Multi-directional Navigation Logic for Customizable Home Screen Focus Points
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Solution Overview
Problem
Customizable home screens on electronic devices complicate navigation between focus points, as existing navigation models are not adaptable across different screen configurations, particularly when a one-to-many mapping is defined, leading to ambiguity in focus movement.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device with a multi-directional input device and memory settings that maintain lists of adjacent focus points, allowing focus to move to a predetermined point based on memory settings, such as 'None', 'One-step', 'Full', or 'Group' configurations, to resolve navigation ambiguity across various home screen layouts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If customizable home screens are implemented allowing applications and buttons to be placed anywhere, then screen layout flexibility and user customization are improved, but navigation complexity and ambiguity increase when multiple adjacent focus points exist in a single direction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the navigation problem by creating separate directional lists for each focus point (up-list, down-list, left-list, right-list). Each list independently stores adjacent focus points in its respective direction, allowing the system to handle one-to-many mappings by direction rather than treating navigation as a single complex problem. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by maintaining layout flexibility while simplifying navigation logic through directional decomposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-establishing memory settings (None, One-step, Full, Group) that define navigation behavior before actual navigation occurs. These settings are configured in advance to handle one-to-many mappings, so when navigation ambiguity arises, the pre-defined rules automatically resolve it without requiring complex real-time decision-making. This eliminates navigation complexity while preserving layout flexibility.
2Productivity
If a one-to-many mapping is defined between focus points allowing multiple adjacent points in a direction, then navigation coverage is improved, but focus movement ambiguity increases without additional navigation rules
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback through memory settings that track navigation history and state. The None setting provides no feedback (always go to first item), One-step provides immediate feedback (return to previous item), Full provides complete directional feedback (remember all visited items per direction), and Group provides hierarchical feedback (handle groups of items together). This feedback mechanism resolves focus movement ambiguity while maintaining comprehensive navigation coverage by providing the appropriate level of contextual information for each navigation scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by introducing memory setting parameters (None, One-step, Full, Group) that change the navigation behavior parameter. These parameters transform the navigation system from having fixed ambiguous behavior to having configurable deterministic behavior. By changing the memory parameter, the system adapts to different navigation needs while maintaining one-to-many mapping coverage, thus resolving the contradiction between navigation coverage and focus movement ambiguity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for navigating between different focus points displayed on an electronic device, comprising, for each of said different focus points, maintaining a list of any adjacent ones of said focus points to which focus can move in each direction responsive to a navigation event in said direction, for each said list having only one adjacent focus point moving focus to said one adjacent focus point responsive to said navigation event, and for each said list having more than one adjacent focus point accessing a memory setting and moving focus to a predetermined one of said adjacent focus points responsive to said navigation event in accordance with said memory setting.