ENCODER WITH LIGHT-CONTAINING DIODE

Abstract

An encoder with a light-emitting diode (LED) comprises: an LED, a switch module, an encoder module, and a control shaft. The switch module includes an insulating base with a terminal, a conductive elastic section, and a pusher body. The conductive elastic section is located within the insulating base and above the terminal. The pusher body is located within the insulating base and above the conductive elastic section to hold the LED. At least part of the encoder module is located within the insulating base and includes a magnetic sensor, a magnetic ring, and a rotatable drive. The control shaft passes through a through-hole in the rotatable drive and is located above the pusher body.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Taiwan patent application serial number 112132530, filed August 29, 2023, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUNDField of the invention

[0002] The present disclosure relates to an encoder, and more particularly to an encoder having a light-emitting diode or an encoder having both a light-emitting diode and a key switch applicable to electronic products such as, but not limited to, stereo systems, sound mixing equipment, audio and video equipment, etc. Description of the relevant state of the art

[0003] Encoders are typically used in electronic products to provide encoder signals, such as high and low voltage signals.

[0004] In addition, general electronic products, such as stereo systems, audio mixing equipment, and audio and video equipment, typically include a control shaft, which allows the switching function of the electronic product's switch gear to be achieved by pressing the control shaft. To improve the function of the switch gear in electronic products, encoders are often installed on the switch gear, allowing the switch gear to simultaneously perform both the switching function and the encoding function.

[0005] However, in situations where the lighting is relatively dim, such as when the switch device of the audio and video equipment is to be used in cinemas or homes where the lights are turned off due to the use of the audio and video equipment, it is necessary to have lights as a guide. In the current art, light-emitting diodes are placed on the substrate of the aforementioned electronic products to generate light. However, when placed on the substrate, the light-emitting diodes must correspond to the position of the aforementioned encoder. Therefore, integration in terms of the height and brightness of the light-emitting diodes is difficult. In addition, the arrangement of light-emitting diodes also increases the number of steps in the manufacturing process. For example, additional soldering processes must be added to arrange the light-emitting diodes on the substrate, so the process time and cost also increase.

[0006] In addition, the encoders currently installed in switch devices are usually contact encoders, which require the use of brushes to touch metal contacts to generate pulse signals, and the switch modules containing light-emitting diodes also use brushes to touch metal contacts for electrification, which can easily cause wear and tear, resulting in a shortening of the product's service life.

[0007] Therefore, it is desired to provide an improved encoder with a light-emitting diode to alleviate and / or obviate the above problems. SUMMARY

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide an encoder with a light-emitting diode that can use a non-contact magnetic sensor to avoid the problem of reduced product life due to wear caused by brush contact in the prior art. Furthermore, the encoder of the present invention can be equipped with a light-emitting diode to meet the personalized needs of different users. Furthermore, the encoder of the present invention can be combined with a switching function. Through the cooperation of the control shaft and the pushing drive body, the electrical contact of the switch can be triggered without disturbing the light-emitting diode, thereby improving the product's service life and quality.

[0009] To achieve the object, the present disclosure provides an encoder comprising: a light-emitting diode; a switch module including: an insulating base having a main chamber and a terminal part; a conductive elastic piece received in the main chamber and arranged over the terminal part; and a pressing drive body received in the main chamber and arranged over the conductive elastic piece and provided with a receiving portion for receiving the light-emitting diode; an encoder module at least partially received in the main chamber and provided with a magnetic sensor, a magnetic ring, and a rotatable drive body having a through-hole; and a control shaft passing through the through-hole and arranged over the pressing drive body.

