JP2012033037A - Electronic apparatus and retrieval processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic apparatus capable of effectively performing retrieval processing.SOLUTION: A retrieval instruction reception section 200 accepts a retrieval instruction of content. A retrieval processing section 202 retrieves content in a storage section 60 according to the retrieval instruction accepted by the reception section, and instructs a server to perform retrieval through a communication section. A content screen display section 116 creates a first screen for displaying content stored in the storage section 60 or a second screen for displaying content stored in the server. A display area determination section 212 determines a display area for a retrieval result of the storage section 60 and a retrieval result of the server. When the retrieval instruction reception section 200 accepts a retrieval instruction while the first screen or the second screen is displayed, the display area determination section 212 determines a display area for the retrieval result according to a screen displayed at that time.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to an electronic device having an information processing function.

  Conventionally, electronic devices such as portable game machines and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) have become widespread, but in recent years, a multifunctional type in which the functions of a mobile phone, a PDA, etc. are combined into one, such as a smartphone. Electronic devices have appeared. Such electronic devices are equipped with a large-capacity memory and a high-speed processor, and users can enjoy various applications by downloading content such as game software, music, and movies.

  An electronic device having a touch panel provides an excellent user interface that allows a user to perform an intuitive operation. For example, a user interface in which a content image (icon) to be displayed is tapped with a finger to select the icon or a user interface for scrolling a display image by tracing the panel surface with a finger has already been put into practical use. ing.

  Recent electronic devices have a wireless communication function and are equipped with a large-capacity memory so that various contents can be downloaded to the memory by accessing an external content server. Therefore, it is preferable that the electronic device can efficiently search the content held in the server or the content downloaded to the memory, and it is preferable that the search result can be effectively presented to the user.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an electronic device that can efficiently perform a search process.

  In order to solve the above problems, an electronic device according to an aspect of the present invention is an electronic device having a communication function, and includes a storage unit that stores content data, a communication unit that is connected to a server, and a content search instruction. A receiving unit that receives the search unit, searches the storage unit in accordance with the search instruction received by the receiving unit, causes the server to perform a search via the communication unit, a search result of the storage unit, and a search result of the server A display control unit for displaying in different display areas.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a search processing method. The method includes a step of connecting to a server, a step of receiving a content search instruction, a step of searching a storage unit for storing content data according to the received search instruction, and causing the connected server to perform a search. And displaying the search result of the storage unit and the search result of the server in different display areas.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electronic device which can perform a search process efficiently can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the content provision system concerning an Example. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of an electronic device. It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the functional block of an electronic device. It is a figure which shows the menu screen provided by a content delivery server. It is a figure which shows the list screen of a game category. It is a figure which shows the list screen of game software. It is a figure which shows the purchase screen of content. It is a figure which shows the functional block of the control part which performs the display process of a content image. It is a figure which shows the display screen at the time of content management application starting. It is a figure which shows a display screen when an access destination is changed. It is a figure which shows a content table. It is a figure which shows the display screen at the time of a 1st scroll process. It is a figure which shows the display screen at the time of a 2nd scroll process. It is a figure which shows the example which adds the information relevant to the display order of a content image. It is a figure which shows a play selection screen. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of a scroll process. It is a figure which shows the functional block of the control part which performs the search process of a content. It is a figure which shows a search screen. It is a figure which shows a search result screen. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of a search process.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a content providing system 1 according to the embodiment. In the content providing system 1, the electronic device 10 and the content distribution server 4 are communicably connected via a network 3 such as the Internet. The electronic device 10 transmits a content search instruction or acquisition request to the content distribution server 4, and the content distribution server 4 transmits a content search result, content data, a content list, or a content image to the electronic device 10. Send etc. The content distribution server 4 may be composed of a plurality of servers. The content image is an image corresponding to the content, and may be a package image of the content, for example. The content data may include a content image. The electronic device 10 has a wireless communication function and is connected to the network 3 through the access point 2.

  The electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment has a communication function based on a wireless local area network (LAN) system, but may have a communication function based on another wireless communication system, and may be an external device using a wired cable such as a USB cable. It may be configured to connect to and communicate.

  The access point 2 functions as a relay device that connects the electronic device 10 to another access point via a wireless LAN, or connects the electronic device 10 to a network 3 such as the Internet or a wired LAN. When the electronic device 10 has a wired communication function, the electronic device 10 can be connected to the content distribution server 4 using, for example, a PC (personal computer) connected to the network 3 as a relay device.

  FIG. 2 shows an external configuration of the portable electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment. The electronic device 10 includes an upper housing 20 and a lower housing 30 that are slidably connected. 2A is a front view when the electronic device 10 is in a closed state, and FIG. 2B is a front view when the electronic device 10 is in an open state. In the closed state of the electronic device 10, the upper housing 20 is almost completely over the lower housing 30, and the operation keys provided on the front surface of the lower housing 30 are not exposed to the outside. An L button 37 and an R button 38 are provided on the upper surface of the lower housing 30. When the lower housing 30 is slid with respect to the upper housing 20 from the closed state, the electronic device 10 is in an open state in which operation keys provided on the front surface of the lower housing 30 are exposed to the outside. Note that the user can operate the L button 37 and the R button 38 even when the electronic device 10 is in the open state and the closed state.

  On the front surface of the upper housing 20, a left speaker 21a, a right speaker 21b, operation buttons 22 and a touch panel 23 are provided. Between the back surface of the upper housing 20 and the front surface of the lower housing 30, a slide mechanism (not shown) that slidably connects the upper housing 20 and the lower housing 30 is provided.

  In the open state shown in FIG. 2 (b), direction keys 31a, 31b, 31c, 31d (hereinafter collectively referred to as “direction keys 31”) provided on the front surface of the lower housing 30 and an analog pad 32, the microphone 33, the start button 34, the select button 35, and the operation buttons 36a, 36b, 36c, and 36d (hereinafter, collectively referred to as the “operation button 36”) are exposed to the outside. The operation keys such as the direction key 31, the analog pad 32, the start button 34, the select button 35, and the operation button 36 can be operated when the electronic device 10 is opened.

