Input device

• US 9,256,318 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2013
• Issued: 02/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Poppe, Stefan, Lang, Andreas, Wagner, Michael, Voss, David, Hedrich, Joerg, Fuerst, Marc, Wrzesniewski, Marius
• Primary Examiner(s): BOYD, JONATHAN A
• Application Number:
  US13/785,663
• Publication Number:
  US 20130249869A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1438 Touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1442 Emulation of input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/146 Instrument input by gesture
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/332 Light emitting diodes
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/334 Projection means
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/22 Display screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/23 Head-up displays [HUD] optical aspects of head-up displays G02B27/01
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/285 for improving awareness by directing driver's gaze direction or eye points
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

An input device for controlling a device is provided. The input device comprises a sensor surface sensitive to being touched by a foreign body, and an evaluation unit, which is equipped to sense the positions of successively touched points of the sensor surface, and convert them into a control command for the device. The evaluation unit is connected to means for estimating an acceleration acting on the sensor surface and equipped, when converting into the control command, to weight a point touched at a time of intense acceleration change lower than a point touched at a time of slight acceleration change.

Claims

1. An input device for controlling a device, comprising:

a sensor surface that is sensitive to being touched by a foreign body; and

an evaluation unit which is equipped to sense the positions of successively touched points of the sensor surface and convert the sensed positions into a control command for the device,

wherein the evaluation unit is connected to means for estimating an acceleration acting on the sensor surface and equipped to ignore a point touched at a time of intense acceleration change when converting into the control command, and

wherein the evaluation unit is equipped to replace an ignored point by interpolating a path portion covered by the foreign body between a point touched before the ignored point and a point touched after the ignored point.

2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation unit is equipped to reconstruct a path of the foreign body by means of the sensed positions, to assign the reconstructed path a symbol from a list of symbols and to output the symbol in the control command.

3. The input device according to claim 2, wherein the list of symbols comprises a list of alpha numerical signs.

4. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation unit is equipped to ignore a point touched at a time of intense acceleration change in that it defines an off-time which comprises the time of intense acceleration change and ignores all such points sensed in the off-time.

5. The input device according to claim 4, wherein the evaluation unit is equipped, when at a time t₁ a limit value of the acceleration is exceeded to define as off-time a time interval of at least a predetermined duration which includes the time.

6. The input device according to claim 4, wherein the evaluation unit is equipped to ignore non-touching of the sensor surface if it occurs at an off-time.

7. The input device according to claim 4, wherein after expiration of the predetermined duration the off-time ends only when the evaluation unit senses a renewed touching of the sensor surface.

8. The input device according to claim 4, wherein the sensor surface is designed as dynamically activatable display surface.

9. The input device according to claim 8, wherein the display surface is equipped to display a reconstructed path.

10. The input device according to claim 8, wherein the evaluation unit is equipped when an off-time occurs to reconstruct and display a path sensed up to the start of the off-time.

11. A motor vehicle, comprising:

a device;

an input device for controlling the device, the input device including a sensor surface that is sensitive to being touched by a foreign body and an evaluation unit which is equipped to sense the positions of successively touched points of the sensor surface and convert the sensed positions into a control command for the device, the sensor surface being a dynamically activatable display surface,

wherein the evaluation unit is connected to means for estimating an acceleration acting on the sensor surface and equipped to ignore a point touched at a time of intense acceleration change when converting into the control command, and

wherein the evaluation unit is equipped to replace an ignored point by interpolating a path portion covered by the foreign body between a point touched before the ignored point and a point touched after the ignored point.

12. The motor vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the evaluation unit is equipped to reconstruct a path of the foreign body by means of the sensed positions, to assign the reconstructed path a symbol from a list of symbols and to output the symbol in the control command.

13. The motor vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the evaluation unit is equipped to ignore a point touched at a time of intense acceleration change in that it defines an off-time which comprises the time of intense acceleration change and ignores all such points sensed in the off-time.

14. The motor vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the evaluation unit is equipped, when at a time t₁ a limit value of the acceleration is exceeded to define as off-time a time interval of at least a predetermined duration which includes the time.

15. The motor vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the evaluation unit is equipped to ignore non-touching of the sensor surface if it occurs at an off-time.

16. A method for controlling a device comprising:

sensing the positions of points successively touched by a foreign body on a sensor surface;

estimating an acceleration acting on the sensor surface;

converting the sensed positions into a control command;

ignoring a point touched at a time of intense acceleration change; and

replacing an ignored point by interpolating a path portion covered by the foreign body between a point touched before the ignore point and a point touched after the ignored point.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein converting the sensed positions into a control command comprises reconstructing a path of the foreign body on the sensor surface and assigning a symbol from a list of symbols to the reconstructed path.