Communications: electrical – Tactual indication
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-20
2001-08-28
Hofsass, Jeffery (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Tactual indication
C340S311200, C340S870030, C455S039000, C379S052000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06281785
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a notifying vibration generator for use in portable communications devices such as portable telephones and pagers, and also to portable communications devices wherein the generator is used.
BACKGROUND ART
Small-sized devices such as portable communications devices are equipped with means for notifying the user, for example, of incoming calls or specified hours. The notifying means most widely used is a bell or like means for producing a sound. However, in view of a nuisance to people in the surroundings, more widely used in recent years are small devices which have incorporated therein not only notifying means resorting to sound but also means for vibrating the device for notification so as to use both the notifying means or selectively use one of them in accordance with the situation. For example,
FIG. 10
shows a portable telephone of the prior art. With reference to
FIG. 10
, the portable telephone has a telephone body
101
, antenna
102
, speaker
103
for incoming speech, microphone
104
for outgoing speech, display
105
and push buttons
106
. The telephone body
101
has a ringer speaker
107
for giving notice of incoming calls with sound, and a vibration motor
108
for giving notice of incoming calls with vibration. With the prior art, it is general practice to incorporate means for notifying with sound and means for notifying with vibration into the device. The need to use the two separate notifying means therefore entails the problem that it is difficult to compact the device.
Accordingly, the present applicant invented a notifying vibration generator having the two functions of notifying with sound and notifying with vibration, and has already filed Japanese Patent Application No. 161399/1996 on this invention.
FIGS. 11
, (A) and (B) show this notifying vibration generator
109
of the prior application. The vibration generator
109
comprises two vibration systems, and a fixed member for supporting the vibration systems. According to this embodiment, the fixed member
110
comprises a lower case
110
a
for supporting the first of the vibration systems, and an upper case
110
b
supporting the second vibration system and joined to the lower case
110
a
. The lower case
110
a
and the upper case
110
b
, when joined, define an interior space for accommodating the two vibration systems. The upper case
110
b
is centrally formed with an opening
111
for propagating sound waves to the outside therethrough. The first vibration system comprises a first spring body
112
made of an elastic material such as a thin metal plate, rubber or resin and deformable perpendicular to the plane thereof, and a first vibrator
116
comprising a permanent magnet
113
. The first vibrator
116
is attached to the first spring body
112
toward the inner periphery thereof as by bonding, and the first spring body
112
is attached at its outer periphery to the lower case
110
a
as by bonding, whereby the first vibration system is adapted to vibrate upward and downward relative to the lower case
110
a
. An upper yoke
114
and a lower yoke
115
are arranged respectively on and beneath the permanent magnet
113
providing the first vibrator
116
to prevent the magnetic field from leaking to the outside and to efficiently produce an electromagnetic force by the interaction of current and the magnetic field, whereby a magnetic circuit is formed. The magnet
113
is annular and has an N pole on its upper surface and an S pole on its lower surface. The upper yoke
114
is in the form of a ring having a vertical wall along the inner periphery thereof. The lower yoke
115
is in the form of a disk having a central protrusion. A magnetic gap
121
is formed inside the vertical wall of the upper yoke
114
around the central protrusion of the lower yoke
115
for permitting upward and downward movement of the second vibrator
117
to be described below.
On the other hand, the second vibration system comprises a second spring body
122
made of the same elastic material as the first spring body
112
and deformable perpendicular to the plane thereof, and a second vibrator
117
comprising a coil
118
. The second vibrator
117
is positioned radially inwardly of the second spring body
122
and attached thereto as by bonding. The second spring body
122
has its outer periphery attached to the upper case
110
b
as by bonding, whereby the second vibrator
117
is adapted to vibrate upward and downward relative to the upper case
110
b
. The second vibrator
117
comprises the coil
118
, a bobbin
119
supporting the coil
118
, and a diaphragm
120
for producing sound waves. The bobbin
119
is hollow cylindrical and attached to the second spring body
122
. The coil
118
is provided around the bobbin
119
. The diaphragm
120
is disposed on the upper end of the bobbin
119
. The coil
118
and the bobbin
119
are arranged in the magnetic gap
121
of the first vibrator
116
movably. Indicated at
123
are the terminals of the coil
118
, and at
124
rubber or like cushions. The lower case
110
a
and the upper case
110
b
provided with the respective vibration systems are joined as described above, and the terminals
123
of the coil
118
are electrically connected to a circuit for passing electric current of predetermined frequency through the coil. Formed in the first vibrator
116
at this time is a magnetic circuit including the permanent magnet
113
, upper yoke
114
, lower yoke
115
and magnetic gap
121
. The magnetic field in the gap
121
is directed radially inwardly thereof. Assuming that the current through the coil
118
is counterclockwise when the generator is seen from above, an interaction between the magnetic field and the current intersecting the field produces repulsion between the first vibrator
116
and the second vibrator
117
. Conversely, if the direction of current through the coil
118
is reversed, attraction acts between the first vibrator
116
and the second vibrator
117
. Accordingly, each of the first and second vibrators
116
and
117
is subjected to a periodic electromagnetic force as an external force by periodically varying the value of current to be passed through the coil
118
. Thus, each of the first vibration system and the second vibration system can be caused to generate forced vibration by the combination of the permanent magnet
113
and the coil
118
. By virtue the restoring force of the first spring body
112
, the first vibration system transmits the forced vibration to the case
110
, vibrating the device and realizing notification with the vibration. With the second vibration system, the forced vibration causes the diaphragm
120
of the second vibrator
117
to vibrate the air to produce sound waves, which propagate to the outside through the opening
111
in the upper case
110
b
. If the sound waves have an audio-frequency (about 20 Hz to about 20 kHz), notification with sound can be realized.
FIG. 12
is a graph showing the amplitude characteristics of the vibrators of the notifying vibration generator relative to the frequency of current passed through the coil
118
thereof. The first vibrator
116
and the second vibrator
117
have respective natural frequencies which are different, and are adapted to be maximum in amplitude respectively at f
0
(e.g., 100 Hz) and f
1
(e.g., 3 kHz).
The signal to be applied to such a notifying vibration generator of the prior art is in the form of rectangular waves rather than sine waves in view of the efficiency of the vibration relative to the power consumption and the advantage of the circuit construction for preparing the signal. However, if merely applied, rectangular waves encounter the problem that when the first vibrator
116
functions to generate mechanical vibration for notification, the high-frequency component of the rectangular waves applied also produces an unnecessary sound at the same time although no problem arises when the second vibrator
117
is vibrated to produce sound for notification.
FIG. 13
is a gra
Armstrong Westerman Hattori McLeland & Naughton LLP
Hofsass Jeffery
La Anh
Sanyo Electric Co,. Ltd.
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