Enhanced cursor control using interface devices

• US 20020033799A1
• Filed: 09/18/2001
• Published: 03/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Original Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Inventors: Martin, Kenneth M., Rosenberg, Louis B., Braun, Adam C., Beamer, Jonathan L., Chang, Dean C., Mallett, Jeffrey R.
• Granted Patent: US 6,816,148 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/015 Force feedback applied to a joystick
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0354 with detection of 2D relative movements between the device, or an operating part thereof, and a plane or surface, e.g. 2D mice, trackballs, pens or pucks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03548 Sliders, in which the moving part moves in a plane
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen

Abstract

An interface device and method for providing enhanced cursor control with force feedback. A force feedback interface device includes a manipulandum, such as a mouse, that is moveable in a local workspace. The device is coupled to a host computer that displays a cursor in a graphical environment, such as a GUI, on a display screen. An interior region and a border region in the local workspace is defined. One mapping of device movement to cursor movement is used for the interior region, and a different mapping is used for the border region. Mapping methods include ballistics, absolute, linear, rate control, and variable absolute. Rate control embodiments can be single axis or dual axis. In one embodiment, when the mouse moves from the interior region to the border region, the mapping providing the greater cursor velocity is used to better conserve device workspace in the direction of travel and to decrease any sense of mapping mode change to the user. Other features include an autocentering function for reducing offset between local and host frames.

Claims

1. A method for providing cursor control on a cursor control interface device, said interface device coupled to a host computer that displays graphical objects in a graphical environment on a display screen, said interface device including a manipulandum movable in a physical workspace in order to control the position of a cursor displayed by said host computer within said graphical environment, the method comprising.

defining a border region and an interior region in said physical workspace of said interface device, said border region being adjacent to at least one limit of said physical workspace;

applying an interior mapping of movement of said manipulandum to movement of said cursor when said manipulandum is positioned in said interior region;

applying a border mapping of movement of said manipulandum to movement of said cursor when said manipulandum is positioned in said border region; and

applying a selected one of said interior mapping and said border mapping of movement of said manipulandum to movement of said cursor when said manipulandum crosses from said interior region to said border region, wherein said selected mapping causes a greater velocity of said cursor than the unselected mapping.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising outputting a force on said manipulandum resisting said penetration into said border region, a magnitude of said force being based on the depth of said penetration into said border region.

3. A method as recited in claim 2 wherein said border mapping is a rate control mapping wherein said penetration into said border region is used to control a speed of movement of said cursor along a particular direction on said display screen.

4. A method as recited in claim 2 wherein said interior mapping is a ballistics mapping, wherein a speed of said cursor depends on a speed of said manipulandum.

5. A method as recited in claim 3 wherein said force resists motion of said mouse only toward said physical limit adjacent to said border region.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising determining an amount of screen pixels that each of said mappings would cause said cursor to move past, and applying said mapping that causes said cursor to move past the greater number of screen pixels.

7. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising performing said applying a selected mapping multiple times while said manipulandum is moving in said border region toward said physical limit adjacent to said border region.

8. A force feedback interface device providing cursor control, said interface device coupled to a host computer that displays graphical objects in a graphical environment on a display screen, said interface device comprising:

a manipulandum movable in a physical workspace that controls a position of a cursor displayed by said host computer within said graphical environment, said physical workspace having limits to motion of said manipulandum;

at least one sensor detecting motion of said manipulandum and providing a sensor signal, wherein sensor data based on said sensor signal is provided to said host computer to allow positioning of said cursor;

at least one actuator outputting a force to a user; and

a processor receiving said sensor signal and reporting data based on said sensor signal to said host computer to control said position of said cursor, said processor providing signals to said at least one actuator to control an output of said force to said user, said processor defining a border region and an interior region in said physical workspace of said interface device, said border region being adjacent to at least one of said limits of said physical workspace, wherein said processor

applies an interior mapping of movement of said manipulandum to movement of said cursor when said manipulandum is positioned in said interior region;

applies a border mapping of movement of said manipulandum to movement of said cursor when said manipulandum is positioned in said border region; and

applies a selected one of said interior mapping and said border mapping of movement of said manipulandum to movement of said cursor when said manipulandum crosses from said interior region to said border region, wherein said selected mapping causes a greater velocity of said cursor than the unselected mapping.

9. A force feedback interface device as recited in claim 8 wherein said force output to said user is a resistive force on said manipulandum resisting penetration into said border region from said interior region, a magnitude of said force being based on the depth of said penetration into said border region.

10. A force feedback interface device as recited in claim 9 wherein said border mapping is a rate control mapping wherein said penetration into said border region is used to control a speed of movement of said cursor along a particular direction on said display screen.

11. A force feedback interface device as recited in claim 9 wherein said interior mapping is a ballistics mapping, wherein a speed of said cursor depends on a speed of said manipulandum.

12. A force feedback interface device as recited in claim 10 wherein said force resists motion of said mouse only toward said physical limit adjacent to said border region.

13. A force feedback interface device as recited in claim 8 further comprising determining an amount of screen pixels that each of said mappings would cause said cursor to move past, and applying said mapping that causes said cursor to move past the greater number of screen pixels.

14. A force feedback interface device as recited in claim 8 farther comprising a z-axis sensor, wherein said manipulandum is a mouse having two planar degrees of freedom in an x-y workspace, wherein said mouse is coupled to said grounded workspace, and wherein said mouse can be moved approximately in a z-axis for a predetermined distance, said z-axis movement being detected by said z-axis sensor such that when said z-axis movement is detected, said sensor data is not sent to said host computer, allowing indexing of said mouse.

16. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein said rate control of movement is only provided when said mouse moves in said border region toward said physical limit next to said border region.

17. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein said force resists motion of said mouse only toward said physical limit next to said border region.

18. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein once said mouse is positioned in said border region, a rate control mapping is provided for control of movement of said cursor in a degree of freedom perpendicular to the degree of freedom including said movement toward said physical limit.

19. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein once said mouse is positioned in said border region, a position control mapping is provided for control of movement of said cursor in a degree of freedom perpendicular to the degree of freedom including said movement toward said physical limit.

20. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein said force is a resistive spring force wherein a magnitude of said force is based on said distance of said mouse past a border of said border region.

21. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein said penetration distance determines a speed of movement of said cursor.

22. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein a size of said border region can be adjusted by a user of said force feedback mouse device.

23. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein said rate control mapping for said border region can be changed by said user, and wherein a mapping used in an interior of said local frame can be selected by said user.

25. A force feedback mouse device as recited in claim 24 further comprising a contact sensor that determines when said user is contacting said manipulandum, wherein said processor uses said contact sensor to determine when said user contacts said manipulandum, wherein when said user is not contacting said manipulandum, said processor controls said forces to move said manipulandum in said local frame to decrease said offset between said local frame and said screen frame.

26. A force feedback mouse device as recited in claim 24 further comprising a mechanical linkage coupling said manipulandum to a ground surface and allowing said movement of said manipulandum in said two planar degrees of freedom.

27. A force feedback mouse device as recited in claim 24 wherein said processor moves said manipulandum with said forces to a location midway between the center of said local frame and a location in said local frame where said manipulandum would be positioned if the manipulandum were in an absolute mapping mode at said current cursor position.

28. A force feedback mouse device as recited in claim 24 wherein said processor moves said manipulandum with said forces to a location at a predetermined distance from a nearest workspace limit.

29. A force feedback mouse device as recited in claim 24 wherein a program running on said host computer commands said processor to output said forces to decrease said offset between said local frame and said screen frame.

15. A method for providing all indexing feature in a force feedback device, said force feedback device coupled to a host computer that displays a cursor and graphical objects in a graphical environment on a display screen, said force feedback device including a manipulandum being moveable in a local frame, wherein said cursor is moved in a display frame based on said movement of said manipulandum, the method comprising:

determining whether said manipulandum is within a predetermined distance to a physical limit of said local frame, wherein said predetermined distance is defined by a border region positioned next to said physical limit;

determining a penetration distance of said manipulandum into said border region;

using said penetration distance to provide rate control of movement of said cursor toward a screen limit of said display frame corresponding to said physical limit, wherein said cursor is controlled to an edge of said display frame such that said manipulandum need never contact said physical limit of said workspace before said cursor reaches said edge of said display frame; and

outputting a force on said mouse when said mouse moves into said border region, said force resisting said movement into said border region in at least one direction of said mouse.

24. A force feedback mouse device providing automatic indexing, said mouse device coupled to a host computer that displays graphical objects in a graphical environment on a display screen, said mouse device comprising:

a manipulandum movable in two planar degrees of freedom in a local frame, wherein said manipulandum has physical limits to said movement in said local frame;

at least one position sensor detecting motion of said manipulandum and providing a sensor signal, wherein sensor data based on said sensor signal is provided to said host computer to allow positioning of said cursor in a screen frame;

a plurality of actuators outputting forces on said user manipulatable object in said two planar degrees of freedom, said forces coordinated with the display of images displayed by said host computer; and

a processor receiving said sensor signal and reporting data based on said sensor signal to said host computer to control said position of said cursor, said processor providing signals to said actuators to control an output of said forces on said manipulandum in accordance with said display of images and in accordance with force data sent by said host computer, and wherein said processor also controls said forces to move said manipulandum in said local frame to decrease an offset between said local frame and said screen frame.