TWI762992B - Dial input device - Google Patents

Abstract

An dial input device is provided. Multiple pressure sensing electrodes are disposed on the upper surface of a base frame. A supporting frame has a through-hole and the lower surface thereof has an engaging surface surrounding the through-hole. A rotation mechanism includes a cover element, a supporting rod, an engaging element, a sliding element and multiple elastic elements. The cover element is placed on elastic supporting elements disposed on the supporting frame, the user operation is performed on the cover element. The supporting rod is connected to the cover element and through the through-hole. The engaging element is disposed on the supporting rod and adapted to be engaged with the engaging surface. The sliding element is connected to the supporting rod. The rotation mechanism moves downward and being rotated or tilted in response to the user operation, such that the elastic elements press part of the pressure sensing electrodes. The controller determines rotation amount or tilt direction of the rotating mechanism according to the sensing signal output by the pressure sensing electrodes to operate an electronic device according to the rotation amount or the tilt direction.

Description

Knob input device

The present invention relates to an input device, and in particular, to a knob input device.

Traditional computer system input devices, including keyboard, mouse, touchpad, etc. The input method of the keyboard is that the user presses the keys on the keyboard to input. The mouse and the touchpad operate the computer system according to the user's manipulation actions on the two-dimensional plane. However, in some special cases, such as computer graphics, the traditional input device cannot provide a user with a more convenient input method. Therefore, special input devices such as knobs on the keyboard or independent external knobs have been developed on the market to provide users with a more convenient input method. For example, Microsoft's Surface Dial is an external knob device, which allows the user to control the electronic device interconnected with the knob device by controlling the rotation state of the knob device. However, the existing knob device can only generate input commands according to its rotation state, cannot provide more diverse control functions, and has limited application scope.

In view of this, the present invention provides a knob input device, which can generate a directional input command in response to a user's operation, thereby providing a more convenient input method with wider application range.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a knob input device, which includes a base frame, a carrying frame, a plurality of elastic supports, a rotating mechanism, a connecting device, and a controller. A plurality of pressure sensing electrodes are disposed on the upper surface of the base frame. The bearing frame is fixedly arranged above the base frame and has a perforation, and the lower surface of the bearing frame has an engaging surface surrounding the perforation. A plurality of elastic supports are arranged on the upper surface of the carrying frame. The rotating mechanism is arranged above the base frame, and includes a cover, a support rod, a clamping piece, a sliding piece, and a plurality of elastic members. The cover is placed on the elastic support, and the user operates on the cover. A support rod connects the cover and passes through the perforation. The engaging piece is arranged on the support rod and used for engaging with the engaging surface. The upper surface of the slider is connected to the support rod. A plurality of elastic members are provided on the surface of the slider. The rotating mechanism rotates and descends toward the base frame in response to the user's operation, so that the elastic members apply pressure to part of the pressure sensing electrodes. The connecting device is used to connect the electronic device. The controller is coupled to the connection device and the pressure sensing electrode. The controller determines the rotation amount and the tilt direction of the rotating mechanism according to the sensing signals output by the pressure sensing electrodes, so as to control the electronic device according to the rotation amount and the tilt direction.

Based on the above, in the embodiments of the present invention, when the user operates the knob input device, the rotating mechanism of the knob input device will descend and then rotate or tilt, so that the plurality of elastic members of the rotating mechanism will partially press The sensing electrodes apply pressure. Based on the sensing signals output by the plurality of pressure sensing electrodes, the controller can determine the rotation amount and the tilt direction of the rotating mechanism, so as to control the electronic device according to the rotation amount and the tilt direction. In this way, the user can not only input commands to the electronic device by rotating the knob input device, but also input directional commands to the electronic device by applying different pressures to different positions on the user contact surface of the rotary input device.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the following embodiments are given and described in detail with the accompanying drawings as follows.

Some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Element symbols quoted in the following description will be regarded as the same or similar elements when the same element symbols appear in different drawings. These examples are only a part of the invention and do not disclose all possible embodiments of the invention. Rather, these embodiments are only examples of devices within the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a knob input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the knob input device 10 is suitable for connecting to the electronic device 200 and used to receive user operations and provide user instructions to the electronic device 200 . The knob input device 10 can be an independent external input device, or the knob input device 10 can be integrated on a keyboard or other work platforms. The electronic device 200 is, for example, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a smart phone, or a game console, which is not limited in the present invention.

The knob input device 10 includes a rotation mechanism 140 , a connection device 150 , a controller 160 , and a plurality of pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N. The connection device 150 may be a transmission interface device supporting wired or wireless transmission standards, and is used to connect to the electronic device 200 . The above-mentioned wired transmission standard is, for example, the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard or the Thunderbolt (Thunderbolt) interface standard, and the above-mentioned wireless transmission standard is, for example, the Bluetooth (BT) standard or the wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity) standard. , WiFi) standards, etc., which are not limited in the present invention.

The rotating mechanism 140 has a user contact surface S1, and the user's operation is applied to the user contact surface S1, so that the rotating mechanism 140 rotates or tilts in response to the pressure exerted by the user. The pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N can be used to sense the movement posture of the rotating mechanism 140 in the three-dimensional three-axis space. The material of the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N may include, for example, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO) or other conductive materials with good conductivity.

The controller 160 may include programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessors (microprocessors), digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable A programmable logic device (PLD) or other similar device or a combination of these devices. The controller 160 is connected to the connection device 150 and the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N, and the controller 160 can detect the movement of the rotating mechanism 140 in the three-dimensional three-axis space according to the sensing signals output by the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N The posture (ie, the rotating state and the tilting state) is sent to the electronic device 200 through the connecting device 150 , and the input command corresponding to the user's operation is transmitted. In one embodiment, the controller 160 can look up a table according to the signal positions of the sensing signals output by the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N, so as to determine the rotation amount or the inclination direction of the rotating mechanism 140 and output the corresponding command code to the electronic device 200 .

In more detail, FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams of operations of a knob input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2A , the user can touch the user contact surface S1 and rotate the rotating mechanism 140 in the clockwise direction D1 or the counterclockwise direction D2 . Therefore, the rotation mechanism 140 can rotate in the up-down direction in the three-axis space as the rotation axis, and the controller 160 can control the electronic device 200 according to the rotation amount of the rotation mechanism 140 in the clockwise direction D1 or the counterclockwise direction D2. That is, the controller 160 can obtain the above-mentioned rotation amount by estimating the yaw angle (yaw) variation of the rotating mechanism 140 in the three-dimensional three-axis space. In addition, referring to FIG. 2B , the user can contact the user contact surface S1 and apply different pressures to different positions on the user contact surface S1 , so that the rotation mechanism 140 is in the left-right direction and/or the front-rear direction in the three-axis space as It rotates by rotating the axis, thus showing a tilted state. That is, in one embodiment, the controller 160 can estimate the roll and pitch angles of the rotating mechanism 140 in the three-dimensional three-axis space to determine the tilting direction of the rotating mechanism 140 .

It can be seen that the user can input user commands to the electronic device 200 by controlling the rotation amount of the rotating mechanism 140 in the device 10 via the control knob, or the user can also input the tilt direction of the rotating mechanism 140 in the device 10 by controlling the knob. A directional user command is input to the electronic device 200 . For example, the user can control the object on the screen (such as a cursor or a mouse) to move in a desired direction within the screen by manipulating the tilting direction of the rotating mechanism 140 . That is to say, in the embodiment of the present invention, in addition to controlling the rotation amount of the rotating mechanism 140 to input the first type of commands to the electronic device 200, the user can also control the tilt direction of the rotating mechanism 140 to input the second type of commands to the electronic device 200. device 200 , thereby improving the functionality of the knob input device 10 .

In one embodiment, the piezoelectric material may be interposed between the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N and the common electrode, so that the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N can output corresponding sensing signals in response to the magnitude of the force. In addition, in one embodiment, using the material property of piezoelectric material that the input voltage will produce deformation, the controller 160 can cause the piezoelectric material to generate mechanical vibration by applying a specific voltage to the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N and the common electrode, so as to generate mechanical vibration. Provide haptic feedback to the user. More specifically, after the controller 160 outputs the command code corresponding to the user operation to the electronic device 200, the electronic device 200 can instruct the controller 160 to generate a tactile sensation by applying a specific voltage to the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1-PE_N and the common electrode Give back.

Various embodiments of the knob input device 10 will be described below.

[First Embodiment]

3A is a schematic diagram of a knob input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3B is a schematic diagram of a base frame and a pressure sensing electrode according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B , the knob input device 20 is an implementation of the knob input device 10 shown in FIG. 1 . In addition to the connection device 150 and the controller 160 , the knob input device 20 includes a base frame 110_1 , a carrier frame 120 , a plurality of elastic supports 130 , and a rotation mechanism 140 . The pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N may be disposed on the upper surface of the base frame 110_1 . Specifically, in one embodiment, the common electrode layer CL, the dielectric layer IL and the sensing electrode layer PL may be sequentially stacked on the upper surface of the base frame 110_1. The common electrode layer CL may include one or more common electrodes, and the sensing electrode layer PL may include pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N. It should be noted that FIG. 3B only shows the pressure sensing electrode PE_1 , but those skilled in the art can easily understand other unlabeled pressure sensing electrodes in FIG. 3B . The common electrode and the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N are electrically connected to the controller 160 . When pressure is applied to the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N, the change in the distance between the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N and the common electrode on the common electrode layer CL will cause the capacitance to change. The sensing signal (eg, a voltage value) can represent the magnitude of the pressure applied to the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N.

The carrier frame 120 is fixedly disposed above the base frame 110_1 and has a perforation, and a lower surface of the carrier frame 120 has an engaging surface S2 surrounding the perforation. In this embodiment, the engaging surface S2 may be an inclined engaging surface, but the present invention is not limited thereto. A plurality of elastic supports 130 are disposed on the upper surface of the carrying frame 120 . In this embodiment, the elastic support members 130 may be a plurality of ball springs, respectively. However, in other embodiments, the elastic support 130 may be a combination of balls and other elastic elements (eg, elastic resin or elastic sheet structure).

The rotation mechanism 140 is disposed above the base frame 110_1 , and includes a cover 141 , a support rod 142 , a locking member 143 , a sliding member 144 , and a plurality of elastic members 145 . The cover 141 has a user contact surface S1 and is placed on the elastic support 130 . In this embodiment, the elastic support members 130 are respectively a plurality of ball springs, and the balls of the ball springs contact the cover member 141 . The elastic support member 130 can provide support when the user rotates the user contact surface S1 , and the cover member 141 can rotate unhindered on the balls of the elastic support member 130 in response to the user's operation. User operations performed by the user are applied to the cover member 141 . One end of the support rod 142 is connected to the cover member 141 and passes through the perforation of the carrying frame 120 . The engaging member 143 is disposed on the rod body of the support rod 142 and is used for engaging with the engaging surface S2. The engaging member 143 is, for example, a bevel gear, but the present invention is not limited thereto. When the rotating mechanism 140 is not pressed by the user (that is, the elastic supporting member 130 is not pressed by the external force exerted by the user) and is located at the initial position, the engaging member 143 is engaged with the engaging surface S2 . When the rotating mechanism 140 is pressed down by the user (ie, the elastic support 130 is pressed by the external force exerted by the user), the engaging element 143 is not engaged with the engaging surface S2 , that is, it is separated from the engaging surface S2 .

The upper surface of the sliding member 144 is connected to the other end of the support rod 142 and is disposed between the base frame 110_1 and the carrying frame 120 . A plurality of elastic members 145 are provided on the surface of the slider 144 . In this embodiment, the elastic members 145 are respectively a plurality of ball springs. However, in other embodiments, the elastic member 145 may be a combination of balls and other elastic elements (eg, elastic resin or elastic sheet structure). The rotation mechanism 140 can descend and rotate or tilt in the direction close to the base frame 110_1 in response to the user's operation, so that the elastic members 145 apply pressure to some of the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N. The controller 160 determines the rotation amount and the tilt direction of the rotating mechanism 140 according to the sensing signals output by the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N, so as to control the electronic device 200 according to the rotation amount and the tilt direction. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the sliding member 144 is a turntable, and the elastic members 145 are arranged on the side surface of the turntable. As shown in FIG. 3A , the four elastic members 145 are respectively located on the sides of the turntable.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B , the base frame 110_1 is in the shape of a conical cylinder, and a plurality of pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 to PE_N can be disposed on the inner cylinder surface S3 of the base frame 110_1 . The elastic member 145 is a ball spring, and the balls of the elastic member 145 are adapted to roll along the inner cylindrical surface S3. It should be noted that FIG. 3B only shows the pressure sensing electrode PE_1 , but those skilled in the art can easily understand other unlabeled pressure sensing electrodes in FIG. 3B . In this embodiment, the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N include 12 pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the sensing channels CH1 ˜ CH12 of the first level L1 , such as the pressure corresponding to the sensing channel CH2 of the first level L1 . Sensing electrode PE_1. The pressure sensing electrodes PE_1-PE_N further include 12 pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the sensing channels CH1-CH12 of the second level L2, and 12 pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the sensing channels CH1-CH12 of the third level L3 electrode. The plurality of pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the first level L1 are distributed above the plurality of pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the second level L2, and the plurality of pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the second level L2 are distributed above the plurality of pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the second level L2. Above the multiple pressure sensing electrodes of the third level L3.

In this embodiment, when the rotating mechanism 140 is not pressed, the elastic member 145 will not contact any pressure sensing electrodes. When the rotating mechanism 140 is pressed to descend, the elastic member 145 will exert pressure on part of the pressure sensing electrodes. In this embodiment, the elastic members 145 are respectively ball springs, and the balls of the ball springs contact the pressure sensing electrodes of the portion to apply pressure to them.

4A to 4F are schematic diagrams of the knob input device receiving user operations according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that the levels of the sensing signals shown in FIG. 4A to FIG. 4F are only exemplary.

Please refer to FIGS. 3A , 3B and 4A together. When no user operates the knob input device 20 , the rotating mechanism 140 is not pressed and is located at the initial position, and the engaging member 143 is engaged with the carrying frame 120 . When the engaging member 143 is engaged with the carrying frame 120, the user cannot change the movement posture of the rotating mechanism 140 in the three-axis space. At this time, based on the support of the elastic supporter 130, the elastic member 145 will not contact any pressure sensing electrodes. Therefore, the sensing signals of all the pressure sensing electrodes are at the level of 0. Correspondingly, the knob input device 20 does not generate user commands to the electronic device 200 .

Please refer to FIG. 3A , FIG. 3B and FIG. 4B together, when a user operates the knob input device 20 and the hand F1 evenly presses the user contact surface S1 , the rotating mechanism 140 is pressed to descend and engage The member 143 is disengaged from the carrier frame 120 . When the engaging member 143 is engaged and disengaged from the carrying frame 120 , the user can change the movement posture of the rotating mechanism 140 in the three-axis space. At this time, since the hand F1 pushes down the user contact surface S1 evenly, the elastic member 145 pushes evenly toward the four pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the sensing channels CH2, CH5, CH8, CH11 of the first level L1 pressure. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the sensing signals of the sensing channels CH2 , CH5 , CH8 , and CH11 of the first level L1 are all at level 0.2. Therefore, the controller 160 can determine that the rotating mechanism 140 is not tilted, and will not output a user command related to the tilting direction to the electronic device 200 . It can be deduced that when the hand F1 presses the user contact surface S1 with greater force on average, the sliding member 144 can continue to descend, and the elastic member 145 will move toward the sensing channels CH2 and CH5 corresponding to the second level L2 or the third level L3. The four pressure sensing electrodes of , CH8 and CH11 apply pressure evenly.

Please refer to FIG. 3A , FIG. 3B and FIG. 4C together. When a user operates the knob input device 20 and the hand F1 presses the user contact surface S1 unevenly, the rotating mechanism 140 descends in response to the user operation and tilt. When the rotating mechanism 140 descends and tilts in response to the user's operation, the elastic member 145 applies pressure to one of the part of the pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the first level L1 and the pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the second level L2, so that the control The controller 160 determines the tilting direction of the rotating mechanism 140 according to the distribution position of one of the pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the second level L2. Here, the three elastic members 145 apply pressure to the three pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the sensing channels CH5, CH8, CH11 of the first level L1, and the remaining one elastic member 145 applies pressure to the sensing channels corresponding to the second level L2 One pressure sensing electrode of CH2 applies pressure. Based on the different compression degrees of the elastic member 145, the signal levels of the sensing signals of the sensing channels CH5, CH8 and CH11 of the first level L1 and the signal levels of the sensing signals of the sensing channel CH2 of the second level L2 will have the difference. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the sensing signals of the sensing channels CH5, CH8, and CH11 of the first level L1 are about 0.2, 0.1, and 0.2, respectively, while the sensing signals of the sensing channel CH2 of the second level L2 are about 0.2, 0.1, and 0.2. The standard is 0.4. Based on the signal level of the sensing signal of the sensing channel CH8 being the minimum value and the signal level of the sensing signal of the sensing channel CH2 being the maximum value, the controller 160 can thus determine the orientation of the rotating mechanism 140 corresponding to the sensing channel CH2 Tilting, and outputting a user command about the tilting direction to the electronic device 200 .

Please refer to FIG. 3A , FIG. 3B and FIG. 4D together, when a user operates the knob input device 20 and the hand F1 presses the user contact surface S1 unevenly, the rotating mechanism 140 descends in response to the user operation and tilt. Similar to the operation principle of FIG. 4C , the elastic member 145 applies pressure to one of the part of the pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the first level L1 and the pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the second level L2, so that the controller 160 can make the The distribution position of one of the pressure sensing electrodes of the second level L2 determines the tilting direction of the rotating mechanism 140 . As shown in the figure, the sensing signals of the sensing channels CH2, CH5, and CH11 of the first level L1 are about 0.1, 0.2, and 0.2, respectively, while the sensing signals of the sensing channel CH8 of the second level L2 are about the same. Bit 0.4. Based on the signal level of the sensing signal of the sensing channel CH2 being the minimum value and the signal level of the sensing signal of the sensing channel CH8 being the maximum value, the controller 160 can thus determine the corresponding orientation of the rotating mechanism 140 to the sensing channel CH8 Tilting, and outputting a user command about the tilting direction to the electronic device 200 .

Please refer to FIG. 3A , FIG. 3B and FIG. 4E together. When a user operates the knob input device 20 and the hand F1 presses the user contact surface S1 unevenly, the rotating mechanism 140 descends in response to the user operation and tilt. Similar to the operation principle of FIG. 4C and FIG. 4D , the sensing signals of the sensing channels CH2 , CH5 and CH8 of the first level L1 are about 0.2, 0.1 and 0.2 respectively, while the sensing signals of the sensing channel CH11 of the second level L2 are about 0.2, 0.1 and 0.2 respectively. The sensing signal is about 0.4 of the standard. Based on the signal level of the sensing signal of the sensing channel CH5 being the minimum value and the signal level of the sensing signal of the sensing channel CH11 being the maximum value, the controller 160 can thus determine the orientation of the rotating mechanism 140 corresponding to the sensing channel CH11 Tilting, and outputting a user command about the tilting direction to the electronic device 200 .

3A, 3B and 4F, when a user operates the knob input device 20 and the hand F1 presses and rotates against the user contact surface S1, the rotating mechanism 140 descends and rotates in response to the user's operation. During the period when the rotating mechanism 140 rotates in response to the user's operation, the elastic member 145 applies pressure to some of the pressure sensing electrodes in sequence at different time points, so that the controller 160 can determine the rotation amount of the rotating mechanism 140 accordingly. As shown in the figure, when the user presses the rotating mechanism 140 to release the rotating mechanism 140 , if the sensing channels CH2 , CH3 , and CH4 respectively output a high-level sensing signal V1 at successive time points t1 , t2 , and t3 , V2, V3, the controller 160 can determine that the rotation amount of the rotating mechanism 140 is 90 degrees. Therefore, the controller 160 can output a user command regarding the rotation amount to the electronic device 200 .

[Second Embodiment]

5A is a schematic diagram of a knob input device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 5B is a schematic diagram of a base frame and a pressure sensing electrode according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B , the knob input device 30 is an implementation of the knob input device 10 shown in FIG. 1 . In addition to the connection device 150 and the controller 160 , the knob input device 30 includes a base frame 110_2 , a carrier frame 120 , a plurality of elastic support members 130 , and a rotation mechanism 140 . The pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N may be disposed on the upper surface of the base frame 110_2 . Specifically, in one embodiment, the common electrode layer CL, the dielectric layer IL, and the sensing electrode layer PL may be sequentially stacked on the upper surface of the base frame 110_2. The common electrode layer CL may include one or more common electrodes, and the sensing electrode layer PL may include pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N corresponding to the sensing channels CH1 ˜ CH16 , respectively. It should be noted that FIG. 5B only shows the pressure sensing electrode PE_1 , but those skilled in the art can easily understand other unlabeled pressure sensing electrodes in FIG. 5B . The common electrode and the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N are electrically connected to the controller 160 . The principle of the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N for sensing the magnitude of the pressure is similar to that described in the first embodiment. In addition, the user can also control the rotation amount and the tilting direction of the rotating mechanism 140 , so as to provide corresponding user commands to the electronic device 200 to control the sub-device 200 .

It should be noted that, different from the first embodiment, in this embodiment, the elastic members 145 include elastic members 145 a for providing a support function and elastic members 145 b for detecting the rotation amount and the tilting direction of the rotating mechanism 140 . . The slider 144 is a turntable, and the elastic members 145a and 145b are arranged on the lower surface of the turntable. As shown in 5A, the elastic member 145a is disposed at the center of the lower surface of the turntable and near the edge of the surface. The elastic members 145b are located at specific positions on the lower surface of the turntable, respectively. However, the illustrated arrangement and distribution of the elastic members 145a and 145b is only an exemplary illustration, and is not intended to limit the present invention.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B , the base frame 110_2 is in the shape of a disc, and a plurality of pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 to PE_N can be disposed on the bottom surface S4 of the base frame 110_2 . It should be noted that FIG. 5B only shows the pressure sensing electrode PE_1 , but those skilled in the art can easily understand other unlabeled pressure sensing electrodes in FIG. 5B . In this embodiment, the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N are located on the same plane and include a plurality of pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the sensing channels CH9 ˜ CH16 and a plurality of pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the sensing channels CH1 ˜ CH8 . The pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the sensing channels CH9-CH16 are distributed and arranged as an inner circle on the bottom surface S4 of the disk, and the pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the sensing channels CH1-CH8 are distributed and arranged on the bottom surface S4 of the disk for the outer ring. For example, the pressure sensing electrode PE_1 corresponding to the sensing channel CH1 is located on the outer circle.

In this embodiment, when the rotating mechanism 140 is not pressed, the elastic member 145b will not contact any pressure sensing electrodes. When the rotating mechanism 140 is pressed to descend, the elastic member 145b will apply pressure to part of the pressure sensing electrodes. In this embodiment, the elastic members 145a and 145b are also ball springs respectively, and the balls of the elastic members 145a and 145b are suitable for rolling along the bottom surface S4 of the disk. Similar to the first embodiment, the controller 160 can determine the tilt direction and the rotation amount of the rotating mechanism 140 according to the sensing signals output by the multiple pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N corresponding to the sensing channels CH1 ˜ CH16 .

6A to 6C are schematic diagrams of determining the rotation amount and the tilt direction according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 5A , FIG. 5B and FIG. 6A together. When a user operates the knob input device 30 and the hand presses the user contact surface S1 evenly, the rotating mechanism 140 is pressed and lowered, and the engaging member 143 is disengaged The carrier frame 120 is carried. When the engaging member 143 is engaged and disengaged from the carrying frame 120 , the user can change the movement posture of the rotating mechanism 140 in the three-axis space. Since the hand presses down on the user contact surface S1 evenly, the elastic member 145b presses evenly toward the pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to the sensing channels CH1 , CH3 , CH7 , CH13 , CH15 . Therefore, as shown in the figure, the sensing signals of the sensing channels CH1 , CH3 , CH7 , CH13 , and CH15 are all about the level of 0.5. Therefore, the controller 160 can determine that the rotating mechanism 140 is not tilted, and will not output a user command related to the tilting direction to the electronic device 200 . Next, when the user controls the rotation mechanism 140 to rotate by 45 degrees, based on the average pressure of the hand on the user contact surface S1, the elastic member 145b changes to sense the pressure corresponding to the sensing channels CH2, CH4, CH8, CH14, CH16 The electrodes are pressed evenly. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the sensing signals of the sensing channels CH2, CH4, CH8, CH14, and CH16 are all about 0.5, and the controller 160 can sense the channels CH1, CH3, CH7, and CH13 according to consecutive time points. , the output signal level of CH15 and the output signal level of sensing channels CH2, CH4, CH8, CH14 and CH16 to obtain the rotation amount of 45 degrees. By analogy, please refer to FIG. 5A , FIG. 5B and FIG. 6B together, when the user controls the rotation mechanism 140 to rotate 90 degrees or 135 degrees, the controller 160 can be based on the sensing output from the sensing channels CH1 - CH16 at successive time points The signal level of the signal determines the rotation amount of the rotating mechanism 140 .

It should be noted that, similar to the principle of detecting the tilting direction in the first embodiment, in this embodiment, when the rotating mechanism 140 descends and tilts in response to the user's operation, two of the elastic members 145b are directed toward the pressure sensing electrodes. Two of PE_1 ˜PE_N apply different pressures, so that the controller 160 determines the tilting direction of the rotating mechanism according to the distribution positions of the two pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N. As shown in FIG. 6C , when a user operates the knob input device 30 and the hand presses the user contact surface S1 unevenly, the rotating mechanism 140 descends and tilts in response to the user's operation. When the rotating mechanism 140 descends and tilts in response to the user's operation, the elastic member 145b exerts greater pressure on the pressure sensing electrodes of the sensing channels CH2, CH4, CH10, and senses the pressure on the sensing channels CH6, CH16 The electrodes apply less pressure. As shown in the figure, the sensing signals of the sensing channels CH2, CH4, and CH10 are all about the level of 0.8, and the sensing signals of the sensing channels CH6 and CH16 are all about the level of 0.5. Based on this, the controller 160 can determine that the rotating mechanism 140 is tilted to a specific direction (eg, the user's right) according to the sensing signals of the sensing channels CH2 , CH6 , CH4 , CH10 , and CH16 , so as to output an output command related to the tilting direction. to the electronic device 200 .

[Third Embodiment]

7A is a schematic diagram of a knob input device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 7B is a schematic diagram of a base frame and a pressure sensing electrode according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B , the knob input device 40 is an implementation of the knob input device 10 shown in FIG. 1 . In addition to the connection device 150 and the controller 160 , the knob input device 40 includes a base frame 110_3 , a carrier frame 120 , a plurality of elastic support members 130 , and a rotation mechanism 140 . The pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N may be disposed on the upper surface of the base frame 110_3 . Specifically, in one embodiment, the common electrode layer CL, the dielectric layer IL, and the sensing electrode layer PL may be sequentially stacked on the upper surface of the base frame 110_3. The common electrode layer CL may include one or more common electrodes, and the sensing electrode layer PL may include pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N corresponding to the sensing channels CH1 ˜ CH8 , respectively. It should be noted that FIG. 7B only indicates the pressure sensing electrode PE_1 , but those skilled in the art can easily understand other unlabeled pressure sensing electrodes in FIG. 7B . The common electrode and the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N are electrically connected to the controller 160 . The principle of the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N for sensing the magnitude of the pressure is similar to that described in the first embodiment. In addition, the user can also control the rotation amount and the tilting direction of the rotating mechanism 140 , so as to provide corresponding user commands to the electronic device 200 to control the sub-device 200 .

It should be noted that, similar to the second embodiment, in this embodiment, the elastic members 145 include an elastic member 145a for providing a support function and an elastic member 145b for detecting the rotation amount and the inclination direction of the rotating mechanism 140 . Different from the first embodiment and the second embodiment, in this embodiment, the base frame 110_3 is in the shape of a circular bowl, and the pressure sensing electrodes PE_1 ˜PE_N are disposed on the bowl bottom surface S5 of the base frame 110_3 . Correspondingly, the sliding member 144 is a hemisphere, the upper surface of the sliding member 144 is a plane and is connected to the support rod 142 , and the elastic member 145 is disposed on the spherical surface of the hemisphere. However, the illustrated configuration of the elastic members 145a and 145b is only an exemplary illustration, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The elastic members 145a, 145b are ball springs, and the balls of the elastic members 145a, 145b are adapted to roll along the bowl bottom surface S5.

8 is a schematic diagram of a knob input device according to a third embodiment of the present invention receiving user operations. Please refer to FIGS. 7A , 7B and 8 at the same time, when a user operates the knob input device 40 and the hand F2 presses the user contact surface S1 evenly, the rotating mechanism 140 is pressed and lowered, and the engaging member 143 Detach the carrier frame 120 . When the engaging member 143 is engaged and disengaged from the carrying frame 120 , the user can change the movement posture of the rotating mechanism 140 in the three-axis space. Since the hand presses down on the user contact surface S1 evenly, the elastic member 145b presses evenly toward the four pressure sensing electrodes corresponding to four of the sensing channels CH1 ˜ CH8 . Next, when the user's hand F2 presses the user contact surface S1 unevenly, the rotating mechanism 140 descends and tilts in response to the user's operation. When the rotating mechanism 140 descends and tilts in response to the user's operation, two of the elastic members 145b have different degrees of compression, so the two of the elastic members 145b apply different pressures to two of the pressure sensing electrodes, so that the controller 160 determines the inclination direction of the rotating mechanism 140 according to the distribution positions of the two pressure sensing electrodes.

To sum up, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the user operates the rotating mechanism of the knob input device, the controller of the knob input device can know the rotation mechanism based on the sensing signal output by the pressure sensing electrode direction of tilt or amount of rotation. In this way, the user can control the electronic device by inputting user commands by controlling the rotation amount and the tilting direction of the rotating mechanism. The knob input device of the present invention can also be used as a directional input device, and the user can operate the knob input device through more diversified operation methods. In this way, the present invention can not only expand the application range of the knob input device, but also improve the operational convenience of the knob input device.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above by the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, The protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the appended patent application.

10, 20, 30, 40: Knob input device S1: User interface 110_1, 110_2, 110_3: base frame 120: Support frame 130: elastic support 140: Rotary Mechanism 141: Cover 142: Support rod 143: Snaps 144: Slider 145, 145a, 145b: elastic members PL: Sensing electrode layer IL: Dielectric Layer CL: Common electrode layer 150: Connection device 160: Controller 200: Electronics PE_1～PE_N: Pressure sensing electrodes D1: Clockwise direction D2: Counterclockwise direction S3: inner cylinder surface S4: Disc Bottom S5: Bowl Bottom F1, F2: hand V1～V3: Sensing signal

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a knob input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams of operations of a knob input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3A is a schematic diagram of a knob input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3B is a schematic diagram of a base frame and a pressure sensing electrode according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 4A to 4F are schematic diagrams of the knob input device receiving user operations according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 5A is a schematic diagram of a knob input device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 5B is a schematic diagram of a base frame and a pressure sensing electrode according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 6A to 6C are schematic diagrams of determining the rotation amount and the tilt direction according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 7A is a schematic diagram of a knob input device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 7B is a schematic diagram of a base frame and a pressure sensing electrode according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 8 is a schematic diagram of a knob input device according to a third embodiment of the present invention receiving user operations.

