Convertible Touchscreen with Virtual Keyboard Projection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Convertible laptops face challenges in protecting the keyboard when it is rotated to the back of the display, as existing solutions often require external keyboard attachments or docks, which can be cumbersome for users.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device with a rotatable touchscreen coupled to a housing via a hinge, allowing the touchscreen to function as a keyboard in a clamshell configuration, complete with a projector for virtual keyboard projection and interchangeable templates for various keyboard layouts, and haptic surfaces for feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the keyboard is rotated to the back of the display in a convertible laptop, then the device can function as a tablet, but the keyboard keys become exposed and unprotected
Solution Approach 1:
The touchscreen is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as both the display interface and the keyboard input surface. By integrating keyboard functionality into the touchscreen itself, the device eliminates the need for a separate physical keyboard that would require protection, thereby resolving the contradiction between versatility and keyboard exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses virtual projection to create a keyboard interface on the touchscreen surface. Instead of relying on physical keys that need protection, the system projects a virtual keyboard copy onto the touchscreen, allowing keyboard functionality without exposed physical keys.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If external keyboard attachments or docks are used to protect the keyboard, then the keyboard is protected, but the device becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the display and keyboard functions into a single integrated touchscreen unit. By merging these functions, the device eliminates the need for separate keyboard attachments or docks, thereby protecting the keyboard functionality while maintaining device simplicity and portability.
Solution Approach 2:
The touchscreen serves as both display and keyboard, eliminating the need for external keyboard attachments. This multi-functional design resolves the contradiction by providing keyboard protection through integration rather than through additional external components that would increase device complexity.
3Ease of operation
If a physical keyboard is integrated into the convertible laptop, then keyboard input is available, but the device cannot function as a pure tablet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic keyboard interface that can be projected or displayed on the touchscreen surface. This dynamic approach allows the keyboard to appear when needed for input and disappear or be minimized when tablet mode is desired, enabling the device to adapt between keyboard and pure tablet functionality without physical constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
By using virtual keyboard projection onto the touchscreen rather than a fixed physical keyboard, the system allows keyboard input capability while maintaining the ability to function as a pure tablet. The virtual keyboard can be displayed only when needed, preserving the tablet's clean aesthetic and full-screen capabilities when keyboard input is not required.
Data Source
AI summary
Particular embodiments described herein provide for an electronic device, such as a notebook computer or laptop, that includes a circuit board coupled to a plurality of electronic components (which includes any type of components, elements, circuitry, etc.). One particular example implementation of the electronic device may include a first housing, a hinge, and a touchscreen, where the touchscreen is rotatably coupled to the first housing using the hinge. The first housing can include a display and the touchscreen can rotate from a front of the display when the electronic device is in a tablet configuration to a clamshell configuration. A template may visible on or through the touchscreen when the electronic device is in the clamshell configuration.