RU63947U1 - UNIVERSAL INFORMATION DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

The universal information device includes a sliding module - a “slider” with a hard screen display, as well as a control panel located under the sliding module with functional push-button elements. The control panel, in addition to the functional push-buttons Enter, Backspace, Shift, Ctrl and Space, contains an additional touch screen with a relatively lower resolution for finger input of alphanumeric data. The additional touch screen has twelve sensitive elements arranged in three rows of four elements. Functional push-button elements have the following colors: the Enter command execution key is green, the Backspace character deletion key is red, the Latin character shift key Ctrl is yellow, the Shift capitalization key is blue and the space bar is White color. The technical result is a significant simplification of the typing process, the maximum possible for a handheld device approximation of the work style to the style of work on a standard computer keyboard. A new layout of the information and communication device is proposed, which allows it to be universal and accessible to a wide range of users. 1 n.p. f-ly. 6 ill.

Description

The utility model relates to the field of computer science and can be used in the development of portable communication devices.

To date, two classes of personal information devices have been formed: mobile ("cellular") telephones and laptop computers. There is a noticeable tendency towards the convergence of these classes, with the greatest shifts taking place on the part of mobile phones. Communication channels provided to users are increasingly used not for voice communication, but for the transmission of alphanumeric and graphic data. In principle, modern technologies make it possible to implement all known information and communication functions in a single, compact device. Oddly enough, but the main obstacle to the "Great unification" of information devices was the man himself, or rather, his physiological characteristics.

To confidently manipulate the keys, the dimensions of the “tactile pad” (working surface of the key) should be approximately 15 × 15 mm. The experiments show that with a decrease in the “tactile area” the probability of error increases, and the average user is no longer able to manipulate the keys with the dimensions of the “tactile area” 5 × 5 mm. According to various sources, the minimum allowable size of the alphanumeric zone of the keyboard is approximately 200 × 70 mm, which is why the smallest “laptop” from ASUS has a longitudinal dimension of 225 mm. However, devices with a mini keyboard are also available and are in demand (see PC Week magazine, No. 39/2005). Attempts are also being made to introduce folding and even flexible keyboards, but these proposals are already under the section “technical exotic”.

ANALOGUE. In recent years, handheld personal computers (PDAs) have gained great popularity among active users. These devices use special touch ("transflective") screens to spatially combine the basic functions of the display and keyboard. A typical representative of the family here is the Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket LOOX (400, 410, 420), which is given a general idea by publication in the journal PC Week, No. 21/04. For details, see V.Holmogorov’s brochure “Pocket Personal Computers” (M., ACT; St. Petersburg, “Owl, 2006)”

The touch screen makes it possible to enter an unlimited number of characters by using a comparatively small number of "windows" (pressure-sensitive zones). This feature makes the touch screen very useful for solving the problem of a compact keyboard. Oddly enough, the developers of handheld computers still have not used all the features of the touch screen. In typing mode, part of the screen becomes a “virtual keyboard” and contains

images of all letters (Latin or Slavic), as well as numbers. In addition, on the “virtual keyboard” there are images of special keys (“space”, etc.). Since there are quite a lot of input characters, the size of the "windows" excludes the possibility of finger manipulation - you have to enter information into the PDA using a special wand, called the "stylus". Unfortunately, even the use of a stylus does not make typing convenient - the input speed is much lower than when working on a "full-size" keyboard. Moreover, users, when possible, give preference to a conventional mini-keyboard, rather than its virtual copy. It turned out that with some skill a person manages to work on the mini-keyboard with the thumbs of both hands - which is certainly easier than typing with a stylus.

