JP2008176035A - Display device, electronic apparatus, control method of display device and program thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device and an electronic apparatus which enables a user to easily recognize an object choice as the selection object from among a plurality of displayed choices, to provide a control method of the display device, and to provide a program for the control method of display device. <P>SOLUTION: The display device is provided with a display 21 capable of displaying a plurality of choices C expressed by one or more letters, wherein extraction letters which are letters of a part of the object choices 41 as the selection object is highlighted 51 by using illustrative embodiments (magnification display, balloon display or the like) different from other letters of the object choices 41. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device, an electronic apparatus, a display device control method, and a program thereof that can display a plurality of options and search for a desired option.

As a method for searching for a desired option by displaying a plurality of options expressed by one or more characters, for example, a method described in Patent Document 1 is known. The display device described in Patent Literature 1 describes that the scrolling speed of the scroll display is variably controlled according to the character size of the option in order to make it easy to visually recognize the option in which small characters are listed.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-017651

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, when the character size of the option is small, the scroll speed is controlled to be relatively slow from the viewpoint of readability, so that the operability is poor. In other words, when you want to quickly search for a desired option, it is efficient to scroll at a high speed, set a guideline, and then select by scrolling at a low speed. However, the scrolling speed is limited by the character size, so the efficiency is high. It gets worse. Moreover, in recent years, portable music players equipped with a large-capacity storage device in small electronic devices have been on the market, and a large number of music lists exceeding thousands or tens of thousands are scrolled to select desired options. There are many usage forms. In particular, in such a music player, English words are often listed as music titles, and there is a tendency to display as many options as possible on a single screen with small characters. In such a background, it is strongly desired to improve the visibility of options in which small characters are listed and to improve the operability for selecting and operating the options.

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention provides a display device, an electronic device, a display device control method, and a program thereof that allow a user to easily recognize a target option to be selected from a plurality of displayed options. The purpose is to do.

  The display device of the present invention includes display means capable of displaying a plurality of options expressed by one or more characters, and display control means for performing display control of the display means. The display control means is an object to be selected. The extracted characters, which are part of the options, are highlighted in a manner different from other characters of the target option.

  The display device control method of the present invention is a display device control method capable of displaying a plurality of options represented by one or more characters, and an extracted character that is a part of a target option to be selected, Highlighting is performed in a manner different from other characters of the target option.

  According to these configurations, since some characters (extracted characters) of the target option to be selected are highlighted, the user can easily recognize the option. In addition, along with this, it becomes easier to search for a target option, so that improvement in operability during the selection operation can be expected. Especially for users who are not good at recognizing small characters such as elderly people, a display device that can efficiently recognize characters even in a limited display area as in the present invention is very convenient.

  In the display device described above, it is preferable that the display unit can display a plurality of options by scroll display, and the display control unit highlights the extracted character during the scroll display.

  According to this configuration, since the target option is switched at high speed during scroll display, the target option can be searched quickly, but there is a problem that it is difficult to recognize small characters. However, by applying the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the demerit that it is difficult to recognize characters in scroll display, and it is possible to emphasize the merit that high-speed search is possible.

  In the display device described above, it is preferable that the extracted characters correspond to one to several characters from the top of the target option.

  According to this configuration, when a plurality of choices are listed in alphabetical order or alphabetical order, highlighting one or several characters from the top of the target choice, the current search position (where the search is being performed) ) Can be easily recognized by the user.

  In the display device described above, it is preferable that the display control unit further highlights the extracted character of the target option in a state where it is normally displayed in the same manner as other characters.

  According to this configuration, by highlighting the extracted character, there is a possibility that the balance with other characters is deteriorated and visibility when viewed with the entire target option may be impaired, but the same mode as other characters Since the normal display is also performed, such a drawback can be covered. That is, it is possible to make the user easily recognize some characters (extracted characters) of the target option without impairing the visibility of the entire target option.

