Force feedback device including safety switch and force magnitude ramping
First Claim
1. A force feedback interface device for safe use by a user, said interface device comprising:
- a sensor capable of sensing the position of a user manipulatable object along a degree of freedom and capable of providing a sensor signal indicating said position of said user manipulatable object to a host computer coupled to said interface device;
an actuator capable of applying a force to said user manipulatable object along said degree of freedom;
a safety switch coupled to said user manipulatable object and capable of disabling said actuator when said user is not using said interface device and for enabling said actuator when said user is using said interface device, wherein said force cannot be output by said actuator when said actuator is disabled; and
a device coupled to said safety switch capable of executing a force ramping process when said safety switch enables said actuator, said force ramping process preventing said force from being applied to said user manipulatable object at a high initial magnitude, said force ramping process causing said force to be produced at a reduced magnitude and slowly increased to a desired magnitude over a period of time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A force feedback interface device including safety features. The interface device includes a sensor that senses the position of a user manipulatable object in a degree of freedom and provides a sensor signal indicating the position of the user manipulatable object to a host computer. An actuator of the device applies a force to the user manipulatable object in the degree of freedom. A safety switch of the interface device disables the actuator when the user is not using the interface device and enables the actuator when the user is using the device. A device is included in the interface device to execute a force ramping process when the safety switch enables the actuator, the force ramping process causing the force to be produced at a reduced magnitude and slowly increased to a desired magnitude over a period of time to avoid an abrupt application of initial force.
309 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A force feedback interface device for safe use by a user, said interface device comprising:
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a sensor capable of sensing the position of a user manipulatable object along a degree of freedom and capable of providing a sensor signal indicating said position of said user manipulatable object to a host computer coupled to said interface device;
an actuator capable of applying a force to said user manipulatable object along said degree of freedom;
a safety switch coupled to said user manipulatable object and capable of disabling said actuator when said user is not using said interface device and for enabling said actuator when said user is using said interface device, wherein said force cannot be output by said actuator when said actuator is disabled; and
a device coupled to said safety switch capable of executing a force ramping process when said safety switch enables said actuator, said force ramping process preventing said force from being applied to said user manipulatable object at a high initial magnitude, said force ramping process causing said force to be produced at a reduced magnitude and slowly increased to a desired magnitude over a period of time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A force feedback interface device for use with a host computer running a host software application, said interface device providing force sensations to said user that are correlated with events within said host software application, said interface device including a deadman safety switch, said interface device comprising:
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a user object for manipulation by a user in at least one degree of freedom with respect to an origin;
a sensor capable of detecting motion of said user object in said degree of freedom and producing a locative sensor signal, wherein a representation of said locative sensor signal is conveyed to said host computer, thereby allowing said host software application to update a process in response to manipulation of said user object;
an actuator physically coupled to said user object, said actuator capable of applying forces of a normal magnitude upon said user object along said degree of freedom to produce said force sensations;
a deadman switch capable of preventing said actuator from producing said force sensations when said user is not engaging said user object in a predetermined manner; and
a device coupled to said deadman switch capable of executing a force ramping process when said deadman switch is engaged to prevent forces from being abruptly applied to said user object, said force ramping process causing said force sensations to be produced at a reduced magnitude and slowly increased to said normal magnitude over a period of time. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. A method for providing force feedback safely to a user using a force feedback interface device, the method comprising:
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enabling a sensing of a position of a user manipulatable object in a degree of freedom and a provision of a sensor signal indicating said position of said user manipulatable object to a host computer coupled to said interface device;
enabling an application of a force to said user manipulatable object in said degree of freedom using an actuator;
enabling a disabling of said actuator when said user is not using said interface device such that said actuator is not able to apply said force;
enabling said actuator to apply said force when said user is using said interface device; and
enabling a prevention of said force from being applied at a high initial magnitude to said user manipulatable object after said actuator has been enabled by slowly increasing a magnitude of said force to a desired full magnitude over a period of time. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A force feedback interface device for use with a host computer running a software application, the interface device comprising:
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a user object for manipulation by a user in at least one degree of freedom with respect to an origin;
a sensor capable of detecting motion of said user object in said degree of freedom and producing a locative sensor signal, wherein a representation of said locative sensor signal is conveyed to said host computer across a communication bus, thereby allowing said software application to update a process in response to manipulation of said user object;
an actuator physically coupled to said user object through a transmission, said actuator capable of applying forces upon said user object along said degree of freedom to produce a force sensation;
a local processor separate from said host computer and electrically coupled to said actuator, said local processor capable of executing a local process, said local processor coupled to said actuator such that said actuator is capable of applying said forces in response to signals produced by said local processor, wherein said local process locally generates said force sensation by modulating a magnitude of said forces produced by said actuator over a period of time in response to commands received from said host computer across said communication bus, and wherein said local processor executes a safety ramping routine that prevents said forces from being abruptly restored when said safety switch is engaged by said user; and
a deadman safety switch capable of preventing said actuator from applying force sensations when said user is not engaging said user object in approximately a predetermined manner, said dead-man safety switch being coupled to said local processor that locally monitors a state of said safety switch. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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28. A force feedback interface device for use with a host computer running a software application, the interface device comprising:
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a user object for manipulation by a user in at least one degree of freedom with respect to an origin;
a sensor capable of detecting motion of said user object in said degree of freedom and producing a locative sensor signal, wherein a representation of said locative sensor signal is conveyed to said host computer across a communication bus, thereby allowing said software application to update a process in response to manipulation of said user object;
an actuator physically coupled to said user object through a transmission, said actuator capable of applying forces upon said user object along said degree of freedom to produce a force sensation;
a local processor separate from said host computer and electrically coupled to said actuator, said local processor capable of executing a local process, said local processor coupled to said actuator such that said actuator is capable of applying said forces in response to signals produced by said local processor, wherein said local process locally generates said force sensation by modulating a magnitude of said forces produced by said actuator over a period of time in response to commands received from said host computer across said communication bus;
a deadman safety switch capable of preventing said actuator from applying force sensations when said user is not engaging said user object in approximately a predetermined manner, said dead-man safety switch being coupled to said local processor that locally monitors a state of said safety switch; and
a thermistor coupled to said actuator capable of sensing an operating temperature of said actuator and relaying said sensed temperature to said processor as an electrical signal. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A force feedback interface device for use with a host computer running a software application, the interface device comprising:
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a user object for manipulation by a user in at least one degree of freedom with respect to an origin;
a sensor capable of detecting motion of said user object in said degree of freedom and producing a locative sensor signal, wherein a representation of said locative sensor signal is conveyed to said host computer across a communication bus, thereby allowing said software application to update a process in response to manipulation of said user object;
an actuator physically coupled to said user object through a transmission, said actuator capable of applying forces upon said user object along said degree of freedom to produce a force sensation;
a local processor separate from said host computer and electrically coupled to said actuator, said local processor capable of executing a local process, said local processor coupled to said actuator such that said actuator is capable of applying said forces in response to signals produced by said local processor, wherein said local process locally generates said force sensation by modulating a magnitude of said forces produced by said actuator over a period of time in response to commands received from said host computer across said communication bus;
a deadman safety switch capable of preventing said actuator from applying force sensations when said user is not engaging said user object in approximately a predetermined manner, said dead-man safety switch being coupled to said local processor that locally monitors a state of said safety switch; and
a power storage device capable of storing power received from a power source and supplying said stored power in conjunction with power from said power source to said actuator.
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Specification