Portable information terminal apparatus, display screen scroll method, recording medium, and microcomputer apparatus

• US 6,219,051 B1
• Filed: 12/21/1998
• Issued: 04/17/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Furuya, Mami
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hailu, Tadesse
• Application Number:
  US09/216,967
• Time in Patent Office: 848 Days
• Field of Search: 345/341, 345/1, 345/145, 345/973, 345/340, 345/342, 345/339
• US Class Current: 715/785
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/343 for systems having a character code-mapped display memory

Abstract

A portable information terminal apparatus capable of high-speed display screen scroll processing. An up/down scroll command signal control unit detects the number of unprocessed scroll command signals. A display control unit activates a partial screen update unit if at least two unprocessed scroll command signals are found based on processing executed by the up/down scroll command signal control unit, and activates a total screen update unit if only one unprocessed scroll signal is found remaining. The partial screen updating unit partially updates a display screen based on processing by the display control unit, where as the total screen update unit totally updates the display screen based on processing of the display control unit.

Claims

1. A display screen scroll method for scrolling a display screen by a number of times a scroll command signal is provided, comprising the steps of:

partially updating said display screen and displaying a partially updated display screen if at least two unprocessed scroll command signals are found; and

entirely updating said display screen and displaying an entirely updated screen if there remains only one unprocessed scroll command signal.

2. The display screen scroll method for scrolling a display screen as set forth in claim 1, wherein said display screen method is applied to a portable information terminal apparatus.

3. A portable information terminal apparatus, comprising:

radio communication means;

control means for at least executing data processing;

a display screen capable of executing at least one of upward scrolling and downward scrolling at least by a display line basis; and

an input device for generating at least one of an up-scroll command signal and a down-scroll command signal according to an operation of said input device by a user,

wherein a radio wave transmitted from a transmission base station is received by said radio communication means and said control means extracts information from a terminating signal carried by said radio wave and displays at least said information onto said display screen, said portable information terminal apparatus further comprising;

up/down scroll command signal control means capable of detecting a number of unprocessed scroll command signals;

display control means for activating a partial screen update means if at least two unprocessed scroll command signals are found based on processing executed by said up/down scroll command signal control means and for activating a total screen update means if only one unprocessed scroll signal is found remaining;

wherein said partial screer updating means partially updates said display screen based on processing by said display control means, and said total screen update means totally updates said display screen based on processing by said display control means.

4. The portable information terminal apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said input device has an operation block rotatable clockwise and counterclockwise, so that by rotating said input device a plurality of up-scroll command signals or down-scroll command signals are generated in a unit time.

5. A recording medium for at least storing programs readable and executable by a computer, comprising:

scroll command signal control means for detecting a number of unprocessed scroll command signals; and

display control means for activating a partial screen update means if at least two unprocessed scroll command signals are found based on processing executed by said scroll command signal control means and for activating a total screen update means if only one unprocessed scroll signal is found

wherein said partial screen updating means partially updates a display screen based on processing by said display control means, and said total screen update means totally updates said display screen based on processing by said display control means.

6. A microcomputer apparatus comprising:

a central processing unit;

a recording block for recording Procedures as programs readable and executable by said central processing unit; and

data transmitting means incorporating a data transmitting block at least connected to said central processing unit and said recording block and connectable from an outside of said microcomputer apparatus to transmit a signal processed based on processing by said central processing unit to an external device in one of a cabled and a wireless manner;

wherein said programs include;

scroll command signal control means for detecting a number of unprocessed scroll command signals, and

display control means for activating a partial screen update means if at least two unprocessed scroll command signals are found based on processing executed by said scroll command signal control means and for activating a total screen update means if only one unprocessed scroll signal is found,

wherein said partial screen updating means partially updates a display screen based on processing by said display control means, and said total screen update means totally updates said display screen based on processing said display control means.