JPH0423282Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a joystick controller having an angle converter that converts mechanical (angular or positional) deviations into electrical signals.

[Summary of the idea]

The present invention is a joystick controller in which an elastic member is interposed between the nut on the upper side of the ball support mechanism through which the operation shaft passes and the plastic ball holder, and the plastic ball holder is brought into elastic contact with the upper part of the ball. By bringing the nut on the lower side of the support mechanism into contact with the lower part of the ball, the rotation of the ball, that is, the rotation of the operating shaft is made smooth.

[Conventional technology]

There are various angle converters that convert mechanical deviation into electrical signals, such as variable resistors, encoders, transducers, and rotary switches, but the most versatile of these is the variable resistor. be. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the appearance of a conventional joystick controller using a variable resistor as an angle converter, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view thereof. As shown in these figures, the operating shaft 2 is provided inside the housing 1 through a spherical body or ball 3, an inner arm plate 4, and an outer arm plate 5, so that it can be tilted in any direction and rotated. possible.
The ball 3 is rotatably held in the center of the housing 1 by a support mechanism 6. One ends of the inner and outer arm plates 4 and 5 are provided with first and second variable resistors 7 and 8 attached to the side surfaces of the housing at positions perpendicular to each other.
The other end is connected to the first and second variable resistors 7 and 8.
Rotating shafts 11, 11', (11' not shown) rotatably pivoted to bushing collars 10, 10'(10' not shown) screwed onto each side of the housing facing the ) is fixed. That is, the rotation shafts 9, 9' of each variable resistor 7, 8 rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the inner and outer arm plates 4, 5. Therefore, when the operating shaft 2 is tilted or rotated, the first and second variable resistors 7 and 8 are adjusted depending on the direction and angle of the deflection.
The rotating shafts 9 and 9' rotate, and electrical signals corresponding to the deflection direction and angle are obtained from each variable resistor. In this case, when the operating shaft 2 is operated in the front-rear direction (referred to as the Y-axis direction), the first variable resistor 7 rotates in accordance with the magnitude thereof, and in the left-right direction (referred to as the X-axis direction). Upon operation, the second variable resistor 8 rotates depending on its magnitude. Therefore, for tilting and turning operations of the operating shaft 2 in any direction, the first
The second variable resistors 7 and 8 are rotated depending on the direction and size of the resistors.

FIG. 5 is a plot of the output signals of the first and second variable resistors with respect to the direction and angle of the operating shaft 2 on the XY orthogonal coordinate axes. ＋V _x ，−
V _x is the maximum output signal for the maximum deviation angle in the X-axis direction, and +V _y and -V _y are the maximum output signals for the maximum deviation angle in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, the area surrounded by the broken line is the range of the output signal for the tilting/turning angle of the operating shaft 2 in any direction. Therefore, the magnitude of the deviation angle of the operating shaft 2 in the X or Y axis direction can be controlled by the first and second variable resistors 7 and 8.
can be converted into an electrical signal on the XY-axis plane.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing another example of the ball support mechanism in the conventional joystick controller. In the figure, 3 is a ball, 6 is a support mechanism, 6 ₁ is a disc-shaped nut on the upper side, 6 ₂ is a disc-shaped nut on the lower side, and 6 ₃ is an O
It is an elastic member such as a ring. However, the upper nut ₆₁ is a flanged nut compared to the one in FIG. In conventional joystick controllers, the ball 3 is rotatably held directly by upper and lower nuts, as shown in FIG. 4, or by upper and lower nuts 6 ₁ , as shown in FIG. An elastic member 6 ₃ was interposed between the 6 ₂ and held.

In the case of Fig. 4, in order to make the rotation of the ball 3 smooth, a slight gap is provided between the upper and lower nuts and the ball, but this causes the operating shaft to wobble up and down during rotation operation. Further, in the case of FIG. 6, there was a drawback that the rotation operation became heavy due to the friction of the elastic member ₆₃ .

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention consists of a ball held by a support mechanism inside the housing, a ball penetrating the ball and tilting in any direction.
In a joystick controller that has an operating shaft that can rotate, such as turning, and an angle converter that converts the rotation angle of the operating shaft into an electrical signal, the support mechanism is connected to a ball. Consisting of an upper support member that supports the upper side, a lower support member that supports the lower side of the ball, and a plastic ball holder that is interposed between the upper support member and the ball and abuts the upper part of the ball. An elastic member is interposed between the plastic ball holder and the upper support member, and the elasticity of the elastic member causes the plastic ball holder to press the ball in a direction that presses the ball against the lower support member. It is a structure.

