Sliding Hard Keys for Dynamic Console Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle control consoles lack the ability to conceal physical buttons while keeping the display and surrounding area stationary, which affects aesthetics and user interaction efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of individually-actuatable modules with a motor, threaded shaft, and movable platform that allow hard keys to slide into and out of the console surface, enabling buttons to retract when not needed and appear when required, independent of the display's position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If physical buttons are constantly displayed on the console surface, then user input functionality is always available, but aesthetics deteriorate and the interface appears cluttered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamically reconfigurable button modules that can change their physical state between retracted and protruding positions based on operational context. Each button module includes a motor-driven mechanism that allows it to dynamically adjust its position, transitioning from a flat aesthetic surface to an accessible input interface only when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The console interface is divided into multiple independently actuatable button modules rather than a fixed array. Each module can be individually controlled to protrude or retract, allowing selective activation of specific input regions based on the current operational mode or user interaction context.
2Adaptability or versatility
If all input hardware is constantly visible, then all input functions are accessible, but device complexity increases and space is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs dynamically reconfigurable button modules with motor-driven mechanisms that allow each module to transition between retracted and protruding states. This dynamic capability enables the console to adapt its physical interface configuration based on operational context, providing full input functionality only when and where needed rather than maintaining a permanently complex visible interface.
3Ease of manufacture
If buttons are made stationary and fixed, then manufacturing is simpler, but adaptability to different input contexts is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The button interface is segmented into multiple independently actuatable modules, each capable of individual control. This segmentation allows the system to maintain relatively simple manufacturing for each individual module while achieving complex adaptive behavior at the system level through coordinated control of multiple standardized units.
Solution Approach 2:
Each button module incorporates a motor-driven mechanism that enables it to dynamically change its position between retracted and protruding states. This dynamic capability allows the otherwise simple modular units to adapt their configuration based on operational context, providing versatility without requiring complex custom manufacturing for each scenario.
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 solution creates a clean and intuitive interface by concealing buttons when not in use, enhancing aesthetics and allowing dynamic button configurations based on interaction complexity without altering the display or surrounding surface.
Implementation Method 1
a motor, a threaded shaft coupled to and extending from the motor
Implementation Method 2
a threaded shaft coupled to and extending from the motor, a movable platform movably attached to the threaded shaft
Data Source
AI summary
A console includes a display and a plurality of individually-actuatable modules, including a physical key configured to slide into and out of a surface of the console. The modules include a motor, a threaded shaft coupled to and extending from the motor, and a movable platform movably attached to the threaded shaft. The physical key is movably supported on the movable platform.