Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-26
2003-09-02
Huynh, Ba (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06614457
ABSTRACT:
This application is based on application No. 10-305965 filed in Japan, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to graphical user interface (GUI) and more specifically to a technique that facilitates selection of a GUI component such as a button contained in a GUT screen.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
As a growing number of electronic communication appliances and household electrical appliances use screens that contain GUI components as their user interface, the need is increasing for a technique to efficiently and easily design a GUI screen capable of dynamic change such as changes in response to user operation.
GUI screens shown on a display or similar include GUI components that are visual images such as text or a picture, more specifically, a button, a list box, or a check box, given a certain form and a certain property. GUI components present certain information to the user and can be selected by the user. Note that a menu option selectable by a user is also regarded as a GUI component.
A focus displayed on a GUI screen allows the user to point at a given GUI component on the GUI screen using input units such as a keyboard or a remote controller of a TV. This focus is a visual indication showing an area on a GUI screen to which the user is currently referring and is represented, for instance, by a dotted box enclosing the GUI component currently being referred to. Hereafter, when the user has a focus indicate a GUI component to which he is currently referring, the GUI component is said to be “focused on.” Such a focus is necessary when the user uses an input unit such as a remote controller or a keyboard that, unlike a pointing device such as a mouse, cannot directly point at a given area on the GUI screen.
A GUI screen control system controls the focus so that the focus moves from one area to another on the GUI screen in response to operations of a button or a key indicating a direction such as up, down, right, or left on a remote controller or a keyboard. When the user presses a button or a key indicating confirmation, the GUI screen control system recognizes a GUI component that is focused on at that point as having been selected by the user and controls the processing according to the properties of the selected GUI component.
Accordingly, to select a GUI component on a GUI screen, the user looks at the GUI screen and repeatedly presses, for instance, direction buttons on the remote controller to move the focus onto the desired GUI component before pressing the confirmation button. In more detail, if the user wants to select the third GUI component to the right of a GUI component currently being focused on, he presses a button on the remote controller indicating a right direction three times and then the confirmation button once to confirm the selection. In this way, although the GUI screen control system enables an input unit such as a remote controller to select a GUI component using a focus, this selection involves more user operations than when the same selection is made with a pointing device that directly points at the same GUI component. The following explains, problems relating to a conventional GUI screen control system.
Some GUI components cannot be selected part or all of the time. However, a conventional GUI screen control system allows GUI components that cannot be selected to be focused on. As a result, the user not only has difficulty in recognizing which GUI components are currently selectable, but also has to repeat a needless operation to move a focus until the focus reaches a selectable GUI: component.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 4-817835 discloses a technique that enables the user to recognize GUI components that are options representing functions that are currently available. This is achieved by displaying available GUI components in an animated form and GUT components representing functions that are unavailable in a static form before the user starts selection With this technique, the user can easily recognize currently-selectable GUI components and so select a desired GUI component by moving a focus onto the GUI component via the shortest distance from a GUI component currently being focused on without moving the focus by trial and error.
However, with this conventional technique, several user operations still need to be performed until the focus reaches the desired GUI component via the shortest distance. For instance, even when the user recognizes that the first and second GUI components to the right of a GUI component, currently being focused on are not selectable and wishes to select the third GUI component to the right, the user needs to press a button indicating a right direction three times to move the focus onto the third GUI component.
Accordingly, a technique to enable the user to easily select a desired GUI component using a focus is necessary, especially in a field of household appliances such as ordinary digital TVs that receive user operations using only a remote controller, not a pointing device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a focus control device that moves a focus not onto all the GUI components on a GUI screen but only onto predetermined GUI components to reduce the number of user operations required to move the focus to a desired GUI component using an input unit such as a remote controller.
In order to achieve the above object, the focus control device of the present invention positions a focus on one of a plurality of GUI components displayed on a screen, the focus control device including: a request receiving unit for receiving a request to move the focus; a focus permission information storing unit for storing focus permission information indicating, for each GUI component, whether the focus can be positioned on the GUI component; and a focus moving unit for moving the focus in response to the received request to a GUI component where, according to the focus permission information, the focus can be positioned, the focus moving unit skipping over GUI components where the focus cannot be positioned.
With the stated construction, the focus control device positions the focus only on a GUI component where the focus can be positioned after skipping over GUI components where the focus cannot be positioned. By having the focus permission information indicate that the focus can be positioned on GUI components that are selectable by the user and that the focus cannot be positioned on GUI components that are not selectable, for instance, it becomes possible to reduce a required number of user operations to move the focus to a desired GUI component even when the user uses an input unit such as a remote controller and a keyboard that, unlike a pointing device, cannot directly point at a given GUI component. For example, when the user wants to position the focus on a GUI component two above a GUI component currently focused on and a GUI component immediately above the current GUI component is not selectable, the user can select the desired GUI component by pressing a button indicating the up direction only once to move the focus and a confirmation button to confirm the selection on a remote controller.
Here, each GUI component may be classified into one of a plurality of types, and the focus permission information may indicate whether the focus can be positioned on each GUI component according to the type of the GUI component.
With the stated construction, whether to permit the focus to position on each GUI component can be determined according to the type of the GUI component. By classifying each GUI component into one of a plurality of types according to, for example, its appearance, the user can easily recognize GUI components on which the focus can be positioned by their appearances.
Here, the plurality of types may be determined according to a function and appearance of each GUI component.
With the stated construction, it is possible to classi
Kawahara Chihiro
Kino Hisayuki
Sanada Norio
Yamanaka Kiyokazu
Hailu Tadesse
Huynh Ba
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