VIEWING DEVICE, VIEWING METHOD, NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM WHEREON PROGRAM IS RECORDED, AND SCRIPT PROGRAM

• US 20130191742A1
• Filed: 09/29/2011
• Published: 07/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Rakuten, Inc. (Rakuten Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rakuten, Inc. (Rakuten Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Iino, Tsukasa
• Application Number:
  US13/877,113
• Publication Number:
  US 20130191742A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/704
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

A viewing device (200) is provided which is suitable for letting a user to notice and take an interest in a piece of content or an emphasis target within the content. A display (201) displays, on a screen, a piece of content and a cursor moved based on an operation given by a user. An identifier (202) identifies a position where a portion of the content and set as an emphasis target is displayed on the screen. A changer (203) changes a cursor form in accordance with a direction from a position where the cursor is displayed to the identified position.

Claims

1. A viewing device comprising:

a display that displays, on a screen, a piece of content and a cursor that moves based on an operation given by a user;

an identifier that identifies a position where a portion contained in the content and set as an emphasis target is displayed on the screen; and

a changer that changes a form of the cursor in accordance with a direction from a position where the cursor is displayed to the identified position.

2. The viewing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a detector that detects an occasion of a predetermined event; and

a setter which sets the portion contained in the content as the emphasis target and which sets again another portion contained in the content as the emphasis target when the occurrence of the predetermined event is detected.

3. The viewing device according to claim 2, wherein

the content is a structured document including a plurality of elements,

the portion set as the emphasis target by the setter is any one of candidate elements that are elements to which a predetermined candidate attribute is added among the plurality of elements, and

the predetermined event occurs when the position where the cursor is displayed on the screen overlaps an area where the candidate element set as the emphasis target is displayed on the screen.

4. The viewing device according to claim 3, wherein the setter sets again at random as the emphasis target while giving a preference to the candidate element that has not been set as the emphasis target among the candidate elements since a display of the content is started.

5. The viewing device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein

a next candidate attribute that specifies another candidate element in the content is given to at least some of the candidate elements in the content, and

when the next candidate attribute is added to the candidate element set as the emphasis target, the setter sets again the emphasis target while giving a preference to the candidate element specified by the next candidate attribute.

6. The viewing device according to claim 5, wherein

the display displays the content on the screen in a scrollable manner, and

when the candidate element specified by the next candidate attribute of the candidate element set as the emphasis target is not displayed on the screen, and when an occurrence of the predetermined event is detected, the display automatically scrolls the content in such a way that a range of the content displayed on the screen becomes close to the candidate element specified by the next candidate attribute.

7. The viewing device according to claim 6, wherein when the candidate element set as the emphasis target becomes close to a boundary with the range or when the candidate element specified by the next candidate attribute of the candidate element set as the emphasis target is contained in the range, the display terminates the automatic scrolling.

8. The viewing device according to claim 7, wherein the display moves the cursor to a position where the candidate element set as the emphasis target is displayed on the screen while the automatic scrolling is being performed.

9. The viewing device according to claim 1, further comprising an arranger that disposes a predetermined element set as the emphasis target in the content.

10. The viewing device according to claim 9, wherein

in a peripheral area surrounding a position where the predetermined element is disposed on the screen and not containing an area where the predetermined element is disposed on the screen, when a display position of the cursor on the screen is

(a) contained, the changer changes the cursor form to a form that approximates and indicates a direction from the position where the cursor is displayed on the screen to the disposed position of the predetermined element on the screen, and

(b) not contained, the changer changes the cursor form back to a preset form.

11. The viewing device according to claim 10, wherein

the arranger disposes a plurality of the predetermined elements in the content,

the display displays another predetermined content instead of the content on the screen or displays predetermined additional information together with the content on the screen when a number of the elements where the cursor enters among the plurality of the predetermined elements reaches a predetermined number on the screen.

12. The viewing device according to claim 11, wherein the display displays, together with the content, at least one of followings on the screen:

(a) a number of the elements where the cursor enters;

(b) the predetermined number; and

(c) a number obtained by subtracting the number of the elements where the cursor enters from the predetermined number,

while a displayed position of the cursor on the screen is included in an area where the predetermined element is disposed.

13. The viewing device according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein in the area where the predetermined element is disposed, when the displayed position of the cursor on the screen is:

(a) included, the display makes the predetermined element invisible on the screen;

or

(b) not included, the display makes the predetermined element visible on the screen.

14. A viewing method comprising:

a displaying step of displaying, on a screen, a piece of content and a cursor moved based on an operation given by a user;

an identifying step of identifying a position where a portion contained in the content and set as an emphasis target is displayed on the screen; and

a changing step of changing a form of the cursor in accordance with a direction from a position where the cursor is displayed to the identified position.

15. A viewing method executed by a computer that displays, on a screen, a piece of content and a cursor moved based on an operation given by a user, the viewing method comprising:

an identifying step of identifying a position where a portion contained in the content and set as an emphasis target is displayed on the screen; and

a changing step of changing a form of the cursor in accordance with a direction from a position where the cursor is displayed to the identified position.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a program that causes a computer to function as:

a display that displays, on a screen, a piece of content and a cursor moved based on an operation given by a user;

an identifier that identifies a position where a portion contained in the content and set as an emphasis target is displayed on the screen; and

a changer that changes a form of the cursor in accordance with a direction from a position where the cursor is displayed to the identified position.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a program that causes a computer which displays, on a screen, a piece of content and a cursor moved based on an operation given by a user to function as:

an identifier that identifies a position where a portion contained in the content and set as an emphasis target is displayed on the screen; and

a changer that changes a form of the cursor in accordance with a direction from a position where the cursor is displayed to the identified position.

18. A script program that causes a computer which functions, upon running a viewing program, as a display displaying a piece of content and a cursor moved based on an operation given by a user on a screen to function as:

an identifier that identifies a position where a portion contained in the content and set as an emphasis target is displayed on the screen; and

a changer that changes a form of the cursor in accordance with a direction from a position where the cursor is displayed to the identified position.