JP3009316B2 - Operation lever device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation lever device suitable for input operation and remote control operation of a computer-aided design device (CAD) or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a playback robot such as an industrial robot, a desired operation is performed by storing a predetermined operation using a teaching box and reproducing the predetermined operation. That is, in the robot, the coordinates of the point at which the moving object such as the arm should pass from the initial position to the target position are stored in the teaching box, and the controller performs continuous positioning so as to pass through the stored coordinate points. Thus, the operation stored in the teaching box is reproduced. The memory of the operation in the teaching box stores the button operation for each degree of freedom at the point to be passed by the operator, and the teaching operation is not efficient. In contrast, intuition is very poor. For this reason, a joystick is employed in a part of the teaching box to improve the efficiency of the teaching operation.

A teaching box using this joystick is prepared by preparing a plurality of joysticks having two or three degrees of freedom, and switching between the joysticks with a switch or the like in accordance with each degree of freedom to input six degrees of freedom. Therefore, it is called a so-called multi-axis control steering device.

[0004]

However, since the conventional multi-axis control steering device combines a plurality of joysticks having two or three degrees of freedom, not only the structure becomes complicated, but also the displacement and the angle are increased. The detection accuracy is low, and the operator cannot sufficiently obtain an operation sensation corresponding to the actual movement of the control target, which makes the operation difficult. In recent years, an operation lever capable of operating with six degrees of freedom has been proposed (for example, JP-A-62-278614).
It is considered that the structure of the teaching box is simplified by using the six-degree-of-freedom operation lever.

However, the six-degree-of-freedom operation lever disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-278614 has a plurality of telescopic displacement detectors between an operation table on which the lever is mounted and a floor below the operation table. The range in which the lever can be moved (operation range) is narrow, and it is difficult to accurately grasp the actual operation amount (swing position) of the lever in a three-dimensional space. Another disadvantage is that the internal structure of the converter for obtaining output signals for each of the six degrees of freedom is complicated. Further, the separation of signals corresponding to each degree of freedom is not sufficient, and it is difficult to improve control accuracy.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and has as its object to provide an operation lever device excellent in operability. Further, the present invention provides
It is intended to easily obtain components corresponding to the three degrees of freedom.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an operation lever device according to the present invention is connected to a fixed portion so as to be tiltable in an arbitrary direction, and has a tip portion opposed to the fixed portion. A pair of rods arranged and provided on the fixed portion
To detect the tilt direction and tilt angle of each rod
The tilt detector and the rods can be moved relative to each other in the axial direction.
Slide rod provided and tip of this slide rod
An operation portion which is flexibly connected to, the operation unit or the
A rotation mechanism for supporting each rod rotatably about an axis,
Detecting the rotation amount of the operation unit or the rod around the axis.
A rotation angle detector, and the operating section includes a grip movable in the axial direction, a hollow rod penetrating the grip and connected to the pair of rods, and guiding the grip in the axial direction. A displacement detector that is disposed inside the rod and moves together with the grip to detect an axial movement amount of the grip; and a displacement detector that is disposed on both sides of the displacement detector.
A spring for returning the grip to a predetermined position via a displacement detector.

[0008]

According to the operating lever device of the present invention, the grip is movable in the axial direction when the position of the grip of the operating portion connected to the pair of rods so as to be bent is defined as the origin. Since the rod connected to can be tilted in any direction, it is possible to perform the operation as imagined by the operator, such as the operation to the so-called plus side and the operation to the minus side, and the operability is improved. .
In addition, by connecting the operation unit to a pair of rods, the range in which the grip and the operation unit can move can be enlarged as compared with the conventional joystick, so that delicate operations can be easily performed, and the input device of the teaching box and remote control When used in a control device or the like, operability and control accuracy can be improved.

When the operating portion is configured to be rotatable with respect to the rod, the operating portion is tilted in an arbitrary direction to rotate the operating portion, and the rotation is detected, and rotation around three orthogonal axes is performed. The components corresponding to the six degrees of freedom can be easily obtained.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the operating lever device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of an operation lever device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded view thereof.

In these figures, an operation lever device 10 is shown.
The operation unit 12 has a cylindrical grip 14 and a grip 14
And a guide rod 16 penetrating through it. The guide rod 16 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and has two guide grooves 18 extending in parallel with the axis. Screw holes 20, 20 are formed in the grip 14 at positions corresponding to the guide grooves 18, 18 of the guide rod, and a screw 22 serving as a guide pin can be passed through these screw holes 20. I can do it. Accordingly, the screw 14 is guided in the guide groove 18 of the guide rod 16 so that the grip 14 can move in the axial direction along the guide rod 16 as indicated by an arrow 24 in FIG. The amount of movement of the grip 14 is detected by a displacement detector 26 arranged inside the guide rod 16.

