Light-based controls on a toroidal steering wheel

• US 9,389,710 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2014
• Issued: 07/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Inventors: Frjdh, Gunnar Martin, Fellin, Simon, Eriksson, Thomas, Karlsson, John, Hedin, Maria, Berglind, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US14/551,096
• Publication Number:
  US 20150077405A1
• Time in Patent Office: 596 Days
• Field of Search: 701/36, 701/41, 701/418, 345/184
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2370/141 Activation by approaching fingers or pens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/1446 Touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/782 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: B60R 16/037 for occupant comfort , e.g. for automatic adjustment of appliances according to personal settings, e.g. seats, mirrors, steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/046 Adaptations on rotatable parts of the steering wheel for accommodation of switches
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• 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 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 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• 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 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 : including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42201 : biosensors, e.g. heat sensor for presence detection, EEG sensors or any limb activity sensors worn by the user input arrangements for interaction with the human body based on nervous system activity detection G06F3/015

Abstract

A steering wheel for a vehicle, including a toroidal steering wheel surrounding an airspace and mounted in a vehicle, an array of invisible-light emitters mounted in the steering wheel to project invisible light beams across the airspace, an array of light detectors mounted in the steering wheel to detect the invisible light beams projected by the invisible-light emitters, and to detect gestures inside the airspace that interrupt the invisible light beams projected by the invisible-light emitters, and a processor connected to the light detectors to identify the gestures inside the airspace detected by the light detectors, and to control an item of equipment mounted in the vehicle, in response to the thus-identified gestures inside the airspace.

Claims

1. A steering wheel for a vehicle, comprising:

a toroidal steering wheel surrounding an airspace and mounted in a vehicle;

an array of invisible-light emitters mounted in said steering wheel to project invisible light beams across the airspace;

an array of light detectors mounted in said steering wheel to detect the invisible light beams projected by said invisible-light emitters, and to detect gestures inside the airspace that interrupt the invisible light beams projected by said invisible-light emitters; and

a processor connected to said light detectors to identify the gestures inside the airspace detected by said light detectors, and to control an item of equipment mounted in the vehicle, in response to the thus-identified gestures inside the airspace.

2. The steering wheel of claim 1, wherein the invisible light beams are projected in only one direction across the airspace.

3. The steering wheel of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of arrays of invisible-light emitters mounted in said steering wheel and connected to said processor, to project light beams along different geometric planes across the airspace; and

a plurality of arrays of light detectors mounted in said steering wheel and connected to said processor, to detect the light beams projected along the different geometric planes,

wherein said processor identifies an angle at which an object is positioned inside the airspace.

4. The steering wheel of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of arrays of invisible-light emitters mounted in said steering wheel and connected to said processor, to project light beams along different geometric planes across the airspace; and

a plurality of arrays of light detectors mounted in said steering wheel and connected to said processor, to detect the light beams projected along the different geometric planes,

wherein said processor identifies a velocity at which an object is inserted into the airspace.

5. The steering wheel of claim 1, wherein said processor controls the item of equipment in response to the identified gestures, only when said steering wheel is not substantially rotated.

6. The steering wheel of claim 1, wherein the identified gesture is a spread gesture performed by two or more fingers in the airspace.

7. The steering wheel of claim 6, wherein the item of equipment is a display, and wherein said processor controls a zoom operation on an image rendered on the display, in response to identification of the spread gesture.

8. The steering wheel of claim 1, further comprising a display connected to said processor, wherein said processor renders an image on the display indicating one or more functions controlled by the gestures in the airspace.

9. The steering wheel of claim 8, wherein the rendered image comprises an image of said steering wheel.

10. The steering wheel of claim 1, further comprising an array of visible-light emitters mounted in said steering wheel and connected to said processor, to illuminate an object inside the airspace.

11. The steering wheel of claim 10, wherein said processor selectively illuminates different ones of said visible-light emitters according to a location of the object inside the airspace.

12. The steering wheel of claim 11, wherein the selective illumination tracks the detected gestures.

13. The steering wheel of claim 1, wherein the item of equipment is a side view mirror, wherein the detected gesture comprises tilting a palm of a hand inside the airspace, and wherein said processor adjusts an angle of the side view mirror in response to identification of the tilting gesture.