Dynamic Active Zone Configuration for Touch Screen Displays
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current touch screens for handheld devices lack a convenient method for users to define and adjust the active zone dynamically based on how the device is held, leading to unintentional touches and potential errors, especially in retail POS settings where users often hold the device with one hand and interact with the screen with the other.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an active mode and configuration mode in the touch screen's software, where unintentional touches trigger a switch to configuration mode, allowing users to redefine the active zone using graphical tools, such as handles, to exclude areas touched by the hand holding the device, and rearranging interactive elements within the newly defined zone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the touch screen extends close to the side edges of the device to maximize surface area, then the display area is increased, but unintentional touch inputs occur when the user holds the device
Solution Approach 1:
The touch screen display area is segmented into two distinct zones: an active zone where touch inputs are processed and a rejection zone where touches are ignored. This segmentation allows the display to extend to the edges while preventing unintentional inputs from being processed, resolving the contradiction between maximizing display area and eliminating harmful unintentional touches.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the touch screen are assigned different functional qualities: the active zone responds to touch inputs while the rejection zone excludes them. This local differentiation allows the screen to maintain full edge-to-edge coverage while applying palm rejection functionality only in specific areas where the user's hand naturally rests.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If palm rejection technology defines a fixed rejection zone, then unintentional touches are blocked, but the user cannot accommodate changes in how the tablet is held
Solution Approach 1:
The rejection zone is transformed from a fixed static boundary to a dynamic adjustable boundary. Users can modify the rejection zone boundaries through configuration mode, allowing the system to adapt to different holding positions and user preferences while maintaining protection against unintentional touches.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides self-service functionality by allowing users to configure and adjust the rejection zone according to their own needs and holding styles. This user-controlled adaptation enables the palm rejection technology to accommodate various ways the tablet is held without requiring multiple pre-configured modes.
3Ease of operation
If the active zone is dynamically adjusted based on user preferences, then user comfort is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary configuration by establishing a default rejection zone before the user begins using the device. This preliminary setup provides immediate palm rejection functionality without requiring users to navigate complex configuration options, while still allowing later customization if desired.
Solution Approach 2:
A configuration mode serves as an intermediary between the simple default operation and full customization. This intermediary layer provides graphical tools that simplify the adjustment process, making the system easier to configure than a fully programmatic approach would allow, while still enabling user-specific adaptations.
Data Source
AI summary
An application program installed in a hand held computing device such as a tablet computer presents a graphical user interface (GUI) on a touch screen display and receives touch input signals from the touch screen display. When an unintentional touch event is detected, the application switches from an active mode to a configuration mode. In the configuration mode, graphical tools are displayed on the touch screen display to enable a user to define or adjust the active zone of the touch screen display so as to exclude the area of the touch screen display touched by the hand that is grasping the hand held device. Interactive elements in the GUI are then rearranged so that the interactive elements are within the newly defined active zone.