Patent ID: 7825903

Claim:
An actuator, comprising: a first structural element having mounting structure mountable to a first component; a second structural element having mounting structure mountable to a second component, the first and second structural elements being disposed substantially in a common plane; a first biasing element coupling the first structural element to the second structural element; a first magnetic device carried by the first structural element, the first magnetic device including a first pole piece; and a second magnetic device carried by the second structural element, the second magnetic device including a second pole piece; a first coil disposed about either said first pole piece or said second pole piece or both; wherein the first biasing element is arranged to provide a biasing force opposing an attractive magnetic force that urges the first and second pole pieces together when current is applied to the first coil, and wherein movement of the first pole piece urges movement of the first structural element such that the current applied to the first coil causes a haptic effect to be generated between the first component and the second component.