Morphable pad for tactile control

• US 9,760,175 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2016
• Issued: 09/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Scheufler, Nicholas A., Feit, Steven, Choi, Dave Jaeyeong, Miller, Ross C.
• Primary Examiner(s): TITCOMB, WILLIAM D
• Application Number:
  US15/352,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20170060249A1
• Time in Patent Office: 300 Days
• Field of Search: 715765
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1442 Emulation of input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/1442 Emulation of input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/155 Virtual instruments
• 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 35/213 Virtual instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04809 Textured surface identifying touch areas, e.g. overlay structure for a virtual keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for a morphable pad and display configured for tactile control. The system comprises a display for displaying a user interface comprising a layout of vehicle control features. The display is configured to highlight a portion of the layout associated with a received highlight input, and to update the layout based on a received selection input. A morphable pad is connected to the display and comprises an array of switches. Each switch is configured to receive highlight input and selection input. The switches are also configured to adjust in tactile feel to match the layout, and to reconfigure in tactile feel responsive to a change in the layout.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a user interface with a touch pad having a surface, the method comprising:

configuring a first physical shape of the surface of the touch pad based on a first layout of the user interface;

receiving an input using the surface of the touch pad;

updating the first layout of the user interface to a second layout of the user interface based on the input; and

reconfiguring the first physical shape of the surface of the touch pad to a second physical shape responsive to the updating of the first layout of the user interface to the second layout,

the second physical shape based on the second layout of the user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the first physical shape of the surface of the touch pad further comprises:

adjusting upward in height one or more portions of the surface of the touch pad based on the first layout of the user interface.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the first physical shape of the surface of the touch pad further comprises:

adjusting in surface texture of one or more portions of the surface of the touch pad based on the first layout of the user interface.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the first layout of the user interface to the second layout of the user interface based on the input further comprises:

correlating the input with a selected button displayed as part of the first layout of the user interface;

retrieving, from a non-transitory storage medium, the second layout of the user interface based on the selected button; and

displaying the second layout of the user interface on a display.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein reconfiguring the first physical shape of the surface of the touch pad further comprises:

determining whether a portion of the second layout of the user interface corresponds to a button; and

responsive to determining that portion of the second layout corresponds to the button, modifying a corresponding portion of the surface of the touch pad to match the button.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying a vehicle feature setting based on the input.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more portions of the surface of the touch pad is capable of an adjustment detectable by human touch relative to an adjacent unadjusted portion.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch pad is located on a steering wheel of a vehicle or a center console of the vehicle.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a highlight input at a portion of the surface of the touch pad; and

adjusting the user interface to highlight a portion of the corresponding layout associated with the portion of the surface that received the highlight input.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch pad comprises one or more micro motors, a piezoelectric material, or an electro-active polymer.

11. A system for controlling a user interface comprising:

a display displaying the user interface comprising a first interface layout, the display configured to update the first interface layout to a second interface layout based on an input; and

a touch pad connected to the display and comprising an adjustable surface,

the surface of the touch pad configured to adjust to a first surface layout matching the first interface layout, the first surface layout configured to receive the input,

the surface of the touch pad reconfigurable to a second surface layout from the first surface layout to match the second interface layout responsive to the input received at the first surface layout.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein one or more portions of the surface of the touch pad is further configured to adjust upward in height responsive to being associated with a button displayed in the first interface layout or the second interface layout.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein one or more portions of the surface of the touch pad is further configured to adjust in surface texture responsive to being associated with a button displayed in the first interface layout or the second interface layout.

14. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

an electronic control unit (ECU) connected to the display and the touch pad, the ECU configured to correlate the input with a selected button displayed in the first interface layout or the second interface layout;

a non-transitory storage medium connected to the ECU, the non-transitory storage medium configured to store a new layout for the user interface related to the selected button; and

the display further configured to display the new layout of the user interface.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the ECU is further configured to reconfigure one or more portions of the surface of the touch pad responsive to the display displaying the new layout.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the ECU is further configured to:

determine whether a portion of the new layout corresponds to a button; and

responsive to determining that the portion corresponds to the button, modify a corresponding portion of the surface of the touch pad to match the button.

17. A system for controlling a user interface comprising:

a display displaying the user interface comprising a first interface layout or a second interface layout; and

a touch pad connected to the display and comprising an adjustable surface configured to receive an input,

the surface of the touch pad configured to adjust to a first surface layout corresponding to the first interface layout or a second surface layout corresponding to the second interface layout based on the input or the displayed layout.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein one or more portions of the surface of the touch pad is further configured to adjust upward in height responsive to being associated with a button displayed in the first interface layout or the second interface layout.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein one or more portions of the surface of the touch pad is further configured to adjust in surface texture responsive to being associated with a button displayed in the first interface layout or the second interface layout.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the touch pad comprises one or more micro motors, a piezoelectric material, or an electro-active polymer.