KR20060024956A - Method and apparatus for menu navigation supporting usability - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for providing a user interface supporting user convenience in moving a menu.

A user interface supporting user convenience in moving a menu according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a hierarchical layer representing a parallel moving surface sequentially displaying a menu having the same parent menu in a hierarchically configured menu set and a sibling menu of the parent menu. And a moving surface, wherein the parallel moving surface and the hierarchical moving surface cross each other in a cross shape around the selector, and a menu constituting the parallel moving surface or a menu constituting the hierarchical moving surface rotates around the selector.

Menu Navigation, Menu Navigation, Digital Devices, Digital Broadcasting

Description

Method and apparatus for providing user interface to support user convenience in menu navigation {Method and apparatus for menu navigation supporting usability}

1 is a diagram illustrating content selection or menu movement according to a conventional method.

2 shows an input device including a direction input key.

3 is a structural diagram showing a hierarchical structure of a menu according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating a screen on which a menu is output according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a block diagram showing the movement of the top menu according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram illustrating menu movement in a hierarchical movement plane according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a diagram illustrating menu movement in a hierarchical moving surface according to another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram illustrating a case where a menu is selected according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a process of moving a menu according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a digital device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

101, 102, 103: conventional menu screen 110, 111, 112: screen according to the embodiment

500: direction input keys 601, 602: jog shuttle

900: digital equipment

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for providing a user interface supporting user convenience in moving a menu.

To select content or move menus on a digital device, an input device capable of moving a large pointer such as a mouse can be used, or a direction input device such as a direction control key or jog shuttle of a remote control or a keyboard or a keypad can be used. However, an input device such as a mouse is limited to a computer and is difficult to use for other digital devices. On the other hand, the direction keys and the jog shuttle have limitations in performing input and navigation with directionality.

1 is a diagram illustrating content selection or menu movement according to a conventional method.

1 shows that the screen changes to the screens 101, 102, and 103 as the menu is selected. The left part of the screen 100 shows the currently selected menu. Initially, it starts from the top menu, so menu 01 to menu 05 are listed. The right side shows the lower menu or the content list when the menu is focused using the up and down input keys between the menu 01 and the menu 05. If you select the right direction key again or rotate the jog shuttle to the right, you can perform the selection from the submenu or the content list. In the screen 101, menu 03.02 is selected (S10). As a result, as shown on the 102 screen, the left sub screen has the menu 03.02 selected, and the right screen has the sub menus 03.02.01, 03.02.02, 03.02.03, 03.02.04, 03.02.05 which are the submenus that make up the menu 03.02. It consists of. If a specific menu (03.02.03) is selected by navigating up and down on the right screen, submenus or contents of the menu 03.02.03 appear (S11). The result is 103 screens. On the 103 screen, the menu related to the detailed contents that appears by selecting 03.02.03 appears on the right screen. However, to go back to another menu from the 103 menu, it goes up sequentially. That is, the screen goes to the screen 102 where the 03.02 menu is selected through the step S20 (S21). If you move to the upper menu twice, you can select between Menu 01 and Menu 05. This menu movement is performed because the selection of menus or contents of most digital devices, not computers or laptops, is made by using direction keys.

The arrow keys move the cursor or selection bar in the up, down, left, or right directions. Therefore, it is not possible to input widely in two dimensions like a computer mouse.

2 shows an input device including a direction input key. The remote control 10 and the mobile phone 20 each have a direction input key 500. In FIG. 2, the direction input key 500 moves the cursor, the focus, and the screen in the up, down, left, and right directions. Similar functions are jog shuttles 601 and 602. It receives directional input through the wheel, such as up, down, left, or right. The jog shuttle saw 601 from above and 602 from the side.

Digital devices employing remote controls, keypads, or jog shuttles offer simplicity and convenience with these directional input keys. Therefore, there is a need for an easy way to navigate the menu using the direction keys.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The technical problem of the present invention is to increase the convenience in using a digital device by enabling movement between menus having various layers in the digital device.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for providing a user interface supporting user convenience in moving a menu.

