Control apparatus

• US 6,106,398 A
• Filed: 02/26/1998
• Issued: 08/22/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ivis Howard Davis
• Original Assignee: Ivis Howard Davis
• Inventors: Davis, Ivis Howard
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrison, Jessica J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kasick, Jackie
• Application Number:
  US09/030,811
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 463/38, 273/148 B, 345/161, 74/471 XY
• US Class Current: 463/38
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 5/05 Means for returning or tending to return controlling members to an inoperative or neutral position, e.g. by providing return springs or resilient end-stops G05G5/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 9/047 the controlling member being movable by hand about orthogonal axes, e.g. joysticks for switches H01H25/04

Abstract

Control apparatus is illustrated in the form of a joystick type device that can be manipulated or operated by a human hand in a plurality of directional modes with respect to a support base which support base may include a handgrip for the operators other hand to provide additional support when the joystick is being vigorously manipulated. The apparatus can provide signals responsive to horizontal, vertical, rotational and tilt movement with respect to the support base in addition to signals generated by the actuation of contacts on the joystick by individual digits of the hand moving the joystick. A further handgrip on the support base may include contiguous additional signal generators actuateable by digits of the hand contacting the further handgrip.

Claims

1. Joystick apparatus for facilitating the use of a computer controlled object, comprising, in combination:

support structure having a horizontal orientation;

handle means generally oriented in a vertical direction from said support structure and including means for providing more than 12 directions of movement; and

movement detection means for providing unique output signals identifying each of said more than 12 directions of movement of said handle means with respect to said support structure, said more than 12 directions of movement including at least two directions of tilt, at least two in rotation and at least two in the horizontal direction.

2. Joystick apparatus comprising, in combination:

support structure;

handle means movably attached to said support structure [means] whereby it is free to move in tilt, rotation and horizontal directions relative a restrained neutral position; and

movement detection means for providing ON/OFF output signals uniquely identifying each direction of movement of said handle means with respect to said support structure the output signals persisting for the duration of deflection from said neutral position even when the handle is not moving.

3. Apparatus for interconnection between a computer keyboard and a keyboard I/O port of a computer comprising, in combination:

support structure;

joystick means movably attached to said support structure;

control means for concurrently passing both indications of keyboard key depression and detected movements of said joystick means with respect to said support structure to an attached computer, the detected movements of said joystick means being interpreted by the attached computer as keyboard key depressions.

4. Joystick apparatus comprising, in combination:

signal interconnection means for interconnecting said joystick apparatus between a computer keyboard and a keyboard I/O port of a computer; and

joystick movement detection means for passing indications of keyboard key depressions and as well as concurrently passing indications of unique detected movements of said joystick to any attached computer as corresponding to predetermined keyboard key depressions.

5. Joystick apparatus for use with a computer wherein a unique joystick I/O port is not required comprising, in combination;

means for interconnecting said joystick apparatus between a typewriter style computer keyboard and a keyboard I/O port of a computer; and

control means for concurrently passing signal indications of keyboard key depressions and signal indications of movements of said joystick to any attached computer.

6. Joystick apparatus for use with a computer wherein the requirement of a unique joystick I/O port is eliminated comprising, in combination;

joystick apparatus; and

signal control means, comprising a part of said joystick apparatus, for serially interconnecting said joystick apparatus between a computer keyboard and a keyboard I/O port of a computer, said signal control means allowing passage of indications of keyboard key depressions while concurrently passing indications of movements of said joystick to any attached computer.

7. Joystick controller apparatus, comprising

a housing;

a joystick supported by said housing for

a. horizontal movement with respect to said housing in the X and Y directions,

b. pivotal movement with respect to said housing to at least 2 tilt angles,

c. rotational movement with respect to said housing and

d. means incorporated in said joystick for providing vertical movement signal indications; and

movement detection means incorporated in said housing for detecting said horizontal, pivotal, and rotational movements and outputting signals representative of same.

8. Control apparatus comprising, in combination:

signal interconnection means for interconnecting said control apparatus to a keyboard I/O port of a computer;

a base including a first handle moveable horizontally as well as tilt-ably with respect to said base and further including a second handle, fixedly incorporated in said base means, for stabilizing said base [means] while the first handle is being manipulated, adjacent a plurality actuateable signal generators;

detection means for passing indications of any activation of said actuateable signal generators and as well as passing indications of unique detected movements of said first handle to any attached computer as corresponding to predefined keyboard key depressions.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 comprising, in addition:

keyboard signal input means for connection to a keyboard whereby keyboard depression indicative signals may be received therefrom and transmitted to the keyboard I/O port concurrently with signals generated from detected movement of said first handle.

10. The method of providing multiple source keyboard type key actuation signal indications to the keyboard input port of a computer comprising the steps of:

serially inserting a signal manipulator between a keyboard and the keyboard I/O port of a computer; and

providing hand motion signals from a source other than said keyboard to said signal manipulator representative of predetermined keyboard key actuations whereby said signal manipulator may concurrently provide multiple signals to said computer representative of the same keyboard key actuation from different signal sources.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the hand motion signals are generated by a joystick type device.

12. Ergonomic control apparatus comprising, in combination:

support structure;

first hand grip means for movement in a plurality of directions, including both tilt and horizontal movement, with respect to said support structure;

second hand grip means comprising a part of said support structure and including a plurality of control means for actuation by digits of a human hand; and

detection means for detecting movement of said first hand grip means and generating signal outputs representative of unique movements of said first hand grip means.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein:

the detected unique movements of said first hand grip include horizontal movement forward, backward, left and right with respect to a neutral position on said support structure, tilt forward, backward, left and right with respect to said neutral position on said support structure, and rotation left and right with respect to said neutral position on said support structure.

14. Apparatus of the class described comprising:

computer including keyboard, display means and a keyboard I/O port;

control means connected in series with said keyboard and the combination being connected said keyboard I/O port;

support structure;

a joystick movably attached to said support structure, said joystick being restrained to normally return to a neutral position when no forces are applied thereto;

means, comprising part of said control means, for concurrently passing both indications of keyboard key depression and detected movements of said joystick with respect to said support structure to said computer, the detected movements of said joystick being interpreted by the computer as keyboard key depressions;

means for detecting the a first signal representative of actuation of a given key on the keyboard simultaneous with movement of said joystick in a direction to cause a corresponding second signal representative of the actuation of said given key whereby different than would occur when only said first or said second signal is detected.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14 wherein the different rate is twice.