3D Touch Sensing via Finger Tilt for Precise Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing process control methods using sensors with variable resistance face difficulties in environments where manual interaction, such as finger movement, is required, leading to challenges in precise control and data generation.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus utilizing a manually-interactive-device with a plurality of sensor elements and a processor to generate positional-data and intensity-data, allowing for the derivation of directional-data through rolling or tilting operations, enabling precise control without the need for finger repositioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If sensors with variable resistance are used for process control, then manual interaction control is enabled, but finger movement creates control difficulties in certain environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D touch sensors to a 3D sensing capability by detecting finger tilt angle in addition to touch position. This dimensional expansion allows the system to distinguish between intentional tilting gestures and unintentional finger movements, resolving the contradiction between ease of manual interaction and control precision in challenging environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts its interpretation of sensor data based on the detected finger tilt angle. By continuously monitoring changes in tilt angle during interaction, the system can dynamically adjust its response to differentiate between deliberate control inputs and environmental interference, maintaining both ease of operation and reliability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If finger movement is required for control, then navigation capability is improved, but control precision deteriorates in environments where finger movement creates difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
By adding tilt angle detection to the traditional 2D touch interface, the system creates a 3D interaction space that enables navigation without requiring lateral finger movement. Users can navigate by tilting their finger, which maintains navigation capability while eliminating the precision problems associated with finger repositioning in difficult environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The finger tilt angle serves as an intermediary parameter that mediates between the user's navigation intent and the actual control output. Instead of directly mapping finger position to navigation direction, the system uses tilt angle as an intermediate step, allowing users to navigate precisely without moving their finger across the screen.
3Loss of information
If traditional sensor arrays are used, then positional data is obtained, but directional data derivation is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts directional information by analyzing changes in the tilt angle parameter over time. Instead of adding complex directional sensors, the system repurposes the existing tilt angle measurement by examining its temporal variations, thereby deriving directional data from a single sensor element through parameter analysis rather than spatial arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the same sensor element to serve multiple functions: determining touch position, measuring tilt angle, and deriving directional information. By analyzing the temporal changes in tilt angle from the same sensor, the system eliminates the need for separate directional sensors, reducing device complexity while recovering directional information.
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 efficient and precise control by generating directional-data from manual interactions, allowing for navigation and selection through virtual joystick-like functionality on touch-screens, enhancing user interaction in various applications like satellite navigation and mobile devices.
Implementation Method 1
the use of materials that a have a variable resistance in response to receiving a manual interaction taking the form of an applied force or an applied pressure
Data Source
AI summary
Directional data is derived from a manually-interactive-device 102 configured to generate positional data and intensity data. Initial positional data is generated, along with initial intensity data from an initial contact of a finger upon the manually-interactive-device. The manually-interactive-device has a definition sufficiently high to produce a plurality of data-points in response to the application of a single finger. Directional data is produced in response to a finger rolling or tilting operation 901 by generating additional intensity data in which variations occur to intensity values at the previously identified data-point positions.