JP3046770B2 - Gimbal device for control stick - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control stick gimbal device suitable for a control device such as an aircraft such as a helicopter, a vehicle, a robot manipulator or a data input device for a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional steering device. The control stick is swingably supported about two orthogonal axes (a roll axis R and a pitch axis P) with respect to the base 1 of the control device. Gimbal devices are commonly used. A grip 2 for gripping by hand is attached to the upper part of the control stick.

The steering amount of the grip 2 around the roll axis is output from the output shaft 3, and the steering amount of the grip 2 around the pitch axis is output from the output shaft 7.
The output shaft 3 and the output shaft 7 project in directions orthogonal to each other.

[0004] A sensor 4 for detecting a steering amount around the roll axis is attached to the output shaft 3, and an end of an arm 5 displaced integrally with the output shaft 3 generates a feel around the roll axis. Is installed.

[0005] A sensor 8 for detecting a steering amount around the pitch axis is attached to the output shaft 7, and an end of an arm 9 displaced integrally with the output shaft 7 generates a feel around the pitch axis. Is installed.

[0006]

In a conventional control device,
Since the output shafts 3 and 7 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to each other, since the sensors and the feel mechanism are installed for each shaft, the entire device is inevitably increased in size. In particular, when such a device is installed as a side stick control device in the cockpit of an aircraft, the size restrictions in the left-right direction are stricter than in the front-rear direction in order to secure a space for installing devices around the pilot seat.

In the conventional two-axis gimbal device, a sensor and a feel mechanism for the first axis are attached to the inner gimbal itself, a sensor and a feel mechanism for the second axis are attached to the outer gimbal, and the entire inner gimbal is attached to the outer gimbal. Take a structure to support with. Therefore, the mechanism of the inner gimbal, which is a movable part, becomes complicated and large, and the outer gimbal that supports the inner gimbal is also necessarily large, resulting in an increase in steering inertia and an increase in the size of the entire apparatus.

An object of the present invention is to provide a gimbal device for a control stick, which can greatly reduce the size and thickness of the device and is excellent in operability.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a control stick is provided in a first position.
An inner gimbal for supporting angular displacement around the axis,
An outer gimbal for supporting the inner gimbal so as to be angularly displaceable about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis, and an arc-shaped slide supported on the outer gimbal for angular displacement about the same axis as the first axis. The member is provided so as to be angularly displaceable about the axis of the control stick, and the angular displacement about the first axis of the control stick and the slide member are linked, and the angular displacement of the control stick about the second axis and the slide member are linked. A connecting member for connecting the control stick and the sliding member, a first output shaft for outputting the amount of angular displacement of the sliding member about the first axis by an axial movement, and a swinging surface of the inner gimbal. And a second output shaft that is arranged in parallel and outputs the amount of angular displacement of the inner gimbal about the second axis in a motion about the axis.
According to the present invention, by arranging the second output shaft in parallel with the swinging surface of the inner gimbal, it is possible to eliminate a portion protruding in the first axial direction. The device size can be reduced. In particular,
When this device is installed as an aircraft side stick control device, the size of the device in the pitch axis direction as the second axis can be significantly reduced as compared with the roll axis as the first axis. Further, the amount of angular displacement about the first axis is determined by the first member via the slide member.
By directly taking out from the output shaft, there is no need to attach a steering amount sensor or a feel mechanism to the inner gimbal itself, and the size and weight of the inner gimbal can be reduced. As a result, a reduction in steering inertia and a reduction in size and weight of the entire device can be realized. Further, by providing the connecting member so as to be angularly displaceable around the axis of the control stick, a torsional movement between the connecting member and the slide member is allowed, so that the movement of the connecting member can be smoothed.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the first output shaft and the second output shaft are arranged so as to project from the outer gimbal in the same direction and in parallel. According to the present invention, since the first output shaft and the second output shaft protrude in the same direction, a steering amount sensor and a feel mechanism for each axis can be intensively arranged on one surface of the outer gimbal, and the apparatus can be used. Thinning becomes easy. In addition, since electrical wiring and the like for connecting to external devices can be intensively arranged, replacement and maintenance of the device can be easily performed.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that a rotation axis conversion mechanism for connecting the inner gimbal and the second output shaft and changing the direction of the angular displacement axis is provided. According to the present invention, since the rotation axis direction of the inner gimbal can be changed to an arbitrary direction, preferably a direction of 90 degrees by using the rotation axis conversion mechanism, the design of the direction in which the second output shaft is arranged is designed. The degree of freedom can be increased, which contributes to downsizing and thinning of the device.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the rotary shaft conversion mechanism is constituted by a wheel interlocking with an inner gimbal and a barrel cam interlocking with a second output shaft. According to the present invention, the forward and reverse transmission efficiencies between the inner gimbal and the second output shaft can be improved. Therefore, when a feel mechanism is attached to the second output shaft, the force from the feel mechanism is controlled by the control rod. Can be transmitted efficiently.

Further, the invention is characterized in that the rotating shaft conversion mechanism has a speed ratio for increasing or decreasing the speed.
According to the present invention, when a motorized feeler mechanism is attached to the second output shaft, the drive source that generates the feel, for example, the output and the number of revolutions of the motor can be reduced by the speed ratio, so that the size of the device can be reduced. And power consumption.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a control stick gimbal device according to the present invention. The control stick is swingably supported about two orthogonal axes (a roll axis R and a pitch axis P) with respect to the base 11. A grip 12 for gripping by hand is attached to the upper part of the control stick.

The amount of operation of the grip 12 around the roll axis is output from an output shaft 13. A sensor 14 for detecting a steering amount around the roll axis is attached to the output shaft 13, and a feel mechanism for generating a feel around the roll axis is provided at an end of an arm 15 that is displaced integrally with the output shaft 13. 16 are installed.

The operation amount of the grip 12 around the pitch axis is output from an output shaft 17. A sensor 18 for detecting a steering amount around the pitch axis is attached to the output shaft 17, and a feeling mechanism for generating a feel around the pitch axis is provided at an end of an arm 19 that is displaced integrally with the output shaft 17. 20 are installed.

The output shaft 13 and the output shaft 17 are arranged so as to project in the same direction and in parallel from the rear surface of the device.
Since the sensors 14 and 18 and the feel mechanisms 16 and 20 relating to the respective output shafts 13 and 17 can be arranged in a concentrated manner, the apparatus can be made thinner as compared with the related art.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows an example of a specific internal structure,
3A is a sectional view taken along line AA, FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along line BB, and FIG. 3C is a sectional view taken along line CC.

The shaft 21 that forms a control stick together with the grip 12 has a shaft 30 extending coaxially with the roll axis R. The shaft 30 is supported by a rectangular cylindrical inner gimbal 31 via a bearing. , And are supported so as to be angularly displaceable about the roll axis R.

The inner gimbal 31 has a shaft 32 extending coaxially with the pitch axis P. When the shaft 32 is supported by a rectangular outer gimbal 40 via a bearing, angular displacement about the pitch axis P is achieved. It is freely supported.
Thus, a two-axis gimbal mechanism of the control stick is configured.

Inside the outer gimbal 40, an arc-shaped slide plate 42 centered on the pitch axis P is arranged so as to bypass the inner gimbal 31. A pair of arms 41 (omitted in FIG. 2) are fixed to both ends of the slide plate 42, and the arms 41 are supported by the outer gimbal 40 around the roll axis R via bearings.
The slide plate 42 is also capable of angular displacement about the same axis as the roll axis R, and the amount of angular displacement is output from the output shaft 13 that rotates integrally.

At the lower end of the shaft 21, a slide plate 4 is provided.
2, a downwardly U-shaped connecting member 43 is provided. A pair of cam followers 44 that are in contact with each other so as to sandwich the slide plate 42 are attached to the U-shaped arm of the connecting member 43.

