Dynamic Key Enlargement for Touchscreen Gesture Input
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable electronic devices with touch-sensitive displays face challenges in selecting features due to small screen size, where a user's thumb or finger can cover multiple keys, making accurate selection difficult, especially during gestures like swipe typing.
Innovation Solution
A method that detects a gesture on the touch-sensitive display, identifies selectable features based on the gesture's direction, and increases the size of those features dynamically, allowing users to select multiple keys without lifting their finger or thumb by enlarging keys in the direction of the gesture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the screen size is decreased to improve portability, then the device becomes more portable, but the accuracy of feature selection deteriorates because the user's finger or thumb covers multiple keys
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the key size dynamic rather than static. Keys are enlarged in the direction of the user's finger movement during a gesture, allowing the interface to adapt to the user's input trajectory. This dynamic resizing occurs based on the detected gesture direction, enabling accurate key selection even on small screens where static key sizes would be insufficient.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by applying different key sizes to different regions of the display based on the gesture direction. Instead of uniformly enlarging all keys or maintaining a fixed layout, the system selectively enlarges only those keys that lie in the direction of the user's finger movement, while other keys maintain their original size. This localized adaptation optimizes the selection area precisely where the user is likely to input.
2Ease of operation
If the key size is increased to improve selection accuracy, then the ease of operation improves, but the area available for other display content decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction through dynamic key sizing that occurs only in the direction of finger movement. Keys are enlarged progressively as the user swipes through them, rather than maintaining a permanently large size. This allows the display to provide adequate selection targets during interaction while preserving maximum display area when no gesture is in progress.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the key enlargement effect based on spatial direction. Instead of uniformly increasing all key sizes which would consume excessive display area, the system divides the keyboard into regions and selectively enlarges only those keys that fall within the gesture direction sector. This segmentation allows ease of operation to improve locally without globally reducing the available display area.
3Productivity
If a continuous stroke gesture is used to select multiple keys without lifting the finger, then the productivity of text input improves, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring the intended target increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by providing visual confirmation of the current target key during the continuous stroke gesture. As the user's finger moves across the keyboard, the system dynamically highlights or enlarges the key that corresponds to the current gesture direction, giving the user immediate feedback about which key will be selected. This feedback mechanism makes it easier to detect and measure the intended target even during rapid continuous input.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-calculating and displaying the upcoming target key before the user's finger actually reaches it. The system detects the gesture direction and proactively enlarges or highlights the key that is likely to be the next target, allowing the user to confirm or adjust the selection before finalizing the input. This preliminary indication reduces the difficulty of target identification during high-speed continuous gesturing.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method includes displaying one or more selectable features (412-418) on a touch-sensitive display (118) of a portable electronic device, detecting a gesture on the touch-sensitive display, identifying at least one of the selectable features based on a direction (404) of the gesture, and increasing a size of the at least one of the selectable features.