SOUND FEEDBACK ON MENU NAVIGATION

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of information presentation devices and more particularly to a method of enabling navigation in a menu structure of an information presentation device, information presentation devices enabling navigation in a menu structure as well as a computer program product for enabling navigation in a menu structure of an information presentation device.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Information presentation devices, for instance in the form of cellular phones, today have more and more different functions and applications in them. In order to be able to select different functions and applications as well as to perform setting in relation to the device and in relation to these applications and functions, the device is normally provided with a menu system, where items are provided locating these functions, applications and settings.

In order to navigate between the different items there is therefore provided a menu structure that organises the items in a logical fashion and makes them easy to locate. Such a menu structure is normally presented to the user of the device in visual form via a display. This puts limitations on the users of such devices. People that are blind can for instance not easily navigate in the menu structure. Also people that are busy doing other things may find it hard, like for instance a user that is busy driving a car. There are thus a number of situations when it would be advantageous to allow a user to navigate through the items of a menu structure in an information presentation device that is not dependent on the user viewing a display. When performing such navigation it is however necessary to provide feedback to the user of where in the structure he is moving.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is thus directed towards solving the problem of providing feedback to a user of where in a structure he is moving when visual information is not possible to provide or undesirable.

One object of the present invention is to provide a method of enabling navigation in a menu structure of an information presentation device that provides feedback to a user of where in the structure he is moving when visual information is not possible to provide or undesirable.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the object is achieved by a method of enabling navigation in a menu structure of an information presentation device comprising the steps of: providing selectable items in the menu structure, where the items are related to functions, applications and settings of the information presentation device, associating each item with at least one dedicated sound, and upon detecting an actuation of a specific item, generating a sound associated with this item.

A second aspect of the present invention is directed to a method including the features of the first aspect, wherein the step of at least ordering the generation of a sound comprises generating the sound.

A third aspect of the present invention is directed to a method including the features of the first aspect, wherein sound properties of the items are interrelated for indicating the direction of movement and/or position in the structure in relation to actuated items in the structure.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of the third aspect, wherein the sounds are provided with different frequencies for indicating the direction of movement and/or position in the structure in relation to actuated items.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of the third aspect, wherein each sound is provided with at least one tone, where the number of tones of each sound is indicative of the direction of movement and/or position in the structure in relation to actuated items.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of the third aspect, wherein the sounds are provided as voice providing vocal information of the navigation direction and/or position in the structure in relation to actuated items.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of the third aspect, wherein the sounds are provided as stereo sound made to be perceived as appearing at different points in space in the structure.

An eighth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of the first aspect, wherein said structure includes a number groups of items, where at least one item of one group is linked to a further group of items.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of the eighth aspect, wherein the sounds provided for a number of items within a group are sounds providing music of a certain type.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of the first aspect, wherein each item is provided with one sound for each direction in which movement can be made in relation to that item.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information presentation device for enabling navigation in a menu structure, which provides feedback to a user of where in the structure he is moving when visual information is not possible to provide or undesirable.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, this object is achieved by an information presentation device for enabling navigation in a menu structure comprising: at least one first user input unit, and a control unit being configured to: provide selectable items in a menu structure, where the items are related to functions, applications and settings of the information presentation device, associate each item with at least one dedicated sound, and upon detecting an actuation of a specific item via a user input unit, order a sound generating unit to generate the sound associated with this item.

A twelfth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the eleventh aspect, further comprising a sound generating unit arranged to generate said sound

A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the eleventh aspect, wherein sound properties of the items are interrelated for indicating the direction of movement and/or position in the structure in relation to actuated items in the structure.

A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the thirteenth aspect, wherein the sounds are provided with different frequencies for indicating the direction of movement and/or position in the structure in relation to actuated items.

A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the thirteenth aspect, wherein each sound is provided with at least one tone, where the number of tones of each sound is indicative of the direction of movement and/or position in the structure in relation to actuated items.

A sixteenth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the thirteenth aspect, wherein the sounds are provided as voice providing vocal information of the navigation direction and/or position in the structure in relation to actuated items.

A seventeenth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the thirteenth aspect, wherein the sounds are provided as stereo sound made to be perceived as appearing at different points in space in the structure.

An eighteenth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the eleventh aspect, wherein said structure includes a number groups of items, where at least one item of one group is linked to a further group of items.

A nineteenth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the eighteenth aspect, wherein the sounds provided for a number of items within a group are sounds providing music of a certain type.

A twentieth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the eleventh aspect, wherein each item is provided with one sound for each direction in which movement can be made in relation to that item.

A twenty-first aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the eleventh aspect, wherein it is a portable electronic device.

A twenty-second aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the twenty-first aspect, wherein it is a portable communication device.

A twenty-third aspect of the present invention is directed towards a device including the features of the twenty-second aspect, wherein it is a cellular phone.

A twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention is directed towards an information presentation device for enabling navigation in a menu structure comprising: means for providing selectable items in the menu structure, where the items are related to functions, applications and settings of the information presentation device, means for associating each item with a dedicated sound, and means for, upon detecting an actuation of a specific item, at least ordering the generation of the sound associated with this item.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a computer program product for enabling navigation in a menu structure, which provides feedback to a user of where in the structure he is moving when visual information is not possible to provide or undesirable.

This object is according to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention achieved by a computer program product for enabling navigation in a menu structure of an information presentation device and comprising computer program code being configured to provide, when said code is loaded into an information presentation device:

provide selectable items in a menu structure, where the items are related to functions, applications and settings of the information presentation device, associate each item with a dedicated sound, and upon detecting an actuation of a specific item, order the generation of a sound associated with this item.

The invention has the following advantages. It allows a user to directly obtain information of the direction in which he is moving without having to look at the information presentation device. This is of advantage if the user is blind or occupied with other tasks that do not allow him to look at the device. This also enables the provision of devices without a display or without a connection to a device presenting the menu structure that does not have a display. It is furthermore simple and cheap to implement since much of the functionality needed for providing the invention is already provided in many information presentation devices. It may be provided with as little as just some extra computer program code.

It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a front view of an information presentation device in the form of a cellular phone, fig. 2 shows a block schematic of the relevant parts of the invention inside the phone in fig. 1 , fig. 3 shows the structure of a menu system according to the present invention, and fig. 4 shows flow chart of a method according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An information presentation device 10 according to the invention is shown in a front view in fig. 1. In the preferred embodiment the device is a cellular phone 10 and includes a 5 display 24, a keypad 12 including a number of user input units in the forms of keys, where a first user input unit 14 is a first soft key, a second user input unit 16 is a second soft key, a third user input unit 18 is a joystick that can be moved up, down , to the left and to the right, while a fourth user input unit 20 is here a "back key", the functioning of which will be described in more detail later. Apart from making and receiving telephone calls, the

10 keypad 18 is used for entering information such as selection of functions and applications and responding to prompts and the display 24 is normally used for displaying functions and prompts to a user of the phone. The first, second, third and fourth user input units 14, 16, 18 and 20 can be used for navigating in a menu system provided in the phone. The phone also includes a sound generating unit in the form of a speaker 26, which is

15 arranged to emit sounds to a user of the phone. A cellular phone is just one example of one portable communication device. A portable communication device is furthermore only one type of portable electronic device. All these types of devices are information presentation devices having a menu structure being presented. Other types of devices than cellular phones are PDAs (personal digital assistant), palm top computers, lap top

20 computers, smartphones and gaming machines. The invention can also be used in PCs, TV sets, set top boxes, stereo or video control devices or in any type of device used for presenting a menu structure to a user.

Fig. 2 shows a block schematic of the different parts of the phone 10 relevant to the 25 present invention. The display 24 and the keypad 12 are here shown as separate boxes connected to a control unit 28. The control unit 28 is furthermore connected to a speaker driving unit 30 connected to the speaker 26 for driving it , to a menu item sound store 32 and to a function unit 34, which is arranged to perform a function that a user of the phone selects by selecting items in the menu system. It should be realised that the control unit 30 28 can be connected to several different function units that provide different functions, applications and settings for the phone. Only one is however shown for better understanding of the present invention.

Fig. 3 shows the logical structure 36 of one example of a menu system according to the 35 present invention. The menu system 36 is a hierarchical structure of items that can be

selected by a user of the phone. As an example it may comprise a top level "Top level", which is a normal entry point of the menu system as the phone is turned on. From this top level there a first sub level may be reached that includes a number of items that are normally directed towards some general activities of the phone. On this first sub level there are shown the items "Calls", "Messaging" and "Organizer". Various possible settings and functions may be reached through further selections of items in relation to the items of this first sub level. Thus a selection of the item "Calls" allows a user to make calls, look at different types of call logs as well perform different sorts of call management. In the same way it is possible for a user to send, read and write messages via the "Messaging" item and perform clock and calendar settings via the "Organizer" item. It should here also be realised that several more and also fewer items may be provided on this level. However they have here been omitted in order to better explain the present invention. Some examples of further items on this level are "Internet services", "Camera", "Music Player", "Pictures and Sounds", "Games", "Settings" and "Phonebook". Each of these may be provided in the menu structure from top to bottom as shown in fig. 3. It should however be realised that they may also be provided beside each other from left to right or in the form of a matrix. Each item in the first sub level may be selected and then lead to a second sublevel associated with the selected item, where the case of "Messaging" is shown as an example showing the items "Call voice mail", "Text" and "E-mail". It should here be realised that more items may be provided in this second sublevel. Thus a selection of the item "Messaging" will lead to the presenting of the items "Call voice mail" "Text" and "E-mail". The selection of one of the items in the second sublevel may lead to a presentation of items in a third sublevel, if there exist one. For instance the selection of the item "Text" will lead to the presentation of the items "Write new", "Inbox", "Options" and "Sent items". A further selection of the item "Inbox" may then lead to a fourth sublevel including messages "Message 1 ", "Message 2" and "Message 3", while a selection of the item "Options" leads to a fourth sublevel including the item "SMS type", which in turn may lead to items "Text", "E-mail" and "Pager" in a fifth sublevel associated with the item "SMS type". The items on a lowest level do often not lead to another level, but directly provide a setting, an application or a function of the device. It should be realised that the structure 36 mentioned above is just an example of a menu structure, which it is possible to navigate back and forth in. Normally when providing feedback to a user of how he is navigating in the structure, this is done through visually highlighting items being marked and displaying a list of further items when a marked item is being selected. The present invention is directed towards providing an alternative to this in that audible feedback is

used either in combination with or instead of visual feedback for indicating the direction of the navigation in the structure.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be explained with reference to fig. 1 , 2, 3 and 4, where fig. 4 shows a flow chart of the method according to the invention. This embodiment is also believed to be the best mode of the invention at the moment. The control unit 28 associates the items of the structure 36 with the user input units of the keypad 12, in that the first user input unit 14 may allow selections of items in the structure 36, the third user input unit 18 may allow scrolling up, down and sideways in the menu structure 36 and the fourth user input unit 20 may provide stepping back in the menu structure 36. The second user input unit 16 may provide additional information in relation to a marked item. This information may according to the present invention be provided using recorded audio instead of or in addition to displayed information. The method thus starts with the control unit 28 providing the menu system that comprises items in the item structure 36, where the structure of fig. 3 is an example, step 40. Each item is furthermore associated with at least one sound, where a sound indicates the direction of movement of navigation in the structure, step 42. The codes used for generating the sounds are here stored in menu item sound store 32. The control unit 28 thereafter awaits actuation of a user input unit by a user of the device 10 and here actuation of either, the first, the third or the fourth user input unit 14, 18 and 20 for navigating in the menu system 36, step 44, If an item is marked, step 44, which typically is done by actuating the joystick 18, the control unit 28 investigates what item is being marked in the structure and then investigates what sound is to be emitted through looking in the menu item sound store 32 and provides the speaker driving unit 30 with a sound code from the menu item sound store 32 that is associated with the marked item. It thereafter orders the speaker driving unit 30 to emit a sound associated with the marked item, step 46. This may be done through using audio to provide information indicating movement in the structure like up, down, left or right. In order to determine the direction it is furthermore possible to consider what previous item in the sub level in question that has been marked. If an item is marked, step 44, the control unit 28 furthermore investigates if the item has been selected, which selection is normally done through actuation of the first soft key 14, step 50. If there has the direction of movement is indicated, where the direction of movement may now be the movement into the interior of the structure 34, for instance to a lower sub level because of the selected item. The control unit 28 here again investigates what sound is to be emitted through looking in the store 32 and provides the speaker driving unit 30 with a sound

control from the sound store that is associated with the selected item. This may here be done through using audio to provide information indicating movement inwards into the structure. It thereafter orders the speaker driving unit 30 to emit a sound associated with this selected item, step 52. A possible action associated with the item may also be performed, step 54, for instance through the control unit 28 invoking function unit 34. As an alternative the action may be the selection of a lower order sub level. In case an item was not selected, step 50, and in case an item was not marked, step 44, the control unit 28 investigates if a step back to previous sub level or the Top level has been selected by the user actuating the "back step" key 20, step 48. In case there was a step back, step 48, the control unit 28 again investigates what sound is to be emitted through looking in the store 32 and provides the speaker driving unit 30 with a sound control from the sound store that is associated with the step back from the item to the previous or higher order level, step 56. The speaker driving unit 30 then retrieves a sound code from the sound store 32 associated with this back step and makes the speaker 26 generate a sound based on the sound code. This may be done through using audio to provide information indicating movement outwards from the interior of the structure. Thereafter the control unit 28 once again returns and awaits user inputs, step 44.

According to the invention an actuation of an item, which may be the marking, selection or back step from the item in question, provides sounds that provide information on how a user navigates through the menu structure. Therefore each item is generally associated with one sound for each direction movement can be made in the structure starting from that item. The sounds generated may be of various sorts. It is for instance possible to use tones, where a different frequency of a tone signals that an item is above, below or placed beside another item. It is then possible to provide different frequency intervals for different submenus. As an alternative it is possible to use a number of consecutive tones or beeps at the same frequency within a sound, so that one level may have only one tone, the next lower or higher level two tones etc. This may with advantage be combined with using different frequencies. As yet an alternative it is possible to use stereo sound in order to provide information of in which direction a user is moving in the structure when navigating. By driving two speakers so that the sound is perceived as emanating from a certain spot between the speakers and shifting the spot it is then possible to provide the same type of directional information. This later variation is of advantage if a head set is used. It is furthermore possible to provide spoken information, where a recorded voice can say left, right, up, down, inwards, outwards etc. By the different ways indicated above

it is possible to provide the items in an audio space covering 360 degrees around a user, and the directions associated with the items are provided in this audio space.

According to yet another variation it is also possible to use different types of music for providing directions in the structure, where for instance items on one level are indicated by a certain type of music, like classical music, disco music and rap music and a lower level by different pieces of music within each category.

The present invention has many advantages. It allows a user to directly obtain information of the direction in which he is moving without having to look at the information presentation device. This is of advantage if the user is blind or occupied with other tasks that do not allow him to look at the device. This also enables the provision of devices without a display or without a connection to a device presenting the menu structure that does not have a display. It is furthermore simple and cheap to implement since much of the functionality needed for providing the invention is already provided in many information presentation devices. It may be provided with as little as just some extra computer program code.

The present invention can be varied in many ways. It is possible to indicate the position of an item in addition to or instead of the direction of movement in the structure. It is also possible to provide, in addition to direction of movement and/or position, also the types of items provided in a sub level, for instance by using recorded voice. The menu system may furthermore be provided without the previously described top level, where the items of the first sub level in fact make up the top level instead. It should also be realised that the present invention is not limited to the above described keys, but that any keys of the device may be used for navigation. The invention can be combined with providing visual information of the menu system as well as without visually presenting of the menu system. A device implement the present invention may also be provided with its own sound generating unit or to another device having a sound generating unit and order that other device to emit the sound perhaps together with visual information.

The control unit, function unit and speaker driving unit are normally provided in the form of one or more processors with corresponding program memories containing suitable software code. The menu item store is also preferably provided in the form of a memory, such as a ROM or a RAM memory. The program code mentioned above may also be

provided on a data carrier such as a CD ROM disc or a memory stick which performs the method of the present invention when being loaded in an information presentation device. This program code may furthermore be provided on a server and downloaded from there to the information presentation device.