Patent ID: 9607790
Date: 2017-03-28
CPC Classifications: B60K,G09B,H01H

Claim:
1. An operating device for an instrument panel of a vehicle, the device comprising: a touch-screen display including a plurality of haptically indistinguishable interactive surface areas, each interactive surface area operable as a touch-implemented actuator for operating an aspect of the vehicle; at least one frame element including a frame surface having a plurality of consecutive sections, each section corresponding to no more than one interactive surface area, and each interactive surface area corresponding to exactly one section, wherein at least one section includes a haptically detectable structure, and is adjacent at least one other section not including the haptically detectable structure, such that the haptically detectable structure provides a haptic orientation for haptically identifying the interactive surface area, wherein the frame element includes at least one wall projecting from the instrument panel, wherein the at least one wall is arranged in a plane that is inclined relative to the instrument panel, and wherein the haptically detectable structure is disposed on and extends normal to the plane of the at least one wall such that it is disposed above one interactive surface area.