Patent ID: 9267809
Filing Date: 2016-02-23
CPC Classification: B60K,B60Q,B60R,B62D,G01C,G06F

Claim Text:
1. A control apparatus for controlling an operation target device in a vehicle, comprising: a touch sensor mounted on a grip portion that a driver grips on a steering wheel, the touch sensor including a first area, a second area and a third area, the first area located in an area where a palm of the driver makes contact, the second area located on an upper side of the first area and located in an area where a thumb or an index finger of the driver makes contact, the third area provided as an operation invalid area where an operation input is invalid and located between the first area and the second area; a first detector configured to detect a state where the first area is touched; a second detector configured to detect a state where a particular input operation is performed on the second area, the particular input operation being a sliding pattern by the thumb or the index finger on the second area; and a controller configured to control an operation target device to be operated with the touch sensor according to the sliding pattern when the first detector detects the state where the first area is touched by the palm and the second detector detects the state where the sliding pattern was performed on the second area by the thumb or the index finger.