Control mechanism for electronic apparatus

Abstract

An improved controller for use in adjusting certain electrical and other values, such as a pair of electrical signals which can be used to actuate a circuit for performing a specific function, such as moving the cursor of a CRT display of a computer. The mechanism includes a rotatable shaft having a cylinder mounted thereon. The cylinder moves with the shaft as the shaft rotates, and the cylinder can move longitudinally of and relative to the shaft. A first encoder responsive to the rotation of the shaft is used to adjust a first electrical signal; and a second encoder responsive to the linear motion of the cylinder relative to the shaft is used to adjust a second electrical signal. When the first and second signals are applied to the mouse inputs of a computer, the cursor on the CRT display of the computer can be shifted around as a function of the rotation of the shaft and the linear motion of the cylinder. Other types of apparatus can be controlled by the mechanism.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.