Importance

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Abstract

A pair of orthogonal coding shafts (32L,32T) are rotatably mounted in a housing (22) and have rollers (42) that engage a trackball (30), so when the trackball is rotated one or both coding shafts turns. A pinion (44) is fixed to each coding shaft to turn with it. A torsion spring (50L,50T) has one end fixed to the housing and has an opposite end that forms a contact rod (70). The contact rod has an upper end lying between teeth of the pinion so the upper end of the rod is repeatedly deflected and repeatedly snaps back to its original position. The lower end of the contact rod pivots with the upper end, so the lower end repeatedly engages and disengages a lower contact element (134L, 134T) to make and break a circuit. The lower contact element is a cantilevered pin that extends orthogonal to the control rod.

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First Claim