Control device

Abstract

The invention relates to an operating device with a push button that can be moved against the force of a return element to input control commands. The surface of the push button is designed as a touch-sensitive element that is configured for inputting control commands using swipe gestures. In order to simplify operability while retaining the input options, the invention provides that the push button is at least indirectly connected to an actuator that is configured to generate haptically perceptible feedback in response to an input via a swipe gesture.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an operating device with a push button which can be moved against the force of a return element to input control commands, wherein the surface of the push button is designed as a touch-sensitive element which is designed to input control commands by means of swiping gestures.

[0002] Such control devices are known as so-called multifunction switches in accordance with the state of the art and are often installed in motor vehicles to operate on-board peripheral devices. The option of using the control device as a conventional push button switch and making inputs using swipe gestures expands the possibilities for entering control commands with a single control device. When the control device is used as a push button switch, the user moves it by a defined stroke against the force of the return element, which provides the user with haptic feedback as to whether a command has been entered. This is particularly advantageous in road traffic, as drivers should concentrate on the road and not avert their gaze to check whether a control command has been successfully entered.In contrast, when the operating device is used as a touch-sensitive element, commands are entered by means of swiping gestures, which can in particular be slide, flick and / or swipe gestures, and the push button is not moved against the force of the return element.

[0003] A first multifunctional control device of a different type known from the prior art is disclosed in DE 10 2017 127 231 A1, which, however, does not have a touch-sensitive element configured for inputting control commands by means of swiping gestures, which limits the number of possible control commands.

[0004] Another operating device of a different type is known from DE 10 2020 110 153 A1, which is also not designed to input control commands using swipe gestures.

[0005] In practice, it has proven disadvantageous that control inputs made via swipe gestures on the touch-sensitive element are not acknowledged by haptic feedback. Therefore, the user must determine whether control commands have been successfully entered by other means, which adversely distracts the attention of users currently driving a motor vehicle from road traffic.

[0006] Starting from a generic operating device, the object of the invention is to simplify its operability while retaining the input options.

[0007] This object is achieved by the operating device according to claim 1. According to the invention, the push button is at least indirectly connected to an actuator configured to generate haptically perceptible feedback in response to an input via a swipe gesture. This provides the user with immediate feedback, even when inputting via a swipe gesture, as to whether the input was successful, whether it should be repeated, or whether it should be corrected.

[0008] Advantageous developments of the invention are disclosed below and in the subclaims.

[0009] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the push button is mounted in a bezel, which is preferably embedded in a steering wheel spoke of a vehicle. In the rest position of the push button, the surface of the bezel preferably merges flush with the surface of the touch-sensitive element or push button, which provides a particularly high-quality haptic sensation. Alternatively, the bezel can also be arranged in the center console or on the dashboard of the vehicle.

[0010] According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the actuator is a vibration actuator that emits vibrations in defined directions relative to a Cartesian coordinate system whose xy plane coincides with the surface of the touch-sensitive element. The vibrations are transmitted to the push button, so that the vibrations are perceptible to the operator as feedback.

[0011] According to a first embodiment of the invention in this regard, the vibration actuator is designed to generate vibrations exclusively in the negative z-direction of the coordinate system. This means that the pressure switch is deflected by the vibration actuator from its rest position in the negative z-direction of the coordinate system, thereby providing the haptic feedback. The pressure switch is then reset by the reset element that is already present. With regard to the mounting of the pressure switch, no or at most only minor changes / adjustments are required to generate the haptic feedback in the manner described.

[0012] Alternatively, according to a second related embodiment of the invention, the vibration actuator is designed to generate vibrations in the negative and positive z-direction of the coordinate system. An elasticity is arranged between the push button and the enclosure, which dampens vibrations of the push button in the positive z-direction of the coordinate system. Such elasticity can be designed here and below, in particular, as damping (damper) or as springing. To prevent the push button from being displaced within the enclosure by swiping gestures, it is preferably provided that the push button is mounted within the enclosure in such a way that the push button is positionally stable with respect to a force applied parallel to the xy-plane of the coordinate system.

[0013] Finally, according to another related alternative embodiment of the invention, the vibration actuator is designed to generate non-directional vibrations. For this purpose, it is advantageously provided that there is an elasticity between the pressure switch and the enclosure, which dampens vibrations of the pressure switch in all spatial directions of the coordinate system.

[0014] The described embodiments of the invention allow the imposition of a vibration on the push button in response to the input of a control command in the form of a swipe gesture, which overall improves the operation of the operating device, particularly with regard to the use of the touch-sensitive element. This does not result in any changes when using the operating element as a "conventional" push button switch, in which the push button switch is moved against the force of the reset element. In particular, it is provided that the reset element is designed as a snap-action disc, which provides the classic active feedback that is familiar to many users when operating push buttons.

[0015] In all of this, it is preferably provided that the touch-sensitive element is designed as a touchscreen or as a touchpad. If the touch-sensitive element is designed as a touchscreen or as a touchpad, the entire operating surface is preferably designed as a functional surface. Furthermore, according to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the touch-sensitive element is backlit by means of a suitably positioned light source, in particular an LED. For this purpose, light channels can be formed on the push button switch, the position and shape of which are explained in more detail in the description of the figures. Furthermore, key surfaces can be designed either as symbols or a surface topology. Any symbols can preferably be individually illuminated. The operating surface can have an array of functional surfaces with or without symbols.

[0016] The arrangement of the actuator, in particular the vibration actuator, on the push button is flexible. According to a first embodiment of the invention in this regard, the actuator is mounted on the back of the touchscreen, whereby any vibrations are transmitted directly to the touch-sensitive element. The back of the touch-sensitive element is the side facing away from the visible side or the side on which control commands are entered. This allows a minimum of kinetic energy to be applied to generate haptically perceptible vibrations on the push button.

[0017] Alternatively, the actuator, in particular the vibration actuator, can be arranged directly on the enclosure.

[0018] Specific embodiments of the present invention are explained below with reference to the figures. They show: Fig. 1a-c show different cross-sectional views of a first embodiment of an operating device; Fig. 2a a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of an operating device; Fig. 2b a cross-sectional view of the embodiment according to Fig. 2a; Fig. 3a a cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of an operating device; Fig. 3b a cross-sectional view of the embodiment according to Fig. 3a; Fig. 4 a cross-sectional view of a fourth embodiment of an operating device.

[0019] The Fig. 1a-c show a first embodiment of an operating device 100 with a pressure switch 10, which according to the Fig. 1a, b for inputting control commands against the force F R a return element 11 in the form of a snap disk 111 is movable in the direction of arrow P1. Fig. 1a the rest position of the pressure switch 10 and Fig. 1b shows the actuation position in which the push button 10 is displaced by a certain stroke and actuates a microswitch (not shown) by means of a plunger 12. The surface of the push button 10 has a touch-sensitive element 14 with a touch foil 13 and is designed as a touchscreen 141, which is designed for inputting control commands by means of swiping gestures ( Fig. 1c), for which at least one finger 15 of one hand is guided along the surface of the touchscreen 141 in the direction of arrow P2. In this context, swipe gestures can be, in particular, slide, flick, and / or swipe gestures. With slide gestures, vector recognition with path and / or speed detection takes place, which is used in particular for volume control or scrolling speed. When using flick gestures, vector recognition without defined values takes place with a discrete signal, such as left / right / up / down. Finally, with swipe gestures, simple discrete directional signals are recognized. The push button 10 is connected to an actuator 16, which in the illustrated embodiment is a vibration actuator 161 and is designed to generate haptically perceptible feedback in the form of a vibration in response to an input via a swipe gesture. The push button 10 is mounted in a frame 17.A stop 18 is arranged between the movably mounted push button 10 and the immovable enclosure 17, which restricts the mobility of the push button 10 in different spatial directions. The spatial directions refer to a Cartesian coordinate system K whose xy plane is parallel to the touchscreen 141. The operating device 10 has a light source 19 for backlighting the touchscreen 141, in particular for backlighting the touchscreen 141 using symbols. For this purpose, the plunger 12 is surrounded by a light channel 20, so that the backlighting by the light source 19 is effected without interference.

[0020] Fig. 1c shows an embodiment with a vibration actuator 161, which generates a vibration in the direction of arrow P3, which points in the negative z-direction of the coordinate system K. The pressure switch 10 is encompassed by the enclosure 17 in such a way that it is positionally stable with respect to deflections in the x-direction, y-direction and positive z-direction of the coordinate system K.

[0021] Fig. 2a shows an embodiment of the invention, according to which the vibration actuator 161 is designed to generate vibrations in the direction of arrow P4 and thus in the positive and negative z-direction of the coordinate system K. With regard to the mounting of the pressure switch 10 within the enclosure 17, a change compared to the embodiment according to the Fig. 1a-c, an elasticity in the form of a damper 21 is arranged between the pressure switch 10 and the enclosure, which dampens vibrations of the pressure switch 10 in the positive z-direction of the coordinate system K. The damper 21 is ring-shaped ( Fig. 2b) and surrounds the pressure switch 10.

[0022] Fig. 3a shows a further embodiment of the invention, according to which the vibration actuator 161 is configured to generate non-directional vibrations in the direction of the arrow P5. The mounting of the pressure switch 10 within the enclosure 17 is to be redesigned such that an elasticity in the form of a damper 21 is arranged between the pressure switch 10 and the enclosure 17, which dampens vibrations of the pressure switch in all spatial directions of the coordinate system K. For this purpose, the damper 21 is annular ( Fig. 3b) and surrounds the pressure switch 10. The embodiment according to Fig. Figure 3a shows the damper 21, which has an L-shaped cross-section and a first section 221 and a second section 222. The first section 221 is arranged between the enclosure 17 and the pressure switch 10 such that vibrations within the xy plane of the coordinate system K are damped. The second section 222, in contrast, is arranged such that vibrations in the positive z direction of the coordinate system K are damped.

[0023] In the embodiments of the operating device 100 according to the Fig. 1a, Fig. 2a and Fig. 3a, the vibration actuator 161 is mounted on the back of the touchscreen 141, whereby any vibrations are transmitted directly to the touchscreen 141. Alternatively, the vibration actuator 161 can be arranged directly on the bezel 17, as shown in Fig.4. For this purpose, the frame 17 has a movable bearing in the form of a spring-damping system 23. List of reference symbols 100 operating device 10 pressure switches 11 Reset element 111 Snap dome 12 pestles 13 Touch foil 14 touch-sensitive element 141 touchscreen 15 fingers 16 Actuator 161 Vibration actuator 17 Frame 18 stops 19 Light source 20 light channels 21 dampers 221 first section 222 second section 23 Spring damping system K coordinate system P n Arrow directions F R Power QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 10 2017 127 231 A1

[0003] DE 10 2020 110 153 A1

[0004]

Claims

[1] Operating device (100) with a pressure switch (10) which is used to input control commands against the force (F R ) of a return element (11), wherein the surface of the pressure switch (10) is designed as a touch-sensitive element (14) which is designed to input control commands by means of swiping gestures, characterized by that the pressure switch (10) is at least indirectly connected to an actuator (16) which is designed to generate a haptically perceptible feedback in response to an input via a swipe gesture. [2] Operating device (100) according to claim 1, characterized by that the pressure switch (10) is mounted in a frame (17) which is preferably embedded in a steering wheel spoke of a motor vehicle. [3] Operating device (100) according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized bythat the actuator (16) is a vibration actuator (161) which emits vibrations in defined directions with respect to a Cartesian coordinate system (K) whose xy plane coincides with the surface of the touch-sensitive element (14). [4] Operating device (100) according to claim 3, characterized by that the vibration actuator (161) is designed to generate vibrations exclusively in the negative z-direction of the coordinate system (K). [5] Operating device (100) according to claim 3, characterized by that the vibration actuator (161) is designed to generate vibrations in the negative and positive z-direction of the coordinate system (K). [6] Operating device (100) according to claim 5, characterized by that a damper (21) is arranged between the pressure switch (10) and the frame, which dampens vibrations of the pressure switch (10) in the positive z-direction of the coordinate system (K). [7] Operating device (100) according to one of claims 5 or 6, characterized by that the pressure switch (10) is mounted within the enclosure (17) in such a way that the pressure switch (10) is held in a stable position with respect to a force applied parallel to the xy plane of the coordinate system (K). [8] Operating device (100) according to claim 3, characterized by that the vibration actuator (161) is designed to generate undirected vibrations. [9] Operating device (100) according to claim 8, characterized by that a damper (21) is arranged between the pressure switch (10) and the frame (17), which dampens vibrations of the pressure switch (10) in all directions of the coordinate system (K). [10] Operating device (100) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized by that the return element (11) is designed as a snap disc (111),

Images