Menu display apparatus capable of varying menu display area and total menu item number displayed on cabinet holder image, and program storage medium

• US 6,498,613 B1
• Filed: 02/14/2000
• Issued: 12/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Wajima, Yuka
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Application Number:
  US09/503,959
• Time in Patent Office: 1,044 Days
• Field of Search: 345/775, 345/841, 345/843, 345/828, 345/853, 345/854, 345/855, 345/839, 345/810, 345/811, 345/815, 345/808, 345/809, 345/804, 345/848, 345/850, 345/851, 345/769
• US Class Current: 715/775
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

In a menu display apparatus, when a user selects a desirable item from a large number of items displayed in a drawing unit image on a display screen, the user can have such a feeling that the user actually uses a storage cabinet. The menu display apparatus is arranged by: image display means for displaying an image represented by such an image structure that a plurality of drawings are stored into storage units thereof; operation detecting means for detecting a drawing amount of a desirable drawing unit when an instruction is issued so as to draw the desirable drawing unit among the plurality of drawing units displayed within the image; display control means for displaying the drawing-instructed desirable drawing unit in a display size defined in response to the detected drawing amount; and item display means for displaying the respective items related to the drawing-instructed desirable drawing unit within the desirable drawing unit in such a display form in accordance with the display size of the desirable drawing unit. As a result, the menu display apparatus displays a menu used to select the respective items related to the desirable drawing unit.

Claims

1. A menu display apparatus comprising:

cabinet image display means for displaying a cabinet image represented by such an image structure that a drawing unit is stored into a cabinet main body;

display control means for displaying said drawing unit in such a shape that said drawing unit is drawn with respect to said cabinet main body in response to an operation instruction issued to the drawing unit within said cabinet image, and also for displaying an identifier of each of items related to said drawing unit within said drawing unit in response to said operation instruction; and

item selecting means for selectively designating a desirable identifier among the respective item identifiers which are displayed in a list form within said drawing unit;

whereby;

said menu display apparatus displays a menu used to select a desirable item designated by said desirable identifier.

2. A menu display apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said display control means detects a drawing amount of the drawing unit with respect to the cabinet main body, and also displays said drawing unit by enlarging/reducing the display size of said drawing unit in response to said detected drawing amount by using a perspective drawing method.

3. A menu display apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

when such an operation instruction that the drawing unit is pulled out from the cabinet image along a forward direction is issued, said display control means displays said drawing unit in such a shape that said drawing unit is drawn with respect to said cabinet main body and also displays the identifiers of the respective items related to the drawing units in the list form on said drawing units, whereas when such an operation instruction that the drawing unit which has been pulled out along the forward direction is pulled in the cabinet main body along a backward direction is issued, said display control means displays said drawing unit in such a shape that said drawing unit is stored into the cabinet main body and also deletes the display of the list of said item identifiers from said pulled-in drawing unit.

4. A menu display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

storage means for storing thereinto data corresponding to each of said item identifiers; and

calling means for calling from said storage means, data corresponding to the item identifier selectively designated by said item selecting means.

5. A menu display apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said cabinet image is a menu image having a hierarchical structure formed by that the respective drawing units are made in correspondence with upper-grade menu items, and the respective item identifiers which are displayed in the list form within the respective drawing units are made in correspondence with lower-grade menu items.

6. A menu display apparatus comprising:

image display means for displaying an image represented by such an image structure that a plurality of drawings are stored into storage units thereof;

operation detecting means for detecting a drawing amount of a desirable drawing unit when an instruction is issued so as to draw said desirable drawing unit among said plurality of drawing units displayed within said image;

display control means for displaying said drawing-instructed desirable drawing unit in a display size defined in response to said detected drawing amount; and

item display means for displaying.the respective items related to said drawing-instructed desirable drawing unit within said desirable drawing unit in such a display form in accordance with the display size of said desirable drawing unit;

whereby;

said menu display apparatus displays a menu used to select the respective items related to said desirable drawing unit.

7. A menu display apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein:

said item display means displays the display sizes of the respective item indexes within said drawing unit in enlarged/reduced display sizes in correspondence with the display size of the drawing unit.

8. A menu display apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein:

said item display means increases/decreases a total number of the items displayed within said desirable drawing unit in correspondence with the display size of the desirable drawing unit.

9. A menu display apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein:

said menu display apparatus is further comprised of use frequency managing means for managing use frequencies of the respective items related to said drawing units; and

said item display means displays an item with a priority, whose use frequency is high, within the drawing unit by referring to the use frequencies of the respective items.

10. A menu display apparatus as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

display area allocating means for classifying a plurality of selectable menu items into a plurality of groups and for allocating said menu display areas to the respective classified groups; and

group name display means for displaying group names corresponding to the menu display areas of the respective groups; and

wherein;

said display area changing means performs an operation capable of changing the dimension of the menu display area with respect to any of the display area within said plurality of display areas allocated by said display area allocating means.

11. A storage medium for storing thereinto a computer-readable program code and a computer-readable data code, comprising:

an image display program code for displaying a cabinet image represented by such an image structure that a drawing unit is stored into a cabinet main body,

a display control program code for displaying said drawing unit in such a shape that said drawing unit is drawn with respect to said cabinet main body in response to an operation instruction issued to the drawing unit within said cabinet image, and also for displaying an identifier of each of items related to said drawing unit within said drawing unit in response to said operation instruction; and

an item selecting program code for selectively designating a desirable identifier among the respective item identifiers which are displayed in a list form within said drawing unit.

12. A storage medium for storing thereinto a computer-readable program code and a computer-readable data code, comprising:

an image display code for displaying an image represented by such an image structure that a plurality of drawings are stored into storage units thereof;

an operation detecting program code for detecting a drawing amount of a desirable drawing unit when an instruction is issued so as to draw said desirable drawing unit among said plurality of drawing units displayed within said image;

a display control program code for displaying said drawing-instructed desirable drawing unit in a display size defined in response to said detected drawing amount; and

an item display program code for displaying the respective items related to said drawing-instructed desirable drawing unit within said desirable drawing unit in such a display form in accordance with the display size of said desirable drawing unit.