Systems and methods for providing features in a friction display

• US 10,747,322 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2018
• Issued: 08/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Original Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Inventors: Cruz-Hernandez, Juan Manuel, Grant, Danny A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hung T
• Application Number:
  US16/057,866
• Publication Number:
  US 20180348875A1
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• Field of Search: 3404071, 3404072, 341 20, 341 27, 341 34, 345156, 345173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• 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 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/04 Texture mapping
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 6/00 Tactile signalling systems, e.g. personal calling systems

Abstract

A touch-enabled device can simulate one or more features in a touch area. Features may include, but are not limited to, changes in texture and/or simulation of boundaries, obstacles, or other discontinuities in the touch surface that can be perceived through use of an object in contact with the surface. Systems include a sensor configured to detect a touch in a touch area when an object contacts a touch surface, an actuator, and one or more processors. The processor can determine a position of the touch using the sensor and select a haptic effect to generate based at least in part on the position, the haptic effect selected to simulate the presence of a feature at or near the determined position. Some features are simulated by varying the coefficient of friction of the touch surface.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor configured to;

determine a position of a user interaction on a touch surface;

map the position of the user interaction to a location on a graphical user interface associated with the touch surface;

determine a haptic effect based in part on an intensity of a pixel at the location and a duration of operation value associated with the pixel at the location in the graphical user interface, wherein the haptic effect is configured to vary a coefficient of friction on the touch surface at the position of the user interaction; and

transmit a haptic signal to a haptic output device configured to output the haptic effect.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the haptic effect comprises a texture at or near the position of the user interaction.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the haptic effect comprises a boundary between a first region and a second region in the graphical user interface.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the boundary is positioned between two simulated keys of a keyboard.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a velocity of the user interaction and determine the haptic effect based at least in part on the velocity.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a pressure of the user interaction and determine the haptic effect based at least in part on the pressure.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the haptic output device is configured to displace the touch surface vertically, laterally, or vertically and laterally at an ultrasonic frequency.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the haptic output device comprises one or more of:

a piezoelectric actuator, an electromagnetic actuator, an electroactive polymer, a shape memory alloy, or a composite.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein varying the coefficient of friction of the touch surface comprises increasing the coefficient of friction of the touch surface.

10. A method, comprising:

determining a position of a user interaction on a touch surface;

mapping the position of the user interaction to a location on a graphical user interface associated with the touch surface;

determining a haptic effect based in part on an intensity of a pixel at the location and a duration of operation value associated with the pixel at the location in the graphical user interface, wherein the haptic effect is configured to vary a coefficient of friction on the touch surface at the position of the user interaction; and

transmitting a haptic signal to a haptic output device configured to output the haptic effect.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the haptic effect comprises a texture at or near the position of the user interaction.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the haptic effect comprises a boundary between a first region and a second region in the graphical user interface.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the boundary is positioned between two simulated keys of a keyboard.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining a velocity of the user interaction and determining the haptic effect based at least in part on the velocity.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining a pressure of the user interaction and determining the haptic effect based at least in part on the pressure.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the haptic output device is configured to displace the touch surface vertically, laterally, or vertically and laterally at an ultrasonic frequency.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the haptic output device comprises one or more of:

a piezoelectric actuator, an electromagnetic actuator, an electroactive polymer, a shape memory alloy, or a composite.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein varying the coefficient of friction of the touch surface comprises increasing the coefficient of friction of the touch surface.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying program code, which when executed by a processor is configured to cause the processor to:

determine a position of a user interaction on a touch surface;

map the position of the user interaction to a location on a graphical user interface associated with the touch surface;

determine a haptic effect based in part on an intensity of a pixel at the location and a duration of operation value associated with the pixel at the location in the graphical user interface, wherein the haptic effect is configured to vary a coefficient of friction on the touch surface at the position of the user interaction; and

transmit a haptic signal to a haptic output device configured to output the haptic effect.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium set forth in claim 19, wherein the haptic effect comprises a texture at or near the position of the user interaction.