JP2000115843A - Portable information terminal and display control method for the terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain the portable information terminal that efficiently applies display control to an operation menu of the portable information terminal, where a display available area of a monitor display device is comparatively small. SOLUTION: A user interface section 101 displays items which are choices on an LCD, together with information denoting on which of a top, middle and an end of the entire items the item is placed. When the item placed at the end and the item placed at the top are continuously displayed, they are displayed with information identifying the border between the end item and the top item and denoting the consecution of the end item and the top item. Furthermore, when items related to data entry are displayed, the items are displayed with information denoting as to whether or not the data entry is finished.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a portable information terminal such as a portable telephone and a display control method applied to the terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, for example, portable telephones and PDAs (P
personal Digital Assistant
s) Various portable information terminals that can be driven by a battery, such as terminals, have been developed assuming that they are carried.
In this type of portable information terminal, the size of the housing has been reduced every day to improve portability, but on the other hand, the number of functions has been rapidly increasing and the portable information terminal has been installed in the terminal body. The types of operations performed while watching various monitors and displays have also become widespread.

[0003]

By the way, as the number of functions increases, the number of items such as titles displayed for allowing the user to select these functions also increases. become. This increase in the number of items does not cause any problem in an information device having a sufficiently large displayable area of a monitor / display, such as a personal computer called a desktop type or a notebook type. However, in a portable information terminal having a relatively small displayable area on a monitor / display, such as a mobile phone whose housing is being miniaturized every day, all of these cannot be displayed in a list, so that a predetermined order is required. There is no choice but to display partly, and the structure of the currently displayed item, such as where it is located, is difficult to understand, causing problems such as not being able to operate the item comfortably. Was.

In recent years, with the advancement of functions,
It is not uncommon to require data entry for multiple items. For example, many mobile phones are equipped with a mail function for easily transmitting and receiving text data having a predetermined number of characters to and from another information device. In this mail function, a "address" and a "message" Are required data input items. However, in a portable information terminal having a relatively small displayable area of a monitor / display, it is difficult to input them on the same screen, and an independent operation screen has to be set for each. Therefore, for example, when the user has forgotten whether the "address" or "message" has been entered during actual mail transmission, the user must select that item and display the entered operation screen again. There was a problem.

Further, the "destination" in this mail function
When a process involving a plurality of operations including data input and setting, such as input of a “message”, causes an error, the conventional mobile phone displays an idle screen (standby screen). This was common, in which case the entered data was discarded. Therefore, it is necessary to re-input (normal) data other than the data that caused the error, and there has been a problem that the usability has been deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a portable information terminal and a portable information terminal for more efficiently displaying and controlling an operation screen of a portable information terminal having a relatively small displayable area on a monitor / display. It is an object of the present invention to provide a display control method that is applied to a computer.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, when an option item is displayed on a display means provided in the terminal itself, the item is displayed at the beginning, middle, and the whole. This is displayed together with information indicating the last position.

According to the present invention, the user can visually recognize where the currently displayed item is located in the whole area, thereby giving a sense of security in operation such as scrolling of the items. It becomes possible.

Further, the present invention provides a method for displaying an option item on a display means provided in the terminal in a cyclic manner, that is, continuously displaying an item located at the end and an item located at the head in a continuous manner. In this case, the information is displayed together with information for recognizing the boundary between the end and the head.

According to the present invention, for example, when the displayed item returns to the top as a result of continuing the scroll operation, it is possible to surely notify the user of the fact.

According to the present invention, when an item relating to a data input operation is displayed on display means provided in the terminal itself, the item is displayed together with information indicating whether or not the data input operation has been executed. .

According to the present invention, for example, when a function requiring a plurality of data inputs is used, the data is displayed together with information indicating whether or not each data has been input. It is possible to make the confirmation immediately without the need for the operation.

[0013] In addition, the present invention, when an item related to a data input operation is displayed on a display means provided in the terminal itself, if the data input operation has been executed,
The input data is displayed as items.

In the present invention, for example, when a function that requires a plurality of data inputs is used, items that have already been input are indicated by displaying the input data. Can be immediately confirmed without any operation.

According to the present invention, when an error is detected in a data input, the data input having the error is specified, and a display for accepting the specified data input is provided in a display means provided in the terminal. This is displayed.

According to the present invention, when an error occurs, instead of displaying the idle screen (standby screen) after discarding the input data as in the prior art, a (correction) operation that the user will perform will be performed. Since the screen automatically shifts to the operation screen for accepting, the operability can be dramatically improved.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a mobile phone 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 141 for displaying various data including an option item, an operation screen, and the like, and a user performing various operations are provided on a side surface of the housing of the mobile phone 1. And a plurality of operation keys 161 are provided.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a device configuration of the portable telephone 1 having such an appearance. As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone 1 includes a processor 11, a memory 12, a communication controller 13, a display controller 14, a sound controller 15, and a key controller 16.

The processor 11 controls the entire cellular phone 1 and executes and controls various programs including a device driver stored in the memory 12. Memory 12
Is a rewritable data storage medium for storing programs to be executed and controlled by the processor 11 and various types of processing data.

The communication controller 13 controls transmission and reception of data via a wireless transmission path. The display controller 14 controls the driving of the LCD 141. The sound controller 15 controls a sound output via the speaker 151 and a sound input via the microphone 152. And
The key controller 16 notifies the processor 11 that the operation key 161 has been pressed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing functional blocks of the mobile phone 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile phone 1 includes a user interface unit 101, a key driver control unit 102, a key driver 103, an LCD driver control unit 104, an LCD driver 105, and a memory unit 1.
06. Note that among these units, the user interface unit 101, the key driver control unit 102,
The key driver 103, the LCD driver control unit 104, and the LCD driver 105 are configured as programs stored in the memory 12 and executed and controlled by the processor 11. This is realized by securing a part.

The user interface unit 101 is for displaying various data to the user and performing processing corresponding to key input. When the operation key 161 is pressed, the fact is detected by the key controller 16,
The user interface unit 101 is notified via the key driver 103 and the key driver control unit 102. Then, the user interface unit 101 executes a process according to the notified content. Further, when the user interface unit 101 instructs the LCD driver control unit 104 to display data, the instruction is transmitted from the LCD driver control unit 104 to the LCD driver 105, and the LCD driver 105 controls the display controller 14 so that the LCD 141 is controlled. Is displayed as instructed.

As another processing unit, there is a processing unit such as a communication control unit or a voice input / output unit for transmitting / receiving a call with a portable telephone.

Here, the mobile phone 1 of the first embodiment
The display control of the item, which is a feature of the embodiment, will be described.

In this portable telephone 1, when a plurality of items are sequentially displayed as options for each operation on the LCD 141 having only a relatively small displayable area, the items are first, middle and last of the whole. It is characterized in that guide information (a figure having a shape that can be recognized at the beginning, middle, or end) for visually recognizing the user where it is located is displayed. These items are stored in the memory unit 106 in a tree structure, for example, and the positional relationship between the items in the same hierarchy can be obtained from attribute information such as link information and sequential number information. The graphic displayed as the guide information is also stored in the memory unit 106.

Here, the operation principle of the item display control process in the mobile phone 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation principle of the item display control process in the mobile phone 1.

First, the user interface unit 101
It is determined whether or not the item to be displayed is located at the head of the entirety (in the case of a tree structure, the entirety of the items in the same hierarchy to be displayed) (step A1), and is determined to be at the head. In the case (YE
S), guide information indicating that the item is located at the head of the whole is displayed (step A2).

On the other hand, if the displayed item is not located at the head (NO in step A1), it is further determined whether or not the displayed item is located at the end of the whole (step A3). If the item is located (YES in step A3), guide information indicating that the item is located at the end of the whole is displayed (step A3).
4). If the item is not located at the end (NO in step A3), guide information indicating that the item is located in the middle of the whole is displayed (step A).
5).

By operating the user interface unit 101 based on such a principle, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the LCD 141 has a displayable area in which three items can be displayed at the same time, When displaying three consecutive items from among the four items of "item A" to "item D", the guide information is displayed as follows.

That is, the user interface unit 10
First, when displaying "item A", guide information (a1) indicating that "item A" is located at the top of the whole is displayed. As described above, when the guide information indicating the beginning is attached to the item displayed on the first line, the user can visually recognize that the operation of scrolling upward is invalid. it can.

When displaying "item B" or "item C", the interface unit 101 provides guide information (a2) for indicating that the "item B" or "item C" is located in the middle of the whole. ) Is displayed. As described above, when the guide information indicating the middle is attached to the item displayed on the third line, the user can visually recognize that the operation of scrolling down is effective. it can.

When the "item D" is displayed as a result of the scroll operation, the interface unit 101 transmits guide information (a3) indicating that the "item D" is located at the end of the whole. indicate. As described above, when the guide information indicating the end is attached to the item displayed on the third line, the user can visually recognize that the operation of scrolling down is invalid. If the guide information indicating the middle is attached to the item displayed on the first line, the user can visually recognize that the operation of scrolling upward is effective. it can.

