Information processing apparatus, information processing method and program

• US 8,789,098 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2010
• Issued: 07/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Wei, Yuan
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, AN SON PHI
• Application Number:
  US12/960,965
• Publication Number:
  US 20110145860A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,324 Days
• Field of Search: 725 39- 46, 725/50, 725/53
• US Class Current: 725/39
• 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 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• 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 21/462 Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4858 for modifying screen layout parameters, e.g. fonts, size of the windows
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver

Abstract

There is provided an information processing apparatus which includes an acquisition unit acquiring an instruction for selecting content information and related information, a search unit searching for plural pieces of the content information or related information which are related to at least a part of the selected content information or the selected related information, an image data generation unit generating first image data in which the content information is arranged using axes of two attributes of the content information, and second image data in which the content information or the related information is arranged using axes of one or two attributes of the content information or the related information in different directions from the two axes of the first image data, and a display control unit controlling a display screen to transparently overlay and display the first image data and the second image data.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

an acquisition unit that acquires, according to user'"'"'s operation, an instruction for selecting content information, which is related to plural contents and includes plural attributes, and related information having at least one of the plural attributes;

a search unit that searches for, according to the instruction acquired by the acquisition unit, plural pieces of the content information or related information which are related to the selected content information or the selected related information;

an image data generation unit that generates first image data in which the content information is arranged using axes of two attributes of the content information, and second image data in which the content information or the related information searched for by the search unit is arranged using at least two axes of at least two attributes of the content information or the related information in different directions from the two axes of the first image data; and

a display control unit that controls a display screen to transparently overlay and simultaneously display the first image data and the second image data generated by the image data generation unit,

wherein the image data generation unit generates the first image data using axes in a long side direction and a short side direction on a substantially rectangular display screen, the axes in the long side direction and the short side direction are arranged within a first visual planar layer,

wherein the image data generation unit generates the second image data using axes in diagonal line directions, the axes in the diagonal line directions are arranged within a second visual planar layer that is the same as or parallel to the first visual planar layer, and

wherein the second image data contains only the selected content information arranged in the first displayed first image data and content information related to the selected content information arranged in the displayed first image data.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data generation unit generates the first image data by arranging the content information in a band-shape using a time axis as one of the axes and generates the second image data by arranging the content information or the related information in a line along the axis direction.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when the acquisition unit acquires an instruction for selecting the content information or the related information arranged in the second image data, the display control unit scrolls the content information or the related information arranged on the second image data.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data generation unit, according to the instruction acquired by the acquisition unit, generates the first image data or the second image data so that the selected content information or the selected related information can be visually distinguished from the other content information or the other related information.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when an instruction for selecting the content information or the related information displayed on the second image data is acquired by the acquisition unit, the search unit searches for plural pieces of the content information or the related information related to at least a part of the content information or the related information selected according to the instruction acquired by the acquisition unit, the image data generation unit newly generates the second image data based on the content information or the related information searched for by the search unit, and the display control unit updates the display of the display screen with the second image data generated by the image data generation unit.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a storage unit configured to store the second image data,

wherein the acquisition unit further acquires an instruction for returning to a previous screen according to user'"'"'s operation, and the display control unit updates the display of the display screen with the second image data read from the storage unit according to the instruction for returning to a previous screen acquired by the acquisition unit.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires an instruction for selecting the content information arranged in the first image data, which is transparently viewed though the second image data overlaid thereon in the display screen.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the instruction for selecting the content information or the related information arranged in the first image data or the second image data when direction buttons respectively corresponding to the arranged axes are pressed on an operation device that is configured to accept user'"'"'s button operation.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, when the instruction for selecting the content information displayed in the first image data is acquired by the acquisition unit, the display control unit erases the second image data from the display screen.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a first portion of the second image data is arranged using a first diagonal axis of a first attribute of the content information or the related information, and a second portion of the second image data is arranged using a second diagonal axis of a second attribute of the content information or the related information.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the first portion of the second image data is displayed using a carousel display along the first diagonal axis, and the second portion of the second image data is displayed using a carousel display along the second diagonal axis.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the axes in the long side direction and the short side direction, the first diagonal axis, and the second diagonal axis are all separate axes that intersect at a focus.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the axes in the long side direction and the short side direction and the at least two axes of the at least two attributes of the content information or the related information are all separate axes that intersect at a focus.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a degree of the transparency of the second image data increases as a distance to the focus increases.

15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the focus is located at a center area of the display screen.

16. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the focus is located at a selected program information substantially at an intersection of the axes of the two attributes of the content information and the at least two axes of the at least two attributes of the content information or the related information.

17. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first visual planar layer and the second visual planar layer are configured to be in a single plane.

18. An information processing method carried out by a computer, comprising the steps of:

acquiring, according to user'"'"'s operation, an instruction for selecting content information, which is related to plural contents and includes plural attributes, and related information having at least one of the plural attributes;

searching for, according to the instruction acquired in the step of acquiring, plural pieces of the content information or related information which are related to at least a part of the selected content information or the selected related information;

generating first image data in which the content information is arranged using axes of two attributes of the content information, and second image data in which the content information or the related information searched for in the step of searching is arranged using at least two axes of at least two attributes of the content information or the related information in different directions from the two axes of the first image data; and

controlling a display screen to transparently overlay and simultaneously display the first image data and the second image data generated in the step of generating,

wherein generating first image data further comprises generating the first image data using axes in a long side direction and a short side direction on a substantially rectangular display screen, the axes in the long side direction and the short side direction being arranged within a first visual planar layer,

wherein the second image data is generated using axes in diagonal line directions, the axes in the diagonal line directions being arranged within a second visual planar layer that is the same as or parallel to the first visual planar layer, and

wherein the second image data contains only the selected content information arranged in the first displayed first image data and content information related to the selected content information arranged in the displayed first image data.

19. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising instructions that cause a computer to execute the steps of:

acquiring, according to user'"'"'s operation, an instruction for selecting content information, which is related to plural contents and includes plural attributes, and related information having at least one of the plural attributes;

searching for, according to the instruction acquired in the step of acquiring, plural pieces of the content information or related information which are related to at least a part of the selected content information or the selected related information;

generating first image data in which the content information is arranged using axes of two attributes of the content information, and second image data in which the content information or the related information searched for in the step of searching is arranged using at least two axes of at least two attributes of the content information or the related information in different directions from the two axes of the first image data; and

controlling a display screen to transparently overlay and simultaneously display the first image data and the second image data generated in the step of generating,

wherein generating first image data further comprises generating the first image data using axes in a long side direction and a short side direction on a substantially rectangular display screen, the axes in the long side direction and the short side direction being arranged within a first visual planar layer,

wherein the second image data is generated using axes in diagonal line directions, the axes in the diagonal line directions being arranged within a second visual planar layer that is the same as or parallel to the first visual planar layer, and

wherein the second image data contains only the selected content information arranged in the first displayed first image data and content information related to the selected content information arranged in the displayed first image data.