Touch-Sensitive Display Grouping Graphical Items by Proximity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touch-sensitive displays do not effectively allow users to organize graphical menu items in an intuitive manner, lacking the ability to efficiently combine or group items based on user input.
Innovation Solution
A touch-sensitive display system that detects multiple simultaneous touches, allowing users to move graphical items closer together by dragging them with their fingers and thumbs, and combines them into a new item once they are proximate, thereby creating a grouped or hierarchical menu structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple graphical items are displayed on the touch sensitive display, then the user can access more menu options, but the display becomes cluttered and harder to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple graphical items into a single grouped item when they are proximate to each other. This merging reduces the number of individual items displayed, preventing clutter while maintaining access to all menu options through the grouped item, thus resolving the contradiction between displaying more items and maintaining ease of navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic reorganization of graphical items based on user interaction. Items are automatically grouped or ungrouped based on their spatial relationships and user touch patterns, allowing the display to adapt its organization in real-time. This dynamic behavior maintains optimal navigation ease while providing versatile organization capabilities.
2Adaptability or versatility
If graphical items are frequently moved and reorganized, then the interface adapts to user preferences, but the display stability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects when graphical items are proximate and groups them without requiring explicit user commands. This self-organizing behavior allows the interface to adapt to user preferences through observed interaction patterns while maintaining stability by only changing arrangements when items naturally come into proximity during normal use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses feedback from user touch patterns and item positioning to automatically adjust the display organization. When items are consistently positioned proximate to each other during user interaction, the system responds by grouping them, creating a stable organized state that reflects user preferences without requiring continuous manual reorganization.
3Ease of operation
If the system detects and responds to multiple simultaneous touches, then the user can perform complex operations, but the detection complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the touch detection task into identifying individual touch points and their associated graphical items. By processing touches independently and then analyzing their spatial relationships, the system handles multiple simultaneous touches through a systematic approach that manages complexity while enabling sophisticated user operations like grouping and reorganization.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, method and computer program product are caused at least to perform: controlling a touch sensitive display to display a first graphical item at a first position and a second graphical item at a second position, the second graphical item being separated from the first graphical item by a first distance; detecting a first user digit at the first position and a second user digit at the second position; reducing the first distance by moving at least one of the first and second graphical items across the touch sensitive display, in response to detecting movement, across the touch sensitive display, of at least one of the first and second user digits; and controlling the touch sensitive display to display a third graphical item, after determining the first distance has been reduced such that the first graphical item is proximate the second graphical item.