Camera Timer Control via Touch Duration on Mobile Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing process of using a camera's timer function on mobile terminals is cumbersome, requiring multiple steps and screen navigation, which increases the time and complexity of setting a photographing timer.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that utilize a touch interface to determine a self-timer value based on touch duration, location, and distance, allowing for direct control of the camera's timer operation without needing a separate setting page, by displaying a photographing icon and computing a self-timer value from touch input and release coordinates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a separate setting menu is used to configure timer photographing, then the timer function can be set, but the operational complexity and time required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the timer setting function directly into the photographing icon interaction, eliminating the need for a separate setting menu. Users can configure timer duration by interacting with the photographing icon itself (e.g., through multiple presses or long-press duration), combining what were previously separate operations into a single integrated interface element.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the timer setting capability from the separate setting menu and embeds it directly into the photographing icon. This allows the timer configuration to be accessed and modified without navigating away from the main photographing interface, taking the essential timer function out of the complex menu structure and placing it where users naturally interact for photographing.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple screen pages are navigated to access timer settings, then comprehensive control is possible, but the number of operations and time expended increase
Solution Approach 1:
The photographing icon is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as both the trigger for immediate photographing and the configuration interface for timer settings. By making the icon universal, users can access different timer modes and durations without navigating to specialized pages, as the same icon handles both photographing execution and timer parameter configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the timer configuration into discrete interaction patterns with the photographing icon (e.g., single press for one mode, double press for another, long-press duration for specific timer values). This segmentation allows comprehensive timer control capabilities to be distributed across simple, intuitive gestures on a single screen rather than requiring navigation through multiple dedicated setting pages.
3Measurement precision
If a separate setting page is used for adjusting timer time, then precise timer configuration is possible, but the operational steps and time required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The photographing icon performs self-service by automatically providing timer configuration options through its interaction patterns. Instead of requiring users to navigate to a setting page and manually adjust parameters, the icon itself responds to different interaction types (press count, duration) by automatically setting the appropriate timer values, making the system configure itself based on user input.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter representation from explicit menu selections to implicit gesture-based input. Different press durations and sequences on the photographing icon map to specific timer parameter values (e.g., 1-second press for no timer, 2-second press for 3-second delay, 3-second press for 10-second delay). This parameter transformation allows precise timer configuration through simple physical interactions rather than complex menu navigation.
Data Source
AI summary
Terminals, methods, and apparatuses for controlling a photographing timer of a camera operating in a terminal, such as a mobile terminal, including a photographing timer control apparatus, and may include: a display unit to display a photographing icon on the terminal to set a time for a photographing timer of a camera of the terminal, a timer value computing unit to compute or determine a self-timer value based on a touch duration of a touch input on the photographing icon when the touch input is provided at a position corresponding to the photographing icon, and a control unit to control a photographing operation of the photographing timer of the camera of the terminal, based on the self-timer value computed or determined by the timer value computing unit.