Electronic device including a moveable touch-sensitive input and method of controlling same

• US 8,310,458 B2
• Filed: 07/06/2009
• Issued: 11/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Faubert, Perry Allan, Griffin, Jason Tyler
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sharifi-Tafreshi, Koosha
• Application Number:
  US12/497,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20110001707A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,226 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-178, 345/158, 178 1801- 1809, 715/701, 715/702
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

Abstract

An electronic device includes a housing including a base, a touch-sensitive input assembly coupled to the housing and spaced from and moveable relative to the base to generate sound, an accelerometer housed within the housing, an actuating arrangement comprising a piezoelectric actuator between the base and the touch-sensitive input surface and arranged to receive a driving signal and move the touch-sensitive input surface relative to the base, and functional components in the housing comprising a memory and a processor operably coupled to the memory, the touch-sensitive input assembly, the actuating arrangement, and the accelerometer to execute a program stored in the memory to determine an orientation of the electronic device and adjust the driving signal to the actuating arrangement based on the orientation of the electronic device.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a housing including a base;

a touch-sensitive input assembly coupled to the housing and spaced from and moveable relative to the base to generate sound;

an accelerometer housed within the housing;

an actuating arrangement comprising a piezoelectric actuator between the base and the touch-sensitive input surface and arranged to receive a driving signal and move the touch-sensitive input surface relative to the base; and

functional components in the housing comprising a memory and a processor operably coupled to the memory, the touch-sensitive input assembly, the actuating arrangement, and the accelerometer to execute a program stored in the memory to determine an orientation of the electronic device and adjust the driving signal to the actuating arrangement based on the orientation of the electronic device to counter-act the effect of gravity on the touch-sensitive input assembly.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, comprising a sealing element arranged between the touch-sensitive input assembly and the housing to substantially seal the touch-sensitive input assembly against the housing.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the sealing element comprises a flexible, resilient sealing element.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric actuator is adhered to the touch-sensitive input assembly.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the actuating arrangement comprises a plurality of piezoelectric actuators between the base and the touch-sensitive input surface, each of the piezoelectric actuators arranged to receive a driving signal and move the touch-sensitive input surface relative to the base.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric actuator comprises a piezoelectric disk actuator.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the memory further includes a program executable by the processor to cause the actuating arrangement to modulate a force on the touch-sensitive input assembly and thereby cause movement of the touch-sensitive input assembly in response to detection of a touch thereon.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein modulation of the force comprises reducing the force over a collapse time period to cause the touch-sensitive input assembly to move toward the base and thereby simulate collapse of a dome-type switch.

9. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein modulation of the force comprises increasing the force on the touch-sensitive input assembly, in a direction away from the base, over a ramp-up time period prior to reducing the force over the collapse time period.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the ramp-up time period of time is longer than the collapse time period.

11. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein modulation of the force comprises increasing the force over a release time period to cause the touch-sensitive input assembly to move away from the base and thereby simulate release of the dome-type switch.

12. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the touch-sensitive input assembly comprises a touch-sensitive input device disposed on a display.

13. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein adjusting the driving signal comprises applying a pre-distortion to the driving signal to adjust the sound generated by the movement of the touch-sensitive input assembly.

14. A method of controlling an electronic device comprising a housing including a base, a touch-sensitive input assembly coupled to the housing and spaced from and moveable relative to the base to generate sound, an accelerometer housed within the housing, an actuating arrangement comprising a piezoelectric actuator between the base and the touch-sensitive input surface and arranged to receive a driving signal and move the touch-sensitive input surface relative to the base, and functional components in the housing comprising a memory and a processor operably coupled to the memory, the touch-sensitive input assembly, the actuating arrangement, and the accelerometer to execute a program stored in the memory, the method comprising:

determining an orientation of the electronic device; and

adjusting the driving signal to the actuating arrangement based on the orientation of the electronic device to counter-act the effect of gravity on the touch-sensitive input assembly.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable code embodied therein for execution by a processor in an electronic device having a housing including a base, a touch-sensitive input assembly coupled to the housing and spaced from and moveable relative to the base to generate sound, an accelerometer housed within the housing, an actuating arrangement comprising a piezoelectric actuator between the base and the touch-sensitive input surface and arranged to receive a driving signal and move the touch-sensitive input surface relative to the base, and functional components in the housing comprising a memory and a processor operably coupled to the memory, the touch-sensitive input assembly, the actuating arrangement, and the accelerometer to cause the electronic device to determine an orientation of the electronic device, and adjust the driving signal to the actuating arrangement based on the orientation of the electronic device to counter-act the effect of gravity on the touch-sensitive input assembly.