KR20080011326A - Improved pocket computer and associated methods - Google Patents

Abstract

A pocket computer is presented having an apparatus housing and a user interface with a touch-sensitive display provided at a first side surface of said apparatus housing, at least one key for navigation among content shown on said display, and at least one key for performing zooming on content shown on said display. Various methods of operating this user interface are also presented.

Description

Improved pocket computer and associated methods

The present invention relates generally to portable electronic equipment and, more particularly, to a pocket computer with a graphical user interface. The invention also relates to various methods of operating the user interface.

Recently, pocket computers with graphical user interfaces have become very popular. The most common example of a pocket computer is a personal digital assistant (PDA), which may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Some pocket computers are similar to laptop personal computers but are downsized, ie they include a graphical display and a small hardware keyboard. Graphic displays are typically touch-sensitive and can be operated by a pointing tool such as a stylus, pen, or user's finger. Other pocket computers rely heavily on touch-sensitive displays as their primary input devices, thus eliminating the need for a hardware keyboard. Some of these pocket computers are in fact combined with mobile communication systems in addition to providing services such as calendars, word processing and games to mobile terminals, i.e., typical pocket computers, for voice calls, fax transmissions, electronic messaging and Internet browsing. It may be used for services such as browsing.

Compared to laptop or desktop computers as is well known in the art, due to the noticeable limited resources of pocket computers in terms of physical size, display size, data processing capability and input devices, laptop or desktop computers Known user interface solutions are generally not applicable or appropriate for pocket computers.

It is generally required to provide improvements to the user interface of such pocket computers in order to improve user friendliness and user efficiency when using the pocket computer.

In general, in computers, and particularly in pocket computers, there is a desire to navigate through content that is larger than can be displayed on current displays. This is particularly evident when using a web browser application on a pocket computer, since web pages are usually designed to be displayed on a much larger normal computer display than displays on pocket computers.

The traditional way to solve this problem is to provide horizontal and vertical scrollbars to move the displayed content by using the scrollbar scroll buttons or by moving an indicator to indicate where the displayed content is within the available content. Allow to let On computers with a full-size keyboard, it is also possible to move the cursor between content using dedicated arrow keys such as up, down, left, right, page up and page down, resulting in the content displayed on the display to move and scroll. .

A more intuitive way of navigating through large content is to use something called panning, which is used for example in Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0. This works similarly when the user grabs the paper in his hand on the desk and moves it in front of the user. The user simply 'drags' the content by pressing the mouse button, moving the mouse with the mouse button still pressed, and releasing the mouse button when the content is in the desired position.

Another function useful in computers is to select data, for example text. Once the text is selected, the user copies, for example, the text into a buffer that is pasted into the same or another document.

A technique known in the art to perform data selection is to press a mouse button to 'drag' over text, hold down the mouse button, move the mouse over the text to select, and release the mouse button once the desired text is selected.

Therefore, when the dragging method is used in both cases of panning and selecting, the question arises how the user can provide a way to pan and select data in the same document.

The conventional solution to solve this problem is to have different modes-one pan mode and one text selection mode. This is a solution available in Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0. Here, in the application area on the display, buttons are available, which buttons enable the user to switch between different modes. However, this method is cumbersome and inconvenient and forces the user to know or recognize which mode is currently running whenever the user wants to perform either a text selection or panning operation.

As a result, there is a problem of how to provide the user with a simple and intuitive way of allowing the user to select data in a manner distinct from the conventional dragging method.

Because of the size and limited user interface of pocket computers, pocket computers are usually limited to graphical user interfaces, and in particular to how multiple selections may be provided for list elements.

In the prior art, there are two known attempts to solve this problem.

The first choice is combined discrete and continuous multiple choices. It works as follows: The user will be able to perform a single selection by tapping on one list item. If the user attempts to perform discrete multi-selection, the user may press any hardware button and tap any of the list items, which list items may or may not be selected according to their initial state. If the user wants to perform a series of multiple selections, the user can do so by lowering the stylus on the display and dragging over the desired items, then changing their state to selected and initially if the state is not selected at first. If it is selected, it is changed to not selected. This method allows the user to perform drag and drop operations, but the user must be very careful not to let go of the hardware button pressed during the operation.

The other choice is only successive multiple choices. This works as follows: The user performs a single selection by tapping the list item. If the user wants to perform a continuous multi-selection, the user may do so by lowering the stylus on the display and dragging over the desired items, which then change their state to be selected or not selected according to the initial state. Let's do it. Using this method, discontinuous multiple selection is not possible. This method does not allow the user to drag and drop, and all drag interactions with the list are interpreted as selections.

After all, there is a need for an invention that allows a user to select both single and discontinuous list items in a convenient and effective manner.

In graphical user interfaces with windows such as Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X, there are often situations where it is necessary to move the active window that appears above other windows in order to see the content underneath the active window. have. This basic need is present in all portable devices with Windows graphical user interfaces.

In a desktop environment, window overlap is not so much of a problem because of the large display space available, and a mouse can easily be used to drag a window to another available area of the display.

However, on portable devices the available display space is limited and very often there is no free space to drag a window. Furthermore, in most portable devices, the window system is designed such that the dialog window cannot be dragged or hidden. This creates several importantly used cases that are not feasible (e.g. checking to enter a phone number from the underlying application view into the active window).

In Nokia's 90 Series UI design, the problem of overlapping windows is solved by allowing the user to drag dialog windows around the display and automatically returning the dialog windows to the center of the display when the stylus is lifted. While this approach works, there are two major disadvantages. First, the movement of the dialog window adversely affects performance. Second, if the dialog window is very large, ie occupies most of the visible display area, dragging the window can be inconvenient for the user, and the user may have to drag the window across a large portion of the entire display. There will be.

In Microsoft's Pocket PC environment, the user will be able to freely drag dialog windows to the stylus. This may result in the user dragging the dialog window out of the visible display area, which immediately prevents further interaction with the dialog window. Therefore, the user may not be able to close the dialog window and may have to restart the application, which may result in data loss.

In the Matchbox Xl1 window manager for portable devices made by Pocket Matthew Allum, such as the Pocket PC environment, the problem is solved by allowing the user to drag an active dialog window anywhere on the display. It became.

After all, there is a need for an invention that allows a user to temporarily hide a currently active window conveniently and safely.

In Windows-based graphical user interfaces, such as Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X, the size of the content that can be viewed (for example, a text document or WWW page) depends on the physical size of the display or the size of the graphical user interface window. Often this happens. In most cases, this problem is solved by presenting scrollbars on one or more sides of the visible screen window, from which the user can scroll the content.

This same basic need is more evident for all portable devices with window-based graphical user interfaces and limited screen area available.

On portable devices that can use the stylus, that is, press the stylus on the scrollbar and drag it horizontally or vertically, the scrollbars may be located anywhere on the display, since there is no physical support to facilitate scrolling, The conventional interaction required to scroll it is very tiring for the hand. Also, in portable devices, because of the limited display space, scroll bars are typically very small (thin) and therefore difficult to take with the stylus, especially when the portable device is used in a mobile environment.

This leads to poor overall hardware ergonomics during scrolling, which can severely disrupt the user's experience with the device.

In Windows-based graphical user interfaces for desktop computers, such as Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X, there is sometimes a basic need for the user to switch between running applications. This same basic need is present in portable devices with a Windows-based graphical user interface.

In the desktop environment, windows can be resized and moved using the mouse, so that the underlying windows can be seen behind the current window. The desktop environment also has other ways to show running applications and switch between them. The Windows task bar and the Macintosh OS X Dock are two common examples. However, another common method will provide a list of applications that can be shown in the middle of the display. The list is displayed when the user presses any key combination (Alt + Tab on Windows and Linux, Cmd + Tab on Macintosh).

Most portable devices do not support multiple windows, nor do they provide for closing applications.

Therefore, such portable devices do not have to deal with the switching problem. Instead, devices with operating systems such as the Nokia 7710 Communicator, Symbian, Microsoft Pocket PC or Palm OS's operating system provide users with a list of recently used applications.

The Windows CE handheld device operating system has a taskbar similar to a desktop window. When an application starts, its icon (and title) is displayed in the task bar. When another application is started, the icon is displayed after the previous icon. If the user wants to switch to the first application, the user can tap an icon in the task bar. Even if the user changes between applications, these icons do not change their relative order.

In summary, the problem with the prior art in this respect is how to efficiently and intuitively switch between applications running on portable devices such as pocket computers.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to solve or at least alleviate the problems identified above and other problems and weaknesses associated with the prior art, and thus to provide improvements to the pocket computer.

In general, the above objects and objects are achieved by methods, pocket computers and user interfaces according to the attached independent patent claims.

A first aspect of the invention is a method of operating a user interface in a pocket computer, wherein the pocket computer is suitable for running different software applications, each application having a plurality of functions, each called function being a user of the pocket computer. When providing a constant function to the method,

Providing selectable user interface elements on a display of the pocket computer, each user element representing the pocket computer constant use aspect, wherein the constant use aspect is associated with certain functions of a certain application;

Detecting the user selecting a particular element among the user interface elements;

Displaying, on the display, a number of selectable and task-oriented choices for the particular element selected, each of which being associated with a certain function of a given application;

Detecting that the user selects a particular choice among the choices; And

Invoking a function associated with the particular option.

The display is touch-sensitive and the selection is performed by the user pointing to the touch-sensitive display. The selectable user interface is icons located at static locations on the display. The task related options are displayed as menu items in a menu. The first use of the pocket computer is the viewing of information and the second use of the pocket computer is electronic messaging.

Another manifestation of the first aspect of the invention is a pocket computer comprising a user interface having a display and a user interface suitable for executing different software applications, each application having a plurality of functions, each function being called up the pocket computer When providing a certain function to the user of the pocket computer is suitable for carrying out the method according to the first aspect of the invention.

A second aspect of the invention is a method for receiving input to data items displayed on a touch sensitive display of a pocket computer comprising a writing tool,

Detecting in time the first tap of the writing tool at a first position of a first point;

Determining whether data selection starts by detecting a second tap of the writing tool within a distance less than a boundary distance from the first location within a predetermined time from the time of the first point; And

And if it is determined that data selection is started and detects a movement to a second position of the writing tool, selecting data items between the first position and the second position.

The data items represent a subset of the available content, and if it is not determined that data selection begins, then the method may include:

Determining whether panning begins by detecting whether the writing tool has moved since the first tab of the writing tool; And

If it is determined that panning is to be started, the second position of the writing tool is determined and a panning operation is performed between the available content to display data items at the position subtracting the distance between the first position and the second position. It further comprises ;.

The content and data items may belong to a web browser application running on the pocket computer.

Another representation of the second aspect of the invention is a pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to the second aspect of the invention.

Another representation of the second aspect of the invention is a method of receiving input to a selection of pan content and data items displayed on a touch sensitive display of a pocket computer comprising a writing tool, wherein the data items are available. When representing a subset of the content, the method

Detecting in time the first tap of the writing tool at a first position of a first point;

Determining that panning begins by detecting a second tap of the writing tool within a distance less than a boundary distance from the first location within a predetermined time from the time of the first point;

If it is determined that panning is to be started, determining a second position of the writing tool and executing a panning operation between the available contents at a position subtracting a distance between the first position and the second position;

If it is not determined that panning is to begin, detecting that data selection will begin by detecting that the writing tool has been moved after the first tab of the writing tool; And

And selecting data items between the first position and the second position when it is determined that data selection has begun and the writing tool detects that the writing tool has been moved to a second position.

A third aspect of the invention is a pocket computer, which includes a zoom in button, a zoom out button and an input writing tool,

Display content on the display, the displayed content being a subset of the available content,

The computer can zoom in on content displayed on the display in response to the pressing of the zoom in button,

The computer may zoom out the content displayed on the display in response to the pressing of the zoom out button, and

The computer can pan the available content on the display in response to a tap of the writing tool at a first position on the display, movement of the writing tool at a second position on the display, and lifting the writing tool. have.

A fourth aspect of the invention is a method for navigating through hyperlinks displayed on a display of a pocket computer,

Receiving an input to move the focus to a continuous hyperlink;

Determining which hyperlinks are continuous based on the geographic location of the hyperlinks displayed on the display; And

Shifting the focus to the hyperlink determined to be continuous.

The consecutive hyperlinks are hyperlinks before or after the currently focused hyperlink.

Another representation of the aspect of the fourth invention is a pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to the aspect of the fourth invention.

A fifth aspect of the invention is a method of changing the zoom ratio of content displayed on a display of a pocket computer.

Receiving an input to display a menu regarding a desired location on the display;

Displaying the menu, wherein the menu includes one or more menu items for changing the zoom ratio;

Receiving an input for changing the zoom ratio by detecting a menu item having a new zoom ratio selected; And

And displaying the content centered around the destination position at the new zoom ratio.

The display is touch sensitive, and the input for displaying the menu may be pressing the touch sensitive display for a longer time period than a predetermined threshold or tapping twice on the touch sensitive display. .

The content may be a web browser application running on the pocket computer. The menu may be a context sensitive menu.

Another representation of the fifth aspect of the invention is a pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to the fifth method.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is a method of searching through a web page previously visited in a web browser application running on a pocket computer including a display,

Displaying a first web page on the display;

Accepting a first input for changing to a new zoom ratio for the first web page;

Displaying the first web page at the new zoom ratio;

Accepting a second input for displaying a second web page;

Displaying a second web page at a zoom ratio separate from the new zoom ratio for the first web page;

Accepting a third input to redisplay the first web page; And

Displaying the first web page at the new zoom magnification.

The third input is for navigating back in the browser history or following the browser history forward.

Another representation of the sixth aspect of the invention is a pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to the sixth method.

A seventh aspect of the invention is a method for receiving input for selecting one or more list items in a user interface element representing a list, the element being displayed on a touch sensitive display of a pocket computer comprising a writing tool. Can operate in a single selection mode or multiple separate selection modes, the method comprising:

Determining whether the elements operate in the single selection mode;

Determining whether the elements operate in the multiple separate selection modes;

Detecting a first tap with the writing tool at a first location;

Selecting a first list corresponding to the first location;

Detecting a first lift of the writing tool at a second location, which may be equal to the first location;

Detecting a second tap with the writing tool at a third location;

Deselecting the first list item if it is determined that the element is operating in the single selection mode; And

And selecting a list item corresponding to the third position.

The element may further operate in a range selection mode, the method further comprising: prior to the step of the second tap detection,

Determining whether the element operates in the range selection mode; And

If the element is determined to operate in the range selection mode and the first list item is not equal to the second list item corresponding to the second position, then all list items from the first list item are retrieved from the second list item. Selecting a; may further include.

Also, before the step of selecting as the second list item,

If it is determined that the element operates in the range selection mode, deselecting previously selected list items.

Optionally,

Detecting a third tap at a location corresponding to the selected list item;

Detecting a third lift at a location corresponding to the second user interface element; And

And if it is determined that the element is operating in a single selection or range selection mode, providing the second user interface element with data indicative of the selected list items.

Optionally,

If the element is determined to operate in multiple separate selection modes, it may include displaying a selection indicator in proximity to each selected list item.

The selection indicator is a check mark.

As an optional step,

If it is determined that the element operates in multiple separate selection modes, it detects the third tab and the third lift of the writing tool at a position corresponding to a previously selected list item and deselects the previously selected list item. It may include;

Another representation of the seventh aspect of the invention is a pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to the seventh method.

An eighth aspect of the invention is a method for temporarily hiding a window that includes a header area, which is displayed at a location on a touch-sensitive display of a pocket computer including a writing tool,

The method,

Detecting a tab of the writing tool at a position corresponding to the header area of the window;

Obscuring the contents of the window, thereby exposing the content previously covered by the window;

Detecting lifting of the writing tool; And

And redrawing the contents of the window at the location.

Optionally, after said screening step,

The method may further include drawing a box outline indicating the position of the window.

The window may be a dialog.

Another representation of the eighth aspect of the invention is a pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to the eighth method.

A ninth aspect of the invention is a method of scrolling content in a window displayed on a touch sensitive display of a pocket computer, the display further comprising a remote scroll element,

The method,

Detecting a tab of a writing tool at a first location on the remote scroll element;

Determining a direction of scrolling content based on the position of the tab;

Determining a distance for scrolling content based on the position of the tab; And

And scrolling the content to a new position by the distance in the direction.

The remote scroll element includes a bitmap image. Alternatively or in addition, any area on the touch sensitive display below the remote scroll element may be used to indicate information such as at least one of the indicators that cannot be selected.

When the window includes a scrollbar, including a scroll thumb,

The method,

The scroll dumbbell may be moved corresponding to the new position of the content.

The remote scroll element is located adjacent to the window and / or along one edge of the display. The window is located separately from the remote scroll element.

Another representation of the ninth aspect of the present invention is a pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to the ninth method.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is a method for scrolling content in a window displayed on a touch-sensitive display of a pocket computer, the display further displaying a scroll bar including a scroll dumbbell that is movable in a trough. silver,

Detecting a tap of a writing tool at a tap position in the trough;

Scrolling the content, including updating the position of the scroll dumbbell in the trough as the scroll dumbbell in the trough is moved;

Detecting lifting of the writing tool;

Stopping the scrolling of the content once the lifting of the writing tool is detected;

In the scrolling step, the scrolling is allowed to continue to allow the position of the scroll dumbbell to move past the tapping position in the trough.

The scrolling of the content may be to scroll one page at a time. The position may be separate from the scroll dumbbell.

Another representation of the tenth aspect of the present invention is a pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to the tenth method.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention is a graphical user interface for a pocket computer with a display, suitable for executing different software applications, the user interface having an application switcher panel capable of displaying a plurality of icons on the display. Each icon is associated with each application running on the pocket computer and may be selected by a user to activate the associated application, the icons having an order within the application switcher panel, the order being associated The order in which the applications were previously activated is determined, in particular the icon associated with the most recently active application occupies the first position in the application switcher panel.

The graphical user interface would be more suitable for pushing back the positions of current icons of the application switcher panel one by one when a new application is started and inserting an icon associated with the new application into the first position of the application switcher panel.

In one embodiment, only a predetermined maximum number of locations for icons in the application switcher panel is allowed, and for an icon pushed out of an application switcher panel, the associated application selects a menu item in a menu on the display. It may be activated.

Another representation of the eleventh aspect of the invention is a pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to the eleventh method.

A twelfth aspect of the invention is a pocket computer with a display, such as a user interface and a controller, wherein the controller is suitable for executing different utility applications, each utility application being executed as an active application within the user interface. Provides a nominal constant function, the pocket computer has a home application suitable for simultaneously providing a plurality of limited application views of applications of the utility applications on the display, each such limited application view. Allows a user to access a limited portion of the nominal function of each utility application without running the utility application as an active application.

The thirteenth aspect of the present invention is a pocket computer,

Device housings;

A touch sensitive display provided on the first surface of the device housing;

One or more keys for navigating between content shown on the display; And

And one or more keys for zooming in to content displayed on the display.

The one or more keys for navigating and one of the one or more keys for zooming are located on the first surface of the device housing and the one or more keys for navigating and the one or more keys for zooming The other is located on a second surface that is not parallel to the first surface of the device housing, the position of the keys being typical of the user's hand when the two keys hold the device housing without moving the grip with one hand. It is located within the closing range.

A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is a method for displaying previously visited hypermedia pages in a hypermedia browser application operating on a mobile communication terminal including a display, the method comprising:

Displaying a first hypermedia page on the display;

Receiving a first input to change the first hypermedia page display according to a first content display mode;

Displaying the first hypermedia page according to the first content display mode;

Receiving a second input for displaying a second hypermedia page;

Displaying a second hypermedia page;

Receiving a third input to redisplay the first hypermedia page; And

The first hypermedia page is displayed according to the first content display mode.

This provides a way for user changes to the content display mode to be saved and reduces the need to re-edit the content display of the page when visiting the page again.

The content display mode may include a zoom ratio. The content display mode may further include a frame display mode. The content display mode may further include a mode when the text of the first hypermedia page is selected. The content display mode may further include a page layout mode. Storing these specific content modes individually or in combination with the page history provides a better browsing experience for the user.

Displaying the second hypermedia page may include displaying the second hypermedia page according to the first content display mode. Advantageously, this allows any content mode modification by the user to the default when navigating other pages.

The method comprises, after displaying the second hypermedia page and before receiving the third input,

Receiving a fourth input to change the display of the second hypermedia page according to a new second content display mode; And

And displaying the second hypermedia page according to the second content display mode.

In other words, modifications to the content display mode are possible for subsequent pages without affecting the content display modes stored with the history items.

The third input may be an input for navigating through the browser history.

The third input may be an input for navigating forward through the browser history.

The hypermedia pages may represent at least one type of content selected from the group consisting of html content, wml content, sgml content, and xlm content.

A second representation of the fourteenth aspect of the present invention is a mobile communication terminal capable of executing a hypermedia browser application,

The hypermedia browser application displays hypermedia pages on a display of the mobile communication terminal,

The mobile communication terminal,

Means for displaying a first hypermedia page on the display;

Means for receiving a first input to change the first hypermedia page display in accordance with a first content display mode;

Means for displaying the first hypermedia page in accordance with the first content display mode;

Means for receiving a second input to display a second hypermedia page;

Means for displaying a second hypermedia page;

Means for receiving a third input to redisplay the first hypermedia page; And

Means for displaying the first hypermedia page according to the first content display mode.

This provides a mobile communication terminal in which the user's modifications to the content display modes are stored and reduce re-modification of the content display upon visiting the page again.

A third representation of the fourteenth aspect of the present invention is a computer program product, which can be loaded directly into a memory of a digital computer and includes software code portions for executing a method according to the first representation of the fourteenth aspect of the present invention. This provides a computer program product in which user modifications to the content display modes are stored and reduce re-modification of the content display when visiting the page again.

The first and second hypermedia pages are preferably, but not necessarily, web (www) pages and / or wap pages, ie digital content expressed in html or wml language suitable for navigation in web and / or wap browsers. It is not. Other markup languages, such as sgml, xml or other suitable markup languages, may also be used to represent digital content. The term "page" refers to digital content that is at least part of what is presented on a display for viewing by a user.

Throughout this specification, a "writing tool" refers to a touch-sensitive display, such as pointing, tapping ("clicking"), as well as the appearance of writing (eg, text or text), The appearance of control actions such as pressing and dragging, which are objects used to provide input. Thus, the "writing tool" may be a stylus, pen, user's finger or other physical object suitable for interoperating with a touch sensitive display.

A fifteenth aspect of the invention is a portable electronic device comprising: a device housing; A touch sensitive display provided on a first surface of the device housing for use with an input writing tool; A zoom-in key provided on a second surface that is not parallel to the first surface; A zoom-out key provided on the second surface; And a controller, wherein the portable electronic device can display content on the sensitive display, wherein the displayed content is a subset of the available content; The controller is configured to zoom in on content displayed on the sensitive display in response to moving the zoom in key; The controller is configured to zoom out content displayed on the sensitive display in response to moving the zoom out key; The controller is enabled content on the touch sensitive display in response to a combination of tapping the writing tool at a first position on the touch sensitive display and moving the writing tool at a second position on the touch sensitive display. And to pan.

The available content may be associated with the portable electronic web browser application.

The portable electronic device may be a pocket computer.

The portable electronic device may be a device selected from the group consisting of a mobile communication terminal, a portable gaming device, and a personal digital assistant (PDA).

A second representation of the fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a touch sensitive display provided on a first surface of the device housing for use of a device housing, a controller, an input writing tool, two not parallel to the first surface. A user interface method of a portable electronic device comprising a zoom in key provided on a first surface and a zoom out key provided on the second surface, wherein the controller can display content on the sensitive display, and the displayed content is available. When in the subset of content, the method further comprises: zooming in on the displayed content on the sensitive display in response to moving the zoom in key; Zooming out the displayed content on the sensitive display in response to moving the zoom out key; And panning the available content on the touch sensitive display in response to a combination of tapping the writing tool at a first location on the touch sensitive display and moving the writing tool at a second location on the touch sensitive display. (panning); includes.

A third representation of the fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a computer program product, which can be loaded directly into a memory of a digital computer and includes software code portions for executing the method according to claim 73.

A sixteenth aspect of the present invention provides a portable electronic device comprising: a device housing; A touch sensitive display provided on the first surface of the device housing; A first input device arranged to move with the first finger of a typical user's hand; A second input device arranged to move with a second finger of a typical user's hand, wherein the typical user can operate the first input device and the first input device without changing the grip; And a controller connected to the touch sensitive display, the first input device, and the second input device, the controller capable of displaying content on the touch sensitive display, wherein the controller is moved when the first input is moved. It affects the display of the content on the touch sensitive display in a first manner and affects the display of the content on the touch sensitive display in a second manner when the second input is moved.

The controller may be configured to move the content on the touch sensitive display when the first input device is moved and to change the zoom ratio of the content when the second input device is moved.

The first input device and the second input device may be arranged such that the portable electronic device is held by the hand of the typical user.

The first input device is a key located on the first surface of the device housing, and the second input device may be located on a second surface of the device housing that is not parallel to the first surface.

The first input device is arranged to move using the thumb of the hand of the typical user, the first input device being at least located at a distance of a threshold from an edge of the first surface, the edge being the thumb May be the edge of the first surface closest to where it is connected to the rest of the hand.

The second surface may be essentially perpendicular to the first surface.

The controller may be configured to affect the presentation of content on the touch sensitive display in a third manner when a writing tool is detected on the touch sensitive display.

The third scheme may be selected from the group that includes panning, text selection and moving user interface elements to display new content.

The portable electronic device may be a pocket computer.

The portable electronic device may be a device selected from the group consisting of a mobile communication terminal, a portable gaming device, and a PDA.

A second representation of the sixteenth aspect of the present invention is a user interface method of a portable electronic device, when the portable electronic device includes a device housing and a touch sensitive display provided on a first surface of the device housing. The method includes: receiving a first input detected by a first input device moving by a first finger of a user hand; In response to the first input, in a first manner affecting how content is presented on the touch sensitive display; Receiving a second input detected by a second input device moved by a second finger of a user's hand; And in response to the second input, in a second manner affecting how content is displayed on the touch sensitive display.

Receiving the first input and receiving the second input may be performed without the user changing the grip of the hand in between.

The first method is to move the content, and the second method may be to zoom the content.

The user interface method includes receiving a third input by the touch sensitive display when a third input device is moved by a writing tool by the user; And in response to the third input, in a third manner affecting how content is displayed on the touch sensitive display.

The third scheme is selected from the group that includes panning, text selection, and moving user interface elements to display new content.

A third representation of the sixteenth aspect of the present invention is a computer program product, which can be loaded directly into a memory of a digital computer, and includes software code portions for executing the method according to the second representation of the sixteenth aspect.

In general, each of the inventive aspects referred to in this document can be loaded into a corresponding computer program product, ie a computer program product that can be loaded directly into the memory of a digital commuter and includes software code portions for executing the method in question. Can be executed by

As used herein, a "pocket computer" is, for example, a small portable device having limited resources in terms of display size, data processing capability and input means. In one embodiment, the pocket computer is a mobile terminal accessory specifically designed for electronic browsing and messaging.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying independent claims, as well as the drawings.

Embodiments of different aspects of the method will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a pocket computer according to one embodiment of the present invention, showing a typical operating position in a user's hand.

2 and 3 are another perspective view of the pocket computer of FIG. 1.

4 illustrates a computer network environment in which the pocket computer of FIGS. 1-3 may be used to provide wireless access to network resources and remote services to a user.

5 is a schematic block diagram of a pocket computer according to the previous figures.

6 is a front view of a pocket computer, showing a typical display screen layout of its user interface.

FIG. 7 illustrates a typical layout of a display screen layout including a home view.

8-12 illustrate a task-oriented manner of operating the display screen layouts and user interface for certain typical applications running on a pocket computer.

13 to 14 show a display screen layout of the bookmark manager application.

15A and 15B illustrate how a user pans content in one embodiment of the invention.

16A and 16B illustrate how a user selects text in an embodiment of the present invention.

17A and 17B illustrate how a user zooms in or out text in an embodiment of the invention.

18 is a flowchart illustrating a method for allowing data selection in an embodiment of the present invention.

19 is a flowchart illustrating a method for allowing both data selection and panning in an embodiment of the present invention.

20 is a state diagram of one embodiment of the present invention allowing both data selection and panning.

21 shows a web browser displaying content with hyperlinks.

22A and 22B illustrate one embodiment of the present invention before and after positioning zoom.

Fig. 23 shows new content loaded in a web browser.

24 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment method of a list element according to an aspect of the present invention.

25 is a flowchart illustrating drag and drop functions in an embodiment of a list element according to an aspect of the present invention.

26A-26C illustrate an embodiment of a list element within the context of other user interface elements.

27A and 27B illustrate how a method of concealing a window works in an embodiment of the aspect of the present invention.

28A and 28B illustrate a remote scroll element in one embodiment of an aspect of the present invention.

29A to 29D show that different settings of the content display mode become the frame display mode and the page layout mode in one embodiment of the present invention.

30A and 30B show a display view of a hypermedia browser, which is the appearance of a web browser displaying the first web page in two different content display modes, in this case zoom ratios.

31A and 31B show a display view of a hypermedia browser, which is the appearance of a web browser displaying a second web page in two different content display modes, different in terms of zoom ratios and page layout mode. .

32 shows an exemplary data table including historical data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The pocket computer 1 of the illustrated embodiment comprises a device housing 2 and a large touch sensitive display 3 provided on the surface of the front surface 2f of the device housing 2. Next to the display 30 a speaker 6 as well as a plurality of hardware keys 5a-5d are provided.

More specifically, the key 5a is a navigation key in five directions, that is, it can be pressed to a center position to command to select among the information shown on the display 30, as well as the display 30. It is a key that can be pressed to four different peripheral positions to command the navigation in each orthogonal direction between the information shown in. The key 5b is a cancel key, the key 5c is a menu or option key, and the key 5d is a home key.

In addition, a second plurality of hardware keys 4a to 4c are provided on the surface of the first short side 2u of the device housing 2. The key 4a is a power on / off key, the key 4b is an increase / decrease key, and the key 4c is a key for toggling between full screen display and normal display on the display 30. .

On the surface of the second end side 2l of the device housing 2, opposite the first end side 2u, a wired base of the appearance of the earphone audio terminal 7a, the main power terminal 7b and the serial USB port. The data interface 7c of is provided.

Being touch sensitive, the display 3 may operate as both a visual output device 52 and an input device 53, both of which are included in the user interface 51 to the user 9 ( See FIG. 5). More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the user 9 can point / tap / drag the surface of the touch sensitive display 3 using the stylus 9c holding in one hand 9a or the other. The thumb and forefinger of the hand 9b may be used to operate the pocket computer 1 by moving the hardware keys 4a-4c and 5a-5d (which are also included in the user interface 51 as input devices). will be. In one embodiment, some of the keys 5a-5d are disposed essentially parallel to the touch sensitive display 30, and can be easily reached by the thumb as shown in FIG. 1. The thumb may also act as a support, allowing the user to easily hold the pocket computer with one hand 9b. The distance between the keys 5a-5d and the thumb where the thumb meets the rest of the hand 9b and the closest edge is long enough to allow the user to move any of the keys 5a-5d as shown in FIG. 1. Allow to release thumb without Alternatively, if the length is very short, the keys 5a-5d can be arranged so that the user can place a thumb somewhere around the keys 5a-5d for support. Placing the thumb on the front face 2f contributes to stability while holding the pocket computer in one hand 9b. And some keys 4a-4c are arranged on the first short side 2u and can be easily reached by the index finger as can be seen in FIG.

In other words, the hardware keys are arranged to be moved by the fingers of the hand of the user holding the pocket computer 1 while the other hand can be used to operate the stylus 9c on the touch sensitive display.

Furthermore, hardware keys 4a-4c and 5a-5d, which can be reached with one hand 9b, are sufficient for the user to perform all typical operations. For example, when the browser is operating, the navigation key 5a allows the user to move across the page, and the zoom button 4b allows the user to change the zoom ratio. The other keys 4a, 4c, 5b-5d are described in detail elsewhere in this document.

While this arrangement of keys to simplify use is described in the embodiment of the pocket computer, it is personal device assistants (PDAs), mobile terminals, portable gaming devices, or other suitable portable electronic devices with a touch screen. It can be used as well in.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, pocket computer 1 also includes a controller 50 with associated memory 54. The controller is responsible for the overall operation of the pocket computer 1 and may be implemented by a commercially available central processing unit (CPU), digital signal processor (DSP) or other programmable electronic logic device. The associated memory may be internal or external to the controller 50 and may be RAM memory, ROM memory, EEPROM memory, flash memory, hard disk, or a combination thereof.

The memory 54 may be used for various purposes by the controller 50, one of which is to store data and program instructions for various kinds of software in the pocket computer 1. The software may include drivers for a variety of applications 57 as well as a real time operating system, for example user interface 51. Many, but not all, of these applications receive data from the user, such as text input through the input device 53, for example, in the form of textual and graphical information presented on the display 52. Interact with user 9 by providing output to that user. Non-limiting examples of applications include Internet / WWW / WAP browser applications, contact applications, messaging applications (email, SMS, MMS), calendar applications, calendar applications, video game applications, calculator applications, voice memo applications, alarm clock applications, Word Processing applications, spreadsheet applications, code memory applications, music playback applications, media streaming applications, and control panel applications. Some applications will be described in more detail later. A graphical user interface (GUI) function 56 in the user interface controls the interaction between the applications 57, the user 9, and the elements 52, 53 of the user interface.

Text input to the pocket computer 1 may be implemented in different ways. One way is to use the virtual keyboard presented on the display. By tapping each button or key of the virtual keyboard with the stylus 9c, the user 9 will be able to successively enter characters gathered into the text input shown in the text input field on the display. Another way to enter text is by using the stylus 9c to recognize handwritten and handwritten text on the touch sensitive display. Word prediction / completion may also be included.

In order to allow for portable use, the pocket computer 1 comprises a rechargeable battery.

The pocket computer also includes at least one interface 55 for wireless access to network resources on the at least one digital network. More detailed examples of this are given in FIG. 4. Here, the pocket computer 1 may be able to connect to the data communication network 32 by creating a wireless link via a network access point 30, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) router. The data communication network 32 may be a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), or the like, such as the Internet or a portion thereof. The plurality of network resources 40-44 may be connected to the data communication network 32 and made available to the user 9 via the pocket computer 1. For example, network resources may include servers 40 associated with content 42 such as www data, wap data, ftp data, email data, video data, and the like. Network resources may include other end user devices 44, such as personal computers.

The second digital network 26 is shown in FIG. 4 in the form of a mobile telecommunications network, following some available mobile telecommunication standard such as GSM, UMTS, D-AMPS or CDMA2000. In the illustrated embodiment, the user 9 establishes a wireless link 10b to the mobile terminal 20 to the network resources 28 on the mobile telecommunication network 26 via the pocket computer 1. It will be accessible, the mobile terminal 20 accesses the mobile telecommunications network 26 and accesses the base station 24 via the radio link 22, which is well known to those skilled in the art. The wireless links 10a, 10b will follow, for example, Bluetooth, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) (for example IEEE 802.11), HomeRF or HIPERLAN. Therefore, interface (s) 55 will include all necessary hardware and software required to establish such links, as already recognized by those skilled in the art.

6 shows a front view of a pocket computer, showing a typical display screen layout of the user interface of the pocket computer. A typical layout of the display screen layout, showing the appearance of the home application (ie, starting or default returning whenever the user desires) is shown in more detail in FIG. In FIG. 6, the hardware keys 5a-5d are shown in their actual position on the left side of the display 3 on the front surface 2f of the device housing 2, while for clarity the hardware keys 4a- 4c) is shown as being located in the upper part of the display 3 on the front surface 2f, although they are actually located on the first short side 2u mentioned above (FIG. 2).

Referring to FIG. 7, the display screen layout of the display 3 is divided into four main areas: task navigator 60, title area 70, status indicator area 74 and application area 80. .

The application area 80 displays any relevant information (content) by the currently active application and also provides the user interface with click buttons that allow the user to interact with the currently active application via the stylus 9c. Provides controls for scrolling lists, check boxes, radio buttons, hyperlinks, and more. One example of how the currently active application, which is the appearance of a web browser, uses the application area 80 in this manner is shown in FIG. The title area 70 is given the name or other brief description of the currently active application (eg web browser) and current file or data item (eg current web page) (eg, “Web -Nokia "). In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, by tapping on the title area 70, the user will be able to access the application menu 73 of the currently active application.

Status indicator area 74 includes a plurality of icons 76 that provide information about system events and status, which are typically not associated with any specific application. As shown in FIG. 7, icons 76 include icons pertaining to network interface 55 and the method by which the pocket computer connects to network (s) 32, 26 as well as battery charge indicators, display brightness control, volume control. It includes.

If the full screen mode is not commanded by pressing the hardware key 4c, the task navigator 60, title area 70 and status indicator area 74 will always remain in their corresponding position on the screen. In such a case, the currently active application will extend the application area 80 to use all of the display, and then those areas 60, 70, 74 will be hidden.

The task navigator 60 has an upper end 62 and a lower end 66. Top portion 62 has icons 63-65, which when selected open a task-oriented, context-specific menu 90 to the right of the selected icon. (See FIGS. 8 and 11). The context specified menu 90 includes a plurality of task oriented menu items 91, the user navigating between these menu items and either the navigation key 5a or the pointing on the display 3. Choose what you want by The menu 90 may be hierarchical. Lower portion 66 represents an application switcher panel, such as corresponding icons 67 for each of a plurality of loaded applications.

The upper end 62 of the task navigator 60 will now be described in more detail. The icon 63 above is used to access tasks related to information search. Available tasks are presented to menu item 91 in menu 90 as shown in FIG. 8. More specifically, the user 9 may choose between a new browser window (FIG. 9) or bookmark management. Selecting one of these menu items 91 causes the associated application (browser application shown in Fig. 9 or bookmark manager shown in Figs. 13-14) to be started or included among those already activated. If it does, it will switch you to that application, and also pull out the appropriate functionality contained within it. In addition, the menu 90 includes a collection 92 of direct links to certain web pages. In the disclosed embodiment, this set includes bookmarks previously defined by the user 9, but in other embodiments may also include the most recently visited web sites.

The second icon 64 is used to access tasks related to electronic messaging, which are shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

Therefore, icons 63 and 64 allow the user 9 to operate his pocket computer in a task oriented manner. By simply clicking on the desired icon representing the normal usage, instead of the usual list of such applications available, the user is presented with a list of various tasks that may be responsible for that usage. This will make the pocket computer 1 easier to operate, since the typical user 9 is often task driven rather than application driven. For example, if you realize that a user wants to exchange information with others, this usage might look rather than navigating (or clicking on a group of shortcut desktop icons representing the corresponding applications) in a typical application-related menu. Click on icon 64 representing (i.e., electronic messaging), have the various available tasks 91 presented in the selectable menu 90, determine which application is appropriate, select the application to start, It then invokes the application menu of the application being launched, first navigating this application menu to finally arrive at the appropriate menu item that will do what the user wants. For example, if the new email message is what the user wants, the user can easily click on the icon 64 as shown in FIG. 11 to directly select the second menu item 93 shown in the task oriented menu 90. There, the appropriate function will be invoked by the e-mail messaging application being automatically started / switched and indicating the creation of a new e-mail dialog 72 as shown in FIG.

Selecting the third icon 65 may present a menu 90 with links to other tasks available, for example various ones of applications 57 that are not involved in information navigation or electronic messaging. something to do.

Since icons 63-65 represent usage appearances that will be frequently needed by user 9, the icons remain static in top portion 62 of task navigator 60 and therefore continue to Accessible.

The lower end 66 of the task navigator 60 will be described in more detail. As already mentioned, the portion represents an application switcher panel having icons corresponding to each of a plurality of started applications, that is, applications executed and operated by the controller 50. Among such applications, one will be activated in terms of having control over the application area 80 on the display 3.

The user 9 may conveniently use the application switcher panel 66 to switch to the desired application by tapping on the corresponding icon 67 with the stylus 9c. If possible, the help text, preferably including the title of the applications and the current file name, etc., is displayed after the icon indicated on the display 3 to guide the user further. When the user lifts up the stylus 9c, the application corresponding to the icon pointed to will be switched.

In contrast to the icons 63-65 in the upper portion 62, the icons 67 in the application switcher panel 66 are dynamic; Over time, icons may change order and appear or disappear. More specifically, in the disclosed embodiment, four different running applications will be represented by icons 67 corresponding to the application switcher panel 67. The order between the icons 67 is that the most recently activated application will be displayed in the top position, in which case the application that was activated before the most recently activated application will be shown directly below it.

The most recently activated application, indicated by the top icon, will often have current control over the application area 80. This is shown, for example, in FIG. 11 (topmost icon containing a browser symbol labeled 67a and representing the currently active web browser application). In such a case, as shown again in FIG. 11, the top icon 67a is shown in a "pressed" state. However, if the home application is currently active, as shown in FIG. 11, none of the icons 67 represent the currently active home application, and therefore no icon appears to be pressed.

As indicated above, the vertical order from top to bottom of the application switcher icons represents the history order of the four most recently used applications that were activated. When switching from the currently active application to another, the order of the icons will be updated accordingly. This is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. In Fig. 11, the web browser application is activated and is represented by the icon 67a at the top. The second icon 67b represents the audio playback application that was active before the web browser application was started, and each of the third and fourth icons 67c and 67d represents the file management application and the image viewer application that were previously active. Indicates.

Now, when the user 9 selects a menu item 93 in the task oriented menu 90 previously described to invoke a message application, the message application is activated and its icon is displayed as shown in FIG. Occupies the above position 67a. At the same time, the existing icons 67a-67c in FIG. 11 are moved vertically one by one downward so that the web browser icon (formerly at 67a) occupies the second position of reference 67b, and the audio playback icon And the file management icon goes to the bottommost position 67d. The previously shown image viewer icon disappears from the application switcher panel 66, but the image viewer application is still running.

By tapping the application switcher menu button (or “more” button) 68, the application switcher menu will be displayed in a popup window on the display 3. This application switcher menu includes icons 67a-67d in the application switcher panel 66 as well as the earlier application in which the icon was removed from the application switcher panel 66 (such as the image viewer icon in the example described above). It will contain menu items for all running applications, including the four most recent applications that are also indicated by. By selecting any of the desired menu items in the application switcher menu, the user 9 will switch to the corresponding application. The application switcher menu includes menu items for the home application as well as convenient application control commands such as "Close all applications."

When the user closes the active application, the top icon 67a will be removed from the application switcher panel 66 and the remaining icons 67b-67d will be moved up one space in the panel. You will now switch to the application for the icon that is at the top.

Aspects of the present invention relating to drag and drop functionality will be described in more detail in later sections of this document. It has already been mentioned that the application switcher panel 66 is particularly suitable for use with the drag and drop function. Therefore, using the stylus 9c, the user 9 selects the content presented in the application area 80 for the first application, which is currently active, and selects the selected content as icons in the application switcher panel 66. You will be able to drag to any one of the 67 desired icons. This will take control of the application area 80 and activate the associated second application that will replace the first application as the currently active application. The user can then advance the stylus and drag the stylus to the desired input field of this second application in the application area 80 and finally lift the stylus 9c and the selected content from the first application It will be pasted into the second application.

The features and functions of the application switcher panel 66 described above make switching between applications fast and intuitive, and clearly inform the user of the applications currently running as well as the order between the applications.

The home application 72 of FIG. 7 will now be described in more detail. Typically, the home application will be activated when starting up the pocket computer 1. While using the pocket computer 1, regardless of which other application is currently active, the user 9 can press the home key 5d on the front surface 2f of the device housing 2 to display the home application. You will always be back. Another method of invoking a home application is through an application switcher menu 68 as described above.

As shown in FIG. 7, the home application in this embodiment includes three application views 82, 83, 84 on the display 3. Each application view is a reduced version of the application view of another application 57. Therefore, of all the functions nominally provided by such other application 57, the application view in the home application will only provide access to its limited portions. For example, the application view 82 of FIG. 7 provides a limited view of this application by displaying the number of unread posts of a new application (eg, Usenet News) with the latest posts. Tapping on any of these latest posts allows you to provide the content of the post in question. If the user wants the full functionality of the news application, he or she can, for example, via the application switcher menu button 68 (described above) or the "Others" icon in the upper part 62 of the task navigator 60. You will be able to switch to the application. In another embodiment, tapping on a post in application view 82 may cause a start of a new application (if it is not already running) or a direct switch to that new application.

Application view 83 provides Internet wireless applications and provides a limited view of their functionality. By tapping on the "Manage" button inside it, the user will invoke the active Internet wireless application to access its full functionality. Application view 84 provides the clock application.

The interaction between such limited application views 82, 83, 84 and the actual internet wireless applications it provides may be implemented using push techniques such as those already realized by those skilled in the art.

In one embodiment, a user may configure to include certain application views within a home application, and configure to include certain characteristics of them.

Using only limited resources in terms of memory, CPU load, and display screen space, the home application provides the user 9 with a very convenient view of the particular application that the user is likely to access frequently.

The previously mentioned bookmark manager 72 will not be described in more detail. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the bookmark manager divides the application area into three parts 510, 520, and 530. Portion 510 is a storage hierarchy view, showing the current structure of folders 512 for bookmarks in pocket computer 1. The user 9 may select any of these folders by tapping the folder using the stylus 9c, the contents of that folder will be opened into the second part 520, and all of the current folders 512 List bookmarks. The user 9 may create and delete such folders by tapping the corresponding icons 532b and 532e in the third part 530.

By tapping the desired bookmark 522, a web browser application will be invoked, and the web page defined by the bookmark in question will be visited. In addition, the user can select one or more bookmarks 522 by tapping in the check box 524 provided to the right of each bookmark 522. For the bookmark (s) so selected, additional operations may be ordered, for example, by tapping on the edit bookmark icon 532a, the delete bookmark icon 532e or the move bookmark icon 532c. When the move bookmark icon 532c is tapped, as shown in FIG. 14, the Move to folder dialog 540 will be shown.

Therefore, the bookmark manager provides various ways for the user 9c to manage the selection of bookmarks conveniently.

Whenever terms such as press and lift are used in this document, they may be implemented using a stylus 9c on the touch sensitive display 3, a mouse, a trackball or any other suitable pointer input technique. Should be understood.

15A and 15B illustrate how a user pans content in one embodiment of the present invention. The content 302 or data available for display is larger than the display field of view of the pocket computer 1 can physically display. As is well known in the art, display view 301 shows a subset of content 302 that can be fit into the space defined by display view 301.

As shown in FIG. 15A, to pan the content, the user presses the stylus 9c in the first position 303 and holds the stylus 9c in the second position while keeping the stylus 9c pressed. Moving to position 304, the stylus 9c is lifted at its second position. This affects the movement of the content as the stylus 9c moves. So in this example, if the stylus is moved to the left, the underlying available content is moved to the left, creating a resulting field of view 301 as seen in FIG. 15B. In other words, panning can be performed using tabs and dragging.

16A and 16B illustrate how a user selects text in one embodiment of an aspect of the present invention. As in the situation described in connection with FIGS. 15A and 15B, the content 302 or data available on the display is larger than the display view 301 of the pocket computer 1 can physically display. As is well known in the art, the display view 301 then shows a portion of the content 302 that can fit into the space defined by the display view 301.

To select a portion of the data to be displayed, the user double-taps at the first position 305 and keeps the stylus 9c pressed after the second tap, while keeping the stylus 9c at the second position 306. Move the stylus 9c at that position. In other words, the user presses down on the stylus 9c, picks up the stylus 9c, presses down the stylus 9c twice, moves the stylus 9c and finally lifts up the stylus 9c.

As is well known in the art, a threshold may be used for double taps and the time difference between the first press and the second press should be less than the threshold to be considered a double-tap.

Also, as is well known in the art, the shift in position between the first down press and the second down press must be less than a certain threshold distance to be considered a double-tap. In summary, data selection is performed using double-tap and drag.

The selection described above for data selection differs from conventional methods for data selection. The most common way to make data selection is to press the stylus 9c down, move the stylus 9c and lift the stylus 9c. However, as described above in connection with FIGS. 15A and 15B, this method is used to pan through the content.

Finally, using a new, patented method for selecting data in the context of the present invention, text selection or panning is freely selected by the user without requiring the user to switch to a specific text selection or panning mode. Could be implemented.

It should also be noted that performing panning with double-taps and drags and data selection using taps and drags is also within the scope of the patented aspect of the present invention.

17A and 17B illustrate how a user zooms in and out on text in a patented embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17A shows an initial state when the display view 301 displays content that is a subset of the available content 302. The user presses the zoom in button 4b, after which the display is updated to zoom in on the available content as shown in FIG. 17B. Because of the magnification of displayed data items, such as text, once zoomed in, the display displays smaller content than before.

Similarly, when the initial state is as shown in Fig. 16B and the user presses the zoom out button 4b, the display is updated to zoom out on the available content as shown in Fig. 17A. As a result, once the display is zoomed out, more data items such as text will be displayed. Any type of suitable user input can be used for zoom in and zoom out. For example, the jog dial may be used where two directions of the jog dial correspond to zoom in or zoom out, respectively. Similarly, a 4/5 directional navigation key or joystick can be used. Alternatively, separate input devices, such as the zoom-in and zoom-out keys described above, can be used for zoom in and zoom out.

The zoom function described above is particularly useful in conjunction with the panning function described in connection with FIG. 15 above. This combination provides an exceptionally effective way for the user to navigate between content that is wider than the physical display, which is often the case when using a web browser application, for example.

Although this combination of zooming and panning has been described in one embodiment of a pocket computer, this is equivalent to personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile terminals, portable gaming devices, or suitable portable electronic devices with touch sensitive screens. Can be used.

18 is a flowchart illustrating a method for allowing data selection in an embodiment of the present invention. The method of this embodiment is implemented as software code instructions executed on the pocket computer 1. In this method, display view 301 shows many data items of available content 302, which are for example text and / or images. However, the display may show any data item that may be provided on the display.

In step 331 of detecting the first tap, the pocket computer 1 detects the tap by the stylus 9c on the touch sensitive display of the pocket computer 1.

In the data selection start step 332 of the conditional state, it is determined whether data selection is started. If a second tap of the stylus 9c is detected, which is connected to step 331 of detecting the first tap, creating a double tap, it is determined that data selection will begin. However, the time interval between the first and second taps should be less than the predetermined time. This predetermined time is preferably set by the user. In addition, the second tap should be at a position less than the threshold from the first position. Rather than requiring a matching position, this threshold relative to distance is preferably used as if the second tap of the double tap intended by the user is not actually exactly the same position as the first tap.

If it is determined in the previous step that data selection has begun, execution of this method proceeds to data item selection corresponding to the move step 333. At this time the stylus 9c is kept pressed, any movement after the second tap is detected and the current position of the stylus 9c is given. It can then be determined that all data items between the first tap position and the current position of the stylus 9c have been selected by the user. This information is updated in the memory 54 in the pocket computer 1 for later processing and also displayed on the display 3. Once the user lifts the stylus 9c from the display, it is a choice and the method ends.

If data selection start step 332 is not determined to start data selection, execution of the method ends.

In addition to the data item selection being performed, the user will be able to execute various tasks associated with the selected data items, as is well known in the art. For example, a user copies selected data items into a buffer and pastes these data items into the same or another document. Alternatively, if the selected data items are text, the selected text can be formatted in various ways.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a method of allowing both data selection and panning in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. The method in this embodiment is implemented as software code instructions executed on the pocket computer 1. In this method, display view 301 shows many data items of available content 302, which are for example text and / or images. This method is essentially an extension of the method shown in FIG.

The first tap detection step 331, the data selection start step 332 and the data item selection step 332 corresponding to the movement in the present embodiment are the same as those shown in FIG. 18.

However, in this embodiment, if it is determined in the data selection start step 332 that data selection has not started, execution proceeds to the conditional panning start step 334. In the panning start step 334, it is determined whether panning is started. If it is detected that the stylus 9c used in the first tap detection step 331 is still pressed and moved from the first position detected in the first tap detection step 331, it is determined that panning will begin. The movement associated with the first position will need to be larger than the threshold to avoid unintentional panning.

If it is determined in the panning start step 334 that panning will begin, execution of the method proceeds to pan the content corresponding to the moving step 335. If the stylus 9c is still pressed, the content in the display at this stage moves in accordance with the movement of the stylus 9c. For example, if the stylus 9c moves to the left, FIG. 15A shows the display view 301 before the stylus 9c moves to the left and FIG. 15B shows the display view after the stylus 9c moves to the left. As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, showing 301, the underlying available content moves to the left. This is the classic way of performing panning. However, in alternative embodiments, rather than content, it may be desirable for the display to move in the same direction as the stylus 9c movement, and if the stylus 9c moves to the left, the display view moves to the left. This type of alternative in action is often referred to as scrolling rather than panning. Once it is detected that the user has lifted the stylus 9c, panning ends and the execution of this method also terminates.

If it is not determined at the panning start step 334 that panning will begin, then the execution of this method ends.

20 is a state diagram of one embodiment of the present invention allowing both data selection and panning. This figure illustrates the transition states between and between different states in one embodiment that allows the user to select data and pan selection without using an explicit change mode. This embodiment is implemented as software code instructions executed on the pocket computer 1.

The ready state 350 represents the mode when the pocket computer 1 is ready to receive input from the user for either starting panning or starting text selection.

From the ready state 35, if the user performs a tap operation 371 using the stylus 9c at the first position, the computer transitions to the first tapping state 351.

From the first tap state 351, when the user operates 372 to lift the stylus 9c, the computer transitions to the first lifted state 352. On the other hand, from the first tap state 351, if the user operates 380 to move the stylus 9c while still pressing the stylus 9c, the computer transitions to the panning state 355.

From the first lifted state 352, when the user executes 379 a tap action at a new position using the stylus 9c, the computer returns to the first tap state 351. Since the user makes a second tap on the double tap where it is not the same position as the original tap, the new position needs to be farther than the threshold distance from the first position. If a timeout operation 377 occurs by the computer in the first lifted state 352, the computer returns to the ready state 350. In the first lifted state 352, if the user instead taps 371 at the same location using the stylus 9c, the computer transitions to the second tapped state 353.

From the second tap state 353, when the user lifts up the stylus 9c (378), the computer transitions to the ready state (353). On the other hand, from the second tap state 353, if the user executes the stylus 9c move operation 374 while still pressing the stylus 9c, the computer transitions to the data selection state 354.

Upon entering data selection state 354 the computer updates the display to point to data on the display between the first position and the current position selected. Memory 54 is also updated to indicate which data items have been selected. From the data selection state 354, when the user performs an operation 375 of moving the stylus 9c, the computer reenters the data selection state 354 with the new current position of the stylus 9c. On the other hand, from the data selection state 354, when the computer performs an operation 376 of lifting the stylus 9c, the computer maintains the currently selected data items in the memory 54 for later processing. Transitions to the ready state 350. In addition, any mark on the display of choice is retained.

When the computer enters the panning state 355 after the user performs a move operation 380 from the first tap state 351, the computer can use the available content corresponding to the distance between the current position and the first position. Update the display by moving. From the panning state 355, when the user performs an operation 381 to move the stylus 9c, the computer reenters the panning state 355 with a new position. On the other hand, from the panning state 355, when the user performs an operation 382 to lift the stylus 9c, the computer transitions to the ready state 350.

21 shows a web browser showing content with hyperlinks. In this example, the web browser application running on the pocket computer 1 displays text that includes many hyperlinks 310-313 on the display view 301. As is well known in the art, when a user taps one of the links with the stylus 9c on the touch sensitive display 3, the web browser application is instead replaced with a new, referenced by the hyperlink. Display a web page.

Alternatively, hardware buttons such as the right and left buttons of the navigation key 5a may be used to navigate through the available hyperlinks 310-313, such as hyperlink 311, At any one time, at most one hyperlink is selected. In the conventional case, the tab key of a computer keyboard is used to navigate through the available hyperlinks. Web page authors can add information related to the order of hyperlinks using a so-called tab order. This tab order is usually determined by the web page author to maximize usability when the web page is displayed on a full size computer display. Therefore, when a web page is displayed on a display of a pocket computer, where the pixel resolution is often much smaller than on a full size computer, the original tab order may not be optimal.

In one embodiment of the invention, the tab order indicated by the web author is ignored. Instead, the relative order of the hyperlinks is determined by the geographical layout of the display. Referring again to FIG. 21, hyperlink 310 has a tab order of three, hyperlink 311 has a tab order of two, hyperlink 312 has a tab order of five, and hyperlink 313. ) Has a tab order of 4. If the user indicates a desire to navigate to a series of hyperlinks after the currently selected hyperlink 311, in the prior art, the hyperlink 310 has a tab order of three and the hyperlink 311 has a tab of two. Because of the order, the hyperlink 310 will be determined to be the hyperlink following the hyperlink 311. However, in the embodiment of the present invention, since the geographical position takes precedence over the tab order of the hyperlinks, successive hyperlinks after the hyperlink 311 may be determined as the hyperlink 312.

This method operates in two directions, if hyperlink 311 is selected and the user indicates a desire to select a continuous hyperlink before hyperlink 311, hyperlink 310 will be selected.

22A and 22B illustrate one embodiment of the present invention before and after positioning zoom.

In FIG. 22A, the display view 301 of the touch sensitive display 1 of the pocket computer 1 shows the content with a zoom ratio of 100%. In this example, the content is a web page displayed by a web browser application running on the pocket computer 1. However, any application may be executed in which the user can benefit from the zoom function. In this example, the user keeps the stylus 9c in position 314 on touch sensitive display 3 for a longer time than a predetermined time interval, which affects the visible context menu 315. In this example, the menu only shows different zoom ratios, but any related menu items such as forward and backward navigation, attributes, etc. may be provided to this menu. In addition, this example shows only one level of menu items, but if there are more menu items available that can be grouped within logical subgroups, the menu items are hierarchical to provide a structured menu. Could be organized.

