Systems and methods for generating damped electromagnetically actuated planar motion for audio-frequency vibrations
AssigneeTaction Technology, Inc.
InventorSilmon James Biggs
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vibration module for applying vibrational tractions to a wearer's skin is presented. Use of the vibration module in headphones is illustrated for providing tactile sensations of low frequency for music, for massage, and for electrical recording and stimulation of the wearer. Damped, planar, electromagnetically-actuated vibration modules of the moving magnet type are presented in theory and reduced to practice, and shown to provide a substantially uniform frequency response over the range 40-200 Hz with a minimum of unwanted audio.
Claims42
A vibration module for generating damped electromagnetically actuated planar motion, the module comprising:
- at least one conductive coil;
- at least one magnet arranged in operative proximity to the coil;
- a moveable member coupled to one of the at least one conductive coil and the at least one magnet;
- a suspension that guides the moveable member with respect to the other one of the at least one conductive coil and the at least one magnet;
- and
- a damping member in structural communication with the moveable member, wherein the damping member flattens the acceleration response of the module to a Q-factor of less than 1.5, over the frequency range of 40-200 Hz in response to steady-state sinusoidal signals applied to the at least one coil.
A system for imparting shear vibrations, the system comprising:
- at least one vibration module, each module comprising:
- at least one conductive coil;
- at least one magnet arranged in operative proximity to the coil;
- a moveable member coupled to one of the at least one conductive coil and the at least one magnet;
- a suspension that guides the moveable member with respect to the other one of the at least one conductive coil and the at least one magnet;
- and
- means for damping motion of the moveable member, wherein the means for damping motion of the moveable member flattens the acceleration response of the at least one vibration module to a Q-factor of less than 1.5, over the frequency range of 40-200 Hz in response to steady-state sinusoidal signals applied to the at least one coil;
- and
- an apparatus for imparting vibratory motion of the at least one vibration module to a user's skin in a plane substantially parallel to a user's skin.
A method for speeding a user's spatial reaction time and preserving the user's hearing, the method comprising:
- affixing at least one electromagnetic actuator to a head-mounted audio display;
- driving said actuator to apply shear vibration to a portion of the user's skin in proportion to sub-200 Hz frequencies present in an acoustic signal played by the audio display;
- and
- damping the motion of said actuator to achieve an acceleration response of said actuator to a Q-factor of less than 1.5.
A vibration module for generating damped electromagnetically actuated planar motion, the module comprising:
- at least one conductive coil;
- at least one magnet arranged in operative proximity to the coil;
- a moveable member coupled to one of the at least one conductive coil and the at least one magnet;
- a suspension that guides the moveable member with respect to the other one of the at least one conductive coil and the at least one magnet;
- and
- a damping member in structural communication with the moveable member, wherein the vibration module sustainably urges, at least ten times per second, the moveable member with mass, m, through a displacement, x, and wherein together the mass and displacement have a product that is at least mx=1×10−5 kg-m.
A vibration module for generating damped electromagnetically actuated planar motion, the module comprising:
- at least one conductive coil;
- at least one magnet arranged in operative proximity to the coil;
- a moveable member coupled to one of the at least one conductive coil and the at least one magnet;
- a suspension that guides the moveable member with respect to the other one of the at least one conductive coil and the at least one magnet;
- a damping member in structural communication with the moveable member;
- and
- a housing encapsulating the at least one conductive coil, the at least one magnet, the moveable member, the suspension, and the damping member, wherein both the movable member and the housing are comprised of at least one compliant material with a Young's modulus of less than 50 MegaPascal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.