Virtual Control Buttons on Edge-Wrapping Touchscreens
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mechanical buttons on devices can cause discomfort and reliability issues due to their fixed nature, leading to erroneous input and mechanical failures over time, as they may not conform to all users and are prone to wear and tear.
Innovation Solution
Implementing virtual control buttons on a computing device with a touchscreen display that wraps around the edges, allowing for customizable placement based on user grip profiles, voice activation, and dynamic movement detection to optimize button placement and reduce mechanical components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If mechanical buttons are used on a device, then users have a physical way to interact with and control the device, but the fixed nature of these buttons causes discomfort and erroneous input when users cannot easily reach them, and the physical mechanics fail after repeated use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical buttons with virtual control buttons displayed on a touchscreen interface. The virtual buttons are positioned based on grip detection technology that identifies where the user's thumb or fingers naturally contact the device, eliminating physical mechanical components while maintaining controllable interaction. This substitution resolves the contradiction by removing the fixed physical location constraint while also eliminating mechanical wear and failure points.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic button positioning where virtual control buttons automatically adjust their location on the touchscreen based on real-time grip detection. The system continuously monitors touch sensor data to identify grip patterns and repositions buttons to optimal locations, making the interface adaptive rather than static. This dynamic approach ensures buttons remain accessible regardless of how the user holds the device, resolving the fixed-position limitation.
2Reliability
If mechanical buttons are used on a device, then users have a physical way to interact with and control the device, but the fixed nature of these buttons causes discomfort and erroneous input when users cannot easily reach the button
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical buttons with virtual control buttons displayed on a touchscreen interface. The virtual buttons are positioned based on grip detection technology that identifies where the user's thumb or fingers naturally contact the device, eliminating physical mechanical components while maintaining controllable interaction. This substitution resolves the contradiction by removing the fixed physical location constraint while also eliminating mechanical wear and failure points.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic button positioning where virtual control buttons automatically adjust their location on the touchscreen based on real-time grip detection. The system continuously monitors touch sensor data to identify grip patterns and repositions buttons to optimal locations, making the interface adaptive rather than static. This dynamic approach ensures buttons remain accessible regardless of how the user holds the device, resolving the fixed-position limitation.
3Ease of operation
If virtual control buttons are implemented with customizable placement based on grip profiles, then user experience is enhanced and input errors are reduced, but device complexity increases due to grip detection and dynamic positioning mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the touchscreen display's existing touch sensors to perform dual functions: detecting user grip patterns and providing the graphical user interface. The same sensor array that detects touches for normal operation also identifies grip characteristics by analyzing touch distribution patterns across the screen edges. This multi-functionality approach avoids adding separate grip detection hardware, resolving the complexity issue while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically analyzes touch sensor data to identify grip patterns and dynamically positions buttons without requiring separate calibration procedures or user configuration. The grip detection and button positioning occur automatically as the user naturally interacts with the device, making the complex functionality transparent to the user while eliminating the need for additional setup mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments provide virtual control buttons on a computing device, such as a mobile device, e.g. a smart phone, to produce a computing. The computing device includes a housing component defined by a top edge, a bottom edge, a left edge and a right edge. A touchscreen display defines at least a front surface of the housing component and wraps around at least one edge of the housing component to define at least portions of the one edge. The computing device is configured to receive touch input corresponding to a user gripping the device on the at least one edge. A grip profile is identified and corresponds to placement of a user's digits on the at least one edge. Responsive to identifying the grip profile, at least one virtual control button is visually placed on the touchscreen display based, at least in part, on the grip profile.