[Effect]

With this configuration, there is no gap between the ball and the plastic ball holder and between the ball and the lower support member, so the ball does not wobble when the operating shaft is rotated. Never. Further, in this configuration, since the elastic member is not in direct contact with the ball, the operation does not become difficult due to friction of the elastic member as in the conventional case.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the main part thereof. In these figures, parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 4 and 6 are given the same reference numerals. 6 ₁₁ indicates a flanged nut as an upper support member that supports the upper side of the ball 3, and 6 ₂ indicates a lower nut as a lower support member that supports the lower side of the ball 3.
₁₁ and ₆₂ are both screwed and fixed to the housing 1. Furthermore, a ring-shaped plastic ball retainer 6 is placed between the flanged nut 6 ₁₁ and the ball 3.
₁₂ is arranged, and this plastic ball holder 6 ₁₂ is always in contact with the upper part of the ball 3. An elastic member 613 made of, for example _{, a rubber O-ring is interposed between the plastic ball holder 612 and the flanged nut 611, and the elasticity of the elastic member 613 causes the plastic} ball to The retainer 6 ₁₂ presses the ball 3 downward, so that the ball 3 is always pressed against the lower nut 6 ₂ . In this way, in the joystick controller of this example, the plastic ball retainer ₆₁₂ always holds the ball 3 due to the elasticity of the elastic member ₆₁₃ .
Since the structure is such that the ball 3 is pressed in the direction of pressing against the lower nut 6 ₂ , there is a gap between the ball 3 and the plastic ball retainer 6 ₁₂ and between the ball 3 and the lower nut 6 ₂
There is no gap between the ball 3 and the ball 3, so that the ball 3 will not wobble when the operating shaft 2 is rotated. In the joystick controller of this example, the elastic member ₆₁₃ is not in direct contact with the ball 3, that is, the plastic ball retainer ₆₁₂
Since the structure is such that the ball 3 is pressed indirectly through the elastic member 6, when operating the operating shaft 2, the operation does not become heavy due to the friction of the elastic member as in the conventional case, and moreover, the elastic member 6 ₁₃ Since there is no wear, smooth operation without play is possible over a long period of time. Furthermore, even if some wear occurs between the ball 3 and the plastic ball holder ₆₁₂ , the plastic ball holder ₆₁₂ will always press the ball 3 while the elastic member ₆₁₃ is acting. Since the condition is maintained, no wobbling occurs.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and can be modified and changed in various ways within the scope of the claims for utility model registration. Further, the present invention can be implemented not only in a two-dimensional joystick controller but also in a three-dimensional joystick controller.

[Effect of idea]

As is clear from the above explanation, the joystick controller of the present invention has a structure in which the elasticity of the elastic member always presses the ball in the direction in which the plastic ball retainer presses the ball against the lower support member. There is no play during the rotation operation, and since the elastic member is not in direct contact with the ball in this configuration, the operation does not become heavy due to the friction of the elastic member as in the past. To provide a long-life, high-quality joystick controller that has various practical effects such as smooth operation without play over a long period of time because the elastic member does not wear out. I can do it.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partial sectional view showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the main parts thereof, Fig. 3 is an external side view of a joystick controller, and Fig. 4 is a diagram of a conventional joystick controller. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the joystick controller, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing another conventional ball support mechanism. In the figure, 1 is the housing, 2 is the operating axis, 3 is the ball, and 6
is a support mechanism, 6 ₁₁ is a flanged nut as an upper support member, 6 ₁₂ is a plastic ball retainer, 6 ₁₃ is an elastic member, 6 ₂ is a lower nut as a lower support member, 7 and 8 are angle conversion It is a variable resistor as a device.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A ball held by a support mechanism inside the casing;
A joystick comprising an operating shaft that penetrates this ball and can be tilted in any direction, rotated, etc., and an angle converter that converts the rotation angle of the operating shaft into an electrical signal according to the rotation angle of the operating shaft. In the controller, the support mechanism includes an upper support member that supports the upper side of the ball, a lower support member that supports the lower side of the ball, and is interposed between the upper support member and the ball, The plastic ball holder is in contact with the upper part of the ball, and an elastic member is interposed between the plastic ball holder and the upper support member, and the elasticity of the elastic member causes the plastic ball holder to A joystick controller characterized in that a ball retainer is configured to press the ball in a direction in which it comes into pressure contact with the lower support member.