Touch Screen Offset Pointer for Unobstructed Visibility
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Users of touch screens, particularly on mobile devices with smaller screens, face difficulties in clearly viewing pointers due to obstruction by their fingers or styluses, making it hard to select or highlight content effectively.
Innovation Solution
A touch screen offset pointer system that uses a navigator engine to detect touch inputs and display the pointer at an offset from the touched location, allowing users to see the pointer without obstruction, with adjustable offsets based on touch inputs to provide finer granularity and unobstructed views, especially near screen edges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the pointer is displayed at the touched location on the touch screen, then the user can easily locate the pointer position, but the pointer is obstructed by the user's finger or stylus making it hard to view clearly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the pointer from the touched location and displays it at an offset position. The navigator engine calculates an offset based on the touched location and displays the pointer at this offset position, removing the harmful obstruction effect while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The offset position acts as an intermediary between the touched location and the pointer display. By introducing this intermediate offset calculation, the system allows the pointer to be visible without being directly obstructed by the user's finger or stylus at the touched location.
2Ease of operation
If a fixed offset is used for the pointer, then the pointer is always visible without obstruction, but the pointer cannot provide precise selection near screen edges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic offset calculation that changes based on the touched location. The navigator engine determines different offsets depending on whether the touch is near the center or edges of the screen, allowing the pointer to maintain both visibility and selection precision across different screen regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The offset value is not uniform across the entire screen but varies locally based on the touched location. The system applies different offset calculations for different regions of the screen, particularly adjusting for edge regions where precision is critical, thereby providing local quality optimization.
3Ease of operation
If the pointer offset is increased to avoid obstruction, then the pointer becomes more visible, but the pointer moves away from the touched location reducing selection accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The offset is dynamically adjusted based on the touched location and screen region. The navigator engine calculates appropriate offsets that balance visibility and accuracy, increasing offsets when needed for visibility and decreasing them when precision near edges requires the pointer to remain closer to the touched location.
Data Source
AI summary
A device with a touch screen offset pointer is provided. The device includes a processor; a touch screen, and a navigator engine. When executed by the processor, the navigator engine detects a first touch input at a first location on the touch screen, determines a first offset for a pointer to overlay on content displayed by the touch screen, and displays the pointer on the touch screen at the first offset from the first location. The navigator engine also detects a second touch input at a second location on the touch screen, determines a second offset for the pointer, and displays the pointer on the touch screen at the second offset from the second location.