Steering wheel with display and light source

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11952032-B2
Application number	US-201917432689-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 27, 2019
Priority date	Feb 27, 2019
Publication date	Apr 9, 2024
Grant date	Apr 9, 2024

Abstract

To display information appropriately without making an occupant feel annoyed, a steering operation element 10 of a vehicle 2 includes a hub part 31 provided rotatably with respect to a vehicle body 15 ; an extending part 32 extending radially outward from an outer circumference of the hub part; an outer edge part 33 provided on an outer edge of the extending part; a display 40 provided on the hub part; at least one first light source 27 A provided on the extending part; and an interface control device 41 configured to control the display and the first light source, wherein the interface control device is configured to cause the display to display an image corresponding to at least one of vehicle state information indicating a state of the vehicle and environment information indicating a surrounding environment of the vehicle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A steering wheel of a vehicle, comprising:
a hub part provided rotatably with respect to a vehicle body;
an extending part extending radially outward from an outer circumference of the hub part;
an outer edge part provided on an outer edge of the extending part;
a display provided on the hub part;
at least one first light source provided on the extending part; and
an interface control device configured to control the display and the first light source,
wherein the interface control device is configured to cause the display to display an image corresponding to at least one of vehicle state information indicating a state of the vehicle and environment information indicating a surrounding environment of the vehicle,
the environment information includes surrounding vehicle information acquired by an external environment recognizing device and indicating a relative positional relationship between the vehicle and a surrounding vehicle present around the vehicle,
the interface control device is configured to cause the display to display a first image indicating the surrounding vehicle information,
the interface control device is configured to change the first image according to driving mode information included in the vehicle state information and including information about an autonomous driving mode and a manual driving mode,
the steering wheel further comprises at least one touch sensor provided on the outer edge part,
the interface control device is configured to cause the first light source to emit light according to an operation input detected by the touch sensor, the interface control device is configured to determine whether a driving intervention request is generated based on the vehicle state information, the driving intervention request being generated when the autonomous driving mode is changed to the manual driving mode, and
the interface control device is configured to vary a light emitting mode of the first light source according to cases including a case where the driving intervention request is generated and the operation input corresponding to a gripping operation on the outer edge part by an occupant is detected and a case where the driving intervention request is not generated and the operation input corresponding to the gripping operation on the outer edge part by the occupant is detected.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Aoki Yuki
• Shimizu Yosuke
• Suzuki Takeyuki

Classifications

• B60K35/29

  Instruments characterised by the way in which information is handled, e.g. showing information on plural displays or prioritising information according to driving conditions · CPC title

• B60K35/28

  characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver · CPC title

• B60K35/22

  Display screens · CPC title

• B60K35/81

  for controlling displays · CPC title

• B60K35/60

  Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles (arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10) · CPC title