A user interface supporting user convenience in moving a menu according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a hierarchical layer representing a parallel moving surface sequentially displaying a menu having the same parent menu in a hierarchically configured menu set and a sibling menu of the parent menu. And a moving surface, wherein the parallel moving surface and the hierarchical moving surface cross each other in a cross shape around the selector, and a menu constituting the parallel moving surface or a menu constituting the hierarchical moving surface rotates around the selector.

The terms used in the present specification are defined as follows.

- menu

A menu refers to a concept including some information or some submenu or category. For example, digital broadcasting may be classified according to characteristics of information received through the broadcasting. Each of the classifications may be referred to as a category. This category may be an example of a menu. A detailed description will be given with reference to FIG. 3. A menu set means that one or more of these menus are layered.

-Direction input

This means that the cursor or focus, selector, or screen moves in a specific direction from a direction input key of a remote control, a direction input key of a mobile phone or a DVD player. This includes rotating the wheel on the jog shuttle to move the screen, focus, and selector. Hereinafter, moving the jog shuttle wheel upward or pressing an upward button is called an upward input. The same applies to the downward input, leftward input, and rightward input. The upward input is referred to as an upward input key, and the same as the downward input key, leftward input key, and rightward input key.

Selector

In the menu selection, the current focusing menu is displayed. This increases the size of the menu or changes the color to show that it is waiting for the current selection, unlike other menus. You can also show the selected menu. In the present specification, all forms in which a menu selected or awaiting selection are displayed differently from other menus are called selectors. Also, the menu highlighted by the selector can show more detailed information than other menus, as well as visual size, brightness, and color. This means that other menus display only the name of the menu, whereas a menu displayed through the selector may also display a description of the corresponding or submenu, a detailed icon for explanation, and the like.

When the selector is fixed, the menu selectable through the selector can show the effect of rotating in the up, down, left, and right directions.

3 is a structural diagram showing a hierarchical structure of a menu according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Menus are hierarchically organized as shown in FIG. The top level menu means a menu that is not included in other menus. It means menu 01, menu 02, menu 03, menu 04. On the other hand, there may exist sub-menus constituting these menus. Menu 01. There are menu 01.01, menu 01.02, and menu 02 sub menu includes menu 02.01, menu 02.02, and menu 02.03. Menu 03 is composed of menu 03.01, menu 03.02, menu 03.03, and menu 03.04.

When you define the top menu as level 1, the submenu becomes level 2. The submenu of the menu at level 2 is level 3.

In the present specification, the upper menu refers to a menu having a lower number of levels than the self, and the lower menu refers to a menu having a higher number of levels. The top menu also refers to menus with a level of 1.

The parent menu is a higher level menu that includes itself and is one less than its own level. For example, the parent menu of menu 03.02.03 would be menu 03.02. Sibling menus are menus that have the same parent and have the same level as themselves. From the standpoint of menu 03.02.02, the sibling menu includes menus 03.02.01 to menu 03.02.05, which are sub-menus constituting menu 03.02, which is a direct upper menu.

Since the top-level menu has no parent, the sibling menu of the top-level menu includes all the top-level menus that exist at the same level as itself. In FIG. 3, sibling menus of menu 02 are menu 01, menu 03, and menu 04. A child menu means a menu that is included by itself and is one level higher than itself. The child menus that make up Menu 03 include Menu 03.01 through Menu 03.04.

Thus, a menu without children, such as menu 04, or menu 03.02.01, will perform some function. Therefore, it performs a practical function of playing a content, obtaining content information, or setting information related to setting of a digital device.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, there has been a conventional method of moving between menus when performing navigation. However, this movement can be moved up and down one by one based on the level. Therefore, two screen transitions are required to move from the level 3 menu to the level 1 menu. In addition, in order to move from the level 03 menu 02.02 to the same level 2 menu 01.02, the user must move to the menu 03, the menu 01, and the menu 01.02 again. In the case of the direction input key or jog shuttle where one movement is performed by one operation, frequent operation is required.

4 is a diagram illustrating a screen on which a menu is output according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a screen 110 shown according to the menu configuration of FIG. 3. The screen is the screen that appears when the menu button is pressed. The parallel moving surface 150 and the hierarchical moving surface 160 face each other at right angles. In the present specification, the parallel moving surface 150 rotates up and down, and the hierarchical moving surface 160 rotates left and right, but this corresponds to an embodiment. The parallel moving surface may be rotated left and right, and the hierarchical moving surface may be rotated up and down, which may vary depending on which form is suitable for configuring the display and menu of the digital device.

An embodiment of implementing the parallel moving surface 150 is as follows. In the first example, the parent menu is displayed based on the current menu.

If you were in the process of performing a specific function or navigating a particular menu, you can display the parent menu of the menu and the sibling menu of the parent menu. For example, if a user performs a function corresponding to menu 03.02.01 in FIG. 3 or is navigating menu 03.02.01, his parent menu, menu 03.02, and his sibling menu, menu 03.01 to menu 03.04, will be displayed on the parallel moving plane. Can be.

In the next case, a level 2 menu including the menu may be displayed. Although not shown in FIG. 3, the menu 03.02.01 includes a menu 03.02.01.01 and a menu 03.02.01.02, and an example of performing a function of the current menu 03.02.01.01. According to the first example described above, the menu 03.02.01, which is the parent of the current menu, becomes the parent menu, and the sibling menus, Level 3, menus 03.02.01 to menu 03.02.05, which appear on the parallel moving surface 150, are displayed. Can be. However, in the second example, this relative menu is not shown, but an absolute level 2 menu. Therefore, the menu 03.02 including the menu and the sibling menus 03.01 to 03.04, which are level 2, can be displayed on the parallel moving surface.

Meanwhile, the following example is a third example of the child menu of the currently selected top menu. This is a method of displaying a child menu of the menu on a parallel moving surface when a specific top menu is selected in FIG. 5 to be described later.

On the parallel moving surface, menu 03 (130), which is a parent menu of a menu constituting the parallel moving surface, is separately displayed. This can provide more abundant information about the parallel moving plane when menu selection in the hierarchical moving plane. In addition, the position of the menu 03 is not necessarily limited to 130, and may also exist at the top of the parallel moving surface. Or it may appear at a different point on the screen than the parallel plane or the hierarchical plane.

The menu of the parallel moving surface rotates around the selector 131. In FIG. 4, menu 03.02 is selected, and this menu presents more information than other menus. When the menu is selected, the information of the non-selected menu is simply displayed, and the information of the selected menu is presented in detail, thus reducing the space occupancy and increasing readability. Unlike other sibling menus (menu 03.01, etc.), the menu 03.02 selected through the selector 131 may further include a description of the content and may have an image. As described above, the menu performs a function such as playing any content, and FIG. 4 shows an example in which the menu 03.02 performs a function related to a certain content and shows image information in detail. Here, when the user inputs up / down with the remote control or jog shuttle, menu 03.01 or menu 03.03 may be selected. In the case of upward input, the parallel moving plane rotates so that menu 03.01 is shown through the selector. As a result, detailed information about the menu 03.01 may be displayed through the selector 131. In addition, since this rotation implements a form in which the ends contact each other like a circle, the menu 03.04 is displayed on the menu 03.01, so that when the parallel moving surfaces are rotated in one direction, the menus of the parallel moving surfaces can be placed in the selector. This displays the movement between Menu 03.01 and Menu 03.04 corresponding to both ends in accordance with the perception of the user's rotation while reducing key input.

The method of displaying a menu on the parallel moving surface includes, but is not limited to, the first, second and third examples exemplified above.

Next, the hierarchical moving surface 160 will be described. Hierarchical moving surface 160 represents a sibling menu of a parent menu that includes parallel moving surface 150. In FIG. 4, since the parallel moving surface 150 is displayed from menu 03.01 to menu 03.04, menu 02 and menu 03, which are left and right sibling menus of menu 03, which is a parent menu of this menu, appear on the hierarchical moving surface. If the right menu is selected, menu 04 is displayed at 130 and child menus of menu 04 can be displayed on the parallel moving plane. A detailed implementation thereof will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

5 is a block diagram showing the movement of the top menu according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a top menu in one embodiment of the menu configuration shown in FIG. 3. 5 shows a menu movement in a special case in which only a hierarchical moving surface exists without parallel moving surfaces.

5 illustrates the top menu in various cases when the digital device is turned on and operated, or when a reset or a top menu button is pressed. This menu is moved through the left and right inputs. On the 110 screen, the top menu is listed, and menu 03 is selected. The menu to be initially selected may be the first menu among the top menus (the leftmost menu in the top menu of FIG. 3), the most recently used menu, or the most frequently used menu, depending on various cases.

When the left and right inputs are made, as shown in FIG. 4, the top menus are rotated left and right to appear as 111 screens. The 111 screen shows the result of pressing the left input key on the 110 screen. As a result, the menus all move as if they were rotating, and menu 02 was highlighted. In addition, menu 05 moves to the position of menu 01 at 110, which rotates as if the menus form a circle, showing the effect of connecting both ends of the menu.

6 is a block diagram illustrating menu movement in a hierarchical movement plane according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment in which menu movement of a hierarchical moving surface is performed in FIG. 4. The hierarchical moving plane moves left and right. When the user presses the right input key, menu 04 which occupies the right side of the measurement moving surface is selected. Accordingly, the parallel moving surface appears from menu 04.01, which is a child menu of menu 04, to menu 04.04. Although the child menu of the menu 04 is not shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the child menu has four child menus.

As the menu 04 is selected, the screen 111 shows that the child menu of the menu 04 constitutes a parallel moving surface. Which child menu appears as a selector can be implementation dependent. In a first example, a menu 04.02, which is a menu at an intermediate position, may be selected among the child menus constituting the menu 04. An example in which the menu 04.02 is highlighted on the selector 131 on the screen 111 corresponds to the first example. In addition, it can be seen that the menu pointed to by 130 has also been changed from menu 03 to menu 04.

7 is a diagram illustrating menu movement in a hierarchical moving surface according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 shows a case where an intermediate menu is selected. FIG. 7 shows a case where menu 04.01, which is the first menu, is selected among the child menus constituting menu 04 as the second example. In the operation 112, the menu 04.01 is selected in the selector 131. As described above, since both the parallel moving surface and the hierarchical moving surface represent the menu in a rotating manner, the menu 04.01 appears in the selector 131, so that the menu 04.04 appears in the unselected menu thereon. In addition, it can be seen that the menu pointed to by 130 has also been changed from menu 03 to menu 04.

Meanwhile, in addition to the image, various detailed information may appear in the selected menu 131. An icon 132 may be displayed to identify at a glance what function the menu performs.

6 and 7 can be implemented in various ways in addition to the first or second example to determine which menu to select in the output of the parallel moving surface according to the change of the hierarchical moving surface. The present invention is not limited to the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7.

8 is a diagram illustrating a case where a menu is selected according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 illustrates the case where menu 04.02 is selected. If there are four child menus in menu 04.02, they appear from menu 04.02.01 to menu 04.02.04 on the left. There is a selector 170 in the first menu. The selector herein may be expressed differently from the selector 150 of FIGS. 6 and 7 in which the parallel moving plane and the hierarchical moving plane intersect. Therefore, the selector may move between the menus (menu 04.02.01 to menu 04.02.04). It is also possible to lock the selector and rotate the menu. This may vary depending on the implementation.

In the menu selected by moving the selector 170 or rotating the menu, the corresponding content may appear in the space 180 on the right, or the sub-menu may appear again. If menu 04.02.01 is for a video, the image or detailed information of the video may appear. And if you have a child menu, you can list the child menus. In addition, the text box 190 can be described for this menu.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a process of moving a menu according to an embodiment of the present invention. 9 illustrates an example in which the parallel moving surface rotates up and down, and the hierarchical moving surface rotates left and right.

First, a menu button input for activating a menu screen is accepted from the user (S101). It may be present as a specific key on the remote control or the keypad of a mobile phone. The digital device determines, according to an input of a user requesting a menu screen, what menu or function is currently being executed, that is, a menu to be displayed on the parallel moving plane and the hierarchical moving plane (S102). According to the determination result, a screen including a parallel moving surface and a hierarchical moving surface is output (S103). Thereafter, the user may perform up, down, left, or right input to move the menu on the menu screen (S110). This can be done by rotating the jog shuttle's wheel, pressing the direction key on the remote control, or pressing the direction key on the keypad of a mobile phone.

