JP2001320645A - Menu selection method and menu selection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a menu selection method and a menu selection device by which a user can select a menu with a simple key operation in the case of selecting a desired slave menu or a program on a television receiver or an electronic program guide(EPG) on which a plurality of slave menus are displayed. SOLUTION: The menu selection device is provided with a display section that superimposes and displays slave menus on a screen, a selection section that has direction keys to move a cursor on the menu in upward/downward/left/ right directions and a means that selects a slave menu at the end position among the slave menus displayed in the moving direction of the cursor when the direction key is double-clicked. When the direction key is double-clicked, a slave menu at the end position among the slave menus displayed in the moving direction of the cursor is selected, and when the direction key is double-clicked furthermore after the slave menu at the end position is selected, slave menus are newly displayed, and then a desired slave menu is selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a screen selection method and a screen selection device. For details, use the remote control (remote controller) from multiple child screens displayed on the screen.
The present invention relates to a screen selection method and a screen selection apparatus for selecting a selection frame for visually recognizing that a child screen has been selected by double-clicking up, down, left and right direction keys when selecting a desired small screen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a desired sub-screen is selected from a plurality of sub-screens displayed on a screen of a conventional television or the like, a sub-screen is operated by using up, down, left and right direction keys of a remote controller (remote controller). Is selected by moving a selection frame for visually recognizing that has been selected to the position of a desired child screen.

In digital broadcasting and the like, since there are many channels to select, a menu screen (program table) for each channel and genre is displayed on a television screen by an EPG (electronic program guide), and the selected channel or genre is displayed. Each time the program information is further displayed and a desired program is selected from the program information, the direction key of the remote controller is used to move the selection frame to a position on the screen where the desired program is displayed. The choice is made by doing so.

[0004]

However, when the number of child screens or EPG selection screens increases, the number of key operations on the remote controller increases, and it takes time to reach a desired selection position. Also, if the number of selected screens is larger than the number of sub-screens that can be displayed on the screen, it is necessary to switch the screen anew to display the desired sub-screen or program and search for it. If there is no such key, there is a problem that the operability is not good because the key must be kept depressed until switching to a new screen.

[0005] Therefore, when a desired sub-screen or program is selected on a television or an EPG on which a plurality of sub-screens are displayed, the problem has to be solved in that the selection operation can be performed by simple key operations. Have.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a screen selecting method and a screen selecting apparatus according to the present invention are configured as follows.

(1) A method of selecting a desired sub-screen by using a directional key capable of moving a cursor up, down, left and right when selecting a specific sub-screen on a screen on which a plurality of sub-screens are displayed. A screen selecting method, wherein when the direction key is double-clicked, an endmost sub-screen in a moving direction of the cursor is selected from a plurality of displayed sub-screens. (2) In the screen selection method of (1), when a double-click is made outside of a predetermined time after the direction key is pressed, a next child of the selected child screen in the moving direction of the cursor is selected. A screen selection method, wherein a screen is selected. (3) In the screen selection method according to the above (1), when the direction key is further double-clicked after the endmost sub-screen is selected, a plurality of new sub-screens are displayed. Screen selection method. (4) The screen selection method according to the above (1), wherein the direction key is a key of a remote controller. (5) The screen selection method according to (1), wherein the plurality of child screens include a screen of electronic program guide information. (6) a display unit capable of superimposing and displaying a plurality of child screens on a screen, a selection unit having direction keys for moving a cursor on the screen in up, down, left, and right directions, and when the direction keys are double-clicked, Means for selecting an endmost sub-screen in the moving direction of the cursor from among a plurality of displayed sub-screens. (7) In the screen selecting device according to (6), when a double-click is performed outside a predetermined time after the direction key is pressed, a next child of the selected child screen in the moving direction of the cursor is selected. A screen selection device, comprising: means for selecting a screen. (8) The screen selecting apparatus according to (6), further comprising a unit for displaying a plurality of new sub-screens when the direction key is further double-clicked after the end sub-screen is selected. Screen selection device. (9) The screen selection device according to (6), wherein the direction key is a key of a remote controller. (10) The screen selection device according to (6), wherein the plurality of sub-screens include a screen of electronic program guide information.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a screen selecting method and a screen selecting apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

A screen selecting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention comprises a television capable of displaying a plurality of sub-screens, and a remote control (remote controller) having direction keys for selecting the sub-screens. You.

As shown in FIG. 1, the display screen of the television includes a main screen 100, a plurality of sub-screens 101 to 109 superimposed and displayed at one end and under the main screen 100, and each of the sub-screens 101 to 109. A selection frame 200 surrounding the child screen is displayed so that the user can visually recognize when 109 is selected by a key operation of a remote controller described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, the remote controller moves a selection frame 200 (see FIG. 1) for visually confirming that a child screen displayed on a television screen has been selected up, down, left and right. A direction key 20 including an up direction key 21, a down direction key 22, a left direction key 23, and a right direction key 24, and a decision key 25 for deciding a selected child screen.

A method of operating the directional key 20 when selecting a sub-screen with the remote controller will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, it is detected that each of the direction keys 21 to 25 of the direction keys 20 of the remote controller is input. If there is no input, it is in a state of waiting until the direction key is pressed. Then, when a certain direction key is pressed, the input is detected, and it is determined whether or not the same key as this direction key is pressed twice (double click) within a predetermined time (ST1).
0, 20).

When the same direction key is pressed twice (double-click) within a predetermined time, the screen is instantaneously moved to the last child screen in the vertical or horizontal axis direction of the screen according to the direction of the pressed key. I do. If the position of the sub-screen on which the direction key is pressed is the end sub-screen and there is a screen other than the currently displayed sub-screen, a plurality of sub-screens of the next page (new sub-screen) are displayed. A screen is displayed (ST30).

If the same directional key has not been pressed twice within a certain period of time, the display moves to the next adjacent sub-screen in accordance with the pressed directional key, or is invalid if the directional key cannot be moved. It is determined that the input is a key input, and the display remains at the currently selected child screen (ST40).

Next, a case where a desired sub-screen is selected by the image selection device including the television and the remote controller will be described.

First, when the main screen is selected on the television screen, as shown in FIG.
The child screens 101 to 109 surrounding the child screen are displayed in a superimposed manner, and the selection frame 200 for surrounding the child screen is not displayed.

Next, a case in which the sub-screen 103 is selected from the state in which the main screen is selected by operating the remote controller shown in FIG. 2 and replaced with the main screen will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the down direction key 22 of the remote controller is double-clicked. By this operation, an instruction to select a small screen is sent out, and the selection frame 200 surrounding the small screen 105 'is highlighted, indicating that the small screen is selected. The instruction to select a child screen may be given by another direction key, another key may be used, or another method may be used.

Subsequently, when the child screen is selected, the upper direction key 21 of the direction key 20 of the remote controller is pressed twice. In this case, since the key operation is not a double-click within a certain period of time, the selection frame 200 ′ moves two upwards from the child screen 105 ′ in the vertical direction, and is highlighted around the child screen 103 ′. become. Here, enter key 2 on the remote control
When 5 is pressed, the main screen 100 'and the child screen 103' are switched, and the child screen 103 'is displayed in the size of the main screen 100'.

Next, the case where the selection frame 200 'selects the child screen 109' from the state where the child screen 103 'is selected (the state described above) will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 5, the child screen 103 "is initially selected, and when the down key 22 (see FIG. 2) of the remote controller is double-clicked within a predetermined time, the selection frame 200" is displayed. ”Is instantaneously moved to the lowermost sub-screen 105 ″ in the vertical axis direction, and the sub-screen 105 ″ is highlighted by surrounding the selection frame 200. Then, the left direction key 23 is double-clicked within a predetermined time. Then, the selection frame 200 "instantaneously moves from the child screen 105" to the child screen 109 ", and the child screen 109" is surrounded by the selection frame 200 "and becomes highlighted. Here, if the enter key 25 is pressed, the main screen 100 "and the sub-screen 109" are switched, and
9 "is displayed in the size of the main screen 100".

If there is still another child screen, another double screen 110-118 is displayed by further double-clicking the left direction key 23 when the child screen 109 "is in a selected state. At this time, another child screen may be displayed in the same manner by double-clicking the down key 22 in a direction that cannot be moved.
When 118 is displayed, use the direction key 2 on the remote
0 to select the desired sub-screen and the main screen 10 "
What is necessary is just to replace with.

As described above, when a predetermined direction key is double-clicked while an arbitrary sub-screen is selected, the selection frame moves from the currently selected sub-screen to the end sub-screen in the desired moving direction. I do. Further, when the endmost sub-screen is selected, if the direction key in the same moving direction or the direction key in the direction in which movement cannot be performed is further double-clicked within a predetermined time,
Switches to a new sub-screen display that is not currently displayed.

That is, assuming that the time required to move to the adjacent small screen by operating the normal direction key is t, and the number of moved small screens, that is, the number of clicks of the remote control direction key is n, the conventional small screen 103 → In the movement of the child screen 109, it is necessary to move the screen two times downward and four times to the left, so n = 6, and the child screen movement time is 6t.

On the other hand, when moving from the child screen 103 to the child screen 109 by the double-click method of the present invention,
Double-clicking is performed once when moving from the sub-screen 103 to the sub-screen 105, and double-clicking once when moving from the sub-screen 105 to the sub-screen 109. Then, since n = 2, the child screen movement time is 2α. Here, since α is smaller than t (α <t), the screen moves faster than in the past.

As a second embodiment, a case where program information is selected by an EPG (electronic program guide) will be described.
The configuration and the like of the screen selection device are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

First, an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) 30 as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the screen of the television in response to an instruction from the remote controller. In the EPG 30, a time frame 31 for displaying a program time zone is displayed at the top and bottom,
The station name frame 32 is located at the far right end between the upper and lower time frames 31.
Then, in the horizontal axis direction of the station name frame 32, a program name frame 33 divided for each program corresponding to the time frame 31 is displayed. Arrows 43 and 44 indicating movement of the time zone are provided at the left and right ends of the uppermost time frame 31, and movements in the vertical axis direction indicating the movement of the station name are provided outside the leftmost end of each time frame 31. Arrows 41 and 42 are displayed. The EPG is displayed on the screen by operating a predetermined directional key or another key on the remote controller.

Arrows 41, 42, 43, and 44 correspond to FIG.
Are associated with the up / down / left / right direction keys 21 to 24 of the remote controller shown in FIG.
Is the down key 22, arrow 43 is the left key 23, arrow 44
Corresponds to the right direction key, and when each direction key is selected, the arrow displayed on the screen is highlighted (selected state).

The case where the program contents are selected using the EPG with such a remote controller will be described. First, if you want to check the contents of a program in a time zone different from the currently displayed time zone, double-click the left key 23 or right key 24 on the remote control, Alternatively, the program content of the later time zone is displayed. continue,
If you want to check the program of another station, press the up key 2
By double-clicking the 1 or the down arrow key 22, program information of a station other than the currently displayed station is displayed. If the user does not double-click, the user moves to a position adjacent to the selected position on the currently displayed screen according to the direction key. Then, when there is desired program information, by pressing the enter key 25 of the remote control, the program content is displayed.

As a third embodiment, another method for selecting program information of an EPG (electronic program guide) is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. Regarding the configuration of the screen selection device, the direction key and the enter key of the remote control, and the operation method described above,
The description is omitted because it is the same as that of the first embodiment.

In the EPG 30 shown in FIG. 6, the structure of the time zone frame 31, the station name frame 32, and the program name frame 33 are the same as those of the second embodiment, respectively.
3 and 44 are not displayed, and the selection frame is surrounded by the columns of the selected station name such as Ch_1 and the name of the program such as the program 11 to be highlighted.

In this case, when it is desired to check the program contents in another time zone in the state currently displayed, double-click the left direction key 23 or the right direction key 24 of the remote controller and move to the rightmost or leftmost end. If the user moves the selection frame and double-clicks the same direction key, the time zone before and after the currently displayed time zone and the corresponding program content are displayed.

To display a station name (Ch name) other than the currently displayed station name, double-click the up key 21 or the down key 22 of the remote controller to move the selection frame to the uppermost or lowermost position. Further, if the same direction key is double-clicked, another station name and the corresponding program content are displayed.

[0035]

As described above, when selecting a sub-screen or selecting program information using the EPG, double-clicking the direction key of the direction in which the remote control moves allows the user to respond to this direction key. It is possible to move from the currently selected position to the end child screen, or to display a new child screen, so that a desired child screen can be reached with a few key operations. Also, since the direction keys used conventionally are used, there is no need to separately provide a screen switching key or to learn another key again, and the position change of the finger when operating is minimized. There is an effect that the screen can be selected without lowering the operability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen of a screen selection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a direction key and an enter key of a remote controller of the screen selection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of operating a direction key of a remote controller of the screen selection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a movement when a child screen is selected by the screen selection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing movement when a sub-screen is selected by double-clicking on the screen selection device according to the present invention and when a new sub-screen is displayed.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram when program information is selected using an EPG in the screen selection device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

20; Direction key, 21; Up key, 22; Down key, 23; Left key, 24; Right key, 25; Enter key, 30; EPG (Electronic Program Guide), 31;
Time frame, 32; station name frame, 33; program name frame, 41; arrow (up), 42; arrow (down), 43; arrow (left), 44;
Arrow (right), 100; main screen, 100 '; main screen, 10
1 to 109; child screen, 101 'to 109'; child screen, 1
00 "; main screen, 101" to 109 "; child screen, 110
~ 118; child screen, 200; selection frame

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 7/03 7/035

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A method of selecting a desired sub-screen by using a direction key which can move a cursor up, down, left and right when selecting a specific sub-screen on a screen on which a plurality of sub-screens are displayed. A screen selecting method, wherein when the direction key is double-clicked, an endmost sub-screen in the moving direction of the cursor is selected from a plurality of displayed sub-screens. 2. The screen selecting method according to claim 1, wherein
A screen characterized in that, when the direction key is pressed and a double-click is made outside a predetermined time, a next sub-screen in the moving direction of the cursor is selected from the selected sub-screens. Selection method. 3. The screen selecting method according to claim 1, wherein
A screen selecting method, wherein, when the direction key is further double-clicked after the endmost child screen is selected, a plurality of new child screens are displayed. 4. The screen selecting method according to claim 1, wherein
The method for selecting a screen, wherein the direction key is a key of a remote controller. 5. The screen selecting method according to claim 1, wherein
A screen selecting method, wherein the plurality of sub-screens include a screen of electronic program guide information. 6. A display unit capable of superimposing and displaying a plurality of child screens on a screen, a selection unit having direction keys for moving a cursor on the screen in up, down, left, and right directions, and double-clicking the direction keys. A means for selecting an endmost sub-screen in the moving direction of the cursor from among a plurality of displayed sub-screens. 7. The screen selection device according to claim 6, wherein
Means for selecting a next sub-screen in the moving direction of the cursor from among the selected sub-screens when double-clicking outside of a predetermined time from when the direction key is pressed. Screen selection device. 8. The screen selection device according to claim 6, wherein
A screen selecting apparatus comprising: means for displaying a plurality of new sub-screens when the direction key is further double-clicked after the end sub-screen is selected. 9. The screen selection device according to claim 6, wherein
The screen selection device, wherein the direction key is a key of a remote controller. 10. The screen selection apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said plurality of sub-screens include a screen of electronic program guide information.