SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SCROLLING THROUGH A LIST
First Claim
1. A method for scrolling through a list in an electronic device comprising the steps of:
- providing a display having a single line of alphanumeric text for displaying one entry of an alphabetized list; and
replacing the display with a text phrase representing a cluster of items in the alphabetized list when the user requests a higher level of abstraction such that the text phase consists of at least one character that forms a common starting phrase of the group of alphabetized entries of which the currently displayed entry is a member.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for scrolling through a list uses control and display algorithms for scrolling through a long list of text strings. The control algorithm interfaces to the user via a rate-based scheme to switch the display through various levels of abstraction where higher levels of abstraction are displayed “in-situ” on the single-line display. These higher levels of abstraction display as starting characters or words that are common to a group of entries in the alphabetized list. Multiple levels of abstraction are supported, where lower levels of abstraction are displayed as longer strings of characters, representing smaller groups of entries in the given list of text strings. Higher levels of abstraction are displayed as shorter character strings. The rate of user movement is detected for the display to change to a previous or next item in the list if below a predetermined threshold while increasing the abstraction level if the user rapidly selects different options.
34 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for scrolling through a list in an electronic device comprising the steps of:
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providing a display having a single line of alphanumeric text for displaying one entry of an alphabetized list; and replacing the display with a text phrase representing a cluster of items in the alphabetized list when the user requests a higher level of abstraction such that the text phase consists of at least one character that forms a common starting phrase of the group of alphabetized entries of which the currently displayed entry is a member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for scrolling through a list in an electronic device including the steps of:
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providing a display having a single line of alphanumeric text for displaying one entry of an alphabetized list; replacing the display with a text phrase representing a cluster of items in the alphabetized list when the user requests a higher level of abstraction such that the text phase consists of at least one character that forms a common starting phrase of the group of alphabetized entries of which the currently displayed entry is a member; and utilizing a rate-based control algorithm such that if a user advances through the alphabetized list at a rate faster than a predetermined value the level of abstraction is increased by one or if at a slower rate than a predetermined value the displayed is changed to the next or next item in the alphabetized list; and updating the display using a common starting phrase of the group of alphabetized entries of which the current displayed entry or cluster is a member. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for scrolling through a list in an electronic device including the steps of:
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providing a display having a single line of alphanumeric text for displaying one entry of an alphabetized list; replacing the display with a text phrase representing a cluster of items in the alphabetized list when the user requests a higher level of abstraction such that the text phase consists of at least one character that forms a common starting phrase of the group of alphabetized entries of which the currently displayed entry is a member; utilizing a rate-based control algorithm such that if a user advances through the alphabetized list at a rate faster than a predetermined value, the level of abstraction is increased by one or if at a slower rate than a predetermined value the displayed is changed to the previous or next item in the alphabetized list; updating the display using a common starting phrase of the group of alphabetized entries of which the current displayed entry or cluster is a member; and reducing the abstraction level of the display if the user does not scroll a displayed entry for a predetermined period. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for scrolling through a list in an electronic device including the steps of:
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determining if there is any user input for the electronic device; decreasing an abstraction level of the list if there is no user input; changing an abstraction level as requested if there is user input; displaying the selection in the list; determining the rate of movement of the user input; changing the display to a previous or subsequent item in the list if the rate of movement is below a predetermined threshold; and increasing the abstraction level by one if the user input rate is above a predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification