Title: Graphical user interface for a mobile device
Abstract: The invention relates to a mobile device comprising a display. In order to offer a user a more extensive immediate overview over the information available to a specific topic, it is proposed that the mobile device comprises processing means for presenting on the display a three-dimensional polyhedron as graphical user interface. Different pieces of information that are to be presented to a user of the mobile device are associated to different facets of this polyhedron, and the visible facets of the polyhedron present at least a hint on a respectively associated piece of information to a user of the mobile device. It is further proposed that the mobile device comprises means for enabling a user to cause the processing means to rotate the facets of the presented polyhedron. The invention relates equally to a corresponding graphical user interface and to a corresponding method for presenting such a graphical user interface.
Patent Number: 7,007,242 Issued on 02/28/2006 to Suomela, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Suomela; Riku (Tampere, FI);
Roykkee; Mika (Tampere, FI)
|
| Assignee:
|
Nokia Corporation (Espoo, FI)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
081964 |
| Filed:
|
February 20, 2002 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
715/849; 715/851 |
| Current Intern'l Class: |
G06F 3/00 (20060101) |
| Field of Search: |
345/419,653,659,684
715/834,849,851
725/37,44,61
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 5515486 | May., 1996 | Amro et al.
| |
| 5602566 | Feb., 1997 | Motosyuku et al.
| |
| 5880717 | Mar., 1999 | Chan et al.
| |
| 6104381 | Aug., 2000 | Watanabe et al.
| |
| 6201554 | Mar., 2001 | Lands.
| |
| 6567068 | May., 2003 | Rekimoto.
| |
| 6567101 | May., 2003 | Thomas.
| |
| 6573883 | Jun., 2003 | Bartlett.
| |
| 6738042 | May., 2004 | Nobukiyo.
| |
| 6757002 | Jun., 2004 | Oross et al.
| |
| 2002/0093483 | Jul., 2002 | Kaplan.
| |
Other References
Rekitmoto, Jun et al, " Tilting operations for small screen interfaces", 1996
ACM 0-89791-798-7/96/11 pp. 167-168.
Harrison, Beverly, et al. " Squeeze me, Hold Me, Tilt Me! An exploration of manipulative
user interfaces", 1998 CHI Los Angeles CA. 0-89791-975-0/98/4 pp. 17-24.
Bartlett, Joel et al," Rock 'n'Scroll is here to stay", MayJun. 2000 IEEE 0272-1716/00
Compaq Computer Corporation, pp 40-45.
Fishkin, Kenneth, et al. "Embodied User Interfaces for Really Direct Manipulation",
Communications of the ACM Sep. 2000/vol. 43 No. 9 pp. 75-80.
Hinkley, Ken et al., "Sensing Techniques for Mobile Interaction", CHI San Diego
2000 ACM 1-58113-212-3/00/11 pp. 91-100.
|
Primary Examiner: Huynh; Ba
Assistant Examiner: Theriault; Steven
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Perman & Green, LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A mobile device comprising:
a display;
processing means for presenting on said display a three-dimensional polyhedron
as graphical user interface, wherein different pieces of information that are to
be presented to a user of said mobile device are associated exclusively to all
visible facets of said polyhedron, and wherein said visible facets of said polyhedron
present at least a hint on a respectively associated piece of information to a
user of said mobile device; and
means for enabling a user to cause said processing means to rotate exclusively
said visible facets of said presented polyhedron.
2. A mobile device according to claim 1, wherein said means for enabling a user
to cause said processing means to rotate said facets of said polyhedron comprise
input means enabling a user to inform said processing means about a desired rotation
of said facets of said presented polyhedron.
3. A mobile device according to claim 1, wherein said means for enabling a user
to cause said processing means to rotate said facets of said polyhedron comprise
a movement detecting sensor, the output of said movement detecting sensor causing
said processing means to rotate said facets of said presented polyhedron according
to a detected movement of said mobile device.
4. A mobile device according to claim 3, wherein said means for enabling a user
to cause said processing means to rotate said facets of said polyhedron comprise
input means for enabling a user to enable/disable a rotation according to a detected
movement of said mobile device.
