TWI832629B - Automotive control unit, automotive interior functional component, method of controlling an automotive interior functional component, vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

An automotive control unit for controlling at least one function of a vehicle is described, wherein the automotive control unit being arranged in a passenger cabin of a vehicle, the automotive control unit comprising at least one light-conducive decorative metallic layer, at least one touch registration unit, wherein the at least one touch registration unit is configured to register a touch interaction of a user with a surface of the at least one decorative metallic layer, at least one light-ing unit, wherein the at least one lighting unit comprises at least one switchable lighting element arranged such that light emitted from the at least one switchable lighting element is visible through at least one of the decorative metallic layers, and a controller connected to the at least one touch registration unit and the at least one lighting unit, wherein the controller is configured to receive a signal from the at least one touch registration unit upon a touch interaction of the user with the surface of the at least one decorative metallic layer, wherein the controller is configured to change the activation status of the at least one switchable lighting element of the at least one lighting unit upon processing of said signal.

Description

Car control unit, car interior functional components, method of controlling car interior functional components, vehicle

The invention relates to a car control unit, a car interior functional component, a method of controlling a car interior functional component and a vehicle.

Car control units, car interior functional components, methods of controlling car interior functional components and vehicles are known in the art.

Modern vehicles include many different features to enhance the safety, comfort and entertainment of vehicle passengers. Such vehicles may be, for example, cars, trucks, buses, etc. Many of these functions require control input devices which, in many cases, must be used during driving of the respective vehicle. Therefore, they must be non-distracting and intuitive to use, otherwise they pose a security risk.

With so many different adjustable features, automotive interior designers are always faced with the challenge of finding user-friendly, intuitive ways to control each function. On the other hand, internal design plays an important role and is very important to conquer the customers. In addition to functionality, the vehicle interior must also be beautiful at the same time.

Cluttered interiors are not favored, so the vehicle's interior designers strive for simplicity and simplicity. Reducing the number of control input devices (such as knobs or buttons) increases the need for multi-function control input devices and the use of hierarchical control schemes (such as menus and sub-menus).

Another challenge is that specific functions of the vehicle can benefit from local control, such as temperature, lighting and entertainment. Centralized control in a central control unit is more challenging, less intuitive to use, and cannot be adjusted correctly if, for example, one passenger requires different air conditioning than another.

EP3241674B1 discloses a touch sensing device, which includes: a plastic laminate, which includes multiple or multiple plastic layers laminated together in a first direction, and all plastic layers are only composed of extruded plastic layers; and a The adhesive layer is used to bond together two plastic layers adjacent to each other in the first direction, characterized in that: the plastic layer is equal in the flow direction and the transverse direction, and the flow direction is orthogonal to the transverse direction; And the first-line expansion coefficient of the plastic layer is in the range of 4×10 ^-5 cm/cm·℃ to 15×10 ^-5 cm/cm·℃; and on one of the plastic layers (and between the adjacent plastic layers between) an electrode layer. The touch sensing device may be a dashboard.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle control unit, a vehicle interior functional component, a method of controlling a vehicle interior function component, and a vehicle that is more aesthetically pleasing and intuitive to use than what is known in the art.

The following describes a car control unit for controlling at least one function of a vehicle. The car control unit is arranged in a passenger cabin of the vehicle. The car control unit includes: at least one decorative metal layer, the decorative metal layer is light-conducting. ; At least one touch registration unit, wherein the touch registration unit is configured to register a touch interaction between a user and a surface of the decorative metal layer; At least one lighting unit, wherein the lighting unit includes at least one capable a switching lighting element, the switchable lighting element being arranged such that light emitted from the switchable lighting element is visible through the decorative metal layer; and a controller connected to the touch registration unit and the lighting unit, wherein The controller is configured to receive a signal from the touch registration unit when the user performs the touch interaction with the surface of the decorative metal layer, wherein the controller is configured to process the signal , changing the activation state of the switchable lighting element of the lighting unit.

This metal layer can be made using various techniques. The decorative metal layer can be formed by a PVD method, in which a metal film is deposited on a surface of another material. It can also be made from sheet metal. Additionally, a variety of other metal forming methods can be used. The decorative metal layer can be made of different metals, such as stainless steel, aluminum, gold, chromium, copper and their respective alloys.

At least one touch registration unit can be a position analysis unit, so that the position of the touch interaction on the touch registration unit can be determined instead of just the touch interaction.

At least one switchable lighting element may be an LED element or other lighting technology. Ideally, each switchable lighting element would be long-lasting, small and energy-efficient, so that it does not consume a lot of energy and does not cause the entire vehicle control unit to generate and dissipate a lot of heat. Switching can be a switch or switching between different modes, for example, different brightness levels.

Through the connection of the car control unit with at least one touch registration unit and at least one lighting unit, touch interaction can be used to control a function in the vehicle. Feedback can be provided to a user (eg the driver or operator of the vehicle or a passenger) by changing the lighting of the vehicle control unit. For example, if the car control unit recognizes a touch interaction via the touch registration unit, at least one lighting element can be fully or partially turned on or off. In this way, the user can get immediate feedback on his user input, which is intuitive and easy to understand.

Individual vehicle control units can be arranged more flexibly than conventional control units, which allows for better and more intuitive placement of individual control units. Furthermore, because of this decorative metal layer, a particularly beautiful interior design of the vehicle, especially the cabin design, can be created.

According to a first further embodiment, at least one decorative metal layer includes an array of holes, the size of a hole in the array of holes is equal to or less than 0.5 mm, wherein the hole serves as a light guide of the lighting unit or in which the decorative metal The layer is translucent.

If at least one decorative metal layer contains an array of holes of a given hole size, the holes will be virtually invisible from a typical user distance inside the vehicle. In this way, the respective representation looks like an aesthetic surface rather than a functional surface. A number of different surface qualities can be achieved using metal layers with arrays of holes, such as brushed or polished surfaces.

If the decorative metal layer is translucent, relatively high resolution content to be displayed can be achieved.

In both cases, the decorative metal surface does not appear to contain any control inputs that reduce clutter within the vehicle as long as at least one of the lighting units is not switched on.

According to another further embodiment, the surface of the decorative metal layer is a capacitive surface of the touch registration unit.

As such, the surface can be an actual metal surface that is not necessarily covered by a capacitive layer, which is usually embedded in some form of transparent sheet, such as glass.

In this embodiment, the metal surface must be sufficiently flexible to be sufficiently deformed by normal user input forces, which forces are typically in the range of less than 10 NM. The metal layer can have a layer thickness of 0.01 micron (µm) to 1 micron (µm), in particular 0.05 micron (µm) to 5 micron (µm), in particular 0.1 micron (µm) to 0.2 micron (µm), but very Thin layers may require a carrier layer on which the metal layer is deposited.

In a further embodiment, a paint (eg, a UV paint) can be applied on top of the metal layer to protect the metal layer. The topcoat may have a layer thickness of 10 to 60 microns (µm), in particular 25 to 40 microns (µm).

Furthermore, the use of capacitive touch registration units has proven to be very reliable. The capacitive touch registration unit allows an accurate detection of the location of the touch interaction.

Most importantly, in some embodiments, each touch registration unit can be configured to register the location of multiple touch interactions simultaneously, allowing the use of multi-touch gestures, e.g., by two or more fingers simultaneously Performed gestures. This significantly broadens the range of possible applications for automotive control units, since users can not only perform touch or swipe gestures with one finger, but also zoom or rotate gestures with two or more fingers.

According to another further embodiment, at least one touch registration unit is light-transmissive.

When the touch registration unit is light-transmissive, the lighting unit can be more flexibly arranged, especially behind each touch registration unit. The touch registration unit does not need to be completely light-transmissive, it is sufficient if it is light-transmissive enough not to block a large amount of light emitted from the lighting unit and to allow appropriate illumination of the visible surface of the metal decorative layer.

According to another further embodiment, at least one lighting unit contains a lighting array of at least one switchable lighting element.

Utilizing an illumination array of at least one switchable illumination element, graphic luminous patterns, such as bars, triangles, letters, etc., can be created that can be intuitively understood by the user.

According to another further embodiment, the switchable lighting element is configured to emit light with different wavelength distributions.

Different wavelength distributions are understood as different colors. Therefore, elements of color can be included in interior design and control concepts. For example, if each control unit is intended to specify a specific temperature and a color between blue (cold) and red (warm), the color or colors used may convey a specific and understandable message to the user of the respective vehicle. information. The lighting array can be arranged so that adjacent switchable lighting elements of different colors can be additionally mixed to provide a broad spectrum. This also allows for a fine-tuning of the appearance of the individual car control units.

According to another further embodiment, the controller contains at least one external signal connection for receiving signals from and/or sending signals to at least one component external to the vehicle control unit.

Using individual external signal connections, individual use cases for this automotive control unit can be increased. For example, the status of individual vehicles or components of a vehicle may affect currently relevant control inputs or light patterns to be emitted. Additionally, the respective vehicle control unit may feed back control inputs provided by the user, which may need to be processed outside the respective vehicle control unit.

According to another further embodiment, the component is a sensor and/or a central control unit of the vehicle.

A sensor can be used to measure a specific property, such as temperature. Individual sensor inputs can be used to determine which lighting elements should be activated or which colors should be displayed.

Connection to a central control unit allows a simpler and more modular configuration of individual vehicles.

A first independent aspect relates to a vehicle interior functional component comprising: a vehicle control unit according to the previous description.

A vehicle interior function component equipped with at least one vehicle control unit can be controlled directly at the respective vehicle interior function component. In this way, if a plurality of similar car interior functional components are distributed throughout the interior of each vehicle, each user can locally control the car interior functional components, and the control is particularly intuitive.

According to a first further embodiment, the surface of the decorative metal layer is located on a housing of the automotive interior functional component, wherein the automotive interior functional component is a vent, and wherein the automotive control unit is adapted to regulate an air flow and/or an air temperature, or wherein the automotive interior functional component is a speaker, wherein the automotive control unit is adapted to adjust a volume of the speaker, or wherein the automotive interior functional component is an ambient lighting panel, wherein the automotive control unit is adapted to adjust A light property of this ambient lighting panel.

Air vents, speakers, and ambient lighting panels are typically located at various locations within the cabin of each vehicle. In conjunction with individual car control units, the car's internal functional components can be controlled locally.

For example, if the car interior feature is a vent, the car control unit can be used to adjust the temperature of the air coming out of the vent. If the car interior function is a speaker, a volume of the speaker can be adjusted. This is particularly useful if some of the vehicle's passengers want to listen to louder music than others. Additionally, in this ambient lighting panel use case, the color and/or brightness of individual ambient lighting panels can be adjusted to allow specific passengers to use the ambient lighting panel as a reading light or to create a specific atmosphere or without disrupting sleep expectations.

According to another further embodiment, the automotive interior functional component includes a sensor, wherein the controller is configured to control the lighting unit in response to a signal from the sensor, wherein the signal is received by the controller.

For example, the sensor may be a temperature sensor inside a vent and thereby record the temperature of the air flowing through the vent. Differences between user input and actual temperature can be displayed by individual car control units using different color schemes. Additionally, each vehicle interior feature or vehicle control unit may display a user input that has been received at each touch-sensitive surface.

Another independent aspect relates to a method of controlling a car control unit according to the previous description or a car interior functional component according to the previous description, wherein the lighting unit is in a first lighting configuration, wherein a use is registered by the touch registration unit or input, wherein the controller sets the lighting unit to a second lighting configuration, wherein the second lighting configuration is different from the first lighting configuration.

Another independent aspect relates to a vehicle comprising: a vehicle control unit according to the previous description or a vehicle interior functional component according to the previous description.

To improve readability and clarity, the same or similar features or features with the same or similar properties or functions in different embodiments may be numbered with the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a vehicle 2 .

The vehicle 2 includes a passenger cabin 4 in which a user 6 sits on the driver's side of the vehicle 2 . The vehicle 2 is equipped with several automotive interior features, such as air vents 8, 10, 12, speakers 14, 16 and ambient lighting panels 18, 20, 22.

The air vents 8, 10, 12, speakers 14, 16 and ambient lighting panels 18, 20, 22 include a plurality of control units (see Figures 2 to 5 for a more detailed description), which control units include a plurality of touch control sensitive surfaces. The individual vehicle interior functional components 8 , 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 , 20 , 22 are connected to a central control unit 24 of the vehicle 2 . In addition to providing electrical power for supplying the electrical functions of the control unit, this connection can also be used unidirectionally or between the individual vehicle interior functional components 8 , 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 , 20 , 22 and the central control unit 24 . Transmit signals in both directions.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a vehicle control unit 26 .

The vehicle control unit 26 includes a decorative metal layer 28 with a surface 30 directly facing the user 6 , ie a visible surface to the user 6 . The decorative metal layer 28 is attached to a housing 32 of the vehicle control unit 26 .

