USER INTERFACE SYSTEM AND METHOD
The user interface system of the preferred embodiments includes a layer defining a tactile surface and including a first region and a particular region adjacent the first region; a substrate defining a fluid channel, cooperating with the layer at the particular region to define a cavity fluidly coupled to the fluid channel, coupled to the layer at the first region; a displacement device displacing fluid into the fluid channel into the cavity to transition the particular region from a retracted volume setting into an expanded volume setting, the particular region substantially level with the first region in the retracted volume setting and elevated above the first region in the expanded volume setting; and a sensor including a first conductor and a second conductor coupled to the substrate and adjacent the cavity, the first conductor offset from the second conductor and capacitively coupled to the second conductor.
1 . A user interface comprising:
a layer defining a tactile surface and comprising a first region and a particular region adjacent the first region;
a substrate defining a fluid channel, cooperating with the layer at the particular region to define a cavity fluidly coupled to the fluid channel, coupled to the layer at the first region, and disconnected from the layer at the particular region;
a displacement device displacing fluid into the fluid channel into the cavity to transition the particular region from a retracted volume setting into an expanded volume setting, the particular region substantially level with the first region in the retracted volume setting and elevated above the first region in the expanded volume setting;
a sensor comprising a first conductor and a second conductor coupled to the substrate and adjacent the cavity, the first conductor offset from the second conductor and capacitively coupled to the second conductor;
a processor coupled to the sensor, correlating a change from a first capacitance to a second capacitance between the first conductor and the second conductor with a transition of the particular region from the retracted volume setting to the expanded volume setting, and correlating a change from the second capacitance to a third capacitance between the first conductor and the second conductor with an input on the particular region in the expanded volume setting.