JP6882961B2 - Operating device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an operating device.

As a conventional technique, a paddle lever attached to the steering column or a member around the steering column and provided so as to be able to operate at least in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and a paddle lever provided at the tip of the paddle lever to enable touch operation input. A paddle switch including a paddle operation unit and a touch operation unit provided on at least one side of the paddle operation unit is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

This paddle switch can operate the operation target by operating the touch operation unit while pulling the paddle lever toward you.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-58234

However, the conventional paddle switch has a problem that the operation surface is small and the operability is low because the touch operation unit is arranged on the upper part of the tip of the paddle lever.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an operating device capable of improving operability.

One aspect of the present invention is a paddle switch provided on the back side of the steering wheel and having a paddle lever that can be pulled toward the steering wheel while holding the steering wheel, and an operation exposed on the back surface of the paddle lever on the rotation shaft side of the steering wheel. Provided is an operation device including a touch pad having a surface and detecting an operation performed on the operation surface.

According to the present invention, operability can be improved.

FIG. 1A is a schematic view of the inside of a vehicle on which an example of the operating device according to the embodiment is mounted, and FIG. 1B is an example of a block diagram of the operating device. FIG. 2A is a schematic view of an example of the operating device according to the embodiment as viewed from above, and FIG. 2B is a schematic view showing an example of the back side of the steering wheel. FIG. 3A is a schematic view showing an example before the paddle lever of the operating device according to the embodiment is operated, and FIG. 3B is a schematic view showing an example after the paddle lever is operated. It is a figure.

(Summary of Embodiment)
The operating device according to the embodiment is exposed on the back surface of a paddle switch provided on the back side of the steering wheel and having a paddle lever that can be pulled toward the steering wheel while holding the steering wheel, and the back surface of the paddle lever on the rotating shaft side of the steering wheel. It is roughly configured with a touch pad that has an operation surface and detects an operation performed on the operation surface.

This operating device is not provided on the tip side of the paddle lever where there is room for placement space, but has a touch pad on the rotation axis side of the steering wheel where there is room for placement space, so it can be operated compared to the tip side. The surface can be enlarged and the operability can be improved.

[Embodiment]
(Outline of operation device 1)
FIG. 1A is a schematic view of the inside of a vehicle on which an example of the operating device according to the embodiment is mounted, and FIG. 1B is an example of a block diagram of the operating device. FIG. 2A is a schematic view of an example of the operating device according to the embodiment as viewed from above, and FIG. 2B is a schematic view showing an example of the back side of the steering wheel. In each figure according to the embodiment described below, the ratio between the figures may differ from the actual ratio. Further, in FIG. 1B, the main signal and information flow are indicated by arrows.

As shown in FIGS. 1A to 2B, for example, the operating device 1 is provided on the back side of the steering wheel 80, and the paddle lever 20 can be pulled toward the steering wheel 80 while holding the steering wheel 80. a paddle switch 2 having has an operating surface 30 exposed to the rear surface 201 of the rotary shaft L ₁ side of the paddle lever 20 of the steering 80, and includes a touch pad 3 for detecting the operation performed on the operation surface 30, the It is roughly configured.

The paddle switches 2 of the present embodiment are arranged on the left and right, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 (a). Since the left and right paddle switches 2 have the same main configuration, the left and right paddle switches 2 have the same reference numerals.

Further, the back side of the steering 80 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 2A, the opposite surface side (upper side of the paper surface) when the surface facing the driver is the front surface (lower side of the paper surface), which is a combination. It is on the surface side facing the switch device 87. That is, the paddle switch 2 is arranged between the steering wheel 80 and the combination switch device 87.

Further, the operation of pulling toward the steering 80 side is, for example, an operation in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 2A. The paddle switch 2 of the present embodiment is a paddle shift device that switches the gear of the transmission of the vehicle 8. Therefore, the paddle switch 2 is configured to return to its original position after being operated in the direction of arrow A.

As a modification, when the paddle switch 2 is a switch for operating an electronic device such as a navigation device or an air conditioner mounted on the vehicle 8, the operation in the direction of arrow A and the operation in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow A are detected. It may be configured as follows.

The operating device 1 has, for example, as shown in FIG. 1B, a control unit 4 electrically connected to the left paddle switch 2 and the touch pad 3 and the right paddle switch 2 and the touch pad 3. I have.

Here, the central portion 81 of the steering wheel 80 is connected to the steering shaft by arranging, for example, an airbag or a sound alarm. Further, the ring portion 82 has, for example, a ring shape and is connected to the central portion 81 via three spoke portions 83 to 85. The spoke portions 83 and the spoke portions 84 are located in the approximately 9 o'clock direction and the 3 o'clock direction, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 (a). The spoke portions 83 to 85 are composed of a core metal and a cover that covers the core metal.

(Configuration of paddle switch 2)
The paddle switch 2 on the left side is arranged on the spoke portion 83 side of the steering wheel 80. Therefore, when operating the left paddle switch 2 and the touch pad 3, the driver grips, for example, the connecting portion between the spoke portion 83 and the ring portion 82.

