Haptic Feedback Control Device for Automotive Touch Interfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing complexity of automotive dashboards due to numerous functions and the lack of tactile feedback from touchscreens can lead to driver distraction and attentional overload, as users lack clear confirmation of their interactions, potentially causing mistakes and safety issues.
Innovation Solution
A control device with a touch surface and sensory stimulus module that generates distinct haptic, auditory, or visual feedback based on the variation and speed of press pressure, simulating the experience of pressing a mechanical button, thereby providing clear and context-dependent feedback without overloading the driver's senses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a touchscreen is used to replace mechanical buttons, then the number of functions can be increased and the interface can be virtualized, but the driver receives no direct feedback related to their action on the interface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism by generating a sensory stimulus (haptic, auditory, or visual) in response to contact with the touch surface. The sensory stimulus module detects the press pressure variation and generates corresponding feedback to confirm user interaction, resolving the information loss caused by replacing mechanical buttons with a touchscreen.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a sensory stimulus module as an intermediary between the touch surface contact and the user's perception. This module generates haptic, auditory, or visual stimuli that mediate the interaction, providing the missing feedback loop that mechanical buttons naturally provided through tactile response.
2Loss of information
If haptic stimulus is added to provide feedback, then the user receives confirmation of interaction, but the driver's visual and auditory pathways may be overloaded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing feedback at the specific location of user interaction on the touch surface. The sensory stimulus is generated locally at or near the contact point, providing targeted feedback that confirms interaction without requiring the driver's attention to be diverted to a separate display or audio system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses partial action by selectively generating sensory stimuli only when and where needed based on the detected press pressure variation. The feedback is not continuous or overwhelming but is triggered partially and specifically in response to actual user interactions, avoiding sensory overload while providing necessary confirmation.
3Device complexity
If the sensory stimulus profile is made independent of press pressure, then the system is simpler, but the user experience lacks differentiation between hard, medium, or soft presses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by making the sensory stimulus profile variable rather than fixed. The sensory stimulus module adjusts the characteristics of the generated stimulus based on the detected press pressure variation, creating a dynamic response that adapts to the user's input force and provides differentiated feedback for different interaction intensities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by varying the sensory stimulus characteristics (such as intensity, duration, or type) based on the press pressure variation parameters detected by the contact sensor. This allows the system to maintain relatively simple hardware while achieving enhanced user interaction quality through software-controlled parameter adjustment.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a control device for a motor vehicle, which includes: a touch-sensitive surface (2) including a contact sensor capable of measuring a pressing pressure on the touch-sensitive surface (2) during a predetermined time (dt; dt1, dt2), and a haptic feedback module (4) configured such as to generate a haptic feedback in response to a contact of the touch-sensitive surface (2), characterised in that the haptic feedback module (4) is configured such as to determine the profile of the haptic feedback to be generated in accordance with the variation in the pressing pressure measured on the touch-sensitive surface (2) during the predetermined time (dt; dt1, dt2).