Patent Publication Number: US-2007098395-A1

Title: Digital camera user interface

Description:
U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, of Amy E. Battles (attorney docket no. 200506143-1), filed on the same day as this application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, Amy E. Battles (attorney docket no. 200506124-1), filed on the same day as this application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, of Amy E. Battles, Daniel J. Byrne, Shanshan Li and Norman C. Pyle (attorney docket no. 200506156-1) filed on the same day as this application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, of Amy E. Battles (attorney docket no. 200506125-1) filed on the same day as this application and U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, of Mark J. Bianchi, Norman C. Pyle, Amy E. Battles, Shanshan Li and Daniel J. Byrne, (attorney docket no. 200506123-1) filed on the same day as this application, are all hereby incorporated by reference for all that is disclosed therein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND  
      As handheld electronic devices continue to have more features, a more robust method of navigating the interface is needed. Some functions are “end-to-end” functions and, as such, do not map well to a continuous rotary control. One example of such an end-to-end function is zooming a lens on a digital camera. The camera lens has a maximum wide angle position and a maximum telephoto position, so it does not map well to a continuous rotary control. A linear control, however, is not particularly ergonomic.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of an exemplary digital camera.  
       FIG. 2  is an elevation view of a rear face of the exemplary digital camera of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a detail view of a portion of the digital camera rear face of  FIG. 2  showing an exemplary scroll strip.  
       FIG. 4  is a detail view of a portion of the digital camera rear face of  FIG. 2  showing an alternative exemplary scroll strip.  
       FIG. 5  is a detail view of a portion of the digital camera rear face of  FIG. 2  showing a further alternative exemplary scroll strip. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      An exemplary digital camera may include a housing having a front face and an oppositely-disposed rear face; a display formed on the rear face and a scroll strip formed on the rear face. The scroll strip is formed from a touchpad, has a non-linear configuration and is capable of controlling at least one function of the digital camera.  
      Also disclosed is an exemplary method including providing a digital camera having a housing including a front face and an oppositely-disposed rear face; a display formed on the rear face and a scroll strip formed on the rear face. The scroll strip is formed from a touch pad. A digit of the user (e.g., a finger or thumb) may be moved along the scroll strip in a non-linear motion to control at least one function of the digital camera.  
       FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary digital camera  2 . The camera  2  may include a housing having a front face  4  and an oppositely disposed and generally parallel rear face  12 . The digital camera  2  may include various devices related to the operation of the camera and features to facilitate user interface with the camera as will be readily understood by one skilled in the art. The camera  2  may, for example, include a lens assembly  6 , a flash unit  8 , and a shutter release button  10 , as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 2  illustrates the rear face  12  of the digital camera  2  in further detail. With reference to  FIG. 2 , a display  14  which may, for example, be a conventional LCD-type display and a button assembly  16  may be located on the rear face  12 . Button assembly  16  may be provided for user input in a conventional manner. The rear face  12  may further include a scroll strip  20  which may, for example, be provided to control the zooming function of the camera as will be discussed in further detail herein.  
      It is noted that, although some features of the digital camera  2  have been described above, the camera will include other devices, not described or shown herein, related to the operation of the camera as will be readily understood by one skilled in the art. The camera may, for example, include an image capturing device (e.g., a CCD), a processor and other buttons and/or switches to facilitate user interface in a conventional manner.  
      With reference again to  FIG. 2 , it can be seen that the scroll strip  20  may be formed having an arch shape to facilitate ergonomic engagement for thumb of a user of the camera  2 . Specifically, the arch shape corresponds to the natural motion of a user&#39;s thumb when the user is holding the camera.  
      The scroll strip may be formed as a conventional touchpad that is capable of sensing directional motion (e.g., a thumb sliding along the touchpad) and contact (e.g., tapping in a specific location along the touchpad). The touchpad may be located behind the rear face  12  of the camera  2 . The rear face  12  may include an opening therein in the shape of an arch, as indicated. It is noted that, although the term “opening” is used herein, the opening in the rear face  12  may alternatively be covered with a material that effectively seals the camera housing but still allows the touchpad to sense a touch or press.  
      To use the scroll strip  20  to zoom the camera, a user may slide a thumb or finger along the scroll strip  20 . Sliding the thumb or finger to the right, as viewed in  FIG. 2 , for example, causes the camera  2  to zoom in while sliding to the left and down causes the camera to zoom out. The scroll strip may include icons thereon indicative of the zoom in and zoom out functions described above. The scroll strip  20  may, for example, include an icon  22  formed as a plus sign and an icon  24  formed as a minus sign.  
      The user may also tap or press a specific area on the scroll strip  20  to cause the camera to “snap” to a particular zoom setting dictated by the location along the scroll strip that is tapped or pressed. Tapping the center of the scroll strip, for example, may cause the camera  2  to snap to a zoom position midway between its maximum and minimum zoom. Tapping a location 30% of the way from the left edge of the scroll strip to the right edge may cause the camera to snap to a zoom position equal to 30% of its maximum zoom, and so on.  
       FIG. 3  illustrates the scroll strip  20  in further detail. As can be seen, scroll strip  20  may have an inner edge  30  and an oppositely disposed outer edge  50 . Inner edge  30  may include a contiguous first straight portion  32 , curved portion  34  and second straight portion  36 , as shown. First straight portion  32  and second straight portion  36  may each have a length “A”, for example, of about 10 mm. Curved portion  34  may have a radius “B”, for example, of about 8 mm. Outer edge  50  may include a contiguous first straight portion  52 , curved portion  54  and second straight portion  56 , as shown. First straight portion  52  and second straight portion  56  may each extend for the length “A”, previously discussed. Curved portion  54  may have a radius “C”, for example, of about 14 mm. A first end edge  60  connects the first straight portion  32  of the inner edge  30  with the first straight portion  52  of the outer edge  50 . A second end edge  70  connects the second straight portion  36  of the inner edge  30  with the second straight portion  56  of the outer edge  50 . Scroll strip  20  may have a substantially consistent width “D” extending between the inner edge  30  and outer edge  50 . The width “D” may, for example, be about 6 mm.  
      By providing an arch-shaped scroll strip on a camera, the user can move back and forth along the arch in a comfortable movement to zoom the lens.  
      As an alternative to the configuration shown in  FIG. 3 , the scroll strip  20  could be formed as a “pure” arch, in other words, an arch omitting the straight portions  32 ,  52  and  36 ,  56  as described above. In such an alternative embodiment, the arch may be extended to cover 120 degrees of arc (rather than the 90 degrees of arc shown in  FIG. 3 ).  
      As a further alternative, the scroll strip  20  could be rotated to a different orientation than that shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The scroll strip  20  may, for example, be rotated  45  degrees in a clockwise direction from the orientation illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . As can be appreciated, this rotation would result in the curved portion  54  being the uppermost portion of the strip  20 . The user, thus, would be able to associate the highest portion of the scroll strip  20  with the center scrolling position.  
       FIG. 4  illustrates an alternative exemplary scroll strip  100 . Scroll strip  100  may be formed from a conventional touchpad in the same manner as described above with respect to the arch-shaped embodiment shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The scroll strip  100  may also be located in generally the same area of the camera rear face  12  as the previously-described scroll strip  20  ( FIG. 2 ). With reference to  FIG. 4 , the scroll strip  100  may generally be formed having an “L” shape. The L-shaped scroll strip  100  provides tactile feedback to the user. Specifically, the user is able feel when his or her thumb or finger reaches the “joint” of the “L”, i.e., a location indicated generally by the reference numeral  102  in  FIG. 4 . Since this is the middle of the scroll strip  100 , this allows the user to quickly and confidently locate the middle zoom position of the camera without the need to look at the camera. In other words, the user can keep his or her eyes on the subject being photographed while quickly locating and activating the middle zoom position. In summary, the L-shaped scroll strip  100  has the advantage of providing tactile feedback to the user indicating the center of the zoom range while still providing a relatively ergonomic configuration.  
