Haptic controller

{
  "publication_number": "US11226685B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Haptic controller",
  "abstract": "The present concepts relate to haptic controllers. In one example the haptic controller can include first and second capstans rotationally secured to a base and an energy storage mechanism connected between the first and second capstans. The example haptic controller can also include a user engagement assembly secured to the first capstan and a controller configured to control rotational forces imparted on the user engagement assembly by controlling rotational friction experienced by the first and second capstans.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A device, comprising: a base; first and second capstans rotationally secured to the base and configured to rotate around a common axis; an energy storage mechanism connected between the first and second capstans and configured to store energy when the first and second capstans are rotated relative to one another; a user engagement assembly secured to the first capstan and extending radially relative to the common axis; a first cord wound around the first capstan and having a first end secured relative to the base and a second end secured to a first actuator that is secured relative to the base; a second cord wound around the second capstan and having a first end secured relative to the base and a second end secured to a second actuator that is secured relative to the base; and, a controller configured to control the first actuator to adjust tension of the second end of the first cord and to control the second actuator to adjust tension of the second end of the second cord.",
    "2. The device of claim 1, wherein, the base comprises a handle, a splint, or a glove.",
    "3. The device of claim 2, wherein, the handle is co-extensive with the common axis.",
    "4. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second capstans are identical in height and width, or wherein the first and second capstans are different in height and/or width.",
    "5. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second capstans are elongated along the common axis or wherein the first and second capstans are flattened along the common axis.",
    "6. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second capstans are grooved.",
    "7. The device of claim 6, wherein the first and second capstans are grooved in a helical pattern.",
    "8. The device of claim 6, wherein the first and second capstans are grooved in a spiral pattern.",
    "9. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second capstans define helical grooves that have a diameter that is equal to a diameter of the first and second cords.",
    "10. The device of claim 1, wherein a material of the first and second capstans and a material of the first and second cords have static and dynamic friction coefficients that are with 10% of one another.",
    "11. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second actuators comprise first and second twisted string actuators.",
    "12. The device of claim 1, wherein the energy storage mechanism comprises a spring.",
    "13. The device of claim 1, wherein the user engagement assembly comprises an arm and a finger ring or wherein the user engagement assembly comprises an arm and a hand loop.",
    "14. The device of claim 13, further comprising a sensor configured to sense an angular orientation of the arm relative to the base and/or rotation of the arm relative to the base.",
    "15. The device of claim 14, wherein the sensor senses the arm directly or wherein the sensor senses the first and/or second capstans.",
    "16. The device of claim 15, wherein the sensor comprises a finger position encoder.",
    "17. The device of claim 14, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the tension on the first end of the first cord and the first end of the second cord by controlling actuation of the first and second actuators based at least in part upon data from the sensor.",
    "18. The device of claim 17, further comprising third and fourth capstans rotationally secured to the base and configured to rotate around the common axis, a second energy storage mechanism connected between the third and fourth capstans, a second user engagement assembly secured to the third capstan, a third cord wound around the third capstan and having a first end secured relative to the base and a second end secured to a third actuator that is secured relative to the base, and a fourth cord wound around the fourth capstan and having a first end secured relative to the base and a second end secured to a fourth actuator that is secured relative to the base.",
    "19. A device, comprising: first and second capstans rotationally secured to a base; an energy storage mechanism connected between the first and second capstans and configured to store energy when the first and second capstans are rotated at different rates; a user engagement assembly secured to the first capstan; and, a controller configured to control rotational forces imparted on the user engagement assembly by controlling rotational friction experienced by the first and second capstans and the energy storage mechanism is configured to contribute to the rotational forces with the stored energy.",
    "20. A device, comprising: first and second capstans rotationally secured to a base; an energy storage mechanism connected between the first and second capstans and configured to store energy when the first and second capstans are rotated relative to one another; a user engagement assembly secured to the first capstan; and, a controller configured to control resistance to rotation imparted on the user engagement assembly by controlling rotational friction experienced by the first capstan and the second capstan based at least in part upon properties of a virtual object simulated by the user engagement assembly."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "In real life, humans tend to use their hands to interact with objects. They tend to reach out for such objects, touch, grasp, manipulate, and release them. In virtual reality (VR) however, such fine grained interaction with virtual objects is generally not possible today. Commercially available VR controllers that are commonly used for interaction lack the ability to render realistic haptic feedback and support such natural use.\n\nResearch on haptic controllers in the context of realistic interaction in VR has recently become popular and produced a variety of prototypes that compete with the haptic rendering capabilities of gloves. To provide more natural haptic experiences when interacting with virtual objects, individual controllers have been designed to render feedback in response to touching, dragging, single-handed grasping and bi-manual grabbing. All of these controllers contain intricate mechanisms to produce reasonable fidelity haptic sensations.\n\nThe main constraint to successfully rendering haptics for virtual objects in a realistic way is that a controller has to be built to produce and endure human-scale forces during interaction and persist in rendering feedback, especially when grasping and squeezing objects when the force on the controller is potentially highest. Achieving such magnitude of forces on handheld controllers is challenging, especially since such devices tend not to be earth-grounded.\n\nResearchers have introduced a variety of controllers that produce strong grasping feedback.",
  "cpc": [
    "G06F 3/016",
    "B25J 9/0054",
    "G05G 13/00",
    "G05G 5/18",
    "G06F 3/011",
    "G06F 3/014",
    "G06F 3/04815"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B25J 9/00",
    "G05G 13/00",
    "G05G 5/18",
    "G06F 3/01",
    "G06F 3/0481"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Michael Jack Sinclair",
    "Mar GONZALEZ FRANCO",
    "Christian Holz",
    "Eyal Ofek"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2019-06-12",
  "publication_date": "2022-01-18",
  "grant_date": "2022-01-18",
  "priority_date": "2019-06-12",
  "application_number": "US-201916439596-A",
  "family_id": "70802918",
  "cited_by_count": 0,
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    "WO2015006612A1",
    "WO2018113293A1"
  ]
}