Method and apparatus for controlling force feedback for a computer interface device
First Claim
1. A force feedback interface device manipulated by a user and communicating with a host computer implementing a host application program executed in parallel with operation of said force feedback interface device, said host computer updating said host application program in response to input data, said force feedback interface device comprising:
- a microprocessor, separate from said host computer, that communicates with said host computer via a communication interface by receiving a host force command from said host computer and by sending said input data to said host computer, said input data being derived from sensor data received by said microprocessor, wherein said host computer updates said parallel execution of said host application program in response to said input data and wherein said microprocessor can receive both high level host force commands and low level host force commands selectively sent by said host computer, said high level host force commands instructing said local microprocessor to compute force magnitudes and output said computed force magnitudes in a processor force signal, and said low level host force commands including force magnitudes and causing said local microprocessor to output said processor force signal based on said included force magnitudes;
a user object movable in at least one degree of freedom by a user and adapted to be physically contacted and manipulated by said user;
an actuator electrically coupled to said microprocessor and operative to apply a force to said user in accordance with said processor force signal from said microprocessor; and
at least one sensor that detects a position of said user object in said at least one degree of freedom and outputs said sensor data to said microprocessor, said sensor data including information representative of said position of said user object in said at least one degree of freedom.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for controlling and providing force feedback using an interface device manipulated by a user. A microprocessor is provided local to the interface device and reads sensor data from sensors that describes the position and/or other information about an object grasped and moved by the user, such as a joystick. The microprocessor provides the sensor data to a host computer that is coupled to the interface device by a communication bus that preferably includes a serial interface. In a “host-controlled” embodiment, the host computer calculates force values using the sensor data and other parameters of a host application program and sends the force values to the local microprocessor, which directly provides the force values to actuators to apply forces to the user object. In a “reflex” embodiment, the host computer sends high level supervisory commands to the local microprocessor, and the microprocessor independently implements a local process based on the high level command for reading sensor data and providing force values to the actuators using sensor data and other parameters.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. A force feedback interface device manipulated by a user and communicating with a host computer implementing a host application program executed in parallel with operation of said force feedback interface device, said host computer updating said host application program in response to input data, said force feedback interface device comprising:
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a microprocessor, separate from said host computer, that communicates with said host computer via a communication interface by receiving a host force command from said host computer and by sending said input data to said host computer, said input data being derived from sensor data received by said microprocessor, wherein said host computer updates said parallel execution of said host application program in response to said input data and wherein said microprocessor can receive both high level host force commands and low level host force commands selectively sent by said host computer, said high level host force commands instructing said local microprocessor to compute force magnitudes and output said computed force magnitudes in a processor force signal, and said low level host force commands including force magnitudes and causing said local microprocessor to output said processor force signal based on said included force magnitudes;
a user object movable in at least one degree of freedom by a user and adapted to be physically contacted and manipulated by said user;
an actuator electrically coupled to said microprocessor and operative to apply a force to said user in accordance with said processor force signal from said microprocessor; and
at least one sensor that detects a position of said user object in said at least one degree of freedom and outputs said sensor data to said microprocessor, said sensor data including information representative of said position of said user object in said at least one degree of freedom. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for providing force feedback using a force feedback device in communication with a host computer, the method comprising:
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providing a user manipulatable object for said force feedback device, said user manipulatable object moveable in at least one degree of freedom and physically contacted by a user;
sensing positions of said user manipulatable object in said at least one degree of freedom with at least one sensor and producing sensor signals therefrom;
using a microprocessor local to said force feedback device and separate from said host computer to receive said sensor signals and to retrieve a force profile from a memory device local to said force feedback device, said force profile including a sequence of stored force magnitudes to be output as a function of time;
outputting said sensor signals to said host computer from said microprocessor; and
outputting said force magnitudes as a function of time to an actuator coupled to said microprocessor, wherein said actuator outputs forces derived from said force magnitudes to said user. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A force feedback device manipulated by a user and communicating with a host computer implementing a host application program in parallel with operation of said force feedback interface device, said host computer updating said host application program in response to input data, said force feedback device comprising:
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at least one sensor detecting motion of a user manipulatable object of said force feedback device in at least one degree of freedom and outputting a sensor signal representative of a position or motion of said user manipulatable object in said at least one degree of freedom, said user manipulatable object being physically contacted and manipulated by a user;
an actuator receiving actuator signals and outputting forces to a user of said force feedback device in accordance with said actuator signals; and
a microprocessor local to said force feedback device and separate from said host computer, said microprocessor operative to receive said sensor signal from said at least one sensor and send sensor information derived from said sensor signal to said host computer, wherein said microprocessor receives host commands from said host computer and outputs control signals based on said host commands, said actuator signals received by said actuator being based on said control signals, and wherein said microprocessor is operative to receive both high level host commands and low level host commands selectively sent by said host computer, said high level host commands causing said microprocessor to determine force information in said control signals based on parameters in said high level host commands, and said low level host commands including force information that is directly output by said microprocessor in said control signals. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for providing force feedback to a user manipulating a force feedback device, said force feedback device communicating with a host computer implementing a host application program in parallel with operation of said force feedback device, the method comprising:
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detecting motion of a user manipulable object of said force feedback device in at least one degree of freedom and providing a sensor signal representative of a position of said user manipulatable object in said at least one degree of freedom, said user manipulatable object being physically contacted and manipulated by a user;
sending sensor information derived from said sensor signal to said host computer, said host computer updating said host application program in response to said sensor information;
receiving host commands from said host computer on a microprocessor local to said force feedback device and separate from said host computer, wherein said microprocessor can receive high level host commands and can receive low level host commands, said high level host commands and low level host commands being selectively sent by said host computer; and
outputting control signals from said microprocessor based on said host commands, wherein said high level host commands cause said microprocessor to output said control signals based on parameters in said high level host commands, said output performed during time periods between receiving host commands, and said low level host commands including low level force information and cause said microprocessor to output said control signals based on said low level force information only when each of said low level host commands are received and not during periods between receiving said low level host commands, wherein an actuator of said force feedback device receives actuator signals that are based on said control signals, said actuator outputting forces to a user of said force feedback device in accordance with said actuator signals. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A force feedback device manipulated by a user and communicating with a host computer implementing a host application program in parallel with operation of said force feedback interface device, said host computer updating said host application program in response to input data, said force feedback device comprising:
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at least one sensor detecting motion of a user manipulable object of said force feedback device in at least one degree of freedom and outputting a sensor signal representative of a position of said user manipulatable object in said at least one degree of freedom, said user manipulatable object being physically contacted and manipulated by a user;
an actuator operative to receive actuator signals and output forces to a user of said force feedback device in accordance with said actuator signals; and
a microprocessor local to said force feedback device and separate from said host computer, said microprocessor operative to receive said sensor signal from said at least one sensor and send sensor information derived from said sensor signal to said host computer, wherein said microprocessor receives host commands from said host computer and outputs control signals based on said host commands, said actuator signals received by said actuator being based on said control signals, and wherein said microprocessor is operative to receive both high level host commands and low level host commands selectively sent by said host computer, said high level host commands causing said microprocessor to determine force information in said control signals based on a position of said user manipulatable object in said at least one degree of freedom or based on time, and said low level host commands causing said microprocessor to output said control signals based on low level information in said low level host commands and not based on said position of said user manipulatable object nor based on time. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification