Vehicle information display on steering wheel surface
First Claim
1. A vehicle steering wheel comprising:
- a steering wheel body having a central portion and an outer rim connected for rotation with said central portion;
a reconfigurable display unit placed on said central portion, and rotating with said central portion and said outer rim; and
a control for providing information to said display unit, said control causing said display unit to display said information on said central portion of said steering wheel, said control monitoring rotation of said steering wheel body and reconfiguring the orientation of said display information on said display unit to maintain said information relatively horizontal in orientation relative to an operator.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle steering wheel is provided with a thin reconfigurable display such as an LED, an LCD, an electro-luminescent display, or other types of reconfigurable thin display. Vehicle instrument information such as speedometer, fuel level, vehicle temperature, engine speed, etc. are provided on this display. The reconfigurable display is provided with a control that reconfigures the location of the information on the display. The control is provided with a signal indicative of rotation of the steering wheel, and the control takes that signal and adjusts the information such that the displayed information maintains a particular orientation relative to the horizontal during a turn. With the present invention, the vehicle operator need only consult the vehicle steering wheel to obtain information about the vehicle condition. There are thus less constraints on the design of the steering wheel, and in the requirement of providing visual access to the instrument panel.
276 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A vehicle steering wheel comprising:
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a steering wheel body having a central portion and an outer rim connected for rotation with said central portion; a reconfigurable display unit placed on said central portion, and rotating with said central portion and said outer rim; and a control for providing information to said display unit, said control causing said display unit to display said information on said central portion of said steering wheel, said control monitoring rotation of said steering wheel body and reconfiguring the orientation of said display information on said display unit to maintain said information relatively horizontal in orientation relative to an operator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of providing information to a vehicle operator comprising the steps of:
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1) providing a vehicle steering wheel having a reconfigurable display which rotates with said vehicle steering wheel, and a sensor for sensing rotation of said steering wheel; 2) monitoring rotation of said steering wheel with said sensor, and providing a signal of said steering wheel turning to a control for said display; 3) reconfiguring said display to adjust for rotation of said steering wheel such that said displayed information maintain a particular orientation relative to the horizontal during the turning of said steering wheel. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A vehicle steering wheel comprising:
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a vehicle steering wheel body having a central portion and an outer rim connected for rotation with said central portion; a reconfigurable display unit placed on said central portion to rotate with said central portion and said outer rim; a sensor for monitoring rotation of said steering wheel body; and a control receiving signals from said sensor, said control controlling the information to be displayed on said display unit, said control unit causing said display to display information on said central portion of said steering wheel with regard to operational information of said vehicle, and said control reconfiguring the orientation of said displayed information in response to signals from said sensor to maintain a relatively constant horizontal orientation. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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Specification