A motion-enable device includes a mechanical switch and a capacitive sensor with a sensing region that is located adjacent to the mechanical switch. The mechanical switch enables a first signal when closed or actuated that indicates that the mechanical switch is in an active state. The capacitive sensor enables a second signal when a conductive object is disposed in the sensing region, where the second signal indicates that the capacitive sensor is in an active state. Enablement of operation of an apparatus depends on receipt of both the first signal and the second signal. The mechanical switch and the capacitive sensor act as the two separate switches required by functional safety requirements for a motion enable device. Because the sensing region of the capacitive sensor is adjacent to the mechanical switch, the first and second signals are generated when an operator actuates the mechanical switch with a single digit.

A keyboard may be provided that has keys overlapped by a touch sensor. The keyboard may have key sensor circuitry for monitoring switching in the keys for key press input. The keyboard may also have touch sensor circuitry such as capacitive touch sensor circuitry that monitors capacitive electrodes in the touch sensor for touch sensor input such as multitouch gesture input. The keyboard may include an outer layer of fabric that overlaps the keys. The fabric may have openings that are arranged to form alphanumeric characters. Light sources may emit light that passes through the openings and illuminates the alphanumeric characters. The touch sensor may have signal lines that are not visible through the openings. The signal lines may be transparent, may be covered by a diffuser, or may circumvent the openings so that they do not overlap.

The invention relates to an apparatus comprising a primary coil, an object movable relative to the primary coil, and a device for detecting a movement of the object relative to the primary coil. This device comprises an electrical resonance circuit and at least one secondary coil with one or more coil windings, which secondary coil is moved with or starting from the object. The device comprises a measuring device for detecting and/or processing at least one physical variable of the electrical resonance circuit, which variable changes during the movement of the object between the first position and the second position and outputs at least one electrical signal that is dependent on the change in the physical variable.

The invention further relates to an input device with one or more such apparatuses and to a method for operating such an apparatus or such an input apparatus.

The invention relates to an apparatus for detecting a key press comprising a circuit substrate, to a key module with a key cap and a movement mechanism, and to a device for detecting the movement of the key cap, wherein this device comprises an electrical resonance circuit with a primary coil and a secondary coil with a short-circuited winding, which secondary coil is moved with the key cap, wherein the primary coil and the secondary coil are inductively coupled to one another, and the strength of the inductive coupling between the primary coil and secondary coil and thus at least one physical variable of the resonance circuit change during the movement of the key cap.

The invention also relates to a keyboard comprising one or more such apparatuses and to a method for detecting a key press.

A portable electronic device may include a housing member defining a side surface of the portable electronic device, a portion of the housing member defining a side wall of a hole extending through the housing member, a button member positioned along the side surface and defining a chassis portion and a hollow post extending into the hole defined through the housing member, and a first waterproof seal defined between the hollow post and the side wall of the hole. The portable electronic device may also include a biometric sensing component coupled to the chassis portion, a flexible circuit element extending through the hollow post and conductively coupling the biometric sensing component to a component within the housing, and a second waterproof seal defined within the hollow post.

A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device comprising: a substrate; a signal conductor supported on the substrate; ground conductors supported on the substrate on either side of the signal conductor; and a MEMS bridge at least one end of which is mechanically connected to the substrate by way of at least one anchor, the MEMS bridge comprising an electrically conductive switching portion, the electrically conductive switching portion comprising a switching signal conductor region and a switching ground conductor region, the switching signal conductor region being provided over the signal conductor and the switching ground conductor region being provided over a said ground conductor, the electrically conductive switching region being movable relative to the said signal and ground conductors respectively to thereby change the inductances between the switching signal conductor region and the signal conductor and between the switching ground conductor region and the respective ground conductor, wherein there is no continuous electrically conductive path extending from the switching conductor region to the at least one anchor. Capacative and ohmic switches, a varactor, a phase shifter, a tuneable power splitter/combiner, tuneable attenuator, SPDT switch and antenna apparatus comprising said devices.

A radiation therapy system includes a treatment couch positioning assembly that is directly coupled to a fixed structure supporting the linear accelerator of the radiation therapy system. The radiation therapy system can be installed in a radiation therapy facility without the floor of the facility being excavated and a sub-floor structure, such as a base frame, being installed. To laterally position a patient relative to the linear accelerator, the treatment couch positioning assembly of the radiation therapy system is laterally translated via a linear motor, and laterally translates with the treatment couch, rather than cantilevering the treatment couch to either side of the couch positioning assembly.

A key unit and a keyboard using the same are provided. The key unit includes a circuit board, an elastic element, a keycap, and a processing circuit. The circuit board includes a capacitance sensing circuit embedded therein, and the capacitance sensing circuit includes a pair of sensor electrodes. The elastic element is disposed on the circuit board. The keycap is moveably disposed above and spaced apart from the circuit board. The elastic element is disposed between the keycap and the circuit board so that the keycap moves between a non-depressed position and a depressed position with respect to the circuit board. The processing circuit is electrically connected to the pair of sensor electrodes to obtain a variation of a coupling capacitance between the pair of sensor electrodes and to determine whether the keycap is touched or depressed according to the variation of coupling capacitance.

The present invention provides a pluggable multifunctional push switch, comprising: a main socket, a transmission opening disposed on a bottom wall of the main socket; a sliding base, slid up and down in the main socket; a pressing signal assembly, the sliding base triggering a pressing signal after being pressed downward; a keycap, fixed on the sliding base; an integrated circuit board, disposed into the sliding base and having a downwardly extended transmission member, wherein a bottom end of the transmission member has a plug-in portion; a fixed base, disposed on the integrated circuit board; a display, disposed on the fixed base; and a touchpad, located under the keycap. The pluggable transmission concept is further used in the present invention, so that the switch can be more easily disassembled and easily transferred to another device for use.

The invention relates to a remote control (1, 48) comprising: a first data read-in device (24, 78) and a second data read-in device (24, 78) which are each designed to read in data in a pressure direction (20, 61) on the basis of a pressure exerted by a user, a first pressure take-up element (30) assigned to the first data read-in device (24, 78) and a second pressure take-up element (30, 85) assigned to the second data read-in device (24, 78), which elements each have a pressure take-up side (35, 89) for taking up the pressure applied by the user, and a pressure output side for outputting the pressure, which was taken up, to the respective data read-in device (24, 78); and a flexible printed circuit board (31, 86, 97) which connects the pressure take-up sides (35, 89) of the pressure take-up elements (30, 85) to each other and on which at least one capacitive measurement transducer (38, 39, 93, 94) is formed whose capacitance is dependent on the position of a finger of the user on the flexible printed circuit board (31, 86, 97).