Morphable Pad for Tactile Control

• US 20120260164A1
• Filed: 12/09/2010
• Published: 10/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Scheufler, Nick, Feit, Steven, Choi, Dave, Miller, Ross
• Granted Patent: US 8,954,848 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/702
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1442 Emulation of input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/1442 Emulation of input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/155 Virtual instruments
• 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 35/213 Virtual instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04809 Textured surface identifying touch areas, e.g. overlay structure for a virtual keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for a morphable pad and display configured for tactile control. The system comprises a display for displaying a user interface comprising a layout of vehicle control features. The display is configured to highlight a portion of the layout associated with a received highlight input, and to update the layout based on a received selection input. A morphable pad is connected to the display and comprises an array of switches. Each switch is configured to receive high-light input and selection input. The switches are also configured to adjust in tactile feel to match the layout, and to reconfigure in tactile feel responsive to a change in the layout.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a vehicle feature control device comprising a morphable pad having an array of switches and a display displaying a user interface, the method comprising:

configuring a tactile feel of a first subset of said array of switches of said morphable pad based on a layout of vehicle feature controls on said user interface;

receiving a selection input at the switch of said morphable pad;

updating the layout of said user interface based on the selection input; and

reconfiguring the tactile feel of at least some of said array of switches of said morphable pad responsive to the updating the layout of said user interface.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring a tactile feel of at least some of said array of switches further comprises:

adjusting upward in height those switches in said array of switches associated with vehicle features controls in said user interface.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring a tactile feel of at least some of said array of switches further comprises:

adjusting in surface texture those switches in said array of switches associated with vehicle features controls in said user interface.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein updating the layout of said user interface based on the selection input further comprises:

correlating the selection input with a selected vehicle feature control displayed as part of the layout of vehicle feature controls on said user interface;

retrieving from a storage a new layout of vehicle control features for said user interface based on the selected vehicle feature control; and

displaying the new layout of said user interface on said display.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein reconfiguring the tactile feel of at least some of said array of switches further comprises:

determining whether a portion of the updated layout of said user interface corresponds to a vehicle feature control; and

responsive to determining that the portion corresponds to a vehicle feature control, modifying a tactile feel of a first switch in said array of switches that matches the vehicle feature control.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising modifying a vehicle feature setting based on the selection input.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein each switch in said array of switches is less than or equal to one millimeter in length or width.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein each switch is capable of sufficient adjustment in tactile feel such that the change in tactile feel may be detected by sense of human touch relative to an adjacent unadjusted switch.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said morphable pad is located on a steering wheel of a vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a highlight input at a switch of said array of switches; and

adjusting said user interface to highlight the portion of the layout of vehicle feature controls associated with the switch that received the highlight input.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said morphable pad is located on the center console of a vehicle.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein each switch in said array of switches comprises a micro motor.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein each switch in said array of switches comprises a piezoelectric material.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein each switch in said array of switches comprises an electro-active polymer.

15. A system for controlling vehicle feature settings comprising:

a display displaying a user interface comprising a layout of vehicle control features, the display configured to update the layout based on a received selection input; and

a morphable pad connected to the display and comprising an array of switches, each switch configured to receive the selection input, the switches configured to adjust in tactile feel to match the layout, and to reconfigure in tactile feel responsive to a change in the layout.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein a switch is further configured to adjust upward in height responsive to being associated with a vehicle feature control displayed in the layout.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein a switch is further configured to adjust in surface texture responsive to being associated with a vehicle feature control displayed in the layout.

18. The system of claim 15 further comprising:

an electronic control unit (ECU) connected to the display and the morphable pad, the ECU configured to correlate the received selection input with a selected vehicle feature control displayed in the layout;

a storage connected to the ECU, the storage configured to store a new layout of vehicle control features for the user interface related to the selected vehicle feature control; and

the display further configured to display the new layout of the user interface.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the ECU is further configured to reconfigure the tactile feel of at least some of the array of switches responsive to the display displaying the new layout.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the ECU is further configured to:

determine whether a portion of the new layout corresponds to a vehicle feature control; and

responsive to determining that the portion corresponds to a vehicle feature control, to modify a tactile feel of a first switch in the array of switches that matches the vehicle feature control.