Virtual Actuator Tactile Patterning for High-Resolution Body Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tactile stimulation providing systems face challenges in providing high-resolution tactile stimulation due to vibration absorption by foams and difficulty in close contact with the user's body.
Innovation Solution
A tactile stimulation providing system that includes a tactile stimulation pattern generating apparatus using virtual actuators mapped to physical actuators, allowing for effective adherence to the user's body and easy generation of tactile stimulation patterns through a user interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If vibrating motors are densely arranged to provide sufficient coverage, then the area of tactile stimulation is improved, but the user has difficulty distinguishing vibrations of individual motors due to vibration absorption by foams and the inherent size and strength of the motors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the tactile stimulation system into multiple independent actuator units, each capable of being controlled separately. This segmentation allows individual actuators to be spaced apart sufficiently to prevent vibration overlap while collectively covering a large area, thereby resolving the contradiction between coverage area and stimulation resolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different material properties to different parts of the system: rigid materials (acrylic plate, aluminum plate) are used for the vibration transmission structure to minimize vibration absorption, while soft materials (foam) are used only for user comfort and skin contact. This local differentiation of material qualities ensures that vibrations are not absorbed before reaching the user, maintaining high resolution even with multiple actuators.
2Force
If voice coil motors are fixed to an acrylic plate surrounded by hard and soft foam to reduce vibration absorption, then the vibration strength is improved, but vibrations transfer through the acrylic plate to adjacent motor locations, making it difficult to distinguish individual motor vibrations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the vibration transmission function from the foam material and assigns it to a dedicated rigid plate structure. The foam is removed from the vibration transmission path and used only for comfort, while the acrylic or aluminum plate serves exclusively as the vibration transmission medium. This separation prevents unwanted vibration absorption and isolation issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a rigid plate (acrylic or aluminum) as an intermediary between the voice coil motors and the user's skin. This intermediary structure efficiently transmits vibrations from each motor to the user while preventing vibration transfer between adjacent motors, thereby maintaining both vibration strength and resolution.
3Force
If large sized vibrating motors with strong vibration are used to overcome foam absorption, then the vibration strength is improved, but the motors cannot be densely arranged to provide high resolution tactile stimulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses multiple copies of smaller voice coil motors instead of fewer large vibrating motors. Each voice coil motor is smaller and can be precisely positioned, allowing dense arrangement to cover a larger area while maintaining vibration strength through the rigid plate transmission system. This copying approach enables both high resolution and broad coverage.
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
The system effectively provides high-resolution tactile stimulation by ensuring close contact with the user's body and enabling easy generation of complex tactile patterns, enhancing user experience.
Implementation Method 1
A tactile stimulation providing apparatus includes a plurality of actuators, and selectively vibrates the plurality of actuators, thereby providing a tactile stimulation to a user.
Data Source
AI summary
A tactile stimulation providing system includes: a tactile stimulation pattern generating apparatus for generating a tactile stimulation pattern through a user interface including a plurality of virtual actuators to which positions of a plurality of actuators are mapped; and a tactile stimulation providing apparatus including the plurality of actuators, the tactile stimulation providing apparatus driving the plurality of actuators according to the generated tactile stimulation pattern.