JP7261541B2 - joystick device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a joystick device having a mechanism for biasing an operating member to a neutral position by an elastic force of an elastic material such as a spring.

Joystick devices of this type are disclosed, for example, in US Pat. The joystick device disclosed in each document includes a neutral position biasing mechanism that biases an operating lever (operating member) to a neutral position. The neutral position biasing mechanism includes an elastic member such as a spring, and biases the operating lever to the neutral position by the elastic force of the elastic member.

Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 50-146257 JP-A-10-283051 JP-A-2002-032134 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-108472 JP 2008-003704 A JP 2017-111464 A

Since the neutral position of the operating lever is frequently used, the neutral position urging mechanism is convenient for the user. On the other hand, there are also disadvantages. For example, since the operating lever is always urged toward the neutral position, the operating lever cannot be held at any position other than the neutral position when the operator releases the operating lever. In addition, for example, in a device that presents a force sense at an operation lever, such as the joystick device disclosed in Patent Document 6, the biasing force of the spring is always part of the force sense. It is difficult to present force sensation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a joystick device capable of enabling or disabling a function of biasing an operating member such as an operating lever to a neutral position.

A joystick device according to an aspect of the present invention is premised on including a mechanism for urging an operation member to a neutral position by an elastic member, and an electromagnet and an elastic force transmission path from the elastic member to the operation member. and a movable member at least partially containing a magnetic material. When the electromagnet is in an excited state, the movable member is attracted to the electromagnet against the elastic force of the elastic member and cuts the transmission path of the elastic force. The elastic force of the material connects the transmission path of the elastic force away from the electromagnet.

According to the joystick device having such a configuration, the function of urging the operating member to the neutral position can be switched between enabled and disabled by setting the electromagnet in an excited state or a non-excited state.

The joystick device having the above configuration may further include a control device for switching the electromagnet between an excited state and a non-excited state.

The joystick device having the above configuration may further include an on/off switch for manually switching the electromagnet between an excited state and a non-excited state.

According to the present invention, the function of biasing the operating member to the neutral position can be switched between enabled and disabled.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the main part of the joystick device according to the present embodiment as seen from the front-rear direction, showing a state in which the electromagnet is in an excited state; FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the main part of the joystick device according to the present embodiment as seen from the left-right direction, showing a state in which the electromagnet is in an excited state; (a) It is a side view of an operating lever. (b) It is a front view of an operating lever. (a) It is a side view of a 1st support member. (b) It is a front view of a 1st support member. (a) It is a side view of a 2nd support member. (b) It is a front view of a 2nd support member. 1 is a plan view of a joystick device according to an embodiment; FIG. However, illustration of the control device is omitted. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the main part of the joystick device according to the present embodiment as seen from the front-rear direction, showing a state in which the electromagnet is in a non-excited state; FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the main part of the joystick device according to the present embodiment as seen from the left-right direction, showing a state in which the electromagnet is in a non-excited state; FIG. 11 is a plan view of a joystick device according to another embodiment; However, illustration of the control device is omitted.

A joystick device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the joystick device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an operation lever 1, an operation lever support portion 2, a case 3, an electromagnet 4, a movable member 5, a rotation resistance applying device 6, a control It is composed of the device 7 and the like. The operating lever 1 is an example of an operating member operated by a user. In this specification, for convenience of explanation, the direction of the first axis N1 (see FIG. 1) described later is the left-right direction, the direction of the second axis N2 (see FIG. 2) described later is the front-rear direction, and the neutral position. Description will be made on the assumption that the longitudinal direction of a certain operating lever 1 is the vertical direction.

An operation lever 1 is supported by an operation lever support portion 2 so that it can be tilted in the front-rear direction and in the left-right direction. In this embodiment, the operation lever 1 can be tilted in the front-rear direction and tilted in the left-right direction at the same time. In other words, the operating lever 1 can be tilted obliquely with respect to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the operating lever 1 includes a rod-shaped lever portion 9, a substantially spherical grip portion 10 provided at one end of the lever portion 9, and It has a pair of shafts 11 .

The operating lever support portion 2 supports the operating lever 1 so as to be tiltable in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. In this embodiment, the operating lever support portion 2 is composed of a first support member 13 and a second support member 14 .

