Systems and methods for friction displays and additional haptic effects

• US 9,696,803 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2010
• Issued: 07/04/2017
• 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): Bee, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US12/696,900
• Publication Number:
  US 20100231550A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,713 Days
• 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

Systems, methods, and computer program products for providing composite haptic effects are disclosed. One disclosed method includes detecting a touch occurring in a touch area when an object contacts a touch surface and selecting a composite haptic effect to generate in response to the touch, the composite haptic effect including at least one surface-based haptic effect and at least one other effect. Based on the selected composite haptic effect, a first haptic signal can be sent to cause an actuator to vary a coefficient of friction of the touch surface and a second actuator can be caused to provide a second haptic output in addition to the variation in the coefficient of friction. The second haptic signal can be sent to a second actuator or the same actuator(s) used to vary the coefficient of friction can generate the second haptic output.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a sensor configured to detect a touch in a touch area when an object contacts a touch surface;

a first actuator coupled to the touch surface, the first actuator configured to provide a first haptic output, in response to a first haptic signal, the first haptic output configured to vary a coefficient of friction of the touch surface;

a second actuator coupled to the touch surface, the second actuator configured to provide a second haptic output, in response to a second haptic signal, the second haptic output different from the first haptic output; and

a processor in communication with the first actuator, the second actuator, and the sensor, the processor configured to;

select a composite haptic effect to generate on the touch surface by mapping a location of the touch to a mapping file comprising friction values at locations on the touch surface, the mapping file comprising data associated with multiple layers of a user interface, each layer associated with a state of the user interface, and

transmit the first haptic signal to the first actuator, the first haptic signal associated with the composite haptic effect; and

transmit the second haptic signal to the second actuator, the second haptic signal associated with the composite haptic effect, the first haptic signal and the second haptic signal configured to cause the first actuator and the second actuator to generate the composite haptic effect on the touch surface.

2. The system set forth in claim 1, wherein the first actuator comprises at least one of a piezoelectric actuator or a composite piezoelectric actuator;

and

wherein the second actuator comprises at least one of a piezoelectric actuator, a shape memory alloy, an electroactive polymer, a composite piezoelectric actuator, an electromagnetic actuator, an eccentric rotational mass actuator, a linear resonant actuator, or a voice coil actuator.

3. The system set forth in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a position of the touch and wherein selecting the composite haptic effect comprises determining a haptic output or combination of outputs that will simulate a first feature in the touch surface at or near the determined position.

4. The system set forth in claim 1, wherein the first haptic signal and the second haptic signal comprise the same signal.

5. The system set forth in claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to send the first haptic signal to the first actuator to vary the coefficient of friction to simulate a background texture while sending the second haptic signal to the second actuator to simulate a second feature overlaying the background texture.

6. The system set forth in claim 1, wherein the mapping file comprises a plurality of values, including a first value used to generate the first haptic signal to send to the first actuator and a second value used to generate the second haptic signal for providing the second haptic output.

7. The system set forth in claim 1, wherein the location of the touch is determined based on a position of the touch and a velocity of the touch.

8. The system set forth in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a pressure of the touch based on data from the sensor, wherein the composite haptic effect is selected based at least in part on the pressure of the touch.

9. The system set forth in claim 1, further comprising a display, the display comprising a plurality of pixels and defining a display area, the display configured to output an image based at least in part on a display signal,

wherein the touch surface corresponds to the display or a material above the display, and

wherein the processor is configured to output the display signal.

10. 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.

11. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

detecting, using at least one sensor, a touch occurring in a touch area when an object contacts a touch surface;

selecting a composite haptic effect to generate in response to the touch by mapping a location of the touch to a mapping file comprising friction values at locations on the touch surface, the mapping file comprising data associated with multiple layers of a user interface, each layer associated with a state of the user interface, the composite haptic effect including at least one surface-based haptic effect;

sending a first haptic signal associated with the composite haptic effect to a first actuator coupled to the touch surface, the first haptic signal configured to cause the first actuator to output a first haptic effect, the first haptic effect configured to vary a coefficient of friction of the touch surface; and

sending a second haptic signal associated with the composite haptic effect to a second actuator coupled to the touch surface, the second haptic signal configured cause the second actuator to output a second haptic effect, the second haptic effect different from the first haptic effect, and wherein the first haptic effect and the second haptic effect are configured to generate the composite haptic effect on the touch surface.

12. The computer-implemented method set forth in claim 11, wherein the first actuator comprises at least one of a piezoelectric actuator or a composite piezoelectric actuator;

and

wherein the second actuator comprises at least one of a piezoelectric actuator, a shape memory alloy, an electroactive polymer, a composite piezoelectric actuator, an electromagnetic actuator, an eccentric rotational mass actuator, a linear resonant actuator, or a voice coil actuator.

13. The computer-implemented method set forth in claim 11, further comprising:

determining a position of the touch, wherein selecting the composite haptic effect comprises determining a haptic effect that will simulate a feature in the touch surface at or near the determined position.

14. The computer-implemented method set forth in claim 11, wherein the composite haptic effect comprises:

varying the coefficient of friction to simulate one of a background texture and a simulated feature; and

using the second haptic effect to simulate the other of the background texture and the simulated feature.

15. The computer-implemented method set forth in claim 11, wherein the first haptic signal is configured to cause the first actuator to vary the coefficient of friction to simulate a feature and the second haptic signal is configured to cause the second actuator to provide tactile feedback in response to interacting with the simulated feature.

16. The computer-implemented method set forth in claim 15, wherein the simulated feature comprises a simulated key and the second haptic signal is configured to provide tactile feedback in response to data indicating the simulated key has been pressed.

17. The computer-implemented method set forth in claim 11, further comprising:

outputting a graphical user interface using a display, wherein the touch surface corresponds to at least one of;

the display;

a material above the display;

or

a peripheral device comprising an area mapped to at least a portion of the graphical user interface.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, 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 executable by a computing system, the program code comprising:

program code for causing the computing system to track a location of a touch on a touch surface;

program code for causing the computing system to select a composite haptic effect to generate by mapping the location of the touch to a mapping file comprising friction values at locations on the touch surface, the mapping file comprising data associated with multiple layers of a user interface, each layer associated with a state of the user interface;

program code for sending a first haptic signal associated with the composite haptic effect to a first actuator coupled to the touch surface, the first haptic signal configured to cause the first actuator to output a first haptic effect, the first haptic effect configured to vary a coefficient of friction of the touch surface; and

program code for sending a second haptic signal associated with the composite haptic effect to a second actuator coupled to the touch surface, the second haptic signal configured cause the second actuator to output a second haptic effect, the second haptic effect different from the first haptic effect, and wherein the first haptic effect and the second haptic effect are configured to generate the composite haptic effect on the touch surface.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein varying the coefficient of friction of the touch surface comprises increasing the coefficient of friction of the touch surface.