JP2014010808A - Content display device, content providing system and content display method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention enables a user to select and browse contents according to a category of hierarchical structure along a natural human eye movement in the horizontal direction.
Content displayed by a content display device 1 is associated with a hierarchical category composed of a large item category and a middle item category. The display direction detection unit 12 detects the display direction of whether the display unit 11 is horizontal display or vertical display. When the display direction is horizontal display, the display control unit 164 causes the display unit 11 to display the large item category display region, the middle item category display region, and the content display region in order in the horizontal direction. Further, in the case of the vertical display, the display control unit 164 displays the large item category display area and the content display area in order in the horizontal direction on the display unit 11 and displays the middle item category according to the display or non-display instruction. It is controlled whether or not the area is overlapped and displayed on the display area side of the large item category on the content display area.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a content display device, a content providing system, and a content display method.

When the content is displayed on the screen, the tablet terminal optimizes the display size depending on whether the content is displayed vertically or horizontally.
Further, in order to make it easy to select content, it is often performed to classify into categories. For example, the user selects a category by following a hierarchical menu displayed on the screen, and selects a target content. However, if the menu and the content are displayed on the screen in the vertical direction at the same time, the content becomes difficult to see because the width is narrow. In view of this, it is known that when the display / non-display of the menu portion is variable and the menu portion is not displayed, the content is displayed on the entire screen of the tablet terminal.
Further, Patent Document 1 describes that one screen is divided into a plurality of large areas and the large area is divided into a plurality of small areas for display.

JP 2002-32335 A

If the menu portion is hidden as in a conventional tablet terminal, the entire hierarchical menu is hidden. In order to select and display different contents from this display state, the user must perform operations such as flicking the screen to display the menu.
Since the human eye is horizontally long, many papers show that the screen is recognized by moving the line of sight horizontally from left to right. However, after performing the operation to display the menu on the tablet terminal as described above, the movement of the human eye when selecting and browsing the content by tracing the displayed menu is the natural human movement in the horizontal direction. Does not fit. Also, Patent Document 1 does not display hierarchized areas so that the screen can be viewed along a natural human movement in the horizontal direction.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and a content display that allows a user to select and browse content according to a category of hierarchical structure along the natural human eye movement in the horizontal direction. An apparatus, a content providing system, and a content display method are provided.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a content display device that displays content associated with hierarchized categories, wherein the display unit displays a screen, and the display unit includes: A display direction detection unit that detects a display direction of horizontal display or vertical display, and when the display direction detected by the display direction detection unit is horizontal display, the display area of the category in a predetermined hierarchy, the predetermined display When the display area of the category below the hierarchy and the display area of the content are arranged in order in the horizontal direction and displayed on the display unit, and the display direction detected by the display direction detection unit is vertical display, The display area of the category and the display area of the content are arranged in order in the horizontal direction and displayed on the display unit, and in accordance with a display or non-display instruction, a lower floor than the predetermined hierarchy is displayed. A display control unit that controls whether the display area of the category is superimposed on the display area side of the category of the predetermined hierarchy on the display area of the content, or is not displayed. It is.

  Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the content display device according to claim 1, wherein in the vertical display, the vertical width and horizontal width of the display area of the category of the lower hierarchy are respectively the display area of the content It is characterized by being smaller than the vertical and horizontal widths.

  Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the content display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display control unit is arranged in the upper part of the display area of the category of the predetermined hierarchy in the vertical display. A toolbar display area located on the content display area side and above the content display area is displayed on the display unit, and the toolbar display area displays or hides the display area of the lower-level category. It includes a button for indicating.

  Further, the invention according to claim 4 is the content display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the display control unit is configured to display the category of the lower hierarchy in the vertical display. When the display area is displayed, the display area is displayed in the content display area.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the content display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the display area of the content includes a margin for not displaying the content, and is displayed vertically. In this case, a part of the boundary of the display area of the category of the lower hierarchy is located within a margin on the display area side of the category of the predetermined hierarchy.

  The invention according to claim 6 is a content providing system having a content distribution device and a content display device, wherein the content distribution device corresponds to a hierarchical category and content identification information for specifying content. And a category storage unit for storing information, an operation notification receiving unit for receiving notification of the category selected by a user operation from the content display device, and reading out the category of a predetermined hierarchy from the category storage unit to the content display device When the category notified by the large item display instructing unit and the operation notification receiving unit is not the lowest layer, the category one level lower than the selected category is read from the category storage unit and The middle item display instruction unit to be transmitted to the content display device and the operation notification receiving unit communicate with each other. If the received category is the lowest layer, the content identification information associated with the selected lowermost category is read from the category storage unit, and the content specified by the read content identification information is A content display instruction unit for transmitting to a content display device, wherein the content display device detects a display direction for displaying a screen and a display direction for detecting whether the display unit is a horizontal display or a vertical display. When the display direction detected by the detection unit, the display target data reception unit that receives the category and the content from the content distribution device, and the display direction detected by the display direction detection unit is horizontal display, The category display area lower than the predetermined hierarchy and the content display area in the horizontal direction When the display direction detected by the display direction detection unit is vertical display, the display area of the category and the display area of the content in a predetermined hierarchy are sequentially arranged in the horizontal direction. Whether to display the category display area lower than the predetermined hierarchy in accordance with the display or non-display instruction on the display area side of the category of the predetermined hierarchy on the content display area. And a display control unit that controls the content providing system.

