×

Flight simulation control apparatus

  • US 4,887,966 A
  • Filed: 06/30/1988
  • Issued: 12/19/1989
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1988
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A flight simulation control apparatus comprising:

  • a console which can be mounted on a planar surface,a cylindrical control shaft mounted in said console for reciprocal linear sliding and reciprocal rotary movement,a control yoke on the end of said control shaft for controlling movement of the shaft,trigger buttons on the ends of the control yoke to activate a firing circuit,a throttle lever mounted on said console to activate a throttle circuit,a wiring harness for connecting said controller to a computer, anda set of four LEDs on the front of the console to indicate actions of the control shaft, andwherein said control yoke is in the shape of a "U" and is connected to the forward end of the control shaft at the bottom of the "U" shaped portion, andwherein said control shaft is mounted in a hole in the front of said console, andwherein said control shaft is supported inside said console by two blocks which are parallel to the front of the console and perpendicular to the base of said console,wherein each of the two block has a hole to receive the shaft, andwherein each of the holes are coaxial with the first hole in front panel of the console and large enough to allow the shaft to pass through and rotate, andwherein between the blocks supporting the control shaft there is a saddle shaped member comprising,two flat plates which are coplanar with the rotational axis of the control shaft and extend outwardly from the exterior surface of the control shaft,two flat semi-circular side members with a semi-circular cutout, thereby forming a half annular member,wherein said side member are located with the cutout portion against the curved surface of the control shaft and with the flat part of the perimeter of the side member in contact with the forward and rearward edges of the projecting flat plates which are coplanar with the control shaft axis, andwherein there are switches mounted around the saddle shaped member for providing directional inputs to the computer comprising,spring biased switches mounted in a plane parallel to the plane of the support blocks, and beneath the flat plate and sized so that they touch the bottom of the plate when in a neutral state, so that they will be compressed when the shaft is rotated thereby providing a left and right signal,spring biased switches which are mounted on the support blocks perpendicular to the surface thereof and facing the semi-circular side members of the saddle, and sized to the fully extended and touching the surface of the side members when in a neutral state, so that fore and aft movement of the shaft and saddle will compress the switches and provide an up and down signal to the computer, andwherein the turn switches under the flat plates are mounted at an angle from vertical but still in a parallel plane with the blocks, so that when the saddle rotates and the spring is fully compressed, the switch is at a right angle to the plane of the plate, andwherein each of the springs has a return spring of sufficient size to rebound after compression and return the control shaft to a neutral position.

View all claims
  • 0 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×