Method for displaying menu items on menu screen with improved convenience

• US 20060248474A1
• Filed: 04/27/2006
• Published: 11/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kimotsuki, Kenji
• Application Number:
  US11/412,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20060248474A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

When there is a key operation, the number of times of selection or the number of times of cancellation corresponding to the command or the menu item for which the key operation was made is rewritten. When a “enter” (select) button is depressed for selection, the count for the number of times of selection is incremented by 1. When a “return” button is depressed for selection, the count for the number of times of cancellation is incremented by 1. The number of times of execution is obtained by subtracting the number of times of cancellation from the number of times of selection, and the display order is set in accordance with the number of times of execution thus obtained.

Claims

1. A menu item display method for displaying a plurality of menu items associated with setting of an electronic apparatus and arranged in a plurality of hierarchical levels by dynamically applying priorities to the menu items in each of the hierarchical levels, comprising the steps of:

selecting, in an upper hierarchical level in said plurality of hierarchical levels, a desired menu item from among a plurality of menu items arranged in a prescribed display order to move to a lower hierarchical level;

canceling selection of said selected menu item to move from the lower hierarchical level back to the upper hierarchical level as required;

recording execution frequency information provided for each hierarchical level and including the number of times of selection and the number of times of cancellation of each of a plurality of menu items in the corresponding hierarchical level on a storage unit provided in said electronic apparatus;

updating, for each hierarchical level, the setting of the display order of said plurality of menu items in the relevant hierarchical level based on the execution frequency information corresponding to the plurality of menu items stored in said storage unit; and

displaying, for each hierarchical level, the plurality of menu items associated with the setting of said electronic apparatus in accordance with the updated display order;

said execution frequency information further including the number of times of execution obtained by subtracting the number of times of cancellation from the number of times of selection of the menu item,

said step of updating including the step of updating the setting of the display order of said plurality of menu items in each hierarchical level in descending order of the number of times of execution in said execution frequency information for each of said menu items, and

said step of displaying including the step of displaying a menu item among said plurality of menu items of which the number of times of cancellation in said execution frequency information is not smaller than a prescribed number, by setting at least one of size and color of said menu item to differ from the size or the color of the remaining menu items of which the number of times of cancellation in said execution frequency information is smaller than the prescribed number.

2. A menu item display method for displaying a plurality of menu items associated with setting of an electronic apparatus and arranged in a plurality of hierarchical levels by dynamically applying priorities to the menu items in each of the hierarchical levels, comprising the steps of:

selecting, in an upper hierarchical level in said plurality of hierarchical levels, a desired menu item from among a plurality of menu items arranged in a prescribed display order to move to a lower hierarchical level;

canceling selection of said selected menu item to move from the lower hierarchical level back to the upper hierarchical level as required;

recording execution frequency information provided for each hierarchical level and including the number of times of selection and the number of times of cancellation of each of a plurality of menu items in the corresponding hierarchical level on a storage unit provided in said electronic apparatus;

updating, for each hierarchical level, the setting of the display order of said plurality of menu items in the relevant hierarchical level based on the execution frequency information corresponding to the plurality of menu items stored in said storage unit; and

displaying, for each hierarchical level, the plurality of menu items associated with the setting of said electronic apparatus in accordance with the updated display order.

3. The menu item display method according to claim 2, wherein

said execution frequency information further includes the number of times of execution obtained by subtracting the number of times of cancellation from the number of times of selection of the menu item, and

said step of updating includes the step of updating the setting of the display order of said plurality of menu items in each hierarchical level in descending order of the number of times of execution in said execution frequency information for each of said menu items.

4. The menu item display method according to claim 2, wherein said step of updating includes the step of updating the setting of the display order of said plurality of menu items such that two of said menu items of which the number of times of cancellation in said execution frequency information is not smaller than a prescribed number are not arranged adjacent to each other.

5. The menu item display method according to claim 2, wherein said step of displaying includes the step of displaying a menu item among said plurality of menu items of which the number of times of cancellation in said execution frequency information is not smaller than a prescribed number, by setting at least one of size and color of said menu item to differ from the size or the color of the remaining menu items of which the number of times of cancellation in said execution frequency information is smaller than the prescribed number.