This invention relates to an apparatus for monitoring at least one of the rotational movement and the orientation of a substantially spherical body. The invention has particular, but not exclusive, relevance to a man-machine interface in which a user inputs information to a machine by varying the orientation of a substantially spherical body.
One example of such a man-machine interface is a ball tracking device in which a user directly moves a ball and one or both of the direction and the speed of rotation of the ball conveys information to the associated machine. Another example of such a man-machine interface is a computer mouse in which a ball is mounted in a housing with part of the ball protruding through the housing to contact a surface on which the computer mouse rests. A user holds the housing and drags the mouse across the surface causing the ball to rotate, and one or both of the direction and the speed of rotation conveys information to the associated machine. A further example of such a man-machine interface is a joystick in which a ball-and-socket joint is formed at one end of a lever, and the user moves the lever to cause rotation of the ball in the ball-and-socket joint, one or both of the direction and the speed of rotation conveying information to the associated machine.
A common mechanism for monitoring the orientation of a spherical body utilises a pair of orthogonally arranged shafts which contact the spherical body so that they rotate as the spherical body rotates. The rotation of each shaft is measured using a respective optical sensor in which a beam of light is broken by paddles attached to each of the shafts. The resulting light pulses are electronically registered and processed to provide orientation information to the host machine. However, ingress of foreign matter such as dirt can interfere with the friction characteristics between the spherical body and rotating shafts, and can also obscure the light beams used by the optical sensors.
According to the present invention, there is provided a sensor in which an inductive sensing arrangement is used to monitor the orientation of, or rotational movement of, one or more resonant circuits mounted in or on a spherical body. By using such an arrangement, the number of moving parts may be reduced, thereby improving reliability.
In a preferred embodiment, the inductive sensor comprises a transmit aerial and a receive aerial which are isolated from the external environment by a membrane to prevent the ingress of foreign matter to the cavity housing the electronics associated with the man-machine interface. Preferably, the membrane is impermeable.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
A ball tracking device which forms a first embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.
As shown in
The ball 1 includes three resonant circuits 9a, 9b and 9c which are generally arranged in mutually orthogonal planes which intersect at the centre 11 of the ball 1.
The membrane 5 separates the ball 1 from a printed circuit board (PCB) 7 on which are formed a transmit aerial and a receive aerial (not shown in
The transmit aerial is connected to an excitation signal generator (not shown in
It will be appreciated that the impermeable membrane 5 prevents the ingress of foreign matter into the cavity holding the PCB 7, the excitation signal generator and the signal processor, without interfering with the electromagnetic coupling between the transmit aerial, the receive aerial and the resonant circuits 9.
As shown in
As shown in
The transmit aerial is formed by two pairs of excitation windings.
As shown in
As shown in
If θx is the angle subtended between the plane of a resonant circuit 9 and the X-direction, then the electromagnetic coupling between the X_sine coil 41 and the resonant circuit is proportional to sinθx and the electromagnetic coupling between the X_cosine coil and the resonant circuit is proportional to cosθx.
As shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, the orientation of each of the resonant circuits 9 is sequentially interrogated by applying excitation signals at the resonant frequency of the interrogated resonant circuit so that resonant signals are induced in the interrogated resonant circuit but not in the other resonant circuits. Further, during interrogation of a resonant circuit the angles θx and θy are sequentially determined by sequentially addressing the first and second pairs of excitation windings. From these measurements, rotational movement of the ball 1 around the x-axis and y-axis can be monitored.
An overview of the measurement of the angle θx will now be given with reference to
I(t)=A sin 2πf1t cos 2πf0t (1)
Similarly, the quadrature signal Q(t) is generated by amplitude modulating the oscillating carrier signal having carrier frequency f0 using a second modulation signal which oscillates at the modulation frequency f1, with the second modulation signal being π/2 radians (90°) out of phase with the first modulation signal. The quadrature signal Q(t) is therefore of the form:
Q(t)=A cos 2πf1t cos 2πf0t (2)
The in-phase signal I(t) is applied to the X_sine coil 41 and the quadrature signal Q(t) is applied to the X_cosine coil 43.
