US 2022/0187922 A1 · Touch Communication Device

Abstract

The present disclosure provides touch communication devices that can convey touch information to a human user and/or receive touch information from the human user. As one example, a touch communication device can include a plurality of tactile units. The touch communication device can individually control each of the tactile units to apply a respective pressure to a surface adjacent to such tactile unit. For example, the touch communication device can control the plurality of tactile units to convey a touch communication to a human user that has the touch communication device adjacent to a portion of his body. As another example, the touch communication device is configured to determine a counter-pressure applied to each tactile unit by the surface adjacent to such tactile unit. The touch communication device can generate information descriptive of a touch communication performed by the human user on the touch communication device.

Claims25

Dependent claims

A touch communication device, comprising:

a plurality of tactile units, wherein each of the tactile units is individually controllable to apply a respective pressure to a surface adjacent to such tactile unit;
a plurality of capacitive sensors configured to measure a capacitance associated with each of the plurality of tactile units, wherein each of the plurality of tactile units is associated with at least one capacitive sensor configured to measure the capacitance of such tactile unit;
and
one or more processors configured to determine a counter-pressure applied to each of the plurality of tactile units based at least in part on the capacitance measured by the at least one capacitive sensor associated with such tactile unit.

1 more element

A wearable touch communication device, comprising:

a plurality of tactile units, wherein each of the tactile units is individually controllable to apply a respective pressure to a surface adjacent to such tactile unit;
a plurality of capacitive sensors configured to measure a capacitance associated with each of the plurality of tactile units, wherein each of the plurality of tactile units is associated with at least one capacitive sensor configured to measure the capacitance of such tactile unit;
and
one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that store instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising:
determining a desired pressure for each of the plurality of tactile units;
determining the capacitance measured by the at least one capacitive sensor associated with each of the plurality of tactile units;
and
controlling each tactile unit to apply its respective desired pressure based at least in part on the capacitance measured by the at least one capacitive sensor associated with such tactile unit.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Touch Communication Device

Life of this patent

Touch Communication Device

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims25