User interface system

摘要

A user interface system of one embodiment includes a layer defining a surface; a substrate supporting the layer and at least partially defining a cavity; a displacement coupled to the cavity that expands the cavity, thereby deforming a particular region of the surface; and a touch sensor coupled to the substrate and adapted to sense a user touch proximate the particular region of the surface. The layer and the substrate are connected at an attachment point, and the location of the attachment point relative to the layer, substrate, and cavity at least partially defines the shape of the deformed particular region of the surface.

主权项

1. A user interface comprising:
a substrate defining a cavity and a fluid channel fluidly coupled to the cavity; a tactile layer comprising a first region and a deformable region adjacent the first region, the first region coupled to the substrate, the deformable region adjacent the cavity, a first portion of the deformable region adjacent the first region, a second portion of the deformable region adjacent the first portion of the deformable region and coincident a center of the deformable region, the tactile layer defining a tactile surface across the deformable region and the first region and opposite the substrate, the first region exhibiting a first flexibility, and the second region exhibiting a second flexibility greater than the first flexibility across the tactile surface, wherein the tactile layer at the deformable region defines a second thickness greater than the first thickness across the first region; and a displacement device displacing fluid through the fluid channel and into the cavity to transition the deformable region from a retracted setting to an expanded setting, the deformable region substantially flush with the first region in the retracted setting and defining a tactilely distinguishable formation offset above the first region in the expanded setting.