Electrostatic Haptic Actuator and User Interface With an Electrostatic Haptic Actuator

Abstract

One illustrative electrostatic actuator disclosed herein includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a first insulation layer between the first electrode and the second electrode, a first resilient material between the first electrode and the second electrode, a third electrode, a second insulation layer between the second electrode and the third electrode, and a second resilient material between the second electrode and the third electrode. The first electrode and the third electrode receive power from a power supply and responsively generate a first polarity. The second electrode receives power from the power supply and responsively generates a second polarity that is opposite the first polarity. The first polarity and the second polarity generate a first attractive force between the first electrode and the second electrode and a second attractive force between the second electrode and the third electrode. The electrostatic actuator may be part of a user interface.

1 - 28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . A system comprising:
 a curved device having an outer housing with a curvature; and   a haptic actuator configured to generate a haptic effect at a surface of the outer housing, the haptic actuator comprising:
 a first electrode, 
 a second electrode that is separate from the first electrode, 
 a first resilient material between the first electrode and the second electrode, 
 a third electrode that is separate from the first electrode and the second electrode, and 
 a second resilient material between the second electrode and the third electrode, wherein the second resilient material is separate from the first resilient material; and 
   a power supply operatively coupled to the first electrode, the second electrode, and the third electrode, the power supply being configured to generate the haptic effect by creating (i) a first attractive force between the first electrode and the second electrode, and (ii) a second attractive force between the second electrode and the third electrode.   
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 29 , wherein the curved device is a portion of a vehicle. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the curved device includes a dashboard, center console, steering wheel, gear shifter, seat, or door. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 29 , wherein the first resilient material is configured to move the first electrode and the second electrode to respective initial positions, and the second resilient material is configured to move the second electrode and the third electrode to respective initial positions. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 29 , further comprising:
 a first switch electrically coupled between the power supply and the first electrode;   a second switch electrically coupled between the power supply and the third electrode; and   a controller in signal communication with the first switch and the second switch.   
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 29 , further comprising a controller in signal communication with the power supply or a switch, the controller being configured to cause the power supply to be electrically connected to the first electrode, the second electrode, and the third electrode. 
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 29 , further comprising a controller configured to cause a polarity of the second electrode to be reversed to generate repelling forces between the first electrode and the second electrode and between the second electrode and the third electrode. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 29 , further comprising:
 an input device configured to sense an input and transmit a signal associated with the input; and   a controller communicatively coupled to the input device, wherein the controller is configured to cause the power supply to be electrically connected to the first electrode, the second electrode, and the third electrode to generate the first attractive force and the second attractive force in response to receiving the signal from the input device.   
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 29 , wherein the first resilient material is formed from a different type of material than the second resilient material. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 29 , wherein the first resilient material has a first spring constant and the second resilient material has a second spring constant that is different from the first spring constant. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 29 , wherein the first resilient material comprises:
 a first resilient component positioned at a first location between the first electrode and the second electrode; and   a second resilient component positioned at a second location between the first electrode and the second electrode, the second location being different than the first location.   
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 29 , wherein the haptic actuator further comprises a first insulation layer between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a second insulation layer between the second electrode and the third electrode, wherein the second insulation layer is separate from the first insulation layer. 
     
     
         41 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a controller, a sensor signal associated with an input from an input device;   determining, by the controller, a haptic effect based at least in part on the sensor signal; and   causing, by the controller, a power source to transmit power to a first electrode, a second electrode, and a third electrode of a haptic actuator coupled to a curved device, wherein the first electrode is separate from the second electrode, the third electrode is separate from the first electrode and the second electrode, the curved device has an outer housing with a curvature, and the power is configured to cause the haptic actuator to output the haptic effect at least in part by generating a first attractive force between the first electrode and the second electrode and a second attractive force between the second electrode and the third electrode.   
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the curved device is a portion of a vehicle. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein the curved device includes a dashboard, center console, steering wheel, gear shifter, seat, or door. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the curved device is the input device. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 41 , further comprising causing the power source to be electrically disconnected from the haptic actuator,
 wherein a first resilient material is configured to move the first electrode and the second electrode to respective initial positions and a second resilient material is configured to move the second electrode and the third electrode to respective initial positions in response to the power source being electrically disconnected from the haptic actuator.   
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein causing the power source to transmit power to the first electrode comprises operating a first switch electrically coupled between the power source and the first electrode, and wherein causing the power source to transmit power to the third electrode comprising operating a second switch electrically coupled between the power source and the third electrode. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 41 , further comprising causing a polarity of the second electrode to be reversed to generate repelling forces between the first electrode and the second electrode and between the second electrode and the third electrode. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein:
 a first resilient component is positioned at a first location between the first electrode and the second electrode; and   a second resilient component is positioned at a second location between the first electrode and the second electrode, the second location being different than the first location, and the second resilient component being different than the first resilient component.