  The invention according to claim 7 is a content display method executed by a content display device that displays content associated with hierarchized categories, wherein the display direction detection unit is displayed by the display unit. A display direction detection process for detecting a display direction of whether the screen is a horizontal display or a vertical display, and the display control unit, when the display direction detected in the display direction detection process is a horizontal display, The display area of the category, the display area of the category lower than the predetermined hierarchy, and the display area of the content are sequentially arranged in the horizontal direction and displayed on the display unit, and the display direction detected in the display direction detection process is In the case of the vertical display, the display area of the category in the predetermined hierarchy and the display area of the content are arranged in order in the horizontal direction and displayed on the display unit. A display for controlling whether or not to display the category display area lower than the predetermined hierarchy on the display area side of the category of the predetermined hierarchy on the content display area in accordance with an indication or non-display instruction A content display method comprising: a control process.

According to the first and seventh aspects of the present invention, when the screen is displayed horizontally, the content display device has a large item menu for selecting a category in the upper hierarchy and a category for selecting a category in the lower hierarchy than the upper hierarchy. The middle item menu and the content of the selected category are displayed side by side in the horizontal direction. Further, the content display device displays the large item menu and the content of the selected category in the horizontal direction in order in the vertical display, and displays the middle item menu in the large item menu on the content display area according to the user operation. Display on the side or hide. In this way, since the large item menu is always displayed at the extreme edge of the screen, the user can move the human eye in the horizontal direction in order from the edge of the screen in both the vertical display and horizontal display. You can browse the contents by moving the line of sight while selecting the category of the hierarchical structure, and in the case of the vertical display, delete the middle menu display after selecting the category for easier viewing of the content be able to.
According to the invention of claim 6, the content display device manages the content data managed in the content distribution device, as in claims 1 and 7 described above, the large item menu, the medium item menu, and the selected category. Content can be displayed.

According to the invention of claim 2, the content display device displays the display area of the middle item menu smaller than the display area of the content during the vertical display. Therefore, the user can easily recognize that the middle item menu is displayed on the content display area and can be deleted.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the vertical display, the display or non-display of the middle item menu is instructed on the content display area side above the large item menu display area and above the content display area. Displays a toolbar that contains buttons for Therefore, the user can simply instruct the display of the middle item menu.
According to the invention of claim 4, the content display device displays the display area of the middle item menu in the display area of the content in the vertical display. Therefore, in the vertical display, the display area of the large item menu is not hidden by the display area of the intermediate item menu. The category of the hierarchical structure can be selected from the top while moving the line of sight along the movement of the.
According to the invention of claim 5, the content display device displays the middle item menu so that a part of the boundary is positioned within the margin on the large item menu display region side in the content display region in the vertical display. As a result, even in the vertical display, the large item menu display menu, the middle item menu, and the contents are sequentially displayed in the horizontal direction from the edge of the screen.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the content provision system by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the content display apparatus by the embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the content delivery apparatus by the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the content display screen of the horizontal display by the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the content display screen of the vertical display by the same embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the content display screen of the vertical display by the same embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the large item category data by the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the middle item category data by the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the format which the whole format data for horizontal display by the embodiment prescribes | regulates. It is a figure which shows the example of the format which the middle item menu format data for horizontal display prescribe | regulates by the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the format which the whole format data for vertical display by the embodiment prescribes | regulates. It is a figure which shows the example of the format which the middle item menu format data for vertical display by the embodiment prescribes | regulates. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the display control process by the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the display control process by the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which only functional blocks related to the present embodiment are extracted and shown. As shown in the figure, the content providing system is configured by connecting a content display device 1 and a content distribution device 3 via a network 9 such as the Internet. In the figure, only one content display device 1 is shown, but a plurality of content display devices 1 may be provided.

  The content data displayed by the content display device 1 is associated with hierarchized categories. Among the hierarchized categories, a category higher than the predetermined hierarchy is a large item category, and a category lower than the large item category is a middle item category. In the following, an example will be described in which only the category in the first layer is a large item category and the category in the second layer and below is a medium item category. In the content display device 1, the user traces the menu distributed from the content distribution device 3, specifies a hierarchical category, and selects content data for which distribution is requested. The menu includes a large item menu and a medium item menu. The large item menu is a menu for displaying a list of large item categories and allowing the user to select a large item category from the displayed list. The middle item menu is a menu for displaying a list of middle item categories and allowing the user to select a middle item category from the displayed list.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the content display device 1 shown in FIG. 1, and only functional blocks related to the present embodiment are extracted and shown. The content display device 1 is a computer device such as a tablet terminal. As shown in FIG. 1, the content display device 1 includes a display unit 11, a display direction detection unit 12, an input unit 13, a communication unit 14, a storage unit 15, and a display processing unit 16.

  The display unit 11 is a touch panel and displays a screen. The display direction detection unit 12 detects whether the screen displayed by the display unit 11 is a horizontal display having a horizontal width larger than the vertical width or a vertical display having a vertical width larger than the horizontal width. For example, an acceleration sensor is used for the display direction detection unit 12, and based on the detection result obtained from the acceleration sensor, the direction of whether the content display device 1 is vertical or horizontal can be detected. The input unit 13 inputs information on operations performed by the user on the touch panel. The communication unit 14 transmits and receives data via the network 9.

  The storage unit 15 stores various data such as format data, large item menu data, and medium item menu data. The format data is data defining a menu for selecting a category and a format for displaying the selected content on the display unit 11. The large item menu data is data relating to a large item category displayed on the large item menu. The middle item menu data is data relating to the middle item category displayed on the middle item menu.

  Format data includes horizontal display format data and vertical display format data. The format data for horizontal display is data that defines the format used for horizontal display, and is a format that displays a large item menu display area, a middle item menu display area, and a content display area in the horizontal direction in order from the left. Show. The large item menu display area is an area for displaying a large item menu, the medium item menu display area is an area for displaying a medium item menu, and the content display area is an area for displaying content data. On the other hand, the format data for vertical display is data that defines the format used for vertical display. The large item menu display area and the content display area are arranged in the horizontal direction in order from the left, and on the content display area. A format for displaying the middle menu display area on the large menu display area side is shown.

  The display processing unit 16 notifies the content distribution device 3 of the display direction of the screen and the operation performed by the user, and displays the menu and content data received from the content distribution device 3 in response to the notification on the display unit 11. Let The display processing unit 16 includes a display direction notification unit 161, a format reception unit 162, a display target data reception unit 163, a display control unit 164, and an operation notification unit 165.

  The display direction notifying unit 161 notifies the content distribution device 3 of the display direction detected by the display direction detecting unit 12. The format receiving unit 162 receives the horizontal display format data and the vertical display format data transmitted from the content distribution apparatus 3 and writes them in the storage unit 15. The display target data receiving unit 163 receives large item menu data, medium item menu data, content data, and the like from the content distribution device 3 and writes them in the storage unit 15.

When the display direction detected by the display direction detection unit 12 is horizontal display, the display control unit 164 displays the large item menu, the middle item menu, and the content data in the horizontal direction sequentially from the left based on the horizontal display format data. They are displayed side by side on the display unit 11. Further, when the display direction detected by the display direction detection unit 12 is vertical display, the display control unit 164 arranges the large item menu and the content data in the horizontal direction sequentially from the left based on the vertical display format data. Further, in accordance with an instruction to display or hide the middle item menu input by the input unit 13, a screen in which the middle item menu is superimposed on the middle item menu display area located on the large item menu display area side in the content display area is displayed. Display on the unit 11.
The operation notification unit 165 notifies the content distribution device 3 of the operation input by the user.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the content distribution apparatus 3 shown in FIG. 1, and only functional blocks related to the present embodiment are extracted and shown. The content distribution device 3 can be configured by, for example, one or a plurality of computer servers. As shown in the figure, the content distribution device 3 includes a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a display instruction unit 33.

  The communication unit 31 transmits and receives data via the network 9. The storage unit 32 includes a format storage unit 321, a category storage unit 322, and a content storage unit 323. The format storage unit 321 stores format data. The category storage unit 322 stores category data. The category data indicates correspondence between content data and hierarchized categories, and includes large item category data and medium item category data. The large item category data indicates display data when the large item category is displayed on the large item menu, the correspondence between the large item category and the lower-level category, and the like. The middle item category data indicates the correspondence between the display data when the middle item category is displayed on the middle item menu, the middle item category and the lower-level category or content data. The content storage unit 323 stores content data.

  The display instructing unit 33 transmits the format data, large item menu data, middle item menu data, and content data selected by the user to the content display device 1 to instruct display. The display instruction unit 33 includes a display direction reception unit 331, a format transmission unit 332, an operation notification reception unit 333, a large item display instruction unit 334, a middle item display instruction unit 335, and a content display instruction unit 336.

The display direction receiving unit 331 receives a notification from the content display device 1 as to whether the screen is displayed vertically or horizontally.
The format transmission unit 332 reads the format data for horizontal display and the format data for vertical display from the format storage unit 321 and transmits them to the content display device 1. Note that the format transmission unit 332 may transmit the horizontal display format data and the vertical display format data at different timings or at the same time.

The operation notification receiving unit 333 receives the notification of the operation input by the user from the content display device 1.
The large item display instruction unit 334 reads information necessary for displaying the large item menu from the large item category data stored in the category storage unit 322, generates large item menu data, and stores it in the content display device 1. Send and display large menu.

  The middle item display instruction unit 335 displays the middle item category stored in the category storage unit 322 when the operation notified by the operation notification receiving unit 333 indicates selection of a middle item category other than the large item category or the lowest layer. Information necessary for displaying the middle item menu is read from the data to generate middle item menu data. The intermediate item display instruction unit 335 transmits the generated intermediate item menu data to the content display device 1 to display the intermediate item menu.

  When the operation notified by the operation notification receiving unit 333 indicates selection of the middle item category in the lowest layer, the content display instruction unit 336 stores category identification information associated with the selected middle item category in the category storage. Reading from the middle item category data stored in the unit 322. The content display instruction unit 336 reads content data specified by the read content identification information from the content storage unit 323, transmits the content data to the content display device 1, and displays the content data.

  Next, an example of a content display screen displayed by the display unit 11 of the content display device 1 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a content display screen in the horizontal display.
As shown in the figure, a large item menu display area A11, a medium item menu display area A12, and a content display area A13 are displayed in the horizontal direction in order from the left on the content display screen in the horizontal display. Further, a toolbar display area A14 is displayed on the right side of the large item menu display area A11 and on the upper part of the content display area A13. The vertical width of the large item menu display area A11 and the middle item menu display area A12 is the same. Further, the vertical width of the combined area of the content display area A13 and the toolbar display area A14 is the same as the vertical width of the large item menu display area A11 and the middle item menu display area A12.

  In the large item menu indicated by the large item menu display area A11, large item category icons I1-1 to I1-5 relating to content selection are shown at the top, and large item category icons that are not directly related to content selection such as display settings. I1-6 and I1-7 are displayed at the bottom (hereinafter, icons I1-1, 1-2,... Are collectively referred to as “icon I1”). As described above, some of the large item categories are not associated with the content data. In the middle item menu indicated by the middle item menu display area A12, there are selection buttons B1-1, B1-2,... (Hereinafter collectively referred to as “selection button B1”) for selecting a middle item category. The middle item category icon and category name are displayed on each selection button B1. In the content display area A13, content data is displayed, but there is a margin (blank) on the left and right where content data is not displayed. Icons representing various tools are displayed in the toolbar display area A14.

  When the user selects the icon I1, that is, the large item category, from the large item menu displayed in the large item menu display area A11, the user selects the middle item category one level below the selected large item category. The middle item menu is displayed in the middle item menu display area A12. Furthermore, when the user selects a middle item category from the middle item menu displayed in the middle item menu display area A12 by using the selection button B1, the middle item category one level lower than the selected middle item category is selected. Therefore, the middle item menu is newly displayed in the middle item menu display area A12. When the selection of the middle item category is repeated and the middle item category of the lowest layer is selected, the content data corresponding to the selected middle item category of the lowest layer is displayed in the content display area A13.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a content display screen in the vertical display, and shows a case where a middle item menu display area is displayed.
As shown in the figure, a large item menu display area A21 and a content display area A23 are displayed side by side in the horizontal direction in order from the left on the content display screen in the vertical display, and are superimposed on the content display area A23. Thus, the middle item menu display area A22 is displayed on the large item menu display area A21 side. Further, a toolbar display area A24 is displayed on the right side of the large item menu display area A21 and on the upper part of the content display area A23. The vertical width of the combined area of the content display area A23 and the toolbar display area A24 is the same as the vertical width of the large item menu display area A21.

  In the large item menu display area A21, as in the large item menu display area A11 in the horizontal display, the large item category icons I1-1 to I1-5 relating to content selection are not directly related to the content selection. Major item category icons I1-6 and I1-7 are displayed at the bottom. Further, content data is displayed in the content display area A23, but there is a margin (blank) in which the content data is not displayed on the left and right as in the content display area A13 of horizontal display. In the toolbar display area A24, a display instruction button B2 for displaying the middle item menu is displayed. The display instruction button B2 is displayed on the large item menu display region A21 side of the tool bar display region A24 and above the boundary on the large item menu display region A21 side of the middle item menu display region A22.

  The vertical and horizontal widths of the middle item menu display area A22 are smaller than the vertical and horizontal widths of the content display area A23, respectively, and the middle item menu display area A22 is surrounded by a thick frame. Thus, the user can recognize that the middle item menu display area A22 is displayed on the content display area A23 and can be deleted.

  The left boundary of the middle item menu display area A22 is displayed in the margin on the large item menu display area A21 side in the content display area A23. Thus, the user can recognize that the large item menu display area A21, the medium item menu display area A22, and the content display area A23 are arranged in order from the left. Note that the left boundary of the middle item menu display area A22 may be within the large item menu display area A21 so as not to overlap the icon I1 of the large item menu display area A21.

  The intermediate item menu display area A22 displays the same content as the intermediate item menu display area A12 in the horizontal display shown in FIG. 4, but the horizontal width of the intermediate item menu display area A22 is the horizontal display shown in FIG. It may be different from the display. Here, the horizontal width of the middle item menu display area A22 is smaller than the horizontal width of the middle item menu display area A12.

  In the content display screen in the vertical display mode shown in the figure, the content selection method is the same as in the horizontal display mode. That is, when the user selects the large item category icon I1 from the large item menu displayed in the large item menu display area A21, the medium item menu for selecting the medium item category one level lower is the medium item menu. It is displayed in the display area A22. Further, when the user selects a middle item category from the middle item menu displayed in the middle item menu display area A22 by using the selection button B1, the middle item category one level lower than the selected middle item category is selected. Therefore, the middle item menu is newly displayed in the middle item menu display area A22. When the selection of the middle item category is repeated and the middle item category of the lowest layer is selected, the content data corresponding to the selected middle item category of the lowest layer is displayed in the content display area A23.

  In this state, a part of the display of the content data is hidden by the middle item menu. Therefore, when the user performs an operation for instructing deletion of the middle item menu, the screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed. .

For example, operations for instructing deletion of the middle item menu include operations such as tapping the content display area A23 and selecting the middle item category selection button B1 selected when the content data is displayed again. By inputting the instruction to delete the middle item menu in this way, the user repeatedly selects content data while the middle item menu is displayed on the screen, and when the desired content data is displayed, the middle item menu is displayed. Can be erased.
When tapping the content display area A23, the user can delete the middle item menu without returning the line of sight to the large item menu, the middle item menu, and the content data. Further, when the selection button B1 is selected again, the user does not need to move his / her finger to another place, so that the operability is good.

  In addition, the operation for selecting the middle item category selection button B1 in the lowermost layer in the middle item menu may be an operation for instructing deletion of the middle item menu. In this case, after the content data is displayed, the user does not have to perform an operation to instruct to delete the middle item menu again, so the user keeps his eyes moving horizontally to the large item menu, the middle item menu, and the content data. Without selection, the selected content data can be browsed immediately after the selection of the content data.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the content display screen in the vertical display, and shows a case where the middle item menu display area is not displayed. As shown in the figure, the middle item menu display area A22 displayed on the content display area A23 in the content display screen of FIG. 5 disappears, the large item menu display area A21, the content display area A23, and the toolbar. A display area A24 is displayed.

  When the user selects the large item category icon I1 from the large item menu, the middle item menu display region A22 is displayed on the content display region A23, and the content display screen as shown in FIG. 5 is obtained. As described above, in this embodiment, all menus are not disappeared as in the prior art, and the large item menu is always displayed on the leftmost side without disappearing. Therefore, even if the menu display operation is not performed, the large item is displayed. You can select categories in order from category. Accordingly, the user can select and browse the content data by moving the line of sight from the left to the right in the horizontal direction, tracing the categories in order from the large item category.

