JPWO2008059849A1 - Menu display device, information processing device, and menu display method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily select a menu by improving the visibility of the menu. A state control unit 11 changes object data 21 (current node) that is currently selected according to a user's selection, and a direction (three-dimensional position information) of a menu object 51a according to an operation from the user. To change. The display control unit 12 generates an image of the menu object 51 a in response to an instruction from the state control unit 11 and displays it as the menu display 51 on the display device 50. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a menu display device, an information processing device, and a menu display method with improved visibility.

  As a method for selecting a menu having options hierarchically arranged in a tree structure, for example, a method of displaying a list of options in stages and selecting a target option by selecting in stages (for example, patents) is known. Reference 1).

Also, there is known a method of displaying a menu option list by mapping it on the surface of a cube-shaped display object (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2006-114049 A (FIG. 4A, FIG. 4D to FIG. 4H) US Pat. No. 5,303,388 (FIGS. 1, 3 to 5)

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, when there are many menu layers or when there are many choices in each layer, the menu display is expanded to the full screen, and the visibility becomes poor and the selection takes time. There was a problem. Further, the invention described in Patent Document 2 also has a problem that visibility becomes poor because display of options on a cube is reduced when menu options increase.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a menu display device, an information processing device, and a menu display method capable of easily selecting a menu with improved visibility. Objective.

  In order to solve this problem, the menu display device according to the present invention includes a plurality of items in which the next unit menu data or a pointer indicating processing to be executed and display information to be displayed on the surface are defined for each surface of the polyhedron. Holding unit for holding the unit menu data, current holding unit for holding a pointer indicating the current unit menu data, and the orientation of the polyhedron corresponding to the unit menu data specified by the pointer held in the current holding unit A unit designated by a pointer of the current holding unit according to the direction information held by the direction holding unit holding the direction information shown, the changing unit changing the direction information according to the user's instruction, and the direction holding unit Display control means for displaying a polyhedron image obtained by mapping an image according to display information in the menu data, and a user-selected polyhedron. Depending on the definition of the pointer corresponding to the surface of the body, and having an execution control means for executing the display or processing of the polyhedron of the image corresponding to the next unit menu data.

  The unit menu data is hierarchically configured by designating pointers according to the menu structure, for example. The unit menu data displayed on the polyhedron is designated by a pointer held in the current holding means, and is appropriately changed according to the user's selection. In addition, the orientation of the polyhedron corresponding to the unit menu data specified by the pointer held in the current holding means is changed by the changing means according to the user's instruction, and the display control means changes the current according to the orientation information. A polyhedron image obtained by mapping an image corresponding to display information in the unit menu data designated by the pointer of the holding means is displayed.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes the menu display apparatus according to the present invention. The information processing apparatus includes, for example, an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile phone terminal, a hard disk recorder, a video / audio apparatus such as a DVD, a car navigation apparatus, and the like.

  Further, in the menu display method according to the present invention, the next unit menu data or the pointer indicating the processing to be executed and the display information to be displayed on the surface are defined for each surface of the polyhedron according to the user's selection. A step of selecting current unit menu data from a plurality of unit menu data, a step of changing orientation information of a polyhedron corresponding to the current unit menu data in accordance with a user instruction, and in the current unit menu data according to the direction information A step of displaying a polyhedron image obtained by mapping an image according to the display information and display of a polyhedron image corresponding to the next unit menu data according to a definition of a pointer corresponding to the surface of the polyhedron selected by the user, or And a step of executing the process.

  In the present invention, the orientation of the polyhedron is changed according to the user's instruction, and the display of the polyhedron image corresponding to the next unit menu data is displayed according to the pointer of the unit menu data corresponding to the surface of the polyhedron designated by the user, or By defining the menu options as unit menu data by executing the processing, the menu can be selected step by step, and a display that can be easily recognized even in a hierarchical menu. Thereby, visibility can be improved and a menu can be selected easily.

  The present invention can be applied to menu display in devices such as personal computers, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), information processing devices such as mobile phone terminals, hard disk recorders, audiovisual devices such as DVDs, and car navigation devices.

