Information processing apparatus, information processing method, information processing program and storage medium containing information processing program

• US 20070300180A1
• Filed: 08/17/2007
• Published: 12/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ikuo Terado, Katsunori Miura, Kazuhiro Kondo, Satomi Yonezawa, Takamoto Tsuda, Tatsuya Hama, Tetsuya Kohno, Yukako Morimoto
• Original Assignee: Ikuo Terado, Katsunori Miura, Kazuhiro Kondo, Satomi Yonezawa, Takamoto Tsuda, Tatsuya Hama, Tetsuya Kohno, Yukako Morimoto
• Inventors: Hama, Tatsuya, Kohno, Tetsuya, Yonezawa, Satomi, Terado, Ikuo, Tsuda, Takamoto, Miura, Katsunori, Kondo, Kazuhiro, Morimoto, Yukako
• Granted Patent: US 7,975,237 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/787
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0214 Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/233 including a pointing device, e.g. roller key, track ball, rocker switch or joystick constructional details of pointing devices per se G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons

Abstract

There is provided a novel menu selection method in a mobile phone. Also provided is a cursor displaying method with which a user can intuitively recognize a moving direction and moving speed. In addition, a novel scrollbar with which the user can recognize, in a case of displaying menus beyond a display screen, a range currently displayed on a display screen among all the menus and a current cursor position within the menus displayed on the current display screen.

Claims

1-9. -9. (canceled)

10. An information processing apparatus comprising:

storage means which stores a plurality of menus classified into a predetermined group, respectively;

menu display means which displays menus in a range of said plurality of menus stored in said storage means and a selection cursor for selecting a desired menu from said displayed menus in the range on a display unit;

scrolling display means which displays a scrolling frame, a first scrolling cursor and a second scrolling cursor on said display unit, said scrolling frame having an area corresponding to the number of all menus stored in said storage means, said first scrolling cursor being displayed movably in the area of the scrolling frame and indicating a group in which the menus indicated by said selection cursor among said all menus is classified, and said second scrolling cursor being displayed movably on said first scrolling cursor and indicating the menus indicated by said selection cursor among said menus in the range;

operation means for performing a scrolling operation of the menus displayed on said display unit;

display control means which controls said menu display means to perform scrolling display of the menus displayed on said display unit in accordance with the scrolling operation of said menus by said operation means, and controls said scrolling display means to display said second scrolling cursor movably in correspondence with the scrolling-displayed menus and, in a case where the group into which the menus indicated by said selection cursor are classified is changed by said scrolling operation, to display said first scrolling cursor movably in correspondence with the change.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said scrolling display means displays said scrolling frame in a shape of a bar or a ring on said display unit.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said first scrolling cursor has an area corresponding to the number of menus classified into the group into which the menu indicated by said selection cursor is classified.

13-14. -14. (canceled)

15. An information processing method for an information processing apparatus having storage means in which a plurality of menus are classified into a predetermined group, respectively, to be stored, a display unit, and operation means for performing a scrolling operation of the menus displayed on said display unit, said method comprising:

a menu displaying step of displaying menus in a range of said plurality of menus stored in said storage means and a selection cursor for selecting a desired menu from said displayed menus in the range on a display unit;

a scrolling displaying step of displaying a scrolling frame, a first scrolling cursor and a second scrolling cursor on said display unit, said scrolling frame having an area corresponding to the number of all menus stored in said storage means, said first scrolling cursor being displayed movably in the area of the scrolling frame and indicating a group in which the menus indicated by said selection cursor among said all menus is classified, and said second scrolling cursor being displayed movably on said first scrolling cursor and indicating the menus indicated by said selection cursor among said menus in the range; and

a display controlling step of controlling to perform scrolling display of the menus displayed on said display unit in accordance with the scrolling operation of said menus by said operation means, and controlling to display said second scrolling cursor movably in correspondence with the scrolling-displayed menus and, in a case where the group into which the menus indicated by said selection cursor are classified is changed by said scrolling operation, to display said first scrolling cursor movably in correspondence with the change.

16-17. -17. (canceled)

18. An information processing program executed in an information processing apparatus having storage means in which a plurality of menus are classified into a predetermined group, respectively, to be stored, a display unit, and operation means for performing a scrolling operation of the menus displayed on said display unit, said program causing the information processing apparatus execute:

a menu displaying step of displaying menus in a range of said plurality of menus stored in said storage means and a selection cursor for selecting a desired menu from said displayed menus in the range on a display unit;

a scrolling displaying step of displaying a scrolling frame, a first scrolling cursor and a second scrolling cursor on said display unit, said scrolling frame having an area corresponding to the number of all menus stored in said storage means, said first scrolling cursor being displayed movably in the area of the scrolling frame and indicating a group in which the menus indicated by said selection cursor among said all menus is classified, and said second scrolling cursor being displayed movably on said first scrolling cursor and indicating the menus indicated by said selection cursor among said menus in the range; and

a display controlling step of controlling to perform scrolling display of the menus displayed on said display unit in accordance with the scrolling operation of said menus by said operation means, and controlling to display said second scrolling cursor movably in correspondence with the scrolling-displayed menus and, in a case where the group into which the menus indicated by said selection cursor are classified is changed by said scrolling operation, to display said first scrolling cursor movably in correspondence with the change.

19-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A storage medium having stored therein an information processing program executed in an information processing apparatus having storage means in which a plurality of menus are classified into a predetermined group, respectively, to be stored, a display unit, and operation means for performing a scrolling operation of the menus displayed on said display unit, said program causing the information processing apparatus execute:

a menu displaying step of displaying menus in a range of said plurality of menus stored in said storage means and a selection cursor for selecting a desired menu from said displayed menus in the range on a display unit;

a scrolling displaying step of displaying a scrolling frame, a first scrolling cursor and a second scrolling cursor on said display unit, said scrolling frame having an area corresponding to the number of all menus stored in said storage means, said first scrolling cursor being displayed movably in the area of the scrolling frame and indicating a group in which the menus indicated by said selection cursor among said all menus is classified, and said second scrolling cursor being displayed movably on said first scrolling cursor and indicating the menus indicated by said selection cursor among said menus in the range; and

a display controlling step of controlling to perform scrolling display of the menus displayed on said display unit in accordance with the scrolling operation of said menus by said operation means, and controlling to display said second scrolling cursor movably in correspondence with the scrolling-displayed menus and, in a case where the group into which the menus indicated by said selection cursor are classified is changed by said scrolling operation, to display said first scrolling cursor movably in correspondence with the change.