Display control apparatus, display method, and computer program

• US 9,779,523 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2008
• Issued: 10/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Takuo, Mugura, Kazuto, Furue, Nobuki, Tajika, Wataru, Kitao, Takashi, Ni, Meng, Ono, Takatoshi, Tateno, Kei, Yamamoto, Noriyuki, Tsunoda, Tomohiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Perveen, Rehana
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, Huen
• Application Number:
  US12/029,993
• Publication Number:
  US 20080295036A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,521 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/50 of still image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs

Abstract

A display control apparatus includes a search unit for searching for a second content related to a first content in accordance with at least part of metadata attached to each of the first content and the second content, a generating unit for generating a three-dimensional display model, the three-dimensional display model including a first layer and a second layer, the first layer having one of a first image and a first character representing the first content arranged therewithin, and the second layer having one of a second image and a second character representing the second content arranged therewithin, and a display control unit for controlling displaying one of the first image and the first character and one of the second image and the second character using the three-dimensional display model.

Claims

1. A display control apparatus, comprising:

a memory; and

a central processing unit (CPU) configured to execute instructions stored in the memory, and the CPU is further configured to;

search for a plurality of related contents based on a selection of a first symbol that represents a starting content from a plurality of first symbols, wherein the plurality of related contents are related to the starting content based on at least part of first metadata attached to the starting content, and wherein each of the plurality of related contents have attached thereto second metadata identical to the first metadata;

generate a three-dimensional display model that includes a first layer and a second layer, wherein;

the first layer and the second layer are parallel to each other,

the second layer is on top of the first layer and offset with respect to the first layer along a direction perpendicular to the first layer and the second layer,

the first layer has arranged therein the first symbol, the second layer has arranged therein a copy of the first symbol and a plurality of second symbols that represent the plurality of related contents,

the first symbol comprises at least one of a first image or a first character, and each of the plurality of second symbols comprises at least one of a second image or a second character, and

the copy of the first symbol and the selected one of the plurality of second symbols are visually connected with each other in the three-dimensional display model based on a selection of one of the plurality of second symbols to represent a new starting content; and

control display of the first symbol, the copy of the first symbol, and the plurality of second symbols based on the three-dimensional display model.

2. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU is further configured to control display of the first symbol, the copy of the first symbol, and the plurality of second symbols such that, the first layer is displayed at a slant angle with respect to the second layer.

3. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU is further configured to receive a command for the selection of the starting content from a plurality of initial contents based on a user operation applied to the plurality of first symbols displayed in the first layer, wherein each of the plurality of first symbols represents one of the plurality of initial contents.

4. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU is further configured to generate the three-dimensional display model that includes the first layer with the first image arranged as a first thumbnail image and the second layer with the second image arranged as a second thumbnail image.

5. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU is further configured to generate the three-dimensional display model such that, the second layer with a text of the first metadata of the starting content is displayed in the vicinity of the copy of the first symbol.

6. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU is further configured to generate the three-dimensional display model to display the plurality of second symbols as arranged in one line.

7. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU is further configured to generate the three-dimensional display model to display a text of the second metadata in the vicinity of the plurality of second symbols.

8. The display control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the CPU is further configured to search based on third metadata attached to the starting content,

wherein a plurality of alternative related contents, which each has attached thereto fourth metadata identical to the third metadata, are found based on the search,

wherein the CPU is further configured to generate the three-dimensional display model in which a plurality of third symbols are sorted and arranged in the second layer and are separated from the plurality of second symbols, and

wherein each of the plurality of third symbols represent one of the plurality of alternative related contents.

9. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU is further configured to:

search for a further content based at least on part of third metadata attached to one of the plurality of related contents;

generate the three-dimensional display model to display the first symbol in the first layer, the plurality of second symbols in the second layer, and a third symbol that represents the further content in a third layer, wherein the third symbol comprises at least one of a third image or a third character; and

display of the first symbol, the copy of the first symbol, the plurality of second symbols, and the third symbol based on the three-dimensional display model.

10. The display control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of second symbols are translucent.

11. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU is further configured to search for the content similar to the starting content.

12. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU is further configured to:

calculate a similarity between preference information related to a preference of a user and the second metadata attached to the plurality of related contents; and

specify a display method of the three-dimensional display model based on the similarity.

13. The display control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the CPU is further configured to select one of the plurality of related contents, based on an evaluation value provided by a user who has viewed the starting content.

14. The display control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the CPU is further configured to select one of the plurality of related contents different in type from the starting content, the plurality of related contents related to the starting content.

15. The display control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the CPU is further configured to calculate an arrangement order of the plurality of second symbols sorted in the second layer of the three-dimensional display model based on a fifth metadata different from the second metadata.

16. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU is further configured to:

select an alternative content based on a history of selection of the second metadata; and

generate the three-dimensional display model in which a third symbol that indicates the alternative content is sorted in the second layer, and is separated from the plurality of second symbols.

17. The display control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the memory is configured to store preference information that indicates a preference of a user and responsive to a selected content for use to search for an alternative content.

18. The display control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the CPU is further configured to narrow the plurality of related contents based on a fifth metadata different from the second metadata.

21. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of second symbols are arranged based on a viewing frequency associated with the plurality of related contents.

22. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the second layer, color density of the plurality of symbols is set based on similarity between the starting content and the plurality of related contents.

19. A display control method, comprising:

searching, by a computer, for a plurality of related contents based on a selection of a first symbol that represents a starting content from a plurality of first symbols, wherein the plurality of related contents are related to the starting content based on at least part of first metadata attached to the starting content, wherein each of the plurality of related contents have attached thereto second metadata identical to the first metadata;

generating, by the computer, a three-dimensional display model, the three-dimensional display model including a first layer and a second layer, wherein;

the first layer and the second layer are parallel to each other,

the second layer is on top of the first layer and offset with respect to the first layer along a direction perpendicular to the first layer and the second layer,

the first layer has arranged therein the first symbol, the second layer has arranged therein a copy of the first symbol and a plurality of second symbols representing the corresponding plurality of related contents,

the first symbol comprises at least one of a first image or a first character, and each of the plurality of second symbols comprises at least one of a second image or a second character, and

the copy of the first symbol and the selected one of the plurality of second symbols are visually connected with each other in the three-dimensional display model based on a selection of one of the plurality of second symbols to represent a new starting content; and

controlling, by the computer, displaying of the first symbol, the copy of the first symbol, and the plurality of second symbols using the three-dimensional display model.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon, computer-executable instructions for causing a computer to execute operations, the operations comprising:

searching for a plurality of related contents based on a selection of a first symbol that represents a starting content from a plurality of first symbols, wherein the plurality of related contents are related to the starting content based on at least part of first metadata attached to the starting content, wherein each of the plurality of related contents have attached thereto second metadata identical to the first metadata;

generating a three-dimensional display model that includes a first layer and a second layer, wherein;

the first layer and the second layer are parallel to each other,

the second layer is on top of the first layer and offset with respect to the first layer along a direction perpendicular to the first layer and the second layer,

the first layer has arranged therein the first symbol, the second layer has arranged therein a copy of the first symbol and a plurality of second symbols that represents the plurality of related contents,

the first symbol comprises at least one of a first image or a first character, and each of the plurality of second symbols comprises at least one of a second image or a second character, and

the copy of the first symbol and the selected one of the plurality of second symbols are visually connected with each other in the three-dimensional display model based on a selection of one of the plurality of second symbols to represent a new starting content; and

controlling display of the first symbol, the copy of the first symbol, and the plurality of second symbols based on the three-dimensional display model.