Patent Publication Number: US-2013246949-A1

Title: Display control device, mobile terminal device, display control method, and computer readable storage medium

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-060829, filed on Mar. 16, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD 
     The embodiments discussed herein are directed to a display control device, a display control method and a display control program. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Conventionally, a user of a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone starts a desired application by selecting a shortcut corresponding to the desired application (a desired shortcut) from a plurality of shortcuts displayed on a list screen. However, the size of a display provided to a mobile terminal device is small, and the number of shortcuts that are capable of being displayed on one screen at the same time is about twenty at the most. Thus, if a large number of applications are installed in a mobile terminal device, a user has to go through the trouble of displaying, by scrolling, a plurality of screens to find a desired shortcut. 
     In order to eliminate such a trouble and improve the usability of a menu screen, there is a terminal device that changes, on a menu screen on which a plurality of menu items are displayed, the display mode of each menu item according to the frequency of use of each menu item. 
     Related-art examples are described, for example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-178363, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-101629, and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-139301. 
     Here, even when the menu item is the same, the frequency of use is different depending on the situation in which the mobile terminal device is being used. For example, a menu item that is frequently used while a user is walking and a menu item that is frequently used while the user is on a train are different. Accordingly, simply changing the display mode of each menu item according to the frequency of use of each menu item does not necessarily render the menu structure easy for a user to use. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to an aspect of an embodiment, a display control device included in a mobile terminal device including a display capable of displaying a specific screen for starting an application includes a determination unit that determines a moving state of the mobile terminal device, and a control unit that changes a screen display on the specific screen according to the moving state. 
     The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a mobile terminal device according to a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a display control device according to the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram for describing a shortcut table of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram for describing a process of a display setting unit of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram for describing a process of a moving state determination unit of the first embodiment; 
         FIGS. 6A to 6C  are diagrams for describing a process of a display control unit of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a flow chart for describing an operation of the moving state determination unit of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  is a flow chart for describing an operation of the display control unit of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is a flow chart for describing an operation of the display control unit of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram for describing a process of the moving state determination unit of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 11  is a diagram for describing a process of a display setting unit of a second embodiment; and 
         FIGS. 12A to 12C  are diagrams for describing a process of a display control unit of the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to accompanying drawings. Additionally, the display control device, the display control method and the display control program disclosed in the present application are not limited by the embodiments. Also, structural elements having the same function in the embodiments are denoted by the same reference signs, and repeated explanation is omitted. 
     [a] First Embodiment 
     Configuration of Mobile Terminal Device  10   
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a mobile terminal device  10  according to the present embodiment. In  FIG. 1 , the mobile terminal device  10  includes an antenna  11 , a wireless unit  12 , a Digital Signal Processor (DSP)  13 , a microphone  14 , a speaker  15 , a Central Processing Unit (CPU)  16 , a touch panel  17 , a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)  18 , a memory  19 , and a sensor  20 . The sensor  20  includes both an accelerometer and a gyro sensor, or only the accelerometer. 
     Configuration of Display Control Device  100   
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a display control device  100  according to the present embodiment. In  FIG. 2 , the display control device  100  includes a display setting unit  101 , a moving state determination unit  102  and a display control unit  103 . 
     Here, the display control device  100  in  FIG. 2  corresponds to the CPU  16  in  FIG. 1 . Also, an operation unit  200  in  FIG. 2  corresponds to the touch panel  17  in  FIG. 1 . Further, a display  300  in  FIG. 2  corresponds to the LCD  18  in  FIG. 1 , and is capable of displaying a specific screen for starting an application. Still further, a setting information storage unit  400  in  FIG. 2  corresponds to the memory  19  in  FIG. 1 . That is, the display control device  100  is provided to the mobile terminal device  10  including the display  300  capable of displaying a specific screen for starting an application. 
     The display setting unit  101  creates, according to an operation input to the operation unit  200 , a plurality of display settings according respectively to a plurality of moving states of the mobile terminal device  10 , and stores the same in the setting information storage unit  400 . 
     The moving state determination unit  102  determines the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10  based on a measurement value measured by the sensor  20 , and notifies the display control unit  103  of the determination result. 
     The display control unit  103  displays a screen according to an operation input to the operation unit  200  on the display  300 . Also, the display control unit  103  displays a screen on the display  300  according to a display setting corresponding to the determination result of the moving state determination unit  102 , among the plurality of display settings stored in the setting information storage unit  400 . That is, the display control unit  103  changes the screen display on the display  300  according to the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10  determined by the moving state determination unit  102 . Therefore, if the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10  changes, the screen displayed on the display  300  is changed. 
     Process of Display Setting Unit  101   
     In the case a plurality of applications are installed in the mobile terminal device  10 , a shortcut table as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , for example, is stored in the setting information storage unit  400 . As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , each shortcut and each application are associated one-to-one in this shortcut table. In the example illustrated in  FIG. 3 , “call” is associated with a shortcut  1 , “browser” with a shortcut  2 , “mail” with a shortcut  3 , “music” with a shortcut  4 , . . . , “train connection” with a shortcut  11 , . . . , and “map” with a shortcut  25 . 
     A user of the mobile terminal device  10  sets in advance, using the operation unit  200 , which shortcut is to be displayed at which position on one screen for each of moving states that are different from one another. For example, in the case a plurality of moving states may be the three states “still”, “walking” and “on train”, the user of the mobile terminal device  10  is allowed to have a plurality of display settings as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . That is, the user of the mobile terminal device  10  is allowed to perform display setting of displaying, as “display setting  1 ” corresponding to the moving state “still”, the shortcut  1  at a display position  1 , the shortcut  2  at a display position  2 , the shortcut  3  at a display position  3 , . . . , and the shortcut  4  at a display position  16 . Also, the user of the mobile terminal device  10  is allowed to perform display setting of displaying, as “display setting  2 ” corresponding to the moving state “walking”, the shortcut  1  at the display position  1 , the shortcut  25  at the display position  2 , and the shortcut  3  at the display position  3 . Furthermore, the user of the mobile terminal device  10  is allowed to perform display setting of displaying, as “display setting  3 ” corresponding to the moving state “on train”, the shortcut  11  at the display position  1 , the shortcut  2  at the display position  2 , and the shortcut  3  at the display position  3 . These display settings  1  to  3  are stored in the setting information storage unit  400 . 
     Additionally, the number of shortcuts that are capable of being set for one moving state is preferably equal to or less than the number of shortcuts that are capable of being displayed at the same time on one screen of the display  300 . That is,  FIG. 4  illustrates a case where the display  300  is capable of displaying sixteen shortcuts, at the most, at the same time on one screen. 
     Process of Moving State Determination Unit  102   
     In the case the sensor  20  includes both an accelerometer and a gyro sensor, a value indicating the amount of vertical movement of the mobile terminal device  10  and a value indicating the amount of rotational movement of the mobile terminal device  10  are input to the moving state determination unit  102  as the measurement value of the accelerometer and the measurement value of the gyro sensor, respectively. The moving state determination unit  102  determines the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10  (that is, the moving state of the user carrying the mobile terminal device  10 ) based on the amount of vertical movement of the mobile terminal device  10  measured by the accelerometer and the amount of rotational movement of the mobile terminal device  10  measured by the gyro sensor. 
     For example, the moving state determination unit  102  determines the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10  in the manner illustrated in  FIG. 5 . That is, in the case the amount of vertical movement is below a threshold, the moving state determination unit  102  determines that the moving state is “still” regardless of the amount of rotational movement. Also, in the case the amount of vertical movement is at or above the threshold and the amount of rotational movement is below a threshold, the moving state determination unit  102  determines that the moving state is “on train”. Furthermore, in the case the amount of vertical movement is at or above the threshold and the amount of rotational movement is at or above the threshold, the moving state determination unit  102  determines that the moving state is “walking”. 
     Process of Display Control Unit  103   
     In the case an operation instructing display of a specific screen for starting an application is input to the operation unit  200 , the display control unit  103  refers to the setting information storage unit  400 , and displays the specific screen on the display  300  based on the shortcut table illustrated in  FIG. 3  and the display settings illustrated in  FIG. 4 . This specific screen is a standby screen, a home screen or the like displaying a shortcut that is associated with an application installed in the mobile terminal device  10 , for example. The user of the mobile terminal device  10  is allowed to start a desired application by selecting a desired shortcut from the shortcuts displayed on the specific screen. This “specific screen” will be hereinafter referred to as an “application start screen”. 
     The display control unit  103  changes the display on the application start screen according to the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10  as illustrated in  FIGS. 6A to 6C . That is, in the case the determination result of the moving state determination unit  102  is “still”, the display control unit  103  displays, according to “display setting  1 ” in  FIG. 4  and as illustrated in  FIG. 6A , the shortcut (SC)  1  (call) at the display position  1 , the SC  2  (browser) at the display position  2 , the SC  3  (mail) at the display position  3 , . . . , and the SC  4  (music) at the display position  16 . Also, in the case the determination result of the moving state determination unit  102  is “walking”, the display control unit  103  displays, according to “display setting  2 ” in  FIG. 4  and as illustrated in  FIG. 6B , the SC  1  (call) at the display position  1 , the SC  25  (map) at the display position  2 , the SC  3  (mail) at the display position  3 , . . . . Furthermore, in the case the determination result of the moving state determination unit  102  is “on train”, the display control unit  103  displays, according to “display setting  3 ” in  FIG. 4  and as illustrated in  FIG. 6C , the SC  11  (train connection) at the display position  1 , the SC  2  (browser) at the display position  2 , the SC  3  (mail) at the display position  3 , . . . . In this manner, the display control unit  103  displays, on the application start screen, only one or some of the shortcuts, among a plurality of shortcuts registered in the shortcut table ( FIG. 3 ), which have been changed according to the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10 . 
     Operation of Moving State Determination Unit  102   
       FIG. 7  is a flow chart for describing an operation of the moving state determination unit  102  in the present embodiment. 
     In  FIG. 7 , first, the moving state determination unit  102  clears a buffer (not illustrated), and starts a timer (not illustrated) (step S 701 ). 
     Then, the moving state determination unit  102  accumulates the measurement values of the sensor  20  one by one until the timer expires (step S 702 , step S 703 : No). 
     When the timer expires (step S 703 : Yes), the moving state determination unit  102  calculates an average value over the time set on the timer of a plurality of measurement values accumulated in the buffer (step S 704 ). 
     Next, the moving state determination unit  102  determines the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10  based on the average value of the measurement values in the manner illustrated in  FIG. 5  described above (step S 705 ). 
     Then, the moving state determination unit  102  notifies the display control unit  103  of the determination result (step S 706 ). 
     Operation of Display Control Unit  103   
       FIGS. 8 and 9  are flow charts for describing an operation of the display control unit  103  in the present embodiment. 
     In  FIG. 8 , when the determination result is received from the moving state determination unit  102  (step S 801 : Yes), the display control unit  103  determines whether the moving state has changed or not (step S 802 ). 
     When the determination result is not received (step S 801 : No), or when the moving state is not changed (step S 802 : No), the process by the display control unit  103  is ended. 
     On the other hand, when the moving state is changed (step S 802 : Yes), the display control unit  103  changes the screen display (step S 803 ). A processing flow for changing the screen display is illustrated in  FIG. 9 . 
     In  FIG. 9 , in the case the determination result of the moving state determination unit  102  is “walking” (step S 901 : Yes), the display control unit  103  checks whether the display setting for “walking” (“display setting  2 ” in  FIG. 4 ) exists in the setting information storage unit  400  or not (step S 902 ). 
     In the case the display setting for “walking” exists in the setting information storage unit  400  (step S 902 : Yes), the display control unit  103  changes the display on the application start screen to a “walking” screen according to the display setting (step S 903 ,  FIG. 6B ). 
     In the case the determination result of the moving state determination unit  102  is not “walking”, but “on train” (step S 901 : No, step S 904 : Yes), the display control unit  103  checks whether the display setting for “on train” (“display setting  3 ” in  FIG. 4 ) exists in the setting information storage unit  400  or not (step S 905 ). 
     In the case the display setting for “on train” exists in the setting information storage unit  400  (step S 905 : Yes), the display control unit  103  changes the display on the application start screen to an “on train” screen according to the display setting (step S 906 ,  FIG. 6C ). 
     On the other hand, in the case the determination result of the moving state determination unit  102  is neither “walking” nor “on train” (step S 901 : No, step S 904 : No), or the display setting for “walking” does not exist in the setting information storage unit  400  (step S 902 : No), or the display setting for “on train” does not exist in the setting information storage unit  400  (step S 905 : No), the display control unit  103  changes the display on the application start screen to a “still” screen according to the display setting for “still” (“display setting  1 ” in  FIG. 4 ) stored in the setting information storage unit  400  (step S 907 ,  FIG. 6A ). Here, the display setting for “still” is assumed to be stored in the setting information storage unit  400  without fail. 
     After the process of step S 903 , step S 906  or step S 907 , the process returns to step S 803  in  FIG. 8 . 
     Additionally, in the description above, three states, “still”, “walking” and “on train”, have been defined as the moving states of the mobile terminal device  10 , but the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10  is not limited to the three states. For example, two states, “still” and “moving”, may be defined as the moving states of the mobile terminal device  10 . In this case, the sensor  20  includes only the accelerometer, and a value indicating the moving speed of the mobile terminal device  10  is input to the moving state determination unit  102  as the measurement value of the accelerometer. The moving state determination unit  102  determines the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10  based on the moving speed of the mobile terminal device  10  measured by the accelerometer and in the manner illustrated in  FIG. 10 . That is, in the case the moving speed is below a threshold, the moving state determination unit  102  determines that the moving state is “still”, and in the case the moving speed is at or above the threshold, the moving state determination unit  102  determines that the moving state is “moving”. 
     Then, in the manner described above, the display control unit  103  displays the screen illustrated in  FIG. 6A  in the case the moving state is “still”, and displays the screen illustrated in  FIG. 6B  or  6 C in the case the moving state is “moving”. 
     Furthermore, in many cases, the mobile terminal device  10  includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. Accordingly, the moving state determination unit  102  may also determine the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10  based on the moving speed that is capable of being calculated from position information that is capable of being acquired by the GPS function. Therefore, the mobile terminal device  10  including a GPS receiver does not have to include the sensor  20  to acquire the moving speed. 
     According to the present embodiment described above, in the display control device  100  included in the mobile terminal device  10  including the display  300  capable of displaying the application start screen, the moving state determination unit  102  determines the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10 , and the display control unit  103  changes the screen display on the application start screen according to the moving state determined. That is, the display control unit  103  changes the shortcuts displayed on the application start screen according to the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10  ( FIGS. 6A ,  6 B and  6 C). This enables to display appropriate shortcuts on the application start screen according to each moving state, and thus, a user of the mobile terminal device  10  is enabled to easily start an application according to the use situation. 
     Also, according to the present embodiment, the display control unit  103  is able to display only one or some of the shortcuts which have been changed according to the moving state, among a plurality of shortcuts corresponding respectively to a plurality of applications installed in the mobile terminal device  10 . Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the burden on a user can be lessened by reducing the number of times of screen scrolling at the time of looking for a desired shortcut. Particularly, by making the number of shortcuts that are capable of being set for one moving state to the number of shortcuts that are capable of being displayed on one screen of the display  300  or less, the screen scrolling at the time of a user looking for a desired shortcut becomes unnecessary, and the burden on the user can be further lessened. 
     [b] Second Embodiment 
     While the shortcuts that are displayed on the application start screen themselves are changed according to the moving state in the first embodiment, in the present embodiment, shortcuts to be displayed in an emphasized manner, among a plurality of shortcuts displayed on the application start screen, are changed according to the moving state. 
     That is, with the display control unit  103  of the present embodiment, even if the moving state is changed, the shortcuts displayed on the application start screen are themselves not changed. On the other hand, with the display control unit  103  of the present embodiment, shortcuts to be displayed in an emphasized manner are changed according to the moving state. 
     Process of Display Setting Unit  101   
     As in the first embodiment, a shortcut table as illustrated in  FIG. 3  is stored in the setting information storage unit  400 . 
