Interactive video distribution systems – Operator interface – To facilitate tuning or selection of video signal
Reexamination Certificate
1997-02-10
2001-11-06
Chaki, Kakali (Department: 2122)
Interactive video distribution systems
Operator interface
To facilitate tuning or selection of video signal
C725S043000, C725S061000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06314570
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus which generates and displays operation menus for facilitating operation execution or data selection for multimedia display data including text, graphics, and sound.
2. Description of the Related Art
A first example of a conventional data processing apparatus which displays operation menus is a data processing apparatus which receives teletext broadcasts and displays an index for selecting the content of the teletext or for returning from a selected item of teletext to the index. This operation menu does not change in response to the content of the broadcast teletext, but is rather an operation menu whose menu items are fixed.
A second example of a conventional data processing apparatus is the Internet browser software “NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR” (Registered Trade Mark) produced by Netscape Communications, Inc. “NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR” is an application for accessing the World Wide Web (often abbreviated to “WWW”) which is a distributed information system based on a concept called “Hypertext”. A detailed description of the World Wide Web is given in the article “Media Integration by the World Wide Web” which appeared in the Jouhou Shori Gakkai Data Base System Research Report 100-21 (Oct. 14, 1994).
The main function of the NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR is to read information written in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), and to interpret and display its content. When information which shows a link to another page (called a Uniform Resource Locator or “URL”) is selected using a pointing device such as a mouse, NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR takes data from the link address indicated by the URL and displays it. NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR is also able to display predetermined menus for “hot spots” which are special marks provided in the display data (such as marks showing link addresses). A description of NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR is given between pages 93 and 99 of the September 1995 edition of “Internet User” magazine (Softbank Publishing).
As described above, the content of menus for the first example of a conventional data processing apparatus is fixed. As a result, it is not possible to select menu items in accordance with the content of broadcast teletext.
With the second conventional technique, while predetermined menus are displayed for hot spots displayed with the predetermined mark, making it possible to change the display to the data associated with the hot spot or to selectively perform a plurality of operations for the hot spot, it is not possible to change the operation menus in accordance with the content of the hot spots. As a result, the apparatus becomes more difficult to use since unnecessary menu items are displayed for hot spots.
When looking through a set of pages which are connected by such links, it has been necessary to pass through the pages one at a time, so that it has not been possible to view a page which is two or more links away from the present hot spot by making only one selection operation.
In actual Internet pages, hot spots which represent links also tend to be distributed throughout the page, so that it is difficult for users to see all of the available links when making a selection. In particular, when a user is unsure as to which hot spot to select, the user has to go to the trouble of moving the mouse cursor a considerable distance over the screen.
When using a conventional browser, the only information which the user can refer to when selecting a hot spot is the information given by the hot spot itself, so that users can often end up switching to data which does not serve their purpose.
Finally, most conventional browsers assume the user is using a pointing device such as a mouse, so that such selections become difficult if the user has to use the ten key pad on a remote control unit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the stated problems, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a data processing apparatus which allows the selection of menu items which change depending on the content of document data or on the type of a key word included in document data.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a data processing apparatus which can display a menu which enables a user to understand the content of data linked to the data being displayed.
A third object of the present invention is to provide a data processing apparatus which can enable a user to understand the content of other sets of data which are linked to a data section included in a set of data.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a data processing apparatus which can display data several links away in a hierarchy as menu items in a hierarchical menu displayed with a present set of data.
A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a data processing apparatus which reduces the trouble the user has to go to in moving the focus of a data section, by having each data section included in a set of data displayed for a predetermined time.
A sixth object of the present invention is to provide a data processing apparatus which, in order to facilitate the selection of data linked to a data section, has data related to a data section in the focus condition added to the display.
A seventh object of the present invention is to provide a data processing apparatus which enables the user to make a rapid selection of a data section, even when there is a large number of data section in the displayed data.
An eighth object of the present invention is to provide a data processing apparatus which can display data directly related to a data section in accordance with an operation of a channel number button on a television remote controller.
The primary object can be achieved by a data processing apparatus which displays a set of document data on a display unit together with an operation menu which has operation items for operation executions related to said set of document data, the data processing apparatus including: a document data storage unit for storing a plurality of sets of document data which are to be displayed by the display unit, wherein each set of document data has a different data content and is stored together with a set of content information which corresponds to said data content; an operation menu information storage unit for storing a plurality of sets of operation menu information which are each made up of a set of operation items which correspond to a content of a set of document data; a first indication operation unit for indicating a display of a set of document data, in accordance with a user operation; a second indication operation unit for indicating an addition of a display of an operation menu to the displayed set of document data, in accordance with a user operation; an operation menu generation unit for receiving an indication from the second indication operation unit, for obtaining the content information of the displayed set of document data from the document data storage unit, for extracting the set of operation menu information which corresponds to the obtained content information from the operation menu information storage unit, and for generating an operation menu which has the operation items in the extracted set of operation menu information as menu items; and a display control unit for reading a set of document data from the document data storage unit and having the set of document data displayed on the display unit in accordance with an indication from the first indication operation unit, and for having the operation menu generated by the operation menu generation unit displayed in a window provided on the display unit.
The above primary object can also be achieved by a data processing apparatus which displays a set of document data including key words on a display unit together with an operation menu which has operation items for operation executions related to the set of document data, the data processing apparatus including: a document data storage unit for storing a set of document data, including key words, which is to be displayed b
Hirai Junichi
Okamura Kazuo
Tanigawa Hidekazu
Yamanaka Kiyokazu
Chaki Kakali
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Price and Gess
Rossi Jeffrey Allen
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