Method and apparatus for haptic flex gesturing

• US 9,411,423 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2012
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Original Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Inventors: Heubel, Robert W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): MATHEWS, CRYSTAL
• Application Number:
  US13/368,828
• Publication Number:
  US 20130201115A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,644 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/214 for locating contacts on a surface, e.g. floor mats or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/245 specially adapted to a particular type of game, e.g. steering wheels
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/25 Output arrangements for video game devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

An electronic interactive device having a user interface with a flexible surface, a sensor configured to sense a flex gesture applied to the flexible surface, a haptic device configured to generate a haptic effect in response to the flex gesture, and a controller in signal communication with the sensor and the haptic device. The controller is configured to trigger the haptic device to provide haptic confirmation of the flex gesture and to trigger an application action associated with the flex gesture.

Claims

1. An electronic interactive device comprising:

a user interface comprising a flexible surface;

a sensor configured to sense a flex gesture user input applied to the flexible surface;

a haptic device configured to generate a haptic effect in response to the flex gesture user input; and

a controller in signal communication with the sensor and the haptic device, the controller configured to

trigger the haptic device to provide haptic confirmation of the flex gesture user input, and

trigger an application action in response to the flex gesture user input,

wherein the sensor is configured to sense the flex gesture user input in a first direction and to sense the flex gesture user input in an opposite direction,

wherein the controller is configured to trigger a first application action in response to the sensor sensing the flex gesture user input in the first direction and to trigger a second application action in response to the sensor sensing the flex gesture user input in the opposite direction.

2. The electronic interactive device of claim 1, wherein haptic device comprises an actuator.

3. The electronic interactive device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to trigger the application action by outputting a signal associated with the flex gesture user input to a computing device configured to execute an application associated with the application action.

4. The electronic interactive device of claim 3, further comprising a wireless communication device configured to transmit the signal to the computing device.

5. The electronic interactive device of claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises a flexible display screen, and wherein the controller is configured to trigger the application action by presenting the application action on the display screen.

6. The electronic interactive device of claim 1, further comprising a second sensor configured to sense a touch gesture applied to the flexible surface.

7. The electronic interactive device of claim 1, wherein the flexible surface is located at an edge of the electronic interactive device.

8. The electronic interactive device of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a strain gauge, a piezoelectric transducer, an accelerometer, or a gyroscope.

9. The electronic interactive device of claim 1, wherein the flex gesture user input sensed by the sensor comprises bending of the flexible surface.

10. The electronic interactive device of claim 9, wherein the flex gesture user input sensed by the sensor comprises twisting of the flexible surface.

11. The electronic interactive device of claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to trigger the haptic device to provide a first haptic effect in response to the bending and to trigger the haptic device to provide a second haptic effect in response to the twisting.

12. The electronic interactive device of claim 1, wherein the first application action and the second application action are actions selected from the group consisting of:

an on-off toggle action, a select-deselect toggle action, an up-down toggle action, a left-right toggle action, a forward-reverse toggle action, and a zoom-in-zoom-out toggle action.

13. The electronic interactive device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to cause the haptic device to base a frequency or amplitude of the haptic confirmation on a magnitude of the flex gesture user input.

14. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising an accelerometer configured to sense an accelerometer-based gesture, wherein the controller is configured to trigger the first application action based on the accelerometer-based gesture and the first flex gesture user input.

15. A haptic gesture recognition method comprising:

sensing a first flex gesture user input applied to a flexible surface of a user interface in a first direction with a flex gesture sensor;

generating a haptic effect to the user interface with a haptic device in response to said sensing the first flex gesture user input;

triggering a first application action in response to the first flex gesture user input with a controller;

sensing a second flex gesture user input applied to the flexible surface of the user interface in a second direction opposite the first direction with the flex gesture sensor;

generating the haptic effect to the user interface with the haptic device in response to said sensing the second flex gesture user input; and

triggering a second application action in response to the second flex gesture user input with the controller.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said triggering the first application action comprises outputting a signal associated with the first flex gesture user input to a computing device executing an application associated with the first application action or presenting the first application action on a display screen of the user interface.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said sensing the first flex gesture user input comprises sensing bending of the flexible surface, or twisting of the flexible surface.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising sensing an accelerometer-based gesture with an accelerometer, wherein the first application action is triggered in response to the accelerometer-based gesture and the first flex gesture user input.