Movable Graphic Display Layer for Gesture Input Without Active Screen
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices without display components, such as touch-sensitive overlays, face challenges in providing users with information about invokable functions through gesture inputs, especially when power conservation modes disable the display.
Innovation Solution
An electronic apparatus with a graphic display layer and a masking layer, where the graphic display layer is moveable relative to the masking layer to display function icons associated with a particular application, and a touch-sensitive input device receives gesture inputs to invoke corresponding functions, even without a display component.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the display aspect of the touch sensing component is disabled to conserve battery power, then power consumption is reduced, but the user cannot see information about invokable functions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a separate display device as an intermediary to show function information. When the display aspect of the touch sensing component is disabled, the display device receives data about invokable functions from the processing device and presents this information to the user, thereby maintaining information visibility without requiring the main display to be active
Solution Approach 2:
The patent separates the display function from the touch sensing function. The touch sensing component handles gesture input while the display device handles information presentation. This segmentation allows the touch component to operate in non-display mode (saving power) while still providing functional information through the separate display device
2Loss of energy
If the display aspect is completely disabled, then power consumption is minimized, but user interaction and feedback are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The display device acts as an intermediary that provides visual feedback and function information to the user without requiring the main display to be enabled. This allows the system to maintain minimal power consumption while still offering adequate user interaction capabilities through the secondary display
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of completely disabling all display functions, the patent enables partial display functionality through the separate display device. This partial action provides sufficient information for user interaction while keeping overall power consumption low by avoiding full display activation
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic apparatus is provided including an input assembly. The input assembly includes a graphic display layer, a masking layer, and an input device. The graphic display layer includes a plurality of function icons. The masking layer includes a plurality of function icon windows for displaying functions icons associated with a particular application. Each of the displayed function icons corresponds to a function of the particular application. The input device includes a plurality of input device sections for receiving a gesture input. The graphic display layer is moveable relative to the masking layer such that, based on the relative positioning between the graphic display layer and the masking layer, function icons associated with a particular application are displayed through the function icon windows and the other function icons are at least obscured by the masking layer. The receiving of the gesture input by a one of the plurality of input device sections corresponding to a one of the displayed function icons invokes the function corresponding to the one of the displayed function icons.