The first support member 13, as shown in FIG. 4, includes a body portion 13a and a pair of shaft portions 13b. A bearing portion 13c that rotatably supports the shaft portion 11 of the operating lever 1 and a passage 13d through which the operating lever 1 passes are formed in the body portion 13a. A flat surface 13e is formed on the lower portion of the body portion 13a so that the movable member 5, which will be described later, can come into surface contact with the flat surface 13e. The pair of shaft portions 13b are formed on both sides of the main body portion 13a, and are formed on the same axis (referred to as "first axis N1" in this specification). Each shaft portion 13b is rotatably supported by the bearing portion 3a of the case 3, as shown in FIG. 13 d of passages of the 1st support member 13 are formed elongated in the left-right direction. Further, since the width of the passage 13d is substantially the same as the diameter of the lever portion 9 of the operating lever 1, when the operating lever 1 is tilted in the front-rear direction, the first support member 13 moves around the axis N1 together with the operating lever 1. to rotate.

The second support member 14, as shown in FIG. 5, includes a body portion 14a and a pair of shaft portions 14b. The body portion 14 a is arranged outside the body portion 13 a of the first support member 13 . A passage 14c through which the operating lever 1 passes is formed in the body portion 14a. A flat surface 14d is formed on the lower portion of the main body portion 14a with which the movable member 5, which will be described later, can come into surface contact. The pair of shaft portions 14b are formed on both sides of the main body portion 14a, and are formed on the same axis (herein referred to as "second axis N2"). Each shaft portion 14b is rotatably supported by the bearing portion 3a of the case 3, as shown in FIG. The passage 14c of the second support member 14 is elongated in the front-rear direction. Further, since the width of the passage 14c is substantially the same as the diameter of the lever portion 9 of the operating lever 1, when the operating lever 1 is tilted in the left-right direction, the second support member 14 moves around the axis N2 together with the operating lever 1. to rotate. In the present embodiment, the first axis N1 and the second axis N2 are orthogonal to each other, but they do not necessarily have to be orthogonal to each other, and they may intersect almost orthogonally.

The case 3 has an operation lever support portion 2, an electromagnet 4 and the like installed therein. As described above, the case 3 includes the bearing portion 3a of the shaft portion 13b (see FIG. 1) of the first support member 13 and the bearing portion of the shaft portion 14b (see FIG. 2) of the second support member 14. 3a is formed.

The movable member 5 is provided between the operation lever support portion 2 and an electromagnet 4 which will be described later, and is biased toward the operation lever support portion 2 by a spring 18 . In this embodiment, the movable member 5 is made of a magnetic material, and is composed of a disk portion 5a and a columnar convex portion 5b formed at the center of the lower surface of the disk portion 5a. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the upper surface of the disk portion 5a of the movable member 5 is in surface contact with the flat surfaces 13e and 14d of the first support member 13 and the second support member 14, the operation lever 1 is neutral. position. At the center of the disk portion 5a, as shown in FIG. 1, a recess 5c corresponding to the hemispherical shape of the lower end portion of the operating lever 1 is formed.

The electromagnet 4 is installed below the movable member 5 . When the electromagnet 4 is excited, the movable member 5 moves away from the first support member 13 and the second support member 14 against the elastic force of the spring 18 from the state shown in FIGS. And as shown in FIG. 2, the yoke 21 of the electromagnet 4 is attracted. When the movable member 5 is attracted to the yoke of the electromagnet 4, the transmission path of the elastic force from the spring 18 to the operating lever 1 is cut off, and the force that urges the operating lever 1 to the neutral position disappears. On the other hand, when the electromagnet is not energized, the movable member 5 moves away from the yoke 21 of the electromagnet 4 by the elastic force of the spring 18 from the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as shown in FIGS. , are pressed against the lower portions of the first and second support members 13,14. In this state, the elastic force transmission path from the spring 18 to the operating lever 1 is connected (established), and a force is generated to urge the operating lever 1 to the neutral position. The protruding length of the convex portion 5b of the movable member 5 from the disk portion 5a is substantially the same as the difference between the height of the inner rising portion 21a of the yoke 21 and the height of the outer rising portion 21b. .

The electromagnet 4 illustrated in FIG. 1 and the like is mainly composed of a coil 20 wound around a bobbin 19 and a yoke 21 rising from the bottom of the coil 20 and the bobbin 19 on the inner and outer peripheral sides. The spring 18 is made of a coil spring and is provided between the bobbin 19 and the rising portion 21 a inside the yoke 21 .

One rotational resistance applying device 6 is installed on each of the axes N1 and N2. As shown in FIG. 1, the output shaft 6a of one rotational resistance applying device 6 is connected in series with the shaft portion 13b of the first support member 13 and the input shaft 23a of the variable resistor 23. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the output shaft 6a of the other rotational resistance applying device 6 is connected in series with the shaft portion 14b of the second support member 14 and the input shaft 23a of the variable resistor 23. As shown in FIG. With this configuration, it is possible to apply a force sense (operation load, operation resistance, etc.) by the rotational resistance applying device 6 to the tilting operation of the operating lever 1 in any direction. there is Note that the variable resistor 23 outputs a value corresponding to the operating position of the operating lever 1 to the control device 7 .

In this embodiment, as the rotational resistance imparting device 6, one using a magneto-rheological fluid is employed. The rotational resistance imparting device 6 generates rotational resistance corresponding to the strength of the magnetic field applied to the magneto-rheological fluid.

The control device 7 controls the current supplied to the coil 20 of the electromagnet 4 to enable or disable the function of biasing the operating lever 1 to the neutral position. In addition, the control device 7 controls the rotation resistance generated by the rotation resistance applying device 6 by controlling the current supplied to the coil of the rotation resistance applying device 6, thereby controlling the operation resistance and the force applied to the operation lever 1. control awareness. The control device 7 performs the above-described various controls on the electromagnet 4 and the rotation resistance applying device 6 based on the position information of the operating lever 1 obtained from the output of the variable resistor 23 and a predetermined control procedure. As an example of the predetermined control procedure described above, there is one that is executed by the arithmetic processing unit of the control device 7 based on a program pre-stored in the storage section of the control device 7 .

Next, a schematic configuration of the rotational resistance applying device 6 illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described. 2 is the same as the rotational resistance applying device 6 shown in FIG. 1, only the rotational resistance applying device 6 illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described below.

The rotational resistance imparting device 6 shown in FIG. 1 is composed of a rotating shaft 31, a disk 32, yokes 34 and 35, a coil 37, a magneto-rheological fluid 38, a casing 36, and the like.

The rotating shaft 31 is connected perpendicularly to the center of the back surface of the disc 32 at its end. The rotary shaft 31 is rotatably supported in a shaft hole 40 provided in the yoke 35 via a bearing 39 .

The disk 32 is made of a magnetic material and can rotate integrally with the rotating shaft 31 . Casing 36, yokes 34, 35, etc. are fixed to case 3 and variable resistor 23 by predetermined fixing means so as not to rotate.

The yoke is composed of a first yoke 34 and a second yoke 35 . The first yoke 34 is formed in a disc shape facing the surface 32a of the disc 32 with a minute gap therebetween. The first yoke 34 is fitted and fixed in a cylindrical casing 36 .

The second yoke 35 has a facing surface 35a that faces the rear surface 32b of the disk 32 with a minute gap therebetween. The second yoke 35 is fitted and fixed inside a cylindrical casing 36 .

Reference numeral 41 denotes a spherical body made of a non-magnetic material, and includes a recess formed in the center of the first yoke 34, a through hole formed in the center of the disk 32, and a center of the end face of the rotating shaft 31. It is accommodated in the space formed by the concave portion. The sphere 41 is for facilitating the setting of the gap between the first yoke 34 and the disc 32 , and the diameter of the sphere 41 determines the gap.

The coil 37 is arranged along an annular groove formed in the second yoke 35 . Current is supplied to the coil 37 from the control device 7 .

A magneto-rheological fluid 38 is enclosed in the gap between the disk 32 and the first yoke 34 and the second yoke 35 . The magneto-rheological fluid 38 is a liquid in which magnetic particles are dispersed in a dispersion medium, and in particular, the magnetic particles can be nano-sized metal particles (metal nanoparticles). The magnetic particles are made of a magnetizable metal material, and the metal material is not particularly limited, but a soft magnetic material is preferred. Soft magnetic materials include, for example, iron, cobalt, nickel, and alloys such as permalloy. The dispersion medium is not particularly limited, but hydrophobic silicone oil can be mentioned as an example. The amount of magnetic particles in the magneto-rheological fluid may be, for example, 3 to 40 vol %. Various additives can also be added to the magneto-rheological fluid to obtain various desired properties.

In the rotation resistance applying device 6 having the above configuration, when a current is applied to the coil 37, a magnetic path is formed in the disk 32, the first yoke 34, and the second yoke 35 along the direction indicated by the arrow P. be. This magnetic path is formed by the magnetorheological fluid 38 interposed in the gap between the front surface 32a of the disc 32 and the opposing surface 34a of the first yoke 34 and the gap between the back surface 32b of the disc 32 and the opposing surface 35a of the second yoke 35. pass through. As a result, the magneto-rheological fluid 38 develops a viscosity (shear stress) corresponding to the strength of the magnetic field, and the transmission torque between the disk 32 and the yokes 34 and 35 increases according to the strength of the magnetic field. Become. As a result, the rotation resistance of the rotating shaft 31 also increases according to the current value applied to the coil 37 .

In the joystick device 100 having the configuration described above, when the control device 7 energizes the electromagnet 4, the force that urges the operating lever 1 toward the neutral position disappears, and when the electromagnet 4 is de-energized, the operating lever A force is generated that urges 1 to the neutral position. Further, each rotational resistance applying device 6 operates the operation lever 1 through the first supporting member 13 or the second supporting member 14 according to the current value applied to the coil 37 of the rotational resistance applying device 6 by the control device 7 . Provides resistance and force.

