US 7,516,419 B2
Information retrieval device
Oliver Petro, Hallein (Austria); Evelyne Kanakis, Niederalm (Austria); and Stefan Michelitsch, Graz (Austria)
Assigned to Sony Corproation, Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Nov. 23, 2004, as Appl. No. 10/996,241.
Claims priority of application No. 03027416 (EP), filed on Nov. 27, 2003.
Prior Publication US 2005/0183012 A1, Aug. 18, 2005
Int. Cl. G06F 3/048 (2006.01); G06F 3/033 (2006.01); G09G 5/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 715—834  [345/184; 715/832] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An information retrieval device, comprising:
a jog-dial;
a screen;
a first level item processing unit configured to display at least a part of first level information items in a virtual ring segment on the screen, wherein said first level information items are rotated and the displayed first level information items are changed by rotating the jog-dial;
a first level capturing unit configured to select a first level information item that is displayed at a predetermined position by pressing the jog-dial;
at least one respective further level information item processing unit configured to display at least a part of respective further level information items corresponding to an information item selected in the next lower level information items in a virtual ring segment around the virtual ring segment defined by the next lower level information items on the screen, wherein only outermost displayed further level information items are rotated and the outermost displayed further level information items are changed by rotating the jog-dial and all displayed lower level information items are kept static, and
at least one further level capturing unit configured to only select an outermost displayed further level information item that is displayed at a predetermined position by pressing the jog-dial and all displayed lower level information items are kept in their respective selected or not-selected state,
wherein said jog-dial is arranged to be partly visible so that ring segments of the virtual ring segment that appear on said screen represent a non-visible part of said jog-dial.