5. A mobile device according to claim 1, wherein said processing means adapt
the number of facets of said presented polyhedron to the number of different pieces
of information that are to be presented to a user in a current status of said mobile device.
6. A mobile device according to claim 1, wherein said processing means associate
said pieces of information that are to be presented to a user to visible facets
of said polyhedron, and further pieces of information are associated to hidden
facets of said presented polyhedron.
7. A mobile device according to claim 1, wherein said processing means, when
caused to rotate said facets of said presented polyhedron, rotate said facets of
said presented polyhedron in a continuous movement.
8. A mobile device according to claim 1, wherein said processing means, when
caused to rotate said facets of said presented polyhedron, rotate said facets of
said presented polyhedron in a discrete movement, such that always one of said
facets is presented in plan view to a user.
9. A mobile device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said different
pieces of information represents a choice offered to a user, said mobile device
further comprising input means for enabling a user to select a choice represented
by a piece of information that is associated to a facet of said polyhedron, which
facet is currently presented at least essentially in plan view to said user.
10. A mobile device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said different
pieces of information represents a choice offered to a user, said mobile device
further comprising pointing means for enabling a user to select a choice represented
by a piece of information that is associated to a visible facet of said polyhedron
by pointing at said facet.
11. A mobile device according to claim 1, wherein said processing means present
said three-dimensional polyhedron as a convex polyhedron.
12. A mobile device according to claim 1, wherein said processing means present
said three-dimensional polyhedron as a concave polyhedron.
13. A graphical user interface for a mobile device, which graphical user interface
is presented as a three-dimensional polyhedron on a display of said mobile device,
wherein different pieces of information that are to be presented to a user of said
mobile device are associated exclusively to all visible facets of said polyhedron,
wherein visible facets of said polyhedron present at least a hint on a respectively
associated piece of information to a user of said mobile device, and wherein said
visible facets of said polyhedron can be caused by a user of said mobile device
to rotate exclusively upon activation of a rotation enabling input device.
14. A graphical user interface according to claim 13, wherein the number of facets
of said polyhedron depends on the number of different pieces of information that
are currently to be presented to a user of said mobile device.
15. A graphical user interface according to claim 13, wherein said pieces of
information that are to be presented to a user are associated to visible facets
of said polyhedron, and further pieces of information are associated to hidden
facets of said polyhedron.
16. A graphical user interface according to claim 13, wherein said facets of
said polyhedron rotate in a continuous movement upon an initiation by a user of
said mobile device.
17. A graphical user interface according to claim 13, wherein said facets of
said polyhedron rotate in a discrete movement upon an initiation by a user of said
mobile device, such that always one of said facets is presented in plan view to
said user.
18. A graphical user interface according to claim 13, wherein at least one of
said different pieces of information represents a choice offered to a user, and
wherein a choice represented by a piece of information that is associated to a
facet of said polyhedron, which facet is currently presented at least essentially
in plan view to a user, can be selected by said user of said mobile device.
19. A graphical user interface according to claim 13, wherein at least one of
said different pieces of information represents a choice offered to a user, and
wherein a choice represented by a piece of information that is associated to a
facet of said polyhedron can be selected by said user of said mobile device by
pointing at said facet with pointing means.
20. A graphical user interface according to claim 13, wherein said three-dimensional
polyhedron is presented as a convex polyhedron.
21. A graphical user interface according to claim 13, wherein said three-dimensional
polyhedron is presented as a concave polyhedron.
22. A method for presenting a graphical user interface on a display of a mobile
device, said method comprising:
associating different pieces of information that are to be presented to a user
of said mobile device exclusively to all visible facets of a three-dimensional polyhedron;
presenting said three-dimensional polyhedron on said display as graphical user
interface in a way that visible facets of said polyhedron present at least a hint
on a respectively associated piece of information to a user of said mobile device; and
rotating exclusively said visible facets of said polyhedron upon an initiation
by a user of said mobile device of a rotation enabling input device.
23. A method according to claim 22, wherein said step of rotating said facets
of said polyhedron upon an initiation by a user of said mobile device comprises
detecting an input by a user to said mobile device via input means and rotating
said facets of said presented polyhedron according to said detected input.
24. A method according to claim 22, wherein said step of rotating said facets
of said polyhedron upon an initiation by a user of said mobile device comprises
detecting a movement of said mobile device by a user and rotating said facets of
said presented polyhedron according to a detected movement of said mobile device.
25. A method according to claim 24, wherein said step of rotating said facets
of said polyhedron upon an initiation by a user of said mobile device comprises
determining whether a rotation is enabled or disabled by a user, said facets being
rotated only in case it is determined that a rotation is currently enabled by a user.
26. A method according to claim 22, wherein said step of associating different
pieces of information to different facets of a three-dimensional polyhedron is
preceded by a step of determining the number of facets of said polyhedron based
on the number of different pieces of information that are to be presented to a user.
27. A method according to claim 22, wherein said pieces of information are associated
to visible and to hidden facets of said polyhedron, and wherein rotating said facets
of said polyhedron is performed by a further step of rotating visible facets.
28. A method according to claim 22, wherein said facets of said presented polyhedron
are rotated upon an initiation by a user of said mobile device in a continuous movement.
29. A method according to claim 22, wherein said facets of said presented polyhedron
are rotated upon an initiation by a user of said mobile device in a discrete movement,
such that always one of said facets is presented in plan view to a user.
30. A method according to claim 22, wherein at least one of said different pieces
of information represents a choice offered to a user, said method comprising processing
upon an initiation by said user a choice represented by a piece of information
that is associated to a facet which is currently presented at least essentially
in plan view to said user.
31. A method according to claim 22, wherein at least one of said different pieces
of information represents a choice offered to a users said method comprising processing
upon an initiation by said user a choice represented by a piece of information
that is associated to a facet, wherein said initiation by said user comprises pointing
at said facet with pointing means.
32. A method according to claim 22, wherein said three-dimensional polyhedron
is presented as a convex polyhedron.
33. A method according to claim 22, wherein said three-dimensional polyhedron
is presented as a concave polyhedron.
34. The method of claim 13 wherein the rotation enabling input device is a joystick,
on or more buttons or a movement detection sensor.
35. The method of claim 22 wherein the rotation enabling input device is a joystick,
on or more buttons or a movement detection sensor.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to mobile device, on a display of which a graphical user
interface (UI) is to be presented. The invention equally relates to a graphical
user interface for a mobile device and to a method for presenting a graphical user
interface on a display of a mobile device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known in the art that mobile devices, e.g. mobile phones, present
information
to a user as graphical user interface on a display of the mobile device.
It is further known that it is required in various situations that a mobile device
is to be able to present several pieces of information to a specific topic. Such
pieces of information can consist for example in several choices or taps offered
to a user. For instance, when a user of a mobile phone presses a provided menu
button, he/she will be offered a variety of choices like opening a phonebook.
Usually, such information is presented to the user on a two-dimensional
(2D) page on the display. In particular with mobile devices having only a small
display, the respective page comprises only a very limited portion of the entire
information available for the selected topic, the rest of the information not being
visible for the user.
This implicates that some information cannot be accessed directly by the user,
since a new page offering this information has to be shown first on the display.
Possibly, the page offering the desired information will even only be shown after
browsing through a sequence of other pages, while the user might not even be aware
at the beginning which pieces of information will be presented on further pages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to offer to a user a more extensive immediate
overview over the information available to a specific topic by a mobile device.
This object is reached according to the invention with a mobile device which
comprises in addition to a display processing means for presenting on said display
a three-dimensional (3D) polyhedron as graphical user interface. Different pieces
of information that are to be presented to a user of said mobile device are associated
to different facets of said polyhedron. Further, visible facets of the polyhedron
present at least a hint on a respectively associated piece of information to the
user. Presenting at least a hint on a respectively associated piece of information
can mean for instance presenting the entire associated information, presenting
a selected part of the associated information, or presenting a small graphical
representation of an associated textual information, like a telephone icon for
the choice 'phonebook'. The proposed mobile device comprises in addition means
for enabling a user to cause the processing means to rotate the facets of the presented polyhedron.
