Abstract:
Provided is a method of controlling a portable digital apparatus which includes a display panel that displays a plurality of folder icons used to set operating conditions of the portable digital apparatus. The method allows a user to select one among the plurality of folder icons. The method includes selecting a folder icon by displaying a fixed selection-frame whose position is fixed on a screen of the display panel and by moving all of the folder icons sequentially according to the user&#39;s operation so that each folder icon is positioned in the fixed selection-frame in order, and controlling a setup by controlling a folder icon positioned in the fixed selection-frame to be an operation target selected by the user.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2003-39344, filed on Jun. 18, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
           [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to a method of controlling a portable digital apparatus, and more particularly, to a method of controlling a portable digital apparatus where a plurality of folder icons are displayed on a display panel so that a user can select one among the folder icons to set operating conditions of the portable digital apparatus.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0005]    A conventional portable digital apparatus, for example, a digital camera disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,469, displays a plurality of icons and an active cursor to allow a user to set operating conditions of the portable digital apparatus. The active cursor is moved by operating direction buttons to select a folder icon.  
           [0006]    With such conventional portable digital apparatus, when folder icons are too numerous to be displayed all together on a single screen, it can be difficult for a user to immediately recognize the current position of an operation target. For example, fourteen folder icons might be displayed over two screens. The first through seventh folder icons are displayed on a first screen, and as soon as an active cursor moves from the seventh folder icon to an eighth folder icon, the eighth through fourteenth folder icons are displayed on a second screen. In such a case, the user may not be able to immediately recognize the current position of the operation target due to a change in a screen page.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention provides a method of controlling a portable digital apparatus to allow a user to immediately recognize the current position of an operation target even when folder icons for setting operation conditions of the portable digital apparatus are too numerous to be displayed on a single screen.  
           [0008]    An aspect of the present invention provides a method of controlling a portable digital apparatus that includes a display panel that displays a plurality of folder icons used to set operating conditions of the portable digital apparatus. The method allows a user to select one icon among the plurality of folder icons. The method comprises selecting a folder icon by displaying a fixed selection-frame whose position is fixed on a screen of the display panel and by moving all of the folder icons sequentially according to the user&#39;s operation so that each folder icon is positioned in the fixed selection-frame in order, and controlling a setup by controlling a folder icon positioned in the fixed selection-frame to be an operation target selected by the user.  
           [0009]    Accordingly, the folder icon positioned in the fixed selection-frame becomes an operation target selected by the user from all of folder icons during the folder selection. Accordingly, even when there are too many folder icons to be displayed on a single screen, a screen page does not change. Therefore, the user can immediately recognize a current position of the operation target. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera as a portable digital apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a control algorithm of a microcontroller shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a setup control program shown in FIG. 2, according to a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4A illustrates content displayed on a screen of a color liquid crystal display (LCD) panel shown in FIG. 1 as a result of performing steps S 401  through S 403  shown in FIG. 3;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIGS. 4B through 4G illustrate screens displayed when folder icons shown in FIG. 4A are moved to the left or to the right one-by-one by performing step S 405  shown in FIG. 3;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the setup control program shown in FIG. 2, according to a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6A is a flowchart of an algorithm of a folder selection program shown in FIG. 5;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6B is a flowchart of an algorithm of a item selection program shown in FIG. 5;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6C is a flowchart of an algorithm of a data setup program shown in FIG. 5;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 7A illustrates content displayed on a screen of the color LCD panel shown in FIG. 1 as a result of performing steps S 501  and S 502  shown in FIG. 6A;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIGS. 7B through 7D illustrate screens displayed when folder icons shown in FIG. 7A are moved to the left or to the right one by one by performing steps S 503  through S 506  shown in FIG. 6A;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 8A illustrate a screen displayed when step S 531  shown in FIG. 6B was performed on the left screen of FIG. 7B;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8B illustrate a screen displayed when step S 571  shown in FIG. 6C was performed on the screen shown in FIG. 8A;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 9A illustrate a screen displayed when step S 531  shown in FIG. 6B was performed on the right screen of FIG. 7B;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 9B illustrate a screen displayed when step S 571  shown in FIG. 6C was performed on the screen shown in FIG. 9A;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG.10 A illustrate a screen displayed when step S 531  shown in FIG. 6B was performed on the right screen of FIG. 7C;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 10B illustrate a screen displayed when step S 571  shown in FIG. 6C was performed on the screen shown in FIG. 10A;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 11A illustrate a screen displayed when step S 531  shown in FIG. 6B was performed on the right screen of FIG. 7D; and  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 11 B illustrate a screen displayed when step S 571  shown in FIG. 6C was performed on the screen shown in FIG. 1  1 A. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0030]    The entire structure of a digital camera  1  as a portable digital apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1.  
         [0031]    An optical system OPS including a lens unit, a filter unit, and an aperture optically processes light from a subject. The lens unit of the optical system OPS includes a zoom lens, a focus lens, and a compensating lens.  
         [0032]    When a user presses a wide-angle zoom button or a telephoto zoom button included in a user input unit INP, a signal corresponding thereto is input to a microcontroller  512 . Then, the microcontroller  512  controls a lens driver  510  to move a zoom motor M z  so that the zoom lens moves. In other words, when the wide-angle zoom button is pressed, a focal length of the zoom lens decreases so that a view angle becomes wider. When the telephoto zoom button is pressed, the focal length of the zoom lens increases so that the view angle becomes narrower. Here, since a position of the focus lens is adjusted under a state where a position of the zoom lens has been set, the view angle is rarely influenced by the position of the focus lens.  
         [0033]    When a subject has been brought into a focus automatically or manually, a current position of the focus lens changes depending on a subject distance. Here, since the position of the focus lens is adjusted under a state where the position of the zoom lens has been set, the subject distance is influenced by the position of the zoom lens. In an automatic focusing mode, the micron controller  512  controls the lens driver  510  to drive a focus motor M F . Then, the focus lens moves from the head to the tail of a motion area. During this movement, the position of the focus lens, e.g., a step number of the focus motor M F , giving a largest amount of high frequency to an image signal is set.  
         [0034]    Because the compensating lens of the optical system OPS compensates for an entire refractive index, the compensating lens is not separately driven.  
         [0035]    A motor M A  drives the aperture. The rotation angle of the aperture driving motor M A  changes depending on whether the digital camera  1  is set to a specified exposure mode. The specified exposure mode sets an amount of exposure for the digital camera  1  with respect to the average luminance of a specified detection area when a partial area desired by a user in a subject area matches the specified detection area displayed on a color liquid crystal display (LCD) panel  35  of the digital camera  1 .  
         [0036]    An optical low pass filter (OLPF) included in the filter unit of the optical system OPS removes optical noise of high frequency. In addition, an infrared cut filter (IRF) included in the filter unit blocks infrared components of incident light.  
         [0037]    An optoelectric converter OEC implemented by means of a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) converts light from the optical system OPS into an electric analog signal. A digital signal processor (DSP)  507  controls a timing circuit  502  to control the optoelectric converter OEC and a correlated double sampler and analog-to-digital converter (CDS-ADC)  501 . The CDS-ADC  501  processes the analog signal received from the optoelectric converter OEC to remove high-frequency noise and adjust the amplitude. The CDS-ADC  501  then converts the analog signal into a digital signal. A real time clock (RTC)  501  provides time information to the DSP  507 . The DSP  507  processes the digital signal received from the CDS-ADC  501  to generate a digital image signal divided into a luminance signal and a chrominance signal.  
         [0038]    A light emitting unit LAMP driven by the microcontroller  512  includes a self-timer lamp, an auto-focus lamp, and a flash standby lamp. The user input unit INP includes a shutter button, a mode dial, a function selection button, a function block button, a monitor button, an OK/delete button, an enter/play button, a menu button, a wide-angle zoom button, a telephoto zoom button, an up button, a right button, a down button, and a left button. The up, right, down, and left buttons and the enter/play button are directly related to the method of controlling a portable digital apparatus according to the present invention.  
         [0039]    The digital image signal from the DSP  507  is temporarily stored in a dynamic random access memory (DRAM)  504 . An algorithm and setup data which are necessary for the operation of the DSP  507  are stored in an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)  505 . A memory card is removably installed in a memory card interface (MCI)  506 .  
         [0040]    The digital image signal from the DSP  507  is input to an LCD driver  514 , and therefore, an image is displayed on the color LCD panel  35 .  
         [0041]    In the meantime, the digital image signal from the DSP  507  can be transmitted in serial communication via a universal serial bus (USB) connector  21   a  or an RS232C interface (I/F)  508  and its connector  21   b , or can be transmitted as a video signal via a video filter  509  and a video output unit  21   c.    
         [0042]    An audio processor  513  outputs audio signals received from a microphone MIC to the DSP  507  or a speaker SP and outputs audio signals received from the DSP  507  to the speaker SP.  
         [0043]    Meanwhile, the microcontroller  512  controls a flash controller  511  according to a signal from a flashlight sensor (FS)  19  to drive a flash  12 . The microcontroller  512  also performs an algorithm according to an embodiment of the present invention that will be described below.  
         [0044]    Referring to FIG. 2, when a photographic mode is set by a user&#39;s operation in step Si, the microcontroller  512  performs a photographic control according to the user&#39;s operation in step S 2 . When a menu mode is set by the user&#39;s operation in step S 3 , the microcontroller  512  performs a setup control to set operating conditions of the digital camera  1  according to the user&#39;s operations in step S 4 . Steps S 1  through S 4  are repeated until an external end signal is input in step S 5 .  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 4A illustrates content displayed on a screen  35   a  of the color LCD panel  35  shown in FIG. 1 as a result of performing steps S 401  through S 403  shown in FIG. 3. FIGS. 4B through 4G illustrate screens displayed when folder icons IC 1  through IC 6  shown in FIG. 4A are moved to the left or to the right one by one by performing step S 405  shown in FIG. 3. In FIGS. 4A through 4G, the same reference numerals denote the items having the same functions. Reference numeral  401  denotes an icon-menu bar, and reference numeral  402  denotes an initial point. Hereinafter, the setup control program performed in step S 4  shown in FIG. 2, according to a first embodiment of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 through 4G. The first embodiment is used to set a photographic menu of the digital camera  1  shown in FIG. 1 as an example of a portable digital apparatus.  
         [0046]    Folder icons IC 1  through IC 6  shown in FIG. 4A and a fixed selection-frame FF for setting the photographic menu are displayed in step S 401 . A folder name  403  and a data menu DM shown in FIG. 4A of the folder icon IC 1  positioned in the fixed selection-frame FF are displayed in step S 402 . Next, a data selection bar DSB shown in FIG. 4A is positioned on the most recent setup data, 1024×768, in the data menu DM in step S 403 .  
         [0047]    Next, when a left direction signal is generated by the user pressing the left button, all of the folder icons IC 1  through IC 6  are moved to the left in step S 404 . When a right direction signal is generated by the user pressing the right button, all of the folder icons ICl through IC 6  are moved to the right in step S 404 . Accordingly, even when there are too many folder icons to be displayed on a single screen, the folder icons are displayed without changing a screen page. As a result, the user can immediately recognize the current position of an operation target. Here, the folder name  403  and the data menu DM of a folder icon positioned in the fixed selection-frame FF are displayed, as shown in FIGS. 4B through 4G. In addition, the data selection bar DSB is positioned on the latest setup data in the displayed data menu DM, as shown in FIGS. 4B through 4G.  
         [0048]    Referring to FIGS. 4B through 4F, the plurality of the folder icons IC 1  through IC 6  displayed on screens  35   a  through  35   f  of the color LCD panel  35  shown in FIG. 1 are arranged in a line in a horizontal direction of the color LCD panel  35 , and the data menu DM of a folder icon positioned in the fixed selection-frame FF is displayed below the folder icons IC 1  through IC 6 . In the right screen  35   g  of FIG. 4G, an item menu IM including items of a folder icon IC 7  positioned in the fixed selection-frame FF is displayed below the folder icon IC 7 . A control method on the right screen  35   g  of FIG. 4G will be described later as a second embodiment with reference to FIGS. 5 through 11 B.  
