Light-based touch controls on a steering wheel
First Claim
1. A system for use in a vehicle, comprising:
- a steering element, situated opposite a driver'"'"'s seat in a vehicle, comprising a plurality of proximity sensors for detecting multiple fingers concurrently touching the steering element;
an interactive deck housed in the vehicle, for providing at least one of radio broadcast, video broadcast, audio entertainment, video entertainment, telephone communication and navigational assistance in the vehicle; and
a processor housed in the vehicle, coupled with said proximity sensors and said deck, wherein, when said proximity sensors detect that one of the fingers is raised from said steering element, the processor determines which one of the fingers was lifted based on a relative location of the raised finger within the multiple fingers, and wherein the processor performs different functions of said deck in response to similar gestures performed by different thus-determined ones of the fingers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for use in a vehicle, including a steering element situated opposite a driver seat in a vehicle, the steering element including a plurality of proximity sensors encased in the periphery of the steering element operable to detect hand gestures along the outer periphery of the steering element, an interactive deck housed in the vehicle, for providing at least one of radio broadcast, video broadcast, audio entertainment, video entertainment and navigational assistance in the vehicle, and a processor housed in the vehicle, coupled with the proximity sensors and the deck, operable to identify the hand gestures detected by the proximity sensors, and to control the deck in response to thus-identified hand gestures.
175 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A system for use in a vehicle, comprising:
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a steering element, situated opposite a driver'"'"'s seat in a vehicle, comprising a plurality of proximity sensors for detecting multiple fingers concurrently touching the steering element; an interactive deck housed in the vehicle, for providing at least one of radio broadcast, video broadcast, audio entertainment, video entertainment, telephone communication and navigational assistance in the vehicle; and a processor housed in the vehicle, coupled with said proximity sensors and said deck, wherein, when said proximity sensors detect that one of the fingers is raised from said steering element, the processor determines which one of the fingers was lifted based on a relative location of the raised finger within the multiple fingers, and wherein the processor performs different functions of said deck in response to similar gestures performed by different thus-determined ones of the fingers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for use in a vehicle, comprising:
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a steering element situated opposite a driver'"'"'s seat in a vehicle, comprising a plurality of proximity sensors operable to detect hand gestures along an outer periphery of the steering element; an interactive deck housed in the vehicle, for providing at least one of radio broadcast, video broadcast, audio entertainment, video entertainment, telephone communication and navigational assistance in the vehicle; a memory for storing a plurality of different driver tables, each driver table associating each of a plurality of hand gestures with a respective control function for said deck; and a processor housed in the vehicle, coupled with said proximity sensors, said deck and said memory, operable (i) to select a driver table appropriate for a current driver, (ii) to identify the hand gestures detected by said proximity sensors, and (iii) to execute the deck control functions associated with the thus-identified hand gestures, as per the selected driver table. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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Specification