Touch Panel Knob with Ring Sensing Pads for Precise Rotation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for integrating knob devices with touch panels face issues such as reduced glass strength, high cost, and insufficient resolution due to hole drilling or inaccurate position detection of touch pads, particularly when knobs are small.
Innovation Solution
A knob device with a knob cover, sensing pads, and a rotation sensing element, where sensing pads are arranged in a ring around the knob cover's orthographic projection, generating sensing signals based on touch and rotation, improving resolution by precise detection of the knob's angle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If holes are drilled in the touch panel glass to mount knobs, then the knob device can be integrated with the touch panel, but the glass strength is reduced and the manufacturing process becomes complicated and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the sensing function from the touch panel glass itself and relocates it to a separate sensing pad structure mounted on the glass surface. This allows the knob to be integrated with the touch panel without drilling holes through the glass, as the sensing pads are surface-mounted elements that detect touch and rotation independently of the glass structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensing pads act as an intermediary layer between the touch panel glass and the knob device. These pads are mounted on the glass surface and provide the sensing functionality, serving as a mediator that enables knob integration without requiring structural modifications to the glass itself.
2Area of moving object
If the knob size is reduced, then the device becomes more compact, but the resolution of the touch panel becomes insufficient for accurate rotation detection
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing pad is divided into multiple segments or zones, each capable of detecting touch in specific angular positions. This segmentation allows the system to detect rotation with high precision even when the overall knob size is small, as each segment provides discrete angular information that collectively covers the full rotation range.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from relying solely on the physical size of the knob to utilizing the angular distribution of sensing pad segments for rotation detection. By organizing sensing elements in an angular dimension around the knob's rotation axis, the system achieves high resolution without increasing the knob's physical area.
3Ease of operation
If traditional touch pad methods are used where the touch pad is located between two touch panel cells, then the knob function is achieved through touch effect, but the position determination becomes difficult and ambiguous
Solution Approach 1:
Each sensing pad segment is designed with specific local properties and positioned at predetermined angular locations around the knob. This local differentiation allows the system to precisely determine the knob's angular position by identifying which specific sensing pad segment is being activated, eliminating the ambiguity that occurs when a touch pad is positioned between cells.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A knob device (100) is applicable to a touch panel (300) . The knob device (100) includes a knob cover (110), a plurality of sensing pads (170) fixedly arranged on the touch panel (300); and a rotation sensing element (130) . A gap (172) is formed between two sensing pads (170) . The plurality of sensing pads (170) and a plurality of gaps (172) are distributed in a ring area. The rotation sensing element (130) is connected to the knob cover (110). When the knob cover (110) is rotated, the rotation sensing element (130) is rotated synchronously. When a touch and rotation event of the knob device (100) occurs and the rotation sensing element (130) overlaps one of the plurality of sensing pads (170), a location of the rotation sensing element (130) controls a rotation sensing signal of the touch panel (300).