Touch Screen Tap Threshold Area Precision Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Touch screens on smaller devices, such as smartphones, face challenges in precision due to the large size of a user's finger relative to the screen area, leading to difficulties in accurately interacting with objects, especially when playing computer-implemented games.
Innovation Solution
A touch screen device with circuitry and processors that determine the location of user inputs, defining a threshold area around the initial tap to differentiate between subsequent taps within or outside this area, triggering specific actions based on proximity, direction, and time, allowing for precise control of actions in games.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a touch screen is used on a small device, then the device can be compact and portable, but the precision of user input is reduced due to the large finger size relative to screen area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the touch input recognition into multiple distinct phases: detecting individual tap locations, determining sequential relationships between taps, and classifying gestures based on spatial and temporal patterns. This segmentation allows the system to process each tap with detailed analysis rather than treating all inputs uniformly, thereby improving precision on small screens.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts its interpretation of touch inputs based on the sequence and spatial relationship of taps. By evaluating the temporal order and distance between consecutive taps, the system adapts its gesture recognition in real-time, distinguishing between accidental repeated taps and intentional multi-tap gestures, thus improving input precision without requiring a larger screen.
2Area of stationary object
If the screen area is reduced for portability, then the device becomes more compact, but the accuracy of selecting objects and performing actions decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing layer that analyzes the spatial relationship between sequential taps. This intermediary system calculates distances and determines whether taps fall within threshold areas, acting as a mediator between the physical tap and the resulting action. This allows accurate object selection and action differentiation even when screen area is limited.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters such as threshold distance and time intervals to differentiate between gesture types. By adjusting these parameters dynamically based on screen size and context, the system maintains high selection accuracy on smaller screens while preserving the ability to recognize various gesture patterns.
3Device complexity
If standard touch input recognition is used, then the system is simple to implement, but it cannot distinguish between intentional gestures and accidental repeated taps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary analysis of each tap's location and timing before determining the final gesture meaning. By pre-processing tap data to establish sequences and spatial relationships, the system can reliably distinguish between intentional gestures and accidental repetitions without requiring overly complex real-time processing during gesture execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from the spatial and temporal patterns of sequential taps to refine gesture recognition. By analyzing whether subsequent taps fall within threshold areas of previous taps and adjusting interpretation based on this feedback, the system achieves high reliability in distinguishing gesture types while maintaining manageable system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A touch screen device is configured to provide outputs responsive to inputs provided by a user interacting with the touch screen. The outputs are processed by processing circuitry to determine touch locations of consecutive taps. If the latter tap is within a threshold area of the former tap the action performed in response to the former tap is repeated. In the latter tap is not within a threshold area of the subsequent tap, the action performed in response to the former tap is different to the action performed in response to the subsequent tap.