Three dimensional position sensing interface with force output
First Claim
1. A position sensing device for use in conjunction with a host computer and a fixed surface, said device comprising:
- a user manipulatable object moveable by a user;
a mechanical linkage coupled to said fixed surface by a base rotary joint and coupled to said user manipulatable object by an object rotary joint, said mechanical linkage allowing at least five degrees of freedom in the motion of said object with respect to said fixed surface, wherein said mechanical linkage provides said degrees of freedom through a structure of substantially rigid members joined by a plurality of rotary joints, said mechanical linkage providing said user the ability to manipulate both a location and an orientation of said object in three dimensional space;
at least one sensor for producing a locative signal which is responsive to and corresponding with a position of said user manipulatable object, said locative signal providing information about the location of said user manipulatable object for use by said host computer; and
at least one force generator for locking a corresponding rotary joint of said mechanical linkage in response to force signals provided to said position sensing device from said host computer.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for use with a computer for tracking the position of a user manipulatable object and for providing forces to lock the apparatus. The manipulatable object is coupled to a mechanical linkage which is supportable on a fixed surface and is tracked by sensors for sensing the location and/or orientation of the object. Force generators coupled to the linkage can lock one or more joints of the linkage in position. A multiprocessor system architecture is disclosed wherein a host computer system is interfaced with a dedicated microprocessor which is responsive to the output of the sensors and provides the host computer with information derived from the sensors. The host computer runs an application program which responds to sensor information and can display images in accordance therewith.
242 Citations
23 Claims
-
1. A position sensing device for use in conjunction with a host computer and a fixed surface, said device comprising:
-
a user manipulatable object moveable by a user; a mechanical linkage coupled to said fixed surface by a base rotary joint and coupled to said user manipulatable object by an object rotary joint, said mechanical linkage allowing at least five degrees of freedom in the motion of said object with respect to said fixed surface, wherein said mechanical linkage provides said degrees of freedom through a structure of substantially rigid members joined by a plurality of rotary joints, said mechanical linkage providing said user the ability to manipulate both a location and an orientation of said object in three dimensional space; at least one sensor for producing a locative signal which is responsive to and corresponding with a position of said user manipulatable object, said locative signal providing information about the location of said user manipulatable object for use by said host computer; and at least one force generator for locking a corresponding rotary joint of said mechanical linkage in response to force signals provided to said position sensing device from said host computer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A position sensing device for use in conjunction with a host computer, said position sensing device comprising:
-
a user manipulatable object engagable by a user'"'"'s hand to allow manipulations of said user manipulatable object; a mechanical linkage coupled to a fixed surface and coupled to said user manipulatable object, said linkage for supporting said object while allowing at least five degrees of freedom in the motion of said object with respect to said fixed surface, said mechanical linkage providing said degrees of freedom through a structure of substantially rigid members joined by rotary joints, said mechanical linkage providing said user the ability to manipulate both a location and orientation of said user manipulatable object in three dimensional space; at least one force generator for locking a joint of said mechanical linkage for one of said at least five degrees of freedom in response to force feedback commands provided by said host computer; a device microprocessor separate from said host computer, said device microprocessor enabling communication between said device and said host computer; one or more sensors coupled to said device microprocessor for producing a locative signal which is responsive to and corresponding with the position of said user manipulatable object in three dimensional space; and memory local to said device microprocessor and separate from memory of said host computer for locally storing a representation of said locative signal. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A method for sensing the position of a user manipulatable object using a position sensing device coupled to a host computer, the method comprising:
-
providing a mechanical linkage coupled to a fixed surface and coupled to a user manipulatable object, said linkage for supporting said object while allowing at least five degrees of freedom in the motion of said object with respect to said fixed surface, said mechanical linkage providing said degrees of freedom through a structure of substantially rigid members joined by rotary joints, said mechanical linkage providing said user the ability to manipulate both a location and orientation of said object in three dimensional space; sensing a position of said user manipulatable object using at least one sensor coupled to said mechanical linkage, said at least one sensor producing a locative signal which is responsive to and corresponding with the position of said user manipulatable object in three dimensional space, wherein a representation of said locative signal is provided to said host computer; and locking a joint of said mechanical linkage for one of said at least five degrees of freedom in response to force feedback commands provided by said host computer. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
-
Specification