Integrated Navigation Key and Dial Wheel Input Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional input devices, such as remote controllers, require users to press navigation keys one by one, making it time-consuming and inconvenient to select desired media contents or video frames.
Innovation Solution
An input device with a navigation key and a dial unit featuring a rotating dial wheel, where the navigation key and dial wheel are stacked in a coupled structure, allowing for intuitive direction selection and rapid content scrolling based on direction inputs and rotation operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If navigation keys are pressed one by one to select media contents, then the control method is simple and reliable, but the selection speed is slow and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the navigation key and dial wheel into a single integrated input unit. The navigation key provides directional input while the dial wheel enables rotational input, and both are processed by a single control unit that interprets them as unified commands for scrolling through media contents. This merging allows users to quickly navigate through large numbers of contents by rotating the dial wheel or pressing the navigation key, significantly improving selection speed compared to pressing individual navigation keys sequentially, while maintaining operational simplicity through a unified control interface.
2Productivity
If a dial wheel is added to improve scrolling speed, then content navigation becomes faster, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the dial wheel and navigation key into a single integrated input unit where both components share a common structure and are processed by a unified control unit. The dial wheel is positioned concentrically with the navigation key, and the control unit receives inputs from both components and processes them as coordinated commands. This merging approach enables fast scrolling through media contents and video frames by rotating the dial wheel or pressing the navigation key, significantly improving productivity while avoiding the complexity of separate independent control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated input unit serves multiple functions: the dial wheel can be rotated for continuous scrolling, pressed for directional input, and the navigation key can be pressed for discrete selection. The control unit universally processes all these input modes and translates them into appropriate commands for the target device. This multi-functionality allows a single input mechanism to replace what would traditionally require multiple separate controls, improving scrolling efficiency while maintaining or reducing overall device complexity.
3Loss of time
If navigation keys are used for precise direction selection, then control precision is maintained, but the time required for selection increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the navigation key and dial wheel into a single integrated input unit that processes both directional and rotational inputs through a unified control unit. The navigation key provides precise directional input (up, down, left, right) while the dial wheel enables continuous rotational input. The control unit merges these inputs and translates them into coordinated scrolling commands that maintain precise direction selection while dramatically reducing the time required to navigate through media contents and video frames compared to pressing navigation keys sequentially.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an input device which allows a user to select desired contents more quickly and intuitively in selection of contents. The input device includes: a navigation key manipulated to select one direction among a plurality of directions; a dial unit including a rotating dial wheel; and a control unit which controls movement on a user interface screen of a target device based on one or more direction inputs corresponding to the navigation key and a rotation operation input of the dial wheel, wherein the navigation key and the dial wheel are coupled with each other in a stacked structure.