  Also, when the user selects the display instruction button B2, the middle item menu display area A22 is displayed on the content display area A23, and the content display screen as shown in FIG. 5 is obtained. After the middle item menu display area A22 is displayed by the display instruction button B2, the user can select and browse the content data by following the categories while moving horizontally from left to right.

  Next, various data used in the content providing system will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a data example of large item category data stored in the category storage unit 322 of the content distribution device 3. As shown in the figure, the large item category data is composed of one or more records in which the large item category category name, function classification, icon image, and next layer information are associated with each other. The next hierarchy information indicates a category that is one level lower than the large item category, and here, a category data ID that is identification information of category data in which the middle item category that is one hierarchy lower is described is set.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a data example of middle item category data stored in the category storage unit 322 of the content distribution device 3. In the same figure, in the middle item category, the middle item category data in which the middle item category in the i-th layer (i is an integer of 1 to n and n is an integer of 1 or more) is described is the i-th middle item category. It is described as data.

  As shown in the figure, the middle item category data includes a category data ID and a menu image, a category name of the middle item category, an icon image, and one or more records in which next level information is associated. The menu image indicates image data to be displayed above the selection button B1 in the middle item menu. In the next hierarchy information, when the middle item category is not the lowest layer, the category data ID for specifying the middle item category data describing the middle item category one layer lower is set, and when the middle item category is the lowest layer, A content ID that is identification information of content data is set. As the content ID, for example, a URL (Universal Resource Locator) indicating the storage location of the content data can be used.

  The horizontal display format data stored in the format storage unit 321 of the content distribution device 3 includes horizontal display overall format data and horizontal display middle item menu format data. The vertical display format data is the vertical display overall format. It consists of data and middle item menu format data for vertical display.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the horizontal display overall format defined by the horizontal display overall format data. The horizontal display overall format is a display format of the entire screen in the horizontal display.
The entire horizontal display format indicates the display positions of the large item menu display area A11, the middle item menu display area A12, the content display area A13, and the toolbar display area A14. Further, the overall format for horizontal display includes the horizontal width W11 of the large item menu display area A11, the horizontal width W12 of the middle item menu display area A12, the left margin W13a and the right margin W13b of the content display area A13, and the toolbar display area. The size of the vertical width W14 is shown.

  The display control unit 164 of the content display device 1 determines that the vertical width of the entire horizontal entire display format is the same size as the vertical width of the screen displayed by the display unit 11. The display control unit 164 also determines the horizontal width of the content display area A13 and the toolbar display area A14 from the horizontal width of the screen displayed by the display unit 11 to the horizontal width W11 of the large item menu display region A11 and the horizontal width W12 of the medium item menu display region A12. Judged as the size excluding.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a horizontal display middle item menu format defined by the horizontal display middle item menu format data. The middle item menu format for horizontal display is the display format of the middle item menu display area A12 in horizontal display.
The horizontal display middle item menu format indicates the display position of the selection button display area for displaying the selection button B1, the menu image display area for displaying the menu image, and the toolbar display area. The toolbar display area includes a BACK button for displaying a menu of the middle item category one level higher. In the selection button display area, an icon display area and a category name display area for the middle item category are defined.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the vertical display overall format defined by the vertical display overall format data. The entire vertical display format is a display format of the entire screen in the vertical display.
The entire vertical display format indicates the display positions of the large item menu display area A21, the medium item menu display area A22, the content display area A23, and the toolbar display area A24. Further, the overall format for horizontal display includes a horizontal width W21 of the large item menu display area A21, a horizontal width W22 of the middle item menu display area A22, a left margin W23a and a right margin W23b of the content display area A23, and a toolbar display area A24. Defines the size of the vertical width W24.

  The display control unit 164 of the content display apparatus 1 determines that the vertical width of the entire vertical display format is the same size as the vertical width of the screen displayed by the display unit 11. Further, the display control unit 164 determines that the horizontal width of the content display area A23 and the toolbar display area A24 is the size obtained by removing the horizontal width W21 of the large item menu display area A21 from the horizontal width of the screen displayed by the display unit 11.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the vertical display middle item menu format defined by the vertical display middle item menu format data. The middle item menu format for vertical display is the display format of the middle item menu display area A22 in vertical display.
The middle item menu format for vertical display indicates a display position of a selection button display area for displaying the selection button B1, a menu image display area for displaying a menu image, and a toolbar display area including a BACK button. In the selection button display area, an icon display area and a category name display area for the middle item category are defined. Further, the middle item menu format for vertical display defines the size of the vertical width W22a and the horizontal width W22b of the middle item menu display area A22, and the image of the outer frame F.

  Next, the operation of the content providing system will be described. In the following, a case will be described in which the operation for instructing the deletion of the middle item menu is performed by tapping the content display area A23 or selecting the middle item category selection button B1 selected when the content data is displayed again.

  13 and 14 are flowcharts of display control processing in the content display device 1. The display processing unit 16 of the content display device 1 transmits / receives data to / from the content distribution device 3 via the communication unit 14, and the display instruction unit 33 of the content distribution device 3 transmits data to the content display device 1 via the communication unit 31. However, in the following description, this process is omitted.

  In FIG. 13, when the input unit 13 of the content display device 1 receives an input of a content browsing process start instruction, the display direction detection unit 12 detects the display direction of the screen displayed by the display unit 11. The display direction notifying unit 161 notifies the content distribution device 3 of a service start request in which the display direction detected by the display direction detecting unit 12 is set (step S105).

  The display direction receiving unit 331 of the content distribution device 3 receives a service start request from the content display device 1. The format transmission unit 332 receives the format data corresponding to the display direction notified by the service start request, that is, the horizontal display format data for the horizontal display, and the vertical display format data for the vertical display. Are read out and transmitted to the content display device 1.

  Further, the large item display instruction unit 334 reads the function classification and icon image of each large item category set in the large item category data from the category storage unit 322, and transmits it to the content display device 1 as large item menu data. The large item display instruction unit 334 outputs the category data ID described in the next layer information of the first record of the large item category data to the medium item display instruction unit 335 as information indicating the medium item category to be displayed by default. . The middle item display instruction unit 335 specifies the middle item category data stored in the category storage unit 322 based on the category data ID input from the large item display instruction unit 334. The intermediate item display instruction unit 335 reads the menu image and the category name and icon image of each intermediate item category from the specified intermediate item category data, and transmits them to the content display device 1 as intermediate item menu data.

  The format receiving unit 162 of the content display device 1 receives the horizontal display format data or the vertical display format data from the content distribution device 3, and writes it into the storage unit 15 (step S110). Further, the display target data receiving unit 163 receives the large item menu data and the middle item menu data from the content distribution device 3 and writes them in the storage unit 15 (step S115).

  The display control unit 164 selects a use display format in accordance with the display direction detected by the display direction detection unit 12 (step S120). The used display format selected at this time is the horizontal display format data or the vertical display format data received in step S110.

  The display control unit 164 causes the display unit 11 to display a screen based on the usage display format. That is, the display control unit 164 displays the icon image read from the large item menu data in the large item menu display area A11 when the use display format is the horizontal display format data, and the use display format is the vertical display format data. In this case, the large item menu display area A21 is displayed (step S125). At this time, if the function classification is content display, the icon image is displayed on the upper part of the large item menu display area A11 or A21, and if the function classification is display setting, the icon image is displayed on the lower part.

  In FIG. 14, the display control unit 164 further displays the menu image read from the intermediate item menu data, the icon image of each intermediate item category, and the category name when the used display format is the horizontal display format data. It is displayed in the menu image display area of the display area A12 and each selection button display area. When the display format used is the vertical display format data, it is displayed in the menu image display area of the middle item menu display area A22 and each selection button display area. (Step S205). The content display device 1 waits for detection of a display direction and detection of an operation input (step S210: NO, step S215: NO).

  The user selects the large item category by the icon I1 displayed in the large item menu display area A11 or A21 without changing the orientation of the content display device 1, or is displayed in the medium item menu display area A12 or A22. It is assumed that the selection of the middle item category is input by the selection button B1. In this case, the operation notification unit 165 detects an operation input by the user through the input unit 13 (step S210: NO, step S215: YES).

  When the operation notifying unit 165 determines that the input operation is not an end instruction (step S220: NO), whether or not the current display direction is vertical display (step S225). It is determined whether the selected operation is an instruction to delete or display the middle item menu (steps S230 and S235).

  When the operation notification unit 165 determines that the current display direction is horizontal display (step S225: NO), or the current display direction is vertical display (step S225: YES), the input operation is performed. If it is determined that neither the intermediate item menu deletion instruction nor the display instruction is present (step S230: NO, step S235: NO), it is determined whether the input operation is a category selection (step S240).

  If the operation notification unit 165 determines that the category is selected (step S240: YES), the operation notification unit 165 sets information for specifying the selected category in the operation notification information and transmits it to the content distribution device 3 (step S245).

  The operation notification receiving unit 333 of the content distribution device 3 outputs the operation notification information to the middle item display instruction unit 335 when the operation notification information indicates selection of a large item category or a middle item category. When the operation notification information indicates selection of the large item category, the middle item display instruction unit 335 reads out the next hierarchy information corresponding to the selected large item category from the large item category data. When the operation notification information indicates the selection of the middle item category, the next hierarchy information corresponding to the selected middle item category is read from the middle item category data.

  When the read next layer information is the category data ID, the middle item display instruction unit 335 specifies the middle item category data stored in the category storage unit 322 by the category data ID. The intermediate item display instruction unit 335 reads the menu image and the category name and icon image of each intermediate item category from the specified intermediate item category data, and transmits them to the content display device 1 as intermediate item menu data.

  On the other hand, when the read next layer information is a content ID, the middle item display instruction unit 335 outputs the content ID to the content display instruction unit 336. The content display instruction unit 336 reads content data specified by the category data ID input from the middle item display instruction unit 335 from the content storage unit 323 and transmits the content data to the content display device 1.

  The display target data receiving unit 163 of the content display device 1 receives the middle item menu data or the content data from the content distribution device 3 and writes it into the storage unit 15. When the display control unit 164 receives the middle item menu data (step S250: middle item menu), the display control unit 164 repeats the processing from step S205. That is, the display control unit 164 displays the menu image read from the received middle item menu data in the menu image display region A12 or A22 of the middle item menu display region A22 or the selection button display region currently displayed on the display unit 11. The icon image and category name of each middle item category are incorporated and displayed.

  On the other hand, when receiving the content data (step S250: content), the display control unit 164 displays the received content data inside the margin of the content display area A13 or A23 on the screen currently displayed on the display unit 11. (Step S255). The content display device 1 repeats the processing from step S210.

  For example, assume that the user inputs an instruction to delete the middle item menu during vertical display. The display control unit 164 detects an operation input (step S210: NO, step S215: YES), and determines that the input operation is not an end instruction (step S220: NO). Further, the display control unit 164 determines that the current operation is vertical display (step S225: YES), and the input operation is an instruction to delete the middle item menu (step S230: YES). The display control unit 164 erases the display of the middle item menu display region A22 from the vertical display screen currently displayed on the display unit 11 (step S260), and the content data is displayed in the entire region excluding the margin of the content display region A23. Is displayed. The content display device 1 repeats the processing from step S210.

