Vehicle Cabin Display Panel With Tactile Sidewall Touch Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Drivers face challenges in safely operating touch-sensitive input devices in vehicles without diverting their attention from the road, as they cannot easily feel or reach the exact location of these devices without looking at them.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle cabin unit with a permanently connected panel that includes a display and a touch-sensitive input surface, where the panel protrudes from the main body, allowing drivers to interact with vehicle subsystem controllers without taking their eyes off the road, using a touch-sensitive input surface that is part of the panel's free wall, which can be fixed or adjustable in position and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If touch-sensitive input devices are used to replace physical push buttons, then device complexity is reduced and modern functionality is improved, but driver safety deteriorates because the driver cannot easily feel or locate the exact position of the touch-sensitive input device without visual attention
Solution Approach 1:
A physical guide element is introduced as an intermediary between the touch-sensitive input device and the driver's finger. This guide element protrudes from the control panel and serves as a tactile reference point, allowing the driver to locate and operate the touch-sensitive device without visual attention, thus maintaining safety while using modern touch-based technology
2Ease of operation
If the driver operates touch-sensitive input devices, then control functionality is improved, but the driver must divert attention from the road, worsening driving safety
Solution Approach 1:
The physical guide element acts as a mediator that enables tactile operation of the touch-sensitive device. By providing a tangible reference point that protrudes from the panel, the driver can locate and interact with the control without visual distraction, maintaining both ease of operation and driving safety
3Device complexity
If the touch-sensitive input surface is integrated flush with the panel surface, then device complexity is reduced, but the driver cannot easily locate or reach the input surface without looking at it
Solution Approach 1:
A physical guide element protruding from the panel serves as an intermediary tactile marker. This element does not complicate the integrated design but provides the necessary tactile feedback for the driver to locate the touch-sensitive input surface without visual attention, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining integration
Data Source
AI summary
The invention pertains to a vehicle cabin unit, which comprises: - a main body, - a panel, which is permanently connected to the main body, which panel has a front surface and a free panel wall, which free panel wall protrudes from or is spaced apart from the main body, wherein the panel comprises a display, which forms at least a part of the front surface of the panel, which display is connectable to a vehicle subsystem controller, wherein the free panel wall of the panel includes a touch sensitive input surface which is configured to allow interaction of a user with the vehicle subsystem controller.