JP2010067067A - Data selection device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data selection device for enabling a user to select and browse data managed in a hierarchical structure for changing a data selection range set in an optional hierarchy as necessary. <P>SOLUTION: A data selection device for selecting and browsing data managed in a hirarchical structure is configured to perform the grouping and sorting of data in each hierarchy of the hierarchical structure based on information added to data, and to set the selection range of data to be browsed among data sorted in the first hierarchy as one hierarchy of the hierarchical structure, and to arrange and output the data within the set selection range for display, and to obtain the group of the second hierarchy whose order is higher than that of the first hierarchy to which the group of the first hierarchy to which the data of the end of the set selection range are belonging is belonging, and to change the selection range so that all the data belonging to the group of the first hierarchy belonging to the acquired group can be included in the selection range. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a data selection device that selects and browses data managed in a hierarchical structure, and a control method thereof.

  Widespread use of digital devices such as PCs (personal computers), hard disk recorders, DSCs (digital still cameras), DVCs (digital video cameras), and mobile phones, with higher performance and lower prices. Is progressing rapidly. In addition, by increasing the capacity of the storage mounted on them, anyone can create and retain a large amount of digital data. And the huge amount of digital data is already overflowing in the storage.

  By the way, whether it is a storage such as an HDD or a storage such as a nonvolatile memory card, digital data is generally classified and organized by a virtual container of data called a folder. A unique name can be added to a folder, and a large amount of data can be efficiently managed by putting together a plurality of related data into one folder. In addition, folders (subfolders) can be created in the folder, and the data in the storage can be classified and organized hierarchically and managed.

  The merit of data management by folders is that it becomes easy to specify a place where desired digital data exists by confirming the hierarchical structure of the folders.

  However, as described above, in a situation where an individual holds an enormous amount of digital data, the number of folders naturally increases and the folder hierarchy becomes deep. If this happens, data management by folders may fail. For example, when the desired data is in a deep hierarchy, it is necessary to repeatedly open the folder in order from the upper hierarchy until the data is reached. If the location of the desired data is unclear, the list of data in the folder cannot be confirmed unless the folder is opened, and the desired data must be searched based on the folder name alone. In this case, it is necessary to perform a distracting operation such as sequentially opening and confirming a large number of folders.

  In the data management by folder, it is necessary to display subfolders in addition to displaying data existing in the folder. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain the effect sufficiently on a device equipped with a small display such as a digital camera whose display area is not so wide.

  In order to solve such a problem, there is a technique (Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2) that displays all digital data including a subfolder including a subfolder in a device or application having a narrow display area.

In these prior arts, seamless data search and operability are improved by transparently displaying the data below an arbitrary folder including subfolders, or by switching between transparent display and non-transparent display as appropriate. .
JP 2006-215966 A JP 2003-108976 A

  According to the above-described conventional technology, it is possible to easily check all data under an arbitrary folder. However, since the list is transparently displayed up to the subfolder, the data classification information performed by the subfolder is lost. That is, the classification into subfolders cannot be used for data retrieval. As a result, when a large amount of data below the folder exists, all the data included below the folder must be checked sequentially in order to search for the desired data, and the search performance is degraded.

  In such a case, for example, a method in which the user designates an arbitrary display range (for example, a range limited by the number of data to be displayed) and confirms the data can be considered (hereinafter, such display range is also referred to as a selection range). To tell). However, the display range designated by the user at this time is only a guide, and is not necessarily the display range intended by the user. For example, suppose that the user wants to browse data of a certain group and designates a range in which the group is likely to be included. At this time, if there is data belonging to the group outside the range specified by the user, it is of course impossible to confirm the data simply by displaying the specified range. In order to confirm, there is no choice but to specify the display range again and display it again, which is a complicated operation.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a data selection device that selects and browses data managed in a hierarchical structure, the data selection range set in an arbitrary hierarchy can be changed as appropriate. The purpose is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, a data selection device according to an aspect of the present invention has the following arrangement. That is,
A data selection device for selecting and browsing data managed in a hierarchical structure,
Grouping means for grouping and sorting data in at least a first hierarchy of the hierarchical structure and a second hierarchy higher than the first hierarchy based on information added to the data;
A setting means for setting a selection range of data to be browsed among the data sorted in the first hierarchy;
An output means for outputting an image corresponding to the set selection range data so as to be displayed side by side so as to include an image corresponding to the focused data;
Obtaining means for obtaining a group in the second hierarchy, to which a group in the first hierarchy to which data at an end of the set selection range belongs;
Changing means for changing the selection range so that all of the data belonging to the group acquired by the acquisition means is included in the selection range.

In addition, a method for controlling a data selection device according to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows:
A control method of a data selection device for selecting and browsing data managed in a hierarchical structure,
A grouping step for grouping and sorting data in at least a first hierarchy of the hierarchical structure and a second hierarchy higher than the first hierarchy based on information added to the data;
A setting step for setting a selection range of data to be browsed among the data sorted in the first hierarchy;
An output step for outputting an image corresponding to the set selection range data so as to be displayed side by side so as to include an image corresponding to the focused data;
An acquisition step of acquiring a group in the second hierarchy, to which a group in the first hierarchy to which data at an end of the set selection range belongs,
A changing step of changing the selection range so that all of the data belonging to the group acquired in the acquisition step is included in the selection range.

  According to the present invention, since the data selection range set at an arbitrary hierarchy is appropriately changed according to the hierarchical structure, data can be confirmed within the selection range originally intended by the user, and operability is improved.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a basic system configuration example of the data display device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a display 101 capable of displaying digital data is connected to the data display device 100. Various operation instructions from the user are performed by an operation input device 102 represented by a remote controller.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the data display device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the hardware of the data display device 100 includes a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, a display interface 204, a storage interface 205, a storage 206, and a remote control interface 207.

  The display interface 204 converts screen information generated inside the data display device 100 into a signal that can be processed by the display 101. The storage interface 205 converts between a data format that can be used inside the data display device 100 and a data format that is stored in the storage. The remote control interface 207 receives a signal from the operation input device 102 and converts it into information that can be processed by the data display device 100.

  Although not shown here, an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS), each processing program according to the present invention, a device driver, and the like are stored in the ROM 203, temporarily stored in the RAM 202, and executed by the CPU 201. Here, the OS may be stored in the storage 206. In this case, the OS is appropriately read into the RAM 202 when the power is turned on, and is started by the CPU 201. The storage 206 stores a large amount of data to be searched and displayed by the data display device 100, and may be mounted in the data display device 100, or via various interfaces such as Ethernet (registered trademark) and USB. It may be connected. At that time, a plurality of storages 206 may be connected.

  Unless otherwise specified, the configurations described with reference to other drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the data display device 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the data display device 100 includes an operation acquisition unit 301, a scroll direction acquisition unit 302, a content level screen creation unit 303, a display output unit 304, a display switching unit 305, a group level screen creation unit 306, and a data grouping. Part 307. Further, it includes a data storage unit 308, a data acquisition unit 309, a decoding unit 310, a display range designation unit 311, and an operation analysis unit 312. Each of these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software.

  The data storage unit 308 stores digital data searched and displayed by the data display device 100. In the present embodiment, the digital data stored in the data storage unit 308 is digital data including a still image, a moving image, or music. However, the present embodiment is not limited to the multimedia data, and any format can be used as long as the data is stored in the data storage unit 308 after being converted into a data format usable in the present embodiment. It may be digital data. For example, an icon that appropriately represents the content of a document including a thumbnail or text representing the content of still image or moving image data may be created, linked to the original data, stored in the data recording unit 308, and used.

  The data acquisition unit 309 sequentially reads digital data from the data storage unit 308. At this time, information added to the data is also read. The read additional information is held in the RAM 202 of the data display device 100 and used by the data grouping unit 307. The data grouping unit 307 uses the additional information stored in the RAM 202 to sort and group the read data. In the present embodiment, data is hierarchically managed by additional information such as date, and sorting (alignment) and grouping are performed. For example, the upper layer of the day is the month, and the upper layer of the month is the year. In the present embodiment, data is arranged and grouped in the hierarchy of each day, month, and year. That is, the data grouping unit 307 groups and sorts the data in each layer based on the date / time information added to the data. Note that the additional information used as a basis for the hierarchical structure, grouping, and sorting is not limited to date information. For example, additional information regarding a place may be used. In this case, the data grouping unit 307 determines a hierarchical structure based on the location information added to the data, and groups and sorts the data in each hierarchy.

The group level screen creation unit 306 selects one or more representative data from the groups grouped by the data grouping unit 307. The decoding unit 310 decodes the selected data, and creates a group level screen by arranging the decoded data using the additional information held in the RAM 202. In this embodiment, the data displayed on the group level screen is a thumbnail representing the contents of still images and moving images, but may be an icon representing the contents of audio data or text data. FIG. 12 shows an example of the group level screen created by the group level screen creation unit 306. FIG. 12 shows an example in which all data is selected as a selection criterion for selecting representative data from the grouped group, and is an example in which all data of each group is displayed. . As described above, in this embodiment, data is arranged and grouped according to date information. The data is arranged in ascending order of date in the direction of 503 in FIG. 12 and the direction of 504 in FIG. Reference numeral 501 in FIG. 12 represents a selection range of data focused on the group level screen 500. In this embodiment, the shape of the selection range of the focused data is a rectangle, but it may be a circle or a polygon. Reference numeral 502 in FIG. 12 denotes one or a plurality of thumbnails and icons representing the contents of each group. The created group level screen is output from the display output unit 304 to the display 101 such as a digital TV via the display switching unit 305. Of course, the selection criteria for selecting representative data from the group is not limited to the above. For example, the number of data selected from each group is determined in advance (specified value),
・ If (number of group data) <(specified value), select all group data as a representative,
-If (number of group data)> (default), select the number of representative values from the top of the group as the representative, and do not select the rest.
Such a method is also conceivable.

  The user confirms the group level screen output on the display 101 and performs various operations on the data display device 100 by using the operation input device 102. FIG. 4 shows an example of the operation input device 102 for operating the data display device 100. In the present embodiment, a case where a remote controller 400 is used as an example of the operation input device 102 will be described. The remote control 400 includes a right button 402, a left button 405, an upper button 401, a lower button 404, and an OK button 403 for confirming various selection operations.

  Various operations instructed by the user using the remote controller 400 are taken into the data display device 100 via the operation acquisition unit 301, and the results analyzed by the operation analysis unit 312 are the display switching unit 305, the display range designating unit 311, This is provided to the scroll direction acquisition unit 302.

  A display range designation unit 311 designates a range (selection range) of data that the user wants to browse on the group level screen. In the present embodiment, the display range to be browsed is designated as the display range designated based on the user's instruction, but is not limited to this. For example, the display range designation unit 311 may automatically set the selection range so as to satisfy a predetermined condition based on information added to the data. Further, for example, the display range (selection range) may be automatically set so that the data display number is always constant, that is, the data selection number is a predetermined number.

  In the present embodiment, the display range is designated by the remote controller 400. For example, when the OK button 403 is pressed at the focused data position on the group level screen, the display range designation process is started, and this position becomes the start point of browsing display. In this state, the display range is selected by pressing the right button 402 and the left button 405. To confirm the display range, the OK button 403 is pressed again.

  A content level screen creation unit 303 creates a content level screen in which digital data acquired via the data acquisition unit 309 and the decoding unit 310 can be confirmed in detail. FIG. 13 shows an example of a content level screen created by the content level screen creation unit 303. In the present embodiment, the data displayed on the content level screen is an image (for example, a thumbnail) corresponding to a still image and a moving image, and the data focused on the content level screen 600 is larger in size than the thumbnail displayed on the group level. It was supposed to be. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and may be a thumbnail having a size smaller than the size displayed at the group level, or the original data may be used as it is. In this embodiment, the data displayed on the content level screen 600 or the image corresponding thereto is arranged in ascending order in the direction of the arrow 602 in FIG. 13 according to the date information. Further, in the present embodiment, by using the right button 402 and the left button 405 of the remote controller 400, it is possible to scroll in the direction of the arrow 602 or the arrow 603 in FIG. The created content level screen is output from the display output unit 304 to the display 101 such as a digital TV via the display switching unit 305.

