US3776058A — Multi-axis hand controller

Claim 1

Independent Claim 273 words

A panel mounted hand controller for providing three-axis control of a free-moving object through selective movement of a control stick which is restricted to angular displacements of + OR - 15* and a dead zone of 1/10* comprising: a housing and means rotatably supported therein for mounting said control stick and permitting omnidirectional movement and rotation thereof relative to the three axes of motion, said housing and said means having openings about said control stick to accommodate the desired limit of movement thereof, said means rotatable about one axis of motion with respect to said housing; a yoke rotatably mounted on said means and orthogonally disposed with respect to said one axis of motion for providing rotation about a second axis of motion; said control stick rotatably received in and extending through said yoke for rotation about the third axis of motion; a pair of matched plates of opposite hand mounted for rotation about each of said axes of motion; said plates each having parallel-disposed extensions; a mechanical stop interposed between respective pairs of said extensions for establishing a neutral position thereof and a resilient means connecting said respective pairs of extensions for urging each extension against its respective stop; and signal generating means coupled about each of said axes of motion for generating signals representative of relative motion of said control stick, said yoke, and said rotatably supported means about said axes with respect to, respectively, said yoke, said rotatably supported means, and said housing, whereby desired movement of said object may be caused by selected movement of said control stick about one, two or all three of the axes of motion.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 273 words

A panel mounted hand controller for providing three-axis control of a free-moving object through selective movement of a control stick which is restricted to angular displacements of + OR - 15* and a dead zone of 1/10* comprising: a housing and means rotatably supported therein for mounting said control stick and permitting omnidirectional movement and rotation thereof relative to the three axes of motion, said housing and said means having openings about said control stick to accommodate the desired limit of movement thereof, said means rotatable about one axis of motion with respect to said housing; a yoke rotatably mounted on said means and orthogonally disposed with respect to said one axis of motion for providing rotation about a second axis of motion; said control stick rotatably received in and extending through said yoke for rotation about the third axis of motion; a pair of matched plates of opposite hand mounted for rotation about each of said axes of motion; said plates each having parallel-disposed extensions; a mechanical stop interposed between respective pairs of said extensions for establishing a neutral position thereof and a resilient means connecting said respective pairs of extensions for urging each extension against its respective stop; and signal generating means coupled about each of said axes of motion for generating signals representative of relative motion of said control stick, said yoke, and said rotatably supported means about said axes with respect to, respectively, said yoke, said rotatably supported means, and said housing, whereby desired movement of said object may be caused by selected movement of said control stick about one, two or all three of the axes of motion.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 74 words

The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said rotatably supported means is a receptacle within which the three axes of motion intersect, said control stick rotatably mounted in said receptacle opposite the opening for accommodating movement of said control stick; and a flexible section in said control stick encompassing the intersection of the three axes of motion to permit flexing of said control stick During rotation of said yoke about the pitch axis.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 81 words

The device as defined in claim 2 wherein the surface of said housing adjacent the opening therein has a spherical curvature; a spherical cover plate adjustably mounted on said control stick and adapted to mate with said spherical surface of said housing; and means on said control stick for forcing said cover plate against said housing at any position of said control stick so that said control stick may be locked in any position against the forces of said resilient means.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 210 words

The device as defined in claim 3 wherein the axis of motion which is colinear with the longitudinal axis of said control stick is the yaw axis, the axis about which said yoke rotates is the pitch axis, and the axis about which said receptacle rotates is the roll axis; cylindrical shaft sections supporting said receptacle in said housing and said yoke on said receptacle, said shaft sections selectively positioned along said pitch and roll axes and respective pairs of said matched plates mounted thereon and on said control stick; and strap means affixed to said housing for supporting said receptacle for rotation about said pitch axis; said strap means and said yoke including pairs of tines positioned substantially in register with respective ones of said mechanical stops and means for adjusting said tines so as to be in register with said mechanical stops, whereby movement of said control stick causing motion in either direction about any of said axes of motion will displace respective ones of said pairs of plates from its respective mechanical stop against the tensile force of the same respective resilient means thereby assuring the same corrective force for returning the displaced plates to the neutral or zero position in contact with the respective mechanical stop.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 223 words

In a system for providing three-axis control of an object through a panel mounted hand control member restricted to angular displacements of + or - 15* and a dead zone of 1/10* the combination of: said control member aligned with and rotatable about one of the three axes of motion and means coupled to said control member and rotatable about each of the remaining axes of motion; a pair of matched plates of opposite hand mounted for rotation about said axes in response to movement of said control member and said means coupled thereto; a resilient member connecting and common to each pair of plates; means for arresting said plates under tension of said resilient member at a null position when said control member is in the neutral position, said plates spaced apart in the null position by said arresting means so that movement of said control member from the neutral position in either direction about any or all of said axes of motion causes rotary displacement of only one of said plates in each pair at a time against the tensile force of said common resilient member with said arresting means preventing movement of the other plate of the pair, said control member returned to the neutral position upon removal of the disturbing torque by the said one displaced plate or plates.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 223 words

In a system for providing three-axis control of an object through a panel mounted hand control member restricted to angular displacements of + or - 15* and a dead zone of 1/10* the combination of: said control member aligned with and rotatable about one of the three axes of motion and means coupled to said control member and rotatable about each of the remaining axes of motion; a pair of matched plates of opposite hand mounted for rotation about said axes in response to movement of said control member and said means coupled thereto; a resilient member connecting and common to each pair of plates; means for arresting said plates under tension of said resilient member at a null position when said control member is in the neutral position, said plates spaced apart in the null position by said arresting means so that movement of said control member from the neutral position in either direction about any or all of said axes of motion causes rotary displacement of only one of said plates in each pair at a time against the tensile force of said common resilient member with said arresting means preventing movement of the other plate of the pair, said control member returned to the neutral position upon removal of the disturbing torque by the said one displaced plate or plates.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 67 words

The system as defined in claim 5 and further including signal generating means mounted in fixed relation to each of said axes for generating signals representative of relative motion of said ones of said pairs of plates about said axes, whereby desired movement of said object may be caused by selected movement of said control member about one, two or all three of the axes of motion.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 55 words

The system as defined in claim 6 and further including positioning means on said control member and on said coupled means, said positioning means extending between respective pairs of said plates and in substantial alignment with and close proximity to said arresting means; and means for precisely aligning said positioning means with said arresting means.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 25 words

The system as defined in claim 7 and further including means foR locking said control member in any position to which it may be moved.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 208 words

A hand controller adapted to be panel mounted for providing three axis hand control of a freely movable object through selective movement of a control stick which is restricted to angular displacement of + or - 15* and a dead zone of 1/10* comprising: a housing, a ground block and means for rotatably suspending said ground block in said housing, said block rotatable about one of the axes of motion with respect to said suspending means; a yoke rotatably mounted on said block; said yoke rotatable about a second axis of motion which is orthogonal to said one axis of motion; a control stick extending through said housing, said yoke and said block and pivotally mounted in said block; said housing and said block having openings about said control stick so as to permit movement thereof in any direction; means mounted on said yoke and said suspending means for resiliently resisting and for arresting rotary movement of said control stick with respect to said yoke, said yoke with respect to said block, and said block with respect to said housing; and motion detecting and relaying means mounted adjacent to said rotary movement resisting means to transmit signals generated by movement of said control stick to said movable object.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 208 words

A hand controller adapted to be panel mounted for providing three axis hand control of a freely movable object through selective movement of a control stick which is restricted to angular displacement of + or - 15* and a dead zone of 1/10* comprising: a housing, a ground block and means for rotatably suspending said ground block in said housing, said block rotatable about one of the axes of motion with respect to said suspending means; a yoke rotatably mounted on said block; said yoke rotatable about a second axis of motion which is orthogonal to said one axis of motion; a control stick extending through said housing, said yoke and said block and pivotally mounted in said block; said housing and said block having openings about said control stick so as to permit movement thereof in any direction; means mounted on said yoke and said suspending means for resiliently resisting and for arresting rotary movement of said control stick with respect to said yoke, said yoke with respect to said block, and said block with respect to said housing; and motion detecting and relaying means mounted adjacent to said rotary movement resisting means to transmit signals generated by movement of said control stick to said movable object.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 75 words

The device as defined in claim 9 wherein the surface of said housing adjacent the opening therein has a spherical curvature; and a spherical cover plate adjustably mounted on said control stick and adapted to mate with said spherical surface of said housing; and means on said control stick for forcing said cover plate against said housing at any position of said control stick so that said control stick may be locked in any position.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 121 words

The device as defined in claim 10 wherein said rotary movement resisting means are disposed about each of the three axes of motion; said rotary movement resisting means each including a pair of oppositely formed matched plates and a common resilient means connecting each pair of plates, said pair of plates spaced apart in the neutral position by protruding portions of said ground block and said yoke, said resilient means so positioned as to be elongated in the direction of movement of said control stick, the ones of said pairs of plates not rotated by motion of said control stick abutting said protruding portions and providing a precise reference with respect to the zero or neutral position of said control stick.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 108 words

The device as defined in claim 11 wherein said means for arresting rotary movement are ground bosses positioned on said ground block and said yoke; adjusting means secured to said means for suspending said ground block and said yoke opposite respective ones of said ground bosses, said adjusting means narrower than the width of said ground bosses to permit insertion of the adjusting means between the rotary movement resisting means, said adjusting means adjustable to the precise width of said ground bosses, said precise adjustment, said gound bosses and said common resilient means providing a dead zone of 1/10* or less in the operation of said hand controller.

Claim 16

Independent Claim 173 words

The method of controlling the omnidirectional movement of an object by a panel-mounted hand controller through selective movement of a control stick which is restricted to angular displacements of + or - 15* and a dead zone of 1/10* comprising: rotating a reference component about one axis of motion with respect to the hand controller housing; rotating a second component about a second axis of motion with respect to the reference component; rotating the control stick about a third axis of motion with respect to the second component; providing a stationary reference to rotation about the three axes of motion by ground components positioned adjacent to each axis of motion; restraining both clockwisE and counterclockwise rotation about each axis by a single resilient component common to oppositely configured motion transfer means; anchoring the control stick in the reference component; and providing a flexible section in the control stick in the region of the intersection of the three axes of motion to permit rotation of the second component about the axis which passes therethrough.

Claim 17

Independent Claim 173 words

The method of controlling the omnidirectional movement of an object by a panel-mounted hand controller through selective movement of a control stick which is restricted to angular displacements of + or - 15* and a dead zone of 1/10* comprising: rotating a reference component about one axis of motion with respect to the hand controller housing; rotating a second component about a second axis of motion with respect to the reference component; rotating the control stick about a third axis of motion with respect to the second component; providing a stationary reference to rotation about the three axes of motion by ground components positioned adjacent to each axis of motion; restraining both clockwisE and counterclockwise rotation about each axis by a single resilient component common to oppositely configured motion transfer means; anchoring the control stick in the reference component; and providing a flexible section in the control stick in the region of the intersection of the three axes of motion to permit rotation of the second component about the axis which passes therethrough.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 48 words

The method as defined in claim 13 wherein control about two of the axes of motion is effected by coupling together the control stick and the second component, the flexible section in the control stick permitting rotary movement of the second component with respect to the reference component.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 42 words

The method as defined in claim 14 and further including generating signals representative of relative motion of the control stick, second component and reference component with respect to the second component, reference component and housing for control of movement of said object.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 70 words

The method as defined in claim 15 wherein motion in yaw of said object is obtained by rotating the control stick with respect to both the second component and the reference component, motion in pitch of said object is obtained by rotating the second component with respect to the reference component and motion in roll of said object is obtained by rotating the reference component with respect to the housing.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1976-12-03	1977-06-04	1977-12-04	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1980-12-03	1981-06-04	1981-12-04	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1984-12-03	1985-06-04	1985-12-04	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Multi-axis hand controller

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