WO2003023801A2

WO2003023801A2 - Input device of an electronic device

Info

Publication number: WO2003023801A2
Application number: PCT/DE2002/003231
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bernd Holzauf Der Heide
Original assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 2001-09-04
Filing date: 2002-09-02
Publication date: 2003-03-20
Also published as: WO2003023801A3; DE10143273A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an input device (13) of an electronic device, especially a handheld electronic device, comprising a plurality of input sections which are at least partially multifunctional. A pressure sensor arrangement (13) comprising individual, especially analog, pressure sensors is associated with input sections and the pressure sensors are connected to the inlets of a sensor signal evaluation unit which emits control signals associated with the input sections in a clearly defined manner.

Description

description

Input device of an electronic device

The invention relates to an input device of an electronic device according to the preamble of claim 1.

Portable electronic devices - in particular hand-held or even more miniaturized devices such as the so-called cell phone watch or the "wrist phone" - are increasingly performing complex functions and must therefore have sufficient input options. For the particularly dynamically developing hand-held telecommunication terminals (cell phones and cordless telephones) and handheld PCs or PDAs, as well as combination devices, these include both the number and letter entry and, of course, the control of various functions.

For example, in addition to its own telephone function, a comfortable mobile phone offers an organizer, a (fee and nutrition) calculator, internet access, games, audio player, etc. The control of such extensive and complex possibilities, especially with mobile devices of this type (" I&C Devices ") make high demands on the input media used, since the area available for this is becoming smaller and smaller due to the miniaturization. An ergonomically sensible solution is therefore needed that avoids the problems of existing concepts.

To control the very extensive and complex possibilities of mobile I&C devices, three different concepts are typically used as an input medium, alternatively or in combination:

In the first concept - the conventional hardkey solution - keys (hardkeys) are used in various forms, which on the one hand and due to the abundance of functions due to the limited area of the end device, on the other hand, multiple assignments (e.g. as a 12-key keyboard with numbers and letters and possibly other functions). That means, depending on the context, pressing the button triggers a different action or function. The various meanings of the respective key are conveyed here by appropriate multiple printing of the key, the basic problem being that the user has to find out or know which function is currently being called up by pressing a key, which is very unfavorable from an ergonomic point of view is.

In the second concept - the conventional softkey solution - one or more keys are positioned as close as possible to the display. The current meaning of the key is now shown in the display, which has the advantage that the user can clearly see what pressing the key in the respective situation. The disadvantage, however, is that the basic principle of such a softkey - i.e. the assignment of the display to the respective key - must be understood and in practice the assignment between key position and display label is often not optimal due to design restrictions, which leads to confusion and incorrect operation can.

The third concept - the touchscreen solution - uses a touch-sensitive display (touchscreen) that shows virtual keys with context-specific labeling that the user can then press or touch. This very flexible solution, however, has two main ones

Disadvantages: First, the user has to press on a hard surface that does not offer any tactile feedback, which is ergonomically unfavorable. Secondly, the current implementation of touch sensitivity using a touch film applied to the display glass is relatively expensive and the film itself is also relatively sensitive to mechanical stress (eg scratches) and chemical effects (e.g. solvent) and temperature fluctuations. In addition, the film deteriorates the optical quality of the display (brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc.).

Alternative input elements - for example on a capacitive and inductive basis - increase the installation height of the display unit, are relatively expensive and sometimes require special pens for the input (e.g. spiral pen concept), which significantly limits practicality and user acceptance.

However, the latter concepts and other input means (e.g. Navy key and increment encoder) have so far not been able to jeopardize the dominant position of traditional keyboards, because from the perspective of most users, keyboards offer better clarity and more direct and faster access to desired functions , especially for alphanumeric entries.

The use of the above electronic devices - e.g. B. a cell phone - is therefore still largely done via conventional buttons that make an electrical contact when pressed by a suitable electromechanical transducer. The typical keyboard consists of (1) a metallic contact surface (eg a circuit board) and (2) individual keys or a key mat that is provided with an electrically conductive layer (eg graphite mixtures).

Such a constructive structure requires a certain minimum height and certain minimum distances around the individual contact surfaces for mechanical reasons. B. always a relatively large minimum distance to the edge of the housing or to a display etc. In the case of highly miniaturized devices in particular - such as the above-mentioned bracelet cell phone or "wrist phone" - implementation limits are very quickly reached, which significantly restrict the number and possibilities of placing the keys. Another problem is the limited design and design flexibility with conventionally constructed keyboards, which, for. B. strongly curved housing shapes, spherical surfaces, etc. in the operating area hardly or only with a very high design effort.

Another limitation with conventional buttons concerns the potential contamination and corrosion of the contact surfaces by penetrating solid, liquid or gaseous particles.

Finally, a fourth limitation relates to the reduced, digital functionality of conventional keys, which generally only "knows" two states (on / off). Basically, such a mode of operation does not match differentiated "analog" control options and needs of humans.

The invention is therefore based on the object of specifying an input device of the generic type which is largely similar in the operation of conventional keyboards, but which is improved in the flexibility of the usability and the adaptability to miniaturized device concepts.

This object is achieved by an input device with the features of claim 1.

The invention includes the essential idea of a mechanical separation of the input sections, on which users press, from the actual converter areas - in which the recording or detection of the pressure and conversion into electrical signals take place. It further includes the idea of using pressure sensors known per se in an arrangement adapted to the specific operating requirements for realizing the converter areas. Finally, the invention includes the idea of providing a special sensor signal evaluation unit which is used to control the device. tes or signals used for data input clearly assigned to the user-recognizable and operated input sections.

The main advantages of the proposed arrangement are the following:

- Not only digital (pressure / no pressure), but also analog input information (stronger / weaker pressure) can be evaluated and converted into suitable control information (e.g. regulating the scrolling speed by pressure). This corresponds better to the differentiated "analog" input options and needs of humans.

- Very flat, yet mechanically robust construction. - No visual impairment of the display.

- No mechanical wear, no contact contamination or corrosion compared to a solution with common electrical contacts.

- Low implementation costs compared to conventional touchscreens.

Known force-sensitive resistance elements (Force Sensitive Resistors = FSR) are preferably used as pressure sensors or pressure-sensitive elements, which advantageously work analogously, ie. H. show a change in resistance which is dependent on the pressure force - in particular essentially proportional to it.

In an expedient embodiment, these resistance elements have two comb-like conductor track sections which are interlocked. Its outer contour is in particular approximately circular or elliptical, but can also be shaped differently. As a result of an elastic deformation, these FSRs advantageously give the user a tactile response, which leads to a significantly increased use value compared to conventional touchscreens. In a first embodiment of the inventive concept, the above-mentioned input sections are designed as input keys, ie as elements which are separate from the actual housing and are elastically displaceable relative to the latter. In another embodiment, the input sections are designed as pressure-elastic areas of an upper shell of the electronic device. Like the keys in the first embodiment, these are labeled with a function identifier, which identifier (in a known manner) can also have several functions or meanings of actuating the key or the housing area forming the input section.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment, at least some of the pressure sensors are shaped and arranged in association with the input sections, and the sensor signal evaluation unit is designed in such a way that the number of pressure sensors significantly exceeds the number of pressure sensors. In this case, the evaluation unit is designed for the combined evaluation of analog signals from all pressure sensors in each input process according to an algorithm which evaluates the relations of the signal amplitudes of the pressure sensors that represent the respective input position. The suitable algorithm for inserting the evaluation unit is determined empirically and / or on the basis of mathematical-geometric model calculations.

This allows, for example, a regular arrangement of 12 to 16 input sections of an electronic device

- as is common with mobile or cordless phones - with a pressure transducer arrangement consisting of three to eight pressure sensors. This results in a substantial saving in the number of actual pressure transducers, which largely compensates for the somewhat increased component costs of the individual transducer elements compared to known solutions. The sensor signal evaluation device (preferably regardless of the above-mentioned embodiment with combined evaluation of the signals of all pressure sensors to determine the position of an input) is preferably designed to evaluate analog signals of the pressure sensors. For this purpose, it enables the generation and output of pressure-dependent control signals, which in turn enables pressure-controlled input. This is particularly useful for specifying analog or quasi-analog device settings or functions - such as the pressure-controlled specification of a scroll

Speed of the screen content or ringer volume or the display brightness or similar.

The preferred field of application of the proposed input device is hand-held electronic mass devices, such as, in particular, mobile radio terminals, cordless telephones, PDAs or handheld PCs or combination devices made from these. Basically, however, it can also be used with electronic devices for stationary or automotive use, such as audio or video devices and / or navigation devices etc.

Advantages and expediencies of the invention also result from the subclaims and the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments with the aid of the figures.

