in accordance with the selected order and the one direction, and redisplay the menu image when an opposite direction to the one direction is specified in a state in which the program-related image associated with the menu item image selected most recently is displayed; and

activate, when an operation by the user is performed on the activation image included in the program-related image, the program relating to the program-related image, and display on the screen an image generated by the program.