Removable Touchscreen for Thin Mobile and Wearable Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current smartphones are too large, heavy, and expensive, making them unsuitable for one-hand operation and affordable use, while wearable devices lack the functionality and battery life needed for comprehensive mobile communication and health monitoring.
Innovation Solution
A wrist-worn fitness tracker device with a removable touchscreen that can transform into a smartwatch or mini-handheld smartphone, featuring a thin housing with minimal essential components, allowing for interchangeable screens and reduced power consumption, enabling wireless calling, texting, and internet connectivity with optional digital camera capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If smartphones include more sensors and components for multiple functions, then device functionality is improved, but device weight and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the smartphone into two separate modules: a lightweight housing unit containing only essential components (processor, minimal memory, battery, antennas) and a removable screen assembly. This segmentation allows the housing to remain light while the screen can be upgraded or replaced independently, resolving the contradiction between functionality and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing unit is designed as a universal platform that can support multiple different screen assemblies with varying functionalities (camera, GPS, display quality). This multi-functionality approach allows a single lightweight housing to serve multiple purposes by simply changing the screen module, avoiding the need to include all components in every device.
2Adaptability or versatility
If smartphones include more components for high-quality photography and navigation, then device capabilities are improved, but device cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By separating expensive optional components (camera modules, GPS receivers) into the removable screen assembly rather than integrating them permanently into the housing, the patent enables cost-effective manufacturing. Users can purchase only the screen assembly level they need, and the basic housing remains inexpensive to produce.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing high-end features (advanced camera, GPS) only in premium screen assemblies rather than in all devices. This allows manufacturers to produce multiple versions of the same housing unit, reducing overall manufacturing costs while still offering advanced capabilities to users who need them.
3Ease of operation
If smartphones are designed for one-hand operation, then ease of use is improved, but device screen size is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the device dynamic by allowing the screen assembly to be changed based on usage needs. For one-hand operation, users can attach a compact screen; for desktop use, a larger screen can be attached. This dynamic reconfigurability resolves the contradiction between portability and screen size.
Solution Approach 2:
The universal housing unit can accommodate screen assemblies of various sizes and form factors. This multi-functionality allows the same base device to serve both as a compact one-hand smartphone and as a larger tablet-like device, depending on which screen assembly is attached.
4Weight of moving object
If wearables are designed to be thin and lightweight, then comfort is improved, but battery capacity and functionality are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the power system into a lightweight battery in the housing unit and an optional power bank screen assembly. This allows the base device to remain light for all-day wear, while users can attach the power bank screen when extended battery life is needed, resolving the contradiction between weight and battery duration.
Solution Approach 2:
The screen assembly serves multiple functions: it provides the display interface, and when configured as a power bank version, it also provides extended power supply. This multi-functionality allows a single attachment to resolve both the display needs and the battery life needs without adding permanent weight.
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable electronics device having a removable thin top touchscreen that is interchangeable to other touchscreens having different sizes and shapes to convert the device form factor and functions from a fitness-tracker to a smartwatch or a handheld smartphone, using an applications processor in the underlying electronics housing unit capable of running the device in various form factors. The smartphone touchscreen further provides additional power and memory/storage for smartphone-level functions and performance.