Finger manipulation on the touch screen is theoretically possible, however, the number of “tactile pads” is obviously small. Here the fact comes to the rescue that the probabilities of the appearance of various letters in the average text are very different. The most likely in the Russian text is the letter O; the following are the main vowels A, E, and I with a relative probability of 0.6-0.8; the probability of the main consonants H, P, C, M is even less - not more than 0.5. The rarest letters самые and, close the list, the probability of occurrence of which is only a few hundredths. A similar distribution exists for the English language. Here the “leaders” are two letters at once - E and T, followed by 10 more frequently occurring letters: A, I, O, U, R, S, D, H, L, N. The most rare in English texts are letters Q, J, X, Z. At the first glance at the Russian keyboard, it becomes clear that the location of the letters on it is determined by the probability of their appearance. The Latin (English) keyboard is less logical - for some reason, rarely used characters F, G, J, K were at its center, while the frequently used letter A was deleted to the very edge. The imperfection of the Latin keyboard forces American inventors to look for new “layouts” of letters - see US Patent No. 4,615.629, 1986. The patent description does not contain data on the distribution of letters by probability, however, the proposed “layout” speaks for itself: in the central a number of the author placed 9 of the 12 most used characters. It follows that it is not necessary to display all the letters on the touch screen, but it is enough to support only the main ones. It is most convenient to group “windows” in the form of a table that visually resembles the central part of a standard keyboard.

It should be noted that the principle of operation of the touch screen is initially contradictory - mechanical deformation and almost inevitable Damage to the surface lead to a decrease in image quality. The use of a protective film of high-strength material allows you to extend the life of the screen, but the image quality is noticeably affected. Ideally, the touch screen should be considered as an additional device and the idea of a handheld device is quite logical

with two screens. The whole question is how to constructively arrange the main elements with limited dimensions.

PROTOTYPE. The most famous way to expand the "living space" in portable devices is the mechanical movement of nodes, and the most commonly used rotational movement. Much less commonly used translational sliding motion, although in practice it provides additional benefits. The prototype here is a very convenient design of a mobile phone, first described in US Pat. France №2.802.046 (IPC Н04М 1/23, publ. 08.06.01). A sliding control panel is called a “slider” and usually goes under the main module as a whole, however, a partially overlapping panel appears in the prototype, providing the user with additional amenities.

Unfortunately, the dimensions of modern mobile phones are reduced excessively for the sake of fashion and make it impossible to further "evolution" in the direction of greater versatility. This is a paradox of modern technology, the possibilities of which went far beyond the limits of reasonable sufficiency. In fact, a mobile phone from a communication device quickly turns into a jewelry item, into an expensive toy. Manufacturers and developers are not at all striving for a "Great Unification", since a universal device will obviously be cheaper due to mass production.

Most experts still consider the compact keyboard problem to be secondary, insignificant. This opinion has some reasons, because so far users are using short messages (SMS). However, world statistics indicate an increase in the textual share of “traffic” (information flow). So, in England, 70% of users under the age of 40 prefer SMS messages. Since the set of messages by the traditional method of sequential enumeration of characters is very laborious, original solutions are required.

The task of creating a utility model is to develop a new design (the author has proposed a new layout of the information and communication device) information and communication device, which will make it more universal and accessible to a wide range of users.

The task is achieved due to well-known features - such as a universal information device, including the main module with a hard screen display and a sliding control panel, partially overlapping in the "compact" position, and distinctive, essential features - on the overlapping part of the control panel there is a touch screen with twelve pressure-sensitive zones located in three horizontal rows, and not covered by the main module, the part of the control panel contains a group of five curly keys controlled by two screens at once, with four keys located on the periphery, and the fifth in the center.

The technical result is a significant simplification of the typing process, the maximum possible for a handheld device approximation of the work style to the style of work on a standard computer keyboard.

The utility model is illustrated by a description of a specific, but not limiting example of implementation and the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVICE.

The utility model is illustrated by drawings - in Fig. 1 shows a general view of the device in data input mode (the control panel is extended), Fig. 2 shows the lower part of the control panel with function keys, and Fig. 3 displays the view of the touch screen when operating in the central part " virtual "keyboard. Figure 4 shows the left side of the "virtual" keyboard, figure 5 - its right side, and figure 5 - digital table, which is the main state of the touch screen in the dialing mode of telephone numbers.

