JP7068602B2 - Joystick device, its control output method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a joystick device, a control method and a program of the joystick device.

The joystick device is typically a device that outputs a signal corresponding to the tilt when the operator tilts the operation unit capable of tilting. The joystick device is used for various purposes, and may be used, for example, for maneuvering a navigation object such as a ship, a submarine, or an aircraft (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

When used for maneuvering a ship, the joystick device outputs, for example, a signal indicating the speed of the ship and the steering angle in the left-right direction in response to the operation of the operator. When used for maneuvering a submarine or an aircraft, the joystick device outputs, for example, a signal indicating a vertical rudder angle and a horizontal rudder angle of the submarine or the aircraft in response to the operation of the operator.

Jitsukaisho 60-166043 Gazette

The operator usually needs to maintain his or her correct attitude and operate the joystick device regardless of the sway or attitude of the navigator. The burden associated with maintaining such a posture may cause an unintended erroneous operation by the operator.

For example, when maneuvering a ship with a joystick device, the attitude of the operator may change suddenly due to the influence of waves. With such a change in posture, the operator may suddenly tilt the operation unit of the joystick device.

Also, for example, when maneuvering a submarine with a joystick device, diving downward at the maximum allowable angle may increase the burden on the operator to maintain his or her attitude. Therefore, the operator may not be able to withstand the burden and may suddenly tilt the operation unit of the joystick device.

Many joystick devices for maneuvering navigation bodies have low resistance during operation in order to facilitate fine operation. Therefore, the inclination of the operation unit may change even if a slight force is applied to the operation unit. For example, when traveling at a constant rudder angle, it becomes difficult to maintain the operation unit at a constant rudder angle according to the rudder angle due to an object colliding with the operation unit or the operator exerting force. May become. In such a case, an erroneous operation unintentional by the operator may occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a joystick device or the like capable of reducing erroneous operations.

In order to achieve the above object, the joystick device according to the first aspect of the present invention is
A joystick device operated by the operator to steer the navigation object.
The operation unit operated by the operator tilting,
The braking mechanism unit, which is a mechanism for controlling the tilting operation of the operation unit,
A tilt sensor that outputs a tilt signal indicating the tilt of the operation unit based on a predetermined neutral position, and a tilt sensor.
A change rate acquisition unit that obtains a rudder angle change rate according to the amount of change in the rudder angle of the sailing object per predetermined unit time based on the tilt signal.
A tilt control unit that outputs a tilt control signal for causing the braking mechanism unit to control the tilt operation of the operation unit so that the steering angle change rate does not exceed a predetermined threshold value.
Whether or not the operator grips the operation unit with the operator's hand, which is a grip sensor provided at a position where the operator touches the operation unit when the operator operates the operation unit. The grip sensor that outputs a grip signal indicating
A signal output unit that outputs a steering signal for controlling the rudder of the navigation body to the drive unit based on the tilt signal is provided.
The tilt control unit fixes the operation unit to the braking mechanism unit by tilting when the operator releases the hand from the operation unit when the grip signal indicates that the grip signal is not gripped. Output a control signal.

In order to achieve the above object, the signal output method of the joystick device according to the second aspect of the present invention is
It is a control method of the joystick device operated by the operator to control the navigation body.
Acquiring a tilt signal indicating the amount of tilting of the operation unit from the reference by the operator at a predetermined neutral position, and
Based on the tilt signal, the rudder angle change rate according to the amount of change in the rudder angle of the sailing object per predetermined unit time is obtained.
To output a tilt control signal for controlling the braking mechanism unit, which is a mechanism for controlling the tilting operation of the operation unit, so that the steering angle change rate does not exceed a predetermined threshold value.
From the grip sensor provided at a position touched by the operator's hand when the operator operates the operation unit, it is indicated whether or not the operator is gripping the operation unit with the operator's hand. Acquiring the grip signal and
Based on the tilt signal, a steering signal for controlling the rudder of the sailing object is output to the drive unit .
When the gripping signal indicates that the gripping signal is not gripped, the tilt control signal for fixing the operating portion to the braking mechanism portion is output at the tilt when the operator releases the hand from the operating portion. And include.

In order to achieve the above object, the program according to the third aspect of the present invention is
To a computer connected to a joystick device operated by the operator to steer the navigation object,
Acquiring a tilt signal indicating the amount of tilting of the operation unit from the reference by the operator at a predetermined neutral position, and
Based on the tilt signal, the rudder angle change rate according to the amount of change in the rudder angle of the sailing object per predetermined unit time is obtained.
To output a tilt control signal for controlling the braking mechanism unit, which is a mechanism for controlling the tilting operation of the operation unit, so that the steering angle change rate does not exceed a predetermined threshold value.
From the grip sensor provided at a position touched by the operator's hand when the operator operates the operation unit, it is indicated whether or not the operator is gripping the operation unit with the operator's hand. Acquiring the grip signal and
Based on the tilt signal, a steering signal for controlling the rudder of the sailing object is output to the drive unit .
When the gripping signal indicates that the gripping signal is not gripped, the tilt control signal for fixing the operating portion to the braking mechanism portion at the tilt when the operator releases the hand from the operating portion is output. It is for executing.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce erroneous operations.

It is a perspective view which shows the appearance of the joystick apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the functional structure of the control part which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the signal output processing performed by the joystick apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The joystick device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a device operated by a ship operator to control a ship. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the front-back, up-down, left-right directions are described by the directions seen from the operator. It should be noted that the terms indicating the front-back, up-down, left-right directions are used for explanation, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

The joystick device 100 includes a housing 101, an operation unit 102, a braking mechanism unit 103, a tilt sensor 104, a grip sensor 105, and a control unit 106.

The housing 101 is a hollow box body in which the parts constituting the joystick device 100 are housed or mounted, and has a hole 107 in the upper portion.

The operation unit 102 is a portion operated by the operator and includes a shaft member 108 penetrating the hole 107. At least a part of the operation unit 102 is exposed to the outside of the housing 101 so that the operator can grip it. The operator operates by grasping the operation unit 102 and tilting the operation unit 102 from a predetermined neutral position.

The operation unit 102 tilts, for example, about each axis of the left-right axis and the front-rear axis in the housing 101. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the forward tilt of the operation unit 102 is associated with driving the propeller for propulsion so as to advance the ship. The backward tilt of the operation unit 102 is associated with driving the propulsion engine so as to decelerate or retreat the ship. Further, it is assumed that the tilting of the operation unit 102 in the left-right direction is associated with the turning of the ship in the left-right direction, respectively.

The neutral position is, for example, the position of the operation unit 102 when the shaft member 108 is in the center of each movable range in the vertical direction and the front-back and rear directions. In the present embodiment, when the operation unit 102 is in the neutral position, the ship does not accelerate, decelerate (reverse), or turn (the rudder angle is zero).

The operation unit 102 according to the present embodiment is provided so that the resistance during operation is small, but it hardly moves unless an external force is applied.

The braking mechanism unit 103 is a mechanism that controls the tilting operation of the operating unit 102 based on a tilting control signal from the control unit 106, which will be described later, and is, for example, a combination of a motor, gears, and the like as appropriate. The braking mechanism unit 103, for example, fixes the inclination of the operation unit 103 so that the operation unit 103 does not tilt, or suppresses the speed at which the operation unit 103 tilts.

The tilt sensor 104 is a sensor that outputs a tilt signal indicating the tilt of the operation unit 102 with respect to the neutral position. The tilt sensor 104 physically includes, for example, a rotary encoder.

