KR20110013733A - User interface providing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A user interface providing method and an apparatus thereof are provided to supply a new user interface and remove a soft key bar located in a lower part of a screen, thereby enabling a user to efficiently use a larger screen. CONSTITUTION: If a menu key is touched, menu icons are arranged on a basic location of a touch screen in a line shape to display menu line arrangement(201~207). A location of the menu line arrangement is changed and displayed in real time along with the trace of touch drag input of a user(211). New menu line arrangement including menu icons corresponding to each sub menu is displayed if a menu corresponding to a touched menu icon according to the touch drag input includes sub menus(215).

Description

Method and device for providing user interface {USER INTERFACE PROVIDING METHOD AND APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a terminal having a touch screen, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing a user interface through a touch screen by a mobile terminal having a touch screen.

Portable terminals such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players (PMPs), and notebook computers are becoming increasingly smaller and lighter. Accordingly, in order to reduce the size and weight of the portable terminal, a mobile terminal that replaces the keypad with a touch screen that removes a keypad part having a plurality of hardware keys and inputs a key while the user directly touches the display part is commercialized. It is becoming. In particular, touch screens have been spotlighted as useful input / output means in portable terminals implemented in a handheld method.

In general, the user interface provided through the touch screen displays a plurality of menus corresponding to various functions on the screen in the form of icons, and among them, the user finds and touches a menu icon of a specific function, and thus the function is executed. It is done. In addition, menus corresponding to functions frequently used in a specific mode or a specific application are included in a softkey bar located at the bottom of the touch screen in the form of a key so that they are always displayed on the screen.

By the way, this softkey bar is used as a physical key of the conventional keypad. That is, the soft key bar is always displayed at the bottom of the touch screen, resulting in a narrow screen by a certain area.

In addition, the mobile terminal is often used while moving, and in this case, the frequency of operating the device with one hand is high, but it is inconvenient to use the touch screen user interface with one hand. In general, the user interface of the touch screen is configured in such a way as to hold the mobile terminal with one hand and operate the mobile terminal with the other hand.

In addition, when arranging menus according to a plurality of functions provided in the portable terminal, menu icons are arranged in a grid matrix in consideration of the size of the screen and the number of menus. Therefore, it is difficult for the user to intuitively grasp the type of the menu icon, and it takes a long time to make a selection. In addition, as the size of the touch screen is gradually expanded, there is an inconvenience in that the movement of the finger is long in order to touch icons located at every corner of the screen.

In addition, when the user inputs a touch input related to menu selection, the existing feedback is a structure that informs the vibration or sound according to the input result. If a user makes a wrong input, it just sends feedback that matches the input.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for constructing a user interface which is easy to operate with one hand.

In addition, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for configuring a user interface that can increase usability in consideration of a user's finger movement.

And the present invention provides a method and apparatus for constructing a variable user interface that can accommodate the physical differences of the individual, for example, the size of the hand, the length of the finger, the manner of movement.

In addition, it provides a method and apparatus for configuring a user interface that can use the screen more efficiently by omitting the softkey bar that is always displayed at the bottom of the screen.

The present invention also provides a method and apparatus for configuring a user interface with improved accuracy in menu selection and execution.

Meanwhile, the present invention provides a process of displaying a menu line array by arranging a plurality of menu icons in a line shape at a basic position on the touch screen when a menu key is touched by a mobile terminal having a touch screen, and dragging a user's touch. In accordance with the input trajectory, the position of the menu line array is changed in real time and displayed. If the menu corresponding to the menu icon touched according to the touch drag input has a sub menu, the menu icons corresponding to the sub menus are included. And displaying a new menu line array, and executing an application corresponding to the execution menu icon when the touch is released, when the execution menu icon exists at the position where the touch release occurs.

The present invention provides a new user interface so that all functions can be easily used by holding a mobile terminal with one hand, thereby eliminating the softkey bar at the bottom of the screen, thereby making the screen wider and more efficient. In addition, the present invention can provide a user interface that is adaptively configured to the physical characteristics of the user in consideration of differences in hand size, finger length, and finger movements for each individual. In addition, the present invention provides a vibration or sound feedback as if touching the real object in response to the touch input, and the user feels and confirms and executes the object by releasing the touch, so that the user can know whether the object is selected correctly through the feedback. . As described above, the present invention does not simply display a lot of information on the screen efficiently, but provides a user interface to which the physical characteristics of the user's finger are applied, thereby improving usability.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the same components in the drawings are represented by the same reference numerals and symbols as much as possible even though they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

The present invention provides a menu icon in consideration of the movement of the thumb on the touch screen of the portable terminal when the user holds the portable terminal away from the user interface in which the menu icons are arranged in a grid form. It is to provide a user interface for executing a menu icon.

Accordingly, according to the present invention, when there is a menu key selection input from a user, the portable terminal having a touch screen configures and displays a menu line arrangement by arranging menu icons in a line form at a basic position. In this case, the menu line arrangement may be included in a range that is assumed to be touchable by the thumb when the user holds the mobile terminal with one hand, that is, within the menu display area. Subsequently, when the user's touch drag input occurs within the menu display area, the mobile terminal adjusts and displays the position of the displayed menu line array according to the trajectory of the touch drag, and at the same time, the touched menu icon is displayed according to the touch drag input. If you have a menu, the corresponding submenu icons are displayed in a line array at their default location.

In the portable terminal according to the present invention, the display of the menu icon is performed at the touch time, but the execution of the menu icon is performed when the touch is released, not at the touched time. In other words, when the touch input is released, the portable terminal executes the corresponding application if the menu icon displayed at the released position is an execution icon. If the menu icon displayed at the released position is an icon having only a sub menu instead of an execution icon, the display state of the sub menu icons already displayed at the touch point is maintained as it is when released.

In addition to the above-described operating principle, the present invention may use a menu selection method according to a general touch input.

In the following description, touch drag means that an input means such as a finger or a stylus pen moves from one point to another while maintaining a state of being touched by the touch panel. In addition, the execution menu icon refers to an icon in which the corresponding application may be executed immediately.

1 illustrates an example of a portable terminal to which the present invention is applied. The portable terminal is a terminal having a size that can be easily carried by a user. Examples of the portable terminal include a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), and an MP3 player.

Referring to FIG. 1, the portable terminal includes a control unit 101, a memory unit 103 connected to the control unit 101, and a display unit 105.

The display unit 105 includes a touch screen, and accordingly, includes a screen unit 107 and a touch panel 109 constituting the touch screen. The display unit 105 displays the state of the portable terminal 101 on the screen unit 107. In this case, the screen unit 107 may be implemented as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and includes an LCD controller, a memory capable of storing display data, and an LCD display device.

The touch panel 109 is mounted to overlap with the LCD of the screen unit 107 so that the user can make a touch input while checking data displayed on the screen unit 107. The touch panel 109 includes a touch sensor and a signal converter. The touch sensing unit detects a control command of a touch such as a touch, drag, drop, etc. from a change in physical quantity, for example, resistance or capacitance. In addition, the signal converter converts the change in the physical quantity into a touch signal and outputs it to the touch scroll detector 106 and the controller 101.

The memory unit 103 stores a program for processing and controlling the control unit 101, reference data, various kinds of updatable storage data, and the like, and is provided as a working memory of the control unit 101. The memory unit 103 stores information on a plurality of menu icons and corresponding images for transmitting user selection and execution requests for various applications provided by the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The various applications may exist in various ways depending on the type of portable terminal. For example, if the mobile terminal is a mobile phone, there may be a message transmission, an phone book, a ringtone setting, a shooting function, an environment setting, a data communication, etc. to an application. As another example, if the portable terminal is a PMP, there may be a music file play, a video play, a game, and the like.

The subordinate relationship between the plurality of menu icons is stored, and information about the menu display area and basic position information of the menu line arrangement for displaying the menu icons are stored. The memory unit 103 stores information on a user interface configuration menu according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The user interface configuration menu is a menu that allows the user to directly specify the display position of the menu keys, the default position when the menu icons are arranged in a line, the menu display area on the touch screen, and the like. Contains submenus.

The controller 101 performs various voice signals and data processing according to the functions of the portable terminal such as a telephone call, data communication, and a protocol for wireless Internet access, and controls each part of the portable terminal. The control unit 101 provides a user interface according to the present invention through a touch screen.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the portable terminal may include a key input unit including a plurality of keys. The key input unit includes a power key for turning on / off the power of the portable terminal and a minimum function key. And a menu key for starting or ending providing a menu tree according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The menu key may be provided in a portable terminal as a physical key or provided on a touch screen as a soft key according to an embodiment of the present invention. If a menu key is provided as a softkey, its display position may be set by default or set by a user. For example, a user may designate a menu key to be displayed at a position which is most touchable when using a mobile terminal by using a user interface configuration menu, and the control unit 101 may designate the user's designated value as a setting value of the user interface. Can be stored in the memory unit 103.

