Motor Vehicle Interface With Mechanical Bearing And Capacitive Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing interfaces for controlling motor vehicle components, such as air conditioning and navigation systems, lack haptic feedback and allow rotational guidance that induces friction, leading to wear and noise, and do not allow for intuitive validation of commands by pressing the control dial.
Innovation Solution
An interface with a mobile gripping element and a capacitive touch screen that includes a mechanical bearing to reduce friction, provide good rotational guidance, and transmit force for haptic feedback, allowing for intuitive command validation by pressing the control member.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a mechanical rotary button with optical sensor or electric rotary switch is used, then the control function is achieved, but friction and wear occur leading to noise and reduced quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical rotary button with a capacitive touch screen that detects angular position of a metal index carried by a rotatable wheel. This substitution eliminates the need for optical sensors or electric rotary switches, thereby removing the sources of friction, wear, and noise while maintaining the control function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a metal index as an intermediary element that is carried by the rotatable wheel and detected by the capacitive touch screen. This intermediary allows the mechanical rotation to be translated into electrical signals without direct contact between sensing elements, eliminating friction and wear in the sensing mechanism.
2Ease of operation
If a capacitive touch screen with rotatable wheel is used, then tactile entry and angular position detection are achieved, but haptic feedback is not provided to the user
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements haptic feedback by generating vibrations on the capacitive touch screen that are transmitted to the user's fingers through the control member. This feedback mechanism provides tactile information to the user during operation, enhancing the user experience while maintaining the ease of operation for tactile entry and angular position detection.
3Ease of operation
If a rotatable dial is used for scrolling through lists, then selection capability is provided, but pressing the dial for validation is not intuitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the selection and validation functions into a single integrated control member. The rotatable wheel with metal index allows scrolling through lists, while the same control member can be pressed to validate selections. This merging of functions makes the validation operation intuitive and consistent with user expectations from mechanical control dials.
4Ease of operation
If rotational guidance is provided without mechanical bearing, then control function is achieved, but friction induces wear and noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes traditional friction-based rotational guidance with a capacitive sensing system that detects the angular position of a metal index carried by the rotatable wheel. This substitution eliminates friction and wear while maintaining smooth rotational guidance and precise position detection.
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 interface reduces wear and noise, enhances user experience with fluid navigation, and enables haptic feedback, allowing for intuitive command validation without mechanical indexing.
Implementation Method 1
a capacitive touch screen configured to detect the position of the metal index
Implementation Method 2
The mechanical bearing makes it possible to limit friction and ensure good guidance in rotation of the mobile gripping element
Implementation Method 3
the mechanical bearing makes it possible to transmit a force exerted on the control member to the capacitive touch screen so that it can be detected by pressure sensors
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6~9
AI summary
The invention relates to an interface (1) for controlling at least one function of a motor vehicle element, comprising at least one control body (2) comprising a movable grip element (4) that can be rotated about an axis of rotation (I), at least one metal index (6a, 6b) carried by the movable grip element (4) and movable therewith, a guide (5) that supports and guides the rotation of the movable grip element (4), and a capacitive tactile tile (3) designed to detect the position of the metal index (6a, 6b), the guide (5) being attached to the capacitive tactile tile (3), and the metal index (6a, 6b) being arranged facing the capacitive tactile tile (3). The invention is characterised in that the guide (5) comprises a mechanical bearing (52) inserted between a base (51) of the guide (5) and the movable grip element (4).