JP2007249451A - Menu display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a menu display device for improving operability. <P>SOLUTION: A CPU 26 discriminates whether or not any one of a plurality of sub-menu screens is under display when a shortcut key 32b is depressed, and when the decision result is positive, the CPU 26 registers the identifier of the sub-menu screen being displayed in a table 30T. Meanwhile, when the discrimination result is negative, a shortcut menu screen including the identifiers registered in the table 30T as items is displayed, and an operation to select one of the items included in this is accepted, and the shortcut menu screen displayed on this is updated with the sub-menu screen corresponding to the selected item. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a menu display device, and more particularly to a menu display device that is applied to, for example, a television receiver and sequentially displays a hierarchical menu screen in response to an item selection operation.

  Recent television receivers have become more difficult to operate due to the deeper menu hierarchy with higher functionality. Although there is a method of providing a dedicated operation key for frequently used functions, the operability may be deteriorated if the number of operation keys is increased too much due to the limitation of the size of the remote control.

As a conventional technique for solving such a problem, one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In this conventional technique, all menu items are extracted from each of a plurality of hierarchical menu screens, and the extracted menu items are displayed in a list on a single screen. By selecting an item from the list screen, the user can display a desired menu screen all at once without going down from the main menu screen.
JP 2001-356857 A [G06F 3/00]

  However, in the prior art, since all selectable items are displayed in a single screen, the operation of selecting a desired item is troublesome.

  Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a menu display device that can improve operability.

  The menu display device according to the invention of claim 1 is a menu display device that sequentially displays each of a plurality of hierarchical menu screens in response to an item selection operation, and when any specific operation is performed, any of the plurality of menu screens is displayed. Discrimination means (S33) for discriminating whether or not one of them is being displayed, and registration means (S37) for registering the identifier of the menu screen being displayed in the table (30T) when the discrimination result of the discrimination means is affirmative ), Shortcut menu screen display means (S39) for displaying a shortcut menu screen including an identifier registered in the table as an item when the discrimination result of the discrimination means is negative, and selecting one of the items included in the shortcut menu screen Receiving means (S41) for accepting an item selection operation to be performed in connection with the display processing of the shortcut menu screen display means, and the shortcut menu screen Shortcut menu screen updating means (S47) for updating the shortcut menu screen displayed by the screen display means with the menu screen corresponding to the item selected by the item selection operation is provided.

  When a specific operation is performed, whether or not any one of a plurality of menu screens is being displayed is determined by the determination means. If the determination result is affirmative, the identifier of the menu screen being displayed is registered. It is registered in the table by means.

  On the other hand, if the determination result is negative, a shortcut menu screen including the identifier registered in the table as an item is displayed by the shortcut menu screen display means. In connection with this display processing, when an item selection operation for selecting one of the items included in the shortcut menu screen is received by the reception unit, the displayed shortcut menu screen is selected by the shortcut menu screen update unit. It is updated on the menu screen corresponding to the shortcut menu item.

  Therefore, the user can add a link to this menu screen to the shortcut menu by performing a specific operation while displaying the desired menu screen. Further, a shortcut menu screen can be displayed by performing a specific operation while a screen other than the submenu is displayed, and a desired menu screen can be displayed by performing an item selection operation.

  In this case, since the shortcut menu screen includes only items corresponding to the menu screen required by the user, an operation for selecting a desired item is easy. In addition, the registration to the shortcut menu is completed only by performing a specific operation when the menu screen is currently displayed, so that a special menu operation for creating a shortcut menu is unnecessary. For this reason, operability is improved.

  The menu display device according to the invention of claim 2 is dependent on claim 1, and the specific operation is an operation of pressing a single key (32b).

  Since a single key can be used to register shortcut menu items and display a shortcut menu screen, operability is further improved.

  The menu display device according to the invention of claim 3 is dependent on claim 1 or 2, and the item is displayed in response to an item deletion operation for deleting an arbitrary item from the shortcut menu screen displayed by the shortcut menu screen display means. Deletion means (S49) for deleting the corresponding identifier from the table is further provided.

  When an item deletion operation for deleting an arbitrary item from the displayed shortcut menu screen is performed, an identifier corresponding to this item is deleted from the table by the deletion unit. As a result, the item corresponding to the menu screen whose necessity has decreased can be deleted from the shortcut menu screen, and the operability is further improved.

  A menu control program according to a fourth aspect of the invention provides a specific operation to a processor (26) of a menu display device (10) for sequentially displaying any one of a plurality of hierarchical menu screens in response to an item selection operation. When the determination is made, a determination step (S33) for determining whether any one of the plurality of menu screens is being displayed or not. If the determination result of the determination step is affirmative, the identifier of the menu screen being displayed is determined. Registration step (S37) to register in the table (30T), Shortcut menu screen display step (S39) to display a shortcut menu screen including the identifier registered in the table as an item when the determination result of the determination step is negative, Shortcut Accepting an item selection operation to select one of the items included in the menu screen in connection with the display processing of the shortcut menu screen display step And a shortcut update step (S47) for updating the shortcut menu screen displayed in the shortcut menu screen display step and the menu screen corresponding to the item selected by the item selection operation.

  A menu control method according to the invention of claim 5 is a method executed by a menu display device (10) for sequentially displaying any one of a plurality of hierarchical menu screens in response to an item selection operation, A determination step (S33) for determining whether any one of a plurality of menu screens is being displayed when a specific operation is performed, and a menu screen being displayed when the determination result of the determination step is affirmative Registration step (S37) for registering the identifier in the table (30T), Shortcut menu screen display step (S39) for displaying a shortcut menu screen including the identifier registered in the table as an item when the determination result of the determination step is negative , Item selection operation to select one of the items included in the shortcut menu screen is related to the display processing of the shortcut menu screen display step Accepting Te receiving step (S41), and a shortcut menu screen display shortcut updating step of updating the menu screen corresponding to the item selected by the shortcut menu shortcut item selection operation has been indicated by a step (S47).

  According to the present invention, the operability is improved in the menu display device. As a result, a reduction in the number of operation keys can be expected especially in a television receiver.

  The above object, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a digital broadcast receiver 10 of this embodiment includes a digital tuner 12. A high frequency signal for digital television broadcasting is input to the digital tuner 12 from an antenna (not shown). The digital tuner 12 converts the input high-frequency signal into a baseband signal, and demodulates the converted baseband signal into a TS (Transport Stream). Then, a PES (Packetized Elementary Stream) corresponding to the specific channel is extracted from the demodulated TS.

  The extracted PES is given to the MPEG decoder 14. The MPEG decoder 14 decodes the supplied PES, and the program video data obtained thereby is supplied to an NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) encoder 20 via an adder 16. The NTSC encoder 20 converts the given program video data into a video signal according to the NTSC system, and outputs the converted video signal to the television monitor 22. As a result, the video of the program being received is displayed on the television monitor 22.

  The program audio data obtained by decoding the PES is given to the D / A conversion circuit 36 after being subjected to audio processing such as surround processing in the audio processing circuit 34 as necessary. The D / A conversion circuit 36 converts the given program audio data into an analog audio signal, and outputs the converted audio signal to the speaker 38. As a result, the sound of the program being received is output from the speaker 38.

  When an operation for selecting another channel, that is, a channel selection operation is performed by the remote controller 32, the CPU 26 issues a channel selection command according to the channel selection operation to the digital tuner 12. As a result, the program video of the newly selected channel is displayed and the program audio is output.

  When the main menu display operation is performed by the remote controller 32, more specifically, when the menu key 32a is pressed, the main menu screen is displayed (see FIG. 4). The main menu screen includes a plurality of items such as “video adjustment” and “audio adjustment”. Here, when an item selection operation for selecting a desired item is performed by the remote controller 32, the main menu screen is updated to a submenu screen corresponding to the selected item. The item selection operation is performed using a cursor key / decision key (not shown) of the remote controller 32 (the same applies hereinafter).