      With further reference to  FIG. 4 , the scroll strip  100  may generally include a first leg portion  120  and a second perpendicular leg portion  140 . First leg portion  120  may have an inner edge  122  and an oppositely disposed outer edge  124 . Second leg portion  140  may also have an inner edge  142  and an outer edge  144 . The first leg portion inner edge  122  meets the second leg portion inner edge  142  at a junction  104 . The first leg portion outer edge  124  meets the second leg portion outer edge  144  at a junction  106 . First leg portion inner edge  122  may have a length “F”, for example, of about 12 mm. First leg portion outer edge  124  may have a length “G”, for example, of about 18 mm. Second leg portion inner edge  142  may have a length “H”, for example, of about 12 mm. Second leg portion outer edge  144  may have a length “I”, for example, of about 18 mm. A first leg portion edge  126  connects the first leg portion inner and outer edges  122 ,  124 , as shown. A second leg portion edge  146  connects the second leg portion inner and outer edges  142 ,  144 , as shown. The scroll strip  100  may have a substantially consistent width “J” extending between the first leg portion inner and outer edges  122 ,  124  and between the second leg portion inner and outer edges  142 ,  144 . The width “J” may, for example, be about 6 mm. The scroll strip  100  may, for example, include an icon  150  formed as a plus sign and an icon  152  formed as a minus sign.  
      As an alternative to the configuration shown in  FIG. 4 , the scroll strip  100  could be rotated to a different orientation than that shown in  FIG. 4 . The scroll strip  100  may, for example, be rotated 45 degrees in a clockwise direction from the orientation illustrated in  FIG. 4 . As can be appreciated, this rotation would result in the joint  102  being the uppermost portion of the strip  100 . This would provide further feedback to the user, indicating the middle position of the scrolling range.  
       FIG. 5  illustrates an alternative exemplary scroll strip  200 . Scroll strip  200  may be formed from a conventional touchpad in the same manner as described above with respect to the arch-shaped embodiment shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The scroll strip  200  may also be located in generally the same area of the camera rear face  12  as the previously-described scroll strip  20  ( FIG. 2 ). With reference to  FIG. 5 , the scroll strip  100  may generally be formed having a “U” shape. In a manner similar to the L-shaped scroll strip  100  described above, the U-shaped scroll strip  200  provides tactile feedback to the user. Specifically, the user is able to feel when his or her thumb or finger reaches the curved portion of the “U”, i.e., a location indicated generally by the reference numeral  202  in  FIG. 5 . Since this is the middle of the scroll strip  200 , this allows the user to quickly and confidently locate the middle zoom position of the camera without the need to look at the camera in a manner similar to the L shaped scroll pad  100  previously described. In summary, the U-shaped scroll strip  200  has the advantage of providing tactile feedback to the user indicating the center of the zoom range while still providing a relatively ergonomic configuration.  
      With further reference to  FIG. 5 , the scroll strip  200  may have an inner edge  230  and an oppositely disposed outer edge  250 . Inner edge  230  may include a contiguous first straight portion  232 , curved portion  234  and second straight portion  236 , as shown. First straight portion  232  and second straight portion  236  may each have a length “M”, for example, of about 10 mm. Curved portion  234  may have a radius “N”, for example, of about 8 mm. Outer edge  250  may include a contiguous first straight portion  252 , curved portion  254  and second straight portion  256 , as shown. First straight portion  252  and second straight portion  256  may each extend for the length “M”, previously discussed. Curved portion  254  may have a radius “O”, for example, of about 14 mm. A first end edge  260  connects the first straight portion  232  of the inner edge  230  with the first straight portion  252  of the outer edge  250 . A second end edge  270  connects the second straight portion  236  of the inner edge  230  with the second straight portion  256  of the outer edge  250 . Scroll strip  200  may have a substantially consistent width “P” extending between the inner edge  30  and outer edge  50 . The width “P” may, for example, be about 6 mm. The scroll strip  200  may, for example, include an icon  222  formed as a plus sign and an icon  224  formed as a minus sign.  
      As an alternative to the configuration shown in  FIG. 5 , the scroll strip  200  could be rotated to a different orientation than that shown in  FIG. 5 . The scroll strip  200  may, for example, be rotated 90 degrees in a clockwise direction from the orientation illustrated in  FIG. 5 . As can be appreciated, this rotation would result in the curved portion  202  being the uppermost portion of the strip  200 . This would provide further feedback to the user, indicating the middle position of the scrolling range.  
      It is noted that the scroll strips  20 ,  100  and  200  have been described herein for controlling zooming for exemplary descriptive purposes only. The scroll strips may also be alternatively or additionally used for other functions, e.g., exposure control, focus control or panning.  
      While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.