Patent ID: 8269738

Claim:
A touch device for providing tactile feedback to a user, said touch device comprising: a touch panel comprising a display displaying keys constituting a software-defined keypad, said touch panel operable to produce a position signal indicative of a position on said display touched by a user-controlled object; a processor operable in response to said position signal to generate a drive signal when said position on said touch panel corresponds to the key location of one of said keys on said software-defined keypad; and a vibration device operable in response to said drive signal to cause said display to vibrate while said position corresponds to said key location to provide a tactile key location indication to the user; wherein the vibration device is activated to produce vibration by the movement of the user-controlled object from a region devoid of keys to a region that overlaps at least a portion of a key location; wherein said display is planar and said vibration is parallel to the plane of said display; and wherein: said touch device additionally comprises a housing in which said display is compliantly mounted; said vibration device comprises a movable portion, said movable portion and said display constituting a mechanical assembly having a resonant frequency; and said processor is operable to drive said moveable portion at a frequency equal to said resonant frequency of said mechanical assembly.