PORTABLE HAPTIC INTERFACE
First Claim
1. A haptic portable interface device, which can be fixed to a hand in order to be integral to a finger, each finger having a fingertip, said device being characterised in that it comprises:
- a connection element to said hand;
an orientable contact surface movably connected to said connection element and located near said fingertip;
means for spatially orienting said orientable surface about a point;
means for approaching/withdrawing said orientable surface to/from said fingertip;
means for detecting the spatial position and the orientation of said connection element with respect to a fixed reference system;
means for defining a virtual surface;
means for operating said means for moving and said means for orienting responsive to said position and said orientation of said connection element with respect to said virtual surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A portable interface device (1) of haptic human-computer type which can be fixed to a hand (2) of an operator (3), capable of engaging with the operator (3) transmitting on the operator'"'"'s hand fingertips tactile sensations following the shape of a virtual surface (4), in particular obtained from a real surface (5). The tactile sensations are transmitted to a fingertip by the device (1) through a movable and orientable surface contacting the fingertip while remaining tangential to the virtual surface (4). The device (1), by touching the user'"'"'s fingertip only at the points of contact with the virtual surface (4), does not provide to the user (3) any tactile sensations on the or on each fingertip when it moves in a free space, obtaining a very high level of transparency of the device. The workspace of the interface device (1) is very high, and can be also infinite, using suitable position tracking systems.
114 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A haptic portable interface device, which can be fixed to a hand in order to be integral to a finger, each finger having a fingertip, said device being characterised in that it comprises:
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a connection element to said hand; an orientable contact surface movably connected to said connection element and located near said fingertip; means for spatially orienting said orientable surface about a point; means for approaching/withdrawing said orientable surface to/from said fingertip; means for detecting the spatial position and the orientation of said connection element with respect to a fixed reference system; means for defining a virtual surface; means for operating said means for moving and said means for orienting responsive to said position and said orientation of said connection element with respect to said virtual surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification