JP2003173304A - Information providing system, image providing device and method, portable information processing device and method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display two or more images in a portable information processing device having a small display. <P>SOLUTION: A read-in program 122F reads ten thumbnail images stored in a storage part 105 and supplies the thumbnail images to content processing routines 182-1 to 182-10. The content processing routines 182-1 to 182-10 control display so as to display the ten thumbnail images. A processing manager 181 executes, when a thumbnail image is selected from the displayed images, the display processing of a main image corresponding to the selected thumbnail image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing system, an image providing apparatus and method, a portable information processing apparatus and method, and a program, and more particularly to a portable information processing apparatus capable of browsing a plurality of images. Information providing system, image providing apparatus and method, portable information processing apparatus and method, and program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an increasing number of mobile phones have a function of displaying image data on a display, and a server of a business operator that provides a service of providing image data.
(Hereinafter referred to as image providing server) It is popular to receive image data from other users or to receive image data taken by other users with a digital camera etc. I'm getting it.

[0003]

However, since the display of the mobile phone has a small screen size, it is difficult to display and browse a plurality of images at one time. Therefore, when the user wants to browse a plurality of image data managed by the image providing server, the user needs to receive each image and display it on the display, for example, as shown in FIG. 1A. It was

That is, in the display display example of the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1A, the image 11 received from the image providing server is displayed in the center of the display.
When the user performs a predetermined operation to select and decide the Next key 13 displayed below the image 11, the mobile phone displays the image data next to the currently displayed image 11 from the image providing server. Receive and display on the display.

The user performs a predetermined operation, and the Prev key 1
When 2 is selected and determined, the mobile phone reads the stored image data and displays it on the display when the image data displayed immediately before the currently displayed image 11 is stored. When the image data is displayed again and the image data displayed immediately before the currently displayed image 11 is not stored, the image data is received again from the image providing server and displayed on the display again.

Image number 15 displayed as "19"
Indicates that the image 11 displayed on the display is the 19th image.

When an image is browsed by the procedure as described above, the user must judge whether the received image data is what the user desires unless the user receives and displays the image data. However, it was necessary to receive even unwanted image data. That is, for example,
If the image desired by the user was image 11 in FIG. 1A, the user had to receive the image data at least 19 times.

As a result, the user takes a lot of time to find the desired image data, and also pays the communication cost for the undesired image data and the service charge to the operator of the image providing server. There was a problem that it was necessary.

As a method for solving the above-mentioned problem, an image index is displayed on the display, the user selects desired image data from the index, and only the selected image data is received from the image providing server. There is a way to do it.
For example, when the index key 14 of FIG. 1A is operated, the index of image data as shown in FIG. 1B is displayed on the display.

As shown in FIG. 1B, for example, "1. car", "2. car 2", "3.
An index of image titles such as "dog" and "4. walk" is displayed. The user selects a desired item from this index. Then, the mobile phone receives the image data corresponding to the item selected by the user from the image providing server and displays it on the display.

However, in the case of such a method, as shown in FIG. 1B, since the character data serves as the index, the received image data does not always match the one desired by the user.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to enable a list of images on a small display and to efficiently acquire image data.

[0013]

In the information providing system of the present invention, the image providing apparatus includes a first transmitting means for transmitting thumbnail images of a plurality of images to the portable information processing apparatus, and the image is the portable information processing apparatus. The portable information processing device further comprises: a first receiving unit that receives a plurality of thumbnail images from the image providing device; and a second receiving unit that receives and displays the thumbnail images. A receiving unit that receives a selection of a plurality of thumbnail images, a second receiving unit that receives an image corresponding to the thumbnail image selected by the receiving unit from the image providing apparatus;
A plurality of thumbnail images received by the receiving means of
Alternatively, the display device includes a display unit that displays the image received by the second receiving unit.

The image providing apparatus of the present invention comprises first transmitting means for transmitting thumbnail images of a plurality of images to the portable information processing apparatus, and second transmitting means for transmitting images to the portable information processing apparatus. It is characterized by

Storage means for storing the image to be transmitted to the portable information processing device and the thumbnail image;
Receiving means for receiving the thumbnail image or a request for transmitting the image from the portable information processing device is further provided, and the first transmitting means is configured to transmit the thumbnail image by the receiving means. When a request is received, the thumbnail image corresponding to the request is read from the storage unit and transmitted to the portable information processing device, and the second transmission unit causes the reception unit to transmit the image. When the request is received, the image corresponding to the request can be read from the storage unit and transmitted to the portable information processing device.

The storage means may be arranged to store the thumbnail images grouped into albums for each predetermined number of sheets designated in advance.

The portable information processing device may be further provided with a third transmitting means for transmitting the album list stored in the storing means.

In the image providing method of the present invention, the first transmitting step of transmitting thumbnail images of a plurality of images to the portable information processing device and the second transmitting step of transmitting images to the portable information processing device.
And a transmission step of.

A first program of the present invention is the first program for transmitting thumbnail images of a plurality of images to a portable information processing device.
And the second transmission step of transmitting the image to the portable information processing device.

The portable information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes first receiving means for receiving a plurality of thumbnail images from the image providing apparatus, and a plurality of thumbnail images received and displayed by the first receiving means. A first receiving means for receiving the selection of, and a second receiving means for receiving an image corresponding to the thumbnail image of which the selection has been received by the first receiving means from the image providing apparatus, and a first receiving means for receiving the image. A plurality of displayed thumbnail images or display means for displaying the images received by the second receiving means.

Third receiving means for receiving a list of albums and third receiving means from the image providing device managing the albums by grouping the thumbnail images for each predetermined number of the thumbnail images. And a second receiving means for receiving the selection of the album from the list of albums received by the second receiving means. The thumbnail images included may be received.

A storage unit for storing the plurality of thumbnail images received by the first receiving unit is further provided, and the album whose selection is accepted by the second accepting unit is provided on the display unit. When the thumbnail image included in is stored in the storage unit, the thumbnail image stored in the storage unit can be further displayed.

According to the information processing method of the present invention, a first receiving step of receiving a plurality of thumbnail images from the image providing apparatus and a plurality of thumbnails received and displayed by the processing of the first receiving step. An acceptance step of accepting an image selection, and an image corresponding to the thumbnail image of which the selection is accepted by the processing of the acceptance step are received by the processing of the second reception step and the first reception step of receiving from the image providing device. A plurality of thumbnail images or a display step of displaying the image received by the process of the second receiving step.

The second program of the present invention includes a first receiving step of receiving a plurality of thumbnail images from an image providing device, and a plurality of received and displayed by the processing of the first receiving step. An acceptance step of accepting the selection of the thumbnail image, and an image corresponding to the thumbnail image of which the selection is accepted by the processing of the acceptance step,
A second receiving step of receiving from the image providing device;
And a display control step of controlling display of the plurality of thumbnail images received by the processing of the receiving step or the image received by the processing of the second receiving step.

In the information providing system of the present invention, the image providing apparatus transmits thumbnail images of a plurality of images to the portable information processing apparatus, the images are transmitted to the portable information processing apparatus, and the portable information processing apparatus transmits images. A plurality of thumbnail images are received from the providing device, and a selection of the plurality of thumbnail images that have been received and displayed is accepted.
An image corresponding to the selected thumbnail image is received from the image providing apparatus, and the plurality of received thumbnail images or the received images are displayed.

In the image providing device and method and the program of the present invention, thumbnail images of a plurality of images are transmitted to the portable information processing device, and the images are transmitted to the portable information processing device.

In the portable information processing device and method and the program of the present invention, a plurality of thumbnail images are received from the image providing device, and a selection of the received and displayed thumbnail images is accepted. An image corresponding to the selected thumbnail image is received from the image providing apparatus, and the plurality of received thumbnail images or the received images are displayed.

[0028]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an information providing system to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 2, in the network system to which the mobile information terminals 23-1 and 23-2 and the mobile phones 24-1 and 24-2 are connected, a communication service providing area is divided into cells within a desired size. In addition, base stations 22-1 to 22-4, which are fixed wireless stations, are installed.

The base stations 22-1 to 22-4 have mobile information terminals 23-1 and 23-23 which are mobile radio stations.
2, and the mobile phones 24-1 and 24-2 are, for example, W
-CDMA (Wideband-Code Division Multiple Acces
It is designed to be wirelessly connected by a code division multiple access method called s). It uses a frequency band of 2 [GHz] and can transfer large amounts of data at high speed with a data transfer rate of up to 2 [Mbps]. Data communication is made possible.

In this way, the portable information terminals 23-1, 23
-2 and the mobile phones 24-1 and 24-2 are WC
Since the large capacity data can be transmitted at high speed by the DMA method, various kinds of data communication such as sending / receiving of e-mail, browsing of simple homepage, sending / receiving of images, etc. can be executed in addition to voice call. It is done like this.

The base stations 22-1 to 22-4 are connected to a public line network 21 via a wired line, and the public line network 21 includes the Internet 28 and many subscriber wired terminals (not shown). , Computer networks, corporate networks, etc. are connected.

An access server 26 of an internet service provider is also connected to the public line network 21, and a content server 27 owned by the internet service provider is connected to the access server 26.

This content server 27 (image providing server) is a subscriber wired terminal and portable information terminals 23-1, 23.
-2 and a request from the mobile phones 24-1 and 24-2, for example, a content such as a simple home page is displayed in a compact HTML (Hyper Text Markup Languag).
It is designed to be provided as an e) format file. In addition, the content server 27 is the mobile information terminal 23.
-1,23-2, and mobile phones 24-1, 24-2
In response to a request from the user, an image (hereinafter referred to as a main image) and a thumbnail image created corresponding to the image are provided.

A number of servers 29-1 to 29-n including Web servers are connected to the Internet 28, and TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / In
ternet Protocol), the subscriber wired terminals, the mobile information terminals 23-1, 23-2, and the mobile phones 24-1, 24-2 to the servers 29-1 to 29-.
n is accessible.

The portable information terminals 23-1, 23-2 and the portable telephones 24-1, 24-2 communicate with the base stations 22-1 to 22-4 by a simple transport protocol of 2 [Mbps]. , Servers 29-1 to 29- from the base stations 22-1 to 22-4 via the Internet 28.
Communication up to n is performed by the TCP / IP protocol.

The management control device 25, via the public line network 21, is a subscriber wired terminal and portable information terminals 23-1 and 23-23.
2 and mobile phones 24-1 and 24-2, and is connected to the subscriber wired terminal and mobile information terminals 23-1 and 23-2.
3-2 and the mobile phones 24-1 and 24-2 are subjected to authentication processing, charging processing, and the like.

In the following description, the base station 22-
If it is not necessary to distinguish each of 1 to 22-4,
Collectively, the base station 22 and the portable information terminals 23-1 and 2
When it is not necessary to distinguish each of 3-2, when it is not necessary to collectively distinguish the mobile information terminal 23 from each of the mobile phone 24-1 and the mobile phone 24-2, the mobile phone 24 and the server 29- When it is not necessary to distinguish 1 to 29-n, they are referred to as a server 29, respectively.

Next, the external structure of the mobile phone 24 to which the present invention is applied will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile phone 24 is divided into a display section 42 and a main body 43 with a central hinge section 41 as a boundary, and is formed to be foldable via the hinge section 41.

An antenna 44 for transmission and reception is attached to the upper left portion of the display unit 42 so as to be able to be pulled out and stored, and radio waves are transmitted and received to and from the base station 22 via the antenna 44. It is done like this.

In addition, the display section 42 has approximately 1 at the center of the upper end.
A camera unit 45 that is rotatable within an angle range of 80 degrees is provided, and the CCD (Charged Couple) of the camera unit 45 is provided.
d Device) camera 46 is capable of picking up an image of a desired image pickup target.

Here, when the camera unit 45 is rotated and positioned by approximately 180 degrees by the user to position the display unit 42, as shown in FIG. 4, the speaker 61 provided at the center of the rear side of the camera unit 45. Is located on the front side, whereby the normal voice communication state is switched.

Further, the display unit 42 is provided with a liquid crystal display 47 on the front thereof, and the reception state of electric waves, the remaining battery level, the destination name and telephone number registered in the telephone directory, the outgoing call history, etc. , The content of the electronic mail, a simple home page, an image captured by the CCD camera 46 of the camera unit 45, and an image transmitted from the server 29, the mobile information terminal 23, or another mobile phone 24 via the public line network 21. It is designed to be displayed.

On the other hand, the main body 43 has "0"-
Operation keys 48 such as a number key “9”, a call key, a redial key, an end call and power key, a clear key and an electronic mail key are provided, and various instructions can be input using the operation key 48. It is done like this.

The main body 43 is provided with a memo button 49 and a microphone 50 below the operation keys 48. With the memo button 49, the voice of the other party in the call can be recorded and the microphone 50 can be used for the call. The user's voice at that time is collected.

Further, the main body 43 is provided with a rotatable jog dial 51 above the operation keys 48 in a state of slightly protruding from the surface of the main body 43.
As shown in FIG. 5, which is a view when 3 is viewed from the lateral direction,
It can be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow a and can be pressed in the direction indicated by the arrow b (inward direction of the main body 43).

The mobile telephone 24, in response to the turning operation of the jog dial 51, scrolls the telephone directory list or the electronic mail displayed on the liquid crystal display 47, the page turning operation of the simple home page and the image sending operation, and various operations. Various operations such as item selection and cursor movement are executed. Also, the mobile phone 2
4 is adapted to execute an operation such as deciding an item being selected in response to a pressing operation of the jog dial 51.

For example, the main body 43 is provided on the liquid crystal display 4 in response to a rotating operation of the jog dial 51 by the user.
When a desired telephone number is selected from a plurality of telephone numbers in the telephone directory list displayed in 7, and the jog dial 51 is pressed, the selected telephone number is confirmed and The call processing is automatically performed.

In the following description, as shown in FIG. 5, the rotation of the jog dial 51 toward the hinge portion 41 is referred to as a predetermined upward rotation, and the rotation in the opposite direction to the predetermined upward direction is a predetermined downward direction. Called the rotation of.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the main body 43 has a battery pack (not shown) inserted on the back side thereof, and when the end call and the power key are turned on, power is supplied from the battery pack to each circuit section. It is supplied and starts to operate.

In the main body 43, a memory stick slot 5 for inserting a removable memory stick (trademark of Sony Corporation) 52 on the upper left side surface of the main body 43.
3 is provided, and when the memo button 49 is pressed,
The memory stick 52 can record the voice of the other party during a call, and can record the email, the simple homepage, the image captured by the CCD camera 46, and the image received by wireless communication according to the operation of the user. ing.

Here, the memory stick 52 is a kind of flash memory card developed by Sony Corporation, the applicant of the present application. This Memory Stick 5
2 is an EEPROM (Electrically Era) which is a non-volatile memory that can be electrically rewritten and erased in a small and thin plastic case with a length of 21.5 x width 50 x thickness 2.8 [mm].
sable and Programmable Read Only Memory), which stores a flash memory device.
It is possible to write and read various data such as images, sounds, and music through the pin terminals.

In addition, the memory stick 52 can be used even when the specifications of the built-in flash memory are changed due to an increase in capacity.
Adopting a unique serial protocol that can ensure compatibility with the equipment used, maximum write speed of 1.5 [MB / S],
It achieves high-speed performance with a maximum read speed of 2.45 [MB / S], and a high reliability is secured by providing an erasure prevention switch.

Therefore, since the portable telephone 24 is constructed so that such a memory stick 52 can be inserted,
It is possible to share data with other electronic devices via the memory stick 52.

Next, FIG. 6 shows the internal structure of the mobile phone 24 of FIG. As shown in FIG.
The power supply circuit unit 1 is different from the main control unit 100 that is configured to integrally control the display unit 42 and each unit of the main body 43.
01, operation input control unit 102, image encoder 103,
Camera interface unit 104, storage unit 105, LC
The D (Liquid Crystal Display) control unit 106, the image decoder 107, the demultiplexing unit 108, the recording / reproducing unit 109, the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 110, and the audio codec 111 are connected to each other via the main bus 112, and the image encoder 103 is also provided. , Image decoder 107, demultiplexer 1
08, modulation / demodulation circuit section 110, and voice codec 11
1 are connected to each other via a synchronous bus 113.

When the user ends the call and the power key is turned on, the power supply circuit section 101 supplies power to the respective sections from the battery pack to activate the portable telephone 24 in an operable state. To do.

The mobile phone 24 is a CPU (Central Pro
cessing unit) 121, ROM (Read Only Memor)
y) 122 and RAM (Random Access Memory) 12
Under the control of the main control unit 100 composed of 3 etc., the voice signal collected by the microphone 50 in the voice call mode is converted into digital voice data by the voice codec 111, and this is subjected to spread spectrum processing by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 110. After the digital-analog conversion process and the frequency conversion process are performed by the transmission / reception circuit unit 114, the signal is transmitted via the antenna 44.

The mobile phone 24 also amplifies the received signal received by the antenna 44 in the voice call mode, performs frequency conversion processing and analog-digital conversion processing, performs spectrum despreading processing in the modulation / demodulation circuit section 110, and sets the audio codec 111. Output through.

Further, when transmitting an electronic mail in the data communication mode, the cellular phone 24 sends the text data of the electronic mail input by operating the operation keys 48 and the jog dial 51 via the operation input control unit 102. It is sent to the control unit 100.

The main control section 100 performs spread spectrum processing on the text data by the modulation / demodulation circuit section 110 and performs digital / analog conversion processing and frequency conversion processing on the transmission / reception circuit section 114, and then the base station 22 via the antenna 44.
(Fig. 2).

On the other hand, when the cellular phone 24 receives an e-mail in the data communication mode, the antenna 44
The received signal received from the base station 22 via the is subjected to spectrum despreading processing in the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 110 to restore the original text data, and then via the LCD control unit 106.
It is displayed as an electronic mail on the liquid crystal display 47.

After that, the mobile phone 24 can also record the electronic mail received according to the user's operation on the memory stick 52 via the recording / reproducing unit 109.

On the other hand, when transmitting image data in the data communication mode, the cellular phone 24 sends the image data picked up by the CCD camera 46 to the camera interface unit 1.
It is supplied to the image encoder 103 via 04.

When the mobile phone 24 does not transmit the image data, the image data taken by the CCD camera 46 can be directly displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 via the camera interface unit 104 and the LCD control unit 106. Is.

The image encoder 103 is a CCD camera 46.
The image data supplied from, for example, MPEG (Movig Pi
cture Experts Group) 2 or MPEG4 to compress and encode the image data into encoded image data and send it to the demultiplexing unit 108.

At the same time, the mobile phone 24 sends the sound collected by the microphone 50 during the image pickup by the CCD camera 46 to the demultiplexing unit 108 as digital sound data via the sound codec 111.

The demultiplexing unit 108 includes the image encoder 10
Coded image data and audio codec 1 supplied from 3
The audio data supplied from 11 is multiplexed by a predetermined method, and the resulting multiplexed data is modulated / demodulated by the modulation / demodulation circuit section 11.
The spread spectrum processing is performed at 0, and the transmission / reception circuit unit 114 performs the digital / analog conversion processing and the frequency conversion processing, and then transmits through the antenna 44.

On the other hand, the mobile phone 24 receives the data of the moving image file linked to, for example, a simple home page in the data communication mode, when the antenna 44 is used.
The modulation / demodulation circuit section 110 performs spectrum despreading processing on the reception signal received from the base station 22 via the, and the multiplexed data obtained as a result is sent to the demultiplexing section 108.

The demultiplexing unit 108 separates the multiplexed data into coded image data and audio data, supplies the coded image data to the image decoder 107 via the synchronization bus 113, and also the audio data. Is supplied to the audio codec 111.

The image decoder 107 generates reproduced moving image data by decoding the coded image data by a decoding method corresponding to a predetermined coding method such as MPEG2 or MPEG4, and the reproduced moving image data is generated via the LCD control section 106. And supplies it to the liquid crystal display 47, whereby, for example, the moving image data included in the moving image file linked to the simple home page is displayed.

At this time, the voice codec 111 simultaneously
After converting the voice data into an analog voice signal, the voice data is supplied to the speaker 61, whereby the voice data included in the moving image file linked to the simple home page is reproduced.

Also in this case, similarly to the case of the electronic mail, the mobile phone 24 can record the received data linked to the simple homepage or the like on the memory stick 52 through the recording / reproducing unit 109 by the operation of the user. is there.

The storage section 105 stores a predetermined number of main images and thumbnail images corresponding to the main images received from the server 29 via the base station 22, and stores the stored images or thumbnail images. , As appropriate
It is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

The ROM 122 of the main controller 250 stores a plurality of programs 122A to 122H.

The electronic mail program 122A is a program for sending and receiving communication text (so-called e-mail) via the base station 22.

The autopilot program 122B is
It is a program that sequentially activates a plurality of preset processes (or programs) and the like in a preset order and processes them.

Jog dial status monitoring program 122
C receives a notification from each application program as to whether or not it corresponds to the jog dial 51, and when it corresponds to the jog dial 51, the jog dial 5
Liquid crystal display 4 shows what can be done by operating 1
Display on 7.

Jog dial status monitoring program 122
C is an event detected by detecting an event of the jog dial 51 (operation such as the jog dial 51 being rotated in the direction shown by arrow a in FIG. 5 or being pressed in the direction shown by arrow b in FIG. 5). The process corresponding to is executed.
The jog dial status monitoring program 122C has a list for receiving a notification from the application program. The jog dial driver 122D executes various functions in response to the operation of the jog dial 51.

The display program 122E displays images received via the base station 22, thumbnail images corresponding to the images, images stored in the memory stick 52 mounted in the memory stick slot 53, and images. The corresponding thumbnail image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

The reading program 122G is stored in the storage unit 1
05, or the main image or thumbnail image stored in the memory stick 52 mounted in the memory stick slot 53 is read, and the read main image or thumbnail image is supplied to the display program 122E.

The OS 122H is a program for controlling the basic operation of the mobile phone 24.

Next, the internal structure of the content server 27 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 7, a CPU (Central Processing
Unit) 131 is a ROM (Read Only Memory) 132
Program stored in, or from the storage unit 139
Various processes (for example, thumbnail image creation based on the main image received from the user) are executed according to the program loaded in the RAM (Random Access Memory) 133. The RAM 133 also appropriately stores data necessary for the CPU 131 to execute various processes.

CPU 131, ROM 132, and RAM 133
Are mutually connected via a bus 134. An input / output interface 135 is also connected to the bus 134.

The input / output interface 135 includes a database 136 for managing image data and thumbnail images corresponding to the image data, an input unit 137 including a keyboard and a mouse, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or an LCD.
Display consisting of (Liquid Crystal Display),
In addition, an output unit 138 including a speaker and the like, a storage unit 139 including a hard disk, and a communication unit 140 including a modem and a terminal adapter are connected.

The database 136 manages, for each user, image data uploaded by a contracted user and image data of thumbnail images corresponding to the image data. At this time, the database 136 stores a plurality of images (in this example, 1
(0) is grouped into one group, and a plurality of albums are assigned to each user and managed. The content server 27 also provides an image data publishing service,
The user can acquire various image data.
Therefore, the database 136 also manages image data for publication in album units.

The communication section 140 performs communication processing via the Internet 28, and supplies the main image, the thumbnail image and the like to the mobile phone 24 and the mobile information terminal 23 via the access server 26.

The input / output interface 135 also has
A drive 141 is connected as necessary, a magnetic disk 142, an optical disk 143, a magneto-optical disk 144, a semiconductor memory 145, or the like is appropriately mounted, and a computer program read from them is stored in a storage unit 139 as necessary. Installed.

Next, with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 8 and 9, an image display process on the liquid crystal display 47 of the mobile phone 24 will be described. 8 shows the processing of the content server 27, and FIG. 9 shows the processing of the mobile phone 24.

The operation input control unit 102 of the mobile phone 24
Keeps monitoring whether or not an operation is input through the operation keys 48 or the jog dial 51, and when the operation is input, notifies the main control unit 100 of the input operation. Upon receiving the notification from the operation input control unit 102, the main control unit 100 executes the corresponding process.

Therefore, when a notification is received from the operation input control unit 102, in step S31 of FIG. 9, the main control unit 100 issues an instruction from the user based on the information input from the operation input control unit 102. It is determined whether or not the album list is displayed. If the user's instruction is to display the album list, the process proceeds to step S32, and the main control unit 100 causes the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 110 and the transmitting / receiving circuit unit 1
A request for an album list is transmitted to the content server 27 via 14 and the antenna 44.

In step S11 of FIG. 8, the content server 27 receives the request transmitted by the mobile phone 24 in step S32 via the communication section 140, and in step S12, the CPU 131 of the content server 27.
Judges that the request from the mobile phone 24 is the supply of the album list to the mobile phone 24, and step S13
At, the album list managed by the database 136 is transmitted from the communication unit 140 to the mobile phone 24.

In step S33, the mobile phone 24
Receives the album list transmitted by the content server 27 in step S13 via the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 110, the transmission / reception circuit unit 114, and the antenna 44, and in step S34, the main control unit 100 receives the received album list. , In the storage unit 105.

In step S35, the main controller 100
Displays the album list stored in the storage unit 105 with the LED
It is supplied to the control unit 106 and displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the screen of the liquid crystal display 47 on which the album list is displayed. Item 1 displayed as circle, square, star, etc. in FIG.
Reference numerals 51-1 to 151-8 respectively represent the items forming the album list, and only the item 151-4 displayed in the center of the liquid crystal display 47 displays the album title "landscape". ing.

By operating the jog dial 51, the user can display other items in the center of the liquid crystal display 47 (detailed description will be given later).
The main control unit 100 is configured to display the title of the item displayed in the center in the vicinity of the item.

In step S36, the main controller 100
The user selects from among the album list items 151-1 to 151-8 displayed on the liquid crystal display 47,
Wait until you select the desired item. When the user selects an item through the operation of the jog dial 51, the process proceeds to step S38.

In step S31, the main controller 100
However, when it is determined that the instruction from the user is not the album list request, the process proceeds to step S37, and the main control unit 10
In 0, it is determined whether or not the instruction from the user is to display the thumbnail image, and if the instruction from the user is to display the thumbnail image, the process proceeds to step S38. If the main control unit 100 determines in step S37 that the instruction from the user is not the display of the thumbnail image (display of the main image), the process proceeds to step S45.

In step S38, the main controller 100
Accesses the storage unit 105 (also the memory stick when the memory stick 52 is attached to the mobile phone 24) and selects the album (item) selected by the user.
It is determined whether or not the thumbnail image corresponding to is stored in the storage unit 105 (memory stick 52).

As a result, when the main control unit 100 determines that the thumbnail image corresponding to the album (item) selected by the user is not stored in the storage unit 105 (memory stick 52), the process proceeds to step S39. The main control unit 100 includes a modulation / demodulation circuit unit 110 and a transmission / reception circuit unit 1.
The content server 27 is requested to transmit the thumbnail image corresponding to the album (item) selected by the user via 14 and the antenna 44.

In step S11 of FIG. 8, the content server 27 receives the request transmitted by the mobile phone 24 in step S39 via the communication section 140, and in step S12, the CPU 131 receives the request from the mobile phone 24. , It is determined that the album list is not supplied to the mobile phone 24, and in step S14, the CPU 131
Judges that the request from the mobile phone 24 is the supply of the thumbnail image to the mobile phone 24, and step S15
At, the CPU 131 transmits the thumbnail images managed by the database 136 from the communication unit 140 to the mobile phone 24.

In step S40, the portable telephone set 24 sends the album list transmitted by the content server 27 in step S15 to the antenna 44 and the transmitting / receiving circuit section 11 in step S40.
4 and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 110, and in step S41, the main control unit 100 stores the received album list in the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52). Then, it progresses to step S42.

In step S38, the main controller 100
However, the thumbnail image of the album corresponding to the item selected by the user is stored in the storage unit 105 (memory stick 5
If it is determined that it is stored in 2), step S39
The step S41 is skipped, and the process proceeds to the step S42.

In step S42, the main controller 100
Displays the album list stored in the storage unit 105 with the LED
The data is supplied to the control unit 106 and displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the liquid crystal display 47 displaying thumbnail images. As shown in FIG. 11, the thumbnail image 1 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.
61-1 to 161-9 are displayed on a predetermined curve set in advance. Further, “Hokkaido” which is the image title 162 (image name) of the thumbnail image 161-5 displayed in the center of the liquid crystal display 47 is displayed on the upper left side of the liquid crystal display 47.

