Categorizing apparatus and categorizing method

A categorizing apparatus comprising:

• a position determining unit configured to determine a first position of an object selected by a user, in a first region, from among objects arranged in the first region on a display screen;
• an identifying unit configured to identify, among the objects, one or more objects which are related to the selected object;
• a parameter assigning unit configured to assign a parameter to each of related objects, including the related object, according to a degree of relatedness between each of the one or more related objects and the selected object, the parameter contributing to a predetermined relationship which defines tracking property of the related object to the selected object when the selected object is moved from the first position;
• and
• a following motion processing unit configured to cause, when the user moves the selected object from the first position to a second position, the related objects to follow the selected object and move the related objects to predetermined positions according to the degrees of relatedness, the predetermined positions being set with the second position as an origin, and the second position being included in a second region that differs from the first region on the display screen,
• wherein the selected object and the related objects are placed in dispersal in the first region without using the degrees of relatedness, and
• the following motion processing unit is configured to spatially reorganize and arrange the related objects at the predetermined positions when the user causes the related objects to follow the selected object to move to the predetermined positions.

A categorizing method comprising:

• determining a first position of an object selected by a user, in a first region, from among objects arranged in the first region on a display screen;
• identifying, among the objects, one or more objects which are related to the selected object;
• assigning a parameter to each of related objects, including the related object, according to a degree of relatedness between each of the one or more related objects and the selected object, the parameter contributing to a predetermined relationship which defines tracking property of the related object to the selected object when the selected object is moved from the first position;
• and
• causing, when the user moves the selected object from the first position to a second position, the related objects to follow the selected object and move the related objects to predetermined positions according to the degrees of relatedness, the predetermined positions being set with the second position as an origin, and the second position being included in a second region that differs from the first region on the display screen,
• wherein the selected object and the related objects are placed in dispersal in the first region without using the degrees of relatedness, and
• the causing includes spatially reorganizing and arranging the related objects at the predetermined positions when the user causes the related objects to follow the selected object to move to the predetermined positions.

A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium for use in a computer, the recording medium having a computer program recorded thereon for causing the computer to execute:

• determining a first position of an object selected by a user, in a first region, from among objects arranged in the first region on a display screen;
• identifying, among the objects, one or more objects which are related to the selected object;
• assigning a parameter to each of related objects, including the related object, according to a degree of relatedness between each of the one or more related objects and the selected object, the parameter contributing to a predetermined relationship which defines tracking property of the related object to the selected object when the selected object is moved from the first position;
• and
• causing, when the user moves the selected object from the first position to a second position, the related objects to follow the selected object and move the related objects to predetermined positions according to the degrees of relatedness, the predetermined positions being set with the second position as an origin, and the second position being included in a second region that differs from the first region on the display screen,
• wherein the selected object and the related objects are placed in dispersal in the first region without using the degrees of relatedness, and
• the causing includes spatially reorganizing and arranging the related objects at the predetermined positions when the user causes the related objects to follow the selected object to move to the predetermined positions.

An integrated circuit comprising:

• a position determining unit configured to determine, from among objects arranged in a first region on a display screen, a first position of one of the objects which is selected by a user, the first position being located in the first region;
• an identifying unit configured to identify, among the objects, objects which are related to the selected object;
• a parameter assigning unit configured to assign a parameter to each of related objects, including the related object, according to a degree of relatedness between each of the one or more related objects and the selected object, the parameter contributing to a predetermined relationship which defines tracking property of the related object to the selected object when the selected object is moved from the first position;
• and
• a following motion processing unit configured to cause, when the user moves the selected object from the first position to a second position, the related objects to follow the selected object and move the related objects to predetermined positions according to the degrees of relatedness, the predetermined positions being set with the second position as an origin, and the second position being included in a second region that differs from the first region on the display screen,
• wherein the selected object and the related objects are placed in dispersal in the first region without using the degrees of relatedness, and
• the following motion processing unit is configured to spatially reorganize and arrange the related objects at the predetermined positions when the user causes the related objects to follow the selected object to move to the predetermined positions.