The object is also reached according to the invention with a corresponding graphical
user interface.
Finally, the object is reached according to the invention with a corresponding method.
The invention proceeds from the idea that an extensive overview can be presented
to a user if the information is shown distributed to the facets of a polyhedron,
which polyhedron is shown to the user as a 3D image. By providing the user with
the possibility of rotating the facets of the polyhedron, he/she can focus on any
piece of information by putting the respective facet in plan view, while several
facets are always visible at the same time.
It is thus an advantage of the invention that it allows a user to get a preview
of at least a great extend of the information available in the current user context,
i.e. for a topic that was selected automatically by the mobile device or for a
topic that was selected by the user.
Preferred embodiments of the invention become apparent from the dependent claims.
The structure of the polyhedron could be fixed and have e.g. the maximal number
of facets that might be required for presenting information. Advantageously, however,
the respective structure is determined by the processing means based on the number
of facets required in the current status of the device for presenting all available
pieces of information.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the number of facets might be variable,
but limited to a maximum number. The maximum number of facets could also be selectable
by a user to comply with his/her preferences. There could even be provided a possibility
for a user to fix the allowed minimum and maximum number of polyhedron facets,
or even to choose an entire set of allowed numbers of polyhedron facets. If users
use e.g. a joystick to rotate the polyhedron, it would be an advantage if they
could set the allowed facet numbers. The joystick can easily be used to point into
4 or 8 directions, so a maximum number of 4 or 8 could be set as the maximum number
of side facets surrounding a main center facet. It might moreover be annoying to
some people when there are for example 6 side facets, if no sensor is present,
since in this case, 2 rotations are required to move some of the side facets into
the center. In case the user is allowed to determine that only 4 or 8 side facets
are allowed, he/she can then access all facets with one directional change only.
If for example only 6 side facets are required for presenting the available pieces
of information, a polyhedron with 8 side facets is used with two empty facets.
In either case, the number of facets of the polyhedron can e.g. be selected such
that all required or possibly required facets are visible at the same time. In
case the pieces of information are distributed only to the visible facets of a
presented polyhedron, rotating the facets of the polyhedron should imply a rotation
of only the visible facets. Thus, after a rotation the same facets are visible
as before only with a different distribution, and no piece of information is hidden
due to an association to a hidden facet.
Alternatively, the number of facets can be selected e.g. such that
some pieces of information may have to be associated to hidden facets. In this
case, the pieces of information associated to hidden facets can obviously be seen
only by rotating all facets of the polyhedron, not only the visible facets.
As mentioned above, there is not necessarily a piece of information associated
to all facets or to all visible facets.
The graphical user interface can further be realized as convex or concave polyhedron,
or, from another perspective, the user can presumably be located either outside
of a convex polyhedron or inside of a convex polyhedron watching the surrounding facets.
Moreover, the means for enabling a user to cause the processing means to
rotate the facets of a presented polyhedron can be realized in a variety of ways.
They may consist for example in input means, e.g. a number of buttons or a joystick,
enabling a rotation in all required directions.
Alternatively, the means for enabling a user to cause the processing
means to rotate the facets can comprise e.g. a movement detection sensor. A user
then simply has to turn the device slightly into the direction in which the polyhedron
is to rotate. Alternatively, it can be provided that the device has to be turned
in an opposite direction than the direction in which the polyhedron is to rotate,
since this might be preferred by some users. The required direction of the movement
might even be selectable by a user. The sensor tracks how the user moves the device
and provides the information to the processing means, which present the polyhedron
with a corresponding new orientation.
The possibility of rotating facets by means of a sensor can always be active.
But since the user of a mobile device is constantly on the move and the graphical
user interface should not bounce during all these movements, the mobile device
can also have a special button or other input means for activating and deactivating
the rotation.
Regardless of the employed means for enabling a user to cause the processing
means to rotate the facets of a presented polyhedron, the rotation can be realized
as a discrete movement or as a continuous or quasi-continuous movement. A discrete
rotation ensures that there is always one facet in plan view, which facet can be
considered as active facet. In case the pieces of information comprise for example
different choices offered to a user, it can be provided that the respective active
facet can be selected by the user via some selection means. As a result, the choice
is processed by the processing means, e.g. by opening a further polyhedron presenting
further pieces of information associated specifically to the selected choice, or
by running some program associated specifically to the selected choice.
