Touch-Sensitive Display Gesture Navigation for Portable Devices

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Solution Overview

Problem

Portable electronic devices with touch screen displays face challenges in efficiently navigating and displaying large amounts of information due to limited screen size, requiring improvements in user interaction methods to enhance usability and speed.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a touch-sensitive display that detects specific gestures, such as swipes in different directions, to scroll and navigate through information, allowing users to advance or decrement lists without selecting buttons or menus, thereby facilitating faster content access.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Weight of moving object

If the screen size is decreased to improve portability, then the device becomes more portable, but the area available for displaying information and user interaction is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveportabilityVSAvoiddisplay area

Core Design Contradiction:

Weight of moving objectVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces gesture-based navigation that utilizes directional movements (up, down, left, right) as a new dimension for interacting with information. Instead of being constrained by limited screen real estate, users can navigate through lists and content by swiping in different directions, effectively adding a spatial dimension to the interaction model that compensates for the reduced display area.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Device complexity

If traditional button selection methods are used, then the interface is simple to implement, but the time and effort required to navigate and select items increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinterface complexityVSAvoidnavigation time

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical interaction model of button pressing with a gesture-based system. Instead of requiring users to locate, reach for, and press physical or on-screen buttons, the system detects swipe gestures and directly translates them into navigation actions, eliminating the intermediate steps of button selection and significantly reducing navigation time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The gesture-based navigation allows users to skip through lists and content rapidly by swiping, rather than methodically selecting each item through buttons. A single swipe gesture can advance the user through multiple items or sections of content, enabling them to rush through information quickly when needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #21Skipping (Rushing through)

Data Source

PatentUS8686954B2Touch-sensitive display and method of controlling same

Publication Date: 2014.04.01 MALIKIE INNOVATIONS LTD

AI summary

Information including a first part of a list is displayed on a touch-sensitive display (118) of a portable electronic device (100). The touch-sensitive display (118) detects (403) a first gesture in a first direction on the touch-sensitive display and scrolls (409, 411) within the information in response to the first gesture. The touch-sensitive display (118) detects (403) a second gesture in a second direction on the touch-sensitive display and displays a second part of (415, 417) the list on the touch-sensitive display in response to the second gesture.