CN209980188U - Multi-modal haptic feedback for electronic devices using a single haptic actuator - Google Patents

Multi-modal haptic feedback for electronic devices using a single haptic actuator Download PDF

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CN209980188U
CN209980188U CN201921139169.XU CN201921139169U CN209980188U CN 209980188 U CN209980188 U CN 209980188U CN 201921139169 U CN201921139169 U CN 201921139169U CN 209980188 U CN209980188 U CN 209980188U
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haptic
actuator
housing
coupling mechanism
input
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A·M·李
D·亚敏-沙希迪
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Apple Inc
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Apple Inc
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Abstract

The utility model discloses a multi-mode tactile feedback of electronic equipment who uses single tactile actuator. Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for providing multi-modal haptic feedback for an electronic device using a single haptic actuator are disclosed. Adjusting a parameter (e.g., frequency) of an actuator waveform generated by the single haptic actuator can affect how a mechanical coupling between the haptic actuator and a portion of an electronic device produces a device waveform at the device portion from the actuator waveform. A first mechanical coupling having a first response characteristic (e.g., stiffness or resonant frequency) may be provided between the haptic actuator and a first portion of the electronic device (e.g., a user input component of the electronic device), while a second mechanical coupling having a different second response characteristic may be provided between the haptic actuator and a second portion of the electronic device (e.g., a device housing of the electronic device) to selectively provide localized haptic feedback at the first portion of the electronic device.

Description

Multi-modal haptic feedback for electronic devices using a single haptic actuator
Cross-referencing
This patent application claims the benefit of previously filed U.S. provisional patent application 62/738,032 filed on 28.9.2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to providing multi-modal haptic feedback, and more particularly, to providing multi-modal haptic feedback for an electronic device using a single haptic actuator.
Background
Haptic technology, which may be referred to simply as haptics, is a technology based on haptic feedback that can stimulate the user's sense of touch by applying a relative amount of force to the user. Haptic sensations have become a popular way of conveying information to users of consumer electronic devices. For example, an electronic device may include a haptic actuator that provides tactile feedback to a user when the user is in contact with any portion of the electronic device, where the haptic actuator may apply a relative amount of force to the user of the electronic device by actuating a mass that is part of the haptic actuator.
SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for enabling multi-modal haptic feedback for an electronic device using a single haptic actuator are provided.
For example, an electronic device may be provided that includes a device housing defining an interior space, a haptic actuator positioned within the interior space, an input member positioned at least partially within the interior space and accessible to a user via an opening extending through the device housing, a haptic housing coupling mechanism physically coupling the haptic actuator to the device housing, and a haptic input coupling mechanism physically coupling the haptic actuator to the input member, wherein a flexibility of the haptic input coupling mechanism is less than a flexibility of the haptic housing coupling mechanism.
As another example, a haptic feedback assembly for an electronic device including a first component and a second component may be provided, the haptic feedback assembly including a haptic actuator, a first coupling mechanism for physically coupling the haptic actuator to the first component, and a second coupling mechanism for physically coupling the haptic actuator to the second component, wherein a flexibility of the second coupling mechanism is less than a flexibility of the first coupling mechanism.
As another example, an electronic device can be provided that includes a device housing defining an interior space, a haptic actuator positioned within the interior space, an input member, a haptic housing coupling mechanism that gently mounts the haptic actuator to the device housing, and a haptic input coupling mechanism that physically couples the haptic actuator to the input member while enabling the input member to freely move in at least one direction relative to the device housing.
As another example, an electronic device can be provided that includes a device housing defining an interior space, a haptic actuator positioned within the interior space, and a haptic housing coupling mechanism physically coupling the haptic actuator to the device housing, wherein the haptic actuator includes a first fundamental resonant frequency and the haptic housing coupling mechanism has a second fundamental resonant frequency that is greater than the first fundamental resonant frequency.
The present disclosure is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example embodiments so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the subject matter described herein. Thus, it should be understood that the features described in this disclosure are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Unless otherwise specified, features described in the context of one example may be combined with or used together with features described in the context of one or more other examples. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the claims.
Drawings
The following discussion makes reference to the following drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device capable of haptic feedback for multiple modalities;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another illustrative electronic device capable of haptic feedback for multiple modalities;
FIG. 3 is a front, right side, bottom perspective view of the electronic device of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a portion of the electronic device of FIGS. 2 and 3;
FIG. 5 is a front, right, bottom perspective view of an exemplary multi-modal haptic feedback assembly of the electronic device of FIGS. 2-4;
FIG. 6 is a front, right, bottom perspective view of another exemplary multi-modal haptic feedback assembly of the electronic device of FIGS. 2-4;
fig. 6A is a front view of a portion of the electronic device of fig. 2-4 with the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly of fig. 6 when assembled;
FIG. 7 is a front, right, bottom perspective view of another exemplary multi-modal haptic feedback assembly of the electronic device of FIGS. 2-4;
FIG. 8 is a front, right, bottom perspective view of another exemplary multi-modal haptic feedback assembly of the electronic device of FIGS. 2-4;
FIG. 9 is a front, right, bottom perspective view of another exemplary multi-modal haptic feedback assembly of the electronic device of FIGS. 2-4;
fig. 10 is a front, right side, bottom perspective view of a portion of the electronic device of fig. 2-4 with the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly of fig. 7 at two different stages of assembly;
FIG. 11 is a front, right side, bottom perspective view of a portion of the electronic device of FIGS. 2-4 with another exemplary multi-modal haptic feedback assembly;
FIG. 12 is a graph illustrating a relationship between an exemplary actuator waveform and an exemplary device waveform;
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative subsystem of an electronic device that supports higher peak power for shorter haptic feedback bursts; and is
Fig. 14-16 are front views of a portion of various electronic devices having a multi-modal haptic feedback assembly and at least one additional input member sensor.
Detailed Description
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments described herein. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that these various embodiments are illustrative only and are not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure.
Moreover, in the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are shown or described. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions may be required to achieve specific design goals. These design goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
The present disclosure relates to implementing multi-modal haptic feedback for an electronic device using a single haptic actuator. Adjusting a parameter (e.g., frequency) of an actuator waveform generated by a single haptic actuator can affect how a mechanical coupling (e.g., a flexible coupling) between the haptic actuator and a portion of an electronic device produces a device waveform at the device portion from the actuator waveform. A first (e.g., more rigid (e.g., less flexible)) mechanical coupling (e.g., a solder joint) may be provided between the haptic actuator and a first portion of the electronic device (e.g., a user input component of the electronic device), while a second (e.g., less rigid (e.g., more flexible)) mechanical coupling (e.g., via a spring or pad) may be provided between the haptic actuator and a second portion of the electronic device (e.g., a device housing of the electronic device), to selectively provide local haptic feedback at a first portion of the electronic device (e.g., by adjusting a parameter of an actuator waveform (e.g., a frequency parameter)), wherein the first and second portions of the electronic device may not be physically coupled to each other or may be significantly flexibly coupled to each other compared to any flexibility of each device portion being correspondingly coupled to the actuator housing.
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for implementing multi-modal haptic feedback for an electronic device using a single haptic actuator are provided and described with reference to fig. 1-16.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device 100 that can provide multi-modal haptic feedback. Electronic device 100 may be any portable, mobile, or handheld electronic device configured to provide multi-modal haptic feedback. Alternatively, the electronic device 100 may not be portable at all, but may instead be generally stationary. The electronic device 100 can include, but is not limited to, a media player, a video player, a still image player, a game player, other media players, a music recorder, a movie or video camera or recorder, a still camera, other media recorder, a radio, a medical device, a home appliance, a vehicle meter, a musical instrument, a calculator, a cellular telephone (e.g., an iPhone available from Apple incTM) Other wireless communication devices, personal digital assistants, remote controls, pagers, computers (e.g., desktop, laptop, tablet, server, etc.), monitors, televisions, sound devices, set-top boxes, wearable devices (e.g., Apple Watch, available from Apple inc. to be worn on the wrist), other wireless communication devices, personal digital assistants, remote controls, pagers, computers (e.g., desktop, laptop, tablet, server, etc.), televisions, stereo devices, set-top boxes, and wearable devicesTMHead-mounted devices, etc.), small speakers, modems, routers, printers, and any combination thereof. Electronic device 100 may include any suitable controller or control circuitry or processor 102, memory 104, communication component 106, power supply 108, input component 110, and output component 112. Electronic device 100 may also include a bus 114 that may provide one or more wired or wireless communication links or paths for transferring data and/or power to and from various other components of device 100Or to transfer data and/or power between various other components of the device 100. The apparatus 100 may also be provided with an apparatus housing 101 that may at least partially enclose one or more of the components of the apparatus 100 to protect it from debris and other degradation forces external to the apparatus 100. The device housing 101 may provide at least a portion of the appearance of the device 100 and may be made of any suitable material, including but not limited to glass, ceramic, metal, plastic, wood, and/or the like. In some embodiments, one or more of the components may be provided within its own device housing (e.g., input component 110 may be a separate keyboard or mouse located within its own device housing, which may communicate wirelessly or by wire with processor 102, which may be provided within its own device housing). In some embodiments, one or more components of electronic device 100 may be combined or omitted. Further, electronic device 100 may include other components that are not incorporated or included in FIG. 1. For example, device 100 may include any other suitable components or several instances of the components shown in fig. 1. For simplicity, only one of each component is shown in FIG. 1.
Memory 104 may include one or more storage media including, for example, a hard disk drive, flash memory, persistent storage such as read only memory ("ROM"), semi-persistent storage such as random access memory ("RAM"), any other suitable type of storage component, or any combination thereof. The memory 104 may include cache memory, which may be one or more different types of memory for temporarily storing data for electronic device applications. Memory 104 may store media data (e.g., music files and image files), software (e.g., an application for implementing functions on device 100 (e.g., a haptic synthesizer application that may be configured for use by a synthesizer engine to generate and/or provide instructions or voltage waveforms for reconstructing haptic atoms or atomic sequences, for use with any effectors, and for haptic actuators, etc.)), firmware, preference information (e.g., media playback preferences), lifestyle information (e.g., dietary preferences), motion information (e.g., information acquired by a motion monitoring device), transaction information (e.g., information such as credit card information), wireless connection information (e.g., information that may enable device 100 to establish a wireless connection with any other suitable device or server or other remote entity), firmware, or any other suitable software (e.g., a computer-readable medium that may be used to implement the functions described herein), Subscription information (e.g., information used to track podcasts or television shows or other media subscribed to by the user), contact information (e.g., phone numbers and email addresses), calendar information, any other suitable data, or any combination thereof.
A communications component 106 may be provided to allow device 100 to communicate with one or more other electronic devices or servers or subsystems using any suitable communications protocol. For example, communications component 106 can support Wi-Fi (e.g., 802.11 protocol), Ethernet, BluetoothTMNear field communication ("NFC"), radio frequency identification ("RFID"), high frequency system (e.g., 900MHz, 2.4GHz, and 5.6GHz communication systems) protocols, infrared protocols, transmission control protocol/internet protocol ("TCP/IP") (e.g., any of the protocols used in each of the TCP/IP layers), hypertext transfer protocol ("HTTP"), BitTorrentTMA protocol, a file transfer protocol ("FTP"), a real-time transfer protocol ("RTP"), a real-time streaming protocol ("RTSP"), a secure shell protocol ("SSH"), any other communication protocol, or any combination thereof. Communications component 106 can also include circuitry that can enable device 100 to be electrically coupled to and communicate wirelessly or via a wired connection with another device or server or subsystem.
The power supply 108 may provide power to one or more components of the device 100. In some embodiments, the power supply 108 may include one or more batteries for providing power (e.g., when the device 100 is a portable device such as a cellular telephone). In some embodiments, the power supply 108 may be coupled to a power grid (e.g., for charging a portable battery and/or when the device 100 is not a portable device such as a desktop computer). As another example, the power supply 108 may be configured to generate power from a natural source (e.g., solar energy using solar cells).
One or more input components 110 may be provided to allow a user to interact or interface with device 100 and/or sense certain information about the surrounding environment. For example, the input component 110 may take a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, a touch pad, a dial, a click wheel, a scroll wheel, a touch screen, one or more buttons, a keyboard, a push button switch, a rotary dial, a mouse, a joystick, a trackball, a switch, a photoelectric cell, a force sensing resistor ("FSR"), an encoder (e.g., a rotary encoder and/or a shaft angle encoder that may convert the angular position or motion of a shaft or axis into an analog or digital code), a microphone, a camera, a scanner (e.g., a bar code scanner or any other suitable scanner that may obtain product identification information from a code, such as a linear bar code, a matrix bar code (e.g., a quick response ("QR") code, etc.), a proximity sensor (e.g., a capacitive proximity sensor), a biometric sensor (e.g., a fingerprint reader or other feature identification sensor, the feature recognition sensor may operate in conjunction with a feature processing application accessible to electronic device 100 to authenticate or otherwise identify or detect a user), a line-in connector for data and/or power, a force sensor (e.g., any suitable capacitive sensor, pressure sensor, strain gauge, sensing plate (e.g., a capacitive and/or strain sensing plate), etc.), a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor, thermocouple, thermometer, silicon bandgap temperature sensor, bimetallic sensor, etc.) for detecting a temperature of a portion of electronic device 100 or its surroundings, a performance analyzer (e.g., processor 102) for detecting application characteristics related to current operation of one or more components of electronic device 100, a motion sensor (e.g., a single-axis or accelerometer, an angular rate or inertial sensor (e.g., optical gyroscopes, vibratory gyroscopes, gas rate gyroscopes or ring gyroscopes), linear velocity sensors, etc.), magnetometers (e.g., scalar or vector magnetometers), pressure sensors, light sensors (e.g., ambient light sensors ("ALS"), infrared ("IR") sensors, etc.), heat sensors, acoustic sensors, sonic or sonar sensors, radar sensors, image sensors, video sensors, global positioning system ("GPS") detectors, radio frequency ("RF") detectors, RF or acoustic doppler detectors, RF triangulation detectors, charge sensors, peripheral detectors, event counters, and any combination thereof. Each input component 110 may be configured to provide one or more dedicated control functions for making selections or issuing commands associated with operating device 100.
