Method and apparatus for selectably expandable menus

• US 5,801,703 A
• Filed: 10/18/1996
• Issued: 09/01/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Island Graphics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Island Graphics Corporation
• Inventors: Jochums, Sharon L., Bowden, Lori, Otus, Erol
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Von Buhr, Maria N.
• Application Number:
  US08/733,848
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 395/155-160, 395/344, 395/356, 345/118, 345/121, 345/127, 345/334, 345/339-345, 345/352, 345/353, 345/356, 345/357
• US Class Current: 715/841
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

A menu interface including a bounded region divided into menu panels, each panel having a menu option. Selection of the menu option replaces the menu panel corresponding to a particular option with an expanded menu panel having tools, options, features and controls corresponding to the selected option. The menu interface is customizable to allow a user to expand, or contract, one or more panels to provide efficient access to the tools, options, features and controls of the expanded menu panels. Expanded menu panels maintain their relative order, and do not contract after a user makes a selection. Expansion and contraction of menu panels is expressly controlled by the user.

Claims

1. A method for presenting and selecting menu options on a display of a computer system having a processor and an input device, the method comprising the steps of:

using the processor to display a plurality of menu panels arranged in a linear direction between first and second boundaries, wherein the first and second boundaries are parallel to the linear direction, each menu panel identifying a menu option, said plurality of menu panels having a position relationship to each other;

operating the input device to activate a first menu panel identifying a particular menu option; and

expanding said first menu panel within said boundaries to present a first expanded menu panel having options associated with said particular menu option.

2. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

operating the input device to activate a second menu panel while said first menu panel is expanded, said second menu panel identifying a second menu option; and

expanding said second menu panel to present a second expanded menu panel within said boundaries having options associated with said second menu option.

3. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 2 further comprising the steps of:

operating the input device to select said second expanded menu panel; and

contracting said second expanded menu panel to present said second menu panel having said second menu option.

4. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 3 wherein said "contracting" step further comprises the step of:

activating a selection region associated with said second expanded menu panel to initiate said contracting step.

5. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 2 wherein said input device second menu option operating step further comprises the step of:

activating a selection region associated with said second menu panel to initiate said "expanding said second menu panel" step.

6. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

operating the input device to select said first expanded menu panel; and

contracting said first expanded menu panel to present said first menu panel having said-particular menu option.

7. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 3 wherein said "contracting" step further comprises the step of:

activating a selection region associated with said first expanded menu panel to initiate said contracting step.

8. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 7 wherein each of said options associated with said second menu option includes a selection region, and said selection regions are linearly arranged.

9. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 8 wherein each of said plurality of menu panels includes a selection region, wherein said selection region of said expanded menu panel is aligned with said selection regions of said plurality of menu options.

10. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 9 wherein each said selection region is identified by an icon presented as part of its associated menu panel.

11. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 1 wherein said input device operating step further comprises the step of:

activating a selection region associated with said first menu panel to initiate said expanding step.

12. The menu option presenting and selecting method of claim 11, wherein each of said plurality of menu panels includes a selection region, and said selection regions of said plurality of menu options are linearly arranged.

13. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 1 wherein said linear direction is vertical.

14. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 1 wherein said linear direction is horizontal.

15. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 1 wherein said position relationship is maintained when said first menu panel is expanded to present said first expanded menu panel.

16. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 1 wherein said position relationship is a two-dimensional matrix arrangement of said plurality of menu panels.

17. The menu options presenting and selecting method of claim 1 wherein said first expanded menu panel is presented in place of said particular first menu panel.

18. A method for presenting and selecting menu options on a display of a computer system having a processor and an input device, the method comprising the steps of:

using the processor to display a plurality of menu panels arranged in a linear direction between first and second boundaries parallel to the linear direction, each menu panel identifying a menu option, said plurality of menu panels having a position relationship to each other;

operating the input device to activate a particular one of said plurality of menu panels identifying a particular menu option; and

replacing said particular one menu panel with an expanded menu panel displayed within said boundaries and having options associated with said particular menu option while the processor maintains said position relationship among said plurality of menu panels and said expanded menu panel.

19. A system for presenting and selecting menu options, comprising:

a computer system having a processor, a display and an input device;

means, coupled to said processor and said display, for presenting a plurality of menu panels arranged in a linear direction between first and second boundaries that are parallel to the linear direction, each menu panel identifying a menu option, and said plurality of menu panels arranged in a particular position relationship with each other;

means, coupled to said input device and said presenting means, for displaying and positioning a selection tool with said display, said presenting means responsive to control signals from said input device to position said selection tool;

means, coupled to said presenting means and to said displaying means, for activating a particular one of said plurality of menu panels identifying a particular menu option; and

means, coupled to said activating means and to said processor, for expanding said particular one menu panel within said boundaries to produce an expanded menu panel having control features associated with said particular menu option, said expanding means determining a second bounded region within said boundaries composed of said expanded menu panel and said plurality of menu panels except for said particular one menu panel while maintaining said particular position relationship with said expanded menu panel substituted for said particular one menu panel.

20. An apparatus for controlling a master menu, the master menu including a plurality of menu options, one associated with each of a plurality of menu panels, displayed on a computer monitor, the computer monitor coupled to a processor, memory, and a user input device for issuing positioning commands to a selection tool display means, coupled to the processor, for controlling a position on the monitor of the selection tool responsive to issued positioning commands, the apparatus comprising:

a menu list data definition stored in the memory to define a number, a type, and a relative order of the menu options;

menu definition means, coupled to the processor and to the memory, for defining a linear direction, and a bounded region between first and second boundaries parallel to the linear direction and for partitioning said bounded region into a plurality of divisions along the linear direction corresponding to the plurality of menu options;

menu display means, coupled to said master menu definition means and said menu list data definition, for displaying said bounded region, including said plurality of divisions, on the monitor in accordance with said relative order;

menu option identification means, coupled to the selection tool display means, for identifying a particular one menu option closest to the selection tool when said selection tool is within said bounded region; and

menu expanding means, coupled to said processor, for expanding a particular one of said plurality of divisions corresponding to said particular one menu option to replace said particular one division with an expanded division including a tool associated with said particular one menu option, said processor determining a second bounded region to maintain said relative order with said expanded division substituted for said particular one division.

21. A menu display method running on a computer system, the method comprising the following steps:

presenting multiple menu headers in a rectangular vertical arrangement on the display screen, wherein the vertical arrangement is a rectangle having left and right sides;

accepting input from the user input device to select a menu header; and

expanding the selected menu header downward to display options associated with the menu header in an area that does not exceed the left and right sides.

22. The menu display method of claim 21, wherein the substep of "expanding" includes the substep of

displaying the options adjacent to the selected menu header.

23. The menu display method of claim 21, wherein the substep of "expanding" includes the substep of

displaying the options in place of the selected menu header.

24. A stored program comprising instructions for executing the menu display method of claim 21.

25. An apparatus for displaying a menu in a computer system, the apparatus including a processor coupled to a display device and user input device, the apparatus further comprising:

presentation means for presenting multiple menu headers in a rectangular vertical arrangement on the display screen, wherein the vertical arrangement is a rectangle having left and right sides;

input means for receiving input from the user input device indicating that a menu header has been selected; and

expanding means for expanding the selected menu header downward to display options associated with the menu header in an area that does not exceed the left and right sides.