Insertion Marker UI with Threshold-Based Context Display
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic devices face challenges in providing efficient user interfaces that allow users to control an insertion marker while maintaining visibility of surrounding content, often obscuring the content and wasting processor and battery power on redundant inputs.
Innovation Solution
The device displays a content region with an insertion marker, allowing movements within a threshold distance to control the marker and displaying additional content when necessary, while movements outside the threshold distance do not display the additional content, optimizing user interaction and reducing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the device displays additional representation of content surrounding the insertion marker to allow user control, then the user's ability to control the insertion marker is improved, but the visibility of surrounding content is obscured and processor power is wasted on redundant inputs
Solution Approach 1:
The display is segmented into multiple regions: a first region displaying the primary content with insertion marker, and a second region displaying additional representation of surrounding content. This segmentation allows users to control the insertion marker while viewing surrounding content in the second region, preventing information loss while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The additional representation of surrounding content is displayed in a different spatial dimension (second region) rather than overlaying the primary content. This dimensional separation allows simultaneous visibility of both the insertion marker control area and the surrounding content, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and information visibility.
2Productivity
If the device continuously displays additional representation of surrounding content to enable marker control, then user interaction efficiency is improved, but battery power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device periodically detects user inputs in the second region and updates the display accordingly, rather than continuously rendering additional content. The processor detects user inputs at specific intervals and processes only relevant inputs within threshold distance of the insertion marker, reducing unnecessary processing and battery power consumption while maintaining user interaction efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically filters and processes only the relevant portion of user inputs (those within threshold distance of the insertion marker), eliminating the need for continuous processing of all possible inputs. This self-filtering mechanism reduces computational overhead and energy consumption while maintaining productivity.
3Measurement precision
If the device processes all user inputs to control the insertion marker, then control precision is improved, but processor power is wasted on redundant inputs
Solution Approach 1:
The device applies different processing quality to different regions of user inputs: inputs within the threshold distance of the insertion marker receive precise processing for marker control, while inputs outside the threshold are filtered out. This local quality approach ensures control precision for relevant inputs while eliminating processor power waste on redundant inputs.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of processing all user inputs equally, the device performs partial action by processing only the necessary subset of inputs (those within threshold distance). This selective processing maintains control precision for the insertion marker while avoiding the energy loss associated with processing excessive, redundant inputs.
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments described in this disclosure are directed to user interfaces for controlling the display of an additional representation of content surrounding an insertion marker while maintaining the ability to control the insertion marker using, for example, a content editing application. Enhancing these interactions improves the user's experience with the device and decreases user interaction time, which is particularly important where input devices are battery-operated.