As described above, in this portable telephone 1, since the user can visually recognize where the currently displayed item is located on the whole, the operation such as scrolling the items is performed. It is possible to give a sense of security in doing so.

Next, a description will be given of display control of items when the portable telephone 1 cyclically displays the last item and the first item of the whole by connecting them. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation principle of the item display control process at this time.

The user interface unit 101 first
It is determined whether the item to be displayed is located at the head of the whole (step B1). If the item is located at the head (YES in step B1), scrolling from the item located at the end is further performed. Is determined (step B2), and if the item is displayed by scrolling from the last item (YES in step B2), the item is located at the top of the whole. Is displayed (step B).
3). If the item is not displayed by scrolling from the last item (step B2).
NO), display normal guide information (step B)
7).

On the other hand, if the item is not located at the top (NO in step B1), it is determined whether the item to be displayed is located at the end of the whole (step B4). If the item is located (YES in step B4), it is further determined whether or not the item is displayed by scrolling from the item located at the head (step B5), and displayed by scrolling from the item located at the head. If the item is to be performed (YES in step B5), guide information indicating that the item is located at the end of the whole is displayed (step B6).

Then, when the item is not located at the end (NO in step B4), and when the item is located at the end but is not displayed by scrolling from the item located at the beginning (step B4). N of B5
O), normal guide information is displayed (step B7).

By operating the user interface unit 101 according to such a principle, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the LCD 141 has a displayable area where three items can be displayed simultaneously, When displaying three consecutive items from among the four items of "item A" to "item D", the guide information is displayed as follows.

That is, the user interface unit 10
1 indicates that when “item A” located at the beginning of the entirety is displayed in succession to “item D” located at the end of the entirety following the scroll operation, this “item A” is located at the beginning of the entirety. The guide information (b1) for indicating that the operation is to be performed is displayed.

On the other hand, when displaying the "item D" located at the end of the entirety by continuing to the "item A" located at the beginning of the entirety with the scroll operation, the user interface unit 101 displays the "item D". Is displayed at the end of the whole.

As described above, when the display content crosses the beginning and end by scrolling, if the guide information for recognizing the information is attached, for example, when the display goes around, the fact is notified. The user can be surely noticed.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The mobile phone 1 according to the second embodiment has the same appearance, device configuration, and functional blocks as the mobile phone 1 according to the first embodiment.
The mobile phone 1 is characterized in that, when items related to a data input operation are displayed on the LCD 141, guide information for identifying the user whether or not the data input operation has been executed is displayed. Things.

Here, it is assumed that this mobile phone 1 has a mail function for easily transmitting and receiving text data of a predetermined number of characters to and from another mobile phone 1. It is assumed that three items of “destination”, “message” and “send” are displayed as options. The “destination” and the “message” among these are essential data input items for selecting “transmission” and executing mail transmission.

Next, the operation principle of the item display control process in the mobile phone 1 will be described by taking the mail function as an example. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation principle of the item display control process in the mobile phone 1.

The user interface unit 101 first
It is determined whether the destination setting process has been executed (step C
1) If it has been executed (YE in step C1)
S), guide information (for example, a checked check box) indicating that the destination has been set is displayed (step C2). On the other hand, if the execution has not been completed (NO in step C1), guide information indicating that the destination has not been set (for example, an unchecked check box) is displayed (step C3).

Next, the user interface unit 101
It is determined whether or not the message input process has been executed (step C4). If the message input process has been executed (YES in step C4), guide information indicating that the message has been input is displayed (step C5). On the other hand, if the execution has not been completed (NO in step C4), guide information indicating that the message has not been input is displayed (step C6).

When the user interface unit 101 operates according to such a principle, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, in the screen (c1) in which neither the destination setting nor the message input is executed, the respective screens are not yet set. On the screen (c2) in which only the destination setting has been executed, the guide information indicating that the setting has been made on the destination side and the guide information showing that the setting has not been made on the message side have not been input on the message side. Is displayed, and further, on the screen (c3) in which both the destination setting and the message input have been executed, the guide information indicating that the setting has been completed and the input has been performed are displayed respectively. Will be.

As described above, in the portable telephone 1, the user can immediately confirm whether or not each data has been entered on the display screen of the item. It is possible to eliminate unnecessary operations.

In the above-described example, the presence or absence of the input of the data input item is indicated by the display of the guide information. However, for example, as shown in FIG. It is also useful to indicate that by displaying a instead of an item.

