Tactile Touch Screen With Mechanical Switches
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Solution Overview
Problem
Touch screen input/output devices for portable electronic devices lack user-desirable tactile feedback, leading to a poor user experience due to their inability to provide positive indication of input, which is essential for effective user interaction.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a pair of switches between the base and the touch screen display, where one switch is actuated by applying a force anywhere on the touch-sensitive surface and both switches are actuated by applying more than one force, providing tactile feedback through mechanical displacement and actuation mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a touch screen input/output device is used in portable electronic devices, then the device size can be reduced and portability is improved, but tactile feedback is lost leading to poor user experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces mechanical switches as intermediary components between the touch screen display and the base. These switches act as mediators that convert the tactile pressure from user input into detectable signals, providing the desired tactile feedback while maintaining the compact touch screen structure. The switches are positioned to be actuated by the touch screen display when force is applied, creating a mechanical feedback mechanism without compromising device portability.
2Ease of operation
If mechanical switches are added to provide tactile feedback, then user experience is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the touch screen display structure with the switch actuation mechanism. The touch screen display serves dual functions: as the visual display interface and as the actuating element for the mechanical switches. When a user presses the touch screen, the same structural element that displays information also directly actuates the switches, eliminating the need for separate actuation mechanisms and reducing overall structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch screen display is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: visual information display and mechanical input detection. By making the touch screen display itself the actuating element for the switches, the system achieves multi-functionality where a single component serves both display and input detection purposes, thereby reducing the total number of components needed.
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
This solution enhances user interaction by providing positive tactile feedback, improving the user experience when typing on virtual keyboards or selecting characters, as both switches are depressed with sufficient force, ensuring clear input signals are generated for the processor.
Implementation Method 1
a touch screen display (24) connected to the base (22), movable relative thereto and including a display device (30) and a touch-sensitive input surface (32) overlying the display device (30)
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device includes a base, a touch screen display, a pair of switches and operational components. The touch screen display is connected to the base, movable relative thereto and includes a display device and a touch-sensitive input surface overlying the display device. A pair of switches disposed between the base and the touch screen display and configured such that one of the switches is actuated in response to application of a force anywhere on the touch-sensitive input surface of the touch screen display and both of the switches are actuated in response to application of more than one force on the touch-sensitive input surface of the touch screen display. The operational components include a controller connected to the touch-sensitive input surface and a processor connected to the controller and the display.