One or more exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a display control apparatus, a display control method, and a computer program for executing the display control method on a computer.
Moving a page displayed on a screen or a panel in a vertical and/or horizontal direction is referred to as scrolling. New information appears on the opposite side corresponding to a portion that disappears from the screen. Since the amount of information displayed on one page is larger than the amount of information that can be displayed on the screen, this scrolling function is frequently used. A viewer may read information on the screen while scrolling. Display devices such as a console, a word processor, a mobile terminal, a Personal Computer (PC), and the like mostly have a scrolling function.
When an external device such as a mouse is provided, scrolling may be performed by moving a wheel or dragging a scroll bar; if a touch pad is provided, scrolling may be performed by directly clicking or dragging a page on a screen.
One or more exemplary embodiments of the present invention include a display control apparatus, a display control method, and a computer program for executing the display control method on a computer, in which by using a scroll signal, page scroll and page change may be performed.
Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.
According to one or more exemplary embodiments, a computer-implemented display control method includes a first display operation of displaying, on a second region of a screen, a first page on which contents belonging to a first category are arranged, and listing a plurality of categories in a vertical or horizontal direction and displaying the plurality of categories on a first region of the screen, wherein the first page is displayed to be scrollable in a direction in which the plurality of categories are listed, a recognition operation of recognizing a scroll signal which is input with respect to the first page, a determination operation of scrolling the first page based on the scroll signal, and generating a category change command based on the scroll signal if scrolling is not possible according to a position of the first page, and a second display operation of displaying, on the second region, a second page on which contents belonging to a second category are arranged, if it is determined to change the category based on the scroll signal.
According to one or more exemplary embodiments, apparatus for controlling display of a screen, the apparatus including a scroll recognizing unit configured to recognize a scroll signal which is input with respect to a first page displayed on a second region of the screen, a scroll determining unit configured to scroll the first page based on the scroll signal, and to generate a category change command based on the scroll signal if scrolling is not possible according to a position of the first page, and a display control unit configured to display, on the second region of the screen, the first page on which contents belonging to a first category are arranged, to list a plurality of categories in a vertical or horizontal direction and display the plurality of categories on a first region of the screen, wherein the first page is displayed to be scrollable in a direction in which the plurality of categories are listed, and to display, on the second region, a second page on which contents belonging to a second category are arranged, if it is determined to change the category based on the scroll signal.
According to one or more exemplary embodiments, a computer program stored on a medium to execute the display control method by using a computer is provided.
These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. In this regard, the present embodiments may have different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments are described below, by referring to the figures, to explain aspects of the present description. Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.
In the following embodiments, terms such as “first”, “second”, and so forth are used only for distinguishing one component from another component, rather than for restrictive meanings. In the following embodiments, the singular forms are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the following embodiments, the terms “comprises” and/or “has” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated feature, number, step, operation, component, element, or a combination thereof but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, elements, or combinations thereof.
The display control apparatus 100 provided according to an embodiment of the inventive concept may correspond to or include at least one processor. Thus, the display control apparatus 100 may be driven in a form included in another hardware device such as a micro-processor or a computer system. For example, the display control apparatus 100 may be mounted on a terminal including a display unit capable of displaying a screen.
To prevent a feature of the current embodiment from being obscured, only components of the display control apparatus 100 which are associated with the current embodiment are illustrated. Thus, it would be obvious to a person skilled in the art that general-purpose components other than the components illustrated in
The display control apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the inventive concept controls display of a screen 11 of a terminal 10. The display control apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the inventive concept may provide a User Interface (UI) for displaying multimedia content. The display control apparatus 100 according to an embodiment controls display of multimedia content belonging to a plurality of categories. The multimedia content may be, for example, webcomic content, and the display control apparatus 100 according to an embodiment may classify webcomic content according to category and display webcomic content belonging to one category on a page.
When a page displayed on the screen 11 is scrolled, the display control apparatus 100 according to an embodiment controls the display of the page. For example, the display control apparatus 100 changes the displayed page into another page according to a scroll direction when the page is scrolled or the page is scrolled to the end and thus no further scrolling is possible. The display control apparatus 100 according to an embodiment includes a scroll recognizing unit 110, a scroll determining unit 120, and a display control unit 130.
The scroll recognizing unit 110 recognizes a scroll signal input by a user. The scroll signal may be input with respect to the page displayed on the screen 11. The scroll recognizing unit 110 recognizes various parameters of the scroll signal. The parameters may include speed, direction, position, and so forth, of the scroll signal. The scroll signal may be input as an operation, such as a drag, a gesture, a motion, or the like, using a touch panel, may be input using a separate input device such as a wheel of a mouse, a joypad, or the like, or may be input by manipulation of a scroll bar displayed on the screen 11, but a method of inputting the scroll signal is not limited to a special method.
The scroll determining unit 120 according to an embodiment controls scroll of the page displayed on the screen 11, based on the recognized scroll signal. The scroll determining unit 120 generates a command for a page change if no further scrolling is possible according to a position of the page on the screen 11. For example, if the page is scrolled to the end and thus no further scrolling is possible, the scroll determining unit 120 generates a command for transiting the page displayed on the screen 11 to another page. The page may be associated with one category, the command may be a category change command, and according to the command, the page associated with the category may be transited to a page associated with another category.
The scroll determining unit 120 determines whether further page scrolling is not possible, according to a scroll direction of the page and a position of the page on the screen 11 based on the scroll signal. The scroll determining unit 120 may determine that further first-direction scrolling of the page is not possible if a first-direction endmost portion of the page displayed on the screen 11 is positioned at an edge of the screen 11. For example, if the bottom end of the page is positioned at an edge of a lower end of the screen 11, the scroll determining unit 120 determines that further scrolling down of the page is not possible, and generates a category change command.
The scroll determining unit 120 may also consider the direction of the scroll signal. For example, if the direction of the scroll signal is a direction for scrolling the page in the first direction and the first-direction endmost portion of the page is positioned at an edge of the screen 11, the scroll determining unit 120 determines that the further first-direction scrolling of the page is not possible, thus generating a category change command.
Considering operations of the scroll determining unit 120 according to the foregoing embodiment, the scroll signal is basically used to scroll the page, but if further page scrolling is not possible, the scroll signal may be used for a category change.
The scroll determining unit 120 according to another embodiment may determine the purpose of the scroll signal by using the recognized scroll signal. A criterion for determining the purpose of the scroll signal may be a direction of the scroll signal and a position of the page on the screen 11. For example, if a scroll signal for scrolling down the page is input and the scroll down of the page is possible, then the scroll determining unit 120 determines that the purpose of the input scroll signal is a page scroll. On the other hand, if the scroll signal for scrolling down the page is input and the bottom end of the page is positioned at an edge of the lower end of the screen 11, such that further scrolling down is not possible, then the scroll determining unit 120 determines that the purpose of the input scroll signal is a category change.
Once it is determined that the purpose of the input scroll signal is a page scroll, the scroll determining unit 120 generates a scroll command to control scrolling of the page; otherwise, if it is determined that the purpose of the input scroll signal is a category change, the scroll determining unit 120 generates a category change command.
The scroll determining unit 120 according to an embodiment may further determine whether the input scroll signal satisfies preset conditions. If it is determined that further page scrolling is not possible, the scroll determining unit 120 may determine once more whether the input scroll signal satisfies preset drag conditions. If the input scroll signal satisfies the drag conditions, the scroll determining unit 120 generates a category change command based on the input scroll signal; otherwise, if the input scroll signal does not meet the drag conditions, the scroll determining unit 120 does not perform the page scroll or generate the category change command and may not perform any operation.
The drag conditions are applied to a drag signal if the scroll signal is the drag signal, in which at least one parameter of length and speed of the drag signal and a total time in which the drag signal is input exceed a preset criterion. More specifically, the drag conditions may include a first condition that the length of the drag signal exceeds a preset condition, a second condition that the drag signal passes through a preset point, and a combination thereof. The drag signal may be a continuous touch signal.
The display control unit 130 controls display of the screen 11 based on the scroll signal and the category change command. For example, the display control unit 130 may display a page in a second region of the screen 11, and show a category list in a first region of the screen 11. The page displayed in the second region may include contents belonging to a category from the category list displayed in the first region. If a first page is displayed, contents belonging to the first category are shown on the first page, and if a second page is displayed, contents belonging to a second category are shown on the second page.