In case the mobile device is suited in addition to be used with a pointing device,
like a pen or a mouse, the user could point with the pointing device also directly
at all visible facets and thereby access them directly, since the rotation may
be separated from the selection.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from
the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely
for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention,
for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further
understood that the drawings are not drawn to scale and that they are merely intended
to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
In the following, the invention is explained in more detail with reference to
drawings, of which
FIG. 1 illustrates the perception of a graphical UI, provided in a first embodiment
of a mobile device according to the invention, by a user;
FIG. 2 shows a diamond UI with 5 visible sides provided by the mobile device
of FIG. 1, and illustrates rotations of this diamond;
FIG. 3 shows a diamond UI with 7 visible sides provided by the mobile device
of FIG. 1, and illustrates rotations of this diamond; and
FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of a mobile device according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a sketch showing a first embodiment of a mobile device
11 according
to the invention and a user
12 of the mobile device
11. The mobile
device
11 comprises a display
13 and a plurality of buttons
14,
which are not shown in detail. These buttons
14 may comprise in particular
four buttons labeled with an arrow pointing up, an arrow pointing down, an arrow
pointing to the left and an arrow pointing to the right. In addition, a selection
button may be provided. The mobile device further comprises processing means (not
shown) with implemented software.
The figure further comprises a view on a polyhedron
15 in form of a diamond,
of which 7 facets are visible. This polyhedron constitutes the graphical user interface
currently presented on the display
13 of the mobile device
11. The
user
12, who is holding the device
11, is looking onto its display
13. Dashed lines from the eyes
16 of the user
12 to the display
13 of the mobile device
11 and further on to the polyhedron
15
illustrate the perception of the presented graphical user interface by the user
12. More specifically, the polyhedron
15 appears as a three-dimensional
structure located in a space extending behind the display
13.
The user
12 sees a regular hexagonal facet
17 of the polyhedron
positioned in the middle of the graphical user interface in plan view, and therefore
identifies this facet as main facet. The other 6 facets
18 are perceived
to be arranged around this main facet as side facets extending away from the user.
In the following, the presentation of the graphical user interface by the mobile
device
11 of FIG. 1 as well as the possibilities of controlling the presented
graphical user interface will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.
For presenting the graphical user interface, the processing means of the mobile
device
11 first determine the number of facets of a diamond required for
presenting all pieces of information available in the current state of the device
11.
The UI diamond is then built and presented on the display
13 by the processing
means in a way that the visible number of facets is equal to the determined number
of facets. To each of these visible facets, a piece of information is associated
by the processing means. Irrespective of the determined number, the facets are
always arranged in such a manner that there is one facet in the form of a regular
polygon having one side less than the number of determined facets. This regular
polygon is surrounded by the remaining facets. The user
12 can thus see
multiple facets, or tabs, at once.
A more detailed first example of such a UI diamond is shown in FIG. 2, which
presents
three different states of the same diamond.
This UI diamond comprises 5 visible sides
21-
25, each presenting
a different piece of information, which pieces are represented in the figure by
a different symbol @, &, *,
##CHR1##
, £.
In the first representation of the UI diamond on the left hand side of the figure,
a square facet
21 in the center shows the symbol @. To each side of the
square facet
21, one side of a trapezoidal facet
22-
25 is
joint. The two sides of each trapezoidal facet
22-
25 next to the
side joining the square facet
21 are further joined to a respective one
of the other trapezoidal facets
22-
25. Proceeding from the respective
side joining the square facet
21, the trapezoidal facets
22-
25
seem to extend to the background, thus simulating a 3D view on the diamond. The
trapezoidal facet
22 on top of the square facet
21 shows the symbol
&, the trapezoidal facet
23 on the right hand side of the square facet
21
shows the symbol *, the trapezoidal facet
24 at the bottom of the square
facet
21 shows the symbol
##CHR2##
, and the trapezoidal facet
25
on the left hand side of the square facet
21 shows the symbol £.