With this configuration, when the shaft 21 is angularly displaced around the roll axis R, a force is transmitted to the slide plate 42 via the cam follower 44, so that the movement of the shaft 21 around the roll axis R and the movement of the slide plate 42 Are linked. On the other hand, when the shaft 21 is angularly displaced around the pitch axis P, the connecting member 43 is only angularly displaced in parallel with the slide plate 42 by the rolling of the cam follower 44, and the movement of the shaft 21 around the pitch axis P and the movement of the slide plate 42 Will not be linked. Thus, only the angular displacement of the shaft 21 around the roll axis R can be taken out from the output shaft 13.

When the shaft 21 is angularly displaced about the pitch axis P, when the slide plate 42 is in a vertical position, the movement of the connecting member 43 is smooth. , The holding surface of the connecting member 43 and the slide plate 42 are not slightly parallel to each other geometrically, and the connecting member 43 receives a torsional force.
As a countermeasure, by adopting a structure in which the connecting member 43 is supported so as to be angularly displaceable around the axis of the shaft 21,
At an arbitrary roll angle, the movement of the connecting member 43 around the pitch axis P can be smoothed.

Next, a mechanism around the pitch axis P will be described. A wheel 33 having a plurality of engagement portions 34 arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction around the pitch axis P is fixed to the inner gimbal 31, and angularly displaces integrally around the pitch axis P. The engaging portion 34 may be a protrusion integrally formed with the wheel 33, but is preferably a ball bearing structure in which a steel ball is embedded in a concave portion formed on the wheel 33 in order to reduce transmission loss. The wheel 33 shown in FIG. 2 has a disk shape and is attached to the outer surface of the inner gimbal 31. The wheel 33 shown in FIG. 3 has an arc shape that covers only the maneuvering range around the pitch axis, and is attached to the inner surface of the inner gimbal 31.

A barrel cam 35 is provided so as to engage with the wheel 33, and is rotatably supported by an outer gimbal 40 so as to rotate about an axis orthogonal to the pitch axis P. A spiral groove is formed on the peripheral surface of the barrel cam 35, and by engaging with the engaging portion 34 of the wheel 33, the angular displacement of the wheel 33 around the pitch axis P is changed to an angular displacement around an orthogonal axis. A rotation axis conversion mechanism for conversion is configured. Further, as described above, by adopting the ball bearing structure as the engaging portion 34, it is possible to transmit the angular displacement of the barrel cam 35 to the wheel 33. The gear ratio between the wheel 33 and the barrel cam 35 is determined by the turning radius of the engaging portion 34, the turning radius of the groove of the barrel cam 35, and the spiral pitch. By setting this gear ratio to increase or decrease the speed, when a motorized feeler mechanism is attached to the output shaft 17, the drive source that generates the feel, for example, the motor output or the number of revolutions, is reduced by the gear ratio. This contributes to downsizing of the device and reduction of power consumption.

The output shaft 17 of the barrel cam 35 can be arranged in any direction within a plane perpendicular to the pitch axis P, but in FIG. It is arranged to protrude from the outer gimbal 40 in the direction.

In such a configuration, when the grip 12 is steered around the roll axis R, the shaft 21 and the connecting member 43 swing around the shaft 30, and the slide plate 42 is turned around the roll axis R via the connecting member 43. The output shaft 13 is displaced, and finally the roll operation amount is output as the angular displacement amount of the output shaft 13. On the other hand, when the grip 12 is steered around the pitch axis P, the shaft 21 and the inner gimbal 31
Around the barrel cam 35 via the wheel 33.
Is angularly displaced around an axis parallel to the roll axis R, and the pitch control amount is finally output as the angular displacement amount of the output shaft 17.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention. Here, the output shaft 1 of the barrel cam 35
Since 7 is disposed in a direction (downward) perpendicular to the pitch axis P and also perpendicular to the roll axis R, the pitch control amount is taken out from the lower surface of the apparatus. Even in such a configuration, the device size in the pitch axis direction can be reduced.

When interference between the output shaft 17 and the slide plate 42 occurs, the diameter of the wheel 33 is increased, and the shaft of the barrel cam 35 is arranged closer to the output shaft 13 so as to slide. The displacement of the plate 42 can be sufficiently secured.

In the above description, the combination of the wheel and the barrel cam has been described as the rotation axis conversion mechanism. Alternatively, a pair of bevel gears having rotation axes orthogonal to each other can be used.

[0032]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, since the portion protruding in the first axial direction can be eliminated, it is possible to reduce the size of the entire device, and particularly to reduce the size of the device in the first axial direction. Becomes

Further, there is no need to attach a steering amount sensor or a feel mechanism to the inner gimbal itself, so that the inner gimbal can be reduced in size and weight, and the steering inertia can be reduced, and the entire apparatus can be reduced in size and weight. In addition, since the connecting member is provided so as to be angularly displaceable around the axis of the control stick, a torsional movement between the connecting member and the slide member is allowed, so that the movement of the connecting member can be smoothed.

Further, since the first output shaft and the second output shaft protrude in the same direction, a steering amount sensor and a feel mechanism for each axis can be intensively arranged on one surface of the outer gimbal, and the apparatus can be made thin. It becomes easier.

Further, by using the rotation axis conversion mechanism, the degree of freedom in designing the direction in which the second output shaft is arranged can be increased, which contributes to the reduction in size and thickness of the device.

Further, by using a combination of a wheel and a barrel cam as the rotation shaft conversion mechanism, the forward and reverse transmission efficiency between the inner gimbal and the second output shaft can be improved.

Further, by setting the rotation axis conversion mechanism to a speed ratio for increasing or decreasing the speed, a drive source for generating a feel when an electric feel mechanism is attached to the second output shaft, for example, an output of a motor. And the number of revolutions can be reduced by the speed ratio, which contributes to downsizing of the device and reduction of power consumption.

In this manner, the size of the apparatus can be significantly reduced in size and thickness, and a gimbal apparatus for a control stick excellent in operability can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a control stick gimbal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

3A and 3B show an example of a specific internal structure. FIG. 3A is a sectional view taken along line AA, FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along line BB, and FIG.
(C) is a sectional view taken along line CC.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional steering device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Grip 13, 17 Output shaft 14, 18 Sensor 16, 20 Feeling mechanism 21 Shaft 31 Inner gimbal 33 Wheel 35 Barrel cam 40 Outer gimbal 42 Slide plate 43 Connecting member

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G05G 9/047 B64C 13/04

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] An inner gimbal for supporting the control stick so as to be angularly displaceable about a first axis; and an outer gimbal for supporting the inner gimbal for angular displacement about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis. An arc-shaped slide member supported so as to be angularly displaceable coaxially with the first axis with respect to the outer gimbal; and a first member of the control stick provided so as to be angularly displaceable about the axis of the control stick.
A connecting member for connecting the control stick and the slide member so that the angular displacement about the axis and the slide member are linked and the angular displacement of the control stick about the second axis and the slide member are not linked; A first output shaft for outputting the angular displacement amount of the inner gimbal about the first axis by an axial movement, and an angular displacement amount of the inner gimbal around the second axis for the angular movement about the second axis. A gimbal device for a control stick, comprising: a second output shaft for outputting. 2. The gimbal device for a control stick according to claim 1, wherein the first output shaft and the second output shaft are arranged so as to project in the same direction and in parallel from the outer gimbal. 3. An inner gimbal is connected to the second output shaft,
The control column gimbal device according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation axis conversion mechanism that changes a direction of the angular displacement axis. 4. The control column gimbal device according to claim 3, wherein the rotation axis conversion mechanism includes a wheel interlocked with an inner gimbal and a barrel cam interlocked with a second output shaft. 5. The control stick gimbal device according to claim 3, wherein the rotation axis conversion mechanism has a speed ratio for increasing or decreasing the speed.