JP6114618B2 - Information display device and control method of information display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information display device that switches and displays a plurality of pieces of information, a control method for the information display device, a control program, and a recording medium.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, there is a digital broadcast receiving apparatus as one of information display apparatuses that switch and display a plurality of information. When the user performs an operation of switching channels, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus switches to an image of a designated channel.

  For example, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus of Patent Document 1 includes at least two channel selection units, and when the user switches channels, the OSD processing unit displays the program being viewed on the display unit while the program being viewed is displayed on the display unit. Program information is synthesized and displayed. At the same time, switching channel reception is started in the channel selection unit that is not currently used for reception of the channel displayed on the display unit, and the display channel is switched when the image of the switching channel is stabilized.

JP 2006-197492 A (published July 27, 2006) JP 2008-147814 A (released on June 26, 2008) JP 2010-50785 A (published March 4, 2010)

  However, the above conventional configuration causes the following problems.

  Specifically, in the technique of Patent Document 1, in response to a channel switching operation, first, program information of the channel is displayed as the first information. Thereafter, the video of the program of the channel is displayed on the display unit as the second information. As described above, a time lag occurs after the first information is displayed in response to the switching operation until the second information is switched, and as a result, the user has the impression that there is a delay in switching the video. I will receive it.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to change the display of other information in conjunction with the switching of information according to a user instruction. The object is to realize an information display device, a control method for the information display device, a control program, and a recording medium that suppress the impression that switching of information is delayed.

  In order to solve the above problems, an information display device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a first display region that displays at least one focused item of interest among a plurality of items arranged in a predetermined order. An information display device comprising a display unit including a second display area for displaying information associated with the item of interest, and instructing to switch the item of interest input via the input unit In accordance with the item switching instruction, the item determining means for determining the post-switching attention item that becomes the attention item next to the pre-switching attention item that is the current attention item, and according to the item switching instruction, is displayed in the first display area. First switching control means for switching the attention item to be changed from the attention item before switching to the attention item after switching, and the attention item before switching displayed in the second display area. Second switching control means for switching the corresponding information to the information corresponding to the item of interest after switching, and the first switching control means after the switching in accordance with the switching of information by the second switching control means. It is characterized by completing the switch to the attention item.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, when switching the display of other information in conjunction with the switching of information according to a user instruction, the impression that the switching of the other information is delayed is suppressed. There is an effect that can be done.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1, showing an embodiment of the present invention, is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a digital television (information display device). It is a figure which shows an example of the program information table memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of digital television. (A) is a figure which shows the example of allocation of each display area in a digital television, (b) is UI for displaying on a 1st display part (1st display area) by making a several item (channel) into an option. It is a figure which shows one specific example. (A)-(e) is a figure explaining a mode that a channel switches gradually in the prismatic-type gradual switching UI displayed on a 1st display part. It is a timing chart which shows the operation timing of each part of the digital television in a channel switching process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the channel switching process which a digital television performs. It is a timing chart which shows the operation timing of each part of the digital television in the channel switching process when the drag operation is slow. It is a timing chart which shows the operation timing of each part of the digital television in the channel switching process when a drag operation is early. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the channel switching process which the digital television in other embodiment performs. It is a figure explaining the drag operation which the 1st operation part of the digital television in other embodiment accepts. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the channel switching process which the digital television in other embodiment performs. (A) is a figure which shows the other example of allocation about each display area in a digital television, (b) is a figure which shows the other specific example of the gradual switching UI displayed on a 1st display part. (A) is a figure which shows the other example of allocation about each display area in a digital television, (b) is another specific example of the information displayed on a 2nd display part switched by gradual switching UI. FIG.

  In each embodiment described below, a case where the information display device of the present invention is applied to a digital television will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the information display device of the present invention can be applied to information display devices of all sizes such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a smartphone, and an electronic blackboard.

  In the following drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated. In addition, dimensional relationships such as length, size, and width, and shapes in the drawings are appropriately changed for clarity and simplification of the drawings, and do not represent actual dimensions and shapes.

Embodiment 1
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[Configuration of digital TV]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital television 1. FIG. 1 shows a general hardware configuration provided in the digital television 1 and a main configuration for the digital television 1 to function as the information display device of the present invention. As for the hardware configuration of the digital television 1, a portion not directly related to the present embodiment (for example, a portion that communicates with an external device) is described from the configuration description and block diagram from the viewpoint of ensuring the simplicity of the description. Omitted. However, in accordance with the actual situation of implementation, the digital television 1 may include the omitted configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the digital television 1 is a so-called double tuner digital television having two tuners as tuners for selecting a digital broadcast. Although not limited to such a form, it is preferable that the digital television 1 has a plurality of tuners in order to suppress the switching delay of the selected video. Note that when a tuner selects a digital broadcast different from the currently selected digital broadcast and switches the video, it may take time for digital signal processing. The time required for switching by the tuner (switching delay) is, for example, about 1 second.

  The digital television 1 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 11, an input / output processing unit group, and a video processing unit group. The input / output processing unit group includes a first display unit 12, a first operation unit 13, a second display unit 14, a second operation unit 15, and an audio output unit 16. The video processing unit group includes a first tuner unit 17, a second tuner unit 18, a decoder 19 and a decoder 20 for each tuner unit, a switching circuit 21, an OSD processing circuit 22, and a display control for controlling each display unit. Part 23 is included.

  The first display unit 12 and the second display unit 14 include flat display panels such as a liquid crystal panel and an organic EL panel, and display information, images, and the like processed by the digital television 1. The first display unit 12 and the second display unit 14 may be integrally formed by a single display panel, and the first display area assigned to the first display panel is the first display unit 12. The second display area may function as the second display unit 14. Alternatively, the first display unit 12 and the second display unit 14 may be provided separately.

  The first operation unit 13 and the second operation unit 15 are for a user to input an instruction for operating the digital television 1. The first operation unit 13 includes a touch surface that receives contact of an indicator (such as a finger or a pen), contact / non-contact (approach / non-approach) between the indicator and the touch surface, and contact (approach) thereof. It consists of a touch sensor (pressure sensor, capacitance sensor, optical sensor, etc.) for detecting the position. The first operation unit 13 senses a user's touch operation performed on the touch surface and transmits the input signal to the digital television 1. The second operation unit 15 includes, for example, a remote controller (remote controller) for performing remote operation outside the main body of the digital television 1. In this case, the second operation unit 15 further includes light receiving means (not shown) that receives signals (for example, infrared signals) generated by key operations on the remote controller on the main body side of the digital television 1.

  In the present embodiment, the first display unit 12 and the first operation unit 13 are integrally formed to form a touch panel. However, such an embodiment is an example, and the information of the present invention. There is no intention to limit the configuration of the display device.

  The audio output unit 16 outputs an audio signal processed by the digital television 1 as audio, and is realized by an amplifier, a speaker, and the like.

  The first tuner unit 17 and the second tuner unit 18 select and receive a digital broadcast signal of a designated channel. The decoder 19 and the decoder 20 decode the broadcast signals output from the first tuner unit 17 and the second tuner unit 18, respectively. The broadcast signal is separated into, for example, a video signal, an audio signal, and a data signal including an electronic program guide. The switching circuit 21 has two inputs for receiving signals from each of the decoder 19 and the decoder 20, and switches and outputs any one of the signals. The audio signal is output to the audio output unit 16 and the video signal is output to the OSD processing circuit 22. The OSD processing circuit 22 executes processing for superimposing an OSD (On-Screen Display) image created by internal processing of the digital television 1 on the supplied video signal. The display control unit 23 receives the video signal processed by the OSD processing circuit 22 and outputs it to the second display unit 14. Further, the display control unit 23 outputs a video signal of an image created by internal processing of the digital television 1 to the first display unit 12. The display control unit 23 can independently control driving of the liquid crystal display panel, the backlight, and the like for each of the first display unit 12 and the second display unit 14. In addition, when the 1st display part 12 and the 2nd display part 14 are separate bodies, two display control parts may be provided about each of a display part.

  The storage unit 11 includes (1) a control program executed by the control unit 10 of the digital television 1, (2) an OS program executed by the control unit 10, and (3) various functions of the information display device of the present invention. And (4) various data to be read when executing the application program are stored non-temporarily. For example, the storage unit 11 includes ROM (read only memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (registered trademark) (Electrically EPROM), HDD (Hard Disc Drive), NVRAM (non-Volatile random access memory). This is realized by a storage device such as

  The control unit 10 controls each unit included in the digital television 1 and is realized by, for example, a CPU (central processing unit). The control unit 10 includes an operation reception unit 30, an item display position determination unit 31, an information acquisition unit 32, a video switching control unit 33, a display information switching control unit 34, and a switching item determination unit 35 as functional blocks. The control unit 10 may include an item display position correction unit 36 as necessary. In the first embodiment, the item display position correction unit 36 is not necessary. Each functional block of the control unit 10 described above is realized by, for example, a CPU (central processing unit) reading and executing a program stored in the above-described storage device into a RAM (random access memory) (not illustrated) or the like. it can.

  The operation accepting unit 30 specifies the contact position of the indicator, the moving speed of the indicator, the moving direction, and the like based on the input signal output from the first operating unit 13. This also specifies the type of touch operation performed by the user (single tap, double tap, flick, drag, pinch in, pinch out, etc.).

  The item display position determination unit 31 displays the current position or the display position of the item currently focused on (hereinafter, referred to as the item of interest) when a plurality of items are displayed as options on the first display unit 12. The display position of the focused (focused) item is determined as the item display position in accordance with the positional relationship with the position of the cursor pointing to the target item in the display. In the present embodiment, the item is specifically a channel.

  Therefore, the item display position can be determined based on the channel number.

  For example, when the cursor is placed on the channel focused on the first display unit 12, the item display position determination unit 31 determines the item display position based on the number of the channel on which the cursor is currently placed on the first display unit 12. can do. The cursor may be virtual and may not be displayed on the first display unit 12. In addition, in the display on the first display unit 12, an item corresponding to the cursor may be fixed at a predetermined position. The cursor will be explained later.

  In the middle of switching channels, the cursor is displayed across two adjacent channels. In this case, the item display position is expressed by combining a channel number and a numerical value defined in multiple stages between two channels in accordance with the ratio of the cursor. For example, when the cursor is positioned between the first channel and the second channel, the item display position determination unit 31 determines the item display position as 1.5 channels. Details of the method for determining the item display position will be described later. Further, as described above, the item display position can be expressed in multiple stages using a numerical value that does not exist as a channel number. However, these are used as information for specifying the item display position, and cannot be used as information for designating the channel number to be actually switched. Therefore, as the channel number to be actually switched, a channel number converted by an after-mentioned switching item determination unit 35 based on the item display position after the user's touch operation is completed is used.

  The information acquisition unit 32 controls the first tuner unit 17, the second tuner unit 18, the decoder 19, and the decoder 20 to acquire information obtained by selecting a designated channel. As described above, the information obtained under the control of the information acquisition unit 32 includes a video signal, an audio signal, and a data signal (such as an electronic program guide).

  The video switching control unit 33 controls the switching circuit 21 so that one of the video signal obtained from the first tuner unit 17 and the video signal (or audio signal) obtained from the second tuner unit 18 is received. The signal is switched so as to be output to the second display unit 14 (or the audio output unit 16) at an appropriate timing.

  The display information switching control unit 34 switches information displayed on the first display unit 12 in accordance with a user instruction input via the operation receiving unit 30. Specifically, the display information switching control unit 34 displays the display information (channels) displayed on the first display unit 12 according to the touch position, moving direction, moving speed, etc. of the touch operation received by the operation receiving unit 30. Move or scroll objects such as icons representing numbers and cursors). Thereby, the user can visually confirm that the channel is switched according to his / her touch operation. In the present embodiment, as a specific example, since items such as channels are switched in the first display unit 12, the display information switching control unit 34 functions as an item switching control unit or a channel information switching control unit.

  The switching item determination unit 35 determines a channel number designated by the user based on the item display position determined by the item display position determination unit 31. Specifically, the item display position determined when the user's touch operation is completed is converted into an existing channel number. For example, it is assumed that the actual channel number is defined as an integer, and the item display position is defined in multiple steps using the first digit of the channel number. In this case, the switching item determination unit 35 can obtain the channel number specified by the touch operation by rounding off (rounding up or down) the first decimal place of the item display position.

[About program information]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific example of the program information table 40 stored in the storage unit 11. In FIG. 2, the program information is shown in a table format data structure as an example, and the program information data structure is not intended to be limited to a table format.

  Under the control of the information acquisition unit 32, the decoder 19 or the decoder 20 separates the data signal from the broadcast signal that is selected and received by the first tuner unit 17 or the second tuner unit 18. In the present embodiment, as an example, the information acquisition unit 32 extracts program information for the program of each channel currently broadcast from the obtained data signal, and generates the program information table shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the program information table has a structure in which program information of a program currently broadcast on the channel is stored in association with the channel. By referring to the program information table, the display information switching control unit 34 can cause the first display unit 12 to display the program information of the program being broadcast on the channel together with the channel number.

  Note that the storage unit 11 is not limited to the program information table of FIG. 2 and may store all information of the acquired electronic program guide.

[About gradual switching user interface (UI)]
FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of area allocation for each display unit in the digital television 1. In the present embodiment, the digital television 1 has a liquid crystal display panel with an aspect ratio of 16:10. The liquid crystal display panel includes a second display region (halftone region) having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 in the upper portion and a first display region (shaded region) having an aspect ratio of 16: 1 in the lower portion. The former constitutes the second display unit 14, and the latter constitutes the first display unit 12. According to the above configuration, a full HD (Full High Definition) video is displayed in the second display area without being reduced, and at the same time, other contents (in the present embodiment, the second display area) are displayed in the first display area. Character information, channel number, etc. associated with the video of the video can be displayed. Note that, as described above, in the present embodiment, the first display unit 12 is configured as a touch panel together with the first operation unit 13, and thus the user performs a touch operation on the UI displayed in the first display area. The digital television 1 can be operated.

  FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a UI for displaying a plurality of items (channels) as options on the first display unit 12.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, a side surface of a polygonal column object is gradually rotated according to a user operation, and a desired one is displayed on the first display unit 12 among a plurality of side surfaces. A gradual switching UI that allows selection of options, that is, switching to the channel, is employed. The gradual switching UI includes a plurality of options (items) arranged in a predetermined order, and at least the attention item currently focused on is displayed on the first display unit 12. More specifically, the gradual switching UI switches the attention item by continuously changing the visual state of the item on the first display unit 12 from the item to the next item according to the user operation. It is a user interface that makes it possible to select. Specifically, for example, the gradual switching UI switches the attention item by moving the cursor indicating the attention item continuously (gradually) on a plurality of items according to a user operation. Alternatively, the attention item is switched by continuously moving the arrangement of the plurality of items so that the attention item hits the fixed cursor position. Alternatively, the item of interest designated by the user operation is displayed on the first display unit 12 so that the item before switching is gradually hidden and the newly designated item is gradually displayed so as to be noticed. May be switched. In other words, fade-out / fade-in and slide-out / slide-in of items are included in continuously changing visual information.

  Further, the continuous change in the visual information may not have strictly smooth continuity. That is, continuously changing the visual information includes changing the visual information in multiple steps. For example, when the channel is switched from channel 2 to channel 3, the visual state (item display position) of the item of interest may be smoothly changed steplessly, 2, 2.25, 2.5, 2.. It may be changed in multiple stages as 75, 3. In addition, when changing the visual state of an item of interest in multiple stages, the visual state is not limited to the above-described four stages, and the visual state can be changed at any stage between items. For example, the visual state of the item of interest may be changed in 10 steps.

  The user's touch operation is performed on the first operation unit 13 provided integrally with the first display unit 12 and is received by the operation reception unit 30. In response to the user's touch operation, the display information switching control unit 34 executes enlargement, reduction, rotation (switching of channel display), etc. of the gradual switching UI (hexagonal prism).

  For example, when there are 6 items (6 channels) as options, the program information of each channel stored in the program information table of FIG. 2 is displayed on the six side surfaces of the hexagonal prism object stored in the storage unit 11. Are assigned together with the channel number. As shown in FIG. 3B, it is assumed that the hexagonal column object is in a state in which the fourth side to which the channel number “4ch” and the program information of 4ch are assigned is facing the front. In this case, the first display unit 12 displays the fourth side surface on the first display unit 12. On the other hand, 4ch is selected in the video processing unit group of the digital television 1, and the video of the program of the channel is displayed on the second display unit 14. Thereby, the user can know the channel number and the 4ch program information together with the video for the currently selected channel. At this time, since the program information is not superimposed on the video displayed on the second display unit 14 or the video is not reduced for displaying the program information, the video on the second display unit 14 is not displayed. Visibility is not hindered.

