Configurable industrial input devices that use electrically conductive elastomer
First Claim
1. A control panel apparatus having reconfigurable input buttons, said apparatus comprising:
- a tactile sensor;
a plurality of input buttons reconfigurable by a user, a representation of said plurality of input buttons placed on said tactile sensor; and
electronics, coupled to said tactile sensor, for measuring a location of a touch to an input button and an existence of and a level of pressure of said touch and for storing a plurality of functions, each of said plurality of functions associated with a corresponding one of said plurality of input buttons;
wherein said touch on one of said plurality of input buttons causes said electronics to measure said location and said level of pressure of said touch and said touch causes an occurrence of one of said plurality of functions associated with said location and said level of said pressure of said touch.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A configurable operator panel that uses a tactile sensor with electrically conductive elastomer and appropriate electronics is disclosed herein. The device relies on a robust and inexpensive tactile sensor that senses the touch position (and may or may not sense touch pressure as well). The physical interface is easily configurable along with the electronics, which execute the desired function based on touch location and pressure. The configurable operator panel is designed to communicate with most industrial automation equipment, including but not limited to, motion control equipment, programmable logic controllers (PLC), personal computers, and can be made to control other types of machines requiring external analog or digital input.
232 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A control panel apparatus having reconfigurable input buttons, said apparatus comprising:
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a tactile sensor;
a plurality of input buttons reconfigurable by a user, a representation of said plurality of input buttons placed on said tactile sensor; and
electronics, coupled to said tactile sensor, for measuring a location of a touch to an input button and an existence of and a level of pressure of said touch and for storing a plurality of functions, each of said plurality of functions associated with a corresponding one of said plurality of input buttons;
wherein said touch on one of said plurality of input buttons causes said electronics to measure said location and said level of pressure of said touch and said touch causes an occurrence of one of said plurality of functions associated with said location and said level of said pressure of said touch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of configuring an operating control device having a foam tactile sensor, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) defining an input button and a location of said input button corresponding to a portion of said tactile sensor;
(b) defining a first function of said input button, said first function associated with an existence of, a first defined level of pressure of, and a location of a touch on said tactile sensor; and
(c) defining a second function of said input button, said second function associated with an existence of, a second defined level of pressure of, and said location of a touch on said tactile sensor. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer program product for configuring an operator control panel having a tactile sensor, said computer program product comprising:
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computer code for defining an input button and a location of said input button corresponding to a portion of said tactile sensor;
computer code for defining a first function of said input button, said first function associated with an existence of, a first defined level of pressure of, and a location of a touch on said tactile sensor; and
computer code for defining a second function of said input button, said second function associated with an existence of, a second defined level of pressure of, and said location of a touch on said tactile sensor; and
a computer-readable medium for storing said computer codes. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. A system for controlling devices in an industrial or harsh environment, said system comprising:
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an operating control panel having a foam tactile sensor, a representation of input buttons on said foam tactile sensor, and electronics, wherein said electronics are capable of measuring a pressure level and a location from a touch on said representation of input buttons on said foam tactile sensor, processing said pressure level and said location, and outputting a signal that causes a function associated with said pressure level and said location; and
an external device coupled to said operating control panel for receiving said signal and performing said function. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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Specification