Hand controller

• US 4,216,467 A
• Filed: 12/22/1977
• Issued: 08/05/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Original Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Paramount Global (f/k/a ViacomCBS Inc.))
• Inventors: Colston, John R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Caldwell, Sr., John W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Groody, James J.
• Application Number:
  US05/863,204
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• Field of Search: 340/177 R, 340/195, 340/197, 340/365 L, 73/133 R, 73/133 MC, 214/1 CM, 74/471, 74/471 XY, 244/83 E, 414/1-8
• US Class Current: 341/20
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/02 Hand grip control means handles or pedals for crane control B66C13/56; for measuring the force applied to control members G01L5/22; hand-held casings for switching devices, e.g. joy-sticks H01H9/0214
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 17/0216 comprising a stewart mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: B63H 21/213 Levers or the like for controlling the engine or the transmission, e.g. single hand control levers
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 5/164 using variations in inductance
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 9/04737 with six degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20201 Control moves in two planes

Abstract

A hand controller having a control handle member supported by a hexagonal array of three pairs of oppositely-angled force sensors provides for creation of control signals according to degree of input manual effort in any and all linear and rotary directions: left; right; up; down; fore; aft; forward; rearward; leftward and rightward; tilt moments; and clockwise and counterclockwise yaw moments.

Claims

1. A hand controller comprising,

a handle adapted to accept a grip of an operator'"'"'s hand,

a handle member attached to such handle,

a base member anchored relative to said handle member, and

an array of force sensors in direct-supporting interconnection between said handle member and said base member.

2. The hand controller of claim 1, wherein said array of force sensors consists of three pairs of force sensors in hexagonal array.

3. The hand controller of claim 2, wherein the aforesaid handle and base members are in the form of equilateral triangles to the apex corners of which the ends of force sensor pairs are connected.

4. The hand controller of claim 1, wherein each force sensor includes ends secured to the aforesaid handle and base members said ends being yieldable in flexure while relatively stiff in thrust, and a signal-producing transducer means responsive to slight relative longitudinal movements between such ends.

5. The hand controller of claim 1, further including means for transforming coordinate-related signal information generated by said array of force sensors into corresponding coordinate-related control signals for motion and force inducing apparatus.