Patent ID: 8152065

Claim:
A hand controller for controlling an electro-optical sensor of a weapons system, said hand controller comprising: a chassis; an azimuth shaft; an elevation shaft; a first leaf-spring having a first end and a second end; a first pair of cams including base ends and tip ends, each of said first pair of cams having a curved outer surface that is a mirror image of the other, said first pair of cams being configured with each of the respective curved outer surfaces being in opposition with one another when the base ends are fastened to the first end of said first leaf-spring, thereby clamping the first end of said first leaf-spring between the cams and extending said first leaf-spring between the curved outer surfaces of said first pair of cams; a first spring-stop connected to said chassis and positioned at the second end of said first leaf-spring to apply a rotational force to the second end of said first leaf-spring, thereby causing said first leaf-spring to bend in response to rotation of said chassis with respect to said azimuth shaft; a first torque sensor fastened to said azimuth shaft and said first pair of cams to sense rotational force applied by an operator to said azimuth shaft with respect to resistance from said first leaf-spring, and to generate a first rate command signal; a second leaf-spring having a first end and a second end; a second pair of cams including base ends and tip ends, each of said second pair of cams having a curved outer surface that is a mirror image of the other, said second pair of cams being configured with each of the respective curved outer surfaces being in opposition with one another when the base ends are fastened to the first end of said second leaf-spring, thereby clamping the first end of said second leaf-spring between the cams and extending said second leaf-spring between the curved outer surfaces of said second pair of cams; a second spring-stop connected to said chassis and positioned at the second end of said leaf-spring to prevent rotation of said second leaf-spring, thereby causing said second leaf-spring to bend in response to rotation of said elevation shaft with respect to said chassis; and a second torque sensor fastened to said elevation shaft and said second pair of cams to sense rotational force applied by an operator to said elevation shaft with respect to resistance from said second leaf-spring, and to generate a second rate command signal, the first and second rate command signals being utilized to control position of the electro-optical sensor of the weapons system.