JP4051310B2 - Mobile device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable terminal, and relates to improvement in operability for selecting hierarchical menu items, data, and the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a portable terminal having many functions, a user selects a desired item from an item group classified and managed by a hierarchical menu, and uses the function of the item. The amount of data handled by mobile devices in recent years has been increasing year by year, storing hundreds of data in the phone book, hundreds of previous mails in the mail folder, and numerous data such as images and music in the other data folder can do.
With a conventional mobile terminal, you can select only the items that you think the user will use frequently from the menu and set the original menu. Some functions that require an operation procedure can be selected with few operations.
[0003]
In addition, the user can freely select and group a plurality of items displayed on the display unit of the mobile terminal, assign keys corresponding to the group, and sequentially move the display items in the corresponding group by key operation. There is also one that can be selected by moving (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2001-285446
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As a problem of the prior art, it is troublesome for the user to set the original menu by himself. In addition, if the user's taste has changed, for example, the voice related function has been heavily used recently, but the mail related function has recently been frequently used, the original menu needs to be set again. Must be set.
Further, when the user starts to operate the mobile terminal, it is necessary to determine whether to activate a normal menu or an original menu.
In addition, even when accessing data in a hierarchical menu (for example, a phone book, a mail folder, a data folder), the user must access the target data item by operating the hierarchical menu. When accessing the same data many times, the operation is very troublesome.
This invention is made in view of such a point, and it aims at providing the portable terminal which customizes automatically so that the menu item and data which a user uses frequently can be selected with few operations.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, the mobile terminal according to claim 1 is a mobile terminal having a plurality of hierarchical menu items, a selection frequency detecting means for detecting a selection frequency of each menu item, and a selection A hierarchy detecting means for detecting a hierarchy in which the menu item is arranged; and the selection frequency detected by the selection frequency detecting means for the selected menu item in the hierarchy detected by the hierarchy detecting means, A shortcut item that generates a shortcut item corresponding to the selected menu item in a hierarchy one level higher than the hierarchy detected by the hierarchy detection unit when a predetermined generation setting value is exceeded And a portable terminal.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the portable terminal according to the first aspect, the menu item includes a shortcut item generated by the shortcut generation unit.
[0010]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the mobile terminal according to the first or second aspect , the selection information for each menu item is sequentially updated and stored, and the selection frequency detecting means is configured to update each selection item based on the updated selection information. It is characterized by detecting the selection frequency of menu items.
[0011]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the mobile terminal according to any one of the first to third aspects, the setting value for generation is weighted according to the number of lower-level menu items belonging to the upper-level menu items. It is characterized by.
[0012]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the mobile terminal according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, when the selection frequency of the menu item that is the basis of the shortcut item falls below a predetermined setting value for deletion, It has a shortcut menu deleting means for deleting the shortcut item.
[0013]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the portable terminal according to the fifth aspect , the setting value for deletion is set to a value lower than the setting value for generation.
[0014]
A seventh aspect of the present invention is the portable terminal according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the portable terminal has a display unit for displaying menu items, and the shortcut items generated by the shortcut item generation unit are displayed as existing menu items. And the position of the menu item at the head of the existing menu item is displayed as the initial cursor position.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mobile terminal 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external view of the mobile terminal 1. Reference numeral 10 denotes a control unit (selection frequency detection means, hierarchy detection means, shortcut item generation means) that controls each part of the mobile terminal 1. 11 is a screen display unit, 12 is an audio output unit, and 13 is an audio input unit. Reference numeral 14 denotes a key operation unit, which includes a numeric keypad, a back key, a direction key, a confirmation key, and the like in FIG. A wireless communication unit 15 is wirelessly connected to the wireless base station 2. Reference numeral 16 denotes an incoming call notification unit, which performs notification by voice or vibrator. Reference numeral 17 denotes a clock / timer unit. Reference numeral 18 denotes a memory unit which stores menu items classified into various functions and hierarchized.
The radio base station 2 connects to the communication network N and communicates with other terminals and servers.
[0018]
FIG. 3 shows an example of an initial state of a function menu which is an example of a menu item stored in the memory unit 18. When the user activates the function menu, the control unit 10 first causes the screen display unit 11 to display the highest layer (first layer). The selection operation of the item by the user is performed using a direction key, a confirmation key, and the like. To return the screen display to a higher level, press the back key.
[0019]
The item group for each hierarchy is composed of three types of function items, small menu items, and shortcut items, and displays each item according to the user's selection. FIG. 4 is an example of a function menu in which shortcut items are generated. When a function item is selected, a function corresponding to the item is activated. When a small menu item is selected, an item group immediately below the item is displayed on the screen. The function item and the small menu item are collectively referred to as a basic item. Shortcut items are generated in items with a high selection frequency, and when selected, the same processing as when a corresponding shortcut destination item is selected is performed.
[0020]
A hierarchy including a small menu item in the item group (with a hierarchy below) is defined as a shortcut generation layer. In the shortcut generation layer, shortcut items can be automatically generated. A method for automatic generation will be described later. On the other hand, a hierarchy that does not include a small menu item in the hierarchy item group is defined as a terminal layer. Shortcut items cannot be generated in the end layer. FIG. 5 shows an example classified into the shortcut generation layer and the end layer.
The hierarchy immediately below when the small menu item included in the shortcut generation layer is selected is referred to as the immediately lower hierarchy for the shortcut generation layer, and the items included in the immediately lower hierarchy are referred to as the immediately lower hierarchy items. The shortcut item automatically generated in the shortcut generation layer is an item that can be determined to have a particularly high selection frequency among the items immediately below the shortcut generation layer.
[0021]
On the other hand, shortcut items are also included in the hierarchy items immediately below. Therefore, shortcut items that have already been generated in the immediately lower hierarchy may be generated in the upper layer. As a result, not only items included in the immediately lower hierarchy but also shortcuts to items in the lower hierarchy are possible. FIG. 6 shows a classification example of the immediately lower hierarchy item.
Further, all the immediately lower hierarchy items for one shortcut generation layer are regarded as one item group as the immediately lower hierarchy item group.
[0022]
Next, operations for generating and deleting shortcut items in the mobile terminal 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. The user activates the function menu of the portable terminal 1 using the key operation unit 14 (step S1). The control unit 10 acquires a function menu in which various functions are classified and hierarchized and stored in the memory unit 18, and displays the first layer, which is the uppermost layer, on the screen display unit 11.
The user selects and presses one desired item from the function menu displayed on the screen display unit 11 with the direction key of the key operation unit 14 (step S3). The control unit 10 receives the operation of the key operation unit 14 and displays the content of the selected item on the screen display unit 11. When the selected item is a small menu item, the control unit 10 immediately transitions to a lower hierarchy and displays an item group. Therefore, the user further selects and displays a function item to activate the function.
[0023]
Here, the memory unit 18 manages the selection information of the item selected by the user as one selection history information for each immediately lower hierarchy item group. FIG. 8 shows an example of selection history information. In the selection history information, selection information of items selected by the user is recorded n times in order from the latest. In this way, when only the latest n selection information is handled as selection history information, when a decision is made to automatically generate a shortcut item, “items that were previously selected but have not been selected much recently” are selected. It can be excluded, and the amount of memory required to hold the selection history information can be made constant. In this embodiment, n = 20.
[0024]
The control unit 10 adds the selection information of the item selected by the user in step S3 to the selection history information of the immediately lower hierarchy item group including the item, updates this selection history information, and stores it in the memory unit 18 (step S1). S5). If the selected item is a shortcut item, it is determined that the shortcut destination item is selected, and the selection history information of the immediately lower hierarchy item group including the shortcut destination item is also updated at the same time.
[0025]
Next, the control part 10 calculates the selection rate y which shows the selection frequency in each item from Formula (1) from the selection history information updated at step S5 (step S7).
y = (x / n) × 100 (1)
(However, in this embodiment, n = 20)
In the formula (1), x is the number of selections of each item included in the selection history information.
[0026]
Next, the control unit 10 acquires the item number a of the immediately lower layer item group including the item selected in step S3. Based on the number of items a, the shortcut generation reference rate s for each item in the immediately lower hierarchy item group is determined as follows (step S9).
When a ≦ 5: s = 45%
When 6 ≦ a ≦ 10: s = 35%
When a ≧ 11: s = 25%
As described above, the shortcut generation reference rate s is decreased when the number of items a is large, and the shortcut generation reference rate s is increased when the number of items a is small.
[0027]
Next, based on the number of items a in step S9, the control unit 10 determines the shortcut deletion reference rate s ′ for the shortcut items generated in the hierarchy immediately above this hierarchy item group as follows ( Step S11).
When a ≦ 5: s ′ = 40%
When 6 ≦ a ≦ 10: s ′ = 30%
When a ≧ 11: s ′ = 20%
Thus, the shortcut deletion reference rate s ′ is decreased when the number of items a is large, and the shortcut deletion reference rate s ′ is increased when the number of items a is small. The shortcut deletion reference rate s ′ is always set to a value lower than the shortcut generation reference rate s. If s ′ = s is set, if the selection rate y of the item frequently changes before and after the shortcut generation reference rate s, shortcut item generation / deletion is frequently repeated. This is to confuse the user.
[0028]
When there is an already generated shortcut item (“Yes” in step S13), the selection rate y of the shortcut destination item calculated in step S7 is smaller than the shortcut deletion reference rate s ′ determined in step S11 ( In step S15, “Yes”), the control unit 10 automatically deletes the shortcut item generated in the next higher hierarchy (step S17). FIG. 9 shows an example in which shortcut items are automatically deleted.
