TECHNICAL CHARACTER The technical character of this invention resides in fibre optic control with positive mechanical drive in a joy stick.

BACKGROUND This invention relates generally to improved methods, devices and system for fibre optic control in joy sticks for controlling the operation of various types of electronic or electro-mechanical equipment.

PRIOR ART U. S. Patent 4,459,022 discloses a fiber optic angular sensor wherein a mirror is carried by a joystick so as to have universal movement as the joystick is manipulated. An optical cable having five fibers is brought in to cooperate with the mirror. One cable directs a light beam against the mirror to be reflected thereby, and the remaining four cables pick up reflected light from the mirror and carry the same to a light responsive control, from which functions are obtained to operate various pieces of equipment. Constructional details as to the configuration of the various components are not given, and thus no value can be placed on any advantages relating to carrying out or reducing the invention to actual physical practice.

Patent No. 4,686,361 also discloses a mirror surface carried by the joystick of a fiber optic control. In this patent the control stick is hollow and includes a movable inner member having an aperture for the transmission of radiant energy to control a switching function. The bottom surface of the pivot ball is flatted and made reflective for the purpose of fiber optic control, and thus limitations exist as to the mounting and full use of the ball. Here again, no details are given as to the actual structural configurations of the various components, and therefore any advantages thereof must be assumed in carrying out the physical details of the control.

In U. S. Patent 4,731,530 a joystick operates sector members which have a varied transparency. Light beams are directed against the sectors and pass through the same with varying degrees of intensity, in the manner of a filter. These filtered beams are utilized by means of electronic circuitry to effect control functions for operating different pieces of equipment. The sector members require careful preparation as to the gradations of transparency, and such operation requires a certain degree of quality control, involving accompanying expense.

In accomplishing the above objects and advantages the invention provides a fiber optic control device comprising a joy stick lever mounted in a housing for universal pivotal movement from an upright axial position thereof, a pair of mirrors which are linearly movably mounted on the housing, direct driving connections between the joy stick and the mirrors for actuating the latter in response to movements of the joy stick, cooperable movement-limiting means on said joy stick and housing, enabling said universal pivotal movement of the joy stick to be had while preventing its rotative movement about the longitudinal axis thereof, and fiber-optic light transmission means cooperable with the mirrors and including sources of light adapted to direct light beams against portions of said mirrors for providing output light signals in optical cables, which are a function of various virtual positions of the joy stick.

Unfortunately none of the prior art devices singly or even in combination provide all of the features and objectives established by the inventor for this system as enumerated below.

OBJECTIVES 1. It is an objective of this invention to provide method, devices and system for fibre optic control in joy sticks for controlling the operation of various types of electronic or electro-mechanical equipment.

2. Another objective of the invention is to provide a novel and improved fiber-optic joystick control having relatively few components which can be economically fabricated and assembled so as to produce a very low cost control unit.

3. Another objective of the invention is to provide an improved fiber optic control device of the type above set forth, which is especially reliable and fool-proof in its operation.

4. Another objective of the invention is to provide an improved fiber optic/joystick control device as outlined above, which is especially small and compact, requiring but little space in addition to that required by prior art joystick.

5. Another objective of this invention is to provide positive mechanical drive or control from the joy stick lever the to movable fiber optic control members of the device.

6. Another objective of this invention is that it use little or no additional power or energy.

7. Another objective of this invention is that it is easy to use even intuitive that requires little additional training.

8. Another objective of this invention is that it be made of modular units easily interface-able to each other.

9. Another objective of this invention is that it meet all federal, state, local and other private standards, guidelines and recommendations with respect to safety, environment, quality and energy consumption.

10. Another objective of this invention is that it be elegantly simple in concept and design.

11. Another objective of this invention is that it be capable of mass production with easy of assembly, service, storage and transportation.

12. Another objective of this invention is that it be ergonomic, colorful and aesthetic.

13. Another objective of this invention is that the device of this invention be plug compatible with the electronic digital computers of the prior art.

14. Another objective of this invention is that the joy stick of this invention can be used to point at any vector at any speed including precise adjustment pixel by pixel.

Other objectives of this invention reside in its simplicity, elegance of design, ease of manufacture, service and use and even aesthetics as will become apparent from the following brief description of the drawings and concomitant description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS a) Figure 1 is an axial sectional view of the improved fiber optic control of the invention, taken along the line 1--1 of Fig. 2. b) Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the control, taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1. c) Fig. 3 is a sectional view of one of the mirror elements of the control, taken along line 3--3 of Fig. 4. d) Fig. 4 is an inside elevational view of the mirror element of Fig. 3. e) Fig. 5 is an outside elevational view of the mirror element of Fig. 4 f) Fig. 6 is an inside elevational view of another mirror element for the control, illustrating that portion thereof which is involved with another axis of movement or actuation of the equipment, and g) Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detail of the showing of Fig.

2, illustrating alternate embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE BEST MODE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The mouse emulation keyboard system of this invention as shown in the various drawings wherein like numerals represent like parts throughout the several views, there is generally disclosed in Fig. 1 is an axial sectional view of the improved fiber optic control of the invention, taken along the line 1--1 of Fig. 2 which in turn is a horizontal sectional view of the control, taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

The improved fiber optic control of the invention comprises a joy stick 10 having adjacent its lower end a swivel ball which is carried in a socket provided by upper and lower superposed housing members 14 and 16 respectively. The joy stick 10 has an operating handle or knob 18 under which there is a centralizing spring 20 engaging a slidable collar 22 that rests in a conical depression of the upper housing member 14 to normally keep the joystick 10 in an upright position as shown in Fig. 1.

Tilted positions of the joystick 10 are utilized to provide fiber optic or light signals in sets of optical cables that are brought in to the housing 14,16. Considering specifically optical signals in cables 24 and 26 which extend from the right side of the housing 14,16 as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, and also in optical cables 28 and 30 which extend from the lower side of the housing 14,16 as seen in Fig. 1.

The invention also provides simple means for preventing any turning movement of the joystick 10 about its axis, such means also constituting part of the structure by which the optical signals are produced in the cables 24 and 26. To effect this, a transverse pin or shaft 32 is disposed in the ball 12 along a horizontal diameter thereof, as seen in Fig.

1, one end of the pin 32 extending from the ball into a vertical guide formed by aligned slots 34 and 36 located respectively in the upper and lower halves 14 and 16 of the housing. Thus movement of the joystick 10 is restricted to a tilting movement only by the pin 32 and the socket 13 of the housing parts 14 and 16.

In accordance with the invention the tilting movements of the joystick are utilized to produce optical pulses or signals in the cables 24,26,28 and 30 in a unique manner by especially simple structures which not only have few and inexpensive components but which are particularly rugged and reliable in their operation.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the other end of the pin 32 projects from the opposite side of the ball 12 and carries a ball 38 which is received in a socket 40 of a mirror member 42 which is vertically slidable in aligned slots 44 and 46 of the housing parts 14,16. The member 42 has on its outer surface a reflecting bar or mirror 48 which is exposed to recesses 50 and 52 that are formed in the housing halves 14 and 16.

As shown in Fig. 1, the optical cables 24 and 26 terminate at their ends in the recesses 50 and 52 respectively, whereby they can receive light that is reflected from the mirror bar 48.

To provide the necessary light to the mirror 48, an optical cable 54 is provided, paired with the cables 24,26 as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. With the above arrangement, tilting either toward the left or toward the right of the joystick 10 will result in either upward or else downward movement of the ball 38 and mirror member 42, causing the reflective bar 48 to move either upward or downward in the slots 44 and 46. This will result in differential light intensities being reflected from the mirror bar 48 to the optical cables 24,26, and such signals can be utilized by suitable known electronic equipment to operate equipment in either of opposite modes. It will be noted that the drive from the ball 12 to the mirror 42 is of a positive mechanical nature, giving for reliable transformation of tilt movements of the joy stick to the controlled equipment. Such movement can be considered as being in either"x"or"-x"directions.

Referring now again to the drawings, a like arrangement is provided for"y"axis movements. The ball 12 can be provided with a second pin 56 on the end of which a ball 58 is provided, received in a suitable socket of a second slidably mounted mirror member 60 that is vertically movable in guide slots 62 of the housing 14,16.

The mirror 60 has a reflective band similar to the band 48 of the mirror member 42. The optical signal cables 28 and 30 open into recesses 64, together with a light-beam supplying cable 66 to provide an optical transformation of movements of the ball 58 along the"y"axis into light signals for the cables 28 and 30. The socket 61 of the mirror member 60 is not a true cylinder but instead is slightly elongated horizontally as shown to take care of the particular geometry of the joystick and associated parts, since the ball 58 requires some sidewise or horizontal movement due to the restraint placed on the joystick by the pin or shaft 32. Here again, however, a sturdy positive drive is still established from the joystick 10 to the mirror member 60, providing for great reliability in the responses to movement of the joystick.

