Hidden Vehicle Interior Controls With Proximity-Lit Edge Activation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle interior components with operable elements often create visual clutter and unrest, making them undesirable for aesthetic purposes.
Innovation Solution
Designing vehicle interior components with operating means that are concealed in an inoperative state and only visible in an operative state, utilizing proximity sensors and lighting or shape-changing materials to enhance visibility and usability, and integrating these elements adjacent to edges for easy identification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If operating means are made visible and accessible in the vehicle interior, then ease of operation is improved, but visual unrest and aesthetic quality deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The operating means transitions between visible and invisible states dynamically. In the retracted state, the operating means is concealed within the component surface, maintaining visual calmness. When activated via proximity detection or user interaction, it extends or illuminates to become visible and operable, thus resolving the contradiction between aesthetic appearance and operational accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The operating means utilizes lighting means (LEDs, optical fibers) that change the visual appearance of the component. When illuminated, the operating means becomes visible through color or brightness changes, allowing it to be both aesthetically integrated in normal state and easily locatable when needed, resolving the visual unrest issue.
2Shape
If operating means are concealed to improve visual calmness, then aesthetic quality is improved, but ease of finding and operating the element deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Proximity sensors detect when a user approaches the operating element and provide feedback by illuminating the element via lighting means. This feedback mechanism guides the user to the correct operating position without permanently displaying the element, thus maintaining visual calmness while improving findability when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting means is activated in advance when proximity is detected, preparing the operating means for interaction before actual contact occurs. This preliminary illumination helps users locate and identify the operating element without requiring it to be permanently visible.
3Ease of operation
If lighting means are added to accentuate the operating element, then ease of operation is improved, but use of energy and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting means operates periodically rather than continuously, activating only when proximity sensors detect a user's presence or when the system enters a specific operational state. This periodic illumination provides necessary visibility while dramatically reducing overall energy consumption compared to continuous lighting.
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 design enhances the visual calmness of the vehicle interior while improving user comfort and ease of operation by making the operating elements only visible and usable when needed, using proximity sensors and lighting or shape-changing materials to activate them.
Implementation Method 1
The lighting means can be designed in particular as an optical fiber, light-emitting diode, or liquid crystal display.
Implementation Method 2
The lighting means can be designed in particular as an optical fiber, light-emitting diode, or liquid crystal display.
Implementation Method 3
the operating element is operationally connected to at least one proximity sensor and/or an electronic input means
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle interior component includes a first surface, a second surface that is adjacent to the first surface, an edge disposed between the first surface and the second surface, and an operating element where an item of operating information can be input by the operating element. The operating element is disposed adjacent to the edge on the first surface and/or on the second surface and the operating element is nonvisible in an inoperative state and is visible in an operative state.