US Patent 9423894 Magnetically sensed user interface devices

A user interface device including a floating actuator sub-assembly and a base assembly flexibly coupled to the floating actuator assembly is disclosed. The floating actuator assembly may include a magnet array assembly with a plurality of magnets fixed relative to each other. The user interface device may further include a deformable actuator sub-assembly, which may include a magnet array assembly with a plurality of magnets in a movable configuration relative to each other. A base assembly may include multi-axis magnetic sensors corresponding to the magnets in the magnet arrays to sense position of motion of the magnets during user displacements and/or deformation of actuator elements of the user interface device.