JPH0736611A - Three-dimensional coordinate input device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Structure] In a three-dimensional coordinate input device having a coordinate designating unit for designating a coordinate position to be input and an arm mechanism with a joint for movably supporting the coordinate designating unit in three dimensions, The mechanism is driven by a pulse motor and a deceleration mechanism that reduces the rotation speed of the pulse motor, and the drive shaft of the deceleration mechanism that transmits the rotation to the arm mechanism has a torque sensor that detects the torque of the drive shaft. [Effect] A three-dimensional coordinate input device for inputting three-dimensional coordinates to a computer and transmitting the force set by the calculation of the computer to an operator can be realized by a simple device and control method.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a three-dimensional coordinate input device, and more particularly to inputting three-dimensional coordinate into a computer,
The present invention relates to a three-dimensional coordinate input device that transmits a force set by a computer calculation to an operator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an apparatus for directly inputting three-dimensional coordinates from a motion of an operator into a computer is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 182722/1992. A method of optically reading the original coordinate position has been proposed. Also, the device for reading the three-dimensional coordinate position of the designated point is
In addition, a device using a magnetic sensor and a device using an ultrasonic sensor have been proposed.

However, in such a device, since the pointing device is operated in the air, there is no tactile sensation, resistance, reaction force or the like to the operation, and it is difficult to finely adjust the position.

Therefore, when the projected character diagram of the pointing point displayed on the display of the computer hits any object diagram on the image when the pointing point moves, the tactile or reaction force is transmitted to the operator of the pointing point. As a result, there has been proposed a device that more accurately performs a three-dimensional coordinate input operation.

For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-27418, a method is proposed in which a magnetic three-dimensional position sensor is provided at a coordinate pointing point and an ultrasonic motor is used to generate a force to be transmitted to an operator. Has been done. Further, in the master slave manipulator, as described in JP-A-63-28580, positioning is performed by an angle sensor provided on the drive shaft of each arm joint, and force is applied to the operator by a torque sensor and a servo motor. A method of communication has been proposed.

On the other hand, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-27418, the pointing portion for moving the pointing point has a cylindrical shape so that it can be held by a hand.

[0007]

In the above prior art, a three-dimensional position sensor or an angle sensor for each arm joint is required to detect the pointing point, which complicates the device and the position control method.

Further, since the pointing portion is shaped to be held by the whole hand, it is difficult to know where the pointing point is located in the nigiri.

An object of the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional coordinate input device for inputting three-dimensional coordinates to a computer and transmitting the force set by the calculation of the computer to an operator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional coordinate input device in which the position of the pointing point is easy for the operator to understand and more accurate coordinate input is possible.

[0011]

A three-dimensional coordinate input device having a coordinate designating part for designating a coordinate position to be input and an articulated arm mechanism for movably supporting the coordinate designating part in three dimensions, The arm mechanism is driven by a pulse motor and a deceleration mechanism that decelerates the rotation speed of the pulse motor, and the drive shaft of the deceleration mechanism that transmits the rotation to the arm mechanism is a torque sensor that detects the torque of the drive shaft. To have.

Further, the coordinate pointing unit has a pointing rod rotatable about a pointing point, and the pointing rod can be grasped as if holding a pen with a hand.

[0013]

The torque of each drive shaft is calculated by the computer so as to form a force acting on the coordinate designating portion instructed by the computer, and each pulse motor rotates so as to maintain the torque. Since the rotation angle of the pulse motor is controlled by the number of pulses output from the computer, the rotation angle of the pulse motor is clarified by counting the number of pulses, and the coordinate designated position can be obtained.

As described above, the three-dimensional position sensor for detecting the designated position or the angle sensor for each joint becomes unnecessary, and further, the operating device of such a sensor and the output of the sensor are digitized and input to the computer. A device or the like is not necessary and the device can be simplified.

Further, the operator grips the pointing rod like a pen and operates it, and the reaction force to the operation is transmitted from one point of the tip of the pointing rod, so that the operator can easily recognize the pointing point.

[0016]

1 is a side view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the motor unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The three-dimensional coordinate input device 1 is fixed on a desk or the like by a support base 6. The swivel base 51 is rotated in the arrow A direction in the figure by the motor unit 2c in parallel with the desk top surface. The instruction arm 5 is rotated by the motor unit 2b around the drive shaft of the motor unit 2c in the direction of arrow B in the figure. The parallel link 4 rotates in the direction of arrow C in the drawing around the drive shafts of the motor unit 2b and the motor unit 2c.

A pen-shaped pointer rod 7 is attached to the tip of the pointer arm 3. A ball support member 9 is attached to the tip of the indicator rod 7, and the three axes are rotatably supported around the indicator point 8 as the center of rotation. Therefore, even if the angle of the pointing arm 5 with respect to the device installation surface changes, the operator can always hold the pointing rod 7 in a form that is easy to operate.

The motor unit 2 comprises a pulse motor 11, a speed reducer 12, and a torque sensor 13 for detecting the rotational torque of the drive shaft 14. The torque sensor 13 is composed of a strain gauge or the like attached on the drive shaft. Here, by setting the rotation angle of the drive shaft of the reduction gear to 360 ° or less, the output wiring can be directly drawn out from the strain gauge, and the configuration is simplified.

