Method for generating an on-screen menu

• US 9,395,897 B2
• Filed: 07/06/2015
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Hoerentrup, Jobst, Gandolph, Dirk, Herpel, Carsten, Ostermann, Ralf, Peters, Hartmut
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sugent, James F
• Application Number:
  US14/791,894
• Publication Number:
  US 20150309677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 379 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]

Abstract

A method for generating an on-screen menu comprising menu buttons and other menu items, e.g. help text, is characterized in that one or more groups of menu buttons or menu items are defined, wherein a group comprises one or more menu buttons or menu items and has associated a defined area on the screen. A state is assigned to a button, the state being “enabled” or “disabled”, wherein only an enabled button or item may be displayed, and wherein within a group not more than one button or item may be enabled. The state of a button can be changed by commands associated with other buttons.

Claims

1. A method for generating a displayable menu page from data of a menu data segment, the menu page comprising separately rendered selectable menu buttons, comprising:

accessing definition of at least one group of two or more menu buttons from the menu data segment,

wherein the definition of the at least one group in the menu data segment comprises a parameter indicating the number of menu buttons in a respective group of the at least one group,

wherein each of the two or more menu buttons has associated a defined area on a display, for each of the two or more menu buttons a reference number is defined, for each of the two or more menu buttons neighborhood information is defined, and each menu button that belongs to the displayable menu page is separately rendered, and

wherein a menu button belongs to not more than one group of the at least one group; and

assigning a state to each separately rendered menu button, the state being “

enabled”

or “

disabled”

,

wherein only an enabled menu button is displayed, wherein a menu button in the “

enabled”

state may have a further state of “

normal”

, “

selected”

or “

activated”

,

wherein the menu button is considered to be a same menu button irrespective of its state being the “

disabled”

state, the “

enabled” and

“

normal”

state, the “

enabled” and

“

selected”

state or the “

enabled” and

“

activated”

state,

wherein not more than one menu button within a group may be enabled simultaneously, and

wherein the neighborhood information defines which menu button to select when a signal corresponding to a LEFT, RIGHT, UP or DOWN button on a remote control is received.

2. An apparatus for processing a data stream, the data stream comprising menu data for a displayable menu page, wherein the displayable menu page comprises selectable menu buttons to be separately rendered, the apparatus including:

means for separately rendering each menu button that belongs to the displayable menu page;

means for defining, based on data from said data stream, at least one group of two or more menu buttons,

wherein a menu button belongs to not more than one group, for each of the two or more menu buttons a reference number is defined, and for each of the two or more menu buttons neighborhood information is defined, and

wherein based on the data from said data stream, a parameter indicating the number of menu buttons in a respective group is defined for the at least one group;

means for associating with each of said menu buttons a defined area on a display; and

means for assigning a state to each of said separately rendered menu buttons belonging to a group, the state being “

enabled”

or “

disabled”

,

wherein only an enabled menu button is displayed, wherein a menu button in the “

enabled”

state may have a further state of “

normal”

, “

selected”

or “

activated”

,

wherein the menu button is considered to be a same menu button irrespective of its state being the “

disabled”

state, the “

enabled” and

“

normal”

state, the “

enabled” and

“

selected”

state or the “

enabled” and

“

activated”

state,

wherein not more than one menu button within a group may be enabled simultaneously, and

wherein the neighborhood information defines which menu button to select when a signal corresponding to a LEFT, RIGHT, UP or DOWN button on a remote control is received.

3. A non-transitory removable data storage medium containing audio-visual data and a menu data segment for generating a displayable menu page relating to the audio-visual data, the menu page comprising separately rendered selectable menu buttons, wherein for the menu data segment

at least one group of two or more menu buttons is defined in said menu data segment,

wherein a definition of the at least one group in the menu data segment comprises a parameter indicating the number of menu buttons in a respective group of the at least one group, and

wherein each of the two or more menu buttons has associated a defined area on the display, for each of the two or more menu buttons a reference number is defined,

for each of the two or more menu buttons neighborhood information is defined,

and each menu button that belongs to the displayable menu page is separately rendered;

a menu button belongs to not more than one group of the at least one group; and

a state is assigned to each separately rendered menu button, the state being “

enabled”

or “

disabled”

,

wherein only an enabled menu button is displayed, wherein a menu button in the “

enabled”

state may have a further state of “

normal”

, “

selected”

or “

activated”

,

wherein the menu button is considered to be a same menu button irrespective of its state being the “

disabled”

state, the “

enabled” and

“

normal”

state, the “

enabled” and

“

selected”

state or the “

enabled” and

“

activated”

state,

wherein not more than one menu button within a group may be enabled simultaneously, and

wherein the neighborhood information defines which menu button to select when a signal corresponding to a LEFT, RIGHT, UP or DOWN button on a remote control is received.

4. A method for recording audio-visual data and a menu data segment for generating a displayable menu page relating to the audio-visual data on a removable data storage medium, the menu page comprising separately rendered selectable menu buttons, the method comprising:

creating, in said menu data segment, data for at least one group of two or more menu buttons,

wherein a definition of the at least one group in the menu data segment comprises a parameter indicating the number of menu buttons in a respective group of the at least one group, and

wherein each of said menu buttons has associated a defined area on the display,

for each of the two or more menu buttons a reference number is defined, for each of the two or more menu buttons neighborhood information is defined, and each menu button that belongs to the displayable menu page is separately rendered,

wherein a menu button belongs to not more than one group of the at least one group,

wherein upon generating a menu from said menu data segment, a state is assigned to each menu button of said at least one group of menu buttons, the state being “

enabled”

or “

disabled”

,

wherein only an enabled menu button may be displayed and may have one of the states “

normal”

, “

selected”

or “

activated”

,

wherein the menu button is considered to be a same menu button irrespective of its state being the “

disabled”

state, the “

enabled” and

“

normal”

state, the “

enabled” and

“

selected”

state or the “

enabled” and

“

activated”

state,

wherein not more than one menu button within a group may be enabled simultaneously, and

wherein the neighborhood information defines which menu button to select when a signal corresponding to a LEFT, RIGHT, UP or DOWN button on a remote control is received; and

recording said menu data segment and the audio-visual data on said removable data storage medium.