The decorative metal layer 28 is part of a touch registration unit 34 that uses capacitive technology. A touch on the surface 30 of the decorative metal layer 28 is registered through the touch registration unit 34 and fed back to a controller 36 , which is arranged inside the housing 32 of the car control unit 26 . Most of the touch registration unit 34 is transparent so that light can pass through the touch registration unit 34 .

A lighting unit 38 is located behind the touch registration unit 34. The lighting unit 38 includes a lighting array 40 of switchable lighting elements 42. The lighting array 40 is a two-dimensional array of lighting elements 42 .

The switchable lighting elements 42 have different colors, ie emit different wavelength distributions. The light emitted by the lighting unit 38 is transmitted through the touch registration unit 34 and passes through a hole array 44 in the decorative metal layer 28 . The holes 46 of the hole array 44 have a diameter of 0.1 mm and are therefore barely visible from ordinary viewing distances as they are commonly found in vehicle interior environments. Typically, the distance between the user and each surface is between 0.3 meters (m) and 1 meter (m).

The controller 36 is further connected to an external signal connection 48 for supplying the control unit 26 and for exchanging signals indicating the status of the vehicle 2 and/or being registered by the touch registration unit 34 touch input.

The touch registration unit 34 and the lighting unit 38 do not need to cover the entire surface of the decorative metal layer 28 .

Figure 3 shows a front view of the vent 8.

The vent 8 includes a plurality of vent structural components, such as an air guide duct 50 and an adjustable air guide blade 52 . The vent structural components can be adjusted by using a control knob 54 located at the center of the vent 8 .

The vent 8 includes a housing 32 having a decorative metal layer 28 . A section of the housing 32 or the decorative metal layer 28 is equipped with a control unit 26 , which includes a touch registration unit, a lighting unit (invisible) and a hole array 44 .

When the user 6 wants to adjust the temperature of the air coming out of the air duct 50, he can use the control unit 26 to adjust the desired temperature up or down by sliding his or her finger in the corresponding direction. The lighting unit of each control unit 26 may indicate changes made to the temperature.

The air temperature is measured by a temperature sensor 56 , which is arranged inside the air duct 50 . The temperature sensor 56 may be connected to the controller 36 (not shown). This data can be used to determine the light properties of the lighting unit 38 .

Figure 4 shows a front view of speaker 14.

The speaker 14 includes a decorative metal ring 58 , and a control unit 26 is located in the decorative metal ring 58 . Interaction with the surface 30 can be used to adjust the volume of the corresponding speaker 14 .

Figure 5 shows a front view of ambient lighting panel 18.

The ambient lighting panel 18 includes a lighting segment 60 that can adjust color and brightness. The decorative metal layer 28 includes a control unit 26 having a triangular hole array 44 . An illumination portion 40.1 (not shown) of the illumination array 40 may indicate the brightness of the illumination segment 60.

Changes may be made by sliding along the surface 30 or tapping at corresponding locations on the surface 30, the changes being associated with the desired brightness and/or color.

Figure 5 shows a door panel 62 with a seat control unit 64.

The door panel 62 includes a decorative metal layer 28 having two layers, including a first layer and an outer second layer, where the first layer is created by a PVD step in which copper is deposited on a carrier material, the The outer second layer consists of a topcoat that protects the first metal layer from scratches.

The decorative metal layer 28 is translucent but appears solid due to the mostly dark background of the carrier material. A lighting unit 38 is arranged behind the decorative metal layer 28 , and the lighting unit 38 emits light through the decorative metal layer 28 when activated. The lighting unit 38 is configured to display the seating arrangement with symbols 70 - 76 representing different adjustable components of the seat (not shown) of the vehicle 2 .

When a user touches the door panel 62, the touch is recognized by the capacitive sensor and the lighting unit 38 is turned on. The user can then interact with the symbols 70-76 to individually adjust the seat, such as by activating a component of the seat and then sliding in various directions or making gestures that cause the seat to move. The lighting unit 38 may be variable so that the symbols 70-76 appear dynamic, for example by changing color, size, shape and relative position.

While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing summary and detailed description and claims, it is to be understood that there are numerous variations. It should also be understood that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are examples only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration in any way. Rather, the foregoing summary and detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing at least one exemplary embodiment, and it should be understood that various embodiments may be implemented without departing from the scope of the claims and their legal equivalents. Various changes are made to the functions and arrangements of elements described in the exemplary embodiments.

Any feature disclosed in the claims, description and drawings, including construction details, relative positioning or method steps, may be relevant to the invention alone or in any meaningful combination with any other features.

