| 摘要 |
A rotary control having a variable detent is disclosed. The control, for electrical instruments and the like, includes a manually rotatable shaft to which a plate is coaxially mounted. The plate includes magnetizable flutes extending radially therefrom, each flute corresponding to a rotational stop position of the rotary control. Spaced adjacent the plate is a switchable electromagnet that forms a detent. A control switch in communication with the electromagnet selectably energizes it to engage magnetically the flutes successively as the shaft is manually rotated, stopping the rotary control at each rotational stop position. The switch also de-energizes the electromagnet so that the shaft may be continuously variable. A plurality of electromagnets can be positioned about a plate to vary the locations of the rotational stop positions. In a separate embodiment, a plurality of plates, each with an associated electromagnet, is mounted coaxially on the shaft. |
