Hand-Mounted Wearable Scanner With Thumb-Accessible Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wearable devices with electronic components, such as scanners, often require users to perform ergonomically challenging actions like stretching and twisting, leading to inefficient motion and potential physical stress, which can cause user fatigue and interrupt workflow, especially in tasks like picking and sorting.
Innovation Solution
A wearable device designed to be mounted on a hand with a data capture component and touch display accessible to the thumb, allowing users to interact with the display without removing their hand from the work position, thus reducing unnecessary motion and improving ergonomic alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the wearable device is mounted on the hand with the interface away from the thumb, then the data capture component can point away from the hand, but the user must perform ergonomically challenging actions like stretching and twisting to access the interface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional mounting configuration by positioning the touch display interface on the side of the index finger accessible to the thumb, rather than on the back of the hand. This inversion allows users to access the interface without stretching or twisting, eliminating the need for ergonomically challenging actions while maintaining the data capture component's ability to point away from the hand.
2Device complexity
If the wearable device requires users to stretch and twist to access the interface, then the device can be compact, but it causes inefficient motion and potential physical stress leading to user fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning the touch display interface specifically on the lateral side of the index finger within thumb reach, while the data capture component (camera) is positioned at the distal end pointing away from the hand. This localized differentiation allows the interface to be ergonomically accessible while the data capture function maintains its operational configuration, resolving the conflict between device compactness and user endurance.
3Loss of time
If the wearable device interface is accessible to the thumb, then unnecessary motion is reduced, but the device mounting structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the mounting function with the structural housing itself, where the housing is configured to be mounted on the index finger with the interface positioned on the lateral side. This integration eliminates the need for separate complex mounting mechanisms while achieving the ergonomic benefit of thumb-accessible interface, thereby reducing time for hand repositioning without significantly increasing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable mobile electronic device is provided. The device includes: a housing having a proximal end, a distal end, and a longitudinal axis between the proximal end and the distal end; a lateral axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis; and a third axis perpendicular to each of the longitudinal axis and the lateral axis; a data capture component, a pointing direction of the data capture component extending from the distal end; a touch display, a front surface of the touch display extending along the longitudinal axis and the lateral axis, the third axis normal to the front surface; and a mounting device configured to mount the housing to a hand such that the pointing direction of the data capture component points away from a wrist and the touch display is accessible to a thumb of the hand.