Display control apparatus, image pickup apparatus, display control method, and storage medium

• US 8,184,193 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2010
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yoshio, Katsuhito, Yoshimi, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Pasiewicz, Daniel M
• Application Number:
  US12/706,414
• Publication Number:
  US 20100208119A1
• Time in Patent Office: 826 Days
• Field of Search: 348/239, 348/333.01, 348/333.02, 348/333.05, 348/333.11, 715/702, 715/784, 715/863
• US Class Current: 348/333.05
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00448 horizontally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00458 Sequential viewing of a plurality of images, e.g. browsing or scrolling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes

Abstract

A display control apparatus that enables to reliably and quickly search for a desired image. When a wheel is operated by a user by an amount less than a predetermined operation amount, image feeding is made in a first display mode where a plurality of images are displayed on an image display unit. When the wheel is operated by the user by an amount equal to or greater than the predetermined operation amount, image feeding is made in a second display mode where a larger number of images than in the first display mode are displayed on the image display unit in a smaller size than in the first display mode.

Claims

1. A display control apparatus comprising:

a display control unit configured to control the feeding of images on a display unit in one of a plurality of display modes that corresponds to a way in which an operation member for instructing image feeding is operated, the plurality of display modes including at least a first display mode where a plurality of images are simultaneously displayed on the display unit and a second display mode where a larger number of images than are simultaneously displayed in the first display mode are displayed on the display unit in a smaller size than the images displayed in the first display mode;

a first control unit configured to control image feeding so that the number of images fed during image feeding corresponds to a corresponding operation of the operation member; and

a second control unit configured to control said apparatus to switch the display mode from the second display mode to the first display mode when a remaining number of images for which the image feeding is being performed under control of said first control unit in the second display mode after completion of the operation of the operation member becomes equal to or less than a predetermined number and to continue the image feeding of the remaining number of images in the first display mode.

2. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, further including:

a storage control unit configured to control storage of an operation amount of the particular operation of the operation member into a storage unit,

wherein the number of images corresponding to the corresponding operation performed on the operation member is determined based on the operation amount stored in said storage unit.

3. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of display modes further include a third display mode where a single image is displayed on the display unit, and

said display control unit controls said apparatus to perform image feeding in the third display mode in a case where an amount of operation on the particular operation member is less than a predetermined value.

4. The display control apparatus according to claim 3, further including:

a non-operation judgment unit configured to determine, in a case where the first display mode is selected, whether a predetermined operation, including at least the operation of the particular operation member, is not performed for a predetermined time period; and

a mode switching unit configured to shift the display mode to the third display mode when it is determined by said non-operation judgment unit that the predetermined operation is not performed for the predetermined time period.

5. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, further including:

a button operation judgment unit configured to determine whether a predetermined button operation member, which is an operation member other than the operation member, is depressed,

wherein in a case where it is determined by said button operation judgment unit that the button operation member is depressed in the first display mode, said display control unit controls image feeding so that the number of fed images corresponds to the number of times the button operation member is depressed in the first display mode.

6. The display control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display control unit is also configured to control the feeding of images on the display unit in a third display mode where a single image is displayed on the display unit, wherein an animation effect to indicate a direction in which images are shifted on the display unit is added to the display of images on the display unit when the image feeding is performed in the third display mode according to a particular operation of the operation member, and the animation effect is not added when the image feeding is performed in the third display mode according to an operation on the button operation member.

7. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, further including:

an image switching unit configured to shift the display of images on the display unit from an image currently selected from among a plurality of images, which are displayed in the first display mode, to an image associated with particular attribute information in accordance with an operation of a second operation member.

8. The display control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the particular attribute information is date and time information associated with an image taken at an earliest time among images having a same date as a date represented by date and time information for the currently selected image.

9. The display control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the particular attribute information is date and time information associated with an image having an earliest time among images having a date next to the date represented by date and time information for the currently selected image.

10. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation member includes any one of a rotary encoder, a linear encoder, a touch sensor, a touch panel, and a track ball.

11. The display control apparatus according to claim 1 display control unit controls the feeding of images on the display unit in each of the first and second display modes, while adding an animation effect to indicate a direction of image feeding on a screen of the display unit.

12. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display control unit control the feeding of images on the display unit in one of the plurality of display modes that corresponds to a way in which the operation member is operated, the plurality of display modes including at least the first and second display modes and a third display mode where a single image is displayed on the display unit, and

wherein said display control apparatus further includes a non-operation judgment unit configured to determine, in a case where the first display mode is selected, whether a predetermined operation, including at least an operation on the operation member, is not performed for a predetermined time period, and a mode switching unit configured to switch the display mode to the third display mode when it is determined by said non-operation judgment unit that the predetermined operation is not performed for the predetermined time period.

13. The display control apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said display control unit controls the image feeding on the display unit to feed the images in the third display mode in a case where the operation amount of the particular operation member is less than a predetermined value.

14. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, further including:

a button operation judgment unit configured to determine whether a predetermined button operation member, which is an operation member other than the particular operation member, is depressed,

wherein in a case where it is determined by said button operation judgment unit that the button operation member is depressed in the first display mode, said the display control unit controls image feeding on the display unit so the number of fed images corresponds to the number of times the button operation member is depressed in the first display mode.

15. An image pickup apparatus comprising the display control apparatus as set forth in claim 1.

16. A display control method comprising:

a display control step of controlling the feeding of images on a display unit in one of a plurality of display modes that corresponds to a way in which an operation member for instructing image feeding is operated, the plurality of display modes including at least a first display mode where a plurality of images are simultaneously displayed on the display unit and a second display mode where a larger number of images than are simultaneously displayed in the first display mode are displayed on the display unit in a smaller size than the images displayed in the first display mode;

a first control step of controlling image feeding so that the number of images fed during image feeding corresponds to a corresponding operation of the on a particular operation member; and

a second control step of switching the display mode from the second display mode to the first display mode when a remaining number of images for which the image feeding is being performed under control of said first control step in the second display mode after completion of operation of the operation member becomes equal to or less than a predetermined number and for continuing the image feeding of the remaining number of images in the first display mode.

17. The display control method according to claim 16, wherein said display control step controls the feeding of images on the display unit in one of a plurality of display modes that corresponds to a way in which the operation member is operated, the plurality of display modes including at least the first and second display modes and a third display mode where a single image is displayed on the display unit, and

wherein the display control step further includes a non-operation judgment step of determining, in a case where the first display mode is selected, whether a predetermined operation, including at least an operation of the operation member, is not performed for a predetermined time period, and a mode switching step of switching the display mode to the third display mode when it is determined in said non-operation judgment step that the predetermined operation is not performed for the predetermined time period.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the display control method as set forth in claim 16.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the display control method as set forth in claim 17.