Foldable Device Button Mapping for Consistent One-Hand Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
The changing form of electronic devices, such as mobile phones, can lead to inconsistencies between button functions and user habits, affecting the user experience due to altered holding or form changes.
Innovation Solution
A button control method that adaptively adjusts button functions based on the physical form and holding posture of the device, such as a foldable screen, ensuring functions conform to user habits by swapping or modifying button operations based on the device's state and user interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the electronic device changes its physical form (e.g., foldable screen folded/unfolded), then the device can provide different functionality and form factors, but the button functions may not conform to user holding habits and normal use expectations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic button function assignment based on the real-time physical state of the foldable screen. The system continuously monitors whether the screen is folded or unfolded and automatically adjusts which button performs which function (power, volume, camera). This dynamic adaptation ensures that button functions always align with the current device form and user holding habits, resolving the contradiction between form adaptability and operational consistency.
2Device complexity
If the device provides fixed button functions regardless of form state, then the device structure remains simple, but user experience deteriorates when holding posture or form changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the functional parameters of the buttons based on the detected physical state of the device. When the foldable screen transitions between folded and unfolded states, the system modifies which button corresponds to which function (power button, volume button, camera button). This parameter change approach allows the device to maintain simple physical hardware while achieving complex adaptive behavior that enhances user experience across different form factors.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device includes a display screen and at least one button. The display screen is a foldable screen. In a process in which a user uses the electronic device, a function that needs to be responded to by a button on the electronic device may be adaptively adjusted based on a physical form of the foldable screen of the electronic device, so that a button function that conforms to a using habit of the user can still be provided when the foldable screen of the electronic device is in a different physical form.