Electronic device, control method, and control program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9544413-B2
Application number	US-201314398394-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 25, 2013
Priority date	May 2, 2012
Publication date	Jan 10, 2017
Grant date	Jan 10, 2017

Abstract

According to an aspect, an electronic device includes: a piezoelectric element; and a sound generating unit that is vibrated by the piezoelectric element and generates a vibration sound transmitted by vibrating part of a human body. The electronic device notifies a user of a specific position in the sound generating unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a piezoelectric element;
a sound generating unit configured to be vibrated by the piezoelectric element and generate a vibration sound to be transmitted by vibrating a part of a human body of a user; and
a detection unit configured to detect a contact position of the part of the human body on the sound generating unit, wherein
the electronic device is configured to provide, for the user, a notification of a specific position on the sound generating unit,
the sound generating unit is configured to start generating a guidance sound for guiding the part of the human body to the specific position when a difference between the contact position and the specific position is greater than a threshold, and
the sound generating unit is configured to start generating the vibration sound other than the guidance sound when the difference between the contact position and the specific position becomes smaller than the threshold.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the specific position is a position to which the part of the human body is preferably held.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein
the sound generating unit is configured to change sound volume or tone of the guidance sound in accordance with the difference between the contact position and the specific position.

4. The electronic device according to claim 3 , wherein the sound generating unit is configured to generate the guidance sound closer to a predetermined vibration sound as the contact position approaches the specific position.

5. The electronic device according to claim 3 , wherein the specific position is changed based on the contact position.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is configured to provide the notification when the part of the human body is an ear.

7. The electronic device according to claim 6 , wherein
the detection unit is configured to
detect a contact range of the part of the human body with respect to the sound generating unit, and
determine whether or not the part of the human body is an ear based on the detected contact range.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a display, wherein
the notification comprises displaying information indicating the specific position on the display.

9. The electronic device according to claim 8 , wherein the information indicating the specific position is an image of an ear.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9 , wherein
the detection unit is configured to detect a contact range of the part of the human body with respect to the sound generating unit, and
the sound generating unit is configured to start generating the vibration sound when the image of the ear matches a contact pattern of an ear being in contact with the sound generating unit.

11. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the sound generating unit is a panel.

12. The electronic device according to claim 11 , wherein a region of the panel to be vibrated is larger than a region having a length corresponding to a distance between an inferior crus of antihelix to an antitragus of a human ear and a width corresponding to a distance between a tragus and an antihelix.

13. The electronic device according to claim 11 , wherein the panel configures a part of or the entirety of any one of a display panel, an operation panel, a cover panel, and a lid panel for enabling a rechargeable battery to be removable.

14. The electronic device according to claim 13 , wherein
the panel is a display panel, and
the piezoelectric element is arranged outside a display region for a display function of the display panel.

15. The electronic device according to claim 11 , wherein the panel is deformable for transmitting the vibration sound at any portion of the panel.

16. The electronic device according to claim 11 , wherein
the panel comprises a plurality of portions vibrated in a direction intersecting with a principal plane of the panel in a vibrating region thereof, and
a value of amplitude of the vibration is changed from positive to negative or vice versa with time, at each of the portions.

17. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the sound generating unit is configured, when vibrated by the piezoelectric element, to generate an air conduction sound and the vibration sound.

18. A control method performed by an electronic device that comprises a sound generating unit and a piezoelectric element, the control method comprising:
notifying a user of a specific position on the sound generating unit;
detecting a contact position of a part of a human body of the user on the sound generating unit;
when a difference between the contact position and the specific position is greater than a threshold,
starting generating a guidance sound for guiding the part of the human body to the specific position by vibrating the sound generating unit with the piezoelectric element; and

when the difference between the contact position and the specific position becomes smaller than the threshold,
starting generating a vibration sound other than the guidance sound by vibrating the sound generating unit with the piezoelectric element, wherein the vibration sound is to be transmitted by vibrating the part of the human body.

19. A non-transitory storage medium that stores a control program that causes, when executed by an electronic device that comprises a sound generating unit and a piezoelectric element, the electronic device to execute:
notifying a user of a specific position on the sound generating unit;
detecting a contact position of a part of a human body of the user on the sound generating unit;
when a difference between the contact position and the specific position is greater than a threshold,
starting generating a guidance sound for guiding the part of the human body to the specific position by vibrating the sound generating unit with the piezoelectric element; and

when the difference between the contact position and the specific position becomes smaller than the threshold,
starting generating a vibration sound other than the guidance sound by vibrating the sound generating unit with the piezoelectric element, wherein the vibration sound is to be transmitted by vibrating the part of the human body.

Assignees

• Kyocera Corp

Inventors

• Sudo Tomohiro
• Ando Koichi
• Ishibashi Kenji

Classifications

• H04M1/03

  Constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. telephone hand-sets · CPC title

• H04M2250/12

  including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion · CPC title

• H04R2460/07

  Use of position data from wide-area or local-area positioning systems in hearing devices, e.g. program or information selection · CPC title

• H04R2430/01

  Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems · CPC title

• H04R7/045

  using the distributed mode principle, i.e. whereby the acoustic radiation is emanated from uniformly distributed free bending wave vibration induced in a stiff panel and not from pistonic motion · CPC title