         [0049]    Next, when a down direction signal is generated by the user pressing the down button, the data selection bar DSB is moved down in step S 407 . When an up direction signal is generated by the user pressing the up button, the data selection bar DSB is moved up in step S 407 . Next, when a setup signal is generated by the user pressing the enter button in step S 408 , the latest setup data is updated with data corresponding to the item on which the data selection bar DSB is positioned (Step S 409 ).  
         [0050]    Steps S 404  through S 409  are repeated until an end signal is generated in step S 410 .  
         [0051]    [0051]FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the setup control program performed in step S 4  shown in FIG. 2, according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is a flowchart of an algorithm of a folder selection program performed in step S 50  shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 6B is a flowchart of an algorithm of an item selection program performed in step S 53  shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 6C is a flowchart of an algorithm of a data setup program performed in step S 57  shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7A illustrates content displayed on a screen  35   h  as a result of performing steps S 501  and S 502  shown in FIG. 6A. FIGS. 7B through 7D illustrate screens  35 h through  35   k  displayed when folder icons IC 1  through IC 4  shown in FIG. 7A are moved to the left or to the right one by one by performing steps S 503  through S 506  shown in FIG. 6A. FIG. 8A illustrate a screen  35   ha  displayed when step S 531  shown in FIG.  6 B was performed on the left screen  35   h  of FIG. 7B. FIG. 8B illustrate a screen  35   hb  displayed when step S 571  shown in FIG. 6C was performed on the screen  35   ha  shown in FIG. 8A. FIG. 9A illustrates a screen  35   ia  displayed when step S 531  shown in FIG. 6B has been performed on the right screen  35   i  of FIG. 7B. FIG. 9B illustrates a screen  35   ib  displayed when step S 571  shown in FIG. 6C has been performed on the screen  35   ia  shown in FIG. 9A. FIG. 10A illustrates a screen  35   ja  displayed when step S 531  shown in FIG. 6B has been performed on the right screen  35   j  of FIG. 7C. FIG. 10B illustrates a screen  35   jb  displayed when step S 571  shown in FIG. 6C has been performed on the screen  35   ja  shown in FIG. 10A. FIG. 1  1 A illustrates a screen  35   ka  displayed when step S 531  shown in FIG. 6B has been performed on the right screen  35   k  of FIG. 7D. FIG. 11 B illustrates a screen  35   kb  displayed when step S 571  shown in FIG. 6C has been performed on the screen  35   ka  shown in FIG. 1  1 A. In FIGS. 7A through 11 B, the same reference numerals denote items having the same functions. In FIGS. 7A through 11 B, reference numeral  401  denotes an icon-menu bar, and reference numeral  402  denotes an initial point.  
         [0052]    Hereinafter, the setup control program performed in step S 4  shown in FIG. 2, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 through 11 B. The second embodiment sets a system menu of the digital camera  1  shown in FIG. 1 as an example of a portable digital apparatus.  
         [0053]    Referring to FIG. 5, step S 4  includes performing a folder selection program in step S 50 . If it is determined that an end signal has been generated in step S 51 , the setup control program ends. However, when the end signal has not been generated, it is determined whether a down direction signal has been generated by a user pressing the down button in step S 52 . Next, if it is determined that the down direction signal has been generated, the item selection program is performed in step S 53 . If it is determined that the down direction signal has not been generated, the folder selection program is performed again in step S 50 .  
         [0054]    After step S 53 , if it is determined that the end signal has been generated in step S 54 , the setup control program ends. When it is determined that the end signal has not been generated, then in step S 55  it is determined whether a left direction signal has been generated by the user pressing the left button. If it is determined that the left direction signal has been generated, the folder selection program is performed again in step S 50 . In this case, the item selection screen  35   ha  shown in FIG. 8A is converted back to the left screen  35   h  of FIG. 7B, the item selection screen  35   ia  shown in FIG. 9A is converted back to the right screen  35   i  of FIG. 7B, the item selection screen  35   ja  shown in FIG. 10A is converted back to the right screen  35   j  of FIG. 7C, and the item selection screen  35   ka  shown in FIG. 11A is converted back to the right screen  35   k  of FIG. 7D.  
