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US 2014/0260723 A1Published application
Dynamic mass reconfiguration
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorsColin M. Ely, Avi Hecht
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods involving reconfigurable rotating masses are disclosed. One embodiment may take the form of a system having a motor and coupled weights attached to the motor. Operation of the motor rotates the coupled weights and the weights are dynamically reconfigurable to change the location of the center of mass relative to an axis of rotation.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- a motor;
- a shaft attached to the motor;
- a first weight fixed with respect to the shaft;
- a second weight adjacent the first weight and free to rotate at least partially about the shaft;
- and
- a third weight operationally connected to the first and second weights, the third weight configured to move outwardly from the shaft when a threshold of rotation is reached.
3 more elements
A method for providing a haptic feedback, comprising:
- driving a butterfly mass at a first frequency, the first frequency below a threshold;
- and
- driving the butterfly mass at a second frequency, the second frequency above the threshold;
- wherein
- the haptic feedback is provided at the first frequency but not at the second frequency.
2 more elements
An apparatus for generating a haptic output, comprising:
- a first mass adjacent a shaft;
- a second mass adjacent the shaft;
- a third mass situated between the first and second masses;
- and
- a driver affixed to the shaft;
- wherein
- the driver is operative to rotate at least the first mass around the shaft in response to a rotation of the shaft.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.