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This is a record of a document published elsewhere, first published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, as US-5396265-A, on 7 March 1995. OpenTechnical did not first disclose it. The identifier, hashes and timestamps below record what this library served and when, not when the material became public. View the original.

OT-2026-000003316

Three-dimensional tactile computer input device

Published
Permanent URL
Classification
Tools & Tooling › Clamping Tools
Assignee
MASSACHUSETTS INST TECHNOLOGY
Original source
US-5396265-A, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, 7 March 1995
Document SHA-256
6b53278c28127deccd559bbcc5bba473e264721b01edafe1d6287b85609c4794

A tactile computer input device which simulates an object being designed is used with a computer aided design (CAD) system. The input device allows a user to manually manipulate the input device as if it were the object under design. A preferred embodiment is directed toward the design of sheet metal parts. The design begins with a virtual metal sheet which is then manipulated by a user through manual manipulation of the input device. Bending of the virtual object is accomplished by bending of the input device. Stretching and shrinking of the virtual object is accomplished by expanding and compressing the input device. Spatial orientation of the virtual object follows the spatial orientation of the input device by providing the input device with a Polhemus orientation sensor. Other functions for manipulating the virtual sheet metal object include cutting, embossing, and punching.

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Abstract

A tactile computer input device which simulates an object being designed is used with a computer aided design (CAD) system. The input device allows a user to manually manipulate the input device as if it were the object under design. A preferred embodiment is directed toward the design of sheet metal parts. The design begins with a virtual metal sheet which is then manipulated by a user through manual manipulation of the input device. Bending of the virtual object is accomplished by bending of the input device. Stretching and shrinking of the virtual object is accomplished by expanding and compressing the input device. Spatial orientation of the virtual object follows the spatial orientation of the input device by providing the input device with a Polhemus orientation sensor. Other functions for manipulating the virtual sheet metal object include cutting, embossing, and punching.

1. Drawings

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Publication information

Plain textMarkdownManifestIntegrity record

Citation

OpenTechnical Publication OT-2026-000003316, “Three-dimensional tactile computer input device,” published September 15, 2026 at 20:08:34 UTC, https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000003316.

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Terms

This record reproduces a document published elsewhere and is provided for reference and study. Rights in the original remain with its owner. See the publication policy.