US 12,390,833 B2
Apparatus for generating a haptic signal
Bernhard Stanje, Graz (AT); Andreas Pentscher-Stani, Leibnitz (AT); and Johannes Burger, Deutschlandsberg (AT)
Assigned to TDK Electronics AG, Munich (DE)
Appl. No. 17/641,756
Filed by TDK Electronics AG, Munich (DE)
PCT Filed Jun. 17, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/066425
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 9, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/012847, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 20, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 102020118568.5 (DE), filed on Jul. 14, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0297159 A1, Sep. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. B06B 1/06 (2006.01); G06F 3/01 (2006.01); H01L 41/053 (2006.01); H10N 30/00 (2023.01); H10N 30/20 (2023.01); H10N 30/50 (2023.01); H10N 30/88 (2023.01)
CPC B06B 1/0662 (2013.01) [G06F 3/016 (2013.01); H10N 30/101 (2024.05); H10N 30/20 (2023.02); H10N 30/50 (2023.02); H10N 30/886 (2023.02)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. Device for generating a haptic signal, comprising
a single haptic module comprising a single actuator,
a base plate and a cover plate which are arranged parallel to one another, the cover plate having an abutment surface facing towards the base plate and a top side facing away from the base plate,
the haptic module being arranged between the base plate and the cover plate, a first partial area of the haptic module abutting the abutment surface of the cover plate and a second partial area of the haptic module abutting the base plate, and
a spring-loaded suspension via which the base plate and the cover plate are mechanically connected to one another,
wherein the spring-loaded suspension is designed such that the abutment surface is moved towards the base plate when the cover plate is in a neutral position and a force is exerted in the direction of the base plate on any point of the top side of the cover plate, so that a compressive force is always transmitted to the haptic module when a force is exerted in the direction of the base plate on any point of the top side of the cover plate,
wherein the spring-loaded suspension comprises a first spring element allowing movement of the cover plate relative to the base plate, and
wherein the spring-loaded suspension comprises a guide element preventing movement of the cover plate from the neutral position in a direction away from the base plate or
which impedes a movement of the cover plate out of the neutral position in a direction away from the base plate compared to a movement of the cover plate out of the neutral position towards the base plate,
wherein the haptic module comprises as the actuator a piezoelectric actuator having a top side and a bottom side, and wherein the haptic module further comprises
a first mechanical amplification element which is arranged on the top side of the piezoelectric actuator and which comprises the first partial area, and
a second mechanical amplification element which is arranged on the bottom side of the piezoelectric actuator and which comprises the second partial area,
wherein the first mechanical amplification element and the second mechanical amplification element are configured and arranged in such a manner that a change in length of the piezoelectric actuator in a direction parallel to the top side of the piezoelectric actuator is converted into a movement of the first partial area perpendicular to the top side of the piezoelectric actuator and a movement of the second partial area in a direction opposite to the direction in which the first partial area moves.