ARRANGEMENT OF A PALM REST AND AN OPERATING ELEMENT FOR A VEHICLE

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement (I) of a palm rest (IO) and a manually actuatable operating element (20) for a vehicle. The palm rest (IO) is designed to adopt a first and a second position relative to the operating element (20), the palm rest (IO) being positioned, in the first position, such that it enables a hand (2) to be supported while the operating element (20) is being operated. To protect against damage and to enable the vehicle interior to be better used, the palm rest (IO) is positioned, in the second position, such that the palm rest (IO) at least partially projects over and/or covers the operating element (20).

Claims

1. Arrangement of a palm rest and a manually actuatable operating element for a vehicle, wherein the palm rest is constructed to assume a first position and a second position relative to the operating element, wherein the palm rest in the first position is positioned in such a manner that it enables a hand to be supported when the operating element is operated, characterised in that the palm rest is positioned in the second position in such a manner that the palm rest at least partially overhangs and/or covers the operating element.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the palm rest has: a) an elongate and/or arm-like retention region which is constructed for movably arranging the palm rest relative to the operating element, and b) an upper region which is formed on an end region of the retention region, protrudes therefrom, and forms at the upper side thereof a palm rest surface.

3. Arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the upper region a) is in the form of a handle, knob, mushroom and/or a thickened portion at an end region of the retention region; and/or b) protrudes in a substantially perpendicular manner from the retention region.

4. Arrangement according to claim 2, wherein in the second position the upper region overhangs the operating element in such a manner that, when a hand is supported on the palm rest, a manually actuated operation of the operating element is not possible or is at least impeded or is possible only with considerable loss of comfort.