  Further, it is assumed that the large item category icon I1 is selected or the user selects the display instruction button B2 for displaying the medium item menu when the medium item menu display area A22 is vertically displayed. The display control unit 164 determines that the operation input by the input unit 13 is a display instruction for the middle item menu (step S235: YES), and displays the display position of the middle item menu display area A22 defined by the overall format data for vertical display and The format of the middle item menu display area A22 indicated by the middle item menu format data for vertical display is read (step S265).

  If the large item category icon I1 is selected (step S270: YES), the display control unit 164 repeats the processing from step S245, sets information for specifying the selected category as operation notification information, and distributes content. Transmit to device 3. When the display target data receiving unit 163 receives the middle item menu data from the content distribution apparatus 3 (step S250: middle item menu), the processing from step S205 is performed, and the display control unit 164 reads the middle item menu read in step S265. Depending on the display position and format of the display area A22, the middle item menu display area A22 is added to the screen currently displayed by the display unit 11, and the received middle item menu data is displayed.

  On the other hand, if the display instruction button B2 is selected (step S270: NO), the display control unit 164 reads the last displayed middle item menu data from the storage unit 15 (step S275), and performs the processing from step S205. Repeat line. Thereby, the display control unit 164 displays the menu image of the read middle item menu data, the icon image of each middle item category, and the category name in the menu image display region and each selection button display region of the middle item menu display region A22. Display.

  When the user changes the orientation of the content display device 1, the display direction detection unit 12 detects that the display direction has changed (step S210: YES). The display direction notifying unit 161 notifies the content distribution device 3 of the display direction detected by the display direction detecting unit 12 (step S280).

  The display direction receiving unit 331 of the content distribution device 3 receives a notification of the changed display direction from the content display device 1. The format transmission unit 332 reads the horizontal display format data from the format storage unit 321 if the notified display direction is horizontal display, and transmits the vertical display format data to the content display device 1 if it is vertical display. The format receiving unit 162 of the content display device 1 receives the horizontal display format data or the vertical display format data from the content distribution device 3 in accordance with the display direction, and writes it into the storage unit 15 (step S285).

  When the display control unit 164 selects the horizontal display format data or the vertical display format data received in step S215 as the use display format, the display control unit 164 uses the selected use display format to display the large display data before the display direction is changed. The item menu, middle item menu, and content data are displayed on the display unit 11 (step S290). When the display direction is changed to the horizontal display when the middle item menu display area A22 is not displayed, the display control unit 164 reads the last displayed middle item menu data from the storage unit 15. Then, it is displayed in the middle item menu display area A12. The display processing unit 16 repeats the processing from step S210.

When the user performs an operation other than the category selection and the operation end (step S240: NO), the display processing unit 16 performs a process according to the input operation (step S295) and repeats the processes from step S210. .
Finally, when the user inputs an end instruction (step S210: NO, step S215: YES, step S220: YES), the display processing unit 16 ends the process.

  In the above description, the intermediate item menu display area A22 is deleted when the user inputs an instruction to delete the intermediate item menu, but may be deleted when the content data is displayed. In this case, the display control unit 164 performs the process of step S260 after displaying the content data in the content display area A23 in step S255.

  The large item menu data and medium item menu data are transmitted including the next layer information set in the large item category data and medium item category data, and the operation notifying unit displays the selected large item category or medium item data. You may make it notify the content distribution apparatus 3 of the next hierarchy information corresponding to an item category. In the content distribution device 3, it is possible to omit the process of reading out the next layer information corresponding to the selected large item category or middle item category from the large item category data or middle item category data.

  In the above, the display processing unit 16 notifies the input operation to the content distribution device 3 every time the large item category icon I1 and the medium item category selection button B1 are selected, and the medium item menu data. Alternatively, if the content data is received from the content distribution apparatus 3 and the selection of the already selected large item category icon I1 and middle item category selection button B1 is received from the content distribution apparatus 3 at the time of selection. The middle item menu data or the content data may be read from the storage unit 15 and displayed.

  Further, when the display direction is notified, the format transmission unit 332 of the content distribution device 3 may transmit only the differential format. For example, the horizontal width W11 of the large item menu display area A11 in the horizontal display format, the margins W13a and W13b of the content display area A13, the vertical width W14 of the toolbar display area A14, and the horizontal width of the large item menu display area A21 in the vertical display format Assume that W21, the margins W23a and W23b of the content display area A23, and the vertical width W24 of the toolbar display area A24 are the same. In this case, when the format transmission unit 332 of the content distribution device 3 receives a notification that the display has been changed from the horizontal display to the vertical display, the display position of the middle item menu display area A22 and the outer frame of the middle item menu display area A22 are displayed. Only the image of F and the size of the vertical width W22a and the horizontal width W22b of the middle item menu display area A22 are transmitted. The display control unit 164 sets the vertical width of the entire vertical display format as the vertical size of the vertical display screen displayed by the display unit 11, sets the horizontal width of the large item menu display region A21 to W11, and sets the content display region A23 and The horizontal width of the toolbar display area A24 is set to a size obtained by removing the horizontal width W11 from the horizontal width of the vertical display screen displayed by the display unit 11. In addition, the display control unit 164 changes the size of the middle item menu displayed in the middle item menu display area A12 to the size of the vertical width W22a and the horizontal width W22b of the notified middle item menu display area A22. The image of F is added and displayed at the notified display position.

  According to the embodiment described above, when the screen is displayed horizontally, the content display device 1 is a large item menu for selecting an upper hierarchy category, and a middle menu for selecting a lower hierarchy category than the upper hierarchy. The item menu and the content of the selected category are displayed side by side in the horizontal direction. Further, the content display device 1 displays the large item menu and the content of the selected category in the horizontal direction in order in the vertical display, and displays the medium item menu in the large item on the content display area according to the user operation. Display on the menu side or hide it. In this way, since the large item menu is always displayed at the extreme edge of the screen, the user can move the human eye in the horizontal direction in order from the edge of the screen in both the vertical display and horizontal display. You can browse the contents by moving the line of sight while selecting the category of the hierarchical structure, and in the case of the vertical display, delete the middle menu display after selecting the category for easier viewing of the content be able to.

  The content display device 1 and the content distribution device 3 described above have a computer system inside. The operation processes of the display processing unit 16 of the content display device 1 and the display instruction unit 33 of the content distribution device 3 are stored in a computer-readable recording medium in the form of a program. The above processing is performed by reading and executing. The computer system here includes a CPU, various memories, an OS, and hardware such as peripheral devices.

Further, the “computer system” includes a homepage providing environment (or display environment) if a WWW system is used.
The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” dynamically holds a program for a short time like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case, and a program that holds a program for a certain period of time are also included. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content display apparatus 3 Content delivery apparatus 11 Display part 12 Display direction detection part 13 Input part 14 Communication part 15 Storage part 16 Display processing part 31 Communication part 32 Storage part 33 Display instruction | indication part 161 Display direction notification part 162 Format reception part 163 Display Target data reception unit 164 Display control unit 165 Operation notification unit 311 Format storage unit 312 Category storage unit 313 Content storage unit 331 Display direction reception unit 332 Format transmission unit 333 Operation notification reception unit 334 Large item display instruction unit 335 Medium item display instruction unit 336 Content Display Instruction Unit 9 Network

Claims (7)

A content display device that displays content associated with hierarchical categories,
A display for displaying a screen;
A display direction detection unit that detects a display direction of whether the display unit is a horizontal display or a vertical display;
When the display direction detected by the display direction detection unit is horizontal display, the category display area of the predetermined hierarchy, the category display area lower than the predetermined hierarchy, and the content display area are sequentially arranged in the horizontal direction. When the display direction detected by the display direction detection unit is the vertical display, the category display area and the content display area in a predetermined hierarchy are sequentially arranged in the horizontal direction and displayed on the display unit. And whether to display the category display area lower than the predetermined hierarchy on the display area side of the category of the predetermined hierarchy on the display area of the content or not according to a display or non-display instruction. A display control unit,
A content display device comprising: In the vertical display, the vertical width and horizontal width of the display area of the lower-level category are smaller than the vertical width and horizontal width of the content display area, respectively.
The content display device according to claim 1. The display control unit displays, on the display unit, a toolbar display area located on the content display area side above the content display area and above the content display area when the vertical display is performed. Let
The toolbar display area includes a button for instructing display or non-display of the display area of the lower-level category,
The content display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein When the display control unit displays the display area of the lower-level category in the vertical display, the display control unit displays the display area in the content display area.
The content display device according to claim 1, wherein the content display device is a content display device. The display area of the content includes a margin that does not display the content,
At the time of vertical display, a part of the boundary of the display area of the category of the lower hierarchy is located within a margin on the display area side of the category of the predetermined hierarchy,
The content display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the content display device is configured as described above. A content providing system having a content distribution device and a content display device,
The content distribution device includes:
A category storage unit that stores a hierarchical category and content identification information that identifies content in association with each other;
An operation notification receiver for receiving notification of the category selected by the user operation from the content display device;
A large item display instruction unit that reads out the category of a predetermined hierarchy from the category storage unit and transmits the category to the content display device;
When the category notified by the operation notification receiving unit is not the lowest layer, the middle item display that reads the category one level lower than the selected category from the category storage unit and transmits it to the content display device An indicator,
When the category notified by the operation notification receiving unit is the lowest layer, the content identification information associated with the selected category of the lowest layer is read from the category storage unit, and the read content identification information A content display instruction unit that transmits the content specified by the content display device,
The content display device includes:
A display for displaying a screen;
A display direction detection unit that detects a display direction of whether the display unit is a horizontal display or a vertical display;
A display target data receiving unit for receiving the category and the content from the content distribution device;
When the display direction detected by the display direction detection unit is horizontal display, the category display area in a predetermined hierarchy, the category display area in a hierarchy lower than the predetermined hierarchy, and the content display area in the horizontal direction When the display direction detected by the display direction detector is vertical display, the display area of the category and the display area of the content in a predetermined hierarchy are arranged in order in the horizontal direction. Whether to display the category display area lower than the predetermined hierarchy in accordance with the display or non-display instruction on the display area side of the category of the predetermined hierarchy on the content display area. A display control unit for controlling
A content providing system characterized by that. A content display method executed by a content display device that displays content associated with hierarchical categories,
A display direction detection process in which a display direction detection unit detects a display direction whether the screen displayed by the display unit is a horizontal display or a vertical display;
When the display direction detected in the display direction detection process is horizontal display, the display control unit displays the category in a predetermined hierarchy, the category display in a lower hierarchy than the predetermined hierarchy, and the content display. When the display direction is arranged in the horizontal direction and displayed on the display unit, and the display direction detected in the display direction detection process is the vertical display, the display area of the category and the display area of the content in the predetermined hierarchy are set in the horizontal direction. Arranged in order and displayed on the display unit, and in accordance with a display or non-display instruction, the display area of the category lower than the predetermined hierarchy is superimposed on the display area side of the category of the predetermined hierarchy on the display area of the content Display control process for controlling whether to display or not,
A content display method characterized by comprising:

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