In this example, the user selects menu item 316 to select zoom to 200%.

After the user selects the zoom ratio, the application now proceeds to display the same content again with the new zoom ratio, in this case 200%, as can be seen in FIG. 22B. The location for the content 314 in FIG. 22A is now the central location within the content that is redisplayed by the web browser application.

Fig. 23 shows new content loaded in a web browser. 22A and 22B may be used in connection with FIG. 23 to describe an embodiment of the present invention in which zoom ratio information is maintained. An example of such a method will now be disclosed.

As shown in FIG. 22A, the user may be able to navigate to the first page containing content with an initial zoom ratio displayed in the display view 301 at 100%. For example, the user may change the zoom ratio to 200% using the context sensitive menu 315 described above for the first page. The web browser redisplays the content on the first page with a new zoom ratio of 200% as shown in FIG. 22B.

The user will then be able to navigate to the second page, either by entering a uniform resource locator (URL) or by some other means, using a link from the first page. As shown in FIG. 23, the second page is displayed at an initial zoom ratio of 100%.

The user may wish to return to the first page, for example using the back button 317 in the web browser application. When the user presses the back button 317, the web browser redisplays the first page using a new zoom ratio of 200% for the first page. In other words, the browser has zoom ratio information in the memory 54 as part of the browser history, which benefits the browsing experience for the user. This information is stored so that pages that have already been visited, either by the back button or by the forward button 317 or the forward button 318, which are usually provided by a web browser in the art. It can be used when visiting again.

24 is a flow chart illustrating a method of implementing a list element in accordance with the patented aspect of the present invention. See FIGS. 26A-26C for an illustrative graphical representation of the list element. The method provides the user with a user interface element representing a list, hereinafter referred to as list element 420, which has various ways in which its list items 421a-421d are selected. In this example, the list element 420 is operable in three modes: single selection mode, multiple separate selection modes and range selection mode. The flowchart shows how the selection is made in different list element modes. The method of this example is carried out in a pocket computer 1 with a touch sensitive display 3.

In the first tap detection step 401, the first tap is detected from the stylus 9c being tapped on to the touch sensitive display at the first position.

In step 402 of selecting the first list item, the first list item corresponding to the first location is selected within the list element 420. For example, the selection may be indicated by changing the background color of the selected items on the display and / or marking the border around the selected item. In addition, information about the selected item is stored in memory 54 to make it available for later processing.

In the procedure 403 of detecting the first lift, the first lift of the stylus 9c is detected at the second position. This second position may be the same as or different from the first position detected in the step 401 of detecting the first tap. In other words, the user has moved the stylus 9c between the first tab and the first lift.

In the range selection mode & conditional step 404 of another location, it is first determined whether the list element 420 is configured to be in the range selection mode. Secondly, it is determined which first list item corresponds to the first position when the tap is detected and which second list item corresponds to the second position when the lift is detected. If the first list item and the second list item are the same, the list element 420 is determined to be in range selection mode, and this conditional step is positive to select the list items between the first tab and the first lift ( Execution proceeds to 405. Otherwise, execution proceeds to the second tap detection step 405.

In step 405 of selecting list items between the first tab and the first lift, all items between the first list item and the second list item are selected. Preferably, the first and second list items are also selected. What this leaves for the user is that if the list element 420 is in range selection mode, then dragging across multiple list items will select them all.

In a second tap detection step 406, a second tap is detected at a location on the touch sensitive display.

In the conditional step 407 of the single selection / area mode, it is determined whether the list element 420 is in the single selection or the area mode. If this is positive, execution proceeds to step 408 to deselect any list items that were previously selected. Otherwise execution proceeds to the second list item selection step 409.

In step 408 of deselecting any list items that were previously selected, any list items previously selected are deselected.

In a second list item selection step 409, a list item corresponding to the position detected in the second tap detection step 406 above is selected. Because of the effect of step 408 deselecting any previously selected list items, multiple individual selections are only possible when the list element 420 is in multiple individual selection mode.

25 is a flowchart illustrating a drag and drop function in an embodiment of a list element according to an aspect of the present invention. The figure illustrates how a selection made within the list element 420 can be dragged and dropped to another user interface element.

At selection detection step 410, selection of one or more listing elements 420 is detected. Details of how the selection is made have been disclosed in connection with FIG. 24 above.

In the tap detection step 411 at selection, the tap is detected on the touch sensitive display. The position of this tab corresponds to the currently selected list item and is the result of the selection detection step 410 above.

In the lift detection step 412 in the second element, lifting the stylus 9c is detected at the position corresponding to the second user interface element. This corresponds to an action called drag and drop, which is well known in the art.

In the conditional step 413 of the range selection / single selection mode, it is determined whether the list element 420 is in range selection or single selection mode. If this is positive, execution proceeds to step 414 of supplying selection data to the second element. Otherwise, execution of this method terminates.

In step 414 of supplying selection data to the second element, data corresponding to the currently selected list item or list items is provided to the second user interface element. For example, if the second user interface element is text area 426, text data corresponding to the selected item / items may be added to this text field.

26A-26C illustrate a list element in one embodiment within the context of other user interface elements, wherein the list elements 420 are each within a single selection mode, multiple individual selection modes, and a range selection mode.

First, FIG. 26A will be described, in which the list element 420 is in a single selection mode. In the touch sensitive display 3 of the pocket computer 1, many user interface elements are shown above the display view 301.

List element 420 has four list items 421a-421d. Text area 426 is also displayed. First, the user corresponds to the specific list item 421b. Pressing stylus 9c at position 423 activates selection of list element 421b. Secondly, the user presses the stylus 9c at position 424 to activate the selection of the second list item 421d. When the second list item 421d is selected, the first list item 421b is deselected.

Finally, the user taps the stylus 9c at the position corresponding to the second list item 421d and places the stylus 9c in the text area 426 while keeping the stylus 9c pressed. And the drag and drop operations are performed by lifting the stylus 9c. Since this is a single select list element 420, drag and drop is possible, and information about the selected list item 421d in the list element 420 is provided to the text area 426, thereby providing the selected list item 421d. The corresponding text will be added to the text area 426. It is noted that the text area 426 can be the same application of the list element 420 or a completely separate application 57.

Secondly, FIG. 26B will be described where the list elements are in multiple individual selection modes. First, the user activates selecting the list element 421b by pressing the stylus 9c at the location 423 corresponding to the particular list item 421b. In this type of list element 420, the selected list item is displayed using a check box 422 following the list item. Secondly, the user presses the stylus 9c at position 424 to activate the selection of the second list item 421d. When the second list item 421d is selected, the first list item 421b is still selected. Finally, the user taps the stylus 9c at the position corresponding to the second list item 421d and holds the stylus 9c in position 427 within the text area 426 while keeping the stylus 9c pressed. Move to and lift the stylus 9c to attempt drag and drop operations. Since this is multiple individual select list elements 420, drag and drop is not possible and no information will be provided to the text area 426. Instead, from the second tab at position 424, the second list item 421d is deselected.

Third, FIG. 26C will be described where the list element 420 is in range selection mode. The user activates selecting the list item 421b by pressing the stylus 9c at the location 423 corresponding to the specific list item 421b. While still keeping the stylus 9c pressed, the user moves the stylus 9c into position and lifts up the stylus 9c. This drag selects list items 421b to 421d. The user then taps the stylus 9c at the position 424 corresponding to the second list item 421d and holds the stylus 9c in the text area 426 while keeping the stylus 9c pressed. And drag the stylus 9c to perform drag and drop operations. Since this is a range selection list element 420, drag and drop is possible, and information about the selected list item 421d in the list element 420 is provided to the text area 426, thereby selecting selected list items 421b. Text corresponding to -421d will be added to the text area 426.

27A and 27B illustrate how the window concealment works in an embodiment of the present invention.

Starting with FIG. 27A, in the pocket computer 1, there is a touch sensitive display 3, which shows a display view 301. Window 450 is displayed in the layer in front of any other window currently displayed. The window may be a full window or a dialog as shown here. The window includes a head region 451. The user taps the stylus 9c at a location 452 on the touch sensitive display 3, which corresponds to the head area 451 of the window 450.

As a result, as can be seen in FIG. 27B, the window 450 and its contents are hidden, thereby exposing the content previously hidden by the window 450. It is preferable that the box outline 453 is displayed while showing the position of the hidden window.

Once the user lifts up the stylus 9c, the window 450 is displayed again, affecting the view 301 as shown in FIG. 27A.

28A is a diagram illustrating a remote scroll element 463 in one embodiment of the present invention. The pocket computer includes a display 3 with a visible area 460. The web browser 461 leaves room for the remote scroll element 463 and currently uses all available space in the view 461 that an application can use. The web browser has a vertical scroll bar 462 that includes a scroll thumb 464. Since scrollbar 462 is vertical, remote scroll element 463 is also vertical. If the scroll bar 462 is horizontal, assuming a popular horizontal appearance, the remote scroll element 463 would have been located along the bottom 460 of the display. When the user presses the stylus 9c at some position on the remote scroll element 463, the application reacts as if the user pressed the same vertical equivalent object on the scroll bar 462. For example, when the user presses at position 465 on the remote scroll element 463, the remote scroll element 463 has the same vertical equivalent as the up arrow 466 of the scroll bar 462, as if The same effect occurs as the user presses on the up arrow 466, i.e., scrolls the screen up. Scroll up and down using the arrow buttons, drag the scroll dumbbell 464 to scroll or press the area below or above the scroll dumbbell to scroll all the pages that can be executed on the stroke bar 463 itself, such as scrolling one page at a time. The actions can likewise be executed by pressing the corresponding on the remote scroll element 463.

28B illustrates an individual remote scroll element 463 in one embodiment of the patented aspect of the present invention. Pocket computer 1 comprises a display 3 having a visible area 460. The web browser 461 including the scrollbar 462 does not occupy all the available space of the view 461, but only hides some of the other applications 468. The remote scroll element 463 is located along the right side of the screen here and is not in direct contact with the web browser 461. When the user presses the stylus 9c at a location on the remote scroll element 463, the application reacts as if the user pressed the scroll bar 462 using the same vertical equivalent object. The remote scroll element 463 is located along the right side of the view 460 for convenience and may be used for the currently active application regardless of the location of the application on the view 460.

In one embodiment, the position of the remote scroll element 463 is visually displayed by, for example, including a bitmap image within the remote scroll element 463. In other embodiments, the remote scroll element 463 is partially or wholly transparent, while the display area underneath the remote scroll element 463 is incompatible with non-selectable indicators (e.g., battery charge support or other status indicators). Could be used to display the same information.

28A may also be used to illustrate other patented aspects associated with scrollbars, wherein the scrollbars further include a top portion 467a of a trough and a bottom portion 467b of a trough. When the user presses inside the trough using the stylus 9c, for example, pressing the bottom 467b of the trough, the content starts scrolling to reach the end of the content or the user lifts the stylus 9c. Continue until. Therefore, the content will continue scrolling to any position where the user tapped the stylus. This makes the exact position of the stylus less important when scrolling, thereby greatly simplifying the scrolling process in a user's moving environment, such as a bus, train or when the user is walking.

Scrolling is made up of scrolling steps, with each step scrolling through a page of content. Preferably, pause after the scrolling of the first step, allowing the user to stop scrolling after scrolling the first page.

A description relating to the content display mode follows. Note that hypermedia pages are provided by web pages. In order for a user to be able to view web pages that were originally intended to be displayed on a personal computer at the mobile terminal, the user may want to change the content display mode. For example, the zoom ratio, page layout mode or frame display mode needs to be adjusted to allow the user to customize how content is shown on the display.

The page layout mode is when the user is given a choice between normal view or optimized view. In normal views, page content is potentially displayed along with the content on the right side of the display view. In the optimized view, the content is rearranged horizontally so that no content is provided outside of the horizontal display view.

