Control systems

• US 20070265745A1
• Filed: 03/14/2005
• Published: 11/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jaguar Land Rover Limited (TATA Motors Limited)
• Original Assignee: Jaguar Land Rover Limited (TATA Motors Limited)
• Inventors: Pickering, Carl, Thorp, Ian, Styles, Julian
• Granted Patent: US 8,626,380 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00985 Control systems or circuits characterised by display or indicating devices, e.g. voice simulators characterised by the input of sound using a voice synthesizer B60H1/00757; B60H1/00978 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/143 Touch sensitive instrument input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1438 Touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/654 the user being the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/656 the user being a passenger
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/441 Electric switches operable by the driver's pedals
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/10 Interpretation of driver requests or demands
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range

Abstract

A control system for a vehicle subsystem (10) comprises a controller (12) arranged to control operation of the subsystem (10), a user input (16) connected to the system controller (12) and arranged to be operated by a user, and a sensor comprising a transmitter (22) associated with user input (16) and a receiver (26) associated with a first user, whereby the controller uses detection of a signal from the transmitter (22) by the receiver (26) to distinguish between operation of the user input (16) by said first user and operation of the user input by a second user.

Claims

1. A control system for a vehicle subsystem, the control system comprising a controller arranged to control operation of the subsystem, a user input connected to the controller and arranged to be operated by a first user and a second user, and a sensor comprising a transmitter and a receiver, one of the transmitter and the receiver being associated with the user input and one of the transmitter and the receiver being adapted to be associated with the first user whereby the controller can use detection of a signal from the transmitter by the receiver to distinguish between operation of the user input by said first user and operation of the user input by the second user, characterised in that the subsystem includes a display arranged to display information to a user, and the controller is arranged to operate the display in a manner determined by which user operates the user input.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein one of the transmitter and the receiver is arranged to be mounted in a seat of the vehicle such that the first user is a person sitting on the seat.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein one of the transmitter and the receiver is arranged to be mounted in a footwell of the vehicle such that the first user is a person having their feet in the footwell.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the driver input comprises a movable input member and one of the transmitter and receiver is mounted in the input member.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein the input member is a hand operated input member.

7. A system according to claim 5, wherein the input member is a foot operated pedal.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein one of the transmitter and receiver is mounted adjacent to the driver input.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein the driver input is provided in a panel and one of the transmitter and receiver is mounted around the panel.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein the driver input includes a screen including a conductive layer which forms one of the transmitter and receiver.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is arranged to respond to inputs from one of the users but not to inputs from the other of the users.

12. A system according to claim 1, wherein the display is controlled to display the information only if one of the users operates the user input.

13. A system according to claim 1, wherein the position in which the information is displayed depends on which user operates the user input.

14. A system according to claim 1, wherein the display is a head-up display arranged to project a display image onto a windscreen of the vehicle.

15. A system according to claim 1 further comprising an indicator, the controller being arranged to operate the indicator to indicate which user is operating the system.

16. A system according to claim 15, wherein the indicator comprises an illuminator associated with the user input, and the controller is arranged to control the illuminator in a manner which is dependent on which user is operating the system.

17. A system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter and the receiver are arranged to define first and second signal paths each associated with a respective one of the users, and the controller is arranged to measure the strengths of the signals transmitted through the first and second signal paths thereby to determine which of the users operates the user input.

18. A system according to claim 17, wherein the transmitter comprises first and second transmitters each associated with a respective one of the users.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein the controller is arranged to transmit separate signals through the two transmitters and to identify which signal is received by the receiver thereby to determine which user operates the user input.

20. A system according to claim 19, wherein the separate signals are transmitted at different times.

21. A system according to claim 19, wherein the separate signals are in different formats.

22. A system according to claim 17, wherein the receiver comprises first and second receivers each associated with a respective one of the users.

23. A system according to claim 22, wherein the controller is arranged to measure the strength of the signals received by the two receivers thereby to determine which user operates the user input.

24. A system according to claim 17, wherein the controller is arranged to control the subsystem in response to detection of a signal via the first or second signal path when the signal reaches a predetermined respective threshold, wherein the thresholds for the two signal paths are different.

25. A system according to claim 1, wherein at least one condition is defined which must be met for the subsystem to respond to inputs from one of the users, but which does not need to be met for the system to respond to inputs from the other of the users.

26. A vehicle comprising a control system according to claim 1.

2. A system according to claim 2, wherein one of the transmitter and the receiver is in a position arranged to be associated with the first user.