Cockpit of an automotive vehicle with a steering wheel and an adjustable seat

• US 7,512,470 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Issued: 03/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: C ROB Hammerstein GmbH & Company KG (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: C ROB Hammerstein GmbH & Company KG (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Ungnau, Stefan, Beneker, Wilfried
• Primary Examiner(s): Black; Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shin; Sarah S
• Application Number:
  US10/955,267
• Publication Number:
  US 20050125106A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,643 Days
• Field of Search: 701/49
• US Class Current: 701/49
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0244 with logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0252 with relations between different adjustments, e.g. height of headrest following longitudinal position of seat
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1615 Parallelogram-like structure
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/164 Linear actuator, e.g. screw mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0373 Voice control in general G10L

Abstract

A driver'"'"'s compartment of an automotive vehicle including a steering wheel, an underbody, a seat, the seat having an underframe connected to the underbody, a seat pan carried by the underframe, a seat back and an adjusting device for adjusting the seat toward the steering wheel and away therefrom, a control circuit being associated with said adjusting device.

Claims

1. A driver'"'"'s compartment of an automotive vehicle, comprising:

a seat;

an adjustable steering wheel comprising at least one adjusting device for adjustment thereof;

a control circuit that is connected to said adjusting device;

an input means permitting to selectively bring the control circuit from a normally locked state into an activated state, the adjusting device being adjustable in the activated state only;

sensors which are connected to the control circuit are disposed on the steering wheel, said sensors comprising;

a) at least one first sensor being responsive to a first force exerted only in a direction leading away from the seat toward the steering wheel and at least one second sensor being responsive to a second force exerted onto the steering wheel only in a direction opposite to said first force wherein the first sensor controls an adjusting backward movement of the adjusting device of the steering wheel which is thus moved forward and accordingly away from the seat and wherein the second sensor controls an adjusting forward movement of the adjusting device which is thus moved toward the seat, and/or

b) at least one third sensor responsive only to a third force that causes the steering wheel to tilt about a horizontal axis wherein said third sensor controls an adjusting movement of the adjusting device of the steering wheel about the horizontal axis,

wherein each of the first sensor, second sensor, and third sensor are individually accessible and touchable by an occupant of the seat.

2. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one adjusting device for the steering wheel is a forward and backward adjusting device and/or an adjusting device for tilt adjustment of the steering wheel.

3. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the control circuit comprises either several control modes and is designed in such a manner that each of the adjusting devices can be addressed selectively via the input means or comprises one control mode by means of which several adjusting devices are controllable simultaneously.

4. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are disposed on the steering wheel so as to be within the range of a user'"'"'s hands normally holding the steering wheel.

5. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the input means comprises a sensor.

6. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the seat comprises at least one adjusting device.

7. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one adjusting device comprises either a releasable mechanical locking device or a motor drive.

8. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 3, wherein the steering wheel comprises at least one third sensor.

9. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 1, wherein either the sensors enables in the control circuit, upon actuation by the hand of a user, switching between an on-state and an off-state or the sensors comprise a force sensor.

10. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 9, wherein the force exerted onto the force sensor is evaluated in the control circuit in such a manner that a speed of the adjusting movement is also controlled, a larger force applied on the sensor resulting in a faster adjusting movement and vice versa.

11. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 3, wherein the seat comprises an underframe connected to an underbody, a seat pan carried by the underframe, a seat back and seat adjusting device for adjusting the seat toward the steering wheel and away therefrom, the control circuit being associated with said seat adjusting device.

12. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the input means comprises at least one of a switch and a voice input.

13. The passenger compartment in accordance with claim 7, wherein the motor drive comprises a drive with an electric motor.