Image switching apparatus, image switching system, and image switching method

An image switching system which includes a plurality of electronic devices having different Operating Systems, a display portion for displaying an image, an operation portion for receiving operation input with respect to the image displayed on the display portion, and an image switching apparatus which switches images output from the plurality of electronic devices for displaying on the display portion;

• wherein
• the image switching apparatus includes
• a display control portion for controlling the display portion to display a home screen showing at once all of icons for running an application which operates in any one of the plurality of electronic devices, and
• a judging portion for, in a case where operation that a specific icon is selected from the home screen displayed on the display portion is performed with respect to the operation portion, inputting operation information output from the operation portion, and for judging the selected icon based on the input operation information,
• the operation information is input to the plurality of electronic devices, an electronic device which retains an application corresponding to the selected icon starts the selected application to output an image generated by the application to the display control portion, and
• the display control portion controls the display portion to display the image output from the electronic device in which the application corresponding to the selected icon operates according to a judgment result by the judging portion.

An image switching method executed by an image switching apparatus which switches images output from a plurality of electronic devices having different Operating Systems to display on a predetermined display portion, comprising:

• a step that the image switching apparatus causes the display portion to display a home screen showing at once all of icons for running an application which operates in any one of the plurality of electronic devices;
• a judging step that the image switching apparatus inputs operation information showing the fact that a specific icon is selected from the home screen displayed on the display portion, and for judging the selected icon based on the input operation information;
• and
• a step that the image switching apparatus controls the display portion to display an image output from an electronic device in which an application corresponding to the selected icon operates according to a judgment result by the judging step.