Patent · US Expired

Optical rotation encoder for X-Y direction input device

US5557450A · kind A · utility

5Cited by
3References
11Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJan 4, 1994
Grant dateSep 17, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 4, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01D5/36
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An optical rotation encoder for an X-Y direction input device includes a light source for emitting therefrom a light, a pair of substantially vertically aligned light responsive elements for receiving the light, and a circular code wheel mounted between the light source and the light responsive elements, provided thereon plural equiangularly distributed apertures every adjacent two of which have a shielding sectorial area and having a first desired distance with respect to the light source and a second desired distance with respect to the light responsive elements for obtaining an X-Y displacement of the input device by plural pulses resulting from the light which is to be received by the light responsive elements and passes through the apertures to be intermittently projected on the light responsive elements when the circular code wheel is in a rotating motion, wherein the light source is a point light source and either the aperture or shielding sectorial area has a width smaller than a combined width of the pair of substantially vertically aligned light responsive elements. Such optical rotation encoder for an X-Y direction input device can provide thereby a relatively high resul…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.