Computer interface apparatus including linkage having flex
First Claim
1. An interface apparatus for interfacing motion of a user manipulable object with an electrical system, said interface apparatus comprising:
- a user object being physically contacted by a user;
a gimbal mechanism coupled to said user object and providing at least two degrees of freedom to said user object, said gimbal mechanism including a plurality of members, wherein a selected number of said plurality of members are formed as a unitary member in which flex is provided between said selected number of members;
an actuator coupled to said gimbal mechanism for applying a force along a degree of freedom to said user object through said unitary member, wherein said actuator applies said force in response to electrical signals produced by said electrical system; and
a sensor for detecting a position of said user object along said degree of freedom and outputting sensor signals to said electrical system;
whereby said actuator and said sensor provide an electromechanical interface between said user object and said electrical system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for interfacing the motion of a user-manipulable object with an electrical or computer system includes a user object physically contacted by a user. A gimbal mechanism is coupled to the user object, such as a joystick or a medical tool, and provides at least two degrees of freedom to the user object. The gimbal mechanism preferably includes multiple members, at least two of which are formed as a unitary member which provides flex between the selected members. An actuator applies a force along a degree of freedom to the user object in response to electrical signals produced by the computer system. A sensor detects a position of the user object along the degree of freedom and outputs sensor signals to the computer system. Another embodiment includes a host computer system and a local microprocessor, separate from the host computer, for communicating with the host computer and controlling the forces output by the actuators according to a processor subroutine selected in accordance with a host command, sensor signals, and timing information. Another embodiment of the interface apparatus uses voice coil actuators that produce forces in either linear or rotary degrees of freedom using currents applied in a magnetic fields. A friction drive mechanism of the present invention can be coupled between an actuator and a gimbal mechanism. Force from the actuator is transmitted to the gimbal mechanism through frictional contact of members of the friction drive mechanism.
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Citations
81 Claims
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1. An interface apparatus for interfacing motion of a user manipulable object with an electrical system, said interface apparatus comprising:
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a user object being physically contacted by a user;
a gimbal mechanism coupled to said user object and providing at least two degrees of freedom to said user object, said gimbal mechanism including a plurality of members, wherein a selected number of said plurality of members are formed as a unitary member in which flex is provided between said selected number of members;
an actuator coupled to said gimbal mechanism for applying a force along a degree of freedom to said user object through said unitary member, wherein said actuator applies said force in response to electrical signals produced by said electrical system; and
a sensor for detecting a position of said user object along said degree of freedom and outputting sensor signals to said electrical system;
whereby said actuator and said sensor provide an electromechanical interface between said user object and said electrical system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for interfacing motion of a user-manipulable object with an electrical system, the method comprising the steps of:
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defining an origin;
providing a gimbal mechanism movable relative to said origin such that a user-manipulable object engaged with said gimbal mechanism has first and second degrees of freedom, said gimbal mechanism having a plurality of members, wherein a selected number of said members are formed as a unitary member such that flex is provided between said selected number of members;
applying a force in each of said two degrees of freedom using a plurality of actuators, respectively, wherein said transducers are decoupled from each other; and
providing said signals to and from said electrical system. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An interface apparatus for interfacing motion of a user manipulable object with a host computer system displaying visual images on a screen, said interface apparatus comprising:
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a user object movable in a degree of freedom by a user and being physically contacted by said user;
a gimbal mechanism coupled to said user object and providing two degrees of freedom to said user object, said gimbal mechanism including a of a plurality of members;
a processor, separate from said host computer system, for communicating with said host computer system via a communication interface by receiving a host command from said host computer system, said processor being controlled by software instructions;
an actuator physically coupled to said gimbal mechanism and electrically coupled to said processor for applying a force along a degree of freedom to said user object in accordance with a processor command from said processor, said processor command being derived from said host command; and
a sensor for detecting a position of said user object along said degree of freedom and outputting sensor signals to said host computer system, said sensor signals including information representative of said position of said user object. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. An interface apparatus for interfacing motion of a user manipulable object with an electrical system, said interface apparatus comprising:
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a gimbal mechanism including a plurality of members and providing two degrees of freedom to a user-manipulable object coupled to said gimbal mechanism;
a first degree of freedom actuator coupled to said gimbal mechanism, said first degree of freedom actuator including a first voice coil actuator for applying a force to said user-manipulable object in said first degree of freedom using a magnetic field;
a second degree of freedom actuator coupled to said gimbal mechanism, said second degree of freedom actuator including a second voice coil actuator for applying a force to said user-manipulable object in said second degree of freedom using a magnetic field;
at least one sensor for detecting motion of said user-manipulable object along said first and second degrees of freedom and outputting sensor signals to said electrical system;
whereby said actuators and said sensor provide an electromechanical interface between said object and said electrical system. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. An interface apparatus for interfacing motion of a user manipulable object with an electrical system, said interface apparatus comprising:
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a user-manipulable object moveable in two degrees of freedom and physically contacted by a user;
a first degree of freedom actuator coupled to said user-manipulable object, said first degree of freedom actuator including a first voice coil actuator for applying a force to said user-manipulable object in said first degree of freedom using a magnetic field;
a second degree of freedom actuator coupled to said user-mampulable object, said second degree of freedom actuator including a second voice coil actuator for applying a force to said user-manipulable object in said second degree of freedom using a magnetic field; and
at least one sensor for detecting motion of said user-manipulable object along said first and second degrees of freedom and outputting sensor signals to said electrical system;
whereby said actuators and said sensor provide an electromechanical interface between said object and said electrical system. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
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74. An apparatus for interfacing the motion of a user-manipulable object with an electrical system comprising:
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a gimbal mechanism providing two degrees of freedom to an object engaged with said gimbal mechanism about two axes of rotation, said object being coupled to said gimbal mechanism at about the intersection of said two axes of rotation;
an actuator for generating a force along said first degree of freedom of said gimbal mechanism; and
a friction drive mechanism coupled between said actuator and said gimbal mechanism, wherein force from said actuator is transmitted to said gimbal mechanism through frictional contact of members of said friction drive mechanism;
whereby said actuator provides an electromechanical interface between said object and said electrical system. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81)
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Specification