JPH06316951A - Device for commanding operation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce installation cost by providing a sensor for outputting signals in response to the operation of an operation lever corresponding to the operation sensing range in a plus direction and that in a minus direction. CONSTITUTION:When an operation lever 11 is operated to a plus or minus direction from the central position O, push rods 12a, 12b are positioned corresponding to the control input of the lever 11 so that signals Y1, Y2 are outputted from stroke sensors 12, 13. Next, the signal Y1 is inputted into a first judging element 21, while the signal Y2 is inputted into a second judging element 22, whereby it is judged whether or not each of the output levels is in a neutral zone, following which judgement output signals Z1, Z2 exhibiting the result of judgement are inputted into a first decision element 23, and when it is exhibited that both the signals Z1, Z2 are in the zone and when it is decided that the lever 11 is at the position O, a neutral signal NS is outputted. Since a contact type sensor is not needed to decide a neutral position, the number of parts can be decreased and installation cost can be reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation command device used for operating various devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to control, for example, a hydraulic excavator, a pair of stroke sensors are operated in opposite directions by one operating lever, and the operation amount of the operating lever is detected based on the outputs of these two stroke sensors. The operation command device configured to do so is known as a so-called joystick device. This type of operation command device has a structure in which the operation lever automatically returns to the neutral position when the operation lever is released, and when the operation lever is operated in the positive direction from the neutral position, one stroke Operate only the sensor to detect the operation amount based only on the output from the stroke sensor, and when operating in the opposite direction from the neutral position, operate only the other stroke sensor and change the operation amount at that time to the other It is configured to detect only based on the output from the stroke sensor.

By the way, in this type of conventional device, in order to have a function of stopping the working machine simply by releasing the hand from the operating lever, a micro-device for detecting that the operating lever is in the neutral position, for example, It is necessary to further include a contact-type neutral position detection switch composed of a switch or the like. After all, a conventional operation command device of this type includes two stroke sensors and a contact-type neutral position detection switch,
Each output signal from the stroke sensor and the signal from the contact type neutral position detection switch are output as signals for operation commands.

[0004]

Since the neutral position of the operating lever in the conventional device is detected by using a mechanical switch such as a micro switch as described above,
There is a problem in durability because it is easy to cause malfunctions due to deterioration of contacts due to aging. Further, since a mechanical switch is required in addition to the stroke sensor, there is a problem that the number of parts is increased and the cost for assembling the parts is increased.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved operation command device which can solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art.

[0006]

The features of the present invention for solving the above problems include an operation lever which can be operated in at least a predetermined positive and negative directions from a neutral position as a starting point, and are related to the operation of the operation lever. In an operation command device for giving an output signal, the operation lever is operated by the operation lever, and an appropriate operation in the negative direction that is in contact with the required operation detection range in the positive direction of the operation lever and the required operation detection range in the positive direction. A first sensor that outputs a first signal corresponding to the operation of the operation lever in a range, and a required operation detection range of the operation lever in the negative direction and a required operation in the negative direction that are operated by the operation lever. A second sensor that outputs a second signal according to the operation of the operation lever in an appropriate operation range in the positive direction that is in contact with the detection range is provided.

[0007]

By operating the operation lever, both the first and second sensors output first and second signals corresponding to the operation of the operation lever. By operating the operation lever within the required operation detection range in the forward direction, a signal corresponding to the operation amount of the operation lever is output from the first sensor, and at the same time, a signal is output from the second sensor. The suitability of the signal output from the first sensor can be determined based on the signal. Similarly, when the operation lever is operated in the required operation detection range in the negative direction, a signal corresponding to the operation amount of the operation lever is output from the second sensor, and at the same time, a signal is also output from the first sensor. The suitability of the signal output and output from the second sensor can be determined based on both signals.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an embodiment of a control signal generator using an operation command device according to the present invention. The operation command device 1 is operated by an operation lever 11 and the operation lever 11. It has a main body 10 including a pair of first and second stroke sensors 12 and 13. A disc body 11a pivotally supported by a fulcrum 14 is fixed to the base end portion of the operating lever 11, and in the illustrated embodiment, the disc body 11a is displaceable in all directions around the fulcrum 14. It is provided in.