2:Vehicle 4:Cabin 6:User 8:Vent 10:Vent 12:Vent 14: Speaker 16: Speaker 18:Ambient lighting panel 20:Ambient lighting panel 22:Ambient lighting panel 24:Central control unit 26:Automotive control unit 28: Decorative metal layer 30:Surface 32: Shell 34:Touch registration unit 36:Controller 38:Lighting unit 40: Lighting Array 42: Switchable lighting elements 44: Hole Array 46:hole 48:External signal connection 50:Air duct 52: Adjustable wind guide blades 54:Control knob 56:Temperature sensor 58: Decorative metal ring 60: Lighting section 62: Door panel 64: Seat control unit 70-76: Symbols D: hole diameter

Further features and details will appear in the following description, in which - with reference where applicable to the accompanying drawings - at least one exemplary embodiment will be described in detail. The characteristics described and/or shown constitute the subject matter alone or in any possible and meaningful combination, and ultimately independently of the claim item. In particular, they can be the subject of one or more separate applications. These drawings show schematically: Figure 1 is a top view of a vehicle having multiple automotive interior functional components. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an automotive control unit of an automotive interior functional component of the vehicle of FIG. 1 . Figure 3 is an air vent of the vehicle in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a speaker of the vehicle in Figure 1. Figure 5 is an ambient lighting unit for the vehicle of Figure 1 . Figure 6 is a door panel with a seat control unit of the vehicle of Figure 1 .

26:Automotive control unit

28: Decorative metal layer

30:Surface

32: Shell

34:Touch registration unit

36:Controller

38:Lighting unit

40: Lighting Array

42: Switchable lighting elements

44: Hole Array

46:hole

48:External signal connection

D: hole diameter

Claims (11)

A car control unit is used to control at least one function of a vehicle. The car control unit is arranged in a passenger cabin of the vehicle. The car control unit includes: at least one decorative metal layer, the decorative metal layer is light-guiding; at least a touch registration unit, wherein the touch registration unit is configured to register a touch interaction of a user with a surface of the decorative metal layer; at least one lighting unit, wherein the lighting unit includes at least one switchable lighting element, the switchable lighting element is arranged such that light emitted from the switchable lighting element is visible through the decorative metal layer; and a controller connected to the touch registration unit and the lighting unit, wherein the control The controller is configured to receive a signal from the touch registration unit when the user performs the touch interaction with the surface of the decorative metal layer, wherein the controller is configured to change when processing the signal. The activation state of the switchable lighting element of the lighting unit; wherein the decorative metal layer includes a hole array, the size of a hole in the hole array is equal to or less than 0.5 mm, and the hole serves as a light guide of the lighting unit ; wherein the surface of the decorative metal layer is a capacitive surface of the touch registration unit. The automobile control unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the touch registration unit is light-transmissive. The automobile control unit of claim 1, wherein the lighting unit includes a lighting array of at least one switchable lighting element. The automobile control unit of claim 3, wherein the switchable lighting element is configured to emit light with different wavelength distributions. The automobile control unit of claim 1, wherein the controller includes at least one external signal connection to receive signals from and/or send signals to at least one component external to the automobile control unit. . The automobile control unit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the component is a sensor and/or a central control unit. An internal functional component of a car, which includes: the car control unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 6. The automotive interior functional component of claim 7, wherein the surface of the decorative metal layer is located on a shell of the automotive interior functional component, wherein the automotive interior functional component is an air vent, and wherein the automotive control unit is adapted to adjust a air flow and/or an air temperature, or wherein the automotive interior feature is a speaker, wherein the automotive control unit is adapted to adjust a volume of the speaker, or wherein the automotive interior feature is an ambient lighting panel, wherein the automotive The control unit is adapted to adjust a light attribute of the ambient lighting panel. The automotive interior functional component of claim 7 or 8, wherein the automotive interior functional component includes a sensor, wherein the controller is configured to control the lighting unit in response to a signal from the sensor, wherein This signal is received by the controller. A method of controlling an automobile control unit as claimed in claims 1 to 6 or an automobile interior functional component as claimed in claims 7 to 9, wherein the lighting unit is in a first lighting configuration, wherein the touch registration is The unit registers a user input, wherein the controller sets the lighting unit to a second lighting configuration, wherein the second lighting configuration is different from the first lighting configuration. A vehicle containing: An automobile control unit as claimed in claims 1 to 6 or an automobile internal functional component as claimed in claims 7 to 9.