Dynamically Orientable Seating Device

Abstract

An orientable seating device includes a seat, the orientation of which can be controlled to dynamically affect a desired of yaw, pitch and roll. The seating device can be used to reorient and/or to simulate motion for a seated person for use with video games, virtual reality headsets or goggles, land, water, air or space vehicle simulation, or wireless airborne drones, for example. The device includes a seat mounted on a carriage, which is received in a carriage pedestal. Within the pedestal, a drive wheel positioned under the carriage supports and rotates the carriage by driving an outer sphere-shaped surface of the carriage. The drive wheel can be reoriented around a vertical axis such that any combination of pitch and roll can be achieved by rotating the wheel against the sphere-shaped surface. Yaw can be controlled by a rotatable platform upon which the carriage pedestal can be mounted.

1 . A dynamically orientable seating device comprising:
 an actuatable seat carriage having a driven support surface shaped in a form of a three-dimensional portion of a sphere;   a seat fixedly mounted on or within the seat carriage;   a seat carriage pedestal receiving the seat carriage and fixing a horizontal and vertical position of the seat carriage relative to the seat carriage pedestal;   a drive mechanism comprising a drive wheel configured to engage with and support the driven support surface of the seat carriage, wherein rotation of the drive wheel drive causes reorientation of the seat carriage; and   an orientation sensor configured to detect an orientation of the seat carriage.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the orientation sensor comprises:
 a first position sensor configured to determine a roll of the seat carriage; and   a second position sensor configured to determine a pitch of the seat carriage.   
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the actuatable seat carriage has a plurality of machine-readable markings readable to determine the orientation of the seat carriage, and wherein the orientation sensor comprises at least one optical scanner configured and positioned to read the machine-readable markings. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the drive wheel has a horizontally disposed axis of rotation, and wherein the drive wheel drive wheel has a rotating circumference that directly contacts, supports, and drives the driven support surface of the seat carriage. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a base, wherein the seat carriage pedestal is rotatably mounted directly or indirectly to the base and to rotate about a vertical axis relative to the base; and   a third drive mechanism configured to rotate the rotatable platform about the vertical axis relative to the base.   
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein the seat carriage pedestal is a rotatable seat carriage pedestal mounted directly to the base. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 a rotatable platform rotatably mounted on the base, wherein the seat carriage pedestal is mounted to the rotatable platform.   
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 7 , wherein the turntable is mounted on and rotates relative to the rotatable platform. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising an alignment mechanism configured to prevent rotation around a vertical axis of the seat carriage relative to the seat carriage pedestal. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 9 , wherein the alignment mechanism comprises:
 an alignment pin that extends from the seat carriage along an axis extending from a center of the sphere; and   an alignment track fixed relative to the seat carriage pedestal, the alignment track having a shape of a portion of a vertically oriented circle centered on the center of the sphere,   whereby the alignment pin and the alignment track engage to permit only pitch and roll of the seat carriage, and whereby yaw of the seat carriage is established by the rotatable platform.   
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 9 , wherein the alignment mechanism comprises:
 a first gimbal fixed relative to the seat carriage pedestal, the first gimbal having a horizontal axis of rotation that extends through the center of the sphere;   a second gimbal mounted to the seat carriage and having an axis of rotation that extends through the center of the sphere; and   a connecting arm connecting the first gimbal to the second gimbal such that the axis of rotation of the second gimbal is orthogonal to and free to rotate about the axis of rotation of the first gimbal.   
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the orientation sensor comprises:
 a first position sensor configured to determine an orientation of the rotatable platform relative to the base;   a second position sensor configured to determine an angle of the first gimbal; and   a third position sensor configured to determine an angle of the second gimbal.   
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the orientation sensor comprises:
 a first position sensor configured to determine an orientation of the rotatable platform relative to the base;   a second position sensor configured to determine a roll of the seat carriage; and   a third position sensor configured to determine a pitch of the seat carriage.   
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the driven outer support surface comprises a plurality of machine-readable markings readable to determine the orientation of the seat carriage, and wherein the orientation sensor comprises at least one optical scanner configured and positioned to read the machine-readable markings. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the orientation sensor comprises a gyroscope attached to the seat carriage.