1 is a plan view of a mobile phone designed as a so-called “wrist phone” for wearing on the wrist, in which an embodiment of the invention is implemented,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the wrist phone of FIG. 1 in the manner of an exploded view with separately marked input sections and

3 shows a plan view of a pressure transducer arrangement as part of the wrist phone according to FIGS. 1 and 2. 1 shows a mobile telephone 1 on a wristband 3, which is referred to as a wrist-phone and is therefore called a "wrist-phone" or "cell-phone watch", and which has a miniaturized 12-key keyboard 5, a display field 7 and has additional function keys 9.

In Fig. 2 it is shown that the mobile phone 1 from a curved upper shell 11, into the input keyboard 5, the display panel 7 and the additional function keys 9 are incorporated, a pressure transducer plate 13 inserted under the upper shell 11 and a lower part 15 with the electronic Functional components is built.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the pressure plate 13 with six resistance-based pressure sensors 17.1 to 17.6, which are placed in a rectangular support 19 in the basic configuration of a hexagon. The carrier 19 has two connection fields 21.1, 21.2, each with five connections. The pressure sensors 17.1 to 17.6 are linked in a predetermined manner not only to the external connections in the connection fields 21.1, 21.2, but also to one another via cross connections and arranged in such a way that they localize a pressure on each of the input keys on the keyboard 5 or the function key groups 9 and thus enable the detection of a specific specific input process.

Of course, this takes place in cooperation with a sensor signal evaluation device (not shown in the figure) in which an evaluation algorithm that is matched to the pressure sensor configuration is implemented in software. The evaluation device also realizes the recognition of various inputs via one and the same input section in different operating or operating modes of the device, for example for the usual input of numbers or letters in a mobile or cordless telephone via the number keys. The implementation of the invention is not limited to the examples described above, but is also possible in a variety of modifications that are within the scope of professional action. In particular, there are numerous and wide-ranging possible variations with regard to the number and arrangement of the input sections and the pressure sensors of a pressure transducer arrangement assigned to them, and also with regard to the type of display module covering the pressure transducer arrangement - as long as this ensures proper pressure transmission to the pressure transducer arrangement by sufficient pressure sensitivity.

Claims

claims

1. Input device (5, 7, 9, 13), in particular a hand-held electronic device (1), with a plurality of at least partially multifunctional input sections (5, 9), characterized in that the input sections have a pressure sensor arrangement (13) individually, in particular analog, pressure sensors (17.1 to 17.6) is assigned and the pressure sensors are connected to inputs of a sensor signal evaluation unit which uniquely outputs control signals assigned to the input sections (5, 9).

2. Input device according to claim 1, so that the pressure sensors (17.1 to 17.6) are designed as force-sensitive resistance elements - force sensitive resistors -, in particular as analog pressure sensors with a change in resistance that is essentially proportional to the pressure force.

3. Input device according to claim 2, so that the force-sensitive resistance elements (17.1 to 17.6) each have two interdigitated, comb-like conductor configurations.

4. Input device according to one of the preceding claims, d a d u r c h g e k e n n e e c h n e t that the input sections (5, 9) are designed as input keys.

5. Input device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the input sections are designed as permanently labeled with a function label, pressure-elastic areas of an upper shell of the electronic device.

6. Input device according to one of the preceding claims, dadurchgekennzeic hn et that at least some of the pressure sensors (17.1 to 17.6) shaped and arranged in association with the input sections (5, 9) and the sensor signal evaluation unit is designed such that with the Pressure sensor arrangement a number of input sections is substantially exceeded the number of pressure sensors.

7. Input device according to claim 6, so that the sensor signal evaluation unit for the combined evaluation of analog signals from all pressure sensors is designed with each input process according to an algorithm which evaluates the relations of the signal amplitudes of the pressure sensors representing the respective input position.

8. Input device according to one of claims 6 or 7, so that a regular arrangement of 12 to 16 input sections (5, 9) is formed by a pressure sensor arrangement from three to eight pressure sensors (17.1 to 17.6).

9. Input device according to one of the preceding claims, that the sensor signal evaluation unit for evaluating analog signals from the pressure sensors is designed in such a way that it outputs pressure-force-dependent control signals for pressure-force-controlled inputs for analog or quasi-analog device settings or functions.

10. Electronic device, in particular mobile radio terminal (1), cordless telephone, PDA or handheld PC, with an input device according to one of the preceding claims.