KR20100051386A - Apparatus and method for providing a tactile feedback - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A device and a method for providing a tactile feedback are provided to provide a tactile feedback based on temperature change by response about a contact of a user, thereby enabling user to feel the temperature change. CONSTITUTION: A contact type input unit(110) receives a operation signal through contact of a user. A contact detecting unit(120) detects contact which is inputted with the contact type input. A heating controlling unit(130) controls temperature of the touch input as response temperature. The contact detecting unit detects location information of contact point which a user contacts in the contact type input unit. A temperature measuring unit(140) measures temperature of the contact type input unit. The temperature measuring unit controls the response temperature according to measured temperature at the temperature measuring unit.

Description

Apparatus and method for providing a tactile feedback

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for providing tactile feedback, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for providing a tactile feedback that can provide a temperature change as tactile feedback.

The present invention is derived from a study conducted as part of the IT source technology development project of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications Research and Development (Task Management Number: 2008-F-024-01, Task name: Mobile Flexible Input / Output Platform).

As the technology of information communication and electronic devices including computers has developed, devices that can directly use a user's body as an input device without using any hardware as input devices have been developed.

For example, the touch screen may perform an operation through a user's finger contact, and may provide visual or audio feedback in response to the finger contact.

Recently, haptic technology has been applied to provide more specific and realistic information to a user who provides an input means.

Haptics are tactile sensations that people feel when they touch objects with their fingertips, tactile feedback that the skin touches the surface of the object, and kinetic force that is felt when the movement of joints and muscles is disturbed. It's a term that combines both of kinesthetic force feedback.

When haptic technology is applied to a touch screen in which a user's finger is in direct contact, the user may feel different stiffness depending on the application. That is, when the haptic technology is applied, the user may feel a soft sensation even when the user presses a soft object, and may feel a hard feeling when pressing the hard object.

As such, as an example for providing tactile feedback to the user, vibration parts are transmitted to the user when the user's finger is in contact with the vibration components. However, since vibration is generated by using the vibration parts, vibration is not generated only at the portion where the user contacts, but vibration is generated in the entire device equipped with the touch screen.

On the other hand, users are required to be provided with more specific and realistic information in response to input, and accordingly, technologies for providing various types of tactile feedback have been developed.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an apparatus for providing a user with a tactile feedback temperature change.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for providing a user with tactile feedback of temperature changes.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned problem, and other tasks not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, a tactile feedback providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is a touch input unit for receiving an operation signal through a user's contact, touch sensing for detecting a user's touch input to the touch input unit And a temperature controller for adjusting the temperature of the negative and contact input parts to the response temperature.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a tactile feedback according to an embodiment of the present invention. Adjusting to temperature.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the drawings.

According to the apparatus and method for providing a temperature change as the semiconductor tactile feedback of the present invention, the tactile feedback may be provided using the temperature change in response to the user's contact.

That is, when the user contacts the contact input unit of the device, the temperature of the contact input unit changes, so that the user can feel the temperature change.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various forms. It is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In the present specification, the singular form includes plural forms unless otherwise specified in the specification. As used herein, the terms 'comprises' and / or 'comprising' mean that the stated element, step, operation and / or element does not imply the presence of one or more other elements, steps, operations and / Or additions.

Hereinafter, an apparatus for providing tactile feedback according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for providing tactile feedback according to embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the tactile feedback providing apparatus 100 according to the embodiments of the present invention may include a touch input unit 110, a touch sensing unit 120, a temperature controller 130, a temperature measuring unit 140, and The controller 150 is included.

The touch input unit 110 may include a surface that may be contacted by a user (finger tip) and may receive an operation signal for executing the functions of the apparatus 100. For example, the touch input unit 110 may include a button, a key pad, a touch pad, a scroll wheel, or a touch screen.

The touch input unit 110 may include a pattern for receiving an operation signal from the user on the contact surface of the user, and an image or an image may be displayed on the contact surface. In addition, the touch input unit 110 may display a pattern, an image, or an image on a contact surface as a response to an operation signal.