Determines in which direction the input key is a key. If the up and down input key (S120), the menu of the parallel moving surface is rotated (S121). In addition, if the left and right input key (S130) to rotate the menu of the hierarchical moving surface (S131). If it is a key other than the direction key, the operation is performed according to the request of the key (S141). The menu screen may be closed, or the currently focused menu may be selected.

10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a digital device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the digital device includes a digital TV, a digital set-top box, a mobile phone, and the like. In particular, it includes a digital device using a jog shuttle or a direction input key such as a keypad or a remote control.

The term '~ part' used in this embodiment, that is, '~ module' or '~ table' means a hardware component such as software, FPGA or ASIC, and the module performs certain functions. However, modules are not meant to be limited to software or hardware. The module may be configured to be in an addressable storage medium and may be configured to play one or more processors. Thus, as an example, a module may include components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, and processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines. , Segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functionality provided within the components and modules may be combined into a smaller number of components and modules or further separated into additional components and modules. In addition, the components and modules may be implemented to play one or more CPUs in a device or secure multimedia card.

The digital device includes an input receiver 910, an output unit 920, a controller 930, a user interface 940, and a storage 950.

The input receiver 910 receives a direction input from a user, and receives an input to move a cursor, a selector, a menu, etc. up, down, left, and right. It also receives input signals to launch or select menus.

The input signal received by the input receiver 910 is sent to the controller 930. The control unit 930 determines what information to process and output according to the input signal, or what function to perform. In menu movement, when a menu input or a direction input such as moving a menu or displaying a new menu is input, the menu configuration is reviewed through the user interface 940. Review information about which menu should be shown in the current menu or which menu is the parent menu. It contains information about a set of menus, as well as information about which menus and which functions are combined. In addition, the storage unit 950 examines what function is currently being performed or what setting information is stored in outputting a menu. Based on this information, which screen is output is generated and sent to the output unit 920. The output unit 920 may output a screen including a parallel moving surface and a hierarchical moving surface, and may rotate and display menus configuring the screens.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of the following claims rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and the equivalent concept are included in the scope of the present invention. Should be interpreted.

By implementing the present invention, a short number of button movements are possible for menu movement in a digital apparatus, thereby increasing convenience in using the digital apparatus.

In addition, by providing a two-dimensional array according to the configuration of the menu, it is easy to recognize which menu to select when moving the menu.

By implementing the present invention, it is possible to save time in using a complicated hierarchically structured menu of a digital device.

Claims (5)

A parallel moving surface sequentially displaying menus having the same parent menu in a hierarchical menu set; And A hierarchical moving surface that sequentially indicates a sibling menu of the parent menu, The parallel moving plane and the hierarchical moving plane cross each other in a cross shape around a selector, And a menu constituting the parallel moving surface or a menu constituting the hierarchical moving surface rotates around the selector. The method of claim 1, And the hierarchical moving surface includes top menus in the menu set. A parallel moving surface sequentially displaying menus having the same parent menu in a hierarchical menu set; And A hierarchical moving surface that sequentially indicates a sibling menu of the parent menu, Receiving an activation input requesting the parallel moving plane and the hierarchical moving plane; Outputting the parallel moving surface and the hierarchical moving surface in a cross shape with respect to the selector according to the input; Receiving a direction input for up, down, left, and right directions of a user; And And rotating a menu constituting the parallel moving surface or a menu constituting the hierarchical moving surface around the selector according to the input direction. The method of claim 3, wherein And the hierarchical moving surface comprises top menus in the menu set. An input receiver configured to receive a direction input and an input for executing a menu from a user; A user interface unit providing information on a menu set to be output for the input; A storage unit which stores information on a method to be output from the user interface unit; A controller configured to generate output information based on a menu set stored in the user interface unit and menu setting information stored in the storage unit; And An output unit for outputting the output information, The output unit A parallel moving surface sequentially displaying menus having the same parent menu in a hierarchical menu set; And A hierarchical moving surface that sequentially indicates a sibling menu of the parent menu, The parallel moving plane and the hierarchical moving plane cross each other in a cross shape around a selector, And rotate a menu constituting the parallel moving surface or a menu constituting the hierarchical moving surface around a selector according to a direction input through the input receiving unit.

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