USER TERMINAL

Abstract: A user terminal, comprising user modules in software and hardware, a screen and pointing means for selecting screen objects, with which modules or sub-modules can be activated. A generic selection module generates in a primary selection field (6) selection objects (A, B, C, ...) for activating application modules. For all application modules, a panel-shaped screen object having a uniform structure is generated, comprising a central information panel (1), vertical side panels and horizontal panels, [and] selection objects (a, b, c, ...; al, a2, a3, ...). The information panel and both horizontal panels can shift away or back in horizontal and in vertical direction under the control of panel sliding buttons (4, 5). Horizonzal shifting displays or hides the primary selection fields (6); vertical shifting displays or hides a full set of selection buttons (a...i) from which the user can form a subset which is displayed on the side panels (2).

Description: User terminal. A. Background of the invention The invention is related to a user terminal, comprising an electronic workstation, which is controllable by one or more software modules, comprising a screen and pointing means for selection, by a user, of screen objects which are generated by software or hardware modules operating in the workstation, wherein, by selection of such an object, a module, or a sub-module thereof, is activated. Such a user terminal is known in the prior art, in particular in the form of a personal or network computer with a windows user interface . By means of a pointer which is controlled for example by a mouse, a track ball or a light pen, an application module (application software program) can be activated, namely by activating, with the pointer, a screen object which represents the application module. For "touch screen" terminals, the pointer is formed by a finger of the user. B. Summary of the invention The applicant proposes a new user interface which is expected to be more manageable by the general public than the current interfaces, of which MS WINDOWS is certainly the most popular. According to the present invention, the user terminal comprises, as interface for activating application modules (software or hardware), a generic selection module which, in a primary selection field on the screen, generates a number of selection objects for selecting and activating application modules, while the selection module further generates, per application module, a panel-shaped screen object having a uniform structure. Each panel-shaped screen object comprises panel sliding objects, a central information panel, a vertical left and right side panel and a horizontal upper and a lower panel. With one panel sliding object, the user can shift the whole panel-shaped screen object, including both side panels, lower and upper panel and information panel, in a horizontal direction, whereby the primary selection fields become visible or hidden. Upon activation, a second panel sliding object causes the information panel and both horizontal panels to slide away or back again in a vertical direction alternatively ("toggling"). The vertical side panels comprise selection objects for selecting and activating a sub-module of the activated application module for the generation and display on the central information panel, or for inputting information. The information displayed in the information field can preferably be shifted (dragged) in horizontal or vertical direction with respect to the frames of the information field by way of the pointing means, which is otherwise known per se, for example from a software module such as ADOBE/ACROBAT . C. Example of embodiment The invention will now be further explained on the basis of a number of figures. Figures 1-8 represent the screen of a user terminal - part of a PC or another system - which is not further shown. Further not shown - since the construction of such a terminal or workstation is generally well known in the prior art - are hardware and software modules and means for inputting alphanumeric or graphical data; also not shown are pointing means, such as a pointer controlled by a mouse or track ball or screen pointer for the selection of screen objects generated by operational software or hardware modules in the terminal, such as (virtual) screen buttons etc., where, by selection of such a screen object, a module (usually an "application''), or a sub-module thereof, is activated. The present invention represents a generic selection module , which, for the purpose of activating other application modules, generates a number of selection objects in a primary selection field on the screen for selecting and activating an application module . Prior to the presentation of the primary selection fields however, if more users [use] the terminal, a user can log in and authorise himself, which is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 1 shows a welcome screen. The figure also shows the generic screen composition which also recurs in the following screens, namely a screen object in the form of a panel with a central information panel and vertical and horizontal side panels in which selection and panel sliding objects (buttons) are accommodated. A (registered) user logs in by pressing (by means of the screen pointer) one of the user buttons ("userl" , "user2 * ' , etc.). The welcome screen of Fig. 1 is then replaced by an input screen for the password, which is shown in Fig. 2. Next, the user can press a panel sliding button 4, causing the panel shown in Fig. 1 to shift half way to the right of the screen, as Fig. 3 shows. If the user thereafter presses button 4 again, the panel moves to the left again. If the panel is shifted to the right, as Fig. 3 shows, the said primary selection fields become visible "behind" it. In the primary selection fields, a number of primary selection objects (selection buttons) are generated for selecting and activating a certain application module (software application), for example "Newspaper news", designated in the figure by the letter A. If that is activated, the selection module generates for that selected application module a panel-shaped screen object, again having the uniform structure. The panel which was shifted to the right then [changes] from a password input panel, as shown in Fig. 3, to a "Welcome at application A ("Newspaper news")" panel, after which said panel shifts to the left, of which Fig. 4 shows the result. The screen object is formed again by panel sliding object 4, a central information panel, a vertical left and right side panel and a horizontal upper and a lower panel. The vertical side panels contain selection objects (buttons) for selecting and activating sub-modules of the activated application module " Newspaper news" , namely the selection and activation of certain news groups, for example "Sport", "Business", etc. Fig. 4 shows that the user presses selection button c "Business" , so that the image of Fig. 5 comes into being. In the central information field, the first news item of "Business" is generated, namely a message concerning an important telecom provider; a short description of said message is shown on a selection button cl in the lowest horizontal selection panel 3. Other messages can be selected by means of buttons c2 and c3 , which also (not shown) provide a short description of said messages . Thus, the vertical side panels contain selection buttons with which sub-modules ("Sport", "Business") within a module ("Newspaper news") can be [selected]. Said selection buttons form a subset of a larger group of sub-module selection buttons. The full set can be inspected by pressing a panel sliding button 5. This causes the bottommost and uppermost horizontal panels 3 and the central panel 1 to shift completely out of view in a vertical direction (for example, the bottommost panel 3 to move down and the central panel 1 and the uppermost panel 3 to move up). In its place, as Fig. 6 shows, the whole collection of selection objects (a...i) related to the activated module ("Newspaper news"), is shown. From said full set of buttons, the user can then place or [move] back a number of buttons (a...f) on the side panels by "dragging" , whereby the side panels can be "personalised" . After setting or modifying the preferred buttons in this way, the panel is restored again by pressing the vertical sliding button 5. From Fig. 7 it is evident that the user has added selection button i ("Stock exchange quotations") to the buttons a...f. Pressing button i causes the New York stock exchange quotations to appear in central panel 1. Selection buttons il and i2, with which for example the Amsterdam stock exchange quotations can be displayed, are also shown. It is noted that the information displayed in the information field can be shifted in horizontal or vertical direction with respect to the information field by means of the "pointing means" , so that the information, in spite of the limited dimensions of central panel 1, are still readily readable. Finally, as Fig. 8 shows, the user can arrive in the starting position again by shifting the panel of Fig. 7 to the right again by means of the horizontal sliding button 4, after which another module (A,B,C,....) can be selected or the selection module according to the invention can be left ("EXIT").

Claims: D. Claims 1. A user terminal, comprising software and hardware modules, a screen and pointing means for selection, by a user, of screen objects which are generated by application modules implemented in software or hardware operating in the terminal, wherein, by selection of such a screen object, such an application module or a sub-module thereof is activated, characterised by a generic selection module which, for the purpose of activating application modules, generates, in a primary selection field (6) on the screen, a number of selection objects (A,B,C,...) for selecting and activating an application module, while the selection module further generates, per application module, a panel-shaped screen object having a substantially uniform structure for all application modules, namely comprising a first and a second panel sliding object (4,5), a central information panel (1), a vertical left and right side panel (2) and a horizontal upper and a lower panel (3), wherein, upon activation, the first panel sliding object (4) alternatively causes the whole panel-shaped screen object, including both side panels, lower and upper panel and information panel, to shift away or back again at least partly in a horizontal direction, such that the said primary selection fields (6) become visible and invisible respectively, while the second panel sliding object (5), upon activation, alternatively causes the information panel and both horizontal panels to shift away or back in a vertical direction; wherein the vertical side panels comprise selection objects (a,b,c,...) for selecting and activating a sub-module of the activated application module for generating and, via the central information panel, displaying or retrieving information; wherein the horizontal panels, dependent upon the activated module, do or do not comprise selection objects (cl,c2 ,c3 ; il, i2) for the further selection of information which is to be displayed or retrieved by the activated module via the information panel. 2. The user terminal according to Claim 1, characterised in that information displayed in the information field by means of the said pointing means can be shifted in horizontal or vertical direction with respect to the information field.

Inventors: AASMAN JANNES, BAKKER MAURICE VINCENT HUGO, MANNAK JACOBINE JOHANNETTE, RIETKERK OSCAR DICK, VAN DER ROS ELLEN MIRJAM, AASMAN, JANNES, BAKKER, MAURICE, VINCENT, HUGO, MANNAK, JACOBINE, JOHANNETTE, RIETKERK, OSCAR, DICK, VAN DER ROS, ELLEN, MIRJAM
Applicants: AASMAN JANNES, BAKKER MAURICE VINCENT HUGO, KONINKL KPN NV, MANNAK JACOBINE JOHANNETTE, RIETKERK OSCAR DICK, ROS ELLEN MIRJAM V D, AASMAN, JANNES, BAKKER, MAURICE, VINCENT, HUGO, KONINKLIJKE KPN N.V., MANNAK, JACOBINE, JOHANNETTE, RIETKERK, OSCAR, DICK, VAN DER ROS, ELLEN, MIRJAM
Application year: 1999
Main classification: G06F3
IPC codes: G06F3