Also, the control device 7 of the joystick device 100 can automatically switch between first to fourth states described below.

<First state>
The control device 7 can energize the electromagnet 4 and apply a current to the coil 37 of one or both of the rotational resistance applying devices 6 to generate rotational resistance in the rotational resistance applying device 6 . In this state, the operating lever 1 is not given an urging force toward the neutral position, but is given only an operational resistance and a sense of force by one or both of the rotation resistance applying devices 6 .

<Second state>
The control device 7 can cause the rotation resistance applying device 6 to generate rotation resistance by applying current to the coil 37 of one or both of the rotation resistance applying devices 6 while de-exciting the electromagnet 4 . In this state, the operating lever 1 is applied with an urging force toward the neutral position, and is provided with an operational resistance and a sense of force by one or both of the rotation resistance applying devices 6 .

<Third state>
The control device 7 can set the electromagnet 4 to an excited state and minimize the rotational resistance in the rotational resistance applying device 6 without applying current to the coils 37 of both rotational resistance applying devices 6 . In this state, the operation lever 1 is not applied with a biasing force toward the neutral position, and only a slight operation resistance corresponding to the base torque of the rotational resistance applying device 6 is applied.

<Fourth state>
The control device 7 can bring the electromagnet 4 into a non-excited state and minimize the rotational resistance in the rotational resistance applying device 6 without applying current to the coils 37 of both rotational resistance applying devices 6. . In this state, the operating lever 1 is applied with a biasing force toward the neutral position, and a slight operating resistance corresponding to the base torque of the rotational resistance applying device 6 is applied.

Switching between the first to fourth states is automatically performed by the control device 7 based on the position information of the operating lever 1 and/or a predetermined control procedure. The switching may be manually performed by the user. For example, it is possible by providing an on/off switch 25 (see FIG. 1) for switching on or off the current to the electromagnet 4 in the middle of the feeder line between the control device 7 and the electromagnet 4 . Alternatively, instead of supplying current from the control device 7 to the electromagnet 4, a current supply source is provided separately from the control device 7, and current is supplied to the electromagnet 4 from there. An on/off switch may be provided in the middle of the power supply line between.

According to the joystick device 100 described above, the function of urging the operating lever 1 to the neutral position can be switched between enabled and disabled by setting the electromagnet 4 in the excited state or the non-excited state. For example, when it is desired to urge the operating lever 1 to the neutral position, it is switched to the second or fourth state, and when it is not desired to urge the operating lever 1 to the neutral position, it is switched to the first or third state. Thus, while enjoying the merit of the neutral position biasing function of the operation lever 1, the demerit of the neutral position biasing function can be eliminated.

[Other embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, the output shaft 6a of each rotational resistance applying device 6 is connected to the shaft portion 13b of the first support member 13 or the shaft portion 14b of the second support member 14 via the input shaft 23a of the variable resistor 23. However, for example, as shown in FIG. Alternatively, it may be connected to the shaft portion 14 b of the second support member 14 .

In the above-described embodiment, as the rotational resistance applying device 6, a rotational resistance applying device using a magneto-rheological fluid has been described as an example. Not limited.

The present invention can be applied, for example, to a joystick device having a function of biasing an operating lever to a neutral position.

1 operation lever (operation member)
4 electromagnet 5 movable member 7 control device 18 spring 25 on/off switch 100 joystick device

Claims (3)

A joystick device having a mechanism that biases an operation member to a neutral position with an elastic material,
an electromagnet;
a movable member at least partially including a magnetic material, provided on a transmission path of elastic force from the elastic member to the operation member;
with
forming an elastic force transmission path from the movable member to a grip portion of the operation member gripped by a user without interposing an elastic material different from the elastic material on the transmission path;
When the electromagnet is in an excited state, the movable member is attracted to the electromagnet against the elastic force of the elastic member , and is separated from the member on the side of the operation member in the transmission path. , and when the electromagnet is in a non-excited state, the elastic member separates from the electromagnet by the elastic force of the elastic member and is pressed against a member on the operation member side in the transmission path. By being connected, the transmission path of the elastic force is connected,
A joystick device according to claim 1, wherein a force for biasing said operating member to a neutral position disappears when said elastic force transmission path is cut off. A joystick device according to claim 1, wherein
A joystick device, further comprising a controller for switching the electromagnet between an excited state and a non-excited state. A joystick device according to claim 1 or 2,
A joystick device, further comprising an on/off switch for manually switching the electromagnet to an energized state or a non-energized state.

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