  The electronic device 10 may be a mobile phone having a PDA function. The electronic device 10 is configured to have not only a calling function but also a function for executing game software and a function for playing back music, movies, and the like by installing a predetermined application program. Note that a program for realizing these functions may be installed in advance at the time of shipment of the electronic device 10.

  FIG. 3 shows an overall configuration of functional blocks of the electronic device 10. The open / close detection unit 80 detects that the electronic device 10 has transitioned from the open state to the closed state, or from the closed state to the open state. The open / close detection unit 80 provides the control unit 50 with the transition information of the signal value 0 when the electronic device 10 transitions from the open state to the closed state, and the transition information of the signal value 1 when the electronic device 10 transitions from the closed state to the open state. send.

  The touch panel 23 includes a position input device 24 and a display 25, and is connected to the control unit 50. The display 25 can display various types of information based on signals sent from the control unit 50, and in response to an instruction from the user, a content search screen or a content icon (hereinafter referred to as “content image”). Display). The position input device 24 is, for example, a touch pad, and sends position information regarding the touch location on the touch panel 23 to the control unit 50 based on a touch operation with a finger or a stylus pen. The position input device 24 can employ various input detection methods such as a resistance film method and a capacitance method. The control unit 50 performs search processing, display screen generation processing, and the like, and writes data to and / or reads data from the storage unit 60 as necessary. The storage unit 60 may be a hard disk drive (HDD) or a random access memory (RAM). The communication unit 40 realizes a communication function and connects to the content distribution server 4 via the network 3.

  The content distribution server 4 holds charged or free content data. When the content is application software, the content data includes a program for executing the application, a content image corresponding to the application, content information, and the like. For example, when the content is a movie, the content data includes compressed moving image data, a content image corresponding to the movie, content information, and the like. Hereinafter, an example of a procedure for downloading content data will be described.

  When the electronic device 10 accesses the content distribution server 4, a menu screen is displayed on the touch panel 23. FIG. 4 shows a menu screen provided by the content distribution server 4. On this menu screen, a plurality of tabs 72, 73, 74 are displayed. When the user presses (tap) the tab 72 with a finger, the content distribution server 4 provides the electronic device 10 with information regarding an application (other than game software) that can be provided. When the user taps the tab 73, the content distribution server 4 provides the electronic device 10 with information related to game software that can be provided. When the user taps the tab 74, the content distribution server 4 provides the electronic device 10 with a list of applications and game software that have already been downloaded by the user. The search button 71 is provided for searching for a desired application or game software.

  When the user taps the tab 73, a game category list screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the touch panel 23. On this list screen, a list of game categories is displayed, and the user taps the display area of the category of game software desired to be downloaded. If the game title is known in advance, on the menu screen shown in FIG. 4 or the list screen shown in FIG. 5, the user opens the search screen by tapping the search button 71 and inputs the game title. Also good.

  When the user taps the “Action game” display area, the game software list screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the touch panel 23. On this list screen, a list of game software belonging to the category of “Action game” is displayed. As information for specifying the game, package images 75a to 75d, game titles 76a to 76d, and prices 77a to 77d are displayed in each column. In addition, a star picture is attached to each game software, but the number of stars shows the average of the ratings by users who have already downloaded, meaning that the more stars, the better the reputation. Yes.

  When the user taps the display area of the game title “BBB action”, a purchase screen shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the touch panel 23. A purchase button 78 and a cancel button 79 that can be operated by the user are displayed on the purchase screen together with the package image 81 and the detailed information 82. When the user taps the purchase button 78, the content distribution server 4 performs billing processing and transmits game software data of the title “BBB action” to the electronic device 10. The communication unit 40 receives game software data, and the control unit 50 stores it in the storage unit 60.

  In the content providing system 1 of the present embodiment, the electronic device 10 includes a content management application that executes content image display processing and search processing. The content management application executes content image display processing and content search processing.

  As described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, the electronic device 10 can connect to the content distribution server 4 and download content data. The content management application also plays a role of supporting content download by performing content image display processing and content search processing. Hereinafter, the content management application will be described as executing the display processing of the package image of the game software and the search processing of the game software. However, the content to be managed is not limited to the game, and may be music or a movie. The name may be a name, a telephone number, a photograph taken, a generated document file, a product on a product sales site, or the like. In this embodiment, the content only needs to be a target on which a corresponding display object can be placed on the display, and the display object may be an image or text. In the following, the case where the display object is a package image of game software is taken as an example. However, when the display target is a phone book, the display object is a text description such as name, phone number, photo or avatar. When the display object is an image and the display object is a document file, the display object has a file name described in text. When the content to be displayed is music, the display object is a jacket image, when the content is a movie, the display object is a package image, and when the content is a book, the display object is It is a cover image. When the system software installed in the control unit 50 receives the transition information of the signal value 1 indicating that the electronic device 10 has transitioned from the closed state to the open state from the open / close detection unit 80, the system software starts the content management application. .

<Content image display processing>
FIG. 8 shows functional blocks of the control unit 50 that performs content image display processing. The control unit 50 includes an input detection unit 90, a display control unit 100, and an acquisition unit 120. The input detection unit 90 detects the screen position information sent from the position input device 24 and passes it to the display control unit 100. The display control unit 100 has a function of controlling the screen display of the display 25 and includes a content screen display unit 116 and a scroll instruction receiving unit 110. The content screen display unit 116 includes a template screen display unit 102, a content image display unit 104, a related information display unit 106, and an operator display unit 108. The scroll instruction receiving unit 110 includes a first receiving unit 112 and a second receiving unit. Part 114.

  Each function of the control unit 50 is realized by a CPU, a memory, a content management application program loaded in the memory, and the like, and in FIG. 8, functional blocks realized by their cooperation are depicted. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof. The control unit 50 has a multitask processing function and can execute a plurality of tasks simultaneously.

  The acquisition unit 120 acquires the content image 130 and the content information 132 transmitted from the content distribution server 4 and stores them in the storage unit 60. The acquisition unit 120 acquires the content image 130 and the content information 132 stored in the storage unit 60 and passes them to the display control unit 100. As described above, the acquisition unit 120 has a function of acquiring the content image 130 and the content information 132 from the content distribution server 4 and a function of acquiring from the storage unit 60. The latter acquisition function is realized by the acquisition unit 120 reading data from the storage unit 60.

  The content image 130 and the content information 132 transmitted from the content distribution server 4 may be handled as a group of data for each content. In addition, the acquisition unit 120 may extract and acquire the content image 130 and the content information 132 from the content data downloaded to the storage unit 60 and pass the extracted content image 130 and content information 132 to the display control unit 100. When the content is a game, the content data includes a game program for executing the game, a content image 130 for specifying the game, and content information 132.

  FIG. 9 shows a display screen 170 when the content management application is activated. On the display screen 170, an access destination selection area 140, an index display area 142, a content image display area 144, and an operator display area 146 are formed.

  In the access destination selection area 140, two access destinations “Game Store Channel” and “Libraries” are displayed. In this embodiment, when “Game Store Channel” is selected, the access destination is the content distribution server 4, and when “Libraries” is selected, the access destination is the storage unit 60. In the content image display area 144, the content image of the access destination selected in the access destination selection area 140 is displayed. The selection frame 150 is set to specify the access destination selected by the user, and the “Game Store Channel” access destination is selected on the display screen 170. In order to express that it is the selected access destination, for example, “Game Store Channel” may be displayed in bold or displayed in a conspicuous color. The user selects an access destination by tapping the display area of “Game Store Channel” or “Libraries”.

  In the index display area 142, an index tab for classifying content images to be displayed is formed. In the index display area 142, “Featured” is an index of a game group recommended by the content distributor, “Just in” is an index of a new game group, and “Top download” is an index of a popular game group. However, these are examples, and other types of index tabs may be formed. The user selects the type (group) of the content image to be displayed by tapping the index tab.

  In the content image display area 144, content images 160a, 160b, 160c, 160d, and 160e of the type selected by the index tab and content information 162 are displayed. In the content image display area 144, a plurality of content images 160a, 160b, 160c, 160d, and 160e (hereinafter collectively referred to as “content images 160”) are arranged side by side and arranged at the center position. The content image 160c is displayed larger than the other content images 160a, 160b, 160d, and 160e. Further, an information display area 156 for displaying the content information 162 is formed under the content image 160c. The content information 162 is information related to the content image 160c. In this example, the game title and the price are displayed as the content information 162. Note that an information display area 156 may be formed below the other content images 160a, 160b, 160d, and 160e, and the respective content information 162 may be displayed.

  When the user places a finger on the content image display area 144 and moves (traces) it in the right or left direction, the content image 160 moves in the right or left direction according to the movement. The content image display area 144 includes an arrangement area for a plurality of content images 160 and may be formed as a rectangular area as shown. When the content image 160 moves, the content information 162 displayed in the information display area 156 is also changed according to the content image 160c displayed at the center position. The process of scrolling based on the input information in the content image display area 144 is called “first scroll process”.

  In the operation element display area 146, an operation element 154 for moving the content image 160 in the horizontal direction is formed. The operation element 154 is a bar for scrolling the content image 160, and the content image 160 moves at a speed corresponding to the amount of movement by moving the finger from the center position shown in the figure to the right or left. In this example, the moving speed of the content image 160 increases as the amount of the operation element 154 shifted from the center position increases. The operation element 154a shows a state when it is moved to the right from the center position. At this time, the content image 160 moves to the left at a speed corresponding to the amount of displacement from the center position. The process of scrolling based on the input information to the operation element 154 is called “second scroll process”. Note that the second scroll process may be configured such that the amount of movement of the operator 154 corresponds to the amount of movement of the content image 160 using a scroll bar including a knob.

  Thus, in the electronic device 10, two types of scroll processes are prepared. The first scroll process is used when the content image 160 is scrolled at a low speed, and the second scroll process is used when the content image 160 is scrolled at a high speed.

  When “Game Store Channel” is selected as the access destination, when the user taps the content image 160 c arranged at the center position, for example, a purchase screen shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the touch panel 23. As described above, the content management application has a role of supporting download of content data. When the user taps the link area 152, the menu screen of the content distribution server 4 shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 8, when the content management application is activated, the acquisition unit 120 acquires the content image 130 and the content information 132 from the content distribution server 4 via the communication unit 40 and stores them in the storage unit 60. At this time, the acquisition unit 120 includes each index formed in the index display area 142, that is, a content list included in each of “Featured”, “Just in”, and “Top download”, and content images included in all indexes. 130 and content information 132 are preferably acquired at once. The content image 130 and the content information 132 are stored in a predetermined area in the storage unit 60, and the content list of each index includes link information of the content image 130 and the content information 132 stored in the storage unit 60. By storing the content image 130 and the content information 132 included in all indexes in the storage unit 60, the content list can be accessed without accessing the content distribution server 4 again even when the index tab is switched. The content image 160 and the content information 162 can be quickly arranged in the content image display area 144 by using.

  In the display control unit 100, the template screen display unit 102 displays a template screen. The template screen is a screen obtained by removing the content image 160, the content information 162, and the operation element 154 from the display screen 170. The acquisition unit 120 reads the content image 160 and the content information 162 corresponding to the index selected in the index display area 142 from the storage unit 60, and supplies them to the content image display unit 104 and the related information display unit 106, respectively. At this time, the acquisition unit 120 refers to the content list of the index, and reads the content image 160 and the content information 162 from the storage unit 60 using the link information included in the list.

  The content image display unit 104 arranges a plurality of content images 160 side by side in the content image display area 144. On the display screen 170, the plurality of content images 160 are arranged in the horizontal direction of the touch panel 23, but may be arranged in the vertical direction or the oblique direction. The content image display unit 104 orders the game titles in alphabetical order and arranges them in the order from left to right. When the game title is Japanese, the content image display unit 104 orders the game titles in the order of the Japanese syllabary and arranges them in the order from left to right. As shown in the content image display area 144, the central content image 160c is displayed larger than the others. In the content list acquired from the content distribution server 4, the display order of the game titles may be designated in advance in alphabetical order or alphabetical order, and the content image display unit 104 has a plurality of display orders according to the display order. The content image 160 may be arranged in the content image display area 144.

  The related information display unit 106 displays the content information 162 in the information display area 156 in conjunction with the content image 160 c displayed by the content image display unit 104. Although the game title and price are shown here, the name of the game maker or a star indicating the evaluation result may be displayed.

  The operation element display unit 108 displays the operation element 154 at the center position of the operation element display area 146. As described above, when the operator 154 is moved by the user, the second scroll process is executed. The scroll instruction receiving unit 110 receives an instruction to move the content images 160 arranged side by side, that is, a scroll instruction.

When “Libraries” is selected in the access destination selection area 140, the access destination is changed, and the content image 160 of the content stored in the storage unit 60 is displayed.
FIG. 10 shows a display screen 172 when the access destination is changed. Since it is basically the same as the display screen 170 shown in FIG. 9, the differences will be described.

  First, the selection frame 150 moves to the “Libraries” display area. As a result, the user can confirm that the access destination is the storage unit 60, and the content image 130 and the content information 132 of the game already downloaded and stored in the storage unit 60 are displayed in the content image display area 144. It becomes. As shown in FIG. 4, the content distribution server 4 manages the content downloaded by the electronic device 10 for each user as “My downloads”. That is, the content distribution server 4 grasps the content stored in the storage unit 60. Therefore, the acquisition unit 120 not only acquires the content image 130 and the content information 132 held in the content distribution server 4 when the display screen 170 illustrated in FIG. 9 is generated, but is also stored together in the storage unit 60. The content image 130 and the content information 132 of the existing content may be acquired.

  In the index display area 142, an index tab for classifying the content image 160 to be displayed is formed. In the index display area 142, “Titles” is an index of a game group downloaded to the storage unit 60, “Recently played” is an index of a recently played game group, and “Recently added” is a recently downloaded game. Although it is an index of a group, these are illustrations and other kinds of indexes may be formed. The user selects the type of content image 160 to be displayed by tapping the index tab.

The display control unit 100 creates a table of contents stored in the storage unit 60 in advance.
FIG. 11 shows the created content table. In the content table, link information for specifying the storage location of the game title, content image 130, etc., the download date / time of the content data, the last play date / time, and the title initial are associated with each other. The display control unit 100 records information about the content in the content table when the content data is downloaded. The title initial is an initial of the game title, and the display control unit 100 extracts the initial from the game title and includes it in the table. The display control unit 100 updates the last play date every time the game is played. The content table is stored in the storage unit 60.

  The acquisition unit 120 reads and acquires the content image 130 and the content information 132 corresponding to the index from the storage unit 60 with reference to the content table according to the index selected by the user.

  For example, when the “Titles” index is selected, the acquisition unit 120 acquires the content image 130 and the content information 132 from the storage unit 60 using the link information of all the game titles included in the content table. For example, when the “Recently played” index is selected, the acquisition unit 120 refers to the last play date and time included in the content table, and identifies a game title whose last play date and time is within a predetermined number of days from the current date and time. The content image 130 and the content information 132 are acquired from the storage unit 60 using the link information of the identified game title. The content image display unit 104 arranges a plurality of content images 160 side by side in the content image display area 144. The related information display unit 106 displays the content information 162 in the information display area 156 in conjunction with the content image 160 c displayed by the content image display unit 104.

  Note that the display control unit 100 may create a content list included in each index in advance according to the content table shown in FIG. The display control unit 100 updates the content list every time information in the content table is updated. For example, the content list of “Titles” includes all game titles downloaded to the storage unit 60. The display control unit 100 assigns each game title to a class corresponding to the alphabet with reference to the initials of the game title. This class specifies the display order during the second scroll process described later. Specifically, the display control unit 100 assigns each game title to a class of “A”, “B”... “Z”. If the initial of the game title is A, the game title is assigned to the “A” class, and if the initial is Z, the game title is assigned to the “Z” class. In addition, the display control unit 100 sets a display order corresponding to the class, and in this example, sets display in alphabetical order, and creates a content list. The display order within each class is determined in alphabetical order by the second and subsequent characters of the game title. Thereby, in the content list, the class and the display order are set for each game title. The content list also includes display information corresponding to the class, specifically alphabets such as A, B. This content list is updated each time a new game title is downloaded.

  Further, the content list of “Recently played” includes game titles whose last play date and time is within a predetermined number of days (eg, 7 days) from the current date and time. For example, the display control unit 100 sets the game title to “current day”, “one day ago”, “two days ago”, “three days ago” from the last play date of each game title included in the content table, with the current date as the current day. Allocate to “1 week ago” class. Specifically, if the current date and the last play date are the same, the game title is assigned to “the day”, and if the last play date is one day before the current date, the game title is set to “one day ago”. Sorted. Similarly, if the last play date is 4 to 7 days before the current date, the game title is assigned to “one week ago”. If the last play date is more than 8 days ago, the game title is not included in the “Recently played” content list. The display control unit 100 sets the display order according to the class. In this example, the display order is close to the current date and time, that is, “current day”, “1 day ago”, “2 days ago”, “3 days ago”, “1 week before ”Is set in order of display, and a content list is created. The display order within each class is determined by the time information of the last play date. In this way, the display control unit 100 creates a “Recently played” content list in which the game title is associated with the class and the display order. The content list also includes display information corresponding to the class, specifically, display information such as “current day”, “1 day ago”, “2 days ago”, “3 days ago”, “1 week ago”. This content list is updated every time the game is played. Note that the display control unit 100 similarly creates a content list of “Recently added”. The content list is stored in the storage unit 60.

  Thus, the display control unit 100 creates the content list of each index, so that the acquisition unit 120 can acquire the content image 130 and the content information 132 from the storage unit 60 with reference to the content list. . Accordingly, the acquisition unit 120 can shorten the acquisition time compared to acquiring the content image 130 and the content information 132 from the content table.

  Returning to FIG. 10, the thumbnail image 164 is a content image of a game during PAUSE. The electronic device 10 has a mechanism for temporarily stopping the progress of the game and displaying the display screen 172 when the user presses the PAUSE button during game play. Since the electronic device 10 can execute multitask processing, the user can also select and play another game from the display screen 172 while temporarily stopping the progress of the game being played. The user can return to the PAUSE game by tapping the thumbnail image 164. The thumbnail image 164 may be, for example, a content image of a game played last. In this case, the user can execute the game played last time by tapping the thumbnail image 164.

Hereinafter, two types of scroll processing will be described.
The position input device 24 sends position information regarding the touch location on the touch panel 23 to the control unit 50 based on a touch with a finger or the like. The input detection unit 90 detects the position information sent from the position input device 24 and passes it to the scroll instruction receiving unit 110.

(First scroll process)
When the position information indicates the touch position in the content image display area 144, the first receiving unit 112 receives the position information as an instruction to move the content image. Specifically, the first reception unit 112 derives the movement direction, movement amount (distance), and movement speed of the content image 160 from the position information, and acquires the derived movement direction, movement amount, and movement speed as a movement instruction. To do. In the present embodiment, the first receiving unit 112 detects a finger movement within a predetermined angle range from the horizontal direction of the screen as a moving direction in the right direction or the left direction of the screen. The first reception unit 112 also determines the amount of movement of the content image 160 and the distance from the point where the finger touches the touch panel 23 (touch start point) to the point where the finger leaves (touch end point) and the speed at that time. Deriving the moving speed. As described above, the first reception unit 112 acquires the movement instruction based on the input to the display area of the content image 160 displayed on the display 25. The first reception unit 112 sends a movement instruction to the content image display unit 104 and the related information display unit 106. The content image display unit 104 moves the content image 160 on the display 25 in a predetermined order according to the movement instruction. Referring to FIG. 10, five content images 160 are displayed in content image display area 144, and content image display unit 104 provides instructions in the designated direction at the designated speed. The content image 160 is moved by the moved amount.

  At this time, the related information display unit 106 controls to match the content information 162 displayed in the information display area 156 with the content image 160c displayed at the center position of the content image display area 144 according to the movement instruction. That is, when the content image displayed in the content image display area 144 is scrolled, the related information display unit 106 sequentially displays the game titles according to the content image 160c displayed at the center position in the information display area 156. To go.

  FIG. 12 shows a display screen 174 during the first scroll process. At this time, the information display area 156 displays the game title of the content image 160c displayed at the center position in the information display area 156 and also displays the indicator 166. The indicator 166 is used to indicate the relative position of the content image 160 being displayed among the plurality of content images 160 for which the display order is set. The total length of the indicator 166 represents the total number of content images 160, and the length of the indicator 168 included in the indicator 166 indicates the ratio between the number of content images 160 being displayed (in this case, five) and the total number. Express. The position of the indicator 168 indicates the relative position in the display order. Note that the content information 162 displayed in the information display area 156 during the first scroll processing is a game title, and content information 162 (see FIG. 10) displayed in the information display area 156 when not scrolling (when stationary). Are the same.

(Second scrolling process)
When the position information indicates the touch position on the operation element 154, the second reception unit 114 receives the position information as a content image movement instruction. Specifically, the second reception unit 114 obtains the displacement amount from the reference position of the operation element 154 (the center position in the operation element display area 146) from the position information, and derives the moving direction and moving speed of the content image 160. The derived movement direction and movement speed are acquired as movement instructions. As described above, the second reception unit 114 acquires the movement instruction based on the input to the operation element 154 displayed to be operable on the display 25. The second reception unit 114 sends a movement instruction to the content image display unit 104 and the related information display unit 106. In response to the movement instruction, the content image display unit 104 moves the content image 160 on the display 25 in a predetermined order at a specified speed at a specified speed.

  FIG. 13 shows a display screen 176 at the time of the second scroll process, and shows a state in which the operation element 154 is moving in the right direction. When the user pulls the operation element 154 rightward from the reference position, an instruction to move leftward is generated, and when the finger is released from the touch panel 23, the operation element 154 automatically returns to the reference position. The second reception unit 114 continues to acquire the movement instruction until the operation element 154 returns to the reference position. In this embodiment, a mechanism is adopted in which the content image 160 moves to the left when the operator 154 is moved to the right, but the content image 160 may be designed to move to the right.

  As the displacement amount of the operation element 154 is larger, the second reception unit 114 receives a movement instruction with a higher movement speed. Therefore, the second scroll process is suitable for high-speed scrolling, and is considered to be actively used by the user when the number of contents to be displayed is large, for example. When high-speed scrolling is performed, even if the related information display unit 106 displays the content information 162, it is difficult for the user to visually confirm. Therefore, the related information display unit 106 does not display the content information 162 as information related to the content image 160 arranged on the display screen 176, but displays information related to the display order of the content image 160 in the content image 160. Display in association. In this example, since the content images 160 are ordered in alphabetical order, the initial alphabet of the game title is used as the indicators 178a, 178b, 178c, 178d related to the display order. The initials of the game title are acquired from the content table shown in FIG. 11 or the content list created from the content table in association with the game title and the content image 160 by the related information display unit 106.

  In this example, the content image 160 moves to the left by moving the operator 154 to the right. The initial letter of the title of the content image 160c is “J” and is shown as an indicator 178c. When the initial of the content image 160d is also “J”, the indicator 178 is not added to the content image 160d. This is because if the user does not add an indicator to the next content image 160d, the user can recognize that the game title has the same initial character as the previous content image 160c. On the other hand, an indicator 178d that is “K” is added to the content image 160e. The user can recognize that the game title starting with “K” appears at the right end next to the game title starting with “J”. By displaying the initial title of the game title of the content image 160e before moving to the center position, the user can know when to stop scrolling by releasing the finger from the operation element 154. In this way, since a plurality of content images 160 are displayed in the content image display area 144, indicators 178a, 178b, and 178d are added in addition to the content image 160c at the center position to indicate the switching of the initial characters. Thus, it is preferable to assist the user in finding the target game title.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of adding information related to the display order of content images. In FIG. 14A to FIG. 14C, a game title is described in each frame representing the content image 160 for easy understanding. 14B shows a state in which the content image is shifted to the left by one from the display screen of FIG. 14A, and FIG. 14C shows a state in which the content image is left by one from the display screen of FIG. The state shifted to is shown.

  In FIG. 14A, the related information display unit 106 displays “J” below the content image 160c at the center position. The related information display unit 106 always displays an indicator 178 below the content image 160c. On the display screen having “Libraries” as the access destination, the user can execute the game by tapping the content image 160c at the center position. Therefore, an indicator 178 is always displayed below the content image 160c. Like to do. FIG. 15 shows a play selection screen 180. When the user touches the Play button, the game software “JKL fishing” is activated.

  Returning to FIG. 14 (a), in order to always display the indicator 178 below the content image 160c, even if a game title having the same initial letter exists next to the content image 160c, the content image (here, the content image) is displayed. No indicator 178 is displayed below 160d). That is, the same indicator 178 is not displayed. “D” is displayed below the content image 160a, “I” is displayed below the content image 160b, and “K” is displayed below the content image 160e. By confirming “K”, the user recognizes that the game title with the initial letter K is scrolled. For example, when playing a game title with the initial letter K, the operator 154 You can know when it is time to release your finger.

  In FIG. 14B, the related information display unit 106 displays “J” below the content image 160c at the center position. “J” is also an acronym for “JKL fishing” moved to the left from the center position, but in the related information display unit 106, the initial of the game title “JZZ fight” at the center position is “J”. Therefore, “J” is not displayed below the content image 160b, and “J” is displayed below the content image 160c. As described above, the related information display unit 106 displays the initials of the game title below the content image 160c at the center position, while the initials are displayed below the content image 160b of the game title having the same initials. Is not displayed. Further, the related information display unit 106 displays “K” below the content image 160d. However, since the initial of the game title of the content image 160e is also “K”, an indicator 178 is displayed below the content image 160e. do not do. As described above, when the related information display unit 106 displays an initial character different from the initial character of the game title at the central position at a position before (ie, to the right of) the central position in the scroll direction, the content image close to the central position is displayed. The initial “K” of the game title is displayed below 160d. In addition, the related information display unit 106 displays “I” below the content image 160a.

  In FIG. 14C, the related information display unit 106 displays “K” below the content image 160c at the center position. Further, “P” is displayed below the newly displayed content image 160e. By confirming “P”, the user recognizes that the game title starting with P is scrolled. The initial letter “J” past the center position is displayed below the last content image 160b. As described above, when the related information display unit 106 displays an initial character that is different from the initial character of the game title at the central position at the position ahead (that is, the left side) from the central position in the scroll direction, the content image close to the central position. The initial “J” of the game title is displayed below 160b.

  As described above, the electronic apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment prepares two types of scroll processing, and in each case, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the related information display unit 106 displays the content image display unit 104. Different related information is displayed for the same content image 160 arranged by the above. Specifically, the related information display unit 106 displays different types of related information when the first reception unit 112 acquires a movement instruction and when the second reception unit 114 acquires a movement instruction. By displaying different types of related information, a user interface that takes advantage of the features of each scroll process is realized. As described above, the content list includes display information corresponding to the class, and at the time of the second scrolling process, the acquisition unit 120 reads out the display information corresponding to the class from the content list to obtain related information. The information may be passed to the display unit 106 and the related information display unit 106 may display the display information corresponding to the class as the related information.

  FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of the scroll process. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 16, the processing procedure of each part is displayed by a combination of S (acronym for Step) meaning a step and a number. In addition, when a determination process is executed in the process displayed by the combination of S and a number, and the determination result is affirmative, Y (acronym for Yes) is added, for example (Y in S10) If the result of the determination is negative, N (acronym for No) is added and (N in S10) is displayed. The meaning of the display in the flowchart is the same in the flowcharts shown in other drawings.

  First, when the first reception unit 112 acquires a scroll instruction to the content image, that is, a scroll instruction input to the content image display area 144 from the input detection unit 90 (Y in S10), the content image display unit 104 scrolls. The content image 160 is moved (scrolled) in accordance with the instruction (S12), and the related information display unit 106 displays content information for specifying the content in association with the content image 160c at the center position (S14).

  On the other hand, when the first reception unit 112 does not acquire a scroll instruction (N in S10), the second reception unit 114 acquires a scroll instruction to the operation element 154 from the input detection unit 90 (Y in S16). The image display unit 104 moves the content image 160 according to the scroll instruction (S18), and the related information display unit 106 displays the title initials of the content image 160 displayed in the content image display region 144 (S20). When the second reception unit 114 does not acquire a scroll instruction (N in S16), this flow ends.

  Although the example in which the content image display unit 104 orders a plurality of content images in the alphabetical order of the game title has been shown, for example, in the display screen 172 shown in FIG. The content images included in the group may be ordered by date. At this time, the content image display unit 104 acquires the display order of the content images according to the content table shown in FIG. 11 or a content list created from the content table. As described above, in the content list, the last play date or purchase date, such as the day, 1 day ago, 2 days ago, 3 days ago, 1 week ago, etc., is classified in time series.

  The related information display unit 106 displays the last play date or purchase date or time as related information when stationary and during the first scroll process. On the other hand, during the second scroll process, the related information display unit 106 displays “current day”, “one day ago”, and “two days ago” as the indicator 178 related to the display order according to the content table or content list. . By adding the indicator 178 to the content image display area 144 in this way, the user can recognize related information even when scrolling at high speed.

  When the user releases his / her finger from the operation element 154 and the second reception unit 114 finishes receiving the movement instruction, the related information display unit 106 displays the content information 162 in the information display area 156 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the content information 162 is also displayed during the first scroll process. Therefore, the related information display unit 106 is displayed during the first scroll process when the second scroll process ends. The content information 162 is displayed in the information display area 156.

<Content search processing>
FIG. 17 shows functional blocks of the control unit 50 that performs content search processing. The control unit 50 includes an input detection unit 90, a search instruction reception unit 200, a search processing unit 202, an acquisition unit 204, and a display control unit 100. The input detection unit 90 detects screen position information sent from the position input device 24. The display control unit 100 has a function of controlling the screen display of the display 25, and includes a content screen display unit 116, a search screen display unit 210, a display area determination unit 212, and a search result display unit 214. The content screen display unit 116 is the same as the content screen display unit shown in FIG. 8, and displays the display screen 172 (see FIG. 10) that displays the content stored in the storage unit 60 or the content held by the content distribution server 4. A display screen 170 (see FIG. 9) is generated.

  Each function of the control unit 50 is realized by a CPU, a memory, a content management application program loaded in the memory, and the like, and in FIG. 17, functional blocks realized by their cooperation are depicted. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

  When the user taps the search button 71 on the display screen 170 illustrated in FIG. 9 or the display screen 172 illustrated in FIG. 10, the search processing function is activated. The input detection unit 90 detects position information sent from the position input device 24 and passes it to the search instruction receiving unit 200. When detecting that the received position information indicates the display area of the search button 71, the search instruction receiving unit 200 recognizes that it is a search instruction and sends it to the display control unit 100. In the display control unit 100, the search screen display unit 210 receives the search instruction and displays the search screen.

  FIG. 18 shows the search screen 230. A software keyboard 222 is displayed on the search screen 230, and the user presses the software keyboard 222 to input a desired character string into the input window 220. The input detection unit 90 sends the input character string to the search instruction receiving unit 200. The search instruction receiving unit 200 receives the input character string as search contents. The search instruction receiving unit 200 passes the search content to the search processing unit 202.

  The search processing unit 202 searches the storage unit 60 according to the search instruction and search content received by the search instruction receiving unit 200 and causes the content distribution server 4 to perform a search via the communication unit 40. For example, when the input character string is “action”, the search processing unit 202 searches the content data stored in the storage unit 60 for content data including “action” in the character string. In the content data, the game category is incorporated as attribute information, and the search processing unit 202 searches for content data including “action” in the attribute information, the game title, and the like. The search processing unit 202 instructs the content distribution server 4 to perform the same search via the communication unit 40.

  The acquisition unit 204 acquires search results from the content distribution server 4. The acquisition unit 204 acquires the search result in the storage unit 60 from the search processing unit 202. The acquisition unit 204 passes the acquired search result to the display control unit 100. The display control unit 100 displays the search result of the storage unit 60 and the search result of the content distribution server 4 in different display areas. That is, the display control unit 100 divides the display 25 into two display areas, and displays the search result of the storage unit 60 and the search result of the content distribution server 4 in different display areas. By displaying the search results separately, the user can determine at a glance which search results are displayed.

  The display area determination unit 212 determines the display area of the search result of the storage unit 60 and the search result of the content distribution server 4. The display area determination unit 212 determines the display area of the search result of the storage unit 60 and the search result of the content distribution server 4 according to the screen when the search instruction reception unit 200 receives the search instruction. Specifically, whether the search instruction receiving unit 200 has received a search instruction when the display screen 170 in which the access destination is set to “Game Store Channel” is displayed, or the access destination is set to “Libraries”. Depending on whether the search instruction receiving unit 200 has received a search instruction when the displayed display screen 172 is displayed, the display area determining unit 212 determines the display area of the search result. Information specifying the display screen when the search instruction is received is notified from the search instruction receiving unit 200 to the display area determining unit 212.

  FIG. 19 shows a search result screen 236. The search result screen 236 is divided into a first display area 232 located at the top of the screen and a second display area 234 located at the bottom of the screen. Since the first display area 232 is positioned above the second display area 234 on the search result screen 236, the user can more easily view the search result displayed in the first display area 232.

  The display area determination unit 212 determines the display area of the search result of the storage unit 60 and the search result of the content distribution server 4 according to the screen when the search instruction reception unit 200 receives the search instruction. Specifically, when the search instruction receiving unit 200 receives a search instruction while the display screen 172 (see FIG. 10) displaying the content stored in the storage unit 60 is displayed, the display area determination unit 212 searches the storage unit 60. The display area of the search result of the content distribution server 4 is determined as the second display area 234 in the first display area 232 located on the side where the result display area is easily visible. On the other hand, when the search instruction receiving unit 200 receives a search instruction during display of the display screen 170 (see FIG. 9) that displays the content held by the content distribution server 4, the display area of the search result of the content distribution server 4 is visually recognized. The display area of the search result in the storage unit 60 is determined as the second display area 234 in the first display area 232 located on the side that is easy to perform. For example, when the search result display areas are set on the left and right sides of the screen, the left display area corresponds to an easily visible area. In this case, the left display area is the first display area 232. The right display area is treated as the second display area 234. FIG. 19 shows a search result screen 236 when a search instruction is accepted while the display screen 170 is displayed.

  When the user taps the search button 71 on the display screen 172, he / she is interested in the search result of the storage unit 60. On the other hand, when the user taps the search button 71 on the display screen 170, he / she is interested in the search result of the content distribution server 4. It can be said that there is. Therefore, by displaying the search results with high user interest in the first display area 232, a search result screen 236 that is easy for the user to view can be provided. Note that the first display area 232 may be set to a size larger than the second display area 234. Thereby, it is possible to relatively increase the number of display of the search results with high user interest.

