User interface in which plurality of related pieces of menu information belonging to distinct categories are displayed in parallel, and apparatus and method for displaying the user interface

• US 20060236349A1
• Filed: 04/17/2006
• Published: 10/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Jung-won
• Application Number:
  US11/404,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20060236349A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/44 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A user interface in which a plurality of pieces of related menu information belonging to distinct categories are displayed in parallel, and an apparatus and method for displaying the user interface are provided. The apparatus includes an interface storage unit which stores information regarding a plurality of menu icons belonging to a plurality of categories, a display unit which displays the menu icons in a plurality of regions, an input reception unit which receives one of a directional input signal or a selection input signal from a user, and a control unit which changes the menu icons displayed by the display unit or moves the selector in response to the input signal received by the input reception unit by referencing the information stored in the interface storage unit.

Claims

1. An apparatus for displaying a user interface in which a plurality of related pieces of menu information belonging to distinct categories are displayed in parallel, the apparatus comprising:

an interface storage unit which stores information regarding a plurality of first menu icons belonging to a first category, information regarding a plurality of second menu icons belonging to a second category, information regarding a plurality of third menu icons belonging to a third category, and information regarding one of the first, second, and third menu icons selected by a selector;

a display unit which displays a selector, displays the first menu icons in a first menu region, displays the second menu icons in a second menu region, and displays the third menu icons in a third menu region, the first, second, and third menu regions being displayed in parallel;

an input reception unit which receives one of a directional input signal or a selection input signal from a user; and

a control unit which moves the first, second, and third menu icons displayed by the display unit or moves the selector in response to the input signal received by the input reception unit by referencing the information stored in the interface storage unit and determines the third menu icons displayed by the display unit based on common characteristics between the first category and the second category corresponding to selected first icons and second icons.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, if the selector is located in one of the first, second, and third menu regions, the control unit changes the information of the menu region where the selector is located in response to the directional input signal received by the input reception unit.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the directional input signal is used for moving the selector.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the directional input signal is generated using one of left, right, up, and down keys, a jog shuttle, and a joystick.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of selectors, wherein the selectors are located in each of the first, second, and third menu regions and have a directional input signal corresponding to each respective menu region.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first category is a multimedia device category that lists a plurality of multimedia devices, the second category is a multimedia content type category that lists a plurality of multimedia content types, the third category is a content type category that includes a plurality of pieces of content that can be played by or stored in at least one of the multimedia devices and correspond to at least one of the multimedia content types.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display unit displays an input screen for selecting how to arrange the third menu icons in the third menu region, wherein the control unit determines the arrangement of the display of the third menu icons based on the input signal received by the input reception unit.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, if the user selects one of the first or second menu icons, the display unit also displays a sub-menu region in parallel to the first or second menu region to which the menu icon selected by the selector belongs.

9. A method of displaying a user interface in which a plurality of related pieces of menu information belonging to distinct categories are displayed in parallel, the method comprising:

receiving an activation input signal for requesting a menu screen;

displaying a plurality of first menu icons belonging to a first category in a first menu region and displaying a plurality of second menu icons belonging to a second category in a second menu region;

displaying a plurality of third menu icons belonging to a third category in a third menu region, such that the third menu icons displayed correspond to a first menu icon selected from a first menu region and a second menu icon selected from a second menu region;

displaying a selector in at least one of the first, second, and third menu regions; and

receiving an input signal and moving the first or second menu icons or the selector in response to the input signal so that the first menu icon and the second menu icon are selected.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein if the selection of the first menu icon or the second menu icon is changed, the third menu icons displayed are changed to correspond to third menu icons of the third category which have common characteristics with the currently selected first menu icon and second menu icon.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the directional input signal is used for moving the selector.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the directional input signal is generated using one of left, right, up, and down keys, a jog shuttle, and a joystick.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein, if multiple selectors are displayed there are directional input signals for each of the first, second and third menu regions displaying the selectors.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the first category is a multimedia devices category that includes a plurality of multimedia devices, the second category is a multimedia content type category that includes a plurality of multimedia content types, the third category is a content type category that includes a plurality of pieces of content that can be played by or stored in at least one of multimedia devices and corresponds to at least one of the multimedia content types.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a tool button input signal; and

providing an input screen that permits selecting how to arrange the third menu icons in the third menu region, if the tool button input signal is received.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein, if the selector selects one of the first or second menu icons, further comprising displaying a sub-menu region in parallel to the first or second menu region to which the menu icon selected by the selector belongs.

17. A user interface for arranging a plurality of related pieces of menu information belonging to distinct categories in parallel, the user interface comprising:

a first menu region in which first menu icons belonging to a first category are displayed;

a second menu region in which second menu icons belonging to a second category are displayed;

a third menu region in which at least one of a plurality of third menu icons belonging to a third category are displayed, the at least one of the plurality of third menu icons being displayed having common characteristics with at least one of a selected first menu icon and a second menu icon, said third menu region displayed in parallel with the first and second menu regions; and

a selector located in at least one of the first, second and third menu regions that enables selection of at least one of the first menu icons, the second menu icons and the third menu icons.

18. The user interface of claim 17, wherein if the selection of the first menu icon or the second menu icon is changed, the third menu icons displayed are changed to correspond to third menu icons of the third category which have common characteristics with the currently selected first menu icon and second menu icon.

19. The user interface of claim 17, wherein, if the selector is located in one selected region of the first, second and third menu regions, information in the selected region changes by a directional input signal.

20. The user interface of claim 19, wherein the directional input signal is used for moving the selector.

21. The user interface of claim 19, wherein the directional input signal is generated using one of left, right, up, and down keys, a jog shuttle, and a joystick.

22. The user interface of claim 17, wherein, if multiple selectors are displayed there are directional input signals for each of the first, second and third menu regions displaying the selectors.

23. The user interface of claim 17, wherein the first category is a multimedia devices category that lists a plurality of multimedia devices, the second category is a multimedia content type category that lists a plurality of multimedia content types, the third category is a content type category that includes a plurality of pieces of content that can be played by or stored in at least one of the multimedia devices and corresponds to at least one of the multimedia content types.

24. The user interface of claim 17, wherein the third menu region provides an input screen for selecting how to arrange the third menu icons in the third menu region.

25. The user interface of claim 17, wherein, if the selector selects one of the first or second menu icons, a sub-menu region of the selected menu icon is displayed in parallel to the first or second menu region to which the menu icon selected by the selector belongs.

26. An apparatus for displaying a user interface, comprising:

a control unit which causes a display to display first menu icons of a first category, second menu icons of a second category, third menu icons of a third category, and a selector that selects at least one of the first menu icons, the second menu icons, and the third menu icons,

wherein the third menu icons displayed have common characteristics with the first menu icon and second menu icons selected.

27. The apparatus for displaying a user interface according to claim 26, further comprising:

an input reception unit that receives input from a user and sends a signal corresponding to the input to the control unit,

wherein the control unit causes the selector to select at least one of the first menu icons or the second menu icons.

28. The apparatus for displaying a user interface according to claim 26, wherein the control unit causes the display to display the first menu icons in a first region, the second menu icons in a second region and the third menu icons in a third region, wherein the first region, the second region, and the third region are displayed in parallel.

29. The apparatus for displaying a user interface according to claim 26, wherein the selector is displayed in a selector region and the control unit causes the first menu icons, the second menu icons, and the third menu icons to move through the selector region based on input from a user.