# US 12,111,966 B2 · Position/force control system, worn unit, control unit, position/force control method, and storage medium > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,111,966 B2 - Document ID: US12111966B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/802,933 - Filed: 2021-02-27 - Published: 2023-05-04 - Granted: 2024-10-08 - Earliest claimed: 2020-02-27 - Assignees: Keio University; Motion Lib, Inc. - Applicants: Keio University; Motion Lib, Inc. - Inventors: Kouhei Ohnishi; Takahiro Mizoguchi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12111966B2 ## CPC - G06F 3/016: {Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user} - B25J 13/00: Controls for manipulators (program controls B25J9/16) - B25J 13/02: Hand grip control means {(handles or pedals for crane control B66C13/56; for measuring the force applied to control members G01L5/22; hand-held casings for switching devices, e.g. joy-sticks H01H9/0214)} - G06F 3/011: {Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00)} - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50}) ## Abstract A position/force control system includes a worn unit and a control unit. The worn unit is configured to be worn on a body of a user, and provides force tactile sensation by an actuator. The control unit acquires data of a position of the worn unit in a space, based on data of space in which a touching object exists. The worn unit includes a control unit that acquires the data of the position from the control unit and controls driving of the actuator based on impedance and contour information of the touching object in the space, and the data of the position, thereby providing force tactile sensation. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A position/force control system, comprising: a worn unit that is configured to be worn on a body of a user and to provide force tactile sensation by an actuator; and a control unit that, based on data of a space in which a touching object exists, acquires data of a position in the space corresponding to the worn unit, wherein the worn unit includes a controller that acquires the data of the position from the control unit, and controls driving of the actuator based on impedance, which is determined by rigidity, viscosity and inertia, and contour information of the touching object in the space, and the data of the position, thereby providing the force tactile sensation, wherein the touching object is a virtual or remote touching object with which the user is not in direct touch. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The position/force control system according to claim 1, wherein the controller calculates a reference value for position and force based on the impedance and contour information of the touching object in the space and the data of the position and the reference value that is calculated, takes information relating to position based on an action of the actuator as input to perform conversion to a coordinate system in which position and force are independent, and performs computation causing a state value in the coordinate system to follow target values of position and force, and thereafter performs reverse conversion of the conversion on the computation results to calculate parameters for controlling the actuator, thereby controlling driving of the actuator. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The position/force control system according to claim 1, wherein: the impedance and contour information of the touching object in the space is stored in the worn unit in advance, and the controller references the impedance and contour information of the touching object that is stored, and also successively acquires the data of the position that is acquired by the control unit, to control driving of the actuator, thereby providing the force tactile sensation. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The position/force control system according to claim 1, wherein, in at least either one of a case of the position in the space corresponding to the worn unit reaching a boundary of the touching object, or immediately prior to reaching the boundary, the controller references the impedance and contour information of the touching object acquired from the control unit, and also successively acquires the data of the position that is acquired by the control unit, to control driving of the actuator, thereby providing the force tactile sensation. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The position/force control system according to claim 1, wherein: the control unit acquires the data of the position that serves as the reference for the worn unit in the space, and the worn unit acquires the data of the position that serves as the reference for the worn unit from the control unit, calculates a relative position that represents a part of the worn unit in the space based on this data of the position that serves as the reference, and controls driving of the actuator. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The position/force control system according to claim 1, wherein: the control unit acquires the data of the position that represents a part of the worn unit in the space, and the worn unit acquires the data of the position that represents a part of the worn unit from the control unit, and controls driving of the actuator. ### Claim 7 A worn unit in a position/force control system that includes the worn unit that is configured to be worn on a body of a user and to provide force tactile sensation by an actuator, and a control unit that, based on data of a space in which a touching object exists, acquires data of a position in the space corresponding to the worn unit, wherein the worn unit includes a controller that acquires the data of the position from the control unit, and controls driving of the actuator based on impedance, which is determined by rigidity, viscosity and inertia, and contour information of the touching object in the space, and the data of the position, thereby providing the force tactile sensation, wherein the touching object is a virtual or remote touching object with which the user is not in direct touch. ### Claim 8 A control unit in a position/force control system that includes a worn unit that is configured to be worn on a body of a user and to provide force tactile sensation by an actuator, and the control unit that, based on data of a space in which a touching object exists, acquires data of a position in the space corresponding to the worn unit, wherein the control unit acquires the data of the position in the space corresponding to the worn unit, and successively transmits the data of the position to the worn unit, to control driving of the actuator based on the impedance, which is determined by rigidity, viscosity, and inertia, and contour information of the touching object in the space and the data of the position, thereby providing the force tactile sensation, wherein the touching object is a virtual or remote touching object with which the user is not in direct touch. ### Claim 9 A position/force control method executed by a position/force control system that includes a worn unit that is configured to be worn on a body of a user and to provide force tactile sensation by an actuator, and a control unit that, based on data of a space in which a touching object exists, acquires data of a position in the space corresponding to the worn unit, the method comprising: acquiring, by the worn unit, the data of the position from the control unit; and controlling driving of the actuator based on impedance, which is determined by rigidity, viscosity, and inertia, and contour information of the touching object in the space, and the data of the position, thereby providing the force tactile sensation, wherein the touching object is a virtual or remote touching object with which the user is not in direct touch. ### Claim 10 A non-transitory storage medium encoded with a computer-readable program that controls a processor of a computer controlling a position/force control system that includes a worn unit that is configured to be worn on a body of a user and to provide force tactile sensation by an actuator, and a control unit that, based on data of a space in which a touching object exists, acquires data of a position in the space corresponding to the worn unit, to execute a control processing including providing force tactile sensation, by the worn unit acquiring the data of the position from the control unit, and controlling driving of the actuator based on impedance, which is determined by rigidity, viscosity, and inertia, and contour information of the touching object in the space, and the data of the position, wherein the touching object is a virtual or remote touching object with which the user is not in direct touch.