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US 11,385,719 B2Granted
Electrostatic brake-based haptic device
AssigneeEcole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne (Epfl)
InventorsRonan Hinchet, Herbert Shea
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a device including electrostatic brakes providing haptic kinaesthetic feedback to a user in e.g. assistive, rehabilitation or virtual reality scenarios, as well as tele-manipulation.
Claims17
A haptic device including an electrostatic brake configured to be attached to a body of a user, and configured to provide for a sliding friction to impede a movement of a joint of the body, the electrostatic brake comprising:
- a first electrode including a conductive and flexible film, a first surface of the first electrode coated with dielectric material to cover the conductive film;
- a first frame affixed to an end of the first electrode;
- a second electrode including a conductive and flexible film, a second surface of the second electrode aligned parallel to the first surface of the first electrode such that the first and the second electrodes partially overlap;
- a second frame affixed to an end of the second electrode;
- a guiding structure for coupling the first and second electrodes to permit a linear movement relative to each other while keeping a partial overlap of the first and second surfaces of the first and second electrodes, respectively;
- and
- a power source for applying a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode to provide an electrostatic charge to cause an attractive force between the first and second electrodes and reversibly increase the sliding friction between the first and the second electrodes, wherein
- the first and second electrodes are reversibly and elastically bendable to allow to bend with the movement of the joint.
5 more elements
A system for providing a kinaesthetic haptic feedback on the body of a user in a virtual or augmented reality application, the system comprising:
- a haptic device including an electrostatic brake configured to be attached to a body of a user, and configured to provide for a sliding friction to impede a movement of a joint of the body, the electrostatic brake including,
- a first electrode including a conductive and flexible film, a surface of the first electrode coated with dielectric material to cover the conductive film,
- a first frame affixed to an end of the first electrode,
- a second electrode including a conductive and flexible film, a surface of the second electrode aligned parallel to the surface of the first electrode such that the first and the second electrodes partially overlap,
- a second frame affixed to an end of the second electrode, and
- a guiding structure for coupling the first and second electrodes to permit a linear movement relative to each other while keeping a partial overlap of the surfaces of the first and second electrodes, respectively,
- wherein the first and second electrodes are reversibly and elastically bendable to allow to bend with the movement of the joint;
- a power source for applying a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode to provide an electrostatic charge to cause an attractive force between the first and second electrodes and reversibly increase the sliding friction between the first and the second electrodes;
- and
- a sensor including at least one of a position sensor, a force sensor, and a touch sensor.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.