A button, a steering wheel and a button setting method

Abstract

The present application discloses a button, a steering wheel and a button setting method for assisting driving. The button is suitable for driving scenes, including: a base, a housing, a micro switch and a display assembly; a transparent area is provided on the top of the housing; a fixing cavity for fixing the micro switch is provided inside the base, a limit column is provided on the top of the base, a first limit component is provided on the limit column, and a second limit component is provided on the inner side of the bottom of the housing; the housing is assembled into the base, the contact of the micro switch is in contact with the backlight side of the display assembly, and the display side of the display assembly corresponds to the transparent area on the top of the housing; the display assembly is used to display the icon corresponding to the current button function; the housing moves downward to press the micro switch to trigger a click operation, and the button function is switched based on the click operation. After the button function is switched, the display assembly displays the switched icon. The button disclosed in the embodiment of the present application can solve the problem that the existing integrated steering wheel is not conducive to the driver's memory of custom buttons.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of automobile manufacturing, and in particular to a button, a steering wheel and a method for setting the button. Background Art

[0002] To ensure driving safety, cars usually use integrated steering wheels, so that drivers can answer calls, wake up voice assistants, and adjust radio stations without taking their hands off the steering wheel. In addition, with the development of smart cars, more and more functions are integrated into the central control. The limited buttons on the integrated steering wheel can only cover the most basic functions, and the driver still needs to take his eyes off the road ahead to operate various functions on the central control screen.

[0003] Existing integrated steering wheels usually use traditional hardware buttons, which usually can only define one button, which is not conducive to the driver to remember the function of the customized button. Therefore, when multiple vehicle users share a car, it is difficult to distinguish which function the customized button actually has. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the present application is proposed to provide a button, a steering wheel and a button setting method that overcome the above problems or at least partially solve the above problems.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present application, a button for assisting driving is provided, which is suitable for driving scenes, and comprises: the button comprises: a base, a shell, and a micro switch and a display assembly arranged between the base and the shell; a transparent area is arranged on the top of the shell;

[0006] A fixing cavity for fixing the micro switch is provided inside the base, a limiting column is provided on the top of the base, a first limiting component is provided on the limiting column, and a second limiting component used in conjunction with the first limiting component is provided on the inner side of the bottom of the housing;

[0007] The contact of the micro switch is in contact with the backlight side of the display component, and the display side of the display component corresponds to the transparent area on the top of the housing; the display component is used to display the icon corresponding to the current key function;

[0008] The shell moves downward to press the micro switch to trigger a click operation, and the button function is switched based on the click operation. After the button function is switched, the display component displays the icon corresponding to the switched button function.

[0009] Optionally, the transparent area on the top of the shell is a recessed structure; wherein the depth of the recessed structure is 1 mm to 1.5 cm.

[0010] Optionally, a raised positioning point is provided on the transparent area at the top of the shell;

[0011] There is one positioning point, which is set at the center of the top of the housing; or, the positioning point on the left button of the steering wheel is set at a position slightly left of the center of the button; the positioning point on the right button of the steering wheel is set at a position slightly right of the center of the button;

[0012] Alternatively, there are two positioning points, and the two positioning points are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the top center of the shell, and the distance between the two positioning points is 0.8cm-1.5cm.

[0013] Optionally, a limiting rib for fixing the micro switch is provided in the fixing cavity of the base;

[0014] Alternatively, a limiting groove for fixing the micro switch is provided in the fixing cavity;

[0015] Alternatively, a screw hole for fixing the micro switch is provided at the bottom of the fixing cavity, and the micro switch is fixed to the screw hole at the bottom of the fixing cavity by means of screws.

[0016] Optionally, the display assembly includes: a display screen and a backlight panel;

[0017] The back side of the backlight panel is in contact with the micro switch;

[0018] The display screen is an LED screen, an OLED screen or an electronic ink screen.

[0019] Optionally, the button also includes a touch screen arranged between the display screen and the shell.

[0020] Optionally, the button further includes a vibration motor disposed below the base;

[0021] The vibration motor is used to provide vibration feedback after the micro switch is triggered;

[0022] And / or, the vibration motor is used to provide vibration feedback after the touch screen is triggered.

[0023] According to one aspect of the present application, a steering wheel is provided, comprising: a body and at least one button as described above, which is arranged on the body.

[0024] Optionally, the buttons are arranged on both sides of the steering wheel cross beam, or on the upper side of the steering wheel cross beam.

[0025] Optionally, the shell of the button is square; transparent areas on top of the shells of any two or more adjacent buttons are spliced ​​together to form a large screen.

[0026] According to one aspect of the present application, a method for setting any one of the above keys is provided, the method comprising:

[0027] Obtaining a click instruction of the button, and activating a button function selection operation according to the click instruction; obtaining a button function selection instruction input by a user, and selecting a corresponding button function;

[0028] According to the acquired key function, a key icon corresponding to the selected key function is returned, so that the display component displays the icon corresponding to the selected key function.

[0029] As can be seen from the above, the technical solution of the present application is to provide a transparent area on the top of the shell, and to set a display component inside the shell, the display side of the display component corresponds to the transparent area, and the display component is used to display the icon corresponding to the current key function; the fixed cavity inside the base is used to fix the micro switch, and the base and the shell are connected by sliding through the cooperation of the first limit component and the second limit component; that is, the shell is pressed so that the shell moves down to press the micro switch to trigger the click operation, and the key function switching is completed based on the click operation. After the key function is switched, the display component displays the icon corresponding to the switched key function. In this way, the corresponding function button is set on the button of the steering wheel according to the needs of the user, and the icon of the key function corresponding to the button can be displayed on the button. In this way, when using the steering wheel of the car, the user does not need to be familiar with the specific functions of each button on the steering wheel one by one, and can intuitively understand the key function corresponding to each button by viewing the icon displayed on the button. In addition, the key function of each button can be set by itself to meet the customized needs. In this way, the defects that the button function on the existing integrated steering wheel cannot be changed and different users are not convenient when using the same steering wheel are well solved.

[0030] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present application. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present application, it can be implemented in accordance with the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are listed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present application. Also, the same reference symbols are used throughout the accompanying drawings to represent the same components. In the accompanying drawings:

[0032] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a key structure according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0033] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a key structure according to another embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0034] Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0035] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a steering wheel according to another embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0036] Figure 5 A flow chart of a key setting method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The exemplary embodiments of the present application will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments of the present application are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present application can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided in order to enable a more thorough understanding of the present application and to fully convey the scope of the present application to those skilled in the art.

[0038] The design concept of the present application is: by improving the structure of the button, the shell of the button is made of a transparent material, and a display component is installed inside the button. The display component of the button can display the icon corresponding to the current button function. In this way, when the user uses the steering wheel of the car, he does not need to familiarize himself with the specific functions of each button on the steering wheel one by one. By viewing the icons displayed on the button, he can intuitively understand the button function corresponding to each button. In addition, the button function of each button can be set by himself to meet the customized needs.

[0039] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a key structure of an embodiment of the present application, see Figure 1 As shown, the button includes: a base 50, a shell 10, and a micro switch 70 and a display assembly 30 arranged between the base 50 and the shell 10; a transparent area is provided on the top of the shell 10.

[0040] In one embodiment of the present application, in order to achieve the fixation of the key, a fixing cavity for fixing the micro switch 70 is provided inside the base 50, and the micro switch can also be fixed in the fixing cavity by setting a limiting rib or a limiting groove. Furthermore, by setting a screw hole for fixing the micro switch 70 at the bottom of the fixing cavity, a screw hole is set at a corresponding position on the micro switch 70, and the micro switch 70 is fixed to the base 50 of the key by screw fixing. In other embodiments of the present application, other fixing methods can also be used, and it is only necessary to fix the micro switch 70 in the fixing cavity of the base 50.

[0041] In order to realize the assembly of the base 50 and the shell 10. A limiting column 501 is provided on the top of the base 50, and a first limiting component 502 is provided on the limiting column 501. A second limiting component 102 used in conjunction with the first limiting component 502 is provided on the inner side of the bottom of the shell 10. Through the cooperation of the first limiting component 502 and the second limiting component 102, the shell 10 is assembled into the base 50, and the shell 10 can move relatively within the range of movement of the first limiting component 502 and the second limiting component 102, that is, the pressing operation of the shell 10 is realized, and it stops moving downward due to the action of the limiting column on the base 50; after releasing, the shell 10 bounces up and stops moving upward due to the action of the second limiting component 102, so as to prevent the shell 10 from being separated from the base 50.

[0042] In this embodiment, the rebound force is provided by the micro switch 70. In other embodiments of the present application, in order to achieve the pressing and popping of the housing 10 more quickly and stably, an elastic component is provided between the base 50 and the housing 10.

[0043] The contact of the micro switch 70 contacts the backlight side of the display component 30, and the display side of the display component 30 corresponds to the transparent area on the top of the housing 10; the display component 30 is used to display the icon corresponding to the current key function. The housing 10 moves downward to press the micro switch 70 to deform, thereby triggering a click operation. The key is pressed based on the click operation. When the key function is changed, the display component 30 displays the icon corresponding to the changed key function.

[0044] In actual usage scenarios: multiple buttons on the steering wheel are connected to the electronic control unit (ECU) of the steering wheel. ECU is commonly known as the on-board computer, which contains a microprocessor, memory, storage, and I / O interface. The steering wheel ECU can store the image resources required for each function of the button and the instructions for each function. When the user sets the function of the button, first select the required function on the display. The in-vehicle infotainment system (IVI) will issue a control instruction through the ECU, which is transmitted to the steering wheel ECU via the controller area network (CAN) bus. The ECU sets the button pattern according to the control instruction and records the instruction corresponding to the current function of the button.

[0045] In one embodiment of the present application, the display assembly 30 includes a display screen 301 and a backlight panel 302 . Preferably, in order to achieve a display effect, the display screen 301 is tightly fitted with a transparent area on the top of the housing 10 .

[0046] In one embodiment of the present application, the display screen is an LED screen, an OLED screen or an electronic ink screen.

[0047] In one embodiment of the present application, in order to achieve a better user experience, the transparent area on the top of the housing 10 is a recessed structure. Therefore, in order to match the housing 10, the display screen 301 is also a recessed structure.

[0048] In one embodiment of the present application, the curvature of the concave structure matches the curvature of the finger pad. Preferably, the depth of the concave structure is 1 mm to 1.5 cm.

[0049] In one embodiment of the present application, in order to facilitate better positioning by the user during use, a raised positioning point is provided on the transparent area at the top of the housing 10; the positioning point may be one or more, and the height of the raised positioning point may be between 1 mm and 2 mm. The user can feel the positioning point by touching it with his fingers, and the positioning point will not be affected by being too high.

[0050] In one embodiment of the present application, there is one positioning point, which is set at the center position of the top of the shell 10; or, the positioning point on the left side button of the steering wheel is set to the left of the center of the button; the positioning point on the right side button of the steering wheel is set to the right of the center of the button.

[0051] In one embodiment of the present application, there are two positioning points, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the top center of the shell, and the distance between the two positioning points is 0.8 cm-1.5 cm.

[0052] In one embodiment of the present application, the shape of the positioning point is a circle, an ellipse, a star or a square.

[0053] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a key structure according to another embodiment of the present application is shown; see Figure 2 As shown, in one embodiment of the present application, the key further includes a touch screen 20 disposed between the display screen 301 and the housing 10. Figure 2 As shown, the touch screen 20 matches the transparent area on the top of the housing 10 and also has a recessed structure.

[0054] The touch screen 20 can add control operations on the buttons, such as sliding left and right on the touch screen 20 to control the volume of the audio system; sliding up and down on the touch screen 20 to switch the currently playing surface; single-clicking or double-clicking on the touch screen 20 to pause or play the currently playing surface. Other control operations are also possible, which will not be described in detail here.

[0055] In one embodiment of the present application, in order to improve the feedback given to the user after the key is pressed, the user experience of the key is improved. The key also includes a vibration motor 60 disposed under the base; the vibration motor 60 is used to provide vibration feedback after the micro switch 70 is triggered.

[0056] In one embodiment of the present application, the vibration motor 60 can also be used to provide vibration feedback after the touch screen 20 is triggered.

[0057] The present application also discloses a steering wheel, which includes: a body and at least one of the above-mentioned buttons arranged on the body. Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present application is shown; see Figure 3 As shown, the buttons are arranged on both sides of the steering wheel crossbar.

[0058] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the steering wheel structure according to another embodiment of the present application is shown; see Figure 4 As shown, the button is arranged on the upper side of the steering wheel cross beam.

[0059] In other embodiments of the present application, Figure 3 or Figure 4 In the steering wheel shown in the figure, the housing of the buttons installed thereon is square; and the transparent areas on the top of the housings of any two or more adjacent buttons are spliced ​​together to form a large screen. That is, two adjacent buttons are combined into a large screen, or four adjacent buttons are combined into a larger screen. Among them, the large screen can display more information. It can display other information for assisting driving when the corresponding icon of the button function is not displayed.

[0060] Figure 5 FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of a key setting method according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 As shown, the button setting method includes the following steps:

[0061] Step S501, obtaining a click instruction of a button, and activating a button function selection operation according to the click instruction.

[0062] In step S501, when the user sets the function of a button, the screen is first awakened, a button function setting interface pops up, and then the button function corresponding to a certain button is selected on the display in the pop-up setting interface.

[0063] Step S502: Obtain a key function selection instruction input by a user and select a corresponding key function.

[0064] In step S502, the user clicks on the setting interface to select a corresponding button function.

[0065] Step S503: Return the key icon corresponding to the changed key function according to the acquired key function, so that the display component displays the icon corresponding to the changed key function.

[0066] Step S503, the IVI receives the user's click operation, and according to the click operation, sends a control instruction to the ECU corresponding to the button, which is transmitted to the ECU of the steering wheel via the CAN bus. The ECU corresponding to the button sets the icon corresponding to the button according to the control instruction, records the instruction corresponding to the current function of the button, and displays the icon through the display screen on the button.

[0067] In summary, the technical solution of the application is provided with a transparent area on the top of the shell, a display component is arranged inside the shell, the display side of the display component corresponds to the transparent area, and the display component is used to display the icon corresponding to the current key function; the fixed cavity inside the base is used to fix the micro switch, and the base and the shell are connected by sliding through the cooperation of the first limit component and the second limit component; that is, the shell is pressed so that the shell moves down to press the micro switch to trigger the click operation, and the key function switching is completed based on the click operation. After the key function is switched, the display component displays the icon corresponding to the switched key function. In this way, the corresponding function button is set on the button of the steering wheel according to the needs of the user, and the icon of the key function corresponding to the button can be displayed on the button. In this way, when using the steering wheel of the car, the user does not need to be familiar with the specific functions of each button on the steering wheel one by one, and can intuitively understand the key function corresponding to each button by viewing the icon displayed on the button. In addition, the key function of each button can be set by itself to meet the customized needs. In this way, the defects that the button function on the existing integrated steering wheel cannot be changed and different users are not convenient when using the same steering wheel are well solved.

[0068] As for the system embodiment, since it basically corresponds to the method embodiment, the relevant parts can refer to the partial description of the method embodiment. The system embodiment described above is only illustrative, wherein the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and some or all of the devices may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the scheme of this embodiment. Ordinary technicians in this field can understand and implement it without creative work.

[0069] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0070] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application. Under the above teachings of the present application, those skilled in the art can make other improvements or modifications based on the above embodiments. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above specific description is only to better explain the purpose of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A button for assisting driving, which is suitable for driving scenes and is characterized in that: The key comprises: a base, a shell, and a micro switch and a display assembly arranged between the base and the shell; a transparent area is arranged on the top of the shell; A fixing cavity for fixing the micro switch is provided inside the base, a limiting column is provided on the top of the base, a first limiting component is provided on the limiting column, and a second limiting component used in conjunction with the first limiting component is provided on the inner side of the bottom of the housing; The contact of the micro switch is in contact with the backlight side of the display component, and the display side of the display component corresponds to the transparent area on the top of the housing; the display component is used to display the icon corresponding to the current key function; The shell moves downward to press the micro switch to trigger a click operation, and the button function is switched based on the click operation. After the button function is switched, the display component displays the icon corresponding to the switched button function.

2. The key according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transparent area on the top of the shell is a concave structure; wherein the depth of the concave structure is 1 mm to 1.5 cm.

3. The key according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A raised positioning point is provided on the transparent area on the top of the shell; There is one positioning point, which is set at the center of the top of the housing; or, the positioning point on the left button of the steering wheel is set at a position slightly left of the center of the button; the positioning point on the right button of the steering wheel is set at a position slightly right of the center of the button; Alternatively, there are two positioning points, and the two positioning points are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the top center of the shell, and the distance between the two positioning points is 0.8cm-1.5cm.

4. The key according to claim 1, characterized in that: A limiting rib for fixing the micro switch is provided in the fixing cavity of the base; Alternatively, a limiting groove for fixing the micro switch is provided in the fixing cavity; Alternatively, a screw hole for fixing the micro switch is provided at the bottom of the fixing cavity, and the micro switch is fixed to the screw hole at the bottom of the fixing cavity by means of screws.

5. The key according to claim 1, characterized in that: The display assembly includes: a display screen and a backlight panel; The back side of the backlight panel is in contact with the micro switch; The display screen is an LED screen, an OLED screen or an electronic ink screen.

6. The key according to any one of claims 1, 2, 4 and 5, characterized in that: The button also includes a touch screen arranged between the display screen and the housing.

7. The key according to claim 6, characterized in that: The button also includes a vibration motor disposed below the base; The vibration motor is used to provide vibration feedback after the micro switch is triggered; And / or, the vibration motor is used to provide vibration feedback after the touch screen is triggered.

8. A steering wheel, characterized in that: include: A body and at least one key as described in any one of claims 1 to 7 arranged on the body.

9. The steering wheel according to claim 8, characterized in that: The buttons are arranged on both sides of the steering wheel cross beam, or on the upper side of the steering wheel cross beam.

10. The steering wheel according to claim 8, characterized in that The shell of the button is square; any two or more adjacent buttons have transparent areas on the top of their shells spliced ​​together to form a large screen.

11. A method for setting a key as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The method includes: Obtaining a click instruction of the button, and activating a button function selection operation according to the click instruction; Get the key function selection instruction input by the user and select the corresponding key function; According to the acquired key function, a key icon corresponding to the selected key function is returned, so that the display component displays the icon corresponding to the selected key function.

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