Touch control system for at least one device for a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a touch control system (1) for at least one device of a motor vehicle (3), intended to be installed within the motor vehicle (3), the control system comprising a trim plate which, when in use, forms at least part of an external surface of the motor vehicle, on which a touch surface (11) is defined, the touch surface being bounded by a frame (11) that forms an actual or imaginary boundary, at least two piezoelectric sensors (14, 15) that are attached against the trim plate and located, when in use, on the inner side of the motor vehicle (3), and an electronic portion (12) positioned outside the frame (10). The two piezoelectric sensors (14, 15) are each positioned on a respective one of two adjacent corners of the frame (10), the corners bounding the ends of the same side (13) of the frame (10).

Description

[0001] TOUCH CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AT LEAST ONE DEVICE FOR A VEHICLE, IN PARTICULAR A MOTOR VEHICLE

[0002] DESCRIPTION

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The present invention relates to a system for controlling the operation of a device.

[0005] In particular, the control system according to the invention comprises detection means making it possible to receive inputs relating to its operation and finds a particular application in the control of devices included in a vehicle, in particular an automobile, such as a device for locking / unlocking doors, opening / closing windows, a trunk, etc.

[0006] STATE OF THE ART

[0007] Nowadays, devices are increasingly controlled using a surface, especially a touchscreen. For example, motor vehicles may be equipped with at least one touchscreen that allows the driver to control various devices in the passenger compartment: heating, air conditioning, radio station selection, etc.

[0008] At the origin of the invention, the inventors sought to design a touch control surface accessible from outside the vehicle, by means of which the user could control the opening or closing of the vehicle or any other action relating to the devices contained in the vehicle.

[0009] However, touchscreen controls are fragile and are not designed to withstand the vagaries of the climate or possible impacts they might receive if positioned outside a vehicle, for example on part of its bodywork.

[0010] For example, we know of touch surfaces comprising a matrix of capacitive sensors: the sensors detect the contact points and transmit signals enabling the exact position of the contact point on the surface to be identified. It is thus possible to define a series of contact points to be made on the touch surface to trigger the control of an additional device.

[0011] The disadvantage of such a touch surface with capacitive sensors is that these sensors are sensitive and fragile: they get damaged or no longer work, or work poorly, for example when they come into contact with water. Furthermore, they are expensive and complex to implement.

[0012] It is known to use other types of sensors to identify a contact point on a touch-sensitive surface. For example, touch-sensitive surfaces with piezoelectric sensors have been developed to enable the control of devices in a motor vehicle: from US 2022 0118925, a system is known that allows a vehicle to be opened without a key and that uses a window as a microphone. To achieve this, the system comprises three microphones with piezoelectric transducers, positioned on the window inside the vehicle, which can detect and measure the resonance of the window surface by a touch contact or taps of the user on the window. To recognize vibration signals, the transducer controller amplifies the vibrations coming from a contact point with the window to localize it relative to a fixed point or a control point on the window.

[0013] By projecting a digital keypad onto the window glass (or formalizing it, for example with a sticker), it is thus possible to define and recognize a code entered by the user on the window keypad controlling the unlocking of a door, or its locking. The disadvantage of such a system is its positioning on a window: in fact, if the touch surface is on the window, its use leaves traces and can hinder visibility. Furthermore, if the window carrying the system is in the lowered position, the system is no longer accessible to the user. The invention proposes a more economical, versatile solution, which can also be implemented on a window but also at other locations in the vehicle, and in particular on a body pillar outside the vehicle.

[0014] To this end, it relates to a touch control system for at least one device of a motor vehicle, intended to be embedded in said motor vehicle, the control system comprising: - a covering plate, forming in use at least part of an external surface of the motor vehicle, on which is defined a touch surface delimited by a frame forming a real or fictitious delimitation;

[0015] - at least two piezoelectric sensors, attached to said trim plate and located in use on the interior side of the motor vehicle; and

[0016] - an electronic part positioned outside said frame. According to the invention, said system comprises only two piezoelectric sensors which are each positioned on a respective one of two neighboring corners of the frame, the two neighboring corners delimiting ends of the same side of the frame.

[0017] According to the invention, the electronic part is connected to each respective one of the two piezoelectric sensors and comprises at least one computer configured to determine a respective amplitude of signals coming from each respective one of the two piezoelectric sensors, and to deduce therefrom position information, relating to the position, on the touch surface, of an external contact element such as a user's finger.

[0018] Since it only includes two sensors, the system is not expensive to implement. Furthermore, by judiciously positioning the two sensors on the same side of the frame, it is possible to define two zones on either side of the line (or axis) defined by the side where the sensors are positioned, and only take into account one of the two zones, which ensures that the system only takes into account touch detections in the zone selected by the system.

[0019] The system according to the invention may also comprise the following features, taken separately or in combination:

[0020] - the frame delimiting the touch surface is square or rectangular in shape,

[0021] - the four corners of the frame delimiting the touch surface are each defined by coordinates in a two-dimensional space,

[0022] - the said same side of the frame, where the piezoelectric sensors are positioned, separates the touch surface from the electronic part of the said system, - the two piezoelectric sensors are made of a piezoelectric ceramic film placed against the said covering plate,

[0023] - said calculator is configured to provide as output movement information, relating to a movement constituted by a succession of positions on the touch surface.

[0024] The invention also relates to a vehicle access system, comprising a control system as defined above, as well as a locking and / or unlocking and / or opening and / or closing module, configured to generate a command for locking and / or unlocking and / or opening and / or closing at least one opening of the motor vehicle in response to the reception of movement information relating to a predetermined movement.

[0025] Furthermore, the invention relates to a motor vehicle, comprising a vehicle access system as defined above, which is remarkable in that said trim plate belongs to a bodywork element of said vehicle, and in that the piezoelectric sensors extend on the interior side of said vehicle.

[0026] The vehicle according to the invention can also be distinguished in that said trim plate belongs to a trim element of a vertical structural pillar of said vehicle, and in that the piezoelectric sensors extend on the interior side of said vehicle.

[0027] The invention finally relates to a use of a control system as defined above in a motor vehicle, for controlling the opening and closing of a door of said vehicle.

[0028] The invention also relates to the use of a control system as defined above in a motor vehicle, to control the opening or closing of a window of said vehicle.

[0029] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0030] The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given solely as a non-limiting example and made with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0031] [Fig. 1] schematically illustrates a system according to the invention, [Fig. 2] is a schematic representation of a part of the system, aimed at explaining how the detection is made by the system, and

[0032] [Fig. 3] is a schematic representation of a motor vehicle equipped with the system according to the invention.

[0033] It is understood that the embodiments which will be described below are in no way limiting. In particular, it is possible to imagine variants of the invention comprising only a selection of characteristics described below isolated from the other characteristics described, if this selection of characteristics is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention compared to the state of the prior art. This selection includes at least one preferably functional characteristic without structural details, or with only part of the structural details if it is this part which is only sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention compared to the state of the prior art.

[0034] In particular, all variants and embodiments described can be combined with each other if there is no technical obstacle to this combination.

[0035] In the figures and in the rest of the description, the elements common to several figures retain the same reference.

[0036] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Figure 1 illustrates a touch control system 1 according to the invention.

[0038] The system 1 is designed so that it can be easily attached to the bodywork 2 of a vehicle 3, outside the vehicle, as illustrated for example in figure 3, and even to integrate part of the bodywork element of the vehicle.

[0039] In particular, the control system 1 comprises a covering plate, forming in use at least part of an external surface of the motor vehicle. Here, said covering plate is formed by a part of said bodywork 2 of the vehicle 3. Alternatively, said covering plate may be formed by a plastic or metal plate covering a structural pillar of the vehicle 3. The vehicle 3, in the context of the illustrated example, is a motor vehicle. It should however be understood that the invention could be implemented on other types of vehicles, and in general it could find other applications than those presented below.

[0040] The control system 1 according to the invention, in the context of the example presented, is designed to allow a person to control a function of the vehicle, in particular opening and / or closing an opening, locking and / or locking an opening, closing and / or opening a window, etc., simply by touch control, by creating with his finger a drawing, a symbol, a signature, or any other predefined shape on a part of the control system 1, identified by a frame 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0041] The frame 10 forms a real or fictitious delimitation, to delimit a touch-sensitive surface 11 on the bodywork 2. We speak of a real delimitation when the frame 10 is materialized by a visible marking on the bodywork 2. In other words, the frame is actually represented on the bodywork 2, to help the user to locate the area in which he must manually make his drawing, his signature, etc. Alternatively, the frame 10 is not materialized by any marking or delimitation visible to the naked eye or to the user. We then speak of a fictitious delimitation, the user then being assumed to know in which area of ​​the bodywork 2 he must make the finger gesture.

[0042] The frame 10 advantageously has a four-sided polynomial shape, defined by four corners. Preferably, the frame is square or rectangular in shape,

[0043] Advantageously, the edges of the frame 10 are identified by geographic coordinates in a two-dimensional space, so as to facilitate determination of the position of the user's finger on the touch-sensitive surface 11. In variants, however, the touch-sensitive surface 11 is non-planar, the edges of the frame 10 then being identified by geographic coordinates in a three-dimensional space.

[0044] The control system 1 according to the invention also comprises an electronic part 12, to be connected to the on-board electronic network of the vehicle 3, for the supply of electricity and the exchange of data relating in particular to a tactile trace made by the user on the tactile surface 11.

[0045] The frame 10, rectangular (or square) in shape, has four sides, one side 13 of which is bordered by two piezoelectric sensors 14 and 15.

[0046] The sensitive part of the sensors 14 and 15 is made by a respective piezoelectric ceramic film, attached to the bodywork 2 on the inside of the vehicle 3.

[0047] The sensors 14 and 15 are dynamic type sensors: in other words, they are configured to detect mechanical waves, or even acoustic waves. In the example illustrated in Figure 1, each ceramic film is rectangular in shape, with a long side oriented parallel to one side of the frame 10. As can be seen in Figure 1, the two sensors 14 and 15, and more particularly their respective sensitive parts, are each positioned at a corner of the frame 10, the two corners being contiguous. In other words, the sensors 14 and 15 (or more precisely their respective sensitive parts), are not positioned on two opposite corners of the frame 10: the two corners which carry the sensors 14 and 15 are two corners of the same edge 13 of the frame 10.

[0048] In the example illustrated in Figure 1, and advantageously, the edge 13 is the edge (or side) of the frame 10 which separates the touch surface 11 from an area receiving the electronic part 12. In other words, this edge 13 is superimposed on an axis X separating a first area Z1, located on one side of the axis X and receiving the touch surface 11, and a second area Z2, located on the other side of the axis X and receiving the electronic part 12.

[0049] The electronic part 12 is connected to each of the two piezoelectric sensors 14 and 15.

[0050] It comprises at least one computer configured to determine a respective amplitude of signals coming from each of the piezoelectric sensors 14 and 15. The computer deduces from these signals position information, on the touch surface 11, of an external contact element such as a user's finger.

[0051] The computer is configured to provide as output movement information, relating to a movement constituted by a succession of positions on the touch surface 11. The system 1 according to the invention operates as follows: Pressing on the covering plate receiving the sensors 14 and 15, here the bodywork 2, generates a mechanical wave which propagates in said bodywork to the sensors 14 and 15.

[0052] Each of the two sensors 14 and 15 detects this mechanical wave, and generates in response a signal whose amplitude depends (not necessarily linearly) on the distance between the support point on the bodywork 2 and the sensor 14, respectively 15.

[0053] In Figure 2, said distance is symbolized by the circles C14, respectively C15.

[0054] The support point on body 2 corresponds to the intersection of circles C14 and C15. As shown in Figure 2, with only two sensors 14 and 15, there are two intersection points, which generates uncertainty about the position of the support point.

[0055] By positioning the sensors 14 and 15 at the ends of the edge 13 of the frame 10 defining the touch surface 11, one of the intersection points (II) is in the zone Z1, while the other of the intersection points (12) is in the zone Z2. By then using as an a priori hypothesis the fact that the support point is in the frame 10, therefore in the zone Z1, the uncertainty as to the position of the support point is eliminated. The invention thus makes it possible to precisely determine the position of the support point, using only two piezoelectric sensors.

[0056] Advantageously, signal processing software embedded in a computer of the electronic part 12 is configured to take into consideration only the points located in zone Z1, and to exclude all the points located in zone Z2 (which is symbolized by the cross in figure 2). When the user moves his finger on the touch surface 11, a multitude of points can thus be detected successively.

[0057] Advantageously, the user draws with his finger, on the touch surface 11, a symbol (a diagram, a figure, a code, a drawing, etc.) which is recognizable (by the touch control system 1 or by an ancillary system receiving data relating to a movement detected by the system 1). This symbol recognition can then be associated with the control of a function in the vehicle, from outside said vehicle, for example a vehicle access function (opening and / or closing of an opening, locking and / or unlocking of an opening).

[0058] For example, if a user located outside the vehicle draws a line from left to right with his finger on the touch-sensitive surface 11, the system recognizes this drawing as being the one which controls the unlocking of the doors of the vehicle 3. For example again, a line drawn from right to left can control the opposite effect, i.e. the locking of the vehicle doors.

[0059] This means the user no longer needs to use a key to lock or unlock the doors of their vehicle.

[0060] Of course, the access functions can be combined with all the access and authentication solutions known to date, based on communication between the vehicle 3 and a badge or telephone storing a user identifier.

[0061] In the context of the example illustrated in Figure 3, the system 1 incorporates a trim plate which belongs to a trim element of a vertical structural pillar of said vehicle 3. More precisely, the system is positioned at the level of a B-pillar of the vehicle, that is to say between a front side door and a rear side door of the vehicle. It is understood that the system 1 can be positioned at other locations on the vehicle, without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0062] The use of piezoelectric sensors allows the system to be positioned anywhere, because this type of sensor is not affected by water, cold or heat (weather hazards do not affect its operation).

[0063] The invention also covers a vehicle access system, comprising:

[0064] - a control system 1 according to the invention, configured to generate and send information relating to a predetermined movement carried out on the touch surface 11; and

[0065] - a module for locking and / or unlocking an opening and / or opening and / or closing an opening (not shown), configured to generate a command for locking and / or unlocking and / or opening and / or closing at least one opening of the vehicle 3 in response to the reception of said movement information.

[0066] Although the use of system 1 for controlling a vehicle access function has been described more specifically, system 1 can also be used to control the opening and / or closing of the vehicle windows: for example, in very hot weather, system 1 will allow a user to open the windows without unlocking the doors, in order to allow ventilation of the passenger compartment before getting into the vehicle.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. System (1) for touch control of at least one device of a motor vehicle (3), intended to be installed within said motor vehicle (3), the control system comprising: - a covering plate, forming in use at least part of an external surface of the motor vehicle, on which is defined a touch surface (11) delimited by a frame (10) forming a real or fictitious delimitation; - at least two piezoelectric sensors (14, 15), attached to said covering plate and located in use on the interior side of the motor vehicle (3); and - an electronic part (12) positioned outside said frame (10), said system (1) being characterized in that it comprises only two piezoelectric sensors (14, 15) each positioned on a respective one of two neighboring corners of the frame (10), the two neighboring corners delimiting ends of the same side (13) of the frame (10); and in that the electronic part (12) is connected to each respective one of the two piezoelectric sensors (14, 15), and comprises at least one computer configured to determine a respective amplitude of signals coming from each respective one of the two piezoelectric sensors (14, 15), and to deduce therefrom position information, relating to the position, on the touch surface (11), of an external contact element such as a finger of a user.

2. Control system according to claim 1, characterized in that said same side (13) of the frame, where the piezoelectric sensors (14, 15) are positioned, separates the touch surface (11) from the electronic part (12) of said system.

3. Control system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the two piezoelectric sensors (14, 15) are produced by a piezoelectric ceramic film attached to said covering plate.

4. Control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said calculator is configured to provide as output movement information, relating to a movement constituted by a succession of positions on the touch surface (11).

5. Vehicle access system comprising a control system according to claim 4, as well as a locking and / or unlocking and / or opening and / or closing module, configured to generate a locking and / or unlocking and / or opening and / or closing command for at least one opening of the motor vehicle (3) in response to the reception of movement information relating to a predetermined movement.

6. Motor vehicle (3), comprising a vehicle access system according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said trim plate belongs to a bodywork element of said vehicle (3), and in that the piezoelectric sensors (14, 15) extend on the interior side of said vehicle (3).

7. Motor vehicle (3), comprising a vehicle access system according to claim 5, characterized in that said covering plate belongs to a covering element of a vertical structural pillar of said vehicle (3), and in that the piezoelectric sensors (14, 15) extend on the interior side of said vehicle (3).

8. Use of a control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 in a motor vehicle, for controlling the opening and closing of a door of said vehicle.

9. Use of a control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 in a motor vehicle, for controlling the opening or closing of a window of said vehicle.

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