The touch detector 120 detects whether a user (fingertip) contacts the touch input unit 110. To this end, the touch sensing unit 120 may include one or more sensing elements (not shown) for measuring a physical quantity depending on a user's touch.

For example, capacitance, resistance, or pressure of the sensing elements of the touch sensing unit 120 may be changed by the user's contact. Therefore, the touch detector 120 may detect a change in capacitance, resistance, or pressure when the user contacts the touch input unit 110.

In addition, the sensing elements of the touch sensing unit 120 may be located at different coordinates in the plane of the touch input unit 110. Accordingly, the touch detector 120 may detect a change in capacitance, resistance, or pressure at a touch point that the user touches. Here, the contact point may represent not only one point but also a surface or an area as well as a point that the user is in contact with. That is, by using sensing elements positioned at different coordinates, the touch detector 120 may detect the position information of the touch point that the user touches in the touch input unit 110.

As such, the touch detector 120 detects the presence or absence of the touch and / or the position of the touch point according to the user's touch and transmits the detected position to the controller 150. The controller 150 may transmit the processing result to the contact type input unit 110 and control the temperature controller 130 according to whether the touch sensor 120 detects the presence or absence of the detection.

Meanwhile, when an image is displayed on one surface of the touch input unit 110, such as a touch screen, the touch sensing unit 120 may be made of a transparent material.

The temperature controller 130 is connected to the contact input unit 110 and the controller 150, and the temperature controller 130 adjusts the temperature of the touch input unit 110 to the response temperature in response to the user's contact. Can be. Here, the response temperature is a temperature higher or lower than the initial temperature of the contact input unit 110. In this case, the initial temperature may be the surface temperature of the contact input unit 110 when there is no user contact with the touch input unit 110. In addition, since the surface of the touch input unit 110 in contact with the user may be exposed to room temperature, the initial temperature may be substantially room temperature.

In other words, the temperature controller 130 may provide a temperature change to the contact input unit 110 according to a user's contact. In detail, the temperature controller 130 increases or decreases the temperature of the contact input unit 110 when the user's contact is detected by the contact input unit 110 to provide tactile feedback to the user. can do. Therefore, when the user is in contact with the contact input unit 110, the user can feel the temperature change.

In addition, the temperature controller 130 may change the temperature of the front surface of the contact input unit 110, and may adjust the temperature at the contact point according to the position information of the contact point detected through the contact detector 120. .

Furthermore, when the touch input unit 110 displays an image according to a user's operation signal input, such as a touch screen, the temperature controller 130 may adjust the response temperature according to the color, contrast, or brightness of the displayed image. have. That is, the temperature controller 130 adjusts the temperature of the contact input unit 110 at a preset response temperature, or adjusts the temperature of the contact input unit 110 at a response temperature adjusted according to the processing result displayed on the contact input unit 110. The temperature can be adjusted.

In addition, the temperature controller 130 provides a temperature change while the user is in contact with the contact input unit 110, and when the user's contact is terminated, the temperature controller 130 may adjust the surface temperature of the contact input unit 110 to the initial temperature again. have. Accordingly, the temperature controller 130 may include a heating element and a cooling element.

As the temperature controller 130, for example, a resistor that generates heat by current and voltage may be used. In addition, when a direct current is flowed into a device composed of N-type and P-type semiconductors, a thermoelectric semiconductor device that is endothermic and generates heat due to the Peltier effect may be used.

The temperature measuring unit 140 is connected to the contact input unit 110 and the control unit 150 to measure the temperature of the touch input unit 110.

In detail, the temperature measuring unit 140 may include an initial temperature when the user does not touch the touch input unit 110, a contact temperature when the user touches the touch input unit, and a temperature control unit 130. The response temperature controlled by) can be measured.

The initial temperature of the contact input unit 110 measured by the temperature measuring unit 140 may be an ambient temperature at which the device is exposed, that is, room temperature. The contact temperature may be higher than the initial temperature by the user's contact.

In addition, the temperature measuring unit 140 may include temperature measuring elements positioned at different coordinates in the plane of the contact input unit 110. Therefore, the temperature measuring unit 140 may measure the contact temperature at the contact point that the user touches, and may measure the response temperature according to the temperature change at the contact point.

The initial temperature, the contact temperature, and the response temperature measured by the temperature measuring unit 140 are provided to the controller 150, and the controller 150 may control the temperature controller 130 according to the measured temperatures.

The temperature measuring unit 140 may be, for example, a resistance temperature sensor, a thermistor, a thermocouple, a bimetal, or a thermo-sensitivity ferrite.

Meanwhile, in one embodiment of the present invention, the temperature measuring unit 140 is not an essential component of the tactile feedback providing apparatus, and may be optionally included. In other words, the haptic feedback providing apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may adjust the temperature of the contact point to the set response temperature through the temperature controller 130 according to the touch detection without measuring the temperature of the contact input unit 110. .

2 is a schematic plan view of a tactile feedback providing apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention. 2 illustrates a plane of the contact input unit 110 provided in the tactile feedback providing apparatus 100, although not shown in the drawing, a contact sensor, a temperature controller, a temperature measurer, and a contact unit below the contact input unit 110. Control units may be arranged. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the plane of the contact input unit 110 may be partitioned for each region, and may include regions or points having different coordinates. In addition, a temperature change may be provided in an area including the contact point TP contacted by the user, or an area located within a predetermined distance from the contact point TP.

3 is a schematic circuit diagram of an apparatus for providing tactile feedback according to embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the touch detector 120 may include signal lines 112 and 114 connected to the controller 150 of FIG. 1. The signal lines 112 and 114 are arranged in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction so as to cross each other, and the signal values transmitted through the signal lines 112 and 114 may vary according to the contact point of the user. That is, the contact regions TR arranged in a matrix form by the signal lines 112 and 114 may be defined. Each of the contact regions TR may include sensing elements 122 connected to the signal lines 112 and 114. In addition, each of the contact regions TR may include a temperature adjusting element 132 and / or a temperature measuring element 142. In addition, the temperature adjusting element 132 and / or the temperature measuring element 142 provided in each of the contact regions TR may be connected to the signal lines 112 and 114 in the horizontal and vertical directions. The temperature measuring elements 142 may be provided for each row or column including a plurality of contact regions TP.

Accordingly, when the user contacts the contact area TR, signal values of the signal lines 112 and 114 connected to the sensing element 122 of the corresponding area may vary. In addition, the controller 150 of FIG. 1 may control the temperature adjusting element 132 and the temperature measuring element 142 of the corresponding area according to the change in the signal values of the signal lines 112 and 114.

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a tactile feedback providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the haptic feedback providing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a contact input unit 110, a touch sensing unit 120, and a temperature controller 130 in the body 105. can do.

That is, the body 105 is a cover covering the touch input unit 110, the touch sensing unit 120, and the temperature control unit 130. Here, a part of the body 105 is exposed to the outside so that the user of the contact input unit 110 can contact. The body 105 may further include members for the operation of the device 100, such as a liquid crystal display, a controller, a processor, and a memory.

The touch sensing unit 120 may be located between the touch input unit 110 and the body, and may detect the presence or absence of a user's contact input to the touch input unit 110. The touch sensing unit 120 may be formed over a part or the entire plane of the touch input unit 110.

The temperature controller 130 may be positioned between the touch input unit 110 and the touch sensor unit 120, and the temperature controller 130 may be configured as a touch input unit according to the touch detection at the touch sensor unit 120. 110) to provide a temperature change. Accordingly, the user may feel a change in temperature with tactile feedback about the contact.

On the other hand, the position of the touch sensing unit 120 and the temperature control unit 130 is not limited to the contents described in the above-described embodiment, it may vary. For example, the temperature controller 130 may be located below the touch sensor 120.

In addition, the feedback providing apparatus 100 may optionally include a temperature measuring unit 140 in the body 105. The temperature measuring unit 140 may be installed around the contact input unit 110 to measure the temperature of the contact input unit 110. In addition, the temperature measuring unit 140 may be installed under the contact input unit 110 to measure the temperature of the contact input unit 110. In addition, the temperature measuring unit 140 may be installed over the entire surface of the contact input unit 110, and the temperature may be measured for each predetermined region of the contact input unit 110.

Although the cross-sectional structure of the tactile feedback providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to FIG. 4, the cross-sectional structure of the tactile feedback providing apparatus is not limited thereto and may be modified in various forms.

5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating a specific example of an apparatus for providing tactile feedback according to embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, an apparatus for providing tactile feedback according to embodiments of the present invention may be a display apparatus 100.

The display device (ie, the touch screen 100) has a body 105 and includes a touch input unit 110 exposed to the outside from the body 105. The display apparatus 100 may execute operations and functions by a user's contact, and may output an image or an image to the touch input unit 110. As described above, the contact input unit 110 may change in temperature by the temperature controller 130 (see FIG. 1). Thus, the touch input unit 110 may provide a temperature change as tactile feedback of the user's contact.

Referring to FIG. 6, the apparatus for providing tactile feedback according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be a mobile phone 100.

The mobile phone 100 may include a touch screen 110a, a scroll wheel 110b, and buttons 110c, and the touch screen 110a, scroll wheel 110b, and buttons 110c may be embodiments of the present invention. It may be a contact input according to (110 of FIG. 1).

That is, the mobile phone 110 includes contact input parts 110a, 110b, and 110c mounted on the body 105 and whose one surface is exposed to the outside. When the user touches, the touch screen 110a corresponding to the touch input unit may display images and provide a change in temperature as tactile feedback. That is, when the user contacts the touch screen 110a of the mobile phone 110, the temperature may change at the front surface or the contact point of the touch screen 110a. The scroll wheel 110b corresponding to the touch input unit may control the functions of the mobile phone 110, and may provide a temperature change as a contact feedback when a user touches the touch wheel. For example, the scroll wheel 110b may scroll an image displayed on the touch screen 110b.

The buttons 110c may also correspond to the touch input unit, and when the user contacts the button 110c, the buttons 110c may provide the user with a tactile feedback of the temperature change. For example, each of the buttons 110c may be connected to the temperature controller 130 of FIG. 1, and may be adjusted to different response temperatures for each button 110c.

5 and 6, specific examples of the tactile feedback providing apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention have been described, but embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and may include a PDA, a computer, a portable computer, and a tablet. It can be applied to a computer, a wireless phone, a digital music player, a portable multimedia player, a camera, and other display devices.

Hereinafter, a tactile feedback providing method according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. 7 and 8 are flowcharts illustrating a tactile feedback providing method according to embodiments of the present invention.

1 and 7, a tactile feedback providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

When the user contacts the touch input unit 110 (S10), the touch sensor 120 detects the user's contact (S20). At this time, the touch detection unit 120 detects the presence or absence of the user's contact and the position information of the contact point.

When the user's touch is sensed by the touch sensor 120, the temperature controller 130 provides a temperature change to the touch input unit 110 (S30).

That is, when a user's touch is detected, the temperature of the touch input unit 110 is adjusted to the response temperature through the temperature controller 130. Specifically, the temperature at the point of contact at which the user touches may be adjusted to the response temperature. Here, adjusting the contact input unit 110 to the response temperature is to increase or decrease the contact input unit 110 to the initial temperature, thereby providing a temperature change as a tactile feedback.

In other words, by providing a temperature change to the touch input unit 110, the user may feel the temperature difference before and after the user touches the touch input unit 110.

Then, it is determined whether or not the user's contact through the touch detection unit 120 (S40). At this time, if the user is in continuous contact, the contact input unit 110 (ie, the contact point at which the user contacts) will continue to be maintained at the response temperature. On the other hand, when the user terminates the contact, the contact input unit 110 is changed back to the initial temperature through the temperature control unit 130.

1 and 8, a tactile feedback providing method according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

When the user contacts the touch input unit 110 (S100), the touch detector 120 detects the user's contact (S200). At this time, the touch detection unit 120 detects the presence or absence of the user's contact and the position information of the contact point.

When the user's contact is detected, the temperature of the contact input unit 110 is measured (S300), that is, the temperature measuring unit 130, the contact temperature when the user contacts the touch input unit 110 is measured. . In this case, the temperature measuring unit 130 may measure the contact temperature at the contact point by using the position information of the contact point detected by the contact detecting unit 120.

After the contact temperature is measured, the temperature of the contact type input unit 110 is changed through the temperature controller 130 (S400). That is, the surface temperature of the contact input unit 110 is adjusted to the response temperature. Specifically, adjusting the contact input unit 110 to the response temperature is to increase or decrease the temperature of the contact point than the contact temperature, thereby providing a temperature difference to the user. Therefore, the temperature controller 130 may change the temperature at the contact point that the user touches.

Then, it is determined whether the user is in contact through the touch sensor 120 (S500). At this time, when the user keeps in contact, the contact input unit 110 may be maintained at the response temperature. On the other hand, when the user terminates the contact, the contact input unit 110 through the temperature control unit 130 is changed back to the initial temperature (S600).

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs may be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. You will understand that. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive.

1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for providing tactile feedback according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a schematic plan view of a tactile feedback providing apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention.

3 is a schematic circuit diagram of an apparatus for providing tactile feedback according to embodiments of the present invention.

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an apparatus for providing tactile feedback according to embodiments of the present invention.

5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating a specific example of an apparatus for providing tactile feedback according to embodiments of the present invention.

7 and 8 are flowcharts illustrating a tactile feedback providing method according to embodiments of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

100: device 110: contact input

120: touch sensing unit 130: temperature control unit

140: temperature measuring unit 150: control unit

Claims (19)

A touch input unit configured to receive an operation signal through a contact of a user; A touch sensing unit sensing a touch of a user input to the touch input unit; And And a temperature controller configured to adjust a temperature of the contact input unit to a response temperature. The method of claim 1, The touch sensing unit, the tactile feedback providing device for detecting the position information of the contact point that the user touched in the contact input unit. The method of claim 2, The temperature control unit, the haptic feedback providing device for adjusting the temperature at the contact point to the response temperature. The method of claim 1, And the temperature controller is configured to adjust the response temperature of the touch input unit to an initial temperature when the user's touch is not detected. The method of claim 1, Further comprising a temperature measuring unit for measuring the temperature of the contact input unit, And the temperature controller is configured to control the response temperature according to the temperature measured by the temperature measurer. The method of claim 5, The temperature measuring unit is a tactile feedback providing device for measuring the temperature at the contact point that the user touched in the contact input unit. The method of claim 1, The touch sensing unit is a haptic feedback providing device that changes the capacitance, pressure, or resistance by the user's contact, and detects the change in the capacitance, pressure or resistance. The method of claim 1, The touch input unit is a haptic feedback providing apparatus that displays a processing result according to the input operation signal as an image. The method of claim 8, And the temperature controller is configured to control the response temperature according to the image displayed on the contact input unit. The method of claim 1, And the touch input unit constitutes one selected from the group consisting of buttons, dials, switches, touch pads, and touch screens. Sensing a user's touch on the touch input; And And adjusting a temperature of the touch input unit to a response temperature when a touch of a user is detected by the touch input unit. The method of claim 11, The detecting of the touch of the user may include detecting a position of a contact point where the user touches the touch input unit. 13. The method of claim 12, And adjusting the temperature of the contact input unit adjusts the temperature at the contact point to the response temperature. The method of claim 11, After adjusting the temperature of the contact input unit to the response temperature, if the user's contact is not detected in the contact input unit, adjusting the response temperature of the contact input unit to an initial temperature. How to Provide Feedback. The method of claim 11, And measuring the temperature of the contact input. The method of claim 15, The measuring of the temperature of the touch input unit may include measuring the initial temperature of the touch input unit and the touch temperature at the contact point at which the user touches when the touch of the user is not detected. The method of claim 16, And adjusting the temperature of the contact input unit to the response temperature to increase or decrease the response temperature above the contact temperature. The method of claim 11, And in response to the user's contact, displaying an image on the contact input unit in response to the user's contact. The method of claim 18, And adjusting the temperature of the contact input unit to the response temperature, wherein the response temperature changes according to an image displayed on the contact input unit.

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