Variable speed tuning selector
AssigneeHeath Company
InventorTerry A. Perdue
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A touch sensitive variable speed tuning selector is disclosed. A rotary tuning selector knob includes a finger contact coupled to touch sensitive circuitry. Tuning selector rotation causes a shaft encoder to provide a first pulsed output to tuning circuitry for normal frequency change increments. When the touch sensitive circuitry detects the presence of a finger on the contact, a signal is provided to the tuning circuitry causing each pulse from the shaft encoder to change frequency in larger increments for fast, or coarse, tuning. In a preferred embodiment, a change in the capacitance of a touch sensitive capacitive network changes the timing of input pulses provided to a flip-flop which, in turn, changes the flip-flop output to the variable speed tuning circuitry resulting in an increase in frequency change increments.
Claims8
A system for controlling the rate of change in frequency of a variable speed tuner in tuning to a selected frequency, said system comprising:
- user selectable rotary control means;
- detector means coupled to said tuner and to said rotary control means and responsive to the rotation thereof for providing a plurality of pulses to said tuner representing a first tuning rate;
- and
- touch sensitive means including conductive finger receptacle means integral with said rotary control means and coupled to said tuner for providing a control signal to said tuner when touched by a user for changing the tuning speed of said tuner to a second tuning rate in response thereto.
A system for controlling the rate of change in frequency of a variable speed tuner in tuning to a selected frequency, said system comprising:
- user selectable rotary control means;
- detector means coupled to said tuner and to said rotary control means and responsive to the rotation thereof for providing a plurality of pulses to said tuner representing a first tuning rate;
- and
- touch sensitive means integral with said rotary control means and coupled to said tuner for providing a control signal to said tuner when touched by a user for increasing the tuning speed of said tuner to a second tuning rate in response thereto for the coarse tuning of said tuner, said touch sensitive means including finger receptacle means coupled in circuit to a capacitive network wherein the capacitance of said capacitive network is changed when said finger receptacle means is engaged by the finger of a user.
In a variable speed manual tuning system for initially coarse tuning to a selected frequency at a high rate of change in frequency followed by fine tuning to said selected frequency at a lower rate of frequency change by means of a user selectable rotary control means, the improvement comprising:
- user selectable touch sensitive means including conductive finger receptacle means positioned in and integral with said rotary control means and coupled in circuit with said tuning system for providing a control signal thereto in response to selection of said touch sensitive means for changing the tuning speed to said high rate of frequency change in coarse tuning to a selected frequency.
A system for controlling the rate of change in frequency of a variable speed tuner in tuning to a selected frequency, said system comprising:
- user selectable rotary control means;
- detector means coupled to said tuner and to said rotary control means and responsive to the rotation thereof for providing a plurality of pulses to said tuner representing a first tuning rate, wherein said first tuning rate is determined by the speed of angular displacement of said rotary control means;
- and
- touch sensitive means integral with said rotary control means and coupled to said tuner for providing a control signal to said tuner when touched by a user for increasing the tuning speed of said tuner to a second tuning rate in response thereto, wherein said second tuning rate is a function of said first tuning rate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.