[0010] Other novel features of the disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is an exploded view of an encoder with a light-emitting diode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 2A is a detailed exploded view of a switch module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating a switch module and a light-emitting diode after assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 2C is a plan view of an insulating base according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 3A is a detailed structural diagram of an encoder module and a control shaft according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 3B is a schematic representation of the combined magnetic ring, rotatable drive body, and control shaft according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 3C is a top view of an encoder module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an assembled encoder with a light-emitting diode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. Figure 5A is a cross-sectional view of an encoder with a light-emitting diode taken along line A1-A1' of Fig. 4 before pressing the control shaft; Fig. Figure 5B is a cross-sectional view of an encoder with a light-emitting diode along line A1-A1' of Fig. 4 after pressing the control shaft; Fig. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of an encoder with a light-emitting diode along the line B1-B1' of Fig. 4; and Fig. 7 is an exploded view of an encoder with a light-emitting diode according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Where possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or similar parts.

[0012] Throughout the description and appended claims, certain terms may be used to refer to specific components. Those skilled in the art will understand that manufacturers of encoder devices may refer to the same components by different names. This disclosure does not intend to distinguish between components that perform the same function but have different names. In the following description and claims, words such as "including" and "comprising" are open-ended words and should be construed to mean "including, among others."

[0013] Directional terms mentioned in the description, such as "up," "down," "front," "back," "left," "right," etc., refer only to the directions of the drawings. Accordingly, the directional terms used are illustrative, not limiting, of the present disclosure. In the drawings, various figures illustrate the general characteristics of methods, structures, and / or materials used in particular embodiments. However, these drawings should not be construed to define or limit the scope or nature of these embodiments. For example, the relative sizes, thicknesses, and positions of various layers, regions, and / or structures may be reduced or exaggerated for clarity.

[0014] A structure (or layer, component, substrate) described in the present disclosure is arranged on / over another structure (or layer, component, substrate), which may mean that the two structures are adjacent and directly connected, or may refer to two structures that are not directly connected but adjacent. Indirect connection means that there is at least one intermediate structure (or intermediate layer, intermediate component, intermediate substrate, space) between the two structures, the lower surface of one structure is adjacent to or directly connected to the upper surface of the intermediate structure, and the upper surface of the other structure is adjacent to or directly connected to the lower surface of the intermediate structure. The intermediate structure may be a single- or multi-layer physical structure, or a non-physical structure that is not confined.In the present disclosure, when a particular structure is arranged "on" other structures, it may mean that a particular structure is arranged "directly" on other structures, or it may mean that a particular structure is "indirectly" on other structures; that is, that at least one structure is inserted between a particular structure and other structures.

[0015] Expressions such as “about,” “equal,” “the same,” or “substantially” are generally interpreted as within 20% of a given value or range, or as within 10%, 5%, 3%, 2%, 1%, or 0.5% of a given value or range.

[0016] Furthermore, any two values ​​or directions used for comparison may have certain errors. If the first value is equal to the second value, this means that there may be an error of approximately 10% between the first value and the second value. If the first direction is perpendicular or "substantially" perpendicular to the second direction, the angle between the first direction and the second direction can be between 80 degrees and 100 degrees. If the first direction is parallel or "substantially" parallel to the second direction, the angle between the first direction and the second direction can be between 0 degrees and 10 degrees.

[0017] In the description and claims, unless otherwise indicated, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" used in this specification are intended to distinguish elements, rather than explicitly or implicitly revealing that the names of the elements bear the wording of the ordinal numbers. Ordinal numbers do not indicate the order in which one element and another element are related to space, time, or steps of a manufacturing process. Thus, what is referred to as a "first element" in the description may be referred to as a "second element" in the claims.

[0018] Furthermore, the expression “a specific range is from a first value to a second value” or “a specific range is within a range from the first value to the second value” means that the specific range includes the first value, the second value and other values ​​therebetween.

[0019] It is understood that, according to the disclosed embodiments, an optical microscope (OM), a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a film thickness profilometer (α-step), an ellipsometer thickness gauge, or other suitable means may be used to measure the depth, thickness, width, or height of each component, or the spacing or distance between components. According to some embodiments, a scanning electron microscope may be used to obtain a cross-sectional structural image including the components to be measured and to measure the depth, thickness, width, or height of each component, or the spacing or distance between components.

[0020] It should be noted that the following embodiments may be replaced, rearranged, and mixed to complete other embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. As long as the features of the various embodiments do not violate the spirit of the invention or conflict with each other, they may be mixed and matched as desired.

