WO2020000104A1

WO2020000104A1 - Method of using human controlled rotary motion as a human input device for a computer

Info

Publication number: WO2020000104A1
Application number: PCT/CA2019/050896
Authority: WO
Inventors: Erik C. Quackenbush
Original assignee: Hud Studios Inc.
Priority date: 2018-06-28
Filing date: 2019-06-27
Publication date: 2020-01-02
Also published as: CA3009963A1

Abstract

A method of using human controlled rotary motion as a human input device for a computer involves a first step of attaching to a rotor one or more sensors for monitoring a rotational speed of the rotor. The method involves a second step of imparting rotation to the rotor through rotation controls allowing human control of the rotational speed of the rotor. The method involves a third step of sending a first signal from the one or more sensors through a wired or wireless connection to a signal converter which converts the first signal from the one or more sensors to a second signal which emulates a signal coming from one of a computer joystick or a computer keyboard and communicates the second signal to a computer. The magnitude of the first signal and the magnitude of the second signal change with the speed of rotation of the rotor.

Description

[0001 ] Method of using human controlled rotary motion as a human input device for a computer FIELD

[0002 | There is described a method of using human controlled rotary motion as a human input device (HID) for a computer.

BACKGROUND

[0003 ] A number of patents describe methods or devices which have been developed for the purpose of monitoring the performance of athletes. An example of is United States Patent 9,675,842 (Dibenedetto et al) titled“Portable Fitness Monitoring". The Dibenedetto reference describes the use of an accelerometer coupled to the athlete's shoe. The Dibenedetto reference indicates that there are other sensors that could be used including, but not limited to, a pedometer, a pulsimeter, a thermometer, an altimeter, a pressure sensor, a strain gage, a bicycle power meter, a bicycle crank or wheel position sensor, a magnetic sensor, a gyroscope, a resistance sensor or a force sensor. These sensors communicate with a computer which record performance parameters for future analysis by athletes and their coaches.

Attaching a sensor to a crank, a pedal, a wheel or a shoe of a cyclist to monitor rotary motion is not new.

SUMMARY [0004] There is provided a method of using human controlled rotary motion as a human input device for a computer involves a first step of attaching directly or indirectly to a rotor one or more sensors for monitoring a rotational speed of the rotor. The method involves a second step of imparting rotation to the rotor through rotation controls allowing human control of the rotational speed of the rotor. The method involves a third step of sending a first signal from the one or more sensors through a wired or wireless connection to a signal converter which converts the first signal from the one or more sensors to a second signal which emulates a signal coming from one of a computer joystick or a computer keyboard and communicates the second signal to a computer. The magnitude of the first signal and the magnitude of the second signal change with the speed of rotation of the rotor.

[0005 ] There will hereinafter be described a preferred embodiment in which the rotor is mounted to a stationary bicycle and the rotation controls arc pedals. However, the rotor could be mounted on a turntable and the rotation control could be a hand crank or a variable speed motor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[ 0006 ] These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein:

[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method of using human controlled rotary motion as a human input device for a computer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] A method of using a rotating crank as a human input device for a computer will now be described with reference to FIG. 1.

Structure and Relationship of Parts:

[ 0009] There is a standard protocol that human input devices (HID) use to communicate with a host computer. This bidirectional protocol supports computer keyboards, computer mice, and computer joysticks. The HID standard was originally designed for USB devices, but become a Bluetooth standard as well. When you attach an HID device to a PC, a definition of the device's type and capabilities are transferred so that the PC knows how to interpret the data from the device.

[0010] The method was developed to allow a user to control almost any computer game using the pedals of an exercise bike without requiring modifications to the game. In order to achieve this, the exercise bike presents itself to the PC as a device which is either a joystick with a single "analog" axis or as a standard keyboard; depending on the type of game being played. There could be a mode switch provided which toggles between joystick mode and keyboard mode. The mode can also or alternatively be toggled under software control from the PC.

[001 1 ] Referring to FIG. 1 , a first step of the method involves attaching to a rotor 12 rotatably of a stationary bicycle 14 one or more sensors 16 for monitoring a rotational speed and a rotational direction of rotor 12. Although stationary bicycle 14 has been illustrated as being the most convenient to implement, rotor 12 could be mounted on a different platform, such as a turntable. A second step of the method involves imparting rotation to rotor 12 through rotation controls. With stationaiy bicycle 14, the most convenient form of rotation controls arc pedals, which allow human control of the rotational speed and the rotational direction of the rotor 12. It will be appreciated that if rotor 12 were instead mounted on a turntable, the rotation controls would be in the form of a hand crank or a variable speed motor. A third step of the method involves sending a first signal from the one or more sensors through a wired connection to a signal converter 20. As will hereinafter be further described, the conversion by signal converter 20 will depend upon whether a computer joystick or a computer keyboard is being emulated. Signal converter 20 is connected to a wireless transceiver 18 for communication with a computer.