(overall structure)
The information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a menu display control unit 10 that executes menu display control, menu data 20 that indicates a menu configuration, and a state that indicates an operation state, as illustrated in FIG. Variable 30, input device 40 such as a keyboard, input switch, and mouse, display device 50 having a display screen, application 60 that executes processing such as data display, and display control of the display device 50 on the display screen A display control API 70 is provided. This information processing apparatus is constituted by an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, etc., and a PDA, and operates as a functional block shown in FIG. 1 by executing a control program. To do. Thereby, for example, the menu display control unit 10 is realized by processing by the CPU. The menu data 20 and the state variable 30 are stored in a predetermined area in the memory.

  The menu display control unit 10 displays a menu display 51 on the display device 50 according to an instruction from the state control unit 11 that controls an operation state (mode) according to the input from the input device 40 and the state control unit 11. A display control unit 12 and an application activation control unit 13 that activates the application 60 in response to an instruction from the state control unit 11 are provided. The menu display 51 is composed of, for example, a menu object (parent object) 51a and elements (child objects) 51b, 51c, 51d constituting a bar. These menu objects 51a and elements 51b, 51c, 51d are displayed according to the object data 21 corresponding to them.

  The shape of the menu object 51a or the element 51b (51c, 51d) is defined by shape data having coordinates of each surface constituting a polyhedron (in this case, a cube) as shown in FIG. 2 shows a hexahedron as an example of a polyhedron, but the polyhedron is not limited to this. If the number of planes is n, it can be easily associated with an n-hedron. The menu object 51a and the element 51b (51c, 51d) have different display sizes, but this is separately controlled by the state control unit 11 according to a state variable such as an operation mode. As shown in FIG. 1, when the menu object 51a has a simple shape such as a cube, the display control unit 12 sets the cube according to the three-dimensional position information without providing shape data. You may make it control drawing.

  The state variable 30 includes a “root object” indicating the pointer of the object data 21 that is the start position of the menu, a “current node” indicating the pointer of the object data 21 of the currently displayed menu object 51a, and a “mode” indicating the display state. ”,“ Three-dimensional position information ”indicating the orientation of the menu object 51a, elements 51b, 51c, 51d,“ display position information ”indicating the position of the menu display 51 in the display screen, and the like.

  In the “three-dimensional position information”, for example, rotation angles [x, y, z] from the default (initial position) of the polyhedron corresponding to the menu object 51a, elements 51b, 51c, 51d, etc. z]. Menu objects 51a, elements 51b, 51c, 51d, and the like displayed in the menu display 51 are rendered by appropriately setting the camera position and performing viewport conversion. The display control unit 12 draws the menu object 51a and the like while rotating the coordinates of each surface of the shape data according to the three-dimensional position information. In the example of FIG. 1, the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis directions of the virtual space coordinates indicating the position of the menu object 51a and the like are relative to the viewport direction (direction perpendicular to the display surface of the display device 50). An example of a tilted state is shown. In addition, instead of viewport conversion, for example, as shown in FIG. 24A, images of menu objects 51a, elements 51b, 51c, 51d, etc. may be drawn by parallel projection.

  The input device 40 includes keys (up key 41, down key 42, left key 43, right key 44, confirmation key 45) for inputting, for example, up / down / left / right input and selection. These keys may be, for example, a cursor movement key and a confirmation key in the case of a personal computer. Instead of these keys 41 to 45, an input device such as an external joystick may be used, or a user's instruction may be input using a pointing device such as a mouse 49. In the case of a PDA or the like, an input device such as an input key can be used.

  The application 60 is a processing program that operates on an OS (Operating System) that controls the operation of the entire information processing apparatus, and corresponds to, for example, a program that displays data. The display control API 70 corresponds to a part for controlling drawing of an image displayed on the display device 50 in an OS (Operating System) that controls the operation of the entire information processing apparatus, for example.

(Object data 21 general structure)
In the object data 21, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, definition information 21a ₁ , 21a ₂ ,..., 21a _n (n: number of faces) for each face of the polyhedron of the menu object 51a is defined. Definition of each surface information 21a 1, _21a 2, _..., in in 21a _n, such as characters, icons to be displayed on the surface (hereinafter, simply described denoted as "display character".) Are shown information (or icon A pointer indicating the image file) 211, a flag 212 indicating whether a bar is displayed or an application is activated when the surface is instructed, and information (pointers) 213 ₁ , 213 indicating the bar (element) to be displayed ₂ ,..., 213 _p (p: total number of bars) and information (pointer) 214 indicating the application 60 to be activated when the surface is designated. It should be noted that only _{one of} the information 213 ₁ , 213 ₂ ,..., 213 _p and the information 214 is provided according to the value of the flag 212, and it is determined which information is the information according to the value of the flag 212 during operation. You may do it.

In the information 213 ₁ , 213 ₂ ,..., 213 _p indicating the bar to be displayed, pointers of m pieces of object data 21 constituting the elements constituting the bar are defined. The display control unit 12 generates images of the elements 51b, 51c, and 51d according to the operation mode and the definitions of these pointers. It should be noted that the number of pointers in the information 213 ₁ , 213 ₂ ,..., 213 _p , that is, the number of elements constituting the bar may not be the same between the bars, and the information 213 ₁ , The number of pointers in 213 ₂ ,..., 213 _p may be changed as appropriate. Further, as shown in FIG. 1 described above, the display size of the menu object 51a and the elements 51b, 51c, and 51d are different, but the structure of the object data 21 corresponding thereto is the same.

The above is the structure of the general object data 21. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the shape of the menu object 51a or the like is a cube, and the elements are arranged from the periphery of the surface facing the front toward the outer four directions. when the displayable three bars, the object data 21, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the surface definition information _{21a 1,} 21a 2, ..., 21a ₆ 6 Tsutonari, information ₂₁₃ 1, 213 ₂ , ..., 213 ₄ 4 Tsutonari, the information _{213 1,} 213 2, ..., pointers in 213 ₄ is each three.

In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the area in front of the menu object 51a is divided into areas 51a1 to 51ap (in this case, areas 51a1 to 51a4) corresponding to the total number p of elements (in this case, 4), state control unit 11, information _{213 1,} 213 2 corresponding to the designated area from the user, ..., a1 in Fig. 4 when the 213 _4-defined bar (e.g. region 51a1 is instructed, the area 51a2 Is displayed, a2 is displayed, and if area 51a3 is specified, a3 is displayed, and if area 51a4 is specified, only a4) is displayed. The instruction of each area is detected according to the position of the mouse cursor at the time of clicking when the mouse 49 is used. When the up key 41 to the right key 44 and the confirmation key 45 are used, detection is performed according to the up key 41 to the right key 44 that are simultaneously designated when the confirmation key 45 is designated.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1 described above, if the elements 51b, 51c, 51d are displayed only on one side of the menu object 51a, the object data 21 is represented by one bar a1 as shown in FIG. 7, for example. It can be set as the structure which has only the information 213 corresponding to. Further, instead of the definition corresponding to the bar described above, the pointer of the next object data 21 may be defined by the information 213. In this case, when the screen is designated, the next menu object 51a corresponding to the object data 21 corresponding to the pointer is displayed.

  On the display screen of the display device 50, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, a menu image (menu display) 51 by the menu display control unit 10, an execution result of the application 60 (application display) 52, an input device 40, and the like. A cursor 53 that can be moved by an operation is displayed. The display position of the menu display 51 can be moved anywhere on the display screen of the display device 50 by pointing the menu display 51 with the cursor 53 under the control of the state control unit 11 and dragging it to the destination. It has become. The display position of the menu display 51 is managed as “display position information” in the state variable 30 described above.

