Electronic device with actuators for producing haptic and audio output along a device housing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11907426-B2
Application number	US-202217703740-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 24, 2022
Priority date	Sep 25, 2017
Publication date	Feb 20, 2024
Grant date	Feb 20, 2024

Abstract

An electronic device has a housing that forms an exterior surface of the electronic device. An array of actuators is coupled to the housing and is operable to move the housing in order to produce sound waves and/or haptic output via the exterior surface. In this way, less space is consumed by acoustic and haptic devices as compared to similar conventional devices, thereby allowing for thinner electronic devices and/or room for other components within the housing. The actuators may be operable to move different regions of the housing to produce sound waves and/or haptic output within different frequency ranges.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing that defines an exterior surface of the electronic device;
a set of one or more sensors operable to detect a touch, and an amount of force of the touch, along the exterior surface;
an array of actuators positioned below a wall of the housing; and
a processing unit operably coupled to the set of one or more sensors and the array of actuators and operable to:
cause movement of a first region of the wall of the housing using the array of actuators to produce an audio output;
detect the touch along the first region of the wall of the housing using the set of one or more sensors;
determine the amount of force of the touch exceeds a threshold using at least one sensor in the set of one or more sensors; and
cause movement of a second region of the wall of the housing using the array of actuators to produce the audio output, in response to detecting the touch along the first region of the wall of the housing and determining the amount of force of the touch exceeds the threshold.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is operable to cease movement of the first region in response to detecting the touch.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is operable to cause movement of the first region to produce a haptic output in response to detecting the touch.

4. The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein:
the processing unit is operable to compare the audio output to an expected audio output; and
the processing unit is operable to cause the second region to produce an adjusted audio output in response to a determination that the audio output is different than the expected audio output.

5. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the adjusted audio output has a frequency range that is shifted with respect to the audio output.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is operable to cause continued movement of the first region to produce the audio output upon detecting the touch;
haptic output at the location of the touch.

7. The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein:
the movement of the first region to produce the haptic output is a movement in at least two directions; and
the movement of the second region to produce the audio output is a movement in one direction.

8. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the exterior surface comprises glass.

9. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing;
a keyboard attached to the housing;
a set of sensors operable to determine a location of a touch on the housing and an amount of force of the touch;
an array of actuators coupled to a surface of the housing; and
a processing unit operable to:
identify a subset of one or more actuators of the array of actuators, the subset of one or more actuators proximate to the location of the touch; and
produce an audio output using at least a first actuator of the subset of one or more actuators when the amount of force does not exceed a threshold, or produce the audio output without using an actuator of the subset of one or more actuators and using at least a second actuator of the array of actuators when the amount of force exceeds the threshold.

10. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the surface of the housing to which the array of actuators is coupled includes a palm rest area for the keyboard.

11. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein:
the housing includes an upper housing and a lower housing;
the keyboard is attached to the lower housing;
the electronic device includes a display attached to the upper housing; and
the surface of the housing to which the array of actuators is coupled includes an outer surface of the upper housing, the outer surface opposite a surface of the display.

12. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the audio output is within a bass frequency range less than 250 hertz.

13. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the processing unit is operable to produce a haptic output using at least the first actuator while the touch remains at the determined location of the touch.

14. The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein the processing unit is operable to only provide the haptic output using one or more actuators of the subset of one or more actuators.

15. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the first actuator and the second actuator are a same type of actuator.

16. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein:
the set of sensors comprises a capacitive touch sensor; and
the capacitive touch sensor is used to determine the location of the touch on the housing and the amount of force of the touch.

17. A method of providing output to a user via a surface of an electronic device, the method comprising:
determining a location of a touch on the surface;
determining an amount of force of the touch;
identifying a subset of one or more actuators within an array of actuators, the subset of one or more actuators proximate to the location of the touch;
determining the amount of force exceeds a threshold; and
in response to determining the amount of force exceeds the threshold, producing an audio output without using the subset of one or more actuators and using an actuator of the array of actuators outside the subset of one or more actuators.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising, producing a haptic output using at least one actuator within the subset of actuators while the touch remains at the determined location of the touch.

19. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
determining a new location of a new touch on the surface; and
identifying a new subset of one or more actuators within the array of actuators, the new subset of one or more actuators proximate to the new location of the new touch.

20. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing that defines an exterior surface of the electronic device, the exterior surface having one or more areas that are thinner than adjacent areas;
a sensor operable to detect a touch along the exterior surface;
an array of actuators positioned below a wall of the housing and coupled to the one or more areas that are thinner than adjacent areas; and
a processing unit operably coupled to the sensor and the array of actuators and operable to:
cause movement of a first region of the wall of the housing using the array of actuators to produce an audio output;
detect the touch along the first region of the wall of the housing using the sensor; and
cause movement of a second region of the wall of the housing using the array of actuators to produce the audio output in response to detecting the touch.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Miller Ari P
• Crosby Justin D
• Boothe Daniel K
• Farahani Houtan R
• Robinson Kevin M
• Mihelich Ryan J
• Lockwood Robert J

Classifications

• G06F3/016 Primary

  Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user · CPC title

• G06F3/03547

  Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface · CPC title

• G06F3/041

  Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means · CPC title

• H04R1/028

  associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles · CPC title

• H04R1/24

  Structural combinations of separate transducers or of two parts of the same transducer and responsive respectively to two or more frequency ranges · CPC title