Vehicle seat with seat operating device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11307751-B2
Application number	US-201916510155-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 12, 2019
Priority date	Jul 13, 2018
Publication date	Apr 19, 2022
Grant date	Apr 19, 2022

Abstract

A vehicle seat having a seat operating device, wherein the seat operating device has a touch screen for displaying control panels for setting a value of an operating parameter assigned to the respective control panel and for detecting user input, wherein one can toggle between control panels via at least one first user input, wherein the control panels are arranged in a fixed order, wherein each a individual control panel is displayed by the touch screen and the value of the operating parameter can be changed by at least a second user input in the control panel.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle seat, comprising:
a plurality of mechanical actuators within the vehicle seat, each actuator of the plurality of mechanical actuators responsive to an operating parameter of the vehicle seat; and
a seat operating device,
wherein the seat operating device includes a touch screen for displaying control panels for setting a value of the operating parameter of the vehicle seat, wherein the operating parameter is assigned to a respective control panel, and for detecting user input,
wherein a user can switch between control panels by at least one first user input,
wherein the control panels are arranged in a fixed sequence,
wherein a single control panel at a time is displayed by the touch screen,
wherein the value of the operating parameter assigned to a displayed control panel can be changed by providing an actuation signal to an actuator of the plurality of mechanical actuators that is operable to respond to a change in the operating parameter assigned to the displayed control panel in response to at least one second user input entered using the control panel,
wherein the seat operating device further includes an electronic control unit,
wherein the electronic control unit links the displayed control panel to the actuator of the plurality of mechanical actuators associated with the displayed control panel and a corresponding operating parameter,
wherein, in response to a switching between control panels, an identification signal is transmitted from the touch screen to the electronic control unit to identify a currently displayed control panel, and
wherein after receipt of the identification signal by the electronic control unit, and prior to receipt of an instance of a second user input entered using the currently displayed control panel, the electronic control unit sends an activation signal to the actuator of the plurality of mechanical actuators associated with the currently displayed control panel to briefly activate the actuator of the plurality of mechanical actuators associated with the currently displayed control panel.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein the first user input is a swiping movement.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein the second user input is a tapping movement.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 ,
wherein the seat operating device comprises an activation button, and
wherein by actuation of the activation button a first activation signal can be sent to the touch screen, whereby the touch screen can be unlocked and a first control panel selected from a group of control panels is displayed on the touch screen.

5. The vehicle seat according to claim 4 , wherein after pressing the activation button, the touch screen is illuminated.

6. The vehicle seat according to claim 4 , wherein after a predetermined second duration, a deactivation signal has been sent to the touch screen by the electronic control unit, whereby the touch screen is automatically deactivated.

7. The vehicle seat according to claim 4 , wherein after a predetermined third duration a reset signal has been sent to the touch screen by the electronic control unit, whereby the first control panel is displayed.

8. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 ,
wherein the seat operating device is constantly activated, and
wherein the touch screen is constantly illuminated.

9. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein the touch screen is arranged in or on an armrest of the vehicle seat or in a seat section of the vehicle seat.

10. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein the operating parameter is at least one of a seat height, a spring rate, a seat before and after position, and a seat back angle.

11. The vehicle seat according to claim 10 , wherein the actuator of the plurality of mechanical actuators controls at least one of the seat height, the spring rate, the seat before and after position, and the seat back angle.

12. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein the user can select one of the control panels for display by the touch screen in response to at least one first user input.

13. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein the identification signal identifies a control panel that is displayed by the touch screen after switching between control panels.

14. A method, comprising:
activating a seat operating device by pressing an activation button and displaying a first control panel selected from a group of various control panels on a touch screen;
using the first control panel or selecting a second control panel by at least a first user input and displaying the second control panel on the touch screen; and
changing a value of an operating parameter associated with the seat operating device assigned to the first or second control panel by at least one second user input,
wherein the seat operating device includes an electronic control unit,
wherein the electronic control unit links the first control panel to a first mechanical actuator disposed within a vehicle seal,
wherein the first mechanical actuator is associated with the first control panel and responsive to the first operating parameter corresponding to the first control panel,
wherein, in response to a switching from the first control panel to the second control panel and after a predetermined first duration, an identification signal is transmitted from the touch screen to the electronic control unit,
wherein after receipt of the identification signal by the electronic control unit, and prior to receipt of a second user input, an activation signal is sent to a second mechanical actuator disposed within the vehicle seat and associated with the second control panel to briefly actuate the second mechanical actuator to cause a change in the vehicle seat.

15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the operating parameter is at least one of a seat height, a spring rate, a seat before and after position, and a seat back angle.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the first mechanical actuator controls at least one of the seat height, the spring rate, the seat before and after position, and the seat back angle.

17. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the touch screen is arranged in or on an armrest of the vehicle seat or in a seat section of the vehicle seat.

18. A vehicle seat, comprising:
a seat operating device,
wherein the seat operating device has a touch screen for displaying a plurality of control panels for setting a value of a respective control panel associated with an operating parameter of the vehicle seat and for detecting user inputs,
wherein one can toggle between the plurality of control panels in response to at least one first user input,
wherein the plurality of control panels are arranged in a fixed sequence,
wherein a single control panel at a time is displayed by the touch screen and the value of the operating parameter associated with the displayed control panel can be changed by at least one second user input via at least one input button of the vehicle seat,
wherein the seat operating device includes an electronic control unit,
wherein the electronic control unit links the displayed control panel to a first mechanical actuator of a plurality of mechanical actuators, each of the plurality of mechanical actuators located within the vehicle seat and are associated with the displayed control panel and are responsive to a corresponding first operating parameter,
wherein the displayed control panel is the respective control panel of the plurality of control panels, ea

Assignees

• Grammer Ag

Inventors

• Kolb Jens

Classifications

• B60K35/22

  Display screens · CPC title

• B60K35/10

  Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor · CPC title

• B60N2/0233

  Touchscreens · CPC title

• B60N2/0239

  using movement detection or gesture recognition · CPC title

• B60N2/0228 Primary

  Hand-activated mechanical switches (B60N2/0229 takes precedence) · CPC title