Tactile feedback man-machine interface device

• US 20080055248A1
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Published: 03/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1995
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Original Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Inventors: Tremblay, Mark, Yim, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 8,368,641 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/158
• 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 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/34 Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/321 Garment sensors, i.e. musical control means with trigger surfaces or joint angle sensors, worn as a garment by the player, e.g. bracelet, intelligent clothing vital parameter sensing G10H2220/371; wearable interfaces in general G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/225 Feedback of the input speech

Abstract

A man-machine interface which provides tactile feedback to various sensing body parts is disclosed. The device employs one or more vibrotactile units, where each unit comprises a mass and a mass-moving actuator. As the mass is accelerated by the mass-moving actuator, the entire vibrotactile unit vibrates. Thus, the vibrotactile unit transmits a vibratory stimulus to the sensing body part to which it is affixed. The vibrotactile unit may be used in conjunction with a spatial placement sensing device which measures the spatial placement of a measured body part. A computing device uses the spatial placement of the measured body part to determine the desired vibratory stimulus to be provided by the vibrotactile unit. In this manner, the computing device may control the level of vibratory feedback perceived by the corresponding sensing body part in response to the motion of the measured body part. The sensing body part and the measured body part may be separate or the same body part.

Claims

1. A video game controller configured to operate with a host computer running a software program, the video game controller comprising:

a body having a sensor therein, the sensor configured to measure a physical state signal, wherein the physical state signal measures movement of a user'"'"'s body part;

a processor coupled to the sensor wherein the processor receives the physical state signal and outputs an activating signal in response to a virtual state signal from a host computer, wherein the virtual state signal is capable of being associated with the physical state signal;

an actuator coupled to the processor wherein the actuator outputs a haptic effect in response to receiving the activating signal from the processor.

2. A method of outputting a haptic feedback, comprising:

placing a plurality of actuators in contact with a user'"'"'s body; and

outputting activating signals from a processor to at least two of the plurality of actuators, wherein the activating signals are output such that the at least two actuators output haptic effects in a sequential order.

3. A method of outputting a voice commanded haptic effect comprising:

running a computer program simulation on a host computer;

sensing a user'"'"'s voice command via a microphone and sending a signal associated with the voice command to the host computer; and

outputting an activating signal in response to the signal to an actuator in contact with the user, wherein the actuator outputs a haptic effect upon receiving the activating signal.

4. A method of training a gesture recognition program comprising:

measuring movement of a user'"'"'s body part using a sensor, wherein the sensor outputs a sensor signal in response to the measurement;

comparing positional values from the sensor signal with a predetermined gesture stored in a memory;

outputting a haptic effect to an actuator in contact with the user when the measurement substantially matches the predetermined gesture.

5. A haptic device comprising:

a plurality of actuators configured to be placed in contact with a user; and

a processor coupled to the actuators, the processor capable of selectively operating one or more of the plurality of actuators by sending an activating signal thereto, wherein the processor sends activating signals to two or more actuators remotely located from one another on the user to produce a localized haptic effect.