Systems and methods for printing sensor circuits on a sensor mat for a steering wheel
First Claim
1. A sensor mat configured for being disposed around a steering wheel frame, the sensor mat comprising:
- a base substrate supporting at least one shielding circuit, at least one sensing circuit, and a plurality of layers of insulating material, wherein the layers of insulating material define a plurality of surfaces in the sensor mat, and wherein the layers are stacked about an axis extending from the base substrate and through the plurality of surfaces;
one or more of the sensing circuits printed with conductive ink onto one of the plurality of surfaces of the insulating material;
one or more shielding circuits printed with the conductive ink onto another of the surfaces of insulating material within the sensor mat,wherein the shielding circuits and the sensing circuits are configured in corresponding pairs of one shielding circuit and one sensing circuit, wherein the shielding circuits overlap at least one area within the plurality of surfaces of the insulating material on which a respective sensing circuit is printed and such that the shielding circuits and the sensing circuits are separated by at least one of the layers of the insulating material.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods of printing sensor loops on a sensor mat for use in a steering wheel are disclosed herein. For example, the sensor mat may include a base substrate, one or more printed sensing loops, and an insulating material. The printed sensing loops are made with conductive ink that is disposed upon the base substrate or the insulating layer from a print head and adheres thereto. These sensor mats are versatile with respect to the type of base substrate and insulating materials that may be used, the shape of the sensing loops, and the area each loop may occupy. Shielding loop(s) may also be printed adjacent the sensing loop(s). This configuration allows shielding for the sensing loops as part of the sensing mat, which may reduce the thickness of the steering wheel rim and manufacturing and installation times.
-
Citations
33 Claims
-
1. A sensor mat configured for being disposed around a steering wheel frame, the sensor mat comprising:
-
a base substrate supporting at least one shielding circuit, at least one sensing circuit, and a plurality of layers of insulating material, wherein the layers of insulating material define a plurality of surfaces in the sensor mat, and wherein the layers are stacked about an axis extending from the base substrate and through the plurality of surfaces; one or more of the sensing circuits printed with conductive ink onto one of the plurality of surfaces of the insulating material; one or more shielding circuits printed with the conductive ink onto another of the surfaces of insulating material within the sensor mat, wherein the shielding circuits and the sensing circuits are configured in corresponding pairs of one shielding circuit and one sensing circuit, wherein the shielding circuits overlap at least one area within the plurality of surfaces of the insulating material on which a respective sensing circuit is printed and such that the shielding circuits and the sensing circuits are separated by at least one of the layers of the insulating material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A system for hand sensing in a steering wheel comprising:
-
a base substrate supporting at least one shielding circuit, at least one sensing circuit, and a plurality of layers of insulating material, wherein the layers of insulating material define a plurality of surfaces in a sensor mat, and wherein the layers are stacked about an axis extending from the base substrate and through the plurality of surfaces; one or more of the sensing circuits printed with conductive ink onto one of the plurality of surfaces of the insulating material; one or more shielding circuits printed with the conductive ink onto another of the surfaces of the insulating material within the sensor mat, wherein the shielding circuits and the sensing circuits are configured in corresponding pairs of one shielding circuit and one sensing circuit, wherein the shielding circuits overlap at least one area within the plurality of surfaces of the insulating material on which a respective sensing surface is printed and such that the shielding circuits and the sensing circuits are separated by at least one of the layers of the insulating material; wherein the sensing circuits and the shielding circuits comprise respective return traces extending across the respective one of the plurality of surfaces and another of the surfaces of the insulating material; and an electronic control unit in communication with the sensor mat via the return traces, wherein the electronic control unit comprises; a processor, and a power source, wherein the processor is configured for receiving a signal from at least one of the one or more sensing circuits and determining an indication associated with the signal. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
-
-
31. A sensor mat configured for being disposed around a steering wheel frame, the sensor mat comprising:
-
sensor mat layers defined by a base substrate supporting a plurality of layers of insulating materials thereon; a plurality of sensing circuits printed with conductive ink on respective surfaces of the sensor mat layers; one or more shielding circuits printed with the conductive ink on at least one other surface of the sensor mat layers, wherein the other surface is not printed with a sensing circuit; wherein at least one of the sensing circuits and a corresponding one of the shielding circuits are at least partially aligned along an axis extending from the base substrate and through the plurality of layers of insulating materials; at least a portion of one of the layers of insulating material separating corresponding pairs of at least one of the sensing circuits and the corresponding one of the shielding circuits; wherein the conductive ink exhibits an elongation characteristic sufficient to withstand stretching the sensor mat without breaking any circuits when wrapping the sensor mat around a rim of the steering wheel, and wherein the elongation characteristic is expressed as a percentage of elongation relative to a reference force stretching the conductive ink printed on a respective sensor mat layer. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
-
Specification