The display control unit 130 displays a plurality of categories included in the category list in different colors. The color of a region of a background of the page displayed in the second region may be based on the color of a corresponding category.
The display control unit 130 may highlight the category corresponding to the page displayed in the second region out of the category list displayed in the first region. The display control unit 130 may highlight the first category from the category list during the display of the first page in the second region, and if the first page transits to the second page according to a category change command, the display control unit 130 may release the highlight of the first category from the category list and highlight the second category.
The display control unit 130 lists the plurality of categories in the first region in a vertical (up/down or top/bottom) or horizontal (left/right) direction, and displays the page displayed in the second region positioned adjacent to the first region in such a way to be scrolled in a direction in which a plurality of categories are listed in the second region. For example, if the plurality of categories are listed in the first region in the vertical direction, the page displayed in the second region is displayed in such a way to be scrolled in the vertical direction. If the plurality of categories are listed in the first region in the horizontal direction, the page displayed in the second region is displayed in such a way to be scrolled in the horizontal direction.
The display control unit 130 scrolls the page displayed in the second region based on the scroll signal. The display control unit 130 transits the page displayed in the second region according to the category change command. For example, display of the first page including contents belonging to the first category is transited to display of the second page including contents belonging to the second category.
Once the scroll determining unit 120 generates a category change command and thus the display control unit 130 changes the category and displays the changed category, the category change command may be a change command from the first category to the second category. Herein, the first category corresponds to the first page displayed on the current screen, and the second category is shown adjacent to the first category in the category list. If a plurality of categories are shown in a line, two categories are adjacent to the first category, and in this case, the second category may be determined according to a direction of the scroll signal or a scroll direction of a page corresponding to the scroll signal. For example, if the scroll signal is a signal for scrolling down the page, a category under the first category may be determined as the second category. On the other hand, if the scroll signal is a signal for scrolling up the page, a category above the first category may be determined as the second category.
The flowchart illustrated in
Referring to
In operation 22, the scroll recognizing unit 110 recognizes a scroll signal that is input for the first page.
In operation 23, the scroll determining unit 120 determines whether scrolling of the first page is impossible as the endmost portion of the first page is positioned at the edge of the second region. If it is determined that the scrolling of the first page is impossible, the scroll determining unit 120 proceeds to operation 25, and if not, the scroll determining unit 120 proceeds to operation 24.
In operation 24, the scroll determining unit 120 controls the scroll of the first page, and outputs a scroll command for the first page to the display control unit 130 to control the display control unit 130 to scroll and display the first page.
In operation 25, the scroll determining unit 120 determines whether the scroll signal satisfies preset drag conditions. If it is determined that the scroll signal satisfies the preset drag conditions, the scroll determining unit 120 proceeds to operation 26; if not, the scroll determining unit 120 terminates a process. The scroll signal may be a drag signal, and the drag conditions may include a condition that at least one parameter of length and speed of the drag signal and a total time in which the drag signal is input exceeds a preset criterion.
In operation 26, the display control unit 130 displays in the second region, the second page on which contents belonging to the second category are arranged.
Although it is illustrated in
Referring to
Although not illustrated in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The scroll determining unit 120 may further determine whether the drag signal 41 satisfies the preset drag conditions before generating the category change command, and if the drag signal 41 satisfies the preset drag conditions, the scroll determining unit 120 may generate the category change command; if not, neither the page scroll nor the category change is performed.
The drag conditions may include a condition of whether a parameter, such as a length, a speed, and a position of the drag signal 41 satisfies a preset criterion. For example, if the length of the drag signal 41 exceeds a preset reference length, the drag conditions are met. Alternatively, if the drag speed of the drag signal 41 exceeds a preset reference speed, the drag conditions are met. If the drag signal 41 passes a preset position, the drag conditions are met. For example, in
According to the determination regarding the drag conditions, the category is changed to another if a signal satisfying the drag conditions is input, rather than if the scroll signal is input at an end portion of the page, thereby preventing undesired category change and corresponding inconvenience.
