APPARATUS TO DISPLAY THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3D) USER INTERFACE

• US 20120005622A1
• Filed: 05/24/2011
• Published: 01/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Pantech Corporation (Ideahub, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Pantech Corporation (Ideahub, Inc.)
• Inventors: KIM, Su Jin, PARK, Woo Hyun
• Application Number:
  US13/114,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20120005622A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/782
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

An apparatus to display a three-dimensional (3D) User Interface (UI) includes a display panel to display a 3D UI comprising main menu polygonal cells; a sensing unit to sense a user selection of a target main menu polygonal cell; and a control unit to execute a function of the selected target main menu polygonal cell.

Claims

1. An apparatus to display a three-dimensional (3D) User Interface (UI), comprising:

a display panel to display a 3D UI comprising main menu polygonal cells;

a sensing unit to sense a user selection of a target main menu polygonal cell; and

a control unit to execute a function of the selected target main menu polygonal cell.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit displays and zooms in on a 3D sub-UI on the display panel, wherein the 3D sub-UI displays sub-menu icons corresponding to the selected target main menu polygonal cell.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the control unit displays the 3D UI in a spherical shape on the display panel.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the control unit displays the 3D sub-UI on the display panel by overlapping the 3D sub-UI over the 3D UI.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the control unit displays the 3D sub-UI as a polygonal pillar comprising a plurality of sides on the display panel, wherein the polygonal pillar side is a first page to display a sub menu icon.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein, if a target sub-menu icon is selected, the control unit rotates the 3D sub-UI by a reference angle and displays a second page comprising a lower menu icon corresponding to the selected target sub-menu on the display panel.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the 3D sub-UI is displayed in a similar polygonal shape as the selected target main menu polygonal cell.

8. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein, if a first sub menu icon corresponding to the selected target main menu polygonal cell is displayed and a second main menu polygonal cell is selected from the displayed 3D UI, the control unit removes the first sub menu icon from the display panel, and displays a second sub-menu icon corresponding to the selected second main menu polygonal cell on the display panel.

9. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein if the polygonal cell is selected, the control unit displays, the 3D sub-UI in a similar spherical shape as the 3D UI on the display panel, and displays the 3D sub-UI either to be located inside the 3D UI or to be protruded from the inside of the 3D UI.

10. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the control unit displays the main menu polygonal cells on an upper hemisphere of the 3D UI and displays the sub-menu icon displayed on a polygonal cell corresponding to the selected target main menu polygonal cell on the lower hemisphere.

11. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the control unit displays the selected target main menu polygonal cell and the corresponding sub-menu icon displayed on a polygonal cell as a planetary system on the display panel.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the function of the selected target main menu polygonal cell comprises display of sub-menu icon corresponding to the selected target main menu polygonal cell, or execution of an application or a file corresponding to the selected target main menu polygonal cell.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main menu polygonal cell comprises a triangle, a rectangle, a pentagon, or a hexagon.

14. An apparatus to display a three-dimensional (3D) User Interface (UI), comprising:

a display panel to display the 3D UI, wherein in the 3D UI comprises a plurality of selectable cells arranged in a geometric shape;

a sensing unit to sense a user selection of a target folder; and

a control unit to display a file list saved in the target folder on the 3D UI.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the control unit displays, on the display panel, the file list saved in the selected target folder in a thumbnail view.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein:

if at least two target folders are selected, the control unit displays a file list of the selected target folders using a corresponding 3D UI on the display panel, and

if at least two files are selected from the file list via a multi-touch, the control unit executes a function of the selected files.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the function of the selected file comprise display of a sub-folder corresponding to the selected folder, or execution of an program or a file corresponding to the selected folder.

18. An apparatus to display a three-dimensional (3D) User Interface (UI), comprising:

a display panel to display a main menu polygonal cell;

a sensing unit to sense a user selection of the main menu polygonal cell; and

a control unit to execute a function of the selected polygonal cell,

wherein the executed function includes navigating to one or more corresponding sub-menus, or executing a corresponding application.