That is, in the screen (d1) in which neither the destination setting nor the message input is executed, the respective items are displayed as they are, and in the screen (d2) in which only the destination setting is executed, , The input data is displayed in place of the destination item, and further, on the screen (d3) in which both the destination setting and the message input are executed, each input data is displayed in place of the item. This also allows the user to immediately confirm whether the respective data has been input on the display screen of the item.

Further, the presence or absence of the input of the data input item may be indicated by the guide information, and the input data may be displayed instead of the item.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The mobile phone 1 according to the third embodiment has the same appearance, device configuration, and functional blocks as the mobile phone 1 according to the first embodiment.
Then, when an error is detected during execution of a process involving a plurality of operations including data input or setting, the mobile phone 1 identifies the operation that caused the error, and accepts the identified operation. Is displayed on the LCD 141.

Here, it is assumed that the mobile phone 1 has a mail function for easily transmitting and receiving text data of a predetermined number of characters to and from another mobile phone 1. It is assumed that there are two data input items of “destination” and “message”.

Next, the operation principle of the display control process in the mobile phone 1 will be described with the mail function as an example. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the operation principle of the display control process in the mobile phone 1.

After inputting the destination and the message (step D1), after the transmission of the mail is executed (step D2), the user interface unit 101 determines whether or not the mail transmission has been normally completed (step D3). If it is determined that the process has been completed normally (YE in step D3)
S), an idle screen (standby screen) is displayed (step D9).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the processing has not been completed normally (NO in step D3), the user interface unit 10
First, after displaying the warning screen (step D4), first,
It is determined whether the cause is due to the contents of the message (step D5). A pattern in which an error occurs in mail transmission depending on the content of a message includes, for example, an excess number of characters in a case where a plurality of mail transmission / reception functions with different limited character numbers are supported. For example, if the function A has a limit of 20 characters and the function B has a limit of 1000 characters, even if a destination for the function A is set, when entering a message, the input exceeds 20 characters. Cannot be determined as an error, and such an excess of the number of characters occurs.

Then, the user interface unit 101
If the cause is due to the contents of the message (YES in step D5), a message correction screen that the user would perform will be displayed instead of displaying the idle screen as in the related art. (Step D6).

On the other hand, if the cause is not due to the contents of the message (NO in step D5), the user interface unit 101 further determines whether the cause is due to the contents of the destination (step D7). An example of a pattern in which an error occurs in mail transmission depending on the contents of a destination is a case where a destination that does not exist in the public telephone network numbering plan is input. If the cause is due to the contents of the destination (YES in step D7),
Instead of displaying the idle screen as in the related art, a correction screen of the destination that the user will perform is displayed (step D8).

When the user interface unit 101 operates according to the above-described principle, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, when a mail is transmitted through a message input (a) and a destination setting (b), a message is transmitted. When an error (c) caused by the contents of (1) is generated, the operability is automatically changed to an operation screen for message correction (d) which the user will immediately perform. Dramatic improvement can be achieved.

[0061]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, when the selectable items are displayed in a predetermined order on the display means provided in the own terminal, the items to be displayed are displayed at the beginning of the whole. , Which is displayed together with information indicating whether the item is located in the middle or at the end, so that the user can visually recognize where the currently displayed item is located in the entire area. It is possible to give a sense of security in operation such as scrolling.

Further, when the selectable items are successively displayed on the display means provided in the own terminal with the last item and the first item, the last item and the first item are continuous. Is displayed, and is displayed together with information indicating the boundary between the last item and the first item.
When the displayed item returns to the top as a result of continuing the scroll operation, it is possible to surely make the user aware of that fact.

Further, when the items relating to the data input operation are displayed on the display means provided in the own terminal together with the information indicating whether or not the data input operation has been completed, the user can check whether or not such input has been performed. Can be immediately confirmed without any operation.

Further, when an item relating to a data input operation is displayed on the display means provided in the terminal itself, if the data input operation has been completed, the input data is displayed as an item. Similarly, it is possible for the user to immediately confirm the presence / absence of these inputs without any operation.

