Transmissive Display Input Surface With Recessed Cushion Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing input devices in vehicles, such as those described in PTL 1, do not adequately prevent discomfort on tactile sensation when users interact with them.
Innovation Solution
A display device and input device design featuring an optically transmissive front cover with a cushion layer having recessed portions that provide a soft tactile sensation, including a light source and a detector for operation detection, with the cushion layer being compressible and deformable to enhance user comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional input device structure is used, then the device can be manufactured with standard components, but the tactile sensation causes discomfort to users
Solution Approach 1:
The cushion layer is divided into multiple recessed portions (first recessed portions and second recessed portions) with different shapes and depths. This segmentation allows each region to provide differentiated tactile feedback, improving user comfort while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure that can be manufactured as a single integrated component.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the cushion layer are given different local properties through the recessed portions. The first recessed portions have a first shape and the second recessed portions have a second shape, creating localized tactile variations that enhance user interaction without requiring complex multi-material construction.
2Ease of operation
If the cushion layer is made compressible and deformable to provide soft tactile sensation, then user comfort is improved, but the structural stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cushion layer incorporates multiple recessed portions that segment the compressible material into distinct regions. This segmentation allows the cushion layer to deform locally in response to user input while maintaining overall structural integrity, as the recessed portions provide controlled deformation zones rather than uniform compression throughout the entire layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The recessed portions introduce vertical dimensionality variations within the cushion layer, creating depth variations that enhance tactile feedback. This dimensional variation allows the cushion layer to provide soft tactile sensation through controlled deformation in the vertical direction while maintaining horizontal structural stability.
3Shape
If the front cover and design portion are made optically transmissive to improve appearance, then aesthetic quality is enhanced, but light transmission control becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The cushion layer acts as an intermediary element between the front cover and the background. It provides both structural function (tactile feedback) and optical function (light transmission control). The recessed portions in the cushion layer create light shadowing effects that enhance appearance while the material itself controls light transmission, eliminating the need for separate optical control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The cushion layer is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: providing tactile feedback through its compressible nature, controlling light transmission through its material properties, and creating aesthetic effects through the recessed portions. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, simplifying the overall device while enhancing appearance.
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
The design reduces discomfort on tactile sensation by providing a soft and consistent tactile feedback, improving user interaction and device appearance through controlled light transmission and deformation of the cushion layer.
Implementation Method 1
a cushion layer (13) which is arranged on a back surface side of the front cover (11), and in which a plurality of recessed portions (13a) are formed
Implementation Method 2
the cushion layer being compressible and deformable to enhance user comfort
Implementation Method 3
a front cover (11) which is optically transmissive; a design portion (12) which is optically transmissive
Data Source
AI summary
A display device includes: a front cover that is optically transmissive; a design sheet that is optically transmissive and is arranged on the front surface side or the back surface side of the front cover; a cushion layer that is optically transmissive and is arranged on the back surface side of the front cover; and a light source that is arranged on the back surface side of the cushion layer. The cushion layer includes a plurality of first recessed portions each of which is, in a cross-sectional view taken along a plane parallel to a stacking direction of the front cover and the design sheet, in a projecting shape in the stacking direction and is in a recessed shape on the back side of the projecting shape.