[0021] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in this document (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. It is understood that these terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted to have meanings consistent with the background or context of the relevant technology and the present disclosure, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal manner, unless otherwise specified in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] Furthermore, the term “adjacent” is used in the specification and claims to describe mutual proximity and does not necessarily imply mutual contact.

[0023] Furthermore, descriptions such as "when" or "while" in the present disclosure represent aspects such as "now, before, or after," and are not limited to situations that occur simultaneously, which is described first here. In the present disclosure, similar descriptions such as "arranged at" refer to the corresponding positional relationship between the two components and do not limit whether there is contact between the two components, unless otherwise stated, which is described first here. Furthermore, when the present disclosure discloses multiple functions, when the word "or" is used between the functions, it means that the functions can exist independently of each other, but does not preclude multiple functions from existing simultaneously.

[0024] Furthermore, the terms "electrically connected" or "coupled" in the description and claims refer not only to a direct electrical connection with another component, but also to an indirect electrical connection with another component. The electrical connection includes a direct electrical connection, an indirect electrical connection, or communication between two components via wireless signals.

[0025] See Fig. 1, which is an exploded view of an encoder 1 with a light-emitting diode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] As in Fig. 1, the LED encoder 1 of the present disclosure mainly includes: a switch module A, an encoder module B, a control shaft 2, and a LED 7. The switch module A may include a pressing drive body 8, a conductive elastic piece 9, an insulating base 10, and a terminal part 15. The encoder module B may include a magnetic sensor 3, a magnetic ring 4, and a rotatable drive body 5. For convenience of explanation, the Z direction will be used hereinafter as the normal direction of the LED encoder 1. Furthermore, the relative relationships such as "top," "bottom," "above," or "below" of components hereinafter refer to positions relative to the Z direction.

[0027] First, the switch module A is described. See also Fig. 1 to Fig. 2C. Fig. 2A is a detailed exploded view of the switch module A according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and Fig. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating a switch module A and a light-emitting diode 7 after assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2C is a top view of the insulating base 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] As in Fig. 1, Fig. 2A and Fig. 2C, the insulating base 10 may include a main chamber 100. For example, an upper surface 10a of the insulating base 10 is recessed with the main chamber 100, and the main chamber 100 includes a first sub-chamber 101 and a second sub-chamber 102, wherein the lower portion of the second sub-chamber 102 may be connected to the first sub-chamber 101 in the Z direction, and the protrusion of the first sub-chamber 101 in the Z direction may surround the protrusion of the second sub-chamber 102 in the Z direction. The first sub-chamber 101 and the second sub-chamber 102 have different sizes and / or shapes. For example, the first sub-chamber 101 may correspond to the size and / or shape of the rotatable drive body 5 of the encoder module B (e.g., slightly larger than or equal to it), so that the rotatable drive body 5 can be accommodated in the first sub-chamber 101.In addition, for example, the second sub-chamber 102 may correspond to the size and / or shape of the pressing drive body 8 so that the pressing drive body 8 can be received therein, but is not limited thereto.

[0029] In one embodiment, the insulating base 10 may also include a side chamber 103. In a horizontal direction (such as the + / -X direction, + / -Y direction, or other directions perpendicular to the Z direction), the side chamber 103 is adjacent to the first sub-chamber 101. The side chamber 103 may correspond to the size and / or shape of the magnetic sensor 3 of the encoder module B, so that the magnetic sensor 3 can be accommodated therein. However, the amount thereof may be changed according to the specifications of different sensors, or the range thereof may be adjusted.

[0030] A connector part 15 may be provided in the insulating base 10. The connector part 15 may be located at the bottom of the main chamber 100, but is not limited thereto. Furthermore, the connector part 15 may include, for example, a first connector 17 and a second connector 18, wherein the first connector 17 and the second connector 18 are not connected to each other.

[0031] In one embodiment, the first terminal 17 may include an insert portion 171, a connecting portion 172, and a contact portion 173, wherein the insert portion 171 is connected to the connecting portion 172 with a bend between the two portions, and the contact portion 173 extends from the connecting portion 172. In one embodiment, the insert portion 171 may extend along the -Z direction, the contact portion 173 may extend along the X direction, and the connecting portion 172 may extend along the Y direction, but is not limited thereto. The second terminal 18 may include an insert portion 181, a connecting portion 182, and a contact portion 183, wherein the insert portion 181 is connected to the connecting portion 182 with a bend between the two portions, and the contact portion 183 may extend from the connecting portion 182.In one embodiment, the insert portion 181 may extend along the -Z direction, the contact portion 183 may extend along the -X direction, and the connection portion 182 may extend along the Y direction, but is not limited thereto. In one embodiment, the contact portion 173 of the first terminal 17 and the contact portion 183 of the second terminal 18 may have different shapes and may be located at different heights (e.g., different heights in the Z direction), but is not limited thereto.

[0032] The conductive elastic piece 9 can be housed in the second sub-chamber 102 and arranged above the terminal part 15. For example, the conductive elastic piece 9 can be housed in the second sub-chamber 102 and arranged at the contact portion 173 of the first terminal 17 and above the contact portion 183 of the second terminal 18. The conductive elastic piece 9 can be an arcuate conductive elastic piece or another non-planar conductive elastic piece that can be compressed by an external force to change its shape or position, and can resume its original shape or position when the external force is removed.

[0033] The pressing drive body 8 may be housed in the second sub-chamber 102 of the main chamber 100 and disposed above the conductive elastic piece 9. The pressing drive body 8 itself may have a receiving portion 81, and the receiving portion 81 may conform to the shape of the LED 7 to accommodate the LED 7. It should be noted that when the LED 7 is housed in the receiving portion 81, the height of the LED 7 in the Z direction is not higher than the upper edge of the pressing drive body 8, so that the LED 7 is not exposed at the upper edge of the pressing drive body 8, and thus, when an external force is applied toward the pressing drive body 8, deterioration of the LED 7 can be prevented.In addition, the insulating base 10 may have at least one second receiving portion 107, and when the LED 7 and the pressing drive body 8 are installed on the insulating base 10, the second receiving portion 107 may be used to receive the pins 71 of the LED 7, but is not limited thereto.

[0034] In one embodiment, the switch module A may further comprise at least one steel ball 11 and at least one spring 12 (as shown in Fig. 1). The insulating base 10 may include at least one third receiving portion 108. The third receiving portion 108 may be used to receive the steel ball 11 and the spring 12, and in the Z direction, the steel ball 11 is arranged above the spring 12. The functions of the steel ball 11 and the spring 12 will be explained in the following sections.

[0035] In addition, the switch module A can be provided in one embodiment with a mounting plate 13 (as in Fig. 1), wherein the mounting plate 13 has a lead 135 so that the body of the encoder can be positioned on the counterpart, such as, but not limited to, a PCBA (not shown).

[0036] As in Fig. 2B, the pushing drive body 8 can be arranged in the second sub-chamber 102 after the assembly of the switch module A is completed (see Fig. 2A), and the insertion portion 171 of the first terminal 17 and the insertion portion 181 of the second terminal 18 may be exposed at the bottom of the switch module A. In addition, when the light-emitting diode 7 is housed in the pressing drive body 8, the pins 71 of the light-emitting diode 7 may be exposed at the bottom of the switch module A. In addition, when the magnetic sensor 3 is housed in the side chamber 103, the pins 31 of the magnetic sensor 3 may be exposed to the bottom of the switch module A via the through-holes 103h in the side chamber 103. Consequently, when the switch module A is mounted on a circuit board, the insertion portions 171, 181, the lead 135, and / or the pins 31, 71 may be electrically connected to the contacts on the circuit board, but are not limited thereto.

[0037] Switch module A should be understood accordingly.

[0038] Next, the encoder module B is described. See also Fig. 1 and Fig. 3A to Fig. 3C, where Fig. 3A is a detailed structural diagram of the encoder module B and the control shaft 2 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Fig. 3B is a schematic representation of the combination of magnet ring 4, rotatable drive body 5 and control shaft 2 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and Fig. 3C is a top view of the encoder module B according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0039] As in Fig. 1, Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B, the protrusion of the outer circumference of the magnetic ring 4 in the Z direction may be, for example, a circular or a circular shape, while the protrusion of the inner circumference of the magnetic ring 4 in the Z direction may be, for example, an ellipse-like shape with two tangential sides 4e, but it is not limited to this, and it may also be other shapes with two tangential sides 4e. In addition, as shown in Fig. As shown in Figure 3C, in one embodiment, the magnetic ring 4 may be provided with a plurality of first magnetic poles 41 (such as N poles) and second magnetic poles 42 (such as S poles) arranged in a staggered manner. In one embodiment, the sizes of the first magnetic poles 41 (N poles) and the second magnetic poles 42 (S poles) are equal.

[0040] As in Fig. 1, Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B, the rotatable drive body 5 has an upper surface 5a, wherein the upper surface 5a has a protruding structure 51, the protruding structure 51 extends along the Z direction, and a through hole 5S is arranged in the protruding structure 51. In addition, in one embodiment, the rotatable drive body 5 also has a tooth structure 52 arranged relative to the upper surface 5a, wherein the tooth structure 52 has a plurality of partial teeth 53 arranged along the edge of the rotatable drive body 5, and each partial tooth 53 faces the -Z direction; for example, the tip of the partial tooth 53 may be located away from the upper surface 5a. In one embodiment, the shape of the partial teeth 53 may be, for example, a triangular or a triangle-like shape, but may also be in other shapes, such as a semicircle, while not limited thereto.It should be noted that a partial tooth interval space 531 may be present between adjacent partial teeth 53.

[0041] In one embodiment, the protrusion of the outer periphery of the rotatable drive body 5 in the Z direction may, for example, be circular or circular-like. The protrusion of the outer periphery of the protruding structure 51 in the Z direction may be elliptical in shape with two tangential sides 5e and may correspond to the shape and / or size of the inner periphery 4c of the magnetic ring 4, so that the magnetic ring 4 can be encased in the protruding structure 51 for a tight engagement, so that the magnetic ring 4 and the rotatable drive body 5 can be secured to each other.In addition, the protrusion of the inner circumference of the protruding structure 51 (that is, the outline of the through-hole 5S) in the Z direction may be an ellipsoidal shape (or other shape) with two tangential sides 5f, and a bottom surface 21 of the control shaft 2 may conform to the shape and / or size of the inner circumference 51d of the protruding structure 51, so that the bottom 21 of the control shaft 2 can pass through the through-hole 5S, thereby allowing the control shaft 2 to drive the rotatable drive body 5 to rotate in the horizontal direction. In addition, it should be noted that the control shaft 2 can rotate in the vertical direction by the structural shape that matches between the control shaft 2 and the bearing 16 (as shown in FIG. Fig. 5A) in the Z direction.

[0042] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 3C, when the encoder module B is placed on the insulating base 10, the magnetic sensor 3 can detect the magnetic pole of the magnetic ring 4 and output a signal according to the detected magnetic pole of the magnetic ring 4. Therefore, when the control shaft 2 rotates, it can simultaneously drive the rotatable drive body 5 and the magnetic ring 4 fixed to the rotatable drive body 5 to rotate together, and the magnetic pole detected by the magnetic sensor 3 also changes according to the rotation of the magnetic ring 4. As a result, the output of the magnetic sensor 3 can be controlled by rotating the control shaft 2 to be used as an encoder, but is not limited thereto. In one embodiment, the encoder output may include one or more signal channels, but is not limited thereto.In one embodiment, the magnetic sensor 3 may have one or more pins, while the number of pins is not limited.

[0043] The encoder module B should be understood accordingly.

[0044] Next, the diffuser element 6, the bearing 16 and the control shaft 2 of the encoder 1 with a light-emitting diode are described, see again Fig. 1.

[0045] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 1, in one embodiment, the encoder 1 with a light-emitting diode may further include a diffuser element 6. The diffuser element 6 may be arranged on the light-emitting diode 7, and the control shaft 2 may pass through the through-hole 5S and be arranged above the diffuser element 6. The diffuser element 6 may be made of transparent material or at least partially transparent material, but is not limited thereto. It should be noted that in other embodiments, the encoder 1 with a light-emitting diode may not be provided with the diffuser element 6.

[0046] In one embodiment, the encoder 1 with a light-emitting diode may further include a bearing 16, and the bearing 16 has a through-hole 16S. The bearing 16 may be encased on the control shaft 2 via the through-hole 16S and arranged on the insulating base 10, wherein a part of the control shaft 2 may be exposed outside the bearing 16. In addition, the control shaft 2 may be rotatable relative to the bearing 16. In one embodiment, the bearing 16 may have a thread 161 for locking by tools other than those of the present disclosure (such as nuts), but is not limited thereto. In one embodiment, the bearing 16 may have an upper surface 16a, and the upper surface 16a is provided with one or more mounting holes 162, wherein the mounting holes 162 of the bearing 16 correspond to the one or more mounting holes 106 of the insulating base 10 (shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2A) and the one or more mounting holes 136 of the mounting plate 13 (shown in Fig. 1) so that the bearing 16, the insulating base 10 and the fixing plate 13 can be locked together by the fixing element 14, but they are not limited thereto.

[0047] In another embodiment, at least a part of the control shaft 2 may be made of transparent material. Furthermore, the control shaft 2 may be made of a completely transparent material, and may include, but is not limited to, acrylic, PC, other suitable materials, or any combination thereof. Alternatively, the control shaft 2 may also be a partially transparent and partially opaque structure, for example, partially made of metal and partially made of transparent material, while not limited to this. Therefore, the light emitted by the light-emitting diode 7 may be emitted to the outside via the control shaft 2. In addition, as shown in Fig. As shown in Figure 5A, in another embodiment, the control shaft 2 may be made of an opaque material. In this case, the interior of the control shaft 2 may be a hollow structure, allowing the light emitted by the light-emitting diode 7 to pass through the hollow structure to propagate, but is not limited thereto.

[0048] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the assembled encoder 1 with a light-emitting diode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, see also Fig. 1 to Fig. 3C as a reference.

[0049] In one embodiment, when the encoder 1 is arranged with a light-emitting diode on a circuit board (not shown), the pins 71 (in Fig. 2A) of the light-emitting diode 7 may be electrically connected to the external circuit (not shown) of the circuit board to be controlled by the external circuit to emit light and adjust the light color, while not limited thereto.

[0050] Next, the operation of the encoder 1 with a light-emitting diode serving as a push button is described, see also Fig. 1, Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B. Fig. Figure 5A is a cross-sectional view of the encoder 1 with a light-emitting diode along the line A1-A1' of Fig. 4, before the control shaft 2 is pressed, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and Fig. Figure 5B is a cross-sectional view of the encoder 1 with a light-emitting diode along the line A1-A1' of Fig. 4, after the control shaft 2 has been pressed, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein Fig. 5A shows the situation before the switch is pressed, and Fig. 5B shows the situation after the switch has been pressed. In addition, Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B Cross sections corresponding to line A1-A1' in Fig. 4 correspond.

[0051] As in Fig. 5A and Fig. As shown in Figure 5B, when an external force is applied to the control shaft 2 so that the control shaft 2 moves toward the pushing drive body 8, the control shaft 2 can withstand the diffuser element 6, and after receiving the force, the diffuser element 6 can withstand the pushing drive body 8 (for example, if the encoder 1 does not have the diffuser element 6, it may be configured so that the control shaft 2 directly withstands the pushing drive body 8). The pushing drive body 8 can withstand the conductive elastic piece 9 after receiving a force, and the conductive elastic piece 9 moves downward after receiving a force to achieve electrical connection between the first terminal 17 and the second terminal 18, thereby achieving the turn-on function of the switch.In one embodiment, the conductive elastic piece 9 may be configured to contact one of the first terminal 17 and the second terminal 18 before receiving force and not to contact the other, and the conductive elastic piece 9 will be in contact with the other of the first terminal 17 and the second terminal 18 after receiving force, while not limited thereto. In another embodiment, the conductive elastic piece 9 may also be configured to not contact the first terminal 17 and the second terminal 18 before receiving force and to contact the first terminal 17 and the second terminal 18 after receiving force, while not limited thereto.In addition, when the external force applied to the control shaft 2 is removed, the conductive elastic piece 9 can spring up by its own elastic force and return to its original shape or original position, so that the first terminal 17 and the second terminal 18 return to an electrically separated state, thereby achieving the turning-off function of the switch.

