Wearable devices with fluidic mechanisms

• US 10,636,260 B1
• Filed: 01/31/2019
• Issued: 04/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2019
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: META Platforms Technologies LLC (Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.))
• Original Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC (Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.))
• Inventors: Young, Eric, Agarwal, Priyanshu, Colonnese, Nicholas, Hajiagha Memar, Amirhossein
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Zhen Y
• Application Number:
  US16/264,359
• Time in Patent Office: 453 Days
• Field of Search: 3404071
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/285 Generating tactile feedback signals via the game input device, e.g. force feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 6/00 Tactile signalling systems, e.g. personal calling systems

Abstract

A wearable device for providing haptic stimulations is provided. The wearable device includes: (i) a wearable structure attachable to a portion of a user'"'"'s body; (ii) a plurality of bladders, integrated with the wearable structure, configured to expand and contract according to fluid pressure within each bladder, where each bladder of the plurality of bladders delivers a haptic stimulation to the user wearing the wearable structure when the bladder expands a threshold amount; and (iii) at least one conduit configured to transport a fluid from a fluid source to one or more bladders of the plurality of bladders, where the fluid from the fluid source increases the fluid pressure within at least the one or more bladders. The haptic stimulation experienced by the user can correspond to media presented to the user by an artificial-reality system.

Claims

1. A wearable device comprising:

a wearable structure attachable to a portion of a user'"'"'s body;

a plurality of bladders, integrated with the wearable structure, configured to expand and contract according to fluid pressure within each bladder; and

at least one conduit configured to transport a fluid from a source to one or more bladders of the plurality of bladders, wherein the fluid from the source increases the fluid pressure within at least the one or more bladders,

wherein a respective bladder of the plurality of bladders comprises;

a first bellows coupled to a first surface of the wearable structure; and

a second bellows that;

(i) is positioned on top of the first bellows and away from the first surface of the wearable structure, (ii) is aligned with the first bellows along an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first surface of the wearable structure, (iii) has an opening adjoining an opening in the first bellows, creating a passage that fluidically connects the first bellows with the second bellows, and (iv) is configured to contact the user wearing the wearable structure.

2. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein:

the first bellows includes opposing first and second surfaces, whereby;

(i) the first surface defines the first opening and is coupled to the second bellows, and (ii) the second surface defines a third opening and is coupled to the wearable structure; and

the fluid from the at least one conduit enters the first bellows at the third opening; and

the fluid enters the second bellows, from the first bellows, via the passage.

3. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein each bladder of the plurality of bladders delivers a haptic stimulation to the user wearing the wearable structure when the bladder expands a threshold amount.

4. The wearable device of claim 3, wherein the haptic stimulation experienced by the user is a vibration stimulation or a pressure stimulation.

5. The wearable device of claim 3, wherein the haptic stimulation experienced by the user corresponds to media presented to the user by an artificial-reality system.

6. The wearable device of claim 5, further comprising a communication interface in communication with the artificial-reality system, wherein the communication interface receives an instruction from the artificial-reality system to create the haptic stimulation.

7. The wearable device of claim 5, wherein:

the artificial-reality system is a virtual-reality or augmented-reality system; and

the media presented to the user by the artificial-reality system includes visual media displayed on one or more displays of the virtual-reality or augmented-reality system.

8. The wearable device of claim 1, further comprising one or more sensors, integrated with the wearable structure, configured to monitor a state of a respective bladder of the plurality of bladders.

9. The wearable device of claim 8, wherein the one or more sensors are further configured to provide sensor data to a controller based on the monitored state of the respective bladder.

10. The wearable device of claim 9, wherein the sensor data includes one or more of:

(i) measurements of the bladder'"'"'s expansion, (ii) measurements of the bladder'"'"'s contraction, and (iii) measurements of the fluid pressure within the bladder.

11. The wearable device of claim 10, wherein:

when the respective bladder is in an inflated state;

the one or more sensors are configured to detect depression of the respective bladder; and

the sensor data provided to the controller indicates the depression of the respective bladder.

12. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the at least one conduit is further configured to transport the fluid from the source to two or more of the plurality of bladders.

13. The wearable device of claim 1, further comprising one or more additional conduits, each additional conduit being configured to transport a fluid from the source to one or more additional bladders of the plurality of bladders.

14. The wearable device of claim 13, wherein the source includes a manifold switchably coupled to the at least one conduit and the one or more additional conduits.

15. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of bladders forms a one-dimensional array of bladders along a length of the wearable structure.

16. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein one or more bladders of the plurality of bladders are selectively expanded to improve coupling of the wearable device with the user'"'"'s body.

17. The wearable device of claim 16, further comprising one or more sensors, wherein coupling of the wearable device with the user'"'"'s body is evaluated according to sensor data generated by the one or more sensors.

18. A system comprising:

a computing device;

a fluid source in communication with the computing device;

a wearable device in communication with the computing device, comprising;

a wearable structure attachable to a portion of a user'"'"'s body;

a plurality of bladders, integrated with the wearable structure, configured to expand and contract according to fluid pressure within each bladder; and

at least one conduit configured to transport a fluid from a fluid source to one or more bladders of the plurality of bladders, wherein the fluid from the fluid source increases the fluid pressure within the one or more bladders,

wherein a respective bladder of the plurality of bladders comprises;

a first bellows coupled to a first surface of the wearable structure; and

a second bellows that;

(i) is positioned on top of the first bellows and away from the first surface of the wearable structure, (ii) is aligned with the first bellows along an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first surface of the wearable structure, (iii) has an opening adjoining an opening in the first bellows, creating a passage that fluidically connects the first bellows with the second bellows, and (iv) is configured to contact the user wearing the wearable structure.

19. A method of imparting a haptic stimulation to a user wearing a wearable device, wherein the wearable device includes (i) a wearable structure attachable to a portion of the user'"'"'s body, (ii) a plurality of bladders, integrated with the wearable structure, configured to expand and contract according to fluid pressure within each bladder, and (iii) at least one conduit configured to transport a fluid from a fluid source to one or more bladders of the plurality of bladders, and

a respective bladder of the plurality of bladders comprises:

a first bellows coupled to a first surface of the wearable structure; and

a second bellows that;

(i) is positioned on top of the first bellows and away from the first surface of the wearable structure, (ii) is aligned with the first bellows along an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first surface of the wearable structure, (iii) has an opening adjoining an opening in the first bellows, creating a passage that fluidically connects the first bellows with the second bellows, and (iv) is configured to contact the user wearing the wearable structure,

the method comprising;

receiving an instruction from a computer system to change fluid pressure in one or more first bladders of the plurality of bladders, wherein the instruction from the computer system corresponds to media presented to the user by the computer system; and

in response to receiving the instruction;

activating the fluid source to change the fluid pressure in the one or more first bladders according to the instruction, wherein each of the one or more first bladders imparts a haptic stimulation to the user wearing the wearable device when each bladder expands a threshold amount.