  FIGS. 4A to 4E are views for explaining how the channels are gradually switched in the prismatic gradual switching UI displayed on the first display unit 12.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, in a state where the user's touch operation is not performed on the first operation unit 13, one channel (“4ch” in the example in the figure) is selected and gradually The switching UI is displayed on the first display unit 12. Specifically, the side surface of the hexagonal column corresponding to 4ch is focused, and the display size of the hexagonal column is maintained at such a size that only the side surface is displayed on the first display unit 12.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, when a touch operation is started on the first operation unit 13, the entire reduced hexagonal column is displayed on the first display unit 12, and the hexagonal column is pushed into the back. The situation is reproduced. The user then performs a drag operation or a flick operation in the direction in which the hexagonal column is desired to be rotated. Hereinafter, although the term drag operation is used in the present embodiment, the drag operation and the flick operation are handled without distinction as operations that can specify the magnitude and direction of a vector. Thus, the term drag operation is not intended to exclude a flick operation.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, when a drag operation is performed on the first operation unit 13, the operation reception unit 30 specifies the drag direction, and the display information switching control unit 34 determines the hexagonal prism according to the drag direction. Start rotating. Specifically, when the user performs a drag operation from top to bottom, the hexagonal prism is rotated so that the front side surface displayed on the first display unit 12 flows from top to bottom. The display information switching control unit 34 does not instantaneously switch the state where the side face is in front, but displays an animation of the hexagonal column rotating gradually (gradually) as shown in FIG. At this time, the display size of the hexagonal prism remains reduced so that the entire size fits in the first display unit 12. Thereby, the rotation of the hexagonal column can be shown to the user in a more three-dimensional manner, and the user can easily understand that the hexagonal column is being rotated.

  While the rotation of the hexagonal prism is started by the display information switching control unit 34, the display of the video of the channel (4ch) selected immediately before the rotation is started is maintained on the second display unit 14. The video on the first display unit 12 is switched after it is determined which channel has been designated after the rotation and the channel selection of the new channel is completed. As described above, the digital television 1 of the present invention immediately starts the gradual switching of the channel display (that is, the rotation of the hexagonal column) immediately in response to the user's touch operation before the video on the second display unit 14 is switched. . As a result, a time lag that occurs because it takes some time to switch the video, that is, a time when there is no response to the touch operation (a time when no change occurs in the display portion from the user's eyes). Can be eliminated, and the impression of delay of the user can be eliminated.

  As shown in FIG. 4D, when the user's drag operation ends, the display information switching control unit 34 stops the rotation based on the hexagonal column drag operation. In the hexagonal column immediately after the rotation is stopped, it is assumed that one side surface is not directly in front as shown in FIG. 4C, that is, the item display position extends over a plurality of channels. In such a case, as described above, the switching item determination unit 35 converts the value of the item display position into a real channel number by rounding off the value of the item display position based on the item display position immediately after the stop, and newly Determine the channel that will be focused on. The display information switching control unit 34 performs automatic rotation of the hexagonal column so that the side surface of the channel determined by the switching item determination unit 35 is directly in front, and finely adjusts the posture of the hexagonal column.

  As shown in FIG. 4E, when the rotation for fine adjustment of the hexagonal column is finished, the display information switching control unit 34 returns the display size of the hexagonal column to the original size before the drag operation is started. . As a result, the hexagonal column that has been pushed into the back can be represented as being returned to the front, and it is visually and intuitively communicated to the user that the channel switching from 4ch to 5ch has been completed. be able to.

  The hexagonal column object may be divided into a part for displaying the channel number and a part for displaying the program information, and each part may be rotated independently. In this case, the portion displaying the program information may change (rotate) in conjunction with the rotation of the portion displaying the channel number. Further, in this case, it may be recognized that the channel switching is completed when the rotation of the portion displaying the program information is completed.

  On the other hand, the video switching control unit 33 causes the second display unit 14 to display the 5ch video acquired by the first tuner unit 17 or the second tuner unit 18 that has selected the channel (5ch) after switching. Then, the switching circuit 21 is controlled. In the digital television 1 of the present invention, the video switching control unit 33 switches the video before the time when the switching of the channels displayed on the gradual switching UI (hexagonal column) is completed (time (e) in FIG. 4). To do. More preferably, the video switching control unit 33 preferably switches the video on the second display unit 14 at the same time as the channel switching of the gradual switching UI is completed.

  Therefore, the information acquisition unit 32 can control which one of the two or more tuner units is free, predict a channel selected by the user, and select a channel in advance. Further, the display information switching control unit 34 can also adjust the rotation speed of the hexagonal prism so that the channel selection after switching and the video acquisition of the channel are in time.

  According to the above configuration, the video on the second display unit 14 can be switched at or before the time when the channel switching is completed on the first display unit 12. That is, when the user sees the gradual switching UI displayed on the first display unit 12 and recognizes that the channel switching has been completed, or earlier, the video switching on the second display unit 14 is performed. Can be completed. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the time lag that has conventionally occurred between the time when the user recognizes that the channel is switched and the time when the video is actually switched, thereby eliminating the delay impression the user has.

  Each function of each unit of the control unit 10 for realizing the gradual switching UI of the present invention will be described in more detail below. In response to a user operation, the digital television 1 gradually switches the channel display displayed on the first display unit 12 and switches the video displayed on the second display unit 14 to the video of the designated channel. This is referred to as “switching process”.

[About channel switching processing]
FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the operation timing of each part of the digital television 1 in the channel switching process. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of channel switching processing executed by the digital television 1.

  In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis indicates the passage of time from left to right and shows arbitrary time points, t1, t2,..., T5,. Does not represent the length of That is, each time point t1, t2,..., T5,... Only represents a certain arbitrary time point during the channel switching process. Therefore, although each time point is arrange | positioned at equal intervals on the horizontal axis, this does not mean that each time point is a fixed time interval. The same applies to FIG. 7 and FIG.

  In the gradual switching UI shown in FIG. 5, a bold frame corresponds to a cursor. However, the illustration of such a cursor is for explanation, and as described above, the cursor may not be displayed or may be fixed at a predetermined position on the screen.

  In addition, the item display position determination unit 31 can determine the item display position using the reference line of the cursor (for example, the upper end of the thick frame indicating the cursor in FIG. 5). Specifically, the item display position determination unit 31 can determine the item display position based on how much the reference line has moved in the ascending or descending direction from the focused channel. it can.

  The time point t1 is a time point when the touch operation (later drag operation) is started. At this time, it is assumed that the 2ch side surface of the hexagonal column is focused and displayed on the first display unit 12 as an example. In other words, at t1, the item display position of the gradual switching UI is “2 (ch)”, which matches the actual channel 2 that has been selected. The first tuner unit 17 selects 2ch under the control of the information acquisition unit 32. The switching circuit 21 selects a video signal (that is, 2ch video) acquired by the first tuner unit 17 under the control of the video switching control unit 33 and outputs the video signal to the second display unit 14.

  At time t1 (YES in S101), the item display position determination unit 31 first acquires “2ch” as the channel (the channel of interest before switching) that is focused until immediately before the drag operation is started (S102). At this time, the display information switching control unit 34 may reduce and display the hexagonal column.

  Here, if there is a period in which the other tuner (second tuner unit 18) is vacant, such as around time t1, the information acquisition unit 32 controls the vacant second tuner unit 18 during that period. Thus, the configuration may be such that all the channels are sequentially selected regularly and the latest program information of each channel is acquired. In this way, the program information in the program information table shown in FIG. 2 is periodically updated to maintain the latest program information. That is, the program information displayed together with the channel number in the gradual switching UI can be kept up-to-date. The user may be able to switch channels by dragging the area where the program information is displayed instead of the channel number.

  After the time t1, when the touch operation is continued and the drag operation is started (YES in S103), the operation reception unit 30 specifies the drag direction (S104). Subsequently, the item display position determination unit 31 acquires the item display position based on the specified drag direction (S105). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the drag direction is down, the channel numbers are rotated in ascending order. Therefore, the item display position determination unit 31 sets the reference line for determining the item display position on the side with the larger channel number (the upper end of the thick frame indicating the cursor in FIG. 5). Immediately before the rotation is started, the upper end of the item display position is at the boundary between 2ch and 3ch, and the item display position determining unit 31 determines this boundary position as the item display position “2ch”. When the drag direction is up (that is, when the channel number is rotated in descending order), the item display position determination unit 31 may set the reference line at the lower end side of the cursor (the side with the smaller channel number number). .

  Subsequently, the display information switching control unit 34 rotates the hexagonal prism in accordance with the drag movement in accordance with the specified drag direction, and gradually moves the item display position to the side with the larger channel number (S106). . A time point t2 indicates a certain time point during rotation. At time t2, the item display position is in the process of shifting from 2ch to 3ch, and the reference line reaches the first of 10 scales defined between 2ch and 3ch. At this time, the item display position determination unit 31 determines the item display position as 2.1ch.

  The item display position determination unit 31 determines whether or not the determined item display position has reached the next channel in the drag direction (S107). When the drag direction is ascending order, it is determined that the next channel has been reached when the item display position exceeds the actual channel number. On the other hand, in the descending order, it is determined that the next channel has been reached when the actual channel number is not reached. Specifically, it is assumed that the item display position determination unit 31 determines that the item display position has reached the next channel (3ch) beyond the pre-switching target channel (2ch) as at time t2 (S107). In YES). In this case, the information acquisition unit 32 determines that video prefetching is necessary, and a vacant tuner other than the tuner that selects the channel (2ch) currently being viewed, for example, the second tuner unit 18. To select the next channel (S108). This makes it possible to acquire 3ch video in advance.

