Dual Display Handheld Device Segmentation for Visual Clutter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Handheld computing devices with single touch screen displays face challenges in balancing display graphics and input areas, leading to visual clutter and user frustration due to their limited screen space, which hampers information interpretation and complex interactions.
Innovation Solution
A dual multi-display handheld computing device with a primary and secondary touch-sensitive screen that can change orientations and configurations, allowing for enhanced user interaction through multiple display modes and docking stations, enabling expanded functionality and improved usability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single touch screen display is used to provide both display content and receive user inputs, then the device configurability and user interface options are increased, but the display becomes obfuscated and visually cluttered, leading to user frustration
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into two separate display screens: a primary display for showing application content and a secondary display for showing user interface elements. This segmentation allows each screen to have a dedicated function, eliminating the visual clutter that occurs when both content and controls share the same screen space.
2Ease of operation
If the display space is increased to reduce visual clutter, then the interpretability of information is improved, but the handheld device form factor constraints are violated
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing the area of a single display screen, the solution adds a second display screen in a different spatial dimension. The primary and secondary displays are arranged vertically, allowing both to have adequate screen real estate without increasing the horizontal footprint of the handheld device.
3Ease of operation
If a virtual keypad or user interface scheme is superimposed on the display, then input functionality is provided, but the application space is reduced to an even smaller portion of the display
Solution Approach 1:
The display real estate is segmented between two screens: the primary display is dedicated to application content while the secondary display handles user interface elements including keypads. This eliminates the need to overlay interface elements on top of application content, maximizing the application display area on the primary screen.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple display modes and docking stations are added to enhance functionality, then versatility and productivity are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dual display configuration serves multiple functions: it enables handheld mode with both screens visible, tablet mode with extended display real estate, and docking mode where the secondary display can connect to external monitors. This multi-functionality achieves versatility without requiring entirely separate systems for each mode.
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-display device can interface with two or more different types of docking stations. The device can determine the type of dock and change the pin outs for a connector to interface with that dock. Once docked, the device can determine a charge status for the device and the dock to present the status to the user. Further, the dock can enter one of several modes, including a call receipt mode and an entertainment mode. The modes allow for expanded functionality for the device while docked. Two particular docks, the laptop dock and the smart dock, provide special functionality with the device.