Electronic device 100 may also include one or more output components 112 that can present information (e.g., graphical information, auditory information, and/or tactile information) to a user of device 100. The output components of the electronic device 100 may take a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, audio speakers, headphones, data and/or power line outputs, visual displays (e.g., for transmitting data via visible light and/or via non-visible light), antennas, infrared ports, flashes (e.g., light sources for providing artificial light that illuminates the device environment), tactile/haptic/tap outputs (e.g., sounders, vibrators, haptic actuators, any suitable component for providing vibrations and/or the like, etc.), and any combination thereof.
It should be noted that the one or more input components 110 and the one or more output components 112 may sometimes be collectively referred to herein as input/output ("I/O") components or I/O interfaces 111. For example, touch sensor type input component 110 and display type output component 112 may sometimes be a single I/O component 111, such as a touch screen, that can receive input information by a user touching the display screen and can also provide visual information to the user via the same display screen.
Processor 102 of device 100 may include any processing circuitry for controlling the operation and performance of one or more components of electronic device 100. For example, processor 102 may be used to run one or more applications such as application 103. The application programs 103 may include, but are not limited to, one or more operating system applications, firmware applications, and/or software applications, such as a haptic synthesizer application (which may be configured for use by a synthesizer engine or any suitable module to generate and/or provide instructions or voltage waveforms for reconstructing haptic atoms or atomic sequences, for use in conjunction with any effectors, and for use by haptic output components (e.g., haptic actuators)), a media playback application, a media editing application, a delivery application, a calendar application, a state determination application (e.g., a device state determination application), a biometric feature processing application, a compass application, a health application, a thermometer application, a weather application, a thermal management application, a force sensing application, a computer program, or any combination thereof, A device diagnostic application, a video game application, or any other suitable application. For example, processor 102 may load application 103 as a user interface program or any other suitable program, one or more ways in which information may be stored on device 100 (e.g., in memory 104) and/or provided to a user via output component 112 (e.g., via haptic actuator output components) and/or transmitted to a remote subsystem (e.g., to any other electronic device or remote server via communication component 106, etc.) may be manipulated in a manner (e.g., due to user interaction with mechanical buttons and/or motion sensors, etc.) that determines the manner in which instructions or data (e.g., application data indicative of any suitable event (e.g., calendar events) and/or remote data that may be received via communication component 106, etc.) are received via any suitable one or more input components 110 and/or any other components of device 100. The processor 102 may access the application 103 from any suitable source, such as from the memory 104 (e.g., via the bus 114) or from another device or server (e.g., via the communication component 106). The processor 102 may include a single processor or multiple processors. For example, the processor 102 may include at least one "general purpose" microprocessor, a combination of general and special purpose microprocessors, an instruction set processor, a graphics processor, a video processor, and/or an associated chipset, and/or a special purpose microprocessor. The processor 102 may also include on-board memory for caching purposes. The processor 102 may be implemented as any electronic device capable of processing, receiving, or transmitting data or instructions. For example, the processor 102 may be a microprocessor, central processing unit, application specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, digital signal processor, analog circuit, digital circuit, or a combination of these devices. The processor 102 may be a single threaded or a multi-threaded processor. The processor 102 may be a single-core or multi-core processor. Thus, as described herein, the term "processor" may refer to a device or circuitry that implements data processing by hardware, which is physically configured to perform certain transformations of data, including data manipulations represented as code and/or instructions included in programs that may be stored in and accessed from memory. The term is intended to encompass a single processor or processing unit, a plurality of processors, a plurality of processing units, analog or digital circuitry, or other suitably configured computing element or combination of elements. The processor or processing unit or controller 102 may be configured to access a memory 104, which may have various instructions, computer programs, or other data stored thereon. The instructions or computer program may be configured to perform one or more of the operations or functions described with respect to the electronic device 100. For example, the instructions may be configured to control or coordinate the operation of one or more input components 110, one or more output components 112, one or more communication components 106, one or more power supplies 108, and/or any other suitable component of device 100.
As shown in fig. 2-11, for example, the electronic device 200 may be used to provide multiple modes of haptic feedback, where the device 200 may be configured as an electronic device (e.g., a wearable electronic device) having an I/O component (e.g., a touchscreen I/O component), two different input components, and a haptic actuator output component, each of which may be disposed at least partially within a device housing (e.g., a housing that may be worn by a user (e.g., worn on a user's wrist as a smart watch)). Device 200 may include any suitable control circuitry or processor 202 that may be similar to any suitable processor 102 of device 100, an application 203 that may be similar to any suitable application 103 of device 100, a memory (not shown) that may be similar to any suitable memory 104 of device 100, a communication component (not shown) that may be similar to any suitable communication component 106 of device 100, a power source (not shown) that may be similar to any suitable power source 108 of device 100, at least one of which may be similar to any suitable input component 110 of device 100An input component 210 (e.g., one input component 210 as a first input component 230 and another input component 210 as a second input component 240), at least one output component 212 that may be similar to any suitable input component 110 of device 100 (e.g., output component 212 as a haptic actuator output component 250), an I/O component 211 that may be similar to any suitable I/O component 111 of device 100 (e.g., I/O component 211 as a touch screen I/O component 220), one or more buses 214 that may be similar to any suitable buses 114 of device 100, and/or a housing 201 that may be similar to any suitable housing 101 of device 100. The housing 201 may be any suitable shape and may include any suitable number of walls that may define an interior housing space 209 within which one or more other device components may be at least partially positioned. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, for example, the housing 201 may have a substantially hexahedral shape and may include a top wall 201t, a bottom wall 201b that may be opposite the top wall 201t, a left wall 201l, a right wall 201r that may be opposite the left wall 201l, a front wall 201f, and a rear wall 201k that may be opposite the front wall 201f, wherein at least a portion of the I/O component 211 may be at least partially exposed to the external environment via a housing opening through the front wall 201f, wherein at least a portion of the input component 230 may be at least partially exposed to the external environment via a housing opening 201oa through the right wall 201r, and wherein at least a portion of the input component 240 may be at least partially exposed to the external environment via a housing opening 201ob through the right wall 201r (or via a housing opening through the left wall 201l, etc.). In some embodiments, one or more components of the apparatus 200 may be combined or omitted. Further, the device 200 may include other components not incorporated or included in fig. 2-11. For example, device 200 may include any other suitable components or several instances of the components shown in fig. 1, or only some, but not all, of the components shown in fig. 2-11. For simplicity, only one of each component is shown in fig. 2-11. Although device 200 may illustratively be a smart Watch (e.g., a wearable mobile wireless communication device (e.g., Apple Watch)TM) May include a strap or strap 213 for securing the housing 201 to a user, but should beIt is understood that device 200 may be any other type of electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a tablet, a laptop, any suitable wearable device, etc. (e.g., as described with respect to device 100). In some embodiments, each of the first input member 230 and the second input member 240 may be configured as a finger-operated user input device, such as may illustratively take the form of a rotary dial input member 230 (e.g., a digital crown) and a push-button switch input member 240, which may be communicatively coupled to the processor 202 via one or more buses 214. Each input component may cooperate with the processor 202 to perform one or more device functions in response to its operation. For example, device functions may include turning the electronic device 200 on or off, initiating communication via wireless communication components of the device 200, and/or executing menu functions of a user interface application operable on the device 200. Haptic actuator output component 250 may be communicatively coupled to processor 202 via one or more buses 214 and may be used to provide haptic feedback to the user (e.g., in the form of various vibrations or "taps" (e.g., particularly when device 200 is worn by the user)). As just one example, the haptic feedback provided may indicate a received message, and the duration of the feedback may indicate the type of message received. Of course, the haptic feedback may indicate or convey any other suitable type of information. Processor 202 may be configured to apply a voltage or any other suitable signal to move the movable body or mass between the first and second positions along one or more axes. For example, the processor 202 or any other component of the device may provide or include a class D amplifier to drive the haptic actuator output component 250 and/or a sensor for sensing voltage and/or current (see, e.g., fig. 13).
As shown in fig. 4, for example, haptic actuator 250 may include an actuator housing 251, which may illustratively have a lengthwise dimension that is greater than a widthwise dimension. The actuator housing 251 (e.g., stator) can be provided by any suitable material and can be provided by any suitable structure (e.g., a ferrite structure to support the ability of the haptic actuator 250 to generate haptic feedback). Haptic actuator 250 may include one or more coils, such as first coil 254 and second coil 255, which may be carried by actuator housing 251, e.g., carried by the top and bottom of housing 251, respectively. The first and second coils 254, 255 may each have a ring or "racetrack" shape and may be aligned and spaced apart in a stacked relationship. Haptic actuator 250 may also include a field member 260 that may be carried by actuator housing 251. Similar to the actuator housing 250, the field member 260 may have a length-wise dimension that is greater than a width-wise dimension. Accordingly, the field member 260 may reciprocate in the width direction (e.g., y direction). While the movement of the field member 260 may be described as being movable in one direction (e.g., a linear haptic actuator), it should be understood that in some embodiments, the field member may be movable in other directions (e.g., a angular haptic actuator), or may be a combination of both linear and angular haptic actuators.
The field member 260 may include one or more magnets (e.g., permanent magnets). For example, as shown, the field member 260 may illustratively include permanent magnets 261 and 262 between the first and second coils 254 and 255. Magnets 261 and 262 may be, for example, neodymium or any other suitable material, and may be positioned in opposite directions with respect to their respective poles. The magnets 261 and 262 may have a rectangular shape and may be aligned along the length of the first and second coils 254 and 255. Although a pair of rectangular shaped permanent magnets may be shown, it should be understood that any number of permanent magnets having any shape may be present between the first and second coils 254, 255. The field member 260 may also include a mass 257 between magnets 261 and 262. Mass 257 can be tungsten or any suitable different material, and can be more than one mass. Haptic actuator 250 may also include respective mass flexures or flexure bearings 265a and 265b that may mount first and second sides of field member 260 for reciprocating movement within actuator housing 251 in response to first and second coils 254 and 255. For example, flexible bearings 265a and 265b may be used to mount respective sides of the field member 260 to reciprocate within the actuator housing 251 in response to the coils 254 and 255. More specifically, the flexible bearings 265a and 265b may move or flex in the direction of the field member 260 and return it to an equilibrium position. As just one example, the overall deflection or movement of each of the flexible bearings 265a and 265b may be about 1/10 a of the length of the flexible bearings. For example, flexible bearings 265a and 265b may be used to provide a suspension system, which may include one or more springs, for keeping field member 260 suspended in housing 251. The springs may include mechanical springs such as, for example, coil springs, leaf springs, and flexures. The spring may additionally or alternatively comprise a magnetic spring which may store and amplify energy in the form of elastic/magnetic energy through interaction (if any) with permanent magnets and/or ferrite components of the housing 251. Further, the suspension system (e.g., via shafts, linear/angular bearings, slide bearings, flexures, multi-bar linkages, and springs) may enable the field member 260 to move in a desired direction (e.g., along an axis in a linear actuator or about an axis in an angular actuator) while constraining movement in other degrees of freedom. The suspension system may include other and/or additional components for maintaining suspension of the field member 260 and constraining motion of the field member. Haptic actuator 250 may also include mechanical limit stops 267a and 267b located between housing 251 and field member 260, where mechanical limit stops 267a and 267b may be used to limit the motion of field member 260 to a desired range and/or prevent field member 260 from impacting or striking housing 251. While mechanical stops 267a and 267b are described, it should be understood that the mechanical stops may be part of or part of housing 251. In other embodiments (not shown), the haptic actuator may include a permanent magnet carried by the actuator housing, and the field member may include one or more coils cooperating with the permanent magnet. In other words, in contrast to the embodiment described above with reference to fig. 4, the permanent magnet may be stationary (e.g., carried by the actuator housing) and the coil may be moving (e.g., connected to the mass) as part of the field member. Of course, there may be any number of coils and/or permanent magnets.
In general, haptic output may be used to notify, alert, or otherwise draw the attention of a person or user. For example, the haptic actuators 250 of the wearable device 200 may be used to move or shake the device 200 such that the attention of the person wearing the device 200 is drawn to the device 200. An exemplary electronic device may be physically coupled to a haptic actuator for generating haptic/tactile output. Generally, haptic actuators can produce relative motion between two components of an electronic device. More specifically, haptic actuator 250 can include an inner mass 257 that can be used to move relative to a mass of electronic device 200. For example, haptic actuator 250 may be used to react to an actuator input waveform IWF (e.g., as may be provided by processor 202 (e.g., via one or more buses 214) (e.g., as shown in fig. 2)) to generate a force that may move an internal mass relative to the electronic device. These forces may impart kinetic energy to the electronic device, thereby inducing motion in the device. The device motion may be represented by a device output waveform. The device motion may be felt by a person wearing, holding, or interacting with the device.
The terms "haptic" and "tactile" are used herein. It should be understood that while tactile may sometimes refer to a sensation or perception of force, and tactile may sometimes refer to a sensation or perception of touch, the two terms may be used herein in a substantially interchangeable manner, and each term is intended to encompass the other. Thus, the haptic output may encompass a tactile output and the tactile output may encompass a haptic output. Certain embodiments may employ unique and distinct haptic waveforms (e.g., "atoms") to provide a haptic alert to a user. More specifically, the atoms may correspond to a drive signal, which may include a voltage, a voltage value, a current, or any other suitable electrical input that may be configured to control an actuator. In some embodiments, once the atom has been played by the actuator, the actuator may return to its nominal position. These atoms can be combined in a variety of forms and ways to form different tactile patterns. Atoms can be viewed as letters of a haptic language. Each atom may represent a base building block or a base haptic pattern or waveform of a haptic language. Thus, the combination of different atoms produces different words and/or phrases in the haptic language. Haptic language alerts may become more advanced as various atoms are combined in different patterns. Thus, different "words" or "phrases" of the haptic language may be associated with various alert events or notifications, for example. The various atoms may be selected from a predefined or pre-arranged library of atoms. The atoms in the library may also be freely combined with each other. In some implementations, different combinations of atoms may be cycled or otherwise repeated at a given frequency or for a particular duration. For example, the first atom or combination of atoms may be played 10 times at a particular interval. The cycle may then be repeated a specified number of times and/or for a specified duration. As users of electronic devices become familiar with the haptic language, the users may be able to understand what event notifications or alerts are being received, e.g., based only or in part on the haptic output provided by the haptic language. Further, a user (or developer) may be able to program or create a customized haptic language that is specific or otherwise tailored to the needs of the user, program, application, etc. Audio and/or sound output may also be provided as part of the haptic waveform of the alert or in addition thereto. The addition of the audio output may further enhance the haptic language and/or enable further customization of the alert. Thus, the alert may be generated for any suitable purpose, including but not limited to: when the electronic device receives data from an external source (e.g., a text message, an email, a phone call, a warning system, etc.), by an application (e.g., indicating that user input is requested), by an input component (e.g., when suitable user input is detected by any input component of the device), upon reaching a particular time (e.g., when a calendar entry occurs), by an operating state of the electronic device (e.g., battery low, electronic device operating system upgrade, temperature of the electronic device reaches a certain point, etc.), by a user-initiated setting (e.g., an alert setting occurs at a particular time), for purposes of geographic factors (e.g., entering or exiting a certain area), proximity to another person and/or another electronic device, etc. A basic atom may correspond to a simple alarm, while a more complex combination of atoms may correspond to a more complex alarm. Various alerts, collectively referred to as "alert events" or "alert conditions," may be provided for various operations of the electronic device, information received by the electronic device, information displayed by the electronic device, interaction with a graphical user interface of the electronic device, confirmation of user input, and the like. Further, different tactile alerts may be provided by different portions of the electronic device 200 to enable the device 200 to provide multi-modal tactile feedback. For example, a majority of the first tactile alert may be generally provided by the housing 201 of the device 200 (e.g., the housing 201 of the device 200 may be generally felt by the wrist of the user when worn using the strap 213), while a majority of the second tactile alert may be provided by the first input component 230 of the device 200 (e.g., the first input component may be generally felt by the finger of the user when interacting with (e.g., touching) the first input component 230).
In general, three different waveforms may relate to or be associated with any given atom. First, an input waveform IWF (e.g., as shown in FIG. 2) may be provided to the haptic actuator (e.g., as one or more signals from processor 202). The actuator can then move in response to the input waveform, generating an actuator waveform AWF (e.g., as shown in fig. 2). Third, the motion of the haptic actuator (or a mass of the haptic actuator or a housing of the haptic actuator) may produce a motion or perceptually different motion of the electronic device, which may be represented as a device waveform or perceptually different device waveform DWF, via one or more different coupling mechanisms that may couple the haptic actuator and one or more corresponding portions of the device 200. For example, as shown in fig. 2, a particular haptic actuator waveform AWF of a haptic actuator output component 250 may generate a first device waveform DWF1 at the first input component 230 via a first haptic input coupling mechanism 235 that may physically couple the haptic actuator output component 250 to the first input component 230, a second device waveform DWF2 at the second input component 240 via a second haptic input coupling mechanism 245 that may physically couple the haptic actuator output component 250 to the second input component 240, a third device waveform DWF3 at least at the first housing coupling position 201cl1 of the device housing 201 via a first haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 that may physically couple the haptic actuator output component 250 to the first housing coupling position 201cl1, and a fourth device waveform DWF4 at least at the second housing coupling position 201cl2 of the device housing 201 via a second haptic housing coupling mechanism 285 that may physically couple the haptic actuator output component 250 to the second housing coupling position 201cl 2. Differences between such different haptic coupling mechanisms, as well as differences between such different portions of device 200 to which such different haptic coupling mechanisms couple haptic actuator output component 250, may be configured to at least partially indicate variations between such device waveforms for a particular actuator waveform, such that differences between different device waveforms for a particular actuator waveform may enable device 200 to provide multi-modal haptic feedback. It should be appreciated that because the mass of the device is compared to the mass of the actuator, the device waveform may have an amplitude or intensity that is different than the amplitude or intensity of the actuator waveform. Further, the device waveform may have a displacement direction that is opposite to the displacement direction of the actuator waveform, as movement of the actuator/mass may cause opposite movement of the device. Further, as used herein, the term "output waveform" or "output atom" may encompass both actuator and device waveforms. In some embodiments, the device waveform (or device output waveform) may be substantially the same as the actuator waveform except that its amplitude or intensity may be a percentage of the amplitude or intensity of the actuator waveform, so long as the device has a greater mass than the actuator (or moving part of the actuator). In general, the "parameters" of a waveform may be those measurable and variable characteristics of the waveform. In other words, changing a parameter of the waveform may change the haptic output of the electronic device. In general, although not required, waveforms (which may be input waveforms, actuator waveforms, or device waveforms) may be described and illustrated on a graph of any two parameters, where each parameter may correspond to an axis of the graph. In describing certain waveforms, certain parameters may be more useful than others. In some embodiments, these parameters may include, but are not limited to, displacement, frequency, expected motion, waveform shape, envelope associated with the waveform, velocity, intensity or amplitude, zero crossing, force, time, mass of the actuator, mass of the electronic device and/or electronic device housing, number of cycles, momentum of the actuator or electronic device, and the like. Each of these parameters may be observed relative to the other parameters described above and various other parameters. In some embodiments, the intensity of the waveform may include or be associated with an amplitude of the waveform. Thus, the higher the intensity of a particular haptic output or output waveform, the higher the amplitude of the waveform. For example, displacement and velocity may be described with respect to time. Further, any waveform showing a plot of velocity versus time may also illustrate a proportional relationship of momentum versus time, so long as the momentum is equal to the mass times the velocity, so long as the mass of the moving parts of the actuator or housing is time invariant. Likewise, force may be described with respect to mass. In other examples, the shape of the atoms may include characteristics of the waveform, such as whether the waveform is a square wave or a sine wave, and so forth. As shown in fig. 12, for example, the graph 1200 may show an expected motion (e.g., | x (s)/f(s) (e.g., meters/newtons)) versus frequency (e.g., hertz) for each of the actuator waveform AWF, the device waveform DWF1, and the device waveform DWF 3.
In certain embodiments, the haptic actuators disclosed herein can be tuned or calibrated to provide consistent sensations between various devices and/or different users. More specifically, the electronic device and/or the haptic actuators of the electronic device may be calibrated based on values of parameters specific to the electronic device. This may include dimensions of any component of the electronic device, materials of any component of the electronic device (e.g., housing, input component, etc.), differences in tolerances of various components of the electronic device, expected user forces applied to any component of the electronic device (e.g., input component interface) during use, and so forth. For example, the housing of the electronic device may be provided in different sizes. Accordingly, the actuation period, the braking period, and/or the audio output may be tuned or calibrated based on the shape and/or size of the housing. In other examples, the duration of the drive period of the input waveform of the haptic actuator output component may be tuned based on (e.g., approximately matching) the resonance or resonant frequency (e.g., resonant frequency and/or quality factor) of the haptic actuator and/or any other component (e.g., coupling mechanism) present in the electronic device. In other embodiments, the atoms and/or different periods of the atoms may be tuned to different housings or other components of the electronic device (e.g., input components). In other implementations, the audio output and the haptic output may be tuned or otherwise calibrated based on user and/or manufacturer preferences. For example, the intensity of the vibration and/or audio output may be set by the user via an operating system on the device. The tactile output and the audio output may also be calibrated or tuned based on the material of the housing. For example, if the housing is made of or plated with a noble metal (e.g., gold or silver), the audio output and the tactile output may be customized or calibrated in a first manner, and if the housing is made of or plated with a second material (e.g., stainless steel or aluminum), the audio output and the tactile output may be customized or calibrated in a second manner. The calibration of the haptic actuator may also be based on the operating temperature of the device and/or the overall temperature at which the electronic device is operating. Thus, atoms and tactile outputs caused by atoms may be adjusted based on temperature. In certain other embodiments, the haptic actuator may be calibrated or tuned based on wear of the haptic actuator. For example, the atomic and tactile outputs may be adjusted during the lifetime of the electronic device. In other implementations, different types of device waveforms may be tuned or otherwise calibrated based on user and/or manufacturer preferences. For example, the intensities of the different device waveforms (e.g., the intensity of device waveform DWF1 and the intensity of device waveform DWF 3) may each be set by a user via an operating system on the device or by the manufacturer (e.g., by configuring coupling mechanisms 235 and 275 and/or by selecting a particular actuator waveform). The haptic output may also be calibrated or tuned based on the material of the housing and/or the material of the input member and/or the material of the different coupling mechanisms.
Although the haptic actuator 250 of fig. 4 may be described as a linear resonance type actuator of an oscillatable spring-mass damper (e.g., at its resonant frequency), the embodiments described herein may also be used with any other suitable type of haptic actuator output component, such as an eccentric rotating mass actuator that may produce a similar haptic output by rotating an eccentric mass. In such embodiments, one full rotation period of the rotating mass may be equal to one period of the linear actuator. In other embodiments, the actuator may be a piezoelectric actuator, a shape memory alloy, an electroactive polymer, a thermal actuator, or the like. Further, while wrist wearable electronic devices are explicitly mentioned and shown with respect to various illustrated embodiments, embodiments disclosed herein may be used with any number of electronic devices. For example, electronic devices 100 and/or 200 may be a mobile phone, a tablet, a laptop or other portable electronic device, a timing device, a pair of computerized glasses, a navigation device, an athletic device, a portable music player, a fitness device, a medical device, and the like.
Haptic actuator 250 may be physically coupled to device housing 201 of device 200 via one or more haptic housing coupling mechanisms (e.g., one or more of haptic housing coupling mechanisms 275 and 285), such that movement of mass 257 within haptic actuator housing 251 of haptic actuator 250 (e.g., an actuator waveform) (e.g., as a result of application of an input waveform (e.g., a current) to haptic actuator 250, which can be used to control or otherwise limit oscillation of the actuator mass (e.g., particularly when the actuator mass is at or near a resonant frequency) and/or maintain the resonant frequency of the actuator mass) can be transferred to haptic actuator housing 251, and transferred to the device housing 201 of the wearable electronic device 200 (e.g., as a device waveform) by one or more of the haptic housing coupling mechanisms. In this way, movement of the actuator mass may produce a sensory stimulus at the device housing 201 and/or any other portion of the device 200 with which a user may interface (e.g., a user input component). In some embodiments, the motion may be selective or otherwise focused such that it affects substantially only the housing 201 or only any other particular component of the electronic device 200. In another embodiment, the motion may broadly affect the device 200 as a whole. In either case, haptic actuator 250 may generate one or more device waveforms that may provide any suitable tactile output that may be communicated to a user as an alert or notification or any other suitable information.
A single actuator waveform generated by a single haptic actuator output component 250 of the device 200 can produce different device waveforms at different portions of the device 200, and different haptic device coupling mechanisms (e.g., different haptic housing coupling mechanisms and/or different haptic input coupling mechanisms) that couple the single haptic actuator output component 250 to respective different portions (e.g., different device housing portions and/or different device input components) of the device 200 can be used to at least partially determine a relationship between a particular actuator waveform and the different device waveforms produced by the actuator waveform at the respective different portions of the device 200. By providing or configuring different haptic device coupling mechanisms having different respective response characteristics or responses (e.g., different flexibilities and/or pliability and/or stiffness and/or resistance to deformation and/or resonant frequency, etc.) for respective physical couplings provided between the individual haptic actuator output components 250 of the device 200 and respective different portions of the device 200, those different responses may be used to define different cutoffs for different parameter ranges of the waveform, which may enable the individual haptic actuator output components 250 to provide multi-modal haptic feedback. For example, any haptic actuator waveform AWF of the haptic actuator output component 250 may generate one, some, or each of the following waveforms: a first device waveform DWF1 generated at the first input member 230 via a first tactile input coupling mechanism 235 that can physically couple the tactile actuator output member 250 to the first input member 230, a second device waveform DWF2 generated at the second input member 240 via a second tactile input coupling mechanism 245 that can physically couple the tactile actuator output member 250 to the second input member 240, a third device waveform DWF3 generated at least at the first housing coupling position 201cl1 of the device housing 201 via a first haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 that can physically couple the haptic actuator output component 250 to the first housing coupling position 201cl1, and a fourth device waveform DWF4 generated at least at the second coupling position 201cl2 of the device housing 201 via a second haptic housing coupling mechanism 285 that can physically couple the haptic actuator output component 250 to the second housing coupling position 201cl 2.
The first tactile input coupling mechanism 235 may be any suitable mechanism or combination of mechanisms that may physically couple any suitable portion of the tactile actuator output component 250 (e.g., at least a portion of the tactile actuator housing 251) having any first tactile input response characteristic (e.g., a response characteristic to a force applied by one or more degrees of freedom) to any suitable portion of the input component 230 (e.g., at least a portion of the input component 230 located within the interior housing space 209 of the device housing 201) that may not physically couple such portion of the tactile actuator output component 250 to any portion of the device housing 201 itself (e.g., the portion of the input component 230 that may be coupled to the tactile actuator output component 250 via the tactile input coupling mechanism 235 may not be physically coupled to the device housing 201, but rather can move relative to the device housing 201 (e.g., via the housing opening 201oa), where such movement can be caused by a user external to the device interfacing with the input component 230 and/or the haptic actuator output component 250 (e.g., via the haptic input coupling mechanism 235). In some embodiments, one, some, or each element of the first tactile input-coupling mechanism 235 may be different from the tactile actuator output component 250 and/or may be different from the first input component 230 (e.g., the first tactile input-coupling mechanism 235 may be a glue or solder material, etc., that physically couples a portion of the tactile actuator output component 250 to a portion of the first input component 230). Alternatively, in some embodiments, one, some, or each element of the first tactile input coupling mechanisms 235 may be an element of the tactile actuator output member 250 and/or may be an element of the first input member 230 (e.g., the first element of the first tactile input coupling mechanism 235 may be a female thread disposed in a channel through a component (e.g., the housing 251) of the tactile actuator output member 250, the second element of the first tactile input coupling mechanism 235 may be an opening disposed through a component (e.g., a button) of the first input member 230, and the third element of the first tactile input coupling mechanism 235 may be a male thread disposed about an axis that may be threaded through the female thread of the tactile actuator output member 250 and through an opening in a component of the first input member 230 for physically coupling the tactile actuator output member 250 to the first input member 230).
The second tactile input coupling mechanism 245 may be any suitable mechanism or combination of mechanisms that may physically couple any suitable portion of the tactile actuator output component 250 (e.g., at least a portion of the tactile actuator housing 251) to any suitable portion of the input component 240 (e.g., at least a portion of the input component 240 located within the interior housing space 209 of the device housing 201) having any second tactile input response characteristic, but that may not couple such portions of the tactile actuator output component 250 to any portion of the device housing 201 itself (e.g., the portion of the input component 240 that may be coupled to the tactile actuator output component 250 via the tactile input coupling mechanism 245 may not be physically coupled to the device housing 201, but may move relative to the device housing 201 (e.g., via the housing opening 201ob), where such movement may be caused by a user external to the device interfacing with input component 240 and/or haptic actuator output component 250 (e.g., via haptic input coupling mechanism 245). In some embodiments, one, some, or each element of the second tactile input-coupling mechanism 245 may be different from the haptic actuator output component 250 and/or may be different from the second input component 240. Alternatively, in some embodiments, one, some, or each element of the second tactile input coupling mechanism 245 may be an element of the haptic actuator output component 250 and/or may be an element of the second input component 240.
The first haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 can be any suitable mechanism or combination of mechanisms that can physically couple any suitable portion of the haptic actuator output component 250 (e.g., at least a portion of the haptic actuator housing 251) having any first haptic housing response characteristic to any suitable portion of the device housing 201 (e.g., at least at a portion of the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 at the first housing coupling position 201cl 1). In some embodiments, one, some, or each element of the first haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 can be different from the haptic actuator output component 250 and/or can be different from the device housing 201 (e.g., the first haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 can be a glue or weld material, etc., that physically couples a portion of the haptic actuator output component 250 to a portion of the device housing 201). Alternatively, in some embodiments, one, some, or each of the first haptic housing coupling mechanisms 275 may be an element of the haptic actuator output component 250 and/or may be an element of the device housing 201 (e.g., the first element of the first haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 may be a female thread disposed in a channel through a component (e.g., the housing 251) of the haptic actuator output component 250, the second element of the first haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 may be an opening disposed through a component (e.g., a tab) of the device housing 201, and the third element of the first haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 may be a male thread disposed about a threaded shaft that may be threaded through the female thread of the haptic actuator output component 250 and through an opening in a component of the device housing 201 for physically coupling the haptic actuator output component 250 to the device housing 201).
The second haptic housing coupling mechanism 285 may be any suitable mechanism or combination of mechanisms that may physically couple any suitable portion of the haptic actuator output component 250 (e.g., at least a portion of the haptic actuator housing 251) having any second haptic housing response characteristic to any suitable portion of the device housing 201 (e.g., at least at a portion of the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 at the second housing coupling location 201cl 2). In some embodiments, one, some, or each element of the second haptic housing coupling mechanism 285 may be different from the haptic actuator output component 250 and/or may be different from the device housing 201. Alternatively, in some embodiments, one, some, or each element of the second haptic housing coupling mechanism 285 can be an element of the haptic actuator output component 250 and/or can be an element of the device housing 201.
Differences between any suitable response characteristics of different haptic coupling mechanisms and/or differences between different portions of device 200 to which such different haptic coupling mechanisms may couple haptic actuator output component 250 may be configured to at least partially dictate variations between different device waveforms that may be produced by a particular actuator waveform, such that differences between different device waveforms produced by a particular actuator waveform may enable device 200 to provide multi-modal haptic feedback (e.g., provide different haptic alerts at different portions of device 200). For example, the difference between any suitable flexibility characteristic of the haptic input coupling mechanism 235 and any suitable flexibility characteristic of the haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 may not only be configured to (1) enable at least one particular parameter (e.g., displacement or movement) of each of the device waveforms DWF1 and DWF3 to differ from each other by no more than any suitable first threshold (e.g., the movement of the device waveform DWF1 is less than or equal to 1.5 times the movement of the device waveform DWF3 (or any other suitable magnitude)) when the device waveform DWF1 and the device waveform DWF3 are generated by either the first particular actuator waveform AWF or the first particular type of actuator waveform AWF (e.g., a second actuator waveform AWF) having frequency parameters within a second frequency range, at least one particular parameter (e.g., displacement or movement) of each of the device waveforms is enabled to differ from each other by more than any suitable second threshold (e.g., movement of the device waveform DWF1 is greater than or equal to 10 times (or any other suitable magnitude) the movement of the device waveform DWF 3). As another example, the difference between any suitable resonant frequency characteristic (e.g., a fundamental frequency) of the haptic input coupling mechanism 235 and any suitable resonant frequency characteristic (e.g., a fundamental frequency) of the haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 (e.g., as compared to one another and/or as compared to any suitable resonant frequency characteristic (e.g., a fundamental frequency) of the haptic actuator output component 250) may not only be configured to (1) enable at least one particular parameter (e.g., displacement or movement) of each of the device waveforms DWF1 and DWF3 to differ from one another by no more than any suitable first threshold (e.g., movement of the device waveform DWF1 is within a certain first magnitude of movement of the device waveform DWF3 (e.g., 1.5 times)), and (2) enable at least one particular parameter (e.g., displacement or movement) of each of the device waveforms DWF1 and DWF3 to differ from each other by more than any suitable second threshold (e.g., the movement of the device waveform DWF1 is at least a second magnitude (e.g., 10 times) greater than the movement of the device waveform DWF 3) when the device waveform DWF1 and the device waveform DWF3 are generated by either of a second particular actuator waveform AWF or a second particular type of actuator waveform AWF (e.g., a second actuator waveform AWF having frequency parameters within a second frequency range). Such a configuration may be useful to enable the device 200 to provide not only a first type of haptic alert when the haptic actuator output component 250 generates a first actuator waveform AWF having frequency parameters in a first frequency range (e.g., to perceive that each of the device housing 201 and input component 230 at portion 201cl1 are moved by the same or similar device waveforms (e.g., the entirety of the device 200 provides substantially the same haptic feedback)), but also to provide a second type of haptic alert when the haptic actuator output component 250 generates a second actuator waveform AWF having frequency parameters in a second frequency range (e.g., one or more parameters of the AWF may be selected or adjusted by appropriate selection or adjustment of the IWF provided to the haptic actuator (e.g., by appropriate application 103 or 203)) (e.g., to perceive that the input component 230 is moved more strongly than the device housing 201 at portion 201cl1 (e.g., the input component 230 provides localized haptic feedback that is distinguishable from any haptic feedback provided by the device housing 201). As just one particular example, as shown in graph 1200 of fig. 12, the device 200 may be configured to provide a first haptic alert HA1 when the haptic actuator output component 250 provides an actuator waveform AWF having a frequency parameter within a first frequency range, which may be defined as a range extending between a minimum frequency parameter value HA1n and a maximum frequency parameter value HA1x (e.g., a range in which the movement of the device waveform DWF1 produced by the actuator waveform AWF is less than or equal to any suitable first haptic threshold magnitude (e.g., 1.5 times (or any other suitable magnitude)) of the movement of the device waveform DWF3 produced by the actuator waveform AWF), and the device 200 may be further configured to provide a second haptic alert HA2 when the haptic actuator output component 250 provides an actuator waveform AWF having a frequency parameter within a second frequency range, which may be defined as extending between a minimum frequency parameter value HA2n and a maximum frequency parameter value HA2x (e.g., the movement of the device waveform DWF1 produced by the actuator waveform AWF is at least greater than a range of any suitable second haptic threshold magnitude (e.g., 10 times (or any other suitable magnitude)) of the movement of the device waveform DWF3 produced by the actuator waveform AWF). Such minimum and maximum parameter values HA1n, HA1x, HA2n, and HA2x may depend not only on the value of each of the first haptic threshold magnitude value and the second haptic threshold magnitude value (e.g., may be defined by the manufacturer of device 200 and/or by the user providing the desired haptic feedback experience), but may also depend on (1) any suitable difference between any suitable flexibility characteristic of haptic input coupling mechanism 235 and any suitable flexibility characteristic of haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 and/or (2) any suitable difference between any suitable resonance frequency characteristic (e.g., fundamental frequency) of haptic input coupling mechanism 235 and any suitable resonance frequency characteristic (e.g., fundamental frequency) of haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 (e.g., compared to each other, and/or compared to any suitable resonance frequency characteristic (e.g., fundamental frequency) compared).
Any suitable difference between any suitable response characteristics (e.g., flexibility characteristics and/or resonant frequency characteristics, etc.) of a first tactile coupling mechanism (e.g., a tactile input coupling mechanism) and such suitable response characteristics (e.g., flexibility characteristics and/or resonant frequency characteristics, etc.) of a second tactile coupling mechanism (e.g., a tactile housing coupling mechanism) may be provided by different tactile coupling mechanisms of the electronic device to enable the electronic device to provide multiple modes of tactile feedback using a single tactile actuator, wherein, for example, such multi-modal tactile feedback may include a first mode in which a device user may perceive the entire device to provide substantially the same tactile feedback and a second mode in which the device user may perceive a particular portion of the device (e.g., user input component) to provide localized haptic feedback that is distinguishable from (e.g., larger than) any haptic feedback provided by another portion of the device (e.g., a majority of the device housing). For example, as shown at least with respect to fig. 5-11, various types of coupling mechanisms for a single haptic actuator of an electronic device may be provided such that one of the coupling mechanisms may provide a physical coupling (e.g., in at least one degree of freedom) having a response or flexibility and/or frequency characteristic different from a response or flexibility and/or frequency characteristic provided by a physical coupling provided by another of the coupling mechanisms (e.g., such that the physical coupling provided by a haptic housing coupling mechanism between the single haptic actuator and a device housing of the electronic device may be a more flexible (e.g., less rigid) physical coupling (e.g., in at least one degree of freedom) than the physical coupling provided by a haptic input coupling mechanism between the single haptic actuator and a user input component of the electronic device), and/or such that the physical coupling provided by a haptic input coupling mechanism between the single haptic actuator and a user input component of the electronic device, the physical coupling provided by the haptic housing coupling mechanism between the single haptic actuator and the device housing of the electronic device can have different resonant frequency responses (e.g., different responses to a particular applied waveform) (e.g., such that when a particular type of parameter (e.g., a frequency parameter) of an actuator waveform AWF generated by the single haptic actuator increases from within a first range to within a second range, the device can change from providing a first haptic alert in a first mode in which the device user can perceive substantially the entire device (e.g., the device housing and the user input component) to provide substantially the same haptic feedback to providing a second mode in which the device user can perceive a particular portion of the device (e.g., the user input component of the device) to provide a different haptic feedback than that provided by another portion of the device (e.g., most of the device housing) can be distinguished (e.g., larger) than localized haptic feedback).
