Image display device, image display method, and image display program

• US 8,395,637 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2009
• Issued: 03/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sano, Ikuya, Nishizawa, Kazuto, Nishiuchi, Iori
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HAU H
• Application Number:
  US12/387,300
• Publication Number:
  US 20090278997A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,412 Days
• Field of Search: 345/505, 345/581, 345/204
• US Class Current: 345/581
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/16 Digital picture frames
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers

Abstract

An image display device includes: a storing section configured to store associating information that associates information indicating one or more providing sources of image data with each of one or more display areas set within a display screen; an obtaining section configured to obtain image data from a providing source corresponding to each of one or more display areas on the basis of the associating information stored in the storing section; a forming section configured to form display image data of a display image to be displayed on the display screen on the basis of the image data being obtained by said obtaining section for each of one or more display areas; and a display processing section configured to display the display image corresponding to the display image data formed by the forming section on the display screen.

Claims

1. An image display device comprising:

storing means for storing associating information that associates information indicating one or more providing sources of image data with each of one or more display areas set within a display screen;

obtaining means for obtaining image data from a providing source corresponding to each of said one or more display areas on the basis of said associating information stored in said storing means;

forming means for forming display image data of a display image to be displayed on said display screen on the basis of the image data being obtained by said obtaining means for each of said one or more display areas; and

display processing means for displaying the display image corresponding to said display image data formed by said forming means on said display screen,

wherein the associating information includes an update date and time for each providing source associated with each display area, and for each providing source the update date and time is updated when the source is checked for new image data and the check indicates that new image data is present.

2. The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving means for receiving an instruction input from a user;

measuring means for measuring a time from display of the display image on said display screen by said display processing means; and

display controlling means for controlling said obtaining means, said forming means, and said display processing means to display a new display image when a predetermined instruction input is received via said receiving means or when a result of measurement of said measuring means indicates that a certain time has passed from the display of the display image.

3. The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

detecting means for detecting whether there is new image data at said providing source corresponding to each of said one or more display areas in each predetermined timing on the basis of said associating information stored in said storing means; and

informing means for informing presence of new image data when said detecting means detects the presence of the new image data.

4. The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

detecting means for detecting whether there is new image data at said providing source corresponding to each of said one or more display areas in each predetermined timing on the basis of said associating information stored in said storing means; and

new arrival notifying means for making a display notifying presence of new image data in a display area for which the new image data is present when said detecting means detects the presence of the new image data.

5. The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

detecting means for detecting whether there is new image data at said providing source corresponding to each of said one or more display areas in each predetermined timing on the basis of said associating information stored in said storing means;

updating means for updating said storing means with information indicating presence of new image data for each of the one or more display areas when said detecting means detects the presence of the new image data;

menu forming means for forming and displaying a menu having a performable process as a selection item; and

notifying means for making a display notifying presence of new image data in said selection item of the menu formed by said menu forming means, said selection item being for a process of displaying an image in each of the one or more display areas set within the display screen, when said storing means is updated with information indicating the presence of the new image data.

6. An image display device comprising:

storing means for storing associating information that associates information indicating providing sources of image data with each of a plurality of display areas set within a display screen;

obtaining means for obtaining image data from the providing sources of said image data; and

display controlling means for displaying the image data obtained by said obtaining means in each of the display areas corresponding to the providing sources on the basis of said associating information,

wherein the associating information includes an update date and time for each providing source associated with each display area, and for each providing source the update date and time is updated when the source is checked for new image data and the check indicates that new image data is present.

7. The image display device according to claim 6, further comprising:

communicating means for communicating with another information processing device;

detecting means for detecting whether there is new image data at a providing source of said image data by controlling said communicating means to communicate with said other information processing device; and

informing means for informing presence of new image data when said detecting means detects the presence of the new image data at said providing source.

8. An image display method comprising:

a recording step of recording, by recording means, in storing means, associating information that associates information indicating one or more providing sources of image data with each of one or more display areas set within a display screen;

an obtaining step of obtaining, by obtaining means, image data from a providing source corresponding to each of said one or more display areas on the basis of said associating information stored in said storing means;

a forming step of forming, by forming means, display image data of a display image to be displayed on said display screen on the basis of the image data being obtained in said obtaining step for each of said one or more display areas; and

a display processing step of displaying, by display processing means, the display image corresponding to said display image data formed in said forming step on said display screen,

wherein the associating information includes an update date and time for each providing source associated with each display area, and for each providing source the update date and time is updated when the source is checked for new image data and the check indicates that new image data is present.

9. The image display method according to claim 8, further comprising:

a receiving step of receiving an instruction input from a user via receiving means;

a measuring step of measuring a time from display of the display image on said display screen in said display processing step by measuring means; and

a display controlling step of controlling, by display controlling means, said obtaining means, said forming means, and said display processing means to display a new display image when a predetermined instruction input is received in said receiving step or when a result of measurement in said measuring step indicates that a certain time has passed from the display of the display image.

10. The image display method according to claim 8, further comprising:

a detecting step of detecting, by detecting means, whether there is new image data at said providing source corresponding to each of said one or more display areas in each predetermined timing on the basis of said associating information stored in said storing means; and

an informing step of informing presence of new image data via informing means when the presence of the new image data is detected in said detecting step.

11. The image display method according to claim 8, further comprising:

a detecting step of detecting, by detecting means, whether there is new image data at said providing source corresponding to each of said one or more display areas in each predetermined timing on the basis of said associating information stored in said storing means;

an updating step of updating, by updating means, said storing means with information indicating presence of new image data for each of the one or more display areas when the presence of the new image data is detected in said detecting step; and

a new arrival notifying step of making, by new arrival notifying means, a display notifying presence of new image data in a display area for which the new image data is present on the basis of the information stored in said storing means.

12. The image display method according to claim 8, further comprising:

a detecting step of detecting, by detecting means, whether there is new image data at said providing source corresponding to each of said one or more display areas in each predetermined timing on the basis of said associating information stored in said storing means;

an updating step of updating, by updating means, said storing means with information indicating presence of new image data for each of the one or more display areas when the presence of the new image data is detected in said detecting step;

a menu forming step of forming and displaying a menu having a performable process as a selection item by menu forming means; and

a notifying step of making a display notifying presence of new image data in said selection item of the menu formed in said menu forming step, said selection item being for a process of displaying an image in each of the one or more display areas set within the display screen, when said storing means is updated with information indicating the presence of the new image data.

13. An image display device comprising:

a storing section configured to store associating information that associates information indicating one or more providing sources of image data with each of one or more display areas set within a display screen;

an obtaining section configured to obtain image data from a providing source corresponding to each of said one or more display areas on the basis of said associating information stored in said storing section;

a forming section configured to form display image data of a display image to be displayed on said display screen on the basis of the image data being obtained by said obtaining section for each of said one or more display areas; and

a display processing section configured to display the display image corresponding to said display image data formed by said forming section on said display screen,

wherein the associating information includes an update date and time for each providing source associated with each display area, and for each providing source the update date and time is updated when the source is checked for new image data and the check indicates that new image data is present.

14. An image display device comprising:

a storing section configured to store associating information that associates information indicating providing sources of image data with each of a plurality of display areas set within a display screen;

an obtaining section configured to obtain image data from the providing sources of said image data; and

a display controlling section configured to display the image data obtained by said obtaining section in each of the display areas corresponding to the providing sources on the basis of said associating information,

wherein the associating information includes an update date and time for each providing source associated with each display area, and for each providing source the update date and time is updated when the source is checked for new image data and the check indicates that new image data is present.