Patent Abstract:
An apparatus and process for controlling the position of an indicator in a user interface using a menu is disclosed. By the method, when a menu having items selected and adjusted by an indicator is displayed, and the position and a size of the menu are changed, the indicator follows the changed menu. Thus, an interface can be easily realized.

Full Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. §119 from an application entitled  Method for Controlling Position of Indicator  earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Oct. 15 1998, and there duly assigned Ser. No. 98-43162 by that Office. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an interface apparatus and process using menus, and more particularly, to an apparatus and process for controlling the position of an indicator on the screen of a video display device. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Different circuits and processes enabling a user to interface with an appliance by using menus has been widely used for information processing devices such as computers and television receivers. In these interface methods, the requirement of a user is received through menus displayed on a screen, and a desired item is selected by moving an indicator such as a pointer. The indicator is usually a typical pointer, and a work or task bar which is inverted or highlighted. The pointer is operated by a trackball or a joy stick installed on a remote controller, and the bar is operated by a channel up and down key or a volume up and down key installed on a controller or a panel. 
     For instance, in a television receiver having a small number of selectable channels, a particular channel is selected via one of ten keys or a channel up and down button of the remote controller, but in a digital television receiver having substantially more selection channels, programs of various channels are obtained through a program guide screen, and a specific channel for a particular program is selected through a pointer. Adjustment of display, time setting, and control of volume as well as channel selection can be interfaced through a menu. 
     In the interface method using menus, when a selected menu item has sub menus or adjustment items, corresponding sub menus are displayed on the screen. For instance, for the control of volume, sub menus for selecting left/right/center/surround speakers are displayed. When the left speaker is selected, a slide-bar displays an adjustment screen for adjusting the volume of the left speaker. 
     A user selects a desired sub menu item from the displayed sub menus or moves a pointer for changing the adjustment state. 
     However, in the conventional interface method, the sub menus are displayed but the pointer is located in a position in which main menu items are selected so that the pointer must be moved to an area where the sub menus are displayed. When the sub menus are displayed in a position far from the main menu, an excessive amount of time is wasted in moving the pointer, which causes inconvenience in interfacing with a user. 
     Also, in the conventional interface method, even if the position and the scale of the menu are changed, the position of the pointer is not changed so that the pointer must be moved by a user to an area where the changed menu is displayed. In the case of using a cursor controller such as trackball or a remote controller to operate a pointer, when the response is very slow, the amount of time taken to move the pointer is increased so that the interface method using menus may be regarded as being difficult. 
     An exemplar of the contemporary, Choi (U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,781 , Method and Apparatus for Remotely Controlling Electrical Appliances Using a Trackball and Display , Jul. 15, 1997) discloses a remote control method and apparatus. The remote control for electrical appliances has a trackball used to select functions using control menus. The movement for the pointer is fully dependent upon a user&#39;s movement of the trackball. The initial location of the pointer is not limited to the menu area. The pointer can be anywhere on the display screen. When a user goes to a submenu and then reverts back to the main menu, the pointer does not follow the menu area. A user has to make extra steps in having to move the trackball to find the previous menu area. 
     Morito (U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,240 , Remote Control Input Device , Sep. 5, 1995) discloses an input device comprised of a rotatable cylinder shape. The device is limited to a direction on one axis at a time. Free movement in all directions of a pointer device is not allowed. 
     Kayashina et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,427 , Television System Including Television Set, and Accessory Devices Controlled by a Single Remote Control Device , Jan. 30, 1996) discloses a television system having method and apparatus for selecting preset or use determined devices. A remote control device is shown to have buttons to display and select an on screen menu. Menu items are selecting by selecting the corresponding buttons on the remote control. The item selected is shown on the display. A problem with Kayashima et al. &#39;427 is that it requires too many buttons for rapidly and conveniently controlling a television. 
     Yamamoto (U.S. Pat. 5,457,446 , Control Bus System with Plural Controllable Devices , Oct. 10, 1995) discloses a control bus system for a home entertainment system. The control bus further includes a display means for displaying the features to be executed by the control bus. A cursor is moved to display item to be selected. Yamamoto &#39;446, requires extra movement to locate the area to be selected. 
     Buchner et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,753 , Remote-Controlled On-Screen Audio/Video Receiver Control Apparatus , Jul. 2, 1996) discloses a remote controlled device that displays its options on a display screen. The pointer is controlled by apparatus like a trackball, joy stick or touch panel. The pointer is freely moving with the control screen. Buchner et al. &#39;753 does not store the area location of a previous menu so when a user reverts to an old menu, the pointer is not situated in same area. 
     I have found that in devices such as a digital television having many selection and adjustment items which cannot be smoothly operated by direct operation of a key, the interface using menus is very important for marketing the devices, so that ensuring of quick response for selecting menus is very important. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of controlling the position of an indicator in an interface using a menu in which an indicator follows to the menu in accordance with the generation and change of the menu, to thereby ensure quick response for selecting the menu. 
     According to an embodiment of the method for controlling the position of an indicator of the present invention, to achieve the above object, when a menu having items selected and adjusted by the indicator is displayed, and an item having sub-items capable of being selected and adjusted is selected, the sub-items are displayed and the indicator is located in the area where the sub-items are displayed. 
     According to another embodiment of the method for controlling the position of an indicator of the present invention, to achieve the above object, when a menu having items selected and adjusted by an indicator is displayed, and the position and a size of the menu are changed, the indicator follows the changed menu. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above object and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a view for conceptually showing an interface method using menus; 
         FIG. 2  shows the appearance of the remote controller of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3A  is an example of a menu screen in the interface method; 
         FIG. 3B  is a screen when a menu item including a sub menu is selected from the menu of  FIG.3A ; 
         FIG. 4A  is another example of a menu screen in the interface method; 
         FIG. 4B  is a screen when the menu of  FIG. 4A  is enlarged; 
         FIG. 5A  is an example of a reduced program guide screen in the interface method; 
         FIG. 5B  is an example of when the program guide of  FIG. 5A  is enlarged; 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for controlling the position of an indicator according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  shows a screen generated by the method of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart of another embodiment of a method for controlling a position of an indicator according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 9A  shows a reduced menu of a screen generated by the method of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 9B  shows an enlarged menu of a screen generated by the method of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a flowchart of still another embodiment of a method for controlling the position of an indicator according to the present invention; 
         FIGS. 11A and 11B  are screens generated by the method of  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 12  shows the structure of data for menu items; 
         FIG. 13  is for showing the relationship between menu items and sub menu items thereof; 
         FIG. 14  shows an example of a menu item region displayed on a screen; 
         FIG. 15  is a block diagram showing the structure of an apparatus in which the method of  FIG. 6  is used; 
         FIG. 16  is a block diagram showing the structure of another apparatus in which the method of  FIG. 8  is used; and 
         FIG. 17  is a block diagram showing the structure of an apparatus in which the method of  FIG. 10  is used. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  conceptually shows a interface method in which the television receiver is controlled by a remote controller. The television receiver  200  is controlled by the remote controller  100  of  FIG. 1 . The television receiver  200  displays a menu screen for a user&#39;s selection, and a desired item is selected from the menu items displayed on the screen by a pointer. Also, the desired item can be selected from the menu items displayed on the screen by operation of an inverted or highlighted bar. The display screen can be for example a cathode ray tube, liquid crystal display, projection screen, or any other similar display devices. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a remote controller includes a power supply key  20 , a trackball  22 , a selection key  24 , a menu key  26 , an enlargement and reduction key  28 , and a program guide key  30 . The menu key  26  is a key for displaying a main menu on a screen, the trackball  22  is a device for moving the pointer displayed on the screen, and the selection key is a key for selecting a menu item on which the pointer is located. Other pointing devices or cursor controllers may be used like a mouse, touchpad, and joy stick. The enlargement and reduction key  28  is a key for enlarging or reducing the size of the menu displayed on the screen, and the program guide key  30  is a key for displaying program guide information on the screen. The pointer can be moved by a joystick, a channel up and down key or a volume up and down key as well as the trackball  22 . 
