Patent ID: 9335920
Filing Date: 2016-05-10
CPC Classification: G06F,G08C,H04N

Claim Text:
1. A remote control apparatus comprising: a display panel; an operation detector which detects an operation of touching the display panel; a remote controller which remotely controls an electronic apparatus in accordance with the touch operation; a hardware controller configured to function as a display controller which controls display of the obtained detailed information or the obtained related information in the display panel, in which the electronic apparatus is separate from the external service apparatus such that the detailed information and the related information are each obtained from a separate apparatus, in which the item selection unit and the touch operation determination unit enable the user to select a specific one of the electronic apparatus and the external service apparatus from which to obtain information by appropriately selecting the duration time of a respective touching operation of the selection item at a first display state of the display panel, such that (i) when the user desires to select the electronic apparatus at the first display state from which to obtain the respective information, the user touches the selection item so that the duration time thereof is smaller than the threshold value, and (ii) when the user desires to select the external service apparatus at the first display state from which to obtain the respective information, the user touches the selection item so that the duration time thereof is equal to or larger than the threshold value, wherein, when the operation of touching the selection item is detected and prior to completion of a comparison of the duration time with the predetermined threshold value by the touch operation determination unit, the related information obtaining unit requests the external service apparatus to start a searching process using the selection item as the searching condition, and wherein in a case where an operation of a release of the touching of the selection item is detected such that the comparison of the duration time with the predetermined threshold indicates that the duration time is smaller than the threshold value, (i) the related information obtaining unit requests the external service apparatus to stop the searching process and (ii) the detailed information obtaining unit obtains the detailed information on the selection item from the electronic apparatus.