Work vehicle magnetorheological fluid joystick systems reducing unintended joystick motions

A work vehicle magnetorheological fluid (MRF) joystick system for usage onboard a work vehicle, the work vehicle MRF joystick system comprising:

• a joystick device, comprising:
• a base housing;
• a joystick movably mounted to the base housing;
• and
• a joystick position sensor configured to monitor movement of the joystick relative to the base housing;
• an MRF joystick resistance mechanism controllable to vary a first joystick stiffness resisting movement of the joystick relative to the base housing in at least one degree of freedom;
• a disturbance force sensor affixed to the work vehicle at a location remote from the joystick device and coupled to the controller architecture;
• and
• a controller architecture coupled to the joystick position sensor and to the MRF joystick resistance mechanism, the controller architecture configured to:
• detect when unintended joystick motion conditions occur during operation of the work vehicle;
• and
• when detecting unintended joystick motion conditions, command the MRF joystick resistance mechanism to increase the first joystick stiffness in a manner reducing susceptibility of the joystick device to unintended joystick motions;
• wherein the controller architecture is configured to detect when unintended joystick motion conditions occur during operation of the work vehicle when the disturbance force sensor detects a disturbance force having a magnitude exceeding a predetermined threshold.

A work vehicle magnetorheological fluid (MRF) joystick system for usage onboard a work vehicle, the work vehicle MRF joystick system comprising:

• a joystick device, comprising:
• a base housing;
• a joystick movably mounted to the base housing;
• and
• a joystick position sensor configured to monitor movement of the joystick relative to the base housing;
• an MRF joystick resistance mechanism controllable to vary a first joystick stiffness resisting movement of the joystick relative to the base housing in at least one degree of freedom;
• a disturbance force sensor affixed to the work vehicle and coupled to the controller architecture;
• and
• a controller architecture coupled to the joystick position sensor and to the MRF joystick resistance mechanism, the controller architecture configured to:
• detect when unintended joystick motion conditions occur during operation of the work vehicle, when detecting unintended joystick motion conditions, command the MRF joystick resistance mechanism to increase the first joystick stiffness in a manner reducing susceptibility of the joystick device to unintended joystick motions;
• and
• monitor for impact forces detected by the disturbance force sensor and having magnitudes exceeding a predetermined threshold, and when the disturbance force sensor detects an impact force having a magnitude exceeding the predetermined magnitude threshold, command the MRF joystick resistance mechanism to increase the first joystick stiffness prior to or substantially concurrently with propagation of the impact force to the joystick device.

A work vehicle magnetorheological fluid (MRF) joystick system for usage onboard a work vehicle, the work vehicle MRF joystick system comprising:

• a joystick device, comprising:
• a base housing;
• a joystick movably mounted to the base housing;
• and
• a joystick position sensor configured to monitor movement of the joystick relative to the base housing;
• an MRF joystick resistance mechanism controllable to vary a joystick stiffness resisting movement of the joystick relative to the base housing in at least one degree of freedom;
• and
• a controller architecture coupled to the joystick position sensor and to the MRF joystick resistance mechanism, the controller architecture configured to:
• determine when unintended joystick motions of the joystick are presently occurring based, at least in part, on data provided by the joystick position sensor;
• and
• when determining that unintended joystick motions are presently occurring, command the MRF joystick resistance mechanism to increase the joystick stiffness in a manner reducing the unintended joystick motions;
• and
• wherein determining that unintended joystick motions of the joystick are presently occurring is based, at least in part, on assessing whether the joystick is unintentionally displaced from a detent position of the joystick device during operation of the work vehicle.

A work vehicle magnetorheological fluid (MRF) joystick system for usage onboard a work vehicle, the work vehicle MRF joystick system comprising:

• a joystick device, comprising:
• a base housing;
• a joystick movably mounted to the base housing;
• and
• a joystick position sensor configured to monitor movement of the joystick relative to the base housing;
• an MRF joystick resistance mechanism controllable to vary a joystick stiffness resisting movement of the joystick relative to the base housing in at least one degree of freedom;
• disturbance force sensors configured to detect disturbance forces imparted to the work vehicle;
• and
• a controller architecture coupled to the joystick position sensor, to the MRF joystick resistance mechanism, and to the disturbance force sensors, the controller architecture is configured to:
• monitor for the disturbance forces detected by the disturbance force sensors during operation of the work vehicle;
• and
• when the disturbance force sensors detect a disturbance force surpassing a predetermined threshold, command the MRF joystick resistance mechanism to increase the joystick stiffness to reduce a likelihood of unintended joystick motions resulting from the detected disturbance force.