  In the display device described above, it is preferable that the display control unit displays the target option in a mode different from other options.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to clearly indicate to the user the target option (the option to be selected) from among the plurality of options that are scroll-displayed.

  In the display device described above, it is preferable that the display control unit highlights the extracted character so as to overlap the display area of the target option.

  According to this configuration, since the user only needs to visually recognize the display area of the target option, it is not necessary to move the viewpoint or take a wide field of view, and the burden on the user required for the selection operation can be reduced.

  In the display device described above, the highlighting means that the extracted character is displayed in a balloon, displayed larger than other characters, displayed in a color different from other characters, displayed in reverse video, and characters It is preferable to refer to any one or a combination of decorating.

  According to this configuration, highlighting can be performed by any one or a combination of balloon display, enlarged display, different color display, reverse display, and character decoration.

  An electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes each unit in the display device described above and an operation unit for performing an operation for selecting an option, and the target option is an option to be selected by the operation unit at that time. It is characterized by being.

  According to this configuration, it becomes easy to select a target option by the control by the display control unit, and thus operability at the time of searching for an option can be improved.

  In the electronic device described above, the operation unit can perform a scroll operation for scroll-displaying a plurality of options, and the display control unit performs highlighting when the scroll operation is stopped or after a predetermined time from the stop. It is preferable to end.

  According to this configuration, when the scroll operation is stopped, that is, when the search is stopped or ended, it is not necessary to perform highlighting (because it is easy to recognize the target option when the screen is not scrolled). By automatically terminating the display, other operations are not hindered and the visibility of the entire display means is not impaired.

  In the electronic apparatus described above, it is preferable that the display control unit is terminated while fading out the highlighted display.

  According to this configuration, an organic impression can be given to the user by fading out the highlighting.

  The electronic device described above further includes display setting means for setting whether to perform highlighting, and the display control means highlights the extracted character only when the display setting means is set to perform highlighting. It is preferable to do.

  This configuration is convenient for a user who does not like emphasizing extracted characters.

  In the electronic device described above, the electronic device further includes a display mode selection unit that selects a display mode of highlighting from a plurality of candidates, and the display control unit is a display mode selected by the display mode selection unit, and the extracted characters Is preferably highlighted.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to select a display mode of highlight display (balloon display, enlarged display, different color display, reverse display, character decoration, index format, etc.) according to the user's preference.

  A program according to the present invention is for causing a computer to implement the above-described display device control method.

  By using this program, it is possible to realize a display device control method in which a user can easily recognize a target option to be selected and select the option.

  Hereinafter, a display device, an electronic apparatus, a display device control method, and a program thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the case where the display apparatus of this invention is applied to the portable audio apparatus which has a music search function is illustrated. FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of the portable audio device 1. As shown in the figure, the portable audio device 1 includes an operation unit 10 for a user to perform various operations, a display unit 20 for displaying various information, and a display control unit 30 for performing display control of the display unit 20. Are the main components.

  The operation means 10 is for the user to perform a selection operation of the option C (see FIG. 2) and a scroll operation including forward and backward scroll display. In the present embodiment, the pressure-sensitive type track wheel 15 (see FIG. 2) is employed as the operation means 10, but other pointing devices (track pad, joystick, mouse, etc.) may be employed.

  The display means 20 can employ a general display 21 (see FIG. 2) such as an LCD, and can display a plurality of options C by scroll display. Examples of choices include music titles and artist names.

  The display control unit 30 generates a control signal for performing various display controls based on an operation signal generated according to an operation timing, an operation direction, or the like of the operation unit 10, and outputs the control signal to the display unit 20. Specifically, based on the operation result of the operation means 10, the target option 41 that is the selection target at that time is highlighted, or some characters of the target option 41 are highlighted and displayed. Display control.

  In addition to the operation unit 10, the display unit 20, and the display control unit 30, the portable audio device 1 stores a control program and data written by the user (including display data such as a music list), Although a playback control means for controlling the playback of music and an interface for inputting / outputting data to / from an external device including an earphone are provided (both not shown), a detailed description is omitted.

  Next, an example of the operation means 10 and the display means 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a front view of the portable audio device 1. The portable audio device 1 includes a display 21 that functions as the display unit 20 in the upper half of the device case (housing body) 5, and a track wheel 15 that functions as the operation unit 10 in the lower half.

  On the display 21, a plurality of options C are listed in the vertical direction, and the reverse display section shows the target options 41 that are the selection targets at that time. Each option C is expressed by one or more characters (characters including symbols, numbers, etc.) and arranged in accordance with a predetermined rule (in alphabetical order in the illustrated example). When the option C includes characters other than alphabets, the characters are arranged in the order of special characters → numbers → alphabets → kana characters → kanji.

  The figure shows an example of display display during scroll display. However, the target option 41 is a character corresponding to one or several characters from the beginning during scroll display (in the example shown, “GE” corresponding to two characters from the top is converted into a capital letter in a balloon form and enlarged. Hereinafter, the display that extracts and emphasizes the first character of the target option 41 in this way is referred to as “extracted character emphasis display 51”. On the other hand, a display that does not emphasize the first character of the target option 41 (a display that shows all the characters included in the target option 41 in the same manner) is referred to as “extracted character normal display 52”.

  That is, during scroll display, the display control means 30 highlights the extracted target character 41 in a state where the extracted character is normally displayed 52 and is superimposed on the display area of the target option 41 to highlight the extracted character 51. To do. As a result, the user can easily recognize the first character of the target option 41 simply by visually recognizing the selected line without moving the viewpoint, and can easily grasp which part is currently being searched. . In addition, in the state where the extracted characters of the target option are normally displayed 52 in the same manner as other characters, further highlighting 51 is performed, so that the balance between the extracted characters and the other characters is maintained and visibility is improved. The extracted characters necessary for the selection operation can be clearly shown while maintaining the above.

  In addition, the display control unit 30 ends the highlighting 51 when the scroll operation by the operation unit 10 is stopped or after a predetermined time from the stop (after 0.5 seconds to several seconds of continuous display). That is, when the scroll operation is stopped, that is, when the search is stopped or ended, it is not necessary to perform highlighting (because it is easy to recognize the target option 41 when the screen is not scrolled), the highlighting 51 is displayed. By automatically ending, other operations are not hindered and visibility of the entire display 21 is not impaired. In this case, it is preferable to end the highlighting 51 by fading out (gradually fading over a certain period of time). This fade-out function can give the user an impression that it is a user-friendly device.

  On the other hand, the track wheel 15 can operate forward scroll or backward scroll according to the direction of tracing the pressure-sensitive pad portion 17 with a finger. In the case of the illustrated example, a forward scroll (increment in the downward direction of the target option 41) is instructed by tracing in the clockwise direction, and a backward scroll (increment in the upward direction of the target option 41) by tracing in the left direction. Can be indicated. Further, the central portion 18 of the track wheel 15 can be pressed, and the target option 41 can be selected (determined as a selection target) by pressing. That is, the target option 41 refers to an option that is a target of a selection operation by the operation means 10 at that time.

  Next, another display example of the highlighting 51 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3A is a diagram in which the position of the highlight display 51 is changed with respect to the example of FIG. As shown in the figure, the highlighted display 51 may be displayed on the display area of another option C instead of being superimposed on the display area of the target option 41. According to this configuration, the user can select a desired option after grasping the contents of the entire target option 41. Note that the position of the highlight display 51 is not fixed, and may be changed depending on the operation content, the display position of the target option 41, and the like. For example, the highlight 51 may be displayed above the target option 41 when scrolling forward, and the highlight 51 may be displayed below the target option 41 when scrolling backward. When the target option 41 corresponds to the bottom line of the option C displayed on the display 21, the target option 41 may be highlighted 51 above the target option 41 regardless of the scroll direction.

