Electrical transmission or interconnection systems – Vehicle mounted systems – Automobile
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-11
2002-09-10
Paladini, Albert W. (Department: 2827)
Electrical transmission or interconnection systems
Vehicle mounted systems
Automobile
C307S009100, C074S335000, C074S469000, C074S473100, C074S473300, C477S034000, C700S056000, C701S051000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06448670
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a signal input device to be mounted in, for example, a vehicle, and more particularly, to a so-called joystick type signal input device in which a desired signal can be input from a movable operating section.
The present invention also relates to a car-mounted input device in which various electronic devices mounted in a car are centrally operated by a single manual operating section, and more particularly, to a means for causing an operator to tactually know whether the operation by the manual operating section is proper or improper.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, this type of signal input device has been proposed, for example, as shown
FIGS. 19 and 20
. In this signal input device, a grip portion
101
of a joystick
100
has, on its peripheral surface, retractable projections
102
arranged in a dense 4 by 4 matrix, i.e., sixteen in total.
The projections
102
are disposed corresponding to portions
104
, that is, the tip, middle, and base portions of the four fingers, excluding the thumb, and portions slightly close to the palm, of a hand
103
that grips the grip portion
101
, as shown in FIG.
20
. Although not shown, vibration means having piezoelectric elements are provided inside the projections
102
, respectively, so as to individually vibrate the projections
102
.
By gripping the grip portion
101
with the hand
103
and tilting the joystick
100
in a desired direction, a signal is output. Based on this output signal, a car-mounted device is operated, and the vibration means is also driven to transmit vibrations to the projections
102
. This allows the driver to tactually know, through the hand
103
, which of-the projections
102
is vibrating, and which car-mounted device is being presently operated.
It is difficult to operate the car-mounted device while driving a car, and to check the operation by watching a monitor display during driving. According to the above-described conventional device, the driver can tactually check the operation of the car-mounted device without watching the monitor display, and this ensures safe driving. The conventional device, however, also has some disadvantages.
That is, this joystick
100
needs a plurality of projections
102
, a plurality of vibration means corresponding to the projections
102
, control means for individually controlling the drives of the vibration means, and the like. This results in an increased number of components, complicated structure, large size, high cost, and troublesome assembly.
Since the size of the hand
103
for operating the joystick
100
, that is, the positions of the portions
104
in
FIG. 20
, varies among individuals, differences arise in tactually sensing which projection
102
is vibrating, and this makes it impossible to properly check the operations of the car-mounted devices in a tactile manner.
Recent cars are equipped with a plurality of electronic devices, such as an air conditioner, a radio, a television, a CD player, and a navigation system. Since individual control of these electronic devices may hinder the driving of a car, a car-mounted input device has been proposed hitherto, in which all electronic devices can be controlled by operating a single manual operating section in order to easily turn on and off a desired electronic device, to select the function of the device, and to control the selected function, while maintaining safe driving.
FIGS. 21
to
26
show the configuration of a car-mounted input device as a second conventional art.
FIG. 21
is an interior view of a car equipped with the car-mounted input device,
FIG. 22
is a side view of the car-mounted input device,
FIG. 23
is a plan view of a manual operating section included in the car-mounted input device,
FIG. 24
is a plan view of a guide plate included in the car-mounted input device,
FIG. 25
is a table showing the relationship between the engaging position of an engaging pin in a guide groove and the function to be selected, when an air conditioner is selected by a switch device, and
FIG. 26
is a table showing the relationship between the engaging position of the engaging pin in the guide groove and the function to be selected, when a radio is selected by the switch device.
Referring to
FIG. 21
, a car-mounted input device
200
as the second conventional art is mounted in a console box
300
between a driver's seat and a front passenger's seat in the car.
As shown in
FIGS. 22
to
24
, the car-mounted input device
200
mainly comprises a manual operating section
210
including two click switches
211
and
212
and three rotary variable resistors
213
,
214
, and
215
that serve as signal input means; an X-Y table
220
to be driven in the X-direction and the Y-direction orthogonal to each other by the manual operating section
210
; a stick controller
230
serving as a position signal input means that inputs a signal in accordance with the direction and amount of movement of the X-Y table
220
; and a guide plate 240 engaged with the manual operating section
210
via the X-Y table
220
.
The manual operating section
210
and the X-Y table
220
are connected via a connecting shaft
250
, and the X-Y table
220
and the guide plate
240
are connected by movably fitting the leading end of an engaging pin
260
, which projects from the lower surface of the X-Y table
220
, in a guide groove
241
cut in the upper surface of the guide plate
240
. The guide groove
241
is, as shown in
FIG. 24
, constituted by three longitudinal grooves
241
a,
241
b,
and
241
a
arranged at regular intervals, and a transverse groove
241
d
for connecting the centers of these three longitudinal grooves
241
a,
241
b,
and
241
c.
The grooves
241
a
to
241
d
have such a width that the engaging pin
260
can move only in the longitudinal directions thereof. Therefore, the manual operating section
210
and the X-Y table
220
can move only in the X-direction (the lengthwise direction of the transverse groove
241
d
) and the Y-direction (the lengthwise direction of the longitudinal grooves
241
a
to
241
a
) within the pattern and the size of the guide groove
241
.
The functions of car-mounted electronic devices can be switched by moving the engaging pin
260
to any-of the ends and centers A to I of the longitudinal grooves
241
a,
241
b,
and
241
a
shown in
FIG. 24
, and operating one of the two click switches
211
and
212
in the manual operating section
210
. That is, this causes the stick controller
230
to output position information about the position of engagement between the engaging pin
260
and the guide groove
241
which is selected by operating the manual operating section
210
and the X-Y table
220
, and therefore, it is possible to select the function of the car-mounted electronic devices based on the position signal.
The function of the electronic device, which is selected by operating the manual operating section
210
and the click switch
211
or
212
, can be controlled by operating any of the three rotary variable resistors
213
,
214
, and
215
provided in the manual operating section
210
.
The car-mounted input device
200
having the above-described configuration centrally controls a plurality of car-mounted electronic devices, in combination with a switch device for alternatively selecting desired one from the electronic devices, a display device for displaying the name of the electronic device selected by the switch device, and details of operations of the car-mounted input device
200
, and a computer for controlling these devices.
As shown in
FIG. 21
, a switch device
270
including a combination of a plurality of (five in
FIG. 21
) switches
271
a to
271
e is provided near the car-mounted input device
200
in the console box
300
, and a display device
280
, such as a liquid crystal display device, is. provided in a portion. of the console box
300
that can be easily seen from the driver's seat. Since a computer is placed inside
Mitsuzuka Katsuya
Numata Hidetaka
Onodera Mikio
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