     In the television receiver  200 , a main menu is displayed on the screen or erased in response to pressing the menu key  26 . That is, the menu key  26  operates as a toggle key. When the menu is displayed on the screen, the pointer for selecting the menu also is displayed. 
     In the television receiver  200 , the position of the pointer displayed on the screen is controlled in response to operation of the trackball  22 , and operation allocated to the menu item on which the pointer is located is performed in response to the selection key  24 . If the selected menu item includes sub menus, the sub menus are displayed. 
     In the television receiver  200 , the size of a menu is enlarged or reduced in response to the enlargement and reduction key  28 . In order to reduce the size of the menu, a screen is divided into two parts. A program image is displayed in one part, and a menu is displayed in the other part. In order to enlarge the size of the menu, the enlarged menu is displayed on the screen. 
     The remote controller  100  periodically detects the position of the trackball  22  to control the position of the pointer, and transmits changes in position corresponding to the detected position. That is, the remote controller  100  reads the direction to which the pointer is to be moved, through the trackball  22 , and transmits a signal that moves the pointer in the same direction as the trackball  22 . For instance, when a user moves the trackball  22  to the left for three seconds, the signal for periodically moving the pointer to the left is transmitted to the television receiver  200  for three seconds. 
     In the television receiver  200 , the position of the pointer is changed in response to the signal transmitted from the remote controller  100 . When the pointer is located on the item which is to be selected by the pointer, the user presses the selection key  24  of the remote controller  100 , and the television receiver  200  performs the command corresponding to the selected item. 
       FIG. 3A  which shows an example of a menu screen in an interface method where a menu is overlapped with a program image. In  FIG. 3A , reference numeral  32  denotes a pointer, and reference numeral  34  denotes a main menu. 
       3 B is a screen after a menu item corresponding to a sub menu has been selected from the main menu  34  of  FIG. 3A . In  FIG. 3B , reference numeral  36  denotes a sub menu. 
     In the bar of  FIG. 3B , the pointer is located on the selected main menu item. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3B , when the distance between the main menu  34  and the sub menu  36  is long, much time is required for moving the pointer  32  to select a sub menu item. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4A , in the television receiver  200 , the menu reduced in response to the menu key  26  of the remote controller  100  is displayed. In order to display the reduced menu, the screen of the television receiver  200  is divided into two parts. A program image is displayed in one part, and a menu is displayed on the other part. 
     In  FIG. 4A , reference numerals  40 ,  42 ,  44  and  46  denote an image where a program image signal is displayed, a pointer, a main menu and an area where the menu is displayed, respectively. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4A , the pointer  42  is located in a position before the menu is displayed. Thus, in order to select a menu item, the pointer  42  must be moved to the menu  44 . 
       FIG. 4B  shows a screen when the enlargement and reduction key  28  is pressed for the screen of  FIG. 4A . In  FIG. 4B , the menu  44  enlarged in response to the enlargement and reduction key  28  of the remote controller  100  is displayed. 
     Also, only the enlarged menu  44  is displayed on the screen. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4B , the pointer  42  is located in the position before the menu  44  is enlarged. Thus, in order to select the menu item, the pointer  42  must be moved to the menu  44 . 
     In  FIG. 5A , the program list which is reduced in response to the program guide key  30  of the remote controller  100  is displayed. In order to display the reduced program list, the screen of the television receiver  200  is divided into two parts. Here, a program image is displayed in one part, and the program list is displayed on the other part. 
     In  FIG. 5A , reference numerals  50  denotes an area where the program image is displayed,  52  denotes a pointer,  54  denotes a program list and  56  denotes an area where the program list is displayed. As shown in  FIG. 5A , the pointer is located in the area where the program image is displayed. 
     In  FIG. 5B , the program list  54  has been enlarged in response to the enlargement and reduction key  28  of the remote controller  100  and the enlarged program list is displayed. As shown in  FIG. 5B , the pointer  52  is located in the position before the program list  54  is enlarged. 
