Touch-Screen Link Target Accuracy via Segmented Layout Adjustment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users of touch-screen mobile devices face difficulties in accurately selecting hyperlinks on crowded web pages due to their proximity, leading to frequent misselections, especially when operating with one hand.

Innovation Solution

The system improves link target accuracy by defining target regions on the screen, distinguishable by color or graphic elements, and allowing selection through tapping or gesturing, with techniques such as selecting characters based on relative distances or using gesture-direction-suggesting icons and color gradations to guide the user's selection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If hyperlinks are placed close together to maximize screen content, then information density increases, but link selection accuracy deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation densityVSAvoidlink selection accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides each hyperlink into multiple selectable target points distributed along the link's geometry. Instead of treating the hyperlink as a single target area, it segments it into multiple discrete points that users can tap. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high information density by keeping hyperlinks close together while improving selection accuracy by providing distinct, separable target points for each link.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies local quality by making different parts of the hyperlink interface have different properties. Specifically, it places distinguishable target points at different locations (such as endpoints or key positions) of each hyperlink, allowing users to selectively tap on specific points. This creates local variations in interactability that improve precision without requiring overall spacing increases.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Measurement precision

If target size is increased to improve selection accuracy, then selection precision improves, but available screen space decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveselection accuracyVSAvoidavailable screen space

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent transitions from considering target size in two dimensions to utilizing three-dimensional spatial positioning. By distributing multiple target points at different positions along the hyperlink's geometric path, the system effectively adds a positional dimension to the interaction. This allows small, precise targets to be distributed throughout the available space, achieving high selection accuracy without requiring any single target to occupy large screen area.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS8294669B2Link target accuracy in touch-screen mobile devices by layout adjustment

Publication Date: 2012.10.23 III HOLDINGS 6 LLC

AI summary

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for improving link target accuracy for a mobile browser with a touch-screen display. The system receives a page with a plurality of selectable text objects and adjusts the page layout. The method further includes placing a number of targets within the web page. Each target is associated with one selectable text object, and the selectable text object can only be activated by the target. The targets are sufficiently separated from each other, thus allowing a user to hold the touch-screen display and select the selectable text object by tapping on the target with substantial accuracy. Another embodiment of the present invention allows a user to select a selectable text object by performing a gesture.