Control equipment with a movable control member

• US 6,157,368 A
• Filed: 03/28/1997
• Issued: 12/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Jan G. Fager
• Original Assignee: Jan G. Fager
• Inventors: Fager, Jan G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chow, Dennis-Doon
• Assistant Examiner(s): AWAD, AMR A
• Application Number:
  US08/809,717
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 345/7-8, 345/156, 345/157, 345/158, 345/161, 345/166, 345/175, 345/173, 345/179, 341/20, 341/21, 341/31, 250/221
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1656 characterised by programming, planning systems for manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/35422 Unit freely movable in space, detect its position, orientation by triangulation
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39435 Free movable unit has push buttons for other than position, orientation control
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40002 Camera, robot follows direction movement of operator head, helmet, headstick
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40402 Control button on master for quick movement, for fine slow movement
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40562 Position and orientation of end effector, teach probe, track them
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40613 Camera, laser scanner on end effector, hand eye manipulator, local
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A control equipment provided with an operator-actuated control member (1) having a transducer (10, 11) that receives signals which propagate linearly between a plurality of signal sources (M₁ -M₄) and the transducer. The equipment has means (10, CU) sensing the directions from the transducer to the sight lines from the transducer to the signal sources and, on the basis of these angles, determines the position of the control member.

Claims

1. Control equipment, having a movable control member arranged to be actuated by an operator, and arranged to supply control signals dependent on the position and/or orientation of the control member, in order to control a controlled object,

said control member comprising a transducer designed to receive signals from a set of at least three signal sources, located at points apart from each other and arranged to emit signals that propagate linearly between the signal sources and the transducer, said transducer producing signal information X_ib, Y_ib corresponding to the direction φ

, θ

of incidence of each individual signal received, and

said control equipment comprising members arranged to receive the signal information and to produce direction-defining signals defining the direction in relation to the transducer, of the sight lines from the transducer to each of the signal sources, and calculation means arranged to produce, on the basis of said direction-defining signals, information defining the position and/or orientation of the control member.

2. The control equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the calculation means are arranged to determine the angles between sight lines from the control member to the signal sources and, on the basis of these angles, produce said information defining the position of the control member.

3. The control equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein by utilizing said direction-defining signals the calculation means is arranged to produce information which defines the orientation of the control member.

4. The control equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal sources are arranged to emit optical signals and the transducer is arranged to receive the optical signals.

5. The control equipment as claimed in claim 4, wherein the signal sources constitute active light-emitting light sources.

6. The control equipment as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control equipment comprises a light source and the signal sources consist of light-reflecting members arranged to reflect light from said light source.

7. The control equipment as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control equipment comprises image-processing means arranged to produce the direction-defining signals corresponding to the positions of the signal sources in an image of the surroundings produced in the transducer.

8. The control equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control member is arranged to be hand-held and operated manually by an operator.

9. The control equipment as claimed in claim 8, wherein the control member is designed as a handle with the transducer provided at one end.

10. The control equipment as claimed in claim 8, wherein the control member is provided with a transducer at each end.

11. The control equipment as claimed in claim 8, wherein the control equipment comprises two hand-held control members each arranged to influence a separate set of control signals.

12. The control equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control member is provided with a number of control devices enabling command signals to be issued.

13. The control equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control member consists of a helmet or frame arranged to be worn on and operated by the head of an operator.

14. The control equipment as claimed in claim 13, wherein the control member comprises a display unit arranged in the field of vision of an operator carrying the control member.

15. The control equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control equipment produces said direction-defining signals defining the direction in relation to the transducer on the basis of the direction φ

, θ

of incidence of the sight lines from the transducer to each of the signal sources, and produces, on the basis of said direction-defining signals, information defining the position and orientation of the control member.

16. The control equipment as claimed in claim 15, wherein the calculation means are arranged to determine the angles between sight lines from the control member to the signal sources and, on the basis of these angles, produce said information defining the position of the control member.

17. The control equipment as claimed in claim 15, wherein the signal sources are arranged to emit optical signals and the transducer is arranged to receive the optical signals.

18. The control equipment as claimed in claim 17, wherein the signal sources constitute active light-emitting light sources.

19. The control equipment as claimed in claim 17, wherein the control equipment comprises a light source and the signal sources consist of light-reflecting members arranged to reflect light from said light source.

20. The control equipment as claimed in claim 17, wherein the control equipment comprises image-processing means arranged to produce the direction-defining signals corresponding to the positions of the signal sources in an image of the surroundings produced in the transducer.

21. The control equipment as claimed in claim 15, wherein the control member is arranged to be hand-held and operated manually by an operator.

22. The control equipment as claimed in claim 21, wherein the control member is designed as a handle with the transducer provided at one end.

23. The control equipment as claimed in claim 21, wherein the control member is provided with a transducer at each end.

24. The control equipment as claimed in claim 21, wherein the control equipment comprises two hand-held control members, each arranged to influence a separate set of control signals.

25. The control equipment as claimed in claim 15, wherein the control member is provided with a number of control devices enabling command signals to be issued.

26. The control equipment as claimed in claim 15, wherein the control member consists of a helmet or frame arranged to be worn on and operated by the head of an operator.

27. The control equipment as claimed in claim 26, wherein the control member comprises a display unit arranged in the field of vision of an operator carrying the control member.