Avid Technology Limited

William J Lurie

Steven Hollister Milne

Edward Jones

David K Magleby

Charles G Schmidt

A four-axis joystick provides the ability to control four parameters in a single input device. In one embodiment, the Z-direction of control is implemented by a telescoping joystick handle, with the X- and Y-directions of control being implemented by pivoting motions of the handle in directions radial to an axis of the joystick handle, and the theta-direction of control implemented by rotation of a portion of the handle about the handle axis. The four-axis joystick may be used as an input device for audio mixing applications with the X-, Y-, and Z-dimensions of control mapped to panning of an audio source in the left-right, forward-backward, and up-down directions respectively, and the theta-dimension mapped to volume control of low frequency effects.

Four-axis positional input device

An overlay surface for a user interface of a device comprises a lower light-diffusing semitransparent layer affixed to an upper transparent layer. Graphics printed on the bottom surface of the transparent layer are protected from wear by the overlying transparent layer, while light sources back-illuminating the graphics from below are diffused by the semitransparent layer before they reach the graphics. The graphics of the surface may be provided by an opaque mask having transparent or translucent cutouts. The multilayer surface enables the graphics to be evenly back-illuminated while at the same time being protected from external wear without the need for additional light-diffusing elements such as light pipes.

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Alamo, CA, United States of America

William J Lurie