Method of displaying menu items and related touch screen device

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to methods of displaying menu items in touch screen devices, and more particularly, to a method of displaying menu items in a touch screen device which is suitable for input by a finger.

#2. Description of the Prior Art

#FIG. 1 is a diagram of a touch screen device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is a diagram of the touch screen device displaying a menu in profile mode according to the embodiment.

#FIG. 3 is a diagram of the touch screen device displaying a menu in landscape mode according to the embodiment.

#Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a function block diagram of a touch screen device 10 capable of displaying a menu with increased display size according to an embodiment of the present invention. The touch screen device 10 comprises a memory 110 storing program code 112, a plurality of icons 114A, and a plurality of text-based items 114B corresponding to the plurality of icons 114A. Each icon/text-based item pair may correspond to a function of the touch screen device 10, such as a “Dial” function, a “Calculator” function, etc. Further, not every function necessarily has both a corresponding icon and text-based item. Some functions may only have a corresponding icon, and other functions may only have a corresponding text-based item. The touch screen device 10 further comprises a touch screen 100 for displaying the icons 114A and/or the text-based items 114B in a user interface, and a processor 120 for controlling the touch screen 100 according to the program code 112. The touch screen device 10 may be a smartphone, a PDA, a PDA phone, a pocket PC, a mobile device, or a portable music player. The touch screen device 10 may utilize an operating system to provide file management, a graphical user interface, and other functions. An example of such an operating system could be a Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Symbian, Palm, Android or Linux operating system.

#Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, which are diagrams of displaying a menu of the text-based items 114B in the touch screen device 10 in portrait mode and landscape mode, respectively. In portrait mode (shown in FIG. 2), the menu may be accessed by activating a “Start” button, and may comprise a plurality of menu items, such as “Today,” “Phone,” “Contacts,” and “Internet Explorer” menu items. The menu items displayed in the touch screen 100 may further include a group of most recently used (MRU) or most commonly used (MCU) menu items. The most recently used menu items may comprise a number of menu items that were selected most recently by a user. For example, if a user just used a Calculator function, represented by a “Calculator” menu item, the “Calculator” menu item may appear in the plurality of MRU menu items. On the other hand, the MCU menu items may comprise a number of menu items that are selected most often by the user. For example, if the user selects the “MSN Messenger” menu item 20% of the time over a predetermined period of time, then the “MSN Messenger” menu item may show up in the plurality of MCU menu items. The menu may further comprise a plurality of preset menu items that are always displayed, which may include “Programs,” “Settings,” and “Help” menu items. In portrait mode, height of the display is longer than width of the display, such that relatively more text-based items 114B may be displayed, and relatively fewer icons 114A may be displayed.

#In landscape mode, in which width of the display is longer than height of the display, the number of icons 114A may be increased to have more activation buttons than those in portrait mode, as shown in FIG. 3. On the other hand, because height is lowered relative to the portrait mode described above, number of the text-based list items 114B displayed on the screen may be decreased. The processor 120 may comprise a mode detection module 122 for determining when the touch screen device 10 is operated in the portrait mode or in the landscape mode. When the touch screen device 10 operates in the landscape mode, the processor 120 may control the touch screen 100 to display the icons 114A with reduced size, display a second item of the plurality of text-based items 114B as a corresponding icon, and display the plurality of text-based items 114B less a predetermined item, e.g. the MRU and/or MCU menu items, and the second item with an increased display size. The increased display size may be stored in the memory 110 or may be calculated by the processor 120.