Lord Corporation

Stephen P Koester

J David Carlson

Mark R Jolly

Robert H Marjoram

Kenneth Alan St Clair

Kenneth A StClair

William C Hardin

Mariane Hontz

A controllable brake includes a housing and a rotor supported on a shaft. The rotor is housed within a chamber containing a field controllable material which is acted upon by a magnetic field generator to impede movement of the rotor. The shaft is supported by bearings. The controllable brake housing defines a second housing chamber adapted to enclose means for monitoring and/or controlling the brake and in this way, an integrated, compact controllable brake is provided.

Brake with field responsive material

According to the present invention, a haptic interface system, also known as a force feedback system, comprises a motor for supplying actuating energy and a magnetically-controllable device that transfers the actuating energy into force feedback sensations. The magnetically-controllable device contains a magnetically-controllable medium beneficially providing variable resistance forces in proportion to the strength of an applied magnetic field. The system further comprises a computer system having a processor that runs an interactive program or event, a video display for displaying the interactive program or event, and a haptic interface device in operable contact with an operator for controlling inputs to the interactive program. Based on the received inputs and on processing the interactive program, the computer system provides a variable output signal, corresponding to a feedback force, to control the magnetically-controllable device in transferring the actuating energy into feedback force that is actively applied to haptic interface device.

Magnetically-controllable, active haptic interface system and apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Cary, NC, United States of America

Stephen P Koester