Motorola Corporation

Motorola Mobility LLC

Google Inc.

David B Cranfill

David S Brenner

Michael Olley

Michael E Caine

Mark Frederick Valentine

Rachid M Alameh

Thomas E Gitzinger

Daniel J Sadler

Jason Darrell McIntosh

Daniel Harley Wagner

Chad Austin Phipps

Sandeep Vuppu

Arthur Gerald Herkert

Michael Bohan

Scott K Isabelle

Ronald Crochiere

Dodge Daverman

Rindala Saliba

Richard Thrush

Xiaohua Ning

Sandra J Guzman

Kesavarajan Kaliyaperumal

Eric V Tashakkor

Susan L Tuttle

Zubin Parikh

Michael F Olley

A quantum tunneling composite, or other material exhibiting changing electrical or magnetic properties as force on the material is increased, can be located within a force concentrator integrated into traditional touch screen layers to sense force applied on the touch screen. The force concentrator can be a protrusion from the layer planes of the layers in a traditional touch screen and can be formed, at least in part, from printed elements. The amount of protrusion of the force concentrator can be adjusted through multi-pass printing and thicker deposit printing. The force concentrator can also have optically clear adhesive layered over it. The force-sensitive material can be optionally pre-loaded so as to operate within a substantially linear feedback range. A sensing mechanism can be configured to detect changes in force at multiple locations or to detect the application of force irrespective of location.

Printed force sensor within a touch screen

An electronic device is provided, which comprises one or more light groupings, each light grouping including one or more light sources, and audio processing circuitry adapted for interpreting an audio file. The audio file includes one or more instrument definitions exclusively assigned to a corresponding one of the one or more light groupings. The audio file further includes one or more note definitions associated with at least one of the one or more instrument definitions exclusively assigned to the corresponding one of the one or more light groupings, where a value associated with each of the one or more note definitions controls the color displayed by the one or more light sources within the associated exclusively assigned light grouping. In some instances, one or more commands for the instrument definitions assigned to the corresponding one of the one or more light groupings can include commands for at least one of volume definitions, note velocity definitions and modulation definitions, wherein the light intensity of the color displayed by the one or more light sources is controlled in accordance with the at least one of the volume definitions, note velocity definitions and modulation definitions. In some instances, the note definitions can include relative start times and end times, which when associated with the instrument definitions assigned to each of the one or more lighting groups affects the start time and the end time of the illumination of the light sources within the corresponding light grouping.

Electronic device for controlling lighting effects using an audio file

A touch sensor integrated with a keyboard spacebar. A touchpad zone can be defined on a portion of a planar surface of a spacebar. The touchpad zone can be configured to detect movement of a human appendage across the touchpad zone, or above the touchpad zone, and generate a corresponding signal from the keyboard that causes corresponding movement of a cursor presented on a display. In another embodiment, a touchpad can be positioned over the spacebar. The touchpad can be slidably engaged to the keyboard to facilitate user positioning of the touchpad over a desired portion of the spacebar.

Touch sensor integrated with a keyboard spacebar

A stylus () is configured for actively interacting with a touch-sensitive interface () by injecting or sinking charge in response to a touch-detection signal emitted from the touch-sensitive interface (). One stylus () includes a stylus body () and a compound tip () extending axially from the stylus body (). The compound tip () can include a center electrode () that is configured to detect electric field variations from the touch-sensitive interface () and a shroud electrode () that is concentrically disposed about the center electrode (). An active circuit () coupled between the center electrode () and the shroud electrode () is configured to apply a gain to the detected electric field variations and to change a potential of the shroud electrode () synchronously with the electric field variations detected by the center electrode ().

Active stylus for use with touch-sensitive interfaces and corresponding method

An apparatus () including two housings and a piezoelectric transducer is disclosed. The apparatus may include a first housing (), a hinge () coupled to the first housing, and a second housing () coupled the first housing via the hinge. The first housing can have a closed position when the first housing is substantially adjacent to the second housing and the first housing can have an open position when a portion of the first housing is substantially away from the second housing. The apparatus can also include a first piezoelectric element () coupled to the second housing where the first piezoelectric element can be substantially in contact with the first housing when the first housing is in the closed position. The apparatus can further include a user interface () coupled to the second housing and a controller () coupled to the first piezoelectric element and the user interface. The controller can drive the first piezoelectric element to cause the first housing to vibrate against the second housing when the first housing is in the closed position. The controller can also drive the first piezoelectric element to provide tactile feedback in response to user activation of the user interface.

Apparatus including two housings and a piezoelectric transducer

An audio file format is provided, which includes definitions for one or more instruments that are associated with one or more light groupings, where each light grouping includes one or more light sources. Received commands present in the audio file, and associated with an instrument definition, are compared to determine if the associated instrument definition corresponds to one of the one or more light groupings. If the associated instrument definition corresponds to a light grouping, then the commands are mapped to corresponding display effects, and the illumination of the one or more light sources of the respective light grouping is controlled. If the associated instrument definition of the received command corresponds to an audio instrument, then an audible output is controlled in accordance with the received command.

Audio file format with mapped lighting effects and method for controlling lighting effects using an audio file format

A capacitive force sensor () includes a substrate () having at least one electrode pair () defining a capacitance disposed thereon. The substrate () is fixed relative to a first plate (). A drive circuit () is configured to apply a voltage relative to a circuit ground () to the electrode pair (). The first plate () is separated from a second plate () that is coupled to circuit ground () by a compliance member (). The compliance member () is configured to oppose a compression force () while allowing the first plate () to physically move relative to the second plate (). A capacitive detection circuit () is then configured to detect a change the capacitance when the compliance member () is compressed. The compression force () is then determined from the change in capacitance and the spring constant of the compliance member ().

Single sided capacitive force sensor for electronic devices

A scrolling user interface comprises proportional scrolling responsive to contact in a proportional zone of a scrolling strip and multi-mode scrolling in response to contact in a multi-mode zone of the scrolling strip. Multi-mode scrolling can include proportional scrolling, continuous scrolling, or stepped scrolling.

User interface and method therefor

A circuit () for controlling at least one piezoelectric actuator () includes a piezoelectric drive circuit () that generates unidirectional voltage drive signal, also referred to as V, at node (). The piezoelectric actuator drive circuit () includes a boost switcher circuit or charging circuit (), a buck switcher circuit or pulsed current sink discharge circuit () and a control signal generating circuit () that receives an input control signal () from, for example, a keyboard processor or other suitable processor () indicating that the device has requested generation of haptic feedback utilizing the piezoelectric actuator (). The control signal generating circuit () provides at least two pulse-with-modulated control signals, one to control the charging circuit and one to control the discharging circuit to produce the unidirectional voltage drive signal, that in one example is a raised cosine drive signal ().

Electronic device and circuit for providing tactile feedback

A sound system assembly for use in a hand held device is provided. The sound system assembly includes a pair of transducers, and a corresponding pair of manifolds, which redirect the sound produced by the transducers away from the front or back surface of the device toward respective side facings of the hand held device. By redirecting the sound produced by the transducers, the apparent source of each audio source, corresponding to the respective opening in each of the sides of the hand held device through which the sound waves exit the device, is displaced further apart horizontally.

Stereo imaging manifold and method for use in a portable electronic device

Multi-function transducers () that are suitable for use in handheld devices such as cellular telephones () and are capable of emitting audio, and generating accelerations of sufficient magnitude, and at frequencies that can be sensed by tactile sensation and which exhibit resonant modes that are characterized by center frequencies within a frequency range that can be sensed by tactile sensation, and specifically located between two musical notes on a musical scale are provided. Devices () including such transducer are provided, and methods of operating such transducers are provided.

Multifunction transducer

A method for dynamically controlling audio signal gain in a communication device starts with determining a level of an input audio signal. The level is then mapped against a table of predetermined corresponding gain targets to determine an appropriate gain target for that level. The gain targets are then applied to the audio signal, which is then output. The invention is particularly suited to speakerphone operation in a communication device, wherein the gain targets provide compression, expansion or limiting so that distant speakers can be heard clearly.

Dynamic gain control of audio in a communication device

A portable electronic device () includes a vibrating transducer having a resilient support and a first mass supported by the first resilient support forming a mechanical resonator, and an electrical circuit coupled to the first vibrating transducer to apply a drive signal. A plurality of tactile vibration transducers () can work in unison to produce strong tactile stimulus ().

Tactile transducers and method of operating

The invention concerns a method () and a system () for ensuring audio safety in an audio device (). The system includes a processor (), a sensor (), an analog safety circuit () and a first feedback loop (). The processor is programmed to output an acoustic output signal (), the sensor monitors the acoustic output signal and the analog safety circuit is coupled to an output of the processor. The first feedback loop feeds the monitored acoustic signal from the sensor to the analog safety circuit. The analog safety circuit adjusts from a first level () to a second level () the acoustic output signal when the acoustic output signal exceeds a predetermined safety threshold () such that the audio device has an output capacity that is capable of driving a sound pressure level of the acoustic output signal above the predetermined safety threshold.

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Sparta, NJ, United States of America

David B Cranfill