Display apparatus having a scroll feature

• US 7,477,235 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2006
• Issued: 01/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Usuda, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, JIN CHENG
• Application Number:
  US11/361,633
• Publication Number:
  US 20060209094A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-173, 711/147
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/12 Frame memory handling
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/346 for systems having a bit-mapped display memory
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/39 Control of the bit-mapped memory

Abstract

A display apparatus includes a display memory for storing an image of a first area forming a portion of an entire image; a display section including a display screen having a display area usable for displaying at least a partial image of the first area; a case for exposing the display screen; a scroll unit operable to move a display screen area appearing on the display screen over the image in accordance with a movement of the case; and a controller operable to provide a virtual memory area for storing an image of a second area having a size greater than the size of the first area in the image when the scroll unit moves the display screen area beyond the first area.

Claims

1. A display apparatus, comprising:

a display memory for storing an image of a first area forming a portion of an entire image;

a display section including a display screen having a display area usable for displaying at least a partial image of the first area;

a case for exposing the display screen;

scroll means for moving a display screen area appearing on the display screen over the entire image in accordance with a movement of the case;

control means for providing a virtual memory for storing an image of a second area having a size greater than the size of the first area in the entire image when the scroll means moves the display screen area beyond the first area; and

a table of management states of the virtual memory area in a respective memory device, in which the table of management states includes a listing representative of a plurality of virtual memory areas and an identification, a memory device name, an image file name, and an image file size for each of the virtual memory areas.

2. The display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising detection means for detecting the direction of movement of the case, wherein, based on a detected direction of movement, the control means identifies a partial area of the second area.

3. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means manages the second area by dividing the second area into a plurality of partial areas and sets the virtual memory to a memory device selected from a plurality of memory devices including external memory devices.

4. The display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control means sets the virtual memory in the memory device selected from the plurality of memory devices based on the amount of image data of the partial areas and the storage capacity and/or access speed of each of the memory devices.

5. The display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising communication means connectable to a plurality of networks, wherein the control means manages the second area by dividing the second area into a plurality of partial areas and sets the virtual memory to a memory device selected from a plurality of memory devices connected to the networks.

6. The display apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the memory device is selected based on the amount of image data of the partial areas and the communication speed and/or band of each of the networks to which the plurality of memory devices are connected.

7. The display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a buffer for storing a portion of the image, wherein

the control means transfers the image of a third area including a particular partial area included in the second area as a partial area approached by the display screen area or closest to the display screen area from a particular virtual memory area allocated to the particular partial area to the buffer while the display screen area still exists in the first area;

and

when the scroll means has moved the display screen area to a location outside the first area, an area to be accessed for displaying the display screen area is switched from the display memory to the buffer.

8. The display apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of the third areas is set in accordance with the position of the display screen area in the first area and each of the third areas is associated with a virtual memory area set in one memory device selected from a plurality of memory devices including external memory devices.

9. The display apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each of the third areas is associated with a virtual memory area set in a memory device selected from the plurality of memory devices based on the amount of image data of the third area and the storage capacity and/or access speed of each of the memory devices.

10. The display apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising communication means connectable to a plurality of networks, wherein a plurality of the third areas is set in accordance with the position of the display screen area in the first area and each of the third areas is associated with a virtual memory area set in one memory device selected from a plurality of memory devices connected to the networks.

11. The display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein each of the third areas is associated with a virtual memory area set in a memory device selected from the plurality of memory devices connected to the networks based on the amount of image data of the third area and the communication speed and/or band of each of the networks.

12. A display apparatus, comprising:

a display memory for storing an image of a first area forming a portion of an entire image;

a display section including a display screen having a display area usable for displaying at least a partial image of the first area;

a case for exposing the display screen;

a scroll unit operable to move a display screen area appearing on the display screen over the entire image in accordance with a movement of the case;

a controller operable to provide a virtual memory for storing an image of a second area having a size greater than the size of the first area in the entire image when the scroll unit moves the display screen area beyond the first area; and

a table of management states of the virtual memory area in a respective memory device, in which the table of management states includes a listing representative of a plurality of virtual memory areas and an identification, a memory device name, an image file name, and an image file size for each of the virtual memory areas.

13. The display apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a detection unit operable to detect the direction of movement of the case, wherein, based on a detected direction of movement, the controller identifies a partial area of the second area.

14. The display apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a communication unit connectable to a plurality of networks, wherein the controller manages the second area by dividing the second area into a plurality of partial areas and sets the virtual memory to a memory device selected from a plurality of memory devices connected to the networks.

15. A display apparatus, comprising:

a display memory for storing an image of a first area forming a portion of an entire image;

a display section including a display screen having a display area usable for displaying at least a partial image of the first area;

a case for exposing the display screen;

scroll means for moving a display screen area appearing on the display screen over the entire image in accordance with a movement of the case; and

control means for controlling a virtual memory area for storing an image of a second area of the entire image when the scroll means moves the display screen area beyond the first area,

the control means being operable to divide the virtual memory area or the second area into a plurality of partial areas and to select a respective memory device from a plurality of memory devices for each of the partial areas based on an amount of image data of each of the partial areas and based on a storage capacity and/or access speed of each of the memory devices.