One-Handed Joystick For Cranes

Abstract

A one-handed joystick for cranes allows an operator to make all necessary motions with a single hand and arm for manipulating various components of a crane. The one-handed joystick includes a rotatable cylinder bar, a rotatable ring, an industrial joystick base, a rocker switch and at least two push button switches. Motions of the rotatable cylinder bar, the rotatable ring, the industrial base and the rocker switch are used to raise and lower the auxiliary hoist; raise and lower the telescopic boom for luffing a hoist; raise and lower the main hoist; slew the boom base in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction; and extend or retract the telescoping boom. The speed of main and auxiliary hosts may be changed with the two push button switches. A Deadman's switch may be installed on a back side of the rotatable cylinder bar.

Claims

1. A joystick for operating at least one component of a crane, comprising: a joystick base providing an electrical output for left, right, forward and backward movement; an outer base ring extends from a top of said joystick base; a rotatable cylinder bar is rotatably retained in said outer base ring, said rotatable cylinder bar is sized to be grasped, wherein rotation of said rotatable cylinder bar in one direction causes a first component to have a first movement, rotation of said rotatable cylinder bar in an opposite direction causes the first component to have a second movement; and a rocker switch is located on said rotatable cylinder bar, said rocker switch in one position causes a second component to have a first movement, said rocker switch in a second position causes the second component to have a second movement.

2. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 1 wherein: said rocker switch includes positions of retract, off and extend, a boom of the crane is retracted when said rocker switch is in the retract position, the boom of the crane is extended when said rocker switch is in the extend position.

3. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 1 wherein: a left and right movement of said joystick base is associated with rotating a boom base of the crane in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

4. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 1 wherein: a rearward and forward movement of said joystick base is associated with a main hoist being extended or retracted.

5. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 1 wherein: a downward hand curl and an upward hand curl of said rotatable cylinder bar are associated with a lowering or raising of an auxiliary hoist.

6. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 4 wherein: a first switch for low-speed operation and a second switch for high-speed operation for extending or retracting the main hoist.

7. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 4 wherein: a Deadman's switch is retained on said rotatable cylinder bar.

8. A joystick for operating at least one component of a crane, comprising: a joystick base providing an electrical output for left, right, forward and backward movement, said left and right movement being associated with moving a first component; an outer base ring extends from a top of said joystick base; an inner base ring is rotatably retained in an inner perimeter of said outer base ring; and a cylinder bar is retained in said inner base ring, said cylinder bar is sized to be grasped, wherein rotation of said inner base ring in one direction causes a second component to have a first movement, rotation of said inner base ring in an opposite direction causes the second component to have a second movement.

9. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 8 wherein: the first component is a boom base, the left and right movement of said joystick base is associated with rotating the boom in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

10. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 8 wherein: a rearward and forward movement of said joystick base is associated with a main hoist being extended or retracted.

11. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 8 wherein: a clockwise rotation and a counterclockwise rotation of said inner base ring is associated with luffing a hoist, while raising or lowering the boom of the crane.

12. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 10 wherein: a first switch for low-speed operation and a second switch for high-speed operation for extending or retracting said main hoist.

13. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 8 wherein: a Deadman's switch is retained on said rotatable cylinder bar.

14. A joystick for operating at least one component of a crane, comprising: a joystick base providing an electrical output for left, right, forward and backward movement said forward and rearward being associated with moving a first component; an outer base ring extends from a top of said joystick base; an inner base ring is rotatably retained in an inner perimeter of said outer base ring, wherein rotation of said inner base ring in one direction is associated with a first movement of a second component, rotation of said inner base ring in an opposite direction is associated with a second movement of the second component; and a rotatable cylinder bar is rotatably retained in said inner base ring, said rotatable cylinder bar is sized to be grasped, wherein rotation of said rotatable cylinder bar in one direction is associated with a first movement of a third component, rotation of said rotatable cylinder bar in an opposite direction is associated with a second movement of the third component.

15. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 14 wherein: a rocker switch is retained on said rotatable cylinder bar, said rocker switch includes the positions of retract, off and extend, a boom of the crane is retracted when said rocker switch is in a retract position, the boom of the crane is extended when said rocker switch is in an extend position.

16. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 14 wherein: a left and right movement of said joystick base is associated with rotating a boom base of the crane in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

17. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 14 wherein: the first component is a main hoist.

18. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 14 wherein: a downward hand curl and an upward hand curl of said rotatable cylinder bar is associated with a lowering or raising of an auxiliary hoist.

19. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 17 wherein: a first switch for low-speed operation and a second switch for high-speed operation for extending or retracting the main hoist.

20. The joystick for operating at least one component of a crane of claim 14 wherein: a Deadman's switch is retained on said rotatable cylinder bar.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an improved joystick in accordance with the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 1a is a front perspective view of a one-handed joystick for cranes in accordance with the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 1b is a rear perspective view of a one-handed joystick for cranes in accordance with the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an improved joystick illustrating rotation of a ring portion and a rotatable cylinder bar in accordance with the present invention.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an improved joystick illustrating x-axis motion and y-axis motion of a rotary upper handle in accordance with the present invention.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a rotatable cylinder bar of an improved joystick in accordance with the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a ring portion of an improved joystick in accordance with the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an outer base ring of an improved joystick in accordance with the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a rotary upper handle of an improved joystick in accordance with the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of left and right SAE joystick motion patterns.

[0028] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of left and right ISO joystick motion patterns.

[0029] FIG. 10 is a table of hand and forearm motions associated with movements of an excavator of an improved joystick in accordance with the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating how to reprogram a hydraulic controller to change the association of motions of an improved joystick with an excavator in accordance with the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 12 is a side view of an excavator with labeled arrows that correspond to movements of an improved joystick in FIGS. 2-3 and a table in FIG. 10 to provide a pattern similar to SAE in accordance with the present invention.

[0032] FIG. 13 is a side view of an excavator with labeled arrows that correspond to movements of an improved joystick in FIGS. 2-3 and a table in FIG. 10 to provide a pattern similar to ISO in accordance with the present invention.

[0033] FIG. 14 is a top view of an excavator with labeled arrows that correspond to movements of an improved joystick in FIGS. 2-3 and a table in FIG. 10 in accordance with the present invention.

[0034] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of two prior art joysticks and illustrations of various components of a crane operated by the two prior art joysticks.

[0035] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a foot pedal for retracting and extending a telescoping crane boom of a crane and illustrations of an extended and retracted telescoping crane booms.

[0036] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a one-handed joystick for a crane, which includes a graphical illustration of various components and how the various components are operated by a rotatable cylinder bar, a rotatable ring, a pivoting base, a rocker switch and two push button switches of the one-handed joystick for a crane in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] With reference now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of an improved joystick 1. With reference to FIGS. 2-3, the improved joystick 1 preferably includes a state-of-the art joystick base for heavy equipment (industrial joystick base) 100 with x-axis and y-axis movement, and a rotary upper handle 10. There are numerous ways in the art of implementing a two-axis joystick. Therefore, a further explanation of the operation of a two-axis joystick is not necessary.

[0038] With reference to FIGS. 4-7, the rotary upper handle 10 preferably includes an outer base ring 12, a rotatable ring 14, a position sensor 16 and a base portion 18. A bottom of the base portion 18 extends from a top of the industrial joystick base 100. The outer base ring 12 extends upward from a top of the base portion 18. The rotatable ring 14 is rotatably retained in an inner perimeter of the outer base ring 12. The outer base ring 12 preferably includes a pair of opposing grooves 20 for preventing axial movement of the rotatable ring 14. One of the opposing grooves 20 is preferably retained in a detachable ring 22. The detachable ring 22 is secured to one side of the outer base ring with any suitable attachment device, such as a plurality of fasteners 23, a bonding agent, snap arrangement or any other suitable attachment method.

[0039] A sensor cavity 25 is formed in an inner perimeter of the outer base ring 12 and below a bottom of the pair of opposing grooves 20 for receiving the position sensor 16. The position sensor 16 is preferably a PCAP (projective capacitive) touch sensor. However, other types of sensors may also be used. The position sensor 16 must be curved along a lengthwise axis or be flexible to conform to an inner perimeter of the sensor cavity 25. The rotatable ring 14 preferably includes a ring portion 24 and a rotatable cylinder bar 26. A pair of opposing bosses 30 preferably extend inward from an inner perimeter of the ring portion 24. A through hole 32 is formed through the pair of opposing bosses 30.

[0040] The ring portion 24 preferably includes first and second halves 27, 29. Each end of the first half 27 includes an attachment area 31 for attaching an opposing half. Each end of the second half 29 includes an attachment area 33 for attaching an opposing half. The first and second halves 27, 29 may be attached to each other with fasteners, adhesive, snaps or any other suitable attachment method. A pair of opposing bosses 30 preferably extend inward from an inner perimeter of the ring portion 24. A through hole 32 is formed through the pair of opposing bosses 30. The rotatable cylinder bar 26 includes an inner diameter 34. The inner diameter 34 of the rotatable cylinder bar 26 is sized to rotatably receive an outer diameter of the pair of opposing bosses 30. A contact plug 36 is preferably pressed into the inner diameter 34 of the rotatable cylinder bar 26. However, the contact plug 36 may be molded into the inner perimeter of the rotatable cylinder bar 26. The contact plug 36 preferably includes a biased center conductive contact 38 and a biased peripheral conductive contact 40. However, the contact plug 36 may only include a center conductive contact 38, if an electrical output from the rotatable cylinder bar 26 is not needed. A compression spring 44 and set screw 46 are preferably used to bias the center and peripheral conductive contacts against the position sensor 16. The heights of the center and peripheral conductive contacts 38, 40 are equal.

[0041] The ring portion 24 with the rotatable cylinder bar 26 retained therein is inserted into the inner perimeter of the outer base ring 12. The detachable ring 22 is secured to one side of the outer base ring 12 with the plurality of fasteners 23. Sensor wiring (not shown) from the position sensor 16 is run down a side of the outer base ring 12 or molded into the rotary upper handle 10. However, the ring portion 24 may not rotate relative to the outer base ring 12 for some applications. The rotatable cylinder bar 26 would rotate with the center and peripheral conductive contacts 38, 40. The sensor wiring is connected to a suitable ring controller 42 for determining the location of the rotatable cylinder bar 26 and the ring portion 24. The position sensor 16 includes a grid arrangement, which allows a rotational position and an angular position of the ring portion 24 and the rotatable cylinder bar 26 to be determined. When the rotatable cylinder bar 26 is rotated in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the center conductive contact 38 will remain relatively stationary, while the peripheral conductive contact 40 will rotate about the center conductive contact 38. The rotational motion of the rotatable cylinder bar 26 will be picked-up by the ring controller 42 and could be used to control curling or dumping of a bucket. When the rotatable ring 14 is rotated in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction the angular motion will be processed by the ring controller 42 and could be used to control boom-up or boom-down. Movement of the rotary upper handle 10 in the X-axis and the Y-axis will also be processed by the ring controller 42 and used to operate the appropriate attachment. Buttons, toggle switches, thumb wheels and other control devices may also be added to the rotary upper handle 10.

[0042] FIG. 8 illustrates how left and right SAE joystick motion patterns control the motion of excavator elements. FIG. 9 illustrates how left and right ISO joystick motion patterns control the motion of excavator elements. FIG. 10 provides a list of preferred motions of the improved joystick 1 associated with motions of an excavator. However, the listed motions of the improved joystick 1 could be associated with different motions of the excavator. With reference to FIG. 11, the new association of motions could be made by reprogramming a hydraulic controller 48 through an input device, such as a cab touch screen 50 or a human-machine interface (HMI) device 52. The hydraulic controller 48 operates a hydraulic operated component, such as an excavator tool 108.

[0043] With reference to FIG. 12 in SAE mode, it is preferable to associate a downward hand curl “C” to a bucket 114 digging motion; and an upward hand curl “D” with a bucket 114 dump. It is preferable to associate a forearm forward push “E” to a stick 112 extension; and a forearm reward pull “F” to a stick retraction 112. With reference to FIG. 14, it is preferable to associate a hand movement to the left “G” to swinging the excavator 106 left; and a hand movement to the right “H” to swinging the excavator 106 right. It is preferable to associate a clockwise hand twist “A” to a boom 110 extension; and a counter clockwise hand twist “B” to a boom 110 retraction.

[0044] With reference to FIG. 13 in ISO mode, it is preferable to associate a downward hand curl “C” to a bucket 114 digging motion; and an upward hand curl “D” with a bucket 114 dump. It is preferable to associate a forearm forward push “E” to a boom 110 extension; and a forearm reward pull “F” to a boom 110 retraction. With reference to FIG. 14, it is preferable to associate a hand movement to the left “G” to swinging the excavator 106 left; and a hand movement to the right “H” to swinging the excavator 106 right. It is preferable to associate a clockwise hand twist “A” to a stick 112 extension; and a counter clockwise hand twist “B” to a stick 112 retraction. However, the aforementioned hand and arm motions could be associated with other movements of the boom, stick and bucket through electrical switches and circuits in a harness to activate and deactivate different solenoids to perform the related functions.