  If the drag operation continues and the same drag direction is maintained (NO in S109, NO in S110), S106 to S108 are repeated. For example, the time point t3 indicates a certain time point when the user's drag operation in the same direction is continued. If the drag operation is continued but the drag direction is changed to the opposite direction (NO in S109, YES in S110), the digital television 1 returns to S104, respecifies the drag direction, and sets the item. The reference line of the display position is specified again, and the same processing is repeated.

  When the user's drag operation is completed at time t4 (YES in S109), the switching item determination unit 35 determines a new channel (post-switching attention channel) to be switched after this drag operation (S111). Specifically, at the time point t4 when the drag operation ends, the item display position determination unit 31 determines the item display position. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the item display position is determined to be 2.9ch. When taking the value of the channel number where the item display position does not exist, the switching item determination unit 35 rounds off the item display position (2.9 ch) and converts it to the existing channel number (3 ch), and the channel of interest after switching To decide. As described above, the channel of interest after switching is determined based on the item display position determined according to the reference line. Therefore, the reference line can also be referred to as a virtual position for determining the channel of interest after switching. There is no particular limitation on how to draw the reference line as long as it can be determined how much the display of the focused item has moved from the cursor. For example, a reference line may be taken at the center of the cursor.

  Subsequently, the video switching control unit 33 controls the switching circuit 21 so that the video of the channel of interest after switching determined by the switching item determination unit 35 is displayed on the second display unit 14 (S112). If the pre-switching target channel specified in S102 and the post-switching target channel specified in S111 are the same, the video switching control unit 33 determines that there is no need to switch the video. On the other hand, in S108 (after time t2), when the channel previously selected by the vacant second tuner unit 18 is the channel of interest after switching, the video switching control unit 33 displays the second tuner unit 18. The video signal on the second display unit 14 can be immediately switched to the 3ch video without causing a time lag by selecting the video signal from

  After S111 (time t4), the video is switched, while the display information switching control unit 34 continues switching the channel display in the gradual switching UI. Specifically, at the time t4, the drag operation is finished, the item display position is 2.9ch, and the channel of interest after switching is confirmed to be 3ch. Therefore, after the drag operation is completed, the display information switching control unit 34 automatically rotates the hexagonal column so that the item display position is 3ch, that is, the side of 3ch is directly in front. Are finely adjusted (S113).

  Here, in the digital television 1 of the present invention, the timing at which the video switching control unit 33 switches the video of the channel of interest before switching (2ch) to the video of the channel of interest after switching (3ch) is displayed on the second display unit 14. Before the time when the information switching control unit 34 finishes the rotation for fine adjustment and completes the switching of the channel display from 2ch to 3ch (time t5 in FIG. 5). More preferably, as shown in FIG. 5, the time t5 when the display information switching control unit 34 completes the gradual switching of the channel display and the time t5 when the video switching control unit 33 switches the video are simultaneous.

  According to the above configuration, the video on the second display unit 14 can be switched at or before the time when the channel switching is completed on the first display unit 12. That is, when the user sees the gradual switching UI displayed on the first display unit 12 and recognizes that the channel switching has been completed, or earlier, the video switching on the second display unit 14 is performed. Can be completed. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the time lag that has conventionally occurred between the time when the user recognizes that the channel is switched and the time when the video is actually switched, thereby eliminating the delay impression the user has.

  In the configuration in which the video display in the second display unit 14 is switched simultaneously with the gradual switching of the channel display in the first display unit 12, the following effects are further obtained.

  For example, in the technique of the above-described Patent Document 1, there is a time lag from when the channel display or program information is displayed according to the switching operation until the video is switched. However, the length of the time lag is not notified to the user. For this reason, the waiting time for switching the video is not transmitted to the user, and the user feels the time lag longer than necessary or feels that the operability is bad, which is a cause of irritation to the user.

  On the other hand, according to the configuration of the digital television 1 of the present invention, the first display unit 12 displays the state in which the gradual switching UI is being switched gradually with an animation, and after switching predicted during the rotation. The video is pre-read for these channels, and at the same time as the rotation is completed, the video is switched on the second display unit 14. Therefore, the user can predict the end point of the rotation, that is, the time point at which the video is switched, while watching the animation in which the gradual switching UI is gradually switched (rotated). As described above, since the user intuitively understands the video switching time based on the visual information, it is possible to eliminate a sense of incongruity in operation and to eliminate annoying factors for the user. Furthermore, if the display information switching control unit 34 keeps the rotation speed of the hexagonal column constant, there is an advantage that the user can more easily predict when the video is switched.

  Note that the timing is not limited to the timing illustrated in FIG. 5, and the time when the display information switching control unit 34 completes the gradual switching of the channel display may be different from the time when the video switching control unit 33 switches the video. Good.

  The time point when the display information switching control unit 34 completes the gradual switching of the channel display may be after the time point when the video switching control unit 33 switches the video. Moreover, the time when the display information switching control unit 34 completes the gradual switching of the channel display may be a predetermined time before the time when the video switching control unit 33 switches the video. For example, when the video switching control unit 33 switches the video to 1.0 seconds, the display information switching control unit 34 may complete the gradual switching of the channel display about 0.8 seconds. It may be about 0.5 seconds.

<< Embodiment 2 >>
Another embodiment of the information display device of the present invention will be described as follows based on FIGS. 1 and 7 to 9. The information display device according to the present embodiment solves the following problems of the prior art.

  Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose digital broadcast receivers equipped with a double tuner. When the digital broadcasting receiver is zapped using the channel up / down buttons, the channel is switched in ascending or descending order according to the operation direction, so the channel next to the channel being selected is pre-read in the background. can do. As a result, the time from when the switching operation is performed until the program of the channel after the switching is displayed is reduced by the amount of prefetching.

  However, in the configuration in which the next channel is simply prefetched, the prefetched channel may not be the channel that the user ultimately desires, and the program of the channel desired by the user cannot be switched without causing a delay. There is. In particular, when channel designation is not performed by discrete input, but is performed by analog (continuous) input as in the drag operation in the first embodiment, the problem of inaccuracy of channel prefetching is Extremely prominent.

  In the present embodiment, the digital television 1 predicts a channel to be prefetched according to the drag speed and controls the prefetch timing in consideration of the drag operation speed.

[Configuration of digital TV]
The configuration of the digital television 1 in the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in the following points.

  The operation receiving unit 30 of the control unit 10 specifies the drag speed based on the trajectory of the finger movement caused by the user's drag operation and the movement time in addition to the drag direction.

  The display information switching control unit 34 changes the speed at which the gradual switching UI (hexagonal prism) is rotated, that is, the speed at which the item display position is moved according to the drag speed.

  The information acquisition unit 32 determines the timing for causing the second tuner unit 18 to prefetch the video according to the item display position and the drag speed.

  The information acquisition unit 32 increases the prefetch timing when the drag speed is fast, and delays the prefetch timing when the drag speed is slow. For example, when the item display position approaches 3ch (when the item display position becomes 2.1 or higher), if the drag speed at that time is high, the channel selection of 3ch is reached when 2.1ch is reached. To start. If the medium speed is reached, the channel selection of 3ch is started when the channel reaches 2.5ch, and if the speed is low, the channel selection of 3ch is started when the channel reaches 2.8ch.

  The control unit 10 further includes an item display position correction unit 36 as a functional block. The item display position correction unit 36 corrects the item display position when the drag operation is completed based on the drag speed.

  After the drag operation ends, the display information switching control unit 34 automatically rotates the gradual switching UI (hexagonal column) displayed on the first display unit 12 so as to match the corrected item display position. Thereby, the inertial rotation (inertial movement) of the hexagonal column is realized. Inertial rotation is a display information switching control that rotates the hexagonal column at a speed corresponding to the speed (momentum) of the drag operation, and continues to rotate as a result of inertia after the drag operation is completed. The part 34 is reproduced. In the present embodiment, the display information switching control unit 34 reproduces with the appearance that the rotation naturally stops due to friction. Therefore, the item display position correction unit 36 adds the movement distance for the inertia rotation based on a predetermined rule based on the drag speed at the end time to the item display position at the time when the drag operation is ended. The movement distance to be added is a positive number if the drag direction is ascending, and a negative number if the drag direction is descending.

  If the item display position after correction, that is, after adding the movement distance, becomes a value of a nonexistent channel number having a value less than or equal to the decimal point, the switching item determination unit 35 performs the same as in the first embodiment. The above value is rounded to the actual channel number. In this case, the display information switching control unit 34 automatically performs rotation for fine adjustment in addition to inertial rotation.

[About channel switching processing]
FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing the operation timing of each part of the digital television 1 in the channel switching process when the drag operation is slow. FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing the operation timing of each part of the digital television 1 in the channel switching process when the drag operation is early. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of channel switching processing executed by the digital television 1 according to the second embodiment.

  With reference to FIGS. 7 and 9, the channel switching process when the drag operation is slow will be described.

  S201 to S203 are the same as those in the first embodiment. In S203, when the operation accepting unit 30 recognizes the drag operation, the operation accepting unit 30 specifies the drag speed in addition to the drag direction (S204). Subsequently, the item display position determination unit 31 acquires the item display position based on the specified drag direction (S205). When the drag direction is down, the channel numbers are focused in ascending order. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the reference line is set at the upper end of the focus range (in the thick frame), and the item display position at the time t1 is specified as 2ch. .

  Subsequently, the display information switching control unit 34 moves the item display position in the specified drag direction at a movement speed corresponding to the specified drag speed (S206). In the present embodiment, the display information switching control unit 34 rotates the hexagonal prism in the drag direction at a rotation speed corresponding to the drag speed. At this time, the display information switching control unit 34 changes the rotation (movement) speed according to the specified drag speed. What kind of drag speed and what kind of rotation speed should be used may be determined appropriately in advance. Here, since the drag speed is relatively low, the display information switching control unit 34 gradually moves the item display position to the side where the channel number is larger in accordance with the low speed. While the event does not occur and dragging is continued (NO in S207, NO in S209, NO in S210), the item display position is 2.1, 2.2,. . . The rotation of the hexagonal column is continued so as to move to 2.7. The time point t2 is a process in which the item display position shifts from 2ch to 3ch, and the reference line has reached the eighth of ten scales defined between 2ch and 3ch. At this time, the item display position determination unit 31 determines the item display position as 2.8 ch.

  The item display position determination unit 31 determines whether or not the determined item display position has reached the next channel in the drag direction by a threshold value or more corresponding to the drag speed (S207). To explain with a specific example, it is assumed that the item display position reaches the next channel (3ch) beyond the channel of interest (2ch) before switching and reaches a predetermined scale or more as at time t2. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the threshold value of the scale at the low speed is 80%. When the drag speed is low and the drag direction is ascending order, the item display position determination unit 31 determines that the latest item display position has reached the channel next to + 0.8ch from the boundary item display position (2ch). Then (YES in S207), the information acquisition unit 32 determines that prefetching of the next channel should be started. Specifically, the information acquisition unit 32 controls a vacant tuner other than the tuner that selects the channel (2ch) currently being viewed, for example, the second tuner unit 18, The next channel selection is started (S208). This makes it possible to acquire 3ch video in advance. Since the drag speed, that is, the rotation speed of the hexagonal prism is relatively low, even if the channel selection starts from about 2.8 ch, the channel display position will reach 3 ch until the item display position reaches 3 ch. The video is in time. Thus, the threshold value referred to in S207 is appropriately set so that the channel selection can be made in time according to the rotation speed.

  If the drag operation is continued, but at least one of the drag direction and the drag speed is changed (NO in S209, YES in S210), the digital television 1 returns to S204 and changes the drag direction. And re-specify at least one of the drag speeds. Then, the subsequent processing is repeated.

  When the user's drag operation ends at time t3 (YES in S109), the item display position determination unit 31 specifies the item display position at the drag end time t3 (3.8 ch in the example of FIG. 7). . On the other hand, the item display position correction unit 36 acquires the drag speed last specified at the time point t3 from the operation reception unit 30 (S211). The item display position correction unit 36 adds the inertial movement (rotation) distance corresponding to the drag speed to the item display position to correct the item display position (S212). Specifically, the item display position correction unit 36 corrects the item display position 3.8ch at the time t3 based on the drag speed at the time t3. In the example of FIG. 7, it is assumed that the drag direction is ascending order and the drag speed is low. In this case, the item display position correction unit 36 adds the moving distance +0.5 ch added at the low speed to the item display position 3.8 ch to calculate the item display position 4.3 ch after the inertia rotation. .

  The movement distance to be added, that is, the correction value is determined in advance according to the drag speed, for example, ± 1.5 ch for high speed, ± 0.8 ch for medium speed, and ± 0.5 ch for low speed. . When the drag direction is ascending order, the correction value is a positive number. When the drag direction is descending order, the correction value is a negative number. In addition, it is assumed that a specific speed range (for example, n to m pixels / second) belongs to a high speed, a medium speed, or a low speed is determined in advance.

  The switching item determination unit 35 determines a new channel (post-switching attention channel) to be switched after the drag operation based on the item display position 4.3ch after correction (after inertial rotation) (S213). In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, at the time t3 when the drag operation ends, the item display position determination unit 31 determines the item display position as 3.8 ch, and the item display position correction unit 36 sets the item display position to 4.3 ch. To correct. As a result of the correction, when the value of the channel number at which the item display position does not exist is taken, the switching item determination unit 35 rounds off the first decimal place of the item display position (4.3 ch), and the actual channel number (4 ch). To determine the channel of interest after switching.

  Subsequently, the video switching control unit 33 controls the switching circuit 21 so that the video of the channel of interest after switching determined by the switching item determination unit 35 is displayed on the second display unit 14. Specifically, when the channel previously selected in S203 and the channel after switching specified after the drag operation end in S213 are the same (YES in S214), the video switching control unit 33 can select the video signal from the second tuner unit 18 and immediately switch the video on the second display unit 14 to the 4ch video without causing a time lag (S215). If the channel previously selected in S203 and the post-switch channel of interest specified after the end of the drag operation in S213 do not match (NO in S214), the information acquisition unit 32 sets the post-switch channel of attention. The channel selection may be immediately started by the second tuner unit 18 and the video switching control unit 33 may immediately switch to the video as soon as the video is obtained.

  After S215 (time t3), while the video is switched, the display information switching control unit 34 continues switching the channel display in the gradual switching UI. Specifically, first, at time t3, the drag operation is finished, the item display position is 3.8 ch, and the item display position after inertia rotation is determined to be 4.3 ch. Therefore, after the drag operation is completed, the display information switching control unit 34 automatically rotates the hexagonal column to inertially rotate the hexagonal column so that the item display position becomes 4.3ch. Since the drag speed is low, the movement distance of the item display position by inertia rotation is relatively short. In FIG. 7, the inertial rotation is continued from time t3 to time t4. Further, since the item display position is 4.3 ch, the channel of interest after switching is determined to be 4 ch. Therefore, from the time point 4 to the time point t5 when the inertial rotation ends, the display information switching control unit 34 adjusts the item display position and completes the channel switching (S217). Specifically, the display information switching control unit 34 rotates the hexagonal column to finely adjust the posture of the hexagonal column so that the item display position is 4ch, that is, the side surface of 4ch is in front. . In the example shown in FIG. 7, the first display unit 12 reproduces an animation that returns the item display position that has gone too far to 4.3 ch to 4 ch.

  Here, in the digital television 1 of the present invention, the display information switching control unit 34 finishes the inertia rotation or the rotation for fine adjustment, and completes the gradual switching of the channel display from 2ch to 3ch to 4ch. The timing (time t5 in FIG. 7) is after the video switching control unit 33 switches the video of the channel of interest before switching (2ch) to the video of the channel of interest after switching (4ch) on the second display unit. Also good. More preferably, as shown in FIG. 7, the time point t5 when the display information switching control unit 34 completes the gradual switching of the channel display and the time point t5 when the video switching control unit 33 switches the video are simultaneous. The timing at which the display information switching control unit 34 completes the inertial rotation or the rotation for fine adjustment and completes the gradual switching of the channel display from 2ch to 4ch to 4ch (time t5 in FIG. 7). The video switching control unit 33 may be a predetermined time before the video of the channel of interest before switching (2ch) is switched to the video of the channel of interest after switching (4ch) in the second display unit. The predetermined time can be determined on the basis of a time that does not cause the user to feel a switching delay. In other words, the predetermined time can be determined based on the time taken for the video switching control unit 33 to switch the video.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the channel switching process when the drag operation is early is basically performed in the same manner as when the drag operation is slow.

  However, when the drag operation is fast, the moving speed of the item display position (the rotation speed of the hexagonal column) is also fast. is there. Therefore, the scale threshold for high speed is set to 10%, for example. As shown in FIG. 8, when the drag operation is performed at high speed, the information acquisition unit 32 operates at a low speed when the item display position reaches the first scale of the next channel (for example, time t2 in FIG. 8). The channel selection for the next channel is started earlier than at the time of.

  In addition, when the drag operation ends at time t3, the item display position correction unit 36 increases the movement distance to be added in order to rotate the inertia longer at a high speed according to the drag speed. Specifically, when the drag direction is ascending order and the drag speed is high, the movement distance for +1.5 ch is added to the item display position (3.1 ch) at time t3. The item display position is corrected to 4.6 ch. Further, the switching item determination unit 35 determines the channel of interest after switching to be 5ch.

