JPS6231417A - Joy stick device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To omit the need to convert the rotation of a joy stick lever into two axes and to miniaturize a joy stick device, by providing a light source to the joy stick lever and adding a means to a two-dimensional image sensor set opposite to said light source to read the position irradiated by the light of the light source. CONSTITUTION:The lower part of a joy stick lever 11 is supported slidably by a ball bearing 12 and a light source 13 containing an LED is set at the lower end of the lever 11. Then a two-dimensional image sensor 14 consisting of an (nXn)-bit CCD is set opposite to the light source 13. The sensor 14 detects the position of the light given from the power supply 13 and then reads the position of the light given to a processor 15. This omits the need to convert the movement of the lever 11 into the rotations of two axes and attains a simple and compact joy stick device.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial field of application: remote control of cranes, radio control equipment, etc., personal computers, graphic display devices, AD/
This invention relates to a joystick device used for control/control of cAM, NO devices, robots, etc.

(Prior art and its problems) A conventional joystick device includes a mechanism 2 that converts the movement of a joystick lever 1 into rotational movement of two orthogonal axes, and axes 2a and 2b thereof, as shown in FIG. 1, for example.
potentiometers or nozzle generators 5, 6 connected to the respective ones via couplings 3, 4t, and a device R1 for converting their output signals into data, that is, an A/converter 7;
It consists of a processor 8 and a memory 9v.

As described above, the conventional joystick device has a complicated mechanical mechanism, and therefore has problems such as difficulty in miniaturizing the device and deterioration in reliability.

This invention is a mechanical 8! Eliminate #t as much as possible to create a small size 11
The purpose is to provide a joystick device with high reliability, low cost, and suitable for mass production.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration.

That is, this invention is an application of two-dimensional image sensors currently used in video cameras, position sensors, etc.
A first invention provides a joystick lever that is movably supported by a free bearing such as a ball cap holder at a position facing the two-dimensional image sensor, and the joystick lever projects light onto the two-dimensional image sensor. A light source is provided to detect the emitted light, and a device reads out the positions *'i and ti'a emitted by the light, and the detection signal is used to perform the same control as the conventional control.

In the second invention, the light forest is provided in a different position.

The same object as the first invention is achieved by providing the joystick lever with a reflecting mirror for projecting a light source in the direction of the two-dimensional image sensor.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

(Embodiment) Fig. 2 shows the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, in which 11 is rotatably supported by a ball bearing 12 at the lower part 'fI', and a light source 13 consisting of an LED is provided at the lower end. The joystick lever 114 is an FC two-dimensional image sensor using a CCD or the like.

The two-dimensional image sensor 14 is an optical sensor in which OODs are arranged in a grid of nxn dots (for example, 128x128 dots), and detects the irradiation position R of the light from the LED.

That is, a change in the position of light irradiation is detected from the inclination of the joystick lever 11, and the processor 15 uses a two-dimensional image sensor to compensate for the change.

Since this method does not require converting the movement of the joystick lever 11 into two-axis rotation compared to the conventional method, lJ%
Since it is possible to quantify the form, its reliability also improves.

FIG. 3 shows details of the swivel bearing part of the joystick lever 11, and the electric wire 17 supplies electricity to the light source 13.
The figure shows the case where the connection is made directly.

Figure 4 shows electrodes 17a + 17b on the contact part of the ball bearing.
The facility was designed to supply electricity.

Although the above embodiment illustrates the case where the light source is provided directly on the joystick lever 11, if a reflecting mirror is provided in place of the light source and the light source is provided in another position, the structure of the power supply wiring or the swivel bearing can be changed. can be simplified.

In other words, FIGS. 5 and 6 show examples of this.
In the embodiment shown in the figure, a through hole 18 is formed in the two-dimensional image sensor 14 directly below the joystick lever 11, a light source 13 is arranged under the hole 18, and a reflecting mirror 19 is provided on the joystick lever 11. .

Furthermore, in the one shown in FIG. 6, a light source 13 is placed on the side of a two-dimensional image sensor 14, and a reflecting mirror 20 with an angle is provided on the joystick lever 11.

In this case, in order to give the light directivity, the 7-domain 13a
It is better to set

By the way, in the joystick device, the angle information of the joystick lever has meaning.

However, the two-dimensional image sensor used in this invention
- (In the case of a 30D configuration, if the size of the unit 00D is the same as shown in FIG. 2, strictly speaking, the detected position and the angle θ of the joystick lever 11 are not proportional.

However, in general applications, the joystick lever 11 is operated while looking at the controlled object.

This structure can be put to practical use.

For example, the joystick device 1' used for controlling cranes, radio control equipment, or personal computers is operated while looking at the controlled object or the display screen of the OI'LT, so the absolute accuracy of the angle of the joystick lever is As for that, it is generally not raised as an issue.

However, if it is necessary to increase the accuracy, the following method can be used.The first method is to change the size of the matrix and the force unit 00.
The purpose is to increase the size of D depending on the position.

In the second method, a data table for correction is prepared in the processor, and the detection signal is stored as address information for indexing the data table.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, since there are no complicated mechanical parts, the device is small and lightweight, and reliability is improved. In addition, since it is composed of sensor and data processing semiconductors, if it is made into a single chip, it will be smaller and lighter, making it suitable for Odo production, thereby achieving lower costs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional device, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the swivel bearing portion. FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the swivel bearing portion of the embodiment. 11... Joystick lever 1 2... Ball bearing 13... Light source 14... Two-dimensional image sensor 15... Processor 16... Memory 11... Joystick Leno ζ- 12... Ball bearing 13 ...Light source 14...Two-dimensional image sensor 15...Processor 16...Memory Fig. 1 Fig. 2 11... Joystick lever 1 2... Ball bearing 13... Light source 14... Two-dimensional Image sensor 15... Processor 16... Memory

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A joystick lever that is swingably supported by a swivel bearing such as a ball bearing, a light source provided on this joystick lever, a two-dimensional image sensor placed opposite to this light source, and a two-dimensional image sensor that is arranged opposite to this light source. A joystick device comprising: means for reading a position illuminated by light from the light source. (2) A joystick lever that is swingably supported by a swivel bearing such as a ball bearing, a reflective mirror provided on the joystick lever, a light source that projects light onto the reflective mirror, and arranged opposite to the reflective mirror. A joystick device comprising: a two-dimensional image sensor; and means for reading a position of the two-dimensional image sensor illuminated by light from the reflecting mirror.