Also, when an error is detected in the data input, the erroneous data input is specified, and a display for accepting the specified data input is displayed on the display means provided in the terminal itself. In addition, since the screen automatically shifts to an operation screen for accepting an operation that will be performed by the user when an error occurs, the operability can be dramatically improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exemplary view showing an appearance of a mobile phone according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a device configuration of the mobile phone according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing functional blocks of the mobile phone according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining the operation principle of item display control processing in the mobile phone according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view showing an example of a display screen for explaining the operation principle of item display control processing in the mobile phone of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining the operation principle of the item display control process when the mobile phone of the first embodiment links and displays the last item and the first item on the whole;

FIG. 7 is a display screen for explaining the operation principle of display control processing of items when the mobile phone of the first embodiment links and displays the last item and the first item on the whole. The figure which shows an example.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation principle of item display control processing in the mobile phone according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of a display screen for explaining the operation principle of display control processing of items in the mobile phone according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary display screen for explaining an operation principle of an item display control process in the mobile phone according to the second embodiment (modification).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the operation principle of display control processing in the mobile phone of the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary view showing an example of a display screen for explaining the operation principle of display control processing in the mobile phone of the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile telephone 11 ... Processor 12 ... Memory 13 ... Communication controller 14 ... Display controller 15 ... Sound controller 16 ... Key controller 101 ... User interface unit 102 ... Key driver control unit 103 ... Key driver 104 ... LCD driver control unit 105 ... LCD Driver 106 ... Memory unit 141 ... LCD 151 ... Speaker 152 ... Microphone 161 ... Operation key group

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takataka Taniguchi 3-1-1, Asahigaoka, Hino-shi, Tokyo Inside Toshiba Communication Technology Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tatsuya Kono 21-3-1, Asahigaoka, Hino-shi, Tokyo Toshiba Communication Technology Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomoyuki Harada 3-1-1, Asahigaoka, Hino-shi, Tokyo F-term (reference) 5C006 AA03 AA08 AF31 AF42 AF45 BB11 BF01 FA00 5K067 AA34 BB04 BB21 DD51 EE02 FF02 FF18 FF23 FF31

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A portable information terminal that displays selectable items in a predetermined order on display means provided in its own terminal, wherein the items to be displayed are located at any of the top, middle, and end of all display items. And a display control means for displaying an item based on the detection result of the detection device, together with information indicating whether the item is located at the beginning, middle, or end of the entire display item. A personal digital assistant characterized by: 2. A portable information terminal which displays selectable items in a predetermined order on display means provided in its own terminal, wherein the items to be displayed are located at any of the top, middle and last of all display items. Detecting means for detecting whether or not the last item and the first item of the entire display item are continuous, based on the detection result of the detecting means, and And a display control means for displaying the item together with information indicating a boundary with the item. 3. A portable information terminal which displays selectable items in a predetermined order on a display means provided in its own terminal. A portable information terminal, comprising: display control means for displaying an item together with information indicating whether or not a data input operation has been performed based on a detection result of the means. 4. A portable information terminal for displaying selectable items in a predetermined order on a display means provided in its own terminal. A detecting means for detecting whether or not input operation of data relating to the items has been completed; A portable information terminal, comprising: display control means for displaying input data as an item when data input operation has been completed based on a detection result of the means. 5. A portable information terminal for displaying input information on a display means provided in its own terminal, a detecting means for detecting that there is an error in data input, and an error detecting means for detecting an error based on a detection result of the detecting means. A portable information terminal comprising: a display control unit that specifies a data input that has occurred, and causes the display unit to display a display for receiving the specified data input. 6. A display control method for a portable information terminal for displaying selectable items in a predetermined order on a display means provided in the terminal itself, wherein the items to be displayed are first, middle and last of all display items. A display control method comprising: detecting which position is located, and displaying an item together with information indicating the position of the head, middle, or end of the entire display item based on the detection result. 7. A display control method for a portable information terminal, wherein selectable items are displayed in a predetermined order on a display means provided in the own terminal, wherein the items to be displayed are first, middle, and last of all display items. Which indicates that the last item and the first item of the entire display item are continuous, and that the last item and the first item are based on this detection result. A display control method characterized by displaying an item together with information indicating a boundary between the item and the item. 8. A display control method for a portable information terminal for displaying selectable items in a predetermined order on a display means provided in the own terminal, the method comprising detecting whether or not data related to the items has been input. A display control method comprising: displaying an item based on a detection result together with information indicating whether or not a data input operation has been performed. 9. A display control method for a portable information terminal for displaying selectable items in a predetermined order on a display means provided in the own terminal, the method comprising detecting whether data related to the items has been input-operated. A display control method characterized by displaying input data as an item when a data input operation has been performed based on a detection result. 10. A display control method for a portable information terminal for displaying input information on a display means provided in its own terminal, wherein an error in data input is detected, and an error is detected based on the detection result. A display control method comprising: specifying a data input that has been specified; and displaying a display for accepting the specified data input on the display unit.