Contracting and elongating materials for providing input and output for an electronic device

• US 10,481,691 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2016
• Issued: 11/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Uttermann, Erik A., Gibbs, Kevin D., Patel, Dhaval Chandrakant, Ow, Florence W., Wright, Derek W., McClure, Stephen R., Lobel, Inna
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Quan-Zhen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Black-Childress, Rajsheed O
• Application Number:
  US15/098,669
• Publication Number:
  US 20160306423A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,314 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04144 using an array of force sensing means position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells G06F3/0447
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3827 Portable transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/20 with electrical input and mechanical output, e.g. functioning as actuators or vibrators
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/302 Sensors

Abstract

Disclosed herein are methods and systems for providing haptic output on an electronic device. In some embodiments, the electronic device includes an actuator configured to move in a first direction. The electronic device also includes a substrate coupled to the actuator. When the actuator moves in the first direction, the substrate or a portion of the substrate, by virtue of being coupled to the actuator, moves in a second direction. In some implementations, the movement of the substrate is perpendicular to the movement of the actuator.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a surface;

a substrate positioned adjacent to a side of the surface interior to the electronic device;

a first actuator coupled to the substrate opposite to the surface and configured to contract in response to a first input; and

a second actuator coupled to a first side of the first actuator opposite to the substrate and configured to contract in response to a second input;

wherein;

the first actuator comprises;

a first piezoelectric layer;

a first electrode disposed between the first piezoelectric layer and the substrate; and

a second electrode disposed between the first piezoelectric layer and the second actuator;

the second actuator comprises;

a second piezoelectric layer;

a third electrode disposed between the second piezoelectric layer and the first actuator; and

a fourth electrode disposed on a side of the second piezoelectric layer opposite the third electrode;

the first input is received between the first electrode and the second electrode;

the second input is received between the third electrode and the fourth electrode; and

the substrate is configured to bend;

in a first direction in response to the first actuator contracting, thereby causing at least a portion of the surface of the electronic device to bend in the first direction which provides a localized haptic output on the surface; and

in a second direction in response to the second actuator contracting, thereby causing the portion of the surface of the electronic device to bend in the second direction.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the surface is a cover glass of the electronic device.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein:

the portion of the surface is an area of the cover glass;

the cover glass includes a scribe at least partially surrounding the area of the cover glass;

the first actuator is configured to bend the area of the cover glass to provide the localized haptic output; and

the second actuator is configured to move independently of the first actuator to bend the area of the cover glass.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the surface is a housing of the electronic device.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a force-sensing element.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the force-sensing element is coplanar with the first actuator.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a third actuator coupled to the substrate.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the first actuator and the third actuator bend substantially simultaneously.

9. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the third actuator dampens the localized haptic output.

10. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the third actuator enhances the localized haptic output.

11. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the first input provided to the first actuator has a greater voltage than a third input provided to the third actuator.

12. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the first actuator bends at a first time and the third actuator bends at a second time that is different than the first time.

13. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the third actuator bends to dampen the localized haptic output not in the portion of the surface.

14. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a strain break positioned between the first actuator and the second actuator, and coupling the first actuator with the second actuator.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the surface is an exterior surface of the electronic device.

16. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is operable to separately apply voltage to each of the first actuator and the second actuator.

17. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein:

the substrate bending in the first direction causes the portion of the surface to become convex with respect to the first actuator; and

the substrate bending in the second direction causes the portion of the surface to become concave with respect to the first actuator.

18. An electronic device, comprising:

a cover glass defining a surface of the electronic device;

a haptic structure interior to the electronic device and coupled to the cover glass, the haptic structure comprising;

a first actuator coupled to a surface of the cover glass interior to the electronic device and configured to contract in response to a first input;

a second actuator coupled to a side of the first actuator opposite to the cover glass and configured to contract in response to a second input;

wherein;

the first actuator comprises;

a first piezoelectric layer;

a first electrode disposed between the first piezoelectric layer and the cover glass; and

a second electrode disposed between the first piezoelectric layer and the second actuator;

the second actuator comprises;

a second piezoelectric layer;

a third electrode disposed between the second piezoelectric layer and the first actuator; and

a fourth electrode disposed on a side of the second piezoelectric layer opposite the third electrode;

a first input is received between the first electrode and the second electrode;

a second input is received between the third electrode and the fourth electrode;

the cover glass is configured to bend;

in a first direction in response to the first actuator contracting and, thereby causing at least a portion of the surface of the electronic device to bend in the first direction which provides a localized haptic output on the surface; and

in a second direction in response to the second actuator contracting and, thereby causing the portion of the surface of the electronic device to bend in the second direction, and the second actuator is configured to bend the cover glass independently of the first actuator.

19. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein movement of the second actuator deforms the first actuator.

20. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein the first and second actuators are different types of actuators.