Patent Publication Number: US-2023133384-A1

Title: Haptic generator for panels of vehicles and interior panel for vehicles using same

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0146617, filed Oct. 29, 2021, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure relates to a haptic generator for panels of vehicles and an interior panel for vehicles using the same. More particularly, the haptic generator is configured to be installed directly to the interior panel to reduce manufacturing cost by reducing the number of parts, and to provide a visually harmonious interior of the vehicle to a user. 
     In general, haptic is a sense of touch provided to a user in the form of feedback force or vibration in a user interface of an electronic device. The haptic provides the user with various types of feedback through vibration. For example, if the user receives haptic vibration when touching a button on a screen, the user can make sure that the button is properly pressed. 
     This haptic technique may be applied to various devices such as mobile devices, touch screens, touch pads, levers, joysticks, etc., and may include an actuator generating a haptic effect. 
     Recently, a haptic generator is applied to a vehicle. For example, a front display is equipped with a touch screen with haptic feedback or various switches installed on an interior panel of the vehicle are operated based on the haptic generator to provide a user of vehicle a feedback about the switch operation. 
       FIGS.  1  and  2    are views showing an example of a conventional haptic generator for panels of vehicles. Conventionally, a space s is provided in the interior panel p for vehicles and a haptic generator h shown in  FIG.  2    is installed in the space s. 
     The conventional haptic generator h may include a front cover  1  recognized as a switch by a user, a back cover  2 , an actuator  3 , an actuator casing  4 , a touch sensor  5 , a printed circuit board (PCB)  6 , a light emitting diode (LED)  7 , etc. 
     When the user touches the front cover  1 , the touch sensor  5  detects the touch of the user and drives the actuator  3 , and vibration generated by the actuator  3  is transferred along a structure to vibrate the front cover  1 , and the process described above from detecting the touch by the user to transferring the vibration to the front cover is controlled by circuits of the PCB  6 . 
     The conventional haptic generator has a large number of parts, which causes increased manufacturing cost and production time of the haptic generator. 
     Furthermore, the front cover  1  is installed in a top portion of the space s formed in the panel p. Therefore, the front cover  1  produced in different material and shape is separated from other portions of the panel p, which would make the interior of the vehicle discordant. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present disclosure has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and is intended to propose a haptic generator for panels of vehicles and an interior panel for vehicles including the same, wherein the haptic generator is configured to reduce the number of parts required for manufacturing the haptic generator to reduce the manufacturing time and provide a visually harmonious interior of the vehicle to a user. 
     In order to achieve the above objective, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a haptic generator provided in a panel provided in a vehicle, the haptic generator including: a first coupling member of which a first end may be integrally coupled to the panel at a rear surface of the panel; a casing coupled to a second end of the first coupling member; a haptic actuator stored in the casing and configured to produce a vibration used for a haptic feedback; a second coupling member of which a first end may be integrally coupled to the panel at the rear surface of the panel; a support member coupled to a second end of the second coupling member; a touch sensor coupled to the rear surface of the panel while being spaced apart from the support member at a predetermined distance; a PCB panel supported by the support member; and a display provided on an outer surface of the panel and configured to supply information about a switch, wherein, when viewed from a front of the display, the display covers a portion the touch sensor is disposed on the rear surface of the panel. 
     The haptic generator may include a back cover coupled to the support member and defining a space storing the casing, the support member, the touch sensor, and the PCB panel. 
     The haptic generator may include a light emitting diode (LED) mounted to the PCB panel. 
     The haptic generator may include an illuminance sensor provided in the vehicle, wherein an activation and a deactivation of the LED may be determined in response to in-vehicle illuminance measured by the illuminance sensor. The display may be activated by turning on the LED when a touch signal from a user is detected by the touch sensor. 
     As a second form of the present disclosure, an interior panel for a vehicle may include a haptic generator described above. 
     According to the present disclosure, the haptic generator for panels of vehicles is configured to reduce the number of parts required to manufacture the haptic generator to reduce manufacturing time and configured to provide a visually harmonious interior of the vehicle to a user, and the interior panel for vehicles including the same can be proposed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS.  1  and  2    are views showing an example of a conventional haptic generator for panels of vehicles. 
         FIG.  3    is a view showing a haptic generator for panels of vehicles and an interior panel for vehicles using the same according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Hereinbelow, a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to accompanying drawings and detailed description for the embodiment of the present disclosure will be provided. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “includes”, or the like when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof. 
       FIG.  3    is a view showing a haptic generator for panels of vehicles and an interior panel for vehicles using the same according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     The present disclosure provides a haptic generator for panels of vehicles as an exemplary embodiment and an interior panel for vehicles as another exemplary embodiment. The interior panel for vehicles relates to a panel adopting the haptic generator for panels of vehicles. Therefore, the haptic generator for panels of vehicles will be described in detail and the interior panel for vehicles will be described briefly. 
     Hereinbelow, the haptic generator for panels of vehicles according to one embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG.  3   . 
     According to the embodiment, the haptic generator for panels of vehicles is installed to an interior panel of a vehicle to provide a user with haptic feedback. The interior panel of a vehicle is a panel installed in a vehicle, and when decorative elements are added to a panel, the panel may be called a vehicle interior garnish. According to the embodiment, since the interior panel is manufactured with the use for decorative elements in mind, the panel may be called a vehicle interior garnish, but in order to be consistent with terminology, the panel will be called the interior panel. 
     According to the embodiment, the haptic generator for panels of vehicles includes: a first coupling member  10 , a casing  20 , a haptic actuator  30 , a second coupling member  40 , a support member  50 , a touch sensor  60 , a printed circuit board (PCB) panel  70 , a LED  80 , a display  90 , and a back cover  100 . 
     The first coupling member  10  has a rod shape of which a first end is coupled to a rear surface of the panel P. The first coupling member  10  is integrally coupled to the rear surface of the panel P. For example, the panel P and the first coupling member  10  may be a single piece unit manufactured with an injection modeling process. 
     The casing  20  is coupled to a second end of the first coupling member  10  by a casing bolt  21  and provides a gutter-shaped space. 
     The haptic actuator  30  is stored in the casing  20  and generates a haptic vibration. 
     According to the embodiment, the haptic actuator  30  generates the vibration in a vertical direction V as shown in  FIG.  3   , and uses a waveform in the frequency band of 100 \~200Hz that the human body detects most sensitively. More preferably, the haptic actuator  30  uses 120 Hz frequency that may provide a long and soft haptic effect to the user or 175 Hz frequency that may provide a short and concise haptic effect. 
     The second coupling member  40  has a rod shape of which a first end is coupled to the rear surface of the panel P, and as described in the first coupling member  10 , the second coupling member  40  is integrally coupled to the rear surface of the panel P. 
     The support member  50  is coupled to a second end of the second coupling member  40  by a first coupling means  51  and may support the touch sensor  60 , the PCB panel  70 , the back cover  100 , etc. The support member  50  may be coupled to the back cover  100  by a second coupling means  52 . The first coupling means  51  and the second coupling means  52  may be a bolt, screw, pin and the like, or be a hook-shaped coupling means. A proper coupling means should be selected based on a manufactory condition or manufacturing cost. 
     The touch sensor  60  may be coupled to the rear surface of the panel P while being spaced apart from the support member  50  at a predetermined distance. The touch sensor  60  may be implemented as various types of sensors such as a capacitive type, a resistive type, or an electromagnetic type. The capacitive touch type is preferred because it can be used for variety of input devices and has a high resolution. 
     The PCB panel  70  is a circuit board supported by the support member  50 . Various circuits controlling the haptic generator for panels of vehicles are included in the PCB panel  70 . 
     The LED  80  is coupled to the PCB panel  70  and, when necessary, the LED  80  provides lighting for the display  90 . 
