Rotary actuator for setting and displaying a setting parameter, and motor vehicle with same

Abstract

The invention provides a rotary actuator (10) for setting and displaying a setting parameter of a motor vehicle (80), having an operator control device, which is rotatable to an unlimited extent, for setting the setting parameter, and a display device for displaying the setting parameter, the display device being designed to emit a circular light curtain for illuminating the surroundings of the rotary actuator (10), with an extent of the light curtain being dependent on an actuation of the rotary actuator (10).

Description

[0001] Rotary actuator for setting and displaying a setting parameter and motor vehicle with the same

[0002] DESCRIPTION:

[0003] The invention relates to a rotary actuator for setting and displaying a setting parameter and a motor vehicle with the same.

[0004] Rotary knobs in motor vehicles are well known; for example, they are used to adjust the volume of an audio system or the temperature of an air conditioning system. Recently, instead of rotary knobs with a fixed adjustment range, continuously rotating rotary knobs have been used, whereby, for example, a setting value is displayed on a multifunction display of the vehicle. This can, for example, ensure that the display is not covered by the hand operating the rotary knob. However, since these displays are often difficult to read for a driver whose attention is required by the surrounding driving situation, there is a need for an improved rotary knob whose setting value is easier to read and can be grasped more quickly and intuitively. A faster and more intuitive

[0005] Recording the setting value, in turn, serves to ensure safety when driving the vehicle, as the driver's attention is not distracted from the driving situation.

[0006] For example, DE 10 2005 049 513 A1 discloses a user interface unit with a field change sensor for a vehicle, which provides visual indicators that can indicate a level of a current setting. However, a display of a setting value is obscured by the user's hand adjusting it. Furthermore, DE 10 2014 216 398 A1 discloses an operating device for a household appliance with a light strip arranged adjacent to a rotating ring of a control element, as well as a household appliance. However, in this case too, the light strip is obscured by the user's hand operating the operating device.

[0007] Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved rotary actuator whose setting value can be read more easily and reliably.

[0008] For this purpose, the invention provides a rotary actuator for setting and displaying a setting parameter, for example of a motor vehicle, with an infinitely rotatable operating device for setting the setting parameter and a display device for displaying the setting parameter, which is designed to emit light for illuminating an environment of the rotary actuator in the form of a circular or circular sector-shaped light curtain, wherein an extent or an angular range or a size of the angular range of the light curtain is dependent on an actuation of the rotary actuator.

[0009] Here, a light curtain is, for example, a uniform, coherent or periodically structured light emission that is emitted by the rotary actuator onto a surrounding surface of the rotary actuator. Furthermore, the light emission can occasionally also be temporally variable or multi-colored, so that, for example, a coloration or structure of the emitted light comprises a spatially periodic multi-colored emission. The light curtain can, for example, be generated by individual light-emitting elements such as light-emitting diodes that are arranged within the rotary actuator. The light elements preferably emit the light in a direction radially outwards and axially towards the surrounding surface, i.e., for example, when mounted upright on a mounting surface, axially towards the mounting surface.The number of light elements is preferably more than 10, preferably more than 50, for example, 60 or 80, and preferably more than 100, to ensure a more uniform display and thus more intuitive perception. Furthermore, the rotary control can also provide a tactile element or a detent to allow the user to make incremental adjustments. The number of angular steps for one complete rotation of the rotary control can, for example, correspond to the number of light elements.

[0010] By emitting the light curtain onto the area surrounding the rotary actuator, or rather the surface surrounding the rotary actuator, a setting parameter can be visualized in a particularly simple manner, allowing the user to easily determine the setting of the rotary actuator based on the extent of the light curtain. The invention thus provides an improved user interface that is easier, faster, and more intuitive to understand. Furthermore, since it is not, or only slightly, obscured during operation by a vehicle occupant, it can be read reliably and quickly during operation.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the display device is configured to illuminate the area surrounding the rotary actuator in the shape of a sector of a circular ring using the light curtain. This assumes that the rotary actuator is mounted on a surface, for example, an instrument panel inside the motor vehicle. Since the visualization of the setting value involves light emission, the rotary actuator according to the invention is particularly suitable for dark or dimly lit areas inside a motor vehicle. However, the rotary actuator can be mounted anywhere, and, for example, the intensity of the light emission can also be adapted to the surroundings.

[0012] The moment the user touches the rotary control, a projection of the light curtain onto the surrounding surface can be started. For example, a starting position of the setting parameter can be at 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees, or 360 degrees. Optionally, the last setting value of the setting parameter (for example, a set volume setting, an air conditioning default temperature, an interior illuminance, a low beam illumination range value, a selection value from a list, or the like) can be visualized, or the current value can be visualized, for example, at 50% of the light curtain's extent. Light can optionally be emitted that creates a representation of a line on the surrounding surface, and the angular position of the line can correspond to the current value of the setting parameter. When the rotary control is rotated, the line can, for example, move along with the rotary control.