Since the rotation of the pulse motor 11 is decelerated and transmitted, the rotation angle per pulse becomes small, fine positioning becomes possible, the stationary torque of the pulse motor 11 increases, and the pulse motor is rotated by an external force. , Prevents misalignment.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram of a three-dimensional coordinate input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The motor unit 2 has a torque sensor 13 and a pulse motor 11. The motor driver 24 drives the pulse motor 11 in response to a signal from the computer 17. The output of the torque sensor is amplified by the amplifier 25, the high-frequency component of the torque waveform is removed by the low-pass filter 26, and the result is input to the computer 17.

The computer 17 operates the main control unit 21, the input / output control unit 22 for inputting the torque value of each motor unit and outputting the control signal for controlling each motor unit, and the operation of the three-dimensional coordinate input device 1. Display the image according to
The image control unit 23 and the like for displaying on.

FIG. 4 shows the control operation of the input / output control unit 22.

First, the current position of the designated point 8 within the coordinates set by the computer is obtained by counting the number of pulses driven by a certain operation for each motor. And
The interference with the object set by the computer is calculated, and the reaction force generated at the designated point 8 is calculated for the interference, and each motor unit 2
Calculate the shaft torque of.

This calculated torque value is compared with the torque value 19 read by the torque sensor and input to the input / output control unit 22. If the values are different, the torque value of the torque sensor approaches the calculated torque value. The rotation direction of the pulse motor 11 is determined, pulses are generated, and the pulse motor 11 is rotated. At this time, if the torque difference exceeds a certain value,
The drive frequency of the pulse motor 11 is increased. This is considered to be the case where the operator tries to rapidly move the position of the pointing point 8 in a state where the torque difference becomes large, and the supporting point 8 can be moved immediately even in such a situation.

The drive circuit 24 is operated by the drive pulse 20 output from the input / output control unit 22, each pulse motor 11 is rotated, and the reaction force acting on the designated point 8 is controlled.

This operation is performed every few pulses to input a three-dimensional coordinate position and generate a force corresponding thereto.

In the present embodiment, the position of the pointing point 8 is calculated by the number of pulses for driving the pulse motor 11, so that a position detecting device such as a three-dimensional coordinate sensor is not required and the device can be simplified.

FIG. 5 shows a usage example of the apparatus of this embodiment.

By grasping and operating the pointing rod 7 of the three-dimensional coordinate input device 1 placed on the desk, the cursor 16 displayed on the display 15 moves, and input of three-dimensional coordinates and operation of the calculator 17 are possible. Become. When the cursor 16 touches an object on the screen, the reaction force is transmitted to the hand, making it easy to confirm the movement of the cursor 16, and it becomes easier to input three-dimensional coordinates and operate the computer from the screen.

In particular, since the indicator rod 7 is rotatable around the indicator point 8 and the reaction force is always transmitted from the indicator point 8 at the tip of the indicator rod 7, the operator can more easily recognize the position of the indicator point.

Although a conventional two-dimensional display is shown in this figure, it is more preferable to use a three-dimensional display capable of visually three-dimensional display.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of an apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

The indicator rod 7 is supported by a support member 10 via a ball support member 9 so as to be rotatable in three axial directions as indicated by arrows in the figure. Even if the angle of the arm changes, there is no need to change the pointer 7.

The switch 3 is provided at the grip of the tip of the indicator rod 7.
3 is arranged and is turned on and off by an index finger or the like to give an operation instruction of the computer.

[0037]

A three-dimensional coordinate input device for inputting three-dimensional coordinates to a computer and transmitting the force set by the calculation of the computer to an operator can be realized by a simple device and control method.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a motor unit showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a control operation diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a usage state of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Input device, 2 ... Motor unit, 3, 5 ... Pointing arm, 4 ... Parallel link, 6 ... Pointing stand, 7 ... Pointing bar.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A three-dimensional coordinate input device having a coordinate designating section having a designating point designating a coordinate position to be input and an articulated arm mechanism for movably supporting the coordinate designating section in three dimensions. The arm mechanism is driven by a pulse motor and a deceleration mechanism that decelerates the rotation speed of the pulse motor, and the drive shaft of the deceleration mechanism that transmits the rotation to the arm mechanism is a torque sensor that detects the torque of the drive shaft. A three-dimensional coordinate input device having. 2. The three-dimensional coordinate input device according to claim 1, wherein the arm mechanism is composed of a plurality of joints, and the rotation angle of the joints is 360 ° or less. 3. The three-dimensional coordinate system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the coordinate pointing unit has a pointing rod rotatable about a pointing point, and the pointing rod can be grasped by holding a pen with a hand. Input device. 4. The three-dimensional coordinate input device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the grip portion of the pointing rod has a switch, and a signal from the switch is transmitted to a computer. 5. The three-dimensional coordinate input device according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein a drive pulse for driving the pulse motor in accordance with a pointed position of the coordinate pointer and a force acting on the torque sensor. Three-dimensional coordinate input device that changes the frequency of. 6. The method according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.
A torque waveform detected by the torque sensor is output to a control unit via a low pass filter in a three-dimensional coordinate input device.