Mobile Terminal Edge Touch Region Controller

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Solution Overview

Problem

The challenge is to maintain a compact size for mobile terminal housing while increasing the size of the display screen, ensuring user convenience and minimizing manipulation difficulties.

Innovation Solution

A mobile terminal design with a touchscreen featuring a predefined edge region, where a controller preemptively determines if a function should be executed based on a first touch within this edge region, preventing unintentional activation and allowing for a smaller housing size without compromising usability.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Area of stationary object

If the size of the display screen is increased, then the display area is improved, but the housing size increases making it inconvenient to carry

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedisplay screen areaVSAvoidhousing size

Core Design Contradiction:

Area of stationary objectVSLength of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The touchscreen is divided into a normal operation region and a predefined edge region. The controller segments the touch input processing by detecting whether touches occur in the edge region, applying different handling logic to separate intentional user interactions from unintentional ones, thereby enabling larger screens without proportionally increasing housing size

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Length of stationary object

If the housing size is reduced to facilitate carrying, then portability is improved, but the display screen size must be reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehousing sizeVSAvoiddisplay screen area

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of stationary objectVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The touchscreen is given different functional qualities in different regions: the normal region responds to all touches, while the edge region has a special property where first touches are suppressed. This local differentiation allows the display area to be maximized within the housing constraints without causing unwanted activations at the edges

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Ease of operation

If the touchscreen is made more responsive to user input, then ease of operation is improved, but unintentional activation of functions increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetouchscreen responsivenessVSAvoidunintentional activation

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The controller performs preliminary detection to determine whether a touch occurs in the predefined edge region before executing the corresponding function. This preliminary action of checking the touch location and applying suppression logic prevents unintentional activations while maintaining normal responsiveness in the operational region

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS8713463B2Mobile terminal and controlling method thereof

Publication Date: 2014.04.29 LG ELECTRONICS INC

AI summary

A mobile terminal is disclosed. According to one embodiment, the mobile terminal includes: a housing including a front side, a rear side and a plurality of lateral sides; a touchscreen located on the front side of the housing, configured to display at least one touch-executable object, and including a predefined edge region; and a controller. The controller is configured to preempt execution of a function corresponding to a particular object of the at least one touch-executable object if a first touch of the particular object is detected in the predefined edge region of the touchscreen.