Method and apparatus for displaying prioritized icons in a mobile terminal
First Claim
1. In a mobile terminal, a method of displaying a plurality of icons that can be selected by a user from a display on the mobile terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
- (1) comparing one or more characteristics associated with each of the plurality of icons to one or more context values that are specific to the user of the mobile terminal;
(2) representing at least one of the plurality of icons having one or more characteristics that best match the one or more context values using a display format that is enlarged in relation to the remaining plurality of icons; and
(3) representing at least some of the remaining plurality of icons having characteristics that do not best match the one or more context values using a display format that is smaller than the enlarged format.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for displaying a plurality of icons on the display of a mobile terminal are provided. One or more characteristics associated with each icon are compared to one or more context values, such as time of day, geographic area, or user profile characteristics. Icons that best match one or more context values are represented in a display format that is enlarged in relation to other icons on the display device. The context values may include dynamically changing information, such as a current location of the user, so that as the user moves to a different geographic area, different icons are enlarged on the display device. The icons can correspond to application programs; logos (such as a corporate logo); documents; Web sites; or other objects. The icons can be grouped into a context bar that is displayed along an edge of the display device, and can be arranged in a horizontal, vertical, or mixed fashion. A magnifying glass metaphor can be moved over icons to highlight and select an icon.
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Citations
54 Claims
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1. In a mobile terminal, a method of displaying a plurality of icons that can be selected by a user from a display on the mobile terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
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(1) comparing one or more characteristics associated with each of the plurality of icons to one or more context values that are specific to the user of the mobile terminal;
(2) representing at least one of the plurality of icons having one or more characteristics that best match the one or more context values using a display format that is enlarged in relation to the remaining plurality of icons; and
(3) representing at least some of the remaining plurality of icons having characteristics that do not best match the one or more context values using a display format that is smaller than the enlarged format. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
wherein step (1) comprises the step of comparing services of a user-specified type, and wherein step (2) comprises the step of displaying icons corresponding to the user-specified type of services in the enlarged format. -
7. The method of claim 1,
wherein step (1) comprises the step of comparing a user-specified grade of services, and wherein step (2) comprises the step of displaying icons corresponding to the user-specified grade of services in the enlarged format. -
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving a plurality of messages at the mobile terminal and associating each message with one of the plurality of icons.
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9. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the icons is extracted from one of the messages received at the mobile terminal.
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10. The method of claim 8, wherein step (1) comprises the step of comparing characteristics extracted from one or more of the messages received at the mobile terminal to the one or more context values.
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11. The method of claim 1, wherein step (1) comprises the step of comparing a plurality of characteristics to a plurality of context values, wherein at least some of the plurality of context values are set by the user of the mobile terminal.
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12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of, in response to the user selecting one of the icons, launching an application program associated with the selected icon.
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13. The method of claim 1, wherein steps (2) and (3) are performed by displaying each of the plurality of icons in a context bar that is positioned along an edge of the display.
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14. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the icons represent logos that, when selected by the user, retrieve a Web page from a Web site affiliated with the selected logo.
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15. The method of claim 14, wherein the logos identify a corporation.
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16. The method of claim 14, wherein the logos represent a symbolic link.
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17. The method of claim 1, wherein step (3) comprises the step of representing the remaining icons using a reduced width format as compared to the at least one best match icon in step (2).
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18. The method of claim 14, wherein one of the icons comprises a symbolic logo and a second of the icons comprises a corporate logo represented on a display of the mobile terminal.
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19. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying a magnifying glass display element that is movable by the user in relation to the plurality of icons, wherein moving the magnifying glass display element temporarily enlarges a user-selected one of the displayed icons.
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20. In a mobile terminal, a method of displaying a plurality of icons that can be selected by a user from a display on the mobile terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
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(1) receiving a plurality of messages at the mobile terminal, each message having an associated display icon and service information relating to a service that is potentially available to the user of the mobile terminal;
(2) comparing the service information extracted from each message received in step (1) to one or more context values that pertain to the user of the mobile terminal;
(3) displaying icons corresponding to messages having service information that best matches the one or more context values in an enlarged format on the display of the mobile terminal; and
(4) displaying other icons in a non-enlarged format on the display of the mobile terminal. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
wherein step (1) comprises the step of receiving proximity information for a plurality of different services; - and
wherein step (3) comprises the step of displaying in the enlarged format icons corresponding to messages relating to services that have the closest proximity to the mobile terminal.
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22. The method of claim 21, wherein step (3) comprises the step of displaying in the enlarged format icons corresponding to hotels that have the closest proximity to the mobile terminal.
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23. The method of claim 21, wherein step (3) comprises the step of displaying in the enlarged format icons corresponding to restaurants that have the closest proximity to the mobile terminal.
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24. The method of claim 21, wherein step (3) comprises the step of displaying in the enlarged format icons corresponding to retail stores that have the closest proximity to the mobile terminal.
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25. The method of claim 20,
wherein step (1) comprises the step of receiving price information for a plurality of services; - and
wherein step (3) comprises the step of displaying in the enlarged format icons corresponding to messages relating to services that have the best match price information.
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26. The method of claim 20,
wherein step (2) comprises the step of comparing the service information to a plurality of context values arranged in a user-specified priority order, such that services that match a first context value are assigned a first priority and services that match a second context value are assigned a second priority; - and
wherein step (3) comprises the step of displaying icons in an ordered arrangement according first to the first priority and second to the second priority.
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27. The method of claim 20, wherein step (3) comprises the step of displaying the icons in a context bar along an edge of the display of the mobile terminal.
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28. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of displaying a magnifying glass display element that is movable by the user in relation to the plurality of icons, wherein moving the magnifying glass display element temporarily enlarges a user-selected one of the displayed icons.
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29. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of, in response to receiving an additional message at the mobile terminal having service information that provides a better match to the one or more context values, displaying an icon corresponding to the additional message in an enlarged display format compared to icons previously displayed in step (3).
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30. A mobile terminal comprising:
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a display capable of displaying graphical icons;
a user input device that permits a user of the mobile terminal to select one or more of the graphical icons displayed on the display; and
a processor programmed with computer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform the steps of;
(1) comparing one or more characteristics associated with each of the plurality of graphical icons to one or more context values that are specific to the user of the mobile terminal;
(2) representing at least one of the plurality of icons having one or more characteristics that best match the one or more context values using a display format that is enlarged in relation to the remaining plurality of icons; and
(3) representing at least some of the remaining plurality of icons having characteristics that do not best match the one or more context values using a display format that is smaller than the enlarged format. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A mobile terminal comprising:
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a display capable of displaying graphical icons;
a user input device that permits a user of the mobile terminal to select one or more of the graphical icons displayed on the display; and
means for displaying on the display device certain icons in an enlarged display format in response to determining that information associated with the certain icons matches a user-specified context value. - View Dependent Claims (51)
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52. A mobile terminal comprising:
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a receiving circuit that receives a plurality of messages containing information relating to a particular service that is potentially available to a user of the mobile terminal;
a memory storage area that stores the plurality of messages;
a context value storage area that stores one or more context values that pertain to the user of the mobile terminal;
a display unit capable of displaying graphical icons; and
a context matching function that compares information extracted from each of the plurality of messages to the one or more context values and, in response to detecting a match, causes graphical icons corresponding to the information resulting in the match to be displayed in an enlarged format on the display unit. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54)
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Specification