FR2841351A1 - MANEUVERING UNIT FOR MOTOR VEHICLE COMPONENTS - Google Patents

Abstract

Operating unit (1) intended to be mounted in an opening in a wall (13) delimiting the interior (12) of a motor vehicle, the operating unit (1) having one or more operating members which transmit signals to a control unit, which in turn generates, from output signals from the operating unit (1), activation signals for an optical output unit (9), by which a cursor on the optical output unit (9) and for controlling a motor vehicle component, the maneuvering unit (1) having a flat entry area (2) comprising an entry surface (3) oriented towards the interior and a rear face (4) oriented towards the opposite side to the interior, the entry area (2) being optically transparent, and in the operating unit (1) being arranged an optical detection element (5 ), which captures an image of the input area (2), and an output signal d e the optical detection element (5) being transmitted to the control unit (8) to generate the activation signals making it possible to move the cursor on the optical output unit (9).

Description

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 The invention relates to an operating unit intended to be mounted in an opening in a wall delimiting the interior space of a motor vehicle, in particular a central console or a dashboard, the operating unit having one or more actuators which transmit signals to a control unit which in turn generates activation signals for an optical output unit from output signals from the operation unit a cursor is moved on the optical output unit and to control a motor vehicle component.

 Motor vehicles generally have separate operating units for different vehicle components. Thus, for example, there is an operating unit for a radio set, an operating unit for an on-board computer and an operating unit for an air conditioning system. These different maneuvering units intended for different vehicle components are increasingly tending to give way to a central maneuvering unit which cooperates with a central screen, the different vehicle components being controlled, by means of different screen menus, by the single operating unit. Such a display and operation concept is known, for example, from the special edition ATZ / MTZ, 2001, n 11, pages 24 to 33. In the case of the display and operation concept described therein, the The maneuvering unit consists of a single rotary button or adjustment push-button for controlling different vehicle components. The disadvantage of this system lies in the fact that its manipulation requires a certain time of adaptation and familiarization with the system.

 Known as operating units for portable computers, tactile entry surfaces. These entry surfaces are perfectly flat and gray in color. When a finger is moved on the entry surface, the movement of the finger results, on the screen, in the movement of a cursor. The movement of the cursor thus takes place in a simple and intuitive manner. The tactile input surfaces for portable computers are produced either as capacitive sensor systems or as resistive sensor systems. From document US Pat. No. 5,483,261, there is also known an operating unit for a computer system having a plane sensitive input surface, which is captured by a camera, so that it is possible for several fingers of the same are simultaneously detected on the entrance surface.

 The problem which is the basis of the invention is to provide an operating unit intended to be mounted in a motor vehicle, which makes it possible

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 an intuitive operation of several motor vehicle components by said common operating unit.

 The invention therefore relates to an operating unit intended to be mounted in an opening in a wall defining the interior space of a motor vehicle, in particular a central console or a dashboard, the operating unit having one or more operating members, which transmit signals to a control unit, which in turn generates, from output signals from the operating unit, activation signals for an output unit optical device for moving a cursor on the optical output unit and for controlling a motor vehicle component, remarkable in that the maneuvering unit has, as the maneuvering member, a plane input area comprising an input surface , oriented towards the interior of the motor vehicle and a rear face oriented towards the side opposite to the interior of the motor vehicle, the entry zone being optically transparent, and in the operating unit being arranged an optical detection element, with which an image of the input area is captured, and an output signal from the optical detection element being transmitted to the control unit to generate the activation signals making it possible to move the cursor to the optical output unit.

 The operating unit according to the invention can also have one or more of the following characteristics: - the entry area is curved in space; - The entry area is adapted to a contour of the wall surrounding the mounting opening; the optical detection element is a camera, in particular a CMOS camera; - the flat entry area is transparent or semi-transparent to visible light; the operating unit has lighting means, in particular infrared lighting means, making it possible to light the entry area; - The entry surface facing the interior of the motor vehicle is a plastic surface or a metal surface; - the aspect ratio of the input area is essentially equal to the aspect ratio of an exit area of the optical output unit; an identification of the user is carried out by interpretation of the output signal from the optical detection element;

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 - after interpretation of the output signal for user identification, personalized adjustments are made to vehicle components - after interpretation of the output signal for user identification, an immobilizer device is disabled; the motor vehicle component is, or includes, the device for controlling an air conditioning system, an audio system, a multimedia system or a navigation system.

 The cursor term is used here, generally, to designate a mark represented on the output unit and movable by means of the operating unit. It may in particular be an entry mark or an insertion mark or means making it possible to optically underline a selection symbol from among others or screen areas of the exit unit, in using for example a particular color or frame delimiting a given screen area.

