Apparatus for displaying a part of an object

• US 7,568,166 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2005
• Issued: 07/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kato, Ryoichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Kieu D
• Application Number:
  US11/284,730
• Publication Number:
  US 20060174213A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,344 Days
• Field of Search: 715/800, 715/801, 715/784, 715/785, 345/684, 345/687, 345/660, 701/200, 701/208, 701/209, 701/212
• US Class Current: 715/784
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3688 Systems comprising multiple parts or multiple output devices (not client-server), e.g. detachable faceplates, key fobs or multiple output screens

Abstract

A displaying apparatus is disclosed which displays part of a target object in magnified fashion and scrolls what is being displayed of the target object in accordance with instructions from a user. The displaying apparatus includes an inputting device operable to input the instructions from the user, and a controller operable to control a display device so as to switch the display of the target object in accordance with the input through the inputting device. The controller causes the display device to start scrolling the display so as to zoom out on the target object in response to the scroll instruction from the inputting device, and to either zoom in on the target object until an initial scale of the target object is restored before ending the scroll, or to terminate the scroll so as to zoom in on the target object until the initial scale thereof is restored.

Claims

1. A displaying apparatus for displaying part of a target object on a display device, said displaying apparatus comprising:

inputting means for enabling inputs to be provided from a user; and

controlling means for controlling the display device so as to switch the display of the target object in accordance with an input supplied from the inputting means;

the controlling means causes the display device to start scrolling the display of the target object in a scrolling direction designated by the user by use of the inputting means so as to zoom out on the target object in response to a scroll input from the inputting means, and to either zoom in on the target object until an initial scale of the target object is restored before ending the scroll or terminate the scroll so as to zoom in on the target object until the initial scale thereof is restored, and during the zoom out a center of the target object being displayed on the display device is moved in a direction opposite to the scrolling direction, and

during operation, the controlling means establishes different degrees of interest at different locations of interest on the target object so as to alert the user, in which the different degrees of interest are established by the controlling means in accordance with past preferences of the user, the controlling means further causing the display device temporarily to zoom in and then to zoom out on the target object during the scrolling so that the scale of the target object will correspond to the degree of interest at each of the locations of interest.

2. The displaying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the target object is a map.

3. The displaying apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising current location detecting means for detecting a current location;

wherein the controlling means performs a search for a route from the current location detected by the current location detecting means to a destination established through the inputting means, the controlling means further scrolling the display of the map along the route detected by the search.

4. The displaying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for enabling the user to change a speed at which the scrolling is performed.

5. The displaying apparatus according to claim 1, in which the controlling means is operable to change scales of the target object during zoom in and zoom out operations in a non-linear manner.