Display apparatus, display system, and display method

• US 9,609,261 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2012
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yamada, Eiju, Ohashi, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Yang, Andrew G
• Application Number:
  US13/572,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20130050274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,688 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/04 Changes in size, position or resolution of an image
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/20 Details of the management of multiple sources of image data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• 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 21/42208 Display device provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4222 Remote control device emulator integrated into a non-television apparatus, e.g. a PDA, media center or smart toy remote control device for a television receiver integrated into a mobile phone H04M1/72415
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control
• 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 21/440263 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for displaying on a connected PDA
• 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 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72

Abstract

There is provided a control apparatus including a command acquiring unit that acquires selection commands of pieces of content transmitted from a plurality of controllers, and a display processing unit that, when at least a part of users who use the plurality of controllers view same content, enlarges a display area of the content.

Claims

1. A control apparatus comprising:

a command acquiring unit configured to acquire selection commands of pieces of content transmitted from a plurality of controllers or users, in which each controller or user has a respective controller authority value associated therewith;

a display processing unit to control a size of each of a plurality of display areas on a display device each having different content simultaneously displayed thereon based on overall authority values; and

an authority calculating unit to calculate an overall authority value for each display area having respective content displayed thereon based on a number of controllers or users which selected the respective content and the respective controller authority value or values associated therewith, for use by the display processing unit,

in which when multiple controllers or users select a same content and at least two of the multiple controllers or users each have a different controller authority value, the authority calculating unit is configured to calculate a respective overall authority value for the respective display area by adding together the respective controller authority value for each controller or user which selected the same content, such that when both a first controller having a controller authority value of 2 and a second controller having a controller authority value of 1 select the same content the calculated overall authority value for the respective display area would be 3, and

in which the display processing unit is configured to control the size of each of the plurality of display areas based on the overall authority values so that respective display areas having the same overall authority values have same size display areas regardless of whether a number of controllers or users of each of the respective display areas is the same, such that a first display area obtained when 3 controllers or users select a same first content each having a respective controller authority value of 1 for a respective overall authority value of 3 is the same size as a second display area obtained when 1 controller or user selects a second content which has a respective controller authority value of 3 for a respective overall authority value of 3.

2. The control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the display processing unit enlarges the display areas of the pieces of content with increase in values of calculated overall authority values.

3. A display system comprising:

a plurality of controllers; and

a control apparatus operable remotely by the controllers or users, in which each controller or user has a respective controller authority value associated therewith,

the control apparatus including a command acquiring unit configured to acquire selection commands of pieces of content transmitted from the plurality of controllers, a display processing unit to control a size of each of a plurality of display areas on a display device each having different content simultaneously displayed thereon based on overall authority values, and an authority calculating unit to calculate an overall authority value for each display area having respective content displayed thereon based on a number of controllers or users which selected the respective content and the respective controller authority value or values associated therewith for use by the display processing unit,

in which when multiple controllers or users select a same content and at least two of the multiple controllers or users each have a different controller authority value, the authority calculating unit is configured to calculate a respective overall authority value for the respective display area by adding together the respective controller authority value for each controller or user which selected the same content, such that when both a first controller having a controller authority value of 2 and a second controller having a controller authority value of 1 select the same content the calculated overall authority value for the respective display area would be 3, and

in which the display processing unit is configured to control the size of each of the plurality of display areas based on the overall authority values so that respective display areas having the same overall authority values have same size display areas regardless of whether a number of controllers or users of each of the respective display areas is the same, such that a first display area obtained when 3 controllers or users select a same first content each having a respective controller authority value of 1 for a respective overall authority value of 3 is the same size as a second display area obtained when 1 controller or user selects a second content which has a respective controller authority value of 3 for a respective overall authority value of 3.

4. A display method comprising:

transmitting, by a plurality of controllers, selection commands of pieces of content;

acquiring selection commands of pieces of content transmitted from the plurality of controllers;

controlling a size of each of a plurality of display areas on a display device each having different content simultaneously displayed thereon based on overall authority values; and

calculating an overall authority value for each display area having respective content displayed thereon based on a number of controllers or users which selected the respective content and respective controller authority value or values associated therewith for use in the size controlling,

in which when multiple controllers or users select a same content and at least two of the multiple controllers or users each have a different controller authority value, a respective overall authority value for the respective display area is calculated by adding together the respective controller authority value for each controller or user which selected the same content, such that when both a first controller having a controller authority value of 2 and a second controller having a controller authority value of 1 select the same content the calculated overall authority value for the respective display area would be 3, and

in which the controlling includes controlling the size of each of the plurality of display areas based on the overall authority values so that respective display areas having the same overall authority values have same size display areas regardless of whether a number of controllers or users of each of the respective display areas is the same, such that a first display area obtained when 3 controllers or users select a same first content each having a respective controller authority value of 1 for a respective overall authority value of 3 is the same size as a second display area obtained when 1 controller or user selects a second content which has a respective controller authority value of 3 for a respective overall authority value of 3.

5. A control apparatus for use in a system having a display device and a plurality of control devices for use by a number of users, said apparatus comprising:

a memory configured to have a predetermined program stored therein; and

a central processing unit (CPU) configured to execute the predetermined program stored in the memory,

during operation, when executing the predetermined program the CPU is configured to (i) acquire a number of selection commands of pieces of content transmitted from more than one of the plurality of control devices, each control device or user having a respective controller authority value associated therewith, (ii) control a size of more than one display area on the display device based on overall authority values, each said display area configured to have content different from each other displayed simultaneously thereon, and (iii) calculate an overall authority value for each said display area having respective content displayed thereon based on a number of control devices or users which selected the respective content and the respective controller authority value or values associated therewith, and

in which when multiple control devices or users select a same content and at least two of the multiple control devices or users each have a different controller authority value, the CPU when executing the predetermined program during operation is configured to calculate a respective overall authority value for the respective display area by adding together the respective controller authority value for each control device or user which selected the same content, such that when both a first control device having a controller authority value of 2 and a second control device having a controller authority value of 1 select the same content the calculated overall authority value for the respective display area would be 3, and

in which the CPU when executing the predetermined program during operation is configured to control the size of each of the plurality of display areas based on the overall authority values so that respective display areas having the same overall authority values have same size display areas regardless of whether a number of control devices or users of each of the respective display areas is the same, such that a first display area obtained when 3 control devices or users select a same first content each having a respective controller authority value of 1 for a respective overall authority value of 3 is the same size as a second display area obtained when 1 control device or user selects a second content which has a respective controller authority value of 3 for a respective overall authority value of 3.