  For example, when “sound adjustment” is selected, the main menu screen is updated by the sound adjustment menu screen (see FIG. 5). The sound adjustment menu screen includes a plurality of items such as “high sound”, “low sound”, and “surround”, and when any of these items is selected, sound adjustment processing corresponding to that item is executed. For example, when “high sound” is selected, the CPU 26 performs a setting for increasing or decreasing the high frequency component of the program audio data in the audio processing circuit 34 in accordance with the operation of the remote controller 32. When “SURROUND” is selected, mode setting (ON / OFF) for surround processing is switched according to the operation of the remote controller 32.

  On the other hand, when the shortcut key 32b of the remote controller 32 is pressed while the sound adjustment menu screen is displayed in this way, the selection box 50 is inserted into the screen (see FIG. 6). The selection box 50 includes a message asking whether or not to add the currently displayed screen to the shortcut menu, and two response items, “Yes” and “No”. Here, when “Yes” is selected by the remote controller 32, the identification information on the voice adjustment menu screen, specifically, the link information to the voice adjustment menu screen and “voice adjustment” as a shortcut menu item are displayed in the flash memory 30. Is registered in the table 30T.

  Referring to FIG. 2, table 30T includes, for example, four registration fields (numbers 1 to 4), and can register a maximum of four submenu screens. Each of these registration fields 1 to 4 is assigned a starting point coordinate. For example, (x1, y1) to (x2, y2) are assigned to the registration field 1 as the starting point coordinates. Here, (x1, y1) to (x2, y2) define a region E1 (see FIG. 3) in the character drawing area 28E formed in the RAM 28.

  For this reason, the shortcut menu item registered in the registration field 1 is written in the area E1 of the character drawing area 28E. Similarly, the shortcut menu items registered in the registration fields 2 to 4 are written in the areas E2 to E4, respectively.

  When “System setting” is selected on the main menu screen (see FIG. 7), the main menu screen is updated by the system setting menu screen (see FIG. 8). The system setting menu screen includes a plurality of items such as “reception setting”, “line setting”, and “output setting”. When any of these items is selected, the sub menu screen corresponding to that item Updated. For example, when “output setting” is selected, it is updated on the output setting menu screen (see FIG. 9). The output setting menu screen includes a plurality of items such as “light output setting” and “caption setting”, and when any of these items is selected, output setting processing corresponding to the item is executed. For example, when “subtitle setting” is selected, the CPU 26 switches the mode setting (first language / second language / none) related to the caption insertion processing in accordance with the operation of the remote controller 32.

  On the other hand, when the shortcut key 32b is pressed while the output setting menu screen is displayed in this way, the selection box 50 is inserted into the screen (see FIG. 10). The selection box 50 includes a message asking whether or not to add the currently displayed screen to the shortcut menu, and two response items, “Yes” and “No”. Here, when “Yes” is selected by the remote controller 32, link information to the output setting menu screen and “output setting” as a shortcut menu item are registered in the table 30T (see FIG. 2). As a result of such shortcut registration processing, information as shown in FIG. 2 is currently registered in the table 30T.

  Thereafter, when the shortcut key 32b is pressed in a state in which a screen other than the submenu is displayed, for example, in a state in which a program screen is displayed (see FIG. 11), the display screen is updated by the shortcut menu screen (FIG. 12). reference). The shortcut menu screen is drawn based on the data in the character drawing area 28E, and includes one to four shortcut menu items registered in the table 30T. Accordingly, in the screen of FIG. 12, two shortcut menu items, “sound adjustment” and “output adjustment”, are arranged at the positions of the areas E1 and E2 in the character drawing area 28E, respectively.

