Soft Keyboard Keypress Marker for Touchscreen Accuracy

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional soft keyboards lack tactile feedback, making it difficult for users to determine the accuracy of keypresses, as they do not provide information on how close to the center of the key the touch is, leading to imprecise aiming and unintended key selection.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of a keypress marker system that determines the center point of the touch on a touchscreen and superimposes a visible marker over the key, changing its appearance to indicate accuracy, with machine-learning calibration for repeatedly inaccurate keypresses to enhance user interaction.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a soft keyboard is used on a touchscreen device, then the device does not need a mechanical keyboard, but users lack tactile feedback to determine keypress accuracy

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedevice configuration flexibilityVSAvoidkeypress accuracy feedback
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements visual feedback by displaying a marker at the center point of the touch input on the soft keyboard. This marker provides immediate visual information to the user about where their touch was registered, allowing them to gauge the accuracy of their keypress without tactile feedback from a mechanical keyboard.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Device complexity

If no keypress accuracy feedback is provided, then the soft keyboard interface remains simple, but users experience imprecise aiming and unintended key selection

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvekeyboard interface simplicityVSAvoidkeypress accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs color changes in the visual marker to communicate keypress accuracy to the user. The marker displays different colors or color intensities based on how close the touch was to the center of the intended key, providing intuitive visual information about precision without complicating the overall interface design.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

3Measurement precision

If visual feedback markers are displayed on the soft keyboard, then users can gauge keypress precision, but the keyboard interface becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvekeypress accuracy feedbackVSAvoidkeyboard interface complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a visual marker as an intermediary element between the user's touch and the soft keyboard interface. This marker serves as a mediator that conveys precision information without fundamentally altering the keyboard's structure or requiring complex additional components, thus adding minimal complexity while improving measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP2891968B1Soft keyboard with keypress markers
Publication Date: 2019.11.13 SAP SE
  • EP2891968B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2891968B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2891968B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Disclosed herein are technologies that improve user interaction when using a soft keyboard of a touchscreen device (e.g., a smartphone or tablet computer). More particularly, the technologies described herein provide feedback to a user regarding keypress accuracy on a soft keyboard of a touchscreen device. In accordance with one aspect of the technologies, a keypress marker is presented to indicate the location of touch on the soft keyboard.