Side Sensor Touchless Input Area for Mobile Device Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile devices with touchscreens face limitations in touch input due to their small size, especially when controlling background applications, and existing gesture recognition technologies outside the device are less intuitive for users.
Innovation Solution
A user equipment with a display and side sensors that enable touchless input areas, allowing users to interact with controls placed in the surrounding space, which are visually indicated on the device display, expanding the interaction area beyond the physical screen and minimizing mistaking hand movements as input controls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the application takes over the complete screen when active, then the application has full display space, but the area on the touchscreen to control other applications becomes unavailable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the interaction interface from the two-dimensional touchscreen display into the three-dimensional space surrounding the device. By placing controls in the air above and around the device, the system creates a new spatial dimension for interaction that does not compete with the display area, allowing full-screen applications while maintaining accessible control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces air as an intermediary medium for input. Instead of requiring direct contact with the touchscreen, users interact with invisible control zones in the air above the device. This intermediary approach allows control inputs to be delivered without occupying touchscreen space, resolving the conflict between display area and control area.
2Adaptability or versatility
If touchless input area is made invisible and designed to be used when another application is active, then the input area is available for background applications, but it becomes inherently difficult for a user to realize what controls have which effect
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs visual feedback mechanisms that dynamically change the appearance of control zones based on their active state. When control areas are inactive, they remain invisible or transparent. When activated or hovered over, they illuminate or become visible, providing real-time visual guidance that helps users understand which controls are available and what effects they produce.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides continuous visual feedback to users about the state and function of air controls. Through illumination, transparency changes, or graphical projections, the system informs users which control zones are active, what actions they perform, and how to interact with them, making the invisible interface intuitive and discoverable.
3Area of stationary object
If the physical size of the device display is small, then the device is compact, but the touch input area is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the input interface from the two-dimensional plane of the physical display to the three-dimensional space above and around the device. This dimensional expansion allows users to interact with controls that are spatially separated from the screen, effectively increasing the input area without requiring a larger physical display.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the display function with the input function by projecting controls and feedback into the air above the device. This combination allows the same spatial region to serve both as the display surface and as the interaction zone, eliminating the need for separate physical input buttons or a larger screen.
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
The solution provides an intuitive and natural extension of the touchscreen interface, allowing for larger interaction areas while maintaining clarity and reducing the risk of misinterpreting hand movements as input controls, thus enhancing user interaction with background applications.
Implementation Method 1
determine that an object (F) is at a distance (D) falling under a threshold distance in the selected portion of the touchless input area
Data Source
AI summary
A user equipment comprising a display, at least one side sensor and a controller, wherein the side sensor is configured to receive touchless user input at a side of the display, thereby providing a touchless input area, and wherein the controller is configured to: receive a selection of an application; receive a selection of a portion of the touchless input area; associate at least one command for the selected application to the selected portion of the touchless input area; provide feedback indication the association between the portion and the application; determine that an object is at a distance falling under a threshold distance in the selected portion of the touchless input area and in response thereto execute the associated command.