WO2015110722A1

WO2015110722A1 - Touch-sensitive control device for motor vehicle dashboard

Info

Publication number: WO2015110722A1
Application number: PCT/FR2014/053265
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vincent LAINE
Original assignee: Peugeot Citroen Automobiles Sa
Priority date: 2014-01-23
Filing date: 2014-12-10
Publication date: 2015-07-30
Also published as: FR3016563B1; FR3016563A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a touch-sensitive control device for a motor vehicle dashboard, including a transparent front wall (60) painted on the rear surface thereof and having a plurality of functional pictogrammes (61) indicating specific control areas, a capacitive film affixed to the painted rear surface of said front wall (60), an electronic board with printed circuits electrically connected to said capacitive film and including means for controlling said capacitive film as well as a plurality of light-emitting diodes to provide the back-lighting of said pictogrammes (61), a touch-sensitive control panel (10) defined by a thin housing (20) which is open at the front and receives said capacitive film as well as said electronic board, with said front wall (60) sealing said housing (20), and attachment means (70) for connecting said panel (10) by one of the edges of said housing (20) to said dashboard.

Description

TOUCH CONTROL DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLE DASHBOARD

Field of the invention

The present invention relates generally to control devices present in current motor vehicles and for controlling certain functions of the vehicle such as the car radio, the air conditioning system, telephony or the navigation system. satellite.

Background of the invention

Such control devices are well known in the prior art, in particular from the international patent application WO 2012126706 A1.

These are usually arranged at the center console in a substantially vertical plane, so that they are easily accessible and manipulated by both the driver and the front passenger.

They comprise a front panel with a multitude of control members each dedicated to controlling a dedicated function and constituted by push buttons or rotary knobs.

According to a conventional arrangement described in the aforementioned application, the control device comprises a base integral with a printed circuit comprising electrical switches.

The circuit is covered with an elastomeric sheet on which is positioned a front facade representing the visible component of the device.

The facade is provided with a plurality of pushbuttons and rotary knobs whose actuation switches the circuit board switches.

The elastomeric sheet which is intended to protect the printed circuit against dust, water and other external elements, has a number of cutouts allowing the passage thus mechanical guiding elements of the knurls and buttons from the style facade to the printed circuit board.

It is also provided with deformable domes placed at the location of the push buttons so that a dome exerts on a button a light return force and opposed to the depression, the force returning the button to its initial position after being pressed.

This type of control device with a multitude of push buttons and / or rotary dials, however, meets the demands made by users who now want dashboards readable, simple and clean.

In addition, the cutting lines present on the front between the buttons tend to affect the level of quality perceived by these users.

In order to overcome these disadvantages, tactile control systems have recently appeared on the market.

The French patent application FR 2,967,101 describes such an integrated system in the central part of the dashboard of a motor vehicle and consists of an upper part comprising a touch screen and a lower part comprising a tactile control device contiguous to this touch screen.

This tactile control device comprises a front face made of transparent polycarbonate and coated with a black paint on the opposite side to that intended to be vis-à-vis a user.

Functional pictograms indicating specific areas of control, such as air conditioning or audio functions are made on this front panel.

A capacitive film is bonded to the painted face of this front face by a dielectric glue for communicating loads from the control surface to the capacitive film.

The touch control device also comprises an electronic card carrying on its back side a control circuit of the capacitive film to which it is connected via an electrical connection. Light-emitting diodes are furthermore arranged on this electronic card to ensure the backlighting of the pictograms of the front facade.

This touch control device further comprises a rotary wheel passing through this front panel and for controlling the volume control for the radio.

Such a tactile control device makes it possible to obtain, in the off state, a homogeneous and refined visual, particularly modern.

However, its integration into the dashboard remains traditional so that the latter keeps a massive and unattractive overall appearance.

Object and summary of the invention

The present invention therefore aims to provide such a touch control device for a motor vehicle whose integration to the dashboard is optimized.

It proposes for this purpose a tactile control device for a motor vehicle dashboard, comprising:

- A transparent front facade painted on its rear face and having a plurality of functional pictograms indicating specific control areas;

a capacitive film affixed against the painted rear face of said front facade;

a printed circuit board electrically connected to said capacitive film and comprising means for controlling said capacitive film and a plurality of light-emitting diodes for backlighting said pictograms;

characterized in that it comprises a touch control panel delimited by a thin casing open at the front and housing said capacitive film and said electronic card, with said front facade closing said casing; said device further comprising fixing means for connecting said panel by one of said housing to said dashboard.

The fineness of the touch control panel of the device according to the invention and its particular arrangement, give the impression that this panel "floats" at the dashboard which provides a feeling of lightness particularly pleasant.

In addition, the device according to the invention allows to release a substantial space at the rear of the panel which can be arranged in a particularly practical storage area for the front passengers of the vehicle.

According to preferred features of said tactile control device according to the invention:

said panel has a thickness of less than 20 mm and preferably of between 13 and 18 mm;

said device further comprises a spacer housed in said panel between said capacitive film and said electronic card, and able to maintain a predetermined fixed spacing between said electronic card and said front facade;

said spacer is made of a rigid and opaque material, the latter comprising a flat plate affixed against said capacitive film and in which are formed openings disposed opposite said pictograms, as well as amounts extending rearwardly from the around each of said openings and whose free ends rest against said electronic card by surrounding each of said light emitting diodes;

said light-emitting diodes have a luminosity greater than or equal to 500 Cd / m ² ;

said light-emitting diodes have a spatial distribution at least equal to 120 °, and preferably greater than or equal to 120 °; - The front face is made of a transparent thermoplastic material tinted black smoke while its back side is coated with a glossy black paint;

said electronic card also comprises a peripheral light source of ambient located at least along one of its edges, and comprising a series of light-emitting diodes associated with a transparent light guide disposed opposite a corresponding window provided on at least one slice of said housing;

said fixing means comprise a rigid square formed by two rectangular flat portions extending perpendicularly with respect to one another from a common edge, with said first portion being fixed to said panel and said second portion presenting at least one hole for cooperating with a screw to secure said panel to a wall of said dashboard; and or

said second portion of the fixing bracket comprises means for pre-positioning said panel against said wall of the dashboard before the screwing operations. Brief description of the drawings

The description of the invention will now be continued by the detailed description of an exemplary embodiment, given below by way of illustration but without limitation, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the front part of the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle incorporating a touch control device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the tactile control device of FIG. 1; and

- Figure 3 is a three-quarter perspective view of the control device of Figure 1 mounted configuration. Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

Figure 1 shows a side elevational view of the front part of the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle.

The dashboard 2 of this vehicle comprises in the central part a chassis 3 incorporating a touch screen 4 and at least one control wheel 5 disposed in the lower portion of the peripheral zone of this screen 4.

This dashboard 2 also comprises a touch control device 1 according to the invention, located in the vertical extension of the touch screen 4 below the frame 3 and above the central console 6 of the vehicle.

We will now describe in detail this device 1 in support of Figures 2 and 3.

It comprises a touch control panel 10 delimited by a thin parallelepipedal housing 20 open at the front.

The housing 20, slightly flared forward, houses a printed circuit board (PCB) 30, a spacer 40 and a capacitive film 50.

The touch control panel 10 also has a front-end faceplate 60 that closes the housing 20.

This front face 60 is constituted by a flat wall made of a black smoked transparent thermoplastic material, such as polycarbonate (PC) or polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), the latter having the advantage of having excellent transparency and to be insensitive to scratches

This front face 60 whose rear face (ie the opposite side to that intended to be vis-à-vis a user) is coated with a glossy black paint, incorporates a number of pictograms 61 located at the level of different tactile control areas and representative of the various controlled functions. These pictograms 61 are preferably made by laser scraping on the painted rear face of this front face 60. The capacitive film 50, affixed against the painted rear face of the front face 20, is connected via an electrical connection layer (not shown in the figures) to the electronic card 30.

This includes a microcontroller (not shown in the figures) providing electronic management of the capacitive film 50, and a plurality of light-emitting diodes 31 for the backlighting of the pictograms 61 present on the rear face of the front panel 60.

Due to the dark smoked tinted appearance of the facade 60, these light-emitting diodes 31 must have a luminosity at least equal to 500 Cd / m ^{2 in} order to provide sufficient illumination intensity of the pictograms 61 for the passengers of the vehicle.

In addition, their spatial distribution is at least equal to 45 °, and preferably greater than or equal to 120 °, so as to minimize the necessary gap between the electronic card 30 and the front panel 60 to ensure lighting of the entire the surface of each pictogram 61.

The electronic card 30 also comprises three peripheral light sources 32 located respectively along its two lateral edges and its lower edge, and each consisting of a series of light-emitting diodes 33 associated with a transparent thermoplastic light guide 34 made of preferably polycarbonate (PC). The three light guides 34 are arranged opposite three corresponding windows 21 formed on the two lateral edges and on the lower edge of the housing 20.

The spacer 40, made of an opaque and rigid thermoplastic polymer such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), is interposed between the capacitive film 50 and the electronic card 30.

It consists of a flat plate 41 affixed against the capacitive film 50 and in which are formed rectangular openings 42 arranged opposite the pictograms 61 of the front panel 60.

Rails 43 extend rearwardly from the periphery of each of these openings 42, with their free ends resting against the electronic card 30 surrounding each of the light-emitting diodes 31.

These amounts 43 allow not only to maintain a fixed predetermined spacing between the electronic card 30 and the front panel 60, but also to compartmentalize the luminous flux produced by these diodes 31 and to avoid the dispersion of light throughout the panel 10.

The thickness of the spacer 40 depends directly on the spatial distribution of the light-emitting diodes 31.

As indicated above, the spacing between the electronic card 30 and the front panel 60 (whose value is determined by the height of the uprights 43 of this spacer 40) is even lower than this spatial distribution is important.

The thickness of the spacer 40 thus varies between 5 and 10 mm depending on the type of diodes 31 used, which, combined with the absence of mechanical guide element within the touch control panel 10 (the latter having no button or rotating wheel), provides a total thickness of this panel 10 less than 20 mm and preferably between 13 and 18 mm.

The tactile control device 1 according to the invention also comprises fixing means for connecting the panel 10 to the dashboard of the vehicle.

These fixing means are constituted by a bracket 70 made of a particularly rigid material such as metal or magnesium, and formed by two rectangular planar portions 71, 72 extending perpendicularly with respect to one another from a ridge commune 73.

The first portion 71, fixed to the panel 10, is housed almost entirely within the housing 20 between its bottom wall, the front of which it completely covers the electronic board 30. This first portion 71 thus contributes to the rigidity of the panel 10.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the upper end of this first portion 71 protrudes from the upper edge of the housing 20 via a slot 22 formed along its length (Figure 2). The second portion 72 of this bracket fastener 60 extends rearwardly of the panel 10 from the ridge 73.

It comprises two pins 74 extending from its upper face and able to penetrate during assembly of the device according to the invention in two corresponding recesses formed in a wall of the dashboard 2 constituted for example by the bottom wall 3A of the support frame 3 of the touch screen 4 (Figure 1).

This second portion 72 also has two circular holes 75 disposed near the pins 74, outer side, to allow the attachment of the touch control panel 10 with two screws.

To mount the device 1 according to the invention, the operator must first insert the two pins 74 in the two recesses formed in the attachment wall 3A of the dashboard 2. The cooperation of these pins 74 with these two recesses makes it possible to ensure a perfect pre-positioning of the touch control panel 10 with the two circular holes 75 which are then opposite two threaded holes made in this fixing wall 3A.

It remains for the operator to insert the two screws through the two holes 75 and screw them into the corresponding holes to ensure the final fixing of the panel 10, these screwing operations can be performed blind thanks to prepositioning performed previously.

Since this touch control panel 10 is only connected by the upper edge of the housing 20 to the central portion of the dashboard 2, the latter seems to float above the central console 6 of the vehicle. This thus provides a particularly user-friendly rendition that is further enhanced by the three peripheral light sources 32 located along the two side edges and the lower edge of the case 20.

In addition, this particular configuration of the touch control panel 10 associated with its fineness, allows to release a large space at the rear of the latter which can be arranged in a zone particularly practical storage for the front passengers of the vehicle (Figure 1).

When the touch control panel 10 is off, the front face 60 appears in a uniform glossy black giving a glass effect of the most suitable for the eyes of passengers of the vehicle, this effect being obtained at the level of the pictograms (whose corresponding surfaces are paint-free) thanks to the black smoked thermoplastic material used to make this interface facade.

According to alternative embodiments not shown, the panel is attached by its lower edge or by one of its two side edges to the dashboard.

According to other embodiments not shown, some elements of the touch control panel are shaped differently. In particular, the three light guides can be replaced by a single guide current on the two side walls and on the bottom wall of the frame. The pre-positioning means may also be different and be formed for example by detent tongues. The electronic card may also include at least one LCD-type display with a cut-out made in the capacitive film and a lack of paint on the rear face of the front face opposite this display so that the information it delivers is visible. by the passengers.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown, but encompasses any embodiment within the scope of the skilled person.

Claims

1. A touch control device for a dashboard (2) of a motor vehicle, comprising:

- a transparent front facade (60) painted on its rear face and having a plurality of functional pictograms (61) indicating specific control areas;

a capacitive film (50) affixed against the painted rear face of said front face (60);

a printed circuit board (30) electrically connected to said capacitive film (50) and comprising means for controlling said capacitive film (50) and a plurality of light-emitting diodes (31) for backlighting said pictograms (61);

characterized in that it comprises a touch control panel

(10) delimited by a thin housing (20) open at the front and housing said capacitive film (50) and said electronic board (30), with said front face (60) closing said housing (20);

said device further comprising fastening means (70) for connecting said panel (10) by one of said housing (20) to said dashboard (2).

2. A tactile control device according to claim 1, characterized in that said panel (10) has a thickness less than 20 mm and preferably between 13 and 18 mm.

3. Touch control device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it further comprises a spacer (40) housed in said panel (10) between said capacitive film (50) and said electronic card (30). ), and adapted to maintain a predetermined fixed spacing between said electronic card (30) and said front panel (60).

4. A tactile control device according to claim 3, characterized in that said spacer (40) is made of a rigid and opaque material, the latter comprising a flat plate (41) affixed against said capacitive film (50) and in which are formed openings (42) arranged opposite said pictograms (61), and amounts (43) extending rearwardly from the periphery of each said openings (42) and whose free ends rest against said electronic card (30) surrounding each of said light emitting diodes (31).

5. A touch control device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said light emitting diodes (31) have a brightness greater than or equal to 500 Cd / m ² .

6. Touch control device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said light emitting diodes (31) have a spatial distribution at least equal to 120 °, and preferably greater than or equal to 120 °.

7. A touch control device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said front face (60) is made of a transparent thermoplastic material tinted black smoked while its back side is coated with a glossy black paint.

8. A touch control device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said electronic card (30) also comprises a peripheral light source of atmosphere (32) located at least along one of its edges, and comprising a series of light-emitting diodes (33) associated with a transparent light guide (34) disposed opposite a corresponding window (21) formed on at least one edge of said housing (20).

9. A tactile control device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said fixing means comprise a rigid bracket (70) formed by two rectangular planar portions (71, 72) extending perpendicularly one through relationship to the other from a common edge (73), with said first portion (71) being attached to said panel (10) and said second portion (72) having at least one hole (75) for cooperating with a screw for securing said panel (10) to a wall (3A) of said dashboard (2).

10. A touch control device according to claim 9, characterized in that said second portion (72) of the fastening bracket (70) comprises pre-positioning means (74) of said panel (10) against said wall (3A ) of the dashboard (2) before screwing operations.