Pivoting Touch Screen Assembly With Tactile Switch Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Touch screen devices on portable electronic devices lack desirable tactile feedback, leading to difficulties in discerning intended inputs and resulting in erroneous inputs due to poor or no feedback.
Innovation Solution
A portable electronic device with a moveable touch screen display and a support tray that provides tactile feedback through switches and gel pads, allowing the touch screen to pivot and actuate switches upon user input, offering positive tactile feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a touch-sensitive overlay is used on a display device, then the device size can be reduced and portability improved, but tactile feedback is lost or significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a touch-sensitive display with a mechanical switch assembly into a single integrated unit. The support tray holds both the display device and switch assembly together, allowing the display to pivot and directly actuate the mechanical switches, merging electronic input with mechanical feedback in one compact structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a mechanical intermediary system where the touch-sensitive display pivots on a hinge to directly actuate mechanical switches. This intermediary mechanical connection transmits the user's input force through the hinge mechanism to the switches, providing tactile feedback while maintaining the benefits of a touch-sensitive interface.
2Ease of operation
If a moveable support tray with mechanical switches is added to provide tactile feedback, then user interaction is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support tray serves multiple functions: it holds the display device, supports the switch assembly, provides the hinge mechanism for pivoting, and transmits actuation force to the switches. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components and simplifies the overall structure despite the added mechanical feedback capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a dynamic hinge mechanism that allows the support tray to pivot between positions. This dynamic element enables the system to transition between different states (display viewing vs. switch actuation) using a single mechanical connection, reducing the need for complex actuation mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device includes a housing having a back, a support tray moveable relative to the back of the housing, a touch-sensitive display supported by the support tray and moveable with the support tray relative to the back of the housing, the touch-sensitive display including a display device and a touch-sensitive overlay disposed on the display device, a locking arrangement cooperating with the support tray for locking the support tray and touch-sensitive display to inhibit movement of the support tray relative to the back of the housing, and operational components housed in the housing and including a touch screen controller connected to the touch-sensitive overlay and a processor connected to the display device and the touch-screen controller.