  The menu display 51 having such a shape is, for example, a raster of alpha data as shown in FIG. 9 (1 bit depth indicating whether or not transparency is present (in FIG. 9, the black portion indicates a portion that is not transparent). Data) is synthesized on the image of the application display 52 by the so-called alpha blending method. In this example, the black portion in FIG. 9 is an opaque portion and the image of the menu object 51a, the elements 51b, 51c, and 51d is displayed, and the white portion is the immediate portion and the application display 52 behind is displayed. It is a part to be done. In addition to the synthesis using such an alpha blending method, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, a unique display area such as a menu display window is displayed, and the menu display 51 is displayed in the area. It may be. The display position of the menu display 51 can be moved to an arbitrary position on the display screen of the display device 50 by a drag operation with the mouse 49 or the like. The state control unit 11 changes the “display position” of the state variable 30 according to the position of the movement destination.

(Menu data details)
When the menu structure is a hierarchical tree structure as shown by a solid line in FIG. 11, for example, the menu data 20 can be composed of object data 21 shown by a broken line in FIG. More specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, the object data 21 is composed of a plurality of object data 21 linked by pointers according to the menu structure. Further, since such a link structure is configured by designating a pointer, it does not have to be a simple tree structure. For example, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to define pointers. For this reason, depending on the setting of the object data 21, it is possible to realize a shortcut operation for directly shifting from the menu corresponding to the lower object data 21 to the menu corresponding to the upper object data 21. Thereby, for example, a complicated operation of returning the menu step by step to the upper menu can be eliminated, and the menu selection can be speeded up.

(Overview of operation)
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating transition between modes according to the selection status of the node (object data 21) in FIG. In the “box display” mode (S1), the object data 21 corresponding to the menu object 51a is selected, only the menu object 51a is displayed in the menu display 51, and each surface of the menu object 51a can be selected. In the “bar display” mode (S2), the menu object 51a and the elements 51b, 51c, 51d are displayed in the menu display 51, and any one of the elements 51b, 51c, 51d can be selected. The “element display” mode (S3) is a state in which each surface of the selected element 51b (51c, 51d) can be selected.

  For example, in the initial state, the pointer “Top” is set in the root object of the state variable 30, for example, the mode is the box display mode, and the three-dimensional position information is in the state without rotation, that is, [x, y, z]. = [0, 0, 0] is set, and the display position information is set to a predetermined initial position.

  In such a state, when a menu display is instructed by the user, the state control unit 11 sets the “pointer“ Top ”of the root object to the current node, and shifts to the box display mode shown in FIG. The display control unit 12 is instructed to display the menu object 51a, and in response, the display control unit 12 displays the menu object 51a at the position on the display device 50 instructed by the display position information of the state variable 30. At this time, for example, as shown in FIG. 15A, display is performed to move the image of the menu object 51a to the display position while rotating, or to the display position as shown in FIG. Alternatively, the display of moving the image of the menu object 51a may be performed, or the menu may be displayed at the display position. Fade-in processing to reveal gradually darker display density over the object 51a, or may be subjected to a treatment for abruptly display the menu object 51a in the display position.

  In the “box display” mode, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, a menu object 51 a displayed on the menu display 51 by the display control unit 12 in response to an input of the up key 41 to the right key 44 (or a drag operation of the mouse 49). Is rotated and displayed (S11 in FIG. 4). Further, in the “box display” mode, when the confirmation key 45 is instructed, the state control unit 11 at that time faces the front of the screen of the display device 50 (strictly speaking, the normal line is in the viewport direction). The information 213 of the definition information 21a1 in FIG. 7 corresponding to the closest surface, for example, the surface A with surface number 1 corresponding to “music” in the state of FIG. The mode is shifted to the “bar display” mode in which the element indicated by the pointer (EU, Japan, Korea) is displayed (S13). Alternatively, when the pointer corresponding to the surface facing the front indicates the activation of the application, the state control unit 11 instructs the application activation control unit 13 to activate the application (S12).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 17A, the confirmation key 45 is instructed (or the mouse 49 is in the state where the surface of the surface number 1 of the menu object 51a (the surface A corresponding to “music”) is displayed in front. When the button is clicked, the display control unit 12 displays the element specified by the pointer of the information 213 in the definition information 21a1 of the surface A in the object data 21 as shown in FIG. Object data 21, 21, 21) corresponding to “EU”, “Japan”, “Korea” are sequentially selected, and the images of the elements 51 b, 51 c, 51 d are displayed on the menu display 51 accordingly. Thus, the “bar display” mode in which the bar (a1) including the elements 51b, 51c, 51d is displayed on the menu display 51 is set.

  In this “bar display” mode, for example, as shown in (B) to (D) of FIG. 17 described above, display control is performed in accordance with the input of the left key 43 or the right key 44 (or the drag operation of the mouse 49). The unit 12 selects and highlights any of the elements 51b, 51c, 51d (S21). When the confirmation key 45 is instructed (or when the mouse 49 is clicked), the state control unit 11 is in an “element display” mode in which each surface of the elements 51b, 51c, 51d selected at that time can be selected. (S22).

  In this “element display” mode, for example, as shown in (E), (F), and (G) in FIG. 17, in response to an input of the up key 41 to the right key 44 (or a drag operation of the mouse 49), The display control unit 12 rotates and displays the direction of the element 51b (51c, 51d) displayed on the menu display 51 (S31). Further, when the confirmation key 45 is instructed (or the mouse 49 is clicked) in the “element display” mode, the state control unit 11 moves the pointer of the element 51b (51c, 51d) selected at that time next. Corresponding to the direction of the surface facing the front of the screen of the display device 50 (for example, surface A with surface number 1 corresponding to “Japanese pops” in the state of (F) in FIG. 17). The information to be set is set in the three-dimensional position information and the mode is shifted to the “box display” mode (S33). When returning to the box display mode (S1), the state control unit 11 displays the menu object 51a on the display control unit 12 according to the newly set current node and three-dimensional position information, for example, as shown in FIG. The display control unit 12 displays the menu object 51a corresponding to the object data 21 specified by the current node in an orientation corresponding to the three-dimensional position information.

  Alternatively, in the “element display” mode, when the pointer corresponding to the surface facing the front indicates the activation of the application, the state control unit 11 instructs the application activation control unit 13 to activate the application. (S32).

(Details of display control unit 12)
By the way, as shown in FIG. 19, for example, the display control unit 12 described above corresponds to the data acquisition unit 121 that acquires data necessary for the menu display 51 from the menu data 20, the data that the data acquisition unit 121 acquires, A texture generation unit 122 that generates texture, a drawing instruction unit 123 that instructs the display control API 70 to perform drawing, and 124 that controls operations of the data acquisition unit data acquisition units 121 to 123 are provided. The display control API 70 described above includes a 3D engine 71 that performs drawing of a three-dimensional image such as OpenGL (trademark) and DirectX (trademark). In addition, the state control unit 11 includes an effect setting unit 111 that controls effects such as highlighting according to settings. The drawing instruction unit 123 performs drawing of the menu object 51a, elements 51b, 51c, 51d, and the like in accordance with instructions from the control unit 124.

(Drawing process details)
Drawing processing of the menu object 51a and the like by the display control unit 12 is executed as shown in FIG. 20, for example. When the drawing of the menu object 51a or the like is instructed from the state control unit 11, the control unit 124 causes the data acquisition unit 121 to acquire the definition information of the current object data 21 according to the value of the current node (S51). A surface to be drawn is selected according to the display position information (position) and the three-dimensional position information (direction) (S52). Further, in the control unit 124, the texture generation unit 122 acquires display characters corresponding to each selected surface from the object data 21, and generates a texture image (S53).

  Thereafter, the control unit 124 instructs the drawing instruction unit 123 to generate an image of the menu object 51a (S54). The drawing instruction unit 123 calculates the coordinates of each surface from the position / orientation of the menu object 51a, and instructs the 3D engine 71 of the display control API 70 to draw according to the calculation result. In response to this, the 3D engine 71 draws the image of the menu object 51a in the image buffer.

  Further, the control unit 124 confirms the current mode (S55). If the display mode is the box display mode, the process is completed only by drawing the menu object 51a. However, if the display mode is the bar display mode or the element display mode, the processing of S56 to S61 is executed to display the elements 51b, 51c, 51d constituting the bar. Display.

  The control unit 124 selects the object data 21 of the child object according to the pointer defined in the parent object information 213 (S56), selects the drawing surface according to the position / orientation of the child object (S57), and displays the display character. Obtaining and generating a texture (S58). Thereafter, the display effect (effect) setting is confirmed (S58). Thereafter, the control unit 124 sets the size of the element to, for example, half the size of the menu object 51a and sets the display position to the drawing instruction unit 123 as a position moved a predetermined length from the display position of the menu object 51a in the x-axis direction. The drawing of (51c, 51d) is instructed (S60). Furthermore, it is confirmed whether or not drawing of all elements has been completed (S61), and if not completed, the processing from S56 is repeated. Thereby, the elements 51b, 51c, and 51d are sequentially arranged beside the menu object 51a.

(effect)
As described above, in this information processing apparatus, by repeatedly selecting the surface of the menu object 51a displayed on the menu display 51 and selecting the surfaces of the elements 51b, 51c, and 51d, the finally desired option is selected. Can be selected. In such a menu display, the options displayed at a time on the menu display 51 are only the number of items displayed on the surface of the menu object 51a and the elements 51b, 51c, 51d. For this reason, the choice displayed on the menu display 51 can be reduced, visibility can be improved, and a menu can be selected easily. Moreover, since the options displayed at a time can be reduced, it is more effective when applied to a device in which the display area of the display device 50 is limited, such as a mobile phone device and a PDA.

  In this information processing apparatus, the menu data is composed of hierarchical object data, so that it is possible to make a gradual selection even in the case of a complicated menu with many options, and the menu can be easily selected. be able to. Further, in this information processing apparatus, the display position of the menu display 51 can be placed at any place on the display screen of the display apparatus 50 according to the display position information, so that it does not get in the way.

(Application examples)
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the information processing apparatus has been described. However, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 21, the present invention may be applied to menu selection in an audiovisual apparatus. In this case, the input device 40 may be provided in the remote control device. Thus, the user's instruction input via the input device 40 provided in the remote control device is transmitted to the menu display control unit 10 by, for example, infrared communication. The menu display control unit 10 displays a menu according to an instruction from the input device 40 as in the above-described embodiment.

  As described above, by applying the present invention to menu selection in the audiovisual apparatus, even when the function is complicated, it is possible to select in a stepwise manner by a hierarchical menu structure, so that menu selection can be easily performed. Can do. In addition, since the number of keys necessary for menu selection is small, the number of buttons on the remote controller can be reduced, which can contribute to downsizing of the remote controller.

(Display effect: Effect)
In addition, in the transition between modes shown in FIG. 14 or the selection of the surface and the selection of elements, display effects such as animation are executed according to the control of the effect setting unit 111 for the purpose of improving the visibility. You can also For example, at the time of transition from the element display mode (S3) to the box display mode (S1) in FIG. 14 described above, a menu other than the selected element 51c is displayed, for example, as shown in FIGS. After thinning the display of the object 51a and the elements 51b and 51d, the element 51c is enlarged and moved to the display position of the menu object 51a to form a new menu object 51a, or as shown in FIGS. The menu object 51a and the elements 51b, 51c and 51d are moved while being enlarged, the menu objects 51a, 51b and 51d other than the selected element 51c are gradually thinned, and finally the menu object 51a is displayed. New element 51c moved to position It may be or the menu object 51a. By performing such display, it is possible to easily grasp which element the menu object 51a after the mode transition corresponds to before the mode transition.

(Highlighting)
Further, as a display effect when the surface of the menu object 51a or the elements 51b, 51c, 51d is selected, for example, the color of the selected surface is changed according to the control of the effect setting unit 111, for example, FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, a display of enlarging and displaying an element including a selected surface is conceivable. Such a display makes it easy to recognize the selected surface. Further, by displaying the elements in an enlarged manner, the display characters on the selected surface can be easily read.

  The enlarged display of the surface can be similarly performed not only when the element is selected but also when the surface of the menu object 51a is selected. For example, as shown in FIG. 24, the enlarged display of the menu object 51a or the element 51b can be performed by changing the coordinates of the vertex in the surface definition information in the shape data. For example, the coordinates of the surface before enlargement are the coordinates of vertices a1, a2, a3, a4, the coordinates of a1 (x1, y1, z1), vertex a2 (x2, y2, z2), vertex a3 (x3, y3, z3), vertex Assuming that a4 (x4, y4, z4) and the increment to be enlarged are I pixels, the coordinates of the vertices A1, A2, A3, A4 after enlargement are the vertex A1 (x1-I, y1-I, z1 + I), The vertex A2 (x2 + I, y2 + I, z2 + I), the vertex A3 (x3 + I, y3 + I, z3-I), and the vertex A4 (x4 + I, y4-I, z4-I). In the drawing processing in S54 (menu object 51a) and S60 (element) in FIG. 20 described above, the menu object 51a or element 51b including the selected surface is enlarged by using the shape data in which coordinates are converted in this way. Is displayed.

  Further, under the control of the effect setting unit 111, for example, the edge of the selected surface is displayed in a different color as shown in FIG. 25, or only the selected surface is enlarged for a certain time as shown in FIG. Also, the visibility of the selected surface can be improved by the display effect of displaying in a normal size.

  In the above-described embodiment, there is one type of display character displayed on one surface of the menu object 51a or the element 51b. For example, as shown in FIG. 27, the areas 51a1, 51a2, and 51a2 shown in FIG. Different display characters may be displayed for each of 51a3 and 51a4. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 28, a plurality of display characters are defined in each area in the information 211 of the object data 21. The texture generation unit 122 acquires display characters for each 51a1, 51a2, 51a3, and 51a4 to generate textures.

(Modification)
In the above-described embodiment, the case where a character string is displayed on each surface of the menu object 51a and the elements 51b, 51c, and 51d has been described. However, instead of these character strings, the following data defined by a pointer such as an icon is used. Or the display which shows the process to start may be defined and you may make it display on the surface of a polyhedron.

  In the above-described embodiment, a cube is shown as an example of a polyhedron. However, the shape of the polyhedron is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 29, a regular icosahedron is used, or FIG. As shown, it may be a polyhedron having a large number of faces arranged in a substantially spherical shape. Even in this case, as in the above-described FIG. 2, the coordinates of each surface constituting the polyhedron are prepared as shape data, and the pointer corresponding to each surface, as in the above-described FIG. 3, FIG. 6, FIG. Definition information such as a character string is defined, and the state control unit 11 and the display control unit 12 perform state control and display control according to input from the input device 40 based on these data, thereby The same effect as the embodiment can be obtained.

  In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, etc., all the pointers of all elements constituting the bar are defined in the information 213 in the object data 21. As shown in 31, bar definition data 22 having a pointer indicating an element constituting the bar may be separately provided, and the pointer of the bar definition data 22 may be defined in the information 213 in the object data 21. As a result, the management of the object data 21 and the management of the bar can be performed independently, so that the maintainability of the data can be improved.

  Further, instead of the polyhedron, for example, as shown in FIG. 32, a polyhedron in which the surfaces are arranged in a disk shape may be used. In this case, in the above-described shape data, information corresponding to eight faces corresponding to a sector area obtained by dividing a circle into eight parts is defined. For example, as shown in FIG. 33, a polyhedron having eight faces Object data 21 having a similar structure is defined. The texture generation unit 122 of the display control unit 12 generates a texture to be displayed on each fan-shaped surface according to display characters corresponding to each surface, and the drawing instruction unit 123 corresponds to each sector according to the shape data. Map and display texture on the surface. In this case, there is no definition corresponding to the above-mentioned bar, and the pointer of the next object data 21 is defined by the information 213. Therefore, in such a menu display using the object data 21, there is no bar display mode, and when any area is selected in the box display mode, the next menu corresponding to the object data 21 corresponding to the selected area is displayed. An object 51a is displayed.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 34, the shape of the menu object 51a may be a polyhedron with the surfaces arranged in a spiral. In this case as well, as in the case where the surfaces are arranged in a disk shape, if the information of each surface is defined in the shape data and the object data 21 corresponding to each surface is defined, the same menu as described above. Display can be made.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of the information processing apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the shape data of a polyhedron. It is a figure which shows the structural example of object data. It is a figure which shows notionally the relationship between menu data and a menu object. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting of a selection area. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of object data. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of object data. It is a figure which shows the example of the image displayed on the display screen of a display apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of the data of the alpha channel used for the synthesis | combination of a menu display. It is a figure which shows the other example of a menu display. It is a figure which shows the example of the link structure of a menu. It is a figure which shows the example of the menu data corresponding to the said link structure. It is a figure which shows the example of the menu data in which the recursive link was defined. It is a state transition diagram which shows transition of a display mode. It is a figure which shows the example of the animation at the time of starting of a menu function. It is a figure which shows typically the transition of a state variable (three-dimensional positional information: pointer of the surface which faces the front) corresponding to the input from a user, and a menu display. It is a figure which shows typically transition of the menu display corresponding to the input from a user. It is a figure which shows the state of the menu data (state variable) in a bar display state. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structural example of a display control part. It is a flowchart which shows the drawing process for 1 frame. It is a block diagram which shows the example of a schematic structure of the video information apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the example of the effect (enlargement animation) at the time of the transition between modes. It is a figure which shows the example of the effect (emphasis display: expansion) at the time of element display mode. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the operation | movement in an expansion process. It is a figure which shows the example of the effect (emphasis display: border) at the time of box display mode and bar display mode. It is a figure which shows the example of the effect (emphasis display: surface expansion) at the time of box display mode. It is a figure which shows the modification of a menu display. It is a figure which shows the example of the menu data in a modification. It is a figure which shows the other example of a menu display. It is a figure which shows the other example of a menu display. It is a figure which shows the modification of menu data. It is a figure which shows the other example of a polyhedron. It is a figure which shows the example of the object data corresponding to the other example of a polyhedron. It is a figure which shows the other example of a polyhedron.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Menu display control part, 11 ... State control part, 12 ... Display control part, 13 ... Application starting control part, 20 ... Menu data, 21 ... Object data, 30 ... State variable, 51 ... Menu display, 51a ... Menu object , 51b, 51c, 51d ... element, 70 ... display control API

Claims (5)

Holding means for holding, for each face of the polyhedron, a plurality of unit menu data in which next unit menu data or a pointer indicating processing to be executed and display information to be displayed on the face are defined;
Current holding means for holding a pointer indicating current unit menu data;
Orientation holding means for holding orientation information indicating the orientation of the polyhedron corresponding to the unit menu data specified by the pointer held in the current holding means;
Changing means for changing the orientation information in response to a user instruction;
Display control means for displaying an image of the polyhedron in which an image corresponding to display information in unit menu data designated by a pointer of the current holding means is mapped according to the orientation information held in the orientation holding means; ,
Execution control means for displaying or executing a polyhedron image corresponding to the next unit menu data in accordance with the definition of the pointer corresponding to the face of the polyhedron selected by the user. Display device. The execution control means includes
In addition to the polyhedron corresponding to the current unit menu data by the display control means, the polyhedron corresponding to the next unit menu data is displayed according to the definition of the pointer corresponding to the surface selected by the user. The menu display device according to claim 1. The unit menu data has a plurality of pointers for one surface,
3. The menu display device according to claim 2, wherein the execution control means displays a plurality of polyhedrons each corresponding to the next unit menu data in accordance with the definition of the pointer corresponding to the surface selected by the user. .   An information processing apparatus comprising the menu display device according to claim 1. Depending on the user's selection, for each face of the polyhedron, the next unit menu data or current unit menu data from a plurality of unit menu data in which pointers indicating processing to be executed and display information to be displayed on the face are defined A step of selecting
Changing the orientation information of the polyhedron corresponding to the current unit menu data in accordance with a user instruction;
Displaying an image of the polyhedron in which an image according to display information in the current unit menu data is mapped according to orientation information;
A menu display method comprising: displaying a polyhedron image corresponding to next unit menu data or executing a process according to the definition of the pointer corresponding to the face of the polyhedron selected by the user. .

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