Appliance and method for menu navigation
First Claim
1. A hand-held image capture and communication appliance, comprising:
- a photoelement array for acquiring image data;
a memory for saving said image data;
a processor in communication with said memory;
a display in communication with said processor for exhibiting said image data;
a plurality of navigation buttons;
a plurality of operational buttons; and
program code stored in said memory and executed by said processor, said program code comprising a menu navigation interface module for allowing a user to select one of a plurality of menu options in response to the invocation of one of said navigation buttons, so that the functionality of said plurality of navigation buttons changes from a first set of navigation button operating functions to a second set of navigation button operating functions which correspond to a plurality of menu functions associated with a selected menu.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A capturing and viewing appliance and method are provided for capturing and communicating images to other appliances and devices with communication capabilities. The capturing and viewing appliance includes a processor for manipulating and viewing the images on a built-in display. Program code stored in internal memory includes a menu navigation interface application program which allows the user to use navigation buttons and operational buttons to operate the menu navigation interface in operating the appliance. According to another aspect of the invention, the menu navigation interface provides a user-friendly interface for operating an appliance or other device through reuse of the navigation buttons and operational buttons in menu activation and deactivation as well as menu item selection. Through the use of this novel user interface and method of the menu navigation, the present invention presents a novel operating solution for devices and appliances with limited resources as the menu navigation interface and method is designed for navigating menus through instrument reuse which is especially useful in portable hand-held appliances or other devices which are capable of displaying images where space and compactness are a concern.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A hand-held image capture and communication appliance, comprising:
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a photoelement array for acquiring image data; a memory for saving said image data; a processor in communication with said memory; a display in communication with said processor for exhibiting said image data; a plurality of navigation buttons; a plurality of operational buttons; and program code stored in said memory and executed by said processor, said program code comprising a menu navigation interface module for allowing a user to select one of a plurality of menu options in response to the invocation of one of said navigation buttons, so that the functionality of said plurality of navigation buttons changes from a first set of navigation button operating functions to a second set of navigation button operating functions which correspond to a plurality of menu functions associated with a selected menu. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A hand-held image capture and communication appliance, comprising:
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capturing means for acquiring image data; storage means for saving said image data; processing means in communication with said storage means; display means in communication with said processing means for exhibiting said image data; a navigation means; operation activation means; and program code stored in said storage means and executed by said processing means for manipulating said image data, said program code comprising a menu navigation interface module for allowing a user to select one of a plurality of menu options in response to the invocation of said navigation means, so that the functionality of said navigation means changes from a first set of navigation operating functions to a second set of navigation operating functions which correspond to a plurality of menu functions associated with a selected menu. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An interface method for invoking the operation of a hand-held image capture and communication appliance having a built-in display, comprising the steps of:
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selecting one of a plurality of menus in response to an invocation of one of a plurality of functional buttons; and changing the functionality of a plurality of navigation buttons in response to selecting one of said menus from a first set of navigation button operating functions to a second set of navigation button operating functions, such that said second set of navigation button operating functions correspond to a plurality of menu functions associated with said selected menu. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A computer readable medium having a program for manipulating image data acquired by a hand-held image capture and communication appliance, said program code comprising:
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logic configured for displaying a plurality of menus, each one of said plurality of menus comprising at least one option displayed on a display, said options corresponding to operations capable of execution by said appliance; logic configured for demarcating one of said options, said demarcation representing a user selection of said option; logic configured for associating a first set of operating button operating functions with a plurality of operating buttons, such that said first set of operating button operating functions corresponds to a first menu selected from said plurality of menus; logic configured for associating a second set of operating button operating functions with said plurality of operating buttons, such that said second set of operating button operating functions corresponds to a second menu selected from said plurality of menus; and logic configured for processing a user selection of one of said options. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification