Method for operating operating element and operating element

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating an operating element provided for a display device of a motor vehicle, which display device is designed to display a list having at least one end, and the operating element is designed to output a control signal to the display device of the motor vehicle as a function of a predetermined actuation of the operating element, the displayed list is scrolled by means of the control signal. The method comprises determining whether the at least one end of the list is reached by means of the predetermined manipulation of the operating element. The method comprises: preventing the output of a predetermined active haptic feedback signal by means of the operating element only when it has been determined that the at least one end of the list has been reached by means of the predetermined manipulation of the operating element; or outputting a predetermined active haptic feedback signal by means of the operating element only when it has been determined that the at least one end of the list has been reached by means of the predetermined manipulation of the operating element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for operating an operating element provided for a display device of a motor vehicle, an operating element, and a motor vehicle having the operating element. Background Art

[0002] Traditionally, operating elements for motor vehicles are designed as independently suspended and mounted buttons. The operating feedback is purely mechanical and depends on the mechanical elements used, such as springs and silicone caps. Therefore, even when the function assigned to the button cannot be used, pressing the button always brings about tactile operating feedback, such as in the case of a non-functional "telephone" button, which, for the sake of reducing variants, can also be installed in vehicles without a telephone connection. In addition, operating units with a press-suspended plate with multiple switch surfaces are known from the prior art. The position of the finger on the plate is evaluated and the corresponding function stored for the selected position is triggered. Even in this case, the operating feedback is purely mechanical and is therefore independent of whether the function can be implemented.

[0003] Furthermore, multifunctional operating devices with an active haptic function are known from the prior art and are described, for example, in DE 10 2017 127 231 A1.

[0004] Furthermore, in the case of mechanical operating elements for operating digital lists (e.g. a rotary-push actuator), when the end of the list is reached, tactile feedback can be output to a user of the mechanical operating element (e.g. by increasing the operating force or locking the operating element), which informs the user that the end of the list has been reached. Summary of the invention

[0005] Under the background of these prior arts, the object of the present disclosure is to provide a device and / or a method, which are respectively suitable for enriching the prior art.

[0006] The object is achieved by the features of the independent claims. The independent claims and the dependent claims each have optional further developments of the disclosure as their content.

[0007] Therefore, the object is achieved by a method for operating an operating element provided for a display device of a motor vehicle. The display device is designed to display a list having at least one end. The operating element is designed to output a control signal to the display device of the motor vehicle according to a predetermined operation of the operating element, by means of which the displayed list is scrolled. The method comprises: determining whether the at least one end of the list is reached by means of the predetermined operation of the operating element. The method comprises: preventing the output of a predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element only when it has been determined that the at least one end of the list has been reached by means of the predetermined operation of the operating element. Alternatively, the predetermined active tactile feedback signal is output by means of the operating element only when it has been determined that the at least one end of the list has been reached by means of the predetermined operation of the operating element.

[0008] The control method may be a computer-implemented method, ie one, several or all steps of the method may be at least partially performed by a computer or a device for data processing, optionally by a control device.

[0009] "Active haptics" may mean that the tactile feedback signal is not or at least not only provided by passive mechanical elements, such as return springs and / or silicone caps, but is provided by active actuators that can be controlled accordingly. In other words, in order to provide active tactile feedback signals, it may be necessary to provide an actuator in the operating element and to control the actuator appropriately. For example, the actuator may include a piezoelectric actuator or may be configured as a piezoelectric actuator. Alternatively or additionally, the actuator may have other common actuator types, such as a solenoid and / or a voice coil.

[0010] In this case, a tactile feedback signal is a tactilely perceptible event that can be output to the user. In particular, a tactile feedback signal can be output when an operating element is actuated, by means of which a successful actuation of the operating element can be detected. Optionally, the tactile feedback signal can include vibrations, pulses, vibration patterns and / or deflections. Optionally, the tactile feedback signal can be accompanied by an acoustic signal.

[0011] In order to determine whether a predetermined end of the list has been reached, the method may include determining an operation of an operating element. This may include determining a touch of an operating element. This may be particularly advantageous in operating elements having a touch operating surface, for example. Here, optionally, determining the operation of an operating element may include determining the position at which the operating element was touched, optionally including a change in the position and further optionally including a speed and / or acceleration of the change in the position. Then, based on the position, optionally based on the speed and / or acceleration of the change in the position, an analysis may be performed to assess to what extent the display of the list should be changed in order to cause or operate the scrolling of the list.

[0012] The manipulation of the operating element may include, for example, a sliding process or a sliding movement performed by the user's finger on a surface provided for this purpose of the operating element, or may consist of the same. Thus, this surface of the operating element may be designed as a touch-sensitive surface or a touch operating surface.

[0013] Scrolling can be understood as the movement of screen content (not only texts but also graphics). The purpose is to present extensive content in a limited space. For scrolling or for operating a scroll, a sliding movement can be performed. Additionally or alternatively, scrolling for moving screen content can include, for example, colored highlighting of individual entries or individual entries of a list.

[0014] The list may be a table with a plurality of rows and / or columns. The individual items may be rows of the list arranged vertically one after another at a distance from one another. The individual items may be columns of the list arranged horizontally side by side at a distance from one another. Thus, scrolling may be performed horizontally and / or vertically. The predetermined end may be the last right and / or left entry in the horizontal direction of the list. The predetermined end may be the last upper and / or lower entry in the vertical direction of the list.

[0015] The operating element and / or the display device may be part of the human-machine interface of the motor vehicle. The operating element may have a control device, which outputs control signals to the display device. The control device may be, for example, an electronic control unit (ECU). The electronic control unit may be an intelligent processor-controlled unit, which may communicate with other modules of the motor vehicle, for example, via a central gateway (CGW), and which may form a vehicle on-board network via a field bus (such as a CAN bus, a LIN bus, a MOST bus, a FlexRay) and / or via automotive Ethernet (for example, together with a telematics control device and / or an environmental sensor device). It is conceivable that, in addition to controlling the operating element and the display device, the control device also controls functions related to the driving behavior of the motor vehicle, such as steering, engine control, force transmission and / or a braking system. In addition, driver assistance systems, such as parking assistance, adaptive speed regulation (ACC, Adaptive Cruise Control, adaptive cruise control), lane keeping assistance, lane change assistance, traffic sign recognition, light signal recognition, start assistance, night vision assistance and / or intersection assistance, can be controlled by the control device. In other words, in addition to controlling operating elements and display devices, the control device can also control other functions or modules of the motor vehicle.

[0016] Outputting an active tactile feedback signal here means triggering an event that a user can tactilely perceive on the operating element. This can include (for example, by means of the above-mentioned control device) outputting a control signal to an actuator of the operating element so that the actuator causes a tactilely perceptible movement of the operating element.

[0017] Furthermore, the disclosure offers the advantage that reaching the beginning and / or end of a list can be clearly and blindly signaled to a user or user of a motor vehicle, i.e., for example, without the driver having to take his eyes off the driving event. Thus, user distraction is avoided by the disclosure. On the one hand, this can be achieved by passively signaling the end of the list to the user, i.e., no active haptic feedback signal is output despite further actuation of the operating element. On the other hand, this can be achieved by actively signaling the end of the list to the user, i.e., when the end of the list is reached, a characteristic active haptic feedback signal is output.

[0018] A feasible further improvement scheme of the above method is described in detail below.

[0019] As long as the method includes: preventing the output of a predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of an operating element only when it has been determined that at least one end of the list has been reached by means of the predetermined manipulation of the operating element, the method may include: outputting the predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element if it has been determined that at least one end of the list has not been reached by means of the predetermined manipulation of the operating element.

[0020] In other words, it is conceivable that once the end of the list has been reached, no individual entry feedback signals are output, thereby implicitly indicating the end of the list. In a purely mechanical operating element, this corresponds to a mechanical stop or a braked / blocked operating element.

[0021] It is conceivable that the list has a plurality of individual entries, wherein the predetermined active haptic feedback signal is output by means of the operating element for each individual entry or for a plurality of the individual entries reached by means of the scrolling.

[0022] In other words, as described above, scrolling can be understood as scrolling, wherein new individual items are continuously displayed by means of the display device due to the scrolling. It is conceivable that a predetermined active tactile feedback signal is output for each newly displayed individual item. This also applies to the case where no new individual items are displayed by scrolling, but new or other individual items are highlighted. Here, it is not necessary to output an active tactile feedback signal separately for each individual item, but it is also possible, for example, to output an active tactile feedback signal only for each X-th newly displayed or highlighted individual item (i.e., X is strictly greater than 1).

[0023] The frequency with which the predetermined active haptic feedback signal is output by means of the operating element can be realized as a function of the length of the list, the speed of the predetermined actuation and / or as a function of the length of the predetermined actuation.

[0024] In other words, depending on the speed of a predetermined manipulation, optionally the speed of a single sliding motion, and / or depending on the length of a predetermined manipulation, optionally the distance of a single sliding motion, it can be determined whether an active tactile feedback signal is output separately for each new single item (i.e., X=1), or whether an active tactile feedback signal is output only for each Xth newly displayed or highlighted single item (i.e., X is strictly greater than 1). The value of X can therefore vary depending on the speed and distance. It is conceivable that the length of the list, optionally the number of single items in the list, is also considered in addition or alternatively. In other words, different conversion ratios of the sliding distance to the number of single items to be further switched can be achieved depending on the list design. In addition, the conversion ratio can be adjusted according to the speed of the gesture implementation, optionally according to the acceleration.

[0025] It is conceivable that, as long as the method includes: outputting a predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of an operating element only when it has been determined that at least one end of the list has been reached by means of the predetermined manipulation of the operating element, the method includes: outputting a further predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element if it has been determined that at least one end of the list has not been reached by means of the predetermined manipulation of the operating element.

[0026] In other words, it is thus possible not only to actively signal the end of the list, but also to signal that the end of the list has not yet been reached.

[0027] It is conceivable that, if it has been determined that the at least one end of the list has been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element, the predetermined active tactile feedback signal is also output by means of the operating element in addition to outputting the further predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element.

[0028] In other words, once the slide exceeds the end of the list, although further individual item feedback signals may be output, the active tactile element may output additional tactile feedback that indicates the end of the list. This corresponds to a non-detent knob that is supplemented with a soft stop.

[0029] In this case, the list can also have a plurality of individual entries, wherein the further predetermined active haptic feedback signal is output by means of the operating element for each individual entry or for a plurality of the individual entries reached by means of the scrolling.

[0030] The frequency with which the further predetermined active haptic feedback signal is output by means of the operating element can also be realized as a function of the predetermined speed of the actuation and / or as a function of the predetermined length of the actuation.

[0031] It is conceivable that the predetermined manipulation is a sliding gesture.

[0032] A sliding gesture may also be referred to as a sliding motion. A sliding gesture may be understood as, for example, sliding with one or more fingertips on an operating element to control a display device, optionally a display content of the display device.

[0033] In addition, the present disclosure relates to an operating element for a display device of a motor vehicle. The display device is designed to display a list having at least one end. The operating element is designed to output a control signal to the display device of the motor vehicle according to a predetermined operation of the operating element, and the displayed list is scrolled by means of the control signal. The operating element is designed to determine whether the at least one end of the list is reached by means of the predetermined operation of the operating element. The operating element is designed to prevent the output of a predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element only when it has been determined that the at least one end of the list is reached by means of the predetermined operation of the operating element. Alternatively, the operating element is designed to output a predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element only when it has been determined that the at least one end of the list is reached by means of the predetermined operation of the operating element.

[0034] The above description regarding the method also applies analogously to the operating element, and vice versa.

[0035] Furthermore, the disclosure relates to a motor vehicle, wherein the motor vehicle comprises the above-mentioned operating element and a display device connected thereto, wherein the display device is designed to display a list having at least one end.

[0036] The display device may comprise a screen for displaying the list.The display device may comprise or may be a head-up display, by means of which the list may be displayed.

[0037] The motor vehicle may be a passenger vehicle, in particular a car, or a commercial vehicle, for example a truck.

[0038] The above description regarding the method and the operating element also applies analogously to the motor vehicle and vice versa.

[0039] Furthermore, a computer program may be provided which comprises instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to at least partially perform or implement the above-mentioned method.

[0040] The program code of the computer program may be present in any desired code, in particular in a code suitable for controlling a motor vehicle.

[0041] In addition, a computer-readable medium, in particular a computer-readable storage medium, may be provided. The computer-readable medium includes instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a computer, the instructions cause the computer to at least partially execute or implement the above method.

[0042] That is, a computer readable medium including the computer program defined above may be provided. The computer readable medium may be any digital data storage device, such as a USB flash drive, hard disk, CD-ROM, SD card or SSD card (or SSD drive / SSD hard disk).

[0043] The computer program does not necessarily have to be stored on such a computer-readable medium in order to be provided to the motor vehicle, but can also be obtained from outside via the Internet or other means.

[0044] The above descriptions with respect to the method, the operating element and the motor vehicle also apply analogously to the computer program and the computer-readable medium, and vice versa.

[0045] It is understood that the features and embodiments mentioned above and explained below are to be regarded as disclosed not only in the combination explicitly mentioned in each case, but that the present disclosure also covers other technically meaningful combinations and embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] Refer to the following Figure 1 and Figure 2 Describe an optional implementation. In the figure:

[0047] Figure 1 schematically illustrating a motor vehicle;

[0048] Figure 2 Schematically shows an operating element according to the present disclosure and a display device connected thereto, which are each suitable for installation in a motor vehicle; and

[0049] Figure 3 A flow chart of a method for operating an operating element according to the present disclosure is schematically shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used for identical or similar elements. In the description of the drawings, reference numerals are given in some parts, although corresponding elements may only be visible in other drawings.

[0051] exist Figure 1 1 schematically shows a motor vehicle 1 in the form of a car, which has, for example, a central console region 2 in a side view. Figure 2 The schematically shown operating element 4 is provided in the instrument panel area 3. Figure 2 In addition or as an alternative, the operating element 4 can be arranged on a steering wheel 10 of the motor vehicle 1 .

[0052] Depend on Figure 2As shown in the schematic diagram in FIG. 1 , the operating element 4 is connected to the display device 5 via a data line 6. The operating element 4 and the display device 5 are designed so that according to the following also reference Figure 3 The method 100 is described to be run.

[0053] In a first step 101 of the method 100, the display device 5 displays a list 7 with the aid of a screen 8, which list in turn has a plurality of list entries or individual entries 71-74 (only four entries are shown here by way of example). In the first step 101, a first individual entry 71, which is arranged vertically at the upper edge of the display screen 8, is highlighted in color relative to the other individual entries 72-74. This highlighted individual entry 71 marks the beginning of the list 7 or the first end or upper end of the list. A fourth individual entry 74, which is arranged vertically at the lower edge of the screen 8, marks the second end or lower end of the list 7.

[0054] In a second step 102 of the method, a swipe gesture from top to bottom on the touch-sensitive surface 9 of the operating element 4 is determined or recognized on the operating element 4 (in Figure 2 ). The sliding gesture from top to bottom corresponds to a predetermined actuation of the operating element 4, which causes the operating element 4 to output a control signal to the display device 5 via the data line 6, by means of which the displayed list 7 is scrolled.

[0055] In a third step 103 of the method 100, in order to implement the scrolling and depending on the received control signal, a further individual item 72-74 arranged below the uppermost individual item 71 is highlighted. Which of the further individual items 72-74 is highlighted depends on the length of the list 7 (determined, for example, by the number of individual items 71-74 of the list 7), the speed of the swipe gesture and / or the length of the swipe gesture. It is conceivable that in the case of a relatively fast and / or long swipe gesture the user jumps directly to the last individual item 74, or in the case of a relatively slow and / or short swipe gesture the user jumps to the next individual item 72.

[0056] The second and third steps 102, 103 of method 100 are performed continuously so that the list 7 can be scrolled by repeatedly performing the sliding gesture. If the lower end of the list 7, i.e. the last individual entry 74, is reached, a further sliding gesture in the third step 103 does not cause a (optional: further) change in the display of the screen 8.

[0057] In parallel with the output of the control signal to the display device 5 in the second step 102 of the method described above, a check or determination is performed in a fourth step 104 of the method 100 by means of the operating element 4: whether the bottom end of the display list 7, i.e. the last individual entry 74, has been reached or is currently highlighted. This is used to determine whether an active haptic feedback signal should be output by the operating element 4 in a sixth step 106 of the method 100, which is executed in parallel or simultaneously with the third step 103 of the method 100, and if so, which active haptic feedback signal should be output.

[0058] If it is determined in the fourth step 104 of the method 100 that the end of the list or, in this case, the list entry 74 has not yet been reached by the scrolling (see steps 102 and 103), a predetermined active haptic feedback signal is outputted by means of the operating element 4 in a fifth step 105. This is done for each of the individual entries 72-74 reached by the scrolling. That is, if, for example, the scrolling is directly to the last individual entry 74 due to the speed and / or the length of the sliding gesture, the operating element outputs the predetermined active haptic feedback signal once in the fifth step 105. However, if, for example, the scrolling is done over each of the other individual entries 72, 73 due to the speed and / or the length of the sliding gesture until the last individual entry 74 is reached, the operating element outputs the predetermined active haptic feedback signal once for each individual entry 72, 73 in the fifth step 105 (i.e., the active haptic feedback signal is outputted twice until the last individual entry 74 is reached).

[0059] However, if it is determined in the fourth step 104 of the method 100 that the end of the list, or in this case the list entry 74, is in the state of being reached or has been reached by the scrolling (see steps 102 and 103), then in principle there are two alternatives for the output of the active haptic feedback signal in the fifth step 105. According to the first alternative, the output of a predetermined active haptic feedback signal by means of the operating element 4 is prevented, i.e., no active haptic feedback signal is output. This signals the user that the end of the list 7 has been reached. According to the second alternative, a predetermined active haptic feedback signal is output by means of the operating element 4, which is different from the active haptic feedback signal described above, which has been output when the individual entries 72-73 have been reached and therefore before the end of the list has been reached. This additional active haptic feedback signal can be output in addition to or as an alternative to the haptic feedback signal that has been output when the individual entries 72-73 have been reached and therefore before the end of the list has been reached. In this way, the user can also be signaled that the end of the list has been reached. However, the alternative is only implemented if or only if it has been determined in fourth step 104 that at least one end of the list (here the bottom end or individual entry 74 ) has been reached by means of a predetermined actuation of operating element 4 , ie a swiping gesture.

[0060] Reference numerals list

[0061] 1Motor Vehicle

[0062] 2 Center console area

[0063] 3 Areas of the Dashboard

[0064] 4 Operating elements

[0065] 5 Display device

[0066] 6 Data lines

[0067] 7 List

[0068] 71-74 Individual items in the list

[0069] 8 screens

[0070] 9Touchpad or touch-sensitive surface

[0071] 10. Steering Wheel

[0072] 100 Methods

[0073] 101 Display List

[0074] 102 Detecting Slide Gestures

[0075] 103Change the displayed list by scrolling

[0076] 104 Determine if the end of the list has been reached

[0077] 105 output active tactile feedback

Claims

1. A method (100) for operating an operating element (4) provided for a display device (5) of a motor vehicle (1), - the display device (5) is designed to display a list (7) having at least one end, and - the operating element (4) is designed to output a control signal to a display device (5) in response to a predetermined actuation of the operating element, by means of which the displayed list (7) is scrolled, and - The method (100) comprises: - determining (104) whether the at least one end of the list (7) has been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element (4); Characterized in that the method (100) comprises: - preventing (105) the output of a predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element (4) only when it has been determined that the at least one end of the list (7) has been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element (4); or - Outputting (105) a predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element (4) only when it has been determined that the at least one end of the list (7) has been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element (4).

2. The method (100) according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises: Only when it has been determined that at least one end of the list (7) has been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element (4), the output of a predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element (4) is prevented (105), characterized in that the method (100) comprises: - if it has been determined that the at least one end of the list (7) has not been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element (4), the predetermined active haptic feedback signal is output (105) by means of the operating element (4).

3. The method (100) according to claim 2, wherein: The list has a plurality of individual entries (71-74), characterized in that the predetermined active tactile feedback signal is output (105) by means of an operating element (4) for each individual entry (71-74) or for a plurality of the individual entries reached by means of the scrolling.

4. The method (100) according to claim 3, characterized in that The frequency of outputting ( 105 ) the predetermined active haptic feedback signal by means of the operating element ( 4 ) is realized as a function of the predetermined speed of the actuation and / or as a function of the predetermined length of the actuation.

5. The method (100) according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises: Only when it has been determined that at least one end of the list (7) has been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element (4), a predetermined active tactile feedback signal is output (105) by means of the operating element (4), characterized in that the method (100) comprises: If it has been determined that the at least one end of the list (7) has not been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element (4), a further predetermined active haptic feedback signal is output (105) by means of the operating element (4).

6. The method (100) according to claim 5, characterized in that If it has been determined that at least one end of the list (7) has been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element (4), then in addition to outputting the further predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element (4), the predetermined active tactile feedback signal is also output (105) by means of the operating element (4).

7. The method (100) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein: The list (7) has a plurality of individual entries (71-74), characterized in that the further predetermined active tactile feedback signal is output (105) by means of the operating element (4) for each individual entry (71-74) or for a plurality of the individual entries reached by means of the scrolling.

8. The method (100) according to claim 7, characterized in that The frequency of outputting ( 105 ) the further predetermined active haptic feedback signal by means of the operating element ( 4 ) is realized as a function of the length of the list ( 7 ), the speed of the predetermined actuation and / or as a function of the length of the predetermined actuation.

9. The method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The predetermined manipulation is a slide gesture.

10. An operating element (4) for a display device (5) of a motor vehicle (1), - the display device (5) is designed to display a list (7) having at least one end, and - the operating element (4) is designed to output a control signal to a display device (5) in response to a predetermined actuation of the operating element, by means of which the displayed list (7) is scrolled, - the operating element (4) is designed to determine whether the at least one end of the list (7) has been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element (4); It is characterized in that The operating element (4) is designed to: - preventing the output (105) of a predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element (4) only when it has been determined that the at least one end of the list (7) has been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element (4); or - Outputting a predetermined active tactile feedback signal by means of the operating element (4) only when it has been determined that the at least one end of the list (7) has been reached by means of the predetermined actuation of the operating element (4).

11. A motor vehicle (1), characterized in that: The motor vehicle (1) comprises an operating element (4) according to claim 10 and a display device (5) connected to the operating element, the display device (5) being designed to display a list (7) having at least one end.

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