Systems and methods for implementing haptics for pressure sensitive keyboards

• US 20110102326A1
• Filed: 12/29/2010
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products BV (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products BV (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Azor, Frank C., Casparian, Mark A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,674,941 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0202 Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 13/702 with contacts carried by or formed from layers in a multilayer structure, e.g. membrane switches
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 13/85 characterised by tactile feedback features
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2201/036 Variable resistance
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2215/05 electromechanical
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2215/052 piezoelectric
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2225/03 Different type of switches
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2239/006 Containing a capacitive switch or usable as such
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/975 using a capacitive movable element
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/96062 with tactile or haptic feedback

Abstract

Systems and methods are employed for implementing haptics for pressure sensitive keyboards, such as the type of keyboards having keys that produce alternating digital open/short signals that emulate actuation of conventional “momentary on” digital keys. The disclosed systems and methods may be implemented to provide haptics for both touch typing and variable pressure sensitive operation of a pressure sensitive keyboard. Users of a variable pressure keyboard may be provided with a variable pressure haptics effect, e.g., to enable the user to intuitively understand from the haptics vibration produced by the key how much pressure they are applying to a given key at any given time. Vibration characteristics (e.g., vibration rate, vibration waveform pattern, etc.) of a given pressed key may be varied in real time in coordination with, or in response to, corresponding changes in user pressure applied to the same given key.

Claims

1. A keyboard system, comprising:

one or more pressure sensitive keys configured to provide analog output signals corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys that is representative of the level of pressure applied to the given key;

pressure sensing interface circuitry coupled to receive the analog output signal from each given one of the pressure sensitive keys, the pressure-sensing digital output circuitry being configured to provide key pressure indication signals representative of at least two respective different levels of pressure applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys, the at least two different levels of pressure comprising at least first and second different levels of pressure; and

haptics actuation circuitry coupled and configured to impart a variable haptics motion characteristic independently to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys based at least in part on the key pressure indication signals provided by the pressure sensing interface circuitry corresponding to the pressure level applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys such that a first haptics motion is imparted to a given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the first pressure level applied to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys that is different than a second haptics motion that is imparted to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the second pressure level applied to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

2. The keyboard system of claim 1, further comprising:

haptics control circuitry coupled to receive from the pressure sensing interface circuitry a key pressure indication signal representative of pressure applied to each corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys, the haptics control circuitry being configured to in turn provide a separate haptics control signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys based upon each respective received key pressure indication signal; and

where the haptics actuation circuitry is coupled to receive from the haptics control circuitry the separate haptics control signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys, the haptics actuation circuitry being configured to impart haptics motion independently to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys in response to a received haptics control signal corresponding to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

3. The keyboard system of claim 2, at least one of the key pressure indication signals being a separate alternating open and short (open/short) digital output signal having a frequency that is representative of pressure applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys;

the pressure sensing interface circuitry being configured to provide the separate alternating open and short digital output signal having a frequency that is representative of pressure applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys as a first key pressure indication signal;

and the pressure sensing interface circuitry being further configured to provide to the haptics control circuitry a second key pressure indication signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys as an alternating high and low (high/low) digital output bit stream signal having a frequency that is representative of the pressure being applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

4. The keyboard system of claim 3, wherein the pressure sensing interface circuitry is configured for coupling to provide the separate alternating open/short digital output signal corresponding to each pressure sensitive key to column/row intersections of a legacy keyboard key matrix;

the legacy keyboard matrix being operably coupled to a legacy keyboard controller having no analog input circuitry.

5. The keyboard system of claim 4, further comprising a keyboard device body that includes the pressure sensing interface circuitry, the haptics control circuitry and the haptics actuation circuitry;

wherein the keyboard device body is configured to be mechanically coupled as a drop-in keyboard to an information handling system chassis that includes the legacy keyboard controller.

6. The keyboard system of claim 5, wherein the information handling system comprises a notebook computer.

7. The keyboard system of claim 1, further comprising a keyboard device body that includes the one or more pressure sensitive keys and a plurality of digital keys within the keyboard device body, each of the digital keys being coupled to provide a single open/short digital output signal each time the digital key is pressed by a user.