[0013] In addition, a fixed line can be projected onto the surroundings to visualize a starting point for setting the setting value. This represents a particularly intuitive way of displaying the setting value, allowing the user to grasp the setting value particularly easily.

[0014] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the operating device can also be pressed and / or pulled to additionally adjust a further setting parameter. For example, it is conceivable that a selection can be made from a list of different values ​​using the rotary knob, and that the currently selected value is confirmed by pressing or pulling the rotary knob. This confirmation, i.e. pressing or pulling the rotary knob, can additionally be visually visualized, for example by the emitted light curtain changing its color and / or, for example, briefly emitting a full circle of the light curtain as a flashing light. In this way, a user of the motor vehicle can receive visual feedback on an action, i.e. pressing or pulling the rotary knob, even out of the corner of their eye.Thus, this embodiment also offers an improved user interface that provides an additional function and is intuitive to understand. According to a further embodiment, the rotary actuator can additionally comprise a control device that controls the display device. The control device can, for example, be configured to display information by flashing the light curtain, or to output an optical signal via the display device when a minimum or maximum value is reached, or to signal an error to the user of the rotary actuator, for example by flashing or using a special color, such as outputting a red color for the light curtain via the display device. Optionally, the rotary actuator can be controlled by a central control device of the vehicle, which can provide these and other functionalities.

[0015] According to a further embodiment, the display device can be configured to change a color and / or intensity of the light curtain depending on ambient light. For example, a color scheme of the light curtain can be adapted to the interior lighting of the vehicle. Furthermore, the color and / or the light intensity can be adapted to external ambient lighting, i.e., a daylight condition, or the color and / or the light intensity can be adapted to the setting parameter or the further setting parameter. For example, a different color and intensity of the light curtain can be selected for daytime driving than is necessary, for example, for nighttime driving in order to avoid dazzling the driver. This embodiment thus also represents an improved user interface that is faster and more intuitive for the user to understand.

[0016] According to a further embodiment, the display device can be configured to increase the angular range of the light curtain by increasing the setting parameter. Optionally, the extent, in particular the angular range, of the light curtain can be reduced by increasing the setting parameter. For example, when adjusting a volume, the extent / angular range of the light curtain can be increased depending on the volume value. This is particularly important during a pause in music or speech, since the volume value is not audible during such pauses. Optionally, the extent / angular range of the light curtain can be reduced by increasing the setting parameter in order to visualize a decreasing setting value. This embodiment therefore also represents an improved user interface, by means of which the setting value can be entered more quickly and intuitively.

[0017] According to a further embodiment, the display device can be configured to change the color and / or light intensity of the light curtain with a change in the setting parameter. For example, when setting a preset temperature for the air conditioning control, the color of the light curtain can be changed such that when the preset temperature is reduced, the color changes toward blue, while when the preset temperature is increased, the color of the light curtain changes toward red. This embodiment thus provides a particularly intuitive user interface.

[0018] According to a further embodiment, the light curtain can be periodically structured in a circumferential direction or in a tangential direction. This means that the display device can provide light emission in the form of lines, color stripes, brightness differences and / or shadow lines, which divides the light curtain into preferably periodic structures. This can provide a particularly intuitive interface. The lines, color stripes, brightness differences and / or shadow lines can be arranged periodically or can follow a function value, for example, to represent a logarithmic dependence of a setting parameter. Furthermore, these lines, color stripes,

[0019] Differences in brightness and / or shadow lines can be arranged in such a way that a design specification, for example from a manufacturer, is met. The lines, color stripes, differences in brightness and / or shadow lines can move with the rotary control when the rotary control is rotated, or can be provided in such a way that the lines are displayed in a fixed location on the surrounding surface, and when the size / angular range of the light curtain is increased, additional lines are displayed depending on the setting of the setting parameter. Furthermore, in this embodiment, information can also be displayed by flashing; reaching a minimum or maximum value can also be displayed in color, and errors can also be indicated by flashing, for example. This embodiment therefore also provides a particularly intuitive user interface.

[0020] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the display device comprises an LED strip and a circular sector-shaped toric lens for projecting the light curtain onto the surrounding surface. The LED strip preferably consists of a particularly large number of LEDs arranged next to one another in order to visualize the most continuous adjustment of the setting parameter possible. The toric lens can be circular sector-shaped or partially annular in order to project the light curtain onto the surrounding surface. The LED strip and the toric lens can be movable together or separately, and both can each be moved with a

[0021] They can move with the rotation of the rotary actuator or can be fixed in place, for example to emit the light through a rotating translucent or partially transparent cap.

[0022] The term toric lens can be used to describe a lens that has two different refractive indices in two mutually perpendicular directions, each perpendicular to the lens's optical axis. One of the lens surfaces can be shaped like the cap of a torus, while the other can be spherical or, for example, flat. A special case of a toric lens is, for example, a cylindrical lens, which has at least one surface that can be represented as part of the surface of a cylinder.Thus, the toric lens can, on the one hand, have a refractive power in a vertical direction parallel to a rotation axis of the rotary actuator that enables uniform illumination of the surrounding area in the radial direction, and, on the other hand, can have a refractive power in the horizontal direction (in the circumferential direction of the rotary actuator) that ensures overlap of the illumination in the circumferential direction with the adjacent light sources of the LED strip.

[0023] Furthermore, for example, each LED of the LED strip can be assigned its own toric lens. Alternatively, a lens can be used that has a ring-shaped structure in a plan view of the rotary actuator and two opposing D-shaped structures in a radial sectional view. This structure can, for example, result from a torus from which a cylinder or a cone with a smaller radius is cut out, with the central axes of symmetry of the torus and cylinder (cone) coinciding.

[0024] In a particularly advantageous variant of this design, the toric lens can be part of a rotating cap, while the LED strip is fixed in place. This allows for a particularly simple design of the rotary actuator, since no sliding contact, slip ring, or similar device is required to control the LED strip.

[0025] Depending on the configuration, when the extent and / or angular range of the light curtain is increased (or decreased), LEDs at the beginning or end of the angular range can be activated (or deactivated) sequentially to visualize an increase (or decrease) in the setting value. This configuration thus represents a particularly simple technical implementation of the improved user interface.

[0026] According to a further embodiment of the invention, a motor vehicle is provided with a rotary actuator as described above. Such a motor vehicle offers improved safety because a rotary actuator enables particularly simple adjustment of a vehicle parameter, and because the driver's attention is not distracted from the driving situation, such a motor vehicle offers improved safety.

[0027] For use cases or application situations that are not explicitly described here, it may be provided that an error message and / or a request for user feedback is issued and / or a default setting and / or a predetermined initial state is set.

[0028] The invention also includes the control device for the motor vehicle. The control device can have a data processing device or a processor device that is configured to control an embodiment of the rotary actuator 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 (Graphical Processing Unit), or an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) can be used as the microprocessor. Furthermore, the processor device can have program code that is configured to control the embodiment of the rotary actuator 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, for example, on at least one circuit board and / or on at least one SoC (System on Chip).

[0029] The invention also includes further developments of the rotary actuator according to the invention that have features already described in connection with the further developments of the motor vehicle according to the invention. For this reason, the corresponding further developments of the rotary actuator according to the invention are not described again here. 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.

[0030] The invention also encompasses combinations of the features of the described embodiments. The invention therefore also encompasses implementations that each comprise a combination of the features of several of the described embodiments, unless the embodiments are described as mutually exclusive.

[0031] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below. Shown are:

[0032] Fig. 1a is a plan view of a rotary actuator according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0033] Fig. 1 b is a side view of a rotary actuator according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0034] Fig. 2a is a plan view of a rotary actuator according to an embodiment of the invention in a first setting position;

[0035] Fig. 2b is a plan view of a rotary actuator according to an embodiment of the invention in a further setting position;

[0036] Fig. 2c is a plan view of a rotary actuator according to an embodiment of the invention in a further setting position;

[0037] Fig. 3a is a plan view of a rotary actuator according to an embodiment of the invention in a further setting position;

[0038] Fig. 3b is a plan view of a rotary actuator according to an embodiment of the invention in a further setting position;

[0039] Fig. 3c is a plan view of a rotary actuator according to an embodiment of the invention in a further setting position;

[0040] Fig. 4 shows a motor vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0041] 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 can be considered independently of one another, each of which also develops the invention independently of one another. Therefore, the disclosure is intended to encompass combinations of the features of the embodiments other than those shown. Furthermore, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by further features of the invention already described.

[0042] In the figures, the same reference symbols designate elements with the same function.

[0043] Fig. 1a shows a plan view of a rotary actuator 10 according to one embodiment of the invention. Fig. 1a shows a rotary actuator 10 comprising light elements 20 arranged in a circle in the rotary actuator 10. These light elements 20 can be arranged on a circuit board 30, which can be located in a housing (not shown). A light emission 40 onto a surrounding surface can visualize a setting value of the rotary actuator 10. The rotary actuator 10 can be rotated in an adjustment direction 60, i.e., rotated to the right or to the left. By rotating the rotary actuator 10 to the right or to the left, a setting value of a setting parameter can be increased or decreased, for example. Depending on a setting of the setting parameter, a light emission 40 can be controlled by the light elements 20.

[0044] Fig. 1 b shows an oblique side view of the rotary actuator 10, wherein the lighting elements 20 are not shown in this figure. The light emission 40 shown as an example results in a partial area 50 on the surface surrounding the rotary actuator being illuminated in order to display a value of the setting parameter to the user of the rotary actuator 10. The rotary actuator 10 can be attached to the surrounding surface or can be partially recessed into the surface. It is important here that the rotary actuator 10 is designed to illuminate the surrounding surface. The lighting elements 20 preferably emit the light in a direction radially outwards and axially in the direction of the surrounding surface, i.e. for example, when mounted upright on a mounting surface, axially in the direction of the mounting surface.

[0045] The rotary actuator 10 can be adjusted in steps or continuously. Furthermore, tactile feedback can be provided, for example, by a detent, whereby the number of angular steps of the tactile feedback for a full rotation can correspond to the number of light elements 20 of the rotary actuator. The light elements 20 are preferably light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or multicolored LEDs, such as RGB LEDs.

[0046] Fig. 2a shows a top view of a rotary actuator 10 according to an embodiment of the invention in a first setting position. For example, a quarter of a circular ring around the rotary actuator 10 is illuminated by the light curtain, i.e., the illuminated partial area 50 corresponds approximately to a quarter of a full circle.

[0047] If the rotary control 10 is turned to the right, the illuminated sector of the circular ring can be enlarged, for example, to achieve the situation shown in Fig. 2b, in which the illuminated partial area 50 according to Fig. 2b is larger than the illuminated partial area 50 according to Fig. 2a, to indicate to the user an increase in the setting value. If the user turns the rotary control 10 further, the illuminated partial area 50 can be further enlarged, as shown, for example, in Fig. 2c.

[0048] Figures 3a, 3b and 3c each show a plan view of a rotary actuator according to a further embodiment of the invention in further setting positions.

[0049] For example, Fig. 3a shows how a rotary control 10 illuminates the surrounding area on a partial area 50, with lines 70 visualizing a setting of the setting parameter. If the user turns the rotary control, an increase in the setting parameter can be visualized with an enlarged partial area 50 and additional lines 70. If the user turns the rotary control further, the partial area 50 can be further enlarged to visualize an increase in the setting parameter. Additional lines 70 are displayed to visualize an increase in the setting value.

[0050] Fig. 4 further shows a motor vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention. The vehicle 80 includes a rotary actuator 10 arranged within the vehicle. Because the driver of the vehicle can intuitively grasp the setting value of the rotary actuator 10, greater safety of the vehicle 80 is achieved. Overall, the examples show how a rotary actuator 10 and a motor vehicle 80 can be provided according to the invention.

[0051] List of reference symbols:

[0052] 10 rotary knobs

[0053] 20 LED

[0054] 30 Circuit board 40 Light emission

[0055] 50 illuminated partial areas

[0056] 60 rotation options

[0057] 70 scale marks

[0058] 80 vehicles

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS:

1. Rotary actuator (10) for setting and displaying a setting parameter, comprising an infinitely rotatable operating device for setting the setting parameter and a display device for displaying the setting parameter, which display device is configured to emit light for illuminating an area surrounding the rotary actuator (10) in the form of a circular light curtain, wherein an extent of the light curtain depends on an actuation of the rotary actuator (10).

2. Rotary actuator (10) according to claim 1, wherein the display device is configured to illuminate the partial area (50) surrounding the rotary actuator (10) in the form of a sector of a circular ring with the light curtain.

3. Rotary actuator (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the operating device can be additionally pushed and / or pulled for an additional setting of a further setting parameter.

4. Rotary actuator (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the rotary actuator (10) additionally comprises a control device which controls the display device.

5. Rotary actuator (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the display device is configured to change a color of the light curtain depending on ambient light.

6. Rotary actuator (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the display device is configured to increase the extent, in particular the angular range, of the light curtain with an increase in the setting parameter.

7. Rotary actuator (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the display device is configured to change the color of the light curtain with a change in the setting parameter.

8. Rotary actuator (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the light curtain is periodically structured in a tangential direction.

9. Rotary actuator (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the display device comprises an LED strip and a circular toric lens for projecting the light curtain onto the surrounding partial surface (50).

10. Motor vehicle (80) with a rotary actuator (10) according to one of the preceding claims.

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