Device operable to supply a force feedback to a physiological unit to be used in particular as an advanced interface for machines and computers
First Claim
1. A device operable to provide a force feedback to a physiological unit, articulated about at least one physiological axis, which includes generator means (11, 12, 70, 71) for generating a force simulating an interaction between said physiological unit and a virtual object, and transmission means (8, 13, 25, 33, 39, 56, 66, 68, 69, 72) for transmitting said force to the physiological unit, wherein said device comprises support means for supporting said transmission means on said physiological unit and wherein the transmission means include at least two kinematic elements, articulated about at least one articulation axis which is arranged coincident with or immediately adjacent said physiological axis when said transmission means is supported on said physiological unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A device operable to supply a force feedback to a physiological unit to besed as an advanced interface for machines and computers, including an exoskeleton which includes kinematic elements articulated about articulation axes arranged coincident with or in close proximity to the physiological axes of the physiological unit such as, for example, the flexion-extension axes of the phalanges of the fingers of a hand of an operator. A series of electrical actuators controls the degree of tension on traction cables applying a force feedback to the kinematic elements and consequently to the physiological unit, so as to simulate an interaction between the operator and a virtual object. The device includes position sensors for detecting the configuration of the physiological unit and force sensors for measuring the strength of the force locally applied thereto by the actuators controlled by a processing system.
83 Citations
15 Claims
- 1. A device operable to provide a force feedback to a physiological unit, articulated about at least one physiological axis, which includes generator means (11, 12, 70, 71) for generating a force simulating an interaction between said physiological unit and a virtual object, and transmission means (8, 13, 25, 33, 39, 56, 66, 68, 69, 72) for transmitting said force to the physiological unit, wherein said device comprises support means for supporting said transmission means on said physiological unit and wherein the transmission means include at least two kinematic elements, articulated about at least one articulation axis which is arranged coincident with or immediately adjacent said physiological axis when said transmission means is supported on said physiological unit.
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13. A process for supplying a force feedback to a physiological unit, articulated about at least one physiological axis, wherein said process includes the steps of:
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prearranging a processing system in which to memorize the physical characteristics and the position data of at least one virtual object, prearranging an interface device for transmitting to the processing system position signals indicating the configuration of the physiological unit, in order to determine a virtual representation of the physiological unit, prearranging generator means for generating a force and transmission means for transmitting the generated force to the physiological unit, detecting an interaction between the virtual representation of the physiological unit and the virtual object to determine the generation of signals activating the force-generating means, said force, transmitted to the physiological unit by the transmission means, assuming at the point of application to the physiological unit a value independent of the configuration of the physiological unit itself. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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Specification