TWI861614B - Glove - Google Patents

Abstract

A glove includes a body, a hand-back base, a fingertip base, an elastic element, a control wire, a shape memory alloy element, a braking element and a processor. The body is used for wearing on a hand of a user. The hand-back base is disposed on a hand-back part of the body. The fingertip base is disposed on a fingertip part of the body. The elastic element is connected between the hand-back base and the control wire. The control wire is connected between the fingertip base and the elastic element. The processor is disposed on the body and is used for electronically controlling the shape memory alloy element to actuate the braking element to brake the control wire.

Description

Gloves

The present invention relates to a glove.

With the rapid development of electronic technology and image processing technology, virtual reality (VR) constructed by computers has gradually been widely used in information dissemination, entertainment or display. Today's virtual reality products emphasize human-computer interactivity. Whether it is an interactive training simulator, interactive toy or interactive video game console, users can operate it through equipment such as head-mounted display and control handle. Among them, the virtual reality picture comes from the head-mounted display, and the control handle is used to operate objects in the virtual reality. For example, the user operates the buttons or touch pad on the control handle to cooperate with various actions such as grabbing, clicking or throwing in the virtual reality.

However, the method of using a control handle to grab, click or throw virtual objects does not conform to the actual movements of the human body and cannot reflect the size of the virtual objects, so it is relatively unable to produce a more immersive experience of the virtual world.

The present invention provides a glove for providing an immersive experience in a virtual world.

The glove of the present invention comprises a body, a back-of-hand base, a fingertip base, an elastic member, a control line, a shape memory alloy member, a brake member and a processor. The body is used to be worn on a hand of a user. The back-of-hand base is arranged on the back of a hand of the body. The fingertip base is arranged on a fingertip of the body. The elastic member is connected between the back-of-hand base and the control line. The control line is connected between the fingertip base and the elastic member. The processor is arranged on the body to electrically control the shape memory alloy member to actuate the brake member to brake the control line.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the glove further includes a magnetic sensor and a magnet, which are respectively disposed at two opposite ends of the elastic member. The magnetic sensor is electrically connected to the processor.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the magnet is disposed at one end of the elastic member connected to the control line.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the glove further comprises a plurality of knuckle bases disposed on a plurality of knuckle portions of the main body. The control line passes through the knuckle portions.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the glove further includes a tracker disposed on the main body.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the glove further includes a tracking signal transmitter disposed on the main body.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a processor is used to receive position information and size information of a virtual object.

Based on the above, in the gloves of the present invention, the shape memory alloy member and the brake member brake control line can simulate the feeling of grabbing an object to provide an immersive experience in the virtual world.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a glove of an embodiment of the present invention when it is worn. Referring to FIG. 1 , the glove 100 of the present embodiment includes a body 110, a back-of-hand base 122, a fingertip base 124, an elastic member 130, a control line 140, a shape memory alloy member 152 (shown in FIG. 2 ), a brake member 154, and a processor 160. The body 110 is used to be worn on a hand 50 of a user. The back-of-hand base 122 is disposed on a back-of-hand 112 of the body 110. The fingertip base 124 is disposed on a fingertip portion 114 of the body 110. The elastic member 130 is connected between the back-of-hand base 122 and the control line 140. The control line 140 is connected between the fingertip base 124 and the elastic member 130. The processor 160 is disposed in the body 110 and is used to electrically control the shape memory alloy member 152 to actuate the brake member 154 to brake the control line 140.

In the glove 100 of this embodiment, the shape memory alloy member 152 and the brake member 154 cooperate to brake the control line 140, thereby controlling the degree to which the user's finger can be bent. Therefore, when it is sensed that the user may have touched the virtual object 60 in the virtual world, the control line 140 can be braked, so that the user's finger corresponding to the control line 140 is restrained and cannot continue to bend, providing a feedback feeling as if the finger touches an object in the real world, so that the user has the illusion of grasping a real object. After the user lets go of the virtual object 60, the elastic member 130 will pull the control line 140 back to help the control line. The components used in the glove 100 of this embodiment have the advantages of being light in weight and small in size, which can improve the situation where the existing technology requires the use of bulky motors and other large accessories that ruin the user experience.

Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the glove of Fig. 1. Referring to Fig. 2, when the user does not bend the fingers, the elastic member 130 will pull the control line 140 to keep it in a tensioned state with appropriate force.

FIG3 is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the glove of FIG1 in another state. Referring to FIG3, for example, in this embodiment, when the shape memory alloy 152 is powered on and heated, it will stretch so that the brake 154 moves downward and contacts the body 110 to clamp the control line 140 together, so that the control line 140 cannot move, and the finger corresponding to the control line 140 will be restrained and cannot continue to bend. In other embodiments, the brake 154 may also include two parts, and the shape memory alloy 152 drives these two parts to clamp the control line 140. Alternatively, other different forms of the brake 154 and the shape memory alloy 152 can be applied to the present invention.

In this embodiment, the glove 100 further includes a magnetic sensor 172 and a magnet 174, which are respectively disposed at opposite ends of the elastic member 130. The magnetic sensor 172 is electrically connected to the processor 160. When the user bends the finger, the fingertip base 124 pulls the control line 140, and the control line 140 pulls the magnet 174. During the process, the distance between the magnet 174 and the magnetic sensor 172 changes, so the strength of the magnetic field generated by the magnet 174 sensed by the magnetic sensor 172 will also change. According to the change in the strength of the magnetic field sensed by the magnetic sensor 172, the bending degree of the user's finger can be inferred, and then it is known whether the user's finger should have touched the virtual object 60. The sensing result of the magnetic sensor 172 can be transmitted to the processor 160 so that the processor 160 can actuate the shape memory alloy member 152 and then brake the control wire 140 with the brake member 154 when determining that the user's finger has touched the virtual object 60 .

In this embodiment, the magnet 174 is disposed at one end of the elastic member 130 connected to the control line 140, and the magnetic sensor 172 is disposed on the back of the hand base 122. In another embodiment, the positions of the magnetic sensor 172 and the magnet 174 can also be swapped, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In this embodiment, the number of fingertip bases 124, elastic members 130, control lines 140, shape memory alloy members 152, and brake members 154 may correspond to the number of fingers, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the glove 100 may further include a plurality of knuckle bases 126 disposed on a plurality of knuckle portions 116 of the body 110. The control line 140 passes through the knuckle portions 116.

Referring to FIG. 1 , in this embodiment, the glove 100 may further include a tracker 182 disposed on the body 110. In addition, the glove 100 may further include a tracking signal transmitter 184 disposed on the body 110. The glove 100 may include both the tracker 182 and the tracking signal transmitter 184, or only one of them. The number of the tracker 182 and the tracking signal transmitter 184 may also be multiple. In addition, the processor 160 may be used to receive the position information and size information of the virtual object 60. For example, the tracker 182 may be adapted to detect a signal from a signal source (not shown), and transmit it to the processor 160 to generate a corresponding sensing signal, and then transmit the sensing signal to the host (not shown) in a wireless manner. At this time, the tracker 182 may be, for example, an infrared light sensor or other invisible light sensor, an electromagnetic signal sensor such as a Hall-effect sensor, an acoustic wave sensor such as a microphone, an RF detector, etc., but the present invention is not limited thereto. In another embodiment, the tracker 182 may also be a camera module to generate three-dimensional coordinate position data. Alternatively, the tracker 182 may also be an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to generate three-dimensional coordinate position data. Similarly, the tracking signal transmitter 184 may emit infrared light, invisible light, electromagnetic signal, sound wave signal, RF signal, etc., but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The host obtains the three-dimensional coordinate position of the glove in space based on the tracker 182 and/or the tracking signal transmitter 184. In this way, the host can inform the processor 160 when the glove 100 approaches the virtual object 60. In addition, the processor 160 calculates whether the user's finger touches the virtual object 60 based on the position information and size information of the virtual object 60 and the sensing result of the magnetic sensor 172.

In summary, in the gloves of the present invention, the actuation control wire can be used to limit the bending of the user's fingers, simulating the feel of grabbing an object in real life, thereby providing an immersive experience in the virtual world. In addition, the shape memory alloy member and the brake member used for the actuation control wire are small in size and light in weight, further enhancing the user's immersive experience.

50: Hand 60: Virtual object 100: Glove 110: Body 112: Back of hand 114: Fingertips 116: Knuckles 122: Back of hand base 124: Fingertips base 126: Knuckles base 130: Elastic parts 140: Control wire 152: Shape memory alloy parts 154: Brake parts 160: Processor 172: Magnetic sensor 174: Magnet 182: Tracker 184: Tracking signal transmitter

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a glove of an embodiment of the present invention in a wearing state. FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a partial cross-section of the glove of FIG1 . FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a partial cross-section of the glove of FIG1 in another state.

50: Hands

100: Gloves

110: Body

112: Back of hand

114: Fingertips

116: Knuckles

122: Back of hand base

124: Fingertip base

126: Knuckle base

130: Elastic parts

140: Control line

152: Shape memory alloy parts

154: Brake parts

160: Processor

172:Magnetic sensor

174: Magnet

182: Tracker

184:Tracking signal transmitter

Claims (7)

A glove comprises: a body for wearing on a hand of a user; a back-of-hand base disposed on the back of a hand of the body; a fingertip base disposed on a fingertip of the body; an elastic member; a control line, wherein the elastic member is connected between the back-of-hand base and the control line, and the control line is connected between the fingertip base and the elastic member; a shape memory alloy member; a brake member; a processor disposed on the body for electrically controlling the shape memory alloy member to actuate the brake member to brake the control line; a plurality of knuckle bases disposed on a plurality of knuckles of the body, wherein the control line passes through the knuckle bases; and a magnetic sensor and a magnet disposed at opposite ends of the elastic member, wherein the magnetic sensor is electrically connected to the processor. A glove as described in claim 1, wherein the magnet is disposed at one end of the elastic member connected to the control line. The glove as described in claim 1 further includes a tracker disposed on the main body. The glove as described in claim 1 further includes a tracking signal transmitter disposed on the main body. A glove as described in claim 1, wherein the processor is used to receive position information and size information of a virtual object. A glove comprises: a body for wearing on a hand of a user; a back-of-hand base disposed on the back of a hand of the body; a fingertip base disposed on a fingertip of the body; an elastic member; a control line, wherein the elastic member is connected between the back-of-hand base and the control line, and the control line is connected between the fingertip base and the elastic member; a shape memory alloy member; a brake member; and a processor disposed on the body for electrically controlling the shape memory alloy member to actuate the brake member to brake the control line; and a magnetic sensor and a magnet disposed at opposite ends of the elastic member, wherein the magnetic sensor is electrically connected to the processor. A glove as described in claim 6, wherein the magnet is disposed at one end of the elastic member connected to the control line.