     An illuminance sensor (not shown) is provided in the vehicle to measure illuminance, and the LED  80  may be turned on only at a level of illuminance below a predetermined level and the LED  80  may be turned off at a level of illuminance above the predetermined level, and regardless of a level of illuminance, the LED  80  may be turned on while using the vehicle. 
     Furthermore, when a touch signal from the user is detected by the touch sensor  60 , the LED  80  is turned on and the display  90  is activated. Activating the display  90  means that the touch sensor  60  is ready to receive an operation signal. In other words, when the touch signal from the user is received by the touch sensor  60  while the display  90  is deactivated because no signal is received by the touch sensor  60  for a long time, the LED  80  is turned on to notify the user of activation of the display  90 , and then when the touch signal from the user is detected by the touch sensor, the haptic actuator  30  is operated to perform the operation desired by the user. 
     The PCB panel  70  is connected to another circuit by a connector  110  and is supplied with power. The connector  110  may pass through the back cover  100 . 
     The display  90  is disposed on an outer surface of the panel P to provide information about a switch, wherein the outer surface may face inside of the vehicle. The display  90  may cover, when viewed from a front of the display  90 , a portion that the touch sensor  60  is disposed on the rear surface of the panel P as shown in  FIG.  3   . Pictures or text may be displayed to notify the user of the information about operation of the switch. In either way, the display shows the location of the switch. 
     The back cover  100  may be coupled to the support member  50  by the second coupling means  52 . Overall, the back cover  100  may form a space, together with the panel P and the support member  70 , to store the casing  20 , the haptic actuator  30 , the touch sensor  60 , the PCB panel  70 , etc. 
     An operation process of the switch according to the embodiment described above will be described as follow. 
     When the user looks at the display  90 , confirms the location of the switch, and touches the display  90  with a finger, etc., the touch sensor  60  detects the touch of the user, and the display  90  is activated. When the display  90  is activated, the LED  80  makes a color of the display  90  different from another color of the display  90  when the display  90  is deactivated, and in this state, when the user touches the touch sensor  60 , the haptic actuator  30  generates the haptic vibration and the vibration is transmitted to the user. Then, an operation desired by the user occurs. The haptic vibration generated by the haptic actuator  30  is transmitted to the surface of the panel P through the casing  20  and the first coupling member  10 . The user receives the vibration generated on the display  90  as feedback of the touch of the user. 
     The haptic generator of the embodiment has fewer parts than the conventional haptic generator so that the manufacturing costs can be reduced. A small number of parts can shorten manufacturing process time, and the reduction in the manufacturing process time leads to improved productivity. 
     Furthermore, a quick transmission of the feedback to the user can be expected due to a short transfer path of the vibration. In addition, the vibration generated by the haptic actuator  30  is transferred to the entire panel P, which enables elimination of a separate suspension means for damping the vibration because the damping of the vibration occurs effectively by the panel P. 
     Meanwhile, as the display  90  is provided directly on the surface of the panel P without forming a space in the panel P and without using separate top cover for a switch, a harmonious decorative feel can be provided in the vehicle. 
     The second embodiment of the present disclosure is an interior panel including the above-described haptic generator for vehicles. The interior panel for vehicles is a term that refers to all types of panels installed inside a vehicle. When a panel is installed in a vehicle, regardless of whether the installation location is a door, a dashboard, a ceiling, etc., the panel may refer to as the interior panel for vehicles. 
     Because the interior panel for vehicles is characterized by the above-described haptic generator, and the application of the haptic generator to the interior panel for vehicles has been described, an additional description of the interior panel for vehicles will be omitted. 
     Hereinabove, although detailed description is provided to implement the haptic generator for panels of vehicles and the interior panel of a vehicle using the same according to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, the scope and sprit of the present disclosure is not limited to the above described embodiments, and the present disclosure may be materialized into the variously-shaped haptic generator for panels of vehicles and the interior panel of a vehicle using the same without departing from the scope and sprit of the present disclosure.