     In a method for controlling the position of an indicator according to the present invention, in order to display a menu or a program list, the indicator is located in a menu area or a program list area, so that it is unnecessary to move the pointer to the menu area or the program list area. 
     In a method shown in  FIG. 6 , a sub menu  36  is displayed on a screen in response to the menu key  26  of the remote controller  100  (S 600 ). 
     The pointer  32  is located in the sub menu area (S 605 ). When the sub menu  36  is displayed, the pointer  32  is located on the sub menu area, so that the sub menu item can be easily selected. 
     Then, the position of the pointer  32  is controlled in response to the trackball  22  of the remote controller  100  (S 610 ). 
     The remote controller  100  periodically transmits the amount of change in the x and y-directions in accordance with operation of the trackball  22 , in order to move the pointer  32 . In the television receiver  200 , a new coordinate value is calculated by adding the amount of change transmitted by the remote controller  100  to the coordinate value where the pointer  32  is located, and the pointer is displayed on the calculated coordinate value. 
     Then, the sub menu allocated to the sub menu item where the pointer  32  is located is performed in response to the selection key  24  of the remote controller  10  (S 620 ). 
     By the method of  FIG. 6 , the pointer  32  is located on an area where the sub menu  36  is displayed so that the sub menu item can be selected by minimum operation. 
     The position where the pointer  32  is located may be the first sub menu item.  FIG. 7  shows a screen which results from performing step  605 . Comparing the interface method illustrated by  FIG. 3B  to the method for controlling a position of an indicator according to the present invention of  FIG. 7 , when the sub menu  36  is displayed, the pointer  32  is located in the sub menu area so that time for moving the pointer  32  to the sub menu area is reduced. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , when the sub menu  36  is erased, the pointer  32  is located in the selected menu item. Thus, the selected item is stored, and the pointer is located in the stored menu item when the sub menu  36  is erased. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , the menu reduced in response to the menu key  22  of the remote controller  100  is displayed, and the menu is enlarged and reduced in response to the enlargement and reduction key  28 . In reducing the menu, the screen of the television  200  is divided into two parts. A program image is displayed in one part, and a menu is displayed in the other part (S 800 ). Only the enlarged menu is displayed on the screen. 
     Referring also to  FIGS. 9A and 9B , the pointer  42  is located on the menu area (S 805 ). In order to reduce or enlarge the menu  44 , the pointer  42  is located on the menu area so that the menu item can be easily selected. 
     The position where the pointer  42  is located may be the first menu item. 
       FIGS. 9A and 9B  show reduced and enlarged menu screens that result from performing step  805 . 
     Comparing the interface method of  FIG. 4A  to the method for controlling the position of an indicator according to the present invention, when the reduced menu is displayed, the pointer  42  is located in a menu area so that the time taken to move the pointer  42  to the menu area is reduced. 
     Also, comparing the interface method of  FIG. 4B  to the method for controlling the position of an indicator of  FIG. 9B  according to the present invention, when the enlarged menu is displayed, the pointer  42  is located in the menu area so that the time taken to move the pointer  42  to the menu area is reduced. 
     The position of the pointer  42  is controlled in response to the trackball  22  of the remote controller  100  (S 810 ). 
     The television receiver  200  performs a command allocated to the menu item where the pointer  42  is located in response to the selection key  24  of the remote controller  100  (S 820 ). When the selected menu item includes the sub menu, the sub menu and the pointer are displayed according to the method of  FIG. 6 . 
     The method of  FIG. 8 , which is adopted to the case of reducing and enlarging the menu, can be adopted to the case of changing the position of the menu. Here, the position of the pointer is moved by the moving degree of the menu. 
     In the method of  FIG. 10 , a reduced program list is displayed in response to the program guide key  30  of the remote controller  100 , and the enlarged or reduced program list is displayed in response to the enlargement and reduction key  28 . In order to display the reduced program list, the screen is divided into two parts. Referring also to  FIGS. 11A and 11B , a program image is displayed in one part, and a program list  54  is displayed in the other part (S 1000 ). 
     Only the enlarged program list  54  is displayed on the screen. 
     The pointer  52  is located in a program list area (S 1005 ). When the program guide image is displayed, the pointer  52  is located in the program list area so that a desired program can be easily selected. 
     An item where the pointer  52  is located may be the first channel. 
       FIGS. 11A and 11B  which show screens resulting from step  1005  show reduced and enlarged program lists. 
     Comparing the interface method of  FIG. 5A  to the method for controlling the position of an indicator of  FIG. 11A  according to the present invention, when the program list is displayed, the pointer  52  is located in a program list area so that the amount of time taken to move the pointer  52  to the program list area is reduced. 
     Comparing the interface method of  FIG. 5B  to the method for controlling a position of an indicator of  FIG. 11B  according to the present invention, when the enlarged program list is displayed, the pointer  52  is located in the program list area so that the amount of time taken to move the pointer  52  to the program list area is reduced. 
     The position of the pointer  52  is controlled in response to the trackball  22  of the remote controller  100  (S 1010 ). 
     The television receiver  200  performs a command allocated to the item where the pointer  52  is located in response to the selection key  24  of the remote controller  100  (S 1020 ). When a channel is selected, detailed information on the channel is displayed, and when a program is selected, detailed information on the selected program is displayed. 
     Referring to  FIG. 12 , data for the menu item includes an identifier  120 , area information  122 , information  124  indicating whether the sub menu exists or not, address information  126  indicating a position where information on a sub menu is stored, and command information  128   
     The identifier  120  indicates the name of the menu item. The area information  122  indicates coordinate information of areas where the corresponding menu item is displayed, and has coordinate information of two points of a diagonal line of a general tetragon. When the selection key  24  is pressed, the television receiver  200  determines to which area information the coordinate value where the pointer is located belongs and identifies the selected menu item. 
     The menu item has sub menus so that the menu has a tree structure as shown in  FIG. 13 . In  FIG. 13 , main menu items main # 1 , main # 2 , and main # 3  have respective sub menus. 
     Menu items of  FIG. 14  have an area of a tetragon indicated by (x 1 , y 1 )(x 2 , y 2 ). The pointer is located at the center point of the tetragonal area of the menu item. The coordinates of the center point of the tetragon area are ((x 1 +x 2 )/2, (y 1 +y 2 )/2). 
     When the menu screen is displayed, the pointer is located in the first item of the menu screen. In  FIG. 6 , the coordinates where the pointer is located are ((x 1 +x 2 )/2+x,(y 1 +y 2 )/2). Here, reference character x indicates an offset in accordance with reduction and enlargement of the menu which is a value from the left of the screen. When the position of the menu is changed, the movement amount (x m , y m ) of the menu is adopted. 
       FIG. 15  shows a more detailed view of the remote controller  100  and the television receiver  200  of the present invention. The remote controller  100  includes a menu key  152 , a selection key  154 , a trackball  156 , a trackball movement sensor  158 , a data generator  160 , a control commander  162  and a transmitter  164 . 
     The television receiver  200  includes a receiver  252 , a menu display unit  254 , a menu information storage unit  256 , a pointer display unit  258 , a menu performer  256  and a screen generator  262 . 
     When the menu key  152  of the remote controller  100  is pressed, the data generator  160  generates a menu display command. 
     The menu display unit  254  obtains information of the main menu from the menu information storage unit  256  in response to the menu display command received through the receiver  252 , and displays the main menu corresponding thereto. 
     At this time, the pointer display unit  258  displays the pointer on a center point with reference to the area information of the item where the pointer is to be located. 
     When the trackball  156  is moved to select the corresponding menu item from the menus displayed on the screen, the trackball movement sensor  158  senses the movement of the trackball  156  in the x and y-directions. The data generator  160  periodically generates a pointer movement command which includes the amount of change in position sensed by the trackball movement sensor  158 . The pointer movement command of the data generator  160  is transmitted by the transmitter  164 . 
     The receiver  252  receives a pointer movement signal generated by the transmitter  164  of the remote controller  100 . The pointer display unit  258  controls the position of the pointer in response to the received pointer movement signal. 