The displacement detector 26 comprises a detecting section 30 having a resistive element 28 and an output section 34 having a terminal section 32 which slides on the resistive element 28. Is fixed to the grip 14 through the
And the inside of the guide rod 16 moves in the axial direction. On the other hand, the output section 34 is fixed to the guide rod 16 by the screw 36. Lead wire 3 for the output signal of this displacement detector 26
3 is drawn out from the lead hole formed in the guide rod 16 to the outside. The turntable 3 is provided at both ends of the guide rod 16.
8, 40 are attached.

The turntables 38, 40 include plugs 42, 44,
The disk portion 4 that rotates relatively to the plugs 42 and 44
6, 48. Each of the plugs 42 and 44 has a small diameter portion inserted into the guide rod 16 and is fixed to the guide rod 16 by a plurality of screws 46. That is, the screw 46 is inserted into a screw hole provided in the rings 49 and 50 fitted to both ends of the guide rod 16, penetrates the guide rod 16, presses the plugs 42 and 44, and pushes the plugs 42 and 44. It is fixed to the guide rod 16. Coil springs 52 and 54 are arranged between the detection unit 30 of the displacement detector 26 and the one plug 42 and between the detection unit 30 and the output unit 34, and have moved together with the grip 14. The detection unit 30 can be returned to a predetermined position. A potentiometer 56, which is a rotation angle detector, is provided on the other turntable 40 so that the rotation amount of the operation unit 12 around the axis can be detected.
Further, cylindrical bodies 58, 60 are fixed to the respective disk portions 46, 48, and connection pins 62, 64 are attached to these cylindrical bodies 58, 60.
Are fixed. The connection pins 62 and 64 are connected to two-dimensional joysticks 70 and 72 that are arranged to face each other.

Each of the joysticks 70, 72 has a mounting base 74, 76, and the mounting bases 74, 76 are provided with rod portions 78, 80 which can be inclined in any direction. These rod portions 78 and 80 are attached to the mounting base 7.
4 and 76, and are constituted by swinging rods 82 and 84 attached to the expansion and contraction detectors 86 and 88 serving as expansion and contraction sections. The slide rods 90 and 92 of the expansion and contraction detectors 86 and 88 are connected via joint members 94 and 96. To the connection pins 62 and 64. The joint members 94 and 96 can be bent in any direction between the rod portions 78 and 80 and the operation unit 12.

The operating lever device 10 according to the embodiment configured as described above generally has an operating portion 12 in an upright state.
The mounting bases 74 and 76 of the joysticks 70 and 72 are fixed to the fixing portion at predetermined intervals. At this time, grip 1
4, that is, the position of the detection unit 30 of the displacement detector 26 is the origin O, and the X axis is set in the horizontal direction in FIG. 1, the Y axis is set in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and the Z axis is set in the vertical direction (see FIG. 3). .

When the operator grips the grip 14 of the operation unit 12 and translates the operation unit 12 in an arbitrary direction perpendicular to the axis as indicated by arrows 100 and 102 in FIG. 3, the swing rods 82 and 84 are inclined. With the expansion / contraction detector 86,
The 88 slide rods 90, 92 extend. And
The joysticks 70 and 72 output signals corresponding to the tilt direction and the tilt angle of the swing rods 82 and 84, and the expansion / contraction detectors 86 and 88 output signals corresponding to the extension amounts of the slide rods 90 and 92. Therefore, the position (X coordinate, Y coordinate) of the operation unit 12 in the XY plane can be obtained from these signals. Also, the grip 14 is moved to the arrow 104 in FIG.
, The guide rod 16 rotates integrally with the grip 14, and the amount of rotation is detected by a potentiometer 56 provided on the turntable 40, and is output as the amount of rotation of the operation unit 12 about the Z axis. Is done.

Further, as shown by an arrow 106 in FIG. 4A, when the grip 14 is moved along the guide rod 16 and the operation unit 12 is tilted, the joysticks 70 and 72, the expansion / contraction detector 86, 88 and the displacement detector 26, and a signal is output.
The three-dimensional position of the detection unit 30 can be obtained as follows.

FIG. 4B schematically shows the state of FIG. 4A by a diagram. Here, rod part 8
O is the swing fulcrum of 0, A is the tip of the slide rod 92,
The swing fulcrum of the rod 78 is denoted by C, the tip of the slide rod 90 is denoted by B, and the position of the detector 30 is denoted by P. Further, the inclination angle of the line segment OA is α, and the inclination angle of the line segment BC is β. In this case, the inclination angles α and β of the line segments OA and BC and the inclination directions thereof are obtained by the joysticks 70 and 72 as described above. The lengths of the line segments OA and BC are obtained from output signals of the expansion / contraction detectors 86 and 88. Therefore, the three-dimensional positions of A and B are obtained from these, and the angle γ between the line segment OA and the line segment AB can be calculated. Further, the length between the APs is obtained from the output signal of the displacement detector 26. The method of obtaining the coordinates of the point P will be described below with reference to FIG.

From the above description, the length a of the OA and the length b of the AP, the angle θ1 between the line segment OA and the Z axis, and the angle between the line segment OA and the line segment AP in FIG. .theta.2 and the angle .theta.4 between the line segment OP 'projected on the XY plane of the line segment OP in FIG. 5B and the Y axis are known. First, when the length r of the line segment OP is obtained,

## EQU1 ## r2 = a2 + b2-2abcos .theta.2

## EQU2 ## r = (a2 + b2 -2abcos .theta.2) 1/2.

On the other hand, the angle θ3 formed between the line segment OP and the line segment OA
Is

## EQU3 ## (r / sin θ2) = (b / sin θ3)

## EQU4 ## sin θ3 = (b sin θ2) / r

## EQU5 ## θ3 = sin-1 {(bsin θ2) / r}.

Therefore, the coordinates (xP, yP, zP) of the point P are

## EQU6 ## xP = OP'sin .theta.4 = rsin (.theta.1 + .theta.3) .sin .theta.4

YP = rsin (θ1 + θ3) · cos θ4

## EQU8 ## It can be obtained as zP = rcos (.theta.1 + .theta.3). Further, if the grip 14 is rotated around the axis in the state shown in FIG.
6 rotates together with the grip 14, and the potentiometer 5
6, the rotation amount can be decomposed into rotation amounts around the X, Y, and Z axes. As a result, by taking in the output signals of the joysticks 70, 72, the expansion / contraction detectors 86, 88, the potentiometer 56, and the displacement detector 26, the components of the operation unit 12 having six degrees of freedom can be obtained at the same time. Teaching work or the like can be performed easily and easily.

In the embodiment, since the inclination of the operation unit 12 is detected by the joysticks 70 and 72 and the rotation of the operation unit 12 is detected by the potentiometer 56, the separation of components corresponding to each degree of freedom is achieved. Is good, and accurate control can be realized.
Moreover, the operation unit 12 is connected to the pair of joysticks 70 and 7.
2, the range (operation amount) in which the operation unit 12 can be actually moved can be increased, and the grip 14 can be actually moved in the vertical direction with the position of the grip 14 as the origin. , It is possible to give the operator a realistic operation feeling, the operability of the operation lever device 10 can be improved, the operator's embarrassment can be reduced, and the efficiency of the input operation can be reduced. The control accuracy can be improved by enabling a delicate operation. In the embodiment,
Since six degrees of freedom can be obtained at the same time, a changeover switch or the like can be omitted, and a simple structure can be achieved.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are a front view and an exploded view of a second embodiment of the operation lever device. In these figures, the operating section 12 is composed of a grip 14 and a guide rod 16 penetrating the grip 14, and the guide rod 16 is provided with a guide groove 110 parallel to the axis. Then, the displacement detector 26 is inserted into the guide rod 16, and a screw 114 inserted from a screw hole 112 provided in the grip 14
The detection unit 30 of the displacement detector 26 is fixed to the grip 14, so that the detection unit 30 can move integrally with the grip 14 in the axial direction of the guide rod 16 as indicated by an arrow 115.

At both ends of the guide rod 16, rings 118,
118 and a plurality of screws 120, a cap 122,
122 is attached. These caps 122
Connection pins 124, 124 are provided.
24 are slide pins 128, 1 through a joint member 126.
28 is connected to one end. And slide pin 1
The other end of 28 is inserted into sheaths 130,130. The sheath 130 has an oblong hole 132 in the axial direction. One end of a coil spring 134 externally fitted to the sheath 130 can be fixed to an end of the slide pin 128 inserted into the sheath 130 by a screw 133. It has become. The other end of the coil spring 134 is fixed to the sheath 130 by a screw 135. Also, the screw 135 is
Swing rods 82, 8 of joysticks 137, 139
4 and the sheath 130 are connected. The joysticks 137 and 139 are three-dimensional joysticks in which the swinging rods 82 and 84 can rotate around their axes and can detect the amount of rotation.

That is, the joysticks 137 and 13
Reference numeral 9 designates a configuration similar to that of a normal three-dimensional joystick. As shown in FIG. 8 using the joystick 137 as an example, the base end 150 of the swing rod 82 is formed in a spherical shape. Together with the receiving part 152 fixed to 74, a ball joint is formed. In addition, arrow 1
The detection pin 15 of the Z-axis potentiometer 156 for detecting the rotation amount of the swing rod 82 that rotates around the axis as indicated by 54
8 is connected. Further, the Z-axis potentiometer 15
6, an arc-shaped arm 160 is attached. At the tip of the arm 160, a detection pin 164 of an X-axis potentiometer 162 for detecting the inclination of the swing rod 82 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface as indicated by an arrow 161 is provided. Connected. A Y-axis potentiometer (not shown) is provided in a direction orthogonal to the Z-axis potentiometer 156 and the X-axis potentiometer 162 to detect that the swing rod 82 is tilted as indicated by an arrow 166.

In the second embodiment, the same operation as in the above embodiment can be performed. That is, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the grip 14 is moved upward as indicated by an arrow 140, and a force as indicated by an arrow 142 is applied to the operation unit 12 to move the operation unit 12 parallel to the left. The operation unit 12 can be tilted in any direction as shown in FIGS. The slide amount (extension amount) of the slide pin 128 is detected by a not-shown potentiometer, a sleeve sensor, or the like. As a result, information of six degrees of freedom of the operation unit 12 can be easily obtained as in the case of the above-described embodiment, and the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained. Moreover, the three-dimensional joystick 13
The use of 7, 139 allows the structure of the operation unit 12 to be simplified.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is used for teaching of an industrial robot has been described. However, the present invention is applied to input of a computer-aided design device (CAD) and power shovels, cranes, robots, etc. which require multi-axis control. It may be used as a remote control device or an operation lever of a game machine.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the grip grip of the operating portion, which can be bent between a pair of rods, can move in the axial direction, and the rod to which the operating portion is connected can be moved. Since it is possible to tilt in any direction, it is possible to perform an operation as imagined by the operator, such as a so-called plus operation or a minus operation, and the operability is improved.

Also, the operation unit is configured to be rotatable with respect to the rod, so that the operation unit is tilted in an arbitrary direction to rotate the operation unit. , The components corresponding to the six degrees of freedom can be easily obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an operation lever device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the embodiment, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which an operation unit is operated in a direction orthogonal to an axis.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment, and is a diagram showing a state where the operation unit is inclined.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a method of obtaining a grip position according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a three-dimensional joystick used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Operation lever apparatus 12 Operation part 14 Grip 16 Guide rod 26 Displacement detector 38, 40 Turntable 56 Rotation angle detector (potentiometer) 70, 72 Tilt detector (joystick) 78, 80 Rod part 86, 88 Detector) 90, 92 Slide rod 94, 96, 126 Joint member

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G05G 1/00-25/02 B25J 13/02 G05D 3/12 G06F 3/033

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pair of rods, each of which is connected to a fixed portion so as to be tiltable in an arbitrary direction, and has a distal end portion arranged to face each other, and a pair of rods provided on the fixed portion and tilted by the respective rods.
An inclination detector for detecting an inclination direction and an inclination angle;
Slide rod mounted on the slide so that it can move relatively in the axial direction.
And an operating part connected to the tip of the slide rod so as to be bendable, and turning the operating part or each of the rods around an axis.
A rotation mechanism that rotatably supports the operation unit or the rotation unit;
A rotation angle detector that detects an amount of rotation of the rod around the axis , wherein the operation unit is connected to the pair of rods through a grip that can move in the axial direction, and the grip is connected to the pair of rods. A hollow rod for guiding in the axial direction, a displacement detector disposed inside the rod and moving integrally with the grip to detect an axial movement amount of the grip; and a displacement detector disposed on both sides of the displacement detector. And a spring for returning the grip to a predetermined position via a displacement detector.