Tracked Vehicle Handle with Touch Sensor Contact Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tracked vehicle manual controllers lack ergonomic design and safety features, particularly in detecting driver contact and preventing unintended operation of safety-critical functions.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating touch sensors on the handle to detect driver contact, which converts into control signals for actuators only when contact is made, and allowing the handle to pivot about a vertical axis for additional control functions, with a control unit that manages these signals and ensures safe operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional manual controllers without touch detection are used, then the device complexity is low, but the safety and reliability are insufficient due to inability to detect driver contact
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical contact detection with electronic touch sensors that detect electrical resistance changes or capacitive coupling when the driver's hand contacts the handle. This substitution enables reliable contact detection without complex mechanical switches or pressure mechanisms, thereby improving safety while maintaining relatively simple device architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch sensor acts as an intermediary between the driver's hand and the control system. It detects the presence of the driver through electrical properties (resistance or capacitance) and translates this physical contact into electronic signals that the control unit can process, enabling safe operation control without direct mechanical interaction.
2Reliability
If multiple touch sensors are implemented for reliable contact detection, then the reliability improves through redundancy, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements touch sensors at specific critical locations on the handle where driver contact is most likely to occur. By placing sensors strategically rather than uniformly across the entire handle, the system achieves reliable contact detection with minimal sensor count, balancing reliability improvement against device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit continuously monitors touch sensor signals in advance before critical operations are initiated. This preliminary detection allows the system to verify driver presence and readiness before activating safety-critical functions, preventing unintended operation while maintaining simple sensor implementation.
3Ease of operation
If the handle requires permanent holding for control, then the control precision is maintained, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to muscle tension and fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a static control requirement (permanent hand holding) to a dynamic detection system. The touch sensors dynamically detect hand presence and maintain control authority verification without requiring the driver to continuously exert force. This dynamic approach improves ease of operation while preserving control precision through electronic monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle design with spherical curvature allows the driver's hand to rest naturally without active muscle tension. The ergonomic shape provides self-supporting contact, and the touch sensors automatically detect and verify this passive contact, eliminating the need for active gripping while maintaining control precision through continuous electronic monitoring.
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
Enhances ergonomic operation and safety by ensuring only intended functions are activated when the driver is in contact with the handle, preventing accidental operation and allowing intuitive control of additional vehicle functions.
Implementation Method 1
expedient measurement variables may be an electrical resistance which is influenced by the body heat or the electrical resistance of the skin on the inner surface of the hand
Implementation Method 2
Capacitive sensors can also be readily used as touch sensors
Implementation Method 3
A refinement of the touch sensor of this type has the advantage that it does not matter if, possibly due to the use of gloves or due to cold weather conditions, the presence of the hand of the operator cannot be reliably detected by means of a change in electrical resistance on account of body temperature. A force or pressure sensor of this type is advantageous particularly in the case of handles in which, on account of their shape, provision is made for the hand of the operator to rest in a way which leads to permanent or virtually permanent application of force on the handle downward in the vertical direction of the vehicle during operation
Data Source
AI summary
1. Vehicle (10), in particular tracked vehicle (10).2.1 The invention relates to a vehicle (10), in particular a tracked vehicle (10), having a manual controller (40) for controlling driving functions of the vehicle (10) and/or additional functions of the vehicle (10), the manual controller (40) having a base (42) and a handle which can move in relation to the base (44) and is designed such that it can pivot at least about a substantially horizontal pivot axis (44a, 44b) for control purposes.2.2 According to the invention, the handle (44) has a contact zone (46) which is to be held by the inner surface of a hand, the manual controller (40) having at least one touch sensor (50, 52) which is designed to detect that a user is touching the handle (44).