Haptic realignment cues for touch-input displays

• US 10,768,747 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2018
• Issued: 09/08/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Wang, Paul X., Bullock, Ian M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, David
• Application Number:
  US16/041,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20190064997A1
• Time in Patent Office: 781 Days
• 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 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

A touch-sensitive display of an electronic device is operated in conjunction with a notification system configured to provide haptic, acoustic, and/or visual output to cue a user to align and/or maintain the user'"'"'s finger positioning relative to one or more virtual input regions, such as virtual keys of a virtual keyboard, presented on the touch-sensitive display.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a touch-sensitive display defining an input surface configured to receive a touch input to a virtual key presented by the touch-sensitive display;

a haptic element coupled to the input surface; and

a controller in communication with the haptic element and the touch-sensitive display and configured to;

detect a sequence of touch inputs occurring within a region of the virtual key, the sequence of touch inputs including a current touch and multiple previous touches, each of the multiple previous touches associated with an actuation of the virtual key caused by placement of a user'"'"'s body part within the region of the virtual key;

determine a relative positional drift of the current touch relative to the multiple previous touches using the sequence of touch inputs; and

in response to the relative positional drift exceeding a threshold, actuate the haptic element to produce a haptic output.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the haptic element comprises a piezoelectric material coupled to the touch-sensitive display.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the piezoelectric material is configured to induce a bending moment into the input surface such that, when actuated, the haptic element generates a localized haptic output through the input surface below the virtual key.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the haptic element is configured to vibrate the input surface at a frequency between 100 Hz and 200 Hz to produce the haptic output.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the haptic element is configured to vibrate the input surface at an ultrasonic frequency to produce the haptic output.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the haptic element is configured to laterally shift the input surface to produce the haptic output.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein a frequency or an amplitude of the haptic output is based, at least in part, on a determined distance between one of the sequence of touch inputs and a central region of the virtual key.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the haptic output is localized to the current touch.

9. A method of operating a touch-sensitive display positioned below an input surface, the method comprising:

displaying a virtual keyboard on the touch-sensitive display;

receiving a series of individual touch inputs occurring within a region of a virtual key of the virtual keyboard, the series of individual touch inputs including a current touch input and multiple previous touch inputs, the multiple previous touch inputs each associated with an actuation of the virtual key caused by placement of a user'"'"'s body part within the region of the virtual key;

determining a relative positional drift of the current touch input relative to the multiple previous touch inputs using the series of individual touch inputs; and

in response to the relative positional drift exceeding a threshold, providing a haptic output at least partially localized to the region of the virtual key.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the haptic output is localized to a boundary of the virtual key.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the haptic output is localized to a touch input of the series of individual touch inputs.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the haptic output comprises decreasing friction between the input surface and an object in contact with the input surface.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising providing an acoustic output simultaneously with the haptic output.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising providing a visual output on the touch-sensitive display simultaneously with the haptic output.

15. A method of operating a touch-sensitive display positioned below an input surface, the method comprising:

receiving a set of touch inputs occurring within a region of a virtual key of a virtual keyboard presented by the touch-sensitive display, the set of touch inputs including a current touch input and multiple previous touch inputs, the multiple previous touch inputs each associated with an actuation of the virtual key caused by placement of a user'"'"'s body part within the region of the virtual key;

estimating a relative positional drift of the current touch input relative to the multiple previous touch inputs using the set of touch inputs; and

in response to the relative positional drift exceeding a threshold, actuating a haptic element to produce;

a first haptic output, localized to the virtual key, upon determining that the current touch input is located in a central region of the virtual key; and

a second haptic output, localized to a boundary of the virtual key, upon determining that the current touch input is located outside the central region of the virtual key.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first haptic output is different from the second haptic output.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the first haptic output corresponds to a first vibration of the input surface at a first frequency; and

the second haptic output corresponds to a second vibration of the input surface at a second frequency.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first frequency is related to a distance between the current touch input and the central region of the virtual key.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein an amplitude of the first vibration is related to a distance between the set of touch inputs and the central region of the virtual key.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing a first acoustic output with the first haptic output; and

providing a second acoustic output with the second haptic output.