Interactive Device with Dome-Shaped Tactile Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional digital gaming devices lack tactile feedback and are prone to mechanical failure and water/dirt ingress due to their flat, monolithic surfaces and moving parts, which affects user interaction and durability.
Innovation Solution
A glass dome-shaped touch area is integrated with a touchscreen device, providing a non-moving, tactile feedback mechanism that is retrofittable and resistant to wear and ingress, using capacitive coupling to detect user touches without additional sensors, and employing pre-defined threshold values and high pass filtering for accurate signal detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a flat monolithic touchscreen surface is used, then the device structure is simple, but the user lacks tactile feedback
Solution Approach 1:
The touchscreen surface is segmented into a flat base layer and a separate raised user interaction element that protrudes outwardly. This segmentation allows the raised element to provide tactile feedback while the base layer maintains the flat touchscreen structure, resolving the contradiction between tactile feedback and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
A transparent or translucent base display element is introduced as an intermediary between the sensors and the user interaction element. This intermediary allows the sensors to detect touches through the raised element while maintaining the tactile feedback, bridging the gap between tactile sensation and touch detection.
2Ease of operation
If moving mechanical parts are used for user interaction, then tactile feedback is provided, but the device is prone to mechanical failure and wear
Solution Approach 1:
The traditional mechanical moving parts are replaced with a fixed raised user interaction element that provides tactile feedback through its protruding structure rather than through movement. The capacitive sensors detect touches on this fixed element, eliminating mechanical wear and failure while maintaining tactile feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using moving parts to provide tactile feedback, the invention inverts the approach by using a fixed protruding structure that mimics the tactile feel of mechanical buttons. The interaction is achieved through capacitive coupling rather than mechanical movement, reversing the traditional mechanism while achieving the same user experience.
3Ease of operation
If moving parts are used in the user interaction element, then tactile feedback is achieved, but water and dirt ingress occurs between components
Solution Approach 1:
By replacing moving mechanical parts with a fixed raised user interaction element, the invention eliminates the gaps and seams that would allow water and dirt ingress. The fixed structure provides a continuous sealed surface while still delivering tactile feedback through its protruding geometry.
4Ease of operation
If a raised user interaction element is added to the touchscreen, then tactile feedback is provided, but the distance between sensors and touch surface increases
Solution Approach 1:
A transparent or translucent base display element serves as an intermediary that transmits capacitive signals from the touch surface through the raised user interaction element to the sensors below. This intermediary maintains electrical coupling between the user's finger and the sensors despite the increased physical distance, preserving touch detection accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adjusts the electrical parameters of the sensor system to compensate for the increased distance caused by the raised element. By modifying the sensor sensitivity and signal processing parameters, the system maintains accurate touch detection despite the greater physical separation between the touch surface and the sensor array.
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
The solution enhances user interaction with tactile feedback, reduces mechanical failure and maintenance issues, and maintains accurate touch detection even with a raised, thicker surface, ensuring reliable operation over time.
Implementation Method 1
Aptly the user interaction element is of a capacitive coupling material to facilitate the one or more sensors detecting a user touch to the user interaction element
Data Source
AI summary
An interactive gaming device (100) comprises a base display element (110) with sensors to detect a user touch, a transparent dome shaped user interaction element (120), and a control element. The user interaction element (120) is fixedly attached to the base display element (110). Part of the user interaction element (120) protrudes outwardly from the surface of the base display clement (110). The control element detects a user touch by determining a change in capacitance by comparing averaged signal values from the sensors to pre-defined threshold values.