Touchscreen Pressure Button Interface Without Fragile Connectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Touch screen interfaces on devices like smartphones and tablets face challenges in typing interactions and lack force feedback, making them less comfortable and prone to errors, leading to the need for external physical interfaces that can be fragile and require connectivity.
Innovation Solution
A physical interface for touch surfaces that includes a pressure button with a conductive contactor, allowing interaction without connectivity, providing force feedback and adaptability for various applications, and a flexible material design that maintains stability and ease of use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If external physical interfaces (keyboards, gamepads) are connected to terminals via connectors, then force feedback and typing comfort are improved, but connector fragility and connection reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a touch surface as an intermediary between the physical interface and the terminal. The physical interface (keyboard, gamepad) interacts with the terminal indirectly through touch surface contacts rather than direct electrical connectors. This mediator approach maintains force feedback benefits while eliminating connector fragility issues, as the touch surface acts as a robust interface layer that can be reliably contacted by physical buttons without requiring fragile electrical connections.
2Reliability
If external physical interfaces are paired with terminals via wireless communication, then connection fragility is reduced, but pairing complexity and setup time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The touch surface serves as an intermediary that eliminates the need for wireless pairing between the physical interface and terminal. The physical interface contacts the touch surface directly, and the touch surface handles the interaction with the terminal, bypassing complex wireless pairing protocols entirely. This reduces device complexity while maintaining connection stability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If each application develops its own proprietary physical interface, then application-specific functionality is improved, but user learning curve and operation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal physical interface that works across multiple applications through the common touch surface interface. Instead of each application requiring its own proprietary interface, a single physical interface design can be used universally, as it interacts with the terminal through the standardized touch surface contact mechanism. This reduces the user learning curve while maintaining application-specific functionality through software adaptation rather than hardware differentiation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances user interaction comfort and reduces the risk of connection issues and interface errors, while protecting the touch surface from shocks and providing a unified interface for multiple applications.
Implementation Method 1
the contactor relays the conductivity of the finger usually carried out during direct contact on the touch surface
Data Source
Figure 1a~3
Figure 4~6b
Figure 7a~10
AI summary
A pressure button for a touch-sensitive surface, a physical interface for a touch-sensitive surface, and a protection element for a touch-sensitive surface, in particular a touch screen of a terminal such as a smart phone or a tablet. An objective of the invention is to provide a physical pressure button for a touch-sensitive surface. The pressure button has a contact switch passing through the pressure button, from the upper surface to the lower surface of said pressure button. The contact switch is suitable for allowing interaction with a terminal via a touch-sensitive surface when the pressure button is positioned on the latter. The user can thus interact with the terminal by means of a pressure button without requiring connectors for this interface. This reduces the risks arising from the fragility of the connectors or the coupling of a physical interface with the terminal.