Patent Application
20060061455
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for vibrating a device, such as a mobile phone or other suitable wireless device, node or terminal; and more particularly to a method and apparatus for vibrating a device using multiple mass vibrators to vibrate the same.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known in the prior art to vibrating device, including a mobile phone or terminal using some vibrating element contained therein. However, these devices typically having one vibrating mass, which limits the kind of vibrating effects that can be provided in the device. By way of example, the reader is referred to EP 101 12 49, which discloses one such device having an eccentric weight arranged on rotating shaft with a center of gravity misaligned with an axial center of the rotating shaft. In operation, the rotating weight is rotated in alternating directions so as to produce vibrations that are claimed to prevent substantially movement of the device when left unattended, so that the vibrating device does not fall off a table when unattended.
In its broadest sense, the present invention provides a new and unique method and device for vibrating a device that uses multiple mass vibrators to vibrate the device.
The multiple mass vibrators may include multiple independently rotating vibrators. The method includes one or more steps for tightly controlling the rotational speed and relative phase vibrational forces of the multiple mass vibrators. The tight control may include using either triangular pulses, square wave pulses, or other suitable pulses. The multiple mass vibrators may be synthesized in approximately the same way as various waveforms can be synthesized from pure sine waves by controlling their frequency, amplitude and phase. The multiple mass vibrators may include multiple larger and smaller synchronized vibrators, as well as two or more mass vibrators having different masses, different shapes, different other suitable physical characteristics, or some combination thereof, so as to produce different vibratory effects when vibrated.
The invention may be implemented using pinions to limit the relative rotational phase difference of the multiple mass vibrators. The pinion may include a gear with a small number of teeth designed to mesh with a larger wheel or rack. In operation, the multiple mass vibrators create sharp vibrational effects for stimulating the user of the device, which may include a mobile phone or other suitable wireless device, node, terminal, etc., including either distinct vibratory signatures that are pre-programmed in the device and selected by a user, or that are programmed into the device by the user, or some combination thereof.
The multiple mass vibrators may vibrate the housing of the device or other suitable structure. In one embodiment, the multiple mass vibrators may include two vibrators rotating in different directions, including upward and downward in relation to a vertical axis of the device, as well as two or more mass vibrators moving in either different transverse directions, or different rotational directions, or some combination thereof.
The present invention also features a device having a vibrating device for vibrating the same, wherein the vibrating device includes multiple mass vibrators to vibrate the device. The device may include a multiple mass vibrators control module for controlling the rotational speed and relative phase vibrational forces of the multiple mass vibrators, in effect, by synthesizing the movement of the multiple mass vibrators. The device may include independent motors which can be controlled separately to control multiple mass vibrators to create, for example, a vibration in a certain direction.
The present invention also includes implementing the step(s) of the method via a computer program running in a processor or controller in such a mobile terminal, node or device, as well as a computer program product with a program code, which program code is stored on a machine readable carrier, for carrying out the step(s) of the aforementioned method when a computer program is run in a processor or control module of such a device.
One advantage of the present is that it by using multiple mass vibrators different kind of vibratory feelings can be generated, which can produce effects that are more complex than just using one vibrating mass. For example, instead of a sine wave feeling, the user may feel triangular wave feelings, even square wave feelings, any other wave feelings, or some combination thereof.
The drawing, not drawn to scale, includes the following Figures:
The multiple mass vibrators 12 may include multiple independently rotating vibrators as shown in
The device 10 also may include a multiple mass vibrators control module 14 for controlling the multiple mass vibrators 12 via a control signal 14a, including controlling the rotational speed and relative phase vibrational forces of the multiple mass vibrators 12. The multiple mass vibrators control module 14 may control the multiple mass vibrators 12, for example, using either triangular pulses, square wave pulses, or other suitable control pulses. In operation, the multiple mass vibrators control module 14 synthesizes the multiple mass vibrators 12 in approximately the same way or technique as various waveforms can be synthesized from pure sine waves by controlling their frequency, amplitude and phase. The multiple mass vibrators 22 create sharp vibrational effects, including either distinct vibratory signatures that are pre-programmed in the device 10 and selected by a user, or that are programmed into the device 10 by the user, or some combination thereof.
The functionality of the multiple mass vibrators control module 14 shown in
The device 10 may also include other mobile phone or device modules 16 that are known in the art, but do not necessarily form part of the basic invention disclosed herein, including a keyboard module, a memory module, input/output modules, a control module, etc.
The scope of the invention is not intended to be limited to any specific kind of device or user equipment, mobile terminal, phone or devices, and many different mobile terminals or devices, including laptop or notebook computers, as well as PDAs and tablet PCs, are envisioned that may contain the fundamental features of the present invention described herein.
Accordingly, the invention comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, and those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
