JP2010108171A - Content browsing device and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily determine a range confirmed by the hierarchy of content display from the display of the hierarchy of a group level when the hierarchy is shifted to a high order hierarchy. <P>SOLUTION: A content browsing device manages a plurality of content by using the hierarchical structure of a plurality of groups base on additional information, and displays a content icon on a display picture by scrolling the content icon in the order of the array of content according to an operation input in the case of displaying a content level, and registers content corresponding to a content icon displayed in at least a portion of the display picture of the content level, and displays a group icon to which display showing the range of registered content among the content belonging to the group has been added on the display picture of the group level for displaying the group icon representing the group to which one hierarchy is belonging. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content browsing apparatus that manages a plurality of contents by hierarchized groups and browses the contents, and a control method thereof.

  In recent years, digital AV devices such as digital cameras, digital video camcorders, flat-screen TVs, etc. are rapidly developing. In these digital AV devices, digital contents such as still images, moving images, and sounds are created, viewed, and reproduced. In addition, by cooperating with a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as “PC”) via a home-use game machine or the like, moving image data stored in the PC can also be viewed on a television.

  In order to browse such an enormous number of digital contents with the digital AV device as described above, a method capable of efficiently searching for the target content with a simple operation is desired.

  Therefore, conventionally, as a means of efficiently searching for image content, history information on whether individual content has been confirmed or not confirmed is displayed, and the elapsed time since the previous selection was displayed. The shorter the content, the darker the content (see Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 2 describes that image files are automatically classified into a plurality of groups based on the cumulative playback time, cumulative playback count, and playback date and time of the image file.

Furthermore, Patent Document 3 describes that, in a database search, an operation history can be traced from a user's operation by visually expressing the operation history in a tree structure. Has been. According to the cited document 3, the problem that the user selects an unnecessary item is reduced.
JP 2000-099532 A JP2007-027888 JP 2005-301493 A

  However, although the content was confirmed at the content display level (content level level), the target content could not be found, and the group containing the target content was identified by moving to a higher level (group level level). It will be done again. In this case, in the prior art, the user cannot grasp how much content has been confirmed in the content display hierarchy from the display in the group level hierarchy. Therefore, it is difficult to determine where (which group) should be confirmed next.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily determine the range confirmed in the content display hierarchy from the display of the group level hierarchy when moving to an upper hierarchy. And

In order to achieve the above object, a content browsing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention has the following arrangement. That is,
A content browsing device that manages a plurality of contents using a hierarchical structure obtained by grouping a plurality of contents into a plurality of groups based on additional information and further grouping the plurality of groups,
Content level display means for displaying content icons corresponding to the plurality of contents on a display screen, and scrolling and displaying the content icons in accordance with an arrangement order determined based on the additional information in response to an operation input;
Registration means for registering content corresponding to a content icon displayed on at least a part of a display screen displayed by the content level display means;
Group level display means for displaying a group level display screen for displaying a group icon representing a group belonging to one of the hierarchical structures;
As a group icon displayed on the group level display screen, a generation unit is provided that generates a group icon to which a display indicating a range of content registered by the registration unit among contents belonging to the group is added.

In addition, a method for controlling a content browsing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows:
A method for controlling a content browsing apparatus that manages a plurality of contents using a hierarchical structure obtained by grouping a plurality of contents into a plurality of groups based on additional information and further grouping the plurality of groups. And
A content level display step of displaying content icons corresponding to the plurality of contents on a display screen and scrolling and displaying the content icons in accordance with an arrangement order determined based on the additional information in accordance with an operation input;
A registration step of registering content corresponding to a content icon displayed on at least a part of a display screen displayed by the content level display step;
A group level display step for displaying a group level display screen for displaying a group icon representing a group belonging to one of the hierarchical structures;
As a group icon displayed on the group level display screen, a generation step of generating a group icon to which a display indicating a range of the content registered in the registration step is added among the contents belonging to the group.

  According to the present invention, when moving to a higher hierarchy, it is possible to determine the range confirmed in the content display hierarchy from the display contents of the group icon. Therefore, the user can determine which range has been confirmed in the content display hierarchy by displaying the upper hierarchy. Therefore, the user can easily determine which group should be confirmed next or which part of which group should be confirmed in the display of the upper hierarchy (group level).

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a content browsing method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a content browsing apparatus according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, the content browsing device 101 holds content and content group icons, forms content icons or group icon arrays, and outputs them to the display device 102. The display device 102 represents a display such as a liquid crystal display or a CRT display, and has a function of displaying content output from the content browsing device 101 and an image of a content group icon. The operation remote control device 103 has operation input functions such as content selection and display switching.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the content browsing apparatus 101 and the display apparatus 102.

  In FIG. 2, 201 in the content browsing apparatus 101 is a central control unit (CPU), 202 is a ROM, and 203 is a RAM. An operation input unit 204 receives an operation command from the operation remote control device 103. Reference numeral 205 denotes a content storage unit that holds content to be displayed. A content management unit 206 manages the content held in the content storage unit 205 in a hierarchical structure with a plurality of groups as described below. A content time data management unit 207 manages time data of the additional information added to the content.

  A content group creation unit 208 groups the content managed by the content management unit 206 with the time data added by the content time data management unit 207. In addition, the content group creation unit 208 further groups the grouped items to form an upper hierarchy, thereby forming a hierarchical structure of a plurality of groups. In the present embodiment, among the additional information added to the content, the content is grouped using the date (year / month / day) of the content, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the content has additional information indicating a place, the group level may be hierarchized by a group of municipalities or a group of prefectures.

  A content display order determination unit 209 arranges content or content groups based on the time data in the content time data management unit 207, and determines the display order on the display device 102. A content icon storage unit 210 records content icons or group icons to be displayed on the display device 102. A display control unit 211 switches the display of content icons or group icons and creates an operation screen. A display output unit 212 outputs content, its icon, an operation screen created by the display control unit 211, and the like to the display device 102. A content history storage unit 213 stores the content confirmed in the content display hierarchy. Reference numeral 214 denotes an internal bus. In addition, about each structure with the reference numbers 204-213, those part or all may be implement | achieved when CPU201 runs the program stored in ROM202 or RAM203.

  In the display device 102, reference numeral 221 denotes a central control unit (CPU), 222 denotes a ROM, and 223 denotes a RAM. Reference numeral 224 denotes a display unit that displays display image data generated by the display control unit 211 of the content browsing apparatus 101 and output from the display output unit 212. Reference numeral 225 denotes an internal bus.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an external appearance of the operation remote control device 103.

  In FIG. 3, 302 is a right instruction key, and 304 is a left instruction key, which are used to scroll a content icon or group icon to the left and right. Reference numeral 301 denotes an up instruction key, and 303 denotes a down instruction key, which are used to move up and down the hierarchy to be displayed in the hierarchical structure. Reference numeral 305 denotes a determination key, which is used to determine selection and operation.

  Reference numerals 306 to 309 denote hierarchy designation keys. By operating the hierarchy designation key 306, the hierarchy to be displayed is directly moved to the content display hierarchy. Similarly, the hierarchy designation key 307 directly moves the hierarchy to be displayed to the day level hierarchy, the hierarchy designation key 308 to the month level hierarchy, and the hierarchy designation key 309 to the year level hierarchy. Reference numeral 310 denotes a content history deletion key, which deletes the confirmed content history.

  The operation remote controller 103 of the present embodiment is merely an example, and the button configuration, arrangement, button name, and the like are not limited thereto.

  FIG. 4 shows a display example of content display hierarchy (example of content level display) displayed by the display unit 224. In FIG. 4, 401 to 407 represent content icons. In the content display hierarchy, the user can search for the target content by scrolling the content icons 401 to 407. That is, content icons corresponding to a plurality of contents are sequentially displayed on the display screen in accordance with an arrangement order determined based on the additional information in response to a user operation input. Further, the position of the content icon 404 is the focus position, and the content history storage unit 213 regards the content that has passed this focus position as the content confirmed by the user and records it. If the focus position is movable, the content history storage unit 213 records the content displayed at the moved focus position. Note that the content recorded by the content history storage unit 213 is not limited to content that has passed the focus position, and content that has passed before and after the focus position may be recorded. Alternatively, the content displayed on the content display screen may be recorded. That is, the content history storage unit 213 registers content corresponding to a content icon displayed on at least a part of a content level display screen.

  FIG. 5 shows a display example of the group level hierarchy (example of group level display) displayed by the display unit 224. In FIG. 5, 2241 to 2243 represent group icons. Reference numerals 501 to 510 denote content icons included in a group corresponding to the group icon 2241. Similarly, content icons 521 to 530 are content icons included in the group corresponding to group icon 2242, and content icons 541 to 550 are content icons included in the group corresponding to group icon 2243.

  Examples of content icons used at the content level or group level include an image of content corresponding to the icon, an image obtained by enlarging, reducing, or rotating the image, or an image that displays the content in a recognizable manner.

  In the upper hierarchy (group level hierarchy), the user scrolls through each content group to search for the target content. The content icon used in each upper layer uses content selected with an equal distribution with respect to the number of contents in the group. In FIG. 5, the number of content icons displayed in the group icon is 10, but the number of content icons displayed in the group icon at each group level can be freely determined.

  FIG. 6 is a hierarchy transition diagram (from FIG. 6 as an example of moving to a month level group) moved from the content display hierarchy to the group level hierarchy. FIG. 6 shows a state in which when the target content is confirmed based on the content display hierarchy, the target content cannot be found, and the user has moved to the month level hierarchy.

  The display control unit 211 generates a group icon to which a display indicating the range of content registered in the content history storage unit 213 among the contents belonging to the group is added as the group icon displayed on the group level display screen. As such a group icon, for example, a bar is displayed in the group icon, and the color of the bar corresponding to the content range registered in the content history storage unit 213 among the contents belonging to the group is changed. Can be considered. Alternatively, the entire group icon may correspond to the content belonging to the group, and the background color of the group icon of the portion corresponding to the content range registered in the content history storage unit 213 may be changed.

  In the present embodiment, the range of content registered in the content history storage unit 213 is indicated by changing the display mode of the content icon in the group icon. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, in the month level hierarchy, the display mode is changed by surrounding a content icon corresponding to the content range confirmed in the content display hierarchy with a black frame or a gray frame. Further, as described below, by representing the color surrounding the content icon with a gradation expression, it is possible to determine how much of the content display has been confirmed for one content icon.

For example, using the gray scale of 256 gradations, the number (ratio) of the content confirmed in the content display hierarchy is expressed as follows. That is,
If the number of content confirmed in the content display layer is A, the number of content existing in the upper layer group is B, and the display number of each group is C, the quotient D and the remainder E are obtained by A × C ÷ B.
The number of content icons surrounded by a black frame in the group icon is D, and the gradation expression of the gray frame is displayed in a gray scale of 256 gradations with a value of 256 × E ÷ B.

  Further, the head of the content icon for changing the display form when moving from the content display layer to the upper layer is determined as follows. For example, in FIG. 6, 2242 displays 18 content icons for April 2006. At this time, if the number of contents in April 2006 is 200, one content icon represents content (200 ÷ 18). Assuming that the level is moved to the month level after confirming ((200 ÷ 18) +1) th to ((200 ÷ 18) × 4 + 2) th in order of shooting date of content in April 2006 in content display. To do. In this case, the second to fourth content icons for changing the display form are black frames, and the fifth content icon is light gray.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the display mode is changed by adding a frame having a predetermined number of gradations to the content icon. Further, the total number of gradations included in the frame assigned to the content icon whose display mode has been changed is determined so as to correspond to the number of contents belonging to the content range. According to the generation and display of such group icons, the user can easily grasp the range of the contents confirmed on the content level display screen among the contents in the group, and the operability is improved.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow to move to a higher hierarchy in the first embodiment. With reference to this flowchart, the operation of the confirmed content display in the group level hierarchy display according to the first embodiment will be described in detail. 7 is started in a state where content display (FIG. 4) is being performed.

  The content group creation unit 208 groups content according to day, month, and year to form a hierarchical structure. The display control unit 211 arranges the content icons stored in the content icon storage unit 210 according to the display order determined by the content display order determination unit 209 to form a display screen in the content display hierarchy. The display output unit 212 causes the display device 102 to display the display screen formed by the display control unit 211. The display control unit 211 scrolls the screen according to the operation of the right instruction key 302 and the left instruction key 304 (steps S10 and S11).

  For example, it is assumed that 40 contents have been confirmed (passed through the focus position) by scrolling (steps S10 and S11) by operating the right instruction key 302 and the left instruction key 304 in the content display hierarchy. These 40 pieces of content are recorded in the content history storage unit 213 (step S11). Next, the display control unit 211 determines whether or not an operation of moving to an upper hierarchy has been performed (whether or not the upper instruction key 301 has been pressed) (step S12). When the up instruction key 301 is pressed, a transition is made to the hierarchy corresponding to the pressed hierarchy designation key (step S13). In addition, the movement of the hierarchy by the operation of the upper instruction key 301 and the lower instruction key 303 may be shifted to the hierarchy immediately above and immediately below, respectively, but may be moved in a predetermined order. . For example, in the present embodiment, when the upper instruction key 301 is operated in the content display hierarchy, first, the month level is displayed, and then the upper instruction key 301 and the lower instruction key 303 are operated to display at that time. It shall move to the level immediately above and below the level that has been set.

  Now, assume that the upper instruction key 301 is pressed and moved to the upper level group-managed at the month level (step S13). At this time, the display control unit 211 changes the display of the group icon at the month level. Here, for example, it is assumed that the number of contents existing in a monthly level group is 200, and the number of displayed groups is 18. In this case, since 40 × 18 ÷ 200 is the quotient 3 and the remainder 120, the content icon that becomes a black frame in the monthly group icon is three.

  One content icon represents content (200 ÷ 18). Therefore, if the content display has confirmed the 40th image from the 12th to the 51st in order of the shooting date of the content in April 2006, the content icons for changing the display form are black frames from the second to the fourth, The fifth is gray.

  The gray frame is 256 × (120 (remainder) ÷ 200) and is 153 (black as it is closer to 256), and is displayed in a gray scale of 256 gradations (step S14). That is, the gray frame is displayed as a gray scale at level 153. After the group icon is displayed, a scroll operation in the upper hierarchy is performed according to the operation of the right instruction key 302 and the left instruction key 304 (step S15). By this scrolling operation, the vicinity of the target content (a group in which the target content exists) can be searched.

  When the vicinity of the target content is not found, the user operates the upper instruction key 301 or the lower instruction key 303 to newly move to an arbitrary hierarchy. When the operation of the upper instruction key 301 or the lower instruction key 303 is detected, the process returns from step S17 to step S13, and the above-described process is repeated to display the group icon for the new hierarchy. If the operation of the upper instruction key 301 and the lower instruction key 303 is not detected, step S15 is repeated to accept the scroll operation in the same hierarchy.

  On the other hand, when the vicinity of the target content is detected, the user presses the enter key 305 of the operation remote controller 103, for example. When the display control unit 211 detects that the enter key 305 is pressed, the process advances from step S16 to step S20 in FIG. 8 assuming that the vicinity of the target content has been found.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing when moving to a lower hierarchy according to the first embodiment. As described above, it is assumed that the vicinity of the target content is detected by scrolling in the upper hierarchy and the determination key 305 is pressed. In this case, the display control unit 211 moves the display to the content display hierarchy (step S20). Here, in the content display, the display is started from the top of the content included in the upper layer group icon displayed immediately before. After the movement, the user can search for the target content (step S23) by scrolling according to the scroll operation in the content display hierarchy (steps S21 and S22). If the target content is found (when the enter key 305 is pressed), the process ends. If the target content is not found and the up instruction key 301 is pressed, the display control unit 211 determines to move to the upper layer (in this example, the month layer), and moves to the upper layer (step S25). ). The process after the movement to the upper layer is the same as steps S13 to S17. On the other hand, if the hierarchy is not moved, scrolling is continued in the content display hierarchy (steps S21 and S22). Note that the content history storage unit 213 records the confirmed content by a scroll operation in the content display hierarchy (step S22).

  As described above, it is possible to determine which range has been confirmed and how much has been confirmed by displaying the confirmed content in the content display layer in the upper layer by gradation expression.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The system configuration diagram and hardware configuration diagram are the same as those in the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. A remote control device for operating the display device 102 is the same as that in the first embodiment with reference to FIG. Furthermore, the content level display and the group level display are the same as those in the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 9 is a hierarchy transition diagram showing a state of moving from the content display hierarchy to each higher hierarchy. By operating the level designation keys 307 to 309 of the operation remote control device 103 (FIG. 3), the user can freely move from the content display level to the specified level (in this example, any day, month, or year group level). Is possible.

  In the upper layer display, as in the first embodiment, the content confirmed in the content display layer is displayed as the confirmed content.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a process to move to a higher hierarchy in the second embodiment. With reference to this flowchart, the confirmed content display operation in the second embodiment will be described in detail. It is assumed that the process in FIG. 8 is started in a state where content display (FIG. 4) is being performed.

  The display control unit 211 scrolls the content display screen (step S31) in response to a scroll operation (right instruction key 302, left instruction key 304) in the content display hierarchy (step S31). At this time, the content that has passed the focus position is stored in the content history storage unit 213 as the confirmed content. When any one of the hierarchy designation keys 307 to 309 of the operation remote controller 103 is operated and a hierarchy movement is instructed, the process proceeds from step S32 to step S33. When the operation of the hierarchy designation key 307 is detected, the process proceeds from step S33 to step S34, and the display control unit 211 moves the hierarchy to be displayed to the day level hierarchy. When the operation of the hierarchy designation key 308 is detected, the process proceeds from step S33 to step S35, and the display control unit 211 moves the hierarchy to be displayed to the month level hierarchy. If operation of the hierarchy designation key 309 is detected, the process proceeds from step S33 to step S36, and the display control unit 211 moves the hierarchy to be displayed to the year level hierarchy. Then, in the display of each hierarchy, as in the first embodiment, the frame of the content icon in the group level is displayed in grayscale to indicate the confirmed content range (step S37).

  Now, it is assumed that the layer designation key 307 is operated after 40 pieces of content are confirmed in the content display. As described above, the process proceeds to step S34, and the display control unit 211 displays the day level group icons (2241 to 2243 in FIG. 9). Here, in the day level group icons 2242 and 2243 in FIG. 9, the number of existing contents is 30 and the number of group icons displayed is 10 respectively. In this case, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, (40 × 10 ÷ 30) is a quotient 13 and the content icons that become a black frame from the remainder 10 are 13 group icons 2242 and 2243 in total. The gray frame is 256 × (10 (remainder) ÷ 30), which is 85, and is displayed in a gray scale of 256 gradations.

  One content icon represents content (30 ÷ 10). Therefore, if the content display has confirmed the 4th to 43rd content in order of the shooting date of the content in April 2006, the 2nd to 14th content icons for changing the display form are black frames and the 15th is gray ( (Gradation = 85/256).

  After the display, the display control unit 211 scrolls at the day level according to the operation of the right instruction key 302 and the left instruction key 304 (step S38). The user can search the vicinity of the target content by scrolling. When the vicinity of the target content is found, the user presses the enter key 305. When the user wants to change the hierarchy, the user operates the hierarchy designation keys 308 and 309 for designating another hierarchy. When the enter key 305 is operated, the process proceeds from step S39 to step S20 (FIG. 8), and the display target layer moves to the content display layer. Here, in the content display, the display is started from the top of the content included in the upper layer group icon displayed immediately before. When another hierarchy is designated by operating the hierarchy designation keys 307 to 309 and the hierarchy moves, the process returns from step S40 to step S33, and the same process as described above is performed for the designated hierarchy.

  In step S33, when the operation of the hierarchy designation key 308 is detected, the process proceeds to step S35, and the month level is displayed. Movement to the month level and display of the month level are the same as in the first embodiment.

  In step S33, when operation of the hierarchy designation key 309 is detected, the process proceeds to step S36, where the year level is displayed. At the year level, group icons 2261 to 2263 are displayed as shown in FIG. 9 (step S37).

  Now, it is assumed that the layer designation key 309 is operated after 40 pieces of content are confirmed in the content display. In the movement to the year level, the display control unit 211 changes the display of the year level group icon. Assume that the number of contents existing in the group icon 2262 in FIG. 9 is 1500, and the number of group icons displayed is 40. As in the first embodiment, (40 × 40 ÷ 1500) is a quotient 1 and the content icon that becomes a black frame from the remainder 100 is one. In addition, the gray frame is 256 × (100 (remainder) ÷ 1500), and 17 is displayed in a gray scale of 256 gradations. .

One content icon represents content (1500 ÷ 40). Accordingly, if the 41st to 80th contents are confirmed in order of the shooting date of the content in April 2006 in the content display, the content icons for changing the display form are dark gray on the second and light gray on the third. More specifically, since one content icon represents 37.5 content (1500 ÷ 40),
The first content icon represents the 1st to 37th content,
The second content icon represents the 38th to 76th content,
The third content icon represents the 77th to 114th content (however, the decimal part is rounded down). Therefore, if you check the 41st to 80th,
・ The second content is dark gray (35 ÷ 38 × 256) / 256 = 235 (tone = 235/256)
The third content is light gray (5 ÷ 37 × 256) / 256 = 34 (tone = 34/256).

  After the display, the display control unit 211 scrolls at the year level according to the operation of the right instruction key 302 and the left instruction key 304 (step S38). The user can search the vicinity of the target content by scrolling. When the vicinity of the target content is found, the user presses the enter key 305. When the user wants to change the hierarchy, the user operates the hierarchy designation keys 308 and 309 for designating another hierarchy. When the enter key 305 is operated, the process proceeds from step S39 to step S20 (FIG. 8), and the display target layer moves to the content display layer. Here, in the content display, the display is started from the top of the content included in the upper layer group icon displayed immediately before. When another hierarchy is designated by operating the hierarchy designation keys 307 to 309 and the hierarchy moves, the process returns from step S40 to step S33, and the same process as described above is performed for the designated hierarchy.

  After the process proceeds from step S39 to step S20 in FIG. 8, as in the first embodiment, the process moves to the content display hierarchy according to the process shown in FIG. After the display target layer is moved to the content display layer, the user can search for the target content by scrolling the content display layer (steps S21 and S22). When the target content is found and the enter key 305 is operated, the process ends from step S23. On the other hand, when the target content is not found, the user operates the hierarchy designation keys 307 to 309 again. When the display control unit 211 detects the operation of the hierarchy designation key, the process proceeds to step S25, and the display target hierarchy is moved to the designated upper hierarchy. Step S25 represents steps S33 to S40.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to freely move between hierarchies. In addition, since the content that has been confirmed in the content display hierarchy is reflected on the group icon in the upper hierarchy as history information, the user can know which range has been confirmed in each upper hierarchy, and then move to which hierarchy This makes it easier to judge.

  In the first and second embodiments, if the hierarchy designation key 306 is operated while the upper hierarchy is being displayed, the display returns to the previous content level display regardless of the currently focused group. Shall.

  In the first and second embodiments, the flow until the target content is found has been described. However, after it is found, the history information of the confirmed content can be erased using the content history erase key 310.

  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 the structural example of the system by 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example of the content browsing apparatus by 1st Embodiment, and a display apparatus. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the operation remote control by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the content display hierarchy by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the group level by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the transition of the display from the content hierarchy by 1st Embodiment to a group level. It is a flowchart explaining the display process of the display control apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the display process of the display control apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the transition of the display from the content hierarchy by 2nd Embodiment to a group level. It is a flowchart explaining the display process of the display control apparatus in 2nd Embodiment.

Claims (10)

A content browsing device that manages a plurality of contents using a hierarchical structure obtained by grouping a plurality of contents into a plurality of groups based on additional information and further grouping the plurality of groups,
Content level display means for displaying content icons corresponding to the plurality of contents on a display screen, and scrolling and displaying the content icons in accordance with an arrangement order determined based on the additional information in response to an operation input;
Registration means for registering content corresponding to a content icon displayed on at least a part of a display screen displayed by the content level display means;
Group level display means for displaying a group level display screen for displaying a group icon representing a group belonging to one of the hierarchical structures;
Generation means for generating, as a group icon displayed on the display screen at the group level, a group icon to which a display indicating a range of content registered by the registration unit among contents belonging to the group is added. Content browsing device. The content level display means displays one of the content icons displayed on the display screen at the focus position, and sequentially switches the content icons displayed at the focus position by the scrolling,
The content browsing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the registration unit registers content displayed at a focus position.   The content browsing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a switching unit that switches display from one hierarchy to another in the hierarchical structure in response to an operation input for switching the hierarchy from a user. .   The content icon includes any one of an image of content corresponding to the icon, an image obtained by enlarging, reducing, or rotating the image of the content, or an image that displays the content in a recognizable manner. The content browsing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 3.   The content browsing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the group icon is a display of a predetermined number of content icons indicating content belonging to a group corresponding to the group.   The generation unit changes the display mode of the content icon corresponding to the range of the content registered by the registration unit among the content icons to be displayed in the group icon, whereby the content icon is displayed in the group icon. The content browsing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a range is displayed. The display mode is to give a frame of a predetermined number of gradations to the content icon,
7. The content according to claim 6, wherein the total number of gradations of a frame attached to the content icon whose display mode has been changed is determined so as to correspond to the number of contents belonging to the content range. Browsing device. A method for controlling a content browsing apparatus that manages a plurality of contents using a hierarchical structure obtained by grouping a plurality of contents into a plurality of groups based on additional information and further grouping the plurality of groups. And
A content level display step of displaying content icons corresponding to the plurality of contents on a display screen and scrolling and displaying the content icons in accordance with an arrangement order determined based on the additional information in accordance with an operation input;
A registration step of registering content corresponding to a content icon displayed on at least a part of a display screen displayed by the content level display step;
A group level display step for displaying a group level display screen for displaying a group icon representing a group belonging to one of the hierarchical structures;
And a generation step of generating a group icon to which a display indicating a range of the content registered in the registration step is added as the group icon displayed on the group level display screen. And a method for controlling the content browsing apparatus.   The program for making a computer perform the control method of the content browsing apparatus of Claim 8.   A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the control method of the content browsing apparatus according to claim 8.

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