LIGHT-BASED CONTROLS IN A TOROIDAL STEERING WHEEL

• US 20160299681A1
• Filed: 06/23/2016
• Published: 10/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Inventors: Frjdh, Gunnar Martin, Fellin, Simon, Eriksson, Thomas, Karlsson, John, Hedin, Maria, Berglind, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 10,007,422 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/141 Activation of instrument input devices by approaching fingers or pens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1446 Touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/782 on the steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/141 Activation by approaching fingers or pens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/1446 Touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/782 on the steering wheel
• 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 35/60 Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/037 for occupant comfort , e.g. for automatic adjustment of appliances according to personal settings, e.g. seats, mirrors, steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/046 Adaptations on rotatable parts of the steering wheel for accommodation of switches
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• 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 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 : including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42201 : biosensors, e.g. heat sensor for presence detection, EEG sensors or any limb activity sensors worn by the user input arrangements for interaction with the human body based on nervous system activity detection G06F3/015

Abstract

A steering wheel for a vehicle, including front and back semi-toroidal surfaces joined at their outer circumferences by a light guide in the shape of a circular rim, and enclosing a toroidal volume having a cavity therein, a PCB mounted in the cavity, an alternating array of invisible-light emitters and receivers mounted on the PCB, such that the light guide projects invisible-light beams emitted by the emitters radially outward of the steering wheel, and directs reflections of the projected light beams off of a driver'"'"'s hands radially inward to the steering wheel toward the receivers, and a processor connected to equipment mounted away from the steering wheel, the processor synchronously activating each emitter with a respective neighboring receiver, identifying a driver'"'"'s hand gestures along an arc of the light guide based on reflected light detected by the receivers, and controlling the equipment in response to the thus-identified hand gestures.

Claims

1-21. -21. (canceled)

22. A steering wheel for a vehicle, comprising:

front and back semi-toroidal surfaces of a steering wheel joined at their outer circumferences by a light guide in the shape of a circular rim, the steering wheel enclosing a toroidal volume having a cavity therein;

a printed circuit board (PCB) mounted in the cavity of the steering wheel;

an alternating array of invisible-light emitters and receivers mounted on said PCB, such that said light guide projects invisible-light beams emitted by said emitters radially outward of the steering wheel, and directs reflections of the projected light beams off of a driver'"'"'s hands radially inward to the steering wheel toward said receivers; and

a processor connected to said PCB and to equipment mounted away from the steering wheel, the processor synchronously activating each said emitter with a respective neighboring receiver, identifying a driver'"'"'s hand gestures along an arc of said light guide based on reflected light detected by said receivers, and controlling the equipment in response to the thus-identified hand gestures.

23. The steering wheel of claim 22, wherein the identified hand gestures are sweep gestures.

24. The steering wheel of claim 22, wherein the equipment comprises an entertainment system.

25. The steering wheel of claim 22, wherein the equipment comprises a navigation system.

26. The steering wheel of claim 22, wherein said processor controls the equipment in response to the identified hand gestures only when the steering wheel is in a central orientation whereat wheels of the vehicle are aligned to move straight ahead.

27. The steering element of claim 22, wherein said light guide comprises first and second pluralities of individual arc-shaped light guide units, each unit in the first plurality being situated so as to direct light from a respective one of said emitters, and each unit in the second plurality being situated so as to direct reflected light to a respective one of said receivers.

28. The steering element of claim 22, further comprising visible-light emitters mounted on said PCB that are selectively activated to provide feedback by visually tracking the driver'"'"'s hand movements identified by said processor.