Coactive Technologies, LLC

Itt Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc.

Sensata Technologies, Inc.

Deltatech Controls Usa, LLC

Henning Koschke

Michael Stoffers

Rainer Maurer

Joachim Meyer-Quade

Uwe Gillmann

Klaus Lamm

Michael Cemerika

Robert Kitten

Willi Semmelroggen

Thomas Goebelt

Christian Bartenwerfer

Christian Buchhold-Tomazic

Jörg Ehlebrecht

Thomas Lüdtke

Quade Joachim Meyer

Thomas Göbelt

A joystick includes a mechanism for facilitating the changing of a grip assembly. An actuation mechanism moves a ram into a position where the operator can press down on a locking pin to release the grip assembly. The ram will be in a default position that does not interfere with the operations of the joystick during normal operation. A relatively low amount of force is used to place the ram into position as the force needed to press down on the locking pin comes from the operator. A small electromagnetic that does not interfere with the joystick operations can be used in the actuation mechanism.

Apparatus for removing a joystick grip

A joystick for controlling the functions of machines and/or vehicles comprises an actuator which can be moved in different directions by means of a joint having preferably two degrees of freedom, wherein the back-and-forth motions of the actuator occurring in a first plane are subjected to an active force feedback in the form of an electromotor and a reduction gear, and the back-and-forth movement of the actuator which occurs in a second plane perpendicular to the first plane is subjected to a passive force feedback in the form of a sprung reset device. In order to make such a joystick which allows for a low-cost serial production, the invention proposes that the reduction gear is designed with low backlash and is connected on the output side to the actuator via a preferably leaf-spring assembly which connects a swing arm to a joint part.

Joystick

A control lever () is provided with a grip (), which in a joint () having two degrees of freedom is supported in a housing () and can be switched from an initial position in various directions for activating shift elements (), whereby spring elements () are provided for returning the grip () to its initial position, and with a functional device for overcoming a pressure point during the activation and/or for retaining a desired shift position. In order to provide functional devices in greater numbers in a gearshift lever of this type without requiring substantially more installation space or substantially higher costs, provision is made that the functional device is constituted by an electrically controllable hydraulic arrangement (), which connects to diametrically opposing shift elements (), which can be activated by the grip () in two opposing directions of motion.

Control lever

The invention relates to a joystick having a hand-grip, which is mounted with two degrees of freedom in a mounting in a housing and which may be deflected in different directions out of an initial position, the grip being biased by a spring mechanism towards its initial position and sensor apparatus being provided to sense the different positions of the grip and to generate an output signal which may be used to control machine and/or vehicle functions. A housing cover ( ) is provided having its upper side directed towards the grip, while on the underside, there is pivotally mounted a cardan joint center portion ( ) on whose underside there is pivotally mounted a cardan joint inner portion ( ), whose underside is provided with spherical segments, which are mounted in complementary bearing cup-portions provided on a receiving support ( ).

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Berlin, Germany

Henning Koschke