  The search result display unit 214 displays the search result of the storage unit 60 and the search result of the content distribution server 4 side by side in the determined display area. At this time, the search result display unit 214 arranges the search results of the storage unit 60 in the first order, and arranges the search results of the content distribution server 4 in the second order different from the first order. Specifically, the search result display unit 214 arranges the search results of the storage unit 60 from the top, for example, in the order of close play dates, while the search result of the content distribution server 4 is hit by a search in the content distribution server 4, for example. Arrange in order. Note that the search results of the content distribution server 4 may be arranged in alphabetical order.

  In the first display area 232 shown in FIG. 19, the game title “BBB action” is marked with “installed”. This means that the game has already been downloaded. Since the content distribution server 4 manages the downloaded content of the electronic device 10, when the search result is returned, a predetermined mark such as “installed” may be added to the downloaded content. This processing may be performed on the electronic device 10 side. In addition, when the downloaded content is included in the search result of the content distribution server 4, the display of the content can be deleted from the search result screen 236.

  FIG. 20 shows a flowchart of the search process. When the user taps the search button 71, the search instruction receiving unit 200 receives a search instruction (Y in S30). If the user does not tap the search button 71 (N in S30), the search process is not started.

  The search screen display unit 210 receives the search instruction and displays the search screen (S32). The search instruction receiving unit 200 receives the search content input on the search screen (S34), and passes it to the search processing unit 202. The search processing unit 202 searches the storage unit 60 according to the search instruction and the search content, and causes the content distribution server 4 to perform a search via the communication unit 40 (S36). The acquisition unit 204 acquires a search result from the content distribution server 4 and acquires a search result in the storage unit 60 from the search processing unit 202 (S38). The acquisition unit 204 passes the acquired search result to the display control unit 100.

  The display area determination unit 212 determines the display area of the search result of the storage unit 60 and the search result of the content distribution server 4 according to the screen when the search instruction reception unit 200 receives the search instruction (S40). When the content in the storage unit 60 is displayed (Y in S40), the display area determination unit 212 determines the upper first display area 232 as a display area for the search result in the storage unit 60 (S42). The search result display unit 214 displays the search result (S46). On the other hand, when the content of the content distribution server 4 is being displayed (N in S40), the display area determination unit 212 determines the upper first display area 232 as the search result display area of the content distribution server 4. The search result display unit 214 displays the search result (S46).

  In the above, this invention was demonstrated based on the Example. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing process, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. .

  In the embodiment, the user inputs an instruction from the touch panel 23, but the instruction may be input from an operation key provided on the electronic device 10. For example, when the electronic device 10 does not have the touch panel 23, referring to FIG. 2, a movement instruction in the first scroll process is input by operating the L button 37 or the R button 38, and the movement instruction in the second scroll process is a direction. It may be input by operating the keys 31b and 31d. Even when the touch panel 23 is present, a scroll instruction input may be assigned to the operation keys.

  In the embodiment, the case where the content is a game is illustrated. However, even if the content is, for example, music, a movie, or a book, the content to be displayed is classified in advance according to the title, the playback date and the like. The title is displayed during the first scroll process, and the display information corresponding to the class is displayed in association with the display object during the second scroll process.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Content provision system, 4 ... Content delivery server, 10 ... Electronic device, 23 ... Touch panel, 24 ... Position input device, 25 ... Display, 40 ... Communication part, 50: Control unit, 60: Storage unit, 90: Input detection unit, 100: Display control unit, 102: Template screen display unit, 104: Content image display unit, 106 ..Related information display unit 108... Operator display unit 110... Scroll instruction reception unit 112... First reception unit 114. , 120 ... acquisition unit, 200 ... search instruction reception unit, 202 ... search processing unit, 204 ... acquisition unit, 210 ... search screen display unit, 212 ... display area determination unit , 214 ... Search result display .

Claims (8)

An electronic device having a communication function,
A storage unit for storing content data;
A communication unit connected to the server;
A reception unit that accepts content search instructions;
A search processing unit that searches the storage unit according to the search instruction received by the reception unit and causes the server to perform a search via the communication unit;
A display control unit for displaying the search result of the storage unit and the search result of the server in different display areas;
An electronic device comprising: The display control unit
A content screen display unit for generating a first screen for displaying content stored in the storage unit, or a second screen for displaying content held by the server;
A display area determination unit for determining a search result of the storage unit and a display area of the search result of the server;
The reception unit receives a search instruction during display of the first screen or the second screen,
The display area determination unit determines a display area of a search result of the storage unit and a search result of the server according to a screen when the reception unit receives a search instruction. The electronic device described.   When the reception unit receives a search instruction while the first screen is displayed, the display region determination unit makes the display region of the search result of the storage unit easier to visually recognize than the display region of the search result of the server. If the reception unit receives a search instruction while the second screen is displayed, the search result display area of the server is set to a position that is more easily visible than the search result display area of the storage unit. 3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein   When the receiving unit receives a search instruction while the first screen is being displayed, the display region determining unit sets the search result display region in the storage unit to a size larger than the search result display region of the server. When the receiving unit receives a search instruction during display of the second screen, the search result display area of the server is set to a size larger than the search result display area of the storage unit. Item 4. The electronic device according to Item 2 or 3. The display control unit includes a search result display unit that arranges the search result of the storage unit and the search result of the server in respective display areas,
The search result display unit arranges the search results of the storage unit in a first order, and arranges the search results of the server in a second order different from the first order. 5. The electronic device according to any one of 4. Connecting to the server;
Receiving a content search instruction;
Searching the storage unit for storing the content data according to the received search instruction, and causing the connected server to perform a search;
Displaying the search result of the storage unit and the search result of the server in different display areas;
A search processing method comprising: On the computer,
The ability to connect to the server,
The ability to accept content search instructions;
In accordance with the received search instruction, the storage unit that stores the content data is searched, and the connected server performs a search;
A function for displaying the search result of the storage unit and the search result of the server in different display areas.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 7 is recorded.

Images