First remote control to use i-Pod style touch wheel is powered by Quantum’s QT511 QWheel sensor chip

The RH60 is an infrared universal remote control for up to 15 devices. The i-Pod style wheel makes it easy to navigate and a 3.9inch color LCD display provides an icon-based user interface that’s very similar to those found on mobile phones.

The QT511 QWheel chip is targeted primarily at portable applications. It features low power consumption, enhanced operation under difficult sensing conditions and the facility to place a mechanical button in the centre of the scroll wheel without experiencing false detects on operation. QWheel touch wheel technology can be thought of as a capacitive potentiometer, where the wiper is a finger. The electrode consists of a simple resistive ring element placed behind a plastic panel; three capacitive QT sensing channels are connected to this ring, and the signals processed to 7-bits of absolute position. The result is output on an SPI serial interface. The device can be set to sense through panels up to 3mm thick, and even through gloves.

The QT1080 offers designers an easy to use solution, ready to drop right into any mobile device. It is ideal for portable applications thanks to its QFN-32 package (1.1mm profile) and low power demands (40µA at 3V). High-speed processing ensures an instant response to touch input and a patented Adjacent Key Suppression™ technique means that keys can be tightly spaced without introducing cross-interference and sensing errors.