Number Input Control via Foreground Menu Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for inputting date and time on electronic devices, such as using virtual keyboards or +/− buttons, are often inconvenient and lack interest, requiring numerous scrolls or taps.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that display numbers on an electronic device, allowing users to select a first number, determine its attribute, and then expand to a menu for changing it, enabling selection of a second number from the menu, which replaces the first number, with the expanded menu displayed in a foreground layer for easy input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a virtual keyboard is used for number input, then the interface is familiar and easy to implement, but the input process lacks interest and requires numerous scrolls or taps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the number input process into two distinct phases: a selection phase where users choose from displayed numbers, and a confirmation phase where an expanded menu appears for final selection. This segmentation transforms the traditional single-step virtual keyboard input into a multi-stage process that reduces scrolling and tapping while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a spatial dimension to the number input process by displaying an expanded menu in a foreground layer that overlays the main interface. This dimensional change allows users to access additional number options without navigating through multiple screens or performing numerous scrolls, thereby simplifying the input process while maintaining familiarity.
2Device complexity
If +/− buttons are used for number input, then the interface is simple, but a large number of scrolls or taps must be input
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by displaying a set of numbers in advance on the interface before the user needs to input a specific value. When the user selects a number, the system proactively presents an expanded menu with related numbers, eliminating the need for users to perform multiple scrolls or taps with +/− buttons to reach their desired value.
Solution Approach 2:
The expanded menu serves as an intermediary between the initial number selection and the final input confirmation. This intermediate layer provides users with quick access to adjacent or related numbers without requiring them to navigate through multiple button presses, thereby maintaining interface simplicity while dramatically improving input convenience.
3Productivity
If an expanded menu is displayed in a foreground layer, then number selection becomes rapid and interesting, but the interface layer management becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The foreground layer mechanism is designed to serve multiple functions: it displays the expanded menu, handles user selections, manages the replacement of the first number with the second number, and controls the dismissal of the menu. This multi-functionality allows the system to achieve rapid and interesting number input while managing interface complexity through a unified layer management approach.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and an apparatus are provided for controlling number input in an electronic device. The method includes displaying at least one number; receiving a selection of a first number from the displayed at least one number; determining an attribute of the first number; displaying, in a foreground layer, an expanded menu including a plurality of numbers for changing the first number, the expanded menu corresponding to the determined attribute; receiving a selection of a second number from the plurality of numbers included in the expanded menu; and ending the displaying of the expanded menu and replacing the first number from the displayed at least one number with the selected second number.