Ambient Projection for Touchless Interaction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Telecommunication devices face challenges with touch-sensitive display screens, as users avoid them due to concerns of making the screens dirty or scratched, and peripheral projector units cause image degradation due to distance and angle issues, resulting in keystoning and blurring when projecting content on surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A telecommunication device equipped with an internal projection apparatus that projects an ambiently displayed image adjacent to the device on a surface parallel to its body, using a combination of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and optical components like lenses, which predistort images to counteract distortion, allowing for clear and interactive projections without the need for direct user interaction with the screen.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a touch-sensitive display screen is used for user interaction, then the device can offer various communication and data services, but users avoid using it because they do not want to make the screen dirty or scratched
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the display screen functionality by projecting an ambiently displayed image that replicates the touch-sensitive display interface. Users interact with the projected image using gestures in the air rather than direct contact with a physical screen, thereby maintaining the interactive capabilities while eliminating the risk of screen contamination and damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical touch-sensitive display screen with an optical projection system. Instead of requiring physical contact with a screen, users perform gestures in the air that are detected by the projection system, substituting the mechanical touch interface with an optical and spatial interaction mechanism.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a peripheral projector unit is used to project images on a surface, then the device can display content on walls or surfaces, but the projector must be located sufficiently distant from the surface which exceeds the largest dimension of the telecommunication device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the projection apparatus with the telecommunication device itself, eliminating the need for a separate peripheral projector. The integrated projection system allows the device to project images at close range without requiring the user to position a separate projector unit at a distance exceeding the device's dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent projects the image in a dimension adjacent to the device rather than requiring significant distance away from it. By utilizing the space next to the telecommunication device for projection, the system achieves projection capability without requiring the projector-to-surface distance to exceed the device's largest dimension.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a peripheral projector unit projects images on a surface oblique to the surface or on the surface itself, then the device can display content on walls, but the projection results in substantial image degradation including keystoning and blurring
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary distortion correction to the projected image. The projection system pre-distorts the displayed content to compensate for the oblique projection angle, ensuring that the image appears correctly oriented and free of keystoning distortion on the target surface. This preliminary action counteracts the harmful geometric distortion before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts projection parameters including distortion correction, image scaling, and positioning based on the detected surface orientation and viewing angle. By changing these parameters in response to the projection conditions, the system maintains high image quality while accommodating flexible projection surfaces without keystoning or blurring.
4Ease of operation
If the projection apparatus is located at one end of the telecommunication device, then the device can project ambiently displayed images adjacent to the device, but the projection apparatus must include both display component and optical component which increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the projection apparatus to serve multiple functions: it acts as both a display component and an optical projection system. The same hardware elements used for the primary display are leveraged to create the ambient projection, allowing the device to provide both traditional display and projection capabilities without requiring entirely separate systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables clear, distortion-free projection of images and user interface controls adjacent to the device, allowing for interactive functionality without compromising the screen's integrity and improving user experience by providing an extended display mode that enhances usability and interaction.
Implementation Method 1
The projection apparatus includes a display component and an optical component. In one implementation, the display component includes one or more liquid crystal displays (LCDs)
Implementation Method 2
the optical component comprises one or more lenses... the optical component is capable of projecting the ambiently displayed image at an angle that is oblique to an angle at which the optical component receives light from the display component
Data Source
AI summary
A telecommunication device configured to project an ambiently displayed image at a location proximate to the telecommunication device on a surface that is substantially parallel to a plane formed by a body of the telecommunication device is described herein. The telecommunication device is further configured to detect an interaction with the ambiently displayed image and perform an action based on the detected interaction.