  The scroll direction acquisition unit 302 acquires the direction of scrolling on the content level screen 600 and provides the information to the content level screen creation unit 303.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a main flow of the data display device 100 in the first embodiment. The details of the control of the data display operation in the data display device 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to this flowchart.

  First, as shown in FIG. 5, when data display is started in the data display device 100, first, group level screen display processing (step S10) by the group level screen creation unit 306 is performed. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a process flow of the group level screen display process (step S10).

  In the group level screen display process, the data grouping unit 307 hierarchically manages data according to system standard additional information, and performs data alignment and grouping (step S20). In this embodiment, the additional information of the system standard is date information, and the data grouping unit 307 uses the date information added to the data to arrange the data in the day, month, and year layers for grouping. I do. The grouping information obtained by the grouping and indicating the hierarchical structure and the data sorting result in each layer is held by the RAM 202 (step S21). Next, the group level screen creation unit 306 creates a group level screen as shown in FIG. 12 based on the grouping information, and the display switching unit 305 and the display output unit 304 display the group level screen on the display 101. It is displayed (step S22). In the present embodiment, the data of the “day” hierarchy is grouped by “day” and displayed as a group level screen by default.

  Next, the group level screen creation unit 306 determines whether or not it is immediately after the data display device 100 is activated and the data display flow is started (step S23). If it is determined that it is immediately after startup, the focus is adjusted to the head of the latest group data (step S24). In the present embodiment, processing is performed so that the top data is focused on the group level screen immediately after startup, but this is not restrictive. With the above processing, the group level screen display processing is completed, and the result is returned to the calling process.

  Returning to FIG. 5, when the group level screen display process ends (step S10), the operation analysis unit 312 determines whether the right button 402 and the left button 405 of the remote controller 400 have been pressed (step S11). When the left and right buttons are pressed (step S11, YES), the display range designation unit 311 and the group level screen creation unit 306 move the selection range 501 (focus) on the group level screen 500 in the direction of the pressed button. Is performed (step S12). If the left / right button is not pressed (step S11, NO), nothing is performed and the process proceeds to step S13. The process of step S13 is a process of determining whether or not the down button 404 has been pressed by the operation analysis unit 312. When the down button 404 is pressed (step S13, YES), the display range specifying process is performed by the display range specifying unit 311 (step S14), and then the process proceeds to step S15. On the other hand, if the down button 404 is not pressed (step S12, NO), nothing is performed and the process proceeds to step S15.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the display range designation processing (step S14). When the display range specifying process is started, the display range specifying unit 311 determines whether the left button 405 and the right button 402 of the remote control 400 are pressed (step S30). When either the left button 405 or the right button 402 is pressed (step S30, YES), the display range specifying unit 311 changes the display range (step S31). On the other hand, when neither the left button 405 nor the right button 402 is pressed (step S30, NO), nothing is performed and the process proceeds to step S32. In step S32, it is further determined whether or not the down button 404 is pressed. When it is determined that the button has been pressed (step S32, YES), the display range designation unit 311 determines the display range, completes the display range designation process, and returns the result to the caller process. On the other hand, if the down button 404 has not been pressed (step S32, NO), the display range has not yet been specified, and the process is performed again from step S30. FIG. 14 shows an example of the group level screen display when the display range is changed. As shown in FIG. 14, for example, when the right button is pressed in the display range designation process, the selection range 501 (focus) shown in FIG. 12 is changed to the selection range 701 (focus) shown in FIG. The start point of the display range specified at this time is data 702 in FIG. 14, and the end point of the display range is data 703.

  When the display range specifying process is completed (step S14), it is determined whether or not the OK button 403 of the remote controller 400 is pressed (step S15). If the OK button is pressed (step S15, YES), a detail confirmation process is performed (step S16), and if not pressed, nothing is performed and the process proceeds to step S17.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a process flow of the detail confirmation process (step S16). When the detail confirmation process is started, the scroll direction acquisition unit 302 initializes the scroll direction dir (dir = Null) (step S40). Next, the content level screen creation unit 303 acquires information on the display range designated by the display range designation process (step S41), creates a content level screen as shown in FIG. 13 using the information, It is displayed on the display 101 (step S42).

  After displaying the content level screen, the scroll direction acquisition unit 302 determines whether the right button 402 and the left button 405 are pressed (step S43). When the left or right button is pressed (step S43, YES), the content level screen creation unit 303 performs a focus movement process (step S44), and when not pressed, does nothing and shifts the process to step S47. .

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the focus movement processing (step S44). When the focus movement process is started, the content level screen creation unit 303 acquires the direction b of the pressed button and stores it in the RAM 202 (step S50). Next, when the focus 601 is moved in the b direction, the content level screen creation unit 303 determines whether the focus 601 does not straddle (does not exceed) the end of the designated display range (step S51). If it is determined that the end of the specified range is not straddled (step S51, YES), the focus 601 is moved in the b direction (step S52). When it is determined that the end of the display range is exceeded (step S51, NO), the focus is not moved. With the above processing, the focus movement processing is completed, and the result is returned to the calling process.

  When the focus movement process ends (step S44), the scroll direction acquisition unit 302 sets the scroll direction dir (step S45). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that dir = right is set when the scroll direction is the right direction, and dir = left is set when the scroll direction is the left direction. After the scroll direction is set, a display range changing process (step S46) is performed.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the display range changing process (step S46). When the display range changing process is started, the content level screen creation unit 303 determines whether or not the scroll direction dir has changed (step S60). If dir has not changed (step S60, NO), the display range changing process is completed, and the result is returned to the calling process. On the other hand, when it is determined that dir has changed (step S60, YES), the content level screen creation unit 303 performs grouping and groups in the hierarchy N as the first hierarchy in which the display range is set. Information is acquired (step S61). Next, the group n located at the end of the display range in the dir direction is acquired (step S62), and the group m to which the group n belongs is acquired in the N + 1 hierarchy as the second hierarchy one level higher than the N hierarchy. (Step S63). In the present embodiment, as the second hierarchy, the group of the hierarchy N + 1 that is one level higher than the N hierarchy, which is the first hierarchy, is used. You can use it. The higher the hierarchy level is used as the second hierarchy, the higher the possibility that the selection range is changed greatly. Finally, the group n ′ of the N hierarchy that belongs to the group m of the (N + 1) hierarchy and is not included in the display range is acquired (step S64), and the display range (selection range) so that the group n ′ is included in the display range. Is changed (step S65). With the above processing, the display range changing process is completed, and the result is returned to the calling process.

  FIG. 15 illustrates an outline of an algorithm of processing performed in the display range change processing. Now, in the N hierarchy 800 as the first hierarchy and the N + 1 hierarchy 801 as the second hierarchy, which is one hierarchy above the N hierarchy 800, the group hierarchy has the structure shown in FIG. . Here, for example, if the display range 802 is designated and the scroll direction dir is the direction indicated by the arrow 803, the group n located at the end of the display range 802 is the group 805. Further, in the N + 1 hierarchy 801, the group m of the N + 1 hierarchy to which the group 805 belongs becomes a group 807. Therefore, the N-level group n ′ that belongs to the group m and is not included in the display range is a plurality of groups indicated by 806. As a result, the display range is changed to a new display range 804. That is, the selection range is changed so that all data belonging to the group of the display range 804 is included in the selection range.

