Rotary and push type input device

Details Rotary and push type input device Rotary and push type input device

2002-05-13

2004-10-26

Luebke, Renee (Department: 2833)

Electricity: circuit makers and breakers

Multiple circuit control

Pivoted contact

C200S0110TW, C200S018000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06809275

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND
This application relates to an electronic device capable of sensing rotary and push-type user inputs.
The button-wheel is a device that can sense continuous rotation about a rotational axis as well as switch action in a direction perpendicular to the rotational axis; it increases user efficiency by enabling users to transmit two distinct types of input to a host machine while interacting with only one device.
Button-wheels are also related to knob-buttons that include rotational knobs that support a switching function perpendicular to the axis of rotation. These knob-buttons typically actuate switches through movement of knobs and knob mountings.
Button-wheels are currently prevalent in cursor control devices such as computer mice. Most conventional mouse button-wheels possess a configuration and switch actuation method similar to the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,912,661 to Siddiqui and illustrated in FIG.
1
. The button-wheel is built on a circuit board
28
that physically supports both mechanical and electrical components while placing button-wheel sensors in electrical communication with the rest of the mouse. The wheel
22
has a diameter that is much greater than its width. Wheel
22
is mounted on a relatively rigid shaft
64
that is much longer than wheel
22
's width. Shaft
64
is held in place by two bearings that allow shaft
64
to rotate about its axis, but not translate along this axis.
A first bearing
32
further constrains a first end
991
of shaft
64
from moving in the other two translational directions; however, first bearing
32
does not prevent shaft
64
from tilting about first bearing
32
. A second bearing is formed by two distinct components: a spring
58
that biases second end
992
and wheel
22
toward the user, and a slotted shape
34
that constrains second end
992
, such that it can translate only within the slot cutout. The slot cutout is a straight slot that is perpendicular to the axis of shaft
64
; this limits the motion of second end
992
to almost directly towards or away from circuit board
28
. Shaft
64
also has a collar-type feature
50
, located near slotted shape
34
, that hovers above a button
51
of switch
52
.
With this configuration, when the user pushes on wheel
22
, shaft
64
tilts about first bearing
32
and sweeps a wedge-shaped section of a circle. Shaft
64
compresses spring
58
, and collar
50
touches and depresses button
51
to actuate switch
52
. The magnitude of shaft
64
's tilt is limited by the length of the slot in slotted shape
34
, the full compression distance of spring
58
, and the actuation distance of button
51
. Spring
58
and button
51
together generate the desired user tactile and auditory feedback for this switch actuation action. Conductive paths along the circuit board
28
route the button signals to the mouse electronics (not shown).
Also on shaft
64
is an encoder disc
44
, which forms a complete optical rotary encoder with an optical emitter
46
and an optical detector
48
. Shaft
64
further contains a series of grooves that interact with a ratchet-like feature
42
to form a detent mechanism. When the user rotates wheel
22
, the encoder assembly (formed by encoder disc
44
, optical emitter
46
, and optical detector
48
) produces digital signals that are typically quadrature in nature. The detent mechanism (formed by grooves
40
and ratchet
42
) generates the desired user tactile and auditory feedback for the rotational motion. Conductive paths along the circuit board
28
route the encoder signals to the mouse electronics (not shown).
Variations on this general button-wheel idea are known in the art. The simplest variations involve using different types of the basic components (such as mechanical encoders instead of optical encoders, ball detents instead of grooves and ratchets, and lever-type switches instead of pushbutton switches) and shifting their relative location (such as moving switch
52
to the other side of slotted shape
34
or placing encoder disc
44
to the opposite side of first bearing
32
).
Slightly more complex variations involve combining many components into one integral unit. U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,393 to Shu, U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,369 to Merminod et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,130 to Yung-Chou describe devices in which the encoder disc (analogous to encoder disc
44
of the Siddiqui patent '661) is constructed as part of a wheel (analogous to wheel
22
of the Siddiqui patent '661). The devices outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,355 to Chang and U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,568 to Wu combines at least part of the detent mechanism with the encoder disc and the wheel (analogous to grooves
40
, ratchet
42
, encoder disc
44
, and wheel
20
of the Siddiqui patent '661) to generate one integral unit.
Other button-wheel variations involve different switch actuation actions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,344 to Bacon et al. describes another tilting-shaft switch actuation method in which an additional slotted shape is utilized, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,481 to Gillick et al. discloses an hourglass-shaped wheel that tilts about its center to actuate switches located under either side of the hourglass-shaped wheel. These alternative tilting-shaft devices are more complex and require more components than the device presented in Siddiqui patent '661.
In addition to the tilting switch actuation action, alternatives that include semi-tilting switch actuation mechanisms also exist. Both U.S. Pat. No. 6,246,392 to Wu and U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,389 to Yen disclose button-wheels in which the two bearings supporting the wheel shaft include slotted shapes that have slots which help guide the motion of the wheel shaft; the devices disclosed in the Wu patent '392 and the Yen patent '389 bias the wheel shaft toward the user with one single spring located on one side of the wheel. The Merminod patent describes a different system that utilizes only one slotted shape; the end of the wheel opposite to the slotted shape is attached to a formed spring, and can move in a manner limited by the deflection of the spring. Since all three of the Wu patent '392, the Yen patent '389, and the Merminod patent '369 teach biasing the wheel toward the user on only one side of the wheel, a torque results when the user pushes on the wheel of any of these disclosed devices, and significant tilting of the wheel occurs. Thus, the action associated with these switch actuation inputs combines tilting as well as translation, and can be considered semi-tilting.
Minimally-tilting switch actuation mechanisms also exist. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,113 to Wu (Shown in FIG.
2
), U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,355 to Chang, U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,393 to Shu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,455 to Cillick et al., and older Microsoft® INTELLIMOUSE all disclose button-wheels in which the entire wheel mounting moves to achieve switch actuation. In order to enable the movement of the entire mounting, these devices tend to be larger, more complex, and more costly than the device of the Siddiqui reference. In the devices disclosed by the Wu patent '113, the Chang patent '355, and older INTELLIMOUSE, these wheel mountings are biased toward the user by one spring located on one side of the wheel. In contrast, in Gillick '455's and Shu '393's devices, the mountings are biased toward the user on both sides of the wheel. With biasing forces on both sides of the wheel, where user push-type forces are applied, the wheel mounting can respond to user push-type force with motion that is more translation than tilting. With this substantially translational motion, in which translation is the primary action of switch actuation, it is possible to produce tactile force and displacement responses that are more uniform across the width of the wheel. However, this additional biasing force usually increases the size, complexity, and cost of the mechanism beyond that associated with a single biasing force as will be explained later in the disclosure.
D

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