Contortion of an electronic apparatus
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a body configured for resilient contortion from a neutral equilibrium shape by a user, the body having an exterior surface that resiliently contorts in response to user provision of a force, wherein the body defines, proximal to a perimeter of a face of the body;
at least a first portion of an exterior surface of the apparatus, wherein the first portion is displaced relative to an origin along a first vector;
a second portion of the exterior surface of the apparatus that opposes the first portion across the face, wherein the second portion is separated from the first portion in at least a first dimension, wherein the second portion is displaced relative to the origin along a second vector; and
a third portion of the exterior surface of the apparatus, between the first portion and the second portion in the first dimension, wherein the third portion is displaced relative to the origin along a third vector, wherein the third vector comprises a vector component that is orthogonal to a vector component of the first vector and to a vector component of the second vector,wherein user provision of a force in a first direction results in a first contortion of the exterior surface and user provision of a force in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, results in a second contortion of the exterior surface; and
electronic circuitry including at least a processor configured to provide;
a first consistent meaning with respect to a first function across a plurality of different software applications to navigate in a direction of the first vector for user provision of a force in the first direction contorting the first portion of the exterior surface;
a second, different consistent meaning with respect to the first function across the plurality of different software applications to navigate in a direction of the second vector for user provision of a force in the first direction contorting the second portion of the exterior surface;
a third, different consistent meaning with respect to the first function across the plurality of different software applications to navigate in a direction of the third vector for user provision of a force in the first direction contorting the third portion of the exterior surface; and
a fourth, different consistent meaning with respect to a second function, different to the first function, across the plurality of different software applications in response to simultaneous user provision of a force in the first direction contorting the first portion of the exterior surface and a force in the first direction contorting the second portion of the exterior surface, wherein the first function is a navigation function and the second function is a non-navigation function.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus including: a body configured for resilient contortion from a neutral equilibrium shape by a user, the body having an exterior surface that resiliently contorts in response to user provision of a force, wherein the body defines, proximal to a perimeter of a face of the body, at least a first portion of an exterior surface of the apparatus and a second portion of an exterior surface of the apparatus that opposes the first portion across the face, wherein user provision of a force in a first direction results in a first contortion of the exterior surface and user provision of a force in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, results in a second contortion of the exterior surface; and electronic circuitry configured to provide consistent meaning across a plurality of different software applications for user provision of a force to the exterior surface.
125 Citations
22 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a body configured for resilient contortion from a neutral equilibrium shape by a user, the body having an exterior surface that resiliently contorts in response to user provision of a force, wherein the body defines, proximal to a perimeter of a face of the body; at least a first portion of an exterior surface of the apparatus, wherein the first portion is displaced relative to an origin along a first vector; a second portion of the exterior surface of the apparatus that opposes the first portion across the face, wherein the second portion is separated from the first portion in at least a first dimension, wherein the second portion is displaced relative to the origin along a second vector; and a third portion of the exterior surface of the apparatus, between the first portion and the second portion in the first dimension, wherein the third portion is displaced relative to the origin along a third vector, wherein the third vector comprises a vector component that is orthogonal to a vector component of the first vector and to a vector component of the second vector, wherein user provision of a force in a first direction results in a first contortion of the exterior surface and user provision of a force in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, results in a second contortion of the exterior surface; and electronic circuitry including at least a processor configured to provide; a first consistent meaning with respect to a first function across a plurality of different software applications to navigate in a direction of the first vector for user provision of a force in the first direction contorting the first portion of the exterior surface; a second, different consistent meaning with respect to the first function across the plurality of different software applications to navigate in a direction of the second vector for user provision of a force in the first direction contorting the second portion of the exterior surface; a third, different consistent meaning with respect to the first function across the plurality of different software applications to navigate in a direction of the third vector for user provision of a force in the first direction contorting the third portion of the exterior surface; and a fourth, different consistent meaning with respect to a second function, different to the first function, across the plurality of different software applications in response to simultaneous user provision of a force in the first direction contorting the first portion of the exterior surface and a force in the first direction contorting the second portion of the exterior surface, wherein the first function is a navigation function and the second function is a non-navigation function. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 21, 22)
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16. An apparatus comprising:
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a body configured for resilient contortion from a neutral equilibrium shape by a user, the body having an exterior surface that resiliently contorts in response to user provision ofa force wherein a first side and a second side of a face of the body have different compliances such that the first side and the second side contort differently in response to receiving a same force; wherein the body defines, proximal to a first portion of a perimeter of the first side of the face of the body, first portions of an exterior surface of the apparatus and defines, proximal to a second portion of the perimeter of the second side of the face of the body, at least a second portion of an exterior surface of the apparatus, wherein at least one of the first portions is defined, at least in part, by a first peripheral edge of the apparatus at the first side of the face of the body, wherein one of the first portions is displaced relative to an origin along a first vector, wherein another of the first portions is displaced relative to the origin along a second vector, wherein a further one of the first portions is displaced relative to the origin along a third vector, wherein the second portion is defined, at least in part, by a second peripheral edge of the apparatus at the second side of the face of the body, wherein the second peripheral edge extends at least partially in a same direction as the first peripheral edge; wherein user provision of a force at the first peripheral edge in a first direction to any of the first portions results in a first contortion of the exterior surface to a different extent than user provision of the same force at the second peripheral edge in the first direction to the second portion; and electronic circuitry including at least a processor configured to provide a first function in response to user provision of a force in the first direction to the first portions and to provide a second function in response to user provision of the same force in the first direction to the second portion, wherein user provision of a force in the first direction to the one of the first portions navigates in a direction of the first vector, wherein user provision of a force in the first direction to the another of the first portions navigates in a direction of the second vector, wherein user provision of a force in the first direction to the further one of the first portions navigates in the direction of the third vector, wherein the third vector comprises a vector component that is orthogonal to a vector component of the first vector and to a vector component of the second vector. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus comprising:
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a body configured for resilient contortion from a neutral equilibrium shape, the body having an exterior surface that resiliently contorts in response to provision of a force, wherein the body defines, proximal to a perimeter of a face of the body; at least a first portion of an exterior surface of the apparatus, wherein the first portion is displaced relative to an origin along a first vector; a second portion of the exterior surface of the apparatus that opposes the first portion across the face, wherein the second portion is separated from the first portion in at least a first dimension, wherein the second portion is displaced relative to the origin along a second vector; and a third portion of the exterior surface of the apparatus, between the first portion and the second portion in the first dimension, wherein the third portion is displaced relative to the origin along a third vector, wherein the third vector comprises a vector component that is orthogonal to a vector component of the first vector and to a vector component of the second vector, wherein provision of a force in a first direction results in a first contortion of the exterior surface and provision of a force in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, results in a second contortion of the exterior surface; and electronic circuitry including at least a processor configured to provide; a first consistent meaning with respect to a first function across a plurality of different software applications to navigate in a direction of the first vector for provision of a force in the first direction contorting the first portion of the exterior surface; a second, different consistent meaning with respect to the first function across the plurality of different software applications to navigate in a direction of the second vector for provision of a force in the first direction contorting the second portion of the exterior surface; a third, different consistent meaning with respect to the first function across the plurality of different software applications to navigate in a direction of the third vector for provision of a force in the first direction contorting the third portion of the exterior surface; and a fourth, different consistent meaning with respect to a second function, different to the first function, across the plurality of different software applications in response to simultaneous provision of a force in the first direction contorting the first portion of the exterior surface and a force in the first direction contorting the second portion of the exterior surface, wherein the first function is a navigation function and the second function is a non-navigation function.
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Specification