초록 ▼

A capturing and viewing appliance and method are provided for capturing and communicating images to other appliances and devices with communication capabilities. The capturing and viewing appliance includes a processor for manipulating and viewing the images on a built-in display. Program code store

A capturing and viewing appliance and method are provided for capturing and communicating images to other appliances and devices with communication capabilities. The capturing and viewing appliance includes a processor for manipulating and viewing the images on a built-in display. Program code stored in internal memory includes a menu navigation interface application program which allows the user to use navigation buttons and operational buttons to operate the menu navigation interface in operating the appliance. According to another aspect of the invention, the menu navigation interface provides a user-friendly interface for operating an appliance or other device through reuse of the navigation buttons and operational buttons in menu activation and deactivation as well as menu item selection. Through the use of this novel user interface and method of the menu navigation, the present invention presents a novel operating solution for devices and appliances with limited resources as the menu navigation interface and method is designed for navigating menus through instrument reuse which is especially useful in portable hand-held appliances or other devices which are capable of displaying images where space and compactness are a concern.

대표청구항 ▼

[ We claim:] [1.] A hand-held image capture and communication appliance, comprising:a photoelement array for acquiring image data;a memory for saving said image data;a processor in communication with said memory;a display in communication with said processor for exhibiting said image data;a pluralit

[ We claim:] [1.] A hand-held image capture and communication appliance, comprising:a photoelement array for acquiring image data;a memory for saving said image data;a processor in communication with said memory;a display in communication with said processor for exhibiting said image data;a plurality of navigation buttons;a plurality of operational buttons; andprogram code stored in said memory and executed by said processor, said program code comprising a menu navigation interface module for allowing a user to select one of a plurality of menu options in response to the invocation of one of said navigation buttons, so that the functionality of said plurality of navigation buttons changes from a first set of navigation button operating functions to a second set of navigation button operating functions which correspond to a plurality of menu functions associated with a selected menu.