Mobile Device Wrist Neutral Grip Scanner Aiming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Workers in warehousing, transportation, and logistics experience discomfort and fatigue due to stressful wrist deviations when using scanner-equipped mobile devices with fixed angle scanners, leading to inefficient motions and potential physical stress during barcode scanning and transaction verification.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device with touch sensors and an orientation sensor that detects the grip position and orientation, providing feedback to maintain a wrist-neutral grip and adjust the aiming pattern of the data capture component to reduce wrist deviation, thereby promoting ergonomic data capture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed angle scanner is used in mobile devices, then the scanning function is simple and reliable, but it causes stressful wrist deviations and worker fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The scanner angle is made dynamic rather than fixed. The scanner adjusts its aiming pattern based on the detected grip orientation, allowing the scanning angle to change automatically with different gripping positions while maintaining a neutral wrist posture for the worker.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses orientation sensors to detect the actual grip angle and provides feedback by adjusting the scanner aiming pattern accordingly. This closed-loop feedback ensures the scanner maintains optimal positioning relative to the item regardless of how the worker holds the device.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the scanner angle is adjusted to accommodate different item heights and orientations, then scanning versatility improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms with an electronic/sensor-based solution. Orientation sensors detect grip angle, and software algorithms adjust the scanner aiming pattern, eliminating the need for physical moving parts or mechanical adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the aiming pattern parameters (angle, direction) based on detected grip orientation. By modifying these optical parameters through software control rather than physical adjustment, the system achieves versatility without increasing mechanical complexity.
3Ease of operation
If workers tilt their arm to view the display for transaction verification, then display visibility is achieved, but wrist stress and physical effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The display orientation is made dynamic, automatically adjusting to match the worker's natural viewing angle. The display rotates or reorients based on the detected grip position, allowing workers to view transaction verification information without tilting their wrist or arm into stressful positions.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile device with wrist neutral data capture is provided. The device comprises: a housing; a data capture component configured to change an aiming pattern; a display; an orientation sensor configured to detect an orientation; one or more touch sensors at the housing; a memory storing wrist neutral touch data associated with a wrist neutral grip corresponding to predetermined grip position locations at the touch sensor(s); and a controller configured to: when touch data received at the touch sensor(s) matches the wrist neutral touch data stored in the memory, control the aiming pattern of the data capture component according to the orientation detected by the orientation sensor; and when the touch data does not match the wrist neutral touch data, control a notification device to provide an indicator of the housing being out of the wrist neutral grip.