 Like the touch screens known in the field of computer systems, the operating unit according to the invention for motor vehicle components makes it possible to intuitively move the cursor in that the user moves a finger on the surface of Entrance. The movement of the finger on the entry surface results directly in the movement of a cursor on an operating unit. There follows, for the user, a direct association between the movement of his own finger and the movement of the cursor. In the case of the operating unit according to the invention, the movement of the finger on the entry area is detected by an optical detection element such as a camera, in particular a CMOS camera. This has the advantage that it is not necessary to exert pressure on the entry surface, as is the case for example in resistive systems. Another advantage lies in the fact that the operating unit can also be operated, in winter, by a driver wearing gloves, which is not possible - or then only in a limited way - in the case of touch screens traditional comprising capacitive or resistive systems as they are known in the field of computer systems.

 In the case of maneuvering units for motor vehicles, the problem also consists in designing an optically pleasant shape corresponding to the requirements of the motor vehicle manufacturer, the maneuvering unit having in particular to be embedded in the central console or in the dashboard. and therefore adapted to their design. The operating unit according to the invention therefore has, in a particular embodiment, a spatially curved entry zone and / or adapted to the contour of the surrounding wall.

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 the mounting opening, and therefore in particular of the central console or the dashboard. The movement of a finger on the spatially curved entry area is then translated by a linear movement of the cursor. In addition, it is possible to make the entry area of different shapes, such as that of a round entry surface.

 In a particular embodiment, provision is made for the input surface facing the user to be a plastic surface or a metal surface. Thus, it is possible to produce a surface having different aspects. In addition to the possibility of having different colors for the entry surface, it is also possible to produce metallized surfaces. In order to ensure optical transparency, the metallic coatings of the surface are in particular produced only with a thin layer or a fine lattice structure or in any other similar way. The transparency zone of the entry zone can be adapted to the detection zone of the optical detection element used. In particular, provision is made for the planar entry zone to be transparent or semi-transparent to visible light, that is to say to light situated in the spectral range between approximately 400 Nm and 700 Nm.

 So that a complete understanding of the operating instructions is also ensured in the dark, it is intended that the operating unit has lighting means, in particular infrared lighting means, intended to illuminate the area d 'Entrance. When using infrared lighting means, it is necessary that the sensitivity of the detection element is suitably located in the infrared spectral range.

 The maneuvering unit can in particular be made in such a way that the height / width ratio of the input area is essentially equal to the height / width ratio of an output area of the optical output unit. The direct assignment of a given position of a detected user's finger on the input area to the corresponding position of the cursor on the optical output unit is thus particularly simple, and is particularly easily understood by the user. 'user.

 The maneuvering unit can also be used for other tasks than simply entering maneuvering instructions. It is in particular possible to carry out an identification of the user by interpreting the output signal of the optical detection element. To operate the operating unit, the user places a finger, generally the index finger, on the entry surface. The optical sensing element can capture an image of the user's finger, the image produced may also resemble a

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 digital print. The operator's fingerprint thus taken can be compared to fingerprint samples of vehicle users, which have been previously stored, so as to make it possible to identify the current user. After identification of the user, it is then possible, for example, to make personalized adjustments to vehicle components. It can be a custom adjustment of the driver's seat, audio system, air conditioning system or rear view mirror. In addition, user identification can also be used to deactivate an immobilizer if the detected person is registered as a person authorized to drive the vehicle.

 Among the components of a motor vehicle which can be activated by the operating unit according to the invention in particular includes an air conditioning system, an audio system, a multimedia system or a navigation system.

 The invention will be commented on in more detail below with the aid of an exemplary embodiment illustrated by the drawings, in which: FIG. 1 shows a cross section and a front view of the operating unit thus that a contour line of the mounting wall; - Figure 2 shows a functional diagram of a vehicle component comprising the operating unit according to the invention.

 In FIG. 1a is shown a cross section through the operating unit 1. The operating unit 1 comprises, in addition to traditional operating members 6, such as adjustment knobs or keys, a flat entry area 2. The flat entry area 2 has an entry surface 3 which, in the assembled state of the operating unit, faces inward 12 of the motor vehicle. A user can, to move a cursor on an output unit 9, move a finger on the input surface 3. Inside the operation unit 1 is arranged a camera 5 - in particular a CMOS camera - which grasps an image of the entry area 2 and therefore detects the movement of the user's finger on the entry surface 3. The camera 5 is, for this purpose, turned towards the rear face 4 of the entry area 2 In the operating unit 1 is also arranged a lighting means 7, with the aid of which the entry area 2 is illuminated. The entry area 2, like the whole of the front face of the maneuvering unit 1 turned towards the interior 12 of the vehicle, is adapted to the contour of the central console. To do this, the entry surface has in particular a curvature in the space which corresponds to the curvature in the space of the wall 13 of the central console which surrounds the operating unit, the contour line of said wall being shown in Figure 1 c in a top view. In addition, the entry surface 3 is accorded, in terms of color, to the elements which

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 surround. The input surface 3 can thus be composed of a plastic surface or a metallic or metallized surface, however, transparency to light must be ensured so that the movement of the user's finger on the surface d input 3 can be detected by camera 5.

 FIG. 1 b shows a front view of the operating unit, that is to say from the side of the operating unit 1 facing inwards 12 and towards the conductor, which comprises the entry surface 3 and the other operating members 6.

 As shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2, the output signals from the operating unit 1, that is to say the output signal from the camera 5 and the output signals from the operating members 6, are transmitted to a control unit 8. The control unit 8 transforms the input signals, which it receives in particular from the camera 5, into an activation signal intended for a cursor located on the output unit ( screen) 9. To do this, the spatial coordinates of the user's finger, which is detected by the luminance signal from the camera 5, are transformed, in the control unit 8, into geometric coordinates. The modification of the geometric coordinates resulting from the movement of the finger is transformed into a change of the geometric coordinates of the cursor on the screen 9. The cursor can thus, depending on the application, be moved continuously or by jumps, for example in a selection menu. In addition, the control unit 8 is electrically connected to the motor vehicle components 10, 11 which are for example an air conditioning system and an audio system. Depending on the selection made by the user in a selection menu appearing on the screen 9, control signals from the operating unit 1 are transmitted to one of the two components of the motor vehicle 10,11, so that it is possible, via the operating unit 1, to adjust the indoor temperature of an air conditioning system or the volume of an audio player.

 In addition, there may also exist in the control unit 8 storage means, in which samples of fingerprints of the various users of the vehicle are stored. The sample, detected by the camera 5, of the fingerprint of the current user, who has placed his finger on the input surface 3, is, in the control unit 8, interpreted and compared with samples stored. In the event of a match between the detected sample and the sample stored, the immobilizer system can be disabled if there is an authorization corresponding to the fingerprint stored. In addition, it is possible to assign the stored fingerprints setting values for different vehicle components, so that if a fingerprint

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 detected digital fingerprint corresponds to a stored fingerprint, the related settings are made automatically. In addition, the operating unit 1 can also have a scanner function, in that any shape placed on the entry surface 3 is captured by the camera 5. It is furthermore possible to carry out at the using the operating unit other additional functions which require optical sample recognition.

Claims (12)

1. Operation unit intended to be mounted in an opening in a wall delimiting the interior space of a motor vehicle, in particular a central console or a dashboard, the operation unit having one or more several actuators, which transmit signals to a control unit, which in turn generates, from signals output from the actuator, activation signals for an optical output unit enabling a cursor to be moved on the optical output unit and for controlling a motor vehicle component, characterized in that the maneuvering unit (1) has, as the maneuvering member, a flat entry area (2) comprising an entry surface (3), oriented towards the interior (12) of the motor vehicle and a rear face (4) oriented towards the side opposite to the interior (12) of the motor vehicle, the entry zone (2) being optically transparent, and in the handling unit e (1) being arranged an optical detection element (5), with which an image of the input area (2) is captured, and an output signal of the optical detection element (5) being transmitted to the control unit (8) for generating the activation signals making it possible to move the cursor on the optical output unit (9).  2. Operating unit according to claim 1, characterized in that the entry area (2) is curved in space.  3. Operating unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inlet zone (2) is adapted to an outline of the wall (13) surrounding the mounting opening.  4. Operating unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the optical detection element is a camera (5), in particular a CMOS camera.  5. Operating unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the planar entry zone (2) is transparent or semi-transparent to visible light.  6. Operation unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the operation unit has lighting means (7), in particular infrared lighting means, making it possible to illuminate the entrance area (2).  7. Operating unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the entry surface (3) facing the interior (12) of the motor vehicle is a plastic surface or a metal surface. <Desc / Clms Page number 9>  8. Operating unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the height / width ratio of the entry area is essentially equal to the height / width ratio of an exit area of the optical output unit ( 9).  9. Operating unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an identification of the user is carried out by interpretation of the output signal from the optical detection element (camera 5).  10. Operating unit according to claim 9, characterized in that, after interpretation of the output signal for the identification of the user, personalized adjustments are made to vehicle components (10, 11) 11. Control unit according to claim 9, characterized in that, after interpretation of the output signal for the identification of the user, an immobilizer device is deactivated.  12. Operating unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor vehicle component (10, 11) is, or includes, the device for controlling an air conditioning system, an audio system, a multimedia system or a navigation system.