3D Window Management for Small Displays
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-window systems on small display devices like mobile phones, users face difficulty in selecting a desired window due to limited screen space and the need for smaller window sizes, which complicates window recognition and selection.
Innovation Solution
A communication terminal device with a window display application that allows users to select and change window arrangements using direction and change keys, displaying an overhead screen to overview all windows and adjusting window sizes to improve visibility and accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If all displayable windows are displayed on a small screen, then the number of visible windows increases, but the size of each window becomes smaller making it difficult for users to recognize content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a third dimension by displaying windows in a three-dimensional space rather than flattening them on a two-dimensional screen. This allows multiple windows to be visible simultaneously at appropriate sizes by arranging them in depth, resolving the contradiction between showing all windows and maintaining readable sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a windowing system where windows can be nested within each other in three-dimensional space. This nesting approach allows multiple windows to coexist on a small screen while maintaining their individual visibility and size, as each window can contain or be contained by others without reducing their content readability.
2Manufacturing precision
If each window is displayed in an appropriate size for recognition, then user recognition of window content improves, but not all displayable windows can be displayed simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
By transitioning from a two-dimensional to a three-dimensional windowing system, the patent enables all windows to be displayed simultaneously at appropriate sizes. The third dimension (depth) provides additional space to arrange windows without reducing their size, allowing both full visibility and proper recognition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic window arrangement where windows can be moved, resized, and repositioned in three-dimensional space. This dynamic capability allows the system to adapt to different numbers of windows while maintaining optimal sizes for recognition, resolving the contradiction between displaying all windows and keeping them readable.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the number of windows displayed increases on a small screen, then multi-tasking capability improves, but window selection becomes more inconvenient without a pointing device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a three-dimensional window manager as an intermediary between the user and multiple windows. This mediator automatically manages window arrangement, selection, and switching in three-dimensional space, reducing the need for direct user manipulation and making window selection easier even with increased multi-tasking capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The windowing system implements self-service mechanisms where windows automatically manage their own positioning and visibility in three-dimensional space. The system autonomously handles window selection and arrangement based on user interaction with any visible window, reducing the operational burden on users despite increased numbers of windows.
Data Source
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AI summary
[Problem] To provide a technique for, in a case where images of plural windows can be displayed and a display area is small, reducing the burden placed on a user when s/he selects a desired image. [Solution] In communication terminal device 10, in a case where the arrangement of the windows is changed in a list screen, an overhead screen is initially displayed, in which the list screen is overviewed, and the arrangement of the windows is subsequently changed in the overhead screen, and a magnified screen (original screen) of the overhead screen, in which the arrangement of the windows has been changed, is displayed last, as described in the foregoing. By displaying a magnified image, it is possible to make windows better visible in a small display area of a mobile phone. Also, in a case where a window exists that cannot be displayed in a magnified screen, by displaying an overhead screen, it becomes possible for a user to recognize a fact that a window that cannot be displayed exists in a magnified screen, and also recognize a position of the window.