Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and storage medium containing information processing program with rotary operation

• US 7,975,237 B2
• Filed: 08/17/2007
• Issued: 07/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hama, Tatsuya, Kohno, Tetsuya, Kondo, Kazuhiro, Tsuda, Takamoto, Morimoto, Yukako, Terado, Ikuo, Yonezawa, Satomi, Miura, Katsunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore; William L
• Assistant Examiner(s): ORR, HENRY W
• Application Number:
  US11/893,889
• Publication Number:
  US 20070300180A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,418 Days
• Field of Search: 715/787, 715/786
• US Class Current: 715/786
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0214 Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/233 including a pointing device, e.g. roller key, track ball, rocker switch or joystick constructional details of pointing devices per se G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons

Abstract

There is provided a novel menu selection method in a mobile phone. Also provided is a cursor displaying method with which a user can intuitively recognize a moving direction and moving speed. In addition, a novel scrollbar with which the user can recognize, in a case of displaying menus beyond a display screen, a range currently displayed on a display screen among all the menus and a current cursor position within the menus displayed on the current display screen.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

storage means for storing a plurality of menus of a first hierarchy classified into predetermined groups, and storing a plurality of menu items of a second hierarchy corresponding to menus of said first hierarchy, respectively;

menu display means for displaying menu items of the second hierarchy in a corresponding range of said plurality of menus of the first hierarchy stored in said storage means and a selection cursor for selecting a desired menu item of the second hierarchy from said displayed menus of the first hierarchy in the range on a display unit;

scrolling display means for displaying a scrolling frame, and a scrolling cursor on said display unit, said scrolling frame divided into areas corresponding to each menu in the first hierarchy, each of said areas having a size that is proportional to a number of menu items of the second hierarchy corresponding to the menu of the respective first hierarchy,

said scrolling cursor being displayed movably in the area of the scrolling frame and indicating a particular group of menus of the first hierarchy, and said selection cursor being displayed movably within said scrolling cursor and indicating a particular menu item of the second hierarchy in the range;

operation means for performing a scrolling operation of the menus of the first hierarchy displayed on said display unit;

display control means for controlling said menu display means to perform scrolling display of the menus of the first hierarchy displayed on said display unit in accordance with the scrolling operation of said menus of the first hierarchy by said operation means, and controlling said scrolling display means to display said selection cursor movably in correspondence with the scrolling-displayed menus and, in a case where the group into which the menus of the first hierarchy indicated by said selection cursor are classified is changed by said scrolling operation, to display said scrolling cursor movably in correspondence with the change,

wherein said scrolling display means displays said scrolling frame in a shape of a ring on said display unit.