Patent ID: 8624839

Claim:
A tactile-feedback imparting mousepad comprising: a support surface presented to support a mouse for mousing thereon by a user, the mouse having a plane with conductive properties; and a tactile-feedback actuation mechanism operably associated with the support surface, the actuation mechanism including: a pair of planes, which have conductive properties, held in a spaced-apart position relative to each other and with a defined gap therebetween, wherein at least one of the pair of planes is operatively associated with the support surface, the actuation mechanism being configured to permit at least one of the planes to move relative to the other effective to provide tactile feedback to the user via the support surface and through the mouse while the user is engaged with the mouse; a return mechanism operably associated with at least one of the pair of planes, the return mechanism being configured to return the pair of planes, after a movement of the planes relative to each other, back to the spaced-apart position relative to each other and restore the defined gap therebetween; and drive logic operably connected to the actuation mechanism and configured to drive the planes with an electrical signal to cause a permitted movement of at least one of the planes relative to the other of the planes effective to provide tactile feedback to the to the user via the support surface and through the mouse while the user is engaged with the mouse; wherein the drive logic is further configured to compress the support surface between the mouse and actuation mechanism by attracting the mouse's plane towards one or more of the pair of planes of the actuation mechanism while the mouse is supported by the support surface, the attraction being driven by the electrical signal of the drive logic.