Centrally Disposed Selection Element for One-Handed Mobile Navigation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile computing devices have complex layouts that make it difficult for users to navigate features and access important information, such as alerts about approaching limits or overdue bills, without extensive study and the use of two hands.
Innovation Solution
A centrally disposed selection element, such as a circular icon, is used to facilitate navigation by allowing users to interact with menu items through touch gestures, including a flip animation effect to reveal next menu items, and displaying alert information to draw attention to critical notifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If detailed menus and small icons are used to provide comprehensive features, then functionality is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The interface is segmented into a navigation area with a centrally disposed selection element and a content area. The selection element is further segmented into a first portion for menu icon display and a second portion for menu title display, allowing users to interact with large, easy-to-touch central elements while accessing comprehensive menu functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The centrally disposed selection element acts as an intermediary between the user and the detailed menus. Instead of directly interacting with small icons and menus, users interact with the large central selection element which then reveals and navigates through menu items, simplifying the interaction process.
2Adaptability or versatility
If comprehensive menus are provided to access all features, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The interface is divided into distinct functional areas: a navigation area with the central selection element and a content area. This segmentation allows comprehensive functionality to be organized in a structured, less complex manner, with the selection element serving as a simplified access point to all features.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of presenting all menus and icons at once, the interface inverts the traditional approach by placing a single central selection element that reveals menu items on demand. This inversion simplifies the initial interface presentation while maintaining comprehensive functionality.
3Loss of information
If important information is embedded in cluttered menus, then information completeness is improved, but ease of detecting and measuring deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Important information such as alert icons and notifications is extracted from the cluttered menu structure and presented in the content area adjacent to the navigation area. This extraction makes critical information immediately visible and detectable without requiring users to search through detailed menus.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs visual indicators including color changes and alert icons in the content area to highlight important information. These visual cues make critical notifications easily detectable against the background content, improving information visibility without adding interface complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system may include a touchscreen and a computing device executing an application. The application displays on the touch screen a navigation area including a centrally disposed selection element. There is a first display area in the navigation area, wherein the first display area shows a first menu item from a list of menu items. The application changes the first display area, when a next menu select action is detected based on interactions with the touch screen, to show a second menu item from the list of menu items, where in the information on the touch screen is updated to corresponds to the second menu item.