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Assignees
MemberBarron AssociatesBarron AssociatesBarron Associates is a research and development company serving aerospace, defense, and healthcare applications. It develops technologies for sensing, modeling, predicting, and controlling complex systems, including control software, simulations, biomedical devices, and monitoring systems.
Barron Associates is a research and development company serving aerospace, defense, and healthcare applications. It develops technologies for sensing, modeling, predicting, and controlling complex systems, including control software, simulations, biomedical devices, and monitoring systems.
Publication Number
US-9104271-B1
Publication Date
2015-08-11
Expiration Date
Abstract
Certain exemplary embodiments can provide a system, machine, device, manufacture, circuit, composition of matter, and/or user interface adapted for and/or resulting from, and/or a method and/or machine-readable medium comprising machine-implementable instructions for, activities that can comprise and/or relate to: tracking movement of a gloved hand of a human; interpreting a gloved finger movement of the human; and/or in response to interpreting the gloved finger movement, providing feedback to the human.
Core Innovation
The invention provides a glove-based human-machine interface in which a gloved hand is tracked relative to a predetermined reference point and the actual gloved finger movement is interpreted as a predetermined finger movement. The hand tracking is distinct from the finger movement interpretation, and the predetermined finger movement is used to operate an input device communicatively coupled to an information device.
The protective glove includes a plurality of layers, including a pressure layer that defines a hand side and an opposing distal side. A gas disposed on the hand side of the pressure layer is maintained at a gas pressure that creates a predetermined pressure differential with respect to ambient pressure exerted on the distal side, wherein the pressure differential is sufficient to substantially stiffen the pressure layer.
A sensory output transducer is operatively located adjacent to, and mechanically coupled to, the distal side of the pressure layer. In response to interpreting the actual gloved finger movement, feedback to the human is automatically provided via the sensory output transducer and across the substantially stiffened pressure layer, so that the feedback is delivered to the hand through the stiffened pressure layer to simulate a control input for the information system.
Claims Coverage
The independent claims are directed to a method and a system, each requiring a gloved hand tracking circuit separate from finger movement interpretation, and each using a glove pressure layer stiffened by a maintained gas pressure differential to enable sensory feedback via a transducer coupled to the distal side. Across the inventive scope, the claims identify 3 core inventive feature groups.
Gas-pressure stiffened pressure layer with distal transducer coupling
A protective glove having a plurality of layers including a pressure layer defining a hand side and an opposing distal side, with a gas on the hand side maintained at a gas pressure that creates a predetermined pressure differential with respect to ambient pressure on the distal side sufficient to substantially stiffen the pressure layer, and a sensory output transducer operatively located adjacent to, and mechanically coupled to, the distal side of the pressure layer.
Distinct tracking of hand movement and interpretation of actual finger movement
Automatically interpreting an actual gloved finger movement of the human relative to the gloved hand as a predetermined finger movement for operating an input device communicatively coupled to an information device, with the interpreting of the actual gloved finger movement distinct from the tracking of the movement of the gloved hand.
Feedback to the human via transducer across substantially stiffened pressure layer
In response to interpreting the actual gloved finger movement, automatically providing feedback to the human via the sensory output transducer and across the substantially stiffened pressure layer, wherein the sensory feedback is configured to provide tactile feedback through the substantially stiffened pressure layer to the hand of the human to simulate a control input received by and for an information system communicatively coupled to the protective glove.
The independent claims collectively cover a glove with a pressure layer stiffened by a gas pressure differential, separate hand movement tracking and finger movement interpretation to operate an input device on an information device, and tactile sensory feedback delivered through the stiffened pressure layer using a sensory output transducer mechanically coupled to the pressure layer’s distal side.
Stated Advantages
Not explicitly described in patent.
Documented Applications
Not explicitly described in patent.
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