A process of providing a user interface in accordance with the present invention by the mobile terminal configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an operation process of a portable terminal when a menu key is provided as a soft key according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 shows an example of the display when the menu key is provided as a soft key. The first screen 300 of FIG. 3 shows a basic display state of the portable terminal, and the menu key 301 is displayed on the upper right side. In this case, when the user grabs the portable terminal with his right hand, the user may easily touch the menu key 301 with his right thumb. The display position of the menu key 301 may be directly set by the user according to the size of the user's hand or the kind of the hand that is mainly used. For example, if the user is left-handed, the menu key 301 may be set to be displayed on the upper left. Alternatively, it can be set to be displayed on the lower left and right sides in case the screen is used in the longitudinal direction.

Referring to FIG. 2A, when it is detected that a touch input is generated through the touch panel 109 in step 201, the controller 101 determines whether the menu key 301 is touched in step 203. If the menu key 301 is not touched, the process proceeds to step 205 to perform a function corresponding to a touch input. However, if the menu key 301 is touched, the flow proceeds to step 207 to display menu icons arranged in a line shape at a basic position. That is, when the user touches the menu key 301 in the state of the first screen 300, the control unit 101, like the second screen 310, the multimedia menu icon, the phone book menu icon, the diary menu icon, the game menu icon, The setup menu icons are displayed in a first menu line arrangement 303.

Menu icons displayed according to the selection of the menu key 301 will be icons corresponding to the top menu. In this case, the basic position at which the first menu line array 303 composed of the respective menu icons is displayed is preferably determined in consideration of the trajectory of the user's finger movement. Accordingly, the default position may be determined according to an average value derived based on various user input patterns, or may be directly set by the user.

For example, when a user selects a menu line arrangement default position setting using a user interface configuration menu, the controller 101 waits for a user's touch input. Accordingly, the user may input an arc-shaped touch drag on the touch panel 109 as in the second screen 310 or may input a straight touch drag. When the user performs a touch drag on the touch panel 109, the controller 101 converts the trajectory of the touch drag generated by the user into a basic position value of the menu line array and stores the trace in the memory unit 103.

According to the present invention, the upper menu and the sub menu are provided in a tree structure. That is, the submenu icons are arranged in a line connected to the upper menu icon. Accordingly, the user may set the shape and display position of the menu line array composed of the top menu icons as well as the shape and display position of each menu line array composed of sub-menu icons associated with each top menu icon.

The controller 101 may set a predetermined area as a menu display area around the user's touch drag trajectory. The menu display area is an area in which the display position of the menu line array is dynamically changed in response to a user's touch drag input and may be displayed. The menu display area may be set to correspond to the menu line array corresponding to each menu icon set. The menu display area can also be set by user specification. In the state where the menu icon is displayed, the touch panel 109 may be divided into a menu display area and a background area except for the menu display area in the entire area.

According to the present invention, the user may perform a touch drag input along the first menu line array 303 of the menu icons to select each menu icon while the menu icons are displayed as in the second screen 310. Accordingly, returning to FIG. 2A, the controller 101 determines whether the touch input is released after the menu icon is displayed in step 209. If the touch input is not released, the control unit 101 proceeds to step 211 to display the touch drag input within the menu display area. Check if it occurs.

If the touch drag input occurs in a portion outside the menu display area of the touch panel 109, the controller 101 may proceed to step 213 to generate a warning to induce a correct input of the user. In an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 101 generates a warning as described above and proceeds to step 209. However, in another embodiment of the present invention, the warning generating process may be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the user touches and selects the menu key 301 as shown in the third screen 320, the menu icons are arranged in the basic position as the first menu line 303 as shown in the fourth screen 330. May continue to touch and drag along the first menu line array 303 of menu icons. When the multimedia icon is touched while the touch drag is in progress, the sub-menu icons of the multimedia menu are arranged in a line at a corresponding basic position as shown in the fifth screen 340, whereby the second menu line array 305 is displayed and a menu tree is formed. Will be. The user may touch-drag along the second menu line array 305 composed of sub-menu icons of the multimedia menu as in the fifth screen 340, and the operation of the controller 101 is similar to that described above. .

The controller 101 detects the user's input, and if there is a touch drag input in the menu display area, the controller 101 proceeds to step 215. If there is a sub menu corresponding to the touched menu icon according to the touch drag movement, the controller 101 corresponds to the sub menu icon. Display by arranging the line in the default position.

