Stylus with shear force feedback
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorsDavid H. BLOOM, Benjamin G. JACKSON, Steven J. TAYLOR
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Touch-based input devices, such as a stylus, can provide feedback in the form of shear forces applied to the user. A stylus can produce shear forces that act on a user to provide unique tactile sensations. For example, a shear device can be included at a grip region of a stylus to provide shear sensations at the user's hands (e.g., fingers). The shear forces can be unaligned forces that urge one part of the user's hand in one direction and another part of the user's hand in an opposite direction or that tend to maintain the other part of the user's hand in a stationary location.
Claims19
An electronic device comprising:
- a housing comprising bridge segments that are spaced apart from each other to define openings extending through the housing;
- sliding elements positioned within the openings, the bridge segments and the sliding elements defining a portion of an outermost surface of the electronic device, wherein the bridge segments, the openings, and the sliding elements extend parallel to a common axis;
- and
- an actuator configured to controllably move the sliding elements within the openings and relative to the bridge segments.
An electronic device comprising:
- a housing comprising an opening at a grip region of the electronic device;
- and
- a sliding element moveable within the opening and defining a portion of the grip region;
- an actuator configured to controllably move the sliding element within the opening;
- a power source;
- and
- a controller operably connected to the actuator and the power source to control an operation of the actuator, wherein, when the electronic device is moved in a first direction, the controller uses power from the power source to operate the actuator such that the sliding element moves in a second direction that is opposite the first direction to transmit a shear force as an output to a user grasping the housing and the sliding element.
An electronic device comprising:
- a housing comprising bridge segments extending about a common axis and longitudinally spaced apart from each other to define openings extending through the housing;
- sliding elements positioned within the openings, the bridge segments and the sliding elements defining a portion of an outermost surface of the electronic device, wherein the bridge segments, the openings, and the sliding elements extend about the common axis;
- and
- an actuator configured to rotate the sliding elements about the common axis and relative to the bridge segments.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.