Watch Bezel Touch Input for Compact Display Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Watch-type terminals with small-sized displays face limitations in user interfaces due to their compact size, making it cumbersome for users to navigate and control functions effectively.
Innovation Solution
A watch-type terminal that allows touch inputs on a bezel ring surrounding the display, enabling various control commands by varying the touch area or applying parallel touches to the bezel ring, which mimics traditional input methods without minimizing the screen display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a small-sized display is used in a watch-type terminal, then the device becomes more compact and wearable, but the user interface becomes limited and cumbersome for the user
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the interaction surface from the two-dimensional display area to the three-dimensional bezel structure. The bezel portion surrounding the display serves as an additional input dimension, allowing users to perform operations by touching different areas of the bezel (e.g., top, bottom, left, right sides) without requiring a larger display area. This resolves the contradiction by providing enhanced UI capabilities through spatial extension rather than increasing display size.
2Ease of operation
If touch inputs are applied to the display area, then control commands can be entered, but the screen may be hidden or obscured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the input function from the display area and relocates it to the bezel portion. By placing touch-sensitive sensors on the bezel surrounding the display, users can input commands without their fingers obscuring the display content. The bezel acts as a separate input zone that does not interfere with the visual display area, thus maintaining screen visibility while enabling control input.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the bezel portion is made touch-sensitive, then additional control functions are enabled, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements multi-functionality by making the bezel portion serve both as a structural frame element and as a touch-sensitive input interface. The same bezel structure that provides mechanical support and aesthetic appearance also houses touch sensors and enables various control functions (scrolling, selecting, navigating). This universal approach avoids adding separate dedicated input mechanisms, thereby limiting the increase in structural complexity while maximizing functional versatility.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
A watch-type terminal including a touch screen configured to display screen information; a bezel portion surrounding a periphery of the touch screen and configured to receive a touch input; and a controller configured to display an image object indicating a status associated with the displayed screen information in one region of the touch screen in response to a first touch input received at a first part of the bezel portion, apply a first function to the screen information in response to a second touch input received at a second part of the bezel portion while the first touch input is maintained at the first part of the bezel portion, and apply a second function different from the first function to the screen information in response to a touch area corresponding to the first touch input being changed.