Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program thereof

• US 7,840,907 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2007
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kitao, Takashi, Kikuchi, Yuhei
• Primary Examiner(s): Chow; Dennis-Doon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham; Linh K
• Application Number:
  US11/677,255
• Publication Number:
  US 20070226652A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,371 Days
• Field of Search: 715/782, 715/792, 715/793, 715/796, 715/797, 715/786, 715/804, 715/810, 715/821, 715/863, 715/841, 345/156, 345/901
• US Class Current: 715/790
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor

Abstract

The present invention provides an information processing apparatus that can make the user easily search for desired data. By mutually superposing and displaying icons of respective plural files and folders, and carrying out the flipping operation for thus superposed and displayed icons, an arbitrary icon is shifted and displayed such that the icon is spread. Accordingly, the operation of searching for a desired icon from among the plural icons can be made more intuitive and comprehensible with a sense of flipping a page of a book. Furthermore, since plural icons indicative of the contents of files and folders corresponding to the respective plural icons are displayed such that the icons are not superposed one another, the user can visually confirm the contents of the respective icons, which makes it possible to easily search for an icon of a desired file or folder, and easily search for desired data consequently.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

display control means for superposing and displaying a plurality of selection item display elements indicative of a plurality of selection items respectively on a display unit, said selection items corresponding to a plurality of data and respective logical storage locations for the plurality of data, and displaying a plurality of item contents display elements indicative of the contents of the selection items on the display unit such that the contents can be visually confirmed, wherein the display control means displays the plurality of selection item display elements on the display unit in the form of an open book with the plurality of selection item display elements corresponding to individual pages of the open book; and

operation means for carrying out a predetermined operation for the superposed and displayed plural selection item display elements;

wherein the display control means shifts a display of a selection item display element among the superposed and displayed plural selection item display elements, based on the predetermined operation by the operation means, in the form of shifting a position of a page in the open book,

wherein the plurality of item contents display elements are displayed in a separate region of the display unit from the plurality of selection item display elements, and are displayed within the separate region in a horizontally spread manner such that a horizontal position of each item contents display element is the same as a horizontal position of its respective selection item display element on the display unit such that each displayed item contents display element is displayed in a one-to-one correspondence with the displayed selection item display element for which it indicates the contents thereof.

2. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the display control means displays the item contents display elements close to the display position for the selection item display elements.

3. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the display control means displays the item contents display elements such that the item contents display elements are not superposed on one another.

4. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein

the display control means sets up the display size of the item contents display elements such that the item contents display elements are not superposed on one another.

5. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein

the display control means sets up the display direction of the item contents display elements such that the item contents display elements are not superposed on one another.

6. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein

the display control means sets up the display size and the display direction of the item contents display elements such that the item contents display elements are not superposed on one another.

7. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the display control means shifts and displays an item contents display element according to the shifting of the shifted selection item display element.

11. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the display control means displays the plurality of selection display elements on the display unit in the form of an open book by displaying two of the plurality of selection display elements adjacently to each other and completely visible on the display unit, while partially displaying at least one of the remaining plurality of selection display elements to appear superposed by a respective one of the two completely visible selection display elements on the display unit, with only a portion of the at least one of the remaining plurality of selection display elements visible near one side of the respective one of the two completely visible selection display elements.

12. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of item contents display elements includes an image indicative of the contents of a respective selection item.

8. An information processing method, implemented on an information processing apparatus, comprising:

superposing and displaying a plurality of selection item display elements indicative of a plurality of selection items respectively on a display unit of the information processing apparatus, said selection items corresponding to a plurality of data and respective logical storage locations for the plurality of data, and displaying a plurality of item contents display elements indicative of the contents of the selection items on the display unit such that the contents can be visually confirmed, wherein the plurality of selection item display elements are displayed on the display unit in the form of an open book with the plurality of selection item display elements corresponding to individual pages of the open book; and

when a predetermined operation is carried out for the superposed and displayed plural selection item display elements by an operation section of the information processing apparatus, shifting a display of a selection item display element among the superposed and displayed plural selection item display elements based on the predetermined operation, in the form of shifting a position of a page in the open book,

wherein the plurality of item contents display elements are displayed in a separate region of the display unit from the plurality of selection item display elements, and are displayed within the separate region in a horizontally spread manner such that a horizontal position of each item contents display element is the same as a horizontal position of its respective selection item display element on the display unit such that each displayed item contents display element is displayed in a one-to-one correspondence with the displayed selection item display element for which it indicates the contents thereof.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with computer executable instructions, which when executed by an information processing apparatus, cause the information processing apparatus to perform a method comprising:

superposing and displaying a plurality of selection item display elements indicative of a plurality of selection items respectively on a display unit of the information processing apparatus, said selection items corresponding to a plurality of data and respective logical storage locations for the plurality of data, and displaying a plurality of item contents display elements indicative of the contents of the selection items on the display unit such that the contents can be visually confirmed, wherein the plurality of selection item display elements are displayed on the display unit in the form of an open book with the plurality of selection item display elements corresponding to individual pages of the open book; and

when a predetermined operation is carried out for the superposed and displayed plural selection item display elements by an operation section of the information processing apparatus, shifting a display of a selection item display element among the superposed and displayed plural selection item display elements based on the predetermined operation, in the form of shifting a position of a page in the open book,

wherein the plurality of item contents display elements are displayed in a separate region of the display unit from the plurality of selection item display elements, and are displayed within the separate region in a horizontally spread manner such that a horizontal position of each item contents display element is the same as a horizontal position of its respective selection item display element on the display unit such that each displayed item contents display element is displayed in a one-to-one correspondence with the displayed selection item display element for which it indicates the contents thereof.

10. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a display controller that superposes and displays a plurality of selection item display elements indicative of a plurality of selection items respectively on a display unit, said selection items corresponding to a plurality of data and respective logical storage locations for the plurality of data, and displays a plurality of item contents display elements indicative of the contents of the selection items on the display unit such that the contents can be visually confirmed, wherein the display controller displays the plurality of selection item display elements on the display unit in the form of an open book with the plurality of selection item display elements corresponding to individual pages of the open book; and

an operation unit that carries out a predetermined operation for the superposed and displayed plural selection item display elements;

wherein the display controller shifts a display of a selection item display element among the superposed and displayed plural selection item display elements based on the predetermined operation by the operation unit, in the form of shifting a position of a page in the open book,

wherein the plurality of item contents display elements are displayed in a separate region of the display unit from the plurality of selection item display elements, and are displayed within the separate region in a horizontally spread manner such that a horizontal position of each item contents display element is the same as a horizontal position of its respective selection item display element on the display unit such that each displayed item contents display element is displayed in a one-to-one correspondence with the displayed selection item display element for which it indicates the contents thereof.