Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

• US 9,886,844 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2012
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Amano, Naoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Rahman, Sm
• Application Number:
  US13/438,714
• Publication Number:
  US 20120297040A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,135 Days
• Field of Search: 709223
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/71 Directional beams
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/91 Remote control based on location and proximity
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an information processing apparatus including: a storage block configured to store information about a combination of devices being selected to be controlled by a function of a first application and devices being selected to be controlled by a function of a second application; and a selection block configured to select, among the devices controllable by the function of the second application, a device in the same combination being selected to be controlled by the function of the first application on the basis of the above-mentioned information stored in the storage block.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a storage block configured to store information about a combination of first devices being selected to be controlled by a function of a first application and second devices being selected to be controlled by a function of a second application, wherein said first application is an application having a function of transmitting a signal by use of infrared radiation and said second application is an application for controlling a device compliant with a DLNA standard, DLNA standing for Digital Living Network Alliance; and

a selection block configured to select, among a plurality of second devices controllable by the function of said second application, a respective second device in the same combination as a respective first device being selected to be controlled by the function of said first application on the basis of the above-mentioned information stored in said storage block,

wherein the information about the combination of the first devices and the second devices comprises a log of devices selected in a predetermined temporal relation to one another between the first devices and the second devices,

wherein said storage block is further configured to update the information comprising the log of the devices selected in the predetermined temporal relation to one another every time respective devices from among the first devices and the second devices are selected to be controlled within a predetermined amount of time as one another, and

wherein the storage block and the selection block are each implemented via at least one processor.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, if information of the plurality of second devices controllable by the function of said second application is displayed, the apparatus further comprising:

a display control block configured to display information about the respective second device selected by said selection block prior to information about other devices of the plurality of second devices controllable by the function of said second application,

wherein the display control block is implemented via at least one processor.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said display control block is further configured to display the information about the respective second device selected by said selection block at a center of information about the plurality of second devices controllable by the function of said second application.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said display control block is further configured to display the information about the respective second device selected by said selection block larger than the information about the other devices of the plurality of second devices controllable by the function of said second application.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said display control block is further configured to display the information about the respective second device selected by said selection block in a display color different from a display color of the information about the other devices of the plurality of second devices controllable by the function of said second application.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a control block configured to control a second device selected from among the displayed plurality of second devices controllable by the function of said second application,

wherein the control block is implemented via at least one processor.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage block is further configured to store information indicative of a combination of a single first device being selected to be controlled by the function of the first application and a plurality of the second devices being selected to be controlled by the function of the second application with the predetermined temporal relation between the single first device and the plurality of second devices.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display control block is further configured to display the information about the other devices of the plurality of second devices controllable by the function of said second application based on a predetermined spatial relation between the respective second device selected by the selection block and the other devices of the plurality of second devices controllable by the function of said second application.

9. An information processing method, implemented via at least one processor, the method comprising:

storing information about a combination of first devices being selected to be controlled by a function of a first application and second devices being selected to be controlled by a function of a second application, wherein said first application is an application having a function of transmitting a signal by use of infrared radiation and said second application is an application for controlling a device compliant with a DLNA standard, DLNA standing for Digital Living Network Alliance; and

selecting, among a plurality of second devices controllable by the function of said second application, a respective second device in the same combination as a respective first device being selected to be controlled by the function of said first application on the basis of the above-mentioned stored information,

wherein the information about the combination of the first devices and the second devices comprises a log of devices selected in a predetermined temporal relation to one another between the first devices and the second devices, and

wherein storing the information about the combination of first devices and second devices further comprises updating the information comprising the log of the devices selected in the predetermined temporal relation to one another every time respective devices from among the first devices and the second devices are selected to be controlled within a predetermined amount of time as one another.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon a program, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

storing information about a combination of first devices being selected to be controlled by a function of a first application and second devices being selected to be controlled by a function of a second application, wherein said first application is an application having a function of transmitting a signal by use of infrared radiation and said second application is an application for controlling a device compliant with a DLNA standard, DLNA standing for Digital Living Network Alliance; and

selecting, among a plurality of second devices controllable by the function of said second application, a respective second device in the same combination as a respective first device being selected to be controlled by the function of said first application on the basis of the above-mentioned stored information,

wherein the information about the combination of the first devices and the second devices comprises a log of devices selected in a predetermined temporal relation to one another between the first devices and the second devices, and

wherein storing the information about the combination of first devices and second devices further comprises updating the information comprising the log of the devices selected in the predetermined temporal relation to one another every time respective devices from among the first devices and the second devices are selected to be controlled within a predetermined amount of time as one another.