Display control apparatus, display control method, display control program, and display system

• US 8,732,582 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2008
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Hideyuki, Akaike, Kazuhiro, Okada, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Amy
• Assistant Examiner(s): DRAGOESCU, CLAUDIA B
• Application Number:
  US12/297,272
• Publication Number:
  US 20090282340A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,265 Days
• Field of Search: 715/730, 715/732, 715/764, 715/781, 715/788, 715/810
• US Class Current: 715/732
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• 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 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440263 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for displaying on a connected PDA
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440281 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. by frame skipping television signal recording using magnetic recording on tape for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7921 for more than one processing mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8047 using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

A display control apparatus which realizes display capable of providing an overview of a group of thumbnail images and which includes an object controller (52a) for performing control to, when a viewer (52) allocates images to be displayed to a predetermined number of image-frame objects (52g), in the case where the number of the images to be allocated to the individual image-frame objects exceeds the number of the image-frame objects (52g), allocate a plurality of images to at least some of the image-frame objects (52g) and, when the plurality of images are allocated to each image-frame object (52g), display all the images to be displayed within a certain time by switching the images to be displayed at predetermined time intervals.

Claims

1. A display control apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to act as;

a sorting unit that sorts images to be displayed on a display on the basis of an image capturing date or an image capturing time;

a line splitting unit that splits the images sorted by the sorting unit into a predetermined number of line objects, each line object corresponding to a separate row of displayed images on the display and having a predetermined number of image-frame objects that each correspond to a displayed image location on the row, the images being split into the line objects based on sizes of gaps between the image capturing dates or image capturing times detected over all of the images, such that when there are a plurality of gaps between the image capturing dates or image capturing times detected over all of the images, the size of each of the gaps is determined, and the largest gaps among the plurality of gaps are used to group the images into each of the line objects;

an image-frame allocating unit that allocates, when allocating the images to be displayed to the predetermined number of image-frame objects for each line object, a plurality of images to at least one of the image-frame objects when the number of the images to be allocated to the line object exceeds the predetermined number of image-frame objects for the line object; and

a display controller that controls display of the images allocated to the individual image-frame objects,

wherein the display controller controls, when the plurality of images are allocated to the at least one of the image-frame objects, display of the images so that all the images to be displayed are displayed within a certain time by switching the images to be displayed at predetermined time intervals, and

wherein, when one of the image-frame objects is selected and when the number of the images to be allocated to the line object of the selected image-frame object exceeds the predetermined number of image-frame objects for the line object, the display controller controls the display of the images so that an image selected at the selected image frame object is maintained at a same position in the line object and the remaining images allocated to the line object are sequentially displayed in ascending order on the basis of the selected image-frame object as a reference point, and the line object of the selected image frame object does not change from its displayed position on the display.

2. The display control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the display controller controls, when an image allocated to one of the image-frame objects is selected, display so that the image data is displayed within a full screen.

3. A display control apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to act as;

an image-frame allocating unit that allocates, when allocating images to be displayed to a predetermined number of image-frame objects, a plurality of images to at least one of the image-frame objects when the number of the images to be allocated to the individual image-frame objects exceeds the number of the image-frame objects; and

a display controller that controls display of the images allocated to the individual image-frame objects, wherein the display controller controls, when the plurality of images are allocated to the at least one of the image-frame objects, display of the images so that all the images to be displayed are displayed within a certain time by randomly switching a number of the images to be displayed at predetermined time intervals;

a sorting unit that sorts the images on the basis of a predetermined reference; and

a screen-object determining unit that initially determines, on the basis of the number of the images sorted by the sorting unit, a screen object corresponding to the number of the pieces of image data from among a plurality of screen objects having different numbers of image-frame objects, each screen object corresponding to a separate maximum number of displayed images over the entire display,

wherein, when the number of the images sorted by the sorting unit exceeds the number of the image-frame objects of the initially determined screen object to which the allocation is to be made, in a case where the exceeding number is less than a predetermined number, the screen-object determining unit determines a screen object having fewer image-frame objects than the initially determined screen object to be used instead of the initially determined screen object and the number of images to be randomly switched to be displayed at predetermined time intervals increases from the initially determined screen object to the screen object having fewer image-frame objects.

5. The display control apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the predetermined reference is at least one of a folder name and a file name.

4. A display control apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to act as;

an image-frame allocating unit that allocates, when allocating images to be displayed to a predetermined number of image-frame objects, a plurality of images to at least one of the image-frame objects when the number of the images to be allocated to the individual image-frame objects exceeds the number of the image-frame objects; and

a display controller that controls display of the images allocated to the individual image-frame objects, wherein the display controller controls, when the plurality of images are allocated to the at least one of the image-frame objects, display of the images so that all the images to be displayed are displayed within a certain time by randomly switching a number of the images to be displayed at predetermined time intervals;

a sorting unit that sorts the images on the basis of a predetermined reference; and

a screen-object determining unit that initially determines, on the basis of the number of the images sorted by the sorting unit, a screen object corresponding to the number of the pieces of image data from among a plurality of screen objects having different numbers of image-frame objects, each screen object corresponding to a separate maximum number of displayed images over the entire display,

wherein, when the number of the images sorted by the sorting unit is less than or equal to a predetermined fraction with respect to the number of the image-frame objects of the initially determined screen object, the screen-object determining unit determines a screen object having fewer image-frame objects than the initially determined screen object to be used instead of the initially determined screen object and the number of images to be randomly switched to be displayed at predetermined time intervals increases from the initially determined screen object to the screen object having fewer image-frame objects.

6. The display control apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the predetermined reference is at least one of a folder name and a file name.

7. A display control method implemented on a display control apparatus comprising:

sorting, by a sorting unit, images to be displayed on a display on the basis of an image capturing date or an image capturing time;

splitting, by a line splitting unit, the images sorted by the sorting unit into a predetermined number of line objects, each line object corresponding to a separate row of displayed images on the display and having a predetermined number of image-frame objects that each correspond to a displayed image location on the row, the images being split into the line objects based on sizes of gaps between the image capturing dates or image capturing times detected over all of the images, such that when there are a plurality of gaps between the image capturing dates or image capturing times detected over all of the images, the size of each of the gaps is determined, and the largest gaps among the plurality of gaps are used to group the images into each of the line objects;

allocating, by an image-frame allocating unit, when allocating the images to be displayed to the predetermined number of image-frame objects for each line object, a plurality of images to at least one of the image-frame objects when the number of the images to be allocated to line object exceeds the predetermined number of image-frame objects for the line object; and

controlling, by a display controller, display of the images allocated to the individual image-frame objects,

wherein, in the controlling, when the plurality of images are allocated to the at least one of the image-frame objects, display of the images is controlled so that all the images to be displayed are displayed within a certain time by switching the images to be displayed at predetermined time intervals,

wherein, when one of the image-frame objects is selected and when the number of the images to be allocated to the line object of the selected image-frame object exceeds the predetermined number of image-frame objects for the line object, the controlling includes controlling the display of the images so that an image selected at the selected image frame object is maintained at a same position in the line object and the remaining images allocated to the line object are sequentially displayed in ascending order on the basis of the selected image-frame object as a reference point, and the line object of the selected image frame object does not change from its displayed position on the display.

8. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a display control program for causing a computer to execute a display control method, the display control method comprising the steps of:

sorting images to be displayed on a display on the basis of an image capturing date or an image capturing time;

splitting the images sorted into a predetermined number of line objects, each line object corresponding to a separate row of displayed images on the display and having a predetermined number of image-frame objects that each correspond to a displayed image location on the row, the images being split into the line objects based on sizes of gaps between the image capturing dates or image capturing times detected over all of the images, such that when there are a plurality of gaps between the image capturing dates or image capturing times detected over all of the images, the size of each of the gaps is determined, and the largest gaps among the plurality of gaps are used to group the images into each of the line objects;

allocating, when allocating the images to be displayed to the predetermined number of image-frame objects for each line object, a plurality of images to at least one of the image-frame objects when the number of the images to be allocated to line object exceeds the predetermined number of image-frame objects for the line object; and

controlling display of the images allocated to the individual image-frame objects,

wherein, in the controlling, when the plurality of images are allocated to the at least one of the image-frame objects, display of the images is controlled so that all the images to be displayed are displayed within a certain time by switching the images to be displayed at predetermined time intervals,

wherein, when one of the image-frame objects is selected and when the number of the images to be allocated to the line object of the selected image-frame object exceeds the predetermined number of image-frame objects for the line object, the controlling includes controlling the display of the images so that an image selected at the selected image frame object is maintained at a same position in the line object and the remaining images allocated to the line object are sequentially displayed in ascending order on the basis of the selected image-frame object as a reference point, and the line object of the selected image frame object does not change from its displayed position on the display.

9. A display system comprising:

circuitry configured to act as;

a sorting unit that images to be displayed on a display on the basis of an image capturing date or an image capturing time,

a line splitting unit that splits the images sorted by the sorting unit into a predetermined number of line objects, each line object corresponding to a separate row of displayed images on the display and having a predetermined number of image-frame objects that each correspond to a displayed image location on the row, the images being split into the line objects based on sizes of gaps between the image capturing dates or image capturing times detected over all of the images, such that when there are a plurality of gaps between the image capturing dates or image capturing times detected over all of the images, the size of each of the gaps is determined, and the largest gaps among the plurality of gaps are used to group the images into each of the line objects,

an image-frame allocating unit that allocates, when allocating the images to be displayed to the predetermined number of image-frame objects for each line object, a plurality of images to at least one of the image-frame objects when the number of the images to be allocated to the line object exceeds the predetermined number of image-frame objects for the line object, and

a display controller that controls display of the images allocated to the individual image-frame objects; and

a display that displays the images on the basis of control performed by the display controller,

wherein the display controller controls, when the plurality of images are allocated to the image-frame objects, display of all the images to be displayed within a certain time by switching the images to be displayed at predetermined time intervals, and

wherein, when one of the image-frame objects is selected and when the number of the images to be allocated to the line object of the selected image-frame object exceeds the predetermined number of image-frame objects for the line object, the display controller controls the display of the images so that an image selected at the selected image frame object is maintained at a same position in the line object and the remaining images allocated to the line object are sequentially displayed in ascending order on the basis of the selected image-frame object as a reference point, and the line object of the selected image frame object does not change from its displayed position on the display.