[0029]
When the selection rate y of the immediately lower layer item calculated in step S7 exceeds the shortcut generation reference rate s determined in step S9 (“Yes” in step S19), the control unit 10 transitions to the immediately lower layer item. The shortcut item is automatically generated in a hierarchy (shortcut generation layer) immediately above the hierarchy item immediately below it (step S21). When there are a plurality of items exceeding the shortcut generation reference rate s in one immediate lower hierarchy item group, shortcut items for each item are automatically generated. Therefore, a plurality of shortcut items may be generated in the shortcut generation layer.
[0030]
FIG. 10 shows a display example when items on the hierarchy including the shortcut item generated in step S21 are displayed on the screen display unit 11. In FIG. 10, the display order when displaying the basic items on the screen is defined for each hierarchy, and even when a shortcut item is generated in that hierarchy, the display order between the basic items does not change. Regardless of the presence or absence of a shortcut item, the position of the item with the first display order among the basic items is set as the first focus position (a position immediately selected by pressing the enter key).
When shortcut items are not included in the hierarchy to be displayed ((A) of FIG. 10), the basic items are displayed in a predetermined display order as described above.
When one shortcut item is generated in the hierarchy to be displayed ((B) of FIG. 10), the shortcut item is displayed above the first basic item (step S23). The position of the first item in the display order among the basic items is the first focus position as described above.
When a plurality of shortcut items are generated in the hierarchy to be displayed ((C) in FIG. 10), the position order between the shortcut items is set in the order of the selection rate y of the respective shortcut destination items. As a result, shortcut items to items with a higher selection rate y are arranged near the initial focus position, making it easier for the user to select.
[0031]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, when selecting an item in the function menu, the selection rate of the item is calculated, and the shortcut item is automatically generated in the hierarchy one level higher. You can easily search for function items to use with a few operations.
In addition, since shortcut items that are no longer used are automatically deleted according to changes in user preferences, there is no complication due to unnecessary items being displayed as choices forever, and memory can be reduced.
[0032]
The automatically generated shortcut item can be deleted by a user operation. At this time, by storing information that the user has deleted corresponding to the menu item at the shortcut destination in the deleted shortcut item, it can be handled as a menu item that does not create a shortcut item from the next time. Thereby, the terminal can recognize a menu item that does not require a shortcut for the user. Also, the number of shortcut items is not increased unnecessarily.
[0033]
In one embodiment using a function menu as an example, the highest hierarchy is the function menu startup screen, but the highest hierarchy (0th hierarchy) such as a standby screen, desktop screen, or initial menu screen. You may create a shortcut item. As a result, the user can immediately access the frequently used menu items.
In the above embodiment, menu items that exceed the shortcut generation reference rate are generated in the next higher level, but may be higher or lower level.
[0034]
Next, as a second embodiment of the present invention, a data folder will be described as an example with reference to FIG. Various data stored in the memory unit 18 of the portable terminal are stored in a hierarchical folder by type. When accessing data stored in this data folder, for example, [Data Folder] (a)-[My Data] (b)-[Photo] (c)-[Date] (d)-[Image] (e) Traverse the folder hierarchy to access a specific image.
[0035]
Next, an operation for automatically generating a shortcut to the data by accessing the data will be described with reference to FIG. Note that, here, an operation of automatically generating based on the selection frequency of images stored in a folder will be described as an example. The selection frequency is based on the number of times of selection, the time of display and viewing, and here, the number of selections will be described as an example.
[0036]
First, when the user operates the key operation unit 14 to access an image stored in a hierarchical folder (step S31), the selected image is displayed on the display unit 11. Next, the control unit 10 detects that an image has been selected and displayed, increments the number of selections of the image by one, and causes the memory unit 18 to store the number of selections in association with the image (step S33). It is assumed that the number of selections is incremented by 1 each time an image is selected. Then, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the number of selections exceeds a predetermined setting value (step S35), and if it exceeds, the image shortcut is generated on the initial menu screen (step S37). FIG. 11F shows an example of a shortcut for the generated image.
[0037]
As a result, the user can easily access the data of a deep hierarchy that is accessed many times with few operations. Furthermore, by generating a shortcut on the initial menu screen, the user can display an image in the shortest time without operating a hierarchical menu or folder. Further, by displaying on the initial menu screen, it becomes easy to notice the presence of data visually.
In addition, the generated shortcut may be deleted by the user, or when the number of displayable shortcuts is exceeded, the oldest generated shortcut may be deleted and a new shortcut may be generated. The data is not limited to images, but may be data such as movies and music. The shortcut may be an icon or a reduced image of the original image. Further, a shortcut may be generated for data selected once. However, in this case, it is preferable to generate the shortcut only when the display or viewing time exceeds a predetermined value.
[0038]
In the above embodiment, the generation of the shortcut is determined based on the number of times the image data has been accessed. However, in order to further improve the usability, for example, the number of times selected within a predetermined time, A data having a high selection frequency for all data in a data or folder may be used as a criterion.
[0039]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail with reference to drawings, the specific structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.
[0040]
For example, in the above embodiment, the shortcut is generated based on the selection frequency for the data. However, the shortcut may be generated when the operation history is selected even once. In this case, however, many shortcuts may be generated. Therefore, it is preferable to limit the number of shortcuts that can be saved, always keep the latest ones, and delete old ones. Also, as described above, unnecessary shortcuts can be prevented from being created if the user's operation deletes the shortcuts from the next time.
Also, items that are simply passed through as a hierarchy are not subject to shortcuts, and for example, only setting items such as volume settings and mode settings, and function items such as camera functions and viewer functions may be subject to shortcuts.
[0041]
The process for automatically generating / deleting shortcut items may be set so that the user can activate or cancel the process.
In addition, a menu initialization function may be added to delete all the generated shortcut items and at the same time clear selection history information for all the immediately lower hierarchy item groups.
Further, a shortcut item manual setting function for generating or deleting a shortcut item for an arbitrary item in an arbitrary hierarchy by a user operation may be added. In this case, the shortcut item generated by this function is not subject to automatic generation / automatic deletion.
Further, the present invention may be applied to a portable personal computer or PDA (Personal Digital Assistance) having a wireless communication function instead of the cellular phone in the above embodiment.
According to the present invention described above, it is possible to efficiently access items and data desired by the user on a limited screen such as a portable terminal, and the operability is greatly improved. Also, by automatically deleting the generated shortcut, only necessary items are always displayed without leaving unnecessary items on a limited screen.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the shortcut menu item is generated in the hierarchy one level above the hierarchy in which the selected menu item or data is arranged according to the selection frequency of the menu item or data. . Therefore, even if the function item mainly used by the user is an item in a deep hierarchy, it can be easily searched with few operations.
Moreover, even if a shortcut item is created, the original menu item does not move, so that the conventional operability can be maintained for a user who is used to the operation even in a deep hierarchy.
Even when shortcut items are generated, the cursor always selects the top of the default menu item when going down the hierarchy, so normal operability is ensured even when shortcut items are not used. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mobile terminal 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an external view of the mobile terminal 1 in the same embodiment.
FIG. 3 is an example of an initial state of a function menu in the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an example of a function menu in which shortcut items are generated in the embodiment.
FIG. 5 shows an example of function menus classified into a shortcut generation layer and a terminal layer in the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is an example of classification of items immediately below in the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of shortcut item generation / deletion in the same embodiment.
FIG. 8 is an example of selection history information in the embodiment.
FIG. 9 is an example of automatically deleting shortcut items in the embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a display example of the screen display unit 11 in the same embodiment.
FIG. 11 is an example of a data folder in the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation of automatic shortcut creation by data access in the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wireless terminal, 2 ... Wireless base station, 10 ... Control part, 11 ... Screen display part, 12 ... Audio | voice output part, 13 ... Voice input part, 14 ... Key operation part, 15 ... Wireless communication part, 16 ... Incoming notification , 17 ... Clock / timer unit, 18 ... Memory unit

Claims (7)

A mobile terminal having a plurality of hierarchical menu items,
Selection frequency detection means for detecting the selection frequency of each menu item;
Hierarchy detecting means for detecting the hierarchy in which the selected menu item is arranged;
In the hierarchy detected by the hierarchy detection means, the hierarchy detection means when the selection frequency detected by the selection frequency detection means for the selected menu item exceeds a predetermined setting value for generation. Shortcut item generating means for generating a shortcut item corresponding to the selected menu item in the hierarchy one level higher that is the transition source to the hierarchy detected by
A mobile terminal.   The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the menu item includes a shortcut item generated by the shortcut generation unit. Stores the selection information sequential Update for each menu item, the updated selected information, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the selection frequency detecting means detects the selection frequency of each menu item Mobile devices. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the setting value for generation is weighted according to the number of lower-level menu items belonging to the upper-level menu items. When the selection frequency of the menu item which is the source of the shortcut item falls below a predetermined deletion setting values, of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it has a shortcut menu deletion means for deleting the shortcut item The portable terminal in any one. The mobile terminal according to claim 5, wherein the setting value for deletion is set to a value lower than the setting value for generation. A display unit for displaying a menu item; the shortcut item generated by the shortcut item generation means is displayed at a higher level than the existing menu item; the mobile terminal according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that to display as.

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