The tilt of the operation unit 102 includes the direction and magnitude of the tilt. The direction of inclination is indicated by, for example, an anteroposterior inclination about an axis in the left-right direction, and one or a combination of two of the four directions of the left-right inclination with the axis in the anteroposterior direction as a stop. The magnitude of the tilt is indicated by, for example, the tilt angle (tilt angle) in each direction from the neutral position.

The grip sensor 105 outputs a grip signal. The gripping signal is a signal indicating whether or not the operator is gripping the operation unit 102.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gripping sensor 105 according to the present embodiment is a pair of electrodes and is electrically insulated. Each electrode constituting the grip sensor 105 is provided at a position where the operator normally touches when operating the operation unit 102. In the grip sensor 105 according to the present embodiment as described above, when the operator operates the operation unit 102, the pair of electrodes conducts when the operator touches the grip sensor 105. Therefore, the gripping signal is realized, for example, by a signal indicating whether or not the pair of electrodes is conducting.

The grip sensor 105 may be any one that can output a grip signal, such as a button or a lever whose state is switched according to the grip of the operator, and is not limited to the one described here.

The control unit 106 is a unit that controls the drive unit D (see FIG. 2) and the braking mechanism unit 103 for navigating the ship based on the tilt signal and the grip signal. Physically, for example, the control unit 106 is an appropriate combination of a processor, a dedicated circuit, a storage unit, and the like.

Functionally, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 106 includes a history storage unit 109, a grip determination unit 110, a change rate acquisition unit 111, a tilt control unit 112, and a signal output unit 113.

The history storage unit 109 stores history information. The history information is information including the history of the steering signal. In detail, the history information includes the history of the steering signal output from the control unit 106 from the present to a predetermined time before.

The grip determination unit 110 determines whether or not the operator is gripping the operation unit 102 based on the grip signal from the grip sensor 105.

The change rate acquisition unit 111 acquires a tilt signal from the tilt sensor 104, and obtains a steering angle change rate based on the tilt signal.

The rudder angle change rate is a value corresponding to the amount of change in the rudder angle of the ship per predetermined unit time, and is not only the amount of change in the rudder angle per unit time but also the value associated with this amount of change. Also includes. As an example of the value associated with the change amount of the steering angle, the magnitude of the left-right tilt of the operation unit 102 included in the tilt signal (for example, the tilt angle) can be mentioned.

The change rate acquisition unit 111 according to the present embodiment obtains the steering angle change rate based on the tilt signal and the history information. The history information for obtaining the steering angle change rate is a steering signal at a time corresponding to a unit time, for example, a steering signal output from the control unit 106 before the current unit time.

The tilt control unit 112 outputs a tilt control signal to the braking mechanism unit 103 based on the tilt signal from the tilt sensor 104 and the grip signal from the grip sensor 105.

The tilt control signal is a signal for causing the braking mechanism unit 103 to control the tilt operation of the operation unit 102 so that the steering angle change rate does not exceed a predetermined threshold value.

More specifically, when the tilt control unit 112 indicates that the grip signal is gripped, the braking mechanism unit 103 performs the tilt operation of the operation unit 102 so that the steering angle change rate does not exceed a predetermined threshold value. Outputs a tilting operation signal for control. The tilting operation signal in this case is, for example, a signal for controlling the tilting operation of the operation unit 102 so that the steering angle change rate of the operation unit 102 becomes equal to the threshold value.

On the other hand, when the gripping signal indicates that the gripping signal is not gripped, the control unit 106 tilts to fix the operation unit 102 to the braking mechanism unit 103 by tilting when the operator releases the operation unit 102. Output a signal.

The signal output unit 113 outputs a thrust signal and a steering signal to the drive unit D based on the tilt signal from the tilt sensor 104. The drive unit D includes, for example, an engine for propulsion of a ship, a steering motor for controlling the direction of the rudder, a control unit thereof, and the like.

The thrust signal is a signal output to control the thrust of the ship when the tilt of the operation unit 102 includes a tilt component about the axis in the left-right direction, that is, a tilt component in the front-rear direction. More specifically, when the tilt of the operation unit 102 includes a forward tilt component, the thrust signal is a signal for advancing the ship at a speed corresponding to the magnitude of the tilt component. Further, when the tilt of the operation unit 102 includes a backward tilt component, the thrust signal is a signal for decelerating or retreating the ship at a speed corresponding to the magnitude of the tilt component.

The steering signal is a signal output to control the steering angle when the tilt of the operation unit 102 includes a tilt component centered on the axis in the front-rear direction, that is, a tilt component in the left-right direction. More specifically, when the tilt of the operation unit 102 includes a tilt component to the right, the steering signal is a signal for turning the ship to the right at a steering angle according to the magnitude of the tilt component. Further, when the tilt of the operation unit 102 includes a tilt component to the left, the steering signal is a signal for turning the ship to the left at a rudder angle according to the magnitude of the tilt component.

So far, the configuration of the joystick device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described. From here, the operation of the joystick device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

The joystick device 100 according to the present embodiment repeatedly executes the signal output process as shown in FIG. 3, for example, while the ship is in operation. The signal output process is a process for outputting a thrust signal and a steering signal.

As shown in FIG. 3, the grip determination unit 110 acquires the grip signal from the grip sensor 105 (step S101).

The grip determination unit 110 determines whether or not the operator is gripping the operation unit 102 based on the grip signal acquired in step 101 (step S102).

In the present embodiment, when the gripping signal indicates that the pair of electrodes constituting the gripping sensor 105 is conducting, the gripping determination unit 110 determines that the operator is gripping the operation unit 102. (Step S102; YES). When the gripping signal indicates that the pair of electrodes constituting the gripping sensor 105 is not conducting, the gripping determination unit 110 determines that the operator is not gripping the operation unit 102 (step S102; NO). ..

When it is determined that the vehicle is not gripped (step S102; NO), the tilt control unit 112 outputs a tilt operation signal for fixing the tilt of the operation unit 102 to the braking mechanism unit 103. As a result, the braking mechanism unit 103 fixes the inclination of the operation unit 102 (step S103). Therefore, the operation unit 102 is fixed by the inclination when the operator releases his / her hand from the operation unit 102.

When it is determined that the grip is held (step S102; YES) or after the process of step S103, the rate of change acquisition unit 111 acquires the tilt signal from the tilt sensor 104 (step S104).

The change rate acquisition unit 111 obtains the steering angle change rate based on the tilt signal acquired in step S104 (step S105).

More specifically, for example, the rate of change acquisition unit 111 acquires the steering signal acquired from the history storage unit 109 before a predetermined unit time before the processing of step S103 is executed. The change rate acquisition unit 111 changes the steering angle of the ship by calculating the difference in the steering angle of the ship according to each of the tilt signal acquired in step S103 and the steering signal acquired from the history storage unit 109. Find the quantity. The change rate acquisition unit 111 obtains the steering angle change rate by dividing the calculated difference by a predetermined unit time. The change rate acquisition unit 111 may use the calculated difference itself as the steering angle change rate.

The tilt control unit 112 compares the steering angle change rate obtained in step S104 with a preset threshold value, and thereby determines whether or not the steering angle change rate is larger than the threshold value (step S106). ..

When it is determined that the steering angle change rate is larger than the threshold value (step S106; YES), the tilt control unit 112 causes the braking mechanism unit 103 to suppress the tilt operation of the operation unit 102 (step S107). Specifically, the tilt control unit 112 outputs the tilt operation signal to the braking mechanism unit 103 to perform the tilt operation of the operation unit 102 so that the steering angle change rate of the operation unit 102 becomes equal to the threshold value. To suppress.

When it is determined that the steering angle change rate is not larger than the threshold value (step S106; NO) or after the processing of step S107, the signal output unit 113 outputs a thrust signal and a steering signal to the drive unit D (step S108). .. Specifically, the signal output unit 113 outputs a thrust signal and a steering signal corresponding to the tilt signal from the tilt sensor 104. Then, the control unit 106 executes the process of step S101 again.

As described above, when the steering angle change rate is larger than the threshold value, the signal output unit 113 outputs a thrust signal and a steering signal after executing the process of step S107. Thereby, the tilting operation of the operation unit 102 can be controlled so that the steering angle change rate does not exceed a predetermined threshold value.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

According to the present embodiment, the tilt control unit 112 causes the braking mechanism unit 103 to control the tilt operation of the operation unit 102 so that the steering angle change rate does not exceed a predetermined threshold value. As a result, the rudder angle change rate almost never exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Therefore, it is possible to reduce an erroneous operation in which the rudder angle change rate becomes larger than the threshold value.

According to the present embodiment, the tilt control unit 112 fixes the inclination of the operation unit 102 to the braking mechanism unit 103 when the grip signal indicates that the grip signal is not gripped. As a result, the operator can navigate at a constant steering angle by releasing his hand from the operation unit 102. Therefore, when navigating at a constant steering angle, it is possible to reduce an erroneous operation of changing the steering angle.

The present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and may be appropriately modified.

For example, a ship is an example of a navigating body. A navigation body is a vehicle operated by an operator in at least one of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, and includes, for example, a submarine, an aircraft, and an airship in addition to a ship.

When the joystick device 100 is used for a submarine, an aircraft, or an airship, the left / right tilt of the operation unit 102 is associated with the maneuvering of the left / right attitude of the navigation body as in the case of a ship, and the front / rear of the operation unit 102 is used. Tilt may be associated with maneuvering the up-down attitude of the navigator, as in the case of ships.

In this case, the tilt control unit 112 causes the braking mechanism unit 103 to control the tilt operation of the operation unit 102 so that the steering angle change rate of either the left-right tilt or the front-back tilt of the operation unit 102 does not exceed the threshold value. You may.

Further, in the same case, the tilt control unit 112 prevents the steering angle change rate from exceeding the threshold value when the combined steering angle change rate of both the left and right tilt and the front-back tilt of the operation unit 102 exceeds the threshold value. The braking mechanism unit 103 may control the tilting operation of the operation unit 102.

The combined rudder angle change rate is (α ^ 2 + β ^ 2) ^, for example, when the rudder angle change rate according to the left tilt is α and the rudder angle change rate according to the forward tilt is β. It may be obtained by (1/2). Here, "^" represents a power.

For example, the function of the control unit 106 of the joystick device 100 may be realized by a general computer connected to the joystick device 100. In this case, the joystick device 100 does not include the control unit 106, and the joystick device 100 and the computer are connected so that signals can be exchanged. In such a computer, for example, a software program in which a CPU (central processing unit) is preliminarily incorporated is executed using a RAM (random access memory) as a work area. As a result, the function of the control unit 106 as shown in FIG. 2 can be exerted, and the same effect as that of the embodiment can be obtained.

The software program may be recorded and distributed on a recording medium such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory device, or a hard disk drive, and may be installed in a computer. Further, the software program may be downloaded and installed in a computer via a communication network constructed by combining wired and wireless communication lines such as the Internet.

Although embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the present invention also includes a form in which a part or all of the embodiments described above and a modification thereof are appropriately combined, and a form in which the form is appropriately modified.

The present invention can be applied to a joystick device used for maneuvering a ship, a submarine, an aircraft, or the like.