  On the other hand, for example, it is assumed that the designated display range is the display range 809 and the scroll direction dir is the direction indicated by the arrow 803. In this case, the group n located at the end of the display range 809 becomes a group 810. The group m of the (N + 1) hierarchy 801 to which the group n belongs becomes a group 808. However, at this time, since there is no group that belongs to the group 808 and is not included in the display range 809, the display range is not changed.

  In the present embodiment, the display range is changed by changing the end of the display range in the scroll direction dir, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the display range may be changed by changing the end portions on both sides of the display range without using the scroll direction dir.

  When the display range changing process ends (step S46), it is determined whether or not the OK button is pressed (step S47). If the OK button is pressed (step S47, YES), data reproduction processing is performed (step S48). If not, nothing is performed and the process proceeds to step S49. In the data reproduction process, the focused data is reproduced.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a process flow of the data reproduction process (step S48). When the data reproduction process is started, data reproduction display is performed (step S70). At this time, if the OK button 403 is pressed (step S71, YES), the data reproduction process is completed and the result is returned to the calling process. If the OK button is not pressed (step S71, NO), the data reproduction display is continued (step S70).

  When the data reproduction process is completed (step S48), it is determined whether or not the up button has been pressed (step S49). When the upper button is pressed (step S47, YES), the detail confirmation process is completed, and the result is returned to the caller process. If the upper button is not pressed, the process is performed again from the process S43.

  When the detail confirmation process ends (step S16), it is determined whether or not to end the data display. When the data display is finished (step S17, YES) (for example, when the data display device is turned off), the processing of the main flow (FIG. 5) by the data display device 100 is finished. If the data display is not ended (step S17, NO), the processing from step S10 is performed again.

  As described above in the present embodiment, by providing the data display device 100 that appropriately changes the display range specified by the user based on the direction in which the user browses, data browsing in the display range originally intended by the user can be performed. It becomes possible.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, the system configuration diagram and the hardware configuration diagram are the same as those in the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. The functional block diagram is the same as that of the first embodiment using FIG. The operation input device for operating the data display device 100 is the same as that in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG.

  Also in the second embodiment, unless otherwise specified, the same reference numerals are given to those described with reference to other drawings, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The difference from the first embodiment is the focus movement process in the detailed confirmation process flow shown in FIG. FIG. 16 shows a processing flow of focus movement processing (step S44) in the second embodiment. When the focus movement process is started, the direction b of the button pressed left and right is acquired and held in the RAM 202 (step S80). Next, when the focus 601 is moved in the b direction, it is determined whether the focus 601 does not straddle (does not over) the end of the designated display range (step S81). If the end of the specified range is not straddled (step S81, YES), the focus 601 is moved in the b direction (step S82). When the end of the display range is exceeded (step S81, NO), the focus is moved to the end opposite to the b direction out of the end of the display range designated by the user (step S83). That is, by this process, the data in the display range can be repeatedly confirmed on the content level screen display. With the above processing, the focus movement processing is completed, and the result is returned to the calling process.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, when the display range designated by the user is appropriately changed based on the viewing direction of the user, the data display device 100 that can repeatedly browse the changed display range is provided. can do. In other words, in response to an instruction to move the focus, data to be focused is circulated in the arrangement of data in the selection range. This makes it possible to improve the operability of browsing and searching for data desired by the user.

  Although the embodiment has been described in detail above, the present invention can take an embodiment as a system, apparatus, method, program, storage medium, or the like. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  In the present invention, the functions of the above-described embodiments are achieved by supplying a software program directly or remotely to a system or apparatus, and the computer of the system or apparatus reads and executes the supplied program code. Including the case. In this case, the supplied program is a computer program corresponding to the flowchart shown in the drawings in the embodiment.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, or the like.

  Examples of the computer-readable storage medium for supplying the computer program include the following. For example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD- R).

  As another program supply method, a client computer browser is used to connect to a homepage on the Internet, and the computer program of the present invention is downloaded from the homepage to a recording medium such as a hard disk. In this case, the downloaded program may be a compressed file including an automatic installation function. It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  Further, the program of the present invention may be encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, and distributed to users. In this case, a user who has cleared a predetermined condition is allowed to download key information for decryption from a homepage via the Internet, execute an encrypted program using the key information, and install the program on the computer. You can also.

  In addition to the functions of the above-described embodiment being realized by the computer executing the read program, the embodiment of the embodiment is implemented in cooperation with an OS or the like running on the computer based on an instruction of the program. A function may be realized. In this case, the OS or the like performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  Furthermore, the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, so that part or all of the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized. May be. In this case, after a program is written in the function expansion board or function expansion unit, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program.

It is a figure which shows an example of the system configuration | structure of the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional block of the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation input apparatus for operating the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the main flow of the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a flowchart of the group level screen display process performed in the case of the main flow process of the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a flowchart of the display range designation | designated process performed in the case of the main flow process of the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a flowchart of the detailed confirmation process performed in the case of the main flow process of the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a flowchart of the focus movement process performed in the case of the detail confirmation process of the data display apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the display range change process performed in the case of the detail confirmation process of the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a flowchart of the data reproduction process performed in the case of the detailed confirmation process of the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the group level screen output by the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the content level screen output by the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the group level screen after the range specification output by the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the algorithm of the process performed by the change process of the display range performed in the case of the detail confirmation process of the data display apparatus in 1st, 2nd embodiment. It is a flowchart of the focus movement process performed in the case of the detail confirmation process of the data display apparatus in 2nd Embodiment.

Claims (15)

A data selection device for selecting and browsing data managed in a hierarchical structure,
Grouping means for grouping and sorting data in at least a first hierarchy of the hierarchical structure and a second hierarchy higher than the first hierarchy based on information added to the data;
A setting means for setting a selection range of data to be browsed among the data sorted in the first hierarchy;
An output means for outputting an image corresponding to the set selection range data so as to be displayed side by side so as to include an image corresponding to the focused data;
Obtaining means for obtaining a group in the second hierarchy, to which a group in the first hierarchy to which data at an end of the set selection range belongs;
A data selection apparatus comprising: a changing unit that changes the selection range so that all of the data belonging to the group acquired by the acquisition unit is included in the selection range.   The data selection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output means includes display means for displaying data.   The data selection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second hierarchy is a hierarchy one level higher than the first hierarchy.   The data selection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting means automatically sets a selection range so as to satisfy a predetermined condition based on information added to the data.   5. The data selection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the setting means automatically sets the selection range so that the number of data selections is a predetermined number.   The data selection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit sets a selection range based on an instruction from a user.   The data selection apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for acquiring a data browsing direction based on a user operation in the data display displayed by the output means.   8. The data selection device according to claim 7, wherein the means for obtaining the viewing direction obtains a scrolling direction in the data display displayed by the output means.   The acquisition means acquires the group of the second hierarchy to which the group of the first hierarchy to which the data located at the end of the selection range in the direction acquired by the means for acquiring the viewing direction belongs. The data selection device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein   The data selection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output means circulates data to be focused in the arrangement of data in the selection range in response to an instruction to move the focus.   11. The data selection device according to claim 1, wherein the grouping unit groups and sorts the data in each layer based on date and time information added to the data.   11. The data selection device according to claim 1, wherein the grouping unit groups and sorts data in each layer based on location information added to the data. A control method of a data selection device for selecting and browsing data managed in a hierarchical structure,
A grouping step for grouping and sorting data in at least a first hierarchy of the hierarchical structure and a second hierarchy higher than the first hierarchy based on information added to the data;
A setting step for setting a selection range of data to be browsed among the data sorted in the first hierarchy;
An output step for outputting an image corresponding to the set selection range data so as to be displayed side by side so as to include an image corresponding to the focused data;
An acquisition step of acquiring a group in the second hierarchy, to which a group in the first hierarchy to which data at an end of the set selection range belongs,
And a changing step of changing the selection range so that all of the data belonging to the group acquired in the acquisition step is included in the selection range.   A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 13.   A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 13.

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