User interface device including braking mechanism for interfacing with computer simulations
First Claim
1. A user interface device for interfacing the motion of a user manipulatable object with a computer system, comprising:
- a) a cylindrical user manipulatable object contacted and manipulatable by a user;
b) a coupling provided between said user manipulatable object and a surface that allows translation of said user manipulatable object with respect to said surface;
c) at least one sensor coupled to said user manipulatable object that measures said translation of said object, wherein images are displayed by said computer system in coordination with said translation; and
(d) a brake mechanism applying a frictional resistive force upon said user manipulatable object in response to an electric signal, said brake mechanism applying said frictional resistive force to impede said translation of said user manipulatable object in coordination with said images displayed by said computer system said frictional resistive force being produced by moving a member of said braking mechanism against said cylindrical user manipulatable object and thereby applying a force substantially perpendicular to said translation of said user manipulatable object.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for interfacing an elongated flexible object with an electrical system. The apparatus includes an object receiving portion and a rotation transducer coupled to the object receiving portion adapted to determine the rotational motion of the elongated flexible object when the object is engaged with the object receiving portion and to provide an electromechanical interface between the object and the electrical system. In a preferred embodiment, the rotation transducer includes an actuator and translational transducer to provide a translational electromechanical interface between the object and the electrical system.
158 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A user interface device for interfacing the motion of a user manipulatable object with a computer system, comprising:
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a) a cylindrical user manipulatable object contacted and manipulatable by a user;
b) a coupling provided between said user manipulatable object and a surface that allows translation of said user manipulatable object with respect to said surface;
c) at least one sensor coupled to said user manipulatable object that measures said translation of said object, wherein images are displayed by said computer system in coordination with said translation; and
(d) a brake mechanism applying a frictional resistive force upon said user manipulatable object in response to an electric signal, said brake mechanism applying said frictional resistive force to impede said translation of said user manipulatable object in coordination with said images displayed by said computer system said frictional resistive force being produced by moving a member of said braking mechanism against said cylindrical user manipulatable object and thereby applying a force substantially perpendicular to said translation of said user manipulatable object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A user input device for interfacing the motion of a user manipulatable object with a computer system, comprising:
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a cylindrical user manipulatable object physically contacted and manipulatable by a user;
a coupling provided between said user manipulatable object and a surface that constrains motion of said user manipulatable object to no more than two degrees of freedom with respect to said surface, said two degrees of freedom including a rotational degree of freedom and a translational degree of freedom;
at least one sensor coupled to said user manipulatable object that measures the motion of said object in said two degrees of freedom and producing a sensor signal, wherein data based on said sensor signal is reported to said computer system to update a displayed simulation provided by said computer system; and
a brake mechanism applying a frictional resistive force upon said user manipulatable object in said translational degree of freedom in response to an electric signal, said brake mechanism applying said frictional resistive force to impede the motion of said user manipulatable object in said translational degree of freedom in coordination with simulated images displayed by said computer system, said frictional resistive force being produced by applying a force to said user manipulatable object substantially perpendicular to said translational degree of freedom using said brake mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A user interface device for interfacing the motion of a user manipulatable object with a computer system, comprising:
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an elongated user manipulatable object physically contacted and manipulatable by a user;
a coupling provided between said user manipulatable object and a surface that constrains motion of said user manipulatable object to not more than two degrees of freedom with respect to said surface said two degrees of freedom including a translational degree of freedom and a rotational degree of freedom;
at least one position sensor coupled to said user manipulatable object that measures the motion of said object in said two degrees of freedom;
a braking actuator applying a frictional resistive force upon said user manipulatable object in response to an electric signal, said braking actuator applying said frictional resistive force to impede the motion of said user manipulatable object in said translational degree of freedom in coordination with simulated images displayed by said computer system, wherein said frictional resistive force is produced by applying a force to said user manipulatable object substantially perpendicularly to said translational degree of freedom; and
a local microprocessor coupled to said position sensor and to said braking actuator, said local microprocessor interfacing said user interface device to said computer system through a communication link and reporting data to said computer system representing signals from said position sensor, wherein said local microprocessor receives commands from said computer system and controls said braking actuator in response to said commands and in parallel with said computer system executing a graphical simulation. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification