Force feedback computer input and output device with coordinated haptic elements
First Claim
1. An input/output device comprising:
- a plurality of haptic elements, wherein each one of said haptic elements comprises a contact surface, said contact surfaces define a surface, and each haptic element of said haptic elements is configured to provide a haptic effect at a contact surface of said each haptic element upon said contact surface of said each haptic element being touched;
a plurality of sensors, wherein each one of said sensors is coupled to a contact surface of a corresponding one of said haptic elements, and each one of said sensors is configured to generate information upon said contact surface of said corresponding one of said haptic elements being touched; and
a processor, wherein said processor is coupled to said sensors and said haptic elements, and said processor is configured to control said haptic effect produced by at least one of said haptic elements based on information received from a sensor of said sensors coupled to said at least one of said haptic elements.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A set of haptic elements (haptels) are arranged in a grid. Each haptel is a haptic feedback device with linear motion and a touchable surface substantially perpendicular to the direction of motion. In a preferred embodiment, each haptel has a position sensor which measures the vertical position of the surface within its range of travel, a linear actuator which provides a controllable vertical bi-directional feedback force, and a touch location sensor on the touchable surface. All haptels have their sensors and effectors interfaced to a control processor. The touch location sensor readings are processed and sent to a computer, which returns the type of haptic response to use for each touch in progress. The control processor reads the position sensors, derives velocity, acceleration, net force and applied force measurements, and computes the desired force response for each haptel. The haptels are coordinated such that force feedback for a single touch is distributed across all haptels involved. This enables the feel of the haptic response to be independent of where touch is located and how many haptels are involved in the touch. As a touch moves across the device, haptels are added and removed from the coordination set such that the user experiences an uninterrupted haptic effect. Because the touch surface is comprised of a multiple haptels, the device can provide multiple simultaneous interactions, limited only by the size of the surface and the number of haptels. The size of the haptels determines the minimum distance between independent touches on the surface, but otherwise does not affect the properties of the device. Thus, the device is a pointing device for graphical user interfaces which provides dynamic haptic feedback under application control for multiple simultaneous interactions. A set of haptic elements (haptels) are arranged in a grid. Each haptel is a haptic feedback device with linear motion and a touchable surface substantially perpendicular to the direction of motion. In a preferred embodiment, each haptel has a position sensor which measures the vertical position of the surface within its range of travel, a linear actuator which provides a controllable vertical bi-directional feedback force, and a touch location sensor on the touchable surface. All haptels have their sensors and effectors interfaced to a control processor. The touch location sensor readings are processed and sent to a computer, which returns the type of haptic response to use for each touch in progress. The control processor reads the position sensors, derives velocity, acceleration, net force and applied force measurements, and computes the desired force response for each haptel. The haptels are coordinated such that force feedback for a single touch is distributed across all haptels involved. This enables the feel of the haptic response to be independent of where touch is located and how many haptels are involved in the touch. As a touch moves across the device, haptels are added and removed from the coordination set such that the user experiences an uninterrupted haptic effect. Because the touch surface is comprised of a multiple haptels, the device can provide multiple simultaneous interactions, limited only by the size of the surface and the number of haptels. The size of the haptels determines the minimum distance between independent touches on the surface, but otherwise does not affect the properties of the device. Thus, the device is a pointing device for graphical user interfaces which provides dynamic haptic feedback under application control for multiple simultaneous interactions.
79 Citations
140 Claims
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1. An input/output device comprising:
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a plurality of haptic elements, wherein each one of said haptic elements comprises a contact surface, said contact surfaces define a surface, and each haptic element of said haptic elements is configured to provide a haptic effect at a contact surface of said each haptic element upon said contact surface of said each haptic element being touched;
a plurality of sensors, wherein each one of said sensors is coupled to a contact surface of a corresponding one of said haptic elements, and each one of said sensors is configured to generate information upon said contact surface of said corresponding one of said haptic elements being touched; and
a processor, wherein said processor is coupled to said sensors and said haptic elements, and said processor is configured to control said haptic effect produced by at least one of said haptic elements based on information received from a sensor of said sensors coupled to said at least one of said haptic elements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An input/output device comprising:
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a plurality of haptic elements, wherein each one of said haptic elements comprises a contact surface, said contact surfaces define a surface, and each haptic element of said haptic elements is configured to provide a haptic effect at the contact surface of said each haptic element upon said contact surface of said each haptic element being touched;
a plurality of sensors, wherein each one of said sensors includes said contact surface of a corresponding one of said haptic elements, and each one of said sensors is configured to generate information when said contact surface included in said corresponding one of said haptic elements is touched; and
a processor, coupled to said sensors and said haptic elements. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. An input/output device comprising:
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a plurality of haptic elements, wherein each one of said plurality of haptic elements comprises a contact surface, said contact surfaces define a surface, and each haptic element of said plurality of haptic elements is configured to provide a haptic effect at the contact surface of said each haptic element upon said contact surface of said each haptic element being touched;
a plurality of sensors, wherein each one of said plurality of sensors includes said contact surface of a corresponding one of said plurality of haptic elements, each one of said plurality of sensors is configured to generate information when said contact surface coupled to said corresponding one of said plurality of haptic elements is touched, and a sensor of said sensors is selectable from a plurality of sensors configured to measure at least one of touch, position and motion; and
a processor, coupled to said plurality of sensors and said plurality of haptic elements. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A method of communicating information to and from an input/output device having a plurality of haptic elements, the method comprising:
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reading information from a sensor coupled to a contact surface of at least one of the plurality of haptic elements, wherein each one of said plurality of haptic elements comprises a contact surface, said contact surfaces define a surface, said sensor is selectable from a plurality of sensors configured to measure at least one of touch, position and motion, and said information represents measurement of said at least one of touch, position and motion;
causing said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements to produce a haptic effect in response to reading the information, wherein each haptic element of said plurality of haptic elements is configured to produce the haptic effect at a contact surface of said haptic element in response to said contact surface of said haptic element being touched and each contact surface has said sensor coupled thereto;
sensing the touch on a contact surface of certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements using corresponding ones of said sensors;
generating information corresponding to said certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements based on said touch; and
controlling said haptic effect provided by said certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements based on said information. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65)
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66. An input/output device comprising:
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a plurality of haptic elements, wherein each one of said plurality of haptic elements comprises an input, the input being generated by a sensor included in each one of said plurality of haptic elements, the sensor being coupled to a contact surface of said haptic element, and an output, the output being a feedback transferred to the contact surface in response to the input, and each haptic element of said plurality of haptic elements is configured to provide a haptic effect at a contact surface of said each haptic element upon said contact surface of said each haptic element being touched;
a plurality of sensors, wherein said sensor is a one of said plurality of sensors, each one of said plurality of sensors is coupled to a contact surface of a corresponding one of said plurality of haptic elements, and each one of said plurality of sensors is configured to generate information upon said contact surface of said corresponding one of said plurality of haptic elements being touched; and
a processor is coupled to said plurality of sensors and said plurality of haptic elements. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86)
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87. A method of operating a plurality of haptic elements, the method comprising:
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touching a contact surface of at least one of the plurality of haptic elements, each of the plurality of haptic elements comprising an input and an output;
sensing the touch by a sensor to generate the input to said at least one of the plurality of haptic elements;
preparing a feedback in response to the input;
transferring the feedback to the contact surface as the output, wherein each haptic element of said plurality of haptic elements is configured to produce the haptic effect at a contact surface of said haptic element in response to said contact surface of said haptic element being touched and each contact surface has said sensor coupled thereto;
sensing the touch on a contact surface of certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements using corresponding ones of said sensors;
generating information corresponding to said certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements based on said touch; and
preparing said feedback for each of said certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements based on said information. - View Dependent Claims (88, 89, 90, 91)
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92. An input/output device comprising:
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a plurality of haptic elements, wherein each one of said plurality of haptic elements comprises a contact surface, said contact surfaces define a surface, and at least one of said plurality of haptic elements is configured to produce a haptic effect at a contact surface of said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements;
a sensor, wherein said sensor is coupled to said contact surface of said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements, said sensor is configured to generate information in response to said contact surface being touched, and said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements is configured to produce said haptic effect based on said information; and
a processor, coupled to said sensor and said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements, wherein said processor is configured to control said haptic effect produced by said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements based on information received from said sensor, certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements are configured to produced a haptic response at a respective contact surface of said certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements in response to said respective contact surface of said certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements being touched, and said certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements produce a given haptic effect in a cooperative manner by summing forces on ones of said certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements being touched, taking a weighted average of positions of said ones of said certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements being touched, and combining this information in order to determine a desired feedback force for each one of said ones of said certain ones of said plurality of haptic elements being touched.
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93. An input/output device comprising:
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a plurality of haptic elements, wherein each one of said plurality of haptic elements comprises a contact surface, said contact surfaces define a surface, and at least one of said plurality of haptic elements is configured to produce a haptic effect at a contact surface of said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements; and
a sensor, wherein said sensor includes said contact surface of said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements, said sensor is configured to generate information in response to said contact surface being touched, said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements is configured to produce said haptic effect based on said information, said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements corresponds to one of a plurality of areas displayed on a display, and said haptic effect produced by said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements is related to information displayed in said one of said plurality of areas.
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94. An input/output device comprising:
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a plurality of haptic elements, wherein each one of said plurality of haptic elements comprises a contact surface, said contact surfaces define a surface, and at least one of said plurality of haptic elements is configured to produce a haptic effect at a contact surface of said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements; and
a sensor, wherein said sensor is coupled to said contact surface of said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements, said sensor is selectable from a plurality of sensors configured to measure at least one of touch, position and motion, said sensor is configured to generate information in response to said contact surface being touched, said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements is configured to produce said haptic effect based on said information, said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements corresponds to one of a plurality of areas displayed on a display, and said haptic effect produced by said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements is related to information displayed in said one of said plurality of areas.
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95. An input/output device comprising:
a plurality of haptic elements, wherein each one of said plurality of haptic elements comprises;
an input, the input being generated by a sensor included in each one of said plurality of haptic elements, the sensor being coupled to a contact surface of said haptic element;
an output, the output being a feedback transferred to the contact surface in response to the input, said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements corresponds to one of a plurality of areas displayed on a display, and said haptic effect produced by said at least one of said plurality of haptic elements is related to information displayed in said one of said plurality of areas.
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96. An input/output device for a computer system, comprising:
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a touchable continuous surface;
a plurality of touch sensitive input elements, wherein each one of the touch sensitive input elements are coupled to the touchable continuous surface and wherein the plurality of touch sensitive input elements are configured to detect simultaneous multiple touches at different places on the touchable continuous surface and to provide multiple simultaneous inputs corresponding to the multiple touches to the computer system; and
a plurality of actuators for providing a haptic feedback to different places that are simultaneously touched on the touchable continuous surface. - View Dependent Claims (97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102)
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103. An input/output device for a computer system, comprising:
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a grid of touch sensitive input elements, wherein the touch sensitive input elements are coupled to a touchable continuous surface and wherein the grid of touch sensitive input elements is responsive to being touched simultaneously in multiple places across the touchable continuous surface to provide multiple simultaneous inputs corresponding to the multiple touches to the computer system; and
a plurality of actuators associated with the touchable continuous surface for providing haptic feedback to different places that are simultaneously touched on the touchable continuous surface. - View Dependent Claims (104, 105, 106)
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107. A method for using and controlling an input/output device in a computer system, wherein the input/output device comprises a plurality of touch sensitive input elements coupled to a touchable continuous surface, the method comprising:
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simultaneously touching the touchable continuous surface at different places on the touchable continuous surface, wherein the touch sensitive input elements are configured to detect the simultaneous touching on the touchable continuous surface to provide multiple simultaneous inputs corresponding to the multiple touches to the computer system; and
receiving from the computer system signals to control plurality of actuators to provide haptic feedback forces to the touchable continuous surface to different places that are simultaneously touched on the touchable continuous surface. - View Dependent Claims (108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113)
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114. A method for controlling an input/output device in communication with a computer system, wherein the input/output device comprises a grid of touch sensitive input elements coupled to a touchable continuous surface, the method comprising:
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receiving at the computer system multiple simultaneous inputs indicative of simultaneous touches in multiple places on the touchable continuous surface from the grid of touch sensitive input elements; and
providing from the computer system signals to control a plurality actuators associated with the touchable continuous surface to provide haptic feedback forces to different places that are simultaneously touched on the touchable continuous surface. - View Dependent Claims (115, 116, 117)
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118. A method for using and controlling an input/output device in a computer system, wherein the input/output device comprises a grid of touch sensitive input elements coupled to a touchable continuous surface, the method comprising:
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simultaneously touching the touchable continuous surface at multiple places across the touchable continuous surface to provide multiple simultaneous inputs to the computer system corresponding to the multiple touches, wherein touches are used to interact with a graphical user interface in the computer system; and
receiving from the computer system signals for providing haptic feedback forces to different places that are simultaneously touched on the touchable continuous surface, wherein the haptic feedback forces are determined in accordance with the graphical user interface. - View Dependent Claims (119, 120, 121, 122, 123)
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124. A method for controlling an input/output device in communication with a computer system, wherein the input/output device comprises a touchable continuous surface coupled to a plurality of touch sensitive input elements, the method comprising:
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receiving at the computer system multiple simultaneous inputs indicative of simultaneous touches at different places on the touchable continuous surface from the plurality of touch sensitive input elements;
interpreting the multiple simultaneous inputs at the computer system; and
providing from the computer system feedback signals to provide a haptic response at each of the different places that are simultaneously touched on the touchable continuous surface consistent with the interpretation. - View Dependent Claims (125, 126, 127, 128, 129)
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130. An input/output device for communicating with a graphical user interface in a computer system, wherein the graphical user interface comprises at least one graphical element, comprising:
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a touchable continuous surface coupled to a plurality of touch sensitive input elements, wherein the touch sensitive input elements responds to simultaneous multiple touches at different places on the touchable continuous surface to manipulate the at least one graphical element on the graphical user interface; and
a plurality of actuators configured to provide feedback forces to different places that are simultaneously touched on the touchable continuous surface, wherein the feedback forces vary depending on whether the touches correspond to a location of the graphical element in the graphical user interface. - View Dependent Claims (131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137)
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138. An input/output device for a computer system, comprising:
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a touchable surface area comprising a plurality of touch sensitive elements, wherein at least one touch sensitive element responds to touch to interact with a graphical user interface;
wherein each of the touch sensitive elements comprises an XY sensor for determining horizontal touch location on the touchable surface area, a position sensor for determining the extent of vertical travel of the touch sensitive element, and an actuator for providing a feedback force in response to the touch, wherein the feedback force is controllable based on information received from the graphical user interface. - View Dependent Claims (139, 140)
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Specification