Image display controller and image display system

• US 7,782,400 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2003
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Iwasaki, Tatsuki, Harada, Shigeo
• Primary Examiner(s): Natnael; Paulos M
• Application Number:
  US10/554,748
• Publication Number:
  US 20060288372A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,441 Days
• Field of Search: 348/569, 348563-566, 348/553, 348/14.08, 348/706, 715/843, 715/763, 715/810, 725/56, 725/52, 725/39, 725/40, 725/45, 345/327, 345/326, 345/328, 345/841, 345/721
• US Class Current: 348/569
• 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 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/08 Arrangements within a display terminal for setting, manually or automatically, display parameters of the display terminal
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/10 Mixing of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of an operation, e.g. adding, on the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/125 wherein one of the images is motion video
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4221 Dedicated function buttons, e.g. for the control of an EPG, subtitles, aspect ratio, picture-in-picture or teletext
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42212 Specific keyboard arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

An image display unit operational interface for easily selecting a lot of functions while checking the content of an underlying image is provided.

In an image display control device (3) for displaying on a display unit (5) a large menu having a plurality of menu items, and an underlying image, to allow performing menu item selection and operation according to instructions by a user, a controller (14) for, according to the instructions, selecting and controlling one of either of the large menu and a small menu that has as menu items a lone portion of the menu items in the large menu, and a menu image compositor (20) for, according to control by the controller, simultaneously displaying on the display unit the small menu together with the underlying image are included.

Claims

1. An image display control device for displaying on a display unit a large menu having a plurality of menu items, and an underlying image obtained from a broadcasting signal, to allow performing menu item selection and operation according to instructions by a user, the image display device comprising:

a controller that selects and controls, according to instructions received from the user, either the large menu or a small menu having only a portion of the plurality of menu items in the large menu; and

a menu image compositor that displays on the display unit, according to control by the controller, the large menu or the small menu together with the underlying image, wherein

whether or not the large menu or the small menu is displayed is based a menu switching signal received from the user,

wherein the controller controls the menu image compositor so as to change the position of the area in which the small menu is displayed based on the displayed content of the underlying image.

2. An image display control device according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the menu image compositor so as to display on the small menu different menu items in the large menu according to the instructions.

3. An image display control device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of menu items in the large menu has predetermined display order, and

the controller controls the menu image compositor so as to indicate, when one of the plurality of menu items of the large menu not displayed in the small menu is adjacent to a menu item displayed in the small menu, the direction in which the adjacent menu item is present.

4. An image display control device according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the menu image compositor so as to display information regarding in what position a menu item display in the small menu is displayed in the large menu.

5. An image display control device according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the menu image compositor so as to change the display position of the small menu area to an area excluding the central portion of the underlying image.

6. An image display control device according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the menu image compositor so as to change the display position of the small menu area according to light/shadow distribution in the underlying image.

7. An image display control device according to claim 6, wherein the controller controls the menu image compositor so as to change the display position of the small menu area according to temporal variation in the light/shadow distribution in the underlying image.

8. An image display control device according to claim 1, wherein, when the small menu is displayed, the menu image compositor halftones an area in which the area including the menu items included in the small menu is excluded from the large menu display area, and in the halftoned area transparently displays, on the display unit, the underlying image.

9. An image display system comprising:

a display unit; and

an image display control device for displaying on the display unit a large menu having a plurality of menu items, and an underlying image obtained from a broadcasting signal, to allow performing menu item selection and operation according to instructions by a user;

wherein the image display control device comprises;

a controller that selects and controls, according to instructions received from the user, display of the large menu and a small menu having only a portion of the plurality of menu items in the large menu; and

a menu image compositor that displays on the display unit, according to control by the controller, the large menu or the small menu together with the underlying image, wherein

whether or not the large menu or the small menu is displayed is based a menu switching signal received from the user; and

wherein the controller controls the menu image compositor so as to change the position of the area in which the small menu is displayed based on the content of the underlying image.