Optical encoder for detecting rotational and axial movement
First Claim
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1. An optical encoder for an electronic device, the optical encoder comprising:
- an elongated shaft;
a crown attached to a first end of the elongated shaft;
a set of surface forms disposed on the shaft, the set of surface forms created as a byproduct of forming the shaft;
an optical sensor comprising a light emitter configured to emit light towards the set of surface forms;
a plurality of photodiodes arranged in an array and configured to receive diffusively reflected light from the set of surface forms; and
a processor operably connected to the plurality of photodiodes;
wherein;
a rotational movement of the elongated shaft changes the diffusely reflected light;
a translational movement of the elongated shaft changes the diffusely reflected light;
changes in the diffusely reflected light produce changes in an output of the plurality of photodiodes;
the processor is configured to analyze changes in the output of the plurality of photodiodes and determine a direction of rotation of the elongated shaft when the elongated shaft is rotated;
the processor is configured to analyze changes in the output of the plurality of photodiodes and determine a direction of translation of the elongated shaft when the elongated shaft is translated; and
the processor is configured to analyze changes in the output of the plurality of photodiodes and determine the direction of rotation and the direction of translation when the elongated shaft is rotated and translated.
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Abstract
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an optical encoder for an electronic device. The optical encoder comprises an elongated shaft having an encoding pattern made up of axial markings and radial markings. The encoding pattern may be disposed around a circumference of the elongated shaft. The optical encoder also includes an optical sensor. In embodiments, the optical sensor includes an emitter and a photodiode array. The emitter causes light to shine on the encoding pattern. The encoding pattern reflects the light back to the photodiode array and the photodiode array determines movement of the shaft based on the reflected light.
381 Citations
22 Claims
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1. An optical encoder for an electronic device, the optical encoder comprising:
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an elongated shaft; a crown attached to a first end of the elongated shaft; a set of surface forms disposed on the shaft, the set of surface forms created as a byproduct of forming the shaft; an optical sensor comprising a light emitter configured to emit light towards the set of surface forms; a plurality of photodiodes arranged in an array and configured to receive diffusively reflected light from the set of surface forms; and a processor operably connected to the plurality of photodiodes; wherein; a rotational movement of the elongated shaft changes the diffusely reflected light; a translational movement of the elongated shaft changes the diffusely reflected light; changes in the diffusely reflected light produce changes in an output of the plurality of photodiodes; the processor is configured to analyze changes in the output of the plurality of photodiodes and determine a direction of rotation of the elongated shaft when the elongated shaft is rotated; the processor is configured to analyze changes in the output of the plurality of photodiodes and determine a direction of translation of the elongated shaft when the elongated shaft is translated; and the processor is configured to analyze changes in the output of the plurality of photodiodes and determine the direction of rotation and the direction of translation when the elongated shaft is rotated and translated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An electronic device comprising:
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a processor; a memory; and an optical encoder, wherein the optical encoder comprises; an elongated shaft having a plurality of markings formed as a byproduct of machining the elongated shaft and disposed around a circumference of the elongated shaft; a crown attached to a first end of the elongated shaft; a light emitter configured to emit light towards the elongated shaft; and an array of photodiodes configured to receive diffusively reflected light from the elongated shaft;
wherein;rotational and translational movements of the elongated shaft each produce changes in reception by the array of photodiodes of the diffusely reflected light from the plurality of markings; an output from the array of photodiodes changes in response to the changes in reception of the diffusely reflected light; and multiple sequential samples of the output from the array of photodiodes are compared by the processor to determine directions of the rotational and translational movements of the elongated shaft. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for detecting a movement of a shaft contained within a housing of an electronic device, the method comprising:
- causing a light source to emit light toward a circumference of the shaft, wherein;
the shaft includes encoding forms formed as a byproduct of a machining operation carried out on the shaft;
a crown is attached to a first end of the shaft; and
at least a portion of the encoding forms causes the light emitted from the light source to be diffusely reflected off of the shaft;
while the shaft undergoes the movement, receiving the diffusely reflected light at a photodiode array, wherein;
the movement of the shaft includes rotational movement of the shaft and translational movement of the shaft; and
the movement of the shaft changes the diffusely reflected light to produce a change in an output current of at least one photodiode in the photodiode array;
for the at least one photodiode in the photodiode array, comparing an output current at a first time period to an output current at a second time period; and
determining a direction of the rotational movement of the shaft and a direction of the translational movement of the shaft based on the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (22)
- causing a light source to emit light toward a circumference of the shaft, wherein;
Specification