Patent Application
20120297342
This application claims, pursuant to 35 USC 119(a), priority to, and the benefit of the earlier filing date of, a Korean patent application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on May 17, 2011 and assigned Serial Number 10-2011-0046335, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to icon arrangement and display technologies for an electronic device and, more particularly, to an electronic device and a method for displaying at least one sub-icon associated with a specific icon when the specific icon is selected.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an electronic device such as a mobile device or a portable device may include a screen, such as a touch screen, which displays actuatable icons to which executable functions and stored data are assigned respectively. These icons may be arranged in typical formats or graphical arrangements such as grid type, ring type, page type, scroll type, and the like. When a user selects one of the actuatable icons displayed on the screen of the device, the device may execute a specific function assigned to the selected icon or may display stored data assigned to the selected icon.
As many more users use electronic devices, executable functions and stored data types for such devices become increasingly diverse in order to meet increasing demands for new and specific functions by users. This causes an increase in the number of icons displayed on the screen of the device.
Typically, the device displays selected icons on the screen at default locations predetermined during fabrication and initial configuration of the device by the manufacturer, or at locations on the screen designated by a user. Furthermore, the device may employ an icon tree architecture composed of icons and their sub-icons, which graphically represent hierarchical relations to functions and data.
However, when one of the icons is selected by a user, the device may merely arrange sub-icons of the selected icon in a line. Since such screens are limited in size, the linear arrangement of sub-icons is a disadvantage, by requiring the user to scroll and search through all of the sub-icons to find and access various functions of the device. In order to enhance the functionality and visual appeal of such icons for users, an enhanced technique to dynamically display a relation between the icon and sub-icons on the screen is required.
Accordingly, the present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and offers at least the advantages described below.
An aspect of the present invention is to provide an electronic device and a method for arranging icons on a screen of the device.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method arranges icons on the screen of an electronic device, the method comprising: when a user selects at least one icon displayed on a screen, determining whether a sub-icon is associated with the selected icon; and if the sub-icon exists, arranging and displaying the sub-icon in a radial arrangement on the screen around the selected icon.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an electronic device comprises: a display unit with a screen configured to display at least one icon on the screen; and a control unit configured to determine, in response to a user selecting at least one icon, whether a sub-icon is associated with the selected icon, and if the sub-icon exists, to arrange and display the sub-icon in a radial arrangement around the selected icon.
The above features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. For the purpose of clarity and simplicity, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail as they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. Also, terms described herein, which are defined considering the functions of the present invention, may be implemented differently depending on user and operator's intention and practice. Therefore, the terms should be understood on the basis of the disclosure throughout the specification. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in varied and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.
Furthermore, although the drawings represent exemplary embodiments of the invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated or omitted in order to more clearly illustrate and explain the present invention.
Among the terms set forth herein, an electronic device refers to any kind of device capable of processing data which is transmitted or received to or from any external entity. The electronic device may display icons on a screen to which stored data and various executable functions are assigned or mapped. The electronic device may include a computer, a notebook, a tablet PC, a mobile device, and the like. The following description illustrates the present invention in which the example electronic device is a smart phone.
Among the terms set forth herein, a screen refers to a display or other output devices which visually display information to the user, and which optionally are capable of receiving and electronically processing tactile inputs from a user using a stylo, a finger of the user, or other techniques for conveying a user selection from the user to the output devices. The following description illustrates the present invention in which the example screen is a touch screen.
Among the terms set forth herein, an icon refers to a graphical element such as a figure or a symbol displayed on the screen of the device such that a user can easily select a desired function or data. In particular, each icon has a mapping relation with any function being executable in the device or with any data stored in the device and is used for processing functions or selecting data in the device. When a user selects one of the displayed icons, the device identifies a particular function or data associated with the selected icon. Then the device executes the identified function or displays the identified data.
Among terms set forth herein, a sub-icon refers to any kind of subordinate icon located in the next depth in a graphical tree architecture associated with the icon. In the case where the icon correlates with a specific menu of functions, the sub-icon may be an icon that correlates with a sub-menu of the specific menu. In the case where the icon correlates with a specific folder in which data is stored in a memory of the device or a remote memory accessible by the device, the sub-icon may be an icon that correlates with data stored in the specific folder.
Among terms set forth herein, data refers to any kind of information processed by the device, including text and/or images received from any external entities, messages transmitted or received, and information created when a specific function is executed by the device.
Referring to
The control unit 110 controls various operations of the device 100, controls any signal flow between internal elements in the device 100, and performs a data processing function. In particular, the control unit 110 controls the display unit 120 to display at least one icon visible to a user of the device. Additionally, when a specific one of the displayed icons is selected by a user using the input unit 130, the control unit 110 may allow sub-icons of the selected icon to be displayed in a radial arrangement. For example, the control unit 110 controls the display unit 120 to arrange and display the sub-icons radially around the selected icon. To implement such a display of the sub-icons, the control unit 110 includes an icon arranging manager 115.
When a specific one of the displayed icons is selected, the icon arranging manager 115 may identify the sub-icons associated with the selected icon and then arrange the sub-icons in a radial form by controlling the display unit 120. In particular, the icon arranging manager 115 may arrange the sub-icons around the selected icon according to a predetermined order of their priorities. The priority of a sub-icon may be defined, for example, by the selection frequency of the sub-icon, the creation time of the sub-icon, associated attributes of the sub-icon, and the like.
The selection frequency includes, for example, the frequency of execution, the frequency of communication, the frequency of playback, etc. in connection with the execution or use of functions or data that are associated with the sub-icon. If the sub-icon is associated with the execution of a function, the priority of the sub-icon may be determined on the basis of the frequency of function execution. If the sub-icon correlates with user information stored, for example, in the memory unit 140 in the device 100, the priority may be determined on the basis of the frequency of communication of the user information into and out of the device 100, for example, inputs of user information such as telephone numbers or addresses to be stored in the memory unit 140.
If the sub-icon correlates with the playback command of music or video files, the priority may be determined on the basis of the frequency of file playback.
The creation time of a sub-icon may be defined as, for example, the time when data correlated with the sub-icon is created. If data correlated with the sub-icon is a photo file, the shooting time of a photo is the creation time of sub-icon. If data correlated with the sub-icon is a message, the transmitted or received time of the message is the creation time of the sub-icon. In these cases, a recent creation time of data may result in high priority of the sub-icon.
The attribute of a sub-icon may be defined as, for example, a category of functions correlated with the sub-icon or a group for classification of data correlated with the sub-icon. The group of data may be determined according to data format, the degree of association, and the like, depending on a user's selection.
The icon arranging manager 115 arranges the sub-icons in a displayed arrangement on the screen around the selected icon in the order of their priorities, with the distances of sub-icons from the selected icon being predetermined, for example, from distance settings stored in the memory unit 140. Therefore, a sub-icon with high priority is located at a relatively close distance from the selected icon, and a sub-icon with low priority is located at a relatively far distance from the selected icon. Exemplary methods by which the icon arranging manager 115 arranges the sub-icons around the selected icon in the order of their priorities will be described below with reference to
The display unit 120 displays a variety of information related to the state and operation of the device 100. The display unit 120 may have a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LCD controller, a memory for storing image data, etc., and may include a touch screen. In the case of a touch screen, the display unit 120 may perform an input function in conjunction with or independent of the input unit 130. In particular, the display unit 120 may display a plurality of icons under the control of the control unit 110.
