SAFE AND LOW COST COMPUTER PERIPHERALS WITH FORCE FEEDBACK FOR CONSUMER APPLICATIONS

摘要

A method and apparatus for providing safe and low-cost force feedback peripherals for consumer applications. A device microprocessor (26) local to an interface device (14) is coupled to the host (12) by a first interface bus (24). The microprocessor receives host commands from the host computer on the first interface bus, such as an RS-232 interface, and commands an actuator (30) to apply a force to a user object (22), such as a joystick, in response to host commands. A sensor (28) detects positions of the user object and outputs signals to the host on a second interface bus (25), such as a PC game port bus, separate from the firt bus. A safety switch (41) of the present invention disables the actuator when the interface device is not in use and enables the actuator when an amount of weight over a predetermined amount is placed on the joystick created by a user grasping the joystick.