Patent ID: 7554525
Filing Date: 2009-06-30
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A destination information setting device for setting destination information indicating a display object to which a selection pointer is to be moved, the selection pointer moving in a two dimensional display space, defined by coordinates (x, y) of an orthogonal x-y coordinate system, to a plurality of display objects displayed in the displayed space on a display device, one of the plurality of display objects being selected by a user with the selection pointer, when one item of direction information is input through an input device capable of inputting the direction information according to a positive x direction, a negative x direction, a positive y direction, or a negative y direction, the destination information setting device comprising: a positional information storage that prestores positional information indicating the coordinates in the display space, for each of the plurality of display objects; a destination information storage that stores the destination information indicating a destination of the selection pointer, in each of the positive x direction, the negative x direction, the positive y direction, and the negative y direction, for each of the plurality of display objects, when the direction information is input through the input device while the selection pointer is positioned thereat; a positional score calculator that calculates scores of positional relationships in each of the positive x direction, the negative x direction, the positive y direction, and the negative y direction, for each of the plurality of display objects, in accordance with the positional information stored in the positional information storage, when difference between an x coordinate of a display object from which a score of a positional relationship to another display object is calculated and an x coordinate of the other display object is dx, and when a difference between a y coordinate of the display object from which the score of the positional relationship to the other display object is calculated and a y coordinate of the other display object is dy, by adding a value that a coefficient a is multiplied by a calculation according to dx, and a value that a coefficient β is multiplied by a calculation according to dy; and a destination information setting device that sets destination information indicating another display object having a smallest positional relationship score, as the destination in each of the positive x direction, the negative x direction, the positive y direction, and the negative y direction, for each of the plurality of display objects, according to the scores of the positional relationship calculated by the positional score calculator, and for storing the destination information in the destination information storage, wherein a correlation between magnitudes of α and β is inverted when a positional score in the positive x direction or the negative x direction is calculated and when a positional score in the positive y direction or the negative y direction is calculated, wherein the destination information setting device further comprises: a moved information storage that stores information indicating whether each of the plurality of display objects is set as the destination of the selection pointer indicated by the destination information, the information being a number of times that each of the plurality of display objects is set as the destination of the selection pointer indicated by the destination information; a movement disable display object determiner that determines whether information indicating a display object not set as the destination of the selection pointer is stored in the moved information storage, when destination information for all of the display objects and all of the directions is stored in the destination information storage; and a destination information change processor that performs processing for setting the display object not set as the destination, when the movement disable display object determiner determines that the information, indicating the display object not set as the destination of the selection pointer, is stored in the moved information storage, the procesor setting the display object not set as the destination as the destination of the selection pointer from one of the display objects other than the display object not set as the destination, wherein the destination information change processor comprises: a changeable information extractor that extracts destination information of a display object where a display object having at least two destinations stored in the moved information storage is set as the destination of the selection pointer, as changeable destination information among the destination information stored in the destination information storage, when the movement disable display object determiner determines that the information indicating the display object not set as the destination of the selection pointer is stored in the moved information storage; a second positional score calculator that calculates, when the movement disable display object determiner determines that the information indicating the display object not set as the destination of the selection pointer is stored in the moved information storage, scores of positional relationships between the display object not set as the destination of the selection pointer and each of display objects other than the display object in each of the positive x direction, the negative x direction, the positive y direction, and the negative y direction, in accordance with the positional information stored in the positional information storage; and a destination information changer that changes one item of the destination information extracted by the changeable information extractor, to another item of destination information indicating the display object not set as the destination of the selection pointer, which is indicated by the information stored in the moved information storage, as the destination of the selection pointer, and for storing the changed destination information in the destination information storage, according to the scores of the positional relationships calculated by the second positional score calculator.