Systems, Methods And Apparatus For Determining Button Degradation Of A User Input Device

A method for determining button degradation, comprising:

• generating an electrical signal through at least one pair of electrical contacts and at least one button, wherein the at least one button electrically connects the at least one pair of electrical contacts;
• determining at least one electrical property of a circuit associated with the at least one button based at least in part on the electrical signal;
• and
• estimating a degradation level of the at least one button or the at least one pair of electrical contacts based at least in part on the at least one electrical property by:
• storing a value of the at least one electrical property, and
• comparing the value with historical values of the at least one electrical property to estimate the degradation level.

A communication system, comprising:

• a receiving device;
• and
• a user input device for sending user commands to the receiving device, wherein the user input device comprises:
• at least one pair of electrical contacts;
• at least one button configured to electrically connect the at least one pair of electrical contacts;
• a degradation measurement module in electrical communication with at least one of the electrical contacts and configured to determine a degradation level of the at least one button or the at least one pair of electrical contacts based on at least one electrical property of a circuit associated with the at least one button when the at least button electrically connects the at least one pair of electrical contacts, wherein the degradation measurement module is configured to determine the degradation level by:
• storing a value of the at least one electrical property, and
• comparing the value with historical values of the at least one electrical property to determine the degradation level, wherein the user input device is configured to transmit the degradation level to the receiving device.