Acceleration generator and pseudo force sense generator

• US 7,868,489 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2007
• Issued: 01/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
• Inventors: Maeda, Tarou, Amemiya, Tomohiro, Andou, Hideyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Lam; Thanh
• Application Number:
  US11/813,549
• Publication Number:
  US 20100033030A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,448 Days
• Field of Search: 310/12.16, 310 13- 14, 310/81
• US Class Current: 310/12.16
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 33/00 Motors with reciprocating, oscillating or vibrating magnet, armature or coil system arrangements for handling mechanical energy structurally associated with motors H02K7/00, e.g. H02K7/06
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 35/02 with moving magnets and stationary coil systems
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 35/04 with moving coil systems and stationary magnets
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/1876 with reciprocating, linearly oscillating or vibrating parts

Abstract

An acceleration generator 20 includes: a moving member (21, 25) that performs a periodic translational motion along a particular straight line; a first operating part (24) that applies a first force that varies in magnitude depending on the relative position thereof with respect to the moving member to the moving member in a direction parallel to the particular straight line; and a second operating part (27) that applies a second force that varies in magnitude depending on the relative position thereof with respect to the moving member to the moving member in a direction parallel to the particular straight line. The moving member performs a translational motion in which the acceleration thereof in the positive direction and the acceleration thereof in the negative direction are asymmetric in one period.

Claims

1. An acceleration generator to cause a person to sense a pseudo force in a predetermined direction, comprising:

a moving member that performs a periodic translational motion along a particular straight line which is parallel to the predetermined direction;

a first operating part that generates a first force in said predetermined direction and applies the first force to said moving member in the predetermined direction; and

a second operating part that generates a second force in a direction opposing the predetermined direction and applies the second force to said moving member in the opposing direction, wherein

a magnitude of said first force varies with a relative position of said moving member with respect to a supporting point of said first operating part,

a magnitude of said second force varies with the relative position of said moving member with respect to a supporting point of said second operating part, and

when the predetermined direction is a positive direction, and the direction opposite to the predetermined direction is a negative direction, said moving member performs a translational motion in which a slope of a sigmoid curve that expresses the relationship between an acceleration of said moving member and an acceleration sensed by the person, when the acceleration of the moving member is exerted to the person, differs between a point of a maximum value of the acceleration in the positive direction of said moving member and the point of the maximum value of the acceleration in the negative direction of said moving member.

2. The acceleration generator according to claim 1, wherein a ratio between the magnitude of said first force and the magnitude of said second force varies with the relative positions of said moving member with respect to the supporting point of said first operating part and the supporting point of said second operating part.

3. The acceleration generator according to claim 1, wherein the translational motion of said moving member is a motion in which a maximum value of an absolute value of the acceleration in the positive direction and a maximum value of the acceleration in the negative direction differs from each other, and the duration of the acceleration in the direction in which the greater maximum value is provided is shorter than the duration of the acceleration in the direction in which the smaller maximum value is provided.

4. The acceleration generator according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said first operating part and said second operating part is configured to apply the force to said moving member using an elastic force of a spring, and

the acceleration generator further comprises a spring constant regulator that changes the spring constant of said spring.

5. The acceleration generator according to claim 1, further comprising:

a frame,

wherein said particular straight line is a straight line determined with reference to said frame,

said moving member has a first permanent magnet that performs a periodic translational motion along said particular straight line,

said first operating part is a elastic body that is fixed to said frame at the supporting point thereof and to said moving member at the other end thereof and makes said moving member perform a vibrational motion along said particular straight line, and

said second operating part is a second permanent magnet that is disposed on a position on said particular straight line and fixed to said frame at the supporting point thereof.

6. The acceleration generator according to claim 1, further comprising:

a frame,

wherein said particular straight line is a straight line determined with reference to said frame,

said first operating part has;

a first iron core disposed on said particular straight line; and

a first elastic body that is fixed to said frame at the supporting point thereof and to said first iron core at the other end thereof and makes said first iron core perform a vibrational motion along said particular straight line,

said second operating part has;

a second iron core disposed on said particular straight line; and

a second elastic body that is fixed to said frame at the supporting point thereof and to said second iron core at the other end thereof and makes said second iron core perform a vibrational motion along said particular straight line, and

said moving member performs a translational motion between said first iron core and said second iron core along said particular straight line.

7. The acceleration generator according to claim 6, wherein at least one of said first elastic body and said second elastic body is a spring, and

the acceleration generator further comprises a spring constant regulator that fixes the position of any part of the at least one of said first elastic body and said second elastic body, which is a spring, with respect to said frame.

8. The acceleration generator according to claim 6, wherein at least one of said first elastic body and said second elastic body is a conductive spring, and

the acceleration generator further comprises a spring constant regulator, which is a power supply that applies a voltage to the at least one of said first elastic body and said second elastic body, which is a conductive spring.

9. The acceleration generator according to claim 1, further comprising:

a frame; and

a movable part the relative position of which with respect to said frame in the directions of said particular straight line can be changed,

wherein said first operating part is configured to be supported on said frame to apply said first force to said moving member, and

said second operating part is configured to be supported on said movable part to apply said second force to said moving member.

10. A pseudo force sense generator, comprising two or more acceleration generators according to claim 1.

11. The pseudo force sense generator according to claim 10, wherein, when a predetermined number of acceleration generators constituting the pseudo force sense generator are activated, the total sum of the force vectors generated by said acceleration generators is zero at all times.

12. The pseudo force sense generator according to claim 10, further comprising:

a position adjuster that changes the positional relationship among two or more of acceleration generators constituting the pseudo force sense generator,

wherein, when the two or more acceleration generators constituting the pseudo force sense generator are in a predetermined positional relationship, the total sum of the force vectors generated by said acceleration generators is zero at all times, and

when the two or more acceleration generators constituting the pseudo force sense generator are in another positional relationship, the total sum of the force vectors generated by said acceleration generators is a value other than zero at least at a certain time.