Rotatable knob interface

Abstract

The rotatable device has a stationary base with a bottom surface and a top surface. The bottom surface includes a first set of coupled electrodes configured to receive a reference signal from the first set of electrodes of an attached input device, and second and third sets of coupled electrodes, respectively, configured to receive a result signal from the second set of electrodes of the input device. The top surface of the stationary base includes first, second, and third regions of an upper periphery connected to the first, second, and third sets of coupled electrodes, respectively. The rotatable device further includes a rotating wheel configured to rotate relative to the stationary base, the rotating wheel having a bottom portion configured to be aligned with the top surface of the stationary base and having alternating conductive and non-conductive regions. The result signal from the input device is modified depending on the relative positions of the stationary base and the rotating wheel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 750,934, filed on January 23, 2020, entitled "Rotatable Knob Interface" (Attorney Docket No. 751537 / 190131US01), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a rotatable knob interface.

Background Art

[0003] Input devices including proximity sensor devices can be used in various electronic systems. A proximity sensor device may include a sensing area bounded by a surface where the proximity sensor device determines the presence, position, force, and / or movement of one or more input objects in that area. Proximity sensor devices can be used to interface with an electronic system. For example, a proximity sensor device can be used as an input device for a larger computer system, such as a touchpad integrated with or external to a notebook computer or a desktop computer. Proximity sensor devices can also be frequently used in smaller computer systems, such as a touch screen integrated with a mobile phone. In addition, a proximity sensor device can be implemented as part of an automotive multimedia entertainment system. In such cases, it is convenient to connect a knob to the proximity sensor device.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the detailed description below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0005] A rotatable electronic device is disclosed. In one embodiment, the rotatable electronic device has a stationary base with a bottom surface and a top surface and is configured to be attached to an input device. In one embodiment, the bottom surface is aligned with a first set of electrodes of the input device and includes a first set of coupling electrodes configured to receive a reference signal from the first set of electrodes of the input device, and a second set and a third set of coupling electrodes respectively aligned with corresponding second and third sets of the electrodes of the input device and configured to receive result signals from the corresponding second and third sets of the electrodes of the input device. In one embodiment, the top surface includes an upper peripheral portion including a first region, a second region, and a third region respectively connected to the first set, the second set, and the third set of coupling electrodes. The electronic device further includes a rotating wheel provided on the stationary base. The rotating wheel includes a bottom peripheral portion in which conductive regions and non-conductive regions are alternately provided and which is configured to be aligned with the upper peripheral portion of the base. In one embodiment, the result signals received at each of the second set and the third set of coupling electrodes are modified by the relative position of the stationary base and the rotating wheel.

[0006] In other embodiments, a sensing system is also disclosed. The sensing system includes an input device and a rotatable electronic device. The input device includes a display panel, a processing circuit, and a plurality of electrodes. The rotatable electronic device is configured to be attached to the display panel and has a stationary base with a bottom surface and a top surface. In one embodiment, the bottom surface is aligned with a first set of electrodes of the input device and includes a first set of coupling electrodes configured to receive a reference signal from the first set of electrodes of the input device, and a second set and a third set of coupling electrodes respectively aligned with corresponding second and third sets of electrodes of the input device and configured to receive result signals from the corresponding second and third sets of electrodes of the input device. In one embodiment, the top surface includes an upper peripheral portion including a first region, a second region, and a third region respectively connected to the first set, the second set, and the third set of coupling electrodes. In one embodiment, the rotatable electronic device includes a rotating wheel provided on the stationary base. The rotating wheel includes a bottom peripheral portion in which conductive regions and non-conductive regions are alternately provided and which is configured to be aligned with the upper peripheral portion of the base. In one embodiment, the result signals received at each of the second set and the third set of coupling electrodes are modified by the relative position of the stationary base and the rotating wheel.

[0007] In yet other embodiments, a method of processing signals from an input device having a rotatable interface is disclosed. The rotatable interface is attached to a display screen of the input device. The rotatable interface includes a first set of coupling electrodes that are positionally aligned and coupled with a first set of electrodes of the input device, and a second set and a third set of coupling electrodes that are respectively coupled with corresponding second and third sets of electrodes of the input device. The method includes supplying a reference signal to a first set of electrodes of the input device, and receiving result signals at each of the second and third sets of electrodes of the input device, each of the result signals being modified by the rotatable interface. The method further includes determining a rotational position of the rotatable interface based at least in part on the two result signals.

[0008] In other embodiments of the method, the rotatable interface includes a stationary base provided with the first, second, and third sets of coupling electrodes, and a rotating wheel coupled with the first, second, and third sets of coupling electrodes. The rotating wheel has a bottom surface with conductive and non-conductive regions alternately patterned. Result signals are generated based at least in part on the coupling of each of the second and third sets of coupling electrodes with the alternately provided conductive and non-conductive regions of the rotating wheel.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009] To enable a more detailed understanding of the above-described features of the present disclosure, a more specific description of the present disclosure, briefly summarized above, can be obtained by reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that since the present disclosure may admit of other equally effective embodiments, the accompanying drawings show only some embodiments of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be regarded as limiting its scope.

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[0037] For simplicity of understanding, where possible, like reference numerals are used in the drawings to denote like elements common thereto. Elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially used in another embodiment without specific recitation. The drawings should not be considered to be drawn to scale unless otherwise specified. Also, the drawings may be simplified and details or components may be omitted to clarify the presentation and description. The drawings and the discussion are useful in considering the following principles where like elements are denoted by like reference numerals. Here, like reference numerals denote like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] In the following description, perspective-based descriptions such as top / bottom, in / out, up / down, etc. may be used. Such descriptions are used only to facilitate discussion and are not intended to limit the application of the embodiments described herein to a particular direction.

[0039] The following description may use the phrases "in one embodiment", "in one or more embodiments", or "in some embodiments", each of which may indicate one or more of the same or different embodiments. Further, terms such as "comprising", "including", "having", etc., used with respect to the embodiments of the present disclosure are synonyms.

[0040] In this specification, terms such as "coupled" and its derivatives, and "connected" and its derivatives may be used, including in the claims. "Coupled" or "connected" may mean one or more of the following. "Coupled" or "connected" may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, "coupled" or "connected" may also mean that two or more elements are in indirect contact with each other but still cooperate or interact with each other, and that one or more other elements may be coupled or connected to the elements said to be coupled or connected to each other. The term "directly coupled" or "directly connected" may mean that two or more elements are in direct contact.

[0041] As used in this specification, including in the claims, the term "circuitry" may refer to an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a (shared, dedicated, or group) processor that executes one or more software or firmware programs and / or a (shared, dedicated, or group) memory, combinational logic circuitry, and / or other suitable components that provide the described functionality, may be part of them, or may include them.

[0042] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 100 may be configured to supply an input to an electronic system (not shown) and / or to update one or more devices. As used herein, the term “electronic system” (or “electronic device”) broadly refers to any system capable of electronically processing information. Some non-limiting examples of electronic systems include personal computers of all dimensions and shapes, such as desktop computers, laptop computers, netbook computers, tablets, web browsers, e-book readers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Additional examples of electronic systems include composite input devices, such as a physical keyboard that includes the electronic device 100 and a separate joystick or key switch. Further examples of electronic systems include peripheral devices, such as data input devices (including remote controllers and mice) and data output devices (including display screens and printers). Other examples include remote terminals, kiosks, video game machines (e.g., console game machines, portable game machines, etc.). Other examples include communication devices (including mobile phones such as smartphones) and media devices (including recording devices, editing devices, and playback devices such as televisions, set-top boxes, music playback devices, digital photo frames, and digital cameras). Further, the electronic system may be a host or a slave of an input device. In other embodiments, the electronic system is part of an automobile, and the electronic device 100 may represent one or more sensing devices of the automobile. In one embodiment, the automobile may include a plurality of electronic devices 100. Here, each electronic device 100 may have a different configuration from each other.

[0043] The electronic device 100 may be implemented as a physical part of an electronic system or may be physically separated from the electronic system. If necessary, the electronic device 100 may communicate with a part of the electronic system using one or more of a bus, a network, and other wired or wireless interconnections. Exemplary communication protocols include I 2 C (Inter-Integrated Circuit), SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), PS / 2 (Personal System / 2), Universal Serial Bus (USB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Radio Frequency (RF) wireless communication, and Infrared Data Association (IrDA) communication standards.

[0044] In one or more embodiments, the electronic device 100 may detect user input using any combination of sensor components and sensing technologies. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 100 includes one or more electrodes 125 that can detect an object or be driven to update one or more devices. In one embodiment, the electrode 125 is a sensor electrode of a capacitive sensing device. In such an embodiment, the electrode 125 includes one or more common voltage electrodes. In other embodiments, the electrode 125 is an electrode of an image sensing device, a radar sensing device, and an ultrasonic sensing device. Furthermore, the electrode 125 may be a display electrode of a display device. In some embodiments, the electrodes 125 of the electronic device 100 are composed of a common electrode and have a common shape. Some of the examples described herein include matrix sensor input devices. As will be described in detail below, the electronic device 100 may include a rotatable knob interface 150 that can interact with some or all of the electrodes 125.

[0045] The sensor electrodes 125 may have any shape, dimension, and / or orientation. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the sensor electrodes 125 may be arranged in a two-dimensional array. Each of the sensor electrodes 125 may have a shape that is substantially rectangular. In another embodiment, the sensor electrodes 125 may have other shapes. Further, each of the sensor electrodes 125 may have the same shape and / or dimension. In other embodiments, at least one sensor electrode may have a shape and / or dimension that is different from other sensor electrodes. In various embodiments, the sensor electrodes 125 may be diamond-shaped, may have interdigitated shapes that mesh to enhance capacitive coupling, and / or may have internal floating cutouts to reduce the parasitic capacitance to nearby conductors.

[0046] In one or more embodiments, some capacitive implementations use a "self-capacitance" (or "absolute capacitance") sensing method based on changes in the capacitive coupling between the sensor electrodes and the input object. In various embodiments, an input object, such as a finger or stylus 145, in the vicinity of the sensor electrodes changes the electric field in the vicinity of the sensor electrodes 125, thus changing the measured capacitive coupling. In one implementation, the absolute capacitance sensing method operates by modulating the sensor electrodes with respect to a reference voltage (e.g., the ground of the system) and detecting the capacitive coupling between the sensor electrodes and the input object.

[0047] Some implementations of capacitance use a "mutual capacitance" (or "transcapacitance") sensing method based on changes in capacitive coupling between sensor electrodes. In various embodiments, an input object in the vicinity of the sensor electrodes changes the electric field between the sensor electrodes, thus changing the measured capacitive coupling. In one embodiment, the transcapacitance sensing method operates by detecting the capacitive coupling between one or more transmitting sensor electrodes (also referred to as "transmitting electrodes" or "transmitters") and one or more receiving sensor electrodes (also referred to as "receiving electrodes" or "receivers"). The transmitting sensor electrodes may be modulated with respect to a reference voltage (e.g., the ground of the system) to transmit a transmission signal. The receiving sensor electrodes may be held substantially constant with respect to the reference voltage, or may be modulated with respect to the transmitting sensor electrodes to facilitate reception of the resultant signal. The resultant signal may include effects corresponding to one or more transmission signals and / or one or more environmental interference sources (e.g., other electromagnetic signals). The sensor electrodes may be dedicated for transmission or reception, or may be configured for both transmission and reception.

[0048] A capacitance sensing device may be used to detect an input object in the vicinity of, and / or in contact with, an input device. Further, the capacitance sensing device may be used to sense fingerprint features. Additionally, as in the example of FIG. 1, in one or more embodiments, the capacitance sensing device may include a rotatable knob interface electrically coupled to the capacitance sensing device and may be used to sense the rotational position of the rotatable knob. In some embodiments including a rotatable knob interface, the rotatable knob interface may have a home position and a depressed position, and the sensing device may be used to determine, based on changes in the capacitive coupling of one or more electrodes 125, when the rotatable knob is in the home position and when it is in the depressed position.

[0049] Continuing with reference to FIG. 1, processing system 110 is shown as part of electronic device 100. Processing system 110 is configured to operate the hardware of electronic device 100. As shown in FIG. 1, processing system 110 includes driver module 140, and driver module 140 may include a signal generator. In one or more embodiments, driver module 140 generates a sensing signal for driving electrode 125. In various embodiments, processing system 110 comprises some or all of one or more integrated circuits (ICs) and / or other circuit components.

[0050] In some embodiments, the processing system 110 further comprises electronically readable instructions, such as firmware code, software code, and / or the like. In some embodiments, the components that make up the processing system 110 are arranged together, for example, near the sensing elements of the electronic device 100. In other embodiments, the components of the processing system 110 are physically separated from one or more components near the sensing elements of the electronic device 100 and one or more other components. For example, the electronic device 100 may be a peripheral device coupled to a desktop computer, and the processing system 110 may include the central processing unit (CPU) of the desktop computer and software configured to be executed by one or more ICs (possibly with associated firmware) that are separate from the CPU. As another example, the electronic device 100 may be physically integrated into a telephone, and the processing system 110 may include circuits and firmware that are part of the main processor of the telephone. Further, the processing system 110 may be implemented in an automobile, and the processing system 110 may include circuits and firmware that are part of one or more electronic control units (ECUs) of the automobile. In some embodiments, the processing system 110 is dedicated to implementing the electronic device 100. In other embodiments, the processing system 110 also performs other functions, such as operating a display screen, driving a tactile actuator, and the like.

[0051] The processing system 110 may be implemented as one or more modules (e.g., driver module 140 or decision module 141) that handle different functions of the processing system 110. Each module may comprise circuitry, firmware, software, or a combination thereof that is part of the processing system 110. In various embodiments, different combinations of modules may be used. Examples of modules include a hardware operation module for operating hardware such as sensor electrodes and a display screen, a data processing module for processing data such as sensor signals and position information, and a reporting module for reporting information. Further examples of modules include a sensor operation module configured to operate a sensing element to detect an input, a recognition module configured to recognize gestures such as mode change gestures, and a mode change module for changing an operation mode. In some embodiments, the processing system 110 may be implemented as a chip or as one or more chips. In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may comprise a controller or a part of a controller of the electronic device 100.

[0052] In one or more embodiments, a display driver (e.g., driver module 140) may be configured to perform both display updates and sensing inputs and may be said to include, for example, touch and display driver integration (TDDI) technology. In such embodiments, the driver module 140 may be implemented as a TDDI chip or a part of a TDDI chip. In one or more embodiments, the electronic device may include a matrix sensor and may also include TDDI technology.

[0053] In the above embodiments, the processing system 110 further includes a determination module 141. In one or more embodiments, the determination module 141 may be configured to determine, from the result signal, a change in capacitive coupling between each of the modulated sensor electrodes and an input object such as the input object 145. In one embodiment, all the sensor electrodes 125 may be simultaneously activated for absolute capacitance sensing such that different result signals are simultaneously received from each of the sensor electrodes, or such that a common result signal is simultaneously received from two or more of the sensor electrodes. In another embodiment, some of the sensor electrodes 125 may operate for absolute capacitance sensing during a first period, and other sensor electrodes 125 may operate for absolute capacitance sensing during a second period that does not overlap the first period.

[0054] In some embodiments, the processing system 110 responds directly to user input (or lack of user input) by causing one or more actions. Examples of actions include changing the operating mode and GUI (Graphic User Interface) actions such as cursor movement, selection, menu navigation, and other functions. In some embodiments, the processing system 110 provides information about the input (or lack of input) to any part of the electronic system (e.g., if such a separate central processing system exists, a central processing system of this electronic system that is separate from the processing system 110). In some embodiments, any part of the electronic system processes the information received from the processing system 110 and performs actions such as facilitating any kind of action including mode change actions and GUI actions in response to input by the user. Further, in some embodiments, the processing system 110 is configured to recognize one or more target objects and recognize the distance to these target objects. In some embodiments, the processing system 110 is configured to recognize one or more rotational changes of the knob interface 150, or one or more state changes of the knob interface 150, or both, and map these changes to desired actions.

[0055] For example, in some embodiments, to generate an electrical signal (result signal) representing an input (or lack of input) in the sensing region, processing system 110 activates electrode 125. Processing system 110 may perform any suitable amount of processing on the electrical signal when generating the information supplied to the electronic system. For example, processing system 110 may digitize the analog electrical signal obtained from electrode 125. As another example, processing system 110 may perform filtering or other signal conditioning, or, as yet another example, processing system 110 may subtract the baseline or include the baseline in the calculation so that the information reflects the difference between the electrical signal and the baseline. As yet another example, processing system 110 may perform determination of position information, recognition as an input command, handwriting recognition, fingerprint information recognition, recognition of the distance to a target object, etc.

[0056] As used herein, "position information" broadly encompasses absolute position, relative position, velocity, acceleration, and other types of spatial information. Exemplary "zero-dimensional" position information includes information such as near / far, or contact / non-contact. Exemplary "one-dimensional" position information includes a position along an axis. Exemplary "two-dimensional" position information includes movement within a plane. Exemplary "three-dimensional" position information includes instantaneous or average velocity within a space. Further examples include other representations of spatial information. For example, historical data regarding one or more types of position information, including historical data tracking position, motion, or instantaneous velocity over time, may also be determined and / or stored.

[0057] While many embodiments of the present disclosure are described in the context of a fully functional device, it should be understood that the mechanisms of the present disclosure can be distributed as various forms of program products (e.g., software). For example, the mechanisms of the present disclosure can be implemented and distributed as a software program on an information-carrying medium readable by an electronic processor (e.g., a non-transitory information-carrying medium that is computer-readable and / or recordable / writable and readable by the processing system 110). Additionally, embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable regardless of the specific type of medium used for distribution. Examples of non-transitory and electronically readable media include various disks, memory sticks, memory cards, memory modules, etc. The electronically readable medium may be based on flash, optical, magnetic, holographic, or any other storage technology.

[0058] In one or more embodiments, the processing system 110 is configured to generate voltage signals for driving the electrodes 125 during a display update interval and during an input sensing interval, respectively. In such embodiments, the voltage signal generated for driving the electrodes 125 during the display update interval is a substantially constant or fixed voltage, and the voltage signal generated for driving the electrodes 125 during the input sensing interval may be referred to as a sensing signal having a waveform in which the voltage changes periodically. In one or more embodiments, the value of the voltage signal for driving the electrodes 125 during the display update interval may be predetermined. For example, the voltage value may be provided by the manufacturer of the electronic device 100 and / or the electrodes 125, and may be specific to the electronic device 100.

[0059] In one embodiment, driver module 140 includes circuitry configured to supply a sense signal. For example, the driver module circuitry may include an oscillator, one or more current conveyors, and / or a digital signal generation circuit. In one embodiment, the driver module circuitry generates a voltage signal based on a clock signal, an output of the oscillator, and the parameters described above.

[0060] As described above, in one or more embodiments, driver module 140 generates signals for driving electrode 125 during each of a display update period and an input sense update period. In such an embodiment, the input sense update period is provided between two display update periods and is shorter in length than the display update period. In such an embodiment, there are a plurality of display update periods and input sense update periods for each display frame. In one or more embodiments, by acquiring result signals over successive input sense periods, rotation of the rotatable knob interface 150 can be tracked, along with whether the knob interface 150 is in a home state or a depressed state.

[0061] As described above, in one or more embodiments, an additional input device, such as a rotatable knob interface 150, may be provided on the display panel 120 of the electronic device 100, and the additional input device may be electrically coupled to some or all of the electrodes 125 near or below it. In one or more embodiments, the additional device may provide an alternative way for a user to supply input to the electronic device 100 other than by contacting or hovering near the display screen with a finger or stylus 145. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the rotatable knob interface 150 is mounted on the display panel 120 and may completely or partially overlap the display panel 120 (as shown in FIG. 1). As described, in one or more embodiments, the rotatable knob interface 150 has a stationary base (not visible in the top view of FIG. 1). The stationary base is provided with various sets of coupling electrodes configured to couple to respective sets of electrodes of the display panel 120, such as one or more sets of electrodes for which a sensing signal is provided and one or more sets of electrodes for which a reference signal is supplied. In one or more embodiments, the stationary base may include different conductive regions each connected to a corresponding set of coupling electrodes.

[0062] In the above embodiments, the rotatable knob interface 150 also includes a rotatable wheel located on a stationary base and rotating relative to the stationary base. In such an embodiment, the underside of the rotatable wheel is patterned with various conductive and non-conductive regions of the peripheral region 152 and is configured to be positionally aligned with the conductive regions of the stationary base such that there is an electrical coupling between the conductive regions of the stationary base and the various conductive and non-conductive regions of the peripheral region 152 of the rotatable wheel. These components are further configured such that these electrical couplings change as the rotatable wheel rotates, and by detecting the effect of such changes in the electrical couplings on the result signal received at the display panel, the input device can determine the rotation or change in rotation of the knob interface. In one or more embodiments, the patterned region 152 can have a number of possible arrangements of conductive and non-conductive regions, and there can be various ways of electrically interacting the rotatable wheel and the stationary base as the rotatable wheel rotates. Thus, alternative configurations and relative arrangements are possible for both the conductive regions of the stationary base and the conductive and non-conductive regions of the rotatable wheel. All of these are within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0063] In the above embodiments, the rotation imparted to the rotatable knob interface by the user, whether in a relative or absolute sense, can be detected by the electronic device 100. In one or more embodiments, the rotatable knob interface 150 may also be depressed by the user, and thus may have two positions, namely, a home or "uncompressed" position and a "compressed" position held by the user by depressing the knob interface 150 against, for example, one or more biasing springs. In one or more embodiments, the rotatable knob interface 150 has a cover. In an alternative embodiment, the rotatable knob interface may be depressed to rest at multiple positions and thus may have multiple states between an "uncompressed" position and a "fully compressed" position. In the home position, the cover is at a position farthest from the rotating wheel compared to the compressed position. In one or more embodiments, the rotating wheel may include some switches between it and the cover, and these switches may include biasing springs. In such embodiments, the rotatable knob interface 150 may also include a fourth set of coupling electrodes that couple to the electrodes of an input device that is also driven by a sensing signal. In the example of FIG. 1, the fourth set of coupling electrodes is connected to an inner ring provided on the stationary base, which is positionally aligned with an inner ring 153 of the same shape provided on the rotating wheel. In such embodiments, when the user depresses the cover of the rotatable knob interface and the rotatable knob interface 150 is in the "compressed" position, the switches close so as to connect the inner ring 153 of the rotating wheel to all the conductive regions provided in the patterned region 152. This serves to electrically couple the fourth set of coupling electrodes of the stationary base to the first set of coupling electrodes of the stationary base, thereby coupling the corresponding fourth set of electrodes of the display panel to a reference signal. However, when the user stops depressing the cover, the fourth set of coupling electrodes of the knob interface simply floats.In one or more embodiments, the direction and degree of rotation may be interpreted by the processing system 110 (e.g., by the determination module 141) as the user presses or releases the rotatable knob interface 150, and may be mapped to various user input actions, signals, or instructions.

[0064] It should be noted that in one or more embodiments, the user may rotate the rotatable knob interface 150 in various ways, such as grasping and rotating the housing outside the rotatable knob interface, grasping and rotating a flange protruding from the top or side of the rotatable knob interface, or placing one or more fingertips in or on a recessed channel on the top surface of the rotatable knob interface.

[0065] In one or more embodiments, the electronic device 100 of FIG. 1 may be provided in an automobile. For example, the electronic device 100 may be attached to a substantially vertical display screen provided in the central portion of the dashboard. In one or more embodiments, all electrodes that are not physically blocked by the rotatable knob interface 150 remain active regardless of whether the electrode 125 is inside or outside the region 155 (described below). Thus, in such embodiments, both touches away from the knob and rotation of the knob are detected and reported simultaneously by the electrode 125.

[0066] In alternative embodiments, all forms of user input other than that received via the rotatable knob interface 150 may be disabled on the electronic device. Thus, in such embodiments, the electrodes 125 are not driven during the sensing interval to perform their standard sensing functions. As a result, when a finger or other object 145 is moved towards or away from its vicinity, no result signal is obtained, or even if one is obtained, it is not processed. In such alternative embodiments, this may be done as a safety measure to prevent a vehicle driver from touching the display 120 while driving and to operate the electronic device 100 only via the rotatable knob interface 150. In such alternative embodiments, the disabling of the standard sensing function of the electrodes 125 may be performed during certain activities of the vehicle but not during other activities. For example, the disabling of the standard function of the electrodes 125 may be performed while the vehicle is actually moving, but in all other cases, some of the electrodes 125, for example, those that are not close enough for the rotatable knob interface to interfere with the signals obtained from them, may be activated to perform standard sensing as described above.

[0067] Thus, in some alternative embodiments, even during actual operation of the vehicle, at any time, whenever all the electrodes 125 are disabled from standard sensing, the only way for the driver to provide input to the electronic device 100 is via the rotatable knob interface 150 using a predefined combination of rotation and / or pressing of the rotatable knob interface 150. These operations modify the result signals received by the electronic device 100 during the sensing period and then interpret them, for example, using the decision module 141. The result signals may be the same signals as the sensing signals by which the driver module 140 drives the electrodes 125 after being modified by capacitive coupling of the rotatable knob interface 150.

[0068] In another alternative embodiment, for example, only some of the electrodes 125, particularly those near or below the rotatable knob interface 150, are disabled from standard capacitive sensing, and the remaining electrodes 125 on the electronic device 100 may be capable of standard capacitive sensing operation. In such an alternative embodiment, the electrodes for which standard capacitive sensing is disabled are electrodes that are close enough to the rotatable knob interface 150 to interfere with the resulting signals obtained from various sets of electrodes 125 that are electrically coupled to the rotatable knob interface 150 and that can be driven to standard capacitive sensing. To illustrate this feature, a dashed boundary 155 is shown in FIG. 1. The electrodes 125 within the boundary 155 are within the "blackout zone" and are not driven by standard sensing signals. Rather, as will be described in detail below, any electrodes within the blackout zone that are electrically coupled to the rotatable knob interface are driven to detect the rotation and depression of the rotatable knob interface as described below.

[0069] Generally, within the blackout zone, a first set, a second set, and a third set of electrodes 125 are coupled to corresponding first, second, and third sets of the stationary base coupling electrodes of the rotatable knob interface 150. In an embodiment, the first set is driven with a reference signal, and the second and third sets are driven with sensing signals to obtain resulting signals modified by the current relative rotational relationship between the stationary base and the rotating wheel of the rotatable knob interface 150. Thus, in each of these alternative embodiments, all electrodes within the boundary 155 of the blackout zone may always have standard capacitive sensing disabled.

[0070] As used herein, the term "disabled electrode" may refer to an electrode that is not driven at all, an electrode driven with a guard signal, or an electrode driven with a constant signal.

[0071] Continuing with reference to FIG. 1, as described above, some sets of the electronic device 100 are electrically coupled to corresponding sets of the coupling electrodes of the rotatable knob interface 150. Thus, during the input sensing period, a reference signal is supplied by the driver module 140 to the first set of electrodes 125, and the sensing signals are supplied to the second and third sets of electrodes 125. In one or more embodiments, the reference signal can be a configurable direct current (DC) output provided by the processing system 110. In some embodiments, the DC signal can be the ground signal of the electronic device 100. In some embodiments, the result signals are obtained from each of the second and third sets of electrodes 125, where the result signals are sensed signals modified by the rotational state of the rotatable knob interface 150, and the result signals are interpreted by the determination module 141 to determine the rotation of the rotatable knob interface 150. In one or more embodiments, the rotation can be determined in a relative sense, e.g., as the differential angle difference from a previous position, or in an absolute sense, e.g., as the positive or negative angle difference from a home position. In some embodiments, if the rotatable knob rotates more than 360 degrees completely, the total rotational distance it covers may also be measured. In such embodiments, one or more user commands may be mapped to the absolute rotational distance. In alternative embodiments, only one or both of the overall angular difference between the start and end positions, or the final absolute angular position, are measured.

[0072] Figure 2 shows six main components of an exemplary rotatable knob interface according to one or more embodiments. Referring thereto, starting from the bottom of the exemplary device, a stationary base 231 is shown. In some embodiments, the stationary base 231 does not move even when the user rotates the exemplary knob interface. Thus, in some embodiments, it is affixed to the surface of the exemplary input device, for example, by an adhesive. In some embodiments, the stationary base 231 is affixed to the input device in a semi-permanent or permanent manner and is disposed thereon to be positionally aligned with a grid of electrodes provided to the input device. On top of the stationary base 231, a rotating wheel 230 is provided. For example, when the user rotates the knob interface, such as by grasping and turning the cover cap 215 as described below, the rotating wheel 230 rotates. Inside the rotating wheel 230, a vertical ring bearing 225 is provided. The vertical ring bearing 225 is non-conductive and may be made of, for example, plastic and may have a ring shape. The vertical ring bearing 225 may have a substantially tubular shape. Although not shown in FIG. 2, according to one or more embodiments, there is an additional substantially horizontal ring-shaped bearing on which the rotating wheel 230 is placed, as described below with reference to FIG. 3. By using both bearings, the frictional force between the stationary base 231 and the rotating wheel 230 can be reduced.

[0073] Continuing with reference to FIG. 2, one or more switches 220 are provided on top of the rotating wheel 230. For example, the switch 220 can be a dome switch. There may be three switches 220, and the switches may be equally spaced on the upper surface of the rotating wheel 230. As will be more fully described below, in one or more embodiments, the switch is used to distinguish between two states of the knob interface, namely, a compressed state where the switch is closed and an uncompressed state where the switch remains open. The compressed state of the knob interface is orthogonal to its internal rotational position. Therefore, the knob interface can rotate while in either the compressed state or the uncompressed state (and any position between the two states), and its rotation can be sensed and measured. Similarly, the state of whether the switch is open or closed, corresponding respectively to whether the knob interface is in the "home" or uncompressed state or the compressed state, can be detected regardless of whether the rotatable knob interface is rotationally stationary or rotating.

[0074] Finally, continuing with reference to FIG. 2, as shown in the figure, the knob interface has an inner cap 210 and a cover cap 215. During operation, the user physically manipulates the cover cap 215, for example, by grasping the cover cap 215 and rotating the rotating wheel 230 relative to the stationary base 231, or by pressing down on the cover cap 215 to compress the knob interface and close the switch 220. As shown, the inner cap 210 is attached by prongs 211 to a lip provided on the inner surface of the vertical ring bearing 225. The cover cap 215 is attached to the inner cap 210 such that the rotating wheel 230 rotates when the outer cover cap 215 is rotated.

[0075] Figure 3 is an exploded view of the exemplary rotatable knob interface of FIG. 2, showing the upper side of various components. Referring to FIG. 3, starting from the bottom of the figure, the upper surface of the stationary base 231 is shown. On the upper surface, there is provided a conductive peripheral ring 235 coupled to the reference signal of the input device to which the rotary knob is to be attached. As shown, the upper surface also shows, in addition to the inner conductive ring 232, two conductive pads 237 and conductive pad 238. In one or more embodiments, these three conductive regions are configured to be coupled to the sensed signal of the input device. Details of these regions, their functions, and their interaction with the input device on which the rotary knob is placed will be described in detail below.

[0076] Continuing with reference to FIG. 3, a vertical ring bearing 225 and a horizontal ring-shaped bearing 226 configured to slide thereon are also shown. In one or more embodiments, since the inner diameter of the stationary base 231 is smaller than that of the rotary wheel 230, there is a shelf on the inner periphery of the stationary base 231 where the vertical ring bearing 225 can be placed. The vertical ring bearing 225 then fits inside the inner diameter of the horizontal ring bearing 226 and is configured to fit on the inner circumference of the stationary base 231. The two bearings then provide a physical interface between the stationary base 231 and the rotary wheel 230 as described above. This reduces the friction that occurs between them when the rotary wheel 230 moves.

[0077] Continuing further with reference to FIG. 3, three switches 220 provided around the upper surface of the rotating wheel 230 are also shown. As described above, these switches may be, for example, dome switches. Above the switches 220, an inner cap 210 is shown that is configured to fit inside the vertical ring bearing 225 and is configured to be fixed to the vertical ring bearing 225 by three protrusions 211. In one or more embodiments, the protrusions 211 are also equidistantly arranged around the inner vertical surface of the vertical ring bearing 225. As shown, the inner cap 210 has a substantially horizontal upper ring and a lower hollow cylindrical portion. Thus, in one or more embodiments, the outer diameter of the lower cylindrical portion of the inner cap 210 fits within the inner diameter of the vertical ring bearing 225 and is designed to clamp to the bottom surface of the vertical ring bearing 225 by the protrusions 211. The protrusions 211 protrude slightly below such a bottom surface when the inner cap 210 is in the home or uncompressed position. Finally, referring to FIG. 3, as shown, a cover cap 215 is attached to the upper ring portion of the inner cap 210.

[0078] FIGS. 4A through 4C, described next, show the spatial relationship between coupling electrodes provided on the bottom surface of the stationary base 231, each connected to a corresponding conductive region on the top surface of the stationary base 231, and electrodes within a grid provided on an exemplary input device.

[0079] Figure 4A shows a bottom view of the stationary base 231 of the exemplary rotatable knob interface shown in FIG. 3 overlaid on a grid of electrodes 401 of an exemplary input device according to one or more embodiments. Referring to this, the bottom or lower side of the stationary base 231 has three sets of electrodes. The first set 430, indicated by hatching, is a set of connected electrodes configured to receive a reference signal from the input device. The three electrodes 410, electrode 420, and electrode 411, which are classified into the remaining two sets, are configured to receive the sensed waveform of the input device. The second set including electrode 410 and electrode 411 is configured to sense the rotation of the knob interface. The third set including electrode 420 is configured to sense a “click” or the closing of switch 220, for example, when the user pushes the knob interface into its compressed state. As shown in the figure, the sensing electrodes 410, sensing electrode 411, and sensing electrode 420 are each designed to completely overlap, to the extent possible, the entire electrodes of the input device of grid 401 (e.g., a square). On the other hand, the set of electrodes 430 may be designed to overlap only a part of the plurality of electrodes of grid 401 but not the entire electrodes so that the set of electrodes 430 picks up only the signal from the corresponding reference electrode 403 (see FIG. 4B) on the upper surface of the exemplary input device on grid 401 and does not pick up the parasitic capacitance from the adjacent sensing electrodes. This separation is shown in FIG. 4A by two features. First, there is an empty column 412 of sensing pixels to the right of the sensing electrodes 410, sensing electrode 411, and sensing electrode 420, and this empty column 412 provides a gap between the sensing electrodes 410, sensing electrode 411, and sensing electrode 420 and the set of electrodes 430. Second, the set of electrodes 430 (fully hatched) is recessed inward, for example, by about 1.5 - 2 mm with respect to the reference electrode 403 (dotted hatched). This recess helps the set of electrodes 430 pick up only the reference electrode signal and much less pick up the parasitic coupling of the nearby sensing signals on the sensing electrode 402. Further, this feature also helps with the adjustment of the tolerance of the exemplary rotatable knob interface with respect to the input device.

[0080] FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an exemplary grid 401 of FIG. 4A divided into two types of electrodes according to one or more embodiments. Generally, each electrode of the grid of the input device can be selectively selected to be driven by a sensing waveform or by a reference signal such as, for example, ground or another reference signal. In one or more embodiments, the grid of the input device may be arranged as shown in FIG. 4B in order to align the grid with the underlying electrode of the stationary base as shown in FIG. 4A. And the hatched grid electrode 403 of FIG. 4B may be driven by a reference signal by the input device, and the grid electrode 402 may be driven by a sensing signal by the input device. In one or more embodiments, when this method is implemented, a pairing occurs between the underside of the stationary base 231 and the electrodes of the grid 401 of the input device. This is shown in the overlay diagram of FIG. 4C.

[0081] FIG. 4C shows the underside of the stationary base 231 of FIG. 4A disposed on top of the exemplary electrode grid 401 of the input device of FIG. 4B according to one or more embodiments. As shown, the sensing electrodes 410, 411, and 420 are configured for sensing on the knob interface, but are substantially perfectly aligned with the grid electrode 402 so as to be driven by a sensing waveform for each. In one embodiment, they are driven by the same sensing waveform. Similarly, a set of electrodes 430 are configured to couple to the reference signal of the input device, but are each provided on a plurality of grid electrodes 403 to be driven by the reference signal by the input device. In one or more embodiments, the stationary base 231 is stationary and the relative position with respect to the input device is fixed, so that, as shown, it is first aligned with the electrodes of the input device and, in one or more embodiments, is permanently attached to the glass surface of the input device

[0082] Next, referring to FIG. 5, the upper surface of the stationary base will be described. With reference thereto, an upper perspective view 510 showing the positions of the electrode regions 402 and 403 of the input device with respect to the top surface of the stationary base 231 according to one or more embodiments is shown. As shown in the upper perspective view, and also as shown by comparing the bottom view 520 with the top view 530, the top surface of the stationary base 231 is configured somewhat differently from its bottom surface. To fully understand the relative positions of the conductive pads on the top and bottom surfaces, the bottom view 520 is further shown, and in the top view 530, the corresponding positions on the top surface are also further shown, as indicated by the curved arrow 521. This top view 530 shows the view that would be seen if the stationary base 231 as shown in the bottom view 520 were inverted about a horizontal axis (such that the right and left sides of the stationary base 231 are the same in the viewpoints of 520 and 530 respectively). Continuing with reference to FIG. 5, the top view 530 shows four conductive regions, namely, the inner ring 232 (used to sense whether the switch is in the open or closed state), two conductive pads 237 and 238 (used to sense rotation), and the peripheral ring 235. In one or more embodiments, each of these is electrically connected by vias to corresponding conductive regions on the bottom surface of the stationary base 231. In particular, the peripheral ring 235 is electrically connected to a set of corresponding electrodes 430 to couple to the electrodes of the input device driven by the reference signal as described above, the two conductive pads 237, 238 are connected to the sensing electrodes 410, 411 respectively, and the inner ring 232 is electrically connected to the sensing electrode 420. In some embodiments, as described above, both the conductive pad 237 and the conductive pad 238 are configured to couple to the electrodes of the input device driven by the sensing signal, together with the inner ring 232.

[0083] Accordingly, in the illustrated embodiment, the upper portion of the stationary base 231 has, at its outer periphery, two small conductive pads 237 and a conductive pad 238 that are close to each other and surrounded by a peripheral ring 235. The peripheral ring 235 receives a reference signal, and the two pads 237 and the pad 238 receive sense signals, respectively. These two pads are used to sense rotation. The thinner second ring 232 inside the peripheral ring 235 is configured to further receive a sense signal for sensing whether the switch is in a closed state. Closing the switch may sometimes be referred to as a "click" from the sound that occurs when the switch is closed.

[0084] FIG. 6A shows an exploded view 601 and an assembled view 603 of an exemplary stationary base 231 shown in FIG. 3, an exemplary vertical ring bearing 225, and a horizontal ring bearing 226 (e.g., a plastic bearing). Since these elements have been described previously, they will not be described again here. It should be noted that in one or more embodiments, as shown in the assembled view 603, the horizontal ring bearing 226 has a smooth surface at the top on which the rotating wheel 230 can be placed, and the vertical ring bearing 225 has a smooth outer cylindrical structure around which the rotating wheel 230 can rotate.

[0085] FIG. 6B shows an exploded view 610 and an assembled view 603 of the exemplary stationary base 231 and the bearings 225 and 226 shown in FIG. 6A, with the exemplary rotating wheel 230 of FIG. 3 provided on the exemplary flat ring-shaped bearing 226 added. As shown, the vertical ring bearing 225 is taller than the rotating wheel 230, and as a result, it protrudes beyond the rotating wheel 230. In each of the exploded view 610 and the assembled view 603, three sets of pads 221 for connecting to a set of switches (not shown) provided on the upper surface of the rotating wheel 230 can be seen. This will be described in more detail below after the configuration of the bottom surface of the rotating wheel 230 has been described.

[0086] Figure 7A shows a detailed bottom view of the rotating wheel of FIG. 3. Referring to this, there are essentially two ring-like structures, as in the case of the top surface of the stationary base. That is, an outer peripheral ring 701 that alternately includes a first conductive region 710 and a non-conductive region 720 according to one or more embodiments, and an inner ring that includes a single connected second conductive region 730. Further, a ring-shaped region 702 is also provided between the outer peripheral ring 701 and the second conductive region 730 of the inner ring and is non-conductive. In one or more embodiments, the first conductive region 710 is used to sense rotation, and the second conductive region 730 of the inner ring is used to sense "clicks".

[0087] Figure 7B shows a detailed top view of the exemplary rotating wheel of FIG. 3. The perspective of FIG. 7B corresponds to the top surface perspective of the rotating wheel 230 illustrated in FIG. 6B, which shows three sets of pads 221, each connected to a switch. As described above, the switch may be, for example, a dome switch. However, the top view of FIG. 7B is drawn as a perspective view to show the lower conductive ring to which each set of pads 221 is coupled thereto, along with the other conductive regions on the bottom and top surfaces of the aforementioned stationary base. These include, as shown here with transparency and further illustrated in FIG. 4A, on the bottom surface of the stationary base 231, the sensing electrode 410, the sensing electrode 420, the sensing electrode 411, and a set of electrodes 430 coupled to the reference signal of the input device, and on the top surface of the stationary base 231, a part of the peripheral ring 235, and the conductive pads 237 and the conductive pads 238.

[0088] In the above embodiments, the conductive region 710 may be made of a known conductor, such as, for example, copper, silver, gold, aluminum, or other conductors, or various alloys of any combination of these, or various alloys of a combination of these with different elements or compounds, together with the conductive pads 237 and 238 and the peripheral ring 235. Similarly, in one or more embodiments, the non-conductive region 720 may be a region of a printed circuit board or substrate on which no metal is deposited, and thus may be made of, for example, epoxy resin and glass fiber, or, for example, the non-conductive region 720 may be formed by depositing an insulating layer such as a silicon dioxide (SiO2) layer.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 7B, for example, there are two ring-shaped conductive regions, namely, an outer ring region 712 and an inner ring region 732, provided directly below the surface on the upper surface side of the rotating wheel 230. As shown in FIG. 7A, the outer ring region 712 is electrically connected to each of the first conductive regions 710 on the bottom surface side of the rotating wheel by vias (not shown). Similarly, the inner ring region 732 provided on the inner periphery on the upper surface side of the rotating wheel 230 is electrically connected to the second conductive inner ring region 730 on the bottom surface side of the rotating wheel, also shown in FIG. 7A, by vias (not shown). In addition, in the example shown in FIG. 7B, the positions of three sets of pads 221 to which three switches are to be connected are shown, but the switches to be connected to each of them are not shown. Therefore, when the user presses the cover cap 215 (shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) until a clicking sound or a corresponding sound is emitted, and the switch is closed, the inner part of each pad is electrically connected to the outer part of each pad, whereby the regions 712 and 732 are electrically connected. Referring to FIG. 7A, this further causes all of the first conductive regions 710 to be connected to the second conductive region 732 of the inner ring respectively. In alternative embodiments, there may be more or fewer switches, and corresponding sets of switch pads to which they are connected. In some embodiments, as shown, the switch pads 221 may be arranged equidistantly around the rotating wheel 230. In some embodiments, the switch may have more than two states, and thus may have more positions than the "compressed" or closed state and the "uncompressed" or open state. In such embodiments, the switch may have one or more intermediate states between "compressed" and "uncompressed". The user can press down the cover cap 215 to move between the "uncompressed" or fully open state, each of the intermediate states, and the fully closed state. In such embodiments, each position of the switch can be sensed, for example, by the signal strength of the electrical coupling in each state of the switch.

[0090] Taking into account the above description of the respective top and bottom surfaces of the stationary base 231 and the rotating wheel 230, FIG. 8 shows, in one or more embodiments, the electrical coupling between the top surface of the stationary base 231 and the bottom surface of the rotating wheel 230 facing each other within the assembled rotary knob interface when the rotating wheel 230 is positioned on the stationary base 231. Referring to this, the dashed arrow 801 indicates the electrical coupling between the inner ring 232 of the top surface of the exemplary stationary base 231 and the inner ring 730 of the bottom surface of the exemplary rotating wheel 230. Additionally, the dashed arrow 802 indicates the electrical coupling between the peripheral ring 235 of the top surface of the exemplary stationary base 231 including the conductive pads 237 and 238 and the various conductive regions 710 of the outer peripheral ring 701 of the bottom surface of the exemplary rotating wheel 230. As described above, the region 720 of the outer peripheral ring 701 of the bottom surface of the rotating wheel 230 is non-conductive, similar to the non-conductive partition ring 702 provided between the outer peripheral ring 701 and the inner conductive ring 730 as shown in the figure. In one or more embodiments, as described above with reference to FIG. 6A, the pairs of regions respectively indicated by the dashed arrow 801 and the dashed arrow 802 are capacitively coupled on the premise of the non-conductive horizontal plastic bearing 226 located between the two surfaces.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 8, when the rotating wheel 230 is positioned on the stationary base 231 (with a horizontal bearing existing between them), various electrical couplings may exist between their respective peripheral ring regions. The peripheral ring 235 coupled to the reference signal of the input device will generally be capacitively coupled to a number of conductive regions 710 under the rotating wheel via a set of electrodes 430. However, whether one or both of the conductive pad 237 and the conductive pad 238 are coupled to the conductive pad 710 under the rotating wheel depends on the relative rotational position of the rotating wheel 230 and the stationary base 231.

[0092] In the above embodiments, in order to sense rotation, two conductive pads 237 and 238 on the top surface of the stationary base 231 may be coupled to electrodes on the surface of an input device that is driven with a sense signal for each. As described above with reference to FIG. 4A, the conductive pad 237 and the conductive pad 238 on the top surface of the stationary base 231 are electrically connected by vias to the sense electrode 410 and the sense electrode 411 provided on the bottom surface of the stationary base 231, respectively. In turn, the sense electrode 410 and the sense electrode 411 are coupled to the electrodes of the corresponding input device driven with a sense signal, as shown, for example, in FIG. 4C. In one or more embodiments, by driving the sense electrodes 410 and 411 of the stationary base and the electrodes of the input device coupled to each of them with a sense signal, different result signals are received by those input device electrodes as a function of the capacitive coupling between each of the two conductive pads 237 and the conductive pad 238 on the top surface of the stationary base 231 and the arrangement of the conductive pad 710 and the non-conductive region 720 on the bottom surface of the rotating wheel 230.

[0093] FIG. 9 is a small arcuate portion of the peripheral ring on the top surface of the stationary base, corresponding perhaps to an angle of 35 degrees. The portion shown corresponds to a portion of the image shown in FIG. 7B that includes conductive pad 237 and conductive pad 238. To distinguish the signals coupled to each conductive pad, in some embodiments, referring to FIG. 9, conductive pad 237 is assigned to channel A and conductive pad 238 is assigned to channel B. For convenience, herein, for example, conductive pad 237 may sometimes be referred to as the “channel A pad” and conductive pad 238 may sometimes be referred to as the “channel B pad”. By measuring the result signals received by the electrodes on the input device coupled to each of conductive pad 237 and conductive pad 238 at different times, it can be determined how much rotation has occurred between two data points and in which direction. Also shown in FIG. 9 is peripheral ring 235 (which is coupled to a set of electrodes 430 of the input device and to the reference signal that drives them), and inner ring conductive region 232. As will be described in detail below, inner ring conductive region 232 is used to sense the “click” when the switch closes.

[0094] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing exemplary digitized quadrature encoder signals that may be generated by the interaction of exemplary stationary base conductive pads 237 and 238 having an assignment to the exemplary channels shown in FIG. 9, and conductive regions 710 and non-conductive regions 720 alternately provided in an outer peripheral ring on the bottom surface of the rotating wheel 230, when the rotating wheel 230 is rotated by a user. The generated signals have a certain sequence 1010 for clockwise rotation and another sequence 1020 for counterclockwise rotation. In some embodiments, the relative rotation may be determined by firmware by comparing consecutive sequences. As shown, the respective signals used for channel A and channel B are identical but phase-shifted by 90 degrees. These signals can be better understood by referring to all possible states of overlap of the conductive pads 237 and 238 of the stationary base 231, and the pattern on the underside of the rotating wheel 230, as shown in FIG. 11A described next. As will be described next, four data points 1030 of the counterclockwise rotation sequence 1020 are shown in FIG. 11A.

[0095] FIG. 11A shows four possible coupling states of the conductive pads 237 and 238, indicated by "A" and "B", located on top of the stationary base 231 of FIG. 9, with the conductive regions 710 and non-conductive regions 720 alternately provided in the outer peripheral ring at the bottom of the rotating wheel 230, namely, coupling state 1110 - coupling state 1140. In FIG. 11A, only a small portion of the peripheral ring 235 of the stationary base near where the conductive pads 237 and 238 are provided is illustrated. The relative positions of the conductive pads 237 and 238 with respect to the lower side of the rotating wheel 230 generate the signals shown. FIG. 11A also shows a small portion of the peripheral ring 235 at the top of the stationary base 231 as shown in FIG. 9 and described above, which surrounds the conductive pads 237 and 238. Each of the four states depicted in FIG. 11A has a corresponding data point in the encoder signal of FIG. 10, as will be described next. FIG. 11A is a view from below looking upward at the top surface of the stationary base 231, with the conductive pad 237, the conductive pad 238, and the peripheral ring 235 shown transparently, and the alternately provided conductive 710 and non-conductive 720 peripheral regions at the bottom surface of the rotating wheel 230 visible as a background. To distinguish between the conductive region 710 and the non-conductive region 720, the conductive region 710 is shaded using diagonal lines running from the upper left to the lower right ("backslash"), and the non-conductive region 720 is shaded with diagonal lines running from the lower left to the upper right ("frontslash"), as illustrated.

[0096] In the example illustrated in FIG. 11A, the alternately provided conductive regions 710 and non-conductive regions 720 have the same shape and size. Also, in the example illustrated in FIG. 11A, the pad widths W1 of the conductive pads 237 and 238 that respectively carry channel A and channel B on the top surface of the stationary base 231 are half the size of the width W2 of the conductive region 710 or the non-conductive region 720 on the bottom surface of the rotating wheel, and two of the conductive pads 237 or the conductive pads 238 have a size such that they can fit inside or under one of the conductive regions 710 or non-conductive regions 720. Further, the conductive pad 237 and the conductive pad 238 are separated from each other by two conductive pad widths W1, or the width W2 of one region (710, 720). The four states show the counterclockwise rotation of the rotating wheel 230 with respect to the stationary base 231 as shown. Thus, as described above, since the viewpoint is from below the top surface of the stationary base 231 looking at the bottom surface of the rotating wheel 230, the conductive pads 237 and the conductive pad 238 that respectively carry channel A and channel B actually remain stationary but appear to move counterclockwise with respect to the bottom surface of the rotating wheel 230.

[0097] Starting from the first state 1110, the pad 237 of channel A on the upper surface of the stationary base 231 is coupled to the conductive region 710A on the bottom surface of the rotating wheel 230. However, as shown in the figure, the pad 238 of channel B is under the non-conductive region 720B on the bottom surface of the rotating wheel 230 and is not coupled. Therefore, according to the convention of the encoder signal in Figure 10 where "coupled to the conductive region 710" = 1 and "coupled to the non-conductive region 720" = 0, channel A is 1, channel B is 0, that is, the overall (A, B) value is (1, 0). In the second state 1120, which shows the rotation of the rotating wheel 230 to the right by the width W1 of one pad (a rotation of 1 / 2 of the width W2 of the conductive or non-conductive region), when the A pad 237 is moved to the left under the next non-conductive pad 720A and the B pad 238 is moved to the lower left of the non-conductive pad 720B, now neither the A pad nor the B pad is coupled to the conductive region 710. Therefore, the values of both channel A and channel B are 0, that is, the overall (A, B) value is (0, 0). In Figure 10, the change from (A, B) = (1, 0) to (0, 0) is shown as the third and fourth data points in the counterclockwise signal set 1020. In the third state 1130, this time, it rotates and moves one W1 to the left. The A pad 237 is under the left side of the non-conductive region 720A, so the A pad is not yet coupled. However, the B pad has moved one W1 and is under the right side of the conductive region 710A and is now coupled. Therefore, the value of channel A is 0, the value of channel B is 1, and the overall value is (0, 1). Finally, in the fourth state 1140, pads A and B rotate and move one more W1 to the left, corresponding to the further rotation of the upper rotating wheel to the right by W1. This time, both the pad 237 of channel A and the pad 238 of channel B are coupled to the conductive region on the lower side of the rotating wheel. Since the A pad 237 has moved to the right of the conductive region 710B and the B pad 238 has moved to the left of the conductive region 710A, the values of both channel A and channel B are 1, and overall (A, B) = (1, 1).

[0098] Therefore, the progression of the data points (A, B) through the four states of FIG. 11A is from (1, 0), through (0, 0) and (0, 1), to (1, 1). As shown at 1030 in FIG. 10, this sequence shows a counterclockwise rotation. As described above, here it is assumed that when the conductive pad 237 or the conductive pad 238 of the stationary base 231 is aligned with the conductive region 710 below the rotating wheel 230, its signal value = 1, and when the conductive pad 237 or the conductive pad 238 is aligned with the non-conductive region 720 below the rotating wheel 230, its signal value = 0. In an alternative embodiment, the reverse rule may be used.

[0099] In one or more embodiments, there is a relationship between the widths of the conductive pads 237 and 238 (having the same width W1) and the widths of the conductive region 710 or the non-conductive region 720 (having the same width W2). In one or more embodiments, it is the relative widths of W1 and W2 that determine the resolution at which the rotation of the rotating wheel 230 relative to the stationary base 231 can be detected. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11A, the width W1 of each of the conductive pads 237 and 238 is 1 / 2 of the width W2 of the lower conductive region 710 or non-conductive region 720. Thus, in such an embodiment, a change in rotation can be detected each time the conductive pad 237 or the conductive pad 238 moves by W1. This is because, as shown for the conductive pad 238 moving from one side of the non-conductive region 720B to the other side in FIG. 11A, the conductive pad 237 or the conductive pad 238 moves in steps of size W1 from under one side of the region 710 or region 720 to the other side between the first state and the second state. Alternatively, for example, as shown for the conductive pad 237 moving from the second side of the conductive region 710A to the first side of the non-conductive region 720A in FIG. 11A, the conductive pad 237 or the conductive pad 238 moves in steps of size W1 from the second side of the region 710 or region 720 to the first side of another type of adjacent region.

[0100] FIG. 11B shows an exemplary distance 1160 between the conductive pad A237 and the conductive pad B238 of the stationary base 231, indicated by the width W1 of the conductive pad. Here, the perspective of FIG. 11B is now from below the entire stationary base 231, essentially looking up at FIGS. 4C and 5. The three sensing electrodes 411, sensing electrode 410, and sensing electrode 420 on the bottom surface of the stationary base, and the two conductive pads A237 and conductive pad B238 on the top surface of the stationary base are all shown in a perspective mode. As shown in the figure, there is a separation of 16 times the conductive pad width W1 between the conductive pad A237 and the conductive pad B238. There are 7 conductive regions 710 / non-conductive regions 720 each with a width W2 in between, and there are 2 more regions with a width W1. One of the regions with a width W1 is on the right side of the A pad 237, and the other is on the left side of the B pad 238. The conductive pad 237 and the conductive pad 238 are respectively disposed on the corresponding coupling electrodes 411 and coupling electrode 410 on the lower side of the stationary base. Separating the pads 237 and 238 by a distance equal to 16W1 is to reduce the parasitic coupling from other adjacent sensing pixels. Therefore, in some embodiments, the coupling electrodes 411 and the coupling electrode 410 have specific positions that are position-aligned with the grid as shown and described in FIG. 4C, so the conductive pads 237 and 238 are limited to specific regions. In the exemplary configuration of FIG. 11B, neither of the two conductive pads 237 and the conductive pad 238 is coupled to the conductive region under the rotating wheel. As shown in the figure, both are coupled to the non-conductive region 720. However, if it rotates once to the right, the conductive pad 238 carrying the B channel moves to be coupled to the adjacent conductive region, or alternatively, if it rotates once to the left, the conductive pad 237 carrying the A channel moves to be coupled to the adjacent conductive region 710.

[0101] Next, describe a click to press the switch to close, or a mechanical response function, and how it is detected in one or more embodiments. In this regard, FIG. 12A is a side view of an exemplary rotary wheel 230 according to one or more embodiments, showing three exemplary switches 220 provided on its upper surface and arranged at equal distances. In some embodiments, the switch 220 is a dome switch. Similarly, FIG. 12B is a top view of the exemplary rotary wheel of FIG. 12A, showing three exemplary switches provided on a sensor grid of an exemplary input device as illustrated in FIG. 4B, along with electrode regions 402 and 403 as described in FIG. 4B and according to one or more embodiments. When the switch 220 is closed, two conductive regions 712 and 732 as shown in FIG. 7B are electrically connected, and this is sensed by the input device. As described above, in one or more embodiments, the rotation of the knob interface by the user and pressing the knob interface to close the switch are orthogonal operations and do not interfere with each other. This is because whether the switch 220 is closed does not affect the relative rotation of the stationary base 231 and the rotary wheel 230, or the ability of the user to further rotate them.

[0102] As described above, the user closes the switch by pressing the outer cap 215 of FIG. 3. FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view showing the up position 1301 of the exemplary rotatable knob interface of FIGS. 2 and 3, where the switch 220 is in the open state. FIG. 13A also shows the states of the upper and lower surfaces of the rotating wheel and the stationary base, respectively, when the switch is in the open state. As shown in FIG. 13A, drawing 1321 shows the top surface of the rotating wheel. Here, when the switch 220 is in the open state, as shown, there is no connection between the two conductive rings 712 and the conductive ring 732 provided near the upper surface of the rotating wheel. As a result, as shown in drawing 1322, the corresponding regions 710 and 730 on the bottom surface of the rotating wheel are also electrically insulated from each other. Therefore, as a further result, as shown in drawing 1323, on the top surface of the stationary base 231, the inner conductive ring 232 remains insulated from the peripheral ring 235 coupled to the reference signal via a set of electrodes 430 below the stationary base. Thus, as shown in drawing 1324, at the bottom of the stationary base, the electrode 420 (driven by the sensed signal) and the set of electrodes 430 (driven by the reference signal) remain electrically separated from each other.

[0103] Similarly, FIG. 13B is a cutaway view illustrating the down position 1302 of the exemplary rotatable knob interface of FIGS. 2 and 3 when switch 220 is in the closed state, as shown in drawing 1321, according to one or more embodiments. In this case, referring again to FIG. 13A, there is an electrical connection between two rings 712 and ring 732 provided near the top surface of the rotating wheel (as described above with reference to FIG. 7B), and thus there is also a connection between the corresponding conductive regions on the bottom surface of the rotating wheel, i.e., conductive region 710 (all of which are electrically connected to each other) and the inner ring 730, as shown in drawing 1322. Further, as shown in drawing 1323, the inner conductive ring 232 is now electrically connected to the peripheral ring 235 at the top of the stationary base 231, and as a result, at the bottom of the stationary base 231, as shown in drawing 1324, electrode 420 is electrically coupled to a set of electrodes 430 that are coupled to the reference signal of the input device. Here, when the switch is in the closed state, in addition to being coupled to the peripheral ring 235, the conductive region 710 is also partially coupled to the conductive pads 237 and 238 at the top of the stationary base 231. Thus, when the switch is in the closed state, there may be some effect on the signal on the inner ring 730 (via electrode 420). In particular, when the switch is in the closed state, the signal regarding rotation will be slightly reduced. Also, electrodes 410 and 411 may also exhibit a slight reduction in signal when both their corresponding upper conductive pads 237 and upper conductive pad 238 are coupled to the conductive region 710 under the rotating wheel (as shown in FIG. 11A, in the fourth state 1140). This is because instead of only the two electrodes 410 and 411 being coupled to ground, the switch being closed causes a third electrode 420 to also be coupled to ground at this time, and thus, as shown in FIG. 4B, a portion of the ground (reference) signal provided by region 403 of the input device is shared. Despite this small change in signal strength, as described above, in some embodiments, the detection of the rotation of the wheel operates fully even while the switch is closed.

[0104] FIG. 14 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary rotatable knob interface implemented on an exemplary input device having a sensing grid, according to one or more embodiments. Referring thereto, starting from the bottom of FIG. 14, the upper part of the exemplary input device, i.e., the glass layer 1429, and the two exemplary electrodes 402 and 403 thereunder are shown. For consistency, the same reference numbers as those used in FIGS. 4A - 4C for similar elements are used herein. In the illustrated embodiment, the glass layer 1429 may be the upper surface of the exemplary input device, such as a display in an automotive infotainment system, for example. The two representative electrodes 402 and 403 are, for example, the equivalents of those illustrated in FIG. 4B. In the example of FIG. 14, these electrodes are part of the sensing grid. As shown, electrode 403 is driven by a reference signal 1402, such as ground, and electrode 402 is driven by the sensing waveform 1406, as described above.

[0105] Continuing with reference to FIG. 14, an adhesive layer 1427 is provided on the glass layer 1429, and in the embodiment, this adhesive layer fixes the stationary base of the exemplary knob interface to the glass surface 1429 (and thus to the exemplary input device). From the adhesive layer 1427 to the top of the figure, the components of the exemplary knob interface are illustrated. Thus, there are a stationary base 231 and a rotating wheel 230 as described above, and a thin plastic horizontal bearing 236 is provided therebetween. The stationary base 231 has a bottom surface and a top surface, as described above. The bottom surface includes a coupling electrode 410 and a coupling electrode 430. It should be noted that the cross-sectional view of FIG. 14 does not include all of the coupling electrodes on the bottom surface of the stationary base 231, but as described above with reference to FIG. 4C, the coupling electrode 430 is coupled to the reference signal electrode 403 of the exemplary input device, and the coupling electrode 410 is coupled to the sensing electrode 402 of the exemplary input device. The top surface of the stationary base 231 includes a peripheral ring 235. The peripheral ring 235 is connected to a set of electrodes 430 and is itself coupled to the electrode 403 that transmits a reference signal, as shown. The top surface of the stationary base 231 also includes a conductive pad 238 that is electrically connected to the electrode 410.

[0106] Continuing further with reference to FIG. 14, as shown, there is a horizontal thin plastic bearing 236 on the top surface of the stationary base 231, and a rotating wheel 230 is provided on the thin plastic bearing 236. As shown, the rotating wheel 230 has a bottom surface provided with both a conductive region 710 and a non-conductive region 720 as described above. In FIG. 14, for ease of illustration, these are shown as being arranged radially. However, as shown in the example of FIG. 8, these two regions are actually arranged side by side at the same distance radially from the center at the peripheral portion of the wheel (e.g., in the dimension coming out of the page of FIG. 14, one is in front of the other). As further shown by the connector 712, all of the conductive regions 710 of the rotating wheel are electrically connected to each other as described above with reference to FIG. 7B. In one or more embodiments, when the rotating wheel 230 rotates, the circuit is coupled when the conductive region 710 of the wheel overlaps the conductive pad 238 of the base, and the circuit is electrically disconnected when the non-conductive region 720 of the wheel overlaps the conductive pad 238 of the base. Thereby, a voltage difference 1451 is generated between the rotating wheel 230 and the stationary base 231. The voltage difference 1451 is measured by an input device in one or more embodiments. Similarly, although not shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 14, the conductive pad 237 of the base is directly below the conductive region 710 on the lower side of the rotating wheel 230, and thus the circuit is coupled when it is coupled to the conductive region 710, and the circuit is electrically disconnected when the non-conductive region 720 of the wheel overlaps the conductive pad 237 of the base.

[0107] As shown in FIG. 14, when the coupling of the conductive pad 238 changes from the insulator 720 to the conductor Cu710 due to the rotation of the rotating wheel 230, the capacitance 1451 changes. This change can be measured by the differential voltage 1450 in one or more embodiments. This measured value is used to detect the relative rotational position of the rotating wheel 230 with respect to the stationary base 231 as described above.

[0108] Figures 15A, 15B, 15C, and 16 are diagrams showing exemplary positionings of a rotatable knob interface 150 on a display panel of an input device. FIG. 15A shows a first exemplary arrangement of a rotatable knob interface 150 centered on one exemplary sensor grid according to one or more embodiments. As shown, the exemplary sensor grid includes several (eight in this example) sensor arrays. Each sensor array is composed of six columns each having 20 sensors. The rotatable knob interface 150 is centered on the fourth array from the left out of the eight arrays shown. In this example arrangement, the coupling electrode on the bottom surface of the stationary base that receives a reference signal, such as a ground signal, has the largest area. This is because, in the type of sensor grid shown in FIGS. 15A to 15C, the touch area of the display is separated into different slices 1501 as shown. In this example, each slice 1501 has six columns of touch pixels, and a total of eight slices are shown. In this type of sensor grid of this example, only one of the eight slices 1501 (which may also be called a "mux") can be sensed at a time. Thus, in order to sense the knob all at once, as shown, it must be located entirely within one mux. This means that the knob must be centered not with respect to the entire sensor grid, but only within one of the six-column slices 1501. In other arrangements, perhaps more visually symmetric, the number of coupling electrodes that receive a reference signal (e.g., ground) is less. This will be described next.

[0109] FIG. 15B is a diagram showing a second exemplary arrangement of a rotatable knob interface on a sensor grid according to one or more embodiments. Here, the rotatable knob interface 150 is generally disposed at the center of the display panel and is more visually symmetric, but spans two of the eight slices 1501 (sensor arrays), and only one of them may be sensed at a time. As a result, the area of the electrodes on the stationary base bottom surface that receives the reference signal becomes quite small, on the order of 1 / 4 compared to the arrangement example of FIG. 15A. In order to place the knob in the center of the screen as some users prefer, only half of the knob will have conductive pads. That half is then placed in the desired mux that senses the rotation of the knob. Since the limited space reduces the conductive area for reference grounding, the signal the knob has can decrease.

[0110] FIG. 15C shows a third exemplary arrangement of the rotatable knob interface 150 according to one or more embodiments. In this example, only a portion of the interface is provided on the sensor grid. In this exemplary embodiment, an external ground fitting 1610 is used as shown to provide sufficient connection to ground. As shown in FIG. 16, the lower portion 1620 of the rotatable knob interface including the set of electrodes 430 is electrically coupled to the external ground fitting 1610 of FIG. 15C. As FIG. 16 further shows, in the embodiment of this exemplary arrangement, since the sensing signal can only come from the electrodes of the sensor grid, the electrodes 410, 411, and 420 that are coupled to the electrodes of the input device driven by the sensing signal are provided above the ends of the knob interface. This arrangement example minimizes visual interference to the display panel of the input device.

[0111] FIG. 17 is a process flowchart showing a method 1700 for implementing a rotatable knob interface on an exemplary electronic device and determining the position and / or state of the rotatable knob interface according to one or more embodiments. For example, the electronic device may be a device that combines display and sensing, such as one that includes TDDI technology as described above.

[0112] Method 1700 includes blocks 1710 to 1750. In alternative embodiments, method 1700 may have more or fewer blocks. Method 1700 begins at block 1710. At block 1710, a rotatable knob interface is provided to the input device. The rotatable knob interface includes a stationary base and a rotating wheel. The stationary base has an upper surface with a peripheral portion including first, second, and third sets of coupling electrodes on the bottom surface and first, second, and third regions each electrically coupled to each of the first, second, and third sets of coupling electrodes. The rotating wheel has a bottom surface with alternating conductive and non-conductive regions. For example, the rotatable knob interface may be as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 14 and may be any of those described above.

[0113] From block 1710, method 1700 proceeds to block 1720. At block 1720, the first set of coupling electrodes of the knob interface is capacitively coupled to the first set of electrodes of the input device configured to provide a reference signal. For example, the first set of electrodes may be electrodes 430 of FIG. 4A. Alternatively, for example, the first set of electrodes may include a single electrode. With respect to the reference signal, for example, it may be a ground signal generated by a processing circuit of an electronic device, such as processing circuit 110 of electronic device 100 of FIG. 1. As another example, the reference signal may be a ground signal output by a TDDI device from an arbitrarily selected analog front end.

[0114] From block 1720, method 1700 proceeds to block 1730. At block 1730, the second and third sets of coupling electrodes of the knob interface are capacitively coupled to the second and third sets of electrodes of the input device. The second and third sets of electrodes are configured to receive sense signals. For example, the second and third sets of coupling electrodes may be electrodes 410 and 411 of FIG. 4A, and all of them may be coupled to some of the input device electrodes 402 of FIG. 4B. In some embodiments, the same sense signal is provided to all of the device electrodes 402 of FIG. 4B. Therefore, the second and third sets of coupling electrodes are coupled to the same signal.

[0115] From block 1730, method 1700 proceeds to block 1740. At block 1740, a reference signal is supplied to the first set of electrodes of the input device at each of two different points in time, and then result signals are received at the second and third sets of electrodes of the input device. As described above, the result signal is the same signal used to drive each of the second and third sets of electrodes, except that it is modified by the relative rotational positions of the stationary base and the rotating wheel of the rotatable knob interface when it is measured, as described above with reference to FIGS. 10, 11A, and 11B. As described above, the second and third sets of electrodes of the input device may be driven by the same sense signal.

[0116] From block 1740, method 1700 proceeds to block 1750. At block 1750, based at least in part on the data acquired at each of two different points in time, a change in the rotational position of the knob interface and the direction of rotation are determined. In one or more embodiments, this determination may be performed by firmware stored in the memory of the input device. Method 1700 ends at block 1750.

[0117] FIG. 18 is a process flow chart showing a method 1800 for processing signals from an exemplary composite display and sensing device (“input device”) with a rotatable knob interface attached. The knob interface is additionally provided with a “click” sensing device such as a switch according to various embodiments, as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3, 12, and 13 and described above. Thus, an exemplary rotatable knob interface has a home, i.e., “uncompressed” state in addition to a “compressed” state. For example, the electronic device may include TDDI technology as described above, and the rotatable knob interface may be any of the rotatable knobs illustrated in FIGS. 1-14 above.

[0118] Method 1800 includes blocks 1810 to 1830. In alternative embodiments, method 1800 may have more or fewer blocks. Method 1800 begins at block 1810. At block 1810, a reference signal is provided to a first set of electrodes of the input device that are electrically coupled to a first set of coupling electrodes of a rotatable knob interface attached to the input device. For example, the first set of electrodes may be electrodes 430 of FIG. 4A, and for example, the reference signal may be a ground signal of the input device or another signal generated by a processing circuit of the input device.

[0119] From block 1810, method 1800 proceeds to block 1820. At block 1820, a result signal is received at a second set of electrodes of the input device that are electrically coupled to a second set of coupling electrodes of the rotatable knob interface. The result signal is modified by the rotatable knob interface. For example, the second set of electrodes may be electrodes 420 of FIG. 4A, which may be coupled to one of the input device electrodes 402 of FIG. 4B.

[0120] From block 1820, method 1800 proceeds to block 1830. At block 1830, based at least in part on the strength of the reference signal supplied to the first electrode of the input device, it may be determined whether the rotatable knob interface is in the home position where the switch as shown in FIG. 13A is open, or in the closed position where the switch as shown in FIG. 13B is closed. As described above, when in the home, or open, position, since switch 220 is open, there is no connection and the inner ring 730 on the bottom surface of the rotating wheel is floating. On the other hand, when the rotatable knob interface is in the compressed position as shown in FIG. 13B, since switch 220 is now closed, as a result there is an electrical connection and the inner ring 730 on the bottom surface of the rotating wheel is electrically connected to all of the conductive region 710 of the rotating wheel. Method 1800 then ends at block 1830.

[0121] Thus, the embodiments and examples described herein have been shown for the purpose of best explaining the technology and its embodiments in the context of its particular application, and enabling those skilled in the art to make and use the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the above description and examples have been shown for illustrative and exemplary purposes only. The description given is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed.

[0122] In view of the above, the scope of the present disclosure is determined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A stationary base configured to be attached to an input device, a first set of coupling electrodes aligned with a first set of electrodes of the input device and configured to receive a reference signal from the first set of electrodes of the input device, a second set of coupling electrodes aligned with a second set of electrodes of the input device and configured to receive a result signal from the second set of electrodes of the input device, a third set of coupling electrodes aligned with the second set of electrodes of the input device and configured to receive a result signal from the second set of electrodes of the input device, a bottom surface including the same, a top surface including a first region, a second region, and a third region of an upper peripheral portion respectively connected to the first set, the second set, and the third set of the coupling electrodes, a stationary base comprising the same, a rotating wheel configured to rotate with respect to the stationary base, comprising, the rotating wheel includes a bottom surface including a bottom peripheral portion configured such that conductive regions and non-conductive regions are alternately provided and aligned with the top surface of the stationary base, the result signals received in each of the second set of coupling electrodes and the third set of coupling electrodes are modified by the relative positions of the stationary base and the rotating wheel, a rotatable electronic device.

2. The result signals received in each of the second set and the third set of the coupling electrodes of the stationary base are functions of the overlaps of the alternately provided conductive regions and non-conductive regions of the rotating wheel in the second region and the third region of the upper peripheral portion of the stationary base, The rotatable electronic device according to Claim 1.

3. Both the stationary base and the rotating wheel are annular, have substantially equal outer diameters, and the stationary base has an inner diameter smaller than that of the rotating wheel, The rotatable electronic device according to Claim 1.

4. a first plastic bearing provided between the top surface of the stationary base and the bottom surface of the rotating wheel, a substantially tubular second plastic bearing provided in an inner annular region of the top surface of the stationary base and adjacent to a substantially vertical inner surface of the rotating wheel, further comprising, The rotatable electronic device according to Claim 3.

5. The respective sizes of the second region and the third region on the top surface of the stationary base and the conductive regions and the non-conductive regions alternately provided on the rotating wheel are in the following states at different rotational positions of the rotating wheel: A state in which the second region and the third region are coupled to the conductive region of the rotating wheel; A state in which the second region is coupled to the conductive region of the rotating wheel, but the third region is not coupled; A state in which neither the second region nor the third region is coupled to the conductive region of the rotating wheel; A state in which the second region is not coupled to the conductive region of the rotating wheel, but the third region is coupled; Are each configured to occur, The rotatable electronic device according to claim 1.

6. The bottom surface of the stationary base is further provided with a fourth set of coupling electrodes configured to be position-aligned with a corresponding fourth set of the electrodes of the input device and receive a result signal from the corresponding fourth set of the electrodes of the input device, The top surface of the stationary base further includes an inner ring provided inside the upper peripheral portion and connected to the fourth set of the coupling electrodes, The bottom surface of the rotating wheel further includes an inner conductive ring configured to be position-aligned with the upper peripheral portion of the stationary base, The rotating wheel further includes a top surface including an outer conductive region electrically connected to each of the conductive regions on the bottom surface of the rotating wheel and an inner conductive region electrically connected to the inner conductive ring on the bottom surface of the rotating wheel, The rotatable electronic device according to claim 1.

7. The rotatable electronic device according to claim 6, further comprising one or more switches provided on the top surface of the rotating wheel for electrically connecting the outer conductive region and the inner conductive region in a closed state. The rotatable electronic device according to claim 6.

8. A sensing system comprising an input device including a display panel, a processing circuit unit, a plurality of electrodes, and a rotatable electronic device configured to be attached to the display panel, The rotatable electronic device is A stationary base, A first set of coupling electrodes that is positionally aligned with a first set of electrodes of the input device and configured to receive a reference signal from the first set of electrodes of the input device, and a second set and a third set of coupling electrodes that are respectively positionally aligned with corresponding second and third sets of electrodes of the input device and configured to receive result signals from the corresponding second and third sets of electrodes of the input device, and a bottom surface comprising: A top surface comprising an upper peripheral portion including a first region, a second region, and a third region respectively connected to the first set, the second set, and the third set of coupling electrodes; A stationary base comprising: A rotating wheel provided on the stationary base and configured to rotate with respect to the stationary base; Comprising: The rotating wheel comprises a bottom surface including a bottom peripheral portion in which conductive regions and non-conductive regions are alternately provided and configured to be positionally aligned with the top surface of the stationary base; The result signals received in each of the second set and the third set of coupling electrodes are modified by the relative positions of the stationary base and the rotating wheel; A sensing system.

9. The input device comprises one of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display; The stationary base is attached to the upper surface of the input device. The sensing system of Claim 8.

10. A method of processing signals from an input device having a rotatable interface according to Claim 1, The rotatable interface is attached to a display screen of the input device; Supplying the reference signal to the first set of electrodes of the input device; Receiving the result signals at each of the second set and the third set of electrodes of the input device; Determining a rotational position of the rotatable interface based at least in part on the result signals; Including: Each of the result signals is modified by the rotatable interface; A method.

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