Spatial input apparatus
First Claim
1. An apparatus for providing spatial orientation data signals, comprising:
- an inertial platform accelerometer cluster having three orthogonal axes and a plurality of accelerometers arranged to provide signals indicative of linear acceleration of said platform along each of the three axes and rotational acceleration of said platform about each of the three axes, said accelerometers all having their centers of measurement coplanar;
processing means for receiving said accelerometer signals and providing output signals representative of linear acceleration along each of the three axes and rotational acceleration about each of the three axes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A three-dimensional spatial input apparatus including a series of coplanar, single axis accelerometers configured to provide information on translation along and rotation around a set of orthogonal axes. A preprocessing computer determines the acceleration values output by the accelerometers and converts these values into a series of acceleration, velocity and position values in relation to the axis system, with corrections based on a change in the influence of gravity on the device as it rotates. The values are transmitted to an object control computer which takes appropriate action, including moving a cursor, rotating a displayed object, and controlling remote devices. The spatial input apparatus can have an attached pointer and be used as a three-dimensional digitizer in conjunction with the object control computer.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. An apparatus for providing spatial orientation data signals, comprising:
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an inertial platform accelerometer cluster having three orthogonal axes and a plurality of accelerometers arranged to provide signals indicative of linear acceleration of said platform along each of the three axes and rotational acceleration of said platform about each of the three axes, said accelerometers all having their centers of measurement coplanar; processing means for receiving said accelerometer signals and providing output signals representative of linear acceleration along each of the three axes and rotational acceleration about each of the three axes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system for controlling the movement of an object in response to directional control signals, comprising:
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an inertial platform means for manipulation by the user to indicate the desired movement of the object, said inertial platform means including a plurality of accelerometers for sensing movements o the platform by the user along each of three orthogonal axes and means for providing directional control signals indicative of the linear accelerations along each of the three axes and the rotational accelerations about each of the three axes; means for receiving said directional control signals; means for controlling the movement of the object responsive to said directional control signals thereby causing the object to mimic the movement of said inertial platform. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for digitizing a three-dimensional surface, comprising:
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an inertial platform means for manipulation by the user to indicate the desired position to be digitized, said inertial platform means includes a plurality of accelerometers for sensing movements of the platform by the user along each of three orthogonal axes and means for providing directional signals indicative of the linear accelerations along each of the three axes and the rotational accelerations about each of the three axes; processing means for receiving said directional signals and providing signals indicative of the linear and rotational position of said inertial platform means; and means for storing a plurality of said linear position signals and for developing a three dimensional representation of the stored positions. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification