Compensated haptic rendering for flexible electronic devices

• US 10,234,945 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2016
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Original Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Inventors: Levesque, Vincent, Modarres, Ali, Rihn, William S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Haley, Joseph R
• Application Number:
  US15/261,447
• Publication Number:
  US 20180074585A1
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser

Abstract

A device comprises a housing, a sensor, a controller and an actuator. The sensor is configured to detect a contact force exerted on the housing. The controller is communicatively coupled to the sensor and is configured to determine a change in a haptic effect caused by the contact force. The controller is additionally configured to generate an output instruction to deliver the haptic effect in a compensated form that is operable to correct the change. The actuator is configured to receive the output instruction and deliver the compensated haptic effect at the housing.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a housing;

a sensor configured to detect a contact force exerted on the housing;

a controller communicatively coupled to the sensor, the controller configured to;

determine a change in a haptic effect delivered at the housing caused by the contact force,

determine a vibration compensation for the haptic effect to correct the change in the haptic effect delivered at the housing caused by the contact force,

apply the vibration compensation to the haptic effect to create a compensated haptic effect, and

generate an output instruction to deliver the compensated haptic effect; and

an actuator configured to receive the output instruction and deliver the compensated haptic effect at the housing,

wherein the vibration compensation is based on a vibration transmission model that is operable to evaluate changes in vibration transmission between the actuator and the sensor caused by the contact force.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a touch sensor.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the touch sensor comprises a capacitive sensor, a force-sensitive resistor, a strain gauge or a piezoelectric sensor.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the contact force indicates a location on the housing.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein the vibration transmission model includes a transfer function that indicates attenuation or amplification of actuator vibration frequencies caused by the contact force.

17. The device of claim 1, wherein the vibration transmission model includes a lookup table that indicates attenuation or amplification of actuator vibration frequencies caused by the contact force.

18. The device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of additional actuators delivering haptic effects at different locations, each additional actuator being associated with a different vibration transmission model.

5. A device comprising:

a housing;

a first sensor configured to detect a contact force exerted on the housing;

a second sensor configured to detect a deformation force created by deformation of the housing;

a controller communicatively coupled to the first and second sensors, the controller configured to determine a change in a haptic effect caused by both the contact force and the deformation force, the controller additionally configured to generate an output instruction to deliver the haptic effect as a compensated haptic effect, the compensated haptic effect operable to correct the change; and

an actuator configured to receive the output instruction and deliver the compensated haptic effect at the housing.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the deformation force indicates an amount of deformation of the housing, an angle of deformation of the housing, a pressure created by the deformation, or a change in temperature within the housing.

7. The device of claim 5, wherein the compensated haptic effect is additionally operable to correct the change in the haptic effect caused by natural haptic feedback of the housing.

8. The device of claim 5, wherein the first sensor comprises a touch sensor.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the touch sensor comprises a capacitive sensor, a force-sensitive resistor, a strain gauge or a piezoelectric sensor.

10. The device of claim 5, wherein the contact force indicates a location on the housing.

11. The device of claim 5, wherein the compensated haptic effect includes vibration compensation.

12. The device of claim 11, where the vibration compensation is based on a vibration model operable to evaluate the change in frequency of vibration on the haptic effect caused by the contact force.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the vibration model is operable to consider a starting point of the haptic effect in determining vibration compensation.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein the vibration model is operable to consider a location of the first sensor in determining vibration compensation.

15. A method for correcting haptic effects, comprising:

detecting a contact force exerted on a housing;

determining a first change in a haptic effect delivered at the housing caused by the contact force;

detecting a deformation force created by deformation of the housing;

determining a second change in the haptic effect to be delivered at the housing caused by the deformation force;

determining a compensation for the haptic effect to correct the first change in the haptic effect delivered at the housing caused by the contact force and the second change in the haptic effect delivered at the housing caused by the deformation force;

applying the compensation to the haptic effect to create a compensated haptic effect; and

delivering the compensated haptic effect at the housing.