Touch Screen Cover With Capacitive Touch-Communicating Portion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Protective devices for portable mobile devices with touch-sensitive interfaces hinder user operations, such as answering calls, as they prevent capacitive induction of touch-sensitive operations when covering the screen.
Innovation Solution
A touch screen cover with a protective panel that includes a touch-communicating portion with specific properties allowing capacitive induction, enabling users to perform touch-sensitive operations even when the screen is covered, by varying sheet resistance and thickness to localize capacitance induction to specific areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a protective device covers the touch-sensitive interface, then device protection is improved, but touch-sensitive operation capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The protective device incorporates a touch-communicating portion with specific capacitive properties (sheet resistance between 10 ohms/square to 1000 ohms/square and thickness between 0.1mm to 2.0mm) that differs from the surrounding protective panel. This localized region allows capacitive induction while the rest of the panel maintains protective function, resolving the contradiction between protection and touch operation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch-communicating portion acts as an intermediary layer that mediates between the protective panel and the touch-sensitive interface. It transmits capacitive signals from the user's finger to the underlying touch-sensitive display while maintaining the protective barrier, enabling touch operation through the covered screen.
2Reliability
If the protective panel is made thicker for better protection, then device protection is improved, but capacitive induction capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies precise parameter ranges for the touch-communicating portion: sheet resistance between 10 ohms/square to 1000 ohms/square and thickness between 0.1mm to 2.0mm. By controlling these parameters, the design achieves optimal balance where the panel is thick enough for protection but thin and conductive enough to allow capacitive signals to penetrate through to the touch-sensitive interface.
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 users to conveniently operate portable mobile devices, such as answering calls, without removing the cover, by allowing capacitive touch-sensitive operations through designated areas on the protective panel, enhancing user convenience while protecting the device.
Implementation Method 1
a touch-communicating portion that overlays at least part of the swipe-sensing user control zone and that allows capacitive induction
Data Source
AI summary
A touch screen cover for a hand-held wireless communication device having a touch-sensing user interface and a telephone operational mode, in which, during an incoming call, a swipe-sensing user control zone of the user interface is activated together with a call-information display. The touch screen cover includes a protective panel, that in a shielding configuration, overlays a majority of the touch-sensing user interface of the hand-held wireless communication device. The protective panel has a touch-communicating portion that overlays at least part of the swipe-sensing user control zone of the user interface of the hand-held wireless communication device in the shielding configuration, the touch-communicating portion configured to receive a swiping touch engagement on an exposed outer surface thereof and responsively impart a sweeping capacitance-induced user actuation of the swipe-sensing user control zone.