Operating unit, especially for operating a multimedia system in a motor vehicle

• US 20040132498A1
• Filed: 12/04/2003
• Published: 07/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Dorre, Helmut, Thien, Nhu Nguyen, Pichl, Oliver, Kinzler, Hans, Clabunde, Andreas
• Granted Patent: US 7,450,108 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 2009/04777 with additional push or pull action on the handle
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 2009/04781 with additional rotation of the controlling member
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 9/047 the controlling member being movable by hand about orthogonal axes, e.g. joysticks for switches H01H25/04
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03548 Sliders, in which the moving part moves in a plane
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts

Abstract

The invention relates to an operating unit, especially for operating a multimedia system in a motor vehicle, comprising an operating element that can be rotated about an axis (z), that can be moved along said axis of rotation (z) and that can be locked in a position (0, 1) on said axis (z). The operating element can also be moved on an plane (x, y) that is orthogonal relative to said axis (z) in order to control the movement of a cursor that can be shown on a display in any given direction.

Claims

1. An operator control unit, in particular for operating a multimedia system in a motor vehicle, having an operator control element which can be rotated about an axis (z) and displaced along this axis (z) and can be latched in a position (“

0”

) on this axis (z), characterized in that the operator control element can be displaced in at least one plane (x, y) which is orthogonal with respect to this axis (z), in order to actuate the movement of a cursor in any desired direction, which cursor can be represented on a screen of the multimedia system.

2. The operator control unit as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the operator control element can be latched in at least one further position (“

1”

) on the axis (z).

3. The operator control unit as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the operator control element assumes, in each plane (x, y), a position of rest into which it can be reset by means of restoring elements (12) after a deflection.

4. The operator control unit as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a touchpad (2).

5. The operator control unit as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the touchpad (2) is integrated into the operator control element.

6. The operator control unit as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the touchpad (2) is permanently connected to the nonrotatable part (14) of the operator control element.

7. The operator control unit as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the touchpad (2) is permanently connected to the rotatable part (1) of the operator control element.

8. The operator control unit as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a fingerprint sensor.

9. The operator control unit as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the speed of the cursor which can be represented on the screen of the multimedia system is a function of the distance by which the operator control element is deflected from its position of rest.

10. The operator control unit as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a function can be triggered by pressing the operator control element in the direction of its axis (z) of rotation.