Touch-Sensitive Display Threshold Adjustment for Power Conservation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Portable electronic devices with touch-sensitive displays face challenges in power conservation and accurate user input detection, particularly during phone calls, where distinguishing between user inputs and face touches is crucial to prevent unintended actions and conserve battery life.

Innovation Solution

The system detects touches on the touch-sensitive display, adjusts a threshold value based on various conditions such as touch size, duration, audio levels, and ambient lighting, to differentiate between user inputs and face touches, thereby determining when to turn off the display and prevent unwanted interactions during calls.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the display remains on during phone calls to detect user inputs, then user input detection accuracy is improved, but battery power consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser input detection accuracyVSAvoidbattery power consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts display behavior based on detected conditions. During phone calls, the display is automatically turned off to save power, but can be temporarily activated when touch input is detected. The threshold for touch detection is also dynamically adjusted based on call state, allowing reliable user input detection when needed while maintaining power savings during normal call operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Loss of energy

If the display is turned off during phone calls to conserve battery, then power consumption is reduced, but ability to detect user inputs deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebattery power savingsVSAvoiduser input detection

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary detection of touch inputs even when the display is off during phone calls. When a touch is detected, the display is temporarily activated to confirm user intent before executing actions. This allows the system to maintain power savings while still being responsive to user inputs, as the display only turns on when actually needed for input confirmation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Measurement precision

If face touch detection is implemented to prevent accidental selections, then accuracy of input detection is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinput detection accuracyVSAvoiddetection system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses parameter changes in the touch detection threshold to differentiate between face touches and intentional user inputs. During phone calls, a higher threshold is applied so that small touches (likely face contacts) are ignored, while larger touches (intentional inputs) are still detected. This approach improves input accuracy without adding complex hardware, using only software-based threshold adjustment.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS9075475B2Portable electronic device including touch-sensitive display and method of determining when to turn off the touch sensitive dispay

Publication Date: 2015.07.07 MALIKIE INNOVATIONS LTD

AI summary

A method of controlling a portable electronic device includes detecting a touch on a touch-sensitive display, adjusting a first threshold based on detected conditions during the touch, comparing a value related to the touch on the touch-sensitive display to the first threshold, and when the value related to touch meets the first threshold, turning off the display.