Patent · US10732711B2 · B2 · US

Whole-body human-computer interface

(11) Publication number

US10732711B2

(21) Application number

16/245,145

(22) Filing date

2019-01-10

(30) Priority date

2013-07-05

(43) Publication date

2020-08-04

(45) Date of grant

2020-08-04

(51) IPC

A61H 1/02; A61H 3/00; A61H 3/06; A63F 13/21; A63F 13/212; A63F 13/24; A63F 13/285; A63F 13/98; B25J 11/00; B25J 9/00; G06F 3/01; G06F 3/16; G06T 19/00; G09B 9/00

(52) CPC

G06F Electric digital data processing: 3/013, 3/011, 3/012, 3/014, 3/015, 3/016, 3/162
A61H Physical therapy apparatus, e.g. devices for locating or stimulating reflex points in the body; artificial respiration; massage; bathing devices for special therapeutic or hygienic purposes or specific parts of the body: 1/024, 1/0244, 1/0266, 1/0277, 1/0281, 1/0285, 2003/063, 2201/0165, 2201/0228, 2201/5007, 2201/5043, 2201/5061, 2201/5069, 2201/5084, 2201/5092, 3/00
A63F Card, board, or roulette games; indoor games using small moving playing bodies; video games; games not otherwise provided for: 13/21, 13/212, 13/24, 13/285, 13/98
B25J Manipulators; chambers provided with manipulation devices: 11/003, 9/0006
G06T Image data processing or generation, in general: 19/006
G09B Educational or demonstration appliances; appliances for teaching, or communicating with, the blind, deaf or mute; models; planetaria; globes; maps; diagrams: 9/00

(73) Assignee

HAPTX INC

(72) Inventors

RUBIN JACOB A; CROCKETT ROBERT S

(54) Title

Whole-body human-computer interface

(57) Abstract

A human-computer interface system having an exoskeleton including a plurality of structural members coupled to one another by at least one articulation configured to apply a force to a body segment of a user, the exoskeleton comprising a body-borne portion and a point-of-use portion; the body-borne portion configured to be operatively coupled to the point-of-use portion; and at least one locomotor module including at least one actuator configured to actuate the at least one articulation, the at least one actuator being in operative communication with the exoskeleton.

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Claims (25)

A human-computer interface system comprising: a garment including an interface laminate, wherein said interface laminate comprises: an elastic membrane; a flexible substrate material bonded to the elastic membrane; a plurality of fluidic tactile actuators formed from the flexible substrate material, and a fluidic distribution laminate comprising: a plurality of channels formed from the flexible substrate material and configured to couple said plurality of fluidic tactile actuators to a pressurized working fluid, and a fluidic connector; and a plurality of control valves operably coupled to the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators and configured to affect flow of the pressurized working fluid.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the elastic membrane is bonded to the flexible substrate material by means of plasma-activated bonding.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of control valves are configured to be worn on a body of a user.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the garment includes a portion configured to be worn on a hand of a user.
The human-computer interface system of claim 4 wherein the portion configured to be worn on the hand of the user includes the plurality of control valves.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the garment includes a portion configured to be worn on an arm of a user.
The human-computer interface system of claim 6 wherein the portion configured to be worn on the arm of the user includes the plurality of control valves.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the garment includes a portion configured to be worn on a torso of a user.
The human-computer interface system of claim 8 wherein the portion configured to be worn on the torso of the user includes the plurality of control valves.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 including a member configured to prevent substantial deformation of the interface laminate when a force is applied to an interior of the interface laminate.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 further comprising a selector valve coupled to the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators, wherein the selector valve is configured to sequentially couple the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators to at least one of the plurality of control valves.
The human-computer interface system of claim 11 wherein said plurality of fluidic tactile actuators are organized into a first group and a second group; and wherein said selector valve is configured to sequentially couple said first group and said second group to said at least one of the plurality of control valves.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of control valves is coupled to at least one of: a force sensor and a pressure sensor.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators comprises a first chamber fluidically coupled to a second chamber.
The human-computer interface system of claim 14 wherein the second chamber is located between the first chamber and skin of a user wearing the garment.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the distance from the center of a first of the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators to the center of a second of the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators is less than or equal to a two-point discrimination threshold of a body segment of a user on which the garment is worn.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the fluidic distribution laminate comprises a first layer of channels and a second layer of channels.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the fluidic connector includes a first face having a first orifice and a second face having a second orifice, wherein an operable fluidic coupling is formed between the first orifice and the second orifice when the first face and the second face are brought into contact.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the pressurized working fluid is a gas.
The human-computer interface system of claim 19 wherein the fluidic distribution laminate has a maximum operating pressure of at least 0.2 MPa.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the pressurized working fluid is coupled to a pressure limiter.
The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the interface laminate comprises a thermal actuator.
The human-computer interface system of claim 22 wherein said thermal actuator is a fluidic thermal actuator.
A method for using the system of claim 1 comprising: a. selecting the garment from a pool of garments comprising at least two different garments of two different sizes; and b. fitting a user with the garment.
The method of claim 24 further comprising: donning an undersuit before said fitting, wherein said undersuit substantially prevents direct skin contact between the user and an inside of the garment.

Description

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/591,019, filed May 9, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/372,362, filed Dec. 7, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,904,358, issued Feb. 27, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/981,414, filed Dec. 28, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,652,037, issued May 16, 2017, which is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/US14/44735, filed Jun. 27, 2014, which claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61/843,317 filed Jul. 5, 2013, all of which are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to virtual reality human-machine interfaces, and more specifically to immersive virtual reality human-machine interfaces. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to immersive virtual reality human-machine interfaces with auditory, visual, proprioceptive, mechanoreceptive, thermoreceptive, and equilibrioceptive modalities. 2. Discussion of the Related Art Virtual reality systems are computer-based systems that provide experiences to a participant acting in a simulated environment that forms a three dimensional virtual world. These systems are used in several different applications such as commercial flight simulators, entertainment systems, computer games and video arcade games to name a few. In virtual reality systems, the participant typically wears a head-mounted device that enables viewing of a virtual reality world generated by the computer.

Citations (80)

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Record as JSON

{
  "publication_number": "US10732711B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Whole-body human-computer interface",
  "abstract": "A human-computer interface system having an exoskeleton including a plurality of structural members coupled to one another by at least one articulation configured to apply a force to a body segment of a user, the exoskeleton comprising a body-borne portion and a point-of-use portion; the body-borne portion configured to be operatively coupled to the point-of-use portion; and at least one locomotor module including at least one actuator configured to actuate the at least one articulation, the at least one actuator being in operative communication with the exoskeleton.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A human-computer interface system comprising: a garment including an interface laminate, wherein said interface laminate comprises: an elastic membrane; a flexible substrate material bonded to the elastic membrane; a plurality of fluidic tactile actuators formed from the flexible substrate material, and a fluidic distribution laminate comprising: a plurality of channels formed from the flexible substrate material and configured to couple said plurality of fluidic tactile actuators to a pressurized working fluid, and a fluidic connector; and a plurality of control valves operably coupled to the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators and configured to affect flow of the pressurized working fluid.",
    "2. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the elastic membrane is bonded to the flexible substrate material by means of plasma-activated bonding.",
    "3. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of control valves are configured to be worn on a body of a user.",
    "4. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the garment includes a portion configured to be worn on a hand of a user.",
    "5. The human-computer interface system of claim 4 wherein the portion configured to be worn on the hand of the user includes the plurality of control valves.",
    "6. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the garment includes a portion configured to be worn on an arm of a user.",
    "7. The human-computer interface system of claim 6 wherein the portion configured to be worn on the arm of the user includes the plurality of control valves.",
    "8. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the garment includes a portion configured to be worn on a torso of a user.",
    "9. The human-computer interface system of claim 8 wherein the portion configured to be worn on the torso of the user includes the plurality of control valves.",
    "10. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 including a member configured to prevent substantial deformation of the interface laminate when a force is applied to an interior of the interface laminate.",
    "11. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 further comprising a selector valve coupled to the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators, wherein the selector valve is configured to sequentially couple the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators to at least one of the plurality of control valves.",
    "12. The human-computer interface system of claim 11 wherein said plurality of fluidic tactile actuators are organized into a first group and a second group; and wherein said selector valve is configured to sequentially couple said first group and said second group to said at least one of the plurality of control valves.",
    "13. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of control valves is coupled to at least one of: a force sensor and a pressure sensor.",
    "14. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators comprises a first chamber fluidically coupled to a second chamber.",
    "15. The human-computer interface system of claim 14 wherein the second chamber is located between the first chamber and skin of a user wearing the garment.",
    "16. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the distance from the center of a first of the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators to the center of a second of the plurality of fluidic tactile actuators is less than or equal to a two-point discrimination threshold of a body segment of a user on which the garment is worn.",
    "17. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the fluidic distribution laminate comprises a first layer of channels and a second layer of channels.",
    "18. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the fluidic connector includes a first face having a first orifice and a second face having a second orifice, wherein an operable fluidic coupling is formed between the first orifice and the second orifice when the first face and the second face are brought into contact.",
    "19. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the pressurized working fluid is a gas.",
    "20. The human-computer interface system of claim 19 wherein the fluidic distribution laminate has a maximum operating pressure of at least 0.2 MPa.",
    "21. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the pressurized working fluid is coupled to a pressure limiter.",
    "22. The human-computer interface system of claim 1 wherein the interface laminate comprises a thermal actuator.",
    "23. The human-computer interface system of claim 22 wherein said thermal actuator is a fluidic thermal actuator.",
    "24. A method for using the system of claim 1 comprising: a. selecting the garment from a pool of garments comprising at least two different garments of two different sizes; and b. fitting a user with the garment.",
    "25. The method of claim 24 further comprising: donning an undersuit before said fitting, wherein said undersuit substantially prevents direct skin contact between the user and an inside of the garment."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/591,019, filed May 9, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/372,362, filed Dec. 7, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,904,358, issued Feb. 27, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/981,414, filed Dec. 28, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,652,037, issued May 16, 2017, which is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/US14/44735, filed Jun. 27, 2014, which claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61/843,317 filed Jul. 5, 2013, all of which are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference.\n\n1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to virtual reality human-machine interfaces, and more specifically to immersive virtual reality human-machine interfaces. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to immersive virtual reality human-machine interfaces with auditory, visual, proprioceptive, mechanoreceptive, thermoreceptive, and equilibrioceptive modalities. 2. Discussion of the Related Art Virtual reality systems are computer-based systems that provide experiences to a participant acting in a simulated environment that forms a three dimensional virtual world. These systems are used in several different applications such as commercial flight simulators, entertainment systems, computer games and video arcade games to name a few. In virtual reality systems, the participant typically wears a head-mounted device that enables viewing of a virtual reality world generated by the computer.",
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  "assignees": [
    "HAPTX INC"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "RUBIN JACOB A",
    "CROCKETT ROBERT S"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2019-01-10",
  "publication_date": "2020-08-04",
  "grant_date": "2020-08-04",
  "priority_date": "2013-07-05",
  "application_number": "US-201916245145-A",
  "family_id": "52144133",
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}

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