Mobile telephone user interface

• US 7,363,060 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2003
• Issued: 04/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Pellet, Yannick, Bernhart, George, Jaworek, Dominik, Salomaa, Tommi, Williams, Maini
• Primary Examiner(s): Anderson; Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAO, MINH D
• Application Number:
  US10/429,192
• Publication Number:
  US 20040219952A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,817 Days
• Field of Search: 455/567, 455/414.1, 455/566, 455/575.1
• US Class Current: 455/567
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72481 for visually impaired users

Abstract

An improved user interface for use with a mobile telecommunication device such as a mobile phone to make its featured more accessible to a sight-impaired user. The user interface employs a collection of distinguishable non-visual (NV) cues that are selectively generated as the user chooses a feature for activation by navigating through a menu system. The NV cues may take any of several forms, but are most usually vibration pulses or audible sounds, or a combination of these two forms. As the user navigates through the menu system by sequentially selecting from available options, the NV cues are generated so that the user can sense a location within the menu system. The different NV cues may be associated with the availability of certain selected options, the selection of them, or organized in a manner analogous to the manner in which the options themselves are organized.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to provide a plurality of user-actuatable features, at least some of the features being accessible through an organized menu system having a plurality of options for selectively accessing and activating the accessible features; and

a user interface for navigating through the menu system to a particular option, said user interface comprising a non-visual (NV) cue generator operable to generate a plurality of distinguishable NV cues corresponding to a plurality of different menu options available for actuation via a scroll step within a first menu in the menu system;

wherein the plurality of distinguishable NV cues are progressively ordered with respect to the position of their respective associated menu options within the first menu.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the NV cue generator is operable to generate audible sounds, and wherein at least one of the plurality of distinguishable NV cues is an audible sound.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the NV cue generator is operable to generate vibration pulses, and wherein at least one of the plurality of distinguishable NV cues is a vibration pulse.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a mobile terminal.

5. An apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to provide a plurality of user-actuatable features, at least some of the features being accessible through an organized menu system having a plurality of options for selectively accessing and activating the accessible features; and

a user interface for navigating through the menu system to a particular option, said user interface comprising a non-visual (NV) cue generator operable to generate a plurality of distinguishable NV cues corresponding to a plurality of different menu options available for actuation via a scroll step within a first menu in the menu system;

wherein the plurality of distinguishable NV cues are progressively ordered with respect to the position of their respective associated menu options within the first menu and one of the plurality of NV cues is also generated when a menu option is selected for actuation in a second menu different from the first menu.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the apparatus comprises a mobile terminal.

7. An apparatus comprising;

a processor configured to provide a plurality of user-actuatable features, at least some of the features being accessible through an organized menu system having a plurality of options for selectively accessing and activating the accessible features; and

a user interface for navigating through the menu system to a particular option, said user interface comprising a non-visual (NV) cue generator operable to generate at least one of a plurality of distinguishable NV cues when a selected option is available for actuation, and also operable to generate at least another one of the plurality of NV cues when a different selected option is available for actuation;

wherein the organized menu system is organized into at least a level-one menu and at least one level-two menu from which options may be selected, the at least one level-two menu is accessed by selecting an option from the level-one menu, and a first NV cue is generated when a level-one menu option is available for actuation and a second NV cue is generated when an option from the at least one level-two menu is available for actuation.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the organized menu system is further organized into at least one level-three menu from which options may be selected, the level-three menu is accessed by selecting an option from the level-two menu, and a third NV cue is generated when a level-three menu option is available for actuation.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one level-two menu comprises a plurality of level-two menus, each level-two menu accessible by selecting an option from the level-one menu.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second NV cue is generated when an option from any of the level-two menus is available for actuation.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one level-two menu system comprises a plurality of options through which a user may scroll to view each option in sequence, returning at the end of the sequence to the first available level-two option, and the second NV cue is generated whenever a level-two option is available for actuation except that an NV cue other than the second NV cue is generated when the first available option of the level-two options is available such that the user is able to sense when the sequence is restarting.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one level-two menu system comprises a plurality of options through which a user may scroll to view each option in sequence, returning at the end of the sequence to the level-one option from which the at least one level-two menu was entered, and the second NV cue is generated whenever a level-two option is available for actuation and the first NV cue is generated when the level-one option from which the at least one level-two menu was entered is available such that the user is able to sense when the level-two sequence may be restarted.

13. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one at least one level-two menu system comprises a plurality of options through which a user may scroll to view each option in sequence, returning at the end of the sequence to the first available level-two option, the second NV cue is generated when the first level-two option is available for actuation, and each of the availability of each of the succeeding level-two menu options is associated with a progressively different NV cues such that the user may sense that the sequence is being scrolled though in a specific direction.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the progressively different NV cues are audible sounds.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein each of the progressively different NV cues vary in pitch from the preceding NV cue.

16. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the apparatus comprises a mobile terminal.

17. An apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to provide a plurality of user-actuatable features, at least some of the features being accessible through an organized menu system having a plurality of options for selectively accessing and activating the accessible features;

a user interface for navigating through the menu system to a particular option, said user interface comprising a non-visual (NV) cue generator operable to generate at least one of a plurality of distinguishable NV cues when a selected option is available for actuation, and also operable to generate at least another one of the plurality of NV cues when a different selected option is available for actuation; and

a NV cue generator operable to generate at least one of the plurality of distinguishable NV cues when a predetermined option is selected so that the user is provided with an immediate opportunity to cancel an operation initiated by the selection of the predetermined option.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein selecting the predetermined option initiates the making of a call from the apparatus.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least one of a plurality of distinguishable NV cues is a vibration pulse.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the apparatus comprises a mobile terminal.

21. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for instructing a computing device to perform steps comprising:

providing on the computing device a user interface for navigating through a menu system to an option of a plurality of options, the plurality of options for selectively accessing and activating user-actuatable features of the computing device;

generating a first non-visual (NV) cue when a first selected option is available for actuation; and

generating a second NV cue when a second selected option is available for actuation, the second NV cue being distinguishable from the first NV cue, the second selected option being different than the first selected option;

wherein the menu system is organized into at least a level-one menu and a level-two menu from which options may be selected, the level-two menu is accessed by selecting an option from the level-one menu, the first NV cue is generated when the first selected option is a level-one menu option and the second NV cue is generated when the second selected option is a level-two menu option.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the computing device comprises a mobile terminal.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein, for the steps of generating, the NV cues comprise audible sounds.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein, for the steps of generating, the NV cues comprise vibration pulses.

25. A method comprising:

providing on an apparatus a user interface for navigating through a menu system to an option of a plurality of options, the plurality of options for selectively accessing and activating user-actuatable features of the apparatus;

generating a first non-visual (NV) cue when a first selected option is available for actuation; and

generating a second NV cue when a second selected option is available for actuation, the second NV cue being distinguishable from the first NV cue, the second selected option being different than the first selected option;

wherein the menu system is organized into at least a level-one menu and a level-two menu from which options may be selected, the level-two menu is accessed by selecting an option from the level-one menu, the first NV cue is generated when the first selected option is a level-one menu option and the second NV cue is generated when the second selected option is a level-two menu option.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the apparatus comprises a mobile terminal.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein, for generating the NV cues, the NV cues comprise audible sounds.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein, for generating the NV cues, the NV cues comprise vibration pulses.

29. An apparatus comprising:

means for providing on the apparatus a user interface for navigating through a menu system to an option of a plurality of options, the plurality of options for selectively accessing and activating user-actuatable features of the apparatus;

means for generating a first non-visual (NV) cue when a first selected option is available for actuation; and

means for generating a second NV cue when a second selected option is available for actuation, the second NV cue being distinguishable from the first NV cue, the second selected option being different than the first selected option;

wherein the menu system is organized into at least a level-one menu and a level-two menu from which options may be selected, the level-two menu is accessed by selecting an option from the level-one menu, the first NV cue is generated when the first selected option is a level-one menu option and the second NV cue is generated when the second selected option is a level-two menu option.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the apparatus comprises a mobile terminal.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the NV cues comprise audible sounds.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the NV cues comprise vibration pulses.