Mechanical Crown Input for Wearable UI Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manipulating user interface objects on small, touch-sensitive displays in wearable electronic devices are inefficient and lack precision.
Innovation Solution
A mechanical crown is used to scroll or scale user interfaces on wearable devices, with the direction and amount of scrolling or scaling dependent on the crown's rotation, and the velocity of rotation influencing the speed of these actions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If touch-sensitive display manipulation is used on small wearable devices, then the device can maintain a small form factor, but the precision and efficiency of user interface manipulation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A mechanical crown is introduced as an intermediary input mechanism between the user and the user interface. The crown provides tactile feedback and precise rotational control, allowing users to manipulate interface objects with high precision despite the small device form factor. The crown acts as a physical mediator that translates user intent into precise digital commands.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces purely software-based touch interface manipulation with a mechanical input system (the crown). This mechanical system provides physical feedback and more precise control compared to touch gestures on small screens, resolving the contradiction between small form factor and manipulation precision.
2Productivity
If traditional touch interface methods are used on wearable devices, then device complexity can be kept low, but user interface manipulation efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical crown is designed to perform multiple functions: rotational input for scrolling and zooming, push input for selection, and potentially other gestures. This multi-functionality allows a single component to enhance interface manipulation efficiency across various operations without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The crown detects changes in rotational parameters (angle, velocity, direction) to control interface manipulation. By mapping physical rotation parameters to digital interface parameters, the system achieves efficient manipulation with a relatively simple mechanical component.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to manipulating a user interface on a wearable electronic device using a mechanical crown. In some examples, the user interface can be scrolled or scaled in response to a rotation of the crown. The direction of the scrolling or scaling and the amount of scrolling or scaling can depend on the direction and amount of rotation of the crown, respectively. In some examples, the amount of scrolling or scaling can be proportional to the change in rotation angle of the crown. In other examples, a speed of scrolling or a speed of scaling can depend on a speed of angular rotation of the crown. In these examples, a greater speed of rotation can cause a greater speed of scrolling or scaling to be performed on the displayed view.