Electronic device for generating vibrations in response to touch operation

• US 9,342,148 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2013
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2012
• 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: Koga, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisen, Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): TESHOME, KEBEDE T
• Application Number:
  US13/772,719
• Publication Number:
  US 20130222339A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,181 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/173, 345/174
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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

Abstract

The electronic device 10 includes: a display panel 18 for displaying information in a display area 12; a touch panel 11 to be touched by a user; a vibrating section 13 for vibrating the touch panel 11; and a vibration control section 33 for controlling the vibration of the vibrating section 13. While the user keeps touching the touch panel 11, if the touched position is moved between the inside and the outside of the display area 12, the vibration control section 33 changes the vibration.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a display that displays information in a display area;

a panel to be touched by a user;

a vibrator that vibrates the panel;

a vibration controller that controls the vibration of the vibrator; and

a display controller that controls displaying by the display wherein,

if a touch position on the panel touched by the user moves across a boundary between an inside of the display area in which information is displayable and an outside of the display area in which information is not displayable, and then the move of the touch position stops while the user keeps touching the panel, the vibration controller causes the vibrator to generate a pulsed vibration in accordance with an amount of displacement of the stop position from the boundary, and

at a timing of generating each pulsed vibration, the display controller changes a content displayed by the display,

wherein the inside of the display area and the outside of the display area as touched by the user are on the same plane.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the vibration controller varies an amplitude of the vibration in accordance with a moving velocity of the touch position when the touch position reaches the boundary between the inside and the outside of the display area.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the vibration controller allots a greater amplitude to the vibration when the moving velocity is fast than when the moving velocity is slow.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein,

the vibration controller causes the vibrator to periodically generate vibrations until there is no more touching on the panel, and

at a timing of generating each periodic vibration, the display controller changes the content displayed by the display.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein, in accordance with a moving velocity of the touch position when the touch position reaches the boundary, the vibration controller varies a cycle with which the vibrations are generated.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the vibration controller adopts a greater cycle of generating the vibrations when the moving velocity is fast than when the moving velocity is slow.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein a touch position detection area of the panel has a geometric area which is greater than the display area.