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:
Jun. 13, 2000
Filed:
Jan. 13, 1995
Peter Will, Los Altos Hills, CA (US);
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Abstract
The intelligent motion surface disclosed herein includes multiple cells, each cell having independently controllable force producing devices for moving the object in multiple directions parallel to the intelligent motion surface. The intelligent motion surface has within each cell a set of driving devices engaging with the force producing devices for independent operation. Each driving device propels the motion surface in a separate direction. A motion controller independently operates each of the force producing devices to move the object. The motion controller delineates at least one force area on the intelligent motion surface based on object shape, object size, and desired position of the object on the intelligent motion surface, and provides translation of the desired force areas to produce a desired force vector on the intelligent motion surface. The invention contemplates application in a variety of scenarios, and thus the controllability of the surface to move any type of stable object over the surface to attain a desired position and orientation is disclosed.