Smart Ring Touch Interface for Compact Application Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional smart ring devices face challenges with voice recognition impracticality in noisy environments, hardware complexity, limited capacitive touch resolution, and rigid-flex PCB constraints, leading to design limitations and user discomfort.
Innovation Solution
A smart ring system that utilizes rotational motion gestures, optical and capacitive touch inputs, haptic feedback, and color indications to switch applications, combined with a flexible printed circuit board design that overcomes traditional touch screen and button limitations, and incorporates a conductive material wall to prevent false positives.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If physical buttons are added to enable application switching, then application switching capability is improved, but device complexity and hardware requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical buttons with capacitive touch sensors that detect touch inputs through the ring surface. This substitution eliminates mechanical components while maintaining application switching functionality through electrical signal detection, thereby reducing hardware complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The capacitive touch surface serves multiple functions including application switching, navigation, and interaction control, replacing the need for separate physical buttons for each function. This multi-functionality reduces overall device complexity while maintaining versatility.
2Ease of operation
If capacitive touch systems are used for application switching, then ease of operation is improved, but touch resolution and two-dimensional interaction capability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces optical sensors that detect touch position in two dimensions on the ring surface, enabling swiping and sliding interactions. This adds spatial dimensionality to the capacitive touch system, improving resolution while maintaining ease of operation through optical detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines capacitive touch sensing with optical sensing in a unified system. The capacitive layer provides basic touch detection while the optical layer adds position resolution and two-dimensional interaction capability, merging both technologies to achieve superior performance.
3Measurement precision
If optical touch systems are used to improve touch resolution, then measurement precision is improved, but false positive touches occur when wearing gloves or having hands in pockets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a conductive material layer as an intermediary between the optical sensor and the user's hand. This conductive layer distinguishes between intentional touches (finger直接接触) and false positives (gloves or pockets), allowing optical detection to maintain high resolution while improving reliability by filtering spurious signals.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the detection parameter by requiring both optical signal detection and conductive material interaction to register a valid touch. This parameter change ensures that only direct finger touches on the conductive surface trigger actions, eliminating false positives from gloves or pockets while preserving touch resolution.
4Ease of manufacture
If traditional rigid-flex PCBs are used, then manufacturing process is simplified, but the minimum flex section length of five millimeters limits component placement and increases device size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible printed circuit board with a flexible substrate that can be bent into a ring shape without requiring long flex sections. This flexible film approach allows compact component placement around the ring circumference, reducing device volume while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through flexible PCB fabrication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the PCB to follow the curved geometry of the ring device, allowing components to be placed along the circumference rather than requiring linear flex sections. This curvature approach enables compact layout that reduces device size while maintaining ease of manufacture through adapted PCB routing.
5Quantity of substance
If integrated circuits are placed on curved sections of rigid-flex PCB, then component density is improved, but structural integrity is compromised during over molding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible PCB substrate that can accommodate curved component placement without compromising structural integrity. The flexible film design allows integrated circuits to be positioned along the ring circumference while maintaining circuit functionality and structural stability during manufacturing and use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the PCB to naturally follow the curved geometry of the ring device, allowing components to be placed on curved sections without stress concentration. This curved design maintains structural integrity during over molding while enabling high component density around the ring circumference.
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
Enables intuitive and versatile application switching in various environments while maintaining a compact form factor, improving manufacturability and user comfort, and enhancing functional capabilities without increasing size or thickness.
Implementation Method 1
utilizes rotational motion gestures, optical and capacitive touch inputs
Implementation Method 2
utilizes rotational motion gestures, optical and capacitive touch inputs
Implementation Method 3
incorporates a conductive material wall to prevent false positives
Data Source
AI summary
A smart ring system for changing applications and methods for making and using the same. The smart ring system comprises a wearable smart ring equipped with input mechanisms for user interaction, wireless communication devices for interfacing with a variety of electronic devices and/or a power management system for efficient energy use. The smart ring system advantageously can allow users to seamlessly switch between and control applications on connected devices, such as smartphones, cameras, televisions, smart home devices, mixed-reality devices, via a combination of rotational motion gestures, optical and capacitive based touch inputs, haptic feedback and color indications on the smart ring system. The smart ring system advantageously can be manufactured with one or more flexible printed circuit boards that can be encased via an over molding process, which allows for thinner and more compact device profile for improved wearability.