Input device
By combining the encoding board and the resonant circuit, the encoding signal frequency is adjusted to identify user input, solving the problem of EMR pen or mouse accurately judging the scroll wheel direction at a high reporting rate, and achieving higher input signal accuracy.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202411863517.3
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-03-25
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-17
- Publication Date
- 2025-09-26
AI Technical Summary
Existing EMR pens or mice are prone to failure in interpreting signals from scroll wheels, optical or mechanical encoders, especially at high reporting rates, where it is difficult to accurately identify the scrolling direction of the scroll wheel.
A combination of a coding plate, a connecting mechanism and a resonant circuit is used to identify user input commands by adjusting the coding frequency of the coding signal. The connection relationship between the electrodes and contacts on the coding plate is used to change the equivalent capacitance value of the resonant circuit, thereby adjusting the frequency of the coding signal.
At high reporting rates, the accuracy of input signals is improved, the phenomenon of signal discrimination failure is reduced, and the accurate interpretation of input commands is ensured.
Smart Images
Figure CN120704542A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to an input device, and in particular to an input device capable of improving the accuracy of a received input signal. Background Art
[0002] Existing mice, scroll wheels, and optical or mechanical encoders use multiple switches with delayed switching, combined with logic circuits or processors, to quickly determine scroll wheel direction. However, interpreting optical or mechanical encoder signals through the scroll wheel of an electromagnetic induction (EMR) pen or mouse is extremely difficult. EMR pens typically transmit information between the sensor pad and the pen or mouse via resonance. Because EMR typically has a report rate of 100 to 1000, detecting scroll wheel, optical, or mechanical encoders at these speeds is highly susceptible to failure. Summary of the Invention
[0003] The present invention is directed to an input device capable of improving the accuracy of received input signals.
[0004] According to an embodiment of the present invention, an input device includes an encoding board, a connection mechanism, a resonant circuit, and M-1 first capacitors. The encoding board has N fields, each field having M partitions, and at least one of the partitions of each field having an electrode. In the field, the electrodes on the corresponding partitions are electrically coupled to each of a plurality of contacts, wherein the contacts include a first contact and M-1 second contacts, where N=2 M-1 , M is an integer greater than 1. The connection mechanism is used to determine whether the first contact is connected to at least one of the plurality of second contacts. The resonant circuit is electrically coupled to the first contact to provide a coding signal having a coding frequency. M-1 first capacitors are respectively electrically coupled between the second contact and the resonant circuit.
[0005] Based on the above, the input device of the present invention electrically couples the resonant circuit to one or more first capacitors via a connection mechanism, and adjusts the encoding frequency of the generated encoding signal based on the capacitance of the one or more first capacitors. By identifying the encoding frequency of the encoding signal to detect the user's input command, the input device of the present invention can reduce the occurrence of input signal reception failures due to insufficient signal recognition. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0007] Figure 2A as well as Figure 2BSchematic diagrams respectively showing implementations of an encoding plate and a connection structure in an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0008] Figure 3A as well as Figure 3B Schematic diagrams respectively showing implementations of an encoding plate and a connection structure in an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0009] Figure 4A as well as Figure 4B A schematic diagram illustrating the layered architecture of an encoding board in an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0010] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating an implementation of a resonant circuit of an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
[0012] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Input device 100 includes a coding plate 110, a connecting structure 120, a resonant circuit 130, and a plurality of capacitors C1-C4. The coding plate 110 and the connecting structure 120 are electrically coupled to each other. The connecting structure 120 is also electrically coupled to a plurality of contacts L1-L5. In conjunction with the coding plate 110, the connecting structure 120 can connect contact L1 to at least one of the contacts L2-L5, or it can disconnect contact L1 from any of the contacts L2-L5.
