WO2002050650A2

WO2002050650A2 - Device allowing a user-friendly control and manipulation of virtual objects for a terminal for the input/output, transmission and/or storage of text, sound and/or image information

Info

Publication number: WO2002050650A2
Application number: PCT/DE2001/004644
Authority: WO
Inventors: Frank Blaimberger; Christine Kocourek
Original assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 2000-12-19
Filing date: 2001-12-10
Publication date: 2002-06-27
Also published as: DE10063347A1; WO2002050650A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (107, 108 or 303) that allows a user-friendly input, control or manipulation of text and/or image data that are graphically visualized on the output display (103) of a telecommunication terminal for the transmission or storage of text, sound and/or images, especially that of a mobile telephone. The inventive device allows for a continuous navigation of an insertion point and/or cursor on the level of an output display (103) in all directions. No further hardware devices are needed for the two-dimensional positioning and navigation on the level of the display (103), and the user does not have to input anything for this purpose by way of a key combination. Two specific embodiments of the invention relate to devices wherein the control unit required for positioning and navigating an insertion point and/or cursor or for editing text and/or image documents is a rotating wheel (107) combined with a four-way switch (108), or a device (303) integrated into the terminal with a rotatably received scroll tape (305) as the navigation medium.

Description

description

Transmission device for easy control and manipulation of virtual objects for a terminal for input / output, overflow and / or storage of text, sound and / or picture-in ^¬ formation

A. Description of the general problem

The development of the hardware and software of modern technical systems has progressed so far in recent years that the operation of these systems has become more and more complicated. People are often overwhelmed as users because the size and complexity of these systems require a long period of familiarization and getting used to.

Despite extensive research work and the progress in the field of human-machine communication initiated by multimedia technology, user interfaces are often not yet sufficiently user-friendly. The interaction between man and machine is still unsatisfactory in many cases. In the private and professional field, there are therefore often complaints about deficiencies in human-machine communication that affect the comfort, performance or even the health of the user.

The degree of user-friendliness of a device is evident when the user solves a task with the aid of the device. The ease of use of a system or device is characterized by the three characteristics of effectiveness, efficiency and acceptance. • The term "effectiveness" means the extent to which a user's goals can be achieved. The underlying question is: "How well can a user perform the task?"

• The "efficiency" is based on the question of which resources must be used by the user in order to achieve these goals. The underlying question is: "How much effort does the user have to perform to solve the task?"

• In contrast, the term "acceptance" describes how the user subjectively evaluates the conditions for handling the device. This raises the question: "How does the user judge working with the device?"

In addition to technical and economic aspects, user-friendliness is one of the most important characteristics of the product quality of a system or device that affects not only the product itself but also its environment. However, the quality of a product is critical to the long-term success of the product in the market. Despite the current intensive efforts to improve quality, it can be said that the importance of user-friendliness is not yet given due consideration in many technical systems and devices. In the case of decisive drawbacks in one or more of the above-mentioned user-friendliness features of a product, one also speaks of user-friendliness, in extreme cases also of "user-friendliness". However, what user-friendliness means in detail and how it can be achieved cannot always be clearly defined. This can be seen again and again in many commercial applications. A number of measures can contribute to a user-friendly environment, but they cannot always be easily combined. There are always conflicting goals: On the one hand, the user interface should be intuitive and easy to learn, on the other hand, both occasional users and professionals should be able to use it efficiently. The design of a user interface often fails due to the unclear definition of its target group.

When designing a new device, numerous deficiencies can often be identified, which lead to hostile solutions.

The problems of the user are often based on the fact that prior knowledge is required when designing a new device, which the user does not have or only has in exceptional cases. For example, this can lead to difficulties in understanding output terms or misinterpretation of displayed graphic icons. Perception problems represent further obstacles to use, for example when the contrast of a displayed image or graphic is too low or the font size of the displayed text is too small. Action problems arise when the input means are unfavorably designed, for example when the size of the function keys is too small or when there is no feedback when the input means is actuated. The user has decision problems with unclear presentation of the selectable alternatives, for example with confusing, parallel offers of information. Lack of user-friendliness can express it is also clear that the technical system or device is not suitable to support the detection and correction of ^'errors the user's system at a moderate manner.

Today, a single, unchangeable form of interaction is usually specified for different users of a device, without taking into account the knowledge and skills of the users. With numerous devices, a broad spectrum of users in almost every age group can be expected, ranging from inexperienced to specialized users. With today's rigid information systems, it is impossible to meet the different requirements of these groups of people in the same way.