8. The keyboard system of claim 2, wherein the haptics control signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys is a vibration waveform having at least one of a vibration intensity or frequency corresponding to the pressure level being applied in real time to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

9. The keyboard system of claim 8, further comprising memory having multiple vibration waveforms stored therein that are selected to correspond to different pressure force levels applied to the pressure level being applied in real time to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys;

wherein the haptics control circuitry is configured to respond to receipt of a key pressure indication signal provided by the pressure sensing interface circuitry that is representative of the level of pressure being applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys by retrieving from memory the selected vibration waveform corresponding to the pressure level being applied in real time to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys, and to provide the selected vibration waveform as the separate haptics control signal to the haptics actuation circuitry; and

wherein the haptics actuation circuitry is configured to impart haptics motion according to the selected vibration waveform independently to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys being pressed.

10. The keyboard system of claim 9, wherein the key pressure indication signal provided by the pressure sensing interface circuitry to the haptics control circuitry includes the selected waveform memory address that corresponds to the selected vibration waveform corresponding to the pressure level being applied in real time to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

11. The keyboard system of claim 2, comprising a plurality of pressure sensitive keys that are each configured to provide to the pressure sensing interface circuitry a respective separate analog output signals representative of the level of pressure being applied to the given pressure sensitive key;

where the pressure sensing interface circuitry is configured to provide separate respective key pressure indication signals to the haptics control circuitry that are representative of at least two different levels of pressure applied to each individual one of the pressure sensitive keys, the at least two different levels of pressure comprising at least first and second different levels of pressure;

where the haptics control circuitry is configured to provide to the haptics actuation circuitry a separate respective haptics control signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys based upon each respective received key pressure indication signal; and

where the haptics actuation circuitry is configured to separately and independently impart haptics motion to each of the plurality of pressure sensitive keys with a variable haptics motion characteristic based on the applied key pressure level and based on the identity of the received haptics control signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys such that a first haptics motion is imparted to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the first pressure level applied to the given one of the plurality of pressure sensitive keys that is different than a second haptics motion that is imparted to the given one of the plurality of pressure sensitive keys at the second pressure level applied to the given one of the plurality of pressure sensitive keys.

12. The keyboard system of claim 2, comprising a plurality of pressure sensitive keys that are each configured to provide to the pressure sensing interface circuitry a respective separate analog output signal representative of the level of pressure being applied to the given pressure sensitive key;

where the pressure sensing interface circuitry is configured to simultaneously provide a single common key pressure indication signal to the haptics control circuitry that is representative of at least two different levels of pressure applied to any one of the pressure sensitive keys and a separate respective haptics enable signal to the haptics actuation circuitry corresponding to the identity of each given one of the pressure sensitive keys based upon each respective received key pressure indication signal, the at least two different levels of pressure comprising at least first and second different levels of pressure;

where the haptics control circuitry is configured to provide to the haptics actuation circuitry a single common haptics control signal based upon the received single common key pressure indication signal; and

where the haptics actuation circuitry is configured to separately and independently impart haptics motion to each given one of the plurality of pressure sensitive keys identified by the haptics enable signal with a variable haptics motion characteristic based on the applied key pressure level represented by the received common haptics control signal such that a first haptics motion is imparted to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the first pressure level applied to the given one of the plurality of pressure sensitive keys that is different than a second haptics motion that is imparted to the given one of the plurality of pressure sensitive keys at the second pressure level applied to the given one of the plurality of pressure sensitive keys.

13. The keyboard system of claim 1, wherein the haptics actuation circuitry is configured to impart a variable haptics motion characteristic independently to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys in response to key pressure indication signals that are representative of the at least first and second different levels of pressure applied in real time to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys, the haptics motion imparted to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys in response to a key pressure indication signal corresponding to the first level of pressure applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys being different than the haptics motion imparted to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys in response to a key pressure indication signal corresponding to the second level of pressure applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

14. The keyboard system of claim 1, wherein the haptics actuation circuitry comprises a piezo transducer.

15. A method of imparting haptics motion, comprising:

providing one or more pressure sensitive keys;

producing an analog output signal for each given one of the pressure sensitive keys when depressed by a user, the analog output signals being representative of the level of pressure applied to the given pressure sensitive key by the user; and

providing one or more key pressure indication signals based upon the analog output signal, the one or more key pressure indication signals being representative of at least two respective different levels of pressure applied to the given pressure sensitive key by the user, the at least two different levels of pressure comprising at least first and second different levels of pressure; and

imparting a variable haptics motion characteristic independently to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys based at least in part on a provided key pressure indication signal that is representative of pressure applied to the given pressure sensitive key by the user such that a first haptics motion is imparted to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the first pressure level applied to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys that is different than a second haptics motion that is imparted to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the second pressure level applied to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing haptics control circuitry and haptics actuation circuitry;

receiving the analog output signal from each given one of the pressure sensitive keys in the pressure-sensing digital output circuitry;

providing a separate key pressure indication signal from the pressure-sensing digital output circuitry, each of the separate key pressure indication signals being based upon a corresponding received analog output signal and being representative of at least two respective different levels of pressure applied to each given corresponding one of the pressure sensitive keys, the at least two different levels of pressure comprising at least first and second different levels of pressure;

receiving each of the separate key pressure indication signals in the haptics control circuitry and providing a separate haptics control signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys based upon each respective received key pressure indication signal;

receiving each separate haptics control signal in the haptics actuation circuitry, and imparting a variable haptics motion characteristic independently to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys in response to a received haptics control signal corresponding to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys such that a first haptics motion is imparted to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the first pressure level applied to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys that is different than a second haptics motion that is imparted to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the second pressure level applied to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

17. The method of claim 16, at least one of the key pressure indication signals being a separate alternating open and short (open/short) digital output signal having a frequency that is representative of pressure applied to the corresponding given pressure sensitive key by the user;

and the method further comprising providing the separate alternating open and short digital output signal having a frequency that is representative of pressure applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys from the pressure sensing interface circuitry as a first key pressure indication signal; and

providing a second key pressure indication signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys to the haptics control circuitry from the pressure sensing interface circuitry, the second key pressure indication signal being provided as an alternating high and low (high/low) digital output bit stream signal having a frequency that is representative of the pressure being applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing a keyboard device body that includes the pressure sensing interface circuitry, haptics control circuitry and haptics actuation circuitry;

providing an information handling system chassis that includes a legacy keyboard key matrix having column/row intersections coupled to a legacy keyboard controller having no analog input circuitry;

mechanically coupling the keyboard device body as a drop-in keyboard to the information handling system chassis; and

providing the separate alternating open/short digital output signal corresponding to each pressure sensitive key to column/row intersections of the legacy keyboard key matrix.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing the haptics control signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys as a selected vibration waveform having at least one of a vibration intensity or frequency corresponding to the pressure level being applied in real time to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys;

and using the haptics actuation circuitry to impart haptics motion according to the selected vibration waveform independently to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys being pressed.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing a plurality of pressure sensitive keys;

providing from each of the pressure sensitive keys to the pressure sensing interface circuitry a respective separate analog output signal representative of the level of pressure being applied to the given pressure sensitive key;

providing a separate respective key pressure indication signal from the pressuring sensing interface circuitry to the haptics control circuitry that is representative of at least two respective different levels of pressure applied to each individual one of the pressure sensitive keys, the at least two different levels of pressure comprising at least first and second different levels of pressure;

providing from the haptics control circuitry to the haptics actuation circuitry a separate respective haptics control signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys based upon each respective received key pressure indication signal; and

using the haptics actuation circuitry to separately and independently impart haptics motion to each of the plurality of pressure sensitive keys with a variable haptics motion characteristic based on the applied key pressure level and based on the identity of the received haptics control signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys such that a first haptics motion is imparted to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the first pressure level applied to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys that is different than a second haptics motion that is imparted to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the second pressure level applied to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing a plurality of pressure sensitive keys;

providing from each of the pressure sensitive keys to the pressure sensing interface circuitry a respective separate analog output signal representative of the level of pressure being applied to the given pressure sensitive key;

simultaneously providing a single common key pressure indication signal to the haptics control circuitry that is representative of at least first and second different levels of pressure applied to any one of the pressure sensitive keys and providing a separate respective haptics enable signal to the haptics actuation circuitry corresponding to the identity of each given one of the pressure sensitive keys based upon each respective received key pressure indication signal;

providing from the haptics control circuitry to the haptics actuation circuitry a single common haptics control signal based upon the received single common key pressure indication signal; and

separately and independently imparting haptics motion to each given one of the plurality of pressure sensitive keys identified by the haptics enable signal with a variable haptics motion characteristic based on the applied key pressure level represented by the received common haptics control signal such that a first haptics motion is imparted to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the first pressure level applied to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys that is different than a second haptics motion that is imparted to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the second pressure level applied to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

22. The method of claim 15, further comprising using imparting a variable haptics motion characteristic independently to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys corresponding to the at least first and second different levels of pressure applied in real time to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys, the haptics motion imparted to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys in response to a key pressure indication signal corresponding to the first level of pressure applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys being different than the haptics motion imparted to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys in response to a key pressure indication signal corresponding to the second level of pressure applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys.