Vector-Based Haptic Feedback for Touch Pad Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touch pad technologies do not provide effective feedback on the direction of finger movement, limiting the user's ability to accurately guide their hand and select items, as they lack vector information in their vibration feedback.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device with a contact face, a housing, and a drive device that moves the contact face based on position information obtained from a user's input, allowing for controlled movement of the touch pad to assist the user in selecting items by providing visual and tactile feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If vibration feedback is provided by an actuator, then tactile feedback is improved, but directional information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator is divided into multiple independent vibration elements arranged in specific patterns. Each element can be controlled independently to generate vibrations in different directions, allowing the system to provide both tactile feedback and directional information through segmented vibration sources.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the contact face have different vibration characteristics. By controlling specific local areas to vibrate in particular directions or intensities, the system provides directional guidance while maintaining overall tactile feedback, making the vibration quality location-dependent rather than uniform.
2Area of stationary object
If the touch pad range is limited, then device size is reduced, but navigation capability is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The contact face is made movable rather than fixed, allowing it to shift position dynamically in response to user input. This dynamic adjustment expands the effective navigation range without increasing the physical device footprint, as the touch pad surface can move to guide the user's finger across a larger virtual area.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable contact face acts as an intermediary between the user's finger and the display area. By moving the contact face itself rather than requiring the user to traverse a large fixed area, the system mediates navigation across extended ranges while keeping the physical device compact.
Data Source
AI summary
By the feedback including a factor of vector, the operational feeling of a user in a touch input is improved. In the electronic device, the user performs an input by making a contact body such as a finger contacts a contact face serving as a touch pad to move the contact body. The contact face is supported by a housing, and a drive device moves the contact face with respect to the housing. The control unit obtains the position information including the contact position of the contact body with the contact face and the information indicating the movement of the contact position, and moves the contact face based on the obtained position information when the contact body contacts the contact face.