[0013] The resonant circuit 130 is electrically coupled to the contact L1 and is electrically coupled to the connection structure 120 through the contact L1. The capacitors C1 to C4 are electrically coupled to the contacts L2 to L5, respectively. When each contact L2 to L5 is electrically coupled to the contact L1, the corresponding capacitors C1 to C4 can be coupled in parallel with the resonant circuit 130. The resonant circuit 130 may have a built-in capacitor. The built-in capacitor in the resonant circuit 130 can be connected in parallel with one or more of the capacitors C1 to C4, or disconnected from any of the capacitors C1 to C4, depending on the connection relationship between the contact L1 and the contacts L2 to L5. The resonant circuit 130 is used to generate a coding signal ECS, which has a coding frequency, and the coding frequency can be adjusted according to the equivalent variable capacitance value formed by the built-in capacitor and the capacitors C1 to C4. In this embodiment, when the built-in capacitor is not connected to any of the capacitors C1 - C4 , the coding signal ECS may have the highest coding frequency. When the built-in capacitor is coupled in parallel to all of the capacitors C1 - C4 , the coding signal ECS may have the lowest coding frequency.
[0014] In this embodiment, the capacitance values of the capacitors C1 to C4 may be unequal. In one embodiment of the present invention, the capacitance values of the capacitors C1 to C4 may form a geometric progression in sequence, and the capacitance ratio of the capacitors C1 to C4 may be, for example, 1:2:4:8.
[0015] In this embodiment, when the input device 100 is, for example, a mouse (or an electromagnetic induction (EMR) pen), the connecting structure 120 can be configured correspondingly on the mouse's scroll wheel. When the user rotates the scroll wheel, the connecting structure 120 can correspondingly move or rotate, changing the connection relationship between contact L1 and contacts L2-L5. Correspondingly, the encoding frequency of the encoding signal ECS generated by the resonant circuit 130 can be modulated in response to the rotation of the scroll wheel. Consequently, the input device 100 can detect the user's input command by sensing changes in the encoding frequency of the encoding signal ECS.
[0016] For details on the implementation of the code plate 110 and the connection structure 120, please refer to Figure 2A as well as Figure 2B , Figure 2A as well as Figure 2B Schematic diagrams showing implementations of the coding board and the connection structure in the input device of the embodiment of the present invention are shown respectively. Figure 2AIn the embodiment, the code plate 110 may have multiple fields F1-F8, each of which has multiple sub-areas Z1-Z4. The number N of fields F1-F8 is equal to 2 raised to the power of M-1, where M is the number of sub-areas, and M is an integer greater than 1. Each sub-area Z1-Z4 of each field F1-F8 may or may not have any of the electrodes EP1-EP4.
[0017] Furthermore, on the encoder plate 110, all electrodes on the same subareas Z1-Z4 corresponding to different fields F1-F8 are electrically connected to each other and are electrically coupled to contacts L1-L4, respectively. Specifically, electrode EP1 on subarea Z1 within fields F1-F8 can be commonly connected to contact L1 via a wire; electrode EP2 on subarea Z2 within fields F1-F8 can be commonly connected to contact L2 via a wire; electrode EP3 on subarea Z3 within fields F1-F8 can be commonly connected to contact L3 via a wire; and electrode EP4 on subarea Z4 within fields F1-F8 can be commonly connected to contact L4 via a wire.
[0018] Furthermore, in this embodiment, electrodes EP1 are installed in all subareas Z1 of fields F1-F8; only half of subareas Z2 of fields F1-F8 are installed with electrodes EP2; only half of subareas Z3 of fields F1-F8 are installed with electrodes EP3; and similarly, only half of subareas Z4 of fields F1-F8 are installed with electrodes EP4. From a coding perspective, if electrodes are installed in subareas Z2-Z4 of fields F1-F8, they can represent a binary value of 1, while if electrodes are not installed in subareas Z2-Z4 of fields F1-F8, they can represent a binary value of 0. In this embodiment, field F1 can correspond to a digital value of 0 (binary 000); field F2 can correspond to a digital value of 1 (binary 001); and field F8 can correspond to a digital value of 7 (binary 111).
[0019] It is worth mentioning that in the physical configuration of the coding board 110, the fields F1 to F8 do not need to be arranged according to the size of the corresponding digital values, but can be set in any order. The number of fields and partitions is not limited to Figure 2A As shown, the number of partitions can be any integer greater than 1, and the number of fields can be 2 M-1 .
[0020] exist Figure 2B In the embodiment, the connecting mechanism 120 is movably mounted on the code plate 110. The connecting mechanism 120 comprises a conductive structure having a plurality of contacts CE1 to CE4 corresponding to the positions of the plurality of zones Z1 to Z4 on the code plate 110. The contacts CE1 to CE4 are used to electrically couple to the electrodes on the plurality of zones Z1 to Z4 on the corresponding fields F1 to F4 where the connecting mechanism 120 is located.
[0021] For example, when connecting mechanism 120 is above field F1, contact CE1 on connecting mechanism 120 can be electrically coupled to electrode EP1 in zone Z1 and to contact L1 (contacts CE2-CE4 are left unconnected). However, zones Z2-Z4 based on field F1 do not have electrodes, so connecting mechanism 120 is not electrically coupled to contacts L2-L4. In this case, contact L1 is not electrically coupled to contacts L2-L4. When connecting mechanism 120 moves a displacement D1 in response to a user input command, connecting mechanism 120' is now above field F4. Contacts CE1', CE2', and CE3' of connecting mechanism 120' are respectively electrically coupled to electrodes EP1-EP3 in zones Z1-Z3 within field F4 (contact CE4' is left unconnected). Consequently, contacts L1, L2, and L3 can be electrically coupled to each other via connecting mechanism 120'. Furthermore, when connection mechanism 120 moves a displacement D2 in response to a user input command, connection mechanism 120'' is located above field F8, and contacts CE1'', CE2'', CE3'', and CE4'' of connection mechanism 120'' are electrically coupled to electrodes EP1-EP4 on sub-areas Z1-Z4 within field F8, respectively. Consequently, contacts L1, L2, L3, and L4 are electrically coupled to one another via connection mechanism 120''.
[0022] In this embodiment, contact L1 is a first contact, and contacts L2-L4 can be multiple second contacts. The first contact (contact L1) is electrically coupled to multiple electrodes EP1 in zone Z1 (the first zone), while the second contact (contact L2, for example) can be electrically coupled to each electrode EP2 in a second zone (zone Z2) other than the first zone. Taking connection mechanism 120' as an example, in addition to connecting to contact L1 (the first contact) via contact CE1', connection mechanism 120' also selects contacts L2, L3, and L4 corresponding to the zones with electrodes EP2, EP3, and EP4 as selected connection points via contacts CE2', CE3', and CE4', electrically coupling contact L1 to the selected contacts L2, L3, and L4.
[0023] Please refer to the following Figures 3A to 3B , Figure 3A as well as Figure 3B Schematic diagrams showing implementations of the coding board and the connection structure in the input device of the embodiment of the present invention are shown respectively. Figure 3AIn the example, the code plate 310 has multiple fields F1-F16 surrounding a central portion. Each field F1-F16 has five sub-areas, and the sub-areas of fields F1-F16 can be arranged in a concentric circle around the central portion. The sub-areas of each field F1-F16 radiate outward from the central portion. Taking field F16 as an example, the first sub-area is used to set electrode CE1; the second sub-area is used to set electrode CE2; the third sub-area is used to set electrode CE3; the fourth sub-area is used to set electrode CE4; and the fifth sub-area is used to set electrode CE5. Taking field F4 as an example, the first sub-area is used to set electrode CE1; the second to third sub-areas are not set; the fourth sub-area is used to set electrode CE4; and the fifth sub-area is used to set electrode CE5.
[0024] In the coding plate 310, the electrode CE1 of the first partition can be electrically coupled to the contact L1 through a wire (not shown); the electrode CE2 of the second partition can be electrically coupled to the contact L2 through a wire (not shown); the electrode CE3 of the third partition can be electrically coupled to the contact L3 through a wire (not shown); the electrode CE4 of the fourth partition can be electrically coupled to the contact L4 through a wire (not shown); and the electrode CE5 of the fifth partition can be electrically coupled to the contact L5 through a wire (not shown).
[0025] In this embodiment, according to the configuration states of the electrodes CE2 to CE5 in the second to fifth subareas of the fields F1 to F16 , the fields F1 to F16 have digital values 0 (binary 0000) to 15 (binary 1111), respectively.