The piece of information on the square facet
21 in the center can be seen
clearly by the user
12, and the other four facets
22-
25 are
at least somewhat visible. The display
13 can be a 2D or a 3D display, but
if it is a true 3D display, the user
12 can improve his view on the different
facets by changing his/her viewpoint accordingly.
The different pieces of information represented by the different symbols may
constitute for example different choices offered to the user
12. In case
the user
12 wishes to select the choice represented by the symbol @, the
user
12 may select this choice by pressing the selection button (not shown)
of the mobile device
11.
However, only the choice presented by the square facet can be selected by
the user
12 by pressing the selection button, since only the square facets
is an active facet. In order to select another one of the choices, the user
12
first has to rotate the diamond in a way that the facet with the symbol representing
the desired choice is presented as the square facet. In this first embodiment,
the user
12 can rotate the diamond by pressing the buttons
14 with
the arrows. In FIG. 2, two of these buttons
26,
27 are depicted for
illustration by themselves, without showing their relation to the entire set of
buttons
14 or to the mobile device.
In the depicted example, the user
12 wishes to select or examine more
clearly
the choice represented by the symbol £ and presses the button
26 with
the arrow to the right. As a result, the diamond is rotated, or flipped, in a way
that the facet
24 with the symbol £ appears now as front square facet
24, while the facet
21 with the symbol @ is shifted to the right
hand side and the facet
23 with the symbol *, seemingly over the back of
the diamond, to the left hand side. The resulting view of the UI diamond is depicted
in the center of FIG. 2.
After having inspected the choice represented by the symbol £ more clearly,
the user
12 may then consider that he/she might prefer the choice represented
by the symbol
##CHR3##
, currently located on a facet
24 on the bottom.
The user
12 therefore presses the button
27 with the arrow in upward
direction. As a result, the diamond rotates in a way that the facet
24 with
the symbol
##CHR4##
appears now as front square facet, while the facet
24 with the symbol £ is shifted to the top, and the facet
22
with the symbol & is shifted, again seemingly over the back of the diamond, to
the bottom. The resulting view of the UI diamond is depicted on the right hand
side of FIG. 2.
The buttons with the arrows pointing to the left and downwards (not shown) can
be used analogously by the user for rotating the diamond in the respective other directions.
The rotation if performed discretely, i.e. the user always has one active square
facet in front of him/her.
In another state of the mobile device
11, more pieces of information may
have to be presented to a user
12. In this case, the shape of the UI diamond
is adapted accordingly by the processing means of the mobile device
11.
FIG. 3 shows a diamond with 7 visible facets for presenting pieces of information
represented by 7 different symbols. The initial state of this second example of
a UI diamond is shown on the left hand side of FIG. 3, which state can be changed
again by the user
12.
In the initial state of the UI diamond, a regular hexagonal facet
31 presenting
the symbol @ faces the user
12. Similar as with the first presented UI diamond,
a trapezoidal facet
32-
37 is joint to each side of the hexagonal
facet
31. The two sides of each trapezoidal facet
32-
37 next
to the side joining the hexagon facet
31 are further joined to a respective
one of the other trapezoidal facets
32-
37. Proceeding from the respective
side joining the hexagon facet
31, the trapezoidal facets
32-
37
appear again extending to the background, thus simulating a 3D view on the diamond.
Proceeding from the trapezoidal facet
32 on top of the hexagon facet, the
trapezoidal facets
32-
37 show in clockwise direction the symbols
&, $, *,
##CHR5##
, # and £.
The piece of information on the hexagon facet
31 in the center can be
seen clearly by the user
12, and the other six facets
32-
37
on the sides are at least somewhat visible.
The user
12 now wishes to look in more detail into the piece of information
presented by the facet
37 with the symbol £. This facet
37 is
located on the upper left hand side of the central hexagon
31. Since with
the current diamond, there are two facets
36,
37 on the left hand
side of the central facet
31, the user
12 has to take two steps in
order to get the best view on the facet
37 showing the desired symbol by
for moving the facet
37 into the center.
