Electronic apparatus with display unit to display icon for mode and
Contents
1. shown in FIG 4 A first method of controlling the starting or the ending of the state of the enlarged display of the icons is based on an instruction by the user operation For example the user starts the enlarged display of the icons by half depressing a release button and then returns the button from the half depressed state to the original state or depresses another hard key thereby ending the enlarged display of the icons A second method of controlling the starting or the ending of the state of the enlarged display of the icons is as follows When a photographing condition is ready the operator depresses the release shutter button The CPU 13 deter mines that the photographing is ready and starts the enlarged 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 display ofthe icons After a lapse of a predetermined time the device automatically ends the enlarged display The first and the second methods can be used in combina tion In other words either the starting or the ending of the enlarged display is carried out automatically or is carried out by the user operation Alternatively the automatic control and the user operation can be used in combination The enlarged icons are superimposed on a major part ofthe image to be photographed by the camera as the base of the display screen as shown on the screen 305 shown in FIG 2 Therefore when the icons completely hide the image to be photographed it is inconven2. be used in place of the LCD 10 FIG 7 is a schematic for illustrating a display within an optical finder when the OSD function according to the present invention is applied to the optical finder of a single lens reflex camera Icons are displayed in the display unit disposed within the optical finder in place of the LCD 10 Ina frame 70 displayed within the optical finder icons of a flash 71 a close up mode 72 and ISO International Standardization Organization sensitivity 73 are displayed When the operator sets these icons the icons are lighted to emphasize the setting change The icon display unit 70 of the optical finder can be applied to not only a digital camera but also to an icon display unit of the optical finder in a general camera using a silver salt film FIGS 8A and 8B are schematics for illustrating an example of an icon displayed in a different size when a function is changed from a default setting A screen 81 is a normal display screen When a close up mode is set an icon 82 indicating the close up mode is displayed in an enlarged size at the beginning on a screen 82 When time passes the size of this icon changes to a smaller size like those of icons 83a to 85a shown on screens 83 to 85 and the icon is finally disposed at a predetermined position As explained above the icon is displayed in a large size immediately after the setting is changed The size of the icon becomes gradually smaller and the small icon is di
3. portion of the display unit In another aspect the image data taking unit even while the distant view icon with the enlarged size is displayed on the display unit at the displaying can take the image data The other objects features and advantages of the present invention are specifically set forth in or will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a block diagram of a basic configuration of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention FIG 2 is a schematic of icons enlarged on a liquid crystal display LCD based on an OSD function of the digital cam era according to the present embodiment FIG 3 is a flowchart of a process procedure for an icon display control according to the present embodiment FIG 4 is a schematic for illustrating the LCD in which a display changes to a normal display after icons are enlarged based on the OSD function of the digital camera according to the present embodiment FIG 5 is a schematic for illustrating a change in the display of an enlarged icon on the screen FIG 6 is a schematic for illustrating a user setting screen when a user uses an icon enlarged display function and a display screen following this setting according to the present embodiment FIG 7 is a schematic for illustrating a display within an optical finder when the OSD
4. 4 1 2004 6 327 001 B1 12 2001 Yamagishi 2004 61762 2 2004 6417869 72002 da 6 453 078 B2 9 2002 Bubie etal 382 305 2006 86758 3 2006 6 600 499 1 7 2003 MacPhail 7 036 080 Bl 4 2006 James et al OTHER PUBLICATIONS 7 149 781 7 155 336 7 155 676 7 280 238 7 403 705 7 600 192 2003 0007006 2003 0164855 2004 0119851 2004 0264952 2006 0029381 2007 0285702 FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS B2 12 2006 Aoyama B2 12 2006 Dorfman et al B2 12 2006 Land et al B2 10 2007 Akiyoshi B2 7 2008 Onozawa 1 10 2009 Hashimoto et al Al 1 2003 Baar et al Al 9 2003 Grantetal 345 763 Al 6 2004 Kaku Al 12 2004 Oeda et al Al 2 2006 Onozawa Al 12 2007 Akiyoshi 1315 369 Al 5 2003 JP 11 119316 4 1999 JP 11 146234 5 1999 JP 11 275394 10 1999 JP 2000 347974 12 2000 JP 2001 67163 3 2001 JP 2001 211354 8 2001 JP 2002 209138 7 2002 JP 2002 223403 8 2002 JP 2002 290784 10 2002 JP 2003 44207 2 2003 701 200 Japanese Office Action issued Dec 4 2007 in Patent Application No 2005 038267 Japanese Office Action issued Nov 20 2007 in Patent Application No 2007 254435 Japanese Decision of Rejection issued Apr 15 2008 in Patent Appli cation No 2007 254435 Japanese Office Action issued Aug 3 2010 in Patent Application No 2008 156842 Japanese Decision of Rejection issued Nov 24 2010 in Patent Appli cation N
5. 5 The A D converter 5 converts the analog image data into digital image data The digital signal processing circuit 6 signal processes the converted digital image data and the processed image data is stored in the DRAM 8 a CPU bus The digital image data stored in the DRAM 8 is input to the compressing expanding circuit 7 via the CPU bus is compressed and the compressed data is stored in the DRAM 8 again After the digital image data is compressed the CPU 13 records the compressed image data stored inthe DRAM 8 as an image data file in a predetermined format into the memory card 9 via the CPU bus In the reproduction mode the image data stored in the memory card 9 is reproduced as follows When a user oper ates the operating unit 14 to assign an image data file stored in the memory card 9 to reproduce this image data the com pressed image data in the assigned image data file is read out and is stored in the DRAM 8 The image data stored in the DRAM 8 is input to the compressing expanding circuit 7 via the CPU bus and is expanded The expanded image data is stored in the DRAM 8 again The expanded image data stored in the DRAM 8 is input to the digital signal processing circuit 6 via the CPU bus and is converted into a video signal to be displayed in the LCD 10 In the through image mode of directly displaying image data of a photographed image the CCD 3 converts the image picked up through the lens 1 into an electric signal anal
6. AY OF TARGET ICONS TIMER IS ON S104 IS THERE CONFIRMATION OPERATION BY USER HAS PREDETERMINED TIME PASSED S106 END ENLARGED DISPLAY OF TARGET ICONS TIMER IS OFF U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 4 of 14 US 8 327 283 2 5 35b 1600 1200 1600 x 1200 IMMEDIATELY AFTER LARGE SETTING PHOTOGRAPHABLE INFORMATION DISAPPEARS MODE IS OBTAINED U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 5 of 14 US 8 327 283 B2 FIG 5 U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 6 of 14 US 8 327 283 B2 MACRO ON PHOTOGRAPHING MODE ON AF MF SNAP DISTANT VIEW ON WHITE BALANCE OFF EXPOSURE CORRECTION FIG 7 70 U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 7 of 14 US 8 327 283 2 FIG 8A U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 8 of 14 US 8 327 283 B2 FIG 8B EE U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 9 of 14 US 8 327 283 2 FIG 9A 1500 200 U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 10 of 14 US 8 327 283 B2 FIG 9B U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 11 of 14 US 8 327 283 B2 1500 200 U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 12 of 14 US 8 327 283 B2 FIG 10A 101 102 NA MA INTAS 103 U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 13 of 14 US 8 327 283 B2 FIG 10B 104 ALL FUNCTIONS SET ARE RETURNED TO DEFAULT SETTING ISIT OK IS IT ALL RIGHT 104a 105 U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 14 of 14 US 8 327 283 B2 FIG 11 FLASH 4 COMPULSORY PROHIBITION FLA
7. SH ISO AUTO ISO 400 AF AUTOMATIC MF MANUAL FOCUSING FOCUSING NORMAL MACRO PHOTOGRAPHING US 8 327 283 2 1 ELECTRONIC APPARATUS WITH DISPLAY UNIT TO DISPLAY ICON FOR MODE AND ASSOCIATED INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U S C 120 from U S Ser No 11 082 781 filed Mar 18 2005 now U S Pat No 7 493 571 and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U S C 119 from Japanese Patent Application Number 2004 080795 filed Mar 19 2004 and 2005 038267 filed Feb 15 2005 the entire contents of each which are incorporated herein by reference BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus with a display unit an information processing method and a computer product 2 Description of the Related Art Recently digital still cameras portable telephones equipped with a digital camera and the like are in widespread use as a media of image information These apparatuses can provide various functions by handling the image information as electronic data An on screen display OSD function is one of those func tions so far used as a user interface According to the OSD function icons that indicate device states and operating con ditions characters or the like are displayed in superimposi tion ona main image ona display screen Ba
8. US008327283B2 a2 United States Patent 10 Patent No US 8 327 283 2 Shinohara et al 45 Date of Patent Dec 4 2012 54 ELECTRONIC APPARATUS WITH DISPLAY 5 706 457 1 1998 Dwyer et al ue 715 835 UNIT TO DISPLAY ICON FOR MODE AND 5 923 737 7 1999 Weishut et al ASSOCIATED INFORMATION PROCESSING R Manda METHOD 6 091 450 A 7 2000 Hirasawa Continued 75 Inventors Michinari Shinohara Kanagawa JP Hiroshi Morikawa Kanagawa JP FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS EP 1246434 Al 10 2002 73 Assignee Ricoh Company Limited Tokyo JP Continued Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 OTHER PUBLICATIONS U S C 154 b by 1140 days A Japanese Action issued Jul 31 2007 in Patent Application 21 Appl 11 933 059 2005 038267 22 Filed Oct 31 2007 Continued 65 Prior publication Data Primary Examiner Doug Hutton Jr US 2008 0072172 Al Mar 20 2008 Assistant Examiner Soumya Dasgupta Related U S Application Data 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Oblon Spivak McClelland Maier amp Neustadt L L P 63 Continuation of application No 11 082 781 filed on Mar 18 2005 now Pat No 7 493 571 57 ABSTRACT 30 Foreign Application Priority Data 7 image data taking unit takes image data of an object and 19 2004 2004 080795 stores the image data therein as an image data file d
9. a display bar 112a is provided Only an icon 1125 of which setting is different from the default setting is displayed in this area On a screen 113 an underline is provided to the icon of which setting is different from the default setting thereby emphasizing this icon Both the screen 112 and the screen 113 give display to emphasize the icon of which set ting is changed from the default setting thereby enabling the operator to easily recognize the change of the setting As explained above according to the present invention the CPU 13 reads the OSD control program stored in the ROM 23 to retrieve the information processing method of controlling the digital camera having a display unit that can display icons indicating the device state or the operating condition of the digital camera according to the OSD function Based on the device condition determining function stored in the program the change in the sate of the digital camera or the change in the setting of the operating condition is determined Based on the function of assigning the icons icons that indicate the state or the operating condition of the digital camera of which change is determined is assigned Based on the OSD display control function the icons assigned are OSD displayed in a state different from that of the icons before the icons are assigned When the settings of the digital camera for photographing are changed from the default setting or from the state imme diately bef
10. anism a charge coupled device CCD 3 a correlation double sampling CDS circuit 4 an analog digital A D converter 5 a digital signal processing circuit 6 a compressing expanding circuit 7 a dynamic random access memory DRAM 8 a memory card 9 an LCD 10 a driver 11 a synchronous generator SG 12 a central processing unit CPU 13 an operating unit 14 a strobe light 15 a microphone 16 an amplifier filter AMP FILTER 17 a digital analog D A converter 18 an audio data compressing expanding circuit 19 an analog digital A D converter 20 an AMP FILTER 21 and an on screen display controller 22 A lens unit includes the lens 1 the mechanism 2 having an automatic focusing AF unit a diaphragm and a filtering unit The CCD 3 converts an image input via the lens unit into an electric signal analog image data The CDS circuit 4 decreases noise of a CCD imaging device The A D converter 5 converts the analog image data input from the CCD 3 via the CDS circuit 4 into digital image data In other words a signal output from the CCD 3 passes through the CDS circuit 4 and the A D converter 5 converts this signal into a digital signal at an optimum sampling frequency The digital signal processor 6 divides the image data input from the A D converter 5 into color difference data and lumi nance data and processes the data to correct and compress expand the image The image compressing expanding circuit 7 carries out an ort
11. con display control executed by the CPU 13 is explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG 3 First the CPU 13 determines whether a setting condition is complete and photographing conditions are ready step 101 When it is confirmed that the photographing is possible YES at step 5101 the CPU 13 determines whether the user has changed a setting condition step 102 This processing is obtained as a result of checking a memory area for storing the user setting When there is a changed setting of condition the changed setting condition is stored in the memory area When there is no setting condition that is changed by the user operation NO at step 102 it is not necessary to deter mine a user setting there is no enlarged display of icons and the operation ends On the other hand when there is a setting condition that is changed by the user operation YES at step 102 the CPU 13 specifies the changed setting condition assigns icons cor responding to the specified setting condition as icons to be displayed in a large size and transmits an on screen display command to the on screen display controller 22 thereby starting the enlarged display of the target icons step S103 According to the present embodiment the enlarged display of the icons is carried out for a predetermined time In order to carry out this time control a timer is turned on to count the predetermined time According to the present embodiment after t
12. contact sensor that detects a contact of a human body on the camera an optical sensor that detects using light an eyeball detection sensor that detects an eyeball an eyeshot detection sensor that detects an eyeshot of a person and a pressure sensor that detects a pressure when a person holds the digital camera The sensor 24 automatically detects that the operator is at a near position and the CPU 13 starts the OSD control function using the OSD control program The LCD 10 is a monitor that is generally disposed at the back of the digital camera and is used to display an image to be photographed or display a photographed image The LCD 10 is not limited to the monitor that is generally disposed at the back of the digital camera but can be an electronic view finder EVF The LCD 10 can be also dis posed within the optical finder to make a display While the LCD is applied to the digital camera according to the present embodiment the LCD can be also used for an icon display unit of the optical finder within a general silver salt film camera The OSD function used as the user interface in the digital camera having the above configuration is further explained According to the present embodiment an operation mode set by a user can be determined based on the display of icons using the OSD function In the present embodiment it is assumed that when a user does not set an operating condition such as a photographing condition the operating co
13. control following these conditions the user can perform a proper photographing without missing a shutter chance The enlarged display of the icons can be started when the power source of the digital camera is turned on With this arrangement the user can visually confirm a change of the setting simultaneously with the turning on of the power source for photographing The icons corresponding to the changed setting can be displayed after a lapse ofa certain time since the user turns on the power source of the digital camera This is suitable because in many cases the user does not start the photo graphing operation immediately after the power source is turned on The icons corresponding to the changed setting can be displayed after a lapse ofa first predetermined time since the user turns on the power source of digital camera and the icons can be returned to a normal mode after a lapse of a second predetermined time When the power source is turned on the user visually confirms the changed setting after a lapse of a certain time After ending the visual confirmation in a certain time the user carries out the normal photographing Therefore it is very convenient when the enlarged display of the icons is returned to the normal display by the time when the photographing operation is carried out In displaying the icons corresponding to a changed setting in the digital camera the enlarged icons can be displayed at timing when the objec
14. cording to the present embodiment As shown on the screen 61 the user can instruct the setting of each item by inputting ON or OFF to each item When the user inputs OFF to the item enlarged display of icons corresponding to a changed setting this means that the user sets the non utilization of the enlarged display function To utilize this function the user inputs ON to this item When the user inputs ON to the item enlarged display of icons corresponding to a changed setting the user inputs ON or OFF to each of the following items macro US 8 327 283 2 11 photographing mode AF MF SNAP distant view white balance and exposure correction The camera does not carry out an enlarged display of unnecessary items to which the user inputs OFF In the example shown in FIG 6 the user inputs ON to each of macro photographing mode and AF MF SNAP dis tant view Therefore four icons on the screen 61 shown in FIG 6 1 a mountain icon distant view 32L a serial shot icon a photographing mode 33L a flash prohibition icon a photographing mode 31L and a flower icon macro 34L indicate that these icons can be displayed in a large size In this way the camera operates to meet user s requests While the icons are displayed on the LCD 10 in the above explanation the icons can be also displayed on an electronic view finder EVF In the above explanation the EVF not shown can
15. ded claims are not to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying all modifications and alternative constructions that may occur to one skilled in the art which fairly fall within the basic teaching herein set forth As described above the electric apparatus with the display the method of processing information and the program caus ing the computer to execute the method according to the present invention is useful for a display technology used in the electric apparatus with the display Particularly the present invention is useful for the display technology used in an electric apparatus with a display such as a photographing apparatus e g a digital camera a PDA Personal Digital Assistants or a cellular phone with a small display which may display an icon indicating a state and an operating con dition of an apparatus by using the OSD On Screen Display function What is claimed is 1 A method of controlling an electronic apparatus pro vided with an image data taking unit that is configured to take image data of an object and store the image data therein as an image data file and a display unit that is configured to display the image data stored in the image data taking unit the method comprising switching between a close up mode and a distant view mode of the image data taking unit wherein the close up mode is for an object with a close distance and the distant view mode 18 for an object with a long distance and
16. e and the distant view mode can 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 be switched over from each other by dynamically changing the size of the switched display thereby giving an impression of the switchover FIGS 10 and 10B are schematics for illustrating a change of a screen from a change state set to a default setting In the state that a set normal screen 101 is displayed when the user depresses the setting change button not shown in the oper ating unit 14 that accepts the user input the set icons flicker on ascreen 102 Alternatively the set icons can be switched to an enlarged display shown on a screen 103 When the user stops depressing the setting change button the original screen 101 15 obtained When the user continues depressing the setting change button a screen 104 for accepting the switchover to the default setting is displayed When the user depresses an OK button not shown in the operating unit 14 by moving a cursor to an OK display 104a on the screen 104 the setting by the operator is all canceled and the original default setting is obtained A screen 105 shows the returned default setting FIG 11 is a schematic for illustrating an example of a display of icons when photographing conditions are set dif ferently from default conditions A screen 111 shows both icons and character information by comparing the default setting with the set current state screen 112 has an area in which
17. en a close up mode and a distant view mode of the image data taking unit wherein the close up mode is for the object with a closed distance and the distant view mode is for the object with a long distance and displaying a close up mode icon on the display unit when the close up mode is on and a distant mode icon on the display unit when the distant view mode is on wherein the displaying includes when the close up mode is switched to the distant view mode at the switching replacing the close up icon displayed on a prede termined position on the display unit by the distant mode icon on the predetermined position In another aspect the displaying includes when the close up mode is switched to the distant view mode at the switch ing displaying the distant view mode icon first in an enlarged size on the predetermined position and subsequently display ing the distant view mode icon in a reduced size on another predetermined position on the display unit US 8 327 283 B2 3 In another aspect the displaying includes when subse quently making the distant view mode icon size reduced gradually making the distant view mode icon size reduced In another aspect the electronic apparatus includes one of a digital camera and a portable phone and the displaying includes displaying the distant view mode icon with the enlarged size in a center portion of the display unit and the distant view mode icon with the reduced size in a peripheral
18. fter the icons are enlarged based on the OSD function of the digital camera according to the present embodiment An embodiment of icon display operation on the screen after the enlarged display of the icons ends is explained next At the end of the enlarged display of the icons the enlarged display can simply end in the manner as shown by the screen 35a changing to the screen 355 show in FIG 4 In the follow ing embodiment the user can confirm at a high recognition rate the setting condition that is changed by the user opera tion According to the present embodiment the size of the enlarged target icons is gradually decreased and the icons are shifted to predetermined positions when the size of the icons is returned to the normal display size FIG 5 is a schematic for illustrating a change in the display ofan enlarged icon on the screen In FIG 5 an example of an icon of a tulip flower is displayed in an enlarged size when the user sets a close up mode function in photographing by depressing a close up mode button schematically indicated by a tulip flower in a photographing mode not shown A screen 41 shown in FIG 5 shows a state of the screen before the user carries out the setting operation A screen 42 shows a statethat a tulip flower icon 41L is displayedinthe enlarged size after the user sets the close up mode At the end of the enlarged display the size of the enlarged display ofthe tulip flower icon 41L sh
19. function according to the present invention is applied to an optical finder ofa single lens reflex camera FIGS 8A and 8B are schematics for illustrating an example ofan icon displayed in a different size when function is changed from a default setting FIGS 9A to 9C are schematics for illustrating an example of an icon displayed in a different size when a setting of a photographing mode is changed from a close up mode to a distant view mode FIGS 10A and 10B are schematics for illustrating a change of a screen from a change state set to a default setting and FIG 11 is a schematic for illustrating an example of a display of icons when photographing conditions are set dif ferently from default conditions DETAILED DESCRIPTION Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying draw ings In the following embodiment a digital camera is explained as the electronic apparatus The present invention can be also applied to an electronic apparatus other than the digital camera having a compact display as a user interface in which a set operating mode and the like can b determined according to an icon display using an OSD function FIG 1 is a block diagram of a basic configuration of the digital camera according to the present embodiment The digital camera shown in FIG 1 includes a lens 1 a mechanism 20 25 40 45 55 65 4 2 including an automatic focusing mech
20. he user con firms the setting of the changed setting condition by looking at the enlarged display of the icons on the screen the user can instruct to end the enlarged display of the icons because the enlarged display of the icons hinders the operator from deter mining the image construction of the object Therefore the CPU 13 determines whether the user has confirmed the set ting step S104 When the user has confirmed the setting YES at step 104 the on screen display controller ends the enlarged display of the icons step S106 The timer that counts the predetermined time is set off and the operation ends When there is no user operation of confirming the changed setting condition by looking at the enlarged display of the icons on the screen at step 104 NO at step S104 the CPU 13 determines whether the predetermined time of displaying the enlarged icons has passed based on the timer which is turned on in advance step 105 When the predetermined 0 an 5 25 40 45 60 10 time has not passed the process returns to step S104 of determining whether the user has confirmed the setting When the predetermined time has passed YES at step 105 the on screen display controller ends the enlarged display of the icons step S106 The timer that counts the predetermined time is set off and the operation ends FIG 4 is a schematic for illustrating the LCD 10 in which the display changes to a normal display a
21. hogonal conversion inverse orthogonal conversion as one process of the image compression expansion based on the JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group and a Huffman coding Huffman decoding as a process of the image compres sion expansion based on the JPEG On the other hand a sound electric signal converting device like a microphone 16 converts sound into an electric signal and this signal becomes audio data The AMP FILTER 17 amplifies this audio data and cuts off the amplified audio data into a necessary band The D A converter 18 converts the audio data into digital audio data at a sampling frequency of two or more times of a predetermined band The data com pressing expanding unit 19 compresses and encodes the digi tal audio data The DRAM 8 temporarily stores the compressed image data The compressed image data is stored as an image data file and the compressed audio data is recorded as an audio data file in the memory card 9 The LCD 10 directly displays the image data photographed by the CCD 3 and displays an image corresponding to the image data recorded in the memory card 9 The LCD 10 also displays a set state of the digital still camera such as a set mode and an error using the OSD function described in detail later The CPU 13 controls the operation of each unit of the digital still camera following a control program stored in the ROM 23 according to an instruction from the operating unit 14 or an external operation ins
22. icon displaying a close up mode icon on the display unit when the close up mode is on and 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 a distant view mode icon on the display unit when the distant view mode is on the icon displaying including displaying when the close up mode is switched to the distant view mode at the switching the distant view mode icon in an enlarged size on a predetermined position of the display unit wherein the image data taking unit even while the distant view mode icon in the enlarged size is dis played on a major part of the image data which is displayed on the display unit at the icon displaying can take the image data in response to a depression of a button and when the close up mode is switched to the distant view mode at the switching replacing the close up mode icon displayed on a predetermined position on the display unit by the distant view mode icon on the predetermined position on which the close up mode icon was displayed 2 The method of claim 1 wherein the icon displaying includes when the close up mode is switched to the distant view mode at the switching displaying the distant view mode icon first in the enlarged size and subsequently displaying the distant view mode icon in a reduced size on another prede termined position on the display unit 3 The method of claim 2 wherein the icon displaying includes when subsequently making a distant view mode icon s
23. ient for the user to determine an image construction of the object To avoid this inconvenience the enlarged icons are dis played as a semitransparent image In using a method of displaying a semitransparent image the user can also employ a system in which the user can select a semitransparent or an opaque display For example the icons are used for the opera tion at the display time or for the user setting carried out in advance The method of displaying the enlarged icons as a semi transparent image is effective because the image to be pho tographed is visible through the semitransparent image when the user cannot end the enlarged display of the icons that is when the device automatically ends the enlarged display The semitransparent image can be superimposed on the base image on the display screen based on a known method The photographing operation by the camera can be inde pendent of the operation of enlarging the icons Based on the same concept as the semitransparent display of the enlarged icons it is necessary to avoid restricting the photographing operation as much as possible while allowing the photograph ing operation with a display of enlarged icons Therefore while the icons are displayed in a large size the camera is set to a photographable state In other words while the icons are displayed in a large size the user can photograph the image when the user depresses the release shutter button By car rying out the
24. isplay 15 2005 rre 2005 038267 unit displays the image data stored in the image data taking unit mode switching unit switches between close u 51 Int CI 8 P G 06 F 3 048 2006 01 mode and a distant view mode of the image data taking unit 52 U C 715 772 715 838 715 815 715 810 The close up mode is for the object with a close distance and 715 7812 the distant view mode is the object with long distance 58 Field of Classification Search 715 772 isplay control unit when the close up mode is on displays 715 835 838 815 810 812 close up mode icon on the display unit and when the distant See application file for complete search history vlew mode 18 on displays a distant mode icon on the display unit The display control unit when the mode switching unit 56 References Cited switches the distant view mode replaces the close up icon displayed on a predetermined position on the display unit by U S PATENT DOCUMENTS the distant mode icon on the predetermined position 5 182 641 A 1 1993 Dineretal 348 86 5 564 004 A 10 1996 Grossman et al 5 565 888 A 10 1996 Selker 9 Claims 14 Drawing Sheets US 8 327 283 B2 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS JP 2003 101824 4 2003 6 118 888 9 2000 Chino et al T 22 6 169 854 B1 1 2001 Hasegawa et al 396 56 2003 333380 11 2003 6 215 482 Bl 4 2001 Hwang 2004 2155
25. ize reduced gradually making the distant view mode icon size reduced 4 The method of claim 2 wherein the electronic apparatus includes one ofa digital camera and a portable phone and the icon displaying includes displaying the distant view mode icon with the reduced size in a peripheral portion of the display unit 5 An electronic apparatus including a processor the elec tronic apparatus comprising an image data taking unit that is configured to take image data of an object and store the image data therein as an image data file a display unit that is configured to display the image data stored in the image data taking unit a mode switching unit that is configured to switch between a close up mode and a distant view mode of the image data taking unit wherein the close up mode is for an object with a close distance and the distant view mode is for an object with a long distance and a display control unit that is configured to when the close up mode is on display a close up mode icon on the display unit and when the distant view mode is on display a distant view mode icon on the display unit the display controlunit displaying when the mode switch ing unit switches the distant view mode on from the close up mode the distant view mode icon in an enlarged size on a predetermined position ofthe display unit wherein the image data taking unit even while the display control unit displays the distant view mode icon
26. led display The user cannot confirm the own setting and may make an erro neous setting of functions When display sizes of the charac ters are increased to avoid the poor visibility these characters 20 25 30 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 may hinder the display of base image data Further all the icons cannot be displayed because of the large size SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve at least the above problems in the conventional technology An electronic apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes an image data taking unit that is configured to take an image data of an object and store the image data therein as an image data file a display unit that is configured to display the image data stored in the image data taking unit a mode switching unit that is configured to switch between a close up mode and a distant view mode of the image data taking unit wherein the close up mode is for the object with a closed distance and the distant view mode is for the object with a long distance and a display control unit that is configured to when the close up mode is on display a close up mode icon on the display unit and when the distant view mode is on display a distant mode icon on the display unit wherein the display controlunit when the mode switch ing unit switches the distant view mode on replaces the close up icon displayed on a predetermined posi