Today's forms of interaction between man and machine, mainly characterized by the use of visual and acoustic displays and print media for the output of information by the machine as well as haptic input media such as the keyboard and mouse for the input of information by humans. It can be seen, however, that these input and output devices are already hindering the interaction between man and machine, even more so today and with the further development of information and communication technology. As part of the further development of multimedia technology, the evaluation of gestures, facial expressions, eye movements and forces etc. is therefore carried out in addition to other methods, such as automatic speech recognition and speech interpretation. These procedures allow further sensory and

Include effector modalities in human-machine communication in order to achieve a more natural and therefore user-friendly handling of technical systems. Ergonomic work design puts people at the center of all considerations and strives for an optimum between profitability and humanity of work. Findings from a wide range of areas of ergonomics flow into ergonomics, such as work physiology, psychology, sociology and pedagogy. The content of ergonomics as the science of designing adequate communication and interaction between man and machine can also be understood as adapting work to the individual skills of man. This includes, among other things, the provision of products suitable for a specific purpose and work-oriented, user-friendly work equipment. If these are missing, problems and complaints by the user are inevitable.

Due to the increasing spread of mobile phones and portable computers, as well as the availability of extensive cellular networks, the vision of access to information "for everyone", "at any time" and "anywhere" became a reality. Users of mobile systems expect access to multimedia data as they are known from modern information systems or the Internet. However, in order to meet these expectations and to be able to provide user-friendly applications, the special properties of mobile devices must be taken into account when designing the user or user interface of a device. In this case, the term “user interface” does not refer to the interface offered by an operating system (“desktop”), but rather to the browser user interface provided by the mobile online service. These properties will be explained in more detail below. It plays a big role the use of user profiles in order to enable a representation of the user interface and the associated interaction mechanisms that is adapted to the user, his preferences and his end device.

In general, it can be said that mobile devices lag far behind the performance data of stationary computers in terms of performance, transmission times, capacity for storing data, size and resolution of the display area, number of colors that can be displayed, etc. The technologies used to enter information play a significant part in the underperformance of mobile devices. User-specific input mechanisms are often used on mobile devices, especially for text and image data. For example, many of these miniature computers integrated in mobile devices do not have an alphanumeric keyboard, but are controlled, for example, by a combination of stylus and touch-sensitive input display with automatic handwriting recognition. Other solutions use a special pen or light pen to replace a mouse to change the position of a mark on the display area. Light pens are provided with an activation button that must be pressed by the user in order to be able to carry out selection or marking processes or, for example, to do so

To be able to draw lines. This activation button is usually integrated into the stylus tip.

B. Conventional solution to the general problem according to the current state of the art

For navigation within a virtual environment shown on an output field of view (display or monitor) As for the control and manipulation of displayed virtual objects, the following control units are known according to the current state of the art: joystick and trackball. In addition, there are other control units that use touch-sensitive input surfaces (“touchscreens” or “touchpads”) that can be operated with the aid of a finger or a special light pen. However, these touch-sensitive control units will not be considered further below.

An isotonic joystick is a control element in the form of a lever, which in the starting position is perpendicular to the user interface and can be deflected in different directions. It supplies a one-dimensional continuous variable Δx e IR or a two-dimensional continuous variable with the complex representation

Δz: = Δx + i-Δy = | Δz _| • _e i - ^ < ^Δ z> - ^.. / - ^. eo ° ₌ = | Δz] ^• [cos (arc (Δz) -7- / 180 °) + i • sin (are (Δz) -π / 180 °)] eC

With

the imaginary unit i: = ~ ϊ, Euler's number e: = 2, 718281828 ..., the real part Δx: = 5R {Δz} e IR, the imaginary part or Δy: = 3 {Δz} s IR, the absolute amount | Az | = Δ ² + Δy ² e IR ^" and the phase angle

; -180 ° 180 ° [,

consisting of two relative location coordinates (Δx, Δy and | Δz |, arc (Δz)) on an output field of view. After releasing the joystick, it automatically returns to the starting position, for example due to the action of rubber bands or metal springs. The term "isotonic" indicates that the pushing _back force - _{back is} approximately the same size with every deflection. The isσtonic joystick is a very fast, but not very precisely adjustable control element. Its advantages are the small space requirement, the easy and intuitive learning and a good tactile feedback about the state of the variables. Isotonic joysticks are mainly used to control remote-controlled model vehicles and planes, cranes and lifting platforms, as well as joysticks in the field of computer games and "virtual reality" simulations. Their use is particularly useful where the movement of the control stick is in direct analogy to the movement of a device part or a displayed object in a virtual simulation environment.

In contrast, an isometric joystick is an analog, self-centering control element that measures the forces applied to it and delivers up to three continuous variables Δx, Δy, Δφ _z e IR. Its properties correspond to those of the isotonic stick. The term "isometric" indicates that it has only a negligible deflection. The third variable Δφ _z is preferably obtained from the rotation about the lever axis z. A maximum of six variables can be controlled with an isometric joystick, namely three translational (Δx, Δy, Δz e IR) and three rotatory (Δφ _x , Δφ _y , Δφ ₂ e IR). With such an operating element, for example, robot arms can be easily controlled in industrial production.

A trackball is a two-dimensional, continuous control element that consists of a freely rotatable ball and two sensors. The sensors measure the movements of the

Trackball in two orthogonal directions, i.e. rotated by φ = 90 ° to each other and form a two-dimensional continuous variable with the complex representation

Az: = Ax + i-Ay = | Az | • e ⁱ - ^{ac (Δz)} - ^{π / 180 °} =

= | Δzl • [cos (arc (Δz) -π / 180 °) + i • sin (arc (Δz) -π / 180 °)] e, C,

consisting of two relative location coordinates (Δx, Δy and | Δz |, arc (Δz)) on an output field of view. The ball usually protrudes about a third from the surface of the housing. The mass and friction of the trackball are selected so that the ball stops immediately after being released during normal movement by the fingers or a hand of a user, but is short when moving quickly due to its inertia (ie for a period of up to about Δt) _max »ls) rolls. The two-dimensional variable of a trackball can be set very quickly with very high accuracy and within a limited range. In contrast to a joystick, the trackball is not self-centering and can remain in any set state (Δx, Δy). The two-dimensional setting range is unlimited, which means that theoretically Δx - »± ∞ and / or Δy -> ± ∞ adjustable. A trackball requires relatively little space and can be integrated into any inclined housing surface.

C. Inadequacies and disadvantages of the known solution

With the help of the input keys provided for conventional user interfaces of mobile telecommunication terminals according to the state of the art, insertion or position marks which are displayed on the output field of view of the device can only be in a horizontal (arc (Δz) = -180 ° or . 0 °) or vertical direction (arc (Δz) = -90 ° or + 90 °), but not in an oblique direction (arc (Δz) e [-180 ° + .n ^ι 90 °; - 180 ° + ( n + 1) • 90 ° [for n = 0,1,2,3). The positioning of a brand is only possible in stages, i.e. line, column or character by character. A typical application example for navigating an insertion or position mark over the output field of view of a mobile device is "surfing" on the Internet with the help of the "Wireless Application Protocol" (WAP), as will be possible in future in UMTS. Another typical application example in this context is the editing of a text, for example in an application to support the short message service ("Short Message Service", SMS). For example, if the mark is from a position P _x (z _α = Xι + i-yι) on the lower left edge of a text area shown in the output field of view to a position P ₂ (z ₂ = x ₂ + iy ₂ ) on the upper right edge of the Text area are moved, with the number of column or character widths to be bridged in the x direction

x, -x, Δ

N.

Δx _n Δx _n and the number of line heights to be bridged in the y direction

\ y ₂ - Y:

N _y = M

Δy _n Δy _n

is given, the user is forced to press input keys (N _x + N _y ) times, which enable the mark to be shifted by N _x column or character widths Δx _n and N _y row heights Δy _n . If there are many tasks during the user's work with the device in which objects are to be selected, moved or repositioned with the aid of a marker, navigating the insertion or position marker may take a long time. This lengthy way of editing SMS texts can be perceived by the user as uncomfortable, tedious and cumbersome.

In SMS applications, the letters of the short message text are also selected using a tedious process, in which a scrollable alphanumeric list is preferably used, which can be controlled with the aid of direction switches for scrolling in the forward or reverse direction. This type of information input takes an extremely long time and is therefore only suitable for short text messages.

Both the navigation on the Internet as well as the input of SMS texts and the way in which these short message texts are processed are therefore made unnecessarily difficult by inadequate input media. If no quick remedy is created, this may be due to the shortcomings described in the long term, a reduced acceptance of UMTS, especially of the SMS service, and thus a decrease in demand among the population.

D. Problem to be solved by the invention

The object of the present invention is therefore to improve the existing situation by means of the technology currently available. This object is achieved by a device with features according to claim 1. The task to be solved is not limited to telecommunication end devices, but concerns all applications in which control devices are used to comfortably control and navigate virtual objects that are displayed on an output field of view.

E. Solution of the task according to the invention according to the present patent claims on the basis of preferred exemplary embodiments

The present invention relates to a device for comfortable control and manipulation of virtual objects for a terminal for input and / or output, transmission and / or storage of text, sound and / or image information. In particular, this can be a mobile terminal for telecommunications, which has the following components:

a field of view 103 for graphical visualization of text and / or image information, A user interface 101 for the interactive control of the input and output of sound, image and / or text data,

• Integrated function keys 104, 105 and 106 as well

• Integrated control units 107, 108 and 303 for orientation and navigation of at least one on the

Field of view 103 shown insertion and / or position ^¬ ("cursor").

The device 107, 108 or 303 according to the invention enables the user of the mobile terminal to position or insert the position or insertion point shown on the output field of view 103 in all directions of the field of view (arc (Δz) € -180 °; + 180 ° [) to navigate steplessly without the need for additional hardware aids or user input using a combination of function keys. The term "stepless" means that the brand can be moved quasi-continuously, similar to a mouse pointer. The accuracy of the positioning is only limited by the size of the individual pixels. The advantage lies in the possibility of comfortable and fast 360 ° navigation of the insertion or position mark, which is achieved with the aid of a special device 107, 108 or 303. With this device according to the invention, a higher speed of the information input can be achieved. This can be achieved with regard to a significant improvement in the user-friendliness of the mobile terminal with regard to the features "efficiency" and "acceptance".

One of the most common applications for entering information into an information processing system, in which control units 107, 108 or 303 are used, is the determination of the position of an insert and / or position tion mark in the displayed image area of a field of view 103 (monitor or display). The accuracy of the positioning can only be determined by the resolution of the field of view 103 guaranteed by the manufacturer, that is to say the size of the pixels.

The control unit 107, 108 or 303 can also be suitably provided for navigation within the text and / or image area that can be displayed in the field of view. This functionality is particularly suitable for applications that enable "surfing" on the Internet, the execution of movements of virtual objects or orientation in virtual, computer-generated environments. The ability to navigate the insertion and / or position mark is generally a useful aid if, for example, several virtual buttons 207 and / or objects distributed in the field of view 103 have to be operated several times.

The control unit 107, 108 or 303 can have one or more integrated function keys for triggering preprogrammable actions when the insertion and / or position mark is positioned within certain partial areas of the field of view 103. With the help of this trigger mechanism, a virtual object can be selected, for example, like with a mouse after pressing the respective function key ("click"). The drawing of straight or curved lines, polygons, polygons, circles, ellipses or other geometrical figures can also be made possible with the help of these integrated function keys by "clicking" on the points necessary to determine the position, size and shape of these objects Example start and end point of a straight line, two diagonally opposite corner points of a rectangle or the center point and a point on the line of a circle. In general, each action for manipulating virtual objects that are displayed on the field of view 103 can be divided into the following three steps: 1. the selection or marking of the object by clicking on its surface or one of its boundary lines, 2. modifying the properties of the Object, for example by scaling its size, changing its color etc. and 3. signaling the completion of an action carried out by pressing a function key again,

The control unit 107, 108 or 303 can also be used for marking, selection or deselection of text and / or image areas that can be displayed within the field of view. If, for example, text passages in the text area or virtual objects in the image area are to be deleted or copied and pasted elsewhere in the text or image area shown, they must be marked or selected beforehand. When marking a text passage or a virtual object, the text or the object can, for example, be displayed in color or inversely against the background. This means that the background of the highlighted area and the highlighted text or the highlighted object change colors. Marking can be done, for example, by "clicking" the start and end position of a text passage, by "clicking" the relevant virtual object or by creating a framing rectangle around the respective object.

The control unit 107, 108 or 303 can be used for enlarging (“zoom-in”) or reducing (“zoo-out”) text and / or image areas that can be displayed within the field of view. In this context one speaks of a "magnifying glass" function. For this purpose, for example, an image section is created using a framing one Rectangle marked. After clicking on the corner points or the boundary lines of this rectangle, the size of the rectangle can be continuously changed by moving the control unit 107 or 303 while the function key is pressed. Such an image can be, for example, a snapshot taken with a camera or a still image or a graphic that was sent to the user, for example, by fax or via the Internet. If, for example, an enlarged or reduced view of a text section is to be displayed, this can be done by moving the control unit 107 or 303 in a continuous manner after marking the text section while holding down the function key. Alternatively, a step-by-step enlargement or reduction of text or image sections can also be carried out by selecting the percentage scaling value of the enlargement or reduction, for example, from a scrollable list.

The user interface can be expanded by virtual buttons 207 (softkeys) on the field of view 103, which either occupy a permanently assigned space on the field of view 103 or are organized in the form of so-called "pull-down" menus, that is to say only after other buttons have been actuated become visible. These virtual buttons 207 can be used by the user using the control unit 107, 108 or

303 can be controlled and activated or deactivated using a function key provided for this purpose.

The control unit 107, 108 or 303 required for orientation on the field of view 103 and for navigating the insertion and / or position mark for inputting or editing text and / or image documents can be at least one integrated in the terminal Navigation medium, such as act, for example, a joystick, a trackball and / or a rotary wheel 107. A special embodiment of the present invention includes such a rotary wheel 107, which is arranged around a four-way switch 108 ("Navikey") in the plane of the user interface 101. It can be rotated about an axis A _z , which is oriented perpendicular to the user interface 101 of the terminal (ie in the ± φ _z direction). A rotation in the + φ ₂ direction can be used, for example, to quickly navigate an insertion and / or position mark in a text area or in a scrollable list, and a rotation in the -φ _z direction can quickly Navigate. By turning the wheel, for example, a list can be scrolled, in which the ten Arabic numerals, the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, umlauts and diphthongs of the German language and special characters are stored. The mark can be moved forward or back one character at a time, whereby one character is always selected. Pressing the "OK" function key (softkey or real key) inserts the selected character into the text entry field. The rotary wheel 107 can also be used to carry out so-called "level changes", that is to say, for example, to switch between individual lists of a "pull-down" menu, individual function keys, buttons, text fields, scroll bars, tab bars or similar operating elements that are located on the Field of view 103 can be displayed to switch. A further possible application of the rotary wheel 107 is to support the “magnifying glass” function for enlarging (zooming in) or reducing (zooming out) image sections that are in the field of view 103 are shown, or for scaling the view of a marked text area (see explanations for claim 6). The control unit required for orientation on the field of view 103 and for navigation of the insertion and / or position mark for input or editing of text and / or image documents can also be a device 303 integrated in the terminal with a rotatably mounted device Rollbzw. Act treadmill 305 as a navigation medium. The Rollbzw. In the simplest case, treadmill 305 can be implemented as a plastic or rubber belt that is rolled up over two cylindrical rollers 306b. On the outside of the roller conveyor 305 there are knobs, grooves or troughs 304 which, when the roller conveyor 305 is operated, serve as a finger pick-up to increase the static friction, for example for operation with the thumb. The roller belt 305 is arranged in such a way that its running direction runs parallel to the xy plane of the field of view. The device 303 can, for example, be fastened in the center of a Y-shaped bearing 306a, the axis A _z of which is oriented perpendicular to the user interface of the terminal, so that the roller conveyor 305 can be rotated about this axis A _z (ie in the ± φ _z direction) , For example, if the mark is from a starting point Px with the complex representation

z _x : = xι + i-yι

in the direction of arg (Δz) by the length | Δz | to a target point P ₂ with the complex representation

z ₂ : = 2+ - y ₂ = Z! + | Δz | ^• e ^{i - arg (Δz, "π / 180 °} = = Z; L + | ΔZ | ^• [cos (arg (Δz) - 7- / 180 °) + i ^• sin (arg (Δz) - ₇ - / 180 °)]

device 303 can be navigated by the angle

Δφ _z -jc (Δz) = arg (Δz) + J-180 ° for ke {0; 1 _} rotate about the axis A _z and the roller belt 305 by the length | Δz | proportional path difference

Δ2 _k ~ (-1) * '| Δz | for the same value of k

push or pull on. The device 303 with a rotatably mounted roller conveyor 305 can be successfully used both for the navigation of an insertion and / or position mark within text areas and within image areas.

The above-mentioned control units control stick, roller ball, rotary wheel 107 or the device 303 with a rotatably mounted roller conveyor 305 can preferably be used for quick rough control of the insertion and / or position mark. All these control units are suitable for stepless movement and can be operated quickly and easily with one hand ("One-Hand Operation"). With the exception of the rotary wheel 107, these control units can be used for 360 ° navigation in the x-y plane of the field of view, that is, movements in any direction

arc (Δz) e [-180 °; + 180 ° [,

be carried out. Because according to the Pythagorean theorem for right triangles and the triangle inequality, the relationship

Δz = JΔx + i ^• Δyl = Αx ² + Δy ² <

+ JΔyl applies, needed for navigation of the insert and / or cursor in the xy plane of the field of view traveled may be significantly reduced, namely by a Stre ^¬ ckenlänge | Ax | + | Ay | when moving in ± x or + y direction to a path length | Δz | when moving in any direction arc (Δz) e [-180 °, - + 180 ° [within the xy plane of the field of view. As a result, all operations that can be carried out with the help of this brand can be carried out faster and more efficiently. Another advantage of operating these control units is that a hand or a finger of the user moves in exactly the same direction as the insertion or position mark on the field of view 103. This ensures that the direction of movement arc (Δz) of the control unit is mapped exactly on the field of view 103, that is to say the virtual surface of the terminal. Operator errors with regard to navigation, which result from misinterpretations of the mapping of control movements onto movements of the insertion and / or position mark, can thus be reduced.

For the slow fine control of the insertion and / or position mark, the right / left or the up / down arrow keys of a four-way switch 108 ("Navikey") can be used as further control units. With their help, a pixel-by-pixel positioning of the mark and thus also all marked objects, text or image sections around the different paths dx or dy in a positive or negative x or y direction can be positioned within an image area of the field of view 103 the xy plane of the field of view 103 can be reached. The mark fulfills the function of a mouse pointer. Alternatively, the control buttons of the four-way switch 108 can also be used for column-by-column or character-by-line or line-by-line forwarding of an insert and / or position onsmarke be used in a text area of the field of view. The brand fulfills the function of a cursor. The four-way switch 108 can thus be used sensibly in applications in which a mark is only a short distance | Δx | + | Δy | should be moved, such as in a calendar application 202, in which the brand shows the respective day of the week in the month view.

The controllable insertion and / or position mark for positioning and navigation on the field of view 103 can be a graphic symbol, such as a mouse pointer in the form of an arrow, hand, pen, eraser or in the form of another Display symbol or a cursor in the form of a vertical line, double line, rectangle or in the form of another insertion symbol. Depending on the application, the type, shape, size and / or color can differ. For example, a vertical line or a rectangle can be used as an insertion point in a text editor, an arrow symbol can, for example, be used as a display or positioning symbol for navigation in a virtual environment, a hand symbol for the selection of displayed virtual objects. Pencil or eraser symbols are particularly suitable in applications for editing graphics, drawings and images. For example, in order to clarify the transition from the text or image area to the control area of the field of view 103, which contains the virtual buttons 207, when navigating the insertion and / or position mark, the type, shape, size and / or can be expediently set up Change brand color.

The type, shape, size and / or color of the symbol for the insertion and / or position mark used as a mouse pointer or cursor can be predetermined as a default. The egg- Properties of the brand are usually appropriately adapted by the manufacturer to the respective application of the end device. (, For example an inverse ones shown, notified or blinking characters, an underscore, etc.) act, this can be also for example, a limited hours ^¬ tes, highlighted icon, which is displayed on the viewing field 103 and the current input or NAVIGATE position features. In addition, however, it can be provided that the type, shape, size and / or color of the brand can also be set individually by a user.

F. Description of figures with list of reference symbols

The invention is described in more detail below on the basis of preferred exemplary embodiments as described in FIGS. 1 to 4.

Show in detail

1 shows the user or user interface 101 of a mobile terminal for telecommunications, which has a field of view 103 for the graphic visualization of text and / or image information, integrated function keys 104, 105 and 106 and an integrated rotary wheel 107 around a four-way switch 108

(English: "Navikey") as a control unit for quick and convenient orientation and navigation of a displayed insertion and / or position mark on the field of view 103,

Figure 2 possible applications 201, 202, 203 and 204a-c, in which the quick and convenient navigation of an insertion and / or position mark with the help of rotary wheel 107 or four-way switch 108 can be used expediently,

3 shows the user or user interface 301 of a mobile terminal for telecommunications, which via a

Field of view 302 for the graphical visualization of text and / or image information, integrated function keys 307, 308 and 309 as well as a device 303 with a rotatably mounted roller conveyor 305 as a control unit for fast and convenient

Orientation and navigation of a displayed insertion and / or position mark on the field of vision

302, including the top view and a cross section of the roller conveyor arrangement 303 and

Figure 4 shows a possible application 401 or 402, in which the quick and convenient navigation of an insertion and / or position mark using the device

303 can be used with a rotatably mounted roller conveyor 305.

1 shows the rotary wheel 107 integrated in the user interface 101 of the mobile terminal and the four-way switch 108. Both control units can be operated in a simple, ergonomic and comfortable way with just one finger.

FIG. 2 shows various application examples 201, 202,

203 and 204a-c, in which the fast and convenient navigation of an insertion and / or position mark with the aid of the rotary wheel 107 or four-way switch 108 is used. The display windows 201, 202, 203 and are shown

204 different applications in which the functions Positioning, navigation, selection and marking are illustrated by the brand.

In the window 201, for example, using the right / left or the up / down arrow keys of the four-way switch 108, one of the applications "Tips", "Telephone directory with speed dial list" represented by symbols (English: "Icons"), "Audio mode" or "SIM services" of an activated level can be selected. When the button is pressed once, the mark moves one symbol to the right, left, up or down. In the window 201 shown, the application "telephone directory with speed dial list" is selected, which is expressed by the inverse representation of the corresponding symbol. A so-called "level change" can be carried out by turning the wheel 107 counterclockwise or clockwise. The level selected in the respective application is brought to the foreground. For example, you can switch between the "General", "Games" and "Organizer" levels, which are displayed in a tab bar. The "Organizer" level can contain applications, for example, a user-specific diary, an address book, a notebook, a calculator or a conversion table for foreign currencies. In the example outlined, the "General" level is selected.

In window 202, the right / left or the up / down arrow keys of the four-way switch 108 can be used for one day or one calendar week (KW) in the selected month view of the calendar shown for the month of January of the year 2000 forwarded. The selected day of the week (in this example Wednesday, January 11, 2000) can be grayed out, for example. In this case, the rotary wheel 107 is used to switch to another month view to scroll forward or backward by one month.

An example of an application is shown in window 203 with which the names and telephone numbers of subscribers can be entered or looked up in a user-specific telephone directory or in input fields of a speed dial list. The upper and lower case letters, numbers or special characters can be entered by selecting these characters from a scrollable list on the right edge of window 203. The right / left arrow keys of the four-way switch 108 move a cursor forward or backward in each of the input fields. With the up / down arrow keys of the four-way switch 108, the cursor can be moved back and forth between the two input fields. In this case, the rotary wheel 107 serves to scroll the list of characters forwards or backwards.

An example of an application with which e-mails can be edited and sent is shown in windows 204a, 204b and 204c. By rotating the wheel 107 or by pressing the up / down arrow keys of the four-way switch 108, an enlarged or reduced partial view of the edited text can be displayed.

In the headers 205 of these windows, graphic symbols or short texts can be displayed as window titles. The central areas 206 of the window can be used as input, action or Display area for graphics, images and text can be provided, in which, for example, symbols, text menus, fields, lists, virtual buttons, text and / or image areas etc. are displayed. Additional virtual buttons can be arranged in the footer 207 of these windows. In the sketch In the example, these are the virtual buttons "Option" and "OK". By pressing the "Option" button in one of the windows 201, 202, 203 or 204a-c, menus with further functions can be called up; By pressing the "OK" key, an action performed by the user can be completed and confirmed in one of the windows 201, 202, 203 or 204a-c.

With the help of rotary wheel 107 and / or four-way switch 108, it is also possible to enlarge (zoom in) or to zoom out (selected: "zoo-out") of selected image sections, as shown in windows 208 and 209 , The selection of the image section can take place by defining the diagonally opposite corner points of a framing rectangle with the help of the rotary wheel 107 and / or four-way switch 108. After pressing an "OK" button, the selection of an image area is considered complete. This image area can then be enlarged or reduced as described above.

FIG. 3 illustrates a possible technical embodiment of the device 303 integrated in the user or user interface 301 of a mobile terminal with a treadmill or roller conveyor 305, which is shown in plan view and in cross section AB. The device 303 can be rotated counterclockwise (ie in the + φ _z direction) or clockwise (ie in the -φ _z direction) about an axis A _z perpendicular to the user interface 301. In addition, the roller conveyor 305 can be moved in the forward (i.e. in the + z direction) or backward direction (in the z direction). The Roman numerals I and II indicate the two degrees of freedom for the rotational movement of the device 303 by the angle Δφ _ZfJc (Δz) and the translational movement of the conveyor belt 305 by the path differences. limit Δl _k denotes. In the lower half of FIG. 3, two top views of the device 303 are drawn for two different cases. The upper part of figure illustrates the ro tation ^¬ and translation of the roller conveyor 305 in the oblique direction for

Case a): Δφ _z , _λ (Δz) = -45 ° or Δφ _z , each (Δz) = + 135 ° for k = 0 or k = l (I) and Δl _k ≠ 0 mm (II);

the lower part shows the translation of the conveyor belt 305 in the line direction for

Case b): Δφ _z , _λ - (Δz) = -180 ° or Δφ _ZfJt (Δz) = 0 ° for k = 0 or kA (I) and ΔI _k ≠ 0 mm (II).

FIG. 4 shows examples of the comfortable and fast navigation of a cursor using the device 303 with a treadmill or roller conveyor 305 in text areas of a text editor application 401 or 402. The special cases shown for the movement of the cursor on the display of a mobile telecommunication terminal correspond to cases a) and b) from FIG. 3 for the movement of the device 303. The window 401 is the navigation of the cursor for rotation and translation of the conveyor belt 305 drawn in the oblique direction as in case a); In window 402 the navigation of the cursor for a translation of the roller conveyor 305 in the line direction is drawn as in case b). By pressing the virtual "Options" button in the footer 404 of the window 401 or 402, additional functions can be called up, for example functions for scaling the

Font size, for changing the font, for automatic spell checking, for automatic hyphenation, for using a dictionary for meaningful and related terms. reefs etc. With the help of the virtual "View" button in the footer 404 of the window 401 or 402, for example, a smaller or larger text view can be generated with the aid of a "zoom" function.

The meaning of the symbols designated by numerals in FIGS. 1 to 4 can be found in the list of reference symbols below.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

No.

101 User or user interface of a mobile terminal for telecommunications

102 speakers

103 Graphic output field of view (display)

104 dialing digits or function keys

105 Answer button

106 Call end key

107 Rotary wheel for quick and easy navigation of an insertion and / or position mark over the field of view 103 and for changing levels within the field of vision 103

108 Four-way switch (Navikey) for fine control of an insertion and / or position mark over the field of view 103

109 microphone

201 windows for selecting different applications

202 Window with the monthly view of a calendar

203 Window for editing a user-specific telephone directory or a speed dial list

204 window for an e-mail application to demonstrate the "magnifying glass" function for selected text areas using three different "zoom" factors (204a, 204b and 204c)

205 header with the title of one of the windows 201, 202, 203 or 204a-c

206 Input, action or display area for graphics, images and text in one of the windows 201, 202, 203 or 204a-c

207 footer with virtual buttons for additional functions or for confirming completed actions in one of the windows 201, 202, 203 or 204a-c

208 landscape scene as a test image to demonstrate the selection, enlargement or reduction of image sections

209 Enlarged partial section of the landscape scene 208

301 user or user interface of a mobile terminal for telecommunications

302 graphic output field of view (display) 303 device with rotatably mounted roller conveyor 305 for fast and comfortable navigation of an insertion and / or position mark over the field of view 302; the Roman numeral I denotes the direction of rotation for positioning the mark, the Roman numeral II the direction of movement for the navigation of the mark over the field of view

304 recess for finger absorption (e.g. for the thumb)

305 belts as a treadmill

306a Y-shaped rotatable bearing for the roller conveyor 305 306b Cylindrical rollers for receiving the roller conveyor 305

307 answer button

308 call end key

309 dialing digits or function keys

310 speakers

311 microphone

401 Window for the quick and easy navigation of a cursor in a text area along a route in the oblique direction

402 Window to illustrate the fast and comfortable navigation of a cursor in a text area along a route in the line direction

403 Text area of a text editor application in a window 401 or 402

404 footer of a text editor application with virtual buttons for additional functions or for modifying the view of a text area application in a window 401 or 402

Claims

claims

1. Device for convenient control and manipulation of virtual objects for a terminal for input / output, transmission and / or storage of text, sound and / or image information, in particular a mobile terminal for telecommunications, with a field of view (103) graphic visualization of text and / or image information, with a user interface (101) for interactive control of the input and output of sound, image and / or text data, with integrated function keys (104, 105 and 106) and with integrated control units ( 107, 108 or 303) for orienting and navigating a displayed insertion and / or position mark on the field of view (103), characterized in that _r stepless navigation of the insertion and / or position mark in all directions for two-dimensional location orientation in the plane of the Field of view (103) is made possible without the need for additional hardware aids or by user input r a combination of function keys (104, 105 or 106) is required.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit (107, 108 or 303) is suitable for positioning an insertion and / or position mark within a text and / or image area which can be represented in the field of view (103).

3. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit (107, 108 or 303) is suitable for navigation within the text and / or image area which can be represented in the field of view (103).

Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit (107, 108 or 303) has at least one integrated function key, with the aid of which pre-programmable actions when positioning the insertion and / or position mark within certain partial areas of the field of view (103) to be triggered.

5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit (107, 108 or 303) is used for marking, selection or deselection of text and / or image areas that can be displayed within the field of view (103).

6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit (107, 108 or 303) is used for enlarging or reducing text and / or image areas that can be displayed within the field of view 103.

7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the user interface (101) by menu-controlled or fixed predetermined virtual buttons (soft keys) on the field of view (103) is expanded, which the user using the navigation medium (107, 108 or 303) can be activated and activated using a function key.

8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is the for orientation on the field of view (103) and for navigation of the input Joining and / or position mark for inputting or editing text and / or image documents, the control unit requires at least one navigation medium integrated into the terminal, such as a control stick, a trackball and / or a rotary wheel (107).

9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is the control unit required for orientation on the output field of view (103) and navigation of the insertion and / or position mark for inputting or editing text and / or image documents a device (303) integrated in the terminal device with a rotatably mounted roller conveyor (305) acts as a navigation medium.

10.Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control units control stick, trackball, rotary wheel (107) and / or the device (303) with the rotatably mounted roller conveyor (305) can be used for quick rough control of the insertion and / or position mark are.

11.Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control buttons of the four-way switch (108) can be used as the control unit for the slow fine control of the insertion and / or position mark.

12.Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the controllable insertion and / or position mark for positioning and navigation on the field of view (103) is a graphic symbol, such as a mouse pointer in the form of a Arrow, hand, pencil, eraser or in the form of another display symbol or a cursor in the form of a vertical line, double line, rectangle or in the form of another insertion symbol.

13.Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the type, shape, size and / or color of the symbol used as the mouse pointer or cursor for the insertion and / or position mark are predefined as the Vσ setting, but by a user can also be set individually.