JP2012201119A - Remote control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive remote control device which is operated at low operation load by reducing mechanical friction and has excellent operation feeling.SOLUTION: The remote control device includes: an operation knob 20 as an operation portion which is provided to be movable with respect to a body base 110 via a mechanism portion; an X-axis encoder 170 and a Y-axis encoder 175 as operation detection portions for detecting the operated state of the operation knob 20; an X-axis motor 150 and a Y-axis motor 155 as drive force applying portions for applying a drive force to the operation knob 20; strain gauges 50 and 52 as force detection portions for detecting a force applied to the operation knob 20 during an operation; and a control ECU 200 as a control portion for comparing a detection value which is based on the output of the strain gauges with the value of an expected friction force set to a predetermined value, calculating an assist force based on the result of the comparison, and performing control to apply an assist-force added drive force (reaction force) to the operation of the operation knob 20 based on the detection results of the X-axis encoder 170 and the Y-axis encoder 175.

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control device, and more particularly, to a remote control device excellent in operation feeling.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a remote operation device, there is a force sense imparting type remote operation device (see, for example, Patent Document 1) that gives an operational feeling to an operation unit operated by an operator. The remote operation device is output from an operation unit operated by an operator, a stroke detection unit that detects an operation state, a force generation unit that applies a force sense to the operation unit, an external device, and a stroke detection unit. A control unit that controls driving of the force generation unit based on stroke information and component data transmitted from an external device, and applies a predetermined force sense corresponding to the operation state to the operation unit. Has been.

  According to the remote operation device, when the operator operates the operation unit, a reaction force acts on the operation unit from the force sense generating unit, so that an operational feeling corresponding to the operation state can be obtained. And it is set as the structure which improves the remote operativity by operation of an operation knob by switching and adjusting in several steps the force sense pattern for providing reaction force to an operation part.

JP 2004-319173 A

  However, the remote control device shown in Patent Document 1 largely depends on the friction of the mechanism with respect to the ease of movement of the operation knob, and is a high technology for reducing the friction while suppressing the rattling of the operation knob. Was necessary. In addition, there is a large movement load when the operation knob starts to move from when it stops, and there is a problem in operability.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a remote operation device that reduces mechanical friction, reduces the operation load, is inexpensive, and has an excellent operation feeling.

  [1] In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention drives an operation unit that can be moved and operated with respect to a main body unit via a mechanism unit, an operation detection unit that detects an operation state of the operation unit, and the operation unit. A driving force applying unit for applying a force; a force detecting unit for detecting a force acting on the operating unit during operation; a detection value based on an output of the force detecting unit; and an expected friction force value set to a predetermined value Control for calculating the assist force based on the result of the comparison, and applying control for applying the driving force weighted to the assist force to the operation unit based on the detection result of the operation detection unit And a remote control device.

  [2] The remote operation device according to [1], wherein the assist force is calculated based on a difference between a detection value of the force detection unit and the expected friction force.

  [3] The remote operation device according to [1] or [2], wherein the value of the expected friction force can be arbitrarily set.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a remote control device that reduces mechanical friction, reduces an operation load, is inexpensive, and has an excellent operation feeling.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example in which a remote control unit constituting a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a center console of a vehicle. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a mechanism of a remote control unit constituting the remote control device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a configuration block diagram of the remote control device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a detection configuration diagram showing an attachment state of a force sensor (strain gauge) provided on the knob shaft of the operation knob according to the embodiment of the present invention and a detection circuit thereof. FIG. 5 is a relationship diagram between the operation F of the remote control device according to the embodiment of the present invention, that is, the reaction force adjustment control force F for applying the assist force and time t. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the reaction force adjustment control for applying the assist force, that is, the operation of the remote control device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(Configuration of remote control device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention)
The remote control device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention presents a driving force by a motor as a reaction force, and reduces an operation load by applying an assist force to the operation force to give a mechanism. The operation knob can be moved and operated with little operation load against the mechanical frictional force of the part.

  The remote control device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an operation knob 20 as an operation unit provided so as to be movable with respect to the main body base 110 via a mechanism unit, and an operation state of the operation knob 20. An X-axis encoder 170 and Y-axis encoder 175 as operation detection units to be detected, an X-axis motor 150 and Y-axis motor 155 as drive force applying units that apply drive force to the operation knob 20, and the operation knob 20 during operation Based on the result of this comparison, the strain gauges 50 and 52 serving as force detectors for detecting the acting force are compared with the detection value based on the output of the strain gauge and the value of the expected friction force set to a predetermined value. The assist force is calculated, and based on the detection results of the X-axis encoder 170 and the Y-axis encoder 175, a driving force (reaction force) obtained by adding the assist force to the operation of the operation knob 20 is applied. And control ECU200 as a control unit that performs control, schematically configured to have a. In addition, it has a display unit 300 for displaying the menu screen and operation state of the operation target device, and an input switch 190.

  The reaction force to the above operation is defined as a haptic pattern. The haptic pattern is a two-dimensional data profile in which the reaction force to be presented is formed corresponding to the menu display. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7 to be described later, the relationship (FS characteristic) between the X direction and Y direction distance S and the reaction force level F is defined corresponding to the menu display, and is defined as a haptic pattern. Has been. This FS characteristic is stored as numerical data and a table in the storage unit, and is referred to as appropriate during predetermined processing.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example in which a remote control unit 100 constituting a remote control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a center console 6 of a vehicle. A center console 6 provided with a remote control unit 100 is arranged on the left side of the driver's seat 5 near the center of the vehicle, and the display unit 300 is located on the instrument panel 8 on the left side of the steering wheel 7 and at a position visible to the driver. Is provided.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a mechanism of the remote control unit 100 constituting the remote control device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The remote operation unit 100 is provided with a base 110, a cover 111 that covers the base 110, and an operation knob 20 that is attached so as to protrude from the cover 111 so that the driver can operate it. The operation knob 20 is attached to a knob shaft 21 having one end supported by an XY spherical bearing 124 attached to the base 110.

  An X carriage 140 that abuts the knob shaft 21 in the X direction and slides in the X direction to slide with the knob shaft 21 in the Y direction, and is orthogonal to the X carriage 140 and abuts the knob shaft 21 in the Y direction X In the direction, a two-dimensional slide mechanism is configured by a Y carriage 145 that can slide in the Y direction sliding with the knob shaft 21. The knob shaft 21 moves the two-dimensional slide mechanism in the X direction and the Y direction by XY operation of the operation knob 20.

  On the other hand, both ends of the X carriage 140 and the Y carriage 145 are supported by the X axis slide guide 180 and the Y axis slide guide 185, respectively. An X-axis rack gear 130 and a Y-axis rack gear 135 are attached to one end of each, and these rack gears mesh with the X-axis motor 150 and the Y-axis motor 155 mounted on the base 110 side, and force from each motor. Receives a driving force (reaction force) based on the sense pattern.

  The driving force presents a reaction force by applying forces from the X-axis motor 150 and the Y-axis motor 155 to the operation knob 20 via the two-dimensional slide mechanism and the knob shaft 21. That is, force control is performed on the remote operation unit 100, and an appropriate operation feeling is imparted when the operator operates the operation knob 20.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the remote control device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The remote operation unit 100 includes an input switch 190, an X-axis encoder 170 and a Y-axis encoder 175 as position detection units, an X-axis motor 150 and a Y-axis motor 155 as two-dimensional drive units, and a strain gauge (x) 50, (Y) 52 is provided. The input switch 190, the X-axis encoder 170, the Y-axis encoder 175, the X-axis motor 150, the Y-axis motor 155, and the strain gauges (X) 50, (Y) 52 are all connected to the control ECU 200.

  The input switch 190 is turned on when the operation knob 20 is pressed and outputs a switch signal to the control ECU 200. Further, the X-axis encoder 170 and the Y-axis encoder 175 output to the control ECU 200 an X direction movement signal and a Y direction movement signal due to the XY operation of the operation knob 20. On the other hand, a drive current for force sense control is supplied from the control ECU 200 to the X-axis motor 150 and the Y-axis motor 155.

  The control ECU 200 mainly includes a microcomputer (CPU) that performs a determination process, a processing calculation program, menu screen position data, a force sense pattern for giving a force sense, and the like, and a work area for the calculation process. It is composed of RAM and the like. Further, a driving unit 201 for driving the X-axis motor 150 and the Y-axis motor 155 and an adjusting unit 202 for adjusting a reaction force described later are provided. The control ECU 200 is connected to the display unit 300, displays a menu on the display unit 300 based on the position data of the menu screen, and displays a pointer by the XY operation of the operation knob 20 on the display unit 300.

  In addition, the control ECU 200 is connected to control target devices such as a car navigation device 401 and an air conditioner 402 via a vehicle communication bus 400 of an in-vehicle LAN such as CAN communication. Thereby, based on the operation of the remote operation unit 100 with respect to the menu display displayed on the display unit 300, the control target devices such as the car navigation device 401 and the air conditioner device 402 are remotely controlled via the vehicle communication bus 400.

  FIG. 4 is a detection configuration diagram showing an attached state of a force sensor (strain gauge) provided on the knob shaft 21 of the input device according to the embodiment of the present invention and a detection circuit thereof. As shown in FIG. 4, strain gauges 50 and 52 are attached to the X and Y orthogonal surfaces of the shaft portion of the knob shaft 21, respectively. A strain gauge is an element that detects a strain, which is a mechanical minute change amount, as an electric signal, and measures a load, pressure, acceleration, torque, displacement, and the like. The strain gauge itself is a resistor, and its resistance value changes slightly when deformed. In this embodiment, this minute change in resistance value is used as a force sensor by measuring a differential voltage using a bridge.

  In order to detect the force acting on the operation knob 20 in the x direction, the strain gauge 50 is attached to the x surface of the shaft portion of the knob shaft 21, and this is used as a part of the bridge resistance to constitute the bridge circuit 60. . A bridge is assembled using a resistance R having a resistance value substantially equal to that of the strain gauge 50, and a bridge power supply E is applied to detect a differential voltage. Since the detected differential voltage is very small, it is amplified by a differential amplifier (instrumentation amplifier) 70. This amplified detection signal is taken into the control ECU 200, converted into an x-direction force actually acting on the operation knob 20 by calibration, and used as a sensor output Fx. This sensor output Fx is equal to the operating force Fs in the stopped state.

  The configuration for detecting the force acting in the y direction of the operation knob 20 is the same, and the bridge circuit 62 is configured by using the strain gauge 52 attached to the orthogonal surface. Similarly, the signal is amplified by a differential amplifier (instrumentation amplifier) 72. This amplified detection signal is taken into the control ECU 200, converted into a force actually acting on the operation knob 20 by calibration, and used as a sensor output Fy. In the bridge circuits 60 and 62, two or four strain gauges can be used to form each bridge circuit. Further, although the bridge power supply E is a DC power supply, an AC bridge system using an AC power supply may be used.

  As detection of the operation amount of the operation knob 20, a signal indicating the position of the X carriage 121 in the X axis direction and the position of the Y carriage 122 in the Y axis direction are detected from the X axis linear encoder 161 and the Y axis linear encoder 162 every predetermined time. X-axis coordinates and Y-axis coordinates indicating the position of the operation knob 20 relative to the main body 10 are calculated based on these signals. Information on the calculated X-axis coordinates and Y-axis coordinates of the operation knob 20 is stored in the storage unit and transmitted to the display unit 300 and the like via the vehicle communication bus 400.

(Operation of remote control device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention)
FIG. 5 is a relationship diagram between the operation F of the remote control device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, that is, the reaction force adjustment control force F for applying the assist force and time t. Here, the dynamic friction force resulting from the dynamic friction of the mechanism portion is F (μ), and the static friction force resulting from the static friction is F (μ ₀ ). In addition, the expected friction force Fe is a force that resists an operation force that is small in operation load when the operator operates the operation knob 20 and has an excellent operation feeling. The expected friction force Fe is a predetermined value that can be arbitrarily set, and is set to a value that is smaller than the dynamic friction force F (μ) of the mechanism portion caused by dynamic friction.

The frictional force Fm is a mechanical frictional force caused by the mechanism unit of the remote control device, and is a force applied to the operation knob 20 to move the mechanism unit. The assist force Fa is a force that assists the operation of the operator during the operation of the mechanism unit. In the stopped state, Fa = Fm−Fs when Fs ≧ Fe, and Fa = 0 when Fs <Fe. Become.
On the other hand, in the operation state after starting to move, the assist force Fa is a difference between the dynamic friction force F (μ) of the mechanism portion caused by dynamic friction and the expected friction force Fe set to a predetermined value. The operating force Fs is Fa = F (μ) −Fe because a constant dynamic friction force F (μ) is generated regardless of the operating force in the operating state. In this way, the operator can perform an operation by applying the operation force Fs = Fe.

Operator, when operating the operation knob 20 from the time t _0, will be described with reference to FIG relationships of time and power. When an operation force is applied to the operation knob 20, stress is generated in the strain gauges 50 and 52 attached to the knob shaft 21, and sensor outputs corresponding to the operation forces in the X and Y directions are output to the control ECU 200. The Hereinafter, the force relationship in the X direction will be described using the operation force Fs in the X direction based on the sensor output. The same applies to the Y direction.