     When the selection key  154  of the remote controller  100  is pressed, the menu performer  260  performs a command of the menu item where the pointer is located in response to the menu item selected by the selection key  154 . 
     When the selected menu item includes sub menu items, the menu performer  260  controls the menu display unit  254  to thereby display the sub menu. The menu display unit  254  obtains information on the sub menu from the menu information storage unit  256  and displays the sub menu corresponding to the information. 
     The pointer display unit  258  displays a pointer in the center point of the item where the pointer is to be located, with reference to the area information. 
     The screen generator  262  overlaps the menu image signal generated by the menu display unit  254  with an image signal and supplies the overlapped signal to a display unit (not shown). 
     In  FIG. 16 , portions which perform the same operations as those of  FIG. 15 , are assigned by the same reference numerals. 
     In  FIG. 16 , reference numeral  166  denotes an enlargement and reduction key, and reference numeral  264  is a screen divider in which a menu image signal generated by the menu display unit  254  and a program image signal generated by a tuner (not shown) are synthesized or each signal is displayed. 
     When the enlargement and reduction key  166  of the remote controller  100  is pressed, the data generator  160  generates enlargement and reduction commands. When the enlargement and reduction key  166 , a toggle key, is pressed once, the enlargement command is generated, and when the key is pressed once more, the reduction command is generated. 
     The menu display unit  254  obtains information on the main menu screen from the menu information storage unit  256  in response to the enlargement and reduction commands received through the receiver  252 , and displays the corresponding menu. 
     At this time, the pointer display unit  258  displays the pointer in the center point of the item where the pointer is to be located, with reference to the area information. 
     The screen divider  264  synthesizes program image signal and menu image signal generated by the menu display unit  254  or displays each signal on the screen, and supplies the signals to a cathode ray tube (CRT, not shown). 
       FIG. 17  is a block diagram showing the structure of an apparatus in which the method of  FIG. 10  is used. 
     Portions of  FIG. 17  which perform the same operations as those of  FIG. 16 , are assigned by the same reference numerals. In  FIG. 17 , reference numeral  266  denotes a program guide information storage for storing program guide information detected from the image signal. The program guide information includes a name of the program, guide information, and data of starting time and ending time. 
     The program guide information generator  264  obtains program guide information from the program guide information storage  266  in response to the program guide command received through the receiver  252 , and generates a corresponding program guide image signal. 
     At this time, the pointer display unit  258  displays the pointer on the item with reference to the area information of the program item where the pointer is to be located. 
     When the enlargement and reduction key  166  of the remote controller  100  is pressed, the data generator  160  generates enlargement and reduction commands. When the enlargement and reduction key which is a toggle key is once pressed, the enlargement command is generated, and when the key is pressed once more, the reduction command is generated. 
     The program guide information generator  254  obtains program guide information from the program guide information storage  266  in response to the enlargement and reduction command received through the receiver  252 , and displays corresponding enlargement and reduction program list. 
     At this time, the pointer display unit  258  displays the pointer in the center point with reference to the area information of the item where the pointer is to be located. 
     The receiver  252  receives a pointer movement signal generated by the transmitter  164  of the remote controller  100 . The pointer display unit  258  controls the position of the pointer in response to the received pointer movement signal. 
     When the selection key of the remote controller  100  is pressed, corresponding command is performed. For instance, in order to select a program, the program guide performer  268  obtains a channel number of the program where the pointer is located and supplies the obtained channel number to the tuner. 
     When the reduced program list is displayed, the screen divider  262  synthesizes program image signals and program guide image signals generated by the menu display unit  254  or each signal is displayed, and supplies the signal to a display unit (not shown). 
     The present invention in which a selection item is commanded by a pointer has been described, can be adopted to the case of changing colors of the selected item, i.e., highlighting or inverting colors of the selection item. 
     According to the interface method of the present invention, an indicator is located in one of the selection items when the selection items are displayed so that only a small amount of movement is required by the indicator, which enables easy interfacing with users.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7