Future Apple Watches may change their look and functions even more than they do presently depending on their orientation. Apple has been granted a patent (number 20200081536) for “gravity-induced position offset tracking for dynamic management of haptic module mechanical offset.”
In the patent data, the tech giant says when a haptic module is embedded in a smart watch, holding the mass at the sensor reference position during orientation of the wearable device causes an undesirable transient or haptic “click” during controller turn off. Apple wants to change this by allowing the smart watch to detect contact and movement (which it can already do) and respond accordingly.
What’s more, drive electronics coupled to the one or more actuators cause the actuators to induce a vibratory response into the input surface, providing a tactile sensation to a user touching or holding the Apple Watch.
Other sensors may also be connected to peripherals interface 506, such as a temperature sensor, a barometer, a biometric sensor, or other sensing device, to facilitate related functionalities. For example, a biometric sensor can detect fingerprints and monitor heart rate and other fitness parameters.
Here’s the summary of the invention: “Disclosed is a system, method and apparatus for dynamic management of haptic module mechanical offset with gravity-induced position offset tracking. In an embodiment, a method comprises: determining, by a processor, a gravity-induced position offset of a mass in a haptic module; generating, by the processor, a position command for moving the mass from a sensor reference position to a mechanical resting position based at least in part on the gravity-induced position offset; and moving, by a closed-loop controller, the mass from the sensor reference position to the mechanical resting position in accordance with the position command.”
