Shear tactile display systems for use in vehicular directional applications
First Claim
1. A system capable of providing directional cues to a user of a vehicle, comprising:
- a vehicle component, configured to be installed within a vehicle that is adapted to be controlled by a user, the vehicle component including a steering wheel; and
a tactile display system, operably coupled to the vehicle component, the tactile display system including;
one or more contact pads, at least one of the one or more contact pads operable to engage a plurality of target areas of a user'"'"'s skin;
a restraining system having one or more apertures therein, operable to restrain a portion of the user'"'"'s skin distal from the plurality of target areas of the skin, the steering wheel including an outer shell having the one or more apertures formed therein, the one or more contact pads coupled to, or formed integrally with, an inner shell, moveable relative to the outer shell such that movement of the inner shell relative to the outer shell provides tactile information to a user'"'"'s digit positioned over or in one or more of the apertures; and
an actuation system, operably coupled to one of;
i) the one or more contact pads and the ii) restraining system;
the actuation system being capable of moving the one or more contact pads and the restraining system relative to one another, the one or more contact pads being positioned inside the restraining system and a surface of the one or more contact pads being larger than the one or more apertures, to apply a shear force across the plurality of target areas of the user'"'"'s skin to thereby provide tactile information to the user.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system capable of providing directional cues to a user of the vehicle comprises a vehicle component, configured to be installed within a vehicle that is adapted to be controlled by a user. A tactile display system is operably coupled to the vehicle component. The tactile display system includes: a contact pad, operable to engage a target area of a user'"'"'s skin; a restraining system, operable to restrain a portion of the user'"'"'s skin distal from the target area of the skin; and an actuation system, operably coupled to one of: i) the contact pad and the ii) restraining system. The actuation system is capable of moving the contact pad and the restraining system relative to one another to apply a tangential displacement or shear force across the target area of the user'"'"'s skin to thereby provide tactile information to the user.
128 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system capable of providing directional cues to a user of a vehicle, comprising:
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a vehicle component, configured to be installed within a vehicle that is adapted to be controlled by a user, the vehicle component including a steering wheel; and a tactile display system, operably coupled to the vehicle component, the tactile display system including; one or more contact pads, at least one of the one or more contact pads operable to engage a plurality of target areas of a user'"'"'s skin; a restraining system having one or more apertures therein, operable to restrain a portion of the user'"'"'s skin distal from the plurality of target areas of the skin, the steering wheel including an outer shell having the one or more apertures formed therein, the one or more contact pads coupled to, or formed integrally with, an inner shell, moveable relative to the outer shell such that movement of the inner shell relative to the outer shell provides tactile information to a user'"'"'s digit positioned over or in one or more of the apertures; and an actuation system, operably coupled to one of;
i) the one or more contact pads and the ii) restraining system;
the actuation system being capable of moving the one or more contact pads and the restraining system relative to one another, the one or more contact pads being positioned inside the restraining system and a surface of the one or more contact pads being larger than the one or more apertures, to apply a shear force across the plurality of target areas of the user'"'"'s skin to thereby provide tactile information to the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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7. A method for adapting a vehicle to allow the provision of directional cues to a user of the vehicle, comprising:
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installing within, or coupling to, a component of the vehicle a tactile display system, the component of the vehicle includes a steering control that includes a steering wheel, the tactile display system including; one or more contact pads, at least one of the one or more contact pads operable to engage a plurality of target areas of a user'"'"'s skin; a restraining system having a surface, the surface operable to restrain a portion of the user'"'"'s skin distal from the plurality of target areas of the skin and having one or more apertures therethrough, the one or more apertures being configured to allow the plurality of target areas of the user'"'"'s skin to be positioned therethrough and engage the one or more contact pads, the steering wheel including an outer shell having the one or more apertures formed therein, the one or more contact pads coupled to, or formed integrally with, an inner shell, moveable relative to the outer shell such that movement of the inner shell relative to the outer shell provides tactile information to a user'"'"'s digit positioned over or in one or more of the apertures; and an actuation system, operably coupled to one of;
i) the one or more contact pads and the ii) restraining system;
the actuation system being capable of applying a lateral force to the one or more contact pads and the restraining system relative to one another to apply a shear force across the plurality of target areas of the user'"'"'s skin to thereby provide tactile information to the user, wherein at least a portion of a surface of the one or more contact pads translates parallel to at least a portion of a surface of the restraining system;coupling a control system to the actuation system, the control system being operable to cause movement of the one or more contact pads relative to the component of the vehicle in order to provide tactile information to the user while the user operates the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification