Patent ID: 9454229
Filing Date: 2016-09-27
CPC Classification: G06F

Claim Text:
1. A method that generates a tactile presentation which indicates time on a mobile device, which method comprises: providing a mobile device that is operated by a touch screen, with the touch screen including functionality to be able to be activated to electrovibrate in at least one portion thereof; receiving electrical signals specifying a current time on the touch screen; and generating electrovibrations that vary in response to the current time to provide haptic feedback to indicate a tactile presentation of the current time, wherein the electrovibrations are achieved by configuring the touch screen to include a glass plate that is topped with a transparent electrode and an insulator, so that when the insulator is contacted by a user's finger, electrical impulses are generated to provide the tactile presentation as haptic feedback to the user; wherein the haptic feedback is configured to emulate shapes comprising either a numeric character in a predetermined location that represents elapsed minutes, or a discernable shape in a sector location disposed on a portion of the touch screen, with the haptic feedback of each shape being indicative of a particular grouping of a plurality of minutes, wherein 2 to 12 locations are provided to represent groupings of 30 to 5 minutes, respectively, so that a user by contacting the touch screen can sense the numeric character or shape generated by the haptic feedback and determine the time elapsed within an hour without having to view the touch screen.