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Hand controller

  • US 6,781,569 B1
  • Filed: 06/11/1999
  • Issued: 08/24/2004
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/11/1999
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A sensing arm assembly for a position sensing mechanism comprising:

  • (a) an arm having a moveable operative end and a mounted end carried by a base;

    (b) an arm support coupled between the mounted end of the arm and the base, said arm support providing the operative end of the arm with two degrees of freedom in a plane with respect to the base, wherein said arm support includes a five-bar linkage having a base linkage, two distal links, and two proximal links, each of said distal links separated from the base by an intervening proximal link, one of said distal links being connected to the mounted end of said arm and said proximal links coupled to said base linkage, said base linkage being fixed to said base;

    (c) a rotational joint carried by said arm support providing the operative end of the arm with a rotational degree of freedom about an arm rotational axis located at the mounted end of the arm, said arm rotational axis permitting displacement of the operative end of the arm in a direction out of said plane;

    (d) a planar position sensor device carried by the base to sense the location of the operative end of the arm in said plane and provide planar sensor signals;

    (e) an out-of-plane displacement sensor device positioned at the mounted end of the arm to sense the out-of-plane displacement of the operative end of the arm with respect to the base and provide out-of-plane sensor signals;

    whereby the planar sensor signals and the out-of-plane sensor signals correspond to the location of the operative end of the arm in three dimensional space.

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