[0045] A SAE/ISO pattern switch 54 is preferably located on the rotatable cylinder bar 26 for changing the operation to SAE or ISO. The SAE/ISO pattern switch uses electrical switches and circuits in a harness to activate and deactivate different solenoids to perform the related functions through an electrical hydraulic control system. An enable/disable switch 56 is used to deactivate electrical output from rotation of the rotatable ring 14, while allowing electrical output from the rotatable cylinder bar 26. The SAE/ISO pattern switch 54 and the enable/disable switch 56 may be implemented with any suitable push button switch. Entry of improved joystick 1 and excavator 106 motion associations in the hydraulic controller 48 through the cab touch screen 50 or HMI device 52 preferably over rides the SAE/ISO pattern switch 54 and the enable/disable switch 56.

[0046] With reference to FIG. 1a, a one-handed joystick for cranes 2 allows an operator to make all the necessary motions with a single hand and arm for manipulating components of a crane. The one-handed joystick for cranes 2 includes a rotatable cylinder bar 60, the rotatable ring 14, the industrial joystick base 100, a rocker switch 62, a first push button switch 64 and a second push button switch 66. The rocker switch 62 preferably has three positions, which are retract, off and extend. FIG. 15 shows a schematic diagram of a first joystick 116 and a second joystick 118 and components of a crane that are operated by the two joysticks 116, 118. Forward and rearward movement of a first joystick 116 raises and lowers an auxiliary hoist 120. Left and right movement of the first joystick 116 slews a crane boom base 122 counterclockwise and clockwise. Forward and rearward movement of a second joystick 118 raises and lowers a main hoist 124. Left and right movement of the second joystick 118 luffs a crane boom 122 upward and downward. With reference to FIG. 16, a foot pedal 126 is shown with a telescoping crane boom 128. A rearward foot application to the foot pedal 126 results in the telescoping crane boom 128 being retracted. A forward foot application to the foot pedal 126 results in the telescoping crane boom 128 being extended.

[0047] The following motion parameters are given by way of example and not by way of limitation. With reference to FIG. 17, the auxiliary hoist 120 is preferably raised by an upward hand curl of the rotatable cylinder bar 60 and lowered by a downward hand curl of the rotatable cylinder bar 60. Raising the telescoping boom 128 during luffing is preferably implemented by rotating the rotatable ring 14 in a counterclockwise direction and lowering the telescoping boom 128 during luffing is implemented by rotating the rotatable ring 14 in a clockwise direction. In an alternative embodiment, the rotatable cylinder bar 60 would not rotate, thus becoming a cylinder bar. The cylinder bar would allow the rotatable ring 14 to be rotated. The main hoist 124 is preferably raised by pivoting the industrial joystick base 100 rearward and the main hoist 124 is preferably lowered by pivoting the industrial joystick base 100 frontward.

[0048] Slewing the boom 122 in a counterclockwise motion is preferably implemented by pivoting the industrial joystick base 100 to the left. Slewing the boom 122 in a clockwise motion is implemented by pivoting the industrial joystick base 100 to the right. Extending the telescoping crane boom 128 is preferably implemented by toggling the rocker switch 60 from the off position to the extend position. Retracting the telescoping boom is implemented by toggling the rocker switch 60 from the off position to the retract position. Replacing the foot pedal 126 with the rocker switch 60 saves significant costs, including the foot pedal 126 and harness layout to the foot pedal 126 of the crane. The first push button switch 64 is preferably used to set a low-speed mode for raising and lower the main hoist 124 and the auxiliary hoist 120. The second push button switch 66 is used to set a fast-speed mode for raising and lowering the main hoist 124 and the auxiliary hoist 120. With reference to FIG. 1b, a Deadman's switch 68 is preferably located on a side opposite the rocker switch 62 and the push button switches 64, 66 on the rotatable cylindrical bar 60. However, it is preferable that the one-handed joystick for cranes 2 be programmable to allow different assignments of crane component motions to the motions of the rotatable cylinder ring 60, the rotatable ring 14 and the industrial joystick base 100.

[0049] To start operation of the one-handed joystick for a crane 2, a hand grasps the rotatable cylinder bar 60. The rotatable cylinder bar 60 may be rotated in opposite directions. The rotatable ring 14 may be rotated in clockwise or counterclockwise motions. The industrial joystick base 100 may be moved in front to back or left to right motions. Additionally, some critical safeties can be limited and guaranteed by the one-hand joystick for a crane 2. The one-handed joystick for a crane 2 can be operated an operator having only one hand, or someone who is paralyzed on one side of their body.

[0050] While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.