27. method comprising switching between a close up mode and a distant view mode of the image data taking unit wherein the close up mode is for an object with a close distance and the distant view mode is for an object with a long distance and 20 16 icon displaying a close up mode icon on the display unit when the close up mode is on and a distant view mode icon on the display unit when the distant view mode is on the icon displaying including displaying when the close up mode is switched to the distant view mode at the switching the distant view mode icon in an enlarged size on a predetermined position of the display unit wherein the image data taking unit even while the dis tant view mode icon in the enlarged size is displayed on a major part of the image data which is displayed on the display unit at the icon displaying can take the image data in response to a depression ofa button and when the close up mode is switched to the distant view mode at the switching replacing the close up mode icon displayed on a predetermined position on the display unit by the distant view mode icon on the predetermined position on which the close up mode icon was dis played
28. ndition is set in an automatic mode of automatically setting a photo graphing condition or is determined by default When the setting of the automatic mode determined in advance in the device is changed by a user operation the user can determine whether the changed setting is correct In other words in substantially all cases the digital camera can carry out a proper photographing in the automatic mode or in the default setting When the setting is to be changed this means that the user intentionally changes the setting Since the change of the setting has a risk of failure in photographing the user needs to determine whether the changed setting is correct FIG 2 is a schematic of icons enlarged on the LCD 10 based on an OSD function of the digital camera according to the present embodiment A screen 30a shows normal dis play where the icons are not a hindrance and a screen 305 shows the icons that are displayed in an enlarged size imme diately before photographing an image The display of the icons using the OSD function that enables the user to deter mine about the user setting is carried out simultaneously with the user setting Conventionally as shown on the screen 30a US 8 327 283 2 7 shown in FIG 2 the icons are displayed at the edee of the screen by taking into account a size and a position that do not hinder the photographing image a background image of the camera that becomes a base of the display screen Three ic
29. o 2008 156842 Fixya Technical Support Online User Manual and Guide for Sony Cyber Shot DSCP92 Digital Camera Copyright Date 2003 http www fixya com support p325603 sony cyber shot dsc p92 digital camera manual 15724 Digital Camera FinePix S5000 Internet Citation Jul 2003 XP002383324 Retrieved from the Internet URL hhtp www fujifilmusa com shared bin S5000Manual pdf Retrieved on May 31 2006 pp 1 56 Office Action issued Sep 13 2012 in European Application No 05 005 866 8 pp 1 6 cited by examiner US 8 327 283 B2 Sheet 1 of 14 Dec 4 2012 U S Patent TINON ino SV EN 4OSN3S DNISSTUdWOO 1 i 91 vz Vivd AHONWZN SNILLIS 380415 Gl LINN el INVHA 542 K G ezz 9 L 21 LINDUIO LINDUIO ON B NISS3OOtid ONISS3HdWOO TVN5IS 01 U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 2 of 14 US 8 327 283 2 1600 x 1200 1600 1200 NORMAL DISPLAY IN WHICH ICONS ARE DISPLAYED IN ICONS ARE OUT OF THE WAY LARGE SIZE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE PHOTOGRAPHING U S Patent Dec 4 2012 Sheet 3 of 14 US 8 327 283 2 FIG 3 START ARE PHOTOGRAPHING E CONDITIONS READY YES 102 15 THERE CHANGE OF SETTING BY USER OPERATION S103 START ENLARGED DISPL
30. og image data The analog image data passes through the CDS 4 and is input to the A D converter 5 The A D converter 5 converts the analog image data into digital image data The digital signal processing circuit 6 signal processes the con verted digital image data and the processed image data is once stored in the DRAM 8 The image data is converted into a video signal to be displayed in the LCD 10 The on screen display controller 22 includes a command decoder that decodes a command input from the CPU 13 a video RAM 225 in which icon data read from an icon data generator read only memory ROM 22a is extracted the icon data generator ROM 22a that outputs icon data corresponding to a command sent out from the CPU 13 an oscillating circuit that outputs a dot clock to an output controller and an output controller that outputs icon data extracted in the video RAM 226 to the digital signal process ing circuit 6 at timing of the dot clock input from the oscil lating circuit by synchronizing the icon data with a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization sig nal When a setting is changed based on an input operation from the operating unit 14 the on screen display controller 22 receives reference result information from the CPU 13 after the CPU 13 refers to a setting memory 23 held by the CPU 13 and the on screen display controller 22 selects an item of which setting is changed The on screen display cont
31. ons shown on the screen 30a shown in FIG 2 indicate photo graphing conditions of which setting is changed from a default setting by a user operation In this example these icons show a flash prohibition 31 a distant view 32 and a serial shot 33 Therefore when the display is compact it is difficult to recognize the icons and the user may not realize an erroneous setting of photographing conditions To overcome this difficulty according to the present embodiment in displaying the setting conditions changed by the user operation as shown by the screen 305 shown in FIG 2 the size of the icons shown on the screen 30a shown in FIG 2is increased to about two to four times to obtain icons 31L 32L and 33L to be superimposed on a major part of the background image the image to be photographed by the camera With this arrangement the user can sufficiently con firm the setting contents thereby solving the above problem and improving visibility Based on the input operation of the operating unit 14 the CPU 13 stores the setting of the photographing operation conditions changed by the user operation into the setting memory 25 that stores the control data The setting memory 25 holds the changed setting until when the power source is turned off or until when the setting is further changed at the next input operation Therefore in carrying out an enlarged display of the icons the CPU 13 checks the setting memory 25 to determine whether
32. ore the change of the setting the icons are dis played in a state different from that before the settings are changed With this arrangement the user s visibility of con firming the changed setting improves Further the user can correctly determine the setting thereby decreasing photo graphing errors attributable to erroneous setting by the user Furthermore according to the present invention user s visibility of confirming the setting change improves and a user can correctly determine the setting Moreover according to the present invention user s vis ibility of confirming the setting change improves Since the icons are displayed in the normal mode during a normal use the user can correctly determine the setting thus the icons do not hinder the display during the normal use Furthermore according to the present invention when an operator changes a setting visibility of confirming the setting change improves and the operator can correctly determine the setting US 8 327 283 2 13 Moreover according to the present invention when an operator operates the electronic apparatus user s visibility of confirming a setting change improves and the operator can correctly determine the setting Furthermore according to the present invention when an operator turns on the electronic apparatus visibility of con firming the setting change improves After the setting change is confirmed the icons are returned to the no
33. own on the screen 42 shown in FIG 5 is decreased in size to that of a tulip flower icon 41M shown on a screen 43 shown in FIG 5 Finally the tulip flower icon is displayed in the normal small size as shown by a tulip flower icon 41S at a predetermined posi tion ona screen 44 shown in FIG 5 As explained the display size ofthe icon is gradually decreased as shown on the screen 42 to the screen 44 Based on this display method the user can recognize at an improved recognition rate the setting of the operation mode function and the like indicated by the enlarged display of the icon in relation to the layout of the object Further a setting error in the photographing condition by the user can be decreased As described above the digital camera has a function of making an enlarged display of icons that indicate the opera tion mode function and the like changed by the user setting Next an embodiment in which the user sets the utilization of this function in advance and uses this setting is explained According to the present embodiment based on the user setting the user can select whether to carry out an enlarged display of icons and can select an operation mode function and the like indicated by the icons when the enlarged display of the icons is selected FIG 615 a schematic for illustrating a user setting screen 61 when the user uses an icon enlarged display function and a display screen 62 following this setting ac
34. rmal icons Therefore user s visibility of the normal display of the dis play unit is not hindered Moreover according to the present invention normal vis ibility is not hindered during a general use of the camera and user s visibility of confirming the icons corresponding to the setting change improves Furthermore according to the present invention it is pos sible to prevent confusion due to a false recognition or an operation error Moreover according to the present invention a user can recognize a kind of a setting condition in relation to a layout thereby improving a recognition rate and decreasing an erro neous setting Furthermore according to the present invention a user can determine a setting or instruct a start of the device while being conscious about presence ofa base image Therefore the user can determine an appropriate setting and instruct the starting correctly Moreover according to the present invention it is possible to provide an information processing method for controlling an electronic apparatus with a display unit that improves user s visibility of confirming the setting change and enables a user to correctly determine the setting Furthermore according to the present invention a com puter can execute the information processing method accord ing to the invention Although the invention has been described with respect to a specific embodiment for a complete and clear disclosure the appen
35. roller 22 inputs command data from the CPU 13 The on screen display controller 22 reads icon data indicated by a decoded command from the icon 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 data generator ROM 22a and extracts the icon data in the video 225 The output controller outputs the extracted icon data to the digital signal processing circuit 6 at timing of the dot clock input from the oscillating circuit by synchro nizing the icon data with the vertical synchronization signal and the horizontal synchronization signal The digital signal processing circuit 6 combines a through image to be reproduced or a reproduced image with icon data input from the on screen display controller 22 The digital signal processing circuit 6 carries out a signal conversion of the combined data so that it can be displayed and displays the combined image on the screen of the LCD 10 The sensor 24 is an infrared sensor for example When an operator comes close to the digital camera to be able to operate the camera the infrared sensor detects the approach of the operator When the infrared sensor detects the operator adetected signal is sent to the CPU 13 to make a setting so that the on screen display controller 22 can execute the OSD con trol function For the sensor 24 the following sensors can be also used in addition to the infrared sensor a distance sensor that measures a distance between the camera and a human body a
36. sed on these icons and the like that indicate a set operation mode of the device and give guidance to a device user the user can interact with the device For example Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No H11 146234 discloses a conventional example of a device having the OSD function The invention described in this publication relates to a digital camera The digital camera has a mode of reproducing and displaying image data stored in a memory card and a mode of displaying a photographed image through the digital camera Image data and character data showing a counter a date a photographing condition and the like are combined and the combined data are dis played ona screen ofa liquid crystal display device LCD as a display unit The invention disclosed in this publication has an object of securing a normal display by avoiding a differ ence of sizes between character data displayed on the screen attributable to different scan speeds between the display modes Digital cameras portable telephones and the like having relatively small displays havethe OSD function which is used as the user interface Further in recent years these devices have various functions based on the progress of advanced multiple functions In this situation many icons are displayed on the screen of a limited size therefore individual icons need to be small When the icons are small characters that are set on the screen have poor visibility because of garb
37. splayed at a predetermined position With this arrangement the user can recognize the setting After a predetermined time the icon can be placed at a posi tion where the icon does not hinder the photographing FIGS 9A to 9C are schematics for illustrating an example of an icon displayed in a different size when a setting of a photographing mode is changed from a close up mode to a distant view mode A screen 91 is a normal display screen with the close up mode being set When the distant view mode is set an icon indicating the distant view mode so far being set 1s displayed in a small size at the beginning on a screen 92 When time passes the size of this icon changes to a larger size like those of icons 92a to 94a shown on screens 92 to 94 and the icon finally disappears as shown on a screen 95 n this case the icon can be displayed in a low thickness while being enlarged and can disappear is such a way that the icon fades out This gives an impression to the user that the close up mode disappears Then an icon 96a that indicates the distant view mode is displayed on a screen 96 and this icon gradually becomes smaller like distant view mode icons 97a to 99a shown on screens 97 to 99 As explained above the icon is displayed in a large size immediately after the setting is changed The size of the icon becomes gradually smaller With this arrange ment the user can recognize that the distant view mode is set this time The close up mod
38. t is in focus in a half depressed state of the shutter button When the enlarged icons are displayed at the timing when the object is in focus in a half depressed state US 8 327 283 2 9 of the shutter button of the digital camera the user is not hindered by the enlarged display from looking at the object screen until immediately before the user starts half depressing the shutter button The enlarged icons are displayed when the user starts half depressing the shutter button Therefore the user can secure visibility of confirming the object and vis ibility of confirming the icons corresponding to the changed setting The operating unit 14 can have an input button which the operator can depress When the operator depresses the input button the operating unit 14 transmits an input signal to the on screen display controller 22 Upon reception of the input signal the on screen display controller 22 can control start ing ending and suspending the enlarged display of the icons This arrangement can improve the degree of freedom of the operator An embodiment of an icon display control using the OSD function that enables the user to confirm the user setting is explained next In the following embodiment a display start ing and a display ending are controlled either automatically or by the user operation FIG 3 is a flowchart of a process procedure for an icon display control according to the present embodiment The operation of the i
39. there is a user setting When the CPU 13 determines that data is present in the setting memory 25 the CPU 13 specifies the icons to be displayed in a large size basedon the setting contents and transmits a command to the on screen display controller 22 to control the display Upon receiving this command the on screen display controller 22 takes out the icon data to be used for the indicated enlarged display from the ROM and outputs the icon data to the digital signal processing circuit 6 Required data for enlarged display can be prepared from the icon data used for a normal display based on calculation The enlarged display of the icons is useful to confirm whether the setting operation is correct This setting 1s main tained until the power source is turned off as described above Therefore it is necessary to confirm the setting each time of photographing an image even when the setting is not carried out The enlarged icons are superimposed on a major part of the image to be photographed by the camera as the base ofthe display screen as shown on the screen 305 shown in FIG 2 Therefore when icons that completely hide the photographed image are used it is desirable to use the control of ending the enlarged display of the icons after making a determination based on the enlarged icons thereby returning the display of the icons to the normal display state as shown a screen 355 from the state of the enlarged display shown on a screen 35a
40. tion on the display unit by the distant mode icon on the predetermined position In another aspect the display control unit when the mode switching unit switches the distant view mode on from the close up mode displays the distant view mode icon first in an enlarged size on the predetermined position and subsequently displays the distant view mode icon in a reduced size on another predetermined position on the display unit In another aspect the display control unit gradually decreases the size of the distant view mode icon from the enlarged size to the reduced size In another aspect the electronic apparatus includes one of a digital camera and a portable phone and the display control unit displays the distant view mode icon with the enlarged size in a center portion of the display unit and the distant view mode icon with the reduced size in a peripheral portion ofthe display unit In another aspect the image data taking unit even while the display control unit displays the distant view icon with the enlarged size on the display unit can take the image data A method according to another aspect ofthe present inven tion of controlling an electronic apparatus provided with an image data taking unit that is configured to take an image data of an object and store the image data therein as an image data file and a display unit that is configured to display the image data stored in the image data taking unit includes switching betwe
41. truction based on a remote control or the like not shown Specifically the CPU 13 issues a control command concerning the control of the recording of the image data and the control of the reproduc tion of the image data The CPU 13 also issues a control command concerning the control of the display of icons in the on screen display controller 22 following the OSD control program stored in the ROM 23 The operating unit 14 has operation buttons and the like to externally carry out a selection of a function a photographing instruction and various other settings The on screen display controller 22 generates icon data and outputs the generated icon data to the digital signal processing circuit 6 at timing of US 8 327 283 2 5 dot clock in a predetermined cycle The icon data includes character display data ofa counter a time and a date symbol data such as a photographing condition and the like The digital camera has a reproduction mode of displaying in the LCD 10 image data which is photographed by the CCD 3 and is temporarily stored in the memory card 9 and a through image mode of directly displaying in the LDC 10 image data which is photographed by the CCD 3 The recording of image data obtained by the digital camera is explained next First the CCD 3 converts an image picked up through the lens 1 into an electric signal analog image data The analog image data passes through the CDS 4 and is input to the A D converter
42. with the enlarged size on a major part ofthe image data displayed on the display unit can take the image data in response to a depression of a button and the display control unit when the mode switching unit switches the distant view mode on replacing the close up mode icon displayed on a predetermined position on the display unit by the distant view mode icon on the predetermined position on which the close up mode icon was displayed US 8 327 283 2 15 6 The electronic apparatus of claim 5 wherein the display control unit when the mode switching unit switches the dis tant view mode on from the close up mode displays the distant view mode icon first in the enlarged size and subse quently displays the distant view mode icon in a reduced size on another predetermined position on the display unit 7 The electronic apparatus of claim 6 wherein the display control unit gradually decreases a size of the distant view mode icon from the enlarged size to the reduced size 8 The electronic apparatus of claim 6 wherein the elec tronic apparatus includes one of a digital camera and a por table phone and the display control unit displays the distant view mode icon with the reduced size in a peripheral portion of the display unit 9 A non transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with computer executable instructions wherein the instructions when executed by a processing unit cause the processing unit to perform a
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