100 Joystick device 101 Housing 102 Operation unit 103 Braking mechanism unit 104 Tilt sensor 105 Grip sensor 106 Control unit 109 History storage unit 110 Grip judgment unit 111 Change rate acquisition unit 112 Tilt control unit 113 Signal output unit

Claims (6)

A joystick device operated by the operator to steer the navigation object.
The operation unit operated by the operator tilting,
The braking mechanism unit, which is a mechanism for controlling the tilting operation of the operation unit,
A tilt sensor that outputs a tilt signal indicating the tilt of the operation unit based on a predetermined neutral position, and a tilt sensor.
A change rate acquisition unit that obtains a rudder angle change rate according to the amount of change in the rudder angle of the sailing object per predetermined unit time based on the tilt signal.
A tilt control unit that outputs a tilt control signal for causing the braking mechanism unit to control the tilt operation of the operation unit so that the steering angle change rate does not exceed a predetermined threshold value.
Whether or not the operator grips the operation unit with the operator's hand, which is a grip sensor provided at a position where the operator touches the operation unit when the operator operates the operation unit. The grip sensor that outputs a grip signal indicating
A signal output unit that outputs a steering signal for controlling the rudder of the navigation body to the drive unit based on the tilt signal is provided.
The tilt control unit fixes the operation unit to the braking mechanism unit by tilting when the operator releases the hand from the operation unit when the grip signal indicates that the grip signal is not gripped. A joystick device characterized by outputting a control signal. When the steering angle change rate exceeds the threshold value, the tilt control unit receives the tilt control signal that causes the braking mechanism unit to suppress the tilting operation of the operation unit so that the steering angle change rate becomes the threshold value. The joystick device according to claim 1, wherein the joystick device is to be output. When the gripping signal indicates that the tilt control unit is gripping, the braking mechanism unit performs a tilting operation of the operation unit so that the obtained steering angle change rate does not exceed a predetermined threshold value. The joystick device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a tilt control signal for controlling the joystick is output. Further equipped with a history storage unit that stores history information including the history of steering signals output from the signal output unit from the present to a predetermined time before.
The change rate acquisition unit obtains the steering angle change rate based on the tilt signal and the history of the steering signal output from the signal output unit before the predetermined unit time from the present . The joystick device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. It is a control method of the joystick device operated by the operator to control the navigation body.
Acquiring a tilt signal indicating the amount of tilting of the operation unit from the reference by the operator at a predetermined neutral position, and
Based on the tilt signal, the rudder angle change rate according to the amount of change in the rudder angle of the sailing object per predetermined unit time is obtained.
To output a tilt control signal for controlling the braking mechanism unit, which is a mechanism for controlling the tilting operation of the operation unit, so that the steering angle change rate does not exceed a predetermined threshold value.
Whether or not the operator grips the operation unit with the operator's hand is determined from the grip sensor provided at a position where the operator touches the operation unit when the operator operates the operation unit. Acquiring the gripping signal to show
Based on the tilt signal, a steering signal for controlling the rudder of the sailing object is output to the drive unit .
When the gripping signal indicates that the gripping signal is not gripped, the tilt control signal for fixing the operating portion to the braking mechanism portion at the tilt when the operator releases the hand from the operating portion is output. A method of controlling a joystick device, comprising: To a computer connected to a joystick device operated by the operator to steer the navigation object,
Acquiring a tilt signal indicating the amount of tilting of the operation unit from the reference by the operator at a predetermined neutral position, and
Based on the tilt signal, the rudder angle change rate according to the amount of change in the rudder angle of the sailing object per predetermined unit time is obtained.
To output a tilt control signal for controlling the braking mechanism unit, which is a mechanism for controlling the tilting operation of the operation unit, so that the steering angle change rate does not exceed a predetermined threshold value.
Whether or not the operator grips the operation unit with the operator's hand is determined from the grip sensor provided at a position where the operator touches the operation unit when the operator operates the operation unit. Acquiring the gripping signal to show
Based on the tilt signal, a steering signal for controlling the rudder of the sailing object is output to the drive unit .
When the gripping signal indicates that the gripping signal is not gripped, the tilt control signal for fixing the operating portion to the braking mechanism portion is output at the tilt when the operator releases the hand from the operating portion. And a program to execute.

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