[0012] Traditional joysticks use potentiometers to generate analog voltages representing the joystick's position. Those analog values arc converted to signed 16 bit integers using an analog to digital converter (ADC). These signed integers have a range from -32768 to +32767. They arc transmitted to the computer each time the joystick is moved and the value changes. The joystick can also be polled by the host PC at any time to query its current position.

[0013] With the present method, the one or more sensors 16 includc a MEMS gyroscope which measures the direction and rate of rotation of rotor 12 (crank arm) and converts this into a normalized (and signed) single precision floating point value. This value is then sealed according to the user's settings and converted into a signed 16 bit integer value. The signed integer value is then transmitted to the host PC, representing the rate of crank arm rotation as a joystick axis. The faster you pedal the bike, the greater the magnitude. The sign of the value indicates the direction of rotation. If you pedal slowly, it is as if you were pushing a joystick only a few degrees from center. If you pedal more quickly, it is as if you were pushing the joystick to the full range of its movement.

[0014| In joystick mode the computer secs the device as a standard joystick with a single analog axis. It is possible to remap the joystick controls of a PC using software (such as the open source applications vJoy and Joystick Gremlin). This software can substitute the proportional analog value for any arbitrary axis of the computer’s primary joystick. If you have a racing game in which the throttle is normally controlled by the Y axis of the joystick, you can use remapping software to control the throttle with input from rotor 12 instead. Some games have built in remapping capability and work properly without requiring any third party software. [0015 ] Many games are designed to be controlled with a keyboard instead of a joystick.

These games typically use the W key to control forward movement (walking), the 'S' key to control backwards movement, and the left shift key to in combination with either of those keys to indicate high speed movement (running). In keyboard mode there arc only two discrete speeds which we will call "walk" and "run".

[0016] In keyboard mode, signal converter 20 reads the MEMS gyroscope and calculates the signed integer for the joystick axis, it then performs additional processing before sending that value to the host personal computer (PC). When the axis value rises above a first threshold then signal converter 20 sends a "key press W" event to the host PC. If the axis value rises above a higher second threshold then signal converter 20 sends a "key press shift- W" event to the host PC. If the axis value falls below the second threshold, signal converter 20 sends a "key press W" event to the host PC. If the axis value falls below the first threshold, signal converter 20 sends the event "release all keys" to the host PC. Backward movement is similar to forward movement, but the events transmitted are "key press S" and "key press shift-S".

[0017 ] The two thresholds have sensible default values but they can be changed by the user with a control panel applet that we provide. This allows the user to set the level of effort required to control the game (also called sensitivity). Not all games used "W" and "S" so the same control panel applet allows the user to change which key combinations arc sent in response to different pedal conditions. It will be appreciate that one may preset a third threshold or fourth threshold, or more thresholds, depending upon the application.

Variations:

[0018] As described by the Dibenedetto reference the one or more sensors can be attached to a crank, a pedal, a wheel or a shoe of a cyclist to monitor rotary motion of rotor 12. The type of sensors used, will depend upon the selected attachment point. For example, where the one or more sensors are to be attached to pedals 16, instead of using the MEMS gyroscope, a MEMS accelerometer is used to determine rotational rate and direction. It will be understood that the one or more sensors may be mounted directly or indirectly onto rotor 12. Attachment to the crank or one of the pedals is an example of direct attachment. There arc stands commercially available, which enable a user to bring a road bicycle indoors and use it as a stationary bicycle. When this occurs direct attachment can be made to a rotating wheel, with the wheel being used as the rotor. Attachment to a shoe of a cyclist would be considered an “indirect” mode of attachment. The shoe of the cyclist is not a physical part of the rotor, but nevertheless rotates with the rotor and is no different than attachment to pedals 16 upon which the shoe of the cyclist rests.

[0019] When the sensors are mounted to the bicycle pedal instead of the crank arm so it is not possible to use a simple transform of the Z axis gyroscope data to determine rate and direction of rotation. Instead, wc use the X and Y axes of the accelerometer to determine crank motion. Our goal is to determine both the direction and the rate of rotation so that wc can provide both to the host PC as a single signed magnitude. Wc continually sample the X and Y accelerometers at between 30 and 100 times per second. Wc compute the difference between successive samples to determine the first derivatives of X and Y acceleration. Wc compare successive derivatives and watch for sign changes. When the sign of the X derivative changes from positive to negative on subsequent samples wc know that we have passed from an upper quadrant to a lower quadrant. When the sign of the X derivative changes from negative to positive we know that we have passed from a lower quadrant to an upper quadrant. When the sign of the Y derivative changes from positive to negative we know that we have entered a quadrant on the left side of origin. When the sign of the Y derivative changes from negative to positive we know that we have entered a quadrant on the right side of origin. By tracking these quadrant changes over time we keep track of our current quadrant. We then combine the two first derivatives value into a single value by using the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle formed with the X and Y derivatives as the lengths of the other two sides. The absolute value of the length of the hypotenuse is our uncalibrated rate of rotation. Finally, we determine direction of rotation (clockwise or counter clockwise) by comparing the signs of the X and Y derivatives. If we arc in an upper quadrant and the sign of the X derivative is positive then we know that we arc rotating clockwise. If the sign of the X derivative is negative then we arc rotating counter clockwise (the X derivative will never be zero if we arc in motion). If we are in a lower quadrant then the reverse is true, and positive X derivative denotes counter clockwise rotation. We have now determined the magnitude and direction of rotation. We need only apply multiply the magnitude by a scaling factor and, if rotation is counter clockwise, multiply the magnitude by - l. We then transmit the signed and sealed value to the host PC over Bluetooth using the HID protocol. A suitable motion tracking chip is the

TDK/InvenSense MPU-9250 motion tracking chip which provides 9 degrees of freedom including a 3 axis accelerometer, 3 axis gyroscope, and 3 axis magnetometer. The magnetometer measures spatial orientation relative to magnetic North.

[0020| 8 bit joysticks arc legacy equipment that have become less common with the advent of 16 bit joysticks. It will be appreciated that 8 bit joysticks have a signed 8 bit integers having a range of - 128 to + 127. If desired, signal converter can convert the first signal from the one or more sensors into a second signal of signed 8 bit integers having a range of - 128 to + 127 to emulate an 8 bit joystick signal in a similar fashion to what has previously been described in relation to 16 bit joystick signals. |0021 | In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned arc not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" docs not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

[0022 ] The scope of the claims should not be limited by the illustrated embodiments set forth as examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with a purposive construction of the claims in view of the description as a whole.

Claims

What is Claimed is:

1. A method of using human controlled rotary motion as a human input device for a computer, comprising:

attaching directly or indirectly to a rotor one or more sensors for monitoring a rotational speed of the rotor,

imparting rotation to the rotor through rotation controls that allow human control of the rotational speed of the rotor; and

sending a first signal from the one or more sensors through a wired or wireless connection to a signal converter which converts the first signal from the one or more sensors to a second signal which emulates a signal coming from one of a computer joystick, or a computer keyboard and communicates the second signal to a computer, the magnitude of the first signal and the magnitude of the second signal changing with the speed of rotation of the rotor.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the rotor is mounted to a stationary bicycle.

3. The method of Claim 1 , wherein the rotation controls are pedals.

4. The method of Claim 1 , wherein the signal converter converts the first signal from the one or more sensors into a second signal of signed 16 bit integers having a range of - 32768 to +32767 to emulate a 16 bit joystick signal.

5. The method of Claim 1, wherein the signal converter converts the first signal from the one or more sensors into a second signal of signed 8 bit integers having a range of - 128 to +127 to emulate an 8 bit joystick signal.

6. The method of Claim 1, wherein the second signal emulates a keyboard signal, the signal converter giving the second signal a first value when the rotational speed of the rotor is below a first preset threshold and giving the second signal a second value when the rotational speed of the rotor is above the first preset threshold.

7. The method of Claim 6, wherein the signal converter converts the first signal from the one of more sensors giving the second signal a third value when the rotational speed of the rotor is above a second preset threshold.

8. The method of Claim 7, wherein the signal converter converts the first signal from the one of more sensors giving the second signal a fourth value when the rotational speed of the rotor is above a third preset threshold.

9. The method of Claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors also monitor a rotational direction of the rotor.

10. A method of using human controlled rotary motion as a human input device for a computer, comprising:

attaching directly or indirectly to a rotor rotatably of a stationary bicycle one or more sensors for monitoring a rotational speed and a rotational direction of the rotor;

imparting rotation to the rotor through rotation controls in the form of pedals on the stationary bicycle allowing human control of the rotational speed and the rotational direction of the rotor; and

sending a first signal from the one or more sensors through a wired or wireless connection to a signal converter which converts the first signal from the one or more sensors to a second signal of signed 16 bit integers having a range of -32768 to +32767 to emulate a 16 bit joystick signal and communicates the second signal to a computer, the magnitude of the first signal and the magnitude of the second signal changing with the rotational speed of the rotor, the second signal having a positive value or a negative value depending upon the rotational direction of the rotor.

11. A method of using human controlled rotary motion as a human input device for a computer, comprising:

attaching directly or indirectly to a rotor rotatably of a stationary bicycle one or more sensors for monitoring a rotational speed of the rotor, imparting rotation to the rotor through rotation controls in the form of pedals on the stationary bicycle allowing human control of the rotational speed of the rotor; sending a first signal from the one or more sensors through a wired or wireless connection to a signal converter which converts the first signal from the one or more sensors to a second signal emulating a keyboard signal and communicates the second signal to a computer, the second signal is assigned a first value by the signal converter when the rotational speed of the rotor is below a first preset threshold and the second signal is assigned a second value by the signal converter when the rotational speed of the rotor is above the first preset threshold.

12. The method of Claim 1 1, wherein the signal converter converts the first signal from the one of more sensors giving the second signal a third value when the rotational speed of the rotor is above a second preset threshold.

13. The method of Claim 12, wherein the signal converter converts the first signal from the one of more sensors giving the second signal a fourth value when the rotational speed of the rotor is above a third preset threshold.