Mechanical Crown Input for Wearable UI Precision
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manipulating user interface objects on small form factor 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 electronic devices, where the direction and amount of scrolling or scaling are determined by the direction and amount of crown rotation, with the velocity of rotation influencing the velocity of scrolling or scaling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If touch-sensitive display manipulation is used on small form factor devices, then device portability is maintained, but manipulation precision and efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
A mechanical crown is introduced as an intermediary input device between the user and the digital interface. The crown provides tactile mechanical feedback and precise rotational control, serving as a mediator that translates physical crown rotations into digital interface manipulations, thereby achieving high precision control without requiring a larger display.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces purely software-based touch interface manipulation with a mechanical crown input system. The mechanical crown with its physical rotation and click mechanisms substitutes for finger swiping and tapping gestures, providing enhanced precision through mechanical feedback and dedicated input mechanics rather than relying solely on touch screen gestures.
2Volume of moving object
If touch-sensitive display manipulation is used on small form factor devices, then device portability is maintained, but manipulation efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical crown acts as an efficient intermediary that directly couples physical rotation to digital scrolling and navigation. This direct mechanical-to-digital translation eliminates the inefficiencies of multi-gesture touch interactions, allowing users to navigate interfaces more quickly and efficiently while maintaining the compact device form factor.
Solution Approach 2:
The crown incorporates dynamic response characteristics where the speed of rotation can influence the speed of interface scrolling. This dynamic behavior allows for efficient rapid navigation when needed, while still maintaining precision for detailed interactions, thereby improving overall interface manipulation efficiency without increasing device size.
3Measurement precision
If proportional scrolling based on crown rotation angle is implemented, then manipulation precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a mechanical crown with integrated sensors that directly detect rotation angle and translate it to scrolling position. This mechanical sensing approach replaces complex software-based gesture recognition systems, achieving high precision manipulation while actually reducing overall system complexity through dedicated mechanical input hardware.
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.