Sliding Cover Interface for Touch Screen Call Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile devices face challenges in preventing accidental data entry during phone calls, particularly when users hold the device against their face, leading to unintended selection of touch screen controls.
Innovation Solution
A visual representation of a sliding cover is displayed on the touch screen to lock the interface, which can be unlocked by dragging the cover away from the controls, allowing users to block or unblock data entry as needed during calls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the touch screen interface is locked during a call, then accidental input is prevented, but access to controls is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is designed as a movable element that users can dynamically position to lock or unlock the interface. By dragging the cover between covering and uncovered positions, users can transition between locked and unlocked states, making the interface adaptable to their current needs during a call.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover acts as an intermediary element between the user and the controls. It provides a visual and physical barrier that mediates access to the controls, allowing users to selectively block or reveal controls based on their immediate situation without permanently locking the interface.
2Reliability
If a slidable panel is used to lock the display, then accidental selection is prevented, but user interaction is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The slidable panel transitions from a static barrier to a dynamic control mechanism. Users can slide the panel to lock the display or move it away to unlock, providing flexible interaction modes that adapt to whether the user needs protection from accidental input or needs access to controls.
Solution Approach 2:
The slidable panel serves multiple functions: it acts as a visual indicator of lock status, a physical barrier preventing accidental selection, and a control mechanism itself that users interact with to lock or unlock the display. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate controls.
3Reliability
If the cover is displayed on the touch screen, then the interface is locked from receiving data entry, but the cover itself becomes a selectable object
Solution Approach 1:
The cover element combines multiple functions in a single visual component: it serves as the locking mechanism, the visual indicator of lock status, and the control that users interact with to unlock. This consolidation simplifies interface element management compared to having separate elements for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover is designed to be self-contained and self-explanatory. Its visual appearance and position automatically communicate the lock status to users, and users can directly interact with the cover itself to unlock, without needing separate controls or indicators. The system serves itself by making the cover both the problem (blocking access) and the solution (the means to unlock).
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented touch screen call interface includes announcing an incoming telephone call on a mobile device touch screen display, connecting to the call and displaying a slidable panel on the display while locking the display from inputs other than unlocking inputs, receiving a user selection moving the slidable panel away from a position that covers one or more selectable controls, and unlocking the display for selection of the selectable controls while the slidable panel stays in a position that leaves the selectable controls uncovered.