Software Keyboard Layout for Multi-Region Touchscreen Operation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic devices with integrated touch panels and liquid crystal displays face challenges in allowing users to perform operations independently from a software keyboard, particularly on small devices like smartphones, where the keyboard often occupies a significant portion of the screen, hindering tasks like browsing search results or accessing other applications.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device with an input detection unit, display unit, and control unit that detects user operations to dynamically change the display mode of the software keyboard, allowing it to be reduced or repositioned, enabling independent operations on multiple display regions, thus facilitating the use of other applications while the keyboard is active.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the software keyboard is displayed in full size, then the user can perform input operations easily, but the user cannot browse search results or access other applications simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The display screen is divided into multiple independent regions: a first display region for the software keyboard and a second display region for browsing search results or accessing other applications. This segmentation allows users to perform input operations on the keyboard while simultaneously viewing or interacting with other content in the second region, resolving the contradiction between input ease and multi-application access.
Solution Approach 2:
The software keyboard is repositioned from occupying the entire screen to being confined to a specific region (first display region), while the second display region is utilized for additional content. This spatial reorganization in the display dimension enables both full-size keyboard input and simultaneous access to other applications without interference.
2Ease of operation
If the software keyboard occupies half of the display screen area, then the keyboard is visible and accessible, but the remaining area is insufficient for browsing search results
Solution Approach 1:
The display area is segmented into two functional zones: the first display region containing the software keyboard and the second display region dedicated to browsing search results. This segmentation ensures that the keyboard remains fully accessible in its own region while the second region provides sufficient area for content browsing, eliminating the trade-off between keyboard visibility and browsing space.
Solution Approach 2:
By utilizing the second display region in parallel with the keyboard region, the system effectively expands the functional capacity of the display area. Users can access both the full keyboard and adequate browsing space simultaneously through this spatial arrangement, resolving the area allocation conflict.
3Loss of information
If the user quits the Web browser to access the address book, then the user can view address book information, but the user must perform multiple operations to switch between applications
Solution Approach 1:
The display is segmented to allow the Web browser to remain active in the first display region while the address book or other applications are displayed in the second display region. This enables users to view address book information without quitting the Web browser, eliminating application switching and reducing time loss while maintaining complete information access.
Solution Approach 2:
The Web browser continues to run and remain visible in the first display region while users interact with the address book in the second region. This continuity allows users to maintain the browsing context and switch back to the browser seamlessly, avoiding the interruption and time loss associated with quitting and relaunching applications.
Data Source
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AI summary
To facilitate an operation independent from a software keyboard while the software keyboard is being used. An electronic device comprises an input detection unit that detects a contact operation or a proximity operation made by a user; a display unit that includes a first display region displaying a first image showing a position where a first operation is received; and a control unit that changes display mode of the first display region based on a second operation when the input detection unit detects the second operation and that has a second image displayed in a second display region where a third operation is received.