Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at same station – Radiotelephone equipment detail
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-23
2001-06-19
Legree, Tracy (Department: 2681)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at same station
Radiotelephone equipment detail
C345S215000, C345S182000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249689
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable radio information terminal apparatus and a screen operating method for use therewith. More particularly, the invention relates to a portable radio information terminal apparatus implemented as a pager and a screen operating method for use therewith, the pager receiving message information that is displayed and scrolled on a screen by that method.
There exist portable radio information terminal apparatuses each serving as a terminal apparatus of a communication network. They have been commercialized with diverse structures and functions that meet today's varied and rapidly expanding demands in the field of telecommunications.
One typical portable radio information terminal apparatus that has gained widespread use is the so-called pager for receiving radio signals. In its infancy, the pager was a terminal that beeped upon receipt of a call signal from a radio station. Typically, a user carrying such a pager would be in a location away from wired telephones. On receiving a radio call signal issued by someone via a radio station, the pager alerted the user to call back from the nearest wired telephone.
Then came a new generation of pagers capable of receiving not only simple call signals but also signals containing informations via radio stations. The type of pager used extensively today is one which, upon receipt of a message-carrying signal, decodes the signal and places decoded message information and related data into a memory while simultaneously displaying the received message on a liquid crystal display panel.
The above type of pager decodes messages from the incoming signals and organizes the decoded messages into suitable message files. These messages are stored in a message memory as organized in such message files.
On a single screen of a built-in liquid crystal display panel, a message body is displayed illustratively in four lines of 20 characters each. If the message body has more than four lines, the user may perform necessary input operations to scroll the screen to view the entire message successively.
With an expanding scope of applications for the above type of portable radio information terminal apparatus have come varieties of messages that may be received by the terminal. For example, the messages received from individuals which are the most prevalent kind of messages have been supplemented by growing volumes of message information originating from businesses and organizations offering message information services.
These different kinds of received information may be classified by message format. For example, bodies of messages from individuals are mostly composed of character symbols. On the other hand, message information from information service businesses may be made up not only of character symbols but also of dot-pattern-based graphics.
Given such diversity of received messages, it is preferable that a unit amount of screen scroll, i.e., the unit extent of screen space in which the screen is scrolled by each scroll operation, is varied depending on the format of each received message. Most conventional portable radio information terminal apparatuses, however, have only offered a screen scrolling function that scrolls the screen by one character line every time a screen scrolling operation is carried out.
Consequently, although the line-by-line scrolling feature is advantageous in scrolling graphic images such as maps and weather patterns, users of the prior-art terminal apparatuses have had to perform many scrolling operations in a limited time when reading certain types of messages. Such messages include the one whose body is composed of numerous lines that must be read successively and rapidly by the user, and the one that needs to be fast forwarded so that a latter part of it will be displayed quickly for preferential reading.
The conventional apparatuses have thus suffered from poor operability; the repeated operations are tiresome for users and are prone to errors. In addition, the message read-out process by users has tended to be a time-consuming chore.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the above and other deficiencies and disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a portable radio information terminal apparatus and a screen operating method for use therewith, the apparatus and the method allowing a unit amount of scroll on a display screen to be varied as desired.
In carrying out the invention and according to a first aspect thereof, there is provided a screen operating method for use with a portable radio information terminal apparatus having inputting means and image displaying means for displaying screens, the apparatus being capable of screen displays. The screen operating method comprises the steps of: establishing a scroll unit as a unit amount by which to effect a single scroll operation in accordance with an information class attached to a received message; establishing a scrolling direction based on an input command; and performing scrolling in the established scroll unit and in the established scrolling direction.
With the above inventive method in use, the unit amount by which to effect a single upward or downward scroll operation is changed in accordance with the information class attached to the received message. The method thus makes it possible to scroll graphics of dot patterns in a small scrolling amount and to fast forward or rewind displays as needed, whereby efficient and application-specific scrolling is provided.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a portable radio information terminal apparatus comprising: inputting means; image displaying means; information class extracting means for extracting an information class attached to a received message; scrolling direction detecting means for detecting a scrolling direction according to an input signal; and scroll controlling means for controlling scrolling in the detected scrolling direction and in a scroll unit corresponding to the extracted information class.
Therefore, the above-mentioned means constitute the inventive apparatus that effectively extracts an information class, detects a scrolling direction, establishes a scroll unit for a single scroll operation, and performs scrolling in the detected scrolling direction and in the established scroll unit.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a storage medium for use with a portable radio information terminal apparatus having inputting means and image displaying means. The storage medium stores programs which may be read and executed by a computer during an operation of the terminal apparatus. The programs include: information class extracting means for extracting an information class attached to a received message; scrolling direction detecting means for detecting a scrolling direction based on an input signal; and scroll controlling means for controlling scrolling in the detected scrolling direction and in scroll unit corresponding to the extracted information class.
The inventive storage medium above is incorporated as a memory accommodating CPU operating procedures into a portable radio information terminal apparatus which comprises a CPU, inputting means, image displaying means and a message memory. When the storage medium is installed as described, the means stored therein are executed consecutively by the CPU as the operating procedures. The storage medium thus provides the terminal apparatus with capabilities for extracting an information class, detecting a scrolling direction, ascertaining a scroll unit for a single scroll operation, and performing scrolling in the desired direction and in the designated scroll unit. As such, the storage medium above helps implement a portable radio information terminal apparatus that offers the varied functions stated above.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus comprising a storage part for storing steps which may be read and execut
Legree Tracy
Maioli Jay H.
Sony Corporation
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