Haptic shifting devices
First Claim
1. A haptic shift device for a vehicle, the haptic shift device comprising:
- a shift lever manipulatable by a user in at least one degree of freedom;
at least one sensor operative to detect a position of said shift lever in said at least one degree of freedom, wherein position data representative of said position is derived from said at least one sensor;
a processor able to receive said position data and output data causing a transmission gear of said vehicle to be changed based on said position of said shift lever; and
at least one actuator operative to output a closed loop haptic sensation on said shift lever, said at least one actuator being electrically controlled said closed loop haptic sensaation based at least in part on said position data.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A haptic shift device for use in shift-by-wire systems in vehicles. The haptic shift device includes a shift lever manipulatable by a user. At least one sensor detects a position of the shift lever, and a transmission gear of the vehicle is caused to be changed based on the position of the shift lever. At least one electrically-controlled actuator outputs a force on the shift lever. In some embodiments, the shift lever is moveable within a pattern and is blocked from areas outside the boundaries of the pattern. The actuator(s) can be active or passive, and/or a variable mechanical gate can be used to implement the pattern. Provided shifting modes can include automatic, manual, and/or sequential modes. Other shifting modes can also be provided.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. A haptic shift device for a vehicle, the haptic shift device comprising:
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a shift lever manipulatable by a user in at least one degree of freedom; at least one sensor operative to detect a position of said shift lever in said at least one degree of freedom, wherein position data representative of said position is derived from said at least one sensor; a processor able to receive said position data and output data causing a transmission gear of said vehicle to be changed based on said position of said shift lever; and at least one actuator operative to output a closed loop haptic sensation on said shift lever, said at least one actuator being electrically controlled said closed loop haptic sensaation based at least in part on said position data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A haptic shift device for a vehicle, the haptic shift device comprising:
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a shift lever manipulatable by a user in two degrees of freedom; at least one sensor operative to detect a position of said shift lever in said two degrees of freedom, wherein position data representative of said position is derived from said at least one sensor, wherein said position data is used to cause a transmission gear of said vehicle to be changed based on said position of said shift lever; at least one actuator operative to output a closed loop haptic sensation on said shift lever, said at least one actuator being electrically controlled, said closed loop haptic sensation based at least in part on said said position data; and a mode selector allowing said user to select one of a plurality of shifting modes of said haptic shift device, wherein at least two of said shifting modes have different shifting patterns for said shift lever. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for shifting gears of a vehicle transmission, the method comprising:
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providing a shift lever to be moved by a user in at least one degree of freedom; detecting a position of said shift lever in said at least one degree of freedom, wherein position data representative of said position is derived from said at least one sensor; outputting data causing a transmission gear of said vehicle to be changed based on said position of said shift lever; and outputting a closed loop haptic sensation on said shift lever using at least one actuator, said at least one actuator being electrically controlled, said closed loop haptic sensation based at least in part on said said position data. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A haptic shift device for a vehicle, the haptic shift device comprising:
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a shift lever manipulatable by a user in at least one degree of freedom; at least one sensor operative to detect a position of said shift lever in said at least one degree of freedom, wherein position data representative of said position is derived from said at least one sensor, wherein said position data is used to cause a transmission gear of said vehicle to be changed based on said position of said shift lever; at least one actuator operative to output a closed loop haptic sensations on said shift lever, said at least one actuator being electrically controlled, said closed loop haptic sensation based at least in part on said said position data; and a mode selector allowing said user to select one of a plurality of shifting modes of said haptic shift device, wherein at least two of said shifting modes provide different physical characteristics for said shift lever. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45)
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46. A haptic shift device for a simulated vehicle implemented by a computer system, the haptic shift device comprising:
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a shift lever manipulatable by a user in at least one degree of freedom; at least one sensor operative to detect a position of said shift lever in said at least one degree of freedom, wherein position data representative of said position is derived from said at least one sensor, wherein said position data is provided to said computer system to cause a simulated transmission gear of said simulated vehicle to be changed based on said position of said shift lever; at least one actuator operative to output a closed loop haptic sensations on said shift lever, said at least one actuator being electrically controlled, said closed loop haptic sensation based at least in part on said said position data; and a mode selector allowing said user to select one of a plurality of shifting modes of said haptic shift device, wherein at least two of said shifting modes provide different shifting patterns for said shift lever, wherein said shift lever is moveable within said shifting patterns and is blocked from areas outside the boundaries of said shifting patterns. - View Dependent Claims (47)
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Specification