Touchscreen Hygiene Alerts With Dynamic Button Relocation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
There is a concern about hygiene when operating an operation unit that has been touched by another person, as users may not want to touch surfaces that have been used by others.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus and program that recognizes authenticated users, displays regions touched by unauthenticated users, and indicates these regions with images or messages to alert authenticated users to potential hygiene risks, optionally rearranging display buttons to minimize contact with high-risk areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the operation unit is used by multiple users, then the usability and accessibility of the device is improved, but the hygienic risk increases due to contamination from other users' touches
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by displaying visual indicators (images) in specific colors to represent different hygiene risk levels of touched regions. The system categorizes touched areas into multiple risk levels and displays them with corresponding color codes, allowing authenticated users to identify and avoid high-risk regions, thus resolving the contradiction between multi-user accessibility and hygienic risk.
2Ease of operation
If the display button is positioned to overlap with touched regions, then the ease of operation is improved, but the hygienic risk is increased due to contact with contaminated areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the display button position adjustable and movable. The system dynamically relocates display buttons from high-risk touched regions to safer areas based on real-time hygiene risk data. This dynamic repositioning allows the interface to adapt to changing hygiene conditions while maintaining ease of operation, resolving the contradiction between button accessibility and hygienic risk.
3Loss of information
If the system displays detailed information about touched regions, then the hygiene awareness is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional processing and display requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing differentiated information display based on specific touched regions and their risk levels. Instead of uniformly processing all touched areas, the system selectively displays detailed hygiene information only for regions that require attention, while simplifying or omitting display for low-risk areas. This localized approach maintains hygiene information transparency while reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An information processing apparatus includes a processor configured to: recognize an authenticated user by user authentication; and perform a process of displaying, on a display unit, an image indicating a region on an operation unit touched by an unauthenticated user other than the authenticated user.