US 10,518,170 B2Granted

Systems and methods for deformation-based haptic effects

AssigneeImmersion Corporation

InventorsVincent Levesque, Danny Grant, Juan Manuel Cruz-Hernandez, Ali Modarres, William Rihn

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Abstract

One illustrative system disclosed herein includes a deformation sensor configured to detect a deformation of a deformable surface and transmit a first sensor signal associated with the deformation. The system also includes a sensor configured to detect a user interaction with a user input device and transmit a second sensor signal associated with the user interaction. The system further includes a processor configured to: receive the first sensor signal; receive the second sensor signal; execute a function based at least in part on the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal. The processor is also configured to: determine a haptic effect based at least in part on the first sensor signal or the second sensor signal; and transmit a haptic signal associated with the haptic effect to a haptic output device configured to receive the haptic signal and output the haptic effect.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A device comprising:

a deformable housing;
a deformation sensor configured to detect an amount of deformation in the deformable housing;
a processor in communication with the deformation sensor;
and
a memory comprising program code that is executable by the processor to cause the processor to:
detect the amount of deformation in the deformable housing using the deformation sensor;
execute a first function in response to detecting that the amount of deformation in the deformable housing exceeds a first threshold;
cause a haptic output device to output a first haptic effect in response to detecting that the amount of deformation in the deformable housing exceeds the first threshold;
execute a second function in response to detecting that the amount of deformation in the deformable housing has fallen from above the first threshold to below the first threshold;
and
cause the haptic output device to output a second haptic effect in response to detecting that the amount of deformation in the deformable housing has fallen from above the first threshold to below the first threshold, wherein the second haptic effect is different from the first haptic effect.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/110,286Filed 23 Aug 2018 · continuation
Priority: 25 Nov 2014
Published: US 2019/0038966 A17 Feb 2019
Granted: 31 Dec 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification20 codes

G06F 3/0416
Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means: control or interface arrangements specially adapted for…
A63F 13/2145
For locating contacts on a surface, e.g. floor mats or touch pads: the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
A63F 13/285
Responding to control signals received from the game device for affecting ambient conditions, e.g. for vibrating players' seats, activating…
A63F 13/42
Processing input control signals of video game devices, e.g. signals generated by the player or derived from the environment: by mapping the input…

Family

Application14/552,987Parent of this continuation · filed 25 Nov 2014
Application15/355,817Parent of this continuation · filed 18 Nov 2016
US 9,535,550 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 3 Jan 2017
US 2019/0038966 A1Pre-grant publication · published 7 Feb 2019
US 10,080,957 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2016/0147333 A1Published application
US 2017/0136350 A1Published application
US 10,518,170 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.