Tactile feedback device and driving method thereof, and electronic device

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a tactile feedback device and a driving method thereof, and an electronic device, which belong to the field of tactile reproduction technology. The tactile feedback device includes a tactile feedback substrate (PNL) and a controller (CTR). The tactile feedback substrate (PNL) includes a base substrate (BP), a first electrode layer (EP1), a piezoelectric layer (PE) and a second electrode layer (EP2) stacked in sequence; the overlapping parts of the first electrode layer (EP1) and the second electrode layer (EP2) form a plurality of electrode pairs (EE) arranged in sequence along the row direction. The controller (CTR) is configured to be able to determine one of a plurality of driving modes as a target driving mode; wherein, in any driving mode, the electrode pair (EE) combines a plurality of driving units (DE) adjacent to each other in sequence, and each driving unit (DE) includes adjacent and equal number of electrode pairs (EE); under different driving modes, the number of electrode pairs (EE) in the driving unit (DE) is different; the controller (CTR) is also configured to drive one or more driving units (DE) of the target driving mode. The tactile feedback device can increase the amplitude under a plurality of different vibration modes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of tactile feedback, and in particular to a tactile feedback device and a driving method thereof, and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] The tactile feedback device can achieve tactile reproduction based on the squeeze film effect and improve the tactile experience of the electronic device. In the prior art, the tactile feedback device can only achieve the maximum amplitude in a specific vibration mode, and the amplitude of other vibration modes is relatively small, which limits the adjustment of the tactile experience.

[0003] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present disclosure is to overcome the deficiencies of the above-mentioned prior art and provide a tactile feedback device and a driving method thereof, and an electronic device, so as to increase the amplitude of the tactile feedback device under a variety of different vibration modes.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a tactile feedback device, comprising a tactile feedback substrate and a controller;

[0006] The tactile feedback substrate comprises a base substrate, a first electrode layer, a piezoelectric layer, and a second electrode layer which are stacked in sequence; the overlapped portions of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer form a plurality of electrode pairs which are sequentially arranged in a row direction; the electrode pairs extend in a column direction;

[0007] The controller is configured to determine one of the plurality of driving modes as a target driving mode; wherein in any of the driving modes, the electrode pairs are combined to form a plurality of driving units that are sequentially adjacent to each other along the row direction, and each of the driving units includes the electrode pairs that are sequentially adjacent to each other and have the same number; and in different driving modes, the number of the electrode pairs in the driving unit is different;

[0008] The controller is further configured to drive one or more driving units of the target driving mode.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, one of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer is provided with a plurality of strip electrodes sequentially arranged along the row direction, and the other is provided with a common electrode overlapping with each of the strip electrodes;

[0010] Any one of the strip electrodes and the common electrode forms an electrode pair.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the strip electrode includes a plurality of strip sub-electrodes sequentially arranged along the column direction, and each of the strip sub-electrodes is independently electrically connected to the controller.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first electrode layer includes a plurality of first strip electrodes sequentially arranged along the row direction;

[0013] The second electrode layer includes a plurality of second strip electrodes arranged in sequence along the row direction and corresponding one-to-one to each of the first strip electrodes;

[0014] The first strip electrodes and the corresponding second strip electrodes overlap each other;

[0015] The first strip-shaped electrode and the corresponding second strip-shaped electrode form the electrode pair.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the orthographic projection of the first strip electrode on the piezoelectric layer coincides with the orthographic projection of the corresponding second strip electrode on the piezoelectric layer.

[0017] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first strip electrode includes a plurality of strip sub-electrodes sequentially arranged along the column direction, and each of the strip sub-electrodes is independently electrically connected to the controller; and / or,

[0018] The second strip electrode includes a plurality of strip sub-electrodes sequentially arranged along the column direction, and each of the strip sub-electrodes is independently electrically connected to the controller.

[0019] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising the above-mentioned tactile feedback device.

[0020] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a driving method of a tactile feedback device is provided, for driving the above-mentioned tactile feedback device; the driving method of the tactile feedback device comprises:

[0021] Determine one of the driving modes as a target driving mode from among the plurality of driving modes;

[0022] Driving one or more driving units of the target driving mode; wherein driving any one of the driving units includes loading the same driving signal to each electrode group of the driving unit.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the one or more driving units driving the target driving mode include:

[0024] A first driving signal is applied to each electrode group of the even-numbered driving units; a second driving signal is applied to each electrode group of the odd-numbered driving units; and the first driving signal is an inverted signal of the second driving signal.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first electrode layer includes a plurality of first strip electrodes sequentially arranged along the row direction; the second electrode layer includes a plurality of second strip electrodes sequentially arranged along the row direction and corresponding to each of the first strip electrodes one by one; the first strip electrodes and the corresponding second strip electrodes overlap each other; the first strip electrodes and the corresponding second strip electrodes form the electrode pair;

[0026] Loading the first driving signal to each electrode group of the even-numbered driving units comprises:

[0027] Applying a first driving voltage signal to each of the first strip electrodes in an even-numbered driving unit, and applying a second driving voltage signal to each of the second strip electrodes in an even-numbered driving unit;

[0028] Loading the second driving signal to each of the electrode groups of the odd-numbered driving units comprises:

[0029] The second driving voltage signal is applied to each of the first strip electrodes in the odd-numbered driving units, and the first driving voltage signal is applied to each of the second strip electrodes in the odd-numbered driving units.

