FI93597B - Set the direction of the arrow keys on your phone while browsing the menu - Google Patents

Description

93597

The invention relates to a method by means of which the direction meanings of the arrow keys of the user interface of a telephone, in particular a mobile telephone, can be determined when browsing the menu of the user interface.

10 User interface is an interface between a user and a device that allows the user to enter information into the device and receive a printout of the actions performed by the device. When talking about the user interface of a modern, advanced telephone machine or mobile phone, 15 usually means a keyboard and a display. In addition to the alphanumeric keys, the keypad of such a phone may contain various function and selection keys, for example, arrow keys. The size of the screen is limited, especially on mobile phones due to the small size of the device itself, usually to a few dozen characters to be displayed.

The basic idea of menu-based functions in general is to increase user-friendliness by giving the user a number of options for performing the next function and thus reducing the need for memory-based functions. The items in the menu can in principle be thought of in the shape of a circle, so that when scrolling in either direction, all the items are sooner or later accessible. Several menus may be associated with the device, in which case the selection of the menu to be browsed must be performed before the actual browsing by means of a key or a pressing sequence defined for this purpose. The menu can be selected with the MENU, SELECT or similar key on the user interface. Use the arrow keys to scroll through the menu. The meaning of the arrow keys 35 is usually fixed, for example, the up arrow means scrolling backwards through the menu and the down arrow means scrolling forwards or the right arrow forward scrolling, and the left arrow means scrolling backwards. The device displays, within the limits of the screen size, usually either all items or only some of the menu items. If several menu items are shown on the display at the same time, 5 the active item to which the scrolling has progressed is usually displayed on the screen either in its base color or otherwise slightly different from the other items. The small screen size of mobile phones usually limits the number of items to be printed to one, i.e. the active item.

10

Remembering the meanings of the arrow keys while navigating the menu has proved to be a problem in practice, and users are repeatedly criticized for their illogicality. It has been estimated that about 50% of users will naturally start button and menu browsing, 15 ylöspäinsuuntautuvan of the arrow while others a downward arrow key 50%. However, the goal is almost always to move forward in the menu, i.e. to the first item, which, according to the commonly used menu arrangement principle, is precisely the most frequently used item in the menu 20. As a result, in the majority of usage situations, half of users have to make multiple keystrokes instead of one to access the item they want. The problem becomes particularly apparent in the new generation of digital mobile phones, where the number of menu items 25 is up to three times that of current analog phones.

Various options have been proposed to solve the problem. For example, the user could change the meaning of the arrow mielei-30 sekseen press key provided for the purpose, or alternatively, one or more of the already existing key for the new painallussekvenssillä. It would also be conceivable for the telephone retailer to set the browsing direction in a fixed manner according to the wishes of the buyer. The problem with solutions such as those mentioned above would still be to remember the meanings of the arrows, especially when the menu is rarely used. In addition, there are users who find it difficult to understand the menu statement principle at all.

Il: 3 93597

The method according to claim 1 solves the problem of remembering the meanings of the arrow keys.

The basic idea is that the meaning of the arrow keys in each operating situation is determined by the first arrow key pressed. the method of the invention, the first arrow key press, regardless of the direction indicated by the arrow, scroll forward at all times, ie. moves the first menu item inactive. In practice, 10 active items are shown on the phone display. Subsequent presses of the arrow keys follow the direction meanings defined by the first press. For example, the first press of the downward arrow also the meaning of a downward fol-raavilla presses arrow 15 is forward and the importance of the arrow ylöspäinsuuntautuvan pass. The directions are determined when the first press is applied to the up arrow key or the right and left key pair keys, respectively.

20

In a preferred embodiment, the menu to be browsed is selected with the MENU, SELECT or similar key.

In a preferred embodiment, instead of the function menu, the object to be browsed can be, for example, a menu containing the speed dial numbers of the telephone.

In summary, the method is advantageous, i.e. it minimizes the number of keystrokes, in the following cases: when selecting the most used items in the menu, when forgetting the arrow direction meanings, when forgetting the location of the item to be retrieved from the menu. These criteria are met in about 95% of applications. The method is disadvantageous over current technology if the following conditions are met; when selecting the least used items in the menu, the user remembers that they are last in the menu and the user still remembers which of the arrow keys is used for the reverse view. Such a situation is represented by about 5% of use situations.

The invention will now be considered with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 shows the user interface of an example mobile phone,

Figure 2 shows the menu navigation principle and

Figure 3 shows a flow chart of the browsing operation.

10

Figure 1 shows the user interface of a mobile phone in a very simplified form. The display area is represented by area c and the keyboard by the hatched area f. The hatched area f may contain a varying number of different keys, of which only a few keys relevant to the invention are discussed in more detail below. The user interface includes a pair of keys with opposite arrow markings. The arrow markings can be down a and up b as shown in figure 1 or also to the right and left. When scrolling through the menu, the currently active item is printed on the mobile phone display c. The menu can be selected with the MENU or SELECT key d, e or similar key on the user interface. The names and layout of the keys in Figure 1 are free to vary in different applications.

25

The circular menu shown in Figure 2 consists of n items. The menu can be scrolled with the arrow keys a, b both forward A and backward B. According to the general arrangement principle, the first item 1 is the most frequently used menu function 30 and the last item n is the least used menu function, respectively. It is usually possible to display only one of the menu items on the mobile phone screen at a time. The item on the display at any given time is the so-called the active item for which browsing has progressed. In the method according to the invention, the first press of either, but only the second key a, b, after selecting the scrollable menu, moves the first item 1 of the menu to the display c of the mobile telephone. The scrolling direction according to the first key press is 5 93597 forward A and the scrolling direction of the key with the opposite arrow is backward B.

Figure 3 further shows the operation according to the invention in the form of a flow chart. After selecting a menu with the MENU key, the first arrow key pressed (down-10 or up) controls the first item in the menu. With subsequent key presses, the forward scroll direction is the same as defined with the first key press (up or down) and the reverse scroll direction is the opposite direction (down or up) to the first key press.

The claims do not limit at what stage of the use of the telephone or how often the method can be applied. For example, the method may define the meanings of the keys 20 separately for each use of the menu or only for the first use, or according to any other criteria.

The invention relates in particular to mobile telephones, but also, for example, desk telephones, which are equipped with a display and a keypad, and which involve scrolling through menus.

Claims (4)

6 93597 A method for determining the direction of the arrow keys of a user interface of a telephone, in particular a mobile telephone, when scrolling through the menu of the user interface, characterized in that direction is always forward, arranging the first menu item (1) active on the display (c), and that with subsequent presses of those-10 line keys, the scrolling direction follows the meanings of the arrows defined by the first press. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the direction meanings of the arrow keys are defined separately each time the menu is used. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the scrollable menu is a function menu which is selected 20 by means of the MENU (d), SELECT (e) or similar key on the user interface. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the scrollable menu is a speed dial number menu. 7 93597