EP-4735133-A2 - BROADBAND HAPTIC SYSTEM

Abstract

Described herein is a broadband haptic system for a controller of a controller system to provide enhanced haptic functionality. A control, such as a trackpad, of the controller may include a cover, a circuit board disposed behind the cover and coupled to the cover, a haptic actuator mounted to the circuit board, and a spring disposed behind the cover, the spring being coupled to the cover and mounted to a housing of the controller. The haptic actuator is configured to vibrate and the spring is configured to deflect bidirectionally in response to a vibration of the haptic actuator. Furthermore, the haptic actuator has a first resonant frequency, and the control has a second resonant frequency different than the first resonant frequency to provide a broadband haptic system for the controller.

Inventors

• WHIPPLE, Lucas Allen
• KARSTENS, Richard

Assignees

• Valve Corporation

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20240815

Claims (20)

1. 1. A controller system comprising: a processor; and a controller comprising: a housing; and a trackpad configured to be operated by a finger of a user of the controller, the trackpad comprising: a cover; a circuit board disposed behind the cover and coupled to the cover; a haptic actuator mounted to the circuit board and configured to vibrate in response to a control signal from the processor, wherein the haptic actuator has a first resonant frequency; and a spring disposed behind the cover, coupled to the cover, and mounted to the housing, wherein the spring is configured to deflect bidirectionally in response to a vibration of the haptic actuator, wherein the trackpad has a second resonant frequency different than the first resonant frequency.
2. 2. The controller system of claim 1, wherein the second resonant frequency is defined by a spring constant of the spring, a mass of the cover, a mass of the circuit board, and a mass of one or more components, including the haptic actuator, mounted to the circuit board.
3. 3. The controller system of claim 1, wherein a difference between the first resonant frequency and the second resonant frequency is within a range of about 70 Hertz (Hz) to 160 Hz.
4. 4. The controller system of claim 1, wherein the spring comprises: a first elongate spring arm that is parallel, and adjacent, to a first side of the cover; and a second elongate spring arm that is parallel, and adjacent, to a second side of the cover opposite the first side of the cover.
5. 5. The controller system of claim 4, wherein: the first elongate spring arm adjoins a body of the spring at a first neck region; the second elongate spring arm adjoins the body of the spring at a second neck region; the first neck region and the second neck region are substantially equal in length; and the length is within a range of about 5 millimeters (mm) to 20 mm.
6. 6. A trackpad of a controller, the trackpad comprising: a cover; a circuit board disposed behind the cover and coupled to the cover; a haptic actuator mounted to the circuit board and configured to vibrate, wherein the haptic actuator has a first resonant frequency; and a spring disposed behind the cover, coupled to the cover, and mounted to a housing of the controller, wherein the spring is configured to deflect bidirectionally in response to a vibration of the haptic actuator, wherein the trackpad has a second resonant frequency different than the first resonant frequency.
7. 7. The trackpad of claim 6, wherein the second resonant frequency is defined by a spring constant of the spring, a mass of the cover, a mass of the circuit board, and a mass of one or more components, including the haptic actuator, mounted to the circuit board.
8. 8. The trackpad of claim 6, wherein a difference between the first resonant frequency and the second resonant frequency is within a range of about 70 Hertz (Hz) to 160 Hz.
9. 9. The trackpad of claim 6, wherein the spring comprises: a first elongate spring arm that is adjacent to a first side of the cover; and a second elongate spring arm that is adjacent to a second side of the cover opposite the first side of the cover.
10. 10. The trackpad of claim 9, w herein: the first elongate spring arm comprises: a first comer flange at a first end of the first elongate spring arm; and a second comer flange at a second end of the first elongate spring arm; and the second elongate spring arm comprises: a third comer flange at a first end of the second elongate spring arm; and a fourth comer flange at a second end of the second elongate spring arm, wherein the spring is mounted to the housing via the first comer flange, the second comer flange, the third comer flange, and the fourth comer flange.
11. 11. The trackpad of claim 9, wherein: the first elongate spring arm adjoins a body of the spring at a first neck region; and the second elongate spring arm adjoins the body of the spring at a second neck region.
12. 12. The trackpad of claim 11, wherein: the first neck region and the second neck region are substantially equal in length; and the length is within a range of about 5 millimeters (mm) to 20 mm.
13. 13. The trackpad of claim 11, wherein: the first elongate spring arm comprises: a first cantilever extending from the first neck region in a first direction; and a second cantilever extending from the first neck region in a second direction opposite the first direction; and the second elongate spring arm comprises: a third cantilever extending from the second neck region in the first direction; and a fourth cantilever extending from the second neck region in the second direction.
14. 14. The trackpad of claim 6, wherein the spring is configured to apply a biasing force on the cover in an opposite direction to that of a force of a press on the cover by a user of the trackpad.
15. 15. The trackpad of claim 6, wherein the spring is manufactured from a single piece of material.
16. 16. The trackpad of claim 6, wherein the spring is coupled to the cover via: a first side flange of the spring, the first side flange being coupled to a back of the cover at a first side of the cover; and a second side flange of the spring, the second side flange being coupled to the back of the cover at a second side of the cover opposite the first side of the cover.
17. 17. A controller system comprising: a processor; and a controller comprising: a housing; and a control configured to be operated by a finger, the control comprising: a cover; a circuit board disposed behind the cover and coupled to the cover; a haptic actuator mounted to the circuit board and configured to vibrate in response to a control signal from the processor, wherein the haptic actuator has a first resonant frequency; and a spring disposed behind the cover, coupled to the cover, and mounted to the housing, wherein the spring is configured to deflect bidirectionally in response to a vibration of the haptic actuator, wherein the control has a second resonant frequency different than the first resonant frequency.
18. 18. The controller system of claim 17. wherein a difference between the first resonant frequency and the second resonant frequency is within a range of about 70 Hertz (Hz) to 160 Hz.
19. 19. The controller system of claim 17, wherein the spring comprises: a first elongate spring arm that is adjacent to a first side of the cover; and a second elongate spring arm that is adjacent to a second side of the cover opposite the first side of the cover.
20. 20. The controller system of claim 17, wherein the control comprises a trackpad.

Description

BROADBAND HAPTIC SYSTEM CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 18/450,262, filed August 15, 2023. Application Serial No. 18/450,262 is fully incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND [0002] Handheld controllers are used in an array of architectures for providing input, for example, to a local or remote computing device. For instance, handheld controllers are utilized in the gaming industry' to allow players to interact with a gaming application executing on a computing device, such as a game console, a game server, the handheld controller itself, or the like. Furthermore, in order to simulate the sense of touch and motion, some handheld controllers are configured to provide haptic feedback to users. Many haptic systems utilize a single-resonance haptic actuator, such as a linear resonant actuator (LRA) with a single resonant frequency. These haptic systems are able to provide only limited types of haptic feedback. [0003] The disclosure made herein is presented with respect to these and other considerations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0004] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same, or like, reference numbers in different figures indicate similar or identical items. [0005] FIG. 1 A illustrates a perspective view of an example control in the form of a trackpad, the control being shown in the upright orientation in FIG. 1 A. [0006] FIG. IB illustrates a perspective view of the example control of FIG. 1A, the control being shown in the inverted orientation in FIG. IB. [0007] FIG. 1C illustrates another perspective view of the example control of FIG. 1A, the control being shown in the inverted orientation in FIG. 1C. [0008] FIG. ID illustrates a perspective exploded view of the example control of FIG. 1C. [0009] FIG. IE illustrates a front view of the example control of FIG. 1 A. [0010] FIG. IF illustrates a back view of the example control of FIG. 1 A. [0011] FIG. 1G illustrates a side view of the example control of FIG. 1A. [0012] FIG. 1H illustrates another side view of the example control of FIG. 1A. [0013] FIG. 2 illustrates a Bode plot of the impedance magnitude of the example control of FIG. 1 A, the impedance magnitude being a proxy for vibrational acceleration of the control during actuation of the haptic actuator of the control. [0014] FIG. 3 illustrates a Bode plot of the excursion of the example control of FIG. 1 A, the excursion being another proxy for vibrational acceleration of the control during actuation of the haptic actuator of the control. [0015] FIG. 4A illustrates a back view of an example spring of the control of FIG. 1A. [0016] FIG. 4B illustrates a front view of the example spring of FIG. 4A. [0017] FIG. 4C illustrates a side view of the example spring of FIG. 4A. [0018] FIG. 5A illustrates a back view of an example controller with a back panel of the controller housing removed to show example controls mounted to the housing. [0019] FIG. 5B illustrates a zoomed-in view of one of the controls shown in FIG. 5A. [0020] FIG. 6 illustrates a front view of an example controller with example controls for operation by fingers of a user of the controller. [0021] FIG. 7 illustrates example functional components of an example controller system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0022] As mentioned above, handheld controllers are used in a range of environments and include a range of functionality, some controllers including haptic feedback functionality. However, traditional handheld controllers provide only limited types of haptic feedback, which can be due, in part, to a relatively narrow working frequency band of the haptic system implemented in those controllers. [0023] Described herein is, among other things, a broadband haptic system for a controller of a controller system to provide enhanced haptic functionality. The controller has various controls, at least one of the controls including a haptic actuator for providing haptic feedback to a user of the controller. The control with the haptic actuator may further include a spring that is mounted to a housing of the controller, the spring being configured to deflect bidirectionally in response to a vibration of the haptic actuator. As described in more detail below, this spring-mounted control has a resonant frequency that is different than the resonant frequency of the haptic actuator itself. By separating the aforementioned resonant frequencies, the working frequency band of the haptic system is widened (or broadened), thereby creating a broadband haptic system with improved performance, as compared to conventional, narrowband haptic systems. For example, the controller system with the broadband haptic system disclosed herein can impart richer haptic signals to a user of the controller. For e