Adaptive Pressure Threshold for Touch-Sensitive Vehicle Controls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle operating devices face challenges in ensuring reliable operation and preventing accidental triggering of functions, particularly when the driver is focused on driving and unintentionally interacts with touch-sensitive controls.
Innovation Solution
A method that detects the duration and distance of touch, specifies an operating mode based on these parameters, and sets a pressure threshold value specific to each mode, ensuring that functions are only triggered when a deliberate press exceeding the threshold is applied, thereby reducing accidental activations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a touch-sensitive control unit is used to control motor vehicle functions, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to accidental triggering when the driver concentrates on driving
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by dynamically adjusting the pressure threshold based on the detected touch behavior parameters (touch duration and touch distance). When the touch duration exceeds a first threshold or touch distance exceeds a second threshold, the system switches to a higher pressure threshold, thereby adapting the activation criteria to distinguish between intentional and accidental touches.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by detecting touch duration and touch distance before determining whether to trigger a function. The control unit measures these parameters during the touch event and uses them to pre-evaluate whether the touch is intentional before executing the corresponding function, preventing accidental triggering.
2Device complexity
If a fixed pressure threshold is used for touch detection, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates because accidental presses cannot be distinguished from intentional presses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the pressure threshold dynamic rather than fixed. The threshold automatically adjusts based on real-time detection of touch duration and touch distance parameters. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to differentiate between accidental and intentional presses without requiring complex additional hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the pressure threshold parameter based on detected touch characteristics. When touch duration or touch distance exceeds predefined thresholds, the pressure threshold is increased, creating an adaptive detection mechanism that improves reliability while maintaining relatively simple device architecture.
3Reliability
If the pressure threshold is increased to prevent accidental triggering, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates because deliberate presses become harder to register
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses dynamics to make the pressure threshold adaptive rather than static. The threshold increases only when touch duration or touch distance indicates a potentially accidental press. For normal deliberate presses with typical duration and distance characteristics, the lower threshold maintains ease of operation, while the higher threshold activates only when needed for reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the pressure threshold parameter based on touch behavior analysis. By monitoring touch duration and touch distance, the system adjusts the threshold to maintain ease of operation for intentional presses while preventing accidental triggering, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances the reliability of motor vehicle operating device interactions by preventing unintended function triggers, allowing drivers to easily and error-free control infotainment and navigation systems, while ensuring that only intended actions are executed.
Implementation Method 1
a touch-sensitive operating unit (12), which is designed to detect a period of time during which the touch-sensitive operating unit (12) is touched with an object (18), to detect a distance covered by the object (18) when touching the touch-sensitive operating unit (12)
Implementation Method 2
a detection device (14), which is designed to detect a pressure (p m) with which the touch-sensitive control unit (12) is acted upon by touching the touch-sensitive control unit (12)
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for operating an operating device (10) of a motor vehicle, having the following steps: detecting a duration (tm) over which a touch-sensitive operating unit (12) is contacted by an object (18) and/or detecting a route (sm) which is traversed by the object (18) upon contacting the touch-sensitive operating unit (12); specifying an operating mode depending on the detected duration (tm) and/or the detected route (sm); specifying a pressure threshold (ps) depending on the specified operating mode; detecting a current position where the touch-sensitive operating unit (12) operated in the specified operating mode is contacted by the object (18); detecting a pressure (pm) applied to the touch-sensor operating unit (12) upon being contacted; ascertaining whether the detected pressure (pm) is greater than the specified pressure threshold (ps); and triggering a motor vehicle function (F) assigned to the detected current position only if the detected pressure (pm) is greater than the specified pressure threshold (ps). The invention further relates to an operating device (10) and to a motor vehicle comprising an operating device (10).