Operator/circuit interface with integrated display screen

Operator and electrical circuit interfacing apparatus having at least one circuit component for enabling operator interaction with the electrical circuit, said circuit component having an actuator that is manipulated by the operator and having means for producing electrical circuit control signals which means produces said control signals in response to manipulation of said actuator, said apparatus further having an electrically controlled display screen with a front face that is viewed by said operator and control means for generating any of a plurality of different images at an image display area on said front face of said screen, wherein the improvement comprises:

• said electrically controlled display screen having a first array of parallel busbars therein which extend in orthogonal relationship with busbars of a second array of parallel busbars within said display screen and which enable activation of different combinations of image pixels at different times,
• said actuator being situated at least in part at said front face of said busbar containing display screen within said image display area thereof and at least a portion of said electrical circuit control signal producing means being behind said busbar containing display screen and wherein components of said electrical circuit control signal producing means which are behind said display screen interact with said actuator through said screen at said image display area of said screen, and
• wherein said control means energizes different combinations of the busbars of said first and second arrays thereof at different times to generate different images on said screen at different times that convey information pertaining to said circuit component,
• wherein said display screen has an opening therein situated at least partially within said image display area at a location which is spaced apart from said circuit component, further including a light emitting diode which is at least partially disposed in said opening.

Operator and electrical circuit interfacing apparatus having at least one circuit component for enabling operator interaction with the electrical circuit, said circuit component having an actuator that is manipulated by the operator and having means for producing electrical circuit control signals which means produces said control signals in response to manipulation of said actuator, said apparatus further having an electrically controlled display screen with a front face that is viewed by said operator and control means for generating any of a plurality of different images at an image display area on said front face of said screen, wherein the improvement comprises:

• said electrically controlled display screen having a first array of parallel busbars therein which extend in orthogonal relationship with busbars of a second array of parallel busbars within said display screen and which enable activation of different combinations of image pixels at different times,
• said actuator being situated at least in part at said front face of said busbar containing display screen within said image display area thereof and at least a portion of said electrical circuit control signal producing means being behind said busbar containing display screen and wherein components of said electrical circuit control signal producing means which are behind said display screen interact with said actuator through said screen at said image display area of said screen, and
• wherein said control means energizes different combinations of the busbars of said first and second arrays thereof at different times to generate different images on said screen at different times that convey information pertaining to said circuit component,
• wherein said display screen has an opening therein which is situated at least partially within said image display area and wherein said circuit component for enabling operator interaction with said circuit is an electromechanical switch having a housing containing said means for producing control signals, said switch further having an actuator shaft extending from said housing for operating said switch and wherein said actuator of said component is a switch cap which is broader than said actuator shaft and which is disposed at the end of said shaft that is remote from said housing and wherein said shaft extends through said opening in said screen, said switch cap being adjacent to said screen at said front face thereof at which said visible image is viewed and being in overlapping relationship with portions of said front face that are adjacent to said opening and said housing being spaced apart from the opposite face thereof.

Operator and electrical circuit interfacing apparatus having at least one circuit component for enabling operator interaction with the electrical circuit, said circuit component having an actuator that is manipulated by the operator and having means for producing electrical circuit control signals which means produces said control signals in response to manipulation of said actuator, said apparatus further having an electrically controlled display screen with a front face that is viewed by said operator and control means for generating any of a plurality of different images at an image display area on said front face of said screen, wherein the improvement comprises:

• said electrically controlled display screen having a first array of parallel busbars therein which extend in orthogonal relationship with busbars of a second array of parallel busbars within said display screen and which enable activation of different combinations of image pixels at different times,
• said actuator being situated at least in part at said front face of said busbar containing display screen within said image display area thereof and at least a portion of said electrical circuit control signal producing means being behind said busbar containing display screen and wherein components of said electrical circuit control signal producing means which are behind said display screen interact with said actuator through said screen at said image display area of said screen, and
• wherein said screen has spaced apart front and back plates and image forming material disposed therebetween and has an opening which extends through said front and back panels and said image forming material, further including sealing means for sealing said opening which sealing means includes a continuous band of fluid impervious material extending around the periphery of said opening between said plates, wherein a portion of said electrical circuit component protrudes from said opening and overlaps said front plate of said screen and wherein said continuous band of fluid impervious material is sufficiently thin to be within the area of said screen that is overlapped by said portion of said component.