INPUT DEVICE

• US 20180329497A1
• Filed: 05/03/2018
• Published: 11/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2017
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Oshita, Kazuhito, Takai, Daisuke, Shigetaka, Hiroshi, Takahashi, Hiroaki, Ri, Jo
• Application Number:
  US15/970,023
• Publication Number:
  US 20180329497A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04107 Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

An input device includes an operating surface at which touch operations relating to changing a display form of a display object are performed, a contact sensor configured to detect touch operations as to the operating surface, a pressure sensor configured to detect pressing operations as to the operating surface, a tactile feedback presentation element configured to present tactile feedback corresponding to operations detected by the touch sensor, and a tactile feedback controller configured to control the tactile feedback presented by the tactile feedback presentation element. In a case where an operation detected by the touch sensor is a specified operation specified beforehand out of the contact operations relating to changing the display form, the tactile feedback controller causes the tactile feedback presentation element to present tactile feedback corresponding to that specified operation.

Claims

1. An input device, comprising:

an operating surface at which touch operations relating to changing a display form of a display object are performed;

a contact sensor configured to detect touch operations as to the operating surface;

a pressure sensor configured to detect pressing operations as to the operating surface;

a tactile feedback presentation element configured to present tactile feedback corresponding to operations detected by the touch sensor; and

a tactile feedback controller configured to control the tactile feedback presented by the tactile feedback presentation element,

wherein, in a case where an operation detected by the touch sensor is a specified operation specified beforehand out of the contact operations relating to changing the display form, the tactile feedback controller causes the tactile feedback presentation element to present tactile feedback corresponding to that specified operation.

2. The input device according to claim 1,

wherein the operations relating to changing the display form include operations relating to enlarging and reducing the display object, and the specified operation is an operation to enlarge or reduce the display object by a specified scale.

3. The input device according to claim 1,

wherein the operations relating to changing the display form include operations relating to rotating the display object, and the specified operation is an operation to rotate the display object by a specified angle.

4. The input device according to claim 2,

wherein, when the display object returns to the original display form, the tactile feedback controller causes the tactile feedback presentation element to present tactile feedback corresponding thereto.

5. The input device according to claim 1,

wherein resolution for detecting the specified operation is changed between a case where pressure detected by the pressure sensor when the specified operation is performed is a predetermined value or above, and a case where the pressure is smaller than the predetermined value.

6. The input device according to claim 5,

wherein frequency of presenting the tactile feedback is changed in accordance with the pressure in a case where pressure detected by the pressure sensor when the specified operation is performed is the predetermined value or above.