Sensor systems integrated with steering wheels
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A sensor system for use with a steering wheel, comprising:
- a flexible dielectric substrate;
flexible piezoresistive material in contact with the flexible dielectric substrate;
an array of sensors, each sensor comprising at least two conductive traces formed on the flexible dielectric substrate and in contact with a corresponding portion of the flexible piezoresistive material; and
sensor circuitry configured to selectively energize the sensors, and to receive sensor signals from the array of sensors, each sensor signal representing a force associated with a corresponding one of the sensors;
wherein the flexible dielectric substrate, the piezoresistive material, and the array of sensors are configured for wrapping around the steering wheel such that the array of sensors conforms to a portion of a circumference of the steering wheel.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Steering wheel sensor systems are described in which a sensor array is attached to or integrated with a steering wheel and provides information about the forces exerted on the steering wheel for interacting with or controlling other vehicle systems.
213 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A sensor system for use with a steering wheel, comprising:
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a flexible dielectric substrate; flexible piezoresistive material in contact with the flexible dielectric substrate; an array of sensors, each sensor comprising at least two conductive traces formed on the flexible dielectric substrate and in contact with a corresponding portion of the flexible piezoresistive material; and sensor circuitry configured to selectively energize the sensors, and to receive sensor signals from the array of sensors, each sensor signal representing a force associated with a corresponding one of the sensors; wherein the flexible dielectric substrate, the piezoresistive material, and the array of sensors are configured for wrapping around the steering wheel such that the array of sensors conforms to a portion of a circumference of the steering wheel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A sensor system for use with a steering wheel, comprising:
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a flexible piezoresistive substrate; an array of sensors, each sensor comprising at least two conductive traces formed on a corresponding portion of the flexible piezoresistive substrate; and sensor circuitry configured to selectively energize the sensors, and to receive sensor signals from the array of sensors, each sensor signal representing a force associated with a corresponding one of the sensors; wherein the flexible piezoresistive substrate and the array of sensors are configured for wrapping around the steering wheel such that the array of sensors conforms to a portion of a circumference of the steering wheel. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A sensor system for use with a steering wheel, comprising:
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an array of sensors configured for integration with the steering wheel such that the array of sensors conforms to a portion of a circumference of the steering wheel; and sensor circuitry configured to selectively energize the sensors, and to receive sensor signals from the array of sensors, each sensor signal representing a force associated with a corresponding one of the sensors, the sensor circuitry being further configured to adjust each of the sensor signals with calibration data for the corresponding sensor, thereby substantially normalizing force data derived from the sensor signals, the sensor circuitry being further configured to recalculate the calibration data for each of the sensors after the sensor system is integrated with the steering wheel. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A sensor system for use with a steering wheel, comprising:
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an array of sensors configured for integration with the steering wheel such that the array of sensors conforms to a portion of a circumference of the steering wheel; and sensor circuitry configured to receive sensor signals from the array of sensors, each sensor signal representing a force associated with a corresponding one of the sensors, the sensor circuitry being further configured to detect a grip event associated with first consecutively arranged sensors of the sensor array by determining that a force associated with each of the first consecutively arranged sensors exceeds a first threshold for a first specified duration, the first sensor circuitry being further configured to detect a swipe event associated with second consecutively arranged sensors of the sensor array by determining that a positive change in force associated with each of the second consecutively arranged sensors exceeds a second threshold for a second specified duration, and a negative change in force associated with each of the second consecutively arranged sensors exceeds a third threshold for a third specified duration. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification