Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
A method and system for providing haptic effects
FIELD OF THE INVENTION:
This invention relates to virtual effects, more specifically to a method and
system for providing haptic effects to a touch panel or display.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
~o In many new applications, the implementation of extra functionality to a
product has resulted in applications that are more desirable to consumers
(e.g. extra
vehicle control functions in automobiles). In other cases, the extra
functionality is a
necessity resulting from the increasing complexity of the overall system (e.g.
flight
control systems in military aircraft). This presents a challenge for the user
of the
~5 product/device, since easy access to all the functions can be distracting
to the normal
operation. Moreover, interfaces that are fixed and not re-configurable can
limit the
number of functions that are implemented and can also prevent the interface
from
operating in an intuitive fashion.
The addition of the sense of touch to the user interface allows the user to
2o navigate through the options primarily based on the sense of touch, instead
of relying
on visual feedback only. Furthermore, the reconfigurability of the device
allows the
interface to be designed in an intuitive fashion. Therefore, the addition of
haptic
effects to a display device has clear benefits.
However, in the past, when conventional haptic devices have been integrated
25 into display devices, they have tended to be quite expensive and they
typically
obstruct the view of the display [1] [4]. To overcome the obstruction issue,
some
applications have separated the haptic device and the display [3] (e.g. the
force
feedback joystick is located on a control console with the display located on
the
dashboard), but this creates a disconnect between what is seen and what is
felt.
3o Other applications are limited to implementing haptic effects using only
vibration
devices [2]. Specifically, in these applications, when a user passes over a
particular
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
area of the display, the user senses a vibration effect. While this provides
some
haptic feedback to the user, the user still needs to correlate a certain type
of vibration
to a specific meaning.
Finally some other applications use a virtual world approach [6]. !n this
s approach, the user is required to wear a glove that has several actuators
built-in and
a virtual goggle heads up display. As the user reaches out to touch an object
that is
projected on the virtual goggle display, the actuators are enabled to apply
force to
individual fingers. This approach is very complex and expensive.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a new haptic device and method, which
can meet that demands of scalability, reliability, reconfigurability and cost
reduction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel haptic device and system
that
~5 obviates or mitigates at least one of the disadvantages of existing
systems.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
system for providing haptic effects to a user, which includes a display for
providing an
image of an object; and a transparent overlay haptic device. The device
includes: a
transparent overlay for translating the motion of the user's finger to the
image and
2o providing haptic effects to the user and a haptic effect element for
generating the
haptic effect on the overlay in response to the motion of the user. The user
contacts
the image through the overlay.
The transparent overlay haptic device may include the overlay, the actuator
(active or passive), the position sensor (absolute or relative), the
controller and the
25 electrical and mechanical interfiaces between the components.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is
provided
a method of passively or actively applying a force in the x and y axis to a
user's finger,
via a transparent overlay, in such a way that does not obstruct the view of
the display,
to simulate haptic effects.
ao The transparent overlay haptic method of the present invention achieves the
reconfigurability of the haptic effects generated on the device to match the
display
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
3
objects.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will be readily apparent
to
those skilled in the art from a review of the following detailed description
of preferred
s embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
The invention will be further understood from the following description with
reference to the drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a transparent overlay haptic system
including a transparent overlay haptic device and a display in accordance with
an
embodiment of the present invention;
~5 Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the main components of the
transparent overlay haptic system of Figure 1;
Figure 3A shows a schematic top view of the transparent overlay haptic device
in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 3B shows a schematic side view of the transparent overlay haptic
2o device shown in Figure 3B;
Figure 4 shows one example of wallledge haptic effects;
Figure 5 shows one example of detent haptic effects;
Figure 6A shows a schematic top view of the transparent overlay haptic device
in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;
25 Figure 6B shows a schematic side view of the transparent overlay haptic
device shown in Figure 6A;
Figure 7A shows a schematic top view of the transparent overlay haptic device
in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 7B shows a schematic side view of the transparent overlay haptic
3o device shown in Figure 7A;
Figure 8A shows a schematic top view of the transparent overlay haptic device
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
4
in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and
Figure 8B shows a cross-section view taken along the line A-A in Figure 8A.
Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of the transparent overlay haptic device
in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 10A shows a schematic top view of the transparent overlay haptic
device in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 1 OB is a schematic side view of the transparent overlay haptic device
shown in Figure 10A; and
Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of array of photo-diodes and
photo-sensors for detecting user position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
Figure 1 illustrates the basic concept for the use of a transparent overlay
~s haptic device 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
The
transparent overlay haptic device 10 is a virtual touchlhaptic device that can
be used
over top of a display 20. The purpose of this device 10 is to provide haptic
effects to
the user 12, corresponding to objects created on the display 20, without
obstructing
the view of the display.
2o The display 20 creates images that are used to represent different objects
14
that would be present on a user interface, e.g. dials, sliders or buttons. The
user
"feels" the objects by touching the transparent overlay haptic device 10 and
moving
across the display 20. As the user's finger 12 passes over the image of an
object, a
haptic effect is generated to simulate the user making contact with the
object.
2s Figure 2 illustrates the main components of a transparent overlay haptic
system 5 having the device 10 and display 20 of Figure 1, and the illustration
can be
used to explain how the haptic effects are implemented. The main components of
the
system 5 shown in Figure 2 are as follows:
a) the display 20;
so b) the transparent overlay haptic device 10;
b-1 ) a transparent overlay 22,
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
b-2) one or multiple actuators 24,
b-3) a position sensor 26,
b-4) a controller 28, and
b-5) housing and other mechanical interfaces.
The transparent overlay 22 lies over the display 20 between the user's hand
12 and the display 20. The transparent overlay 22 is a thin, flexible film
that allows
the force of the user's hand 12 to be transmitted through to the display 20.
When the
user makes contact with the overlay 22, there is sufficient friction between
the user's
finger and the overlay 22, and minimal friction between the overlay 22 and the
display
20, so that the overlay 22 easily moves with the user's finger. Hence the
overlay 22
does not move, relative to the user's hand 12. The overlay 22 is larger than
the
display 20, and an actuator 24 is located in the vicinity of the overlay 22,
but out of the
field of view of the display 20. The actuator 24 mechanically interfaces with
the
overlay 22 through a mechanism to impart a force on the overlay 22. Therefore,
when the actuator 24 is engaged, this force can be transmitted to the user's
finger, via
the overlay 22, without obstructing the view of the display 20. The position
of the
user's finger is obtained by any one of a number of position sensing schemes
26 and
is transmitted to the controller 28. The controller 28 contains the software
and
2o hardware interfaces to allow for the processing of the sensor information
to control
the actuators 24 to simulate the desired haptic effects, and for the
communication to
external subsystems via a communication bus interface 30.
For example, suppose the display 20 is a touch sensitive Liquid Crystal
Display (LCD). Then the position of the user's finger can be obtained directly
from the
25 display 20 and communicated to the controller 28. As the user moves their
finger,
and thus the transparent overlay 22, over an object that requires a haptic
effect (e.g.
a line denoting the edge of a button), the controller 28 detects this
collision and sends
a signal to the actuator 24 that in turn applies a force to the overlay 22.
The force is
sensed by the user as a resistance to the desired motion. If a "bump" type
haptic
3o effect is required to simulate the edge of a button, then the actuator 24
could be
engaged for a short period of time with a large force. Many other effects
could also
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6
be simulated. For example, once the user is within the boundary of a button
object
14 on the display 20, the actuator 24 could be partially engaged, and thus,
additional
friction would be felt by the user while inside the button object 14.
Figure 3A shows a top view of the transparent overlay haptic device 10A in
accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3B shows a
side
view of the transparent overlay haptic device 10A of Figure 3A. The
transparent
overlay haptic device 10A includes several components that are now described
in
more detail:
a) Clear Transparent Overlay 22:
In this embodiment of the device 10A, the overlay 22 is a flat rectangular
clear
sheet. The overlay 22 is thin enough to allow forces applied by the user's
finger to
pass through to the touch sensitive LCD display 20. The overlay 22 is large
enough
so that when starting from the home position, the user can place their finger
~5 anywhere within the display area 42 and move to any new position, without
causing
the edge of the overlay 22 to pass within the display area 42. The corners of
the
overlay 22 are attached to an overlay homing mechanism.
b) Overlay Homing Assembly 44:
2o The homing mechanism 44 for the overlay 22 includes four springs 46
attached between the four corners of the overlay 22 and four posts 47 grounded
to
the base 40 of the device 1 OA. They can be linear in nature, or can be part
of a more
complex torsional spring mechanism. When the user is not making contact with
the
device 10A, the springs 46 pull the overlay 22 to a home position. The spring
25 constant for each spring is sufficient to overcome friction between the
overlay 22 and
any other component of the device, but is small enough to not add significant
force to
the user's finger when the overlay 22 is moved by the user.
c) Actuator Assembly 48:
3o The actuator assembly 48 is made up a solenoid 50, a brake pad 52 and a
brake pad bracket 54. The solenoid 50 is mounted to the base 40 of the device
10A
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directly below the brake pad 52, which is held in place by the brake pad
bracket 54.
The overlay 22 passes between the solenoid 50 and the brake pad 52. Figure 3A
shows two actuator assemblies that are positioned on the device 10A to
eliminate
rotation of the overlay 22 when the actuators have been activated. However, if
the
mechanical design of the housing prevents rotation of the overlay 22 when one
actuator is activated then the second actuator assembly can be removed. When
the
solenoid 50 is activated, the overlay 22 is pinched between the solenoid shaft
and the
brake pad 52. The solenoid 50 can be driven at various levels to generate
various
levels of force. This can be utilized to generate a variety of haptic effects.
d) Touch Panel Liquid Crystal Display 20:
The touch panel LCD 20 is used to display objects as well as provide position
feedback for the user's finger.
e) Controller:
The hardware within the controller 28 (not shown in Figures 3A-3B) includes
actuator drive circuitry, position sensing interface circuitry, a
microprocessor and
memory. The actuator drive circuitry takes a signal from the microprocessor
and
drives the actuator. The drive circuitry scheme can be any one of a number of
2o solenoid actuation schemes. For example, a pulse width modulation scheme or
a
variable current source scheme could be used. The position sensing circuitry
interface conditions the signal coming from the position sensor and makes it
available
to the microprocessor. The memory is used to store the software that is run on
the
microprocessor. The microprocessor loads up the software stored in memory and
executes the application.
The software of the controller 28 contains the instructions needed to process
the position sensor information to determine the drive signal for the
actuator. A
variety of effects can be simulated. Some haptic effects that can be simulated
are as
follows:
The haptic effects are now described in detail. The transparent overlay haptic
device 10A provides walls/edge effects, detent effects and damped region
effects to
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
8
the user.
The wallsledge effects are now described in detail. Figure 4 shows the
wallledge haptic effects. As shown in Figure 4, finro types of walls can be
created.
A thin wall haptic effect 60 can be described as a barrier that briefly holds
the overlay
in a fixed position when the user collides with the object. Therefore, as the
user
passes through a wall, they sense a "bump". The sensed "thickness" of the wall
can
be adjusted by modifying the force applied to the actuator and the amount of
time that
the solenoid remains enabled.
A thick wall haptic effect 62 can be described as a barrier that prevents the
user from entering an area. This effect is implemented as a highly damped
region
(described later) where the solenoid 50 is engaged and held when the user's
finger is
located inside the wall. Note that for the user to exit out of the wall, some
slippage
between the user's finger and the overlay 22 is required, but the touch
sensitive LCD
20 will be able to detect the absolute position of the user's finger, even if
there is
slippage between the user's finger and. the overlay 22. Once the user's finger
is
outside the thick wall, the solenoid 50 is disengaged.
The detent effects are now described in detail. Figure 5 shows detent haptic
effects. As shown in Figure 5, detents can be implemented as a series of thin
walls
placed in succession. The detents can be arranged in a linear or angular
2o configuration. As the user passes over the detent area, they pass through
the thin
walls, and they sense small ridges. The force for detents will typically be
smaller that
those used for thin walls, but the 'Peel" of the detents can be adjusted as
well by
modifying the force, duration and spacing between each thin wall.
The damped region effects are now described in detail. The damped region is
2s an area where the solenoid 50 is engaged, but only to a level that adds a
certain
amount of friction to the motion of the overlay 22. This resistance to motion
wiH be
sensed by the user as an area where their motion is damped or restricted. The
degree of restriction can be adjusted by modifying the level of force applied
by the
solenoid 50.
ao These haptic effects can be combined to create objects. For example,
~ a button can be created by using thin walls that surround a damped area,
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
9
~ a slider can be created by using a series of detents within a damped area,
~ a slider can be created by using damped area where the level or restriction
is
increased as the user slides along the damped area.
These effects and objects are only a few examples, and more complex effects
and objects are included within this invention.
The key characteristics of the device 10A shown in Figure 3 are as follows:
a) Combined with the touch panel LCD 20, the device has two and one half
degrees of freedom; translation in the x-axis, y-axis and a selection in the z-
axis (i.e.
the touch pad LCD 20 can detect when the user presses down on the display).
b) . The haptic effects are generated in a passive manner. Only a braking
action
is applied to the overlay in order to generate the haptic effects. This is in
contrast to
many more expensive haptic devices where motors are used to generate the
haptic
effects.
c) The touch panel is used to provide information related to the user's finger
position.
d) The overlay 22 is returned to a home position after the user breaks contact
with the device. Without a homing mechanism, the overlay 22 could be railed to
the
limits of the device on subsequent user motions. .
e) The software contains instructions to generate audio feedback to further
assist
the user in determining where the user's finger is located on the display.
f) In the event of a failure of the transparent overlay haptic device 10A
(e.g.
broken spring), the user can still interact with the application via the touch
sensitive
LCD 20, and only loses the haptic effects. Hence, only partial functionality
is lost in
the event of a failure.
g) The device 10A affords enough haptic degrees of freedom to implement
unique effects corresponding to different control devices (e.g. knobs,
buttons, sliders,
etc.).
The following points outline modifications that can be made to the preferred
embodiment that result in more functionality, simpler design, or reduced cost:
3o Figure 6A shows a top view of a transparent overlay haptic device 10B in
accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6B shows
a
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
schematic side view of the transparent overlay haptic device 1 OB shown in
Figure 6A.
The device 10B includes a clear overlay 22A, a roller 70 for rotating the
clear overlay
22A and a toiler mounting 72.
The device 10A shown in Figures 3A-3B has two and a half degrees of
5 freedom. The device 10B shown in Figures 6A-6B reduces the number of degrees
of freedom to one and a half, which allows for the considerable reduction in
size of the
invention. The reduction in size is accomplished by eliminating haptic effects
in the
y-axis and by converting the overlay sheet 22A to an overlay roll. This means
that the
device 10B only needs to be slightly bigger than the display 20.
1o The device 10B also allows for the easy incorporation of motors into the
design. This allows for the generation of more complex haptic effects since
the
actuation becomes active. The difference between a passive device and an
active
device is that the passive device relies on the user to generate effects,
while for an
active device, the device can generate the effects independently of the user.
For example, if the user holds their finger in a fixed location, a passive
device
cannot generate any force on the user's finger while an active device can.
There is
also no need for a homing mechanism (either a passive spring mechanism or
active
motor drive mechanism) in the device 10B since the overlay 22A only moves in
one
axis and the continuous roll of overlay material is fed back over the display
area as
2o the user moves their finger.
Figure 7A shows a top view of a transparent overlay haptic device 10C in
accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7B shows a
schematic side view of the transparent overlay haptic device 10C shown in
Figure 7A.
The device 10C keeps the two and a half degrees of freedom, but still reduces
the size of the overall device in one axis (by using the concept of a roll of
overlay
instead of a sheet).
This combines some of the advantages of the device 10A shown in Figure 3
(i.e. 2.5 degrees of freedom) and some of the advantages of the device 1 OB
shown in
Figures 6A and 6B (i.e: reduction in size). In the device 10C, a homing
mechanism
3o 46 for one axis is required (y-axis) but not in direction of the roller
motion (i.e. x-axis).
This embodiment also allows for the easy incorporation of motors into the
design (i.e.
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
11
convert the device to an active device).
Figure 8A shows a schematic top view of a transparent overlay haptic device
10D in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8B
shows a schematic cross side view of the transparent overlay haptic device 10D
shown in Figure 8A.
The device 1 OD keeps the two and one half degrees of freedom and
significantly reduces the size of the device, at the cost of forcing the user
place their
finger at a predefined location.
In the system of Figures 8A-8B, the full overlay has been replaced with strips
of overlay film that pass over one set of rollers 70A for the x-axis and
another set of
rollers 70B for the y-axis. The two strips 22B, 22C are attached together
where the
two strips intersect above the overlay, and a divot 80 is placed at the same
location.
The user places their finger on the divot 80 when they make contact with the
device
10D. Homing springs 4fiA, 46B ensure that the divot 80 is returned to the home
position (e.g. the lower left corner of the display) once the user removes
their finger
from the device. Each roller 70A, 70B can slide along a spline axle
(perpendicular to
the axis of rotation) and the axle is. attached to the spline mounts 82
through spline
bearings 84 that allow the axle to rotate. Note that as the axle rotates, the
roller also
rotates, which causes the overlay strip to pass over the roller, thus moving
the divot
80 in one axis. A disc is mounted on the axle at a fixed distance from the
mount 82
and is part of the braking system. A solenoid brake 76 is mounted opposite the
disc
so that when the solenoid is engaged, the disc rotation is restricted, which
in turn, will
restrict the divot 80 from moving in one axis. The device 10D also allows for
the easy
incorporation or motors on the spline axle assembly, thus easily making the
device
2s 10D an active haptic device. Since rollers are incorporated in both axes,
the size of
the device does not need to be much larger than the actual display:
Figure 9 shows a transparent overlay haptic device 10E in accordance with a
fifth embodiment of the present invention. The device 10E keeps the two and
one
half degrees of freedom and significantly reduces the size of the device,
without
3o forcing the user to place their finger at a predefined location. The
overlay 22D in the
system shown in Figure 9 is a closed surface (e.g. a sphere). This means that
the
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
12
user can continuously move the overlay in either the x or y axis without every
have an
edge of the overlay pass over the display area. The actuators in the device
10E are
solenoid brakes 76 and an X-Y position sensor is required if the display 20C
is not
touch sensitive. Note that in this embodiment, there is no need for a homing
mechanism for the overlay. The footprint (i.e. size in the x and y direction)
of this
embodiment is smaller than the preferred embodiment, but this embodiment is
much
deeper (i.e. size in the z direction).
Figure 1 OA shows a top view of a transparent overlay haptic device 10F in
«ccordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention. Figure 10B shows
a
1o schematic side view of the transparent overlay haptic device 10F. The
device 10F
retains two and one half degrees of freedom and also reduces the size of the
device.
The device 10F has a clear plastic overlay 100, which wraps around a frame 102
which houses the LCD display 104. In Figures 1 OA and 10B, the frame 102 is
coated
by Teflon. Attached to the clear plastic overlay 100 on the underside of the
frame 102
is a magnet, electromagnet or a series of magnetslelectromagnets. In Figures
10A
and 10B, a magnetic ring 106 is attached to the underside of the frame 102. As
the
user moves the clear plastic overlay 100 via the finger rest 108 (which is
optional if
there is sufficient friction between the user's finger and the device 1 OF),
the attached
magnets/electromagnets move relative to the Teflon frame 102.. By actuating
the
2o electromagnet or by actuating external electromagnets, haptic effects are
applied to
the user's finger. For example, if the frame 102 is metallic, a braking force
could be
employed by simply actuating an attached electromagnet. This device 10F can be
augmented with a homing device to return the finger rest to a predefined
position.
This device 10F has the potential to be very compact and versatile.
In each of the above embodiments, the user's finger position was determined
using a touch sensitive LCD. If a simpler, non-touch sensitive LCD is to be
used, then
other position sensors are required. There are two types of position sensors
that can
be used; absolute position sensors and relative position sensors.
The absolute position sensors are now described in detail. These types of
3o sensors provide the absolute position of the user's finger. The touch
sensitive LCD
falls into this category. An alternate absolute position sensing method could
be to
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
93
place an array of photodiodes 110 and photo detectors 112 around the outside
of the
display 20 as shown in Figure 11. Then the photo-sensor output could be
monitored,
and when the user's finger interrupts the beam of light, then the x and y
position of the
user can be obtained. Some encoders and potentiometers also .measure absolute
s position and could be used.
The relative position sensors are now described in detail. This class of
position sensors measures the change in position. Examples of sensors that
fall into
this category are optical sensors (e.g. those used in optical mice), encoders
on
rollers, and potentiometers on rollers. While these sensors may be less
expensive
and simpler in design, they require a calibration to be performed to determine
a home
position. All measurements are then taken relative to the determined home
position.
Other display technologies, other than LCD displays can also be used. For
example, Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) displays, Plasma displays, Projection
displays,
or Light Emitting Diode (LED) displays could also be used with this invention.
15 As described above, the device 10 can be made active with the addition of
motors, or other active devices (e.g. solenoids, shape memory alloys,
pneumatics,
hydraulics). With the addition of the active components, the homing mechanism
can
also be removed since the active actuator can drive the overlay to the home
position
after the user removes their finger from the device.
2o A device that is similar to the device 1 OB that would eliminate the need
for
homing of the divot 80 is.now described (referred to as device 10F). In this
embodiment, the device 1 OF is made active with the addition of motors to
drive the
spline axles. Moreover, the position sensing is accomplished with an array of
photo-diodes and photo-sensors. The position sensor is placed far enough from
the
25 display so that as the user's finger approaches the display, the position
is obtained
and the controller drives the motor such that the divot is placed just below
the user's
finger just before contact is made with the display. Once the user's finger is
on the
divot, haptic effects can be felt by actively driving the motors.
The braking schemes of Figures 3A-3B are push rod braking schemes.
so However, alternate braking schemes may include disc braking, locking pin
brakes,
eddy current brakes, or other mechanical braking mechanisms.
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
14
In each of the embodiments previously described, the user was allowed to
initially place their finger at any starting point within the display area. An
alternate
approach would be to make the user always place their finger at a pre-defined
initial
position. This would remove the requirement for calibration of the relative
position
s sensor since the pre-defined initial position would be the home position.
The initial
pre-defined position could be marked with a dimple or rougher texture on the
overlay.
This approach has the drawback that the user must always start from a fixed
point.
According to the embodiment of the present invention, the main advantages
include, but are not limited to the following:
a) The passive embodiment of the device is less expensive than other
conventional
haptic devices since motors are not required.
b) The embodiments described can easily be extended to use motors to implement
more complex haptic effects if desired.
c) The user can primarily rely on the sense of touch to navigate through the
option
~s selection. This further compliments the phenomena known as muscle memory
(the
phenomena that a user can remember where objects are located in space after
repetitive motion). This reduces the amount of attention required to perform
other
tasks, and provides less distraction to the main task.
d) The reconfigurability of the device allows for intuitive design of the user
interface.
2o For example, for adjustment of the mirrors in a vehicle, it may be more
intuitive to use
the knob as a slider instead or using the rotational axis of the knob as an
input.
e) The reconfigurability of the device allows for the customization of the
user
interface.
f) If a touch sensitive display is used, then failure of the haptic portion of
the device
25 (e.g. the overlay breaks, the roller gets stuck) does not prevent the
operation of the
device, since the user can still select options by pressing on the display.
The device 10 and its system 5 can be used in the automotive industry,
aerospace industry, game industry or any other application where several
control
functions are integrated into a single input device and, for specific reasons
(e.g.
3o safety), the user cannot be distracted from other tasks.
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
A document titled "ME481 Final report Haptic Overlay Device", which further
discloses the present invention, is attached (Appendix A).
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and
described, changes and modifications may be made to such embodiments without
5 departing from the true scope of the invention.
CA 02422265 2003-03-14
16
Relevant literature .
[1] Kuenzner, H., Wiedemann, H., "Operating Device for Menu-Controlled
Functions of a Vehicle", US Patent 5,956,016, 21-Sep-99.
[2] Rosenberg, L.B., Riegel, R.J., "Haptic Feedback for Touchpads and
other Touch Controls", US Patent 6,429,846, 06-Aug-02.
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