29A, 29B, 29C, and 29D illustrate different settings of the content display mode, which is the frame display mode and the page layout mode, of an embodiment of the present invention. If the frame display mode is in merged frame mode, the frames are combined into a single frame as can be seen in Figures 29C and 29D. When the page layout mode is set to be optimized, the text in one frame is adjusted horizontally to fit within the visible portion of that frame. The page layout mode is set to be optimized in Figs. 29B and 29D. 29A, 29B, 29C and 29D will now be described in more detail.

In FIG. 20, the browser is unable to optimize the view and the coalesced frame.

The content page is displayed with the first frame 571 on the left and the second frame 572 on the right of the display view 561. The author of the web page indicates within the content page code, such as HTML, that in this example the first frame 571 will be displayed on the left and the second frame 572 will be displayed on the right. As can be seen in FIG. 29A, this first display mode takes into account the instructions of the content page author on how frames 571, 572 should be displayed. Frames 571 and 572 have vertical scroll bars 581 and 582 and horizontal scroll bars 583 and 584 respectively. If the user indicates that they want to scroll the content, for example using the navigation key 5a, the frame of the currently active frames 571, 572 will cause their content to scroll. Since only one frame can be active at any given moment, it can cause unexpected behavior of scrolling through the content without the user knowing which frame is active.

In FIG. 29B, the browser is capable of optimized views and coalesced frames are not possible. There are still two frames 571, 572, each having a corresponding scroll bar 581, 582, respectively. However, compared to FIG. 29A, there is no content on the right side of the display view 561. The content is rearranged horizontally to fit within the physical boundaries of the right frame 572.

In FIG. 29C, the browser is unable to optimize the view and coalesced frames are possible. Here the contents of frames 571, 572 are merged into one coalesced frame 573, which occupies the entire space of the display view 561. While not strictly following the code instructions of the web page, this frame display mode has the advantage of only providing the user with one frame of scrollable content, which may be the preferred way for the user to navigate through the content. . This is particularly useful in mobile communication terminals with limited user interfaces. For example, the user may use the navigation key 5a to unambiguously scroll through all the content currently displayed on the display view 561 in this frame display mode. Since the page layout mode is not optimized, it is common here, but the content may be on the right side of the display view 561. Frame 573 then includes one vertical scroll bar 582 and one horizontal scroll bar 584.

In FIG. 29D, the browser is capable of optimized views and coalesced frames are also possible. As in FIG. 29C, the contents of frames 571, 572 are merged into one coalesced frame that occupies the entire space of display view 561. Furthermore, the page layout mode is optimized here, so there is no content on the right side of the display view 561. Frame 573 then has only a vertical scroll bar 582.

30A and 30B are used to illustrate how the content display modes associated with web pages are maintained, such as FIGS. 31A and 31B.

30A and 30B show a display view of the browser displaying the first web page in two different content display modes, in this case the zoom ratio. 31A and 31B show a display view of a browser displaying a second web page in two different content display modes, in this case having a different zoom ratio and page layout mode.

Although the following examples use content display modes, which are a zoom ratio and page layout mode, any content display mode may be used. For example, content display modes and text selection of the frame display mode may optionally or additionally also be used.

30A-30B and 31A-31B, one embodiment of the present invention describes how to maintain a content display mode associated with web pages, and the process will now be disclosed.

As shown in FIG. 30A, a user navigates to a first page containing content displayed in display view 561 with an initial zoom ratio of 100%. The page layout mode is normal so that both menu bar 561 and button bar 563 are visible. The button bar includes a back button 567 and a forward button 568. The user may then change the content display mode, for example, by using the context sensitive menu 565 to change the zoom ratio to a new zoom ratio of 200%. This results in the web browser displaying the content again in the new content display mode, which is a zoom ratio of 200% as shown in FIG. 30B. Page layout mode remains in normal mode as before.

The user will then be able to navigate to the second page using a link on the first page, using a bookmark, entering a uniform resource locator (URL), or using some other means. 31A shows the browser displaying a second page over display view 561 with an initial zoom ratio of 200% and normal page layout mode. That is, the latest activated content display mode may be used to display consecutive pages such as the second page in this example. If the user chooses to change the content display mode, such as changing the zoom ratio to 100% and changing the page layout mode to optimize, the second content page is redisplayed according to the new content display mode. In this case, this includes marking the second page with a zoom ratio of 100% and arranging the content such that no content exists on the right side of the display view 561 as described in FIG. 31B.

There are two history items for the two pages stored by the browser. The first page has a zoom ratio of 200% and is usually associated with page layout mode. The second page has a zoom ratio of 100% and is associated with an optimized page layout mode.

For example, by using a combination of hardware keys (not shown), the user may want to return to the first page. When the user presses a combination of hardware keys, the web browser redisplays the first page, eventually using a zoom ratio of 200% and a normal page layout mode, depending on the content display mode associated with the history items for the first page. That is, the display will again see something like that shown in FIG. 30B. By maintaining the content display mode information in memory 554 as part of the browser history, the browser improves the browsing experience for the user. Stored content display information revisits pages that have already been visited, using either the back or forward function by the back button 567 or the forward button 568, which are typically provided by a web browser in the art. Can be used when

32 shows an example data table 590 that includes historical data, according to one embodiment of the invention.

Data table 590 is used to store history items. The data table 590 is preferably stored in the memory 554, where it is accessible by the controller 550. The table contains many columns, with each column containing one type of data for each record. The records are shown vertically, and one step down in the table 590 corresponds to a new record.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL) column 591 includes the URL of the history item. The page layout column 592 contains information about each history regarding the page layout mode. The frame mode column 593 includes information about the frame display mode for each history item. Zoom ratio column 594 includes a zoom ratio for each history item. Text selection column 595 includes information about text selections for each history item. Text selection is illustrated by two numbers, meaning the start and end of text selection in terms of the number of characters. Although not shown, additional information may be included for text selection, such as reference to the frame with the selected text and the like. Furthermore, here "0,0" indicates that no text selection was made in the history item in question. Additional columns 596 may be added as appropriate, relating to content display modes or other information about the history item.

Aspects of the invention have been described above primarily with reference to many embodiments. However, as is well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains, other embodiments than the embodiments disclosed above, as defined by the appended patent claims, It may be equally within the scope of patentable appearance.

The present invention can be used in a pocket computer.

Claims (90)

As a method of operating a user interface on a pocket computer, The pocket computer is suitable for executing different software applications, each application having a plurality of functions, and each called function provides a certain function to a user of the pocket computer. Providing selectable user interface elements on a display of the pocket computer, each user element representing the pocket computer constant use aspect, wherein the constant use aspect is associated with certain functions of a certain application; Detecting the user selecting a particular element among the user interface elements; Displaying, on the display, a number of selectable and task-oriented choices for the particular element selected, each of which being associated with a certain function of a given application; Detecting that the user selects a particular choice among the choices; And Invoking a function associated with the particular option. The method of claim 1, The display is touch-sensitive and the selection is performed by the user pointing to the touch-sensitive display. The method of claim 1, And the selectable user interface are icons located at static locations on the display. The method of claim 1, And the task related options are displayed as menu items in a menu. The method of claim 1, Wherein the first use of the pocket computer is viewing information and the second use of the pocket computer is electronic messaging. 10. A pocket computer comprising a user interface having a display and a user interface suitable for executing different software applications, each application having a plurality of functions, each called function providing a constant function to the user of the pocket computer. When, A pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to claim 1. A method for receiving input to data items displayed on a touch sensitive display of a pocket computer comprising a writing tool, the method comprising: Detecting in time the first tap of the writing tool at a first position of a first point; Determining whether data selection starts by detecting a second tap of the writing tool within a distance less than a boundary distance from the first location within a predetermined time from the time of the first point; And Selecting data items between the first position and the second position when it is determined that data selection is initiated and detects movement to a second position of the writing tool. The method of claim 7, wherein The data items represent a subset of the available content, and if it is not determined that data selection begins, then the method may include: Determining whether panning begins by detecting whether the writing tool has moved since the first tab of the writing tool; And If it is determined that panning is to be started, the second position of the writing tool is determined and a panning operation is performed between the available content to display data items at the position subtracting the distance between the first and second positions The input receiving method further comprises. A method of receiving input to a selection of pan content and data items displayed on a touch sensitive display of a pocket computer including a writing tool, wherein the data items represent a subset of available content. silver, Detecting in time the first tap of the writing tool at a first position of a first point; Determining that panning begins by detecting a second tap of the writing tool within a distance less than a boundary distance from the first location within a predetermined time from the time of the first point; If it is determined that panning is to be started, determining a second position of the writing tool and executing a panning operation between the available contents at a position subtracting a distance between the first position and the second position; If it is not determined that panning is to begin, detecting that data selection will begin by detecting that the writing tool has been moved after the first tab of the writing tool; And Selecting data items between the first and second positions when it is determined that data selection has begun and the writing tool has been moved to a second position. The method of claim 8, And the content and data items belong to a web browser application running on the pocket computer. A pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to claim 8. As a pocket computer, It includes a zoom in button, a zoom out button, and an input writing tool. Display content on the display, the displayed content being a subset of the available content, The computer can zoom in on content displayed on the display in response to the pressing of the zoom in button, The computer may zoom out the content displayed on the display in response to the pressing of the zoom out button, and The computer can pan the available content on the display in response to a tap of the writing tool at a first position on the display, movement of the writing tool at a second position on the display, and lifting the writing tool. , Pocket computer. A method for navigating through hyperlinks displayed on a display of a pocket computer, the method comprising: Receiving an input to move the focus to a continuous hyperlink; Determining which hyperlinks are continuous based on the geographic location of the hyperlinks displayed on the display; And Moving a focus to the hyperlink determined to be continuous. The method of claim 13, The consecutive hyperlinks are hyperlinks after the currently focused hyperlink. The method of claim 13, And the successive hyperlinks are hyperlinks prior to the currently focused hyperlink. A pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to claim 13. A method of changing the zoom ratio of content displayed on a display of a pocket computer, Receiving an input to display a menu regarding a desired location on the display; Displaying the menu, wherein the menu includes one or more menu items for changing the zoom ratio; Receiving an input for changing the zoom ratio by detecting a menu item having a new zoom ratio selected; And Displaying the content at the new zoom ratio, centered around the target position. The method of claim 17, The display is touch sensitive, and the input for displaying the menu is to press the touch sensitive display for a longer time interval than a predetermined threshold. The method of claim 17, Wherein the display is touch sensitive, and the input for displaying the menu is a double tap on the touch sensitive display. The method of claim 17, And the content is a web browser application running on the pocket computer. The method of claim 17, And the menu is a context sensitive menu. A pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to claim 13. A method of searching through a previously visited web page in a web browser application running on a pocket computer including a display, the method comprising: Displaying a first web page on the display; Accepting a first input for changing to a new zoom ratio for the first web page; Displaying the first web page at the new zoom ratio; Accepting a second input for displaying a second web page; Displaying a second web page at a zoom ratio separate from the new zoom ratio for the first web page; Accepting a third input to redisplay the first web page; And Displaying the first web page at the new zoom magnification. The method of claim 23, wherein And the third input is an input for navigating back to the browser history. The method of claim 23, wherein And the third input is an input for navigating forward through the browser history. A pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to claim 23. A method for receiving input for selecting one or more list items in a user interface element representing a list, wherein the element is displayed on a touch sensitive display of a pocket computer including a writing tool, or in a single selection mode. Can be operated in a separate selection mode of the method, Determining whether the elements operate in the single selection mode; Determining whether the elements operate in the multiple separate selection modes; Detecting a first tap with the writing tool at a first location; Selecting a first list corresponding to the first location; Detecting a first lift of the writing tool at a second location, which may be equal to the first location; Detecting a second tap with the writing tool at a third location; Deselecting the first list item if it is determined that the element is operating in the single selection mode; And Selecting a list item corresponding to the third position. The method of claim 27, The element may further operate in a range selection mode, The method, prior to the second tap detection step, Determining whether the element operates in the range selection mode; And If the element is determined to operate in the range selection mode and the first list item is not equal to the second list item corresponding to the second position, then all list items from the first list item are retrieved from the second list item. Selecting a; further comprising the input receiving method. The method of claim 28, Before the step of selecting as the second list item, Deselecting previously selected list items if it is determined that the element is operating in the range selection mode. The method of claim 27, Detecting a third tap at a location corresponding to the selected list item; Detecting a third lift at a location corresponding to the second user interface element; And If it is determined that the element is operating in a single selection or range selection mode, providing data representing the selected list items to the second user interface element. The method of claim 27, And if it is determined that the element operates in multiple separate selection modes, displaying a selection indicator in proximity to each selected list item. The method of claim 31, wherein And the selection indicator is a check mark. The method of claim 27, If the element is determined to operate in multiple separate selection modes, it detects the third tab and the third lift of the writing tool at a location corresponding to the previously selected list item, and deselects the previously selected list item. The input receiving method further comprises. A pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to claim 27. A method for temporarily hiding a window displayed at a location on a touch-sensitive display of a pocket computer including a writing tool and including a header area, The method, Detecting a tab of the writing tool at a position corresponding to the header area of the window; Obscuring the contents of the window, thereby exposing the content previously covered by the window; Detecting lifting of the writing tool; And And redrawing the contents of the window at the location. 36. The method of claim 35 wherein And after said covering step, drawing a box outline indicating said location of said window. 36. The method of claim 35 wherein And the window is a dialog. A pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to claim 35. A method of scrolling content in a window displayed on a touch sensitive display of a pocket computer, the display further comprising a remote scroll element, The method, Detecting a tab of a writing tool at a first location on the remote scroll element; Determining a direction of scrolling content based on the position of the tab; Determining a distance for scrolling content based on the position of the tab; And Scrolling the content to the new position by the distance in the direction. The method of claim 39, And the remote scroll element comprises a bitmap image. The method of claim 39, When the window includes a scrollbar, including a scroll thumb, The method, Moving the scroll dumbbell corresponding to the new position of content. The method of claim 39, And the remote scroll element is located adjacent to the window. The method of claim 39, And the remote scroll element is located along one edge of the display. The method of claim 39, And the window is located separately from the remote scroll element. A pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to claim 39. CLAIMS 1. A method for scrolling content in a window displayed on a touch sensitive display of a pocket computer, the display further showing a scroll bar comprising a scroll dumbbell moveable in a trough, the method comprising: Detecting a tap of a writing tool at a tap position in the trough; Scrolling the content, including updating the position of the scroll dumbbell in the trough as the scroll dumbbell in the trough is moved; Detecting lifting of the writing tool; Stopping the scrolling of the content once the lifting of the writing tool is detected; In the scrolling step, the scrolling is allowed to continue to cause the position of the scroll dumbbell to move past the tapping position in the trough. 47. The method of claim 46 wherein Scrolling the content scrolls one page at a time. 47. The method of claim 46 wherein And the location is separate from the scroll dumbbell. A pocket computer suitable for carrying out the method according to claim 46. A graphical user interface for a pocket computer with a display, suitable for running different software applications, The user interface includes an application switcher panel capable of displaying a plurality of icons on the display, Each icon is associated with each application running on the pocket computer and can be selected by the user to activate the associated application, The icons have an order within the application switcher panel, the order being determined according to the order in which the associated application was previously active, in particular the icon associated with the most recently activated application is the first in the application switcher panel. User interface on the Pocket Computer. 51. The method of claim 50, And when a new application is started, it is more suitable for pushing back the positions of current icons of the application switcher panel one by one and inserting an icon associated with the new application into the first position of the application switcher panel. The method of claim 51, Only a predetermined maximum number of locations for icons in the application switcher panel is allowed, and for an icon pushed out of an application switcher panel, the application associated with it can be activated through selecting a menu item in a menu on the display, Graphical user interface of the pocket computer. A pocket computer having a graphical user interface as defined in claim 50. A pocket computer with a display, such as a user interface and a controller, The controller is suitable for executing different utility applications, each utility application providing a user with a nominal constant function when run as an active application within the user interface, and the pocket computer provides the utility applications on the display. Having a home application suitable for simultaneously providing a plurality of restricted application views for the applications in question, each of which has a user application of each utility application without running the utility application as an active application. Pocket computer, which allows access to a limited portion of nominal functions. As a pocket computer, Device housings; A touch sensitive display provided on the first surface of the device housing; One or more keys for navigating between content shown on the display; And And one or more keys for zooming in to content displayed on the display. The one or more keys for navigating and one of the one or more keys for zooming are located on the first surface of the device housing and the one or more keys for navigating and the one or more keys for zooming The other is located on a second surface that is not parallel to the first surface of the device housing, the location of the keys being typical of the user's hand when the two keys hold the device housing without moving the grip with one hand. A pocket computer located within the closing range. The method of claim 39, A region on the touch sensitive display below the remote scroll element is used to display information such as one or more indicators that are not selectable. A method of displaying previously visited hypermedia pages in a hypermedia browser application operating on a mobile communication terminal comprising a display, the method comprising: Displaying a first hypermedia page on the display; Receiving a first input to change the first hypermedia page display according to a first content display mode; Displaying the first hypermedia page according to the first content display mode; Receiving a second input for displaying a second hypermedia page; Displaying a second hypermedia page; Receiving a third input to redisplay the first hypermedia page; And Displaying the first hypermedia page in accordance with the first content display mode. The method of claim 57, And wherein the content display mode includes a zoom ratio. The method of claim 57, Wherein the content display mode comprises a frame display mode. The method of claim 57, And the content display mode includes a mode when the text of the first hypermedia page is selected. The method of claim 57, Wherein the content display mode comprises a page layout mode. The method of claim 57, Displaying the second hypermedia page comprises displaying the second hypermedia page in accordance with the first content display mode. The method of claim 57, After displaying the second hypermedia page and before receiving the third input, Receiving a fourth input to change the display of the second hypermedia page according to a new second content display mode; And And displaying the second hypermedia page in accordance with the second content display mode. The method of claim 57, And wherein the third input is an input for navigating through the browser history to display previously visited hypermedia pages. The method of claim 57, Wherein the third input is an input for navigating forward through the browser history, the previously visited hypermedia pages. The method of claim 57, Wherein the hypermedia pages represent at least one type of content selected from the group consisting of html content, wml content, sgml content, and xlm content. A mobile communication terminal capable of executing a hypermedia browser application, The hypermedia browser application displays hypermedia pages on a display of the mobile communication terminal, The mobile communication terminal, Means for displaying a first hypermedia page on the display; Means for receiving a first input to change the first hypermedia page display in accordance with a first content display mode; Means for displaying the first hypermedia page in accordance with the first content display mode; Means for receiving a second input to display a second hypermedia page; Means for displaying a second hypermedia page; Means for receiving a third input to redisplay the first hypermedia page; And And means for displaying the first hypermedia page in accordance with the first content display mode. As a computer program product, Can be loaded directly into the memory of a digital computer, A computer program product comprising software code portions for executing a method according to claim 57. As a portable electronic device, Device housings; A touch sensitive display provided on a first surface of the device housing for use with an input writing tool; A zoom-in key provided on a second surface that is not parallel to the first surface; A zoom-out key provided on the second surface; And A controller; At this point, the portable electronic device may display content on the sensitive display, wherein the displayed content is a subset of the available content; The controller is configured to zoom in on content displayed on the sensitive display in response to moving the zoom in key; The controller is configured to zoom out content displayed on the sensitive display in response to moving the zoom out key; The controller Fan the available content on the touch sensitive display in response to a combination of tapping the writing tool at the first location on the touch sensitive display and moving the writing tool at a second location on the touch sensitive display. portable electronic device). The method of claim 69, wherein And the available content is associated with the web browser application of the portable electronic device. The method of claim 69, wherein The portable electronic device is a pocket computer. The method of claim 69, wherein The portable electronic device is a device selected from the group consisting of a mobile communication terminal, a portable gaming device and a personal digital assistant (PDA). A touch-sensitive display provided on the first surface of the device housing for use of a device housing, a controller, an input writing tool, a zoom-in key provided on a second surface not parallel to the first surface, the second surface A user interface method of a portable electronic device including a zoom out key provided at The controller can present content on the sensitive display, when the displayed content is a subset of the available content, The method, Zooming in on the displayed content on the sensitive display in response to moving the zoom in key; Zooming out the displayed content on the sensitive display in response to moving the zoom out key; And Panning available content on the touch sensitive display in response to a combination of tapping the writing tool at a first location on the touch sensitive display and moving the writing tool at a second location on the touch sensitive display. panning; user interface method comprising a. As a computer program product, Can be loaded directly into the memory of a digital computer, A computer program product comprising software code portions for executing a method according to claim 73. As a portable electronic device, Device housings; A touch sensitive display provided on the first surface of the device housing; A first input device arranged to move with the first finger of a typical user's hand; A second input device arranged to move with a second finger of a typical user's hand, wherein the typical user can operate the first input device and the first input device without changing the grip; And And a controller connected to the touch sensitive display, the first input device, and the second input device, and configured to display content on the touch sensitive display. The controller affects the display of content on the touch-sensitive display in a first manner when the first input is moved and affects the display of content on the touch-sensitive display in a second manner when the second input is moved; Portable electronic devices. 76. The method of claim 75, And the controller is configured to move the content on the touch sensitive display when the first input device is moved and to change the zoom ratio of the content when the second input device is moved. 76. The method of claim 75, And the first and second input devices are arranged such that the portable electronic device is held by the hand of the typical user. 76. The method of claim 75, Wherein the first input device is a key located on a first surface of the device housing and the second input device is located on a second surface of the device housing that is not parallel to the first surface. The method of claim 78, The first input device is arranged to move using the thumb of the hand of the typical user, the first input device being located at least a distance from an edge of the first surface, the edge being the thumb And the edge of the first surface closest to where is connected to the rest of the hand. The method of claim 78, And the second surface is essentially perpendicular to the first surface. 76. The method of claim 75, And the controller is configured to affect the presentation of content on the touch sensitive display in a third manner when a writing tool is detected on the touch sensitive display. 76. The method of claim 75, And wherein the third manner is selected from the group comprising panning, text selection and moving user interface elements to display new content. 76. The method of claim 75, The portable electronic device is a pocket computer. 76. The method of claim 75, The portable electronic device is a device selected from the group consisting of a mobile communication terminal, a portable gaming device and a personal digital assistant (PDA). A user interface method of a portable electronic device, When the portable electronic device comprises a device housing and a touch sensitive display provided on the first surface of the device housing, the method further comprises: Receiving a first input detected by a first input device moved by a first finger of a user hand; In response to the first input, in a first manner affecting how content is presented on the touch sensitive display; Receiving a second input detected by a second input device moved by a second finger of a user's hand; And In response to the second input, in a second manner affecting how content is displayed on the touch sensitive display. 86. The method of claim 85, Receiving the first input and receiving the second input are performed by the user without changing the grip of the hand in between. 87. The method of claim 86, Wherein the first way is to move the content and the second way is to zoom the content. 86. The method of claim 85, Receiving a third input by the touch sensitive display when a third input device is moved by the writing tool by the user; And And in a third manner, in response to the third input, affecting how content is displayed on the touch-sensitive display. 89. The method of claim 88, And wherein said third way is selected from the group comprising panning, text selection and moving user interface elements to display new content. As a computer program product, Can be loaded directly into the memory of a digital computer, 86. A computer program product comprising software code portions for executing a method according to claim 85.

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