Also, in accordance with the invention, the lower housing member 16 is provided with a conical opening 68 to accommodate the lower tip 70 of the joystick, such arrangement constituting a positive stop for the various tilting, movements of the joy stick.

An alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 7, which shows a fragmentary view of Fig. 2 but with a different configuration of mirror member.

The mirror member 72 in Fig. 7 has an outwardly extending rib 74 which carries the mirror surface on its right side as viewed in the figure.

The housing 75 has an appropriate recess 76 to provide clearance for the rib 74, and fiber-optic cables 78,80 and 82 enter the housing 75 from the right side thereof. The cables 78 and 80 carry the control signals or information, whereas the center cable 82 provides the light beam intended to strike the mirror surface on the rib 74. Upward and downward movements of the mirror member 72 will expose greater or lesser amounts of the mirror surface on the rib 74, for reflection to the cables 78 and 80, as with the previous embodiment of the invention.

The housing parts 14,16 and 75 are preferably constituted of molded plastic, as is the knob 18 and collar 22. The joystick 10 is preferably formed of metal, such as brass or steel, as is the spring 20. The pins 32 and 56, with the balls 38 and 58 are preferably constituted of metal. The pivot ball 12 can be formed of either plastic or metal. The mirror members can be constituted of either plastic or metal. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detail of the showing of Fig.

2, illustrating alternate embodiment of the invention wherein both sets of fiber optic cables can exit from the housing 14, 16 at the right side thereof as viewed in the figures, making for a smaller and more compact assemblage at the lower portion of the joystick.

EASE OF USE The use of the improved joy stick of this invention is conventional and therefore involved no further training on the part of the user.

The inventor has given a non-limiting description of this invention. Due to the simplicity and elegance of the design of this invention designing around it is very difficult if not impossible. Nonetheless many changes may be made to this design without deviating from the spirit of this invention.

Examples of such contemplated variations include the following: 1. The shape and size of the various members and components may be modified.

2. The device may be adopted for single and even three axis joystick operation.

3. Additional complimentary and complementary functions and features may be added.

5. A different type of fibre optic cable or light carrier may be used.

Following is a listing of the components used in this embodiment arranged in ascending order of the reference numerals for ready reference of the reader.

10 Joystick lever 12 Pivot ball 13 Socket in housing 14 Upper housing half 16 Lower housing half 18 = Joystick handle or knob 20 Compression spring 22 Slidable centralizing collar 24 Fiber optic output cable 1 for X axis 26 Fiber optic output cable 2 for X axis 28 Fiber optic output cable 1 for Y axis 30 Fiber optic output cable 2 for Y axis 32 Pin or shaft 34 = Slot in upper housing half X axis 36 = Slot in lower housing half X axis 38 hall 40 Socket in mirror member Mirrormember42= 44 = Slot in upper housing half Y axis 46 = Slot in lower housing half Y axis 48 Mirror bar 50=Recess in upper housing half 52 = Recess in lower housing half 54 Light-providing optical cable 56 Pin or shaft 58 Ball on pin 56

60 = Second axis mirror member 61 = Socket in second mirror member 62 = Slot in lower housing half 64 = Recess in lower housing half 66 = Fiber optic input cable 68 = Conical hole in lower housing half 70 = Bottom extension of joy stick lever 72 = Mirror member of alternate embodiment 74 = Mirrored rib on outer side of second embodiment mirror 76 Recess in lower housing member of second embodiment 78 = Fiber optic output cable of alternate embodiment 80 = Fiber optic output cable of alternate embodiment 82 = Fiber optic input cable for alternate embodiment DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS A great care has been taken to use words with their conventional dictionary definitions. Following definitions are included here for clarification.

Integrated = Combination of two entities to act like one Interface Junction between two dissimilar entities Joystick = A swivel mounted manually-engageable lever capable of movement from a center position to any one of a number of angular positions lying within a theoretical upwardly-extending conical surface, for controlling the operation of various types of electronic or electro-mechanical equipment.

Symmetrical = The shape of an object of integrated entity which can be divided into two along some axis through the object or the integrated entity such that the two halves form mirror image of each other.

While this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments as well as other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to a person of average skill in the art upon reference to this description. It is therefor contemplated that the appended claim (s) cover any such modifications, embodiments as fall within the true scope of this invention.