Display control apparatus and method, and recording medium and program therefor

• US 7,154,558 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2002
• Issued: 12/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Matsuzaki, Eiichi, Tsunoda, Takashi, Yui, Hideaki, Uehara, Makoto, Itazawa, Toshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Yenke, Brian P.
• Application Number:
  US10/152,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20020196367A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,679 Days
• Field of Search: 348/561, 348563-566, 348580-582, 348584-588, 348598-599
• US Class Current: 348/565
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4858 for modifying screen layout parameters, e.g. fonts, size of the windows
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control

Abstract

A display control apparatus includes a display controller for receiving image signals corresponding to a plurality of images, to perform image processing on the image signals, and to synthesize images corresponding to the thus-processed image signals. While the images are displayed in a main picture and a sub-picture, the display controller further displays, adjacently to the sub-picture, a list of a plurality of images.

Claims

1. A control method for a multi-picture display apparatus capable of displaying a plurality of programs in a main picture and at least one sub-picture, comprising:

a setting step of setting a plurality of entry programs capable of being displayed in one sub-picture, by giving a priority order to the entry programs;

a layout step of laying out a plurality of tiling pictures for displaying the entry programs, on the main picture in accordance with the number of the entry programs in such a manner that the tiling pictures are adjacent to the sub-picture and do not overlap with each other; and

a control step of displaying the entry programs in the tiling pictures in accordance with the priority order, and

wherein the number of tiling pictures is equal to the number of entry programs which are not displayed in the sub-picture.

2. A control method according to claim 1, further comprising a filtering step of filtering the entry programs so that the number of entry programs is less than or equal to a maximum number of entry programs, which is set in advance.

3. A control method according to claim 1, wherein each of the main picture and the sub-picture effects moving image display, and wherein the tiling pictures effects still image capture display which is sequentially rewritable.

4. A computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program for causing a computer to execute the control method for a multi-picture display apparatus, as set out in claim 1.