Tactile wearable gaming device
First Claim
1. A tactile wearable device comprising:
- a garment comprising a vest having a front panel configured to overlie a user'"'"'s chest including a first plurality of pneumatic force-generating devices and a back panel configured to overlie the user'"'"'s back including a second plurality of pneumatic force-generating devices, wherein the first and second plurality of pneumatic force-generating devices are each oriented and secured to the garment with a housing having an aperture through which the force-generating device extends;
a compressed air source;
a control valve assembly comprising a plurality of valves operatively coupling the first and second plurality of pneumatic force-generating devices to the compressed air source; and
a controller operatively coupled with the control valve assembly to selectively open and close the valves to modulate the first and second plurality of pneumatic force-generating devices, wherein the controller controls the rate of pressurization of the force-generating devices by modulating the timing and duration of opening the plurality of valves.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tactile garment, such as a gaming vest (420) or other garment or body-enveloping device. A pneumatic force-generating device (425) is embedded in the vest in multiple cell zones for selectively applying a modulated force to a user wearing the multi-layered vest. A compressed air source comprising a compressor (612) and an associated canister (606) selectively actuates the pneumatic force-generating devices to produce a tactile response. A control valve assembly couples the pneumatic force-generating device to the compressed air source. A controller (426) selectively opens and closes the control valve to modulate the pneumatic force-generating device and generate forces simulating real forces, such as impact and G-forces. Force sensors may be deployed in the cell zones to provide force data for generating secondary forces.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A tactile wearable device comprising:
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a garment comprising a vest having a front panel configured to overlie a user'"'"'s chest including a first plurality of pneumatic force-generating devices and a back panel configured to overlie the user'"'"'s back including a second plurality of pneumatic force-generating devices, wherein the first and second plurality of pneumatic force-generating devices are each oriented and secured to the garment with a housing having an aperture through which the force-generating device extends; a compressed air source; a control valve assembly comprising a plurality of valves operatively coupling the first and second plurality of pneumatic force-generating devices to the compressed air source; and a controller operatively coupled with the control valve assembly to selectively open and close the valves to modulate the first and second plurality of pneumatic force-generating devices, wherein the controller controls the rate of pressurization of the force-generating devices by modulating the timing and duration of opening the plurality of valves. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A tactile wearable device comprising:
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a garment comprising a vest having a front panel configured to overlie a user'"'"'s chest including a first plurality of pneumatic bladders for delivering a modulated force to the user wearing the garment and a back panel configured to overlie the user'"'"'s back and including a second plurality of pneumatic bladders for delivering a modulated force to the user, wherein the first and second plurality of pneumatic bladders are each oriented and secured to the garment with a housing having an aperture through which the pneumatic bladder extends; a plurality of air lines that connect the first and second plurality of pneumatic bladders with a source of pressurized air; a control valve assembly comprising a plurality of valves that selectively control air flow from the source of pressurized air to the first and second plurality of pneumatic bladders; and a controller operatively coupled with the control valve assembly to control generation of the modulated force according to a modulated control signal, wherein the controller controls the rate of pressurization of the pneumatic bladders by modulating the timing and duration of opening the plurality of valves. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for delivering tactile stimuli to a user, the method comprising:
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providing a tactile garment comprising a vest having a front panel configured to overlie the user'"'"'s chest and a back panel configured to overlie the user'"'"'s back, each panel including an array of bladders, wherein each bladder is secured to the tactile garment with a housing having an aperture through which the bladder extends; providing a control valve assembly comprising a plurality of valves that operatively connects each of the bladders to a source of pressurized air; receiving a modulated control signal by a controller coupled with the control valve assembly, the controller operating the control valve assembly to control the rate of pressurization of the array of bladders by modulating the timing and duration of opening the plurality of valves to generate a force inwardly to the body of a user wearing the tactile garment in accordance with the modulated control signal. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A system for delivering tactile stimuli, the system comprising:
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a signal generator component for generating a modulated control signal; a tactile force software library for providing information to the signal generator component used in generating the modulated control signal; a tactile garment comprising a vest having a front panel configured to overlie a user'"'"'s chest and a back panel configured to overlie the user'"'"'s back, each panel including a plurality of pneumatic force-generating devices for delivering a modulated force according to the modulated control signal to the user wearing the tactile garment, and wherein each of the pneumatic force-generating devices is oriented and secured to the tactile garment with a housing having an aperture through which the pneumatic force-generating device extends; a power distribution network operatively coupled with the pneumatic force-generating devices for providing power to the pneumatic force-generating devices; a controller operatively coupled with the pneumatic force-generating devices to control generation of the modulated force by the pneumatic force-generating devices according to a modulated control signal by controlling the rate of pressurization of the pneumatic force-generating devices by modulating the timing and duration of opening a plurality of valves; and a power-switching component comprising the plurality of valves and operatively coupled with the power distribution network, the controller, and the pneumatic force-generating devices to control the flow of power to the pneumatic force-generating devices. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification