Operating unit for a vehicle

Abstract

An operating unit for a vehicle includes a housing and an operating element resiliently disposed within and / or on the housing, wherein the resiliently disposed operating element forms a spring-mass system having a resonant frequency caused by its construction. Furthermore, the operating unit includes an actuator for pulsed mechanical actuation of the operating element and a control unit for controlling the actuator when the operating element is manually operated. Due to its construction, the resonant frequency is higher than the maximum threshold frequency that is typically detectable by sensors used for human tactile feedback and / or for tactile perception. At the resonant frequency and / or at one of the harmonics of the resonant frequency, the spectrum of the mechanical pulse has no frequency component, such that the power density spectrum is energyless or substantially energyless above the threshold frequency.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to two German national patent applications, 10 2019 106 441.4 (March 13, 2019) and 102019 109 785.1 (April 12, 2019), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference and are the subject of this patent application. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to an operating unit for a vehicle having oscillating tactile feedback. Background Technology

[0003] Haptic feedback systems typically consist of actuators and mechanical systems. The actuators apply force, which acts on the mechanical system. The user can then feel the resulting motion.

[0004] To fully allow this motion, mechanical systems are typically elastically mounted. The spring-mass system of a machine must have a resonant frequency, at which it is capable of oscillating.

[0005] There are haptic feedback methods in which one of these resonant frequencies is deliberately excited so that the resulting sinusoidal oscillation can be perceived. The drawback of this method is that it is often described as having a poor quality or "sponge-like" impression.

[0006] Therefore, the pulse-shaped path of the mechanical system is preferred (see...). Figure 1 (The solid line in the curve graph).

[0007] To achieve this motion curve, a force excitation adapted to the system's resonant frequency is required, which, in principle, is typically similar to... Figure 2 The distance between the two maximum values ​​must precisely match the frequency of the oscillation to be suppressed. Otherwise, the oscillation will occur as a post-oscillation after the actual pulse (see the curve in the graph). Figure 1 (The dashed line in the graph). This post-oscillation significantly reduces the quality of tactile feedback and must therefore be avoided.

[0008] It is well known that it is desirable to stop a vibration tactile feedback system by controlling the driver (actuator) in the form of a pulse at a certain point in time (see, for example, DE-A-10 2013 007 962, DE-A-10 2014 019 162, DE-B-10 2007058 110 and EP-A-2 348 384). Summary of the Invention

[0009] The object of this invention is to provide an operating unit that has substantially oscillatory tactile feedback.

[0010] To achieve this objective, the present invention provides an operating unit for a vehicle, the operating unit being configured with:

[0011] -case;

[0012] - Operating elements that are flexibly housed in and / or on the housing.

[0013] -In this system, the elastically arranged operating elements form a spring-mass system with a resonant frequency caused by the construction.

[0014] -Actuators for pulse-type mechanical actuation of operating elements; and

[0015] -A control unit used to control the actuator when the operating element is manually operated.

[0016] - Among them, due to its construction, the resonant frequency is higher than the maximum threshold frequency that can usually be detected by receptors used for human tactile perception and / or tactile feedback, and

[0017] - In the case of the resonant frequency and / or one of the harmonics of the resonant frequency, the spectrum of the mechanical pulse has no frequency component, in such a way that the power density spectrum is energyless or substantially energyless above the threshold frequency.

[0018] According to the invention, the spring-mass system is designed such that its resonant frequency lies outside a frequency band within which human tactile perception, i.e., the "feeling" of mechanical vibration, is sensitive. Typically, the threshold frequencies still detectable by skin receptors used for human tactile perception and / or tactile feedback are within a few 100 Hz ranges, such as 500 Hz or 400 Hz. According to the invention, the spectrum of the mechanical pulse has no frequency component at the (first) resonant frequency (fundamental resonant frequency) and / or one of the harmonics of the resonant frequency. This manifests, for example, as the power density spectrum being energyless or substantially energyless above the threshold frequencies. Thus, the spring-mass system is not excited at the resonant frequency.

[0019] As mentioned above, the threshold frequency can be 300Hz, 250Hz, or 200Hz.

[0020] In another advantageous design of the present invention, the resonant frequency can be defined according to the following formula by selecting the mass of the spring-mass-system and / or the spring constant:

[0021]

[0022] Where m is the mass of the spring-mass system, k is the spring constant of the spring-mass system, and f is the resonant frequency.

[0023] In a typical implementation of the operating unit, the operating unit is a touchpad or a touch screen with a touch-sensitive surface.

[0024] Typically, operating units are designed to identify valid manipulation based on the manipulation pressure or force, or based on the process of changes in manipulation pressure or force.

[0025] In another advantageous design of the invention, the actuator may be designed as a pull rod magnet, a movable coil driver, or a piezoelectric driver. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Different graphs, which have been described above and will be explained below, are shown in the drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0027] As previously mentioned, the mass-spring system has a resonant frequency, at which it oscillates whenever the system is appropriately excited. The receptors used for tactile sensation in the fingers primarily respond to frequencies below a threshold frequency (e.g., 200 Hz). If the mechanical system can be designed so that all its resonant frequencies are above this threshold (e.g., 200 Hz), then tactile pulses that are distinct and fundamentally non-oscillating can be generated.

[0028] The first resonant frequency of the mass-spring system satisfies the following equation:

[0029]

[0030] Therefore, by choosing the size of the mass m and the spring constant k, the position of the first resonant frequency in the spectrum can be estimated and actively influenced.

[0031] Furthermore, the spectrum of the excitation signal is affected in such a way that it does not excite the resonant frequency, but still generates a pulse that can be felt by the finger. As an example of the result of the selection of the excitation signal, see [reference]. Figure 3 The curve shown has Figure 4 The power density spectrum is shown in the figure. Figure 4 As can be clearly seen in the logarithmic scale of the curve, the (normalized) energy decreases sharply with increasing frequency, so there is no longer significant excitation of self-oscillation above the threshold (e.g., 200 Hz), thus satisfying the task.

[0032] It should be noted that the system behavior according to the invention is independent of damping. Therefore, the principle upon which the invention is based is more precisely, "what is not excited need not be braked." Thus, even a so-called braking pulse is unnecessary. Instead, deflection directly follows the excitation force.

[0033] The novelty and advantage of this invention lies in the combination of the excitation signal, particularly its spectral components, and the mechanical design that allows oscillations only outside the excitation spectrum.

[0034] Bibliography

[0035] 1.DE-A-10 2013 007 962

[0036] 2.DE-A-10 2014 019 162

[0037] 3.DE-B-10 2007 058 110

[0038] 4. EP-A-2 348 384

Claims

1. An operating unit for a vehicle, comprising: -case; - Operating elements that are flexibly disposed in and / or on the housing -The elastically arranged operating element forms a spring-mass system having a resonant frequency caused by its construction; - An actuator for pulsed mechanical actuation of the operating element; and - A control unit for controlling the actuator when the operating element is manually operated. -in, The resonant frequency, due to its construction, is higher than the maximum threshold frequency that is normally detectable by sensors used for human tactile perception and / or tactile feedback, and - Wherein, at the resonant frequency and / or at one of the harmonics of the resonant frequency, the spectrum of the mechanical pulse is configured such that the power density spectrum above the threshold frequency is energy-free or substantially energy-free.

2. The operating unit as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The threshold frequency is 300Hz, 250Hz, or 200Hz.

3. The operating unit as described in claim 2, characterized in that, To define the resonant frequency of the spring-mass system, the mass and / or spring constant of the spring-mass system are selected according to the following formulas: Where m is the mass of the spring-mass system, k is the spring constant of the spring-mass system, and f is the resonant frequency.

4. The operating unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The operating unit has a touchpad or a touch screen with a touch-sensitive surface.

5. The operating unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The operating unit is designed to identify valid manipulation based on the manipulation pressure or force, or based on the process of change in the manipulation pressure or force.

6. The operating unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The actuator is designed as a pull rod magnet, a movable coil driver, or a piezoelectric driver.

Images