Virtual Bezel for Edge-to-Edge Touchscreen Displays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices with touchscreen displays are limited by physical bezels, which occupy space and reduce the available display area, while also posing a risk of unintended interactions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a virtual bezel that extends the touchscreen display to the edges of the device, allowing for a bezel-free interface with limited interactivity to prevent accidental touches and enabling navigation through touch-based inputs, voice commands, and gestures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a physical bezel is used to prevent unintended touches, then reliability is improved, but the display area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the bezel function through software rather than using physical material. The virtual bezel is a software-defined region that replicates the protective function of a physical bezel by detecting and preventing unintended touches through touch coordinate analysis, eliminating the need for physical space occupation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical bezel system with an electronic/software-based system. Instead of using physical materials to create a protective border, the system uses touch coordinate detection and software processing to identify and prevent unintended interactions, substituting mechanical protection with electronic intelligence.
2Area of stationary object
If the touchscreen display is extended to the edges of the device housing, then the display area is increased, but the risk of unintended interactions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual bezel creates a software replica of the protective function that can be overlaid on top of the extended display area. This allows the display to physically extend to the edges while the virtual copy maintains the protective boundary by detecting touches that fall within the virtual bezel region and preventing their execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual bezel acts as an intermediary layer between the user's physical touch and the system's response. It mediates by analyzing touch coordinates, determining whether they fall within the virtual bezel region, and either blocking or allowing the touch based on this analysis, thus protecting against unintended interactions without requiring physical barriers.
3Shape
If a virtual bezel is implemented to maintain display edge-to-edge coverage, then aesthetic appeal is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual bezel system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it maintains aesthetic appeal by enabling edge-to-edge display coverage, prevents unintended touches through coordinate analysis, and can be configured with different interaction modes (block all touches, allow specific gestures, or trigger alternative actions). This multi-functionality justifies the software complexity by delivering diverse benefits from a single system.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device with a touchscreen display is provided comprising an active touchscreen region and a virtual bezel area, the active touchscreen region functioning to process a first set of touch-based inputs from a user of the electronic device according to a first mode of operation, and the virtual bezel area functioning to process a second set of touch-based inputs from a user of the electronic device according to a second mode of operation.