System including piezoelectric capacitor assembly having force-measuring, touch-sensing, and haptic functionalities

A system, comprising:

• a piezoelectric capacitor assembly comprising:
• a piezoelectric member;
• and
• one or more piezoelectric capacitors located at respective lateral positions along the piezoelectric member, each of the piezoelectric capacitors comprising:
• (1) a respective portion of the piezoelectric member, (2) a first electrode, and (3) a second electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode being positioned on opposite sides of the piezoelectric member at the respective portion of the piezoelectric member;
• and
• a signal processing circuitry coupled to the piezoelectric capacitor assembly;
• wherein each of the piezoelectric capacitors is configurable by the signal processing circuitry as one or more of the following:
• piezoelectric force-measuring element (PFE), piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer (PUT) in transmit mode, PUT in receive mode, and haptic transmitter;
• when configured as a PFE, the respective piezoelectric capacitor is configured to output voltage signals between the respective first electrode and the respective second electrode (PFE voltage signals) in accordance with a time-varying strain at the respective portion of the piezoelectric member between the respective first electrode and the respective second electrode resulting from a low-frequency mechanical deformation, the signal processing circuitry being configured to read at least some of the PFE voltage signals;
• when the respective piezoelectric capacitor is configured as a PUT in transmit mode, the signal processing circuitry is configured to generate first transmitter voltage signals that are applied between the respective first electrode and the second electrode of the respective piezoelectric capacitor, upon which the respective piezoelectric capacitor transmits ultrasound signals of a first frequency F1, in longitudinal mode(s) propagating along a normal direction approximately normal to the piezoelectric member;
• when configured as a PUT in receive mode, the respective piezoelectric capacitor is configured to output, in response to ultrasound signals of the first frequency F1 arriving along the normal direction, first receiver voltage signals between the respective first electrode and the respective second electrode, the signal processing circuitry being configured to read at least some of the first receiver voltage signals;
• and
• when the respective piezoelectric capacitor is configured as a haptic transmitter, the signal processing circuitry is configured to generate haptic voltage signals that are applied between the respective first electrode and the respective second electrode of the respective piezoelectric capacitor, upon which the respective haptic transmitter vibrates at a haptic vibration frequency FH, the haptic vibration frequency FH being in a range of 100 Hz to 1 kHz.