Sound feedback on menu navigation

• US 7,596,765 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2006
• Issued: 09/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snaptrack Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Almas, Randi-Lise Hjelmeland
• Primary Examiner(s): BAUTISTA, XIOMARA L
• Application Number:
  US11/535,654
• Publication Number:
  US 20070277107A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,098 Days
• Field of Search: 715/716, 715/727, 715/764, 715/810, 715/823, 715/835, 715/841, 715/853, 715/854, 715/864, 715/865, 379/142.17
• US Class Current: 715/854
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback

Abstract

A menu structure in an information presentation device enables navigation in the menu structure. The information presentation device may include a sound generating unit, at least one first user input unit, and a control unit that provides selectable items in the menu structure. The items may be related to functions, applications or settings of the information presentation device. Each item may be associated with at least one dedicated sound. Upon detection of selection of a specific item via a user input unit, the presentation device may control the sound generating unit to generate the sound associated with the selected item.

Claims

1. A method of enabling navigation in a menu structure of a cellular phone, comprising:

providing a plurality of selectable menu items in the menu structure, where the selectable items relate to at least one of functions, applications, or settings of the cellular phone;

associating each of the menu items with at least one dedicated sound;

identifying, upon detecting selection of a particular one of the menu items in the menu structure, a particular one of the at least one dedicated sound associated with the particular menu item; and

generating the particular dedicated sound in stereo to perceptively emanate from a spot, between at least two speakers associated with the cellular phone, that is indicative of a direction of movement within the menu structure relative to the particular menu item, without providing visual information related to the direction of movement within the menu structure relative to the particular menu item.

2. The method of claim 1, where controlling the cellular phone does not have a visual display via which to present the menu structure.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

providing the generated sound to an audio headset as stereo sound in an audio space 360 degrees around a user of the audio headset.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

shifting the generated sound, from the spot to a different spot between the at least two speakers, based on the direction of movement.

5. The method of claim 1, where sound properties, of the at least one dedicated sound associated with each of the menu items, are interrelated for indicating the direction of movement or position within the menu structure in relation to selected ones of the menu items in the menu structure.

6. The method of claim 5, where the dedicated sounds have different frequencies indicative of the direction of movement or position within the menu structure in relation to the selected menu items.

7. The method of claim 5, where the dedicated sounds are provided with at least one tone, where a number of tones of each dedicated sound is indicative of the direction of movement or position in the menu structure in relation to the selected menu items.

8. The method of claim 5, where the dedicated sounds are provided as voice that vocalizes the direction of movement or position in the menu structure in relation to the selected menu items.

9. The method of claim 1, where the menu structure includes a number of different groups of the menu items, where at least one menu item of one of the groups is linked to another one of the groups of menu items.

10. The method of claim 9, where the dedicated sounds associated with a number of the menu items within a same group are sounds providing music of a particular type.

11. The method of claim 1, where each of the menu items is provided with a sound for each direction in which movement can be made in relation to that menu item.

12. A cellular phone, enabling navigation in a menu structure, comprising:

at least one first user input unit;

a sound generating unit; and

a control unit to;

provide menu items selectable from the menu structure, where the menu items relate to at least one of functions, applications, or settings of the cellular phone,

associate at least one dedicated sound to a particular one of the menu items,

identify, upon detecting selection of the particular menu item via the at least one first user input unit of the cellular phone, the at least one dedicated sound associated with the particular menu item, and

generate the at least one dedicated sound in stereo to perceptively emanate from a spot, between at least two speakers associated with the cellular phone, that is indicative of a direction of movement within the menu structure relative to the particular menu item, where the at least one dedicated sound is generated independently of visual information related to the direction of movement within the menu structure relative to the particular menu item.

13. The cellular phone of claim 12, where the sound generating unit is arranged to shift the at least one dedicated sound, from the spot to a different spot between the at least two speakers, based on the direction of the movement.

14. The cellular phone of claim 12, where the control unit is to provide the generated at least one dedicated sound to an audio headset as stereo sound in an audio space 360 degrees around a user of the audio headset.

15. The cellular phone of claim 12, where sound properties, of the at least one dedicated sound associated with each of the menu items, are interrelated for indicating the direction of movement or position within the menu structure in relation to selected ones of the menu items in the menu structure.

16. The cellular phone of claim 12, where the dedicated sounds have different frequencies for indicating the direction of movement or position within the menu structure in relation to the selected menu items.

17. The cellular phone of claim 12, where the dedicated sounds are provided with at least one tone, where the number of tones of each dedicated sound is indicative of the direction of movement or position within the menu structure in relation to the selected menu items.

18. The cellular phone of claim 12, where the dedicated sounds are provided as voice that vocalizes the direction of movement or position within the menu structure in relation to the selected menu items.

19. The cellular phone of claim 12, where the menu structure includes a number of different groups of the menu items, where at least one menu item of one of the groups is linked to another one of the groups of menu items.

20. The cellular phone of claim 19, where the dedicated sounds associated with a number of the menu items within a same group are sounds providing music of a particular type.

21. The cellular phone of claim 12, where each of the menu items is provided with one sound for each direction in which movement can be made in relation to that menu item.

22. The cellular phone of claim 12, where the cellular phone does not have a visual display via which to present the menu structure.

23. An information presentation device for enabling navigation in a menu structure, comprising:

means for providing user-selectable items in the menu structure, where the items relate to at least one of functions, applications, or settings of the information presentation device;

means for associating each of the items with a dedicated sound; and

means for, upon detecting user selection of a particular one of the items, causing generation of the dedicated sound associated with the particular item in stereo, to perceptively emanate from a spot between at least two speakers associated with the information presentation device, to indicate a direction of movement within the menu structure relative to the particular one of the items, where the information presentation device does not include a visual display via which to present the menu structure or a connection to a device via which to present the menu structure.

24. A computer program product having computer program code stored thereon that when executed by at least one processor, enables navigation in a menu structure of a cellular phone, comprising:

instructions to provide a plurality of menu items in a hierarchical structure, where the plurality of menu items are related to at least one of functions, applications, or settings of the cellular phone;

instructions to associate each of the plurality of menu items with a dedicated sound;

instructions to detect selection of a particular one of the plurality of menu items by actuation of a user input device corresponding to the particular menu item;

instructions to provide, instead of visual feedback, upon the detecting selection of the particular menu item, audio feedback in stereo, including the dedicated sound associated with the particular menu item;

instructions to generate the particular dedicated sound to drive at least two speakers associated with the cellular phone such that the generated sound is perceived as emanating from a first spot between the at least two speakers; and

instructions to shift the particular spot to a second spot between the at least two speakers corresponding to a direction of movement within the hierarchical structure relative to the particular menu item.