Autonomous drive user interface

• US 10,254,943 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2017
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Inventors: Jubner, Alexander, Eriksson, Thomas, Frojdh, Gunnar Martin, Fellin, Simon, Holmgren, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanglaude, Gertrude Arthur
• Application Number:
  US15/647,693
• Publication Number:
  US 20170308281A1
• Time in Patent Office: 636 Days
• Field of Search: 701 36
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/141 Activation of instrument input devices by approaching fingers or pens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1446 Touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/782 on the steering wheel
• 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 35/60 Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/04 Hand wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/046 Adaptations on rotatable parts of the steering wheel for accommodation of switches
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A user interface for a vehicle, including a steering wheel for the vehicle, including a grip, a sensor operable to detect objects at a plurality of locations along the grip, and an illuminator operable to illuminate different portions of the grip, a processor in communication with the sensor, with the illuminator and with a controller of vehicle functions, and a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which cause the processor to identify, via the sensor, a location of a first object along the grip, to illuminate, via the illuminator, a portion of the grip, adjacent to the identified location, to further identify, via the sensor, a second object being at the illuminated portion of the grip, and to activate, via the controller, a vehicle function in response to the second object being at the illuminated portion of the grip.

Claims

1. A user interface for a vehicle, comprising:

a steering wheel for the vehicle, comprising;

a grip;

a sensor operable to detect objects at a plurality of locations along said grip; and

an illuminator operable to illuminate different portions of said grip;

a processor in communication with said sensor, with said illuminator and with a controller of vehicle functions; and

a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which cause said processor;

to identify, via said sensor, a location of a first object along said grip,

to illuminate, via said illuminator, a portion of said grip, adjacent to the identified location,

to further identify, via said sensor, a second object being at the illuminated portion of said grip, and

to activate, via the controller, a vehicle function in response to the second object being at the illuminated portion of said grip.

2. The user interface of claim 1 wherein the instructions cause said processor:

to illuminate, via said illuminator, two portions of said grip, and

to further identify, via said sensor, the second object as being at one of the illuminated portions.

3. The user interface of claim 2 wherein the instructions cause said processor to activate, via the controller, different vehicle functions in response to the second object being at one of the illuminated portions, according to which of the illuminated portions the second object is at.

4. The user interface of claim 1 wherein the instructions further cause said processor:

to identify, via said sensor, that the first object has moved to a different location along said grip, and

to move, via said illuminator, the illumination to a portion of said grip that is adjacent to the different location.

5. The user interface of claim 1 wherein the vehicle is an autonomous drive enabled vehicle, wherein the controller controls autonomous drive functions, and wherein said processor activates, via the controller, an autonomous drive function in response to the second object being at the illuminated portion of said grip.

6. A user interface method for a vehicle having a steering wheel that comprises (i) a grip, (ii) a sensor operable to detect objects at a plurality of locations along the grip, and (iii) an illuminator operable to illuminate different portions of the grip, the method comprising:

identifying a location of a first object along the grip;

illuminating a portion of the grip, adjacent to the identified location;

further identifying a second object being at the illuminated portion of the grip; and

,

activating a vehicle function in response to the second object being at the illuminated portion of the grip.

7. The user interface method of claim 6 wherein said illuminating comprises illuminating two portions of the grip, and wherein said further identifying identifies the second object as being at one of the illuminated portions.

8. The user interface method of claim 7 wherein said activating activates different vehicle functions in response to the second object being at one of the illuminated portions, according to which of the illuminated portions the second object is at.

9. The user interface method of claim 6 further comprising:

identifying that the first object has moved to a different location along the grip; and

moving the illumination to a portion of the grip that is adjacent to the different location.

10. The user interface method of claim 6 wherein the vehicle is an autonomous drive enabled vehicle, and wherein said activating activates an autonomous drive function in response to the second object being at the illuminated portion of the grip.