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

• US 8,332,779 B2
• Filed: 08/17/2007
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Mobile Communications Japan Inc (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hama, Tatsuya, Kohno, Tetsuya, Yonezawa, Satomi, Terado, Ikuo, Tsuda, Takamoto, Miura, Katsunori, Kondo, Kazuhiro, Morimoto, Yukako
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): ORR, HENRY W
• Application Number:
  US11/893,969
• Publication Number:
  US 20070300187A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,943 Days
• Field of Search: 715/830, 715/810, 715/829, 715/834
• US Class Current: 715/830
• 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 containing a plurality of menus;

operation means for performing an operation of scrolling said plurality of menus;

display means for displaying, on a display unit, said plurality of menus stored in said storage means;

scroll speed determination means for determining, depending on the scrolling operation performed with said operation means, a scroll speed of said menus; and

display control means for controlling said display means, in a case where the scrolling operation is performed by said operation means, to perform a scrolling display of said plurality of menus displayed on said display unit at a scroll speed determined by said scroll speed determination means and to display a visual effect in which a speed of a movement of the visual effect and a display size of the visual effect are varied depending on the scroll speed determined by said scroll speed determination means,

wherein said display control means controls said display means, in a case where the scrolling operation of said menus by said operation means is stopped, in a manner that the visual effect displayed on said display means gradually decreases in its speed and size with time.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

scroll direction detection means for detecting a scroll direction of said menus depending on the scrolling operation by said operation means, wherein;

said display control means controls said display means to position the visual effect in which the display speed and the display size are varied depending on the scroll speed determined by said scroll speed determination means on a display position of the display unit, which corresponds to the scroll direction detected by said scroll direction detection means.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

effect operation means for setting on/off of displaying said visual effect, wherein;

said display control means controls said display means, in a case where displaying of the visual effect is set on by said effect operation means, to display said visual effect.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said display control means controls said display means to display a cursor for selecting said menus on said display unit at a transparency corresponding to the scroll speed determined by said scroll speed determination means.

5. An information processing method for an information processing apparatus having storage means in which a plurality of menus are stored, operation means for performing a scrolling operation of said plurality of menus and a display unit which displays said plurality of menus stored in said storage means, said method comprising:

a displaying step of displaying said plurality of menus on said display unit;

a scroll speed determining step of determining a scroll speed of said menus in accordance with the scrolling operation of said operation means; and

a display controlling step of controlling said display unit, in a case where the scrolling operation is performed by said operation means, to perform a scrolling display of said plurality of menus displayed on said display unit at a scroll speed determined by said scroll speed determination means and to display a visual effect in which a speed of a movement of the visual effect and a display size of the visual effect are varied depending on the scroll speed determined by said scroll speed determination means,

wherein said display control means controls said display means, in a case where the scrolling operation of said menus by said operation means is stopped, in a manner that the visual effect displayed on said display means gradually decreases in its speed and size with time.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an information processing program executed in an information processing apparatus having storage means in which a plurality of menus are stored, operation means for performing a scrolling operation of said plurality of menus and a display unit which displays said plurality of menus stored in said storage means, said program causing the information processing apparatus execute:

a displaying step of displaying said plurality of menus on said display unit;

a scroll speed determining step of determining a scroll speed of said menus in accordance with the scrolling operation of said operation means; and

a display controlling step of controlling said display unit, in a case where the scrolling operation is performed by said operation means, to perform a scrolling display of said plurality of menus displayed on said display unit at a scroll speed determined by said scroll speed determination means and to display a visual effect in which a speed of a movement of the visual effect and a display size of the visual effect are varied depending on the scroll speed determined by said scroll speed determination means,

wherein said display control means controls said display means, in a case where the scrolling operation of said menus by said operation means is stopped, in a manner that the visual effect displayed on said display means gradually decreases in its speed and size with time.