Tactile feedback man-machine interface device

• US 7,755,602 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2003
• Issued: 07/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Original Assignee: Immersion Corporation
• Inventors: Tremblay, Mark R., Yim, Mark H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Liang; Regina
• Application Number:
  US10/460,157
• Publication Number:
  US 20040046777A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,587 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-158, 345700-703, 414 1- 7, 901 32- 34, 463/30, 463/37, 273/434, 273/460, 715700-703
• US Class Current: 345/156
• 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 system for providing tactile sensation to a plurality of users, comprising:

a plurality of vibrotactile devices individually coupled to the plurality of users, each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices being responsive to a computer simulated event from a host computer, wherein the host computer is configured to generate one or more state virtual signals in relation to sensed movement of at least one of a physical state received from a sensor or a virtual state, each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices having;

an actuator having a shaft and an eccentric mass coupled to the shaft, the actuator being configured to rotate its eccentric mass about the shaft in response to an activating signal to produce a vibration; and

a processor separate from the host computer and coupled to the actuator, the processor being configured to produce the activating signal from the one or more state signals.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more state signals includes a virtual state signal of a virtual measured body part.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual state includes at least one virtual state variable, wherein the activating signal is based on the at least one virtual state variable.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more state signals includes a physical state signal of a physical measured body part.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of state sensors coupled to corresponding vibrotactile devices, wherein the state sensors are configured to sense movement of their vibrotactile devices and provide physical state signals to the processor.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the host computer is configured to receive the physical state signals and produce corresponding virtual state signals for each vibrotactile device to the processor.

7. A system for providing tactile sensation to a plurality of users, comprising:

a plurality of vibrotactile devices individually coupled to the plurality of users, each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices being responsive to a computer simulated event from a host computer, wherein the host computer is configured to generate one or more virtual state signals in relation to sensed movement of at least one of a physical state received from a sensor or a virtual state, each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices having;

an actuator having a shaft and an eccentric mass coupled to the shaft, the actuator being configured to rotate its eccentric mass about the shaft in response to] an activating signal to produce a vibration; and

a processor separate from the host computer and coupled to each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices, the processor being configured, for each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices, to produce the activating signal from the one or more state signals for that vibrotactile device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more state signals includes a virtual state signal of a virtual measured body part.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the virtual state includes at least one virtual state variable, wherein the activating signal is based on the at least one virtual state variable.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more state signals includes a physical state signal of a physical measured body part.

11. The system of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of state sensors coupled to corresponding vibrotactile devices, wherein the state sensors are configured to sense movement of their vibrotactile devices and provide physical state signals to the processor.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the host computer is configured to receive the physical state signals and produce corresponding virtual state signals for each vibrotactile device to the processor.

13. A system for providing tactile sensation to a plurality of users, comprising:

a plurality of vibrotactile devices individually coupled to the plurality of users, each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices being responsive to a computer simulated event from a host computer, wherein the host computer is configured to generate one or more virtual state signals in relation to sensed movement of at least one of a physical state received from a sensor or a virtual state, each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices having;

an actuator having a shaft and an eccentric mass coupled to the shaft, the actuator being configured to rotate its eccentric mass about the shaft in response to an activating signal to produce a vibration; and

a first processor coupled to the actuator, the first processor being configured to produce the activating signal based on a control signal; and

a second processor of the host computer, the second processor external to the vibrotactile devices and configured to be in communication with the first processor of each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices, the second processor being configured to provide, for each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices, the control signal, wherein the control signal is associated with the one or more state signals from the host computer.

14. A method for providing tactile sensation to a plurality of users, comprising:

providing a plurality of vibrotactile devices individually coupled to the plurality of users, each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices being responsive to a computer simulated event;

providing a host computer to generate a virtual state signal associated with at least one of a physical state received from a sensor or a virtual state; and

for each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices;

providing an actuator having a shaft and an eccentric mass coupled to the shaft, the actuator being configured to move its eccentric mass about the shaft in response to] an activating signal to produce a vibration; and

providing a processor coupled to the actuator, the processor being configured to produce the activating signal in response to the state signal.

15. A method for providing tactile sensation to a plurality of users, comprising:

providing a plurality of vibrotactile devices individually coupled to the plurality of users, each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices being responsive to a computer simulated event from a host computer, wherein the host computer generates a virtual state signal associated with at least one of a sensed physical state received from a sensor or a virtual state; and

providing a processor coupled to each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices, the processor being configured, for each vibrotactile device from the plurality of vibrotactile devices, to cause that vibrotactile device to produce a vibration in response to the processor receiving the state signal.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the state signal includes a virtual state signal of a virtual measured body part.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the state signal includes at least one virtual state variable, wherein the activating signal is based on the at least one virtual state variable.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the state signal includes a physical state signal of a sensed physical measured body part.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein each vibrotactile device includes a state sensor configured to sense movement of its respective vibrotactile device and provide physical state signals to the processor.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the host computer is configured to receive the physical state signals from each vibrotactile device and produce corresponding virtual state signals for each vibrotactile device to the processor.

21. A method for providing tactile sensation to a plurality of users, comprising:

providing a plurality of vibrotactile devices individually coupled to the plurality of users;

generating a sensor state signal associated with sensed movement of at least one vibrotactile device;

generating an activating signal from the sensor state signal, wherein the activating signal is transmitted to the plurality of vibrotactile devices; and

producing a vibration in each of the vibrotactile devices upon receiving the activating signal.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the state signal includes a virtual state signal of a virtual measured body part.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the sensor state signal includes at least one virtual state variable, wherein the activating signal is based on the at least one virtual state variable.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the sensor state signal includes a physical state signal of a physical measured body part.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein each vibrotactile device includes a state sensor configured to sense movement of its respective vibrotactile devices and provide physical state signals to the processor.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the host computer is configured to receive the physical state signals and produce corresponding virtual state signals for each vibrotactile device to the processor.