Vehicle Swipe Gesture Sensing With Spring-Loaded Haptic Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surface touch-sensitive input elements in vehicles lack haptic feedback, making them unsafe for safety-critical functions due to reliance on visual or acoustic cues, which can lead to inadvertent inputs during operations like gear selection.
Innovation Solution
A swipe gesture detection device with a spring providing pre-tension between a moving surface element and a housing element, coupled with a contactless distance sensor and an evaluation unit that determines the gesture based on sensor data and spring parameters, offering precise and robust recognition of intended inputs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If surface touch-sensitive input elements are used in vehicles, then installation space is reduced and handling is simplified, but haptic feedback is lost making them unsafe for safety-critical functions
Solution Approach 1:
The input system is segmented into multiple functional layers: a touch-sensitive surface element for contactless input detection, a spring mechanism for haptic feedback generation, and a housing element for structural support. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in one function while working together to provide both ease of operation and haptic feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring element acts as an intermediary between the surface element and housing element, translating touch gestures into haptic feedback. It mediates the interaction between user input and system response, providing tactile confirmation without requiring direct mechanical contact between the user and the housing.
2Device complexity
If visual or acoustic feedback is used without haptic feedback, then device complexity is reduced, but inadvertent inputs occur more frequently
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple feedback modalities (visual, acoustic, and haptic) into a single integrated input mechanism. The spring element combines mechanical energy storage with haptic feedback generation, while the touch-sensitive surface combines capacitive sensing with gesture recognition, creating a unified system that reduces inadvertent inputs without significantly increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameters of the spring element (stiffness, pre-tension, mass) to optimize haptic feedback characteristics. By adjusting these parameters, the system can provide distinct tactile sensations for different gesture types (tap, swipe, press) without requiring complex electronic control circuits.
3Reliability
If a spring mechanism with pre-tension is added to provide haptic feedback, then input reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring element serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides haptic feedback through controlled resistance, acts as a mechanical stop to define gesture boundaries, stores energy for tactile response, and maintains pre-tension to ensure consistent force characteristics. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring mechanism is self-regulating, automatically adjusting its resistance based on compression distance and pre-tension settings. It provides inherent mechanical feedback without requiring external sensors or control systems to monitor force application, thereby improving reliability while minimizing the addition of complex electronic control mechanisms.
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 solution provides reliable and precise haptic feedback, reducing the risk of inadvertent inputs by enabling the detection of swipe gestures with defined force and movement patterns, enhancing user safety and convenience in vehicle operations.
Implementation Method 1
a spring (250), which applies a pre-tension between the moving surface element (140) and a housing element (245)
Implementation Method 2
a distance sensor, measuring in a contactless manner, having at least two sensor elements (222) arranged at different positions for registering a distance between the surface element and the housing element
Data Source
AI summary
A swipe gesture detection device may determine a swipe gesture performed on a moving surface element of a vehicle component. The swipe gesture detection device includes a spring, which applies a pre-loading between the moving surface element and a housing element of the vehicle component. The swipe gesture detection device also includes a contactless measuring distance sensor having at least three sensor elements arranged in different positions for detecting a respective distance between the surface element and the housing element.