The universal information device (Fig. 1) includes a main module 1 with a hard screen-display 2, as well as a sliding control panel 3 located at the bottom with a touch screen 4 divided into twelve pressure-sensitive zones 5. The lower, non-overlapping part 6 of the control panel 3 contains a group of keys, four of which - 7, 8, 9, 10 - are located on the periphery, and the fifth key 11 is located in the center of the group, they control two screens at once. The device also contains function keys 12-15. Pos. 16 indicates the microphone hole. (figure 2)

Three peripheral keys - 7, 8, 9 provide for changing the tables of input characters on the touch screen 4, and the fourth peripheral key 10 serves as an exact analogue of the space bar, which is available on a standard computer keyboard. In combination with the central key (button) 11, the peripheral keys 7-10 play the role of a “navigator” that provides for moving the cursor on the hard screen.

It should be emphasized that on the main module 1 there are no keys or other controls.

Positions marked: 1 - the main module with a hard screen 2, 3 - a sliding control panel with a touch screen 4, divided into twelve sensitive zones 5. Pos.6 - non-overlapping lower part of the control panel 3 with conventional keys. Pos.7 - the key to call the left side of the "virtual keyboard", 8 - the key to call the right side of the "virtual keyboard", 9 - the key to switch to typing mode, 10 - the space key, 11 - the central key to enter the navigator mode »(Control of the cursor of the hard screen), 12 - the Enter key, 13 - the Backspace key, 14 - the Ctrl key, 15 - the Shift key, 16 - the microphone hole.

To facilitate work with the device, the function keys have the following colors: key 12 (Enter) - green, key 13 (Backspace) - red, key 14 (Ctrl) - yellow, key 15 (Shift) - blue and key 10 ( “Space”) - white color. (figure 2)

The device operates as follows: in its "compact" state, when module 1 overlaps the touch screen 4, the functions of an electronic directory and a mobile phone are implemented. Dialing is carried out using the cursor indicating the necessary numbers on the main screen 1 (devices already available for sale with a similar principle of operation). Accepting a call at the user's choice is possible with any of the available keys, and “hang up” is given by key 13 (Backspace). Own call is carried out in a "compact" state using the 15 (Shift) key. You can dial the number on the extended control panel, but in this case, your own call is made by a combination of keys - Ctrl + Enter. Therefore, it is best to remove the control panel, which is very fragile due to its small thickness, after entering messages or a list of numbers into the device’s memory. (figure 2)

Thus, all the traditional functions of the “communicator” do not require access to the additional touch screen 4, which is very convenient for the user. Since the input mode of a large amount of alphanumeric data is quite rare (for the average user, of course), the touch screen is not subjected to intense load and can last for a very long time. Additional conveniences are provided by the central group of keys 7-11, which controls two screens at once. Since the same keys perform different functions here, the user can easily manipulate the specified keys “blindly”. Finally, it should be noted the spatial arrangement of keys 12-15, approximately corresponding to the location of similar keys on a large standard keyboard. Manipulation of function keys in the input mode also occurs "blindly", and the user's attention is drawn to the additional touch screen 4.

The main state of the touch screen is a digital table (Fig.6). To enter the text mode, press the 9 key, and the images of 12 basic letters will appear on the touch screen: VENL, APRO, SMITH. (Fig.3) As the statistical analysis of a large array of texts shows, the characters from the main table make up 80-85% of the total number of letters. For example, the expression “resistance of materials” does not require switching to other tables at all; and “resettlement of peoples” will require a single call to the “right” table (letter D). Of course, the user may encounter very “inconvenient” combinations of letters, however, when typing copyright texts, we have every right to avoid individual words.

For English, an artificially formed table of the main letters is offered: ERTI, AHUO, SDNL. (Ha damn not shown)

The recommended dimensions of the active zone of the additional touch screen 4 are approximately 60 × 36 mm, while the dimensions of the “tactile pad” are 15 × 12 mm. This is slightly less than the optimum (15 × 15 mm), but quite enough for confident manipulation.

Claims (1)

A universal information device, including a main module with a hard screen display and a sliding control panel, partially overlapping in the "compact" position, while on the overlapping part of the control panel there is a touch screen with twelve pressure-sensitive zones located in three horizontal rows rather than part of the control panel that is blocked by the main module contains a group of five curly keys that control two screens at once, with four keys located on the periphery, and the fifth center.