Touch Screen Menu Navigation via Dynamic Selection Area
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable computing devices with touch screens require users to visually interact with the screen, limiting usability in situations like driving or cycling and making it difficult for visually impaired users, as they need to precisely tap on defined areas, which can be unsafe and inconvenient.
Innovation Solution
A method for a computing device with a graphical user interface that allows users to open and navigate menu structures by touching the screen and releasing their finger over a selection area, providing visual, audio, and haptic feedback to activate menu options without needing to touch specific screen locations, enabling one-handed operation and improved accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If touch screen keys are arranged to be used by presence and location of a touch within a certain area of the display, then the device can provide a compact interface without physical keys, but the device cannot be used without looking at the display
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (audio feedback, haptic feedback, and visual indicators) that mediates between the user's touch gesture and the menu selection. The system provides auditory confirmation of menu item selection and haptic feedback to indicate when a menu item is within the selection area, allowing users to operate the device without visual attention while maintaining the compact touch screen interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements multiple feedback mechanisms including audio feedback that announces menu items as they enter the selection area, haptic feedback that provides tactile confirmation, and visual indicators that show the selection area position. This feedback loop enables users to understand system state and make accurate selections without looking at the display, resolving the contradiction between compact interface design and usability without visual attention.
2Measurement precision
If users must precisely tap on defined areas of the touch screen, then the interface can provide accurate menu selection, but the operation becomes unsafe and inconvenient for situations like driving or cycling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic elements to the selection process, including a movable selection area that can be positioned anywhere on the screen and dynamic feedback that adapts to user actions. The selection area can be dynamically adjusted in size and position, and the feedback mechanisms dynamically respond to user gestures, allowing for both precise selection and safe operation. The system dynamically determines when a menu item enters the selection area and provides corresponding feedback, enabling accurate selection without requiring precise tapping.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the touch screen interface into distinct functional areas: the selectable user interface element, the movable selection area, and the menu structure. This segmentation allows the selection area to be independently positioned and sized, enabling users to interact with menu items without precisely tapping on specific screen locations. The segmented approach maintains measurement precision for menu selection while improving safety and convenience by allowing more forgiving interaction patterns.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the selection area is fixed in position, then the interface can provide consistent layout, but menu options cannot be easily navigated without visual attention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the selection area dynamic rather than fixed, allowing it to be positioned anywhere on the screen and moved to different locations. The selection area can be dynamically repositioned to accommodate different menu structures and user preferences. This dynamic capability maintains layout consistency within each interaction context while enabling flexible menu navigation without visual attention, as the feedback mechanisms adapt to the current selection area position.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to handling of a graphical user interface of a computing device comprising a display and a touch screen. The method for the computing device comprises displaying a user interface element on the display, opening a menu structure on a side of the element by a touch on the touch screen, and activating a menu option from the menu structure by positioning the menu option within a selection area of the menu structure by a touch. The invention further relates to an apparatus that is configured to perform the method and a computer program product comprising instructions to perform the method.