Touchscreen Remote Control Interface for Head-Up Operation
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional remote control units, both handheld and mobile device interfaces, suffer from a button-centric paradigm that requires users to divert attention from on-screen displays, making it difficult to select options, especially in low-light conditions, and lack feedback on input registration, leading to uncertainty about control actions.
Innovation Solution
A remote control interface that allows users to interact with a programmable multimedia controller from a mobile device with a touch screen, enabling 'head-up' operation by processing taps, holds, swipes, and pans, and providing visual feedback on the mobile device to confirm input, allowing users to focus on the on-screen display menu system while ensuring correct input registration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If function-specific buttons are crowded into a small space on the remote control unit, then the device can control a vast array of configurable options, but the user must frequently look down at the remote control unit to pick out the desired button
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical button system with a touch-sensitive display interface. The display shows visual representations of control options that respond to touch input, eliminating the need for physical buttons while maintaining comprehensive control capability. Users can see and select options directly on the display without looking down at the device.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch-sensitive display acts as an intermediary between the user and the control functions. Instead of directly pressing buttons, users interact with visual representations on the display, which then translate touch gestures into control commands. This intermediary layer provides both visual feedback and control capability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the remote control unit has a button-centric paradigm with numerous function-specific buttons, then it can interface with a variety of electronic devices, but the user must divert attention from the on-screen display to the remote control unit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the button-centric mechanical interface with a touch-sensitive display that presents control options visually. Users can see the on-screen display and the control options on the same device, eliminating the need to divert attention between separate components while maintaining device compatibility through software-based control.
3Device complexity
If virtual buttons are displayed on a touch screen display, then the remote control unit can be more compact, but the unit typically does not provide feedback or confirmation to a user that their control input is being received and registered correctly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements immediate visual feedback on the touch-sensitive display when a user touches a control option. The display shows confirmation that the input has been received and registered, such as highlighting the selected option or providing a visual response, ensuring users know their control input was successfully processed.
4Device complexity
If the button layout is crowded into a small space, then the remote control unit remains compact, but in low-light conditions users cannot see the small and cryptic labels associated with each button
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical buttons with illuminated visual representations on a touch-sensitive display. The display can provide its own illumination to make control options visible in low-light conditions, eliminating the need for users to see small labels on a compact device while maintaining compactness.
Data Source
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AI summary
In one embodiment, a remote control interface is provided that allows a user to interact with a programmable multimedia controller from a mobile device having a touch screen display, in a largely "head-up" manner, while providing visual feedback on the mobile device to confirm touch input. The user may enter touch input, including taps, holds swipes and pans, on the touch screen display. Such touch input may be processed and communicated to the programmable multimedia controller, which displays an onscreen display menu system on a display device coupled to the programmable multimedia controller. The user may direct the majority of his or her attention to the on-screen display menu system on the display device. However, some visual feedback may also be displayed on the touch screen display of the mobile device that is specific to the type of touch input received on the touch screen display.