The total magnetic field generated has components corresponding to the X_sine coil 41 and the X_cosine coil 43. The electromagnetic coupling C1 between the component of the total magnetic field corresponding to the X_sine coil 41 and the interrogated resonant circuit 9 varies sinusoidally with θx according to the function:
C1∝sin θx (3)
Similarly, the electromagnetic coupling C2 between the component of the total magnetic field corresponding to the X_cosine coil 43 and the interrogated resonant circuit 9 also varies sinusoidally with θx, but with a phase difference of π/2 radians (90°) from the electromagnetic coupling C1, giving:
C2≡COS θx (4)
In this way, the resonant current Ires induced in the interrogated resonant circuit is formed by a first component from the X_sine coil 41 and a second component from the X_cosine coil 43, with the magnitudes of the first and second components varying with the angle θx. In particular, the induced resonant current Ires is of the form:
Ires∝cos 2πf0t.cos(2πf1t−θx−θc) (5)
where θc is a fixed phase shift. In effect, the phase of the amplitude envelope function of the induced resonant current Ires rotates along with the angle θx.
Provided that the plane of the interrogated resonant circuit 9 is not orthogonal to the plane of the PCB 7, the induced resonant current Ires induces a proportional sense current in the sense coil 61 which is input to the signal processor, which in this embodiment is formed by a demodulator 73, a phase detector 75 and an angle calculator 77. The demodulator 73 removes the component of the sense current at frequency f0, leaving a demodulated signal at the frequency f1. The demodulated signal is input to the phase detector 75, which measures the phase of the demodulated signal relative to a reference phase, and outputs the measured phase to the angle calculator 77 which determines the angle θx.
The excitation signal generator and the signal processor used in this embodiment are described in more detail in UK Patent Application GB 2374424A, whose contents are incorporated herein by reference.
Once the angle θx has been measured for an interrogated resonant circuit 9, the angle θy is measured by switching the outputs I(t) and Q(t) of the excitation signal generator 71 from the X_sine coil 41 and X_cosine coil 43 to the Y_sine coil 51 and Y_cosine coil 53 respectively. After both the angles θx and θy have been measured for a resonant circuit 9, then the interrogated resonant circuit is changed by switching the frequency f0 to match the resonant frequency of one of the other resonant circuits.
In the first embodiment, a ball tracking device is described in which rotational movement of a ball by a user is monitored by a machine. Such a ball tracking device is commonly used in conjunction with a display to control the movement of a cursor over the display. In such a system, once the cursor has been positioned over a desired portion of the display surface (for example over an icon associated with a computer program), typically the user activates a switch to indicate a selection.
A second embodiment will now be described with reference to
As shown in
The first and second embodiments describe ball tracking devices in which a user directly manipulates the ball 1.
A third embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to
As shown in
Although not shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, the ball 1 is physically connected to a lever 101 (i.e. the joystick) which is manipulated by a user. The ball 1 is rotatably mounted within a housing 103 to form a ball-and-socket joint, and the PCB 7 is fixed relative to the housing 103. In this way, as the user moves the joystick the orientation of the ball 1 varies and this change in orientation is detected using the transmit aerial and the receive aerial formed on the PCB 7 in the same manner as the first embodiment.
In the fourth embodiment, in which the ball tracking device is incorporated within a joystick arrangement, the ball 1 is not required to have complete freedom of rotation because the lever 101 moves only within a restricted solid angle. This allows a single resonant circuit 9 to be used because it can be ensured that the orientation of this resonant circuit does not become orthogonal to the plane of the PCB 7.
A fifth embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to
As shown in
A sixth embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to
In this embodiment, a normally open spring-loaded switch 121 is mounted to the end 115a of the lever 111 projecting out of the housing 103. The switch 121 is connected by wiring 123 through the lever 111 to the printed circuit board 117. In this embodiment, two resonant circuits are formed on the PCB 117. The first of the two resonant circuits is identical to that of the fifth embodiment and is used to determine the orientation of the ball 113. The second resonant circuit includes the switch 121 so that normally the second resonant circuit is open and does not resonate. However, when the user presses the switch 121, this second resonant circuit closes and resonates in response to an electric signal at its resonant frequency being applied to the transmit aerial on the PCB 7. In this way, by periodically applying an electric signal at the resonant frequency of the second resonant circuit, whether or not the switch 121 has been depressed can be continuously monitored.
The joysticks of the fourth to sixth embodiments can also incorporate biasing means for biasing the lever 111 to a centre position in which the lever 111 is perpendicular to the PCB 7. For example, magnets could be used to provide magnetic centring of these joystick arrangements.
In the fifth and sixth embodiments, the orientation of the ball within the joystick is determined using a resonant circuit which is mounted on a printed circuit board mounted to the outside of the ball. It will be appreciated that the resonant circuit could be formed by a conductive track deposited on another type of planar substrate. Further, the resonant circuit could be formed by forming a coil, connected at each end to a terminal of a capacitor, deposited directly on the surface of the spherical body.
In an alternative embodiment, resonant circuits incorporating small planar coils (i.e. having a radius significantly smaller than the radius of the spherical body) are spaced around the surface area of the spherical body. By monitoring the respective positions of these resonant circuits relative to the transmit aerial and the receive aerial, the orientation of the spherical body can be determined. Alternatively, these resonant circuits could be embedded under the surface of the spherical body.
In the illustrated embodiments, the resonant circuits mounted in or on the spherical body are passive resonant circuits. Alternatively, active resonant circuits, incorporating an amplifier for amplifying the resonant signals, could be used. Such active resonators would, however, require the spherical body to include a power source.
In the second and sixth embodiments, a user depresses a switch in order to make a selection. Alternatively, if as in the first embodiment there is a measure of resilience to the mounting for the spherical body, then a user may make a selection by pushing the spherical body closer to the transmit and receive aerials, which results in a larger signal being induced in the receive aerial.
In the sixth embodiment, the switch opens and closes a resonant circuit which is separate from the resonant circuit which is used for determining the orientation of the ball. Alternatively, a single resonant circuit could be used in which the ends of a coil are connected to respective terminals of a first capacitor, and a serial combination of a switch and a second capacitor are connected in parallel with the first capacitor. In this way, when the switch is open the resonant circuit has a first resonant frequency, whereas when the switch is closed the resonant circuit has a second resonant frequency different from the first resonant frequency. Therefore, by applying electrical signals substantially at the first and second resonant frequencies to the transmit aerial, the orientation of the ball can be monitored and whether or not the switch is open or closed can be determined.
In another embodiment, the switch may be replaced by a movable piece of permeable material (e.g. ferrite) placed in proximity to at least part of the winding forming the resonant circuit. Movement of the permeable material by the user causes a change in the resonant characteristics, for example resonant frequency or quality factor, which can be measured. Therefore, a user is able to make a selection by moving the permeable material.
In the described embodiments, lateral movement of the spherical body is prevented by a physical mounting means. However, in some embodiments this is not necessary. For example, the spherical body could be supported by jets of air. In the first embodiment, point supports are used to support the ball. It will be appreciated that other types of mounting means are possible. For example, roller bearings could be used to support the ball.
In the described embodiments, four excitation windings and one sensor winding are employed, with the excitation windings being addressed one pair at a time. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a reciprocal arrangement is also possible in which an excitation signal is applied to a single excitation winding, and induced signals in plural sensor windings are monitored to determine the orientation of the ball. In general, many variations in the numbers of resonant circuits, excitation windings and sensor windings are possible.
In a preferred embodiment, the ball is removably mounted so that it can be used by a user as part of an access control system. In particular, the respective resonant frequencies of the resonant circuits within the balls are varied from ball to ball so that each user has a ball with unique resonant properties. The man-machine interface device performs an initialisation routine in which excitation signals at all possible resonant frequencies are applied to the transmit aerial, and from the signals received by the receive aerial the resonant frequencies of the ball currently being used are determined. In this way, the man-machine interface device is able to identify the user.
In the described embodiments, the spherical body forms part of a man-machine interface in which a user varies the orientation of the spherical body to input information to a machine. However, the invention is generally applicable to any device in which the orientation and/or movement of a spherical body conveys information. For example, in an aircraft an attitude sensor frequently employs a ball, weighted at one pole, supported by a fluid so that as the attitude of the aircraft varies the ball remains in a fixed position with respect to ground. Therefore, by mounting the transmit aerial and the receive aerial so that they move with the aircraft, the attitude of the aircraft can be detected by measuring the relative orientation between the ball and the transmit and receive aerials.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0202648.2 | Feb 2002 | GB | national |
0208672.2 | Dec 2002 | GB | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/GB03/00495 | 2/5/2003 | WO | 6/23/2005 |