Steering Wheel Touch Input Gating for Inadvertent Operation Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing operation input devices for vehicles require users to remove their hands from the steering wheel to cancel hold states, leading to potential inadvertent operations while driving.
Innovation Solution
An operation input device with detection surfaces that allow users to perform inputs without removing their hands, using detection sections to determine intentional versus inadvertent movements and switch control states accordingly, enabling or preventing operation targets based on user intent.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the hold state of the input device is canceled by requiring the user to touch the input section with two or more fingers, then inadvertent operations are inhibited, but the user must remove hands from the steering wheel
Solution Approach 1:
The input section is divided into multiple detection regions that can independently detect finger positions. By segmenting the detection function, the system can recognize specific patterns (such as thumb operations on specific regions) to distinguish intentional from inadvertent operations, allowing hand-on-wheel operation while preventing accidental inputs
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the input section are assigned different functional qualities. Certain regions are designated as safe zones where operations are less likely to be inadvertent, while other regions require more deliberate activation. This local differentiation allows the system to permit operations in safe zones while maintaining safety constraints in other areas
2Speed
If the operation control section is always enabled, then operation responsiveness is improved, but inadvertent operations cannot be prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The operation control section dynamically switches between enabled and prevented states based on real-time detection of finger positions and operation patterns. The system transitions from a static control state to a dynamic one that adapts to user intent, maintaining responsiveness when operations are intentional while blocking inadvertent activations
Solution Approach 2:
The detection section continuously provides feedback about finger positions and contact states to the operation determination section. This feedback loop enables the system to real-time assess whether an operation is intentional or inadvertent and adjust the control state accordingly, balancing responsiveness with safety
Data Source
AI summary
An operation input device including: a first detection section including a first detection surface that detects a position at which a detection target is touching or within a predetermined distance, the first detection section outputting a first signal representing the position; an operation control section that controls a first operation target based on the first signal; an operation determination section that outputs a second signal only when it has determined that the detection target has moved along the first detection surface; and a switching control section that switches the operation control section between an operation enabled state in which control of the first operation target is enabled, and an operation prevented state in which control of the first operation target is prevented, the switching control section switching from the operation prevented state to the operation enabled state in a case in which the second signal has been received.