Multi-Layer Icon Navigation on Pressure-Sensing Displays
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
As electronic devices become more complex with increased functionality, traditional graphical user interfaces (GUIs) with single-layer icons fail to efficiently navigate users to target functions, leading to cumbersome navigation experiences.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a pressure-sensing or depth-sensing display screen that allows icons to have multiple layers of functionality, where a user can select a first icon, then seamlessly transition to a second and third set of icons by maintaining contact or proximity, initiating associated applications or functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional single-layer icons are used in GUI, then the device structure remains simple, but navigation efficiency deteriorates as device functionality increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension to icon interactions by implementing multi-layer icons that unfold over time. When a user selects an icon, additional layers are revealed sequentially, allowing navigation through multiple functions without leaving the current screen. This transforms the traditional static, single-layer icon into a dynamic, time-based interactive structure, resolving the contradiction by adding a dimension rather than increasing spatial complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements nested icon layers where multiple levels of functionality are contained within a single icon structure. The first layer displays the primary function, while subsequent layers (second, third, etc.) contain additional related functions that are revealed upon user interaction. This nesting approach allows comprehensive functionality access without increasing the visual clutter or structural complexity of the icon system.
2Ease of operation
If multiple separate icons are displayed for different functions, then each function is easily accessible, but the number of icons increases making the interface more complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates multi-functional icons where a single icon provides access to multiple related functions through its layered structure. The first layer presents the primary function, while subsequent layers reveal additional functions that are contextually related. This allows one icon to replace multiple separate icons, maintaining ease of operation for all functions while reducing the overall number of icons displayed on the interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments icon functionality into distinct layers rather than requiring separate icons for each function. Each layer represents a specific function or set of related functions, and users can navigate through layers sequentially. This segmentation within a unified icon structure allows comprehensive function accessibility while avoiding the proliferation of separate icons that would clutter the interface.
3Loss of time
If users must navigate through multiple separate screens to access different functions, then each screen remains simple, but the navigation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous icon interaction where users can navigate through multiple layers of functions without interrupting their interaction flow. The system maintains the user's selection state across layers, allowing seamless transitions from the first layer through second and third layers to reach the desired function. This continuous interaction eliminates the need to return to previous screens or restart navigation, significantly reducing navigation time while maintaining interaction simplicity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach simplifies navigation by enabling users to access multiple functions in a single continuous motion, enhancing the user experience by streamlining interactions with electronic devices.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure-sensing display screen configured to display multiple icons and configured to measure a contact pressure of a contact with the pressure-sensing display screen
Implementation Method 2
a sensor device configured to generate an indication representative of a user action relative to the pressure-sensing display screen
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling an electronic device is provided, comprising receiving a selection contact within a first icon region of a first icon displayed on a pressure-sensing display screen of the electronic device, displaying on the pressure-sensing display screen a second set of icons related to the first icon, detecting that the selection contact uninterruptedly moves to a second icon of the second set of icons and selects the second icon, displaying on the pressure-sensing display screen a third set of icons related to the second icon, detecting that the selection contact uninterruptedly moves to a third icon of the third set of icons and selects the third icon, and initiating an application or function associated with the third icon.