This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to an application entitled “Apparatus and Method for Displaying File Location Information” filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on May 17, 2005 and assigned Serial No. 2005-41237, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for displaying file information in a multi-layered file system of a portable terminal, and in particular, to an apparatus and method for displaying file location information in a portable terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A portable terminal having a small sized screen cannot display file location information using a drop-down structure of which is typically used in a personal computer. This is due to the limitation of screen size when the portable terminal uses a multi layer structure as a file system. A conventional portable terminal using a multi layer structure will now be described with reference to
In a portable terminal displaying file location information illustrated in
A portable terminal displaying file location information as illustrated in
An object of the present invention is to substantially solve at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages set forth below. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus within a portable terminal for displaying file information in a small space and a method thereof.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus within a portable terminal for displaying file information, the apparatus having a memory for storing files in a multi-layered file system; a display unit for displaying location information of a currently activated file among the files stored in the memory using icons that identify the files; a key input unit for purpose of receiving a key input for activating a predetermined file; and a controller for reducing one of the icons displayed on the display unit provided a layer of a changed file is one-level higher than before and for displaying one more icon on the display unit should the layer of the changed file be one-level lower than before, whenever an activated file is changed using the key input unit.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of displaying file information in an apparatus for displaying file information using a multi-layered file system, the method includes the steps of determining whether a layer of a newly activated file is one-level higher or lower than before; if so reducing one of the existing icons; and displaying a layer position of the newly activated file by; and displaying one more icon if the layer of the newly activated file is one-level lower than before.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGS. 6 to 8 are illustrations of display screens on which file location information is displayed according to the present invention; and
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals even though they are depicted in different drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.
A memory 100 of the file information display apparatus of
A method of displaying file location information using icons in the file information display apparatus will now be described in detail with reference to
Referring to the display screen of
The user can move the layer of the currently activated file to one-level lower or higher using the left or right directional key of the key input unit 400. The user can easily move the layer of the currently activated file while viewing file location information indicated by folder shaped icons that are displayed on the display unit 200. This is accomplished by assigning inter-layer movement to the left or right directional key. Up and down directional keys the key input unit 400 are used to select a file to be activated among files existing in a current layer.
If the right directional key of the key input unit 400 is selected in a state where a file is activated in the nth layer as illustrated within the leftmost screen of
In the uppermost layer of files exist the internal memory and an external memory of the file information display apparatus. Thus, the controller 300 displays icons indicating the internal memory and the external memory, rather than the folder shaped icon as well as displays files existing in an activated memory on the display unit 200 as illustrated in
Every time the user selects the right directional key of the key input unit 400 in the uppermost layer as illustrated in
A method of displaying information regarding on which layer a currently activated file belongs to in the file information display apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to
The user of the file information display apparatus can search for a desired file by selecting a directional key of the key input unit 400. In response to the file search, folder shaped icons indicating the level of a layer of a currently activated file and files existing in the current layer are displayed on the display unit 200. In this state, the controller 300 determines in step S100 whether the left or right directional key of the key input unit 400 is selected.
If the right directional key is selected as the determination result, the controller 300 displays one more folder shaped icon on the display unit 200 to indicate that a changed layer of files is one-level lower than before. In step S200, the controller 300 displays information on files existing in the changed layer, i.e., the layer one-level lower than before, on the display unit 200.
If the left directional key is selected as the determination result, the controller determines in step S300 whether a layer to be changed is the uppermost layer. If the layer to be changed is not the uppermost layer as the determination result of step S300, the controller 300 reduces one of the folder shaped icons displayed on the display unit 200 to indicate that the changed layer is one-level upper than before. In step S400, the controller 300 displays information on files existing in the changed layer, i.e., the layer one-level upper than before, on the display unit 200.
If the layer to be changed is the uppermost layer as the determination result of step S300, a current layer is one-level lower than the uppermost layer. Thus, a single folder shaped icon is currently displayed on the display unit 200. In step S500, the controller 300 removes the single folder shaped icon and displays icons indicating that the changed layer is the uppermost layer, i.e., icons indicating memories included in the file information display apparatus, on the display unit 200.
As described above, according to the present invention, by displaying information regarding which layer a currently activated file belongs to using icons, file location information can be hierarchically displayed even using a small sized screen of a portable terminal using a multi-layered file system.
In addition, by displaying the file location information using icons, space utilization in the small sized screen can be maximized.
In addition, by assigning inter-layer movement to a left or right directional key of the key input unit 400, a user can easily move a file layer while viewing file location information indicated by folder shaped icons.
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a certain preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2005-41237 | May 2005 | KR | national |