Joystick controller employing hall-effect sensors
First Claim
1. A joystick device comprising:
- a shaft;
a support surface spaced from one end of said shaft;
mounting means acting between said shaft and said support surface to allow pivotal displacement therebetween, said mounting means further allowing said shaft to be rotated about the longitudinal axis of said shaft;
first and second pairs of sensors on said support surface operating as differential pairs, said first pair of sensors being arranged along a first axis and said second pair of sensors being arranged along a second axis orthogonal to said first axis;
a single sensor on said support surface generally centrally located relative to said first and second pairs of sensors;
a pair of spaced, rotational sensors on said support surface;
at least one element on said shaft adjacent said one end thereof, said at least one element being movable over said support surface upon movement of said shaft, movement of at least one element being detected by said first and second pairs of sensors, said single sensor and said rotational sensors, said first and second pairs of sensors detecting the direct of displacement of said at least one element upon pivoting of said shaft from a datum and said single sensor detecting the magnitude of said displacement, said rotational sensors detecting the direction of rotation of said at least one element upon rotation of said shaft; and
control means receiving sensor output signals from said first and second pairs of sensors, said signal sensor and said rotational sensor corresponding to movement of said at least one element and outputting control signals representing the direction of movement of said at least one element to a dependent device to be controlled.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A joystick controller employs differential pairs of electronic sensors to detect the direction of displacement of the joystick shaft and a single electronic sensor to detect the magnitude of the displacement. The differential pairs of sensors output signals representative of the direction of the displacement of the joystick shaft from a datum. The single sensor outputs signals having a magnitude representative of the magnitude of the displacement. A controller uses the output signals to control a dependent device. In one embodiment, the controller compares the sensor output signals to predetermined threshold values and ignores movements of the shaft which cause the sensors to generate output signals having magnitudes below the threshold values.
167 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A joystick device comprising:
-
a shaft; a support surface spaced from one end of said shaft; mounting means acting between said shaft and said support surface to allow pivotal displacement therebetween, said mounting means further allowing said shaft to be rotated about the longitudinal axis of said shaft; first and second pairs of sensors on said support surface operating as differential pairs, said first pair of sensors being arranged along a first axis and said second pair of sensors being arranged along a second axis orthogonal to said first axis; a single sensor on said support surface generally centrally located relative to said first and second pairs of sensors; a pair of spaced, rotational sensors on said support surface; at least one element on said shaft adjacent said one end thereof, said at least one element being movable over said support surface upon movement of said shaft, movement of at least one element being detected by said first and second pairs of sensors, said single sensor and said rotational sensors, said first and second pairs of sensors detecting the direct of displacement of said at least one element upon pivoting of said shaft from a datum and said single sensor detecting the magnitude of said displacement, said rotational sensors detecting the direction of rotation of said at least one element upon rotation of said shaft; and control means receiving sensor output signals from said first and second pairs of sensors, said signal sensor and said rotational sensor corresponding to movement of said at least one element and outputting control signals representing the direction of movement of said at least one element to a dependent device to be controlled. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A joystick device comprising:
-
a shaft; a support surface spaced from one end of said shaft; mounting means including a spherical bearing acting between said shaft and said support surface to permit pivotal movement of said shaft relative to said support surface and rotational movement of said shaft about the longitudinal axis thereof; abutment means on said support surface to limit said rotational movement on said shaft; first and second pairs of sensors on said support surface operating as differential pairs, and first pair of sensors being arranged along a first axis and said second pair of sensors being arranged along a second axis substantially orthogonal to said first axis; a single sensor on said support surface generally centrally located relative to said first and second pairs of sensors; a pair of spaced, rotational sensors on said support surface; and at least one element in the form of a magnet assembly mounted on said one end of said shaft, said magnet assembly being movable over said support surface upon movement of said shaft, movement of said magnet assembly being detected by said first and second pairs of sensors, said single sensor and said rotational sensors, said first and second paris of sensors detecting the direction of displacement of said magnet assembly upon pivoting of said shaft from a datum and said single sensor detecting the magnitude of said displacement, said rotational sensors detecting the direction of rotation of said magnet assembly upon rotation of said shaft. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
-
Specification