         [0055]    However, when in step S 55  the determination is made that the left direction signal has not been generated, it is determined in step S 56  whether a right direction signal has been generated by the user pressing the right button. When it is determined that the right direction signal has been generated, the data setup program is performed in step S 57 . If it is determined that the right direction signal has not been generated, the item selection program is performed again in step S 53 .  
         [0056]    After step S 57 , if it is determined that the end signal has been generated in step S 58 , the setup control program ends. However, when it is determined that the end signal has not been generated, it is determined in step S 59  whether the left direction signal has been generated by the user pressing the left button. Next, if it is determined that the left direction signal has been generated, the item selection program is performed again in step S 53 . However, when it is determined that the left direction signal has not been generated, the data setup program is performed again in step S 57 . When the item selection program is performed again in step S 53  in response to the left direction signal generated in step S 59 , the data selection screen  35   hb  shown in FIG. 8B is converted back to the item selection screen  35   ha  shown in FIG. 8A, the data selection screen  35   ib  shown in FIG. 9B is converted back to the item selection screen  35 ia shown in FIG. 9A, the data selection screen  35   jb  shown in FIG. 10B is converted back to the item selection screen  35   ja  shown in FIG. 10A, and the data selection screen  35   kb  shown in FIG. 11 B is converted back to the item selection screen  35   ka  shown in FIG. 11A.  
         [0057]    To perform the folder selection program in step S 50 , referring to FIG. 6A, the folder icons IC 1  through IC 4  and a fixed selection-frame FF for setting a system menu are displayed in step S 501 . A folder name  403 , an item menu IM, and a latest setup data CSD of a folder icon (IC 1  in FIG. 7A) positioned in the fixed selection-frame FF are displayed in step S 502 . Here, in the screens  35   h  through  35   k  (shown in FIGS. 7A through 7D) of the color LCD panel  35  shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of the folder icons IC 1  through IC 4  are arranged in a line in the horizontal direction of the color LCD panel  35 . The folder name  403 , the item menu IM, and the latest setup data CSD of a folder icon positioned in the fixed selection-frame FF are displayed below the folder icons IC 1  through IC 4 . Next, when it is determined that the left direction signal has been generated by the user pressing the left button in step S 503 , all of the icon folders IC 1  through IC 4  are moved to the left as shown in FIGS. 7B through 7D in step S 504 . When it is determined that the right direction signal has been generated by the user pressing the right button in step S 505 , all of the icon folders IC 1  through IC 4  are moved to the right in step S 506 . Accordingly, even when there are too many folder icons to be displayed on a single screen, a screen page does not change. Therefore, the user can immediately recognize a current position of an operation target.  
         [0058]    To perform the item&#39;selection program in step S 53 , referring to FIG. 6B, an item selection bar ISB of a folder icon positioned in the fixed selection-frame FF is activated as shown in FIGS. 8A, 9A,  10 A, and  11 A in step S 531 . Next, when it is determined that the down direction signal has been generated by the user pressing the down button in step S 532 , an item selection bar ISB is moved down in step S 533 . When it is determined that an up direction signal has been generated by the user pressing the up button in step S 534 , the item selection bar ISB is moved up in step S 535 .  
         [0059]    To perform the data setup program in step S 57 , referring to FIG. 6C, the data menu DM of an item on which the item selection bar ISB is positioned is displayed as shown in FIGS. 8B, 9B,  10 B, and  11 B in step S 571 . Next, when it is determined that the down direction signal has been generated by the user pressing the down button in step S 572 , a data selection bar DSB is moved down in step S 573 . When it is determined that the up direction signal has been generated by the user pressing the up button in step S 574 , the data selection bar DSB is moved up in step S 575 . Next, when it is determined that a setup signal has been generated by the user pressing the enter button in step S 576 , the latest setup data CSD is updated with data on which the data selection bar DSB is positioned in step S 577 .  
         [0060]    As described above, in the present invention, a folder icon positioned in a fixed selection-frame becomes an operation target selected by a user from all of folder icons during a folder selection. Accordingly, even when there are too many folder icons to be displayed on a single screen, a screen page does not change. Therefore, the user can immediately recognize a current position of an operation target.  
         [0061]    Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.