APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR HORN CONTROL USING TOUCH PATTERN
First Claim
1. An apparatus for horn control, comprising:
- a touch detection unit in a steering wheel of a vehicle configured to detect a driver'"'"'s touch;
a touch pattern recognition unit configured to recognize a touch pattern in the driver'"'"'s touch detected by the touch detection unit;
a storage unit configured to store a plurality of horn sounds, wherein each horn sound corresponds to a touch pattern; and
a controller configured to identify a horn sound corresponding to the touch pattern recognized by the touch pattern recognition unit in the storage unit and to communicate an output command to a horn output unit, the horn output unit configured to receive the output command and output the horn sound.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is an apparatus and method for outputting horn sounds using a touch pattern. The apparatus includes: a storage unit configured to store horn sounds matched to various touch patterns; a touch detection unit equipped in a steering wheel of a vehicle configured to detect a driver'"'"'s touch; a touch pattern recognition unit configured to recognize a driver'"'"'s touch pattern detected by the touch detection unit; a controller configured to identify a horn sound corresponding to the touch pattern recognized by the touch pattern recognition unit from the storage unit, and to send it to a horn output unit; which allows a user to control what sounds are output by the horn using nothing more than simple touch gestures. Additionally, the apparatus and method enable a user to produce different horn outputs to correspond to different situations.
14 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An apparatus for horn control, comprising:
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a touch detection unit in a steering wheel of a vehicle configured to detect a driver'"'"'s touch; a touch pattern recognition unit configured to recognize a touch pattern in the driver'"'"'s touch detected by the touch detection unit; a storage unit configured to store a plurality of horn sounds, wherein each horn sound corresponds to a touch pattern; and a controller configured to identify a horn sound corresponding to the touch pattern recognized by the touch pattern recognition unit in the storage unit and to communicate an output command to a horn output unit, the horn output unit configured to receive the output command and output the horn sound. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for horn control, comprising:
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storing horn sounds on a storage unit, wherein the horn sounds are matched to at least one touch pattern; detecting a driver'"'"'s touch by a touch detection unit located on a steering wheel of a vehicle; recognizing the detected touch pattern; identifying, with a controller, a horn sound corresponding to the recognized touch pattern; and outputting the identified horn sound to a horn output unit. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions executed by a processor or controller, the computer readable medium comprising:
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program instructions that store horn sounds on a storage unit, wherein the horn sounds are matched to at least one touch pattern; program instructions that detect a driver'"'"'s touch by a touch detection unit located on a steering wheel of a vehicle; program instructions that recognize the detected touch pattern; program instructions that identify a horn sound corresponding to the recognized touch pattern; and program instructions that output the identified horn sound to a horn output unit. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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Specification