Effect of stiffness and movement speed on selected dynamic torque characteristics of hydraulic-actuation joystick controls for heavy vehicles.

The purpose of this work was to quantify the effects of joystick stiffness and movement speed on the dynamic torque characteristics of hydraulic-actuation joystick controls, as found in off-road vehicles, as one of the initial steps towards the development of a joystick design protocol. Using a previously developed mathematical model in which a hydraulic-actuation joystick is assumed to rotate about two axes where the rotation origin is a universal joint, the dynamic torque characteristics incurred by an operator were predicted. Utilizing a laboratory mock-up of an excavator cab environment, three actuation torque characteristics (peak torque, angular impulse and deceleration at the hard endpoint) were quantified for nine unskilled joystick operators during the use of a commonly used North American hydraulic-actuation joystick. The six different experimental conditions included combinations of three joystick stiffnesses and two movement speeds. The highest instantaneous input torque over the course of the joystick movement (not including the hard endpoint) was evaluated using the peak torque value. Angular impulse provided an indication of the sustained exposure to force. The third indicator, deceleration at the hard endpoint, was included to provide a description of impact loading on the hand as the joystick came to a sudden stop. The most important result of this work is that the dynamic torque characteristics incurred during hydraulic-actuation joystick use are substantial. While the peak torque values were not very different between the fast and slow motion conditions, the high decelerations even for slow movements observed at maximum excursion of the joystick indicate that the dynamics do matter. On the basis of deceleration at the hard endpoint and peak torque, the joystick movements that require the highest values for a combination of torque variables are the side-to-side ones. This suggests that less stiff balance and return springs should be considered for these directions than for forward and backward movements. However, if the design does not minimize acceleration, it is important that the spring stiffness not be too low since deceleration at the joystick hard endpoint will be very high causing the operator to incur large palm and finger impacts.