Device for physical interaction between remotely located users

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11467671-B2
Application number	US-202117475985-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 15, 2021
Priority date	Apr 7, 2015
Publication date	Oct 11, 2022
Grant date	Oct 11, 2022

Abstract

An electronic device for touch translation includes a body, a plurality of pins extending from the body, the pins including couplings to facilitate movement of a first portion relative to a second portion of the pins, the pins being controllable to control movement of the first portion relative to the second portion and to control force applied by the pins on an external object. Sensors cooperating with the pins detect forces externally applied to the pins and a communication subsystem is utilized to communicate over a network, with a remote electronic device. A controller is coupled to the pins, the sensors, and the communication subsystem to, based on detected forces externally applied to the pins, transmit a signal to the remote electronic device for the control of the remote electronic device, and to, based on signals received from the remote electronic device, actuate ones of the pins to control the movement of the first portion relative to the second portion and to control the force applied by the pins on the external object.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device for touch translation, the electronic device comprising:
a body;
a plurality of pins extending from the body, the pins including couplings to facilitate movement of a first portion of the pins relative to a second portion of the pins, the pins being controllable to control the movement of the first portion relative to the second portion and to control a force applied by the pins on an external object;
a plurality of heads disposed on the pins, each heads being greater in width than the pins on which the heads are disposed and being moveable relative to the pins about a respective coupling in more than one axis relative to a corresponding pin, and each head including a plurality of facets, wherein each facet of the plurality of facets has a different material property;
sensors cooperating with the pins to detect forces externally applied to the pins;
a communication subsystem for communication, over a network, with a remote electronic device;
a controller coupled to the pins, the sensors, and the communication subsystem to:
based on detected forces externally applied to the pins, transmit a signal to the remote electronic device for the control of the remote electronic device;
receive response signals from the remote electronic device;
based on the response signals received from the remote electronic device, actuate ones of the pins to control the movement of the first portion relative to the second portion and to control the force applied by the pins on the external object.

Assignees

• Shuster Brian
• Shuster Gary Stephen

Inventors

• Shuster Brian
• Shuster Gary Stephen

Classifications

• G06F2203/04103

  Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices · CPC title

• G06F2203/04102

  Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper · CPC title

• H04L67/10

  in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) · CPC title

• G06F3/016 Primary

  Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user · CPC title

• G06F3/04144

  using an array of force sensing means (position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells G06F3/0447) · CPC title