Foldable Mobile Device Touch Input Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Foldable mobile devices often recognize unintended touch inputs due to their design, leading to unintended operations, particularly when held like a book, which affects user convenience and requires a method to differentiate between intended and unintended touch inputs.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device with a foldable coupling portion, an angle sensing unit to determine the folding angle between displays, and a direction-of-sight sensing unit to assess the user's sight direction, using MEMS sensors and image recognition to decide whether a touch input is intended based on these factors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a touch screen panel is used to recognize user input, then user interaction capability is improved, but unintended touch inputs are recognized leading to malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary validation mechanism that mediates between the touch screen input and the execution of operations. The controller acts as an intermediary that validates touch inputs by checking multiple conditions (folding angle, sight direction, touch position) before allowing the operation to proceed, thus preventing unintended inputs while maintaining user interaction capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring device state (folding angle via angle sensing unit, user sight direction via direction-of-sight sensing unit) and using this feedback to validate touch inputs. This feedback loop allows the system to distinguish between intended and unintended touches based on contextual information
2Adaptability or versatility
If the device is made foldable to improve mobility, then mobility and application versatility are improved, but unintended touch inputs increase due to various holding positions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the touch input validation adaptive to the device's dynamic state. The system dynamically adjusts what constitutes a valid touch input based on the current folding angle and user sight direction, allowing the device to accommodate various holding positions (e.g., book-like holding for e-books) while preventing unintended inputs in each context
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters (folding angle, sight direction) to determine touch input validity. By monitoring these parameters and comparing them against expected ranges for different usage scenarios, the system can distinguish between intended and unintended touches regardless of the device's foldable configuration
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
Effectively differentiates between intended and unintended touch inputs by considering the folding angle and sight direction, preventing malfunction and enhancing user convenience by accurately determining user intent.
Implementation Method 1
an angle sensing unit for sensing a folding angle between the first display and the second display... a first angle calculation unit for calculating and outputting a first angle value corresponding to a first angle between the first display and the ground based on first acceleration vectors output from the first MEMS sensor
Implementation Method 2
an image recognition device for outputting image data, and the direction-of-sight sensing unit may include a contour extraction unit for extracting information corresponding to a face area and an eye area from the image data
Data Source
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AI summary
A mobile device including a first display, a second display, a foldable coupling portion for coupling the first display to the second display, an angle sensing unit for sensing a folding angle between the first display and the second display, a direction-of-sight sensing unit for sensing a direction of sight of a user, and a controller for determining whether to use a touch input sensed by either the first display or the second display based on the sensed folding angle and the sensed direction of sight.