The push rods 12a and 13a of the stroke sensors 12 and 13 are pressed against the disc 11a by a biasing spring which will be described later, and the operating lever 11 is indicated by an arrow P from the neutral position (0) in the figure. When operated in the positive (+) and negative (-) directions along the predetermined direction, the push rods 12a and 13a are positioned according to the operation amount of the operation lever 11, that is, the operation angle in this case, and the first The signal Y1 and the second amount signal Y2 are output from the first and second stroke sensors 12 and 13.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the main body 10 in detail. In FIG. 2, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the illustrated embodiment, the first and second stroke sensors 12, 13 are the magnetic core 12
b, 13b and the detection coils 12c, 13c are respectively configured as non-contact type position sensors.
push rods 12a, 1 connected to b, 13b
3a is configured to move forward by the force of the springs 12d, 12e and 13d, 13e to detect the pressure contact position with the disc body 11a.

First and second stroke sensors 12, 13
Is attached to the housing 15 as shown in the figure, and the disc body 11a is attached to the housing 15 by a universal joint portion 16 provided on the upper portion of the housing 15 so as to be movable in all directions. FIG. 2 shows the state where the operation lever 11 is in the neutral position, and when the operation lever 11 is operated in the positive direction from this state, the push rod 1 of the second stroke sensor 13 is pushed.
3a further rises until the stepped portion 13f contacts the sleeve 13g, the displacement of the core 13b due to this rise is electrically detected, and the detection signal at this time is output from the second stroke sensor 13 as a second check signal. To be done.

On the other hand, when the operating lever 11 is operated in the negative direction from its neutral position, the step portion 12f of the push rod 12a of the first stroke sensor 12 has the sleeve 12 formed therein.
The core 12 is further raised until it abuts g.
The displacement of b is electrically detected, and the detection signal at this time is output from the first stroke sensor 12 as a first check signal.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, the first and second signals Y1 and Y1 from the first and second stroke sensors 12 and 13, respectively.
The characteristics of the signal Y2 will be described. In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis represents the operation amount M of the operation lever 11 along the direction P, and 0
Indicates the neutral position, MA indicates the maximum operation amount in the positive direction, and MB indicates the maximum operation amount in the negative direction. That is, the significant operation range of the operation lever 11 in this embodiment is such that the operation amount M is within the range from MA to MB. On the other hand, the vertical axis represents the output level of each signal, and 0 to the power supply voltage VC is the output level range of the signal that can actually occur.

First, the first signal Y1 will be described. The first signal Y1 has the following characteristics in the operation range of the operation lever 11. That is,
In the range in which the manipulated variable M starts from 0 to MA and in the range from 0 to NB (> MB), the manipulated variable M
The output level increases as
In a smaller range (a range in which the step portion 12f of the push rod 12a is in contact with the sleeve 12g), the level C is fixed. The level E is reached at the neutral position. The output in the range from 0 to MA is output as the first detection signal indicating the operation amount of the operation lever within the required operation detection range in the forward direction. On the other hand, in the range in which the operation amount M of the operation lever 11 is 0 to MB and 0 to NA (<MA) in the above operation range, the level of the second signal Y2 decreases as the operation amount increases, and Is fixed to the level C between the positions from to MA (the range in which the step portion 13f of the push rod 13a is in contact with the sleeve 13g). The characteristic is set so that the level E is obtained at the neutral position 0. The output in the range of the operation amount from MB to 0 is output as a second detection signal indicating the operation amount of the operation lever in the required operation detection range in the negative direction.

In the present embodiment, the dead zone region c is defined between the levels D to F corresponding to the range of the manipulated variables ZB to ZA, and from the level F to the rated maximum level G of the signals Y1 and Y2. The space is defined as the output area b. Then, the level 0 to B and the level H to VC are respectively defined as failure determination areas d.

As can be seen from the above description, when the level of one manipulated variable signal is in the output region b, the level of the other manipulated variable signal must be in the range from C to D, and therefore this region is the measurement permission. It is defined as a region a. As a result, if the level of one operation amount signal is in the output area b, but the level of the other operation amount signal is not in the measurement permission area a, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the main body 10, and one output area b The output signal at 1 is treated as not being regarded as a significant output. Thus, the first signal Y
Since the 1 and the second signal Y2 have the above-described predetermined relationship in the operation range of the operation lever 11, the operating state of the operation command device 1 can be determined by comparing the level states of these signals. it can.

