Method and apparatus for streaming force values to a force feedback device

• US 7,209,117 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2003
• Issued: 04/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Original Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Inventors: Rosenberg, Louis B., Braun, Adam C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Liang; Regina
• Application Number:
  US10/730,067
• Publication Number:
  US 20040113932A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-158, 345/161, 345/163, 345/169, 715/701, 715/702
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/21 characterised by their sensors, purposes or types
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/23 for interfacing with the game device, e.g. specific interfaces between game controller and console
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/285 Generating tactile feedback signals via the game input device, e.g. force feedback
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1025 details of the interface with the game device, e.g. USB version detection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1037 being specially adapted for converting control signals received from the game device into a haptic signal, e.g. using force feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 2009/04766 providing feel, e.g. indexing means, means to create counterforce
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 2009/04777 with additional push or pull action on the handle
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 9/047 the controlling member being movable by hand about orthogonal axes, e.g. joysticks for switches H01H25/04
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/015 Force feedback applied to a joystick
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0383 Signal control means within the pointing device
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2003/008 with a haptic or a tactile feedback controlled by electrical means, e.g. a motor or magnetofriction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

A method and apparatus for shaping force signals for a force feedback device. A source wave is provided and is defined by a set of control parameters (including a steady state magnitude, a frequency value and a duration value) and modified by a set of impulse parameters (including an impulse magnitude, and a settle time representing a time required for the impulse magnitude to change to the steady-state magnitude). Optionally, application parameters specifying a direction of force signal and trigger parameters specifying activating buttons can also be provided for the source wave. Using a host processor or a local processor, the force signal is formed from the source wave and the sets of control parameters and impulse parameters, where the force signal includes an impulse signal followed by a continual steady-state signal after an expiration of the settle time. A feel sensation is generated to a user of the force feedback device as physical forces produced by actuators on the force feedback device in response to the force signal. The steady-state magnitude value is lower than a magnitude value of a non-impulse-shaped force signal required to create a corresponding feel sensation having a similar apparent sensation to the user.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

sending a source wave;

sending a set of values associated with control parameters, said control parameters including at least one of a steady-state magnitude value, a frequency value, and a duration value associated with the source wave, the steady-state magnitude value associated with a steady-state magnitude of the source wave, the frequency value associated with a frequency of the source wave, the duration value associated with a duration of output of haptic feedback;

sending impulse parameters, including;

an impulse value, the impulse value associated with an impulse force level of the source wave, the value of the impulse force level being different from the value of the steady-state magnitude;

a settle time, the settle time associated with a time for a magnitude of the force signal to change from the impulse force level to the value of the steady-state magnitude; and

sending a force signal, the force signal based on the source wave, the set of control parameters, and the set of impulse parameters, the haptic feedback being based on the force signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the haptic feedback is output via at least one actuator.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the source wave includes one of a constant profile, a sine wave, a square wave, a triangular wave, and a force profile.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data values associated with the force signal are time-varying data values.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the impulse value is higher than the steady-state magnitude value, the settle time associated with a time for a magnitude of the force signal to decay from the value of the impulse force level to the value of the steady-state magnitude.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the settle time is less than one order of magnitude faster than a steady-state time associated with a duration of the steady-state magnitude.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the force signal is generated at the steady-state magnitude value after an expiration of the settle time.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the force wave is terminated based on the duration value.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a value for each application parameter from a set of application parameters, said application parameters specifying a vector of the force signal.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a set of trigger parameters, the set of trigger parameters specifying a generation of the haptic feedback based on an activation of a switch of a haptic feedback device.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising outputting the haptic feedback based on the value of each trigger parameter from the set of trigger parameters, the trigger parameters being based on actuation of switches of a haptic feedback device.

12. A device, comprising:

a sensor configured to detect a position of a user object, the user object movable by a user, and to output a position signal associated with a position of the user object;

a local microprocessor configured to communicate with a host computer, the local microprocessor configured to output an impulse-shaped force signal; and

an actuator electrically coupled to the local microprocessor and configured to receive the impulse-shaped force signal, the actuator configured to output haptic feedback based on the impulse-shaped force signal, the haptic feedback including a first magnitude at a time and a second magnitude at a time different from the time of the first magnitude, the second magnitude being different from the first magnitude.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the local microprocessor is configured to receive the impulse-shaped force signal from a host processor of the host computer, the local microprocessor being configured to relay the impulse-shaped force signal to the actuator.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein the local microprocessor is configured to receive a source wave from the host computer and adjust the source wave to provide the impulse-shaped force signal to the actuator.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the local microprocessor is configured to add a value of a control parameter and a value of an impulse parameter to the source wave to provide the impulse-shaped force signal, the value of the control parameter being operative to modify a frequency and a magnitude of the impulse-shaped force signal, the value of the impulse parameter being operative to modify the value of the magnitude of the impulse-shaped force signal.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the value of the control parameter is operative to modify a duration and a DC voltage offset of the impulse-shaped force signal.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the value of the impulse parameter is operative to modify an impulse magnitude and a settle time.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein the impulse-shaped force signal further includes an application parameter operative to indicate a direction of the haptic feedback.

19. The device of claim 15, further comprising at least one button coupled to the user object, the impulse-shaped signal further including a trigger value to indicate which buttons are associated with the output of the haptic feedback generated by the impulse-shaped signal.

20. The device of claim 14, further comprising a local memory coupled to the local microprocessor, the local memory configured to store a digital representation of the impulse-shaped force signal.

21. The device of claim 12, wherein the impulse-shaped force signal is one of a condition and an effect, the condition being based on a position of the user object, the effect being independent of the position of the user object.

22. The device of claim 12, wherein the host computer is configured to display a plurality of images on a visual output device and manipulate the plurality of images based on the sensor signals.

23. A method, comprising:

receiving a set of values associated with control parameters, said control parameters including at least one of a steady-state magnitude value, a frequency value, and a duration value for a source wave, the steady-state magnitude value associated with a steady-state magnitude of the source wave, the frequency value associated with a frequency of the source wave, the duration value associated with a duration of output of haptic feedback;

receiving a set of impulse parameters, including;

an impulse value, the impulse value associated with an impulse force level of the source wave, the value of the impulse force level being different from the steady-state magnitude value;

a settle time, the settle time associated with a time required for a magnitude of the force signal to change from the impulse force level to the steady-state magnitude value; and

receiving a force signal, the force signal based on the source wave, the set of control parameters, and the set of impulse parameters, the haptic feedback being based on the force signal.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the source wave, the control parameters, and the impulse parameters are received from a host computer, the force signal being generated by a local microprocessor different from the host computer.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the haptic feedback is output by an actuator.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the impulse value is higher than the steady-state magnitude value, the settle time associated with a required for a magnitude of the force signal to decay from the impulse force value to the steady-state value.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the force signal is generated at the steady-state value after an expiration of the settle time.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein the source wave includes one of a constant profile, a sine wave, a square wave, a triangular wave, and a stored force profile, the force profile being stored on a local memory device.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein the steady-state magnitude value is included in the set of control parameters, the steady-state magnitude value being a specified percentage of a maximum force output of an actuator.

30. The method of claim 23, wherein the settle time is at most about one-tenth of a duration of the steady-state magnitude value.

31. A device, comprising:

a user object, the user object movable by a user;

a sensor configured to detect a position of the user object and output a position signal, the position signal being based on the position of the user object; and

an actuator configured to receive an impulse-shaped force signal, said actuator configured to apply a force to the user object in accordance with the impulse-shaped force signal such that a force having an impulse magnitude value at a time, followed by a steady-state magnitude value different from the impulse magnitude value at a time different from the time associated with the impulse magnitude value, is applied to said user object.

32. The device of claim 31, further comprising a local microprocessor coupled to the actuator and configured to communicate with a host computer, the local microprocessor being configured to receive parameters from the host computer, generate the impulse-shaped force signal based on a source wave received from the host computer, and output the impulse-shaped force signal to the actuator.

33. The device of claim 31, wherein the steady-state magnitude value is lower than the impulse magnitude value.