Scroll Bar Mark Figures for Text Position Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing text display methods do not effectively notify users of specific positions within a text that require attention, such as search results or marked lines, making it difficult for users to identify relevant information quickly.
Innovation Solution
A text display apparatus and method that includes a storage unit, display unit, and movement instructing input receiving unit, which stores and displays text with marks, and updates the displayed text range based on user input, using a scroll bar with a knob to highlight specific lines or search results within the text.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a text is displayed with highlighting of specific portions, then the user can identify important positions, but the user cannot quickly locate the position of highlighted portions in the overall text structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a vertical dimension to the scroll bar by displaying mark figures that extend upward from the baseline. This dimensional addition allows users to see both the highlighted text in the main display area and the position markers in the scroll bar simultaneously, enabling quick location of marked positions without losing visibility information.
Solution Approach 2:
The mark figure acts as an intermediary element between the highlighted text and the scroll bar position indicator. By displaying a visual marker (triangle, circle, or square) at the corresponding position in the scroll bar, the system creates a direct visual link that helps users quickly locate highlighted portions without searching through the entire text.
2Ease of operation
If a scroll bar is provided to navigate through text, then the user can move through the text, but the user cannot easily identify which specific lines contain marked information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the scroll bar vertically to create additional display space for mark figures. This dimensional expansion allows the scroll bar to simultaneously serve as a navigation tool and a position indicator, showing users both how to navigate and where marked lines are located.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses different shapes (triangle, circle, square) and potentially different colors to represent different types of marks. This visual differentiation allows users to quickly identify which lines contain marked information and what type of mark is present, enhancing the information conveyed in the scroll bar area.
Data Source
AI summary
A scroll bar area is displayed as two divided areas, namely a first mark display area which displays a mark figure corresponding to a first mark, and a second mark display area which displays a mark figure corresponding to a second mark. A first mark figure is displayed in that area in the first mark display area which corresponds to a line which is indicated to be affixed with the first mark by mark affixing information. A second mark figure is displayed in that area in the second mark display area which corresponds to a line which is indicated to be affixed with the second mark by the mark affixing information.