The category change command may be a change command from the COMICS category, which is the example first category 311, to a ROMANCE category or a HEROS category, which is an example second category listed adjacent to the first category 311, and upon a category change, the page displayed in the second region 32 may be changed.
The second category is determined according to a page scroll direction corresponding to the drag signal 34. For example, the drag signal 34 is a signal for scrolling down the first page 33, such that the HEROS category, which is listed below the first category 311 corresponding to the currently displayed first page 33, that is, the COMICS category, may be determined as the second category.
The display control unit 130 may display a panel 332 for notifying change to the second category at the edge of the first page 33 before changing the first page 33, if the category change command is generated. The position of the panel 332 may be determined depending on the scroll direction of the page. For example, in
The panel 332 may display the name of the second category or an image of a downward arrow indicating movement to a lower category. However, the display of the panel 332 is not limited to the example illustrated in
Referring to
The display control unit 130 of
Referring to
Referring to
The scroll determining unit 120 determines the second category according to the scroll direction of the page corresponding to the drag signal 61. For example, in
The scroll determining unit 120 determines whether the drag signal 61 satisfies the preset drag conditions, before generating the category change command, and if the drag signal 61 satisfies the preset drag conditions, the scroll determining unit 120 generates the category change command. Otherwise, if the drag signal 61 does not meet the preset drag conditions, neither page scroll nor category change is performed.
The display control unit 130 may display a panel 621 for notifying a change to the second category at the edge of the first page 62 if the category change command is generated, before making the change from the displayed first page 62. The position of the panel 621 is determined according to the scroll direction of the page. For example, in FIG, 6, the scroll direction of the page is ‘up’, and accordingly, the panel 621 may be displayed at the top end of the first page 62.
The panel 621 may display the name of the second category or an image of an upward arrow indicating movement to the second category. However, the display of the panel 621 is not limited to this example, and the panel 621 may display the second category with a color or pattern, or in various ways.
Referring to
The display control unit 130 of
Referring to
While a plurality of categories are listed in the vertical direction and page scroll is performed in the vertical direction in
Referring to
Referring to
The scroll determining unit 120 determines the second category according to the scroll direction of the page corresponding to the drag signal 84. For example, in
Before generating the category change command, the scroll determining unit 120 determines whether the drag signal 84 satisfies preset drag conditions. If the drag signal 84 satisfies the preset drag conditions, the scroll determining unit 120 generates the category change command; if not, neither page scroll nor category change is performed.
Before a category change is performed, the display control unit 130 displays an indication of the category change by using a panel 85 at the left end of the first page 83. In
Referring to
The display control unit 130 of
Referring to
According to the foregoing embodiments, after seeing contents belonging to a category, the user may see contents belonging to the next or previous category merely by a scroll action without directly clicking a corresponding category item.
In addition, a convenient user interface is provided such that through a continuous scroll action for seeing contents displayed on the screen, the user may see contents belonging to the next or previous category.
Moreover, a category change is indicated by highlights on a category list provided in a separate region, and the background of a page is displayed differently according to the color or the pattern of each category. In a category change, a predetermined panel is displayed to notify the user of the category change in advance. Thus, the user may recognize that the category is changed by the scroll action, such that the user is prevented from erroneously recognizing that contents in the same category are still displayed, in spite of the category change.
The display control method according to an embodiment illustrated in
According to an embodiment of the inventive concept, a program for executing the display control method on a computer and a distribution server for distributing the program are provided.
As described above, according to the one or more of the above exemplary embodiments, a display control method and apparatus capable of performing a page change by using a scroll action are provided, contributing to user convenience.
Moreover, according to the one or more of the above exemplary embodiments, a page scroll or a page change is performed according to a scroll action or a position of a page, and in the page change, the direction of the scroll action is taken in to account and various display effects are applied, allowing the user to intuitively recognize the page change.
It should be understood that the exemplary embodiments described therein should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each embodiment should typically be considered as available for other similar features or aspects in other embodiments.
While one or more exemplary embodiments have been described with reference to the figures, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventive concept as defined by the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10-2014-0101793 | Aug 2014 | KR | national |
This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0101793, filed on Aug. 7, 2014, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.