Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-12
2001-02-13
Bayerl, Raymond J. (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06188406
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to displaying a plurality of items on a display region, and, more specifically, to meaningfully displaying a plurality of items on a display region with a relatively small area.
2. Related Art
Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are routinely used to provide visual interfaces between applications and users. Displayed in a region on a screen, a GUI provides one or more menus, each containing a plurality of items. By selecting an item from a menu, a user can invoke an application, input parameters for running an application, or invoke a sub menu. Frequently, the items in a menu are text based. Thus, when multiple items are closely listed in a menu, a user needs to take effort and concentration to locate and select a desired item from the menu. To make a GUI more user friendly, a menu often displays icons (or symbols) beside respective textual menu items, so that users have visual aids to locate and select a desired item from the menu. However, when a display region has a relatively small area (such as a LCD screen on a cellular telephone), displaying icons (or symbols) together with their respective menu items makes the display region cluttered, thus increasing the difficulty for a user to locate and select a desired menu item.
There is, therefore, a need for a method and apparatus to provide an improved Graphic User Interface (GUI) for displaying icons (or symbols) together with menu items, without compromising the advantage provided by the icons (or symbols).
The present invention provides a method and apparatus to meet this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To address the shortcomings of the available art, the present invention displays a plurality of items on a display region having a relatively small region, with the feature of facilitating a user to locate and select an item from the display region.
In one aspect, the present provides a method for displaying a plurality of rows of items on a display region, each of the rows containing a content field and a symbol field. The method comprises the steps of: displaying a column window and a row window on the display region; scrolling the plurality of rows over the region, so that a set of symbol fields contained in a set of the plurality of rows are being scrolled into the column window and at least one content field contained in of the plurality of rows is being scrolled into the row window; in the column window, displaying the symbol fields that are scrolled into the column window; and in the row window, displaying at least one content field that is being scrolled into the row window.
The present invention also provides a corresponding apparatus for performing the method discussed above.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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Fong Bryan Lew
Liu Chris Shi-Chai
Mugura Kazuto
Bayerl Raymond J.
Crosby, Heafey Roach & May
Nguyen Thomas T.
Sony Corporation
Tachner Adam H.
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