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Steering wheel with hand pressure sensing

  • US 8,983,732 B2
  • Filed: 04/01/2011
  • Issued: 03/17/2015
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2010
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A vehicle safety system, comprising:

  • a steering wheel,a plurality of pressure sensitive sensors located within an outer surface of a rim of the steering wheel,wherein the pressure sensitive sensors are located in different regions of the steering wheel, the pressure sensitive sensors configured to detect a pressure applied to one or more of the plurality of pressure sensitive sensors indicative of a presence of a driver'"'"'s hand upon a respective region of the steering wheel, anda control unit configured to;

    initiate a first warning system in response to determining that at least one of the driver'"'"'s hands has not pressed upon a region of the steering wheel for a first predetermined amount of time,initiate a second warning system in response to determining that at least one of the driver'"'"'s hands has not pressed upon a region of the steering wheel for a second predetermined amount of time, anddetermine a rate of change of pressure applied to one or more of the plurality of pressure sensitive sensors wherein the initiating of at least one of the first or second warning systems is based on the rate of change of pressure applied to one or more of the plurality of pressure sensitive sensors.

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