ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20190332176A1
• Filed: 04/25/2019
• Published: 10/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tianma Japan, Ltd. (Tianma Microelectronics Company Limited), Wuhan Tianma Micro-Electronics Company Limited (Wuhan Donghu New Technology Development Zone Production Promotion Centre)
• Original Assignee: Tianma Japan, Ltd. (Tianma Microelectronics Company Limited)
• Inventors: YANG, Yiping, HAGA, Hiroshi, SASAKI, Harue, SUGIMOTO, Daisuke, ASAI, Takuya, SHIGEMURA, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 10,976,823 B2
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means

Abstract

An electronic device having a display screen that displays a user interface including at least one object, comprising: a display mechanism that displays the user interface; a coordinate detection mechanism that detects coordinates of a user touch point on the display screen; a first feedback presentation mechanism that presents tactile feedback at a prescribed point to make the user perceive the presence of an object; a measurement mechanism that measures a force generated by the user pressing the display screen; and a second feedback presentation mechanism that detects an operation trigger based on the force and generates mechanical vibration.

Claims

1. An electronic device having a display screen that displays a user interface including at least one object, comprising:

a display mechanism that displays the user interface;

a coordinate detection mechanism that detects coordinates of a user touch point on the display screen;

a first feedback presentation mechanism that presents tactile feedback at a prescribed point to make the user perceive the presence of an object;

a measurement mechanism that measures a force generated by the user pressing the display screen; and

a second feedback presentation mechanism that detects an operation trigger based on the force and generates mechanical vibration.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1,

wherein the second feedback presentation mechanism is configured to:

detect the force at the position of the object as the operation trigger when the force is greater than a threshold value; and

generate the mechanical vibration to make the user perceive that an operation performed on the object has been accepted.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2,

wherein the first feedback presentation mechanism is constituted of a substrate having a plurality of electrodes patterned therein, and a circuit that applies a voltage to the plurality of electrodes, and

wherein the first feedback presentation mechanism presents an electrostatic tactile feedback by applying a voltage to at least one of the plurality of electrodes corresponding to a position of a prescribed object in the display screen.

4. The electronic device according to claim 2,

wherein the second feedback presentation mechanism generates mechanical vibration in a direction substantially parallel to the direction that is perpendicular to a direction of the force.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1,

wherein the second feedback presentation mechanism and the display mechanism are connected through a connection mechanism that reduces attenuation of the mechanical vibration.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1,

wherein the coordinate detection mechanism and the second feedback presentation mechanism operate independently of each other.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising an updating mechanism that updates a baseline used as a reference value of the force,

wherein the updating mechanism is configured to:

store a force value measured by the measurement mechanism in a buffer;

discard the force value stored in the buffer when the coordinate detection mechanism detects the user touching the display mechanism or when the measurement mechanism detects the user pressing the display mechanism; and

update the baseline based on the force values if the number of force values accumulated in the buffer is greater than a prescribed number.

8. A control method for an electronic device having a display screen that displays a user interface including at least one object,

the electronic device including:

a display mechanism that displays the user interface;

a coordinate detection mechanism that detects coordinates of a user touch point on the display screen;

a first feedback presentation mechanism that presents tactile feedback at a prescribed point to make the user perceive the presence of an object;

a measurement mechanism that measures a force generated by the user pressing the display screen; and

a second feedback presentation mechanism that detects an operation trigger based on the force and that generates mechanical vibration,

the control method for the electronic device including;

a step of identifying, by the first feedback presentation mechanism, an object for which tactile feedback is presented, based on setting information of the user interface;

a step of presenting, by the first feedback presentation mechanism, tactile feedback at a position of the identifies object in the display screen; and

a step of detecting, by the second feedback presentation mechanism, the activation trigger when the force at the position of the identified object is greater than a threshold value, and generating the mechanical vibration to make the user perceive that an operation performed on the identified object has been accepted.