[0052] See next Fig. 4 to Fig. 6, where Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the encoder 1 with a light-emitting diode along the line B1-B1' according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which corresponds to the encoder 1 shown by the line B1-B1' of Fig. 4 formed cross-section. As in Fig. 6, the steel ball 11 may be arranged below the tooth structure 52 of the rotatable drive body 5, and the spring 12 may be arranged below the steel ball 11. In one embodiment, the tooth structure 52 may rotate in the horizontal direction when the rotatable drive body 5 rotates, and during rotation, the steel ball 11 may contact the partial teeth 53 of the tooth structure 52 or be arranged in the partial tooth interval 531. When the steel ball 11 contacts the tip of the partial tooth 53 of the tooth structure 52, the steel ball 11 is pressed by the partial tooth 53, and at this moment, the spring 12 is also compressed and deformed by the steel ball 11. When the steel ball 11 does not contact the partial tooth 53 or is arranged in the partial tooth interval 531, the spring 12 can be released and restored from the deformed state.With the change in the elastic potential energy of the spring 12, the steel ball 11 can impact the rotating drive body 5, providing the user with a continuous clicking sensation, similar to the vibration of a ratchet wrench. As a result, the rotational action can be converted into a stepped rotation. By feedbacking the magnitude of the vibration frequency, the operator can know the rotational speed of the control shaft 2.

[0053] The present disclosure can also achieve the above-mentioned functions by other embodiments. Fig. 7 is an exploded view of an encoder 1 with a light-emitting diode according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, see also Fig. 1 to Fig. 6, with most of the features of the embodiment of Fig. 7 to the description of the embodiment Fig. 1 can be applied, and thus the following description focuses mainly on the differences.

[0054] In the embodiment from Fig. 7, the LED encoder 1 may not include a steel ball 11 or a spring 12, but may include an annular elastic piece 19. The annular elastic piece 19 may be disposed in the insulating base 10, and the rotatable drive body 5 may be disposed above the annular elastic piece 19. The annular elastic piece 19 is provided with at least one protruding portion 19h. The protruding portion 19h may be disposed correspondingly to the tooth structure 52. Therefore, when the rotatable drive body 5 is not rotating, the protruding portion 19h may be disposed in the partial tooth interval space 531 between adjacent partial teeth 53, and when the rotatable drive body 5 is rotating, the protruding portion 19h may slide into the partial tooth interval space 531 by the sliding of the partial teeth 53 between another pair of adjacent partial teeth.Consequently, the effects of the steel ball 11 and the spring 12 in the embodiment of . Fig. 6 can also be generated (for example, feedback of the operating feeling).

[0055] In addition, in an embodiment, when the aforementioned functions such as the feedback operation feeling are not required, the aforementioned steel ball 11, the spring 12 or the annular elastic piece 19 and other related components may also be removed, or the tooth structure 52 of the rotatable drive body 5 may be directly removed, but is not limited thereto.

[0056] Therefore, it can be seen that in the present disclosure, the switch module A, the encoder module B, and the light-emitting diode 7 are integrated into one body and operated independently to simultaneously provide the functions of light emission of various mixed colors, the switch, and the encoder, which can simplify the structural design and manufacturing process and achieve the purpose of being thin and lightweight. In addition, the encoder module B of the present disclosure adopts non-contact magnetic induction technology, which can greatly increase the service life. In addition, the insulating base 10 of the present disclosure may be provided with a steel ball 11 and a spring 12, or may be equipped with an annular elastic piece 19, so that, in combination with the rotatable drive body 5, a feedback effect of the user's operating feeling can be provided.

[0057] In one embodiment, the present disclosure may compare at least one product through mechanism observation, such as the presence or absence of components or the operational relationship between components, for use as a basis for determining whether the product falls within the scope of the present disclosure, among other things. In one embodiment, the observation mechanism may be achieved using equipment such as, for example, an optical microscope or a scanning microscope, but is not limited thereto.

[0058] The present disclosure is to be understood accordingly.

[0059] The aforementioned specific embodiments should be construed as merely illustrative and not limiting the remainder of the present disclosure in any way.

Claims

[1] Encoder, comprising: a light-emitting diode; a switch module containing: an insulating base having a main chamber and a terminal portion; a conductive elastic piece received in the main chamber and arranged over the connecting part; and a pressing drive body accommodated in the main chamber and arranged above the conductive elastic piece and provided with a receiving portion for receiving the light-emitting diode; an encoder module at least partially housed in the main chamber and provided with a magnetic sensor, a magnetic ring and a rotatable drive body having a through hole; and a control shaft passing through the through hole and arranged above the pushing drive body. [2] The encoder according to claim 1, wherein the control shaft drives the rotatable drive body to rotate in the horizontal direction, and the magnetic ring is fixed to an outer surface of the rotatable drive body. [3] The encoder according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic ring has a plurality of first magnetic poles and a plurality of second magnetic poles arranged in a staggered manner. [4] The encoder of claim 3, wherein the insulating base further includes a side chamber adjacent to the main chamber, and the magnetic sensor is disposed in the side chamber. [5] The encoder according to claim 4, wherein the magnetic sensor outputs a signal according to the magnetic pole of the magnetic ring facing and detected by the magnetic sensor. [6] The encoder according to claim 1, further comprising a bearing having a through hole, wherein the bearing is encased on the control shaft via the through hole and arranged on the insulating base. [7] The encoder according to claim 1, wherein the control shaft is a hollow structure or at least a part of the control shaft is made of a transparent material. [8] The encoder according to claim 1, wherein the insulating base is further provided with at least one steel ball and at least one spring, the at least one steel ball is arranged correspondingly under a tooth structure of the rotatable driving body, and the at least one spring is arranged under the at least one steel ball; or the switch module further includes an annular elastic piece arranged in the insulating base, the rotatable driving body is arranged above the annular elastic piece, and a protruding portion of the annular elastic piece is arranged correspondingly to the tooth structure of the rotatable driving body. [9] The encoder according to claim 1, wherein the connection part includes a first terminal and a second terminal which are not connected to each other. [10] The encoder according to claim 9, wherein when the control shaft moves toward the pushing drive body, the pushing drive body withstands the conductive elastic piece so that the conductive elastic piece achieves electrical connection of the first terminal and the second terminal. [11] The encoder of claim 10, further comprising a diffuser element disposed on the light-emitting diode to withstand the pressing drive body. [12] The encoder of claim 11, wherein the diffuser element is made of a transparent material or at least a part of the diffuser element is made of a transparent material. [13] The encoder according to claim 1, wherein the pushing drive body has a receiving portion corresponding to a shape of the light-emitting diode for receiving the light-emitting diode, and when the light-emitting diode is received in the pushing drive body, a pin of the light-emitting diode is exposed at a bottom of the switch module to be electrically connected to a circuit board. [14] The encoder of claim 1, further comprising a mounting plate attached to the insulating base, and wherein the mounting plate has at least one lead to enable a body of the encoder to be positioned on a counterpart. [15] The encoder according to claim 14, further comprising a fixing member and a bearing provided with one or more fixing holes, wherein the one or more fixing holes of the bearing correspond to one or more fixing holes of the insulating base and one or more fixing holes of the fixing plate, such that the bearing, the insulating base and the fixing plate are locked together by the fixing member.

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