IN-VEHICLE APPARATUS INCLUDING DISTORTION DETECTION ELEMENT

• US 20130222300A1
• Filed: 02/05/2013
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: SANMA, Norio, HATANAKA, Shinji, NADA, Toru, TAGUCHI, Kiyotaka, MANABE, Makoto, YOSHIZAWA, Akira, OBAYASHI, Makoto
• Granted Patent: US 9,110,537 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/143 Touch sensitive instrument input devices
• 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: B60K 35/90 Calibration of instruments, e.g. setting initial or reference parameters; Testing of instruments, e.g. detecting malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation

Abstract

An in-vehicle apparatus includes a plurality of operations sections, a detection section, and a cancellation section. The operation sections are configured to receive an operation by a user while driving of a vehicle and respectively include distortion detection elements that respectively transmit detection signals in accordance with loads generated due to the operation. The detection section detects the operation to the operation sections based on the detection signals. The cancellation section determines whether loads are generated in the operation sections in a same period based on the detection signals transmitted from the distortion detection elements and cancels the detection signals transmitted from the distortion detection elements in the same period when the loads are generated in the same period.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle apparatus comprising:

a plurality of operation sections configured to receive an operation by a user while driving of a vehicle, the plurality of operation sections respectively including distortion detection elements that respectively transmit detection signals in accordance with loads generated due to the operation;

a detection section detecting the operation to the plurality of operation sections based on the detection signals transmitted from the distortion detection elements; and

a cancellation section determining whether loads are generated in the plurality of operation sections in a same period based on the detection signals transmitted from the distortion detection elements and canceling the detection signals transmitted from the distortion detection elements in the same period when the loads are generated in the plurality of operation sections in the same period.

2. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the plurality of operation sections is attached to a steering of the vehicle.

3. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the cancellation section determines whether loads having similar magnitudes and similar directions are generated in the plurality of operation sections in the same period based on the detection signals transmitted from the distortion detection elements and cancels the detection signals transmitted from the distortion detection elements in the same period when the loads having similar magnitudes and similar directions are generated in the same period.

4. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the operation sections respectively include operation planes configured to receive a touch operation by the user, and the distortion detection elements respectively transmit the detection signals in accordance with the loads generated due to the touch operation,

wherein the detection section detects magnitudes of the loads generated in the operation planes due to the touch operation and operation positions in the operation planes to which the touch operation is applied, based on the detection signals transmitted from the distortion detection elements, and

wherein the cancellation section cancels the detection signals transmitted from the distortion detection elements in the some period when the detection section detects the magnitudes of the loads and the operation positions due to the touch operation to the operation planes in the plurality of operation sections in the same period, and the magnitudes of the loads or the operations positions satisfy a predetermined condition.