     A user of the mobile terminal device  10  sets in advance, using the operation unit  200 , which shortcut is to be displayed in an emphasized manner for each of moving states that are different from one another. For example, in the case a plurality of moving states may be the three states “still”, “walking” and “on train”, the user of the mobile terminal device  10  is allowed to have a plurality of display settings as illustrated in  FIG. 11 . That is, the user of the mobile terminal device  10  is allowed to perform display setting of displaying, as “display setting  1 ” corresponding to the moving state “still”, the shortcut  1  and the shortcut  2  in an emphasized manner compared to other shortcuts. Also, the user of the mobile terminal device  10  is allowed to perform display setting of displaying, as “display setting  2 ” corresponding to the moving state “walking”, the shortcut  25  in an emphasized manner compared to other shortcuts. Furthermore, the user of the mobile terminal device  10  is allowed to perform display setting of displaying, as “display setting  3 ” corresponding to the moving state “on train”, the shortcut  11  in an emphasized manner compared to other shortcuts. These display settings  1  to  3  are stored in the setting information storage unit  400 . 
     Process of Display Control Unit  103   
     For example, as illustrated in  FIGS. 12A ,  12 B and  12 C, the display control unit  103  displays six shortcuts, SC  1 , SC  2 , SC  3 , SC  4 , SC  25  and SC  11 , on the application start screen regardless of the moving state. On the other hand, as illustrated in  FIG. 12A , in the case the determination result of the moving state determination unit  102  is “still”, the display control unit  103  displays the SC  1  and the SC  2  in an enlarged manner so as to display them in a more emphasized manner than other shortcuts. Also, as illustrated in  FIG. 12B , in the case the determination result of the moving state determination unit  102  is “walking”, the display control unit  103  displays the SC  25  in an enlarged manner so as to display it in a more emphasized manner than other shortcuts. Furthermore, as illustrated in  FIG. 12C , in the case the determination result of the moving state determination unit  102  is “on train”, the display control unit  103  displays the SC  11  in an enlarged manner so as to display it in a more emphasized manner than other shortcuts. In this manner, the display control unit  103  of the present embodiment changes the shortcut to be displayed in an enlarged manner according to the moving state to thereby change the shortcut to be displayed in an emphasized manner. 
     Additionally, the method of emphasized display is not limited to be based on the size of the display. For example, the emphasized display may be performed based on the brightness of the display. That is, the display control unit  103  may display the shortcut to be displayed in an emphasized manner more brightly than other shortcuts, and change the shortcut to be displayed brightly according to the moving state. 
     As described above, according to the present embodiment, the display control unit  103  changes a shortcut to be displayed in an emphasized manner, among a plurality of shortcuts displayed on the application start screen, according to the moving state of the mobile terminal device  10 . An appropriate shortcut can thereby be displayed in an emphasized manner according to each moving state, and a user of the mobile terminal device  10  is enabled to easily start an application according to the use situation. 
     Heretofore, the embodiments of the present invention have been described. 
     Additionally, in the present invention, items whose display is capable of being changed according to the moving state are not limited to the shortcuts. The present invention is capable of being applied not only to the shortcuts, but also to all the items that are capable of being displayed on a screen by the mobile terminal device  10 , such as menu items and the like. 
     Moreover, the present invention can be carried out by storing a display control program having the same function as the display control device  100  in advance in the memory  19  and having the CPU  16  read from the memory  19 , and execute, the display control program. In this case, the CPU  16  is to perform the same processing as the display control device  100 . Furthermore, the display control program does not necessarily have to be stored in advance in the memory  19 . That is, the display control program may be stored in portable recording media that can be connected to the mobile terminal device  10 , such as a flexible disc (FD), a CD-ROM, an MO disc, a DVD disc, a magneto-optical disc, an IC card, a memory card and the like, for example, and the CPU  16  may read from these, and execute, the display control program. Also, the display control program may be stored in a computer, a server and the like connected to the mobile terminal device  10  wirelessly or via wire over the Internet, LAN, WAN and the like, for example, and the CPU  16  may read from these, and execute, the display control program. 
     According to the above-described modes of the display control device, the display control method and the display control program disclosed in the present application, an application according to the use situation of a mobile terminal device can be easily started. 
     All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes of aiding the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to further the art, and are not to be construed as limitations to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.