  Thereafter, when a shortcut menu item selection operation for selecting a desired shortcut menu item is performed by the remote controller 32, the CPU 26 reads the movement destination corresponding to the selected shortcut menu item from the table 30T, and sets the read movement destination to the read movement destination. The character generator 18 is commanded to display the corresponding submenu screen. Note that a cursor / decision key (not shown) of the remote controller 32 is used for the shortcut menu item selection operation as well as other item selection operations. As a result, the shortcut menu screen is updated by the submenu screen corresponding to the selected shortcut menu item.

  For example, when “sound adjustment” is selected, the shortcut menu screen is updated by the sound adjustment menu screen (see FIG. 5), and when “output setting” is selected, it is updated by the output setting menu screen (see FIG. 9). .

  When watching TV programs, for example, several menu screens may be used at once, such as before the start of broadcasting. By registering this type of item as a shortcut menu item, the desired submenu can be selected from the main menu screen. There is no need to go down the screen to improve the operability. Note that registration is completed simply by pressing the shortcut key 32b when the menu screen is currently displayed, so that no special menu operation is required.

  When a deletion operation for deleting any one of the shortcut menu items is performed, the CPU 26 deletes the identifier of the sub menu screen corresponding to the item from the table 30T. As a result, the number of registered items can be reduced, and deterioration of operability can be avoided.

  In performing the operation as described above, the CPU 26 processes the main task shown in FIG. 13 and the shortcut menu control task shown in FIG. 14 in parallel under the control of a multitasking OS such as μITRON. A control program corresponding to these flowcharts is stored in the ROM 24.

  First, the main task will be described. Referring to FIG. 13, first, in step S1, a television reception process start command is issued. In response to this command, the digital tuner 12 starts an operation of outputting a PES corresponding to a predetermined channel, and the MPEG decoder 14 starts an operation of decoding the output PES and outputting program video data and program audio data. . The output program video data is converted into a video signal by the NTSC encoder 20, and the output program audio data is subjected to audio processing such as surround processing by the audio processing circuit 34, and then audio by the D / A conversion circuit 36. Converted to a signal. The converted video signal and the converted audio signal are applied to the television monitor 22 and the speaker 38, whereby the program video is displayed and the program audio is output.

  After the instruction is issued, the processing of the CPU 26 enters a loop of steps S3 to S7. In step S3, the presence / absence of a channel switching operation is determined. In step S5, the presence / absence of a main menu display operation is determined. In step S7, the presence / absence of another operation is determined. When a channel switching operation is performed by the remote controller 32, the process proceeds from step S3 to step S9 and commands the digital tuner 12 to select a channel according to the performed operation. In response, the digital tuner 12 performs a channel selection process, and the display video and output audio are switched to those of another program. After the instruction, the process returns to the loop of steps S3 to S7.

  When the menu key 32a is pressed, “YES” is determined in the step S5, and the process shifts to a step S11. In step S11, the character generator 18 is commanded to display the main menu. In response, the character generator 18 outputs the main menu screen (see FIG. 4) to the television monitor 22 through the adder 16 and the NTSC encoder 20. After the instruction, a loop of steps S15 and S17 is entered.

  In step S15, it is determined whether or not a selection operation for selecting any item in the main menu screen has been performed. In step S17, it is determined whether or not a cancel operation has been performed. If “YES” in the step S15, the process proceeds to a step S19, and if “YES” in the step S17, the process returns to the loop of the steps S3 to S7.

  In step S19, if there is a lower level menu screen, the character generator 18 is instructed to display it, and if not (ie, if it is the lowest level menu screen), processing corresponding to the selected item is executed. As a result, for example, the main menu screen is updated by the voice adjustment menu screen (see FIG. 5). For example, when the voice adjustment menu screen is displayed, the selection box 50 is inserted in the screen (see FIG. 6). ). After executing the instruction or process, the process returns to the loop of steps S3 to S7.

  When another operation is performed by the remote controller 32, the process proceeds from step S7 to step S13, a process according to the performed operation is executed, and the process returns to the loop of steps S3 to S7.

  Next, the shortcut menu control task will be described. Referring to FIG. 14, first, in step S31, it is determined whether or not a shortcut key is pressed. When the shortcut key 32b of the remote controller 32 is pressed, YES is determined in the step S31, and the process proceeds to a step S33 to determine whether any menu screen is currently being displayed.

  If “YES” in the step S33, the process shifts to a step S35 to determine whether or not a shortcut to the displayed menu screen is not registered. If the identifier of the submenu screen being displayed is already registered in the table 30T, NO is determined in the step S35, and the process returns to the step S31. If “YES” in the step S35, that is, if the identifier of the currently displayed submenu screen is not yet registered in the table 30T, the process proceeds to a step S37, and the identifier of the currently displayed submenu screen is registered in the table 30T as a shortcut menu item. To do.

  Accordingly, for example, when the shortcut key 32b is pressed while the voice adjustment menu screen is being displayed (see FIG. 5), “voice adjustment” is registered in the table 30T, and for example, while the output setting menu screen is being displayed (see FIG. 9). When the shortcut key 32b is pressed, “output setting” is registered in the table 30T (see FIG. 2). After registration, the process returns to step S31.

  If “NO” in the step S33, the process proceeds to a step S39 to instruct the character generator 18 to display a shortcut menu. Therefore, for example, when the shortcut key 32b is pressed during display of the program screen (see FIG. 11), the program screen is updated by the shortcut menu screen (see FIG. 12). After the instruction, a loop of steps S41 to S45 is entered.

  In step S41, the presence / absence of an item selection operation is determined. In step S43, the presence / absence of an item deletion operation is determined. In step S45, the presence / absence of a cancel operation is determined. When any item is selected on the shortcut menu screen and “Yes” is selected in response to the inquiry in the selection box 50, “YES” is determined in the step S41, and the process shifts to a step S47. In step S47, the character generator 18 is instructed to display a menu screen corresponding to the selected item.

  Therefore, for example, when “audio adjustment” is selected on the shortcut menu screen, the shortcut menu screen is updated by the audio adjustment menu screen (see FIG. 5). Similarly, when “output setting” is selected, for example, it is updated on the output setting menu screen (see FIG. 9). After the instruction, the process returns to step S31.

  When any item is selected on the shortcut menu screen and a delete operation is performed by the remote controller 32, the process proceeds from step S43 to step S49, and the identifier of the submenu screen corresponding to the selected item is deleted from the table 30T. And it returns to the loop of steps S41-S45.

  If a cancel operation is performed while the shortcut menu screen is displayed, the process returns from step S45 to step S31.

  As is apparent from the above, in this embodiment, when the shortcut key 32b is pressed (S31), the CPU 26 determines whether any one of a plurality of submenu screens is being displayed (S33). If the determination result is affirmative, the identifier of the submenu screen being displayed is registered in the table 30T (S37). On the other hand, if the determination result is negative, a shortcut menu screen including the identifier registered in the table 30T as an item is displayed (S39), and an item selection operation for selecting one of the items included therein is accepted (S41). ). Then, the displayed shortcut menu screen is updated with the submenu screen corresponding to the selected item (S47).

  Therefore, the user can add a link to the submenu screen to the shortcut menu by pressing the shortcut key 32b while displaying the desired submenu screen. Further, the shortcut menu screen can be displayed by pressing the shortcut key 32b while a screen other than the submenu is displayed, and the desired submenu screen can be displayed by selecting a desired item.

  In this case, since the shortcut menu screen includes only items corresponding to the submenu screen required by the user, an operation for selecting a desired item is easy. In addition, since the registration to the shortcut menu is completed only by performing a specific operation while the submenu screen is currently displayed, a special menu operation or the like for creating a shortcut menu is unnecessary. For this reason, operability is improved.

  In this embodiment, the dedicated shortcut key 32b is provided, but any one of existing keys / buttons (for example, one of four color buttons) may be used.

  Although the digital broadcast receiver 10 has been described above, the present invention can be applied to a computer device (menu display device) having a menu display function for sequentially displaying a plurality of hierarchical menu screens.

  In the above, the mode of displaying a desired menu screen all at once without tracing the hierarchy is called “shortcut”, but such a display mode is called “jump” or “one shot display”. Sometimes called.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Example of this invention. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of the table applied to FIG. 1 Example. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of the memory map applied to the FIG. 1 Example. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of the display screen applied to FIG. 1 Example. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of the display screen applied to the FIG. 1 Example. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of the display screen applied to the FIG. 1 Example. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of the display screen applied to the FIG. 1 Example. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of the display screen applied to the FIG. 1 Example. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of the display screen applied to the FIG. 1 Example. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of the display screen applied to the FIG. 1 Example. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of the display screen applied to the FIG. 1 Example. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of the display screen applied to the FIG. 1 Example. It is a flowchart which shows a part of CPU process applied to the FIG. 1 Example. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing another portion of the CPU processing applied to the embodiment in FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Digital broadcast receiver 12 ... Digital tuner 14 ... MPEG decoder 16 ... Adder 18 ... Character generator 26 ... CPU
28 ... RAM
28E ... Character drawing area 30 ... Flash memory 30T ... Table 32 ... Remote control 32a ... Menu key 32b ... Shortcut key

Claims (5)

In a menu display device that sequentially displays each of a plurality of hierarchical menu screens in response to an item selection operation,
Determining means for determining whether any one of the plurality of menu screens is being displayed when a specific operation is performed;
Registration means for registering the identifier of the menu screen being displayed in the table when the determination result of the determination means is affirmative;
Shortcut menu screen display means for displaying a shortcut menu screen including an identifier registered in the table as an item when the determination result of the determination means is negative,
Receiving means for accepting an item selection operation for selecting one of the items included in the shortcut menu screen in relation to the display processing of the shortcut menu screen display means; and the shortcut menu screen displayed by the shortcut menu screen display means A menu display device, comprising: a shortcut menu screen updating unit that updates a menu item corresponding to an item selected by the item selection operation.   The menu display device according to claim 1, wherein the specific operation is an operation of pressing a single key.   The apparatus further comprises a deletion unit that deletes an identifier corresponding to the item from the table in response to an item deletion operation for deleting an arbitrary item from the shortcut menu screen displayed by the shortcut menu screen display unit. 2. The menu display device according to 2. In the processor of the menu display device that sequentially displays each of a plurality of hierarchical menu screens in response to an item selection operation,
A determination step of determining whether or not any one of the plurality of menu screens is being displayed when a specific operation is performed;
A registration step of registering an identifier of a menu screen being displayed in a table when the determination result of the determination step is affirmative;
A shortcut menu screen display step for displaying a shortcut menu screen including the identifier registered in the table as an item when the determination result of the determination step is negative;
A reception step of accepting an item selection operation for selecting one of the items included in the shortcut menu screen in relation to the display processing of the shortcut menu screen display step; and the shortcut menu screen displayed by the shortcut menu screen display step A menu control program for executing a shortcut update step for updating a menu item corresponding to the item selected by the item selection operation. A menu control method executed by a menu display device that sequentially displays each of a plurality of hierarchical menu screens in response to an item selection operation,
A determination step of determining whether or not any one of the plurality of menu screens is being displayed when a specific operation is performed;
A registration step of registering an identifier of a menu screen being displayed in a table when the determination result of the determination step is affirmative;
A shortcut menu screen display step for displaying a shortcut menu screen including the identifier registered in the table as an item when the determination result of the determination step is negative;
A reception step of accepting an item selection operation for selecting one of the items included in the shortcut menu screen in relation to the display processing of the shortcut menu screen display step; and the shortcut menu screen displayed by the shortcut menu screen display step A menu control method, comprising: a shortcut update step for updating a menu item corresponding to an item selected by the item selection operation.

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