[0026] exist Figure 3B In the embodiment, the connection structure 320 may be an annular structure corresponding to the code plate 310. The connection structure 320 has a circular central portion CP1, wherein the central portion CP1 may correspond to the position of the first subarea of the code plate 310. The central portion CP1 may have multiple contacts for electrically coupling to the multiple electrodes EP1 of the first subarea of the code plate 310. The connection structure 320 may also have multiple arc-shaped extensions PP2-PP5. The extensions PP2-PP5 each have multiple contacts CE2-CE5. The contacts CE2-CE5 correspond to the second to fifth subareas of different fields on different code plates 310 and are used to electrically couple the electrodes of the second to fifth subareas. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the central portion CP1 and the extensions PP2-PP5 may both be conductive structures.
[0027] It is worth noting that the connection structure 320 can rotate based on the center point O1, thereby adjusting the fields F1-F16 corresponding to the contacts CE2-CE5. The connection structure 320 can be linked to the scroll wheel mechanism on a mouse or EMR pen to receive user input commands.
[0028] Please refer to the following Figure 4A as well as Figure 4B , Figure 4A as well as Figure 4B Schematic diagram showing the layered architecture of the encoding board in the input device of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4A In FIG, the structure 410 is a schematic diagram of the first layer structure of the encoder board 400. A plurality of electrodes CE1 to CE5 are provided on the structure 410, wherein the electrode CE1 is provided in the innermost circle of the structure 410 and forms a circular ring. The electrodes CE2 to CE5 are provided on a plurality of concentric rings surrounding the circular ring. Figure 4A The details of the arrangement of electrodes CE1 to CE5 are as follows: Figure 3A The implementation content is similar and will not be elaborated here.
[0029] exist Figure 4B In the figure, structure 420 is a schematic diagram of the second-layer structure of the encoder board 400. Structures 410 and 420 are arranged to overlap each other. Structure 420 has multiple wires W1 to W5, and each wire W1 to W5 has multiple contacts CT. Wires W1 to W5 are electrically coupled to contacts L1 to L5, respectively. In addition, wire W1 is electrically coupled to electrode CE1 in structure 410 through the contact; wire W2 is electrically coupled to electrode CE2 in structure 410 through the contact; wire W3 is electrically coupled to electrode CE3 in structure 410 through the contact; wire W4 is electrically coupled to electrode CE4 in structure 410 through the contact; and wire W5 is electrically coupled to electrode CE5 in structure 410 through the contact.
[0030] Please refer to the following Figure 5 , Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrates an embodiment of a resonant circuit for an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Resonant circuit 500 is electrically coupled to controller 510 and contact L1. Resonant circuit 500 can also be electrically coupled to at least one of contacts L2-L4 via contact L1. By electrically coupling contact L1 with contacts L2-L4, at least one of capacitors C1-C4 can be electrically coupled to resonant circuit 500.
[0031] In this embodiment, the resonant circuit 500 includes a capacitor CB and an inductor LA1. The capacitor CB and the inductor LA1 are coupled in parallel. The inductor LA1 can be used to sense an external electromagnetic wave signal, and the resonant circuit 500 can generate a coding signal ECS based on the electromagnetic wave signal. The coding signal ECS has a coding frequency, and the magnitude of the coding frequency can be correlated with the equivalent capacitance value of the resonant circuit 500. In this embodiment, the equivalent capacitance value of the resonant circuit 500 can be changed by electrically coupling the contact L1 with at least one of the contacts L2-L4, or disconnecting the contact L1 from the contacts L2-L4. The connection between the contact L1 and the contacts L2-L4 can be adjusted by rotating or moving the connection mechanism in conjunction with the coding plate. The interaction between the connection mechanism and the coding plate has been described in detail in the aforementioned embodiments and will not be elaborated on here.
[0032] In this embodiment, taking the capacitance values of capacitors C1-C4 as 1 pf (picofarad), 2 pf, 4 pf, and 8 pf, respectively, the relationship between the connection relationship between contact L1 and contacts L2-L4 and the equivalent capacitance provided by the parallel accumulation of capacitors C1-C4 can be shown in the following table:
[0033]
[0034] The equivalent capacitance provided by the capacitors C1 - C4 through parallel accumulation can be further connected in parallel with the capacitor CB to adjust the encoding frequency of the encoding signal ECS.
[0035] On the other hand, the controller 510 can be configured to receive the code signal ECS and obtain the user input command INCMD by detecting the code frequency of the code signal ECS. The controller 510 can include a frequency detection circuit, which can be implemented using any frequency detection circuit known to those skilled in the art without particular limitation.
[0036] In this embodiment, when the scroll wheel drives the connecting mechanism to scroll in a first direction, the input device can provide a correspondingly increasing digital value of 0000 -> 0001 -> 0010 -> 0011 -> ... -> 1110 -> 1111, and correspondingly provide an equivalent capacitance of 1pf -> 2pf -> 3pf -> 4pf -> ... -> 14pf -> 15pf to the resonant circuit 500. The resonant circuit 500 can accordingly cause the encoding frequency of the encoding signal ECS to change from high to low. Alternatively, the input device can provide a correspondingly decreasing digital value of 1111 -> 1110 -> 1101 -> 1100 -> ... -> 0001 -> 0000, and correspondingly provide an equivalent capacitance of 15pf -> 14pf -> 13pf -> 12pf -> ... -> 2pf -> 1pf to the resonant circuit 500. The resonant circuit 500 can accordingly cause the encoding frequency of the encoding signal ECS to change from low to high. The controller 510 may generate the user input command INCMD according to the variation trend of the encoding frequency of the encoding signal ECS.
[0037] In summary, the input device of the present invention includes a coding plate and, through a connection structure, connects or disconnects the first contact on the coding plate with each second contact, thereby adjusting the connection relationship between the multiple capacitors on the second contacts and the resonant circuit. Thus, the user's input command transmission action can correspondingly adjust the equivalent capacitance value on the resonant circuit and adjust the encoding frequency of the encoding signal. In this way, the input device of the present invention can obtain input commands by analyzing the changing trend of the encoding frequency of the encoding signal, and can still correctly interpret input commands under high-speed reporting rate operation.
[0038] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.
Claims
1. An input device comprising: A coding plate having N fields, each of which has M partitions, at least one of which has an electrode, wherein the electrodes on the corresponding partitions in the N fields are electrically coupled to each of a plurality of contacts, wherein the plurality of contacts include a first contact and M-1 second contacts, wherein N=2 M-1 , M is an integer greater than 1; a connecting mechanism for determining whether to connect the first connection point to at least one of the M-1 second connections; a resonant circuit electrically coupled to the first contact point for providing a coding signal having a coding frequency; as well as M-1 first capacitors are electrically coupled between the M-1 second contacts and the resonant circuit respectively.
2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the resonant circuit comprises: inductance; a second capacitor coupled in parallel with the inductor, The inductor is used to sense an electromagnetic wave signal, and the resonant circuit generates the coded signal according to the electromagnetic wave signal.
3. The input device according to claim 2, wherein the connection mechanism disconnects the first contact from any of the plurality of second contacts.
4. The input device according to claim 2, wherein the connecting mechanism selects at least one of the plurality of second contact points as at least one selected connection point, and couples the second capacitor and each of the first capacitors corresponding to the at least one selected connection point in parallel. 5 . The input device according to claim 1 , wherein the encoding plate has a central portion, the plurality of fields surround the central portion, and the plurality of partitions of each of the fields are arranged radially outward from the central portion. 6 . The input device according to claim 5 , wherein the partition closest to the center portion among the plurality of partitions is a first partition, and each of the electrodes is provided in the first partition of each of the fields.
7. An input device according to claim 6, wherein the connecting mechanism has a first connecting end and M-1 second connecting ends, the first connecting point is electrically coupled to the multiple electrodes on the first partition, and each of the second connecting ends is electrically coupled to each of the electrodes in a different partition other than the first partition.
8. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the state of whether each electrode is set in each partition on each field corresponds to a binary value, and the multiple digital values corresponding to the multiple fields are different from each other.
9. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the encoding frequency of the encoding signal has N variations depending on a connection state between the second contact and the first contact.
10. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising: The controller is electrically coupled to the resonant circuit and obtains an input command according to the coding frequency of the coding signal.