In addition, when the menu icon is touched according to the touch drag movement, the controller 101 may output a voice or an effect sound for guiding the menu icon, or generate a vibration. For example, when a finger touches the camera menu icon, the camera may be configured to output a shutter sound, thereby allowing the user to select the menu icon without looking at the menu.

In addition, the controller 101 displays the sub-menu icon and changes the display position of the menu line array consisting of the menu icons according to the touch drag trajectory. This is to facilitate user input for menu selection and to increase the accuracy of menu selection. This is because the track of the actual touch drag may deviate from the menu line arrangement even if the user inputs a touch drag based on the line arrangement of the displayed menu icon. In addition, if the display position of the menu line array is changed according to the touch drag trajectory, the user can perform touch drag for menu selection without looking at the line array of the displayed menu icon. An example of this is illustrated in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5, the sixth screen 350 illustrates a range 307 of a menu display area that can be displayed by the first menu line array 303 composed of menu icons. That is, if the touch drag input of the user is made within the range 307 of the menu display area, the controller 101 may change and display the position of the first menu line array 303 according to the trajectory of the touch drag. The seventh screen 360 shows the first menu line when the user's touch drag input is based on the first menu line arrangement 303 while the first menu line arrangement 303 of the menu icons is displayed. It shows a state out of the array 303. In this case, the controller 101 changes the display position of the first menu line array 303 to the lower right side in consideration of the moving direction or angle of the user's touch drag input trace as in the eighth screen 370. 1 The menu line array 303 is moved to the corresponding position and displayed. Subsequently, when the user's touch drag input is changed to the left as in the ninth screen 380, the controller 101 moves the first menu line array 303 by changing the display position to the left in accordance with the user's touch drag input trajectory. Display again.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, when the menu key is touched during the touch drag input, the controller 101 deletes all currently displayed menu icons. For example, when the user starts a touch input on the menu key 301 in the same state as the first screen 300, the first menu line array 303 is displayed as in the second screen 310. When the user touch-drags toward the bottom of the screen along the first menu line array 303 and then changes the drag direction and touches the menu key 301 again, the display of all menu icons displayed to date is canceled. .

As described above, the present invention enables the user to conveniently select a menu by changing the position of the line array of the menu icon according to the trajectory of the user's touch input.

Returning to FIG. 2A, the controller 101 checks whether there is a release of the touch input in step 217, and proceeds to step 219 when the touch input is released. In step 219, the controller 101 checks whether a menu icon exists at a position where the touch input is released on the touch panel 109, and if the menu icon exists, determines whether the menu icon is an execution icon. If it is confirmed that the corresponding menu icon is the execution icon, the process proceeds to step 221 to execute the menu application. That is, in the present invention, the final selection related to the execution of the menu icon is made by the touch release operation.

For example, as shown in the fifth screen 340, the user performs a touch drag input on the first menu line array 305 and continues touch dragging on the second menu line array 305 without interrupting the touch. have. The user may stop touching the touch panel 109 on the first menu icon of the second menu line array 205, for example, the message composition menu icon. Accordingly, the controller 101 checks whether the first menu icon is an execution icon. Since the message composition menu icon is an execution icon, the control unit 101 executes the application by setting the message composition mode.

Returning to FIG. 2A, if the menu icon does not exist at the position where the touch input is released or the existing menu icon is not the execution icon, the controller 101 waits for the next touch input. do. In this case, the display of the menu tree may be maintained until the next touch input occurs, or may be maintained for a predetermined time.

Subsequently, in step A of FIG. 2B, when the touch input is detected in operation 225, the controller 101 determines in step 227 whether the touch input is issued from the menu key 301 or the background area. The background area is assumed to be another area of the screen except for the menu display area and the area where a specific softkey is displayed. If it is confirmed in step 227 that the touch of the menu key 301 or the touch of the background area, the controller 101 deletes the menu tree displayed so far in step 229.

In other words, if the user wants to cancel the display of the menu tree while the menu tree is displayed, the user can touch the menu key or release the touch and touch the background area again. If the user wants to check a submenu of a specific menu icon among the currently displayed menu icons, the user touches a specific menu icon. And if you want to launch a particular menu, just touch the menu icon and release touch.

In other words, if it is determined in step 227 that the touch does not touch the menu key 301 or the background, the controller 101 checks whether a menu icon is displayed at the location where the touch input occurred in step 231. As a result of the check, if the menu icon is displayed, the controller 101 proceeds to step 233. If the corresponding menu icon is an icon having a sub menu, the controller 101 proceeds to step 235 and determines whether the sub menu is displayed. If the submenu is not displayed, the controller 101 proceeds to step 237 and displays the submenu icons by arranging the submenu icons in the corresponding basic positions. If the sub-menu is displayed, the process proceeds to B, and the process proceeds to step 209 of FIG. 2A to check whether or not the touch is released and to execute an application for the corresponding menu icon.

As described above, the present invention can check and execute a menu even through a general touch input method.

As described above, the present invention can adaptively provide a menu list in consideration of the user's touch movement line, and the user can select a menu more easily and intuitively.

In the above description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the method of providing the menu icon may be equally applied to the sub menus. In addition, the present invention may also be applied when providing a menu related to the specific application in a state in which the specific application is activated. In other words, if the menu key 301 is touched while the top menu of message transmission is selected and the message transmission application is activated, the submenus related to message transmission are provided in the above-described user interface method. As another example, any application may be configured to provide an entire menu according to the input of the menu key 301 while maintaining an active state. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be defined by the described embodiments, but should be defined by the equivalent of claims and claims.

1 is a view showing the configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2A and 2B are views illustrating an operation process of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 to 5 show a display screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (16)

In the method of providing a user interface of a mobile terminal having a touch screen, Displaying a menu line array by arranging a plurality of menu icons in a line form at a basic position on the touch screen when the menu key is touched; The menu line arrangement is changed in real time according to the trajectory of the user's touch drag input, and the menu corresponding to each of the sub menus is displayed when the menu corresponding to the touched menu icon has a sub menu. Displaying a new menu line array containing icons, And executing an application corresponding to the execution menu icon when the touch release point exists when the execution menu icon exists at the position where the touch release occurs. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting an input of touching an arbitrary menu icon corresponding to a menu having any submenu while the at least one menu line array is displayed; And displaying an arbitrary menu line arrangement corresponding to the arbitrary sub menu. The method of claim 1, further comprising: canceling the display of all menu line arrays displayed to date when a user touch occurs on the menu key or the background area of the screen while the at least one menu line array is displayed. Method for providing a user interface, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, wherein the menu line arrangement and the new menu line arrangement are displayed in a tree structure. The method of claim 1, wherein the basic position and the line shape of the menu line array are set according to a user input. The method of claim 1, wherein the menu key is a soft key displayed on the touch screen, and the display position of the menu key is set according to a user input. The method of claim 1, wherein, in a state in which an application is executed, a menu icon corresponding to a menu for the application is displayed with an arbitrary menu line arrangement. The user interface of claim 1, wherein the menu line array is displayed within a predetermined menu display area when the location of the menu line array is changed and displayed in real time according to the trajectory of the touch drag input of the user. How to Provide. In the apparatus for providing a user interface of a mobile terminal, With touch screen, When the menu key is touched, a plurality of menu icons are arranged in a line shape at a basic position on the touch screen, thereby displaying the menu line array, and changing the position of the menu line array in real time according to the trajectory of the user's touch drag input. If a menu corresponding to a menu icon touched according to the touch drag input has a sub menu, a new menu line array including menu icons corresponding to each of the sub menus is displayed, and an execution menu is performed at a position where a touch release occurs. And a controller for executing an application corresponding to the execution menu icon when the touch is released. The method of claim 9, wherein when the controller detects an input of touching an arbitrary menu icon corresponding to a menu having an arbitrary submenu while the at least one menu line array is displayed, the controller corresponds to the arbitrary submenu. Device for providing a user interface, characterized in that for displaying any menu line arrangement. The method of claim 9, wherein the controller cancels the display of all menu line arrays displayed to date when a user touch occurs on the menu key or a background area of the screen while at least one menu line array is displayed. Device for providing a user interface. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the menu line arrangement and the new menu line arrangement are displayed in a tree structure. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the basic position and the line shape of the menu line array are set according to a user input. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the menu key is a soft key displayed on the touch screen, and the display position of the menu key is set according to a user input. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein in a state in which an application is executed, a menu icon corresponding to a menu for the application is displayed in an arbitrary menu line arrangement. The method of claim 9, wherein when the controller changes and displays the position of the menu line array in real time according to the trajectory of the user's touch drag input, the menu line array is displayed within a predetermined menu display area. Device for providing a user interface.

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