Method of displaying menu items and related touch screen device

• US 8,302,004 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2008
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Original Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Hsueh-Chun, Chang, Yuan-Chen
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): NABI, REZA U
• Application Number:
  US12/325,271
• Publication Number:
  US 20090172531A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,429 Days
• Field of Search: 715/702
• US Class Current: 715/702
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

To improve usability of a touch screen device for input with a finger, a method of displaying a plurality of text-based items in the touch screen device includes the touch screen device displaying a predetermined item of the plurality of text-based items as an icon, and the touch screen device displaying the plurality of text-based items less the predetermined item with an increased display size.

Claims

1. A method of displaying a plurality of text-based items in a touch screen device, the method comprising:

in response to rotation of the device to be in a landscape orientation, the touch screen displaying at the top of the menu only an icon of at least one of a predetermined plurality of icon and text label pairs, and displaying along the vertical axis both an icon and text label of remaining of the predetermined plurality of icon and text label pairs in a first display size; and

in response to rotation of the device to be in a portrait orientation, moving at least one of the icon from the top of the menu to the remaining of the predetermined plurality of icons and text label pairs displayed along the vertical axis wherein the remaining of the predetermined plurality of icons and text label pairs along the vertical axis are displayed in second display size smaller than the first display size.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch screen device displaying both the icon and the text label pair of the remaining icon and the text label pairs in the first display size comprises the touch screen device displaying both the icon and the text label pair of the remaining icon and the text label pairs with an increased font size.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch screen device displaying both the icon and the text label pair of the remaining icon and the text label pairs in the first display size comprises the touch screen device displaying both the icon and the text label pair of the remaining icon and the text label pairs with an increased spacing size.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the touch screen device removing at least one of the predetermined plurality of icon and text label pairs from the plurality of text icon and text label pairs.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the predetermined plurality of icon and text label pairs is a most commonly used (MCU) function, or a most recently used (MRU) function.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the touch screen device detecting that the touch screen device is operating in landscape mode or in portrait mode for displaying a corresponding format of both the icon and the text label pair of the remaining icon and the text label pairs.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch screen device is a smartphone, a PDA, a PDA phone, a Touch phone, a pocket PC, a mobile device, or a portable music player.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch screen device utilizes a Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Symbian, Palm, Android or Linux operating system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the predetermined plurality of icon and text label pairs is a most commonly used function.

10. A touch screen device comprising:

a touch screen for displaying a user interface of the mobile device;

a memory storing program code and a plurality of icon and text label pairs and a processor coupled to the touch screen and the memory for controlling the touch screen to modify the user interface in response to rotation of the device to be in a landscape orientation, the touch screen displaying at the top of the menu only an icon of at least one of a predetermined plurality of icon and text label pairs, and displaying along the vertical axis both an icon and text label of remaining of the predetermined plurality of icon and text label pairs in a first display size; and

in response to rotation of the device to be in a portrait orientation, moving at least one of the icon from the top of the menu to the remaining of the predetermined plurality of icons and text label pairs displayed along the vertical axis wherein the remaining of the predetermined plurality of icons and text label pairs along the vertical axis are displayed in second display size smaller than the first display size.

11. The touch screen device of claim 10, wherein the memory further stores an increased font size, and the processor controls the touch screen to display both the icon and the text label pair of the remaining icon and the text label pairs with in the first display size by controlling the touch screen to display both the icon and the text label pair of the remaining icon and the text label pairs with the increased font size.

12. The touch screen device of claim 10, wherein the memory further stores an increased spacing size, and the processor controls the touch screen to display both the icon and the text label pair of the remaining icon and the text label pairs with in the first display size by controlling the touch screen to display both the icon and the text label pair of the remaining icon and the text label pairs with an increased spacing size.

13. The touch screen device of claim 10, wherein the processor controls the touch screen to remove display of the at least one of the predetermined plurality of icon and text label pairs from the display of the plurality of text icon and text label pairs.

14. The touch screen device of claim 10, wherein the at least one of the predetermined plurality of icon and text label pairs corresponds to a most commonly used (MCU) function or a most recently used (MRU) function.

15. The touch screen device of claim 10, wherein the processor comprises a mode detection module for detecting that the touch screen device is operating in landscape mode or in portrait mode for displaying a corresponding format of the icons and both the icon and the text label pair of the remaining icon and the text label pairs.

16. The touch screen device of claim 15, wherein when the touch screen device operates in landscape mode, the processor further controls the touch screen to display the icon with reduced size, display a second item of the plurality of text icon and the text label pairs as only an icon, and display both the icon and the text label pair of the remaining icon and the text label pairs minus the second item with an increased display size.

17. The touch screen device of claim 10, wherein the touch screen device is a smartphone, a PDA, a Touch phone, a PDA phone, a pocket PC, a mobile device, or a portable music player.

18. The touch screen device of claim 10, wherein the touch screen device utilizes a Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Symbian, Palm, or Android, Linux operating system.

19. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor of a touch screen device, causes the processor to perform a method for displaying a plurality of text-based items in said touch screen device, the method comprising:

in response to rotation of the device to be in a landscape orientation, the touch screen displaying at the top of the menu only an icon of at least one of a predetermined plurality of icon and text label pairs, and displaying along the vertical axis both an icon and text label of remaining of the predetermined plurality of icon and text label pairs in a first display size; and

in response to rotation of the device to be in a portrait orientation, moving at least one of the icon from the top of the menu to the remaining of the predetermined plurality of icons and text label pairs displayed along the vertical axis wherein the remaining of the predetermined plurality of icons and text label pairs along the vertical axis are displayed in second display size smaller than the first display size.