Interactive apparatus with tactilely enhanced visual imaging capability apparatuses and methods

• US 20040056877A1
• Filed: 09/25/2002
• Published: 03/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xevo, Inc. (Lear Corporation)
• Original Assignee: UI Evolution Incorporated
• Inventors: Nakajima, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,253,807 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/702
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An interactive apparatus is provided with a display, on which tactilely enhanced (TE) visual images may be rendered, to temporally realize a wide range of user input keys and/or user selectable menu/list items. In one embodiment, the display includes a flexible visual display layer and a tactile display layer, and the apparatus includes corresponding device drivers for controlling rendering on the respective layers. In one embodiment, the apparatus is further provided with graphics functions, which generate in response to a request to render a TE visual image, pixel and piston data of the TE visual image, in accordance with an image specification of the TE visual image, having tactile attributes of the tactile enhancements.

Claims

1. An interactive apparatus comprising:

a touch sensitive visual display including a flexible visual display layer, and a touch sensitive tactile display layer;

a first display driver to control selective activation/deactivation of pixels of the flexible visual display layer to facilitate rendering of visual images on the flexible visual display layer; and

a second display driver to control pistons of the touch sensitive tactile display layer to facilitate complementary selective tactile indenting of different portions of the flexible visual display layer to tactilely enhanced selected ones of the rendered visual images.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tactilely enhanced visual images comprise dynamically formed non-persistent (DFNP) input keys.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the DFNP input keys comprise a DFNP input key group selection key to facilitate selection of one of a plurality of DFNP input key groups, each having one or more DFNP input keys.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the DFNP input key groups comprise at least two of a DFNP alphabet input key group, a DFNP numeric key group, a DFNP punctuation input key group, a DFNP special character input key group, a DFNP function key group.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the DFNP input keys comprise a selected one of DFNP alphabet input keys and DFNP numeric input keys.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the DFNP input keys comprise a selected one of DFNP punctuation input keys and DFNP special character keys.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the DFNP input keys comprise a DFNP function key.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the DFNP function key is a selected one of a DFNP go up key, a DFNP go down key, a DFNP go left key and a DFNP go right key.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the DFNP function key is a selected one of a DFNP page up key and a DFNP page down key.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the DFNP function key is a selected one of a DFNP start key, a DFNP stop key, a DFNP forward key and a DFNP reverse key.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the DFNP function key is a selected one of a DFNP select key, a DFNP channel up/down key, a DFNP volume up/down key, and a DFNP volume mute key.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the DFNP function key is a DFNP device selection key to facilitate selection of one of a plurality of devices controlled by the apparatus.

13. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the DFNP function key is a selected one of a DFNP call key and a DFNP end call key.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tactilely enhanced visual images comprise selected ones of user selectable menu items and user selectable list items.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises a collection of graphics functions, communicatively coupled to the first and second device drivers, to facilitate an application in rendering the tactilely enhanced visual images.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein at least one of graphics functions is equipped to generate a plurality of pixel and piston data of the tactilely enhanced visual image to be rendered, based at least in part on an image specification specifying the tactilely enhanced visual image to be rendered.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the image specification comprises

an identification of the visual image to be rendered;

and

one or more tactile attribute specifications specifying one or more tactile attributes for tactile enhancements of the rendered visual image.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the tactile attributes comprise at least a selected one of a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the tactile attributes comprise at least two of a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the tactile attributes comprise at least a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises a third device driver to detect a user selection of a tactile enhanced visual image.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the second and third device drivers are one of the same device driver.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a selected one of a multi-device remote control, a personal digital assistant, and a wireless mobile phone.

24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a selected one of a palm sized computer, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a set-top box, and a media player.

25. A machine implemented computing method comprising:

receiving a request for a graphics operation to render a tactilely enhanced visual image; and

generating in response, a plurality of pixel and piston data for said tactilely enhanced visual image to be rendered.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein said generating comprises generating a plurality of pixel and piston data for said tactilely enhanced visual image to be rendered, based at least in part on an image specification specifying said tactilely enhanced visual image to be rendered.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the image specification comprises

an identification of the visual image to be rendered;

and

one or more tactile attribute specifications specifying one or more tactile attributes for tactile enhancements of the rendered visual image.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the tactile attributes comprise at least a selected one of a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the tactile attributes comprise at least two of a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the tactile attributes comprise a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

31. The method of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises:

rendering the visual image using the generated pixel data; and

tactilely enhancing the rendered visual image using the generated piston data.

32. A machine readable image specification comprising:

an identification of a visual image to be rendered; and

one or more tactile attribute specifications specifying one or more tactile attributes for tactile enhancements of the rendered visual image.

33. The image specification of claim 32, wherein the tactile attributes comprise at least a selected one of a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

34. The image specification of claim 32, wherein the tactile attributes comprise at least two of a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

35. The image specification of claim 32, wherein the tactile attributes comprise a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

36. A data structure comprising:

a plurality of pixel data of a visual image to be rendered; and

a plurality of piston data to tactilely enhance the rendered visual image.

37. The data structure of claim 36, wherein the piston data are generated in accordance with one or more tactile attributes of the tactile enhancements of the rendered visual image.

38. The data structure of claim 37, wherein the tactile attributes comprise at least a selected one of a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

39. The data structure of claim 37, wherein the tactile attributes comprise at least two of a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

40. The data structure of claim 37, wherein the tactile attributes comprise a tactile pin height attribute, a tactile pin pattern attribute, and a tactile pin hardness attribute.

41. An apparatus comprising:

display means for displaying tactilely enhanced visual images;

first control means for controlling selective activation/deactivation of pixels to facilitate rendering of visual images; and

second control means for controlling complementary selective tactile enhancements of selected ones of the rendered visual images.