Radial Menu Sliding Mechanism for Touch Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing user interfaces for electronic devices require users to navigate away from the main application content to access options menus, leading to increased time spent selecting options, making the application appear more complex and reducing user experience, while also consuming more energy and reducing battery life.
Innovation Solution
A radial menu is displayed on the device's touch-sensitive display, allowing options to be viewed and selected efficiently by sliding them around the perimeter, with a fixed selection region, enabling quicker option selection and reducing energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a separate menu interface is displayed to provide options, then users can access and select options, but users must navigate away from the main application content, increasing interaction time and making the application appear more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the options menu with the main application content by displaying the radial menu overlaid on top of the content area. This allows users to access options without navigating away from the main content, effectively combining the content viewing and option selection functions into a single interface view.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a radial dimension for organizing menu options, arranging them in a circular pattern around the content area. This radial layout allows multiple options to be displayed in a compact space without interfering with the main content view, enabling efficient option selection while maintaining content visibility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a separate menu interface is displayed to provide options, then users can select options, but the application appears more complex and user experience quality reduces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the options menu into a distinct radial component that is visually separated from the main content area. This segmentation allows the menu to be accessed and interacted with independently while maintaining a clear visual hierarchy, reducing the perceived complexity by organizing options in a dedicated radial structure rather than mixing them with content.
Solution Approach 2:
By organizing options in a radial arrangement around the content, the patent creates a separate dimensional space for menu interaction. This radial dimension allows multiple options to be presented in a compact, organized manner that doesn't increase the apparent complexity of the main application interface.
3Ease of operation
If users spend more time interacting with menus rather than making substantive decisions, then option selection can be made available, but it takes longer to complete desired tasks and consumes more energy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent displays all available options simultaneously in the radial menu structure, allowing users to see and evaluate all choices at once before making a selection. This preliminary presentation of all options eliminates the need for multiple navigation steps or sequential option discovery, enabling faster decision-making and task completion.
Solution Approach 2:
The radial menu displays more options than can be comfortably viewed at once, with the ability to scroll or paginate through additional options. This excessive display of options ensures that all possible choices are immediately available without requiring users to navigate through multiple screens, speeding up the option selection process while maintaining comprehensive option availability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If users spend more time interacting with menus, then option selection is available, but more energy is consumed and battery life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The radial menu pre-loads and displays all available options in a single view, eliminating the need for multiple interface transitions and repeated loading of option sets. This preliminary action reduces the total computational work required for option selection, thereby reducing energy consumption while maintaining full option availability.
Solution Approach 2:
By merging the options menu with the main content view in a single overlaid interface, the patent eliminates the need for separate menu screens and transitions. This consolidation reduces the total number of display updates and processing operations required, leading to lower energy consumption while preserving comprehensive option access.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device displays a radial menu including a first sequence of selectable options that extends off an edge of the display so that a first portion of the first sequence of selectable options is displayed while a second portion of the first sequence of selectable options is not displayed. The radial menu also includes a first selection region at a first fixed location on the radial menu. While a first option in the first sequence of selectable options is displayed in the first selection region of the radial menu, the electronic device detects an option-selection input associated with the radial menu. Responsive to detecting the option-selection input, the electronic device slides the first sequence of selectable options around the perimeter of the radial menu so that the first option is moved out of the first selection region and a second option is moved into the first selection region.