Remote Control GUI Menu Navigation with Toggle Buttons
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users experience difficulty and frustration when navigating graphical user interfaces (GUIs) of electronic devices using conventional remote control devices, as it can be tedious to interact with multiple levels of options.
Innovation Solution
The system allows users to toggle active status between high-level menu options using buttons separate from the directional pad, enabling efficient navigation through GUIs by activating and deactivating sub-menus, thereby simplifying the interaction process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional remote control devices are used to navigate through multiple levels of options in a graphical user interface, then the user can access all menu options, but the interaction process becomes tedious and frustrating
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the remote control device into two distinct input zones: a directional pad for navigating sub-menus and separate buttons for toggling high-level menu options. This segmentation allows users to perform different navigation tasks with different input methods, reducing the tedium of navigating through multiple menu levels by enabling direct access to high-level options without requiring sequential directional pad movements through entire menu hierarchies.
2Ease of operation
If multiple input methods are introduced to simplify navigation, then the ease of operation improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies multi-functionality by designing separate buttons that serve dual purposes: they act as standard buttons for specific selections and simultaneously function as toggles for high-level menu options. This universal design allows the remote control to handle both detailed sub-menu navigation and high-level menu switching without requiring entirely separate control mechanisms, thereby improving ease of operation while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An exemplary method includes a user interface system providing a graphical user interface view that includes a high-level menu including first and second of high-level menu options respectively associated with first and second sub-menus, assigning the first high-level menu option an active status, activating the first sub-menu such that the first sub-menu is navigable with a directional pad (“D-pad”) of a remote control device while the first high-level menu option has the active status, receiving user input provided by way of a toggle button of the remote control device designated to toggle between the first and second high-level menu options, toggling the active status from the first high-level menu option to the second high-level menu option, and activating the second sub-menu such that the second sub-menu is navigable with the D-pad of the remote control device while the second high-level menu option has the active status.