Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-18
2003-07-22
Cabeca, John (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06597378
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, a portable information processing apparatus, an information storage medium and an electronic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the portable apparatus field, a display device called PDA (Personal Digital Assistance) is known as a compact and easy-to-carry information processing apparatus. Attempts are made to network information processing apparatuses including such PDAs, personal computers (PCs), electronic pocketbooks, and wordprocessors. In one application of portable devices, a variety of data is transferred from an information processing apparatus such as personal computer (PC) to a portable device in advance, and the data content in the portable device at a remote location is then updated.
Since the portable device has typically a smaller display screen than an ordinary PC, an image, if contracted in the same ratio, a displayed icon becomes too small for a user to learn what is going on or the function of the icon. If a font is displayed, characters are difficult to see. If the size of characters and fonts is reduced with the resolution of the display directly changed, the user has difficulty to see the display screen.
If an attempt is made to present, on the portable device, the same amount of information as much as that on the PC, an icon size and font size must be reduced. This presents a problem, particularly in portable computers and electronic pocketbooks for their screen size. For example, Japanese letters presented on fonts 24×24 dots or more are comfortable to see. However, the limitation of the display screen size does not accommodate such a font size, and some Chinese letters remain almost illegible.
The conventional devices, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications Nos. 1-173139 and 4-168482, free users from memorizing duty by tagging icons, which are an object in a metaphorical environment, with a descriptive message to clarify detailed meaning thereof.
Referring to
FIG. 57A
, a plurality of pieces of icon information
2001
for permitting lower level data to be read are typically arranged in m rows×n columns after a variety of application programs are activated on a menu screen
2000
. Along with icon information
2001
, a character
2002
is presented to describe the function of the icon information
2001
, helping a user understand the meaning of the function of the icon information.
Referring to
FIG. 57B
, in a menu screen
2010
, icon information
2014
, hierarchically arranged in a plurality of layers and a setting tab
2012
that gives the description of the function of the information and the title of the information perform the same function as that of the icon information.
Since any of the display methods, presented by the above two menu screens, employs an icon tagged with a keyword or a symbol, a user who knows the tagged keyword and symbol finds it handy, but a user who has no prior knowledge of the keyword and symbol has to memorize them first and suffers a drop in work efficiency.
The size of the display of PDA is typically small and sometimes too small for the user to see presented characters and the like comfortably. The user has difficulty learning what function is next activated by any icon selection, and individual icons themselves are too small to be selected.
Such a device imposes a duty of memorizing a new keyword and symbol on a user who has no prior knowledge. Reading additional description inconveniences the user, resulting in a reduction in work efficiency.
The presentation of an icon, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-28157, is contemplated. With the presentation of such an ordinary icon, when the user selects one among a plurality of icons displayed, for a desired function, the user is required to determine where to find a desired function referring to the figure of each icon and a name indicative of its function. A skilled user who already memorized the function corresponding to each icon and where a desired icon is placed, can quickly select a desired icon among numerous icons arranged in a matrix. However, a novice user takes time before she or he understands the function of each icon, and experiences difficulty memorizing where the icon of a desired function is placed on the screen and is subject to an erroneous selection.
In database software running on a PC, a keyword is used to retrieve data, and retrieval results and a browsing action (in which the user watches an image or the like, looking for desired data) are combined to pick up desired data.
When a menu screen is classified into a plurality of categories for retrieval, a complex hierarchical structure is formed. To carry out a retrieval in a top layer, a retrieval keyword is designated for retrieval after designating low-level layers of the hierarchical structure. In the type of database with no keyword used, the more complex the categories for organizing and classifying, the more complicated the hierarchical structure becomes, and more time is required for retrieval.
When the database is retrieved using a desired keyword in conventional database software, data is individually selected to look for detailed information. Specifically, in the conventional database software, retrieval results using a retrieval key are presented simply in the order of registration, for example, and the user is required to make a retrieval action again on the retrieval results already obtained.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned problems.
The present invention is intended to resolve these problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a display device, a portable information processing apparatus, an information storage medium and an electronic apparatus which make the function linked to each icon easy to understand when a user manipulates the icon information on a menu screen, helping the user learn quickly the relationship of a plurality of types of icon information without relying on font characters, and thereby helping a user select icon information easily.
It is also another object to provide a display device, a portable information processing apparatus, an information storage medium and an electronic apparatus which make the function linked to each icon easy to understand when the user manipulates the icon information on a menu screen, helping the user learn quickly the relationship of a plurality of types of icon information without relying on font characters, and thereby helping the user operate efficiently the device and apparatuses by reducing the operation time resulting from the complexity of a hierarchical structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the present invention, the display device includes display means for displaying, on a menu screen, a plurality of types of information including first through N-th information having at least different attributes, storage means for storing first through N-th background screen character data for presenting first through N-th background display areas that respectively present icon information corresponding to the first through N-th information, and first through N-th icon information corresponding to the first and N-th information, and control means for performing control to create the first through N-th background display areas on the menu screen on an area by area basis, based on the first through N-th background screen character data, and to display the icon information on an area by area basis.
In the first aspect of the present invention, the icon information corresponding to the plurality of types of information is classified and displayed by attribute on the first through N-th display area (background screen). Glancing at the division of the first through N-th background display areas, the user visually recognizes the function (application) of icon information within each area. Compared with the conventional menu screen which presents simply arranged ico
Nakashima Roy
Shiraishi Atsushi
Cabeca John
Seiko Epson Corporation
Thai Cuong T.
Watson Mark P.
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