Abstract:
An electronic apparatus includes a screen configured to display a desired portion of a icons. A controller rotationally moves of icons along a fictitious ring so that the desired portion of the icons are displayed on the screen.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to an electronic apparatus comprising: 
     a screen on which a plurality of graphics must be displayed, 
     movement means for moving said graphics. 
     The invention also relates to a method of displaying graphics, used in such an apparatus. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Such apparatuses are well known and are widely used, notably in the field of portable telephones. 
     A problem which occurs in such apparatuses is that they have a small screen while there is a necessity for increasingly larger ones because the menus are enriched with items or icons. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of the type described in the opening paragraph in which means are provided for facilitating the perception of these icons that may be displayed. 
     To this end, such an apparatus is characterized in that the movement means are constituted by means for rotating the graphics to be visualized. 
     The invention is based on the recognition that the different graphics are placed in a ring so that one maximally benefits from the always reduced surface of the screens. These graphics are then presented in an offset manner, which allows a better visualization on a small screen while giving the user the illusion that these graphics are well separated from each other. 
     These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from and will be elucidated, by way of non-limitative example, with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 shows an apparatus in accordance with the invention, 
     FIG. 2 shows how the graphics are displayed in accordance with the invention, 
     FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 shows an electronic apparatus in accordance with the invention. Within the embodiment described, this is a portable telephone which can be connected to a cellular network. It consists of a housing  10  in which different elements are arranged. These include a keyboard  12  having different keys K 1 , K 2 , K 3 , . . . , a display screen  20 , a microphone  22 , a receiver or loudspeaker  24  and an antenna  26 . 
     FIG. 2 shows the screen  20  with different movable graphics or icons G 1 , G 2 , G 3 , G 4 , G 5 , G 6 , G 7 , G 8 , . . . which can be displayed in the screen while using the movement control constituted by the key K 2 , and with other graphics GF 1 , GF 2 , GF 3 , . . . which are fixed. Among these fixed graphics, the index IN can be distinguished with which they can be activated, coincident with the movable graphics, by pressing the key K 1  (FIG.  1 ). 
     According to the invention, the different movable graphics change position in a fictitious or virtual manner in a ring  50  comprised between two circles C 1  and C 2 . According as one of the right-hand or left-hand parts of the key K 2  is touched, the graphics rotate in the direction of the arrow F 1  for the left-hand part and in the direction of the arrow F 2  for the right-hand part. 
     FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the invention. The circuit shown in this Figure is constituted by a memory  50  comprising the data for all the movable graphics which may be displayed on the screen  20 . Each of these graphics occupies the same number of octets in this memory and their addressing is thus separated by a fixed addressing quantity with respect to, the preceding and the following quantity. This addressing is ensured by an address code generator  55  which can supply the information about five graphics, which corresponds to what the screen  20  can display. This addressing may be modified by touching the key K 2 . If one touches the left-hand part, the addressing of said addressing quantity is reduced, and if one touches the right-hand part, the addressing of the same quantity is increased. This is effected by the incrementation circuit  56  and the decrementation circuit  57 , respectively. The values supplied by these circuits  56  and  57  are accumulated in an accumulator adder  60  which finally addresses the memory  50  combining these values with those supplied by the generator  55 . The data from the memory are thus supplied in sequences of 5 graphics to the screen  20 . A screen control arranges these sequences in fixed positions in their order of appearance.