OPERATING DEVICE FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE, MOTOR VEHICLE WITH AN OPERATING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A VEHICLE FUNCTION

Abstract

The invention relates to an operating device (10) for a motor vehicle (16) and to a method for operating a vehicle function. The operating device comprises a roller operating element (12); a keycap (14) surrounding the roller operating element (14) and having a touch sensor (18) for detecting a touch input; a button (20) arranged beneath the roller operating element (12); a driver element (22) coupling the keycap (14) to the roller operating element (12); and a control unit (24). The roller operating element (12) and the keycap (14) are pivotably mounted so that the button (20) can be actuated by pressing the roller operating element (12). The driving element (22) is designed to drive the roller operating element (12) for actuating the button (20) when the key cap (14) is pressed and to decouple it from the key cap (14) when the roller operating element (12) is pressed.The control unit (24) is designed to provide a roller pressure control signal when the button (20) is activated alone and to provide a key control signal when a touch input on the key cap (14) is detected at the same time.

Description

The invention relates to an operating device for a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the invention relates to a motor vehicle having such an operating device and to a method for operating a vehicle function.Operating devices having a rotatable roller for selecting functions or menu items are known. This roller is often surrounded by further keys which provide additional functions. There is also the possibility that the roller is designed as a further button, which means that it can be pressed. In order that the input between the keys and the roller can be differentiated, a plurality of keys are usually provided, which detect a corresponding pressure signal on the keys or the roller. However, a disadvantage when using a plurality of buttons is an increased space requirement and higher costs for the operating device.DE 10 2013 003 574 A1 discloses a press- and rotation-actuatable operating element for a motor vehicle, having a roller-shaped input element rotatably mounted on a bearing block, having a rotation sensor for detecting rotational actuations of the input element, wherein the bearing block is supported on at least one monostable spring element arranged on a base surface, which can be loaded perpendicularly to the base surface, and wherein the bearing block is displaceably mounted and pivotably about two bearing points, wherein a movement of the bearing block acts mechanically on a web-like transmission element which is coupled to the spring element, wherein the transmission element is pivotably arranged such that the longitudinal axis of the transmission element is always aligned parallel to the base surface and a pivoting changes the distance of the transmission element from the base surface, and wherein force-free actuatable sensors are provided, the movements of the bearing block caused by pressure actuations of the input element can be detected.DE 10 2018 120 561 A1 discloses a multifunctional operating element for a motor vehicle, which comprises a housing with a carrier element, on which an input part with a touch-sensitive operating surface, in particular a touchpad or a touch display, having at least one operating panel is arranged, wherein the carrier element is mounted movably with respect to the housing via at least one reset element, wherein the input part, in particular the touch-sensitive operating surface, is assigned at least one first touch sensor, which is aligned to generate a first touch signal when a user and / or an object touches and / or approaches the input part in the direction of actuation of the input part, wherein at least the first touch sensor is respectively arranged in and / or on the housing, and / or the input part, in particular the touch-sensitive operating surface, is assigned at least one first force sensor, which is aligned to generate a first touch signal, In accordance with a force acting in the actuation direction of the input part, a force signal is to be generated, wherein at least the first force sensor is arranged in and / or on the housing, wherein the multifunctional operating element comprises at least one mechanical rotary actuator for selecting functions on the motor vehicle, wherein a force transmission lever is provided within the housing, which is connected to the rotary actuator, wherein, in order to detect the pressure actuation of the rotary actuator, the force transmission lever activates a second force sensor, which generates a second force signal upon the pressure actuation of the rotary actuator.DE 103 15 721 A1 discloses an operating device for motor vehicles with a display on which menus, functions and function values can be displayed and selected and selected by means of an operating element.The object of the present invention is to provide an improved operating device for a motor vehicle.This object is achieved by the independent patent claims. Advantageous refinements of the invention are disclosed in the dependent patent claims, the following description and the figures.According to the invention, an operating device for a motor vehicle is provided, comprising a roller operating element which is rotatably mounted and has a sensor system for detecting a rotational movement of the roller operating element, a key cap which surrounds the roller operating element, a button which is arranged below the roller operating element, a driver element which couples the key cap to the roller operating element, and a control unit. The roller operating element and the button cap are pivotably mounted, and the button is arranged in such a way that it can be actuated by pressing the roller operating element. The driver element is designed to carry along the roller operating element for actuating the button when the button cap is pressed, and to decouple the roller operating element from the button cap when the roller operating element is pressed. The control unit is configured to provide a roller pressure control signal when the button is activated by the roller operating element. The keycap has a touch sensor configured to ascertain a touch input on the keycap, wherein the control unit is further configured to provide a key control signal upon activation of the key and simultaneously ascertained touch input on the keycap.In other words, an operating device is provided which is provided in particular for a motor vehicle and can control vehicle functions, for example. The operating device may include a roller operating member and a keycap surrounding the roller operating member. In this case, the roller operating element can protrude at least partially from a surface defined by the keycap, such that rotational movements can be carried out on the roller operating element. These rotational movements can be detected by a sensor system for setting a function. The keycap may preferably include one or more indicia representing different key functions. Furthermore, the keycap may preferably have a touch sensor which can ascertain a touch, in particular a touch position, on the keycap.A button, preferably a micro button, can be arranged under the roller operating element. By "the roller operating element" is meant a position which can be located in a housing of the operating device, i.e. in a direction / side facing away from a user. The button can be configured, upon activation or pressing, to provide haptic and / or acoustic feedback, wherein these are preferably generated mechanically.The roller operating element and the button cap can be mounted pivotably, in particular to a housing of the operating device, such that at least the roller operating element can be pressed in the direction of the button in order to activate the latter. In this case, a control unit of the operating device can generate a roller rotation control signal when the button is activated alone, by means of which control signal vehicle functions can be controlled or selected, for example. When the button cap is actuated, it can be provided that it is likewise pressed downward, wherein the roller control element is carried along by a driver element, so that the roller control element activates the button. The driver element can detachably couple the button cap to the roller operating element. This means that when the button cap is pressed, the driver element carries along the roller operating element and thus presses on the button, and when the roller operating element is pressed alone, the latter can be decoupled from the driver element in a non-destructive manner, so that only the roller is pressed downward.If the button cap is pressed and the button is thus activated by driving along the roller control element, the control unit can recognize this, since, in addition to the activation of the button, a touch input takes place on the touch-sensitive button cap. In this case, a key control signal associated with the touch input may be provided from the controller.The entrainment element can be provided as a housing or cage within the operating device, wherein this housing can have a pivotably mounted axle for the roller operating element. Furthermore, the housing itself can be mounted pivotably, wherein the button cap rests on this housing or cage and thus, when the button cap is pressed, the entire housing including the roller operating element is likewise pivotable.The invention has the advantage that components and costs can be saved, since not every key of the key cap requires its own key.The invention also encompasses embodiments which result in additional advantages.One embodiment provides that the touch sensor of the keycap is designed to ascertain a touch location on the keycap, and wherein the control unit is designed to provide a key control signal that is dependent on the touch location. Thus, the operation of different keys on the key top can be distinguished by means of the touch location.A preferred embodiment provides that the driver element has a force sensor which is designed to determine a force signal between the keycap and the roller operating element when the keycap is pressed, and wherein the control unit is designed to provide the key control signal only when the force signal is additionally present. In other words, the activation of the button can be assigned to the button cap by the force signal of the force sensor. For this purpose, the force sensor can be provided in or on the driver element and measure a force between the roller control element and the button cap. Since, when the roller operating element is pressed alone, the latter is decoupled from the driver element, no force or only a slight force is present between the roller operating element and the keycap. However, when the button cap is pressed, the roller operating element is carried along by the driver element, whereby a greater force occurs therebetween, which can be determined by the force sensor. This additional force sensor has the advantage that it is possible to distinguish more accurately whether the roller operating element or the button cap has been pressed. In particular when actuating the roller operating element, it may namely occur that an undesired additional contact of the button cap takes place, which could lead to an erroneous detection, wherein this can be avoided with the measurement by the force sensor.The force sensor can be provided in particular as a capacitive force sensor. This means that the force effect can be determined by changing the capacitance of the sensor. Alternatively, the