Systems and methods for implementing haptics for pressure sensitive keyboards

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9342149-B2
Application number	US-201314044331-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 2, 2013
Priority date	Dec 16, 2008
Publication date	May 17, 2016
Grant date	May 17, 2016

Abstract

Systems and methods are employed for implementing haptics for pressure sensitive keyboards, such as the type of keyboards having keys that produce alternating digital open/short signals that emulate actuation of conventional “momentary on” digital keys. The disclosed systems and methods may be implemented to provide haptics for both touch typing and variable pressure sensitive operation of a pressure sensitive keyboard. Users of a variable pressure keyboard may be provided with a variable pressure haptics effect, e.g., to enable the user to intuitively understand from the haptics vibration produced by the key how much pressure they are applying to a given key at any given time. Vibration characteristics (e.g., vibration rate, vibration waveform pattern, etc.) of a given pressed key may be varied in real time in coordination with, or in response to, corresponding changes in user pressure applied to the same given key.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A keyboard system, comprising:
one or more pressure sensitive keys configured to provide analog output signals corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys that is representative of the level of pressure applied to the given key during a key pressure application event of a given applied pressure level;
a first controller configured as pressure sensing interface circuitry comprising at least one signal input, at least one first signal output, and at least one second signal output, the signal input being separate and different from the first signal path output and the second signal path output, the first signal path output being different from the signal input and the second signal output, and the second signal path output being different from the signal input and the first signal output;
where the signal input is coupled to receive the analog output signal from each given one of the pressure sensitive keys via at least one dedicated input signal path;
where the pressure-sensing interface circuitry is configured to simultaneously provide both haptics key pressure indication signals at the first signal path output to at least one first separate dedicated output signal path and separate digital key emulation key pressure indication signals at the separate second signal output to at least one second separate dedicated output signal path and responsive to each of the same analog output signals received at the signal input from a given one of the pressure sensitive keys that corresponds to a given key pressure application event applied to the corresponding same given one of the pressure sensitive keys, the haptics key pressure indication signals and separate digital key emulation key pressure indication signals both being representative of at least two respective different levels of pressure applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys, the at least two different levels of pressure comprising at least first and second different levels of pressure; and
a second controller different from the first controller, the second controller being configured as haptics control circuitry coupled and configured to impart a variable haptics motion characteristic independently to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys in response to each given key pressure application event based at least in part on the haptics key pressure indication signals provided by the pressure sensing interface circuitry across the first separate dedicated output signal path and corresponding to the pressure level applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys during each given key pressure application event such that a first haptics motion is imparted to a given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the first pressure level applied during a first key pressure application event to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys that is different than a second haptics motion that is imparted to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys at the second pressure level applied during a second and different key pressure application event to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys; and
where the pressure sensing interface circuitry is coupled to provide the haptics key pressure indication signals across the first separate dedicated output signal path and to the haptics control circuitry in response to the given key pressure application events; arid
where the second signal output of the pressure sensing interface circuitry is configured for coupling by the second separate dedicated output signal path to provide a digital key emulation key pressure indication signal corresponding to a given key pressure application event to a third controller configured as a keyboard controller coupled to a separate host system device and that is separate and different from the controllers of the haptics control circuitry and the pressure sensing interface circuitry at the same time that the first signal output of the pressure sensing interface circuitry provides a separate haptics key pressure indication signal corresponding to the same given key pressure application event across the first separate dedicated output signal path to the haptics control circuitry;
where each of the respective digital key emulation key pressure indication signals is a separate intermittent alternating open and short (open/short) digital output signal having an alternating toggling frequency that is representative of pressure applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys to emulate toggling of a momentary on/off digital key by a user at the alternating toggling frequency during the duration of a given key pressure application event of a given applied pressure level without requiring a user to toggle the pressure sensitive key; and
where the pressure sensing interface circuitry is configured for coupling to provide each digital key emulation key pressure indication signal as a separate alternating open/short digital output signal corresponding to each pressure sensitive key to column/row intersections of a legacy keyboard key matrix when the legacy keyboard matrix is operably coupled to a legacy digital keyboard controller having no analog input circuitry and when the legacy digital keyboard controller is itself coupled between the pressure sensing interface circuitry and a separate host system device to measure keyboard input for the host device based on received momentary-on digital signals and not based on received analog signals.

2. The keyboard system of claim 1 , further comprising:
haptics actuation circuitry coupled to the haptics control circuitry;
where the haptics control circuitry is separate from the keyboard controller and the pressure sensing interface circuitry, the haptics control circuitry being coupled to receive from the pressure sensing interface circuitry a respective haptics key pressure indication signal representative of pressure applied to each corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys during each key pressure application event, the haptics control circuitry being configured to in turn provide a separate haptics control signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys based upon each respective haptics key pressure indication signal received during each corresponding key pressure application event; and
where the haptics actuation circuitry is coupled to receive from the haptics control circuitry the separate haptics control signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys, the haptics actuation circuitry being configured to impart haptics motion independently to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys in response to a received haptics control signal corresponding to the given one of the pressure sensitive keys.

3. The keyboard system of claim 2 , and where the pressure sensing interface circuitry is further configured to provide to the haptics control circuitry a haptics key pressure indication signal corresponding to each given one of the pressure sensitive keys as a bit stream that is representative of the pressure being applied to the corresponding given one of the pressure sensitive keys during the duration of a given key pressure application event and at the same time that the pressure sensing interface circuitry provides to a keyboard controller that is separate from the haptics control circuitry a digital key emulation key pressure indication signal during the duration of the same given key pressure application event.

4. The keyboard system of claim 3 , further comprising a keyboard device body that includes the pressure sensing interface circuitry, the haptics control circuitry and the haptics actuation circuitry; wherein the keyboard device body is configured to be mechanically coupled as a drop-in keyboard to an informatio

Assignees

• Casparian Mark A
• Azor Frank C
• Dell Products Lp

Inventors

• Casparian Mark A
• Azor Frank C

Classifications

• H03K2217/96062

  with tactile or haptic feedback · CPC title

• G06F3/0202

  Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device · CPC title

• H03K17/975

  using a capacitive movable element · CPC title

• H01H2215/052

  piezoelectric · CPC title

• H01H13/702

  with contacts carried by or formed from layers in a multilayer structure, e.g. membrane switches · CPC title