RU226047U1 - ROAD BALL - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to input devices. The technical result is to reduce the likelihood of moisture, dust and other foreign elements getting inside the housing. The technical result is achieved due to the fact that in the ball manipulator there is a gasket along the contour of the ball on the side of the front panel of the housing, and a layer of felt tape is located in the gap between the surface of the ball and the gasket. 3 ill.

Description

The utility model relates to devices for entering information and controlling the operation of an electronic computer, in particular a computer [G06F3/03, G05G9/053].

A CONTROL DEVICE is known from the prior art [CA 2601997 A1, publ. 05.10.2006], containing a spherical rotating structure, an outer spherical surface of the rotating structure; at least one sensor for measuring the position of said rotating structure; a movement unit providing linear movement and a signal proportional to said linear movement; wherein said at least one sensor is in sensitive contact with the outer surface of said rotating structure to determine the position of said rotating structure based on first, second and third position parameters, said movement unit is located in mechanical connection with said rotating structure and provides measurement of a fourth position parameter and said control device is further configured to output a signal indicating said four position parameters.

Also known from the prior art is a ROLLER BALL [RU 2563610, publ. 09.20.2015], containing a drive ball and two mutually perpendicular driven rollers placed in a housing, kinematically connected to each other, on the axes of which code wheels and associated coordinate transducers are fixed, characterized in that the housing has a threaded hole into which a threaded bushing is installed with a corrugated collar in the upper part and a conical hole for the driving ball, resting on kinematically connected two driven and one thrust rollers

The closest in technical essence is a TRACKBALL WITH PROTECTION AGAINST AUTOMOBILE MOVEMENT OF THE CURSOR [RU 159588, publ. 02/10/2016], including a housing with a front panel in which a ball is located, a displacement sensor connected to a trackball control controller, a pressure ring that secures the ball in the housing, characterized in that at least three sensors are placed on the front panel around the ball proximity, each of which contains an infrared emitter emitting a light flux in pulses with a radiation frequency of 30-50 kHz, and an infrared photodetector that records the radiation reflected from the operator’s hand, connected to a trackball control controller, which is configured to receive a signal about the radiation reflected from the operator’s hand and transmitting a signal about the movement of the ball in the presence of a signal about the radiation reflected from the operator’s hand, which coincides in phase and frequency with the radiating radiation, and blocking the transmission of a signal about the movement of the ball in the absence of a signal about the radiation reflected from the operator’s hand.

The main technical problem of the analogues and the prototype is their low reliability due to the fact that the design does not provide, on the one hand, the possibility of quick repair and replacement of individual electronic elements (circuits, boards, modules) of the products. On the other hand, there is no protection against mechanical deformation, as well as the ingress of dust and moisture into the manipulator body. Thus, the solutions of analogs and the prototype do not provide for an integrated approach to ensuring the reliability of the ball manipulator, taking into account both the time before a failure occurs and the time before recovery after a failure of the product.

The purpose of a utility model is to eliminate the shortcomings of the prototype.

The technical result is to reduce the likelihood of moisture, dust and other foreign elements getting inside the housing.

The specified technical result is achieved due to the fact that the ball manipulator, which includes a housing in which the ball is mounted, is rotatable, a gasket is made along the contour of the ball from the side of the front panel of the housing, and a layer of felt tape is located in the gap between the surface of the ball and the gasket.

Figure 1 shows a view of the trackball in the housing.

Figure 2 shows a diagram of the location of the main functional elements of the trackball.

Figure 3 shows the location of the main functional elements of the trackball under the body.

The figures indicate:

1 - body; 2 - ball; 3 - first shaft; 4 - second shaft; 5 - bearing; 6 - encoder; 7 - optocoupler; 8 - first encoder board; 9 - second encoder board; 10 - drive shaft; 11 - control board; 12 - button board; 13 - button; 14 - gasket; 15 - bottom plate; 16 - frame; 17 - installation screws; 18 - bushings.

The ball manipulator includes a housing 1, in the central part of which there is a ball 2 (in an embodiment made of phenolic resin). Housing 1 is made with a front panel and a bottom wall, end walls, as well as side walls, and in an embodiment it is a parallelepiped. Ball 2 is made capable of rotation under mechanical action on it by the user of the device. Ball 2 is designed in such a way that only part of it is located above the front panel 1 of the device. The first shaft 3 and the second shaft 4 are mounted in the frame 16, which are located perpendicular to each other and are in contact with the ball 2. Encoders 6 are mounted at the ends of the shafts. Encoders 6 are located in the slot of the optocoupler 7 and are connected directly to the first 8 and second 9 encoder boards . Encoder 6 and optocoupler 7 are optical systems for recording the process of moving ball 2. Each of the two encoder boards (the first 8 and second 9 encoder boards) is configured to record the movement of ball 2 in the corresponding plane. In the opposite corner of the housing 1, relative to the indicated shafts, there is a drive shaft 10. The drive shaft 10 is oriented at an angle (in an embodiment, 45 degrees) relative to the first 3 and second 4 shafts. On the drive shaft 10, as well as on the first 3 and second 4 shafts, bearings 5 are mounted. In the housing 1 on the frame 16 there is a control board 11. On the front panel of the housing 1 there is a button board 12. The control board 11 is connected to all other boards ( via a wire connection) mounted inside the housing 1 and configured to control the operation of the manipulator. The button board 12 is connected to buttons 13, which are mounted on the front panel of the housing 1 (in the embodiment, there are three pieces).

Thus, the first 8 and second 9 encoder boards are connected to the control board 11. The control board 11 is connected to the button board 12, which is connected directly to the buttons 13.

On the front panel of the housing 1, along the contour of the ball 2, there is a dustproof gasket 14. The gasket 14 prevents dust and other contaminants from entering the internal cavity of the device. Gasket 14 can be made of a layer of fluoroplastic F-4, which ensures minimal mechanical deformation. The design of the fluoroplastic ring provides for an almost complete fit to the ball 2. To protect against dust from entering the internal cavity of the housing 1, a layer of felt tape is placed in the gap between the ball 2 and the gasket 14 (not shown in the figure). The felt tape is temperature resistant, antistatic, and also reduces noise when the ball rotates 2.

In the lower part of the housing 1, directly under the ball 2, above the lower wall of the housing 1, there is a lower plate 15, which provides additional mechanical protection of the product. Ball 2 is mounted in frame 16, in which the first 3, second 4 and drive shafts 10 are installed, the first 8 and second 9 encoder boards are mounted on frame 16, set screws 17 are intended for fastening frame 16 with ball 2 to the front panel of housing 1 and settings clamping the ball 2 to the front panel of the housing 1, bushings 18 are intended for fastening the bottom plate 15.

Also on the front panel of the device housing 1 there are mounting points for the operator control panel (if necessary).

The design of the ball manipulator uses five bearings 5 (in an embodiment, bearings 5 of type 696 ZZ are used). On each axis (on the first 3 and second 4 shafts), two bearings 5 are used for uniform rotation (one on each side). There is one more on the drive shaft 10. Each shaft is responsible for moving along the corresponding coordinate axis: along the X axis (left-right) and Y axis (up-down). Another bearing 5 is used as a support for ball 2 (on the drive shaft 10), ensuring uniform rotation of ball 2 in all directions. Thus, ball 2 rests on three points of support: two axes (X and Y) and an additional bearing 5.

Four boards are used for signal processing: the first 8 and second 9 encoder boards (providing fixation of movements along the X and Y axes), containing optocouplers 7 for converting the rotation of ball 2 into an electrical signal; button board 12 (for transmitting press data) and control board 11, which collects data from three other boards, as well as processes incoming signals and connects and transmits data to a computer.

The implementation on four boards is due to the simplicity of long-range modification (if it is necessary to change the size of ball 2), as well as greater maintainability. Additionally, the control board 11 allows you to connect up to five buttons 13, as well as the ability to implement movement along the Z axis (classic wheel).

In an embodiment, the bottom plate 15 is made of high-quality low-carbon stainless steel AISI 304. This material is characterized by high elasticity and hardness, and has corrosion resistance.

Encoder boards can be boards with installed slot sensors, suitable for mounting, or other solutions known from the prior art.

The button board 12 can be any solution known from the prior art and suitable for the design of the front panel.

The control board 11 can be a miniature development board ARM Cortex-M0 based on STM32F051R8, or other solutions known from the prior art.

The trackball is used as follows.

The housing 1 of the trackball is placed on a horizontal surface. Next, the user exerts mechanical influence on ball 2, rotating it. Rotation along the X and Y axis is transmitted to the first 3 and second 4 shafts, causing the encoders 6 to rotate. During which, when the encoder 6 rotates, the opto-coupler in the slot of the optocoupler 7 is blocked and converted into an electrical signal. The generated signals are transmitted to the HT82M980A controller, which is installed on control board 11. The controller, receiving the signal from optocouplers 7 (encoder boards), processes it and transmits information about the displacement of the pointer relative to the previous sent position. The controller installed on control board 11 transmits information about the movement of the pointer via a connected USB or PS/2 cable.

When using the device, the bottom plate 15 installed under the ball 2 performs the function of protecting against damage when the user “vandalizes” the ball 2 during operation. For example, in the case of impact on ball 2 with a mass of up to 120 kg, ball 2 rests on the bottom plate 15, which prevents the device body 1 and shafts from being destroyed.

Example implementation.

An example of implementation is an industrially manufactured ball pointing device with overall dimensions (L×W×H): 159.2×115×83 mm.

The manufactured trackball is protected according to the IP40 standard against the ingress of solid objects with a diameter of more than 1 mm and against the ingress of water drops vertically from top to bottom in normal position.

Technical characteristics of the device implementation option:

Connection type: wired

Conversion type: optical

Ball diameter 2-76.2 mm

Number of buttons 13-3 pcs.

Operating temperature from minus 10°С to plus 65°С

Supply voltage 5.0 V to 5.5 V

Power consumption no more than 1.5 W

USB or PS/2 connection interface

Permissible load when working on ball 2 up to 120 kg

Resolution more than 550 pulses/revolutions

Service life of at least 10 years

Resistance to external influences according to GOST RV 20.39.304-88 for performance groups 1.1, 1.3, 1.9, 1.10, 2.1.1, 2.3.1, 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2.1- 3.2.3

The movement of the shafts is ensured by radial bearings type 5 1000096 GOST 8338-75 or its analogues type 696 ZZ NSK.

When the ball 2 moves, the shaft system transmits movement to the encoders 6, near which there are optocouplers 7 CPI-250.

The generated signal is fed to the 8-bit controller HT82M980A, which is installed on control board 11.

The technical solution uses three buttons 13 type PB86.

The bottom plate 15 is made of high-quality low-carbon stainless steel AISI 304; Gasket 14 is made of fluoroplastic F-4 with additional protection with felt tape.

The declared technical result, reducing the likelihood of moisture, dust and other foreign elements getting inside the housing, is achieved due to the fact that inside the housing 1 of the device there are four separate boards (two encoder boards 8, 9, a control board 11 and a button board 12), each which can be easily and quickly replaced if they fail, without affecting the operation of other functional elements. This design solution allows you to significantly increase the speed of product repair, increase its maintainability (as one of the main reliability properties) and, as a result, increase the value of the product readiness factor as an indicator of its reliability (that is, the probability that the object will be in working condition at an arbitrary point in time ). Also, the stated technical result is achieved due to the presence of a lower plate 15 under the ball 2, which protects the housing 1 (namely its lower wall) and the shafts from deformation and destruction when the user interacts with the ball 2 in a vertical plane, which significantly increases the operating time before failure occurs. Also, the stated technical result is achieved due to the presence of a gasket 14 in the form of a ring mounted along the contour of the ball 2 on the front panel of the housing 1 and the presence of a layer of felt tape in the gap between the ball 2 and the gasket 14. The presence of the gasket 14 and the felt tape reduces the likelihood of getting inside the housing 1 moisture, dust and other foreign elements, which also increases the operating time before failure occurs. Also, the achievement of the stated technical result, in particular, is influenced by the specified embodiments of the functional elements, namely: the use of materials of the bottom plate 15, the gasket 14 and the method of fastening the bottom plate 15 (through the frame 16 and bushings 18); These properties of the elements and the method of their placement were selected experimentally, provide the stated technical result, but do not exclude other options for mounting the bottom plate 15, and the use of other materials for the bottom plate 15 and gasket 14.

An example of achieving a technical result.

To confirm the stated technical result, a series of full-scale experiments were carried out. As an indicator of reliability, for evaluation, an indicator such as the availability coefficient was used. Based on the design option shown in the implementation example, four types of trackballs were identified for the experiments.

The first type is in accordance with the example implementation.

The second type is in accordance with the example implementation, only without gasket 14 and felt tape.

The third type - in accordance with the example implementation, only all four boards were combined into one board with a common housing 1, which could only be replaced after a malfunction as a whole.

The fourth type is in accordance with the example implementation only without the bottom plate 15.

Based on the test results for 1000 hours, including periodic exposure of body 1 and ball 2 to a vertical load of up to 120 kg, operation in dusty conditions and periodic exposure to water, the following results were obtained:

First type: availability factor value 0.96.

Second type: availability factor value 0.73.

Third type: availability factor value 0.79.

Fourth type: availability coefficient value 0.76.

Thus, the experimental results confirm the declared technical result, and also demonstrate that it can only be achieved thanks to the entire set of essential features of the claimed technical solution.

The declared solution is a single product and is manufactured at the manufacturer through assembly operations. All functional elements of the product are interconnected mechanically or electrically.

Claims (1)

A ball manipulator includes a housing in which a rotatable ball is mounted; a gasket is made along the contour of the ball on the side of the front panel of the housing; a layer of felt tape is located in the gap between the surface of the ball and the gasket.