Unified Menu Screen Mixing Content and Instruction Icons
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face the challenge of needing separate user interfaces for executing and switching between application programs, which lacks a unified and user-friendly experience.
Innovation Solution
A menu screen display device that acquires a menu display instruction while an application program is running, displaying a second menu screen that mixes content icons with instruction icons for interacting with the running program, allowing unified input operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If separate user interfaces are used for executing programs and accessing menu screens, then program execution control is clear and distinct, but user interface unity and operability are degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the program execution control interface with the menu screen interface into a single unified menu screen. When a program is running, the menu screen displays both content icons for starting other programs and instruction icons for controlling the running program, allowing users to access both functions through one interface rather than switching between separate interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The menu screen is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both the program selection interface and the program control interface. By incorporating both content icons and instruction icons in the same menu screen, the system achieves multi-functionality that improves ease of operation without requiring users to navigate between different interfaces.
2Ease of operation
If a unified menu screen displays both content icons and instruction icons, then user operability is improved, but screen layout complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The menu screen is segmented into distinct functional areas: content icons for starting programs are displayed in a first area, while instruction icons for controlling running programs are displayed in a second area. This segmentation allows the unified menu screen to maintain clarity and organization despite incorporating multiple functions, reducing the perceived complexity for users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent organizes different types of icons (content icons and instruction icons) in different spatial dimensions or areas within the menu screen. By distributing icons across multiple dimensions or zones on the screen, the layout manages complexity while maintaining unified access to all functions.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus provide for acquiring menu display instructions from a user, and generating and outputting the operating system menu screens for display.