force sensor can be designed as a strain gauge. That is, the force signal may be determined by a deformation of the strain gauge and a change in electrical resistance.In a further alternative, the force sensor can be designed as a piezoelectric force sensor. In this case, by compressing the piezoelectric force sensor, an electrical voltage can be generated, by means of which the force signal can be provided.A further embodiment of the operating device provides that a second button is arranged under the button cap, wherein the control unit is configured to provide the button control signal only upon additional activation of the second button. That is, besides activating the (first) button under the roller operator and touch input on the button cap, another signal may be provided by the second button before the button control signal is provided. The second button has the advantage that unintentional contacts of the button cap can be prevented when the roller operating element is pressed, since the second button is activated only when the button cap is pressed.A further aspect of the invention relates to a motor vehicle having an operating device described above. The motor vehicle according to the invention is preferably designed as a motor vehicle, in particular as a passenger car or truck, or as a passenger bus or motorcycle.In an advantageous embodiment of the motor vehicle, it is provided that the operating device is arranged on a steering wheel of the motor vehicle. The operating device is thus easily accessible during a journey using the motor vehicle.According to the invention, a method for operating a vehicle function is also provided, comprising an aforementioned operating device, wherein a roller rotation control signal is detected by rotating the roller operating element, wherein the roller operating element is decoupled from the driver element by pressing the roller operating element and the button is actuated, whereby a roller pressure control signal is generated, wherein the driver element carries the roller operating element along with the button by pressing the button cap and activates the button, wherein a button control signal is provided by the additional touch input on the touch-sensitive button cap upon activation of the button, wherein the vehicle function is operated by the roller rotation control signal, the roller pressure control signal and / or the button control signal. This results in the same advantages and possible variations as in the operating device.For use cases or application situations which can arise in the method and which are not explicitly described here, provision can be made for an error message and / or a request for inputting a user feedback to be output and / or for a default setting and / or a predetermined initial state to be set according to the method.The invention also includes the control device for the motor vehicle. The control device can have a data processing device or a processor device which is configured to carry out an embodiment of the method according to the invention. For this purpose, the processor device can have at least one microprocessor and / or at least one microcontroller and / or at least one FPGA (field programmable gate array) and / or at least one DSP (digital signal processor). In particular, a CPU (central processing unit), a GPU (graphic processing unit) or an NPU (neural processing unit) can be used as the microprocessor in each case. Furthermore, the processor device can have program code which is configured to carry out the embodiment of the method according to the invention when executed by the processor device. The program code can be stored in a data memory of the processor device. The processor device can be based on at least one circuit board and / or on at least one SoC (system on chip), for example.The invention also includes developments of the method according to the invention, which have features as have already been described in connection with the developments of the operating device according to the invention. For this reason, the corresponding developments of the method according to the invention are not described again here.As a further solution, the invention also comprises a computer-readable storage medium comprising program code which, when executed by a computer or a computer cluster, causes the latter to execute an embodiment of the method according to the invention. The storage medium may be provided at least partially as a non-volatile data memory (e.g. as a flash memory and / or as an SSD-solid state drive) and / or at least partially as a volatile data memory (e.g. as a RAM-random access memory). The storage medium can be arranged in the computer or computer network. However, the storage medium can also be operated, for example, as a so-called store server and / or cloud server on the Internet. The computer or computer network can provide a processor circuit with, for example, at least one microprocessor. The program code can be provided as binary code and / or as assembler code and / or as source code of a programming language (e.g. C) and / or as a program script (e.g. Python).The invention also includes the combinations of the features of the described embodiments. The invention therefore also comprises implementations which each have a combination of the features of a plurality of the described embodiments, provided that the embodiments have not been described as mutually exclusive.Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below. The following shows: FIG. 1 shows an operating device; FIG. 2 shows a schematic structure of an operating device according to an exemplary embodiment.The exemplary embodiments explained below are preferred embodiments of the invention. In the exemplary embodiments, the described components of the embodiments each represent individual features of the invention that are to be considered independently of one another and that also develop the invention independently of one another. Therefore, the disclosure is intended to include combinations of the features of the embodiments other than those illustrated. Furthermore, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by further features of the invention that have already been described.In the figures, identical reference numerals designate functionally identical elements.FIG. 1 shows an exemplary operating device 10 which can be provided for operating vehicle functions. The operating device 10 can have at least one roller operating element 12 which is rotatably mounted in order to detect inputs via a rotational movement. The roller operating element 12 can furthermore be mounted pivotably, so that it can be pressed into the operating device 10 for providing a roller pressure control signal. Furthermore, the roller operator 12 may be surrounded by a keycap 14, by which one or more further buttons may be provided for the operator device 10. For example, the keycap 14 may include buttons for voice control, telephony, and / or other vehicle functions.The operating device 10 can preferably be provided in a motor vehicle 16, which is indicated in a highly schematic manner in this figure.The operating device 10 can preferably be arranged in a steering wheel (not shown) of the motor vehicle 12.FIG. 2 shows a schematic structure of the operating device 10. In addition to the roller actuator 12 and the keycap 14, a touch sensor 18 may be provided that can detect touch inputs on a surface of the keycap 14. Preferably, a touch location on the keycap 14 can thus be determined, wherein this can be assigned to keys on the keycap 14.Furthermore, a button 20 may be provided, which is arranged below the roller operating element 12. The button 20 can preferably be designed as a micro button, which can output a haptic and acoustic feedback when actuated. In addition, the operating device 10 can have a driver element 22, which detachably couples the button cap 14 to the roller operating element 12. In particular, it can be provided that both the roller operating element 12 and the button cap 14 are pivotably mounted so that they can be pressed down. The entrainment element 22 can be designed in such a way that when the button cap 14 is pressed down, the roller operating element 12 is entrained and pressed onto the button 20. However, if only the roller control element 12 is pressed, it can be decoupled from the driver element 22, so that only the roller control element 12 is pressed onto the button 20.In order to achieve a distinction between an actuation of the roller operating element 12 and the button cap 14, a control unit 24 can be provided which evaluates the signals of the button 20 and the touch sensor 18. For example, if only button 20 is pressed without an additional touch input being detected by touch sensor 18, the input may be associated with roller actuator 12. In this case, a roller pressure control signal may be provided by the control unit 24. If a touch input is detected by the control unit 24 in addition to the activation of the button 20, a touch input may be present on the button cap 14, so that a button control signal can be provided by the control unit 24. Preferably, the touch location can be assigned to a key on the keycap 14, so that a corresponding key control signal can be provided.Furthermore, it can be provided that the entrainment element 22 has a force sensor 26 which can determine a force signal between the button cap 14 and the roller operating element 12. The force sensor 26 can be, for example, a capacitive force sensor, a strain gauge or a piezoelectric force sensor. If only a pressure is applied to the roller control element 12, this is decoupled from the driver element 22 and the force between the roller control element 12 and the keycap 14 can be low. If, on the other hand, the key top 14 is pressed and the roller operating element 12 is carried along by the driver element 22, a greater force signal is generated. Therefore, it can be provided that the key control signal is only generated if the force signal is additionally present, which is in particular above a predefined threshold value.Optionally, a second button 28 may also be provided provided at a position below the button cap 14. If the keycap 14 is pressed downward, the second key 28 is also activated, as a result of which an input on the keycap 14 can be assigned.In a further example, it is provided that a roller operating part (roller operating element 12) has both a push function and a large surrounding keycap 14. In this case, a micro-button (button 20) can be placed under the roller (roller operating element 12), and the push actuation of roller 12 and button cap 14 can be evaluated using this micro-button 20. The finger position can be detected on the key top 14 and not on the roller 12. When the keycap 14 is actuated, the roller 12 is carried along via a driver (driver element 22) and the push function is carried out on the micro-button 20.When the roller 12 is actuated, the key top 14 is not carried along. In this function, the keycap 14 and the roller 12 are decoupled.This driver (driver element 22) can now be equipped with a sensor (force sensor 26), which detects a force introduction between the button cap 14 and the roller 12, for example by means of a capacitive sensor or strain gauge. If this sensor (force sensor 26) does not recognize any introduction of force and an actuation at the micro-button 20 nevertheless takes place, it can be assumed that the micro-button 20 has been actuated via the roller 12 and not via the button cap 14.Overall, the examples show how a push function of a roller operator can be implemented in a key.References included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedDE 10 2013 003 574 A1

[0003] DE 10 2018 120 561 A1

[0004] DE 103 15 721 A1

[0005]

Claims

Operating device (10) for a motor vehicle (16), comprising: - a roller operating element (12) which is rotatably mounted and has a sensor system for detecting a rotational movement of the roller operating element (12); - a key cap (14) which surrounds the roller operating element (14); - a button (20) which is arranged below the roller operating element (12); - a driver element (22) which couples the key cap (14) to the roller operating element (12); and - a control unit (24); - wherein the roller operating element (12) and the key cap (14) are pivotably mounted, and the button (20) is arranged in such a way that it can be actuated by pressing the roller operating element (12); wherein the driver element (22) is configured to carry along the roller operating element (12) for actuating the button (20) when the button cap (14) is pressed and to decouple the roller operating element (12) from the button cap (14) when the roller operating element (12) is pressed; - wherein the control unit (24) is configured to provide a roller pressure control signal when the button (20) is activated by the roller operating element (12); - wherein the button cap (14) has a touch sensor (18) configured to ascertain a touch input on the button cap (14); and - wherein the control unit (24) is further configured to provide a key control signal when the button (20) is activated and a touch input on the button cap (14) is ascertained at the same time.Operating device (10) according to Claim 1, wherein the touch sensor (18) of the keycap (14) is designed to determine a touch location on the keycap (14), and wherein the control unit (24) is designed to provide a key control signal which is dependent on the touch location.Operating device (14) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the driver element (22) has a force sensor (26) which is designed to determine a force signal between the keycap (14) and the roller operating element (12) when the keycap (14) is pressed, and wherein the control unit (24) is designed to provide the key control signal only when the force signal is additionally present.The operating device (10) according to claim 3, wherein the force sensor (26) is a capacitive force sensor.The operating device (10) according to claim 3, wherein the force sensor (26) is a strain gauge.The operating device (10) according to claim 3, wherein the force sensor (26) is a piezoelectric force sensor.Operating device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a second button (28) is arranged under the button cap (14), wherein the control unit (24) is configured to provide the button control signal only upon additional activation of the second button (28).Motor vehicle (16) having an operating device (10) according to one of the preceding claims.Motor vehicle (16) according to Claim 8, wherein the operating device (10) is arranged on a steering wheel of the motor vehicle (16).Method for operating a vehicle function, comprising an operating device (10) according to one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein a roller rotation control signal is detected by rotating the roller operating element (12), wherein the roller operating element (12) is decoupled from the driver element (22) and the button (20) is actuated by pressing the roller operating element (12), whereby a roller pressure control signal is generated, wherein the driver element (22) carries the roller operating element (12) along with the button (20) and activates the latter by pressing the button cap (14), wherein a button control signal is provided by the additional touch input on the touch-sensitive button cap (14) when the button (20) is activated, wherein the vehicle function is operated by the roller rotation control signal, the roller pressure control signal and / or the button control signal.

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