[0030] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the one or more driving units driving the target driving mode include:

[0031] The driving signal is applied to each electrode group of the even-numbered driving units, or the driving signal is applied to each electrode group of the odd-numbered driving units.

[0032] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, one of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer is provided with a plurality of strip electrodes arranged in sequence along the row direction, and the other is provided with a common electrode overlapping with each of the strip electrodes; any one of the strip electrodes and the common electrode form an electrode pair;

[0033] Wherein, loading the driving signal to each electrode group of the even-numbered driving units comprises: loading a common voltage signal to the common electrode, and loading a driving voltage signal to each strip electrode in the even-numbered driving units;

[0034] Loading the driving signal to each of the electrode groups of the odd-numbered driving units includes: loading a common voltage signal to the common electrode, and loading a driving voltage signal to each of the strip electrodes in the odd-numbered driving units.

[0035] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the specification are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without creative work.

[0037] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a tactile feedback device in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electrode group of a tactile feedback substrate in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0039] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a structure in which an electrode group forms a plurality of driving units in a driving mode in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] Figure 4 The figure is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a tactile feedback substrate in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] Figure 5 The figure is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a tactile feedback substrate in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] Figure 6 The figure is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a tactile feedback substrate in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a driving unit structure corresponding to a tactile feedback substrate under a vibration mode in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a driving unit structure corresponding to a tactile feedback substrate under a vibration mode in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0045] Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of a driving unit structure corresponding to a tactile feedback substrate under a vibration mode in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] Fig.10The figure is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of an electrode group of a tactile feedback substrate in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] Fig.11 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of the arrangement of electrode groups in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0048] Fig.12 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of the arrangement of electrode groups in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0049] Fig.13 The present invention is a flowchart of a driving method for a tactile feedback device in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the example embodiments can be implemented in a variety of forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be comprehensive and complete and fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The same reference numerals in the figures represent the same or similar structures, and thus their detailed description will be omitted. In addition, the drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0051] Although relative terms such as "upper" and "lower" are used in this specification to describe the relative relationship of one component of the illustration to another component, these terms are used in this specification only for convenience, such as according to the orientation of the examples described in the drawings. It is understood that if the device of the illustration is turned upside down, the component described as "upper" will become the component "lower". When a structure is "on" other structures, it may mean that the structure is formed integrally on the other structure, or that the structure is "directly" disposed on the other structure, or that the structure is "indirectly" disposed on the other structure through another structure.

[0052] The terms "a", "an", "the", "said" and "at least one" are used to indicate the presence of one or more elements / components / etc.; the terms "including" and "having" are used to express an open-ended inclusive meaning and mean that additional elements / components / etc. may exist in addition to the listed elements / components / etc.; the terms "first", "second" and "third" etc. are used merely as labels and are not intended to limit the quantity of their objects.

[0053] The tactile feedback substrate usually needs to be able to realize a variety of different vibration modes to provide different tactile experiences. Different vibration modes have different requirements for the width of the electrodes on the tactile feedback substrate. In the related art, the tactile feedback substrate usually takes one of the vibration modes as the basic vibration mode, and sets the electrodes according to the optimal method of the basic vibration mode. The tactile feedback substrate uses the electrodes set therein to realize other vibration modes other than the basic vibration mode. However, the electrodes set on the tactile feedback substrate do not match the requirements of other vibration modes for electrodes, which will cause the tactile feedback substrate to have a very small vibration amplitude when realizing other vibration modes. This reduces the richness of the tactile experience and restricts the user's tactile experience.

[0054] The present disclosure can provide a sensory feedback device and a driving method thereof. Figure 1 The tactile feedback device includes a tactile feedback substrate PNL and a controller CTR that cooperate with each other.

[0055] In this disclosure, see Figures 4 to 6 The tactile feedback substrate PNL includes a base substrate BP, a first electrode layer EP1, a piezoelectric layer PE, and a second electrode layer EP2 stacked in sequence; the overlapping portions of the first electrode layer EP1 and the second electrode layer EP2 form a plurality of electrode pairs EE arranged in sequence along a row direction H1. When an AC voltage is applied between the first electrode layer EP1 and the second electrode layer EP2, the piezoelectric layer PE will produce periodic deformation, thereby transmitting vibration to the base substrate BP.

[0056] In the present disclosure, the controller CTR is configured to determine one of the plurality of driving modes as a target driving mode; wherein, in any of the driving modes, see Figure 3 and Figure 7 to Figure 9 The electrode pairs EE are combined to form a plurality of driving units DE that are adjacent to each other in sequence along the row direction H1, and each of the driving units DE includes the electrode pairs EE that are adjacent to each other in sequence and have the same number; in different driving modes, the number of the electrode pairs EE in the driving unit DE is different;

[0057] The controller CTR is further configured to drive one or more of the driving units DE of the target driving mode. In this way, each electrode pair EE in the driven driving unit DE can be driven by the controller CTR, so that the piezoelectric layer PE responds to the electric field between the electrode pairs EE and drives the tactile feedback substrate PNL to vibrate, thereby forming a tactile sensation.

[0058] The tactile feedback device provided by the present disclosure can determine the target driving mode according to the vibration mode that the tactile feedback substrate PNL needs to achieve; in the target driving mode, the controller CTR can drive a driving unit DE as a whole, so that the width of the driving unit DE matches the vibration mode of the tactile feedback substrate PNL, thereby enabling the tactile feedback substrate PNL to obtain the maximum amplitude under the vibration mode. Figure 7 to Figure 9 When the vibration mode that the tactile feedback substrate PNL needs to realize changes, the controller CTR can change the driving mode, and then change the driven driving unit DE, so that the width of the changed driving unit DE matches the changed vibration mode. In this way, the tactile feedback device of the present disclosure can change the width of the driving unit DE according to the vibration mode that the tactile feedback substrate PNL needs to realize, so that the amplitude of the tactile feedback substrate PNL under different vibration modes can be improved, and the adjustment range of the amplitude can be increased, so that the tactile feeling is more delicate.

[0059] The structure, principle and effect of the tactile feedback device provided by the present invention are further explained and illustrated below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0060] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, see Figure 2 The tactile feedback substrate PNL may be provided with a plurality of electrode pairs EE, and the electrode pairs EE may extend along the column direction H2 to be distributed in a strip shape as a whole. The electrode pairs EE may be arranged in sequence along the row direction H1. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the electrode pairs EE may be arranged in sequence at equal intervals along the row direction H1.

[0061] In the present disclosure, the row direction H1 and the column direction H2 are two directions parallel to the plane of the tactile feedback substrate PNL and perpendicular to each other. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the substrate BP may be rectangular, then one of the row direction H1 and the column direction H2 is parallel to the long side direction of the substrate BP, and the other is parallel to the short side direction of the substrate BP. For example, the row direction H1 is parallel to the long side direction of the substrate BP, and the column direction H2 is parallel to the short side direction of the substrate BP.

[0062] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the tactile feedback substrate PNL is further provided with a binding pad and a driving trace, and the electrodes in the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer are connected to the binding pad through the driving trace, and the binding pad is used to be electrically connected to the controller. In this way, the controller is electrically connected to the electrodes in the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer so as to load a driving signal to each electrode group EE.

[0063] In the present disclosure, the tactile feedback substrate PNL is designed to realize a variety of different vibration modes, such as realizing a variety of pre-set vibration modes or realizing various vibration modes within a vibration mode range. The various vibration modes that can be realized by the tactile feedback substrate PNL can be defined as a vibration mode set of the tactile feedback substrate PNL. Each time the tactile feedback substrate PNL is driven, the vibration mode to be achieved by the tactile feedback substrate PNL is defined as a target vibration mode. It can be understood that each vibration mode has different requirements for the width of the electrode. In the present disclosure, the electrode that best matches a vibration mode can be defined as the reference electrode corresponding to the vibration mode. When the tactile feedback substrate PNL arranges electrodes according to a reference electrode of a vibration mode, the tactile feedback substrate PNL can achieve the maximum amplitude under the vibration mode, thereby making the vibration mode have a better tactile experience and a wider tactile adjustment amplitude. In the present disclosure, the reference electrode that best matches the target vibration mode is defined as the target reference electrode. When the electrode of the tactile feedback substrate PNL is a target reference electrode, the tactile feedback substrate PNL can maximize the amplitude of the target vibration mode.

[0064] The tactile feedback substrate PNL disclosed in the present invention may have multiple reference frequencies and reference sizes corresponding to each reference frequency. The reference frequency is the frequency of the voltage that can make the vibration frequency of the piezoelectric layer PE the natural frequency of the tactile feedback substrate PNL. When the frequency of the driving signal of the driving electrode pair EE is a reference frequency, the vibration frequency of the piezoelectric layer PE is a natural frequency (for example, a first-order natural frequency) of the tactile feedback substrate PNL, which can make the tactile feedback substrate PNL vibrate at the natural frequency and resonate; half of the wavelength of the transverse wave transmitted by the resonance is the reference size corresponding to the reference frequency. In other words, the reference size is half of the wavelength of the transverse wave transmitted when the tactile feedback substrate PNL vibrates at one of its natural frequencies.

[0065] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, different vibration modes of the tactile feedback substrate PNL may correspond to different reference frequencies, that is, a vibration mode represents the vibration of the tactile feedback substrate PNL at a reference frequency. The width of the reference electrode corresponding to a vibration mode may be equal to the reference size corresponding to the reference frequency corresponding to the vibration mode.

[0066] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the controller CTR may provide a corresponding driving mode for each vibration mode in the vibration mode set. When the controller CTR drives the tactile feedback substrate PNL according to a driving mode, the tactile feedback substrate PNL may realize the vibration mode corresponding to the driving mode. In the present disclosure, each driving mode that the controller CTR can provide may be defined as a driving mode set of the controller CTR.

[0067] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller CTR may select a driving mode corresponding to the target vibration mode from the driving mode set as the target driving mode. When the controller CTR drives the tactile feedback substrate PNL according to the target driving mode, the tactile feedback substrate PNL may achieve the target vibration mode and maximize the amplitude.

