Patent Publication Number: US-8542193-B2

Title: One button remote control with haptic feedback

Description:
This is a continuation of and claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/034,758, filed Feb. 21, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,022,933. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to one-button computer input devices, and more particularly to one-button remote controls with haptic feedback for TVs and the like. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Data input devices such as TV remote controls typically include depressible buttons that users can manipulate to input commands, such as channel up/down, etc. Touch pad-like input devices have been provided in which the buttons do not physically move, but are simply touched by hand to input commands. While these devices provide advantages over mechanical buttons, users may prefer the tactile feedback that mechanical buttons provide. Furthermore, current touch-pad like input devices typically model conventional remote controls with mechanical buttons by providing the same multiplicity of touch keys as are provided on conventional remote controls, which defeats one potential advantage of touch-pad like devices, namely, the ability through software to reduce the number of components that must be incorporated into the device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A TV remote control system includes a portable hand-held housing and a wireless transmitter supported by the housing. A processor is supported by the housing and provides signals for wireless transmission by the transmitter. A touch surface on the housing is exposed to a user&#39;s touch, with a pressure sensor array supported on the housing below the touch surface providing input signals to the processor in response to pressure from a person&#39;s finger on the touch surface. Also, a haptic membrane assembly is disposed between the touch surface and pressure sensor array and is selectively moved by the processor in response to finger pressure on the pad. A display presents an image of a remote control key array based on signals from the processor responsive to finger pressure on the pad. If desired, the image may present more keys than are on the housing. Indeed, in one non-limiting implementation the touch surface is the only input device on the housing. 
     The display can be associated with a TV receiving signals from the transmitter. Or, the display can be supported on the housing of the remote control. 
     One non-limiting membrane assembly includes an array of individually inflatable fluid sacs. Each sac is associated with a respective valve controlled by the processor to inflate and deflate to provide haptic feedback of a finger moving over emulated button boundaries, with the sac actuation thus being in response to finger pressure on the touch surface. 
     Another non-limiting membrane assembly includes an array of individually movable diaphragms that are moved by electrostatic force or an array of electromagnetic coils. 
     With more specificity, in response to a non-sliding, rolling motion of a finger on the pad, the processor selectively moves the haptic membrane assembly to propagate a wave across the pad as a haptic model of a finger moving across a boundary of a mechanical data input key. Moreover, the non-limiting display presents indication (such as cursor position) of which key in the image of a remote control key array is modeled as the key currently associated with the touch surface. In this way, the touch surface is associated, with a sequence, of two or more keys in the image of a remote control key array as a finger moves as by slightly rolling on the touch surface. 
     In another aspect, a method of data entry includes providing a touch surface on an input device, and sensing changing pressure as a user moves a finger on the touch surface. The method further includes providing haptic feedback through the touch surface of emulated finger motion on a notional keypad in response to the changing pressure. Visual feedback is provided on a display of emulated finger motion on a notional keypad in response to the changing pressure, with the visual feedback being keyed to the haptic feedback. 
     In yet another aspect, an input system has a touch surface and a deformable haptic assembly below the touch surface and in contact with the touch surface. A user placing a finger on the touch surface can feel deformation of the assembly. A pressure sensing assembly is below the haptic assembly to sense motion of a finger on the touch surface. A processor receives input from the pressure sensing assembly and provides output to the haptic assembly in response, while a display receives input sent by the processor in response to input from the pressure sensing assembly to cause the display to present a changing image of a keypad as a user moves a finger on the touch surface. 
     The details of the present invention, both as to its structure and operation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION. OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a first environment in which present principles may be used, showing a TV remote control with input pad for sending commands to a TV system; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a second environment in which present principles may be used, showing an input pad for a computer; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of a third environment in which present principles may be used, showing an input pad for a wireless telephone; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a non-limiting pressure sensor array, supported on a substrate such as a circuit board in the housing of the remote control shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view similar to  FIG. 4 , schematically showing the area of pressure on the sensor array from a person&#39;s finger; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view similar to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , schematically showing the area of pressure on the sensor array from a person&#39;s finger when the person rolls the finger slightly to induce a motion vector; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic plan view of one non-limiting implementation of the haptic membrane as established by plural inflatable fluid sacs in an array that is disposed on top of the pressure array shown in  FIGS. 4-6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic plan view similar to  FIG. 7  illustrating how a non-round button shape can be modeled by the haptic membrane; 
         FIG. 9  is a flow chart of general non-limiting logic that may be used; and 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic plan view of another non-limiting implementation of the haptic membrane as established by plural electrostatic diaphragms in an array that is disposed on top of the pressure array shown in  FIGS. 4-6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , a system is shown, generally designated  10 , that includes a TV remote control  12  with a housing  14  that bears a wireless transmitter  16  such as an infrared or radiofrequency transmitter for transmitting commands such as channel up/down, volume up/down, and the like to a TV system  18  having a wireless receiver  20 . The remote control housing  14  also bears a remote processor  22  that can access a tangible computer-readable medium  24  that may store code executable by the processor  22  for undertaking logic disclosed herein. The medium  24  may be, without limitation, solid state memory, disk-based memory, or other appropriate memory, permanently housed in the remote control  12  or removably engaged therewith. The remote control housing  14  can also support a visual display  26  and a touch surface  28  in accordance with present principles. The touch surface may be made of a touch pad material and may be a planar sheet of material that overlays the structure described below. As shown, the touch surface  28  may be a single button-sized input element that operates in accordance with disclosure below to provide cursor and entry input to the processor  22 , which can control the display  26  in response. 
     The TV system  18  may also have a TV processor  30  that can access a TV computer readable medium  32  to control a TV display  34  and a TV tuner  36  in response to signals sent from the receiver  20 . The TV processor  30 , in addition to or in cooperation with the remote processor  22 , can execute logic herein, all or parts of which may be stored on the TV medium  32 . In some implementations the TV system  18  may also include a wide area computer network interface  38  for receiving audio-video streams from, e.g., the Internet. It is to be understood that the components of the TV system  18  may be supported in aa TV chassis, or some of the components may be supported in a separately housed set-top box or other receiver that is electrically connected, to the TV processor  30 . 
     As shown, the TV display  34  can present an image  40  of a notional keypad with plural keys  42 . In addition or alternatively, the image  40  can be presented on the remote display  26 . As described further below, while only a single key-like touch surface  28  need be provided on the remote control  12 , slight motion of a person&#39;s finger on the touch surface  28  as by pressing in a direction of intended cursor motion can result in the image  40  changing (e.g., by moving a screen cursor) to indicate emulated finger motion over plural notional keys  42 , and this visual feedback of simulated motion is accompanied by coordinated haptic feedback representing finger motion over discrete mechanical key structure and generated through the touch surface  28  as described further below. 
     While one embodiment contemplates a TV remote control application as shown in  FIG. 1 , as shown in  FIG. 2  a touch surface  28   a  in accordance with present principles may be provided on a computer  50  such as a notebook computer with input keyboard  52 , processor  54 , and computer readable medium  56 . The processor  54  can display images on a monitor  58  in accordance with present principles. 
     Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 3  a touch surface  28   b  in accordance with present principles may be provided on a wireless telephone  60  with wireless telephony transceiver  62 , processor  64 , and computer readable medium  66 . The processor  64  can display images on a display  68  in accordance with present principles. 
       FIGS. 4-8  show non-limiting details of one embodiment of the touch surface  28  using the embodiment of  FIG. 1  as an example, it being understood that the touch surface embodiments of  FIGS. 2 and 3  are configured and function similarly. An array  70  of pressure sensors  72  such as, e.g., force sensing resistors (FSR) or other appropriate pressure sensor may be supported on a substrate  74  such as a circuit board in the remote control housing  14 . The array  70  lies directly beneath the touch surface  28 , with the below-described haptic membrane assembly intervening but still transmitting pressure from the surface of the touch surface  28  to the array  70 . While an array of plural sensors  72  is shown, an array of a single sensor that can detect motion in accordance with principles herein may be used. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , finger pressure, illustrated as a circle  76 , may be transmitted through the touch surface  28  to the array  70 . When a person moves the finger slightly as by slightly rolling it or, from another point of view, by pressing in an x-y direction on the touch surface without sliding the skin on the touch surface, the varying signals from the sensors  72  are sent to the processor  22 , which derives a direction of finger motion represented by a vector.  78  as shown in  FIG. 6 . This can be done relatively simply, e.g., in the example shown in  FIG. 6 , increasing pressure on the upper right sensor  72  of the array  70  indicates motion to the upper right as indicated by the vector. The magnitude of the vector may be determined based on the rapidity of pressure change in the x-y plane, with faster change indicating greater magnitude, or on magnitude of pressure in the z-dimension, with greater pressure indicating greater vector magnitude. Some combination of these may be used. 
     Once the vector of finger pressure motion is established, a cursor on the remote display  26  and/or the TV display  34  is caused to move relative to the image  40  of notional keys, in effect causing the image to change. Cursor motion is in the direction of the vector and may proceed at one speed on the display or at a speed that is proportional to the magnitude of the vector. Cursor motion may proceed, for instance, as long as finger pressure is sensed on the touch surface  28 . In this way, the user is presented with visual feedback of emulated finger motion on the notional keypad in response to the sensed changing pressure. As intended herein, the visual feedback is keyed to haptic feedback. 
     Accordingly and turning now to  FIGS. 7 and 8  to understand how haptic feedback of cursor motion is generated, a haptic membrane assembly  80  is disposed directly under the touch surface  28  between the pressure sensors and touch surface. The assembly  80  can be inflatable and can be selectively inflated by the processor  22  in response to finger pressure on the touch surface as described in the following paragraphs. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the membrane assembly  80  includes an array of individually inflatable fluid sacs  82 . The sacs  82  may be inflated with air or other gas or with a liquid. Each sac  82  is associated with a respective electro-mechanical valve  84  the electrical portion of which is electrically connected to the processor  82  by preferably two crossing electrodes in a control matrix  86 , such that each valve  84  is individually addressable to open or close to inflate and deflate its respective sac  82 . To this end, a small fluid pump and/or source of vacuum may be in fluid communication with the valves  84 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , in response to, for instance, non-sliding, rolling motion of a finger on the touch surface  29 , the processor  22  moves the screen cursor and furthermore in coordination therewith selectively inflates the sacs  82  of the haptic membrane assembly  80  to propagate waves across the assembly that are transmitted to the touch surface  28  as a haptic model of a finger moving across a boundary of a simulated mechanical data input key  90 . That is, some sacs  92  are inflated and other sacs  94  are not as required to establish a raised periphery of the key  90 , in the case shown, an oval “enter” key, an image of which simultaneously would be presented on the display  26 / 34 . As pressure signals indicate that the cursor moves, the sacs  82  are inflated and deflated as necessary to cause the periphery of the key  90  to move across the touch surface  28  in a direction opposite to cursor motion to emulate what the user were to feel were he sliding his finger past a discrete key on a multi-key input device. 
     Once the user has by means of stationary finger motion stopped cursor motion to position the cursor over a desired key on the image  40 , he can exert greater pressure or tap the touch surface or input some other predefined tactile signal to indicate clicking the key. In response, the sacs  82  may be deflated accordingly to simulate a mechanical key moving downward when a user presses it. 
     Thus, by selecting an appropriate sac  82  granularity the surface of the touch surface  28  can be made to change to emulate the shape of a button, for instance, as if a finger were moving across the flat to over the button. The skilled artisan may now recognize, however, that the finger actually is stationary (apart from the minor rolling motion) and the “button shape” moves like a wave across the array  80  analogous to the location of the cursor as it moves across the display. 
     This allows users to essentially glide a digit across a button panel without actually moving the digit as the “panel is seemingly moving under the digit”. 
     Now referring to  FIG. 9 , commencing at block  100  signals representing finger pressure from a finger on the touch surface  28  are received from the pressure sensor array  70 . The finger pressure on the touch surface  28 , in other words, propagates through the haptic membrane assembly  80  to the pressure sensor array  70 . At block  102  these signals are converted to cursor motion as described above, and at block  104  the cursor and image  40  of notional keys are displayed on one or both of the remote display  26  and TV display  34 . Keyed to the visual feedback provided by the display at block  104  is the generation of haptic feedback at block  106  as described. 
       FIG. 10  shows another haptic membrane assembly  200  that uses an array of individually movable elements  202  that are electrostatically or magnetically movable relative to respective stationary elements  204 . In one implementation the movable elements  202  are diaphragms that are moved by electrostatic repulsion and attraction, in lieu of the inflatable sacs described above. Each diaphragm is disposed between the touch surface and a respective stationary element  204  that may be embodied as an electrostatic substrate. The diaphragms are individually biased toward and away from (i.e., attracted to and repulsed from) their respective substrates by selectively energizing and deenergizing electrodes  206  in a control matrix to electrostatically move the diaphragms. In one implementation, the diaphragms are permanently charged and the electrodes  206  selectively energize the substrates. In another implementation, the substrates are permanently charged and the electrodes  206  selectively energize the diaphragms. 
     The diaphragms and substrates may be square-shaped and formed complementarily to each other as shown, or they may assume other shapes and they need not be shaped complementarily to each other. In an alternate embodiment the substrates are not stationary and both the diaphragms and substrates may be individually charged to obtain a stronger repulsion field (and, hence, stronger haptic feedback) by charging each side with the same potential. 
     In another implementation, the movable elements  202  are addressable electromagnetic coils and the stationary elements  204  are permanent magnets in a film. 
     While the particular ONE BUTTON REMOTE CONTROL WITH HAPTIC FEEDBACK is herein shown and described in detail, it is to be understood that the subject matter which is encompassed by the present invention is limited only by the claims.