Localized haptic feedback

• US 9,449,476 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2012
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sentons, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sentons, Inc.
• Inventors: Lynn, Lapoe E., Sheng, Samuel W., Shih, Shih-Ming, Hsieh, Yenyu
• Primary Examiner(s): Li, Lin
• Application Number:
  US13/681,286
• Publication Number:
  US 20130127755A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,401 Days
• Field of Search: 726/2, 715/863, 701/48, 463/22, 463/36, 463/39, 455/566, 361/679.01, 345/157, 345/169, 345173-174, 345/177, 345/179, 345/211, 345/419, 342/451, 340/407.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• 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 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0436 in which generating transducers and detecting transducers are attached to a single acoustic waves transmission substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 6/00 Tactile signalling systems, e.g. personal calling systems

Abstract

A haptic feedback system is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of remote transmitters that are remote from a location of interest on a surface of the system. The system includes a signal generator that generates a signal for each of the remote transmitters. The remote transmitters propagate the signals through a medium of the surface and the signals interfere at the location of interest such that a localized disturbance is generated at the location of interest.

Claims

1. A haptic feedback system including:

a plurality of remote transmitters that are remote from a location of interest on a surface of the system, wherein the plurality of remote transmitters is included in the haptic feedback system but is not located at the location of interest;

a signal generator that generates a haptic component signal for each of the remote transmitters, wherein the remote transmitters propagate the haptic component signals through a touch screen medium of the surface and the haptic component signals interfere at the location of interest such that a localized haptic disturbance is generated at the location of interest and the localized haptic disturbance is generated by an interference of the haptic component signals at the location of interest without a use of a motor and the interference of the haptic component signals that generated the localized haptic disturbance is substantially localized to the location of interest to generate the localized haptic disturbance that is substantially isolated to the location of interest; and

an ultrasonic transmitter that transmits an ultrasonic touch location signal, wherein the ultrasonic touch location signal is allowed to freely propagate in multiple directions through the touch screen medium of the surface of the system, the ultrasonic touch location signal is utilized to detect a location of a touch input and the ultrasonic touch location signal is different from the haptic component signal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the signal generator controls the location of interest where the localized haptic disturbance is generated at least in part by controlling signal phases of the haptic component signals and generating the localized haptic disturbance includes generating a physical vibration.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the signal generator controls the intensity of the localized haptic disturbance at least in part by controlling amplitudes of the haptic component signals.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the localized haptic disturbance is associated with a haptic feedback.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the localized haptic disturbance indicates a location of a button displayed on the surface.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the surface is a touchscreen display surface.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of remote transmitters includes transducers.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the location of interest corresponds to a location identifier received from an application.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the haptic component signals include bending waves.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the localized haptic disturbance is isolated to the location of interest.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a storage that provides signal parameter data used by the signal generator to generate the haptic component signals.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the storage includes predetermined data indexed by locations on the surface where localized disturbances are capable of being generated.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein at least a portion of the contents of the storage has been calibrated to account for a variation of the system.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the signal generator generates the haptic component signal for each of the remote transmitters at least in part by using a beamforming formula.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the haptic component signals interfere at a second location of interest such that a second localized disturbance is generated at the second location of interest.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the generation of the localized haptic disturbance is selectively enabled and disabled based on a power state of the system.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the generation of the localized haptic disturbance is selectively enabled and disabled based on a detection of a touch input.

18. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a communication interface configured to receive the freely propagating ultrasonic touch location signal that has been affected by the touch input on the surface; and

a processor coupled to the communication interface and configured to process the received freely propagating signal to determine a user indication associated with the touch input on the surface.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic transmitter is included in the plurality of remote transmitters and at least one of the plurality of remote transmitters transmits both the haptic signal and the ultrasonic touch location signal.

20. A method of providing a localized haptic disturbance, comprising:

receive an identifier associated with a location on a surface where the localized haptic disturbance is desired;

using the identifier to obtain one or more signal configurations to be used to provide the localized haptic disturbance;

generating a haptic component signal for each of a plurality of transmitters, wherein the transmitters propagate the haptic component signals through a touch screen medium of the surface and the haptic signals interfere at the location of interest such that a localized haptic disturbance is generated at the location of interest and the localized haptic disturbance is generated by an interference of the haptic component signals at the location of interest without a use of a motor and the interference of the haptic component signals that generated the localized haptic disturbance is substantially localized to the location of interest to generate the localized haptic disturbance that is substantially isolated to the location of interest; and

an ultrasonic transmitter that transmits an ultrasonic touch location signal, wherein the ultrasonic touch location signal is allowed to freely propagate in multiple directions through the touch screen medium of the surface of the system, the ultrasonic touch location signal is utilized to detect a location of a touch input and the ultrasonic touch location signal is different from the haptic component signal.