Patent ID: 7843431
Filing Date: 2010-11-30
Classification: G05D,G05G,G08B,G08C

Abstract:
1. A control system for operation of a remote vehicle, comprising: a twin-grip hand-held controller having a volume of less than 1 liter and a weight of less than 1 lb, the twin-grip hand-held controller including: a left grip shaped to be held between a user's left little finger, ring finger, and the ball of the thumb, leaving the user's left index finger, middle finger, and thumb free; a left control zone adjacent to the left grip, including a first analog joystick and a first 4-way directional control manipulable by the left thumb, and a left rocker control located on a shoulder portion of the controller; a right handed grip shaped to be held between the user's right little finger, ring finger, and the ball of the thumb, leaving the user's left index finger, middle finger, and thumb free; a right control zone adjacent the right grip, including a second analog joystick and a second 4-way directional control manipulable by the right thumb, and a right rocker control located on a shoulder portion of the controller; a tether zone between the left control zone and the right control zone, including a tether anchor configured to tether the hand controller between the left grip and the right grip and to permit the hand controller to hang with the left grip and right grip pointing upward; a tether extending from the tether anchor to the right shoulder of an operator, the tether including a strain relief section; and a quick-release pad to be worn on an operator's chest, the quick-release pad including a first fastener for affixing the quick-release pad to available mounts on the operator, and a second quick-release fastener for holding the hand-held controller to the quick-release pad to be readily removable by pulling on the hand-held controller.