As shown in FIG. 11, the main controller 100 causes the thumbnail images 161-1 to 161-9 to be displayed in a predetermined arrangement set in advance, and is also displayed in the center of the liquid crystal display 47. The image title 162 of the thumbnail image is displayed at a predetermined position on the upper left side of the liquid crystal display 47.

The user selects a desired thumbnail image from the thumbnail images 161-1 to 161-9 displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 and browses the actual image corresponding to the selected thumbnail image. be able to. Note that detailed description regarding selection of thumbnail images will be described later.

In step S43, the main controller 100
Judges whether or not there is an input for selecting a thumbnail image from the user via the jog dial 51 while maintaining the display of the thumbnail image on the liquid crystal display 47, and if there is no input for selecting a thumbnail image, In step S44, the main control unit 100 determines the jog dial 5
It is determined whether or not the user inputs an instruction to display the album list via 1.

As a result, when the main control unit 100 determines that the user has input the instruction to display the album list, the process returns to step S35 and step S3.
In 5, the main control unit 100 causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display again the album list stored in the storage unit 105 in step S34. Then, step S36
The above-mentioned processing is repeated thereafter.

In step S44, the main controller 100
However, if it is determined that the user has not input an instruction to display the album list, the process proceeds to step S4.
Returning to step 3, the main control unit 100 determines again whether or not there is an input from the user for selecting a thumbnail image.
In this way, the main control unit 100 causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the thumbnail images as shown in FIG. 11 until the user inputs a thumbnail image selection or an album list display. Leave
stand by.

In step S43, the main controller 100
However, if it is determined that the user has input to select the thumbnail image, the process proceeds to step S45.

In step S45, the main controller 100
Accesses the storage unit 105 (also the Memory Stick 52 if the Memory Stick 52 is attached),
It is determined whether or not the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image selected by the user is stored in the storage unit 105 (memory stick 52). However, step S3
When step S45 is executed in response to the processing of No. 7, the main control unit 100 causes the storage unit 105 (memory stick 52
Memory stick 52), the storage unit 105 (memory stick 52) is accessed.
First, it is determined whether or not the main image designated by the user is stored.

As a result, the main control unit 100 determines that the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image selected by the user is
When it is determined that the data is not stored in the storage unit 105 (Memory Stick 52), the process proceeds to step S46, and the main control unit 100 causes the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 110 and the transmission / reception circuit unit 11 to operate.
4, and the content server 2 via the antenna 44.
A request for the main image corresponding to the selected thumbnail image is transmitted to the server 7.

In step S11 of FIG. 8, the content server 27 receives the request transmitted by the mobile phone 24 in step S46 via the communication section 140, and then in step S11.
In 12, the CPU 131 determines that the request from the mobile phone 24 is not the supply of the album list to the mobile phone 24, and in step S14, the CPU 131
It is determined that the request from the mobile phone 24 is not the supply of the thumbnail image to the mobile phone 24, and the process proceeds to step S16.

In step S16, the CPU 131 of the content server 27 determines in step S46 the mobile phone 2
It is determined that the request transmitted by the No. 4 is to supply the main image to the mobile phone 24, and the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, the CPU 131 of the content server 27
Of the main images managed by the database 136, the main image requested by the mobile phone 24 is
It is transmitted to the mobile phone 24.

In step S47, the portable telephone set 24 sends the album list transmitted from the content server 27 in step S17 to the antenna 44 and the transmitting / receiving circuit section 11
4 and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 110, and in step S48, the main control unit 100 stores the received main image in the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 5).
Store in 2). Then, it progresses to step S49.

In step S45, the main controller 100
However, when it is determined that the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image selected by the user is stored in the storage unit 105 (memory stick 52), the processes of steps S46 to S48 are skipped and step S49.
Proceed to.

In step S49, the main controller 100
In step S43, the image data of the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image selected by the user and stored in the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52) is supplied to the LED control unit 106. Then, as shown in FIG.
To display the main image.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the liquid crystal display 47 on which the main image is displayed. In FIG. 12,
A main image 171 corresponding to the thumbnail image 161-6 in FIG. 11 is displayed in the center of the liquid crystal display 47. As shown in FIG. 12, the main image 17
1 indicates thumbnail images 161-2 to 161-5 and thumbnail images 161-7 to 1 displayed together.
It is displayed in a larger size than 61-10.

As described above, by referring to the thumbnail image and then selecting the main image to be downloaded, the user does not need to download the undesired main image. Therefore, a desired main image can be acquired in a shorter time, and an extra communication charge and service charge need not be paid.

When there are a plurality of main images to be acquired on the thumbnail image display screen as shown in FIG. 11, the user once acquires one main image and then returns to the thumbnail image display screen again. Then, another main image can be selected.

The processing in that case will be described below. Liquid crystal display 47 of the main image in step S49
In step S50, the main control unit 100 receives a message from the user via the jog dial 51 while displaying
It is determined whether or not a thumbnail image display instruction has been input. If it is determined that the thumbnail image display instruction has been input, the process returns to step S42, and the main control unit 100
Supplies the thumbnail image stored in the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52) in step S40 to the LED control unit 106, and again displays the thumbnail image on the liquid crystal display 47 as shown in FIG. Less than,
The processing from step S43 is repeated. The user
In this way, the desired thumbnail image can be selected again and the main image corresponding to the selected thumbnail image can be acquired.

In step S50, the main controller 100
However, if it is determined that the user has not input a thumbnail image display instruction, the process proceeds to step S51, and the main control unit 100 determines whether the user has input an image display end instruction via the jog dial 51. To determine.

As a result, when the main control unit 100 determines that the user has not input the instruction to end the image display, the process returns to step S50, and it is again determined whether the user has input the instruction to display the thumbnail image. To determine.

In this way, the main control section 100 displays the main image on the liquid crystal display 47,
It waits until the user inputs a thumbnail image display instruction or an image display end instruction.

In step S51, the main controller 100
However, if it is determined that the user has input an instruction to end the image display, the main control unit 100 causes the liquid crystal display 47.
The display of the main image displayed in is ended and the screen returns to the normal standby state.

Note that in step S16 of FIG. 8, if the content server 27 determines that the request received from the mobile phone 24 is not the transmission of the main image, the content server 27 receives the mobile phone 24 in step S11. Rejected the request from and executed error handling,
The process ends.

In the mobile phone 24 to which the present invention is applied, as described above, the user is first made to select a desired album from the album list, and then included in the selected album (item). Displayed thumbnail images, and select the desired image from the thumbnail images.
Since the main image corresponding to the selected thumbnail image is acquired by the user when the image is selected by the user, the user can refer to the thumbnail image to more quickly and desired main image. It is possible to acquire an image.

In the mobile phone 24 to which the present invention is applied, as described above, the liquid crystal display 47 is
When a predetermined input is received from the user while displaying the thumbnail image, the liquid crystal display 47 is displayed.
The album list can be displayed again, and the user can reselect the desired album (item). Also,
When a predetermined input is received from the user while the main image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47, the thumbnail image is displayed again on the liquid crystal display 47,
The user can select the desired main image. By doing so, the user can freely switch back and forth between the album list, the thumbnail image, and the main image to be displayed.

A mobile phone 24 to which the present invention is applied.
, Once obtained album list, thumbnail image,
Since the main image and the main image can be stored in the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52), when the instruction to display the same album list, thumbnail image, or main image is input again, the storage unit 1
Since what is stored in 05 (or the memory stick 52) is displayed, it is possible to display the intended one on the liquid crystal display 47 at a low communication cost and more quickly.

When the remaining storage capacity of the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52) is less than or equal to a predetermined value,
The received album list, thumbnail image, or main image is stored in the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 5).
It is also possible to set not to be stored in 2).

The details of the thumbnail image display process will be described below. FIG. 13 shows the display program 122E and the reading program 12 executed by the mobile phone 24.
It is a figure explaining the structure of 2F. Display program 122
E includes a processing manager 181, and content processing routines 182-1 to 182-N.

The read program 122F is stored in the storage unit 1
05 (or memory stick 52), when a thumbnail image is read, the content processing routine 182
-1 to 182-N, and one of the content processing routines 182-1 to 182-N that has been started
Either supply the main image, or the thumbnail image.

The processing manager 181 uses the storage unit 1 based on the input event supplied from the jog dial 51.
05 (or the memory stick 52), the position of displaying the thumbnail image is calculated, and the calculated position is supplied to the content processing routines 182-1 to 182-N.

The display positions of the thumbnail images supplied by the processing manager 181 to the content processing routines 182-1 to 182-N are the depth (the liquid crystal display 4) in addition to the horizontal and vertical positions on the liquid crystal display 47.
7 shows a virtual distance from the surface, and which thumbnail image is displayed when the thumbnail images overlap each other, and the size of the thumbnail image to be displayed are included.

The processing manager 181 controls the display cycle of thumbnail images of the content processing routines 182-1 to 182-N.

The processing manager 181 informs the content processing routines 182-1 to 182-N of the display state (display position of thumbnail images, display cycle, image color, etc.) based on the input event supplied from the jog dial 51. ).

The processing manager 181 responds to the input from the jog dial 51 or the like and responds to the content processing routine 1
The OS 122H executes processing such as acquisition of a main image corresponding to the thumbnail image displayed by each of 82-1 to 182-N.
To request.

Content processing routines 182-1 to 18-1
82-N responds to the request from the reading program 122F by the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 5).
The number corresponding to the number corresponding to the thumbnail image read from 2) is activated.

For example, when the reading program 122F finishes reading the four thumbnail images from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52), the reading program 122F starts the content processing routines 182-1 to 182-4. Request. For example,
When the reading program 122F finishes reading the eight thumbnail images from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52), the reading program 12F
2F is a content processing routine 182-1 to 182.
-8 request activation.

As described above, the reading program 122F from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52)
The number of content processing routines 182-1 to 182-N corresponding to the files that have been read by are started. In practice, the display program 122E repeatedly executes one routine a predetermined number of times to execute the content processing routine.
2-1 to 182-N appear to be working.

The content processing routine 182-1 processes one thumbnail image read from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52) into the processing manager 181.
On the liquid crystal display 47 based on the instruction.

The content processing routine 182-2 processes one thumbnail image read from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52) into the processing manager 181.
On the liquid crystal display 47 based on the instruction.

Content processing routines 182-3 to 1
Similarly, each of the 52-N displays one thumbnail image read from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52) on the liquid crystal display 47 based on the instruction of the processing manager 181.

As described above, the content processing routine 18
2-1 to 182-N are processing managers 1
Based on the instruction 81, one thumbnail image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

The read program 122F is stored in the storage unit 1
05 (or memory stick 52), when one thumbnail image has been read, any one of the content processing routines 182-1 to 182-N is activated, and the activated content processing routine 182-
The thumbnail image is supplied to any of 1 to 182-N.

When the reading program 122F reads a thumbnail image from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52), it starts any one of the content processing routines 182-1 to 182-N,
The started content processing routines 182-1 to 18-18
The thumbnail image is supplied to any of 2-N.

Below, the content processing routine 182-1
When it is not necessary to individually distinguish the files 182 to 182-N, they are simply referred to as a content processing routine 182. The content processing routines 182-1 to 182-N may be executed as different tasks that are executed in parallel.

The display program 122E will be described below in response to an operation on the mobile phone 24 which is assumed as a normal operation.
The screens displayed by the liquid crystal display 47 will be described in order.

14 to 16 show the jog dial 51.
When the display program 122E is activated by an instruction from, for example, when the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52) stores 10 thumbnail images, a diagram illustrating a screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 47. Is.

The read program 122F is stored in the storage unit 1
When one thumbnail image is read from 05 (or the memory stick 52), one content processing routine 182 is activated to display the read thumbnail image on the display program 122E.

In FIG. 14, after the display program 122E is activated, the storage unit 105 by the reading program 122F is displayed.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the display program 122E on the liquid crystal display 47 when reading of three thumbnail images out of ten thumbnail images from (or the memory stick 52) is completed.

In FIG. 14, the thumbnail image 2
01-1 to 201-3 mean thumbnail images, and the thumbnail images are actually displayed in the squares numbered "1", "2", and "3". There is.

The thumbnail image 201-1 is displayed by the content processing routine 182-1 and is composed of the thumbnail image initially read by the reading program 122F from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52).

The thumbnail image 201-2 is displayed by the content processing routine 182-2, and is composed of the second thumbnail image read by the reading program 122F from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52).

Similarly, the thumbnail image 201-3 is displayed by the content processing routine 182-3 and is composed of the third thumbnail image read by the reading program 122F from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52).

Thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-3
Are arranged on a wavy curve, as will be described later. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to individually distinguish the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-N, they are simply referred to as thumbnail images 201.

The display program 122E causes the thumbnail images 201-1 to 20-1 to 20 when the jog dial 51 is operated.
When the display processing of the main images corresponding to 1-3 is requested, the display processing of the main images corresponding to the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-3 is executed.

In FIG. 15, after the display program 122E is started, the storage unit 105 by the reading program 122F is displayed.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the display program 122E on the liquid crystal display 47 when reading of seven thumbnail images out of ten thumbnail images from (or the memory stick 52) is completed.

In FIG. 15, the thumbnail image 2
01-1 to 201-7 mean thumbnail images, and are "1", "2", "3", "4", "5",
Thumbnail images are actually displayed in the squares numbered "6" and "7".

The thumbnail image 201-4 is displayed by the content processing routine 182-4, and is composed of the fourth thumbnail image read by the reading program 122F from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52).

The thumbnail image 201-5 is displayed by the content processing routine 182-5 and is composed of the fifth thumbnail image read by the reading program 122F from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52).

The thumbnail image 201-6 is displayed by the content processing routine 182-6 and is composed of the sixth thumbnail image read by the reading program 122F from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52).

The thumbnail image 201-7 is displayed by the content processing routine 182-7 and is composed of the seventh thumbnail image read by the reading program 122F from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52).

Thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-7
Are arranged on a wavy curve.

In the display program 122E, the jog dial 51 is operated and the thumbnail images 201-1 to 20-2 are displayed.
When the display processing of the main image corresponding to 01-7 is requested, the display processing of the main image corresponding to the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-7 is executed.

In FIG. 16, after the display program 122E is activated, the storage unit 105 by the reading program 122F is displayed.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the display program 122E on the liquid crystal display 47 when reading of nine thumbnail images out of ten thumbnail images from the memory stick 52 (or the memory stick 52) is completed.

In FIG. 16, thumbnail image 2
01-1 to 201-9 mean thumbnail images, and are "1", "2", "3", "4", "5",
Thumbnail images are actually displayed in the squares numbered "6", "7", "8", and "9".

The thumbnail image 201-8 is displayed by the content processing routine 182-8 and is composed of the eighth thumbnail image read by the reading program 122F from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52).

The thumbnail image 201-9 is displayed by the content processing routine 182-9 and is composed of the ninth thumbnail image read by the reading program 122F from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52).

One album is made up of 10 thumbnail images, and 10 thumbnail images are stored in the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52). For convenience, in this embodiment, up to nine thumbnail images are displayed. The display process of the tenth thumbnail image stored in the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52) will be described later.

It is also possible to display all 10 thumbnail images within a range where the user can understand what kind of image the thumbnail image displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 is.

Thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-9
Are arranged on a wavy curve.

The display program 122E causes the thumbnail images 201-1 to 20-1 to 20 when the jog dial 51 is operated.
When the display process of the main image corresponding to 1-9 is requested, the process of displaying the main image corresponding to the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-9 is executed.

Next, the arrangement of the thumbnail images 201 displayed by the display program 122E will be described.

When displaying the thumbnail image 201,
A virtual wavy curve is defined, and the thumbnail image 201 is arranged on this curve.

As shown in FIG. 17, the display program 12
2E defines a wavy axis 211, and based on the axis 211,
Thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-9 are arranged.

In FIG. 17, on the wavy shaft 211,
Display positions 212-1 to 212-9 of thumbnail images are shown. The display program 122E displays a plurality of thumbnail images on the liquid crystal display 47 so that the centers of the thumbnail images are located at the display positions 212-1 to 212-9.

The title of the thumbnail image displayed at the thumbnail image display position 212-5 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47. At this time, the title is displayed at a position overlapping the thumbnail image 161-7 displayed at the thumbnail image display position 212-7, for example.

In FIG. 11, the thumbnail image 161 is displayed.
Image title 162 "Hokkaido" which is the title of -5
Are displayed so as to overlap the thumbnail image 161-7. The display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the entire image title 162, and causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display only the thumbnail images 161-7 that do not overlap the image title 162.

The axis 211 is the liquid crystal display 47.
Is not displayed on the screen.

The axis 211 is the liquid crystal display 4 of FIG.
7, when the x-axis is set in the horizontal direction and the y-axis is set in the vertical direction and the display position 212-9 is set as the origin, for example, a curve calculated by the formula of y = Asinx can be used. In addition, A
Is a constant that determines the height of the wavy curve.

Here, for example, the display position 212-1 of the thumbnail image in FIG. 17 is displayed at the display position 2 by x = 2π.
12-2 is displayed at the display position 212 by x = (7/4) π.
-3 is a display position 212-4 due to x = (3/2) π.
Is x = (5/4) π, the display position 212-5 is
With x = π, the display position 212-6 becomes x = (3/4)
By π, the display position 212-7 is given by x = π / 2.
The display position 212-8 may be calculated by x = (1/4) π, and the display position 212-9 may be calculated by x = 0.

Also, depending on the size of the thumbnail image,
The value of x may be set so as to widen (narrow) the interval between the display positions 212-2 and 212-3.
Similarly, depending on the size of the thumbnail image, the display position 2
The value of x may be set so as to widen (narrow) the interval between 12-4 and the display position 212-3.

Further, the display position of the thumbnail image 212-
7, and the display positions 212-6 and 212-8 can also be set to an appropriate value of x according to the display size of the thumbnail image.

When thumbnail images are displayed at the display positions 212-1 to 212-9 on the wavy shaft 211 as described above, the user presses the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. Then, display position 2 in FIG.
The main image corresponding to the thumbnail image displayed on 12-5 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

That is, when the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-9 are displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 as shown in FIG. 16, the user turns the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. When you press
The display program 122E, as shown in FIG.
Thumbnail image 2 displayed at display position 212-5
The main image 231 corresponding to 01-5 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

In this way, when the user presses the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5, the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

By the way, the thumbnail image 201 shown in FIG.
The method of displaying the main image 231 corresponding to −5 is as described above. Next, regarding the operation when the user wants to display the main image corresponding to a thumbnail image other than the thumbnail image 201-5 in FIG. , Below, FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20.

When the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-9 are displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 as shown in FIG. 16, the user operates the jog dial 51 shown in FIG.
When is rotated by a predetermined angle in the downward direction, the display program 122E causes the display position of the thumbnail image to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 to be as shown in FIG. 19A.
To move.

In FIG. 19A, the thumbnail image 201-1 displayed in FIG. 16 is no longer displayed, and the thumbnail image 201-2 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-1 was displayed in FIG. ing. Further, a thumbnail image 201-3 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-2 was displayed in FIG.

Further, in FIG. 19A, the thumbnail image 201-4 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-3 was displayed in FIG. 16 and the position where the thumbnail image 201-4 was displayed in FIG. , Thumbnail image 201-5 is displayed, and thumbnail image 20 is displayed in FIG.
The thumbnail image 201 is displayed at the position where 1-5 was displayed.
-6 is displayed, the thumbnail image 201-7 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-6 was displayed in FIG. 16, and the thumbnail image 201-7 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-7 was displayed in FIG. -8 is displayed,
A thumbnail image 201-9 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-8 was displayed in FIG. 16, and a thumbnail image 201-10 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-9 was displayed in FIG. There is.

As described above, when the user rotates the jog dial 51 in FIG. 5 in the downward direction by a predetermined angle, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to operate.
Thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-9 to be displayed on
The display position of is moved from the position where the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-9 have been displayed until now to the display position on the right side by one.

At this time, for the first time, the tenth thumbnail image 201-10 stored in the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52) is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47. That is, the reading program 122F
Reads the tenth thumbnail image from the storage unit 105 (or the memory stick 52) and causes the display program 122E to display it on the liquid crystal display 47.

In the state shown in FIG. 19A, when the user presses the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image 201-6. Display in the center of. The display position of the main image on the liquid crystal display 47, the display size, etc. are
This is similar to the case of the main image 231 shown in FIG.

When the user further rotates the jog dial 51 in the downward direction by a predetermined angle from the state shown in FIG. 19A, the display program 122E changes the display position of the thumbnail image to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 to that shown in FIG.
Move as shown at 9B.

In FIG. 19B, the thumbnail image 201-2 displayed in FIG. 19A is no longer displayed, and the thumbnail image 201-3 is displayed in the position where the thumbnail image 201-2 was displayed in FIG. 19A. There is. Further, the thumbnail image 201-4 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-3 was displayed in FIG. 19A.

Similarly, in FIG. 19B, the thumbnail image 201-5 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-4 was displayed in FIG. 19A, and the position where the thumbnail image 201-5 was displayed in FIG. 19A. , A thumbnail image 201-6 is displayed in FIG. 19, the thumbnail image 201-7 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-6 was displayed in FIG. 19A, and the thumbnail image 201-7 is displayed in FIG. 19A.
Thumbnail image 201 is displayed at the position where 1-7 was displayed.
-8 is displayed, and thumbnail image 201-8 is displayed in FIG. 19A.
The thumbnail image 201-9 is displayed at the position where was displayed, and the thumbnail image 201-10 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-9 was displayed in FIG. 19A.

As described above, when the user rotates the jog dial 51 in FIG. 5 in the downward direction by a predetermined angle in the state shown in FIG. 19A, the display program 122 is displayed.
E indicates the display position of the thumbnail images 201-3 to 201-10 to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 until now.
The thumbnail images 201-3 to 201-10 are moved from the displayed position to the display position on the right side by one.

Note that, in FIG. 19A, the thumbnail image 2
The thumbnail image is not displayed at the display position where 01-10 was displayed (display position 212-9 in FIG. 17).

In the state shown in FIG. 19B, when the user presses the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image 201-7. Display in the center of. The display position of the main image on the liquid crystal display 47, the display size, etc. are
This is similar to the case of the main image 231 shown in FIG.

Similarly, from the state shown in FIG. 19B, the user further pushes the jog dial 51 in the predetermined downward direction.
When rotated by a predetermined angle, the display program 122E changes the display position of the thumbnail image displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 from the position where the thumbnail images 201-4 to 201-10 have been displayed so far, as shown in FIG. 19C. Move to the display position on the right by one. At this time,
The thumbnail image 201-3 is no longer displayed.

In the state shown in FIG. 19C, when the user presses the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image 201-8. Display in the center of. The display position of the main image on the liquid crystal display 47, the display size, etc. are
This is similar to the case of the main image 231 shown in FIG.

When the user further rotates the jog dial 51 in the downward direction by a predetermined angle from the state shown in FIG. 19C, the display program 122E changes the display position of the thumbnail image to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 to the display position shown in FIG.
As shown in D, the thumbnail images 201-5 to 201-10 are moved to the display position one right side from the position where the thumbnail images 201-5 to 201-10 were displayed. At this time, the thumbnail image 201-4 is not displayed.

In the state shown in FIG. 19D, when the user presses the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image 201-9. Display in the center of. The display position of the main image on the liquid crystal display 47, the display size, etc. are
This is similar to the case of the main image 231 shown in FIG.

When the user further rotates the jog dial 51 in the downward direction by a predetermined angle from the state of FIG. 19D, the display program 122E changes the display position of the thumbnail image to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 to that of FIG.
As shown in E, the thumbnail images 201-6 to 201-10 are moved to the display position on the right by one from the position where the thumbnail images 201-6 to 201-10 were displayed. At this time, the thumbnail image 201-5 is no longer displayed.

In the state shown in FIG. 19E, when the user presses the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image 201-10. Display in the center of. The display position of the main image on the liquid crystal display 47, the display size, and the like are the same as in the case of the main image 231 shown in FIG.

As described above, the user can shift the display position of the thumbnail image to the right by rotating the jog dial 51 in the predetermined downward direction, and the user can move the jog dial 51 to the arrow b in FIG. By pressing in this direction, the display position 212 of FIG.
The main image corresponding to the thumbnail image displayed at −5 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

When the thumbnail image is displayed as shown in FIG. 19E and the user rotates the jog dial 51 by a predetermined angle in the predetermined upward direction, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display.
The display position of the upper thumbnail image is returned to the state shown in FIG. 19D.

[0209] When the thumbnail image is displayed as shown in Fig. 19D, the user selects the jog dial 5
When 1 is rotated in the upward direction by a predetermined angle, the display program 122E returns the display position of the thumbnail image on the liquid crystal display 47 to the state shown in FIG. 19C.

Similarly, the thumbnail image is shown in FIG. 19C.
19B, when the user rotates the jog dial 51 by a predetermined angle in the predetermined upward direction, the display program 122E changes the display position of the thumbnail image on the liquid crystal display 47 to that shown in FIG. 19B. Return to the state shown in. Further, when the user rotates the jog dial 51 by a predetermined angle in the predetermined upward direction when the thumbnail image is displayed as shown in FIG. 19B, the display program 122E causes the thumbnail image on the liquid crystal display 47 to be displayed. The display position of is returned to the state shown in FIG. 19A.

The user rotates the jog dial 51 in the above-described manner to generate the thumbnail image 20.
1-5 to 201-10 is selected, and the jog dial 51
The thumbnail image 2 selected by pressing
The main image corresponding to 01 can be displayed.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 5, 16 and 20, a process of displaying a main image corresponding to the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-4 will be described.

Thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-9
Is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 as shown in FIG.
When 1 is rotated in a predetermined upward direction by a predetermined angle, the display program 122E moves the display positions of the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-8 on the liquid crystal display 47, as shown in FIG. 20A. .

That is, in FIG.
Then, the thumbnail image 201-9 displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 is no longer displayed, and the thumbnail image 201-8 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-9 was displayed in FIG. Further, the thumbnail image 201-7 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-8 was displayed in FIG. 16, and the thumbnail image 201-6 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-7 was displayed in FIG. The thumbnail image 20 shown in FIG.
The thumbnail image 201 is displayed at the position where 1-6 was displayed.
-5 is displayed, the thumbnail image 201-4 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-5 was displayed in FIG. 16, and the thumbnail image 201-4 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-4 was displayed in FIG. -3 is displayed,
The thumbnail image 201-2 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-3 was displayed in FIG. 16, and the thumbnail image 201-1 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-2 was displayed in FIG. There is.

As described above, when the user rotates the jog dial 51 in FIG. 5 in the predetermined upward direction by the predetermined angle, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to operate.
Thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-8 to be displayed on
The display position of is moved from the position where the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-8 were displayed to the display position on the left side by one.

Note that in FIG. 20A, the thumbnail image is not displayed at the display position where the thumbnail image 201-1 was displayed in FIG. 16 (display position 212-1 in FIG. 17).

In the state shown in FIG. 20A, when the user presses the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image 201-4. Display in the center of. The display position of the main image on the liquid crystal display 47, the display size, etc. are
This is similar to the case of the main image 231 shown in FIG.

Next, thumbnail images 201-1 to 20-1
20A is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 as shown in FIG. 20A, when the user rotates the jog dial 51 in a predetermined upward direction by a predetermined angle, the display program 122E displays thumbnails. Image 201
The display positions of -1 to 201-7 on the liquid crystal display 47 are moved as shown in FIG. 20B.

That is, in FIG. 20B, FIG.
Then, the thumbnail image 201-8 displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 is no longer displayed, and the thumbnail image 201-7 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-8 was displayed in FIG. 20A. Also, FIG.
At the position where the thumbnail image 201-7 was displayed,
The thumbnail image 201-6 is displayed, the thumbnail image 201-5 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-6 was displayed in FIG. 20A, and the thumbnail image 201-5 was displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-5 was displayed in FIG. 20A. The thumbnail image 201-4 is displayed, and the thumbnail image 2 is displayed in FIG. 20A.
The thumbnail image 20 is displayed at the position where 01-4 was displayed.
1-3 are displayed, and the thumbnail image 201- is displayed in FIG. 20A.
Thumbnail image 201-2 is displayed at the position where 3 was displayed.
Is displayed, and the thumbnail image 201-1 is displayed at the position where the thumbnail image 201-2 was displayed in FIG. 20A.

As described above, the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-8 are displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 as shown in FIG.
0A, when the user rotates the jog dial 51 in FIG. 5 in the upward direction by a predetermined angle, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the thumbnail image 201-.
The display positions of 1 to 201-7 are moved from the display positions where the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-7 have been displayed until now to the display position on the left side by one.

Note that in FIG. 20B, the thumbnail image is not displayed at the display position (display position 212-2 in FIG. 17) where the thumbnail image 201-1 was displayed in FIG. 20A.

When the user presses the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5 in the state shown in FIG. 20B, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image 201-3. Display in the center of. The display position of the main image on the liquid crystal display 47, the display size, etc. are
This is similar to the case of the main image 231 shown in FIG.

When the user further rotates the jog dial 51 in the upward direction by a predetermined angle from the state shown in FIG. 20B, the display program 122E causes the display position of the thumbnail image to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 to be changed as shown in FIG.
As shown in C, the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-6 are moved to the display position one left side from the position where the thumbnail images 201-1 to 201-6 were displayed. At this time, thumbnail image 2
01-7 is no longer displayed.

In the state shown in FIG. 20C, when the user presses the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image 201-2. Display in the center of. The display position of the main image on the liquid crystal display 47, the display size, etc. are
This is similar to the case of the main image 231 shown in FIG.

When the user further rotates the jog dial 51 in the upward direction by a predetermined angle from the state of FIG. 20C, the display program 122E causes the display position of the thumbnail image to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 to be changed to that shown in FIG.
As shown in D, the thumbnail images 201-5 to 201-1 are moved to the display position one left side from the position where the thumbnail images 201-5 to 201-1 were displayed. At this time, thumbnail image 2
01-6 is no longer displayed.

When the user presses the jog dial 51 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5 in the state shown in FIG. 20D, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image 201-1. Display in the center of. The display position of the main image on the liquid crystal display 47, the display size, etc. are
This is similar to the case of the main image 231 shown in FIG.

As described above, the user can shift the display position of the thumbnail image to the left by rotating the jog dial 51 in the predetermined upward direction, and the user can move the jog dial 51 to the arrow b in FIG. By pressing in this direction, the display position 212 of FIG.
The main image corresponding to the thumbnail image displayed at −5 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

When the thumbnail image is displayed as shown in FIG. 20D, when the user rotates the jog dial 51 downward by a predetermined angle, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display.
The display position of the upper thumbnail image is returned to the state shown in FIG. 20C.

When the thumbnail image is displayed as shown in FIG. 20C, the user selects the jog dial 5
When 1 is rotated downward by a predetermined angle by a predetermined angle, the display program 122E returns the display position of the thumbnail image on the liquid crystal display 47 to the state shown in FIG. 20B.

Similarly, when the user rotates the jog dial 51 by a predetermined angle in the downward direction when the thumbnail image is displayed as shown in FIG. 20B, the display program 122E causes the liquid crystal display 47 to display.
The display position of the upper thumbnail image is returned to the state shown in FIG. 20A.

By rotating the jog dial 51 as described above, the user can display the thumbnail image 20.
By selecting 1-1 to 201-4 and pressing the jog dial 51, the selected thumbnail image 20 is displayed.
The main image corresponding to 1 can be displayed.

The operation of selecting a desired album from the display of the album list shown in FIG. 10 is similar to the above-described operation of selecting a desired thumbnail image from a plurality of thumbnail images. As a result of the operation, the movement of the display position of the items 151-1 to 151-8 of the album list displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 is the same as the movement of the display position of the thumbnail image described above.

Next, the selected thumbnail image 20
The display related to 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 21, the display program 122E has a thumbnail image 201.
Is selected (that is, the display position 212-
5)), the selected thumbnail image 201
A frame 281 is displayed on. When another thumbnail image 201 is selected, the display program 122E erases the frame 281 from the unselected thumbnail image 201.

The display program 122E displays a frame 281 when the thumbnail image 201 is selected, and when a predetermined time elapses without operating the touch pad 6 or the like,
The image title 162 of the thumbnail image 201 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the liquid crystal display 47 is displayed at a predetermined upper left position.

When the selection of the thumbnail image 201 is released, the display program 122E erases the display of the frame 281 and the title corresponding to the thumbnail image 201.

As described above, the user can select a desired thumbnail image from the plurality of thumbnail images and acquire the main image corresponding to it.

[0237] The display program 122E and the reading program 12 that execute the series of processes described above.
The program storage medium used to install 2F in the mobile phone 24 and to make it executable in the mobile phone 24 is, for example, a flexible disk or a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Rea).
d Only Memory), DVD (Digital Versataile Disc)
In addition to package media such as), the display program 122E and the reading program 122F may be realized by a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk in which the display program 122E and the reading program 122F are temporarily or permanently stored.

As a means for storing the display program 122E and the reading program 122F in these program storage media, a wired or wireless communication medium such as a local area network, the Internet or digital satellite broadcasting may be used, or a router or a modem. It may be stored via various communication interfaces such as.

When a series of processes of the content server 27 is executed by software, a computer in which a program forming the software is incorporated in dedicated hardware or various programs are installed. It is installed from a network such as the Internet 28 or a recording medium into, for example, a general-purpose personal computer capable of executing various functions.

This recording medium, as shown in FIG.
A magnetic disk 142 (including a flexible disk) on which a program is recorded and an optical disk 143 (CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), DVD, which is distributed in order to provide the program to the user, separately from the apparatus body.
(Including Digital Versatile Disk)), magneto-optical disk 1
44 (including MD (Mini-Disk)), or a package medium including a semiconductor memory 145, etc., and a program recorded in the device body and provided to the user in advance is recorded. ROM
132 and a hard disk included in the storage unit 139.

By the way, in the above embodiment,
The case where the present invention is applied to the mobile phone 24 as the information processing apparatus of the present invention has been described, but it may be applied to the mobile information terminal 23.

Next, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the portable information terminal 23 will be described. FIG. 22 is an example of an embodiment of the portable information terminal 23 to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 22, a camera section 302 is installed in the main body 301 of the portable information terminal 23, and the user can take a desired image with the CCD camera 303 of the camera section 302. There is.

The liquid crystal display 304 displays various information such as the user's schedule and the home page provided by the server 29, and also the content server 2
Main image and thumbnail image supplied from 7.
In addition, the image taken by the camera unit 302 is displayed.

Further, a transparent touch panel 337 (FIG. 23) that receives inputs of various operations from the user is laminated on the liquid crystal display 304, and a user can use a pen prepared for the touch panel 337 in advance to You can enter various operations.

[0246] Further, a predetermined recess is provided on the back surface of the portable information terminal 23, and a jog dial 305 is provided. The jog dial 305 can be rotated left and right as in the case of the jog dial 51 provided in the mobile phone 24, and can also be pressed into the main body.

Next, FIG. 23 shows the portable information terminal 2 of FIG.
3 is a block diagram of an internal configuration of FIG.

In FIG. 23, the CPU (Central Processi
ng Unit) 331 is a ROM (Read Only Memory) 33
Various processes are executed in accordance with the program stored in No. 2 or the program loaded from the storage unit 340 to the RAM (Random Access Memory) 333. RAM33
In addition, data and the like necessary for the CPU 331 to execute various processes are also stored in the memory 3.

CPU 331, ROM 332, and RAM 333
Are interconnected via a bus 334. An input / output interface 335 is also connected to the bus 334.

The input / output interface 335 includes an operation input control section 336, a liquid crystal display 304, a voice output section 339, a storage section 340, a communication section 341, and a camera section 30.
2 and the memory stick interface 342
But is connected. The operation input control unit 336 causes each unit of the mobile information terminal 23 to execute a process corresponding to the input operation in response to the operation input from the touch panel 337, the jog dial 305, and the other operation keys 338. The audio output unit 339 outputs audio based on the supplied audio data.

Storage unit 340 stores programs executed by mobile information terminal 23 and various data. The communication unit 341 includes the public line network 21 and the Internet 2.
Communication processing via the mobile phone 8 and, for example, the main image, the thumbnail image, and the like are transferred to other mobile information terminals 23, mobile phones 24, content servers 27, and servers 29.
Etc. to be supplied to and acquired.

Memory Stick Interface 342
Reads information from the memory stick 344 inserted in the memory stick slot 343 and supplies and stores information to the memory stick 344.

A program (display program 12) that causes the portable information terminal 23 to display a thumbnail image and a main image similar to the portable telephone 24 described above.
2E and read program 122F)
For example, it is loaded from the storage unit 340 into the RAM 333 and executed. The thumbnail image and the main image are displayed on the liquid crystal display 304. The display positions of the main image and the thumbnail image on the liquid crystal display 304 are the same as in the mobile phone 24. That is, the album list and the thumbnail image are arranged on the wavy axis, and the display positions thereof are moved according to the input operation.

In the mobile phone 24, the operation input via the jog dial 51 is the same as that of the mobile information terminal 23.
In the same way as the mobile phone 24, the jog dial 3
In addition to input via 05, touch panel 3
It is also possible to input via 37.

The portable information terminal 2 has the above-mentioned configuration.
Also in 3, the album list, the thumbnail image, and the main image can be acquired as in the mobile phone 24.

When the series of processes of the portable information terminal 23 is executed by software, the program forming the software is incorporated in the hardware of the portable information terminal 23 in advance, or the network or recording is performed. Various functions can be executed by installing from the medium.

As described above, also in the mobile information terminal 23, similarly to the mobile phone 24, the album list, the thumbnail image, and the main image are appropriately acquired from the content server 27 and stored in accordance with the input operation. And can be displayed.

In the embodiment of the mobile phone 24 (mobile information terminal 23) described above, the thumbnail image is arranged at the predetermined position on the wavy axis 211. However, the thumbnail image is arranged as described above. The arrangement is not limited to this. For example, you can place multiple thumbnail images on a straight line, or on a curve other than a wavy curve,
Of course, it is also possible to arrange them in a lattice-shaped frame.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the display of the album list is a symbol such as a circle, a square, and a star, but the display of the album list is not limited to these. For example, it is possible to display the album titles side by side. It is also possible to display one of the thumbnail images included in the album as a representative.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the main image and the thumbnail image are received from the content server 27. For example, the camera unit 45 of the mobile phone 24 (or the camera of the mobile information terminal 23). Taken by the unit 302) and stored in the storage unit 105 (340)
A thumbnail image of the image stored in the memory stick 52 (344) is created in the mobile phone 24 (mobile information terminal 23), and the created thumbnail image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 47 (304). May be. By doing so, when a large number of images have been shot and stored by the mobile phone 24 (or the mobile information terminal 23), the user can search for a desired image from the stored images. Will be easier.

In the above embodiment, 1
Although 10 thumbnail images are included in one album, the number of thumbnail images included in the album is not limited to 10.
4 (portable information terminal 23) can have 10 or more, or conversely, 10 or less, as long as the storage capacity of the portable information terminal 23 allows.

In this specification, the ROMs 122, 1
32, 332, the steps of describing the program stored in the program storage medium including the RAMs 123, 133, 333 are not always performed in time series in the order described, but are not necessarily performed in time series. Tomo
It also includes processing executed in parallel or individually.

In this specification, the system means
It represents the entire apparatus composed of a plurality of devices.

[0264]

As described above, according to the information providing system of the present invention, the image providing apparatus transmits thumbnail images of a plurality of images to the portable information processing apparatus and transmits the images to the portable information processing apparatus. , The portable information processing device receives a plurality of thumbnail images from the image providing device,
The selection of the displayed thumbnail images is accepted, the image corresponding to the selected thumbnail image is received from the image providing device, and the received thumbnail images or the received images are displayed. By doing so, it becomes possible to display a large number of images at once in the portable information processing device. In addition, it becomes possible for the user to more efficiently acquire the desired image.

The image providing apparatus and method of the present invention,
According to the program, the thumbnail images of the plurality of images are transmitted to the mobile information processing device, and the images are transmitted to the mobile information processing device. Therefore, the user can more efficiently acquire the desired image. It becomes possible.

Further, according to the portable information processing device and method and the program of the present invention,
A plurality of thumbnail images are received, a selection of the received and displayed thumbnail images is accepted, an image corresponding to the selected thumbnail image is received from the image providing device, and the received thumbnail images are received. Since the individual thumbnail images or the received images are displayed, it is possible to display many images at one time in the portable information processing device. In addition, it becomes possible for the user to more efficiently acquire the desired image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on a liquid crystal display of a conventional mobile phone.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an information providing system to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a mobile phone 24.

4 is a perspective view of a display section 42 when a camera section 45 of the mobile phone of FIG. 3 is rotated.

5 is a side view of the mobile phone of FIG.

6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the mobile phone of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a content server 27.

8 is a flowchart illustrating an image display process of the content server of FIG.

9 is a flowchart illustrating an image display process of the mobile phone of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a liquid crystal display 47.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of another screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 47. is there.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of still another screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the configurations of a display program 122E and a reading program 122F.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a screen displayed on a liquid crystal display 47.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a screen displayed on a liquid crystal display 47.

16 is a diagram illustrating a screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 47. FIG.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of thumbnail images displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a main image displayed on liquid crystal display 47.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating movement of thumbnail images displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating movement of thumbnail images displayed on the liquid crystal display 47.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating display of a frame 281.

22 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the portable information terminal 23. FIG.

23 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the mobile information terminal 23 of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 public line network, 22 base station, 23 mobile information terminal, 24 mobile phone, 25 management control device,
26 access server, 27 content server,
28 Internet, 29 server, 44 antenna, 45 camera section, 46 CCD camera, 47
Liquid crystal display, 48 operation keys, 50 microphone, 51 jog dial, 52 memory stick, 61 speaker, 100 main controller,
101 power supply circuit section, 102 operation input control section, 10
3 image encoder, 104 camera interface, 105 storage unit, 106 LCD control unit, 10
7 image decoder, 108 demultiplexing unit, 109 recording / reproducing unit, 110 modulation / demodulation circuit unit, 111 audio codec, 112 main bus, 113 synchronization bus, 114 transmission / reception circuit unit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04M 1/02 H04M 1/21 M 5K101 1/21 11/00 302 11/00 302 H04N 7/14 H04N 7 / 14 H04B 7/26 M (72) Inventor Masakazu Hayashi, 6-735 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo F-terms in Sony Corporation (reference) 5B019 GA10 HD02 5C064 AA01 AC01 AC06 AC11 AC16 AC22 AD06 5E501 AA04 AB03 AC25 AC33 BA01 BA05 CA04 CB01 CB02 CB07 CC17 DA02 EB05 FA14 FB04 FB11 5K023 AA07 BB11 DD08 EE05 GG04 HH07 MM25 5K067 AA34 BB04 CC10 DD52 EE02 EE16 NN NN1518NN NN15 NN15 NN15 NN11 KK16 NN16 KK16 LL01 KK16 LL01 KK16 LL05

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An information providing system comprising an image providing device for providing an image and a portable information processing device for displaying the image provided by the image providing device, wherein the image providing device comprises a plurality of the image providing devices. The mobile information processing apparatus includes a first transmission unit that transmits a thumbnail image of an image to the mobile information processing apparatus, and a second transmission unit that transmits the image to the mobile information processing apparatus. First receiving means for receiving a plurality of the thumbnail images from a device, receiving means for receiving a selection of the plurality of thumbnail images received and displayed by the first receiving means, and the receiving means Second receiving means for receiving from the image providing device the image corresponding to the thumbnail image for which the selection has been accepted by the first receiving device. Information providing system characterized in that it comprises display means for displaying the received said image by the received plurality of the thumbnail image or the second receiving means, by means. 2. An image providing device for providing an image to a portable information processing device, comprising: first transmitting means for transmitting thumbnail images of a plurality of the images to the portable information processing device; An image providing apparatus comprising: a second transmitting unit that transmits the image to the apparatus. 3. Storage means for storing the image to be transmitted to the portable information processing device and the thumbnail image, and reception for receiving the thumbnail image or a request to transmit the image from the portable information processing device. The first transmission unit reads the thumbnail image corresponding to the request from the storage unit when the reception unit receives a request for transmission of the thumbnail image, and the first transmission unit further includes: When the request for transmitting the image is received by the receiving unit, the second transmitting unit reads out the image corresponding to the request from the storage unit and transmits the portable information. The image providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image providing apparatus transmits the image to the processing apparatus. 4. The image providing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the storage unit stores the thumbnail images by grouping them into albums for each predetermined number of sheets designated in advance. 5. A third means for transmitting a list of the albums stored by the storage means to the portable information processing device.
The image providing device according to claim 4, further comprising: 6. An image providing method for an image providing apparatus for providing an image to a portable information processing apparatus, comprising: a first transmitting step of transmitting thumbnail images of a plurality of the images to the portable information processing apparatus; A second transmitting step of transmitting the image to the portable information processing device. 7. A first transmission step of transmitting a thumbnail image of a plurality of the images to the portable information processing device to a computer that controls an image providing device that provides the image to the portable information processing device; A program for executing the second transmitting step of transmitting to the portable information processing device. 8. A portable information processing device for displaying an image provided by an image providing device, comprising: a first receiving means for receiving a plurality of the thumbnail images from the image providing device; and a first receiving means. A first receiving unit that receives a selection of the plurality of thumbnail images that are received and displayed by the first receiving unit; and the image corresponding to the thumbnail image that the selection is received by the first receiving unit. A second receiving means for receiving from the providing device; and a display means for displaying the plurality of thumbnail images received by the first receiving means or the images received by the second receiving means. A portable information processing device characterized by the above. 9. For each predetermined number of thumbnail images,
From a third receiving unit that receives the list of albums from the image providing apparatus that manages the thumbnail images by grouping them as an album, and from the list of albums that is received by the third receiving unit. And a second receiving unit that receives the selection of the album, wherein the first receiving unit receives the thumbnail image included in the album of which the selection is received by the second receiving unit. The portable information processing device according to claim 8, which is characterized in that. 10. The recording medium further comprises a storage unit for storing the plurality of thumbnail images received by the first receiving unit, wherein the display unit is the album whose selection is received by the second receiving unit. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein when the included thumbnail image is stored in the storage unit, the thumbnail image stored in the storage unit is further displayed. 11. An information processing method of a portable information processing device for displaying an image provided by an image providing device, comprising: a first receiving step of receiving a plurality of the thumbnail images from the image providing device; A receiving step of receiving a selection of the plurality of thumbnail images received and displayed by the processing of the first receiving step; and an image corresponding to the thumbnail image of which the selection is received by the processing of the receiving step, A second receiving step of receiving from the image providing device, a plurality of the thumbnail images received by the processing of the first receiving step, or the image received by the processing of the second receiving step An information processing method, comprising: 12. A computer for controlling a portable information processing device for displaying an image provided by an image providing device, the computer including: a first receiving step of receiving a plurality of the thumbnail images from the image providing device; A receiving step of receiving a selection of the plurality of thumbnail images received and displayed by the processing of the first receiving step; and an image corresponding to the thumbnail image of which the selection is received by the processing of the receiving step, A second receiving step of receiving from the image providing device, a plurality of the thumbnail images received by the processing of the first receiving step, or a display of the images received by the processing of the second receiving step And a display control step for controlling the program.