Edge and Corner Touch Controls for Clutter-Free Display Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices with fixed position buttons and solid-state buttons occupy valuable display space and provide limited feedback, leading to inefficient user interactions and increased input requirements.
Innovation Solution
Implementing touch-sensitive input regions on edges and/or corners of devices, providing visual, haptic, and audio feedback to enhance user interactions and reduce input clutter.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If fixed position buttons are used, then device functionality is provided, but display area is reduced and user feedback is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the display surface from the traditional two-dimensional front face to the three-dimensional edges and corners of the device. By placing touch-sensitive input regions on the edges and corners, the system utilizes additional spatial dimensions to provide both input controls and visual feedback without consuming front-display area, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining comprehensive functionality and preserving display area.
Solution Approach 2:
The edges and corners of the device are transformed into multi-functional elements that simultaneously serve as touch input regions, visual display areas, and haptic feedback sources. This universal design allows a single structural element to perform multiple functions (input, output, feedback) that were previously distributed across separate components, eliminating the need for dedicated buttons while maintaining comprehensive device functionality.
2Device complexity
If solid-state buttons are used, then mechanical complexity is reduced, but display area is still reduced and input feedback is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical buttons with a touch-sensitive display system that uses electrical and optical fields instead of mechanical structures. The touch-sensitive regions on edges and corners detect user input through capacitive or resistive changes, eliminating the need for mechanical moving parts while providing enhanced feedback through visual, haptic, and audio channels, thus resolving the contradiction between reducing mechanical complexity and maintaining input feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements comprehensive feedback mechanisms that respond to user touch inputs on the edges and corners. Visual feedback is provided through display updates, haptic feedback through vibration motors, and audio feedback through speakers. This multi-channel feedback system compensates for the lack of mechanical tactile feedback, providing rich input confirmation while maintaining the simplicity of solid-state construction.
3Adaptability or versatility
If virtual controls are added to the display, then functionality is enhanced, but display clutter increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control interface by separating physical input regions (edges and corners) from the visual display surface. The edges and corners serve as dedicated input zones that are free from visual clutter, while the front display maintains its visual clarity for information presentation. This spatial segmentation allows the system to provide comprehensive functionality without cluttering either the input or display surfaces, resolving the contradiction between enhancing functionality and maintaining display clarity.
Data Source
AI summary
An example electronic device includes a front display, e.g., on a front side of the electronic device, and a side display, e.g., on a lateral side of the electronic device. While displaying a control user interface on the side display, the electronic device detects an input at the side display. In response to detecting the input, the electronic device displays a portion of the control user interface on the front display.