The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 30, 2025
Filed:
Jun. 19, 2023
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Trudy L. Hewitt, Cary, NC (US);
Mauro Marzorati, Lutz, FL (US);
Carolina Garcia Delgado, Zapopan, MX;
Jeremy R. Fox, Georgetown, TX (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A cane for increased sweep coverage includes a first time-of-flight (TOF) sensor, a haptic feedback generator and a processor. The first TOF sensor is disposed at a first end of the cane and is configured to emit a first TOF beam. The haptic feedback generator is disposed towards a second end of the cane that is distally opposite from the first end of the cane. The processor is configured to receive signal data from the first TOF sensor, determine, based on the received signal data, whether an obstacle is present within the first TOF beam, and activate the haptic feedback generator in a first haptic feedback pattern in response to the processor determining that the obstacle is present. A method for using the cane to detect obstacles is also provided.