Tactile input and output device

• US 9,223,403 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Araki, Shoichi, Hirose, Yoshifumi, Fujiune, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Mummalaneni, Nalini
• Application Number:
  US13/827,680
• Publication Number:
  US 20140168110A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,020 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A tactile input and output device includes: a panel; a touch information obtaining unitobtaining touch positions; an order input determining unit determining setting information; a vibration position determining unit determining a first touch position and a second touch position, the first touch position observed in a spatial order, and corresponding to the determined setting information, and the second touch position being another one of the touch positions than the first touch position; and a multi-point simultaneous vibration control unit controlling the vibration on the panel to provide a predetermined vibration to the first touch position and provide no predetermined vibration to the second touch position.

Claims

1. A tactile input and output device including a panel which receives a touch input from a user and generates a vibration, and shows a result of the touch input, the tactile input and output device comprising:

the panel;

actuators each of which is provided to a different position on the panel and vibrates the panel;

a touch information obtaining unit configured to obtain touch positions which are simultaneously detected at positions on the panel;

a setting information storage unit configured to store pieces of setting information, to be inputted through the touch input, in association with a stored shifting direction of the touch positions;

a shift input determining unit configured to (i) calculate, based on time-series information of the touch positions which are detected on the panel, a shifting direction of the touch positions, and (ii) compare the calculated shifting direction with the stored shifting direction and determine one of the pieces of the setting information corresponding to the calculated shifting direction;

a setting information changing unit configured to change a setting value of the one piece of the setting information determined by the shift input determining unit, based on one of (i) whether or not the touch positions have shifted, (ii) how far the touch positions have shifted, (iii) how often the touch positions have shifted, and (iv) how fast the touch positions have shifted;

a vibration providing condition determining unit configured to, when the touch positions shift in a same direction, calculate a starting touch position with respect to the same shifting direction among the touch positions, and determine the starting touch position as a first touch position for providing the vibration and one of the touch positions other than the starting touch position as a second touch position providing no vibration;

a vibration determining unit configured to generate, based on the setting value of the one piece of the setting information, a tactile feedback signal indicating the vibration to be provided to the first touch position; and

a multi-point simultaneous vibration control unit configured to calculate, for each of the actuators, a drive signal which provides the vibration to the first touch position and provides no vibration to the second touch position, and drive each of the actuators based on the calculated drive signal and simultaneously control the vibration on the panel for each of the touch positions,

wherein the vibration providing condition determining unit is configured to, when the touch positions shift in a same direction, calculate a starting touch position with respect to the same shifting direction among the touch positions, and determine, in the case where the touch positions are kept detected in the shifting and/or in an area in which the touch positions stop shifting, (i) the starting touch position as a first touch position for providing the vibration and (ii) one of the touch positions other than the starting touch position as a second touch position for providing no vibration.

2. A tactile input and output device including a panel which receives a touch input from a user and generates a vibration, and showing a result of the touch input, the tactile input and output device comprising:

the panel;

a touch information obtaining unit configured to obtain touch positions which are simultaneously detected at positions on the panel;

actuators each of which is provided to a different position on the panel and vibrates the panel;

a hierarchy setting information storage unit configured to organize setting information of the device into selection modes and arrange the selection modes in a hierarchy, and store the arranged selection modes in association with a spatial order of the touch positions;

a hierarchy information input determining unit configured to;

calculate, based on time-series information of the touch positions which are simultaneously detected on the panel, a detection order and a spatial order of the simultaneously detected touch positions;

based on (i) the calculated spatial order of the touch positions selected based on the detection order and (ii) the spatial order of a setting item in one of the selection modes found in an N^th hierarchy level and stored in the hierarchy setting information storage unit, determine the setting item corresponding to the spatial order of the selected touch positions and enter one of the selection modes in an (N+1)^th hierarchy level; and

further, enter (i) one of the selection modes in a first hierarchy level when a first input pattern is detected, and (ii) one of the selection modes in the (N−

1)^th hierarchy level when a second input pattern is detected, the N^th hierarchy level being a higher hierarchy level than the first hierarchy level,

a setting information changing unit configured to change a setting value of the setting information determined by the hierarchy information input determining unit;

a hierarchy level vibration providing condition determining unit configured to determine for each of the hierarchy levels or the selection modes, a first touch position for providing the vibration and a second touch position for providing no vibration;

a vibration determining unit configured to determine a tactile feedback signal indicating the vibration to be provided to the first touch position based on at least one of the first input pattern, the second input pattern, the setting value of the setting information, and a number N of the N^th hierarchy level; and

a multi-point simultaneous vibration control unit configured to calculate, for each of the actuators, a drive signal which provides a predetermined vibration to the first touch position and provides no predetermined vibration to the second touch position, and drive each of the actuators based on the calculated drive signal and simultaneously control the vibration on the panel for each of the touch positions.

3. The tactile input and output device according to claim 2,

wherein in the second input pattern in each of the selection modes, as many touch positions as options are detected and a touch position other than the previously detected touch positions is detected.

4. A tactile input and output method for vibrating a panel based on a touch input from a user, and causing actuators each of which is provided to a different position near the panel to vibrate the panel, the method comprising:

obtaining touch positions which are simultaneously detected at positions on the panel;

calculating, based on time-series information on the touch positions which are detected on the panel, a shifting direction of the touch positions;

determining setting information corresponding to the shifting direction of the touch positions;

changing a setting value of the determined setting information, based on one of (i) whether or not the touch positions have shifted, (ii) how far the touch positions have shifted, (iii) how often the touch positions have shifted, and (iv) how fast the touch positions have shifted;

calculating, when the touch positions shift in a same direction, a starting touch position with respect to the same shifting direction among the touch positions, and determining the starting touch position as a first touch position for providing the vibration and one of the touch positions other than the starting touch position as a second touch position providing no vibration;

generating, based on the setting value of the setting information, a tactile feedback signal indicating the vibration to be provided to the first touch position; and

calculating, for each of the actuators, a drive signal which provides the vibration to the first touch position and provides no vibration to the second touch position, and driving each of the actuators based on the calculated drive signal and simultaneously controlling the vibration on the panel for each of the touch positions,

wherein in the determining of a first touch position and a second touch position, when the touch positions shift in a same direction, a starting touch position with respect to the same shifting direction among the touch positions is calculated, and in the case where the touch positions are kept detected in the shifting and/or in an area in which the touch positions stop shifting, (i) the starting touch position is determined as a first touch position for providing the vibration and (ii) one of the touch positions other than the starting touch position is determined as a second touch position for providing no vibration.