The present invention relates to vibrators for generating tactile vibrations, more particularly to a linear vibrator used in a portable consumer electronic device.
Consumer products, such as mobile phones and portable multi-media players, generally include vibrators for generating tactile feedback. For example, a mobile phone has a vibrator for generating vibration while a call is called in, and a portable multi-media player has a touch screen having vibrators for getting tactile feedback.
A vibrator has a moving unit moving along a linear direction is called linear vibrator. Linear vibrators are widely used in consumer products and are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,682 B2 issued on Oct. 15, 2002, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,099,489 B2 issued on Aug. 29, 2006. The vibrator is mounted on a mounting surface of a printed circuit board, and the moving unit thereof is actuated to move along a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface. Another linear vibrator includes a moveable unit suspended by a plurality of elastic members for being movable along a direction parallel to a mounting surface of a printed circuit board from which vibration signals are transmitted.
While working, the vibrator needs to be provided with sufficient driving force to drive the movable unit to generate strong vibrations. Exceeding driving force would drive the moveable unit to strike the housing of the vibrator thereby causing noises.
Accordingly, an improved linear vibrator capable of avoiding striking noises and shortening return time is desired.