KR100927638B1 - Passive haptic module using working fluid, control method and haptic device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A passive haptic module using working fluid, a control method and a haptic device thereof are provided to maximize the effect of the volume expansion with supplying of little heat by expanding a volume receiving film locally. CONSTITUTION: A working fluid is included in the inside of a chamber unit(110). The chamber unit is formed having a single-side is flexibly for a tactility. A heater units(140) supplies the heat to the working fluid. A volume acceptance membrane(130) is equipped in the lower part of the chamber unit. The volume acceptance membrane returns the working fluid to the inside of the chamber unit or accommodates the working fluid. The volume of the working fluid is increased by the supply of the heat from the heater unit. The rigidity of the chamber unit varied based on the volume change of the working fluid.

Description

Passive haptic module using working fluid, control method and haptic device

The present invention relates to a haptic module using a working fluid, and more particularly, a haptic module using a working fluid capable of providing a tactile feeling by using a phase change from a liquid phase to a gaseous phase, and providing a haptic having the haptic module. An apparatus and a control method thereof are provided.

Haptic is a tactile sensation that can be felt by a human finger or a stylus pen when touching an object, and includes haptic feedback that the skin touches the surface of an object and muscular sense feedback that is disturbed when movement of joints and muscles is disturbed. It is a concept. Haptic is used herein as such a generic concept.

In addition, haptic can be divided into passive haptic and active haptic according to the method. 'Active haptic' is a form in which a haptic device feels tactile by directly stimulating a finger while a haptic device is driven. Pressing it means a form that feels tactile by providing a reaction (eg stiffness) to it. Passive haptic in the present invention means this concept.

A haptic device using a haptic has a characteristic of responsiveness such as touching a real object (such as a button) when a person touches a virtual object (such as displaying a button on a window screen) and displays an operation characteristic (feeling when a button is pressed). Ideal to play. In order to improve the performance of the haptic device, a device using a motor and a link mechanism such as giving a vibration of a mobile phone has been used.

In recent years, haptic phones, etc., which have gained much attention, have a technical limitation in providing a tactile feeling of actually touching an object by simply implementing vibration on an input.

In addition, the equipment using the motor and the link mechanism has a limitation in miniaturizing the product because it is difficult to miniaturize and difficult to realize a quick response speed due to the inertia in realizing the operating characteristics such as touching the real object.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is a haptic module having a passive haptic module, a control method and a haptic module using a working fluid that provides the same touch as when touching a real object. It is to provide a providing apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a haptic module having a passive haptic module, a control method, and a haptic module, which can be miniaturized by efficiently controlling the working fluid while using a small supply heat in controlling the working fluid. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide a haptic module having a passive haptic module, a control method, and a haptic module that can be widely used in various electronic / communication devices and game devices by measuring the strength of a pressed force and providing haptic feedback accordingly. To provide a device.

An object of the present invention as described above, the working fluid is included therein, at least one surface of the chamber portion is formed flexibly for the touch;

A heater unit for supplying heat to the working fluid; And

Included in the lower portion of the chamber portion, the volume receiving membrane to receive the working fluid increased in volume by the heat supply of the heater portion or to return to the interior of the chamber portion, including,

The stiffness of the chamber part is changed based on the volume change of the working fluid according to the degree of heat supply of the heater part.

And, it is preferable that the upper surface of the chamber portion is formed flexibly.

In this case, the chamber part may use a polymer, silicon, a synthetic resin material or a rubber material.

In addition, it is preferable that the lower portion of the volume receiving membrane, the volume maintenance plate perforated in a predetermined position so as to accommodate the volume change of the working fluid.

The heater unit may use a micro heater.

In addition, it is preferable to use a volume receiving membrane having elasticity that can be increased or restored to its original state by increasing the volume of the working fluid.

In addition, the lower portion of the chamber portion is an open shape, it is preferable that the support plate is further included in the lower portion of the chamber portion.

At this time, in the support plate is formed a receiving area that can accommodate the volume change of the working fluid.

As another means for achieving the above object, the haptic providing apparatus is provided with a plurality of passive haptic module using a working fluid corresponding to the above-mentioned embodiment, a housing in which a plurality of haptic modules are installed; And a controller for controlling the plurality of haptic modules.

In addition, the plurality of haptic modules are preferably partitioned by a heat insulating part.

The controller preferably controls each of the plurality of haptic modules independently.

In addition, the control of the haptic module by the controller may be based on pre-stored tactile data.

In addition, the housing is provided with an external connection terminal, the control unit may be controllable based on the tactile data input from the external device through the connection terminal.

As another category for achieving the above object, in the control method of the passive haptic module using the working fluid, as the upper surface of the chamber portion of the haptic module is pressed, the working fluid contained therein is pressed to expand the volume receiving membrane. step;

Supplying heat to the heating fluid by the heater unit;

Increasing the volume of the working fluid by the supplied heat; And

And generating a haptic for the pressing of the upper surface of the chamber by expansion of the chamber containing the volume receiving membrane and the working fluid by increasing the volume of the working fluid.

In addition, the expansion of the volume-receiving membrane is preferably made locally by a volume retaining plate having a predetermined position.

In addition, the expansion of the volume receiving membrane is accommodated in the receiving area formed on the support plate; may be further included.

And, the step of restoring the chamber portion including the working fluid by the elasticity of the volume receiving membrane and the chamber portion; may be further included.

In addition, in the volume change step of the working fluid, the volume of the working fluid changes according to the change of heat supplied from the heater part, and the haptic of the haptic generation step is the rigidity of the chamber part.

In addition, the heat supply step, the step of detecting the strength of the force pressed from the force sensor; And controlling the heat supplied based on the detection signal of the force sensor.

Therefore, according to one embodiment of the present invention as described above, there is an advantage of providing a tactile feeling such as actually touching an object by using a phase change of the working fluid.

In addition, the volume receiving membrane containing the volume expansion of the working fluid is configured to locally expand only in a predetermined region, it is possible to maximize the effect of the volume expansion while supplying less heat has the advantage of less power consumption.

In addition, it is possible to use variously in electronic / communication devices, game devices, etc. as an advantage of low power characteristics and miniaturization.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known functions and configurations may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the description thereof will be omitted.

< Haptic Module  Structure

1 is a cross-sectional view of a passive haptic module using a working fluid according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the passive haptic module using a working fluid according to FIG. 1 and 2, the haptic module 100 according to the present invention includes a chamber part 110, a heater part 140, a volume receiving film 130, and the like.

The chamber unit 110 is configured such that the user's finger 1 or the stylus pen contacts the upper surface, and a working fluid 120 is included therein. The chamber part 110 is elastic in the vertical direction and thus can be easily compressed when pressed with the finger 1 and can be restored to its original shape when the finger 1 is released. Therefore, it is preferable that the upper surface of the chamber part 110 be flexibly formed where the finger 1 or the like is positioned to receive the haptic. One example of such a chamber 110 is a polymer, silicon, synthetic resin or rubber material. The chamber unit 110 has an open shape at the bottom thereof, and is empty and includes a working fluid 120. The chamber 110 may be manufactured in various shapes such as hexagonal shape and cylindrical shape.

The heater 140 is a member that supplies heat to the working fluid 120 included in the chamber 110. As an example of the heater 140, a micro heater may be used, and it is preferable to miniaturize the haptic module 100 with the micro heater.

The working fluid included in the chamber 110 is a fluid whose volume is changed by heat. That is, if there is no supply of heat to the working fluid 120 is present in the liquid phase and has a characteristic of vaporizing when a predetermined heat is supplied. As the volume expands as it is vaporized it is used to provide the haptic of the present invention. In other words, when heat is not supplied, the working fluid 120 in the liquid phase maintains its original volume, but when the predetermined heat is supplied, the volume increases as it is vaporized in the gas phase. Therefore, the chamber part 110 including the working fluid 120 is expanded by the vaporized working fluid 120 to provide a haptic, such as hardened solid. The working fluid 120 varies in degree of vaporization in proportion to the heat supplied. This working fluid 120 has a characteristic of fast changing speed and incompressibility.

The volume receiving film 130 is provided between the chamber 110 and the support plate 160. That is, one surface of the volume receiving membrane 130 is in contact with the lower surface of the chamber portion 110, the other surface is in contact with the support plate 160, more preferably the volume maintenance plate 150 is provided before contacting the support plate 160 do. The volume receiving membrane 130 may increase as the volume increases as the working fluid 120 evaporates, and preferably, a resilient material that can be restored to its original planar state. The volume receiving film 130 may be made of a thin, tough polymer, rubber, or the like.

The support plate 160 is provided and fixed to the other surface of the volume receiving membrane 130 or the volume maintaining plate 150. The support plate 160 may be made of a hard and light material. The support plate 160 serves as a support of the haptic module and distributes the pressed force. The support plate 160 is provided with a receiving region 165 that can accommodate an increase in the volume receiving membrane 130 as the volume of the vaporized working fluid 120 increases. The accommodating area 165 may be formed by forming a hole or a concave groove penetrating the support plate 160, and the size of the accommodating area 165 may be large enough to accommodate the elongation of the volume receiving film 130. If configured, the shape may be used.

The volume maintenance plate 150 is provided between the support plate 160 and the volume receiving film 130. Unlike the volume receiving membrane 130 made of an elastic material to accommodate the volume change of the vaporized working fluid 120 on the front surface, the volume retaining plate 150 is perforated in a predetermined area, the volume receiving membrane 130 It serves to limit the stretching to the perforated region 155. That is, when the volume of the vaporized working fluid 120 increases, the volume receiving membrane 130 increases by the increased volume, but is intercepted by the volume holding plate 150 and formed in the volume holding plate 150. Only). Therefore, the volume maintenance plate 150 is preferably made of a hard and light material. In addition, the thickness of the volume plate 150 is preferably made thin.

The perforated region 155 of the volume maintenance plate 150 and the receiving region 165 of the support plate 160 are preferably formed at the same position to efficiently accommodate the volume change of the vaporized working fluid 120.

< Haptic provision device >

Hereinafter, a haptic providing apparatus using a passive haptic module using a working fluid having the above configuration will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the haptic providing apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a perspective view of the haptic providing apparatus of FIG. The haptic providing apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of haptic modules 100 and the housing 210, a control unit (not shown) having the above configuration.

The haptic module 100 may be provided in plural to provide various haptic. The plurality of haptic modules 100 may be provided in a matrix form as shown in FIG. 3, and may be variously configured according to a position for providing a haptic such as a radial shape and an annular shape.

The controller is a device for controlling the plurality of haptic modules 100, and preferably controls the plurality of haptic modules 100 independently to provide haptics corresponding to the number of various cases. The control unit is connected to the heater unit 140 of the haptic module 100 to control the degree of supply of heat of the heater unit 140 for supplying heat to the working fluid 120.

In addition, the control of the heater 140 of the controller may control the heater 140 based on tactile data previously stored in the controller. For example, a supply heat necessary to provide a haptic feel and a haptic feeling is stored in a look-up table or the like so that the controller controls the heater 140 based on the data and receives a control signal. The heater 140 supplies heat corresponding thereto.

The housing 210 is a member for accommodating the plurality of haptic modules 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 210 is preferably configured to have an open top surface. The upper surface is configured to be open so that the chamber 110 of the haptic module 100 can be contacted with the finger 1 or the like. An external connection terminal 212 may be provided at a side surface of the housing 210 to control the controller based on tactile data input from an external device. An example of an external device is a USB memory in which the tactile data described above is stored.

An insulation unit 220 is provided inside the housing 210 in which the plurality of haptic modules 100 are accommodated. The heat insulation unit 220 is to prevent the haptic module 100 provided in one section from being affected by the heat supply of the heater unit 140 of the haptic module 100 provided in the other section. In addition, the purpose of the present invention is to efficiently vaporize the working fluid 120 included in the corresponding haptic module 100 receiving the control signal. One example of the heat insulating part 220 is a plastic-based material such as phenolic, Teflon, or a heat insulating film.

< Haptic Module  Control Method>

Hereinafter, a control method of a passive haptic module using a working fluid will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 5a is a cross-sectional view when the heat is not supplied to the working fluid 120 when the passive haptic module 100 using the working fluid according to the present invention with a finger (1), Figure 5b is an operation according to the present invention A case in which the passive haptic module 100 using the fluid is pressed with the finger 1 is a cross-sectional view when heat is supplied to the working fluid 120.

First, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 6, when the finger presses the upper surface of the chamber part 110, the upper surface of the chamber part 110 is easily deformed because it is made of a flexible material having a thin thickness. When the chamber part 110 is pressed, the working fluid 120 included in the chamber part 110 is pressurized, and as shown in FIG. 5A, the volume receiving membrane provided in the lower part of the working fluid 120 ( 130 expands (ie, stretches) downwards. This is because the working fluid 120 has an incompressible property. The volume receiving film 130 passes through the perforated region 155 of the volume maintenance plate 150 to occupy the space of the receiving region 165 of the support plate 160. In this way, the user can perceive the feeling of being pressed softly. When the finger is removed from the upper surface of the haptic module 100, the haptic module 100 returns to its original shape by the restoring force by the elasticity of the chamber part 110 and the restoring force by the elasticity of the volume receiving film 130.

Hereinafter, a method of providing a passive haptic by heat supply of the heater 140 will be described. When power is applied based on the control signal of the heater 140, that is, the control unit connected to the micro heater, the heater 140 generates heat according to the applied power. As shown in FIG. 5B, the working fluid 120 supplied with heat by the heater 140 increases in volume. As the pressure increases due to the increase in the volume of the working fluid 120, the chamber part 110 including the working fluid 120 and the volume receiving membrane 130 provided under the working fluid 120 are expanded, and the chamber part is expanded. The finger 1 in contact with the upper surface of the 110 feels the haptic by recognizing the rigidity of the expanded chamber part 110.

The working fluid 120 is increased in proportion to the heat supplied, so the degree of vaporization of the working fluid 120 increases, so that the volume increase rate is also increased. Therefore, by appropriately controlling the heater 140, it is possible to proportionally control the volume increase of the working fluid 120.

In addition, in order to efficiently control the volume increase of the working fluid 120 while reducing the heat supplied to the working fluid 120, the volume maintenance plate 150 and the receiving area 165 having the perforated area 155. Support plate 160 formed in the can be utilized appropriately. That is, if the diameter of the perforated region 155 formed in the volume maintenance plate 150 and the receiving region 165 of the support plate 160 are large, the working fluid 120 having the increased volume and the volume receiving membrane increased thereby Since the 130 may be sufficiently accommodated, the expansion of the upper surface of the chamber 110 may appear small. However, if the diameter of the perforated region 155 formed in the volume maintenance plate 150 and the receiving region 165 of the support plate 160 are configured to be relatively small so as to locally expand, the working fluid having increased volume ( 120 and the expanded volume receiving film 130 occupy all of the receiving region 165, and even the top surface of the chamber 110 is convexly expanded, such that the expansion is prominent. Therefore, the finger in contact with the upper surface of the chamber 110 has a feeling like pressing a hard stone. In this manner, various haptics are generated with the finger in contact with the upper surface of the chamber unit 110.

< Variant >

A flexible display 300 may be further provided on an upper surface of the haptic providing device using the haptic module according to the present invention. As an example of the flexible display 300, a flexible OLED can be used.

If the heater unit of the haptic module 100 according to the present invention is a position that can supply a predetermined heat to the working fluid 120, as shown in Figure 1, the volume as well as the case provided on the upper portion of the holding plate 150 It may be provided on the upper portion of the receiving film 30 is not limited to the position.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the above-mentioned preferred embodiments, it is possible to make various modifications or variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the appended claims will cover such modifications and variations as long as they fall within the spirit of the invention.

The following drawings, which are attached in this specification, illustrate the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and together with the detailed description thereof, serve to further understand the technical spirit of the present invention. It should not be interpreted.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a passive haptic module using a working fluid according to the present invention;

2 is a side cross-sectional view of a passive haptic module using a working fluid according to the present invention;

3 is an exploded perspective view of a haptic providing apparatus according to the present invention,

4 is a perspective view of a haptic providing apparatus according to the present invention,

5A is a cross-sectional view of an operating state when heat is not supplied to the working fluid when the haptic module of FIG. 2 is pressed with a finger;

Figure 5b is a cross-sectional view of the operating state when the heat is supplied to the working fluid in the case of pressing the haptic module of Figure 2 with a finger,

6 is a flowchart according to a control method of a passive haptic module using a working fluid according to the present invention;

7 is a perspective view illustrating a state where a flexible display is provided in the haptic providing device of FIG. 4.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: finger

100: haptic module

110: chamber portion

120: working fluid

130: volumetric membrane

140: heater unit

150: bulkhead

155: perforated area

160: support plate

165: receiving area

190: lower support part

210: housing

212: external connection terminal

220: heat insulation

300: flexible display

Claims (19)

A working fluid is included therein, and at least one surface of the chamber portion is formed to be flexible; A heater unit for supplying heat to the working fluid; And Included in the lower portion of the chamber portion, the volume receiving membrane for receiving the working fluid increased in volume by the heat supply of the heater portion or to return to the inside of the chamber portion; including, Passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the rigidity of the chamber portion is variable based on the volume change of the working fluid according to the heat supply degree of the heater. The method of claim 1, Passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the chamber portion is formed in a flexible upper surface. The method of claim 1, The chamber part is a passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the polymer, silicon, synthetic resin material or rubber material. The method of claim 1, Under the volume receiving membrane, Passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that it further comprises; a volume maintenance plate perforated in a predetermined position to accommodate the volume change of the working fluid. The method of claim 1, Passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the heater unit is a micro heater. The method of claim 1, The volume receiving membrane is a passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the elasticity can be increased or restored to the original state by increasing the volume of the working fluid. The method of claim 1, The lower portion of the chamber portion is an open shape, Passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the lower portion of the chamber further comprises a support plate. The method of claim 7, wherein Passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the receiving plate is formed in the receiving plate to accommodate the volume change of the working fluid. A plurality of passive haptic module using a working fluid according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is provided, A housing in which the plurality of haptic modules are installed; And Haptic providing apparatus having a passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling the plurality of haptic modules. The method of claim 9, The haptic module having a passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the plurality of haptic modules are partitioned by a heat insulating portion. The method of claim 9, The control unit has a haptic device having a passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that for controlling each of the plurality of haptic modules independently. The method of claim 9, The haptic factory having a passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the control of the haptic module by the control unit is based on pre-stored tactile data. The method of claim 9, The housing is provided with an external connection terminal, The control unit is a haptic providing device having a passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the controllable based on the tactile data input from the external device via the connection terminal. As the upper surface of the chamber portion of the haptic module is pressed, the working fluid contained therein is pressed to expand the volume receiving membrane; Supplying heat to the working fluid; Increasing the volume of the working fluid by the supplied heat; And Passive using a working fluid comprising a; haptic for the pressing of the upper surface of the chamber by the expansion of the chamber containing the volume receiving membrane and the working fluid by the volume of the working fluid; Control method of the haptic module. The method of claim 14, The expansion method of the volume receiving membrane is a control method of a passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the predetermined position is made locally by the perforated volume plate. The method of claim 14, The expansion of the volume receiving membrane is accommodated in the receiving area formed on the support plate; Control method of a passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that it further comprises. The method of claim 16, Restoring the chamber portion including the working fluid by the elasticity of the volume receiving membrane and the chamber portion; control method of a passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that it further comprises. The method of claim 14, In the volume change step of the working fluid, the volume of the working fluid is changed in accordance with the change of heat supplied from the heater, The haptic of the haptic generating step is a control method of a passive haptic module using a working fluid, characterized in that the stiffness of the chamber. The method of claim 14, The heat supply step, Detecting the strength of the force pressed from the force sensor; And And controlling the heat supplied based on the detection signal of the force sensor. 12. The control method of a passive haptic module using a working fluid further comprising a.

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