  The information acquisition unit 32 immediately starts channel selection for 5ch when it is determined as 5ch, that is, at time t3 when the drag operation ends. As a result of the addition for inertia rotation and the rounding off for fine adjustment, it was found that the 3ch that had been selected until now was not selected, so the second tuner unit 18 ended the 3ch selection, What is necessary is just to order the information acquisition part 32 to start channel selection of 5ch.

  While the information acquisition unit 32 prepares the 5ch video, the display information switching control unit 34 performs inertial rotation after the drag operation is finished with respect to the gradual switching UI displayed on the first display unit 12. And rotation for fine adjustment. First, the display information switching control unit 34 performs inertia rotation so that the item display position is at 4.6 ch. A time point t4 indicates a time point when the inertial rotation is finished. Next, the display information switching control unit 34 performs rotation for fine adjustment so that the item display position matches 4ch. Time t5 indicates the time when the fine adjustment rotation is finished.

  Here, in the digital television 1 of the present invention, the timing at which the video switching control unit 33 switches the video of the channel of interest before switching (2ch) to the video of the channel of interest after switching (5ch) is displayed on the second display unit 14. The information switching control unit 34 finishes the inertial rotation or the above-described rotation for fine adjustment, rotates from 2ch to 3ch, and automatically rotates from 3ch to 4ch, thereby completing the switching of the channel display to 5ch. It is before the time point (time t5 in FIG. 8). More preferably, as shown in FIG. 8, the time point t5 when the display information switching control unit 34 completes the gradual switching of the channel display and the time point t5 when the video switching control unit 33 switches the video are simultaneous.

  As described above, the digital television 1 of the present invention predicts a channel to be prefetched according to the drag speed and controls the prefetch timing in consideration of the drag operation speed. Therefore, the channel desired by the user can be predicted more accurately, and the video of the predicted channel can be acquired in time when the switching of the channel display is completed.

<< Embodiment 3 >>
Another embodiment relating to the information display device of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  In the second embodiment, the moving direction and moving (rotating) speed of the item display position are determined according to the moving direction and moving speed of the indicator in the drag operation (flick operation). However, in the digital television 1 of the present invention, even if the movement of the indicator is stopped after the drag operation is started (the movement speed becomes 0), the contact between the indicator and the first operation unit 13 is not caused. As long as the process continues, the process of gradually rotating the switching UI (moving the item display position) is continued.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the user must repeat the drag operation (or flick operation) many times until the display is switched to the desired channel number. Furthermore, when a vertical drag operation is necessary, but the vertical width of the touch surface of the first operation unit 13 is narrow, the number of drag operations is further increased, which makes the operation troublesome for the user to switch channels. When the number of choices (channels) is enormous, the movement distance of the item display position becomes longer, and the annoyance becomes even more serious.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the user can specify the movement direction and movement speed of the item display position by the start position of the drag operation and the latest contact position while keeping the contact. That is, the movement (rotation) of the item display position can be continued only by continuing the contact of the indicator even on the narrow area of the first operation unit 13, and the above-described troublesomeness is eliminated.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the user drags the first operation unit 13 having the coordinates where the upper left end is the origin (0, 0), the horizontal axis is X, and the vertical axis is Y. It is assumed that the operation starts from an arbitrary position P0. The operation reception unit 30 acquires at least the Y coordinate of the drag start position P0. The user continues the finger contact and drags the finger in the direction in which the hexagonal column is desired to be rotated. As a result, for example, it is assumed that the latest finger contact position is P1. The operation reception unit 30 acquires at least the Y coordinate of the current contact position P1. Then, the operation receiving unit 30 obtains the direction of the vector V1 in the Y coordinate from the drag start position P0 to the current contact position P1 as the drag direction. The display information switching control unit 34 rotates the hexagonal prism in the moving direction M1 that gradually switches the channel numbers in descending order according to the direction of the obtained vector V1. Furthermore, the operation reception unit 30 determines the rotation speed in proportion to the magnitude of the vector V1. Accordingly, the display information switching control unit 34 increases the moving speed (rotational speed) of the item display position as the magnitude of the vector V1 is larger (as the difference between the Y coordinate values of P0 and P1 is larger). Thereby, more channels can be switched in a short time.

  When the current contact position is P2, the operation reception unit 30 obtains a vector V2. The display information switching control unit 34 moves the item display position in the movement direction M2 at a movement speed corresponding to the magnitude of the vector V2. In the example shown in FIG. 10, in the drag operation of P2 where the difference in Y coordinate values is small, the rotation speed of the hexagonal column is slower than in the case of P1.

[About channel switching processing]
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of channel switching processing executed by the digital television 1 of the third embodiment.

  S301 to S303 are the same as S201 to S203 of the second embodiment. In S303, when the operation receiving unit 30 recognizes the drag operation, first, the operation reception unit 30 acquires the drag start position input in S301 (S304). Subsequently, the operation reception unit 30 acquires the latest contact position (hereinafter, current contact position) of the indicator (finger) in a state where the contact is continued. Then, the operation reception unit 30 determines a drag direction and a moving speed based on the drag start position and the current contact position (S305). For example, the operation reception unit 30 can obtain a vector from the drag start position to the current contact position, and can determine the drag direction based on the direction of the vector and the movement (rotation) speed based on the magnitude of the vector.

  Subsequently, the item display position determination unit 31 acquires the item display position based on the specified drag direction (S306). When the drag direction is down (for example, the vector V2), the channel numbers are focused in ascending order. Therefore, as in the first and second embodiments, the reference line is set at the upper end of the focus range (in the thick frame), and the drag start time Specify the item display position.

  Subsequently, the display information switching control unit 34 rotates the hexagonal prism in the determined drag direction at the determined moving speed (S307). When the difference of the Y coordinate values is small and the moving speed is relatively low and the drag direction is the vector V2, the display information switching control unit 34 sets the item display position to the number of the channel number according to the low speed. Move gradually to the larger side. While the current contact position is not changed and the drag is continued (NO in S309, NO in S310, NO in S311), the hexagonal column is rotated so that the item display position moves to the larger channel number. Will continue. During this time, the item display position determination unit 31 determines whether or not the item display position at that time has reached the next channel in the drag direction by a threshold value or more corresponding to the movement (rotation) speed. (S308).

  It is assumed that the item display position has reached the next channel beyond the channel of interest before switching, and has reached a predetermined scale or more. For example, assume that 2ch reaches 2.8ch. It is assumed that the threshold is appropriately determined in advance according to the moving speed determined in S305 so that the channel selection can be made in time. When the item display position determination unit 31 determines that the item display position has reached the threshold scale (YES in S308), the information acquisition unit 32 controls the second tuner unit 18 to control the next channel, for example. Is started (S309). This makes it possible to acquire in advance a video of a channel to be focused in the future.

  If contact is continued from the first drag operation, but the current contact position is changed (NO in S310, YES in S311), the digital television 1 returns to S305 and changes the current contact position. Redefine the vector based on and re-determine at least one of the drag direction and the speed of movement. Then, the subsequent processing is repeated.

  When the contact state of the indicator ends and the user's drag operation ends (YES in S310), the item display position determination unit 31 specifies the item display position at the end of the drag. On the other hand, the item display position correction unit 36 acquires the movement speed finally determined at the end of the drag from the operation reception unit 30 (S312). The item display position correcting unit 36 corrects the item display position at the end of the drag based on the moving speed (S313). The faster the movement speed, the larger the absolute value of the inertial movement distance to be added.

  If the item display position after correction (after inertial rotation) does not match the actual channel number, the switching item determination unit 35 rounds off the channel after the switching based on the corrected item display position. Is determined (S314).

  S315 to S318 are the same as S214 to 217 of the second embodiment.

  Here, in the digital television 1 of the present invention, the timing at which the video switching control unit 33 switches the video of the channel of interest before switching to the video of the channel of interest after switching in the second display unit 14 (S316) is the display information switching control. It is before the point (S318) when the unit 34 finishes the inertial rotation or the rotation for fine adjustment and completes the gradual switching of the channel display. More preferably, the time when the display information switching control unit 34 completes the gradual switching of the channel display and the time when the video switching control unit 33 switches the video are simultaneous.

<< Embodiment 4 >>
(A) of FIG. 12 is a figure which shows the other example of allocation about the area | region of each display part in the digital television 1. FIG. FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating another specific example of the gradual switching UI displayed on the first display unit 12.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, the digital television 1 may have a liquid crystal display panel with an aspect ratio of 21: 9. In this case, the liquid crystal display panel includes a second display area (halftone dot area) having an aspect ratio of 16: 9, and a first display area (hatched area) having an aspect ratio of 5: 9 on the right or left side thereof. Have The display information switching control unit 34 displays the gradual switching UI on the first display unit 12 that realizes the first display area with an aspect ratio of 5: 9.

  The gradual switching UI is not limited to a three-dimensional display of each item like a hexagonal prism. As shown in FIG. 12B, the display information switching control unit 34 may be configured to scroll the gradual switching UI 50 as an item list in which the items are arranged on a plane in a plane. In FIG. 12B, a thick frame indicates a range displayed on the first display unit 12, and a double frame indicates a cursor. In this case, the display information switching control unit 34 fixes the display position of the double frame, scrolls the item list, moves the item display position, and gradually switches the channel display.

<< Embodiment 5 >>
Items to be switched in the gradual switching UI of the present invention are not limited to channel numbers. The gradual switching UI according to one aspect of the present invention can be suitably employed for items that take time to switch items. The gradual switching UI according to one aspect of the present invention can be preferably used for items that involve hardware switching, network communication, and the like, for example, for item switching.

  More specifically, the UI for switching input switching “terrestrial digital” / “BD” / “HDD” of the digital television 1 may be realized by the gradual switching UI of the present invention. In this case, it is possible to eliminate the impression of delay of the user regarding the time for switching the input, for example, the time required for starting up the HDD. Further, a UI for switching information displayed in synchronization with the broadcast video, for example, “data broadcasting” / “weather information” / “advertising information” may be realized by the gradual switching UI of the present invention. In this case, it is possible to eliminate the impression of delay that the user has in the time required for reading the weather information.

  Alternatively, the gradual switching UI may be realized as follows.

  FIG. 13A is a diagram showing another example of allocation for the areas of the display units in the digital television 1. (B) of FIG. 13 is a figure which shows the other specific example of the information displayed on the 2nd display part 14 switched by gradual switching UI.

  As shown in FIG. 13 (a), the digital television 1 has a first display area 12 ′ (shaded area) and a second display area 14 ′ (in the shaded area) in one display area of one display section. Halftone dot area). In this case, the OSD processing circuit 22 applies a gradual switching UI 51 as an OSD image generated by the display information switching control unit 34 to a predetermined area (first display area 12 ′) of the video signal supplied from the switching circuit 21. The superimposed video signal is output to the one display unit.

  In this case, switching of the gradual switching UI 51 may be instructed using the second operation unit 15 as a remote controller provided separately from the main body. The configuration may be such that an item switching instruction is discretely input by pressing the up / down or + − key or the like of the second operation unit 15.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 13B, a gradual switching UI 51 is displayed in the first display area 12 ', and a weather forecast map is displayed in the second display area 14'. In the gradual switching UI 51, items such as “probability of precipitation”, “temperature”, and “wind direction” are selectable and displayed in the second display area 14 ′. While the display information switching control unit 34 gradually switches the above items according to the user instruction, the video switching control unit 33 switches to the weather forecast map in which information corresponding to the selected item is displayed, and displays the second display area 14 ′. Display. The example shown in FIG. 13B shows a state where the second display area 14 ′ has been switched to a weather forecast map related to the precipitation probability when the item “Precipitation Probability” is selected. At this time, it is preferable that the timing at which the switching of the items of the gradual switching UI 51 is completed and the timing at which the weather forecast map is switched are simultaneous.

[Summary]
In order to solve the above-described problem, the information display device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes at least one focused item of interest (channel of interest) among a plurality of items (channels) arranged in a predetermined order. A display unit (first display unit 12) including a first display region (first display unit 12) for displaying and a second display region (second display unit 14) for displaying information associated with the attention item. And an information display device (digital television 1) provided with the second display unit 14), and an item switching instruction for instructing switching of an item of interest input via the input unit (first operation unit 13). Therefore, item determining means (switching item determining unit 35) for determining a post-switching target item (post-switching target channel) that is a target item next to a pre-switching target item (pre-switching target channel) that is the current target item. In accordance with the item switching instruction, first switching control means (display information) for switching the attention item displayed in the first display area from the attention item before switching to the attention item after switching by continuously changing the visual state. A switching control unit 34) and second switching control means (video switching control) for switching information (video) corresponding to the pre-switching attention item displayed in the second display area to information corresponding to the post-switching attention item. Unit 33), and the first switching control means completes the switching to the item of interest after switching in response to the switching of information by the second switching control means.

  According to the above configuration, when switching of the attention item displayed in the first display area is instructed by a user operation, the first switching control means displays the attention item displayed in accordance with the user instruction. Switch. The switching performed by the first switching control means is gradually performed by continuously changing the visual state from the pre-switching target item to the post-switching target item. On the other hand, the second switching control means displays information corresponding to the pre-switching attention item displayed in the second display area in accordance with the switching of the attention item according to the user's instruction. Switch to information corresponding to.

  Here, the first switching control unit may complete the switching which has been gradually performed to the post-switching attention item at or after the time when the second switching control unit switches the information. . In other words, the first switching control unit may complete the switching that has been gradually performed to the post-switching attention item after the second switching control unit switches information.

  As a result, the information displayed in the second display area is displayed before or simultaneously with the switching of the item of interest displayed in the first display area after the user instructs the switching of the item. Can be switched.

  That is, when the user recognizes that the item switching has been completed by looking at the plurality of items that are gradually switched displayed in the first display area, or earlier, information in the second display area Switching can be completed.

  In addition, the first switching control means completes the gradual switching to the post-switching attention item at a time when the second switching control means switches information or a predetermined time before the time. Also good.

  Thereby, after the user instructs switching of items, the information displayed in the second display area can be switched immediately after the attention item displayed in the first display area is switched.

  As described above, it is possible to eliminate or shorten the time lag that has conventionally occurred between the time when the user recognizes that the item has been switched and the time when the corresponding information is actually switched. There is an effect that it can be reduced.

  In the information display device according to aspect 2 of the present invention, in the aspect 1, the first switching control means starts a continuous change in the visual state when the item switching instruction is input, When the switching control means switches to the information corresponding to the post-switching attention item, it is preferable to end the continuous change and complete the switching to the post-switching attention item.

  Thereby, immediately after the user inputs an item switching instruction, the change of the item of interest is visually started in the first display area. Therefore, the user does not feel the time lag between the time when the user performs an operation and the time when some processing is started thereby, so that the user does not have the impression that the processing is delayed. Note that “when an item switching instruction is input” includes immediately after the item switching instruction is input, and a slight delay is allowed before the start of a continuous change in the visual state.

  Further, in the second display area, the user recognizes that the item has been switched, and at the same time, the information is switched to the information corresponding to the item, so there is no impression that the switching of information is delayed in the second display area. That's it. As described above, since the user intuitively understands the waiting time until the information is switched based on the visual information of the item switching, it is possible to eliminate a sense of incongruity in operation and to eliminate a factor that irritate the user. .

  In the information display device according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the above aspect 1 or 2, the item switching instruction instructs the direction and amount of switching, and the first switching control means includes the designated direction. Depending on the amount and amount, the focused item of interest may be switched continuously by moving a plurality of items arranged in a predetermined order including the item of interest or a cursor pointing to the item of interest.

  Since the attention item is gradually switched according to the switching direction and amount designated by the user, there is no sense of incongruity in operation, and the user can more intuitively understand the waiting time until the information is switched.

  The information display device according to aspect 4 of the present invention controls the first tuner unit in the aspect 3 to select the broadcast wave associated with the pre-switching attention item, and the pre-switching attention item. The first information acquisition means for receiving the video corresponding to the above and the second tuner unit are controlled to select the broadcast wave associated with the post-switching attention item, and to correspond to the post-switching attention item Second information acquisition means for receiving a video, wherein the second information acquisition means starts channel selection when the item of interest after switching is determined, and the first switch control means includes the second information It is preferable that the acquisition unit completes the switching of the attention item after receiving the video of the attention item after the switching.

  According to the above configuration, the video of the focused item (channel) before switching that is currently focused is received by the first information acquisition unit performing channel selection and displayed in the second display area. On the other hand, when the item of interest after switching is determined by the item determining means, the second information acquiring means immediately starts tuning. Thereby, the first switching control means completes the switching of the attention item after receiving the video of the attention item after the switching. In other words, before the first switching control means completes the switching of the item of interest, the video of the item of interest after the switching can be received. Therefore, the second switching control means displays the video displayed in the second display area before or after the first switching control means completes the switching of the attention item. The item can be switched to the item of interest after switching.

  The information display device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is the information display device according to the fourth aspect described above, wherein the first switching control unit continuously executes the switching in the first display area from the attention item before switching to the attention item after switching. A change state specifying unit (item display position determination unit 31) for specifying a visual state (item display position) in the middle of a change is provided, and the second information acquisition unit is a period until the attention item after switching is determined. The broadcast corresponding to the next item after the change state specifying means specifies the start of the state change from the item of interest before switching to the next item until the switching to the next item is completed. It is preferable to start wave selection.

  According to the above configuration, in the first display area, when the focused item of interest is about to move to the next item, the item display position moves to the next item. Thus, until the switching to the next item is completed, the second information acquisition unit can start the tuning of the next item in advance. Thereby, when the next item is determined as the attention item after switching, the second switching control unit is configured to perform the above operation at an arbitrary timing until the first switching control unit completes switching of the attention item. The video displayed in the second display area can be switched from the pre-switching target item to the post-switching target item.

  In the information display device according to aspect 6 of the present invention, in the above aspect 5, the item switching instruction further indicates a switching speed, and the first switching control means is configured to respond to the designated speed. The item or cursor is moved, and the second information acquisition means starts selecting the broadcast wave corresponding to the next item earlier as the speed at the time when the input of the item switching instruction is completed is higher. It is preferable to do.

  According to the above configuration, the second information acquisition unit is configured to complete the switching to the next item after the visual state (item display position) starts a state transition from the item before switching to the next item. In the meantime, broadcast wave tuning is started at an earlier timing as the switching speed is faster. Thereby, even if the state transition from the item to the item is performed quickly according to the high speed, the channel selection is started at an earlier timing. For this reason, the second switching control means can obtain the video of the next item earlier, so that the video can be switched without delay.

  In the information display device according to aspect 7 of the present invention, in any of the aspects 4 to 6, the item switching instruction further indicates a switching speed, and the first switching control means includes: The item or the cursor is moved according to the designated speed, and the item determination means arranges items farther from the attention item before switching as the speed when the input of the item switching instruction ends is faster. Is preferably determined as the attention item after switching.

  According to the said structure, the item which the said 2nd information acquisition means should prefetch is estimated in consideration of the speed of user operation. Therefore, the item desired by the user can be predicted more accurately, and the image of the predicted item can be acquired in time when the item switching is completed.

  In the information display device according to aspect 8 of the present invention, in the aspect 6 or 7, the first switching control unit moves the item or the cursor in accordance with the item switching instruction, and then ends the input of the item switching instruction. The item determining means (the item display position correcting unit 36 and the switching item determining unit 35), when the input of the item switching instruction is finished, is to continue the movement by inertia according to the moving speed at the time of the above. The post-switching attention item may be determined by calculating an item to be focused after the movement due to the inertia according to the moving speed.

  According to the above configuration, the item to be continued after the user operation or the moving distance of the cursor is obtained according to the moving speed, so that the attention item after switching can be correctly determined in advance. Thereby, the video of the item determined correctly can be acquired in time when the item switching is completed.

  In order to solve the above problem, a control method for an information display device according to an aspect 9 of the present invention is a first method for displaying at least one focused item of interest among a plurality of items arranged in a predetermined order. A control method for an information display device comprising a display unit including a display region and a second display region for displaying information associated with the item of interest, via an input unit of the information display device In accordance with an item switching instruction for instructing to switch the input attention item, an item determination step for determining a post-switching attention item that becomes a attention item next to the pre-switching attention item that is the current attention item, and the item switching instruction A first switching step of switching the attention item displayed in the first display area by changing the visual state continuously from the attention item before switching to the attention item after switching, A first switching step, and a second switching step of switching information corresponding to the pre-switching attention item displayed in the second display area to information corresponding to the post-switching attention item, The first switching step is characterized in that the switching to the post-switching attention item is completed in accordance with the switching of information in the second switching step.

  The information display device may be realized by a computer. In this case, the information display device control program for causing the information display device to be realized by the computer by causing the computer to operate as each unit, and A recorded computer-readable recording medium also falls within the scope of the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, a new technical feature can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

≪Example of implementation by software≫
Control blocks of the digital television 1 (particularly, the operation reception unit 30, the item display position determination unit 31, the information acquisition unit 32, the video switching control unit 33, the display information switching control unit 34, the switching item determination unit 35, and the item display position correction unit) 36) may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

  In the latter case, the digital television 1 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program that is software that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which the program and various data are recorded so as to be readable by a computer (or CPU), or A storage device (these are referred to as “recording media”), a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the program, and the like are provided. And the objective of this invention is achieved when a computer (or CPU) reads the said program from the said recording medium and runs it. As the recording medium, a “non-temporary tangible medium” such as a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. The program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) that can transmit the program. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

  A first display area that displays at least one focused item of interest among a plurality of items arranged in a predetermined order, and a second display region that displays information associated with the focused item The present invention can be applied to any information display device that includes a display unit that includes the information. More preferably, the video to be displayed in the second display area can be used in a broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a specific broadcast wave corresponding to the above item.

1 Digital TV (information display device)
10 Control Unit 11 Storage Unit 12 First Display Unit (Display Unit)
12 '1st display area 13 1st operation part (input part)
14 Second display section (display section)
14 '2nd display area 15 2nd operation part (input part)
16 audio output unit 17 first tuner unit 18 second tuner unit 19 decoder 20 decoder 21 switching circuit 22 OSD processing circuit 23 display control unit 30 operation receiving unit 31 item display position determining unit (change state specifying means)
32 Information acquisition unit (first information acquisition unit / second information acquisition unit)
33 Video switching control unit (second switching control means)
34 Display information switching control section (first switching control means)
35 switching item determination unit (item determination means)
36 Item display position correction unit (item determining means)
40 Program information table

Claims (7)

A first display area that displays at least one focused item of interest among a plurality of items arranged in a predetermined order, and a second display region that displays information associated with the focused item An information display device comprising a display unit including:
An item determining means for determining a post-switching attention item that becomes the attention item next to the pre-switching attention item that is the current attention item, in accordance with an item switching instruction that instructs to switch the attention item input through the input unit; ,
First switching control means for switching the attention item displayed in the first display area by changing the visual state continuously from the pre-switching attention item to the post-switching attention item according to the item switching instruction;
Second switching control means for switching the information corresponding to the pre-switching attention item displayed in the second display area to the information corresponding to the post-switching attention item;
The first switching control means completes switching to the post-switching attention item in response to information switching by the second switching control means ,
The item switching instruction instructs the direction and amount of switching,
The first switching control means moves a plurality of items arranged in a predetermined order including the item of interest or a cursor pointing to the item of interest according to the designated direction and amount, thereby focusing attention. information display device comprising continuously switched Rukoto items.   The first switching control means starts a continuous change of the visual state when the item switching instruction is input, and when the second switching control means switches to information corresponding to the attention item after switching. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein the continuous change is terminated and the switching to the post-switching attention item is completed.   First information acquisition means for controlling the first tuner section, selecting a broadcast wave associated with the pre-switching attention item, and receiving a video corresponding to the pre-switching attention item;
  A second information acquisition unit that controls the second tuner unit, selects a broadcast wave associated with the post-switching attention item, and receives a video corresponding to the post-switching attention item;
  The second information acquisition means starts channel selection when the attention item after switching is determined,
  3. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein the first switching control unit completes the switching of the attention item after the second information acquisition unit receives the video of the attention item after the switching. .   A change state specifying means for specifying a visual state in the middle of a continuous change performed by the first switching control means while switching from the pre-switching attention item to the post-switching attention item in the first display area;
  The second information acquisition means until the item of interest after switching is determined,
  The broadcast wave corresponding to the next item after the start of the state change from the pre-switching attention item to the next item is specified by the change state specifying unit until the switching to the next item is completed. The information display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein channel selection is started.   The above item switching instruction further instructs the switching speed,
  The first switching control means moves an item or a cursor according to a designated speed,
  The second information acquisition means starts the broadcast wave tuning corresponding to the next item earlier as the speed at the time when the input of the item switching instruction is completed is faster. The information display device described.   The above item switching instruction further instructs the switching speed,
  The first switching control means moves an item or a cursor according to a designated speed,
  The item determining means determines, as the post-switching attention item, an item arranged farther from the pre-switching attention item as the speed when the input of the item switching instruction ends is higher. The information display device according to any one of the above.   A first display area that displays at least one focused item of interest among a plurality of items arranged in a predetermined order, and a second display region that displays information associated with the focused item A control method of an information display device including a display unit including:
  In accordance with an item switching instruction that instructs to switch the attention item input via the input unit of the information display device, the attention item after switching that becomes the attention item after the attention item before switching that is the current attention item is determined. An item determination step to be performed;
  A first switching step of switching the attention item displayed in the first display area by changing the visual state continuously from the attention item before switching to the attention item after switching according to the item switching instruction;
  A second switching step for switching information corresponding to the pre-switching attention item displayed in the second display area to information corresponding to the post-switching attention item while the first switching step is executed. ,
  The first switching step is a step of completing the switching to the post-switching attention item according to the information switching in the second switching step.
  The item switching instruction instructs the direction and amount of switching,
  In the first switching step, the focused item of interest is moved by moving a plurality of items arranged in a predetermined order including the item of interest or a cursor pointing to the item of interest according to the designated direction and amount. A method for controlling an information display device, characterized by continuously switching between.

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