Patent ID: 9383000
Filing Date: 2016-07-05
CPC Classification: B60Q,F16H

Claim Text:
1. A gearshift knob for a gearshift lever of a manual transmission vehicle, the gearshift knob comprising: a display configured to display visual information; and a touch sensitive surface configured to detect a touch of a user touching the touch sensitive surface; a haptic feedback device configured to output haptic feedback to the user via the gearshift knob, wherein, the gearshift knob is configured to be operated by the user to shift between gears of the manual transmission vehicle, wherein, the gearshift knob is ergonomically adapted such that, when a user's hand is wrapped around the gearshift knob, the touch sensitive surface is positioned perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of gearshift lever and above the wrapped hand to be operated by the hand's corresponding thumb of while the hand is wrapped; wherein, the gearshift knob outputs optimal operational feedback as part of the haptic feedback output to the user, wherein the optimal operational feedback includes an optimal shift point indication that indicates an optimal shift point at which the user should shift between gears in the manual transmission of the vehicle using the gearshift lever; wherein the optimal operational feedback comprises: a mode wherein the haptic feedback device is tuned to vibrate when the engine reaches the optimal shifting point for fuel economy; and a mode wherein the haptic feedback device is tuned to vibrate when the engine reaches the point of maximum torque; and wherein the touch-sensitive surface detects swipe gestures of a user's digit and, an electronic control unit controls displayed information on the display in response to detection of a swipe gesture.