Touch Function Row Gestures for Faster Function Key Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Convertible information handling systems face inefficiencies in function key interactions due to reduced key size and vertical travel, requiring users to hunt and peck for correct keys, disrupting workflow and attention from displayed visual images.
Innovation Solution
A touch function row is integrated between the keyboard and display, using a capacitive touch sensor to detect inputs and present function keys on-screen, allowing interactive gestures and customizable configurations to enhance usability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If mechanical function keys are used in convertible information handling systems, then users can provide function inputs, but the reduced key size and vertical travel require users to hunt and peck for correct keys, reducing input efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a visual copy of the function keys on the display screen that mirrors the physical keyboard layout. This virtual copy allows users to see exactly which key they need and its location, eliminating the hunt-and-peck process by providing visual guidance to the correct function key position.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback by highlighting the currently active function key on the display and illuminating the corresponding physical key area. This feedback mechanism guides users to the correct key location, reducing the time needed to locate and press the intended function key.
2Volume of moving object
If function keys are made smaller to fit portable housing, then the system becomes more portable, but users experience reduced key visibility and increased difficulty in locating correct keys
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a visual dimension by displaying function key information on the screen above the physical keys. This vertical arrangement of visual indicators above the compact physical keys allows users to locate function keys more easily without increasing the horizontal footprint of the keyboard.
Solution Approach 2:
The display acts as an intermediary between the user and the compact physical keys. It provides visual information about key locations and functions, mediating the interaction to compensate for the reduced size of physical keys while maintaining portability.
3Ease of operation
If haptic feedback is added to virtual keys, then user feedback is improved, but the feedback is less useful than mechanical key vertical travel and difficult to isolate to particular locations
Solution Approach 1:
The system copies the mechanical key feedback experience by providing visual highlighting and illumination of the pressed key area on both the display and physically. This visual copy of the feedback mechanism provides location-specific feedback without requiring complex haptic actuators for each key.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color changes and illumination to provide feedback about key presses. The pressed key area is highlighted with different color or brightness, providing clear visual feedback that is easily isolatable to specific locations without adding mechanical complexity.
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
The touch function row maintains user focus on the display, simplifies key selection through interactive gestures and customizable functions, improving efficiency and reducing workflow disruptions.
Implementation Method 1
A capacitive touch sensor detects inputs made at the touch function row
Data Source
AI summary
A portable information handling system includes a touch function row between a keyboard and a display that accepts touches at plural locations to initiate an on-screen-display user interface for a selected of plural functions based upon a touch location. A sliding movement at the touch function row commands presentation of plural function input keys at the display having one of the plural function input keys highlighted when the sliding movement touch corresponds to a touch location of the input key. The on-screen-display user interface presents different control interfaces when touches include multiple fingers and drag versus non-drag inputs, such as by automatically applying a submenu control to the simultaneous touch, like changing speaker volume and toggling a microphone between mute and unmute.