A tactile feedback device

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the field of vibration tactile feedback technology, and in particular to a tactile feedback device, comprising: a shell; an elastic support member fixed on two opposite side walls in the shell in the length direction, and the free ends of the two elastic support members are both extended toward the center of the shell; a vibrator, the two ends of the length direction are respectively fixedly connected to the suspended parts of the two elastic support members to achieve movement in the vertical direction, and the vibrator is provided with a center hole along its thickness direction; an annular magnet coaxially fixed in the center hole; a coil fixed in the shell, extending along its axial direction and partially extending into the central cavity position of the annular magnet; wherein, when the coil is passed with alternating current, the annular magnet is driven to drive the vibrator to perform linear reciprocating motion in the shell. The present disclosure improves the balance of vibration, reduces disturbance, reduces noise, and changes horizontal vibration to vertical vibration, thereby improving the vibration sense by symmetrically arranging double elastic sheets at both ends of the vibrator.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of vibration tactile feedback, and in particular to a tactile feedback device. Background Art

[0002] Haptic feedback devices provide tactile sensations to the operator through vibration, such as in-vehicle tactile actuators, which have been widely used by major car manufacturers, such as operation feedback on display screens and control panels.

[0003] In the related technologies known to the inventor, the vibrator is mostly suspended in the air by the support of an elastic sheet, and the vibration of the vibrator is achieved by the principle of electromagnetic induction. In addition, most products use the support of an elastic arm to achieve the horizontal vibration of the vibrator, thereby driving the vibration of the entire product.

[0004] However, when implementing the above product, the inventors found that the vibration mode of the above product resulted in a large vibration area and a weak vibration feeling, which reduced the user's operating experience.

[0005] The information disclosed in this background technology section is only intended to deepen the understanding of the overall background technology of the present disclosure and should not be regarded as an admission or any form of suggestion that the information constitutes the prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of at least one of the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a tactile feedback device, which adopts a double spring structure connected in the length direction of the vibrator to achieve vertical vibration of the vibrator, thereby improving the vertical vibration sensation of the product.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a tactile feedback device, comprising:

[0008] case;

[0009] Elastic support members are fixed on two opposite side walls in the longitudinal direction of the housing, and the free ends of the two elastic support members are extended toward the center of the housing;

[0010] A vibrator, both ends of which are fixedly connected to the suspended portions of the two elastic supports to enable movement in the vertical direction, and the vibrator is provided with a central hole along its thickness direction;

[0011] an annular magnetic steel, coaxially fixed in the central hole;

[0012] a coil fixed in the housing, extending axially thereof and partially extending into the central cavity of the annular magnetic steel;

[0013] When alternating current is applied to the coil, the annular magnetic steel is driven to drive the vibrator to perform linear reciprocating motion in the housing.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the cross-section of the elastic support member is U-shaped, comprising a bottom plate and two side plates perpendicular to the bottom plate;

[0015] The elastic support member has a hollow area in the width direction, which spans the bottom plate and the two side plates along the width direction of the elastic support member and extends in the length direction of the two side plates, so that the bottom plate forms a fixed plate and a suspended plate, and the side plates form elastic arms connecting the fixed plate and the suspended plate in a direction perpendicular to the bottom plate.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the elastic support member is formed by a punching-first-then-bending process.

[0017] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the shell further has a fixed vertical plate, the width of the fixed vertical plate matches the width of the fixed plate, one side of the fixed vertical plate is fixedly connected to the two side walls of the shell opposite in the horizontal direction, and the other side is connected to the fixed plate.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the fixed vertical plate is centrally symmetrically arranged in the shell, and the two elastic support members are fixed on the fixed vertical plate in a centrally symmetrical manner.

[0019] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, both ends of the vibrator have raised portions, the width of the raised portions is configured to match the width of the suspended plate, and the raised portions are connected to the suspended plate so that there is a gap between the end face of the vibrator and the fixed plate.

[0020] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the vibrator is made of stainless steel.

[0021] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the shell includes a bottom shell and a cover shell, and the cover shell is a rectangular bell-shaped structure that is first punched out and then folded into shape.

[0022] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a cylindrical iron core is further included, the coil is sleeved on the iron core, one end of the iron core and the coil is connected to the bottom shell, and the other end of the iron core and the coil is fixed with a pole piece for collecting magnetism, and the height of the pole piece is located in the middle position of the annular magnet in the vertical direction.

[0023] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a copper column is further included, wherein the bottom of the copper column is connected to the pole piece, and the top is connected to the cover shell, and the copper column, the coil and the pole piece form a column passing through the annular magnetic steel.

[0024] The beneficial effects of the present disclosure are as follows: the present disclosure arranges elastic support members at both ends of the vibrator in the length direction, so that the vibrator vibrates in the vertical direction, and by opening a hole in the center of the vibrator, fixing an annular magnetic steel in the middle and extending the coil into the annular magnetic steel, the product has a strong vibration along the axis direction of the opening, and due to the vertical vibration, the impact on the product as a whole is smaller than the existing horizontal vibration, thereby making the vibration in the center of the product strong and the vibration away from the product area smaller, thereby improving the user experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0026] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the exploded structure of the tactile feedback device in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of an elastic support member in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the molding process of the elastic support member in the embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the connection structure between the elastic support member and the vibrator in the embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a tactile feedback device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the connection structure of the coil, pole piece and copper column in the embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments.

[0033] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it may be directly attached to the other element or there may be an intermediate element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intermediate element. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation methods.

[0034] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains. The terms used in the specification of this disclosure are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit this disclosure. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0035] like Figures 1 to 6 The tactile feedback device shown includes a housing 10, an elastic support member 20, a vibrator 30, a ring-shaped magnetic steel 40, and a coil 50, wherein:

[0036] The housing 10 in the disclosed embodiment mainly has the function of supporting and protecting the internal components. Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the housing 10 includes a bottom shell 11 and a cover shell 12. The shells of similar products are mostly made of an integrated stretched shell, which has a complex molding process and high precision requirements. However, in the embodiment disclosed herein, the cover shell 12 is a rectangular bell-shaped structure that is first punched out and then folded into shape. Specifically, the steel plate is first punched out, and after the punching is completed, the four side walls are bent so that the side walls and the top wall are perpendicular to each other. Finally, the four side walls are welded together. This arrangement reduces the complexity of the molding process and significantly reduces the manufacturing cost.

[0037] The elastic support members 20 are fixed on the two side walls opposite to each other in the length direction of the shell 10, and the free ends of the two elastic support members 20 are extended toward the center direction of the shell 10; it should be pointed out here that when the fixing is carried out, the elastic support member 20 is in the middle position in the height direction of the shell 10 to provide space for the vibrator 30 to vibrate; the inventors found that the reason why the existing tactile feedback device has a weak vibration sense is that it is subjected to more disturbances during the vibration process. For example, during horizontal vibration, since the vibrator 30 has a certain weight, it will cause some interference in the height direction, so that the actual vibration of the vibrator 30 is not in the horizontal direction, but tilted, which will cause the vibration in the same direction to be Decompose a part; Taking the above reasons into consideration, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the horizontal vibration is changed to vertical vibration, so that the gravity direction of the vibrator 30 coincides with its vibration direction, and the elastic support member 20 is fixed to both ends of the vibrator 30 by laser welding or gluing, so that the two ends of the vibrator 30 are more balanced when vibrating. Through the above method, after the product is installed and fixed, the vibration is only generated in the direction perpendicular to the fixing surface. Due to the support of the elastic support member 20 at both ends and the vibration of the vibrator 30 in the vertical direction, the interference of the vibrator 30 in other directions is greatly reduced, thereby improving the accuracy of the vibration direction of the vibrator 30 and thus improving the vibration feeling;

[0038] The vibrator 30 is fixedly connected at both ends of its length to the suspended portions of the two elastic supports 20 to enable vertical movement. A central hole 31 is defined along the thickness of the vibrator 30. A ring-shaped magnet 40 is coaxially fixed within the central hole 31. This structural arrangement concentrates the force applied to the vibrator 30 at its center. Combined with the symmetrical support provided by the elastic supports 20, the linearity of the vibrator 30's vibration direction is more precise, minimizing energy loss during vibration and further enhancing vibration sensitivity.

[0039] The coil 50 is fixed in the housing 10, extending along its axial direction and partially extending into the central cavity of the annular magnetic steel 40; please continue to refer to Figure 1In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the fixing structure of the coil 50 has also been improved. Conventional coils 50 are mostly arranged opposite to the magnet, while the coil 50 in the present invention partially extends into the interior of the annular magnet 40, so that the annular magnet 40 is entirely in the magnetic field formed by the coil 50. In this way, when alternating current is passed through the coil 50, the annular magnet 40 is driven to drive the vibrator 30 to perform linear reciprocating motion within the housing 10. Since the vibrator 30 in the embodiment of the present disclosure adopts a method of central force and elastic support at both ends, not only does it make the vibration direction more single and the disturbance in other directions smaller, but also the cooperation between the coil 50 and the magnet forms a magnetic field structure with higher utilization rate. The two methods cooperate with each other, so that the vibration sense of the vibrator 30 is greatly enhanced.

[0040] In the above embodiment, the elastic support members 20 are arranged at both ends of the vibrator 30 in the length direction, so that the vibrator 30 vibrates in the vertical direction, and by opening a hole in the center of the vibrator 30, fixing the annular magnet 40 in the middle and extending the coil 50 into the annular magnet 40, the product vibrates strongly along the axis of the hole, and due to the vertical vibration, the impact on the product as a whole is smaller than the existing horizontal vibration, so that the vibration at the center of the product is strong and the vibration away from the product area is smaller, thereby improving the user experience.

[0041] Based on the above embodiments, Figure 2 As shown in FIG, the cross section of the elastic support member 20 is U-shaped, including a bottom plate 21 and two side plates 22 perpendicular to the bottom plate 21;

[0042] The elastic support member 20 has a hollow area 20a in the width direction, and the hollow area 20a spans the bottom plate 21 and the two side plates 22 along the width direction of the elastic support member 20, and extends in the length direction of the two side plates 22, so that the bottom plate 21 forms a fixed plate 21a and a suspended plate 21b, and the side plate 22 forms an elastic arm 22a connecting the fixed plate 21a and the suspended plate 21b in a direction perpendicular to the bottom plate 21.

[0043] Through the above arrangement, compared with the existing spring pieces, the spring pieces in the embodiment of the present disclosure not only make the linearity of the vibration direction better, but also reduce the disturbance in other directions, thereby reducing the noise generated by the vibrator 30 during the vibration process; Figure 2As shown in , by extending and bending the hollowed-out area 20a, the elastic arm 22a not only has two vertical connection angles in the horizontal direction, but also the connection angles are vertically connected to the fixed plate 21a and the suspended plate 21b. By setting this structural form, when the vibrator 30 vibrates, the disturbances generated in the left and right directions or the front and back directions are offset by the above-mentioned vertical structure. The vibrator 30 can only vibrate in the vertical direction, that is, the thickness direction of the elastic arm 22a, preventing the vibrator 30 from being disturbed in other directions and thus avoiding the noise generated by the vibrator 30 accidentally colliding with the inner wall of the shell; and the U-shaped bending setting allows the vibrator 30 to form a double spring structure at both ends, so that the force is more balanced, thereby further solving the disturbance problem.

[0044] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the manufacturing process of the elastic support member 20 is also improved, such as Figure 3 As shown in the figure, the elastic support member 20 is formed by a punching-first-then-bending process. Specifically, during processing, only the elastic sheet needs to be punched out to form the shape of the hollowed-out area 20a, and then bent on both sides to form the sidewall structure. With this structure, the elastic support member 20 is formed in one piece, which not only ensures structural strength but also simplifies the processing and reduces manufacturing costs.

[0045] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, regarding the fixing method of the elastic support member 20 and the housing 10, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown in FIG, the housing 10 further includes a fixed vertical plate 13. The width of the fixed vertical plate 13 matches the width of the fixed plate 21a. One side of the fixed vertical plate 13 is fixedly connected to the two horizontally opposite walls of the housing 10, and the other side is connected to the fixed plate 21a. Since the bottom plate 21 of the elastic support surface is in the same plane, if the fixed plate 21a is directly connected to the side wall of the housing 10, friction between the suspended plate 21b and the side wall of the object will be caused. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, by Figure 1 and Figure 4 The setting of the fixed vertical plate 13 shown in the figure makes the fixed vertical plate 13 protrude from the side wall of the shell 10, thereby leaving a vibration space between the suspended plate 21b and the side wall of the shell 10, preventing friction between the suspended plate 21b and the side wall of the shell 10; it should be pointed out here that when the fixed vertical plate 13 is fixed, it can be first fixed to the bottom shell 11 by laser welding, and then the vibrator 30 is first welded to the suspended plate 21b, and then the fixed plate 21a is connected to the fixed vertical plate 13. The above-mentioned setting simplifies the installation process; and in order to further improve the balance of the support, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the fixed vertical plate 13 is centrally symmetrically arranged in the shell 10, and the two elastic support members 20 are fixed to the fixed vertical plate 13 in a centrally symmetrical manner.

[0046] In addition, please continue to refer to Figure 4 In the disclosed embodiment, vibrator 30 has raised portions 32 at both ends. The width of raised portions 32 is configured to match the width of suspended plate 21b. Raised portions 32 are connected to suspended plate 21b, creating a gap between the end surface of vibrator 30 and fixed plate 21a. This arrangement creates a gap between vibrator 30 and fixed plate 21a, thereby preventing friction between the two. This structural arrangement not only achieves more balanced vibration but also minimizes noise generation.

[0047] In the disclosed embodiment, the vibrator 30 is made of stainless steel. Conventional vibrators 30 are often made of high-density materials such as tungsten steel, which are not only expensive and difficult to form, but also difficult to weld. In the disclosed embodiment, the stainless steel material has a higher affinity for laser welding, and no additional protective sheet is required during the welding process. Laser spot welding can be used to complete the process, which not only reduces the processing difficulty but also reduces the manufacturing cost.

[0048] The embodiment of the present disclosure also makes an improvement to the magnetic circuit structure. In the prior art, the magnetic circuit is mostly formed by covering the magnetic steel with a pole piece 52 to form a magnetic conductive structure. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, it also includes a cylindrical iron core 51, which is made of soft magnetic material. The coil 50 is set on the iron core 51. The above-mentioned structural form makes the magnetic concentration effect better and greatly enhances the magnetic conductivity of the coil 50. Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown in , a pole piece 52 is fixed to the other end of the core 51 and coil 50. Through the magnetic field of the core 51 and the connection between the pole piece 52, the core 51, and the coil 50, the magnetic field from the coil 50 is transferred to the pole piece 52. The pole piece 52 is vertically positioned in the middle of the annular magnet 40. This structural arrangement ensures that the distance between the two poles of the magnet and the middle pole piece 52 is equal. As a result, when the magnetic field of the pole piece 52 changes, the force on both ends of the magnet is more balanced, further improving the force balance of the vibrator 30.

[0049] Please refer to the fixing structure of coil 50. Figure 5 and Figure 6 In the embodiment of the present disclosure, one end of the core 51 and the coil 50 are connected to the bottom shell 11, and the specific connection can be through adhesive connection or other forms of welding, such as Figure 5As shown in the figure, in the disclosed embodiment, a copper column 53 is further included. The bottom of the copper column 53 is connected to the pole piece 52, and the top is connected to the housing 12. Through the above arrangement, the bottom of the coil 50 is connected to the bottom housing 11, and is sleeved on the iron core 51. The top is supported by the pole piece 52. In addition to the connection between the copper column 53 and the pole piece 52, and the connection between the top of the copper column 53 and the housing 12, the copper column 53, the coil 50, and the pole piece 52 form a column that passes through the annular magnetic steel 40. The above structural arrangement not only improves the magnetic field strength, but also improves the reliability of the coil 50.

[0050] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the provision of double spring plates improves the defects of the single spring plate structure in the prior art. In the prior art, the single spring plate structure fixes the vibrator 30 relative to a person carrying a load. If the forces at both ends of the vibrator 30 are slightly unbalanced, the vibrator 30 will shake, thereby causing interference in other directions, which will not only split the vibration but also cause noise that is unpleasant to the user. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the structural provision of the double elastic support member 20 transforms the load-carrying into a two-person load-carrying structure, resulting in better vibration balance performance and the conversion of the existing horizontal vibration into vertical vibration. The provision of the coil 50 penetrating into the annular magnet 40 and the iron core 51 and the pole piece 52 further improves the magnetic field strength and driving strength. Compared with the prior art, not only is a product characteristic with strong vertical vibration sense formed, but also due to the small disturbance in other directions, the overall vibration intensity of the product is weakened, and the impact on areas far away from the product is smaller, thereby improving the user experience.

[0051] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is not limited to the foregoing embodiments. The foregoing embodiments and descriptions are merely illustrative of the principles of the present disclosure. Various changes and improvements may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Such changes and improvements are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. The scope of protection claimed in the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A tactile feedback device, characterized in that: include: A housing, comprising a bottom housing and a cover housing; An elastic support member is fixed to two opposite side walls in the longitudinal direction of the housing, and the free ends of the two elastic support members are extended toward the center of the housing. The cross-section of the elastic support member is U-shaped, including a bottom plate and two side plates perpendicular to the bottom plate; The elastic support member has a hollowed-out area in the width direction, the hollowed-out area spans the bottom plate and the two side plates along the width direction of the elastic support member, and extends in the length direction of the two side plates, so that the bottom plate forms a fixed plate and a suspended plate, and the side plates form elastic arms connecting the fixed plate and the suspended plate in a direction perpendicular to the bottom plate; A vibrator, both ends of which are fixedly connected to the suspended portions of the two elastic supports to enable movement in the vertical direction, and the vibrator is provided with a central hole along its thickness direction; an annular magnetic steel, coaxially fixed in the central hole; A coil is fixed in the housing, extending axially thereof and partially extending into the central cavity of the annular magnetic steel, and further includes a cylindrical iron core. The coil is sleeved on the iron core. One end of the iron core and the coil is connected to the bottom housing. A pole piece is fixed to the other end of the iron core and the coil for magnetic concentration, and the height of the pole piece is located at the middle position of the annular magnetic steel in the vertical direction; and further includes a copper column, the bottom of the copper column is connected to the pole piece, and the top of the copper column is connected to the cover housing. The copper column, the coil, and the pole piece form a column that passes through the annular magnetic steel. When alternating current is applied to the coil, the annular magnetic steel is driven to drive the vibrator to perform linear reciprocating motion in the housing.

2. The tactile feedback device according to claim 1, wherein: The elastic support member is formed by a process of first punching and then bending.

3. The tactile feedback device according to claim 1, wherein: The shell further includes a fixed vertical plate, the width of which matches the width of the fixed plate. One side of the fixed vertical plate is fixedly connected to two horizontally opposite side walls of the shell, and the other side is connected to the fixed plate.

4. The tactile feedback device according to claim 3, wherein: The fixed vertical plate is centrally symmetrically arranged in the shell, and the two elastic support members are fixed on the fixed vertical plate in a centrally symmetrical manner.

5. The tactile feedback device according to claim 4, characterized in that Both ends of the vibrator have raised portions, the width of the raised portions is configured to match the width of the suspended plate, and the raised portions are connected to the suspended plate so that a gap exists between the end surface of the vibrator and the fixed plate.

6. The tactile feedback device according to claim 1, wherein: The vibrator is made of stainless steel.

7. The tactile feedback device according to claim 1, wherein: The cover shell is a rectangular bell-shaped structure that is first punched out and then folded into shape.

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