Apple Inc.

Alex M Lee

Darya Amin-Shahidi

Denis G Chen

Scott A Myers

Prashanth S Holenarsipur

Matthew P Rao

Alex J Speltz

Shingo Yoneoka

Tobias J Harrison-Noonan

Anant Rai

Yi-Heng Sen

Scott D Ridel

Matthew D Hill

Douglas Joseph Weber

Benjamin J Pope

Brian Richards Land

Jared Mitchell Kole

Alex Joseph Lehmann

Simon R Lancaster-Larocque

Brenton A Baugh

Richard A Ruh

Motohide Hatanaka

Muhammad F Hossain

Jia Tao

James R Krogdahl

Yanchu Xu

David S Herman

Stefan C Mag

Patrick S Wieler

Zhong-Qing Gong

Prashanth Reddy Duvvuru Kamakshi

Junyi Yang

Brian Shadle

Etienne Marecal

Anping Guo

Karen M Freer

Erique Paul C Apolinario

James R Kroghdahl

A haptic actuator may include a housing, and a stator fixed to a medial interior portion of the housing. The haptic actuator may also include a field member having an opening receiving the stator therein. The field member may include a frame and at least one permanent magnet carried by the frame. The haptic actuator may also include at least one flexure coupled between an end of the frame and adjacent interior portions of the housing to permit reciprocal movement of the field member within the housing responsive to the stator.

Haptic actuator including a field member having an opening receiving a stator therein and related methods

In one embodiment of the present disclosure a haptic actuator is disclosed. The haptic actuator includes a housing, a movable mass, and a pivot assembly attaching the movable mass to the housing. The pivot assembly defines a pivot axis, and the movable mass has a mass center offset from the pivot axis along a lever arm extending perpendicular to the pivot axis. The haptic actuator includes a spring extending between the movable mass and the housing. The spring stores and releases energy received from movement of the movable mass. The spring prevents full rotation of the movable mass about the pivot axis. The haptic actuator includes an electric coil attached to the movable mass. The electric coil intersects the lever arm. The haptic actuator includes at least one magnet attached to the housing. The magnet is at least partially aligned with the electric coil. The movable mass moves with respect to the at least one magnet when a signal is applied to the coil.

Haptic engine based on angular resonant actuator with pivot axis and mass center that differ

A haptic actuator may include a housing, a stator coupled to a medial interior portion of the housing, and a field member within the housing and having an opening receiving the stator therein. The field member may include a frame, and at least one permanent magnet carried by the frame. The at least one permanent magnet may include side-by-side magnetic segments having alternating magnetic polarizations with at least one non-vertical magnetic polarization transition zone between adjacent magnetic segments.

Haptic actuator including permanent magnet having a non-vertical, magnetic polarization transition zone and related methods

A haptic actuator may include a housing having opposing first and second ends and first and second coils carried by the housing adjacent respective first and second ends thereof. Each coil may have a respective passageway therethrough. The actuator may include a field member including first and second masses adjacent respective first and second ends of the housing, and a permanent magnet having first and second ends coupled to respective ones of the first and second masses. The actuator may also include first and second flexures mounting respective first and second masses to the respective first and second ends of the housing so that the field member is reciprocally movable within the passageways of the coils responsive to powering the coils and so that the ends of the permanent magnet are within respective passageways of the coils when the coils are unpowered.

Haptic actuator including permanent magnet within coil passageways when unpowered and related methods

A head-mountable device can provide a crown module having an input system that allows a user to provide inputs by rotating or otherwise applying torque to a crown of the crown module. The head-mountable device can interpret the rotation and/or torque as a user input. The crown module can further include a feedback system that provides localized haptic feedback at the crown. The haptic feedback can be effectively perceived by the user at the crown without causing the entire head-mountable device to vibrate against the head and/or face of the user.

Crown input and feedback for head-mountable devices

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media provide multiple modes of haptic feedback for an electronic device using a single haptic actuator. Adjusting a parameter (e.g., frequency) of an actuator waveform generated by the single haptic actuator may affect how a mechanical coupling between the haptic actuator and a portion of the electronic device produces a device waveform at that device portion from the actuator waveform. A first mechanical coupling with a first response characteristic (e.g., stiffness or resonance frequency) may be provided between the haptic actuator and a first portion of the electronic device (e.g., a user input component of the electronic device), while a second mechanical coupling with a different second response characteristic may be provided between the haptic actuator and a second portion of the electronic device (e.g., the device housing of the electronic device) to selectively provide localized haptic feedback at the first portion of the electronic device.

Multi-modal haptic feedback for an electronic device using a single haptic actuator

A reluctance haptic engine for an electronic device includes a core, an attractor, and one or more flexible support members. The core and/or the attractor may be coupled to an input structure, such as a button cap, trackpad cover, touchscreen cover, or the like. In an unactuated configuration, flexible support members maintain a gap between the core and the attractor. An electrical current may be applied to one or more conduction loops of the core to actuate the reluctance haptic engine and provide a haptic output by moving the input structure. The electrical current may cause a magnetic flux that results in a reluctance force that pulls the attractor and the core together and causes the input structure to move (e.g., translate, rotate, oscillate, vibrate, or deform) to produce a haptic output.

Reluctance haptic engine for an electronic device

A haptic engine for measuring displacement of the haptic engine's mass uses a single sensing magnet that is carried by the mass along a driving direction. The haptic engine further uses two or more Hall-effect sensors, which are spaced apart (i) from each other along a direction parallel to the driving direction and (ii) from the single sensing magnet along a direction orthogonal to the driving direction, and are disposed adjacent to an ASIC that receives the sensors' output.

Haptic engine having a single sensing magnet and multiple hall-effect sensors

A module includes a permanent magnet biased electromagnetic haptic engine having a stator and a rotor; a constraint coupled to the stator and the rotor; and a force sensor at least partially attached to the permanent magnet biased electromagnetic haptic engine and configured to sense a force applied to the rotor. The constraint is configured to constrain closure of a gap between the rotor and the stator and bias the rotor toward a rest position in which the rotor is separated from the stator by the gap.

Button providing force sensing and/or haptic output

Haptic feedback can be provided to a user via an input device to give a user a richer interaction experience with the input device and host device. The input device can include a magnet and a host device can include an array of coils. The coils can be driven to generate a magnetic field (or one or more magnetic fields) that can exert a force on the input device to provide haptic feedback. In some examples, the haptic feedback can be a push force pushing the input device away from the device or a pull force pulling the input device toward the device. In some examples, the haptic feedback can guide the input device using lateral forces. The haptic feedback described herein can be used for writing, drawing or actuating virtual input controls in a user interface.

Input device with haptic feedback

A module includes a permanent magnet biased electromagnetic haptic engine, a constraint, and a force sensor. The force sensor includes a stator and a shuttle. The constraint is coupled to the stator and the shuttle. The force sensor is at least partially attached to the permanent magnet biased electromagnetic haptic engine and configured to sense a force applied to the module. The constraint is configured to constrain closure of a gap between the stator and the shuttle and bias the shuttle toward a rest position in which the shuttle is separated from the stator by the gap.

A wearable electronic device has a processing unit and a health sensor included in a housing, a band operable to couple the housing to a body part of a user, and a tightness sensor coupled to the band. The tightness sensor is operable to produce a signal indicative of a tightness of the band on the user's body part. The processing unit determines a tightness of the band based on the signal and perform one or more actions based thereon. Such actions may include evaluating the signal for changes in the tightness of the band according to operational tolerances of the health sensor, providing output directing the user to adjust the band to improve operation of the health sensor, monitoring changes in the tightness of the band and adjusting a measurement obtained by the health sensor, and so on.

Band tightness sensor of a wearable device

A haptic actuator may include a housing, at least one coil carried by the housing, and a field member having opposing first and second sides. The haptic actuator may also include a respective flexure bearing mounting each of the first and second sides of the field member to be reciprocally movable within the housing responsive to the at least one coil. At least one of the flexure bearings may include an arm and a damper body attached thereto.

Haptic actuator including damper body and related methods

A wearable electronic device may include a wearable band and audio output transducers carried by the wearable band. The wearable electronic device may also include respective haptic actuators carried by the wearable band and adjacent respective ones of the audio output transducers. A drive circuit may be configured to concurrently drive the audio output transducers with respective first drive signals, and drive the haptic actuators with respective second drive signals different than the first drive signals.

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Alex M Lee