Interface device and method for providing enhanced cursor control with force feedback
First Claim
1. A method for providing enhanced cursor control using a force feedback interface device coupled to a host computer displaying a graphical environment and a cursor within said graphical environment on a display device, the method comprising:
- (a) reading a position of a manipulandum in a device workspace as a reference position, said manipulandum being grasped by a user;
(b) reporting a cursor position to said host computer derived from said reference position, wherein said host computer displays said cursor within said graphical environment on said display device at a position corresponding to said cursor position, and wherein said reported cursor position is a ballistics position, said ballistics position being said reference position modified by a ballistics algorithm by which a position of said cursor is mapped to a position of said manipulandum based on a scaling derived from a velocity of said manipulandum in said device workspace;
(c) determining whether said cursor interacts with said graphical environment as to cause a force to be output on said manipulandum; and
(d) determining and outputting said force on said manipulandum if so determined in (c), wherein said reported cursor position allows said user of said force feedback interface device to finely position said cursor within said graphical environment and coarsely move said cursor as desired in said graphical environment.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An interface device and method for providing enhanced cursor control with force feedback. A force feedback interface device includes a manipulandum, such as a mouse, that is moveable in a local workspace. The device is coupled to a host computer that displays a cursor in a graphical environment, such as a GUI, on a display screen. A scaled cursor position in the display frame is reported to the host computer derived from a reference position of the mouse in the local frame, and the host displays the cursor. For example, the cursor position may be scaled by a ballistics algorithm based on mouse velocity to allow fine positioning or coarse motion of the cursor. A force is output on the mouse based on interactions in the GUI, the force being determined based on mouse reference data or cursor ballistic data, depending on the type of force, to reduce distortion between visual and force outputs.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method for providing enhanced cursor control using a force feedback interface device coupled to a host computer displaying a graphical environment and a cursor within said graphical environment on a display device, the method comprising:
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(a) reading a position of a manipulandum in a device workspace as a reference position, said manipulandum being grasped by a user;
(b) reporting a cursor position to said host computer derived from said reference position, wherein said host computer displays said cursor within said graphical environment on said display device at a position corresponding to said cursor position, and wherein said reported cursor position is a ballistics position, said ballistics position being said reference position modified by a ballistics algorithm by which a position of said cursor is mapped to a position of said manipulandum based on a scaling derived from a velocity of said manipulandum in said device workspace;
(c) determining whether said cursor interacts with said graphical environment as to cause a force to be output on said manipulandum; and
(d) determining and outputting said force on said manipulandum if so determined in (c), wherein said reported cursor position allows said user of said force feedback interface device to finely position said cursor within said graphical environment and coarsely move said cursor as desired in said graphical environment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for providing enhanced cursor control using a force feedback interface device coupled to a host computer displaying a graphical environment and a cursor within said graphical environment on a display device, the method comprising:
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(a) reading a position of a manipulandum in a device workspace as a reference position, said manipulandum being grasped by a user;
(b) reporting a cursor position to said host computer, wherein said cursor position is a ballistic position, said ballistic position being said reference position that has been modified according to a ballistics algorithm, said ballistics algorithm allowing fine positioning of said cursor at relatively slower movement of said manipulandum and allowing coarse movement of said cursor at relatively faster movement of said manipulandum to provide enhanced cursor control to said user when moving said manipulandum, and wherein said host computer displays said cursor within said graphical environment on said display device at a position corresponding to said cursor position;
(c) determining whether a force is to be output on said manipulandum based on an interaction of said cursor and said graphical environment;
(d) determining said force, wherein if said determination of said force is at least in part based on motion of said manipulandum, said reference position is used in said determination of said force; and
(e) outputting said determined force on said manipulandum. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A force feedback mouse interface device that provides enhanced cursor control over a cursor displayed on a display screen of a host computer coupled to said interface device, the force feedback interface device comprising:
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a mouse object physically contacted by a user and movable in a planar workspace in at least two degrees of freedom with respect to a ground;
at least one sensor that reads a position of said mouse object as a reference position;
a plurality of actuators coupled to said mouse object that provide forces on said mouse object in said planar device workspace; and
a local microprocessor, separate from said host computer and coupled to said sensor and to said actuators, said local microprocessor storing said reference position in a local memory and reporting a cursor position to said host computer, wherein said microprocessor modifies said reference position by a ballistics algorithm to determine said cursor position, said cursor position providing enhanced cursor control to said user when moving said mouse object, and wherein said host computer displays said cursor within said graphical environment on said display device at a position corresponding to said cursor position, and outputting a force by controlling said actuators, said output of said force based on an interaction of said cursor with a graphical environment displayed by said host computer, wherein a determination of said force is based at least in part on motion of said mouse object, wherein said reference position is used in said determination of said force. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for providing enhanced cursor control using a force feedback interface device coupled to a host computer displaying a graphical environment and a cursor within said graphical environment on a display device, the method comprising:
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providing a manipulandum to be grasped and moved by a user;
sensing the motion of said manipulandum with respect to a fixed local frame and determining a reference position and reference velocity of said manipulandum within said local frame;
deriving a scaled position from said reference position, wherein a relation between said scaled position and said reference position is influenced by said reference velocity in order to allow different scalings for fine positioning and coarse positioning of said cursor, thereby providing enhanced cursor control to said user when moving said manipulandum;
providing said scaled position for use in said display of said cursor within said graphical environment;
determining whether a force is to be output on said manipulandum using said scaled position, at least in part, in said determination;
computing a force magnitude of said force to be output on said manipulandum using said scaled position, at least in part, in said computation of said force magnitude; and
outputting said computed force to said user through said manipulandum. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A force feedback interface device for providing enhanced cursor control, said interface device being coupled to a host computer displaying a graphical environment and a cursor within said graphical environment on a display device, the force feedback interface device comprising:
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a manipulandum to be grasped and moved by a user;
a sensor that senses the motion of said manipulandum with respect to a fixed local frame and determines a reference position and reference velocity of said manipulandum within said local frame;
an actuator operative to output a force on said manipulandum;
a local microprocessor coupled to said sensor and to said actuator, said local microprocessor deriving a scaled position from said reference position, wherein the relation between scaled position and reference position is influenced by said reference velocity in order to allow different scalings for fine motion and course motion of said cursor, thereby providing enhanced cursor control to said user when moving said manipulandum, reporting said scaled position to said host computer, wherein said host computer uses said scaled position in said display of said cursor within said graphical environment;
determining whether a force is to be output on said manipulandum, said local processor using said scaled position, at least in part, in said determination;
computing a force magnitude of said force to be output on said manipulandum, said local microprocessor using said reference position or said reference velocity, at least in part, in said computation of said force magnitude; and
outputting said computed force to said user through said manipulandum by controlling said actuator. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
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37. A method for providing enhanced cursor control using a force feedback interface device coupled to a host computer displaying a graphical environment and a cursor within said graphical environment on a display device, the method comprising:
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(a) reading a position of a manipulandum in a device workspace as a reference position, said manipulandum being grasped by a user;
(b) reporting a cursor position to said host computer, wherein said cursor position is said reference position that has been modified to a position allowing fine positioning or coarse movement of said cursor to provide enhanced cursor control to said user when moving said manipulandum, wherein said host computer displays said cursor within said graphical environment on said display device at a position corresponding to said cursor position, and wherein said cursor position that has been modified is a scaled reference position that allows fine positioning of said cursor, said scaling of said reference position being performed only when fine positioning is determined to be necessary for positioning said cursor;
(c) determining whether a force is output on said manipulandum based on an interaction of said cursor and said graphical environment;
(d) determining a force, wherein if said force is at least in part based on motion of said manipulandum, said reference position is used in said determination of said force; and
(e) outputting said determined force on said manipulandum. - View Dependent Claims (38)
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39. A computer readable medium including program instructions for providing enhanced cursor control for an interface device, said interface device coupled to a host computer displaying a graphical environment and a cursor within said graphical environment on a display device, said program instructions performing the following:
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reading a position of a manipulandum in a device workspace as a reference position, said manipulandum being grasped by a user;
reporting a cursor position to said host computer, wherein said cursor position is a ballistic position, said ballistic position being said reference position that has been modified according to a ballistics algorithm, said ballistics algorithm allowing fine positioning of said cursor at relatively slower movement of said manipulandum and allowing coarse movement of said cursor at relatively faster movement of said manipulandum, and wherein said host computer displays said cursor within said graphical environment on said display device at a position corresponding to said cursor position;
determining whether a force is to be output on said manipulandum based on an interaction of said cursor and said graphical environment;
determining said force, wherein if said determination of said force is at least in part based on motion of said manipulandum, said reference position is used in said determination of said force; and
outputting said determined force on said manipulandum. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41)
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Specification