Mechanism for generating control signals
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A control mechanism comprising:
- means for guiding;
a contiguous cylindrical element mounted on said means for guiding for rotational and longitudinal movement relative to said means for guiding, said cylindrical element having a plurality of grooves on its surface;
movable coupling means having a plurality of projections positioned to mesh with said plurality of grooves on said cylindrical element; and
means for supporting said coupling means and translating movement of said coupling means to an encoder.
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Abstract
A mechanism is provided for producing control signals for use in controlling equipment which includes a rotatable cylinder having on the surface thereof grooves which act with one or more gears to directly translate the rotation or sliding movements of the cylinder to encoders. In other embodiments, switches are activated by pressure on certain elements of the mechanism.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A control mechanism comprising:
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means for guiding; a contiguous cylindrical element mounted on said means for guiding for rotational and longitudinal movement relative to said means for guiding, said cylindrical element having a plurality of grooves on its surface; movable coupling means having a plurality of projections positioned to mesh with said plurality of grooves on said cylindrical element; and means for supporting said coupling means and translating movement of said coupling means to an encoder. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19)
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6. A control mechanism comprising:
means for guiding; a cylindrical element mounted on said means for guiding for rotational and longitudinal movement relative to said means for guiding, said cylindrical element having a plurality of grooves on its surface; movable coupling means having a plurality of projections positioned to mesh with said plurality of grooves on said cylindrical element; and means for supporting said coupling means and translating movement of said coupling means to an encoder, wherein said grooves are comprised of a first set of grooves which are annular with respect to an axis of said cylindrical element, and a second set of grooves which are longitudinal with respect to said axis, wherein said movable coupling means comprises a plurality of coupling elements positioned to mesh with said plurality of grooves such that at least one of said coupling elements is positioned for movement with rotation of said cylindrical element, wherein at least one other of said coupling elements is positioned for movement as said cylindrical element is longitudinally moved, and wherein said first set of grooves intersects said second set of grooves to form a grid pattern on said cylindrical element.
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8. A structure for generating control signals in response to tactile inputs comprising:
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a support member having a guide; an elongated bar positioned on and longitudinally moveable along said guide; an elongated cylindrical member rotatably mounted on said elongated bar, said cylindrical member having a plurality of longitudinal grooves on its surface; a first coupling element having a plurality of projections positioned by said support member to mesh with said plurality of grooves on said cylindrical member; detection means for detecting movement of said elongated bar; and means for translating movement of said first coupling element and said detection means to a first and second encoder, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 16, 18)
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12. A structure for generating control signals in response to tactile inputs comprising:
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a support member having a guide; an elongated bar positioned on and longitudinally moveable along said guide; an elongated cylindrical member rotatably mounted on said elongated bar, said cylindrical member having a plurality of longitudinal grooves on its surface; a first coupling element having a plurality of projections positioned by said support member to mesh with said plurality of grooves on said cylindrical member; detection means for detecting movement of said elongated bar; means for translating movement of said first coupling element and said detection means to a first and second encoder, respectively; a base plate depressibly supporting said support member; a first force-operable transducer positioned on said base plate such that a first predetermined pressure on said cylindrical member, said elongated bar, or said support member produces a first signal output; a switch bar coupled to said base plate adjacent a first side of said base plate, said base plate depressibly supporting said support member on an opposite side of said first side of said base plate; and a second force-operable transducer positioned such that a second predetermined pressure on said switch bar produces a second signal output.
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20. A control mechanism comprising:
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means for guiding; a cylindrical element mounted on said means for guiding for rotational and longitudinal movement relative to said means for guiding, said cylindrical element including an integrally formed first coupling means having a plurality of projections; a second coupling means having a plurality of grooves on its surface positioned to mesh with said plurality of projections of said first coupling element; and means for supporting said second coupling element and translating movement of said second coupling element to an encoder.
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Specification