Multi touch with multi haptics

• US 8,686,952 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2009
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Burrough, Bobby, Pope, Benjamin J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Haley, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): ILUYOMADE, IFEDAYO B
• Application Number:
  US12/419,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20100156818A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,821 Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• 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 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Methods and systems for processing touch inputs are disclosed. The invention in one respect includes reading data from a multi-touch sensing device such as a multi-touch touch screen where the data pertains to touch input with respect to the multi-touch sensing device, and identifying at least one multi-touch gesture based on the data from the multi-touch sensing device and providing an appropriate multi-haptic response.

Claims

1. An apparatus providing multi-touch haptic feedback, comprising

a touch pad having a touch sensitive surface arranged to receive a user provided multi-touch event associated with at least two different locations on the touch sensitive surface;

a multi-touch detection mechanism operatively coupled to the touch sensitive surface that detects the multi-touch event and generates a corresponding a multi-touch signal; and

a plurality of haptic feedback devices operatively coupled to the multi-touch detection mechanism and the touch sensitive surface;

wherein

the plurality of haptic devices are disposed beneath the touch sensitive surface and are cooperatively arranged to concurrently provide tactile feedback in the form of vibro-tactile sensations at each of the at least two different locations on the touch sensitive surface in response to the multi-touch signal; and

at least two nearby haptic devices of the plurality of haptic feedback devices concurrently respond to the user provided multi-touch event to form a single compound haptic response to the user provided multi-touch event;

the single compound haptic response differs from a haptic response provided by either of the at least two nearby haptic feedback devices operating alone; and

the haptic responses provided by the at least two nearby haptic devices of the plurality of haptic feedback devices to form the single compound haptic response differ from each other.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the tactile feedback at each of the at least two different locations are discreet from one another.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein when the multi-touch signal indicates that the multi-touch event is a dynamic multi-touch event indicating a change in the multi-touch event, then the tactile feedback at each of the at least two different locations is updated to reflect the change in the multi-touch event.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the tactile feedback event is different for each of the at least two different locations.

5. A method for processing a touch event at a touch sensitive surface, comprising:

receiving a user provided multi-touch event associated with at least two different locations on the touch sensitive surface;

detecting the multi-touch event;

generating a multi-touch signal corresponding to the multi-touch event; and

responding to the multi-touch signal by a plurality of haptic feedback devices disposed beneath the touch sensitive surface cooperatively and concurrently providing tactile feedback in the form of vibro-tactile sensations at each of the at least two different locations on the touch sensitive surface in response to the multi-touch signal;

wherein

the tactile feedback at each of the at least two different locations are discreet from one another; and

at least two nearby haptic devices of the plurality of haptic feedback devices concurrently respond to the user provided multi-touch event to form a single compound haptic response to the user provided multi-touch event;

the single compound haptic response differs from a haptic response provided by either of the at least two nearby haptic feedback devices operating alone; and

the haptic responses provided by the at least two nearby haptic devices of the plurality of haptic feedback devices to form the single compound haptic response differ from each other.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein when the multi-touch signal indicates that the multi-touch event is a dynamic multi-touch event corresponding to a change in the multi-touch event over a period of time, then the tactile feedback at each of the at least two different locations is updated in real time to reflect the change in the multi-touch event.

7. A multi-touch haptic mechanism, comprising:

a touch pad having a touch sensitive surface arranged to detect a user touch event at substantially any location on the touch sensitive surface; and

a plurality of independent haptic devices each disposed beneath the touch sensitive surface and each arranged to provide a type of tactile feedback in the form of a corresponding vibro-tactile sensation operatively coupled to the touch sensitive surface each providing the corresponding type of tactile feedback in response to a nearby user touch event thereby providing a tactile feedback at substantially any location on the touch sensitive surface at which the user touch event has occurred;

wherein

at least two nearby haptic devices of the plurality of independent haptic devices concurrently respond to the user touch event to form a single compound haptic response to the user touch event; and

the single compound haptic response differs from a haptic response provided by either of the at least two nearby haptic devices operating alone; and

the haptic responses provided by the at least two nearby haptic devices of the plurality of independent haptic feedback devices to form the single compound haptic response differ from each other.

8. The multi-touch haptic mechanism as recited in claim 7, wherein each of the at least two nearby haptic devices only respond to the user touch event in one or more associated regions of the touch sensitive surface.

9. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch pad having a touch sensitive surface arranged to process a user touch event; and

a plurality of haptic feedback devices each disposed beneath the touch sensitive surface and each arranged to provide a type of tactile feedback in the form of a corresponding vibro-tactile sensation each of which is operatively coupled to the touch sensitive surface and each responding to the user touch event only in a specific region of the touch sensitive surface and arranged to provide tactile feedback singly or in combination with others of the plurality of haptic feedback devices in response to the user touch event;

wherein

the touch sensitive regions of at least two of the plurality of haptic devices overlap; and

the at least two haptic devices cooperate to provide a single combined haptic feedback response to the user touch event, the single compound haptic response differs from a haptic response provided by either of the at least two haptic devices operating alone and the haptic responses provided by the at least haptic devices to form the simile compound haptic response differ from each other.

10. The electronic device as recited in claim 9, wherein the combined haptic feedback response includes a first component associated with one of the at least two haptic devices and a second component associated with the other of the at least two haptic devices.

11. The electronic device as recited in claim 10, wherein the first component is related to a distance from the user touch event to the one of the at least two haptic devices.

12. The electronic device as recited in claim 10, wherein the second component is related to a distance from the user touch event to the other of the at least two haptic devices.

13. The electronic device as recited in claim 10, wherein the first and the second components combine linearly to form the compound haptic response.

14. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch pad having a touch sensitive surface arranged to receive a multi-touch user touch event provided by a user;

a controller coupled and in communication with the touch pad arranged to at least analyze the multi-touch user touch event and/or a state of the touch pad and based upon the analysis provide a multi-touch user touch event signal in response to the multi-touch user touch event; and

a plurality of haptic devices disposed beneath the touch sensitive surface and operatively coupled to the controller arranged to receive the multi-touch user touch event signal;

wherein

the plurality of haptic devices responds to the multi-touch user touch event signal by cooperatively and concurrently providing an appropriate haptic feedback response in the form of vibro-tactile sensations at each of at least two different locations on the touch sensitive surface to the user based upon the analysis provided by the controller; and

at least two nearby haptic devices of the plurality of haptic devices concurrently respond to the multi-touch user touch event to form a single compound haptic response to the multi-touch user touch event;

the single compound haptic response differs from a haptic response provided by either of the at least two nearby haptic devices operating alone; and

the haptic responses provided by the at least two nearby haptic devices of the plurality of haptic feedback devices to form the single compound haptic response differ from each other.

15. The electronic device as recited in claim 14, wherein the touch sensitive surface is arranged to receive different types of multi-touch user touch events each being characterized by an amount of pressure applied on the touch sensitive surface by a user.

16. The electronic device as recited in claim 15, wherein the haptic device responds to the multi-touch user touch event based upon the applied pressure.