Fig. 5 illustrates a first example multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 500 that can provide at least two haptic coupling mechanisms with different response characteristics for an actuator housing 251 of a haptic actuator output component 250 of an electronic device 200. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5, for example, the actuator housing 251 can be any suitable three-dimensional shape that can generally be described as providing a top wall 251t, a bottom wall 251b that can be opposite the top wall 251t, a left wall 251l, a right wall 251r that can be opposite the left wall 251l, a front wall 251f, and a rear wall 251k that can be opposite the front wall 251f, and the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 500 can be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as an actuator housing structure 551, the haptic input coupling mechanism 235 as a first haptic coupling mechanism 535, and the haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 as a second haptic coupling mechanism 575 that can have different response characteristics than the first haptic coupling mechanism 535. The actuator housing structure 551 may be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as a unitary structure that may include at least a portion of each actuator housing wall that is integral with, rigidly coupled to, or substantially rigidly coupled (e.g., welded) to one other actuator housing wall, two other actuator housing walls, three other actuator housing walls, four other actuator housing walls, or each other actuator housing wall other than the actuator housing wall opposite thereto. The tactile coupling mechanism 535 may be configured to provide a tactile input coupling mechanism 235 for coupling any suitable portion of any suitable user input component (e.g., user input assembly 230) of the device 200 to any suitable portion of the actuator housing structure 551 (e.g., wall 251r), which physical coupling may be rigid or substantially rigid. For example, the tactile coupling mechanism 535 may include any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 535m (e.g., a solder joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) for rigidly coupling or substantially rigidly coupling any suitable portion 251rp of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251r) of the actuator housing 251 to any suitable portion (not shown) of the input member 230. The tactile coupling mechanism 575 may be configured to provide a tactile housing coupling mechanism 275 for physically coupling any suitable portion of the device housing 201 of the device 200 (e.g., the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 at the first housing coupling position 201cl1) to any suitable portion of the actuator housing structure 551 (e.g., the wall 251r), wherein the physical coupling may be less rigid (e.g., more flexible) (e.g., by any suitable amount) than the physical coupling provided by the tactile coupling mechanism 535 between the actuator housing structure 551 and the input member 230. For example, the tactile coupling mechanism 575 can include a female thread or grommet 575c having any suitable flexible material (e.g., a cushioning or elastomeric material), the female thread or grommet can be rigidly or substantially rigidly coupled (e.g., via any suitable rigid retainer 575h that can be rigidly coupled to the portion 251 cp) to any suitable portion 251cp of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251r) of the actuator housing 251, wherein the female threads or grommets 575c may be used to receive any rigid or substantially rigid elements of the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 (e.g., male threads or hooks (not shown)) at the first housing coupling position 201cl1, for physically coupling the device housing 201 to the actuator housing 251 in a manner that is more flexible than the manner in which the tactile coupling mechanism 535 can physically couple the input member 230 to the actuator housing 251. Accordingly, a soft mounting surface may be provided by grommet 575c for establishing a flexible coupling between the actuator housing 251 and the device housing 201. While grommet 575c may be shown in fig. 5 as a female element that may be rigidly coupled to actuator housing 251, it should be understood that the soft mounting surface of element 575c may alternatively be a female element that is rigidly coupled to device housing 201 (which is used to receive any element of actuator housing 251) or a soft male element (which may be rigidly received by a rigid female element) such that only one element for physical coupling may be provided by a soft or flexible mechanism for making haptic coupling mechanism 575 more or less rigid than haptic coupling mechanism 535, which haptic coupling mechanism 535 may be rigid or substantially rigid. Alternatively or in addition, as shown, the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 500 can be configured to provide the haptic housing coupling mechanism 285 as a third haptic coupling mechanism 585, which third haptic coupling mechanism 585 can have a different response characteristic (e.g., a less rigid characteristic) than the first haptic coupling mechanism 535. The tactile coupling mechanism 585 may be configured to provide a tactile housing coupling mechanism 285 for coupling any suitable portion of the device housing 201 of the device 200 (e.g., the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 at the second housing coupling position 201cl 2) to any suitable portion of the actuator housing structure 551 (e.g., the wall 251f), wherein the physical coupling is less rigid (e.g., more flexible) than the physical coupling provided by the tactile coupling mechanism 535 between the actuator housing structure 551 and the input member 230. For example, the tactile coupling mechanism 585 may include a pad 585m of any suitable flexible material (e.g., a cushioning or elastomeric material), which may be rigidly or substantially rigidly coupled to any suitable portion of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251f) of the actuator housing 251 (e.g., via any suitable rigid retention mechanism (e.g., an adhesive), which may adhere a portion of the cushioning adhesive 585m to the actuator housing 251), and which may be rigidly or substantially rigidly coupled to any suitable portion of any suitable wall of the device housing 201 (e.g., inner wall 201i at housing coupling location 201cl 2) (e.g., via any suitable rigid retention mechanism (e.g., an adhesive), for being more flexible (e.g., the device housing 201 is physically coupled to the actuator housing 251 in a manner that accounts for any suitable flexibility characteristics of the material of the pad 585m (e.g., double-sided tape with a buffer). The device housing wall through which the input member is exposed (e.g., through opening 201oa) need not be the same device housing wall to which the haptic housing coupling mechanism may physically couple the actuator housing, but may be an entirely different device housing wall (e.g., an adjacent wall or an opposing wall). Rather, the physical coupling of the device housing and the actuator housing may differ from the physical coupling of the input component and the actuator housing by any suitable distance.
Fig. 6 illustrates an exemplary multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 600 that can provide at least two haptic coupling mechanisms with different response characteristics for an actuator housing 251 of a haptic actuator output component 250 of an electronic device 200. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6, for example, the actuator housing 251 can be any suitable three-dimensional shape that can generally be described as providing a top wall 251t, a bottom wall 251b that can be opposite the top wall 251t, a left wall 251l, a right wall 251r that can be opposite the left wall 251l, a front wall 251f, and a rear wall 251k that can be opposite the front wall 251f, and the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 600 can be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as an actuator housing structure 651, to provide the haptic input coupling mechanism 235 as a first haptic coupling mechanism 635, and to provide the haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 as a second haptic coupling mechanism 675 that can have a different response characteristic than the first haptic coupling mechanism 635. The actuator housing structure 651 can be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as a unitary structure that can include at least a portion of each actuator housing wall that is integral with, rigidly coupled to, or substantially rigidly coupled (e.g., welded) to one other actuator housing wall, two other actuator housing walls, three other actuator housing walls, four other actuator housing walls, or each other actuator housing wall other than the actuator housing wall opposite thereto. The tactile coupling mechanism 675 can be configured to provide a tactile housing coupling mechanism 275 for physically coupling any suitable portion of the device housing 201 of the device 200 (e.g., the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 at the first housing coupling position 201cl1) to any suitable portion of the actuator housing structure 651 (e.g., the wall 251r), wherein the physical coupling can be less rigid (e.g., more flexible) (e.g., by any suitable amount) or otherwise provide a different response than the physical coupling provided by the tactile coupling mechanism 635 between the actuator housing structure 651 and the input member 230. For example, the tactile coupling mechanism 675 may include any suitable flexure or spring for providing flexibility to the physical coupling, such as a bow spring, a cantilever spring, a leaf spring, or any other suitable flexure or spring. For example, as shown, the tactile coupling mechanism 675 may include a cantilevered spring 675s (e.g., a spring made of metal, or any other suitable material that may exhibit the flexible function of such a spring) that may extend from a first fixed end 675x to a second free end 675f, where the first fixed end 675x may be rigidly anchored to the actuator housing 251 in any suitable manner (e.g., by a welded joint or any other suitable mechanism (e.g., at any suitable portion 251rp of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251 r)) of the actuator housing 251, and where the second free end 675f may be freely positioned in space (e.g., at a distance SD) relative to the actuator housing 251 when no external force is applied to the spring 675 s). The device housing coupling feature of the tactile coupling mechanism 675 for coupling to the device housing 201 may be coupled to the spring 675s at any portion of the spring 675s near the free end 675f, such as a rigid retainer 675h that may be rigidly coupled to a portion 675sp of the spring 675s adjacent the free end 675f, wherein the retainer 675h may be provided with any suitable mechanism for physically coupling with the device housing 201, such as a retainer opening 675o that may be used to receive any rigid or substantially rigid element of the device housing 201 (e.g., a male thread or hook or the like (e.g., as shown in fig. 6A, the coupling feature 201y may extend between a first end portion that may be fixed to an inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 and a second free end that may be configured to pass through the retainer opening 675o)) at a first housing coupling position 201cl1, for physically coupling the device housing 201 to the actuator housing 251 via the flexible spring 675 s. Alternatively, the spring 675s itself can be configured to provide any suitable device housing coupling feature for coupling to the device housing 201 (e.g., a portion of the free end 675f can be bent or crimped or otherwise shaped to provide a retainer opening similar to the opening 675o such that the separate component 675h may not be rigidly coupled to the spring 675 s). In some embodiments, a female thread or grommet of any suitable flexible material (e.g., a cushioning or elastomeric material) similar to grommet 575c may be provided in retainer opening 675o for providing additional flexibility to tactile coupling mechanism 675. The tactile coupling mechanism 635 may be configured to provide a tactile input coupling mechanism 235 for coupling any suitable portion of any suitable user input component (e.g., user input assembly 230) of the device 200 to any suitable portion (e.g., wall 251r) of the actuator housing structure 651, which physical coupling may be rigid or substantially rigid. For example, the tactile coupling mechanism 635 may include any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 635m (e.g., a weld joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) for rigidly coupling or substantially rigidly coupling any suitable portion 251rp of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251r) of the actuator housing 251 to any suitable portion of the input member 230 (e.g., to the adjacent fixed end 675x of the spring 675s) directly or via the fixed end 675x of the spring 675s (e.g., at the portion 675xp of the fixed end 675x), e.g., to the end portion 230e of the input member 230, as shown in fig. 6A. Alternatively, the tactile coupling mechanism 635 may rigidly couple a portion of the input member 230 to the actuator housing 251 along another actuator housing wall, which may be different from the actuator housing wall to which the spring 675s may be coupled (e.g., wall 251b, rather than wall 251 r). For example, as shown, the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 600 can be configured to provide the haptic input coupling mechanism 245 as a haptic coupling mechanism 645, which haptic coupling mechanism 645 can have a different response characteristic (e.g., a more rigid characteristic) than the haptic housing coupling mechanism 675. For example, the tactile coupling mechanism 645 may include any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 645m (e.g., a solder joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) for rigidly coupling or substantially rigidly coupling any suitable portion 251bp of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251b) of the actuator housing 251 to any suitable portion (not shown) of the input member 230 or the input member 240, or the like.
In some embodiments, the tactile coupling mechanism 635 may be configured to provide a tactile input coupling mechanism 235, which may not necessarily be more or less rigid than the tactile coupling mechanism 675 providing the tactile housing coupling mechanism 275. However, the haptic input coupling mechanism 635 may be configured to have any suitable response characteristic that may be different (e.g., directly and/or relative to such response characteristic of the haptic actuator output component 250) from such response characteristic of the haptic housing coupling mechanism 675 such that the device waveform of the device housing produced by the actuator waveform of the actuator housing and the device waveform of the input component produced by the actuator waveform of the actuator housing may be separated by frequency separation (e.g., at least at certain frequencies of the actuator waveform). For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, haptic actuator 250 may include at least a flexible bearing 265b that may mount one side of field member 260 having mass 257 for reciprocal movement within actuator housing 251/651. The flexure bearing or mass flexure 265b may be any suitable spring or the like that may be combined with the field member 260 and actuator housing 251/651 to provide a linear resonant actuator ("LRA") in which an electrical signal through the coil of the LRA may force the mass up and down (or along a single linear axis) to create a force that may cause displacement. The combination of flexure stiffness, mass size, and magnet/coil size can be such that the LRA has at least a natural or lowest resonant or fundamental frequency. In some embodiments, the haptic housing coupling mechanism 675 can be configured to couple the haptic actuator 250 to the device housing 201, where the haptic housing coupling resonant frequency can be different from (e.g., greater than) the natural resonant frequency or the lowest resonant frequency or fundamental frequency of the haptic actuator 250 (e.g., its LRA). For example, the frequencies of the LRA of the haptic housing coupling mechanism 675 and haptic actuator 250 may be configured relative to each other as: such that prior to a first haptic threshold magnitude, for example when the haptic actuator output component 250 provides an actuator waveform AWF having a frequency parameter within a first frequency range, which may be defined as extending between a minimum frequency parameter value HA1n and a maximum frequency parameter value HA1x, the haptic actuator 250 may drive the device housing 201 via the haptic housing coupling mechanism 675 in a correlated manner (e.g., such that the housing 201 and the actuator 250 move substantially together); these frequencies of the LRA of the haptic housing coupling mechanism 675 and haptic actuator 250 can also be configured relative to one another as: such that after a second haptic threshold magnitude, which may be equal to or greater than the first haptic threshold value, for example when the haptic actuator output component 250 provides an actuator waveform AWF having a frequency parameter within a second frequency range, which may be defined to extend between the minimum frequency parameter value HA2n and the maximum frequency parameter value HA2x, the haptic actuator 250 may drive the device housing 201 via the haptic housing coupling mechanism 675 in a different manner (e.g., such that the housing 201 and the actuator 250 move independently of each other). The tactile input coupling mechanism 635 may be configured to couple the haptic actuator 250 to the input member 230, wherein the tactile input coupling resonant frequency may be different from the natural resonant frequency or lowest resonant frequency or fundamental frequency of the haptic actuator 250 (e.g., its LRA) in a manner that may be different from the natural resonant frequency or lowest resonant frequency or fundamental frequency of the haptic actuator 250 with the haptic housing coupling resonant frequency of the haptic housing coupling mechanism 675.
Fig. 7 illustrates an exemplary multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 700 that can provide at least two haptic coupling mechanisms with different response characteristics for an actuator housing 251 of a haptic actuator output component 250 of an electronic device 200. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 7, for example, the actuator housing 251 can be any suitable three-dimensional shape that can generally be described as providing a top wall 251t, a bottom wall 251b that can be opposite the top wall 251t, a left wall 251l, a right wall 251r that can be opposite the left wall 251l, a front wall 251f, and a rear wall 251k that can be opposite the front wall 251f, and the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 700 can be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as an actuator housing structure 751, the haptic input coupling mechanism 235 as a first haptic coupling mechanism 735, and the haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 as a second haptic coupling mechanism 775 that can have different response characteristics than the first haptic coupling mechanism 735. The actuator housing structure 751 can be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as a unitary structure that can include at least a portion of each actuator housing wall integral with, rigidly coupled to, or substantially rigidly coupled (e.g., welded) to one other actuator housing wall, two other actuator housing walls, three other actuator housing walls, four other actuator housing walls, or each other actuator housing wall other than the actuator housing wall opposite thereto. Alternatively, as shown, two or more walls may be provided by a single unitary structure (e.g., the bottom wall 251b and the right wall 251r of the actuator housing structure may be provided as a single "L-shaped" or curved component). The tactile coupling mechanism 775 may be configured to provide the tactile housing coupling mechanism 275 for physically coupling any suitable portion of the device housing 201 of the device 200 (e.g., the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 at the first housing coupling position 201cl1) to any suitable portion of the actuator housing structure 751 (e.g., the wall 251f and/or the wall 251k and/or the wall 251b and/or the wall 251r), wherein the physical coupling may be less rigid (e.g., more flexible) (e.g., by any suitable amount) than the physical coupling provided by the tactile coupling mechanism 735 between the actuator housing structure 751 and the input member 230. For example, haptic coupling mechanism 775 may comprise any suitable portion of any suitable actuator housing wall configured as any suitable flexure or spring for providing flexibility to the physical coupling, such as a bow spring, a cantilever spring, a leaf spring, or any other suitable flexure or spring. For example, as shown, the haptic coupling mechanism 775 can provide a cantilever spring 775s having a portion of the actuator housing wall 251r, the cantilever spring can extend from a first fixed end 775x to a second free end 775f, where first fixed end 775x may be a portion of actuator housing wall 251r that may be rigidly coupled to any other wall of haptic actuator 250 (e.g., wall 251f and/or wall 251k and/or wall 251b), such that movement of the first fixed end 775x may be rigidly fixed to movement of the remainder of the actuator housing 251 (except for movement of the free end 775f of the spring 775s), and wherein the second free end 775f can be freely positioned in space relative to the remainder of the actuator housing 251 when no external force is applied to the spring 775s (e.g., due to a cutout 251rc formed in the actuator housing 251 for the provision of the spring 775 s). The device housing coupling features of the tactile coupling mechanism 775 for coupling to the device housing 201 can be coupled to the spring 775s at any portion of the spring 775s proximate to the free end 775f, such as a rigid retainer 775h that can be rigidly coupled to a portion 775sp of the spring 775s proximate to the free end 775f, wherein the retainer 775h can be provided with any suitable mechanism for physically coupling with the device housing 201, such as a retainer opening 775o that can be used to receive any rigid or substantially rigid element (e.g., male threads or hooks, etc.) of the interior surface 201i of the device housing 201 at the first housing coupling position 201cl1 for physically coupling the device housing 201 to the actuator housing 251 via the flexible spring 775 s. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a male thread or hook or other suitable coupling feature 201y of the tactile coupling mechanism 775 can be provided through the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 (e.g., the coupling feature 201y can extend between a first end that can be secured to the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 and a second free end that is configured to pass through the holder opening 775o when the tactile feedback assembly 700 can be moved in the direction of arrow D to a position within the interior housing space 209 of the device housing 201). Alternatively, the spring 775s itself can be configured to provide any suitable device housing coupling feature for coupling to the device housing 201 (e.g., a portion of the free end 775f can be bent or crimped or otherwise shaped to provide a retainer opening similar to the opening 775o such that the separate part 775h can not be rigidly coupled to the spring 775 s). In some embodiments, a female thread or grommet of any suitable flexible material (e.g., a cushioning or elastomeric material) similar to grommet 575c may be provided in the retainer opening 775o for providing additional flexibility to the tactile coupling mechanism 775. The tactile coupling mechanism 735 may be configured to provide a tactile input coupling mechanism 235 for coupling any suitable portion of any suitable user input component (e.g., user input assembly 230) of the device 200 to any suitable portion of the actuator housing structure 751 (e.g., wall 251r), which physical coupling may be rigid or substantially rigid. For example, the tactile coupling mechanism 735 may include any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 735m (e.g., a solder joint, or glue, or a heat-activated epoxy, or a female/male screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) for rigidly coupling or substantially rigidly coupling any suitable portion 251rp of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251r) of the actuator housing 251 to any suitable portion on the input member 230 (e.g., an end portion 230e of the input member 230 as shown in fig. 10 when inserted through the opening 201oa in direction I) (e.g., at or near a fixed end 775x of the spring 775). Alternatively, the tactile coupling mechanism 735 may rigidly couple a portion of the input member 230 to the actuator housing 251 along another actuator housing wall, which may be different from the actuator housing wall (e.g., wall 251b or wall 251f, but not wall 251r) that may be provided with the spring 775 s. For example, as shown, the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 700 can be configured to provide the haptic input coupling mechanism 245 as a haptic coupling mechanism 745, which haptic coupling mechanism 745 can have a different response characteristic (e.g., a more rigid characteristic) than the haptic housing coupling mechanism 775. For example, tactile coupling mechanism 745 may include any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 745m (e.g., a weld joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) for rigidly coupling or substantially rigidly coupling any suitable portion 251fp of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251f) of actuator housing 251 to any suitable portion (not shown) of input member 230 or input member 240, etc. Although not shown in fig. 7, as shown in fig. 10, the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 700 can be configured to provide the haptic housing coupling mechanism 285 as a haptic coupling mechanism 785, the haptic coupling mechanism 785 can have a different response characteristic (e.g., a more flexible characteristic) than the haptic input coupling mechanism 635 and/or the haptic input coupling mechanism 735, and/or a different response characteristic (e.g., a more flexible or more rigid characteristic) than the haptic housing coupling mechanism 775, wherein the haptic housing coupling mechanism 285 can include a retainer opening 785o that can be used to receive any rigid or substantially rigid element of the device housing 201 at the second housing coupling position 201cl2 for physically coupling the device housing 201 to the actuator housing 251 via a flexible portion (e.g., a spring) of the coupling mechanism 785. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a male thread or hook or other suitable coupling feature 201z of the tactile coupling mechanism 785 can be disposed through an inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 (e.g., the coupling feature 201z can extend between a first end that can be secured to the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 and a second free end that is configured to pass through the retainer opening 785o when the tactile feedback assembly 700 can be moved in the direction of arrow D to a position within the interior housing space 209 of the device housing 201).
Fig. 8 illustrates an exemplary multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 800 that can provide at least two haptic coupling mechanisms with different response characteristics for an actuator housing 251 of a haptic actuator output component 250 of an electronic device 200. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 8, for example, the actuator housing 251 can be any suitable three-dimensional shape that can generally be described as providing a top wall 251t, a bottom wall 251b that can be opposite the top wall 251t, a left wall 251l, a right wall 251r that can be opposite the left wall 251l, a front wall 251f, and a rear wall 251k that can be opposite the front wall 251f, and the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 800 can be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as an actuator housing structure 851, the haptic input coupling mechanism 235 as a first haptic coupling mechanism 835, and the haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 as a second haptic coupling mechanism 875 that can have different response characteristics than the first haptic coupling mechanism 835. The actuator housing structure 851 may be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as a unitary structure that may include at least a portion of each actuator housing wall being integral with, rigidly coupled to, or substantially rigidly coupled (e.g., welded) to one other actuator housing wall, two other actuator housing walls, three other actuator housing walls, four other actuator housing walls, or each other actuator housing wall other than the actuator housing wall opposite thereto. The tactile coupling mechanism 875 can be configured to provide a tactile housing coupling mechanism 275 for physically coupling any suitable portion of the device housing 201 of the device 200 (e.g., the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 at the first housing coupling position 201cl1) to any suitable portion of the actuator housing structure 851 (e.g., the wall 251f and/or the wall 251k and/or the wall 251b and/or the wall 251r), wherein the physical coupling can be less rigid (e.g., more flexible) (e.g., by any suitable amount) than the physical coupling provided by the tactile coupling mechanism 835 between the actuator housing structure 851 and the input member 230. For example, tactile coupling mechanism 875 may comprise any suitable portion of any suitable actuator housing wall configured as any suitable flexure or spring for providing flexibility to the physical coupling, such as a bow spring, a cantilever spring, a leaf spring, or any other suitable flexure or spring. For example, as shown, the tactile coupling mechanism 875 can provide a cantilever spring 875s having a portion of the actuator housing wall 251b, wherein the spring 875s may extend from a first fixed end 875x to a second free end 875f, wherein first fixed end 875x may be a portion 251s of actuator housing wall 251b that may be rigidly coupled to any other wall of haptic actuator 250 (e.g., the remainder of wall 251b extending between walls 251l and 251r, and/or wall 251f and/or wall 251k and/or wall 251r), such that movement of the first fixed end 875x may be rigidly fixed to movement of the remainder of the actuator housing 251 (except for movement of the free end 875f of the spring 875s), and wherein the second free end 875f is freely positionable in space relative to the remainder of the actuator housing 251 when no external force is applied to the spring 875 s. Thus, the wall 251b may be provided as a single unitary structure (e.g., as a single "L-shaped" or curved member). The device housing coupling feature of the tactile coupling mechanism 875 for coupling to the device housing 201 may be coupled to the spring 875s at any portion of the spring 875s proximate to the free end 875f, such as a rigid retainer 875h that may be rigidly coupled to a portion 875sp of the spring 875s proximate to the free end 875f, wherein the retainer 875h may be provided with any suitable mechanism for physically coupling with the device housing 201, such as a retainer opening 875o that may be used to receive any rigid or substantially rigid element (e.g., male threads or hooks (not shown)) of the interior surface 201i of the device housing 201 at the first housing coupling position 201cl1 for physically coupling the device housing 201 to the actuator housing 251 via the flexible spring 875 s. Alternatively, the spring 875s itself can be configured to provide any suitable device housing coupling feature for coupling to the device housing 201 (e.g., a portion of the free end 875f can be bent or crimped or otherwise shaped to provide a retainer opening similar to the opening 875o such that the separate member 875h can not be rigidly coupled to the spring 875 s). In some embodiments, a female thread or grommet of any suitable flexible material (e.g., a cushioning or elastomeric material) similar to grommet 575c may be provided in the retainer opening 875o for providing additional flexibility to the tactile coupling mechanism 875. The tactile coupling mechanism 835 can be configured to provide a tactile input coupling mechanism 235 for coupling any suitable portion of any suitable user input component (e.g., user input assembly 230) of the device 200 to any suitable portion of the actuator housing structure 851 (e.g., wall 251b), which physical coupling can be rigid or substantially rigid. For example, the tactile coupling mechanism 835 may include any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 835m (e.g., a welded joint, or glue, or a heat-activated epoxy, or a female/male screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) for rigidly coupling or substantially rigidly coupling any suitable portion 251rp of any suitable wall of the actuator housing 251 (e.g., a portion 251sp of the wall portion 251s of the wall 251b adjacent to the fixed end 875x of the spring 875s) to any suitable portion (not shown) of the input member 230 (e.g., at or near the fixed end 875x of the spring 875 s). Alternatively, the tactile coupling mechanism 835 may rigidly couple a portion of the input member 230 to the actuator housing 251 along another actuator housing wall, which may be different from the actuator housing wall that may be provided with the spring 875s (e.g., a portion of the wall 251b other than the portion 251s of the wall 251b, or the wall 251f or the wall 215k, etc., instead of the portion 251s of the wall 251r at the end 875 x). For example, as shown, the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 800 may be configured to provide the haptic input coupling mechanism 245 as a haptic coupling mechanism 845, which may have a different response characteristic (e.g., a more rigid characteristic) than the haptic housing coupling mechanism 875. For example, the tactile coupling mechanism 845 may include any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 845m (e.g., a weld joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) for rigidly coupling or substantially rigidly coupling any suitable portion 251fp of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251f) of the actuator housing 251 to any suitable portion (not shown) of the input member 230 or the input member 240, or the like.
Fig. 9 illustrates an exemplary multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 900 that can provide at least two haptic coupling mechanisms with different response characteristics for an actuator housing 251 of a haptic actuator output component 250 of an electronic device 200. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 9, for example, the actuator housing 251 can be any suitable three-dimensional shape that can generally be described as providing a top wall 251t, a bottom wall 251b that can be opposite the top wall 251t, a left wall 251l, a right wall 251r that can be opposite the left wall 251l, a front wall 251f, and a rear wall 251k that can be opposite the front wall 251f, and the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 900 can be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as an actuator housing structure 951, the haptic input coupling mechanism 235 as a first haptic coupling mechanism 935, and the haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 as a second haptic coupling mechanism 975 that can have different response characteristics than the first haptic coupling mechanism 935. The actuator housing structure 951 may be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as a unitary structure that may include at least a portion of each actuator housing wall integral with, rigidly coupled to, or substantially rigidly coupled (e.g., welded) to one other actuator housing wall, two other actuator housing walls, three other actuator housing walls, four other actuator housing walls, or each other actuator housing wall other than the actuator housing wall opposite thereto. Alternatively, as shown, two or more walls may be provided by a single unitary structure (e.g., the bottom wall 251b and the right wall 251r of the actuator housing structure may be provided as a single "L-shaped" or curved component). The tactile coupling mechanism 975 may be configured to provide a tactile housing coupling mechanism 275 for physically coupling any suitable portion of the device housing 201 of the device 200 (e.g., the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 at the first housing coupling position 201cl1) to any suitable portion of the actuator housing structure 951 (e.g., the wall 251t and/or the wall 251r and/or the wall 251f and/or the wall 251k), wherein the physical coupling may be less rigid (e.g., more flexible) (e.g., by any suitable amount) than the physical coupling provided by the tactile coupling mechanism 935 between the actuator housing structure 951 and the input member 230. For example, haptic coupling mechanism 975 may include any suitable portion of any suitable actuator housing wall configured as any suitable flexure or spring for providing flexibility for the physical coupling, such as a bow spring, a cantilever spring, a leaf spring, or any other suitable flexure or spring. For example, as shown, the tactile coupling mechanism 975 may provide a cantilever spring 875s having a portion of the actuator housing wall 251t, wherein the spring 975s may extend from a first fixed end 975x to a second free end 975f, where first fixed end 975x may be a portion 251s of actuator housing wall 251t (e.g., a portion extending from an end face 251te of wall 251t (e.g., at or near the end face when wall 251t may be rigidly coupled to wall 251f and/or wall 251k and/or wall 251 r)), such that movement of the first fixed end 975x may be rigidly fixed to movement of the remainder of the actuator housing 251 (except for movement of the free end 975f of the spring 975s), and wherein the second free end 975f may be freely positioned in space relative to the remainder of the actuator housing 251 when no external force is applied to the spring 975 s. The device housing coupling feature of the tactile coupling mechanism 975 for coupling to the device housing 201 may be coupled to the spring 975s at any portion of the spring 975s proximate the free end 975f, such as a rigid retainer 975h that may be rigidly coupled to a portion 975sp of the spring 975s proximate the free end 975f, wherein the retainer 975h may be provided with any suitable mechanism for physically coupling with the device housing 201, such as a retainer opening 975o that may be used to receive any rigid or substantially rigid element (e.g., a male thread or hook (not shown)) of the inner surface 201i of the device housing 201 at the first housing coupling position 201cl1 for physically coupling the device housing 201 to the actuator housing 251 via the flexible spring 975 s. Alternatively, the spring 975s itself may be configured to provide any suitable device housing coupling feature for coupling to the device housing 201 (e.g., a portion of the free end 975f may be bent or crimped or otherwise shaped to provide a retainer opening similar to the opening 975o such that the separate component 975h may not be rigidly coupled to the spring 975 s). In some embodiments, a female thread or grommet of any suitable flexible material (e.g., a cushioning or elastomeric material) similar to grommet 575c may be provided in the retainer opening 975o for providing additional flexibility to the tactile coupling mechanism 975. The tactile coupling mechanism 935 may be configured to provide a tactile input coupling mechanism 235 for coupling any suitable portion of any suitable user input component (e.g., user input assembly 230) of the device 200 to any suitable portion (e.g., wall 251r) of the actuator housing structure 951, which physical coupling may be rigid or substantially rigid. For example, the tactile coupling mechanism 935 may include any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 935m (e.g., a welded joint, or glue, or a heat-activated epoxy, or a female/male screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) for rigidly coupling or substantially rigidly coupling any suitable portion 251rp of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251r) of the actuator housing 251 to any suitable portion (not shown) of the input member 230 (e.g., a proximal free end 975f of a spring 975s that may be shaped to curl along and adjacent to at least a portion of the wall 251 r). Alternatively, the tactile coupling mechanism 935 may rigidly couple a portion of the input member 230 to the actuator housing 251 along the same actuator housing wall 251t that may be provided with springs 975s (not shown).
Fig. 11 illustrates an exemplary multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 1100 that can provide at least two haptic coupling mechanisms with different response characteristics for an actuator housing 251 of a haptic actuator output component 250 of an electronic device 200. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 11, for example, the actuator housing 251 can be any suitable three-dimensional shape that can generally be described as providing a top wall 251t, a bottom wall 251b that can be opposite the top wall 251t, a left wall 251l, a right wall 251r that can be opposite the left wall 251l, a front wall 251f, and a rear wall (not shown) that can be opposite the front wall 251f, and the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 1100 can be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as an actuator housing structure 1151, the haptic input coupling mechanism 235 as a first haptic coupling mechanism 1135, and the haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 as a second haptic coupling mechanism 1175 that can have a different response characteristic than the first haptic coupling mechanism 1135. The actuator housing structure 1151 may be configured to provide the actuator housing 251 as a unitary structure that may include at least a portion of each actuator housing wall that is integral with, rigidly coupled to, or substantially rigidly coupled (e.g., welded) to one other actuator housing wall, two other actuator housing walls, three other actuator housing walls, four other actuator housing walls, or each other actuator housing wall other than the actuator housing wall opposite thereto. Alternatively, as shown, two or more walls may be provided by a single unitary structure (e.g., the bottom wall 251b and the right wall 251r of the actuator housing structure may be provided as a single "L-shaped" or curved member, and the top wall 251t and the left wall 251L of the actuator housing structure may be provided as a single "L-shaped" or curved member). The tactile coupling mechanism 1175 may be configured to provide a tactile housing coupling mechanism 275 for physically coupling any suitable portion of the device housing 201 of the device 200 (e.g., the interior surface 201i of the device housing 201 at least at the first housing coupling position 201cl1) to any suitable portion of the actuator housing structure 1151, wherein the physical coupling may be less rigid (e.g., more flexible) (e.g., by any suitable amount) than the physical coupling provided by the tactile coupling mechanism 1135 between the actuator housing structure 1151 and the input member 230. For example, haptic coupling mechanism 1175 may include at least one suitable flexure or spring, such as a bow spring, a cantilever spring, a leaf spring, or any other suitable flexure or spring, for providing flexibility for physical coupling. For example, as shown, the tactile coupling mechanism 1175 may provide a first flexible leaf-like spring 1175sr, wherein the spring 1175sr may extend from a first end 1175srft to a second end 1175srfb via any suitable intermediate portion 1175srx, wherein the intermediate portion 1175srx may be rigidly coupled or substantially rigidly coupled to any suitable portion of the actuator housing 251 (e.g., to any suitable portion of the wall 251r) via any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 1175srxm (e.g., a weld joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) for rigidly coupling or substantially rigidly coupling any suitable portion of the intermediate portion 1175srx of the spring 1175sr to any suitable portion of any suitable wall of the actuator housing 251 (e.g., the wall 251r), wherein the first end 1175srft may be rigidly coupled or substantially rigidly coupled to any suitable portion of the device housing 201 (e.g., coupled to any suitable portion 201cl1), and wherein second end 1175srfb can be rigidly coupled or substantially rigidly coupled to the device housing 201 via any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 1175srfbm (e.g., a weld joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw component, and/or any other suitable mechanism) and/or via any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 1175bb (e.g., a rigid body that can include a weld joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw component, and/or any other suitable mechanism for rigidly coupling to second end 1175srfb, and that can include one or more threaded screw holes (e.g., hole 1175bbrh and/or hole 1175bblh) or any other suitable mechanism that can be used to rigidly couple mechanism 1175bb to device housing 201) Any suitable portion (e.g., coupled to any suitable portion 201cl 1). Additionally or alternatively, for example, as shown, the tactile coupling mechanism 1175 may provide a second flexible leaf-like spring 1175sl, wherein the spring 1175sl may extend from the first end 1175slft to the second end 1175slfb via any suitable intermediate portion 1175slx, wherein the intermediate portion 1175slx may be rigidly coupled or substantially rigidly coupled to any suitable portion of the actuator housing 251 (e.g., to any suitable portion of the wall 251l) via any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 1175slxm (e.g., a welded joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) for rigidly coupling or substantially rigidly coupling any suitable portion of the intermediate portion 1175slx of the spring 1175sl to any suitable wall of the actuator housing 251 (e.g., wall 251l), wherein the first end 1175slft may be rigidly coupled or substantially rigidly coupled to any suitable portion of the device housing 201 via any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 1175slftm (e.g., a weld joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) and/or via any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 1175bt (e.g., a rigid body that may include a weld joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism for rigidly coupling to the first end 1175slft, and that may include one or more threaded screw holes (e.g., hole 1175btrh and/or hole 1175btlh) or any other suitable mechanism that may be used to rigidly couple mechanism 1175bt to device housing 201) Suitable portions (e.g., coupled to any suitable portion 201cl1), and wherein second end 1175slfb can be rigidly coupled or substantially rigidly coupled to, and/or via any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 1175slfbm (e.g., a weld joint, or glue, or a heat-activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw component, and/or any other suitable mechanism) and/or via any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 1175bb (e.g., a rigid body that can include a weld joint, or glue, or a heat-activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw component, and/or any other suitable mechanism for rigidly coupling to second end 1175slfb, and that can include one or more threaded screw holes (e.g., hole 1175 rh and/or hole 1175bblh) or any other suitable mechanism that can be used to rigidly couple mechanism 1175bb to device housing 201) To any suitable portion of device housing 201 (e.g., coupled to any suitable portion 201cl 1). The tactile coupling mechanism 1135 may include any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 1135srxm (e.g., a weld joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism) for rigidly coupling or substantially rigidly coupling any suitable portion of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251r) of the actuator housing 251 to any suitable portion (e.g., end 230e) of the user input member 230 (e.g., via the intermediate portion 1175srx of the spring 1175sr and/or via the rigid coupling mechanism 1175srxm (as shown)). Additionally or alternatively, as shown, the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly 1100 can be configured to provide the tactile input coupling mechanism 245 as another tactile coupling mechanism 1145, the tactile input coupling mechanism may have different response characteristics than the tactile coupling mechanism 1135, wherein the tactile coupling mechanism 1145 may comprise any suitable rigid coupling material or mechanism 1145slxm (e.g., a solder joint, or glue, or a heat activated epoxy, or a female/male threaded screw member, and/or any other suitable mechanism), for rigidly coupling, e.g., via the intermediate portion 1175slx of spring 1175sl and/or via rigid coupling mechanism 1175slxm (as shown), any suitable portion of any suitable wall (e.g., wall 251l) of the actuator housing 251 to, or substantially rigidly coupled to, any suitable portion (not shown in fig. 11) of the user input member 240. Thus, although a portion of input member 230 may be rigidly or substantially rigidly physically coupled to actuator housing 251 by haptic coupling mechanism 1135 (e.g., via rigid coupling mechanism 1135 sxm and via intermediate portion 1175srx (e.g., rigid material) of spring 1175sr and via rigid coupling mechanism 1175 sxm (as shown)), device housing 201 may be physically coupled to actuator housing 251 in a less rigid manner by haptic coupling mechanism 1175 (e.g., via one or more of free ends 1175srfb and 1175srft of spring 1175sr and/or via one or more of free ends 1175 slb and 1175slft of spring 1175 sl), as any free end of any spring of haptic coupling mechanism 1175 (e.g., free with respect to actuator housing 251) may be configured to provide a physical coupling with actuator housing 251 that has and with the physical coupling with actuator housing 251 of rigid or substantially rigid haptic coupling mechanism 1135 The response characteristics of the coupling differ (e.g., less stiff (e.g., more flexible)) due to the configuration of the spring.
Thus, when a parameter of the AWF becomes stronger than some second threshold, which may be greater than or equal to the first threshold (e.g., when a frequency parameter of the AWF increases beyond a particular cutoff threshold) such that the haptic coupling mechanism can allow movement of the housing to which it is coupled to not be closely associated with movement of the actuator to which it is coupled, any haptic housing coupling mechanism (e.g., any suitable spring and/or flexible grommet and/or flexible adhesive pad, etc.) can be configured or used to act as a rigid or substantially rigid physical coupling or any other suitable coupling that enables the haptic housing coupling mechanism to at least substantially closely associate movement of the housing to which it is coupled with movement of the actuator to which it is coupled for Actuator Waveforms (AWFs) having a parameter (e.g., a frequency parameter) up to a certain magnitude of the first threshold, but at the same time exhibiting greater flexibility to inhibit or absorb the effects of the AWF (e.g., the AWF frequency of the device waveform that generates the haptic housing coupling mechanism) while any haptic input coupling mechanism can be used to act as a rigid or substantially rigid physical coupling even when the parameters of the AWF become stronger than a second threshold (e.g., as shown in fig. 12). The actuator housing of a single haptic actuator housing can be soft-mounted to a device housing of an electronic device (e.g., having a mounting resonance higher than the resonant frequency f0 of the haptic actuator) and can be hard-mounted to a user input component of the device that is not physically coupled to the device housing, such that a device waveform of the device housing produced by the actuator waveform of the actuator housing and a device waveform of the input component produced by the actuator waveform of the actuator housing can be separated by frequency separation (e.g., at least at certain frequencies of the actuator waveform). This may enable an electronic device having a single haptic actuator that may only output a single actuator waveform at any one time (e.g., rather than using two different haptic actuators to generate two different actuator waveforms at a certain time) to produce multi-modal haptic feedback. An electronic device with a single haptic actuator may be enabled to provide multi-modal haptic feedback for different portions of the device (e.g., the device housing and user input components) with only one or more simple additional mechanisms (e.g., one or more flexible mechanisms (e.g., any suitable springs and/or flexible grommets and/or flexible adhesive pads, etc.), thereby providing a low cost solution and/or a low power solution and/or a limited footprint resource solution for implementing such multi-modal haptic feedback on a particular electronic device. The net haptic effect and/or decoupling may be achieved by a haptic housing coupling mechanism, a haptic input coupling mechanism, and a transition between two different actuator waveforms (e.g., from an actuator waveform having a first frequency parameter below a threshold (e.g., a threshold that may depend on characteristics of the coupling mechanism) to an actuator waveform having a second frequency parameter greater than the threshold) (e.g., using any suitable haptic synthesizer application (e.g., application 103 or application 203) that may be configured to be used by a synthesizer engine or any suitable module to generate and/or provide instructions or voltage waveforms (input waveforms) for generating particular actuator waveforms to indicate particular modes of multi-modal haptic feedback). In some embodiments, there may be three or more modes of multi-modal haptic feedback implemented by the electronic device. For example, there may be a flexible haptic housing coupling mechanism for coupling the actuator housing to the device housing, a first haptic input coupling mechanism for coupling the first input member to the actuator housing, and a second haptic input coupling mechanism for coupling the second input member to the actuator housing. In some embodiments, such a second tactile input-coupling mechanism may be less flexible or otherwise respond differently than the tactile housing-coupling mechanism, but such a second tactile input-coupling mechanism is more flexible or otherwise respond differently than the first tactile input-coupling mechanism, such that a first threshold or parameter range may be defined (e.g., based on characteristics of the haptic actuator) for an AWF that may provide a first tactile alert (e.g., a similar detectable DWF at the device housing and each input component); a second threshold or parameter range may be defined (e.g., based on the response or flexibility of the haptic housing coupling mechanism) for AWFs that may provide a second haptic alert (e.g., a similar detectable DWF at each input member and a mild or insignificant DWF at the device housing), and a third threshold or parameter range may be defined (e.g., based on the response or flexibility of the second input member) for AWFs that may provide a third haptic alert (e.g., a detectable DWF at the first input member, and a mild or insignificant DWF at the device housing, and a mild or insignificant DWF at the second input member).
As shown in fig. 13, any or each electronic device may be provided with a subsystem 113 that may be used to support the higher peak power of certain types of actuator input waveform IWF while avoiding power loss. For example, the higher peak power may be utilized to provide a short pulse through the actuator input waveform IWF having a higher peak power, which may be used to provide a second tactile alert in a second mode having a higher peak force, where a user of the device may perceive a particular portion of the device(e.g., a user input component of a device) to provide localized haptic feedback (e.g., a short click/click asset) that is distinguishable from (e.g., larger than) any haptic feedback provided by another portion of the device (e.g., a majority of a housing of the device), which may be performed in response to detecting that a user interacts with the user input component in a particular manner. As shown, for example, any suitable battery 108b in the power supply 108 may be used to supply power PBattery with a battery cellProvided (e.g., via any suitable bus 114) to a boost component 108t (e.g., a voltage regulator) that may also receive any suitable input current or power limit control signal 108g (e.g., from any suitable processor) and that may be used to recharge the energy storage component 108r (e.g., a capacitor (e.g., 1mF or higher)) for an extended period of time without exceeding the power limit of the battery 108b, e.g., with PVoltage boosterAt least a part of, and PVoltage boosterMay be used to via PEngineProvides a long wave to the driver amplifier 108D (e.g., a class D amplifier) which the driver amplifier 108D uses to drive the haptic actuator output member 250 having a long wave IWF. The energy storage component 108r may be used to store energy via P when needed, and without discharging to a voltage too lowCapacitor with a capacitor elementProviding a short pulse of current to pump PEngineIs provided to the driver amplifier 108d, and the driver amplifier 108d uses that power to drive the haptic actuator output component 250 with a short pulse (e.g., 4 watts per 10 milliseconds) of IWF. The approach may enable higher peak power for short waveforms and may enable higher peak force for local haptic modes of a multi-mode haptic feedback feature of an electronic device.
The electronic device may be configured to detect different types of user interaction with the input component in different ways and provide different haptic responses to such detection. For example, as shown in fig. 14, an electronic device 1400 may include a first haptic input coupling mechanism 235 that may physically couple a haptic actuator output component 250 to a first input component 230, a first haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 that may physically couple the haptic actuator output component 250 to a first housing coupling position 201cl1 of a housing 201, and a second haptic housing coupling mechanism 285 that may physically couple the haptic actuator output component 250 to a second housing coupling position 201cl2 of the housing 201, wherein the input component 230 may include a user interface region 230u exposed outside of the housing 201 and a stem region 230s extending between the user interface region 230u and the haptic input coupling mechanism 235, while any suitable tactile click switch 230t may be coupled to the haptic actuator output component 250 (e.g., to a stator housing 251) and may be used by the haptic actuator output component 250 against any suitable housing or other internal component 201m at the arrow L The direction is pushed so that the tactile click switch 230t provides click tactile feedback that can be felt by a user interacting with the user interface area 230u when the user pushes the input part 230 in the linear direction of the arrow L. This may provide a tactile switch that is quieter than the electronic device 1500 of fig. 15, where the electronic device 1500 may include a first tactile input coupling mechanism 235 that may physically couple the tactile actuator output member 250 to the first input member 230, a first tactile housing coupling mechanism 275 that may physically couple the tactile actuator output member 250 to a first housing coupling position 201cl1 of the housing 201, and a second tactile housing coupling mechanism 285 that may physically couple the tactile actuator output member 250 to a second housing coupling position 201cl2 of the housing 201, where the input member 230 may include a user interface region 230u exposed outside of the housing 201 and a stem region 230s extending between the user interface region 230u and a tactile click switch 230t, which may be disposed between the input member 230 and the tactile input coupling mechanism 235, while the tactile click switch 230t may be operable to be pushed by the input member 230 against the tactile input coupling mechanism 235 in the direction of arrow L, so that the tactile click switch 230t provides click tactile feedback that can be felt by a user interacting with the user interface area 230u when the user pushes the input part 230 in the linear direction of the arrow L. An alternative interaction by the user with input component 230 other than pressing input component 230 in the linear direction of arrow L may be a rotation of input component 230 about a linear axis in the direction of arrow CW or arrow CCW, and any suitable sensor may be provided to detect such rotation and initiate a localized haptic feedback mode of the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly at input component 230. Accordingly, device 1400 may provide silent tactile switches and dual mode click tactile feedback for different types of user interactions with input component 230, and device 1500 may provide tactile switches and dual mode click tactile feedback for different types of user interactions with input component 230. As shown in fig. 16, the electronic device 1600 may include a first haptic input coupling mechanism 235 that may physically couple the haptic actuator output component 250 to the first input component 230, a first haptic housing coupling mechanism 275 that may physically couple the haptic actuator output component 250 to a first housing coupling location 201cl1 of the housing 201, and a second haptic housing coupling mechanism 285 that may physically couple the haptic actuator output component 250 to a second housing coupling location 201cl2 of the housing 201, wherein the input component 230 may include a user interface region 230u exposed outside of the housing 201 and a stem region 230s extending between the user interface region 230u and the haptic input coupling mechanism 235, while any suitable force sensor 230f (e.g., a strain gauge or capacitive displacement sensor or cap gap sensor, etc.) may be positioned at any location that may be used to detect any suitable force applied by a user to the input component 230 or any suitable movement of the input component 230, and/or the multi-modal feedback assembly and device 1600 can be configured such that any suitable pressing force (e.g., force in the direction of arrow L) exerted by the user on the user interface 230u can be detected for initiating a localized haptic feedback mode of the multi-modal haptic feedback assembly at the input component 230.
Certain processes described herein (e.g., any waveform control application and/or algorithm), as well as any other aspect of the disclosure, may each be implemented by software, but equally may be implemented in hardware, firmware, or any combination of software, hardware, and firmware. Each of which may also be embodied as computer readable code recorded on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may be any data storage device that can store data or instructions which can thereafter be read by a computer system. Examples of a computer-readable medium may include, but are not limited to, read-only memory, random-access memory, flash memory, CD-ROMs, DVDs, magnetic tape, and optical data storage devices (e.g., memory 104 of FIG. 1). The computer readable medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. For example, the computer-readable medium may be transferred from one electronic device to another electronic device using any suitable communication protocol. Computer-readable media can be embodied as computer-readable code, instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and can include any information delivery media. A modulated data signal may be a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.
Whereas many alterations and modifications of the preferred embodiments will no doubt become apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art after having read the foregoing description, it is to be understood that the particular embodiments shown and described by way of illustration are in no way intended to be considered limiting. Insubstantial modifications of the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims. Thus, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements. It is also to be understood that various directional and orientational terms such as "upper" and "lower", "front" and "rear", "left" and "right", "upper" and "lower", "top" and "bottom" and "side", "vertical" and "horizontal", "diagonal", "length" and "width" and "thickness" and "diameter", and "cross-section", "longitudinal", "X-" and "Y-" and "Z-" and the like may be used herein merely for convenience, and no fixed or absolute directional or orientational limitations are intended by the use of these words. If reoriented, it may be desirable to use different directional or orientational terms in their description, but that will not in any way alter their basic nature within the scope and spirit of the subject matter described herein. Therefore, references to details of the described embodiments are not intended to limit their scope.

Claims (21)

1. An electronic device, the electronic device comprising:
an equipment enclosure defining an interior space;
a haptic actuator positioned within the interior space;
an input component positioned at least partially within the interior space and accessible to a user via an opening extending through the device housing;
a haptic housing coupling mechanism physically coupling the haptic actuator to the device housing; and
a haptic input coupling mechanism physically coupling the haptic actuator to the input member, wherein a flexibility of the haptic input coupling mechanism is less than a flexibility of the haptic housing coupling mechanism.
2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the haptic housing coupling mechanism comprises a gasket that physically couples the haptic actuator to the device housing.
3. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the haptic housing coupling mechanism comprises a spring that physically couples the haptic actuator to the device housing.
4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the haptic input coupling mechanism comprises a solder joint physically coupling the haptic actuator directly to the input member.
5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the tactile input coupling mechanism is different from the tactile housing coupling mechanism.
6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a strap coupled to the device housing, wherein the strap is to hold the device housing against a wrist of a user.
7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the input component is a digital crown.
8. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the input member is a push button.
9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the input component is movable relative to the device housing via the opening.
10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein:
the haptic housing coupling mechanism to generate a first device housing waveform at the device housing when the haptic actuator provides a first actuator waveform;
the haptic input coupling mechanism to generate a first device input waveform at the input component when the haptic actuator provides the first actuator waveform;
the haptic housing coupling mechanism to generate a second device housing waveform at the device housing when the haptic actuator provides a second actuator waveform;
the haptic input coupling mechanism to generate a second device input waveform at the input component when the haptic actuator provides the second actuator waveform;
a frequency parameter of the first actuator waveform is below a threshold;
the frequency parameter of the second actuator waveform is above the threshold;
the movement parameter of the first device input waveform is not greater than twice the movement parameter of the first device housing waveform; and is
The movement parameter of the second device input waveform is no less than five times the movement parameter of the second device housing waveform.
11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the frequency parameter of the first actuator waveform is at least one-half less than the frequency parameter of the second actuator waveform.
12. An electronic device, the electronic device comprising:
an equipment enclosure defining an interior space;
a haptic actuator positioned within the interior space;
an input section;
a haptic housing coupling mechanism that soft mounts the haptic actuator to the device housing; and
a haptic input coupling mechanism physically coupling the haptic actuator to the input member while enabling the input member to move freely in at least one direction relative to the device housing.
13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the haptic actuator is configured to move within the interior space in the at least one direction relative to the housing when the haptic actuator is driven by an actuator input waveform.
14. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein:
the haptic actuator has a first fundamental resonant frequency; and is
The haptic housing coupling mechanism has a second fundamental resonant frequency that is greater than the first fundamental resonant frequency.
15. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the haptic housing coupling mechanism comprises a gasket that physically couples the haptic actuator to the device housing.
16. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the haptic housing coupling mechanism comprises a spring that physically couples the haptic actuator to the device housing.
17. An electronic device, the electronic device comprising:
an equipment enclosure defining an interior space;
a haptic actuator positioned within the interior space; and
a haptic housing coupling mechanism physically coupling the haptic actuator to the device housing, wherein:
the haptic actuator has a first fundamental resonant frequency; and is
The haptic housing coupling mechanism has a second fundamental resonant frequency that is greater than the first fundamental resonant frequency.
18. The electronic device of claim 17, further comprising:
an input section; and
a haptic input coupling mechanism physically coupling the haptic actuator to the input member while enabling the input member to move freely in at least one direction relative to the device housing.
19. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein:
the haptic housing coupling mechanism to generate a first device housing waveform at the device housing when the haptic actuator provides a first actuator waveform;
the haptic input coupling mechanism to generate a first device input waveform at the input component when the haptic actuator provides the first actuator waveform;
the haptic housing coupling mechanism to generate a second device housing waveform at the device housing when the haptic actuator provides a second actuator waveform;
the haptic input coupling mechanism to generate a second device input waveform at the input component when the haptic actuator provides the second actuator waveform;
a frequency parameter of the first actuator waveform is lower than the second fundamental resonant frequency;
the frequency parameter of the second actuator waveform is higher than the second fundamental resonant frequency;
the movement parameter of the first device input waveform is within a threshold magnitude of the movement parameter of the first device housing waveform; and is
The movement parameter of the second device input waveform is greater than the movement parameter of the second device housing waveform by at least the threshold magnitude.
20. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein:
when the frequency parameter of the actuator input waveform applied to the haptic actuator is the first fundamental resonant frequency, the haptic actuator drives movement of the device housing; and is
The haptic actuator drives movement of the input member greater than movement of the device housing when the frequency parameter of the actuator input waveform applied to the haptic actuator is greater than the second fundamental resonant frequency.
21. A haptic feedback assembly for an electronic device including a first component and a second component, the haptic feedback assembly comprising:
a haptic actuator;
a first coupling mechanism to physically couple the haptic actuator to the first component; and
a second coupling mechanism for physically coupling the haptic actuator to the second component, wherein the second coupling mechanism is less flexible than the first coupling mechanism.
CN201921139169.XU 2018-09-28 2019-07-19 Multi-modal haptic feedback for electronic devices using a single haptic actuator Active CN209980188U (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

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US201862738032P 2018-09-28 2018-09-28
US62/738,032 2018-09-28
US16/400,354 2019-05-01
US16/400,354 US11150731B2 (en) 2018-09-28 2019-05-01 Multi-modal haptic feedback for an electronic device using a single haptic actuator

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN114650488A (en) * 2020-12-18 2022-06-21 苹果公司 Shaker for electronic device

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN114650488A (en) * 2020-12-18 2022-06-21 苹果公司 Shaker for electronic device

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