Returning to FIG. 1, since the operating state of the operation command device 1 is determined by comparing the level states of the first signal Y1 and the second signal Y2, the operating state determination unit 20
Is provided. The first signal Y1 and the second signal Y2 are input to the operating state determination unit 20, and the first signal Y1 is input to the first determination unit 21, where the level thereof is in the dead zone region c. It is determined whether or not there is, while the second
Signal Y2 is input to the second discriminating unit 22, and it is discriminated here whether or not the level is in the dead zone region c. First and second discrimination output signals Z1 and Z indicating these discrimination results
2 is input to the determination unit 23 and outputs the neutral position signal NS when both the first and second determination output signals Z1 and Z2 indicate that they are in the dead zone region c.

According to this structure, the operating lever 1 is operated only when both of the levels of the two signals Y1 and Y2 having the output characteristics determined as shown in FIG. 3 are within the dead zone c.
1 is determined to be in the neutral position. As described above, according to this configuration, since the contact type sensor is not required for determining the neutral position, the reliability is significantly improved, and the neutral position is determined by using a mechanical switch such as a micro switch. The life is longer than that of the conventional configuration, and the required determination can be made stably over a long period of time. Further, the range of the dead zone region c is, for example, the first and second discrimination units 21,
Since it can be easily changed by electrical adjustment in 22, the range of the neutral position can be changed very easily, and the handling becomes extremely simple.

The first signal Y1 and the second signal Y2 are further input to the second determination section 24. Second determination unit 24
Then, it is determined that the operation command device 1 has a failure in the following cases. 1) The level of the first or second signal Y1 or Y2 is in the failure determination area d. 2) The level of the first signal Y1 is in the output region b and the second
The level of the signal Y2 is not in the measurement permission area a. 3) The level of the second signal Y2 is in the output region b and
The level of the signal Y1 is not in the measurement permission area a. 4) Only one of the first and second signals Y1 and Y2 is in the dead zone region. When it is determined that any of the above 1) to 4) is applicable, the second determination unit 24 outputs a failure signal MS indicating that the operation command device 1 is in failure. The first and second detection signal portions of the first and second signals Y1 and Y2 are input to a control circuit (not shown) of the controlled device as a signal indicating an operation amount.

FIG. 4 shows the first and second signals Y1 and Y2.
In response to, an embodiment of a signal processing device for obtaining a control signal CS for controlling a working machine such as a hydraulic excavator is shown. The signal processing device 30 is configured as a microcomputer system. First input signal
And the second signals Y1 and Y2 are input to an input / output interface (I / O) 31, where they are subjected to analog-digital conversion processing, and the data obtained by this is transferred to a bus 32.
Is read by the CPU 3 via the, and stored in the random access memory (RAM) 33. A data processing program for processing the input data is stored in advance in the read-only memory (ROM) 34, and the data processing program is stored in the central processing unit (CPU).
35 based on the result of the control signal CS
Is output from I / 031.

Next, the output processing operation of the data processing program will be described with reference to FIG. Referring to FIG.
First, in step 41, the digital data DY1 and DY2 corresponding to the first and second signals Y1 and Y2 are read,
At step 42, it is judged if these values are H or more. If any one of them is higher than H, it is determined that the device is out of order, and step 43 is entered to output the control signal CS for stopping the operation of the operation.

In step 42, the data DY1 and DY
When it is determined that both of the two are H or less, step 44 is entered, and it is determined whether or not the data DY1 is in the output area b. If DY1 is in the output area b, it is determined in step 45 whether or not the data DY2 is in the measurement permission area a. When DY2 is in the measurement permission area a, the first signal Y1 is output in step 46, and in step 47, the control signal CS for operating the device in accordance therewith is output.

When the result of the determination in step 45 is NO, step 48 is entered in which it is determined whether or not the data DY2 is in a region other than the measurement permission region a. If the decision result in the step 48 is YES, a control signal CS for stopping the operation of the apparatus is output in a step 49.

If the decision result in the step 44 is NO,
In step 50, it is determined whether or not the data DY2 is in the dead zone area c. If the data DY2 is in the dead zone region c, step 51 is entered to judge whether or not the data DY2 is in the dead zone region c. If the decision result in the step 51 is YES, a step 52 is entered, and the control signal CS indicating the neutral state is output. If the decision result in the step 51 is NO, a step 53 decides whether or not the data DY2 is outside the dead zone region c. If the decision result in the step 53 is YES, the process goes to the step 54 to operate the apparatus. A control signal CS for stopping is output.

If the decision result in the step 50 is NO,
In step 55, it is determined whether the data DY1 is in the measurement permission area a. If the data DY1 is in the measurement permission area a, in step 56 it is determined whether the data DY2 is in the output area b. To be done. If the decision result in the step 56 is YES, a step 57 outputs a control signal CS for permitting the output of the second signal Y2 and activating the device based on this. Step 5
When the result of the determination in 6 is NO, step 59 is entered, in which it is determined whether or not the data DY2 is outside the output area b. If the decision result in the step 59 is YES, a step 60 is entered, in which the control signal CS for stopping the operation of the apparatus is output.

If the decision result in the step 55 is NO,
In step 61, it is determined whether or not the data DY1 and DY2 are in the failure determination area d. If the determination result is YES, the process proceeds to step 62, in which the control signal CS for stopping the operation of the device is output. To be done.

According to the apparatus according to FIGS. 4 and 5, even if only one of the two output signals from the first and second stroke sensors 12 and 13 is normal, the other output signal is normal. If it is not in a predetermined state (a level state in the measurement permission area in the illustrated embodiment) corresponding to the above, the controller outputs a stop signal, so that the controlled device may fall into a malfunctioning state such as a runaway state. Can be prevented, and extremely reliable control can be performed.

Also, when the level of the output signal from each stroke sensor becomes an extremely high value or an extremely low value, this is detected and appropriate measures are taken.
It is possible to prevent the controlled device from abnormally operating even when the sensor coil of the stroke sensor is broken or short-circuited.

In the above embodiment, the structure in which only one pair of stroke sensors is provided has been described. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a pair of stroke sensors for picking up the movement of the operating lever 11 in the P direction. In addition to Nos. 12 and 13, for example, when another pair of stroke sensors 17 and 18 for picking up a motion in the Q direction at right angles thereto are provided as shown in the drawing, the other pair of stroke sensors 17 and 1 are also provided.
The output signal from 8 can be processed in the same way as in the above-mentioned embodiment. Further, it is needless to say that these stroke sensors can use not only the non-contact type sensor shown in the embodiment but also a known contact type sensor, for example, a sensor using a potentiometer.

[0031]

According to the present invention, as described above, by operating the operation lever, two signals having mutually related characteristics are output, and therefore, information on the operation amount can be obtained from the signal of the operation command device. Not only can it be obtained, but information such as whether the operating lever is in the neutral position or whether the operation command device is out of order can be reliably detected without providing a mechanical contact switch. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an operation command device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed cross-sectional view showing the main body shown in FIG.

3 is a characteristic diagram showing characteristics of respective outputs of a pair of stroke sensors shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an apparatus for processing each operation amount signal from a pair of stroke sensors shown in FIG.

5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the CPU shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a main part of a main body having two pairs of stroke sensors to which the present invention can be applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation command device 10 Main body 11 Operating lever 12 First stroke sensor 13 Second stroke sensor 20 Operating state determination unit 21 First determination unit 22 Second determination unit 23 First determination unit 24 Second determination unit Y1 First signal Y2 Second signal NS Neutral position signal MS Fault signal

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazumi Ikeda 3-13-26, Yasumi-cho, Higashimatsuyama-shi, Saitama XXEL Higashimatsuyama Factory

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An operation command device for providing an output signal related to an operation of the operation lever, comprising an operation lever operable in at least a predetermined positive and negative directions with a neutral position as a starting point, and the operation command device is operated by the operation lever. , Outputting a first signal according to the operation of the operation lever in an appropriate operation range in the negative direction in contact with the required operation detection range in the positive direction of the operation lever and the required operation detection range in the positive direction A first sensor; and an operation range of the operation lever, which is operated by the operation lever and is in an appropriate operation range in the positive direction, which is in contact with the required operation detection range in the negative direction of the operation lever and the required operation detection range in the negative direction. An operation command device, comprising: a second sensor that outputs a second signal according to an operation. 2. An operating lever which can be operated in at least a predetermined positive and negative directions from a neutral position as a starting point, and a required operation in the positive direction which responds to an operation of the operating lever and whose starting point is the neutral position of the operating lever. A first sensor for outputting a first detection signal corresponding to an operation amount of the operation lever within a detection range; and a negative sensor which responds to an operation of the operation lever and whose origin is the neutral position of the operation lever. In an operation command device comprising a second sensor for outputting a second detection signal according to an operation amount of the operation lever within a required operation detection range, the first sensor has the neutral position as a starting point. Also in the appropriate operation range in the negative direction, the first check signal used for checking the operation of the second sensor is output in response to the operation of the operation lever. The second sensor responds to the operation of the operation lever with a second check signal used to check the operation of the first sensor even in an appropriate operation range in the positive direction starting from the neutral position. The operation command device is characterized in that the output is made by outputting.