  FIG. 7B is a diagram in which the display mode of the highlight display 51 is changed from the example of FIG. In the example shown in the figure, the emphasis display 51 is arranged in the upper part of the display 21 in the index format instead of the balloon format. Thus, by highlighting 51 in the index format, the visibility of not only the target option 41 but also the other options C is not impaired by the highlighting 51, so that the appearance is good.

  In FIG. 4A, the first character display of each option C is omitted for the extracted characters (two characters “GE”). In the example shown in the figure, the highlight display 51 is arranged at the upper left portion of the display 21, and the first two characters of each option C are substituted for the highlight display 51. According to this configuration, since the number of display characters in the row direction can be reduced, the characters of each option C can be displayed easily.

  FIG. 6B shows a configuration in which the number of extracted characters to be highlighted 51 is changed according to the choice C. In the example of the figure, for the option C on the third line, since the word located at the top is “Get”, when the option C is the target option 41, the first three characters are extracted and emphasized. Display 51. For the option C on the fourth line, since the word at the head is “Give”, when the option C becomes the target option 41, the first four characters are extracted and highlighted 51. Thus, since the user can recognize the first word by using the first word of the option C as the extracted character, the current word is more accurate than the case where one or several meaningless first characters are extracted. Can be selected. Instead of setting all the first words as extracted characters, there is a limit of up to five characters, or when the target option 41 having the same first word continues, the second word is set as an extracted character, etc. Design changes are also possible.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, as one aspect of the highlighting 51, the character color of the extracted character may be changed to a character color different from other characters of the target option 41. In this case, the first and second characters may have different colors.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, character decoration may be applied as one aspect of the highlighting 51. The example shown in the figure is a character box, but underline, deformed character, font change, and the like may be performed. In addition, it is possible to make a design change in which character decoration is applied only to the second character, as shown in the example of the drawing, instead of character decoration on the entire extracted character.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2C, as one aspect of the highlight display 51, the highlight display 51 may be displayed superimposed on the normal display 52 (see FIG. 2). In other words, the extracted character (“Ge”) of the target option 41 may be enlarged and highlighted 51, and the normal display 52 may be omitted. Further, as in the example of the figure, the highlighting 51 need not necessarily be converted to upper case.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4D, as one aspect of the highlight display 51, the highlight display 51 may be performed by inverting the extracted character. In the example shown in the figure, the reverse display indicating the target option 41 is not performed. However, the entire target option 41 may be displayed in reverse so that only the extracted characters are reversed in black and white.

  As described above, various display modes of the highlight display 51 can be adopted. 2 may be combined with the example of FIG. 5A, and a combination of a plurality of display modes may be employed, such as expanding the extracted characters with different display colors and displaying them in a balloon.

  The portable audio device 1 further includes a display mode selection unit that selects a display mode of the highlight 51 from a plurality of candidates, and the display control unit 30 extracts the display mode selected by the display mode selection unit. Characters may be highlighted. According to this configuration, the display mode of the highlight display 51 can be selected according to the user's preference.

  Further, the portable audio device 1 is provided with a display setting means for setting whether or not the highlight display 51 is performed, and the display control means 30 highlights the extracted character only when the display setting means is set to perform the highlight display. It may be displayed. This configuration is convenient for a user who does not like emphasizing extracted characters.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since some extracted characters of the target option 41 are highlighted during scroll display, the user can reliably recognize the target option 41 while realizing high-speed search. be able to. As a result, the possibility of overlooking the target option is reduced, so that improvement in operability during a search operation can be expected.

  In addition, since one or several characters are extracted from the top of the target option 41 as the extracted characters, the user can easily recognize the current search position when a plurality of options C are listed in alphabetical order or Aiyu-o order. Can do. In addition, in order to display the target option 41 in a manner different from the other options C (for example, reverse display), the target option 41 is clearly shown to the user from among a large number of scrolled options C. Can do.

  In the above example, one or several characters are extracted from the top of the target option 41 and highlighted 51, but it is not necessarily the first character. For example, when the first character being scrolled continues with “G” and only the second character changes from a → b, only the second character may be highlighted.

  In the above example, the case where the target option C is searched by scroll display is illustrated. However, the option C does not necessarily need to be scroll-displayed, and a large number of options C are listed. The present invention can also be applied to a case where the highlighted display portion showing the target option 41 is moved by moving the cursor to search.

  In addition, a setting means is provided so that various items related to the highlighting 51 can be customized according to the user's preference, such as the number of extracted characters, whether the first character is extracted, or whether the second and subsequent characters are changed. The audio device 1 may be provided. The program for realizing the setting means may be incorporated in the portable audio apparatus 1 and set by operating the operation means 10, or may be incorporated in an external apparatus such as a computer and set from the external apparatus. You may do it.

  In addition, the portable audio device 1 is given as an example of a device to which the present invention is applied. However, various devices can be used regardless of the content of the options and the device form as long as the target options need to be searched from a large number of options. The present invention can be applied to other electronic devices (for example, an operation remote controller, a car audio device, a car navigation device, a mobile phone, etc.).

  Moreover, it is also possible to provide each part and each function in the portable audio apparatus 1 shown in the above example as a program. Further, the program can be provided by being stored in various recording media (CD-ROM, flash memory, etc.). That is, a program in which each component (each function) of the portable audio device 1 in the present embodiment and a recording medium on which the program is recorded are also included in the scope of the right of the present invention.

  In addition, the device configuration and processing steps of the portable audio device 1 can be appropriately changed without departing from the present invention, regardless of the above embodiment.

1 is a simplified block diagram of a portable audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of a portable audio apparatus. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display of emphasis. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display different from FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another display example of highlighting, which is different from FIGS. 3 and 4.

Explanation of symbols

  1: portable audio device, 10: operation means, 15: track wheel, 20: display means, 21: display, 30: display control means, 41: target option, 51: highlight display, 52: normal display, C: option

Claims (14)

Display means capable of displaying a plurality of options expressed by one or more characters;
Display control means for performing display control of the display means,
The display control device highlights an extracted character, which is a part of a character of a target option to be selected, in a manner different from other characters of the target option. The display means can display the plurality of options by scroll display,
The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit highlights the extracted character during the scroll display.   The display device according to claim 1, wherein the extracted character corresponds to one to several characters from the top of the target option.   The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit further highlights the extracted characters of the target option in a state in which the extracted characters are normally displayed in a manner similar to the other characters.   The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays the target option in a mode different from other options.   The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit highlights the extracted character so as to be superimposed on a display area of the target option.   The highlighting means that the extracted characters are displayed in a balloon, displayed larger than the other characters, displayed in a color different from the other characters, displayed in reverse, and decorated with characters. The display device according to claim 1, wherein any one of or a combination of one or more of them is pointed out. Each means in the display device according to claim 1,
Operating means for performing a selection operation of the options,
The electronic device characterized in that the target option is an option that is a target of a selection operation at that time of the operation means. The operation means can perform a scroll operation for scroll-displaying the plurality of options.
The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the display control unit ends the highlighting when the scroll operation is stopped or after a predetermined time from the stop.   The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the display control unit is terminated while fading out the highlighted display. Further comprising display setting means for setting whether or not to perform the highlighting;
9. The electronic apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the display control unit highlights the extracted character only when the display setting unit is set to perform the highlight display. A display mode selection means for selecting the display mode of the highlight from a plurality of candidates;
9. The electronic apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the display control unit highlights the extracted character in the display mode selected by the display mode selection unit. A control method for a display device capable of displaying a plurality of options expressed by one or more characters,
A control method for a display device, characterized in that an extracted character that is a part of a character of a target option to be selected is highlighted in a manner different from other characters of the target option.   A program for causing a computer to realize the display device control method according to claim 13.

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