The friction force Fm is equal to the operation force Fs since the assist force Fa is zero until reaching the set expected friction force Fe (time t _{0 to} t ₁ ). Further, when an operation force Fs is applied to the operation knob 20, an assist force Fa is generated, Fa = Fm−Fs is applied, and the friction force Fm increases (time t _{1 to} t ₂ ). When the frictional force Fm reaches the static frictional force F (μ ₀ ), the mechanism starts to operate (time t ₂ ). When the mechanism portion starts operating by operating the operation knob 20, a friction force Fm corresponding to the dynamic friction force F (μ) is applied thereafter. An assist force Fa = F (μ) −Fe is applied to the constant operating force Fs, and a moving operation in the X direction is performed as a steady operation against the dynamic friction force F (μ) (from time t ₂ ).

  In FIG. 5, the assist force Fa is a polygonal line, but the assist force Fa may be configured by a continuous curve in order to smoothly start the operation of the mechanism unit.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the reaction force adjustment control for applying the assist force, that is, the operation of the remote control device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(Step 1)
When the reaction force adjustment control of the remote control device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is started, first, the control ECU 200 determines whether or not it is in a stopped state from the outputs of the X-axis encoder 170 and the Y-axis encoder 175. When in the stop state, the process proceeds to Step 2, and when in the operation state, the process proceeds to Step 5.

(Step 2)
The operation force Fs obtained from the sensor output is compared with the set expected friction force Fe. When | operating force Fs | ≧ | expected friction force Fe |, the process proceeds to Step 3, and when | operating force Fs | <| expected friction force Fe |, the process proceeds to Step 4.

(Step 3)
When | operating force Fs | ≧ | expected friction force Fe |, the assist force is set as Fa = Fm−Fs.

(Step 4)
When | operating force Fs | <| expected frictional force Fe |, assist force Fa is set to zero.

(Step 5)
In the stop state, the assist force is set as Fa = F (μ).

(Step 6)
The control ECU 200 applies a reaction force to the operation knob 20 by the X-axis motor 150 (Y-axis motor 155) and performs force sense control. In this control, as described with reference to FIG. 5, the assist force Fa = Fm−Fs is applied to the operation force Fs, and a reaction force is applied to the operation knob 20 by the X-axis motor 150 (Y-axis motor 155).

(Step 7)
If it is determined that the operation has been completed or the reaction force adjustment control has been completed, the series of reaction force adjustment control is terminated. If it is not determined that the operation has been completed, the process returns to Step 1 and the reaction force adjustment control is repeated.

(Effect of the embodiment of the present invention)
Since the operation force Fs obtained from the sensor output and the assist force Fa for correcting the mechanical friction to Fe according to the stop / operation state are applied to the operation knob 20 by the X-axis motor 150 (Y-axis motor 155), the machine A remote operation device with reduced friction and reduced operation load is possible. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a remote operation device that reduces mechanical friction, reduces an operation load, is inexpensive, and has an excellent operation feeling. In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an appropriate movement start load to the operator and to provide a remote operation device that is excellent in operation feeling.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from or adjusting the technical idea of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Remote control device, 5 ... Driver's seat, 6 ... Center console, 7 ... Steering, 8 ... Instrument panel 20 ... Operation knob, 21 ... Knob shaft, 50, 52 ... Strain gauge, 62, 60 ... Bridge circuit , 70, 72 ... differential amplification unit 100 ... remote control unit, 110 ... base, 111 ... cover, 124 ... spherical bearing, 125 ... knob shaft, 130 ... X-axis rack gear, 135 ... Y-axis rack gear, 140 ... X carriage, 145 ... Y carriage, 150 ... X axis motor, 155 ... Y axis motor, 170 ... X axis encoder, 175 ... Y axis encoder, 180 ... X axis slide guide, 185 ... Y axis slide guide, 190 ... input switch 200 ... control ECU, 201 ... drive unit, 202 ... adjustment unit 300 ... display unit, 310 ... display menu, 311 to 316 ... eye Down, 317 ... peripheral region 320 ... pointer 400 ... vehicle communication bus, 401 ... car navigation device, 402 ... Air conditioning equipment

Claims (3)

An operation unit that can be moved and operated with respect to the main body unit via a mechanism unit;
An operation detection unit for detecting an operation state of the operation unit;
A driving force applying unit that applies a driving force to the operation unit;
A force detection unit for detecting a force acting on the operation unit during operation;
The detection value based on the output of the force detection unit is compared with the value of the expected friction force set to a predetermined value, the assist force is calculated based on the result of this comparison, and based on the detection result of the operation detection unit A control unit that performs control to apply a driving force obtained by weighting the assist force to the operation unit;
A remote control device characterized by comprising:   The assist force is calculated based on the difference between the detection value of the force detection unit and the expected friction force when stopped, and is calculated based on the difference between the dynamic friction force and the expected friction force during operation. The remote control device according to claim 1.   The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the value of the expected friction force can be arbitrarily set.

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