Rotary pushbutton and touchpad device and system and method for detecting rotary movement, axial displacement and touchpad gestures

摘要

A rotary pushbutton and touchpad device, a system and a method detect rotary movement, axial displacement and touchpad gestures. The device has a knob which may rotate about an axis of rotation, may move upward and downward on the axis of rotation, and may have a touchpad. The touchpad may be fixedly connected to a rotary girder and/or a shaft clip within the knob which may prevent the touchpad from rotating when the knob is rotated. A substantially hollow and cylindrical outer shaft may be fixedly connected to the knob so that rotation of the knob rotates the outer shaft. The shaft clip may be fixedly connected to an actuator shaft which extends through the interior of the outer shaft and conveys axial displacement of the knob. Shutters extending from the outer shaft may rotate into or away from a position between a light emitter and a light pipe.

主权项

1. A device comprising:
a knob package having a knob, a touchpad, a sensor, and a touchpad PC board wherein the sensor is associated with the touchpad and further wherein the sensor detects a user gesture wherein the touchpad PC board is located within the knob and further wherein the knob has an opening in which the touchpad PC board is located wherein the touchpad PC board generates a signal indicative of the user gesture applied to the touchpad as measured by the sensor and further wherein rotation of the knob package does not rotate the touchpad and does not rotate the touchpad PC board; an encoder package having an encoder housing, an outer shaft, and an encoder PC board wherein the encoder PC board is located within the encoder housing and further wherein the outer shaft is located at least partially within the encoder housing wherein the outer shaft is rotatably connected to the encoder housing and fixedly connected to the knob and further wherein the encoder PC board is fixedly connected to the encoder housing wherein the encoder PC board generates a signal indicative of a rotary position of the knob; and an electronics package having a housing base, a base shaft, a base PC board and an actuator shaft wherein the base shaft extends from the housing base and further wherein the base PC board is located within the housing base under the base shaft wherein the actuator shaft is located at least partially within the base shaft wherein the base PC board generates a signal indicative of an axial position of the knob wherein the base shaft extends through the outer shaft into the interior of the knob package to connect the knob package, the electronics package and the encoder package to each other.