Graphical Menu Navigation With Selectable Path History
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional user interfaces in computer systems and applications, particularly in bioanalytical and industrial processes, often lack visibility of the path of menu items taken and options not selected, leading to inefficiencies and complexities in navigating menu-driven functions, especially in regulated environments requiring data integration and workflow management.
Innovation Solution
A graphical user interface system that displays current and past menu choices concurrently, allowing users to select and revisit previous options, with a focus on minimizing visual clutter and guiding users through menu hierarchies efficiently, using a two-portion display system with an active and historical view of menu items.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a menu-driven system is used to perform computer functions, then the system can execute tasks systematically, but the path of menu items taken and unselected options become invisible, leading to navigation inefficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The display area is segmented into multiple portions, with the first portion showing the current menu and the second portion showing the menu path history. This segmentation allows simultaneous visibility of both current and previous menu states without overwhelming the user interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The menu path information is displayed in an additional spatial dimension (a second portion of the display) rather than replacing the current menu view. This dimensional approach preserves current menu visibility while adding historical context in a non-intrusive manner.
2Loss of information
If all menu options are displayed at once, then users have complete information available, but the user interface becomes cluttered and difficult to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
Menu information is segmented into different portions based on temporal relevance. The current menu occupies the primary display area while historical menus are placed in a secondary area, creating a hierarchical information structure that reduces visual clutter.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the display have different information densities. The first portion (current menu) provides high-level navigation options while the second portion (history) provides detailed path information, allowing each area to optimize its own information presentation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If extensive software development is performed to integrate instrumentation data with LIMS, then data integration capability is achieved, but development time and resources increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The graphical user interface system provides universal functionality for displaying and navigating menu structures that can be applied across different instrumentation and LIMS integrations. This standardized approach reduces the need for custom software development for each integration scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically manages the display of menu paths and historical options without requiring manual configuration or extensive programming. The interface self-adapts to show relevant navigation history based on user interactions, reducing the need for custom development logic.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of interactively navigating a user through a path of menu choices on a user interface may include displaying a current menu of choices on a first portion of a user interface display. The user interface allows for selecting of a menu item from the current menu of choices and to drill down through levels of menu choices based on selecting a menu item from a prior level of menu choices. A second portion of the user interface display presents past selected and past unselected menu items of the drilled-down levels. The past unselected menu items are displayed as selectable options. The user interface allows for jumping to a different path of menu choices by selecting a past unselected menu item from a previously navigated menu level displayed on the second portion of the user interface display.