[0068] In the present disclosure, the electrode pair EE can be made to have a smaller width (dimension in the row direction). Figure 3 , a plurality of adjacent electrode pairs EE can be combined into a driving unit DE, and then the driving unit DE can be used to simulate a reference electrode. Figure 7 to Figure 9 In FIG. 1 , the dotted line ZL is used to illustrate the surface morphology of the tactile feedback substrate PNL under different vibration modes. Figure 7 to Figure 9 , under different vibration modes, the vibration morphology of the tactile feedback substrate PNL is different, and the opening size when it vibrates is different; accordingly, the requirements for the width of the electrode under different vibration modes are different. In the present disclosure, when the tactile feedback substrate PNL needs to change the vibration mode, the controller CTR can readjust the number of electrode pairs EE in the driving unit DE so that the width of the driving unit DE matches the vibration mode of the tactile feedback substrate PNL, so that the tactile feedback substrate PNL can reach the maximum amplitude under these vibration modes. In other words, under different driving modes, the number of electrode pairs EE in the driving unit DE is different, so that the reference electrodes simulated by the driving unit DE in different driving modes can be different. When the width of the reference electrode corresponding to the target vibration mode of the tactile feedback substrate PNL is small, the number of electrode pairs EE included in the driving unit DE in the target driving mode is also small; when the width of the reference electrode corresponding to the target vibration mode of the tactile feedback substrate PNL is large, the number of electrode pairs EE included in the driving unit DE in the target driving mode is also large.

[0069] In this disclosure, see Fig.11, the width of the electrode pair EE (the dimension in the row direction H1) is S1, the spacing between adjacent electrode pairs EE is S2, and the setting pitch (Pitch) of the electrode pairs EE is P, then the setting pitch P of the electrode pairs EE = the width S1 of the electrode pairs EE + the spacing S2 between adjacent electrode pairs EE. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the width WD of the driving unit DE can be made to be nP; wherein n is the number of electrode pairs EE in the driving unit DE, which is a positive integer; and P is the setting pitch of the electrode pairs EE. It can be understood that in different driving modes, the number of electrode pairs EE in the driving unit DE is different (that is, n is different). In some embodiments, the setting pitch of the electrode pairs EE can be smaller, for example, not greater than 2 mm, and in particular, can be between 0.5 and 1.5 mm. In this way, the electrode pairs EE can be more flexibly combined into different driving units DE, so that the PNL can obtain the maximum amplitude under more vibration modes. It is understandable that the setting spacing of the electrode pair EE of the present disclosure can also be within other ranges, and can be selected and confirmed according to the vibration mode required to be achieved by the touch feedback substrate PNL, so as to meet the various vibration modes required to be achieved by the touch feedback substrate PNL.

[0070] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, see Figure 7 to Figure 9 , the width of the driving unit DE of the target driving mode may be equal to or substantially equal to the width of the target reference electrode. In other words, in order to maximize the amplitude of the target vibration mode of the tactile feedback substrate PNL, the tactile feedback substrate PNL needs to be driven by the target reference electrode; the controller CTR may use the driving mode corresponding to the target vibration mode as the target driving mode, and the driving unit DE in the target driving mode is the target driving unit, and the width of the target driving unit is equal to the width of the target reference electrode. In this way, the target driving unit can be used to simulate the target reference electrode, so that the tactile feedback substrate PNL can maximize the target vibration mode.

[0071] The tactile feedback substrate PNL will vibrate when working, and the vibration causes peaks and valleys to form on the surface of the array substrate, and these peaks and valleys can be used as nodes of the tactile feedback substrate. Wherein, in a driving mode, the number A of nodes formed by the tactile feedback substrate PNL is fixed, which is basically equal to the number of driving units that can be combined in the driving mode. Wherein, the fewer the number of electrode pairs included in each driving unit, the smaller the width of the driving unit, and the more nodes that can be formed by the tactile feedback substrate PNL in the driving mode. In some embodiments, the length L of the tactile feedback substrate PNL can be reasonably adjusted so that in each driving mode, L is basically equal to an integer multiple of the width WD of the driving unit DE. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, L=m*WD, m is a positive integer; in different driving modes, the size of WD is different, and the size of m is different. In some other embodiments, L=m*WD+x, m is a positive integer, and x is an adjustable size; wherein, in different driving modes, the size of WD is different, the size of m is different, and x can be the same or different. Further, in the same driving mode, x is greater than 0 and not greater than half of WD.

[0072] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in each driving mode, the width WD of the driving unit DE is not greater than 15 mm. In this way, a film pressing effect can be effectively formed between the tactile feedback substrate PNL and the user's finger, thereby ensuring that the user has a good tactile experience. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the controller CTR is driven according to the target driving mode, not only can the width of the target driving unit be equal to the width of the target reference electrode; but also the frequency of the driving signal loaded on the target driving unit can be equal to the reference frequency corresponding to the target vibration mode, for example, an AC signal with a reference frequency is loaded to each electrode pair EE on the driving unit DE.

[0073] For example, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the tactile feedback substrate PNL is designed to realize three different vibration modes, namely, the first vibration mode, the second vibration mode and the third vibration mode. Among them, the width of the reference electrode corresponding to the first vibration mode is W1; the width of the reference electrode corresponding to the second vibration mode is W2; the width of the reference electrode corresponding to the third vibration mode is W3. Then on the tactile feedback substrate PNL, the first electrode layer EP1 and the second electrode layer EP2 form a plurality of electrode pairs EE arranged in sequence at equal intervals along the row direction H1, the width of each electrode pair EE is S1, and the spacing between adjacent electrode pairs EE is S2; then the setting spacing P of the electrode pairs EE is S1+S2.

[0074] The controller CTR is configured to select one driving mode as a target driving mode from among a first driving mode corresponding to the first vibration mode, a second driving mode corresponding to the second vibration mode, and a third driving mode corresponding to the third vibration mode.

[0075] In the first driving mode, the driving unit DE is the first driving unit, and the first driving unit includes n1 electrode pairs EE that are adjacent to each other in sequence; then the width WD1 of the first driving unit DE is n1*P=n1*(S1+S2). n1 is a positive integer. In the first driving mode, the frequency of the voltage applied to the driving unit DE by the controller CTR may be equal to the reference frequency corresponding to the first vibration mode.

[0076] In the second driving mode, the driving unit DE is the second driving unit, and the second driving unit includes n2 electrode pairs EE that are adjacent to each other in sequence; then the width WD2 of the second driving unit DE is n2*P=n2*(S1+S2). n2 is a positive integer. In the second driving mode, the frequency of the voltage applied by the controller CTR to the driving unit DE may be equal to the reference frequency corresponding to the second vibration mode.

[0077] In the third driving mode, the driving unit DE is a third driving unit, and the third driving unit includes n3 electrode pairs EE that are adjacent to each other in sequence; then the width WD3 of the second driving unit DE = n3*P = n3*(S1+S2). n3 is a positive integer. In the third driving mode, the frequency of the voltage applied to the driving unit DE by the controller CTR may be equal to the reference frequency corresponding to the third vibration mode. Among them, n1, n2 and n3 are different.

[0078] It is understandable that in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the tactile feedback substrate PNL can be designed to achieve more different vibration modes, and the controller CTR can accordingly set the driving mode corresponding to each vibration mode so that each vibration mode can reach the maximum amplitude.

[0079] Fig.10 Among the numerous electrode pairs EE of the tactile feedback substrate PNL, only 12 adjacent ones are shown, which are marked as electrode pairs EE1 to EE12. As follows, the structure and principle of the tactile feedback device of the present disclosure are further explained and illustrated by taking the drive units to which the 12 electrode pairs EE belong in different drive modes as examples.

[0080] In this example, when the opening size of the target vibration mode to be achieved by the tactile feedback substrate PNL is 2P (P = S1 + S2), in the target driving mode determined by the controller CTR, each driving unit DE includes two electrode pairs EE. For example, electrode pair EE1 and electrode pair EE2 can form a driving unit DE, electrode pair EE3 and electrode pair EE4 can form a driving unit DE, and so on, electrode pair EE11 and electrode pair EE12 can form a driving unit DE.

[0081] When the opening size of the target vibration mode to be achieved by the tactile feedback substrate PNL is 3P (P = S1 + S2), in the target driving mode determined by the controller CTR, each driving unit DE includes three electrode pairs EE. For example, electrode pair EE1, electrode pair EE2 and electrode pair EE3 can form a driving unit DE, electrode pair EE4, electrode pair EE5 and electrode pair EE6 can form a driving unit DE, electrode pair EE7, electrode pair EE8 and electrode pair EE9 can form a driving unit DE, and electrode pair EE10, electrode pair EE11 and electrode pair EE12 can form a driving unit DE.

[0082] When the opening size of the target vibration mode to be achieved by the tactile feedback substrate PNL is 4P (P = S1 + S2), in the target driving mode determined by the controller CTR, each driving unit DE includes four electrode pairs EE. For example, electrode pair EE1, electrode pair EE2, electrode pair EE3 and electrode pair EE4 can form a driving unit DE, electrode pair EE5, electrode pair EE6, electrode pair EE7 and electrode pair EE8 can form a driving unit DE, and electrode pair EE9, electrode pair EE10, electrode pair EE11 and electrode pair EE12 can form a driving unit DE.

[0083] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of driving modes may be pre-set in the controller CTR, for example, a driving mode set may be built in. The controller CTR may receive a mode selection signal from an external circuit (such as a microprocessor of an electronic device), and select one of the plurality of driving modes as a target driving mode according to the mode selection signal.

[0084] In another embodiment, the controller CTR may be preset with a mode algorithm, which is configured to determine the vibration type information according to the mode selection signal from the external circuit, and then calculate the target driving mode according to the vibration type information. In this way, the controller CTR can calculate different driving modes according to different vibration type information, and therefore, it is equivalent to determining a driving mode as the target driving mode among multiple driving modes according to the vibration type information.

[0085] Optionally, the vibration type information is information related to the vibration type that the tactile feedback substrate PNL needs to achieve, for example, it may include one or more of the width of the reference electrode required to achieve the vibration type, the drive signal frequency required to achieve the vibration type, etc. Of course, in some embodiments, the width of the reference electrode, the drive signal frequency, etc. mentioned above may also be encoded, and a corresponding mapping table may be set in the controller CTR. In the present disclosure, the information that enables the controller CTR to directly or indirectly obtain the width of the reference electrode required for the target vibration type is the vibration type information in the present disclosure.

[0086] In this disclosure, see Fig.13 The tactile feedback device can be driven according to the driving method shown in step S110 to step S120:

[0087] Step S110, determining one of the driving modes as a target driving mode from the multiple driving modes;

[0088] Step S120 , driving one or more driving units DE of the target driving mode; wherein driving any one of the driving units DE includes loading the same driving signal to each of the electrode groups EE of the driving unit DE.

[0089] In the present disclosure, when driving the tactile feedback substrate PNL, the controller CTR may drive some of the drive units DE or may drive each of the drive units DE. When two adjacent drive units DE are driven, the drive signals loaded on the two adjacent drive units DE may be different, and in particular, may be inverted drive signals.

[0090] For example, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, step S120 may include: applying a first drive signal to each electrode group EE of the even-numbered drive units DE; applying a second drive signal to each electrode group EE of the odd-numbered drive units DE; the first drive signal is an inverted signal of the second drive signal. In this embodiment, each drive unit DE can be driven so that the vibration mode of the tactile feedback substrate PNL has a large amplitude.

[0091] For another example, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, step S120 may include:

[0092] The driving signal is loaded to each of the electrode groups EE of the even-numbered driving units DE, or the driving signal is loaded to each of the electrode groups EE of the odd-numbered driving units DE. In this embodiment, only the even-numbered driving units DE or the odd-numbered driving units DE are driven, that is, only half of the driving units are driven. In the present disclosure, these driven driving units DE can be defined as working driving units; the controller CTR can only drive the working driving units, but not drive other driving units. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, in addition to determining the working driving unit by the odd and even positions of the driving units DE, the working driving unit can also be determined by other methods, such as selecting one from every three driving units DE as a working driving unit, or selecting one from every three driving units DE as a working driving unit, and the present disclosure does not limit these methods.

[0093] In some embodiments, see Figure 4 and Figure 5One of the first electrode layer EP1 and the second electrode layer EP2 is provided with a plurality of strip electrodes EP0 arranged in sequence along the row direction H1, and the other is provided with a common electrode COM overlapping with each of the strip electrodes EP0; any one of the strip electrodes EP0 and the common electrode COM form an electrode pair EE.

[0094] For example, see Figure 5 The first electrode layer EP1 includes a plurality of first strip electrodes EP01 (as strip electrodes EP0) sequentially arranged along the row direction H1; the second electrode layer EP2 is provided with common electrodes COM overlapping with each first strip electrode EP01. Then the first strip electrodes EP01 and the common electrodes COM form an electrode pair EE.

[0095] For another example, see Figure 4 The second electrode layer EP2 includes a plurality of second strip electrodes EP02 (as strip electrodes EP0) sequentially arranged along the row direction H1; the first electrode layer EP1 is provided with a common electrode COM overlapping with each second strip electrode EP02. Then the second strip electrode EP02 and the common electrode COM form an electrode pair EE.

[0096] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when driving the tactile feedback substrate PNL, the driving signal can be loaded to each of the electrode groups EE of the even-numbered driving units DE, or the driving signal can be loaded to each of the electrode groups EE of the odd-numbered driving units DE. The driving signal may include a driving voltage signal and a common voltage signal; the driving voltage signal may be loaded to the strip electrode EP0 of the working driving unit, and the common voltage signal may be loaded to the common electrode COM. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving voltage signal may be an alternating voltage signal, or a pulse voltage signal; the common voltage signal may be a constant voltage signal. Of course, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the driving voltage signal may also be a constant voltage signal, and the common voltage signal may be an alternating voltage signal or a pulse voltage signal.

[0097] In this way, when the tactile feedback substrate PNL is provided with a common electrode COM, the controller CTR can load a common voltage signal to the common electrode COM when driving the tactile feedback substrate PNL, so that the voltage of the common electrode COM of each electrode pair EE is the same. Therefore, the controller CTR can only determine the strip electrode EP0 of each electrode pair EE in the driving unit DE in each driving mode. In other words, in any driving mode, the controller CTR can determine the driving unit DE to which the strip electrode EP0 belongs based on each strip electrode EP0, and then load the corresponding driving voltage signal to the strip electrode EP0.

[0098] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller CTR can drive each electrode pair EE at the same time when driving the tactile feedback substrate PNL, that is, two different driving signals are used to drive each electrode pair EE. The controller CTR can load three different voltages to the electrode pair EE, namely, a common voltage signal loaded to the common electrode COM, a first driving voltage signal loaded to each strip electrode EP0 of the even-numbered driving unit DE, and a second driving voltage signal loaded to each strip electrode EP0 of the odd-numbered driving unit DE; wherein the first driving voltage signal and the second driving voltage signal can be inverted signals. In this way, in the even-numbered driving unit DE, the first driving voltage signal and the common voltage signal constitute a group of driving signals; in the odd-numbered driving unit DE, the second driving voltage signal and the common voltage signal constitute another group of driving signals. Furthermore, the first driving voltage signal and the second driving voltage signal can be alternating voltage signals, or pulse voltage signals; the common voltage signal is a constant voltage signal.

[0099] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first electrode layer EP1 includes a plurality of first strip electrodes EP01 sequentially arranged along the row direction H1; the second electrode layer EP2 includes a plurality of second strip electrodes EP02 sequentially arranged along the row direction H1 and corresponding to each first strip electrode EP01; the corresponding first strip electrodes EP01 and second strip electrodes EP02 overlap each other; the first strip electrodes EP01 and the corresponding second strip electrodes EP02 form the electrode pair EE. In other words, the electrode pair EE of the present disclosure may be an electrode pair, and the electrode pair includes the first strip electrodes EP01 and the second strip electrodes EP02 overlapping each other.

[0100] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the orthographic projections of the first strip electrode EP01 and the second strip electrode EP02 on the piezoelectric layer PE completely overlap.

[0101] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller CTR can drive each driving unit DE, and make the electric field formed by two adjacent driving units DE have opposite directions. For example, in step S120, the first driving voltage signal can be loaded to each of the first strip electrodes EP01 in the even-numbered driving units DE, and the second driving voltage signal can be loaded to each of the second strip electrodes EP02 in the even-numbered driving units DE. The second driving voltage signal is loaded to each of the first strip electrodes EP01 in the odd-numbered driving units DE, and the first driving voltage signal is loaded to each of the second strip electrodes EP02 in the odd-numbered driving units DE. In this way, the driving signals loaded by two adjacent driving units DE remain opposite. Furthermore, the first driving voltage signal and the second driving voltage signal can be alternating voltage signals, or pulse voltage signals.

[0102] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller CTR may selectively drive some of the drive units DE when driving the tactile feedback substrate PNL. As an example, the working drive units may be each even-numbered drive unit DE or each odd-numbered drive unit DE. In other words, the controller CTR may only drive the even-numbered drive units DE or the odd-numbered drive units DE when driving the tactile feedback substrate PNL. When driving the working drive unit, a first drive voltage signal may be loaded to the first strip electrode EP01 of the working drive unit, and a second drive voltage signal may be loaded to the second strip electrode EP02 of the working drive unit.

[0103] For another example, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S120, the first driving voltage signal is applied to each of the first strip electrodes EP01 in the even-numbered driving units DE, and the second driving voltage signal is applied to each of the second strip electrodes EP02 in the even-numbered driving units DE. Alternatively, the second driving voltage signal is applied to each of the first strip electrodes EP01 in the odd-numbered driving units DE, and the first driving voltage signal is applied to each of the second strip electrodes EP02 in the odd-numbered driving units DE.

[0104] In some embodiments, see Fig.12 , the strip electrode EP0 (for example, the first strip electrode EP01 and / or the second strip electrode EP02) can be divided into a plurality of strip sub-electrodes EP0sub, and each strip sub-electrode EP0sub is electrically connected to the controller CTR independently. For example, see Fig.12 Each strip-shaped sub-electrode EP0sub is electrically connected to its own binding pad (not shown in the figure) through a driving line LN.

[0105] Under normal circumstances, when driving the strip electrode EP0, the same voltage can be loaded to each strip sub-electrode EP0sub of the strip electrode EP0, so that each strip sub-electrode EP0sub simulates the strip electrode EP0. When it is found that the piezoelectric layer PE has a defect, for example, when the piezoelectric layer PE has a short circuit defect at a certain position, the strip sub-electrode at the specific position can be shielded by the controller CTR; when the driver drives the tactile feedback substrate PNL, it does not load a driving signal to the strip sub-electrode at the defect. Specifically, when the piezoelectric layer PE covered by any strip sub-electrode EP0sub has a defect, the strip sub-electrode EP0sub can be shielded by the CRT; when the controller CTR sends a driving signal, it does not send a signal to the strip sub-electrode EP0sub.

[0106] In some embodiments, the substrate substrate BP may be a substrate substrate of an inorganic material or a substrate substrate of an organic material. For example, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the material of the substrate substrate may be a glass material such as soda-lime glass, quartz glass, sapphire glass, etc. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the material of the substrate substrate may be polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl phenol (PVP), polyethersulfone (PES), polyimide, polyamide, polyacetal, polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) or a combination thereof.

[0107] Of course, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the base substrate may also be a substrate with specific functions, such as a display panel, a touch panel, a touch display panel, a color film substrate, a glass cover, etc.

[0108] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the material of the piezoelectric layer PE may be an inorganic piezoelectric material, an organic piezoelectric material or a composite piezoelectric material. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the material of the piezoelectric layer PE may include one of PZT (lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric ceramic), PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride), ZnO (zinc oxide), etc.

[0109] Optionally, the materials of the first electrode layer EP1 and the second electrode layer EP2 can be selected from conductive materials, for example, metals, conductive metal oxides, conductive polymers, conductive composite materials or combinations thereof can be selected. Exemplarily, the metal can be selected from platinum, gold, silver, aluminum, chromium, nickel, copper, molybdenum, titanium, magnesium, calcium, barium, sodium, palladium, iron, manganese or combinations thereof. Exemplarily, the conductive metal oxide can be selected from indium oxide, tin oxide, indium tin oxide, fluorine-doped tin oxide, aluminum-doped zinc oxide, gallium-doped zinc oxide or combinations thereof. Exemplarily, the conductive polymer can be selected from polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, polyacetylene, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) / polystyrene sulfonic acid (PEDOT / PSS) or combinations thereof, and dopants such as acids (such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, sulfonic acid, etc.), Lewis acids (such as phosphorus fluoride, arsenic fluoride, ferric chloride, etc.), halogens, and alkali metals can also be added to the conductive polymer. Exemplarily, the conductive composite material may be selected from conductive composite materials dispersed with carbon black, graphite powder, metal particles, etc. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the material of the first electrode layer EP1 and the second electrode layer EP2 may include one of Mo (molybdenum), Pt (platinum), and ITO (indium tin oxide).

[0110] Optionally, the controller CTR may be bound and connected to the tactile feedback substrate PNL. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller CTR may include a circuit board bound to the tactile feedback substrate PNL and a driving chip located on the circuit board, and the driving chip drives each electrode group EE through the circuit board.

[0111] The present disclosure also provides an electronic device, which includes any one of the tactile feedback devices described in the above tactile feedback device embodiments. The electronic device may be a vehicle display screen, a mobile phone screen, or other types of electronic devices. Since the electronic device has any one of the tactile feedback devices described in the above tactile feedback device embodiments, it has the same beneficial effects, and the present disclosure will not be repeated here.

[0112] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any modification, use or adaptation of the present disclosure, which follows the general principles of the present disclosure and includes common knowledge or customary techniques in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The specification and examples are intended to be exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A tactile feedback device, comprising a tactile feedback substrate and a controller; The tactile feedback substrate comprises a base substrate, a first electrode layer, a piezoelectric layer, and a second electrode layer which are stacked in sequence; the overlapped portions of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer form a plurality of electrode pairs which are sequentially arranged in a row direction; the electrode pairs extend in a column direction; The controller is configured to determine one of the plurality of driving modes as a target driving mode; wherein, In any of the driving modes, the electrode pairs are combined to form a plurality of driving units that are sequentially adjacent to each other along the row direction, and each of the driving units includes the electrode pairs that are sequentially adjacent to each other and have the same number; in different driving modes, the number of the electrode pairs in the driving unit is different; The controller is further configured to drive one or more driving units of the target driving mode.

2. The tactile feedback device according to claim 1, wherein: One of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer is provided with a plurality of strip electrodes sequentially arranged along the row direction, and the other is provided with a common electrode overlapping with each of the strip electrodes; Any one of the strip electrodes and the common electrode forms an electrode pair.

3. The tactile feedback device according to claim 2, wherein: The strip electrode includes a plurality of strip sub-electrodes sequentially arranged along the column direction, and each of the strip sub-electrodes is independently electrically connected to the controller.

4. The tactile feedback device according to claim 1, wherein: The first electrode layer includes a plurality of first strip electrodes sequentially arranged along the row direction; The second electrode layer includes a plurality of second strip electrodes arranged in sequence along the row direction and corresponding one-to-one to each of the first strip electrodes; The first strip electrodes and the corresponding second strip electrodes overlap each other; The first strip-shaped electrode and the corresponding second strip-shaped electrode form the electrode pair.

5. The tactile feedback device according to claim 4, wherein: The orthographic projection of the first strip electrode on the piezoelectric layer coincides with the orthographic projection of the corresponding second strip electrode on the piezoelectric layer.

6. The tactile feedback device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein: The first strip electrode comprises a plurality of strip sub-electrodes sequentially arranged along the column direction, and each of the strip sub-electrodes is independently electrically connected to the controller; and / or, The second strip electrode includes a plurality of strip sub-electrodes sequentially arranged along the column direction, and each of the strip sub-electrodes is independently electrically connected to the controller.

7. An electronic device comprising the tactile feedback device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. A method for driving a tactile feedback device, used for driving the tactile feedback device according to any one of claims 1 to 6; The driving method of the tactile feedback device comprises: Determine one of the driving modes as a target driving mode from among the plurality of driving modes; Driving one or more driving units of the target driving mode; wherein driving any one of the driving units includes loading the same driving signal to each electrode group of the driving unit.

9. The driving method of the tactile feedback device according to claim 8, wherein: The one or more driving units driving the target driving mode include: A first driving signal is applied to each electrode group of the even-numbered driving units; a second driving signal is applied to each electrode group of the odd-numbered driving units; and the first driving signal is an inverted signal of the second driving signal.

10. The driving method of the tactile feedback device according to claim 9, wherein: The first electrode layer includes a plurality of first strip electrodes sequentially arranged along the row direction; the second electrode layer includes a plurality of second strip electrodes sequentially arranged along the row direction and corresponding to each of the first strip electrodes one by one; the first strip electrodes and the corresponding second strip electrodes overlap each other; the first strip electrodes and the corresponding second strip electrodes form the electrode pair; Loading the first driving signal to each electrode group of the even-numbered driving units comprises: Applying a first driving voltage signal to each of the first strip electrodes in an even-numbered driving unit, and applying a second driving voltage signal to each of the second strip electrodes in an even-numbered driving unit; Loading the second driving signal to each of the electrode groups of the odd-numbered driving units comprises: The second driving voltage signal is applied to each of the first strip electrodes in the odd-numbered driving units, and the first driving voltage signal is applied to each of the second strip electrodes in the odd-numbered driving units.

11. The driving method of the tactile feedback device according to claim 8, wherein: The one or more driving units driving the target driving mode include: The driving signal is applied to each electrode group of the even-numbered driving units, or the driving signal is applied to each electrode group of the odd-numbered driving units.

12. The driving method of the tactile feedback device according to claim 11, wherein: One of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer is provided with a plurality of strip electrodes arranged in sequence along the row direction, and the other is provided with a common electrode overlapping with each of the strip electrodes; any one of the strip electrodes and the common electrode form an electrode pair; Wherein, loading the driving signal to each electrode group of the even-numbered driving units comprises: loading a common voltage signal to the common electrode, and loading a driving voltage signal to each strip electrode in the even-numbered driving units; Loading the driving signal to each of the electrode groups of the odd-numbered driving units includes: loading a common voltage signal to the common electrode, and loading a driving voltage signal to each of the strip electrodes in the odd-numbered driving units.

Images