If the screen displays a plurality of icons, when a specific one of the displayed icons is selected by the user, the display unit 120 may alter the appearance of the icons, for example, to show a dimmed display effect associated with all icons except the selected icon under the control of the control unit 110. That is, the non-selected icons have a dimmer appearance relative to the selected icon. Then the display unit 120 displays the sub-icons of the selected icon in a radial arrangement relative to the selected icon under the control of the control unit 110. In this example, the display unit 120 may display the sub-icons to overlay the dimmed icons under the control of the control unit 110. Alternatively, the display unit 120 may remove all icons except the selected icon from the screen under the control of the control unit 110.
Furthermore, the display unit 120 may rearrange the selected icon to be displayed at the center of the screen under the control of the control unit 110; for example, as shown in
The input unit 130 includes a plurality of input keys that create input signals for entering numerical or text information, and function keys that create input signals for setting or controlling various functions of the device 100. These input signals are transmitted to the control unit 110. The input unit 130 may be implemented as one of or a combination of a touch pad, a touch screen, a keypad with a standard key layout, and a keypad with a QWERTY key layout. In particular, the input unit 130 sends an input signal for selecting a specific one of the icons displayed on the display unit 120 to the control unit 110.
The memory unit 140 stores a variety of programs and data required for or processed during operations of the device 100. In particular, the memory unit 140 stores icon information 145 that may be displayed on the display unit 120 under the control of the control unit 110. The icon information 145 includes information about the icons that correlate with respective executable functions or stored data in the device 100, information about sub-icons associated with each icon, and information about priorities of sub-icons. The priority of each sub-icon is defined by the selection frequency of the sub-icon, the creation time of the sub-icon, the attribute of the sub-icon, and the like, as described herein.
The communication unit 150 may send or receive data to or from any external device. For example, the communication unit 150 establishes communication channels with a base station and then implements voice communication, a video communication, and a data communication for sending or receiving messages, images, etc. For such communications, the communication unit 150 may include, for example, a radio frequency (RF) transmitter that up-converts the frequency of an outgoing signal and then amplifies the signal, and an RF receiver that amplifies with low-noise an incoming signal and then down-converts the frequency of the signal.
Although not illustrated in
The device 100 having the above-discussed elements may display at least one icon on the display unit 120 and then, in response to a selection of one of the displayed icons, display sub-icons of the selected icon in a radial arrangement. Specifically, when one of the displayed icons is selected, the device 100 may alter the appearance of the icons, for example, to show a dimmed display effect associated with all icons except the selected icon. Then the device 100 arranges the sub-icons associated with the selected icon in the order of their priorities in a radial arrangement; for example, the sub-icons are arranged around the selected icon. This arrangement method for icons may allow a user to intuitively perceive the selected icon and its sub-icons and to distinguish frequently used functions from others by distances between the icon and sub-icons.
Referring to
As shown in
In a second example embodiment, referring to
The device 100 displays the sub-icons 230a, 230b, 230c, 230d, 240a and 240b according to the frequency of communication as priority. For example, the device 100 first arranges the sub-icons with higher frequency of communication around the selected icon in a radial arrangement. As shown in
Referring to
The device 100 may classify all sub-icons of the selected icon into categories or groups and then arrange them in a radial arrangement. In an example embodiment, the selected icon may be a menu icon 310. Functions in the menu may be classified into a favorite function category containing frequently used functions, a file playback category containing playable files such as video files and music files, a setting category specifying the operating settings of the device 100, a schedule category allowing the management of user schedule, and the like.
The favorite function category may contain functions such as short message service (SMS), games, camera, albums, route maps, etc., and the file playback category may contain DMB files, MP3 (MPEG audio layer-3) files, etc. The setting category may contain settings for background images, sounds, call settings, message settings, etc., and the schedule category may contain an alarm, a calendar, a calculator, etc.
Referring to
In each of the above directions, the sub-icons may be arranged according to their priorities. For example, in each category, the device 100 may display the sub-icon correlated with a frequently used function at a relatively close distance from the selected icon. At least two sub-icons having the same priorities may be displayed nearby in parallel at the same distance.
Referring to
Referring to
In step 520, the device 100 determines whether one of the displayed icons is selected. If no icon is selected, the icon checking procedure ends, to be repeated at a later time during regular subroutine processing by the device 100, in a manner understood by those skilled in the art.
If any icon is selected as determined in step 520, the device 100 checks sub-icons of the selected icon in step 530; for example, by accessing the icon information 145 stored in the memory unit 140 of the device 100. Additionally, even though not illustrated, the method shown in
In step 540, the device 100 determines whether there is any sub-icon associated with the selected icon. If any sub-icon exists, the device 100 checks the priority of the sub-icon in step 550. The priority of sub-icon may be defined by the selection frequency of the sub-icon, the creation time of the sub-icon, the attribute of the sub-icon, and the like.
In step 560, the device 100 displays the sub-icon to be arranged around the selected icon in a radial arrangement according to priority such that the sub-icon may overlay the dimmed icons. Although not illustrated, the device 100 may enlarge the selected icon alone and then display the sub-icons around the enlarged icon in a radial arrangement.
Alternatively or additionally, the device 100 may rearrange the selected icon to be displayed at the center of the screen and then display the sub-icons around the centrally located icon in a radial arrangement.
Thereafter, the device 100 may execute a particular function or display data, associated with the sub-icon, in response to a user's selection of sub-icons. If there is any sub-icon with a second depth associated with the selected sub-icon, the device 100 may arrange the sub-icons with the second depth to be displayed around the selected sub-icon in a radial arrangement according to priorities. Also, the device 100 may return to the previous screen containing the icons only in response to a user's command.
Returning to the step 540, if there is no sub-icon associated with the selected icon, the device 100 performs a particular function of the selected icon in step 570. For example, after checking a function or data associated with the selected icon, the device 100 may execute the function or display the data.
As discussed in greater detail hereinbefore, when one of the icons displayed on the screen is selected as determined in step 520, the device 100 may alter the appearance of the icons to show a dimmed display effect for all icons except the selected icon. Additionally, the device 100 may retrieve sub-icons associated with the selected icon and then arrange the sub-icons around the selected icon in a radial arrangement. In such an additional embodiment, the sub-icons are arranged according to their priorities. For example, a sub-icon with high priority is displayed to be at a relatively close distance from the selected icon, and a sub-icon with low priority is located at a relatively far distance from the selected icon.
Alternatively or additionally, the selected icon may be enlarged in size or rearranged to be displayed in the center of the screen by the device 100. Also, after one of the icons is selected, the device 100 may remove the non-selected icons from the screen. Furthermore, when the sub-icons are arranged around the selected icon in a radial arrangement, the device 100 may adjust the sizes of sub-icons according to their priorities. For example, a sub-icon with high priority may be displayed to have a relatively great size, and a sub-icon with low priority may be displayed to have a relatively small size.
By the above-discussed process, the device 100 may provide the selected icon and its sub-icons in a single screen view. Therefore, a user can visually perceive the relation between the selected icon and its sub-icons, and easily select and use a desired function or data.
The above-described methods according to the present invention can be implemented in hardware, firmware or as software or computer code that can be stored in a recording medium such as a CD ROM, an RAM, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magneto-optical disk or downloaded over a network and stored on a non-transitory machine readable medium, so that the methods described herein can be rendered in such software using a general purpose computer, or a special processor or in programmable or dedicated hardware, such as an ASIC or FPGA. As would be understood in the art, the computer, the processor, microprocessor controller or the programmable hardware include memory components, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash, etc. that may store or receive software or computer code that when accessed and executed by the computer, processor or hardware implement the processing methods described herein. In addition, it would be recognized that when a general purpose computer accesses code for implementing the processing shown herein, the execution of the code transforms the general purpose computer into a special purpose computer for executing the processing shown herein.
While this invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to an exemplary 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2011-0046335 | May 2011 | KR | national |