10: Knob input device S1: User interface 140: Rotary Mechanism 150: Connection device 160: Controller 200: Electronics PE_1～PE_N: Pressure sensing electrodes

Claims (10)

A knob input device, comprising: a base frame, a plurality of pressure sensing electrodes are arranged on the upper surface of the base frame; a bearing frame, fixedly arranged above the base frame and has a perforation, and the lower surface of the bearing frame has an engaging surface surrounding the perforation; a plurality of elastic support members arranged on the upper surface of the bearing frame; a rotating mechanism arranged above the base frame, which includes; a cover member placed on the elastic support members , and a user operates on the cover; a support rod is connected to the cover and passes through the through hole; an engaging piece is arranged on the support rod and is used for engaging with the engaging surface; a a sliding member, the upper surface of which is connected to the support rod; and a plurality of elastic members, arranged on the surface of the sliding member, wherein the rotating mechanism is lowered and rotated or inclined in the direction of the base frame in response to the operation of the user, so that The elastic members apply pressure to a portion of the pressure sensing electrodes, wherein a portion of the pressure sensing electrodes are the pressure sensing electrodes in contact with the elastic members; a connecting device for connecting an electronic device; and a controller coupled to the connection device and the pressure sensing electrodes, and determining the rotation amount or the tilting direction of the rotating mechanism according to the sensing signals output by the pressure sensing electrodes, so as to determine the rotation amount or the inclination direction according to the rotation amount Or the tilt direction controls the electronic device. The knob input device of claim 1, wherein the elastic support members are a plurality of first ball springs respectively, and the balls of the first ball springs contact the cover member; and the elastic members are a plurality of first ball springs respectively Two ball springs, when the rotating mechanism is pressed to descend, the balls of the second ball springs contact the pressure sensing electrodes of the part, and some of the pressure sensing electrodes are connected to the second ball springs the pressure sensing electrodes in contact. The knob input device according to claim 1, wherein when the rotating mechanism is not pressed and is located at the initial position, the engaging member is engaged with the engaging surface; when the rotating mechanism is pressed to descend, the engaging member is not is engaged with the engaging surface. The knob input device of claim 1, wherein when the rotating mechanism descends and rotates in response to the user's operation, the elastic members apply a sequence to a part of the pressure sensing electrodes at different time points pressure, so that the controller determines the amount of rotation of the rotating mechanism. The knob input device according to claim 1, wherein the base frame is in the shape of a conical cylinder, the pressure sensing electrodes are disposed on the inner cylinder surface of the base frame, the sliding member is a turntable, and the elastic members arranged on the side of the turntable. The knob input device of claim 5, wherein the pressure sensing electrodes include a plurality of first pressure sensing electrodes and a plurality of second pressure sensing electrodes, and the first pressure sensing electrodes are distributed on the first pressure sensing electrodes Above the two pressure-sensing electrodes. The knob input device of claim 6, wherein when the rotating mechanism descends and tilts in response to the user's operation, the elastic members move toward a portion of the first pressure sensing electrodes and the second pressure sensing electrodes Pressure is applied to one of the measuring electrodes force, so that the controller determines the inclination direction of the rotating mechanism according to the distribution position of one of the second pressure sensing electrodes, and some of the first pressure sensing electrodes and the second pressure sensing electrodes The electrodes are the first pressure sensing electrodes and the second pressure sensing electrodes in contact with the elastic members. The knob input device of claim 1, wherein the base frame is in the shape of a disc, the pressure sensing electrodes are disposed on the bottom surface of the base frame, the slider is a turntable, and the elastic members are disposed On the lower surface of the turntable; when the rotating mechanism descends and inclines in response to the user's operation, two of the elastic members apply different pressures to two of the pressure-sensing electrodes, so that the controller is based on The distribution positions of both of the pressure sensing electrodes determine the inclination direction of the rotating mechanism. The knob input device of claim 8, wherein the pressure sensing electrodes include a plurality of first pressure sensing electrodes and a plurality of second pressure sensing electrodes, and the first pressure sensing electrodes are arranged in an inner circle , the second pressure sensing electrodes are distributed and arranged as an outer ring. The knob input device according to claim 1, wherein the base frame is in the shape of a circular bowl, the pressure sensing electrodes are disposed on the bottom surface of the bowl of the base frame, the sliding member is a hemisphere, and the elastic members are disposed on On the spherical surface of the hemisphere; when the rotating mechanism descends and inclines in response to the user's operation, two of the elastic members apply different pressures to two of the pressure-sensing electrodes, so that the controller is based on The distribution positions of both of the pressure sensing electrodes determine the inclination direction of the rotating mechanism.

Images