The paddle switch 2 on the right side is arranged on the spoke portion 84 side of the steering wheel 80. Therefore, when operating the paddle switch 2 and the touch pad 3 on the right side, the driver grips, for example, the connecting portion between the spoke portion 84 and the ring portion 82.

The left and right paddle switches 2 are roughly configured with, for example, a paddle lever 20 and a switch portion 25, as shown in FIGS. 1 (b) and 2 (a).

The paddle lever 20 has a plate shape, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b). The paddle lever 20 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), a base 21, a tip portion 20b away from the rotation axis L ₁ of the steering 80, finger operation finger applied during the operation of the paddle lever 20 It has a hanging portion 22 and.

The base 21 is rotatably attached to a portion whose end 20a is covered with a cover 86. This attachment, paddle lever 20 can rotate about an axis of rotation L ₂ which will be described later.

The finger hook portion 22 is wider than the base portion 21. The finger hook portion 22 is provided with, for example, two convex portions 220 extending in parallel from the top to the bottom and from the left to the right of the paper surface of FIG. 2B on the back surface 201. The convex portion 220 is provided as a guide for the operating finger. Touchpad 3 thus is disposed on the rotating shaft L ₁ side of the finger rest 22.

Further, the paddle lever 20 has an opening 23 penetrating from the front surface 200 to the back surface 201. The operation surface 30 of the touch pad 3 is exposed in the opening 23. As an example, the operation surface 30 is slightly higher than the back surface 201 when the paddle lever 20 is not operated, but is not limited to this, or the operation surface 30 and the back surface 201 of the paddle lever 20 are lower. It may be flat.

A switch portion 25 is arranged on the end portion 20a side of the paddle lever 20. The switch unit 25 outputs, for example, a switch signal, which is an on signal indicating that the operation of the paddle lever 20 has been detected, to the control unit 4.

When the left paddle switch 2 is operated, the left switch section 25 via a paddle lever 20 is left switch signals S ₁ turned on is output to the control unit 4. When the right paddle switch 2 is operated, the right switch unit 25 is turned on via the paddle lever 20 and the right switch signal S ₂ is output to the control unit 4.

(Structure of touchpad 3)
FIG. 3A is a schematic view showing an example before the paddle lever of the operating device according to the embodiment is operated, and FIG. 3B is a schematic view showing an example after the paddle lever is operated. It is a figure.

The touch pad 3 is, for example, a capacitance type touch sensor. The touch pad 3 includes, for example, a plurality of drive electrodes and a plurality of detection electrodes below the operation surface 30. Then, the touch pad 3 periodically reads out the capacitance with all combinations of the drive electrode and the detection electrode. The touch pad 3 calculates, for example, the coordinates of contact with the operating finger based on a capacitance equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value, generates detection information, and outputs the detection information to the control unit 4. The calculation of these coordinates is performed using, for example, a weighted average.

When the left touch pad 3 is operated, the left touch pad 3 calculates the coordinates on the operated operation surface 30 _{to generate the left detection information S 3} and outputs the left detection information S 3 to the control unit 4. When the right touch pad 3 is operated, the right touch pad 3 calculates the coordinates on the operated operation surface 30 _{to generate the right detection information S 4,} and outputs the right detection information S 4 to the control unit 4.

Further, the touch pad 3 is configured so that the operation surface 30 can be pushed in, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A. _{The load F 2} required for this push operation is smaller than the _{load F 1} required for the operation on the paddle lever 20. The length of the arrow in FIG. 3A indicates the magnitude of the load required for the operation.

Therefore, even if the driver intends to push the touch pad 3 and pushes the paddle lever 20, he / she recognizes that he / she is trying to push a different place before the paddle switch 2 is turned on because of the difference in load. can do.

Further, the touch pad 3 is arranged in the opening 23, for example, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), and when the paddle lever 20 is pulled toward the steering wheel 80, the touch pad 3 is combined with the paddle lever 20. The operation surface 30 projects without being interlocked and displaced.

When the driver pulls the steering 80 side over the finger on the finger rest 22 of the paddle lever 20, for example, as shown in FIG. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the paddle lever 20, rotary shaft L ₂ Rotates around. Since the touch pad 3 is not integrated with the paddle lever 20 but is attached to the core metal or the frame of the steering 80 covered with the cover 54, the touch pad 3 is prevented from being displaced with the rotation of the paddle lever 20. That is, the touch pad 3 is stationary with respect to the steering 80.

Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 3B, the touch pad 3 is in a state in which the operation surface 30 protrudes by the amount of rotation of the paddle lever 20 from the opening 23.

(Structure of control unit 4)
The control unit 4 is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs calculations and processing on the acquired data according to a stored program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is a semiconductor memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. It is a microcomputer that is used. In this ROM, for example, a program for operating the control unit 4 is stored. The RAM is used, for example, as a storage area for temporarily storing a calculation result or the like.

The control unit 4, when the paddle switch 2 is paddle shift device, when the left paddle switch 2 inputs a left switch signal S _1, stage results in a decrease of the gear of the transmission as the left paddle switch 2 is operated operated It generates information S ₅ and outputs.

The control unit 4, when the paddle switch 2 is paddle shift device, when the right switch signal S ₂ from the right side of the paddle switch 2 inputs, causing one step up gear of the transmission as the right paddle switch 2 is operated operated It generates information S ₅ and outputs.

The control unit 4, if a touch operation or a push operation on the basis of the left detection information S ₃ obtained from the left side of the touch pad 3 is detected, are connected to generate operation information S ₅ based on the made the operation Output to electronic devices.

Similarly, when a touch operation, a push operation, or the like is detected based on _{the right detection information S 4} acquired from the right touch pad 3, the control unit 4 _{generates operation information S 5} based on the performed operation and connects the control unit 4. Output to the electronic device.

(Effect of embodiment)
The operation device 1 according to the present embodiment can improve operability. Specifically, the operating device 1 is not provided on the tip side of the paddle lever 20 which has no margin in the arrangement space and is likely to cause erroneous operation, but the rotation shaft L of the steering 80 which has a margin in the arrangement space. _{Since the} touch pad 3 is provided on one side, that is, on the end portion 20a side of the base portion 21, the operation surface 30 can be made larger than that on the tip end side, so that erroneous operation can be suppressed and operability can be improved. Can be done.

The operating device 1 is configured such that the load of the push operation on the touch pad 3 is smaller than the load of operating the paddle switch 2. Therefore, as compared with the case where this configuration is not adopted, the operating device 1 pushes a different place before the paddle switch 2 is turned on even if the driver pushes the paddle lever 20 with the intention of performing a push operation on the touch pad 3. It is possible to recognize that the user is trying to do so and suppress erroneous operation.

Even if the paddle switch 2 is a paddle shift device that changes the gear of the transmission, the operating device 1 suppresses an erroneous operation that the driver does not intend because the loads required for operating the paddle switch 2 and the touch pad 3 are different. ..

Since the operation device 1 can perform a push operation on the touch pad 3, the number of operable functions is increased as compared with the case where this configuration is not adopted, and it is possible to cope with the increase in the number of connected electronic devices. Also, it can be used for various grades of vehicles.

In the operating device 1, since the paddle lever 20 and the touch pad 3 are not displaced in conjunction with each other, it is not necessary to perform wiring assuming the displacement of the touch pad 3 as compared with the case where the operation device 1 is integrated, and the assembly is easy and the wire is broken. Failures such as are suppressed.

Although some embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments and modifications are merely examples and do not limit the invention according to the claims. These novel embodiments and modifications can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various omissions, replacements, changes, etc. can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Moreover, not all combinations of features described in these embodiments and modifications are essential as means for solving the problems of the invention. Further, these embodiments and modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

1 ... Operating device, 2 ... Paddle switch, 3 ... Touch pad, 4 ... Control unit, 8 ... Vehicle, 20 ... Paddle lever, 20a ... End, 20b ... Tip, 21 ... Base, 22 ... Finger hook, 23 ... opening, 25 ... switch part, 30 ... operation surface, 54 ... cover, 80 ... steering, 81 ... central part, 82 ... ring part, 83-85 ... spoke part, 86 ... cover, 87 ... combination switch device, 200 ... Front side, 201 ... Back side, 220 ... Convex part

Claims (5)

A paddle switch provided on the back side of the steering wheel and having a paddle lever that can be pulled toward the steering wheel while holding the steering wheel.
A touch pad having an exposed operation surface on the back surface of the paddle lever on the rotation axis side of the steering wheel and detecting an operation performed on the operation surface.
Equipped with a,
The touch pad can be further pushed to push the operation surface.
The load required for the push operation is smaller than the load required for the operation on the paddle lever.
Operating device. A paddle switch provided on the back side of the steering wheel and having a paddle lever that can be pulled toward the steering wheel while holding the steering wheel.
A touch pad having an exposed operation surface on the back surface of the paddle lever on the rotation axis side of the steering wheel and detecting an operation performed on the operation surface.
With
The paddle lever has an opening that penetrates from the front surface to the back surface.
The touch pad is arranged in the opening, and when the operation of pulling the paddle lever toward the steering side is performed, the operation surface protrudes without being displaced in conjunction with the paddle lever.
Operation apparatus. The touch pad can be further pushed to push the operation surface.
The load required for the push operation is smaller than the load required for the operation on the paddle lever.
The operating device according to claim 2. The paddle lever has a finger hook portion on which an operating finger is hooked when operating the paddle lever at a tip portion of the steering wheel away from the rotation axis.
The touch pad is arranged on the rotation axis side of the finger hook portion.
The operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The paddle switch is a paddle shift device for switching gears of a vehicle transmission.
The operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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