TOUCH PANEL AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME

• US 20110163978A1
• Filed: 08/03/2010
• Published: 07/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: PARK, Sunghyuk, LIM, Seong-Taek
• Granted Patent: US 8,791,908 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user

Abstract

A touch panel and an electronic device including the same are provided. The touch panel includes a first substrate, a second substrate, an electro-rheological fluid, a sensor, and a controller. The second substrate is spaced apart from the first substrate by a gap and includes a touch surface. The electro-rheological fluid is filled in a gap between the first substrate and the second substrate. The sensor senses an input on the touch surface and determines an input location at which the input occurs, and the controller varies a viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid in a location corresponding to a peripheral region of the input location.

Claims

1. A touch panel comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate that is spaced apart from the first substrate by a gap, the second substrate comprising a touch surface;

an electro-rheological fluid that is filled in a gap between the first substrate and the second substrate;

a sensor that senses an input on the touch surface and determines an input location at which the input occurs; and

a controller that varies a viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid in a location corresponding to a peripheral region of the input location.

2. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the controller determines whether the input is a continuous input based on the input location, and, when the input is determined to be a continuous input, varies the viscosity of electro-rheological fluid in a location corresponding to a peripheral region of a latest input location among input locations determined by the sensing unit.

3. The touch panel of claim 2, wherein the controller varies the viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid in a location corresponding to the peripheral region of the input location, according to at least one method selected from among a first method of increasing the viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid along a traveling path of the continuous input, a second method of decreasing the viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid along the traveling path of the continuous input, a third method of maintaining the viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid constant regardless of the traveling path of the continuous input, and a fourth method of alternately increasing and decreasing the viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid along the traveling path of the continuous input.

4. The touch panel of claim 3, wherein the controller varies the viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid in the location corresponding to the peripheral region of the latest input location with respect to viscosity of electro-rheological fluid in the location corresponding to the latest input location.

5. The touch panel of claim 3, wherein the at least one method which the controller uses to vary the viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid are selected by a user.

6. The touch panel of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of driving electrode arrays in which driving electrodes are arranged on the first substrate and the second substrate such that the driving electrodes form driving electrode pairs, each of the driving electrode pairs including a driving electrode on the first substrate and a corresponding driving electrode on the second substrate,

wherein the controller controls locations at which a driving voltage is to be applied through a corresponding driving electrode pair, and an amplitude of the driving voltage that is to be applied to the driving electrode pairs.

19. An electronic device having the touch panel of claim 1 as a user input interface.

7. A touch panel comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate that is spaced a apart from the first substrate by a gap, the second substrate comprising a touch surface;

a plurality of driving electrode arrays in which driving electrodes are arranged on the first substrate and the second substrate such that the driving electrodes form driving electrode pairs, each of the driving electrode pairs including a driving electrode on the first substrate and a corresponding driving electrode on the second substrate and each of the driving electrode pairs is configured to induce an electrical field locally between the first substrate and the second substrate upon application of a driving voltage;

an electro-rheological fluid that is filled in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein a viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid is changed by an electrical field induced by the driving electrode pairs; and

a controller that, when a continuous input from a user is sensed on the touch surface, applies a driving voltage pattern to driving electrode pairs in a location corresponding to at least one peripheral region of a latest input location among locations at which the continuous input is sensed.

8. The touch panel of claim 7, wherein the driving voltage pattern is at least one pattern that is selected from among a first pattern where the driving voltage increases along a traveling path of the continuous input, a second pattern where the driving voltage decreases along the traveling path of the continuous input, a third pattern where the driving voltage is maintained constant regardless of the traveling path of the continuous input, and a fourth pattern where the driving voltage alternately increases and decreases along the traveling path of the continuous input.

9. The touch panel of claim 8, wherein the controller increases or decreases the driving voltage by varying an amplitude of the driving voltage to be applied to the driving electrode pairs in the location corresponding to the peripheral region of the latest input location.

10. The touch panel of claim 8, wherein the driving voltage pattern is selectable by the user.

11. The touch panel of claim 8, wherein the fourth pattern is configured to vary the driving voltage to increase and decrease according to a sine wave form or to a pulse wave form along the traveling path of the continuous input.

12. The touch panel of claim 11, wherein at least one of an amplitude and frequency of the sine wave or the pulse wave is variable.

13. The touch panel of claim 7, wherein the touch panel is incorporated into a display of an electronic device as a touch screen, and the controller controls an amplitude of the driving voltage applied to the driving electrode pairs at the location corresponding to the peripheral region of the latest input location based on a distance from the latest input location to an object displayed on the touch screen, the object being located on the touch screen a distance away from the latest input location.

14. The touch panel of claim 13, wherein, as the distance between the object and the latest input location decreases, the controller controls the amplitude of the driving voltage to increase, reaching a maximum amplitude just before the latest input location reaches the object.

15. The touch panel of claim 7, wherein the touch panel is incorporated into a display of an electronic device as a touch screen, and the controller controls an amplitude of the driving voltage applied to the driving electrode pairs at the location corresponding to the peripheral region based on a distance from the latest input location to a window border displayed on the touch screen, the window border being located on the touch screen a distance away from the latest input location.

16. The touch panel of claim 15, wherein, as the distance between the window border and the latest input location decreases, the controller controls the amplitude of the driving voltage to increase or decrease, reaching a maximum or a minimum, respectively, just before the latest input location reaches the window border.

17. The touch panel of claim 7, wherein the touch panel is incorporated into a display of an electronic device as a touch screen, wherein a scroll bar is displayed on the touch screen and the continuous input is to move the scroll bar.

18. The touch panel of claim 17, wherein the driving voltage applied to the driving electrode pairs has a pulse wave form, and the controller controls an amplitude of the driving voltage based on a range within which the scroll bar is movable on the touch screen.

20. An electronic device having the touch panel of claim 7 as a user input interface.