ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20130222339A1
• Filed: 02/21/2013
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: KOGA, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 9,342,148 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user

Abstract

The electronic device 10 includes: a display panel 18 for displaying information in a display area 12; a touch panel 11 to be touched by a user; a vibrating section 13 for vibrating the touch panel 11; and a vibration control section 33 for controlling the vibration of the vibrating section 13. While the user keeps touching the touch panel 11, if the touched position is moved between the inside and the outside of the display area 12, the vibration control section 33 changes the vibration.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a display section for displaying information in a display area;

a panel to be touched by a user;

a vibrating section for vibrating the panel; and

a vibration control section for controlling the vibration of the vibrating section, wherein,

if a position of touching moves between an inside and an outside of the display area while the user keeps touching the panel, the vibration control section changes the vibration.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising

a display control section for controlling displaying by the display section, wherein

the display control section changes a content displayed by the display section when the touch position moves between the inside and the outside of the display area.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising

a display control section for controlling displaying by the display section, wherein

the display control section moves a displayed position of the information in the display area in accordance with a move of the touch position;

and

the display control section ensures that a direction of the move of the displayed position of the information is varied between before and after the touch position exceeds a boundary between the inside and the outside of the display area.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the vibration control section varies an amplitude of the vibration in accordance with a moving velocity of the touch position when the touch position reaches the boundary between the inside and the outside of the display area.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the vibration control section allots a greater amplitude to the vibration when the moving velocity is fast than when the moving velocity is slow.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising

a display control section for controlling displaying by the display section, wherein,

when the touch position exceeds the boundary between the inside and the outside of the display area,

the vibration control section causes the vibrating section to generate a pulsed vibration in accordance with amount of displacement of the touch position from the boundary, and

at a timing of generating the pulsed vibration, the display control section sequentially switches the content displayed by the display section.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising

a display control section for controlling displaying by the display section, wherein,

after the touch position exceeds the boundary between the inside and the outside of the display area, until there is no more touching on the panel,

the vibration control section causes the vibrating section to periodically generate vibrations, and

at timings of generating the periodic vibrations, the display control section sequentially switches the content displayed by the display section.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein, in accordance with a moving velocity of the touch position when the touch position reaches the boundary, the vibration control section varies a cycle with which the vibrations are generated.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the vibration control section adopts a greater cycle of generating the vibrations when the moving velocity is fast than when the moving velocity is slow.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, when the touch position moves from the inside of the display area to the outside of the display area, the vibration control section generates the vibration.

11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein a touch position detection area of the panel has a geometric area which is greater than the display area.

12. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein,

when the user touches a first area of the panel, the vibration control section causes the vibrating section to generate a first vibration, and

after the touch on the first area ceases, if the user again touches the first area within a predetermined time, the vibration control section causes the vibrating section to generate a second vibration different from the first vibration.

13. An electronic device comprising:

a panel to be touched by a user;

a vibrating section for vibrating the panel; and

a vibration control section for controlling the vibration of the vibrating section, wherein,

if a position of touching moves between an inside and an outside of a touch position detection area of the panel while the user keeps touching the panel, the vibration control section changes the vibration.

14. An electronic device comprising:

a display section for displaying information;

a panel to be touched by a user;

a vibrating section for vibrating the panel; and

a vibration control section for controlling the vibration of the vibrating section, wherein,

when the user touches a first area of the panel, the vibration control section causes the vibrating section to generate a first vibration, and

after the touch on the first area ceases, if the user again touches the first area within a predetermined time, the vibration control section causes the vibrating section to generate a second vibration different from the first vibration.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the first area is an area corresponding to a predetermined key on a keyboard displayed by the display section, and a character corresponding to the predetermined key is input when the user touches the first area.