Nested Object Lists for Small Screen Data Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional user interfaces on small devices, such as smartphones and smartwatches, face challenges in organizing and navigating content due to limited screen real estate, making it difficult to display and select data relationships effectively.
Innovation Solution
The system employs nested object lists and transition graphics to efficiently organize and navigate content, allowing for infinite hierarchical levels and intuitive data relationship indication without requiring additional screen space, using animations and graphical transitions to convey organizational structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional hierarchical tree structures are used to display data relationships, then organizational relationships are clearly indicated, but screen real estate requirements increase making it impracticable on smaller screens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements nested object lists where inner lists are contained within outer list items. When a user interacts with a list item, the inner list expands to display related data, maintaining the hierarchical relationship without requiring additional horizontal space. This nesting approach allows multiple levels of data organization to be displayed vertically within the constraints of small screen real estate while preserving the parent-child relationships between data elements.
2Loss of information
If additional screen real estate is allocated to display organizational structures, then data relationships are clearly visible, but the available space for content display decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic list expansion and collapse mechanisms where the display of organizational structures adapts based on user interaction. Lists can be expanded to show detailed hierarchical relationships or collapsed to conserve space for content display. This dynamic behavior allows the interface to flexibly allocate screen real estate between organizational structure visibility and content capacity based on current user needs, rather than requiring both to be simultaneously maximized.
3Ease of operation
If conventional menu screens and drop-down displays are used, then navigation options are provided, but screen space is consumed reducing efficiency on small devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the navigation functionality from traditional side-by-side menu structures and integrates it directly within the content display flow. Instead of requiring separate menu screens or drop-down displays that consume additional screen space, the navigation options are embedded within the list items themselves through expandable inner lists. This extraction allows navigation capabilities to be provided without the overhead of conventional menu screen real estate requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments for improved data structuring for computer devices that provides efficient organization and navigation in a user interface in order to increase the amount and type of content that can be presented to a user, particularly with regard to small displays. For example, by emphasizing how data relates to other data (e.g., emphasizing the organizational structure) during navigation as opposed to after navigation, the embodiments provide an intuitive user interface for devices that indicates the relationship between data without the need for additional on-screen objects.