In a first step, the user
12 presses the button
26 with the arrow
pointing to the right. This results in a clockwise rotation of the trapezoidal
facets
32-
37 of the diamond around the hexagonal facet
31.
The resulting state of the UI diamond is depicted in the center of FIG. 3.
In a second step, the user
12 presses the button
38 with the arrow
pointing downwards. Thereby, the facet
37 presenting the symbol £ is
flipped into the center, the facet
31 presenting the symbol @ is flipped
to the bottom, and the facet
34 presenting the symbol * is flipped to the
top. The resulting orientation of the UI diamond is depicted on the right hand
side of FIG. 3.
Similarly, the button with the arrow pointing to the left causes a counter-clockwise
rotation, and the button with the arrow pointing upwards causes flipping the facets
in the middle upwards.
Thus, any facet
31-
37 of this diamond can be turned into the
center by two steps at the most.
In case the symbols represent information on a possible choice, the user
12
may select this choice by pressing the select button (not shown), as with the first diamond.
FIG. 4 presents a second embodiment of the mobile device according to the invention.
As in the first embodiment, the mobile device
41 comprises processing
means
42 and a 2D or 3D display
43 for presenting a diamond build as described
by way of example with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.
The mobile device
41 further comprises a movement detecting sensor
44
which is able to detect a movement of the mobile device. This movement detecting
sensor
44 can be for example an acceleration sensor, a compass or a gyroscope.
In addition, the mobile device
41 comprises a selection button
45
on the front side of the mobile device
41, and a button
46 for activating/deactivating
a rotation of a displayed diamond on the right hand side of the mobile device
41.
When a user wishes to rotate a presented UI diamond in order to obtain a better
view on one of the facets, he/she presses the button
46 for activating a
rotation. Then, the user rotates the device
41 slightly in the direction
in which the UI diamond has to rotate in order to bring a desired facet to the
front. The sensor
44 senses this movement and causes the processing means
42 to rotate the UI diamond accordingly. As soon as the desired facet is
facing the user in plan view, the user can release the button
46 in order
to deactivate the rotation. A choice presented by a facet which appears essentially
in plan view can be selected by a user by pressing the selection button
45.
The rotation can be realized again as a discrete movement or as a continuous
movement. In the latter case, the IU diamond does not always have an active facet
appearing in plan view to the user.
Now, two different exemplary scenarios will be described, in which the first
or the second presented embodiment of a mobile device
11,
41 can
be employed. In both scenarios, the mobile device is a mobile phone.
In a first scenario, a user of the mobile phone wants to know a phone number
stored
in the phone. The user takes the mobile phone out of his/her pocket and opens the
key lock. Then, he/she presses a button associated to a menu, and a diamond UI
is opened, as described by way of example with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The
presented diamond has one facet facing the user, and this facet comprises the first
menu item. All other menu items are at least a little visible on the sides facets
of the diamond. The user rotates the diamond as described with reference to the
first or the second embodiment of the invention, until the item 'phonebook' is
presented on the facet facing the user. The user opens the phonebook by pressing
a provided selection button, and another diamond with different facets is opened.
Each of these facets is associated to one of different groups, like 'work', 'friends',
'family', 'others' etc. From these groups, the user can select one in the same
way as the item 'phonebook' from the menu items. As a result, the desired number
is displayed on the display of the mobile phone.
In a second scenario, the user receives a phone call via the mobile phone. The
display of the mobile phone shows a diamond UI presenting information about the
caller. The structure of the diamond UI resembles again those described with reference
to FIGS. 2 and 3. The main facet can present for example the name and the phone
number of the caller. On the side facets of the diamond, less relevant pieces of
information are presented, e.g. when the last conversation took place with this
caller, detailed personal information on the caller, the last exchanged SMSes etc.
The user can browse through these pieces of information by rotating the diamond
as described with reference to the first or the second embodiment of the invention.
While there have shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features
of the invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood
that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of
the devices and methods described may be made by those skilled in the art without
departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended
that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially
the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are
within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures
and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any
disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other
disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design
choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the
scope of the claims appended hereto.
*
