Patent ID: 8446365

Claim:
A joystick comprising: a substantially stationary part, a movable part adapted to be manipulated by an operator, and a sensor device adapted to detect a position of the movable part relatively to the substantially stationary part, the sensor device comprising a magnet arrangement comprising one or more magnets and defining a predetermined magnetic field, and a magnetic detector being adapted to detect a magnetic flux and to generate a corresponding output, one of the magnet arrangement and the magnetic detector being arranged on the substantially stationary part, and the other of the magnet arrangement and the magnetic detector being arranged on the movable part, the magnet(s) of the magnet arrangement having a shape comprising two opposing sides that are curved along the longitudinal axis such that the ends of the magnet(s) are bent away from the longitudinal axis and such that an outer contour of the magnet(s) substantially follows a relative angular movement between the magnet(s) and the magnetic detector during manipulation of the movable part, whereby the magnetic detector generates an output that is a substantially linear function of the relative movement between the magnet(s) and the magnetic detector.