Touch sensitive device

• US 10,108,268 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2017
• Issued: 10/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: NVF Tech Ltd. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Harris, Neil John
• Primary Examiner(s): Harris, Dorothy
• Application Number:
  US15/612,778
• Publication Number:
  US 20170329408A1
• Time in Patent Office: 508 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves

Abstract

A touch sensitive device including a panel capable of supporting bending waves, a user-accessible touch sensitive screen on or forming part of a face of the panel, the touch sensitive screen having a plurality of different sensing areas, a plurality of vibration exciters coupled to the panel to apply bending waves to the panel to provide tactile feedback at the plurality of sensing areas in response to the user touching a sensing area, and signal processing means arranged to apply signals to the vibration exciters so as to steer bending waves applied to the panel by the plurality of vibration exciters whereby the amplitude of the applied bending waves is maximized at the sensing area touched by the user and reduced or minimized at each other sensing area.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

a panel capable of supporting bending waves; and

means for applying signals to steer bending waves applied to the panel such that a wanted amplitude of vibration from the bending waves is maximized and a unwanted amplitude of vibration from the bending waves is minimized,

wherein the bending waves provide tactile feedback at a plurality of sensing areas of the panel and the signals steering the bending waves are such that the signal sensing area touched by the user is antinodal and each other sensing area is nodal, where an antinodal point is one that has maximum velocity and a nodal point is one that has no velocity at any frequency of excitation.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is a touch sensitive device and the panel comprises a touch sensitive screen.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the means for applying signals comprise signal processing means.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises a plurality of vibration exciters coupled to the panel to apply the bending waves.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of vibration exciters are spaced apart around the panel.

6. The device according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of vibration exciters are positioned at the periphery of the panel.

7. The device according to claim 4, wherein the means for applying signals is arranged to control at least one member selected from the group consisting of timing, phase and frequency of the signal to each plurality of vibration exciters.

8. The device according to claim 1, further comprising n number of sensing areas and n+1 number of vibration exciters.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the wanted amplitude of the applied bending waves is maximised at one of the plurality of a sensing areas touched by a user and the unwanted amplitude is reduced or minimised at each other plurality of sensing areas.

10. The device according to claim 4, wherein the panel is intendedly resonant and the signals applied by the vibration exciters resonate the panel.

11. The device according to claim 4, wherein the means applies signals to the plurality of vibration exciters to simultaneously provide multiple intended haptic signals at multiple locations that are being touched.

14. The device according to claim 1 wherein the panel includes at least one sensing area for providing tactile feedback applied by a plurality of vibrational exciters.

12. A method of operating a device, the method comprising:

applying signals to steer bending waves applied to a panel of the device, the panel supports the bending waves, such that wanted amplitude of vibration from the bending waves is maximized and unwanted amplitude of vibration from the bending waves is minimized,

wherein the bending waves provide tactile feedback at a plurality of sensing areas of the panel and the signals steering the bending waves are such that the signal sensing area touched by the user is antinodal and each other sensing area is nodal, where an antinodal point is one that has maximum velocity and a nodal point is one that has no velocity at any frequency of excitation.

13. A non-transitory, tangible, computer readable storage medium including computer readable instructions to cause a computer to carry out the method of claim 12.