REMOTE TOUCHPAD DEVICE FOR VEHICLE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

• US 20110063213A1
• Filed: 12/01/2009
• Published: 03/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), LS Automotive Technologies., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Daesung Electric Company Limited (LS Corporation)
• Inventors: Kang, Sung Hyun, Baik, Sung-Ho
• Granted Patent: US 8,441,443 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/9631 using a light source as part of the switch
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/94111 having more than one emitter

Abstract

The present invention features a remote touchpad device for a vehicle, which preferably comprises a circuit board having luminous elements installed at predetermined intervals along the circumference of a circle to irradiate light and at least one light-receiving element to receive the light the luminous elements, a pad provided on an upper part of the circuit board to make the light from the luminous elements reflected by an approaching or contact object and incident to the light-receiving element, a controller controlling a user interface by calculating the position of the object with 3D coordinates based on the amount of light incident to the light-receiving element, and a housing forming the exterior of the circuit board, the pad, and the controller. The invention also features a method of controlling the remote touchpad device.

Claims

1. A remote touchpad device for a vehicle, comprising:

a circuit board having a plurality of luminous elements installed thereon at predetermined intervals along the circumference of a circle to irradiate light and at least one light-receiving element mounted thereon to receive the light irradiated from the plurality of luminous elements;

a pad provided on an upper part of the circuit board to make the light irradiated from the plurality of luminous elements reflected by an approaching or contact object and incident to the light-receiving element;

a controller controlling a user interface by calculating the position of the object with three-dimensional (3D) coordinates (i.e. X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis coordinates) based on the amount of light incident to the light-receiving element; and

a housing forming the exterior of the circuit board, the pad, and the controller.

2. The remote touchpad device of claim 1, further comprising a compensation element provided on the circuit board to emit light having an opposite phase to the light incident to the light-receiving element.

3. The remote touchpad device of claim 2, further comprising a prism combined in a body with the compensation element in a position where the prism faces the light-receiving element to make the light from the compensation element directly incident to the light-receiving element.

4. The remote touchpad device of claim 2, wherein the plurality of luminous elements and the compensation element are infrared light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

5. The remote touchpad device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of luminous elements includes four luminous elements arranged one by one by 90°

in positions where light distributions overlap each other around the light-receiving element.

6. The remote touchpad device of claim 5, further comprising a frame provided with a partition formed between the circuit board and the pad to separate the light-receiving element from the plurality of luminous elements.

7. The remote touchpad device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises:

an upper housing having an exposure part formed thereon to make the pad exposed; and

a lower housing combined in a body with the upper housing;

wherein a lighting part is provided in the neighborhood of the exposure part to make brightness differ in accordance with a height (i.e. the Z-axis coordinates) between the object and the pad based on the coordinates calculated by the controller.

8. The remote touchpad device of claim 1, wherein the light-receiving element is a photodiode.

9. A method of controlling a touchpad device for a vehicle, having a plurality of luminous elements to irradiate light, at least one light-receiving element to receive the light irradiated from the plurality of luminous elements, and a pad making the light irradiated from the plurality of luminous elements reflected by an approaching or contact object and incident to the light-receiving element, the method comprising the steps of:

converting the amount of light, which is irradiated from the plurality of luminous elements, reflected by the object approaching or contacting the pad, and then incident to the light-receiving element, into the amount of current;

compensating for the current by making the current in a straight line through emission of light having an opposite phase to the light incident to the light-receiving element;

calculating the position of the object with three-dimensional (3D) coordinates (i.e. X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis coordinates) based on the amount of light compensated; and

making a user interface operate in accordance with the 3D coordinates.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of displaying an approaching distance of the object to the pad based on the Z-axis coordinates of the calculated 3D coordinates (i.e. X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis coordinates).

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the brightness of illumination becomes higher as the approaching distance between the pad and the object becomes nearer.

12. A remote touchpad device for a vehicle, comprising:

a circuit board comprising a plurality of luminous elements;

a pad provided on an upper part of the circuit board;

a controller controlling a user interface; and

a housing.

13. The remote touchpad device of claim 12, wherein the luminous elements are installed at predetermined intervals along the circumference of a circle to irradiate light.

14. The remote touchpad device of claim 12, wherein the circuit board further comprises at least one light-receiving element mounted thereon to receive the light irradiated from the plurality of luminous elements.

15. The remote touchpad device of claim 12, wherein the pad is used to make the light irradiated from the plurality of luminous elements reflected by an approaching or contact object and incident to the light-receiving element.

16. The remote touchpad device of claim 12, wherein the controller controls the user interface by calculating the position of the object with three-dimensional (3D) coordinates based on the amount of light incident to the light-receiving element.

17. The remote touchpad device of claim 16, wherein the 3D coordinates are X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis coordinates.

18. The remote touchpad device of claim 12, wherein the housing forms the exterior of the circuit board, the pad, and the controller.

19. A method of controlling a touchpad device for a vehicle comprising:

converting the amount of light reflected by an object approaching or contacting the pad into an amount of current;

compensating for the current;

calculating the position of the object with three-dimensional (3D) coordinates based on the amount of compensation; and

making a user interface operate in accordance with the 3D coordinates.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the light is irradiated from a plurality of luminous elements.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein compensating for the current comprises making the current in a straight line through emission of light having an opposite phase to the light incident to the light-receiving element.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the 3D coordinates are X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis coordinates.