Electrostatic Tactile Feedback for Virtual Keys
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Solution Overview
Problem
Virtual keys on touch screens lack physical feedback, leading to a simplistic user experience and increased power consumption from additional feedback methods like vibration and sound, which are often turned off due to inefficiency.
Innovation Solution
A display apparatus with a touch unit that generates induced capacitance and electrostatic force based on voltage signals, providing tactile feedback by determining the attribute information of the touched object, such as hardness and roughness, using a control unit and electrodes disposed on a thin film encapsulation layer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If vibration and sound are used to provide physical feedback for virtual keys, then user experience is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical vibration systems and acoustic sound systems with an electrostatic field-based tactile feedback system. The touch unit generates tactile sensation through electrostatic attraction/repulsion forces between electrodes, eliminating the need for mechanical motors and acoustic components that consume significant power.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of feedback from mechanical vibration and acoustic wave to electrostatic force. By controlling the voltage signals applied to different electrodes in the touch unit, the system can simulate various tactile sensations (hardness, roughness, elasticity) through parameter modulation of electrostatic forces rather than mechanical motion.
2Ease of operation
If vibration and sound are added to provide tactile feedback, then physical feedback is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the display function and tactile feedback function into a single integrated touch unit. The touch unit is positioned within or on the display device and combines visual display with electrostatic tactile feedback, eliminating the need for separate vibration motors and acoustic speakers that would increase device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch unit serves multiple functions: it detects touch input, displays visual information, and provides tactile feedback through electrostatic forces. This multi-functional design replaces what would traditionally require separate dedicated components for each function, thereby reducing overall device complexity.
3Ease of operation
If additional feedback settings like vibration and sound are implemented, then user experience is enhanced, but the settings are easily turned off due to inefficiency
Solution Approach 1:
By replacing mechanical and acoustic feedback systems with an electrostatic field-based system, the patent achieves more efficient and reliable tactile feedback. The electrostatic feedback mechanism is inherently more energy-efficient and can be controlled through software without requiring physical switches or user interventions, making settings more persistent and adaptable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances user experience by providing a realistic tactile sense of the touched object, reducing power consumption and eliminating the need for additional feedback methods like vibration and sound.
Implementation Method 1
a touch unit configured to generate an induced capacitance and an electrostatic force at the touch position based on the voltage signals from the control unit
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a display apparatus and a method for implementing a touch feedback. The display apparatus comprises: a display unit configured to display an image; a control unit configured to determine a touched object in the image according to a touch position of a user, and provide voltage signals based on attribute information of the touched object; and a touch unit configured to generate an induced capacitance and an electrostatic force at the touch position based on the voltage signals from the control unit. The display apparatus according to the present disclosure can improve the user experiences in using a terminal device comprising the display apparatus.