Removable Clip With Integrated User Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing clips for portable electronic devices are underutilized as they primarily serve only to attach devices to objects, occupying valuable space and not providing additional functionality, especially as technology miniaturizes.
Innovation Solution
A removable clip with a user interface that can receive user inputs and display information, allowing the device to be both attached to objects and function as a control interface, featuring touch-sensitive regions and tactile feedback elements, enabling users to interact with the device without directly accessing the screen.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a clip is provided on a portable electronic computing device, then the device can be attached to various objects, but the clip occupies valuable real estate and increases device width
Solution Approach 1:
The clip is transformed from a single-function mechanical attachment component into a multi-functional element that combines attachment capability with user interface functionality. The clip can display information, receive user inputs via touch-sensitive regions, and provide tactile feedback, thereby performing multiple functions within the same physical space and reducing the need for additional separate components.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the clip is physically integrated with the electronic computing device, then the device forms a single unit, but the device width increases
Solution Approach 1:
The user interface components (display, touch-sensitive regions, tactile feedback elements) are nested within the existing clip structure rather than adding external protrusions. This nesting approach allows the clip to maintain its compact form factor while incorporating additional functionality, avoiding increases in device width.
3Device complexity
If the clip is used only for mechanical connection, then the structure remains simple, but the functionality is underutilized
Solution Approach 1:
The user interface functions are merged with the mechanical clip structure. The display, touch-sensitive regions, and tactile feedback elements are integrated into the clip body, allowing the same physical structure to serve both mechanical attachment and user interaction purposes without requiring separate dedicated components.
4Loss of information
If a transparent user interface is used, then information is visible through the clip, but the clip structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The clip incorporates transparent or translucent regions that allow visual information to pass through. This optical property enables the display of information (such as icons corresponding to tactile feedback elements) through the clip material itself, maintaining a relatively simple structure while achieving information visibility.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments of removable user interfaces, electronic computing devices, and systems are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a body having a bend and a user interface area, a connector adapted to couple to a corresponding connector on an electronic device, and a plurality of conductive elements. The bend enables the user interface area to wrap around a portion of the electronic device when the connector is coupled to the corresponding connector on the electronic device. In another embodiment, a portable electronic system includes a removable user interface and an electronic computing device having a display surface, where the removable user interface is couplable to the electronic computing device such that the removable user interface is disposed over at least a part of the display surface.