Hover Touch Interface Depth Sensing for Input Actions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional touchscreens require direct user interaction, limiting the number of actions that can be performed in response to displayed information and lacking intuitive, rapid, or accurate interaction methods, especially in applications like smartphones, tablets, and industrial settings.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a hover touch interface that uses proximity detection and depth sensing to enable user interactions without physical contact, allowing users to perform actions by hovering their finger or stylus above the screen, leveraging combinations of depth and touch for various actions such as zooming and menu access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional touch screen interaction is used, then direct user control is achieved, but the number of actions that can be performed is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a new dimension of interaction by detecting the z-position (depth/distance) of the input instrument from the screen surface in addition to the traditional x-y plane touch coordinates. This allows the system to distinguish between different actions based on hover distance, enabling multiple actions (select, zoom, pan, etc.) without requiring additional physical contacts or navigating sub-menus, thus resolving the contradiction between limited actions and ease of operation
2Productivity
If direct screen touching is required, then simple interaction is maintained, but interaction speed and intuitiveness are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of the input instrument's position and hover distance before the user actually touches the screen. By detecting hover state and z-position in advance, the system can prepare and execute appropriate actions (such as selecting an object or initiating zoom) more quickly, improving interaction speed while maintaining intuitiveness through natural hovering gestures
3Adaptability or versatility
If hover detection is added, then additional actions are enabled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the existing touchscreen system multi-functional by adding z-position detection capability that works alongside the traditional touch functionality. The same input instrument (finger or stylus) can now perform multiple actions (touch, hover, zoom, pan) based on its detected position and distance from the screen, eliminating the need for separate devices or complex additional hardware while expanding user-interface operations
Data Source
AI summary
An approach is disclosed that detects an input instrument hovering a distance away from an object displayed on an input surface and performing an action in response to the detection.