Touch Screen Target Zones for Accurate Menu Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable electronic devices with touch screen displays face challenges in selecting menu items due to their small size, as fingers can easily cover multiple items, leading to accidental selection of nearby items instead of the intended one.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of target zones on touch-sensitive displays, which are enlarged, differently colored, or shaded, and positioned in alternating patterns to increase the likelihood of accurate selection, with selection areas extending beyond the displayed item boundaries and overlapping adjacent items, allowing for improved user interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the touch screen display size is decreased to improve portability, then the device becomes more portable, but the area available for user input and menu item selection is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the selection area beyond the visible display boundaries into the non-display area of the touch screen. This dimensional extension allows menu items to have larger effective target zones without increasing the visible display area, resolving the contradiction between small device size and adequate selection area.
2Measurement precision
If the menu item selection area is enlarged to improve selection accuracy, then the likelihood of accurate selection increases, but the number of menu items that can be displayed is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By extending selection areas into the non-display region, the patent effectively increases the selection target size without consuming additional visible display space. This allows both large selection areas for accuracy and high menu item density to coexist.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the visible display area with the non-display area to create a unified touch-sensitive selection zone. This combination allows menu items to span across the boundary between visible and non-visible regions, maximizing the use of available touch screen real estate.
3Reliability
If the target zone is extended beyond the displayed item boundaries to improve selection accuracy, then the likelihood of accidental selection of nearby items is reduced, but the complexity of the display layout increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the touch screen into distinct functional zones: visible display areas for showing menu items and non-visible areas for extended selection zones. This segmentation allows each zone to serve its specific function while maintaining overall system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The non-display area acts as an intermediary zone that mediates between the limited visible display space and the need for large selection targets. It provides the additional space needed for accurate selection without complicating the visible display layout.
Data Source
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AI summary
A portable electronic device is disclosed that includes a user interface with improved menu or list controls. Each of the items of the menu or list include a target zone that is spatially arranged in such a manner as to differentiate the menu items from one another and provide an easy target for contact by a user.