EP0752127B1 - Manual control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT No. PCT/DE95/00361 Sec. 371 Date Sep. 18, 1996 Sec. 102(e) Date Sep. 18, 1996 PCT Filed Mar. 14, 1995 PCT Pub. No. WO95/25994 PCT Pub. Date Sep. 28, 1995A manual control device with a control stick (joystick) whose output signal is proportional to the angular deflection of the control stick has transducers that step the output signal in such a way that the manual control device imitates or simulates the switching behavior of a N-stage manual control device. For that purpose, analog or digital electronic means associate with the output signal of the manual control device, depending on its value, one among N different voltage values, whose number and potential difference may be predetermined. The advantages of an analog manual control device (few mechanical components, cheap production) are thus combined with the advantages of a N-stage manual control device (adjustment information for the user, wider field of application in industrial control processes).

Description

The invention relates to a hand control device according to the preamble of Claim 1.

Such a hand control device is from the DE company publication "Small master switch MO ... according to dimension sheet M 7221, Spohn + Burkhardt, January 1991 ".

Manual control devices working in stages, such as that previously known from this publication are equipped with switching elements, depending on the position of the joystick are switched off and thus the desired level characteristic the control voltage.

Such hand control devices therefore have a number of stages a relatively large number of on-off switches, for example Microswitch operated by the hand control device on its deflection path be operated. This requires a high manufacturing effort due to the variety of error-prone switching elements that are also relatively space-consuming and thus the design of the Can negatively influence the hand control unit.

On the other hand, for many application examples, it depends on the object to be controlled, e.g. a crane or another Construction equipment, required, discrete voltage values as control input variables to have available for these devices, so that on a suitable grading of the control signal for the machine to be controlled cannot be easily dispensed with.

From DE-39 11 171 A1 is a hand control device with a joystick known, the angular deflection in a proportional, control signal interrupted by plateau-like intermediate areas is implemented with electronic means provided with which this characteristic of the output signal is adjustable. These plateau-like intermediate areas serve to avoid inaccuracies when positioning the joystick due to mechanical Eliminating tolerances does not change the fundamentally proportional Switching behavior of this known manual control device insofar as the control signal is proportional between these plateaus to deflect the joystick. A level characteristic The control voltage with this handheld controller is essentially that a control signal proportional to the joystick deflection generated, not representable.

US-A-5,134,395 shows an interface for connecting control sticks (Joysticks) and switches to the Rs232 connection of a PC, what for in particular, an analog-digital converter (IC2) is used. The result of this circuit is like an analog / digital conversion not to be expected otherwise that the analog joystick signal digitized and thus made accessible to the downstream PC becomes. Like any digitization, this also leads to connection digitization required to a PC the conversion of the analog signal the joystick into an extremely finely "stepped" output signal, the number of steps necessarily the selected resolution or corresponds to available bits; with usual 8-bit conversion the full deflection of the joystick is consequently implemented in "bit steps". To generate discrete voltage values as Pure digitalization is not suitable for control input variables.

EP-A-0 495 280 also includes digitization of a Analog signal for generating a signal in a control loop, the serve to compensate for drift phenomena of the input signal should. If certain permissible values are exceeded, causes a Microcontroller a step-like reset of the DC bias a measuring amplifier. A reference to hand control devices is at not to see this previously known complex circuit arrangement.

The object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive replacement for a to specify graded electromechanical hand control device.

According to the invention, this task is performed by a hand-held control device Features solved according to claim 1.

The main idea of the invention is therefore that The control signal is no longer graded directly by contact actuation the joystick is reached on its deflection path, but in a purely electronic way by grading the analog Output signal of a known analog working Hand control unit, for example with potentiometers, Hall sensors, Optosensors is equipped as converter devices that the angular displacement of the joystick of the hand control unit in one implement proportional electrical output signal. The pure electronic implementation is much cheaper than the known one mechanical-electrical implementation of the joystick movement in stepped control signals and also a lot more reliable. The space required for the electronic equipment used for Grading required is minimal, the necessary components can thus not casually in niche or other used areas of the housing of the hand control unit will.

The electronic components are located in this variant Grading in the hand control device itself, it is consequently (as with stepped control device) already stepped control signals transferred to the device or machine to be controlled. To that extent the solution according to the invention is an "emulation" of a classic, manual control device operating in stages, insofar as the controlled Device the type of generation of the stepped control signals is not recognizable.

However, it is equally possible to use the proportional output signal First hand over to the device to be controlled, and there to carry out the gradation on the input side, which opens up the advantage likes that then the number of steps and the step width individually can be adapted to the needs of the specific device to be controlled can.

The electronic solution according to the invention also allows, especially with digital execution, a programming of the electronic components for grading to generate any Grading characteristics, so here on the manufacturing side considerable savings can be achieved in that with a Basic type of an analogue hand control device together with a programmable basic variant of electronic components entire spectrum of practically required gradations in practical Operation can be realized.

The solution according to the invention can also be done in the simplest way (for example through the programming mentioned) with an im Hand control device built-in mechanical grid combined are advantageously such that the step sequence is programmed in this way is that with each step change of the mechanical locking device (for example when passing through a locking channel or similar) also the electronic transition to the next stage of Control voltage occurs. This can be used for the operator create almost complete illusion that passing the mechanical locking steps immediately cause the transition to the next stage of the control signal would be what to handle such hand control devices is often very desirable because of the operator usually not in visual contact with the remote control Device, e.g. the crane.

Further refinements of the invention are further subclaims removable.

Figur 1:

Ein Blockschaltbild einer Funkfernsteuerung unter Einsatz des erfindungsgemäßen Handsteuergerätes,

Figur 2:

eine erste Variante der Stufungseinrichtung gemäß Figur 1, und

Figur 3:

eine zweite Variante der Stufungseinrichtung gemäß Figur 1.

An embodiment of the hand control device according to the invention is now explained in more detail with reference to figures, which show:

Figure 1:

A block diagram of a radio remote control using the hand control device according to the invention,

Figure 2:

a first variant of the grading device according to Figure 1, and

Figure 3:

a second variant of the grading device according to Figure 1.

The figures are all schematic representations in the sense of a schematic diagram, since the circuitry Implementation of the idea of the invention in diverse individual configurations is possible and therefore not explained in more detail here are needed.

Figure 1 shows a highly schematic block diagram of a manual control device H, the joystick P is shown as a potentiometer to indicate that the output signal U _x emitted by the joystick is proportional to the deflection x of the joystick P. The potentiometer consequently also represents the converter devices W, which convert the deflection x into the electrical output signal U _x . It goes without saying that these and the following considerations apply mutatis mutandis to the other coordinate y, without this being specifically mentioned.

The control signal U _x is graded in electronic means EM, so that it is present at the output of these electronic means EM as a stepped output voltage U _s with a number N discrete of voltage values S _nx , n = 1 ... N, that is to say on the right in FIG "Stair structure" shown below.

This stepped output signal is then shown in the Embodiment of the receiver R of a remote control system, the from this the concrete control signals are obtained with which motors or the like of the devices to be controlled remotely.

The electronic staging means EM consist of a staging unit ST and a switching unit W. The task of the staging unit ST in the exemplary embodiment shown is to give the necessary information on a number N of output lines corresponding to the N discrete voltage values S _{nx of} the output signal of the circuit W. or, if applicable, how many of a number of N switches (symbolically represented as relays) are to be closed, so that the stepped output voltage U _s assumes the discrete voltage value S _nx specified by the staging unit ST. These can be N relays, each of which is supplied with a voltage U _s , corresponding to the voltage values S _nx, and which are activated by one of the N output lines of the staging unit ST. However, it can also only be a matter of merging the output lines of the staging unit ST onto a common control line if the necessary discrete voltage value S _{nx is} already made available as voltage U _s in the staging unit.

In spatial terms, the electronic means EM for Grading either be arranged on the transmitter side, that is, the hand control device Assigned to H, then the transmission path is in the Position S2 in Figure 1, or you can also the receiver R be assigned, then the radio link is in the position S1.

FIG. 2 shows an analog implementation of a staging unit ST1. Here, N comparators K1 ... KN are connected in parallel, the comparison input of which is connected to a step value S _lx ... S _{Nx of} the stepped output voltage U _s . Each comparator K _x compares the applied proportional value of the input voltage U _x with its predetermined step value S _nx and passes this step value S _nx on to the output when the value of the voltage U _x lies in a predetermined range S _nx + / -Δ. The comparators Kl ... KN can be designed as discriminators with an upper (S + Δ) and a lower (S - Δ) threshold. The selected stepped output signal is consequently always present at the output of this analog staging unit ST1, so that the outputs can be simply combined here.

FIG. 3 shows a digital variant of a grading unit ST2, in which the analog signal U _{x is} first digitized via an analog-digital converter AD; In the illustrated embodiment with seven parallel lines and corresponding parallel 7-bit transmission, the signal U _{x is} consequently quantized in 128 (0 ... 127) steps. A memory 11 (EEPROM) is controlled with this signal. In this case, the digitized value of the voltage U _x serves as the address of the memory 11. The memory content shown, for example, is stored in the memory locations designated with these addresses, each with 8 bits, so that when the memory is read out with a digitized value of the signal U _x of " 55 "the fourth line with the content" 11110000 "is read out. This information is then evaluated, for example, in the unit W for generating the associated discrete voltage value S _{nx of} the stepped output signal U _s , for example by activating a corresponding number of relays which are subjected to a corresponding voltage.

Claims (6)

1. Manual control apparatus, having a control stick, the angular deflection of which is convertible into a multiple-stage electric control signal, which is transmittable to an electromechanically operating machine, which is actuatable via N switching stages, characterised by electric or electronic transducers for generating an analog or digitised output signal (U_x), which is proportional to the angular deflection, and by electric or electronic means (EM), which are associated with the transducers (W), said means containing a storage arrangement and allotting one of N discrete voltage values (S_nx; n=1, ...,N) to the output signal (U_x), dependent on its value, and in that the storage arrangement is programmable in such a manner that the output signal (U_x) is stepped in respect of the number (N) and the potential spacings (Δ_nx) of the discrete voltage values (S_nx) in such a manner that it imitates the switching behaviour of an N-stage electromechanical manual control apparatus which is provided with switching elements.
2. Manual control apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that an electronic memory serves as the storage arrangement, and in that the digitised voltage value of the output signal (U_x) of the transducers (W) serves as an address for this memory (11), a stored item of information being issued to the N outputs of said memory and representing in each case one of the discrete voltage values (S_1x...S_nx).
3. Manual control apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that an arrangement of comparators (K₁...K_N) serves as the storage arrangement, to which comparators the analog output signal (U_x) of the transducers is applied, and which comparators are connected with the discrete voltage values (S_1x...S_nx).
4. Manual control apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the means (EM) for stepping the output signal are disposed in the manual control apparatus (H).
5. Manual control apparatus according to claim 2, characterised in that the memory (11) is an EEPROM or an SRAM.
6. Manual control apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the sequence of the discrete voltage values (S_nx) is synchronised with the step sequence of a mechanical locking arrangement, which is incorporated in the manual control apparatus, in such a manner that, if a mechanical locking stage of the locking arrangement is exceeded/not reached, a synchronous transition to the nearest upper/nearest lower voltage value (S_nx) is effected.

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