Interface device for sensing position and orientation and outputting force to a user
First Claim
1. A device for use in conjunction with a computer display apparatus and a fixed surface, comprising:
- a stylus;
means supportable on a fixed surface and coupled to said stylus for supporting said stylus while allowing at least a plurality of degrees of freedom in the motion of said stylus; and
means for producing a stylus locative signal responsive to and corresponding with the position of the stylus at any point in time during its normal operation, said stylus locative signal providing information for use by a computer display apparatus.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An interface device for use with a computer that provides locative data to a computer for tracking a user manipulatable physical object and provides feedback to the user through output forces. The physical object is movable in multiple degrees of freedom and is tracked by sensors for sensing the location and orientation of the object. A device processor can be responsive to the output of the sensors and can provide the host computer with information derived from the sensors. The host computer can provides images on a display, where the computer responds to the provided sensor information and force feedback is correlated with the displayed images via force feedback commands from the host computer.
103 Citations
26 Claims
-
1. A device for use in conjunction with a computer display apparatus and a fixed surface, comprising:
-
a stylus;
means supportable on a fixed surface and coupled to said stylus for supporting said stylus while allowing at least a plurality of degrees of freedom in the motion of said stylus; and
means for producing a stylus locative signal responsive to and corresponding with the position of the stylus at any point in time during its normal operation, said stylus locative signal providing information for use by a computer display apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26)
-
-
12. A method for interfacing a user and a computer display apparatus, comprising the steps of:
-
providing a stylus;
coupling to said stylus a support apparatus supportable on a fixed surface for supporting said stylus while allowing at least a plurality of degrees of freedom in the motion of said stylus; and
providing means for producing a stylus locative signal responsive to and corresponding with the position of the stylus at any point in time during its normal operation, said stylus locative signal providing information for use by a computer display apparatus.
-
-
23. In a computer system having a main unit and cursor control functions and command control functions which are triggered remotely from said main unit, a device for interfacing a user and computer, comprising:
-
a remote command control unit separate from a cursor control unit having a switch capable of being in an on state and an off state;
command means triggered by said switch when said switch is in its on state for generating a command signal representative of a command from a user to a computer; and
transmission means for transmitting said command signal to said computer.
-
-
25. In a computer system having a main unit and cursor control functions and command control functions which are triggered remotely from said main unit, a system for interfacing a user and computer comprising the steps of:
-
providing a remote command control unit separate from a cursor control unit having a switch capable of being in an on state and an off state;
generating a command signal representative of a command from a user to a computer when said switch is in its on state; and
transmitting said command signal to said computer.
-
Specification