Tactile mouse device
First Claim
1. A tactile feedback mouse coupled to a host computer implementing a host application program, said mouse physically manipulated by a user in a planar workspace, the mouse comprising:
- a housing that is physically contacted and moved by said user;
a sensor device coupled to said housing of said mouse, said sensor device detecting said movement of said mouse in said planar workspace and outputting sensor signals representative of said movement; and
an actuator coupled to said housing of said mouse, said actuator operative to output an inertial force with respect to an inertial ground, said inertial force output approximately along an axis perpendicular to said planar workspace, wherein said inertial force is generated by oscillating an inertial mass approximately along said axis with respect to said housing, said inertial force transmitted through said housing to said user contacting said housing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A low-cost tactile feedback mouse device for providing haptic feedback to a user for enhancing interactions and manipulations in a graphical environment provided by a computer. The mouse device includes a sensor device able to detect the movement of the mouse in the planar workspace. An actuator is coupled to the housing of the mouse and applies an inertial force in a particular degree of freedom, preferably along an axis perpendicular to the planar workspace, where the inertial force is transmitted through the housing to the user. The actuator outputs the inertial force preferably by linearly moving an inertial mass along the Z-axis. The output force is correlated with interaction of a controlled graphical object, such as a cursor, with other graphical objects in a graphical environment displayed by the host computer. The inertial force can be a pulse, vibration, texture force, or other type of force.
515 Citations
68 Claims
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1. A tactile feedback mouse coupled to a host computer implementing a host application program, said mouse physically manipulated by a user in a planar workspace, the mouse comprising:
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a housing that is physically contacted and moved by said user;
a sensor device coupled to said housing of said mouse, said sensor device detecting said movement of said mouse in said planar workspace and outputting sensor signals representative of said movement; and
an actuator coupled to said housing of said mouse, said actuator operative to output an inertial force with respect to an inertial ground, said inertial force output approximately along an axis perpendicular to said planar workspace, wherein said inertial force is generated by oscillating an inertial mass approximately along said axis with respect to said housing, said inertial force transmitted through said housing to said user contacting said housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A haptic feedback interface device coupled to a host computer implementing a graphical environment, said interface device physically manipulated by a user, the interface device comprising:
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a moveable object that is physically contacted and moved by said user;
a sensor device coupled to said moveable object of said interface device, said sensor device detecting said movement of said moveable object in a planar workspace and outputting sensor signals representative of said movement; and
an actuator coupled to said moveable object of said interface device, said actuator operative to output an inertial force substantially along a particular degree of freedom with respect to an inertial ground, wherein said inertial force is generated by oscillating an inertial mass approximately linearly in said degree of freedom with respect to said housing, said inertial force transmitted through said moveable object to said user contacting said moveable object, and wherein said inertial force is correlated with an interaction of a user-controlled graphical object with a different graphical object displayed in said graphical environment. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A method for providing haptic feedback to a user interacting with a graphical environment displayed by a host computer, the user manipulating a mouse device, the method comprising:
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enabling a detection of motion of said mouse device in a planar workspace and enabling a provision of an indication of said motion to said host computer;
enabling a reception of information from said host computer indicating that a tactile sensation is to be output, said tactile sensation being correlated with an interaction or event occurring within said graphical environment; and
enabling an output of an inertial force with respect to an inertial ground on a housing of said mouse device along an axis substantially perpendicular to said planar workspace, said inertial force caused by oscillating an inertial mass coupled to an actuator along said axis, wherein said inertial force is transmitted through said housing and said user can contact said housing and experience said inertial force. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48)
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49. A tactile feedback mouse coupled to a host computer implementing a graphical environment, said mouse physically manipulated by a user in a planar workspace, the mouse comprising:
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a housing that is physically contacted and moved by said user;
a sensor device coupled to said housing of said mouse, said sensor device detecting said movement of said mouse in said planar workspace and outputting sensor signals representative of said movement; and
an actuator coupled to said housing of said mouse, said actuator operative to apply an oscillating force on said housing along an axis substantially perpendicular to said planar workspace, said oscillating force being applied with respect to an inertial mass that acts as an inertial ground, wherein said oscillating force is transmitted through said housing to said user contacting said housing. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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67. A tactile feedback mouse coupled to a host computer implementing a host application program, said mouse physically manipulated by a user in a planar workspace, the mouse comprising:
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a housing that is physically contacted and moved by said user;
an optical sensor device coupled to said housing of said mouse, said optical sensor device detecting said movement of said housing in said planar workspace by detecting motion of a surface over which said housing is moved relative to said housing, said optical sensor device outputting sensor signals representative of said movement, wherein a position of said housing is determined from said sensor signals and used by said host computer; and
an actuator coupled to and positioned within said housing of said mouse, said actuator operative to output an inertial force with respect to an inertial ground, said inertial force output approximately along an axis perpendicular to said planar workspace, wherein said inertial force is generated by oscillating an inertial mass approximately along said axis with respect to said housing, said inertial force transmitted through said housing to said user contacting said housing. - View Dependent Claims (68)
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Specification