Touch-Screen Disambiguation via Magnifier Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users find it difficult to accurately select items on a touch-screen as they can with a mouse, due to the lack of precise targeting mechanisms, especially when multiple click targets are nearby or obscured by protective glass, leading to ambiguous touch inputs.
Innovation Solution
A computing device with a touch detection component, targeting component, and disambiguation component that senses touches on a touch-screen, searches for nearby click targets, and provides a magnifier to disambiguate ambiguous inputs, allowing accurate association of touches with appropriate click targets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a touch-screen display is used for direct manipulation, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A magnifier interface is introduced as an intermediary between the user's touch and the click targets. The magnifier displays an enlarged view of the region under the finger, allowing users to precisely identify which click target their touch corresponds to, thereby resolving the ambiguity without requiring higher physical touch precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical precision requirement (precise finger placement) with an information-based solution (magnified visual feedback). Instead of relying on the user's ability to precisely position their finger, the system provides enhanced visual information about the touch region, substituting mechanical precision with informational clarity
2Object-affected harmful factors
If protective glass is added to the touch-screen, then object-generated harmful factors are reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The magnifier serves as an intermediary that compensates for the precision loss caused by the protective glass. By enlarging the visual representation of the touch region and its relationship to click targets, the magnifier allows users to accurately determine touch correspondence despite the physical barrier and reduced precision
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple click targets are placed nearby, then adaptability is improved, but difficulty of detecting and measuring increases
Solution Approach 1:
The magnifier divides the visual information into segments: the main display shows the overall interface, while the magnifier shows an enlarged segment of the region under the finger. This segmentation allows multiple click targets to be displayed in close proximity on the main screen while providing detailed visual separation in the magnifier, making it easier to distinguish and accurately select among them
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for interpreting ambiguous click events in relation to click targets on a touch-screen display disposed at respective click target locations includes detecting a touch at a touch location and determining whether the touch location corresponds to a click target location. The method also includes searching for nearby click target locations in a predetermined click region and, upon locating a first click target location within the predetermined click region, associating the touch with the first click target location to identify a click event. A computing device for facilitating accurate touch input targeting with respect to a touch-screen display includes a display component, a touch detection component, a targeting component that associates a touch with a click target, and an event detection component that associates the touch with one of a right click event, a left click event, or a drag event.