User interface for electronic devices for controlling the displaying of long sorted lists
In a user-interface application, a computing apparatus has a user-interface to assist the user in searching for information from a data array. In an example embodiment according to the present invention, the data array is an ordered list of addresses. In a UI so equipped, the user experiences a particular sequence of events. The user begins at a point on a list of addresses. After the user rotates a jog/shuttle knob, the list rolls down a low rate. As the user rotates the jog/shuttle knob further the scroll accelerates. After a predetermined time or number of items, a helper character is displayed. This character may represent a first letter of a name or a first digit of a telephone number. The UI displays the helper character to the user. The user continues to hold the position of the jog/shuttle knob until a help character, corresponding to his/her desired selection, appears. The user releases the jog/shuttle knob and may step through among a smaller group of data to locate the particular selection by incrementally rotating the knob from the neutral position.
1. A consumer electronics device comprising:
an information-rendering device;
a force-sensitive interface, operative to enable a user to scroll through an ordered list of a data array that is rendered on the information rendering device; and
a helper character-generator being operative to replace a portion of an item in the list being scrolled, with an enlarged rendered helper character.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the information-rendering device is selected from at least one of the following: visual display, audio output, tactile feedback.
3. The device of claim 1 wherein the force-sensitive interface is coupled to a user interface assisting in searching for information from an ordered list in a data array, the user interface comprising,
an array scroller responsive to user actuation of the force-sensitive interface, the user actuation being a magnitude of a force applied to the force-sensitive interface, a scrolling speed of the array scroller being controlled by the magnitude of the force applied; and
the helper character-generator, actuated by continued user actuation of the array scroller, the helper character generator being operative to render an initial character of an item in the list being scrolled, in a enlarged manner on a whole or a part of a screen of a visual display of the rendering device after being scrolled a predetermined time or a predetermined number of items.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein, the helper character generator conditionally renders a record of additional helper characters in addition to the initial character.
5. In a data processing environment, a method for enabling a user to scroll through an ordered list in a data array accessible through a data processing device, the method comprising:
enabling the user to scroll through the list at a predetermined rate, in response to the user actuating the data processing device via a force-sensitive interface, the predetermined rate being controlled by the magnitude of force the user exerts on the force sensitive interface; and
generating a portion of an item of the list being scrolled, in an enlarged manner.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the data processing environment comprises a distributed environment.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the force-sensitive interface comprises at least one of the following: jog/shuttle dial, touch pad, drawing tablet, mouse scroll wheel, joystick.
8. A consumer electronics device comprising:
a rendering device for rendering of an ordered list representing user-selectable items;
a force-sensitive user-interface for control of a speed of scrolling through the list rendered on the rendering device; and
a helper character-generator being operative to render a character in an enlarged manner replacing any prior such character that is representative of a portion of an item in the list being scrolled.
9. Software, stored on computer-readable non-transitory media, for enabling a user to scroll through an ordered list in a data array accessible through a data processing device, the software comprising:
instructions for enabling the user to scroll through the list at a predetermined rate, in response to the user actuating the data processing device via a force-sensitive interface, the predetermined rate being controlled by the magnitude of force the user exerts on the force sensitive interface; and
instructions for generating a helper character representative of a portion of the list being scrolled, wherein the helper character is generated in an enlarged manner relative to other items of the ordered list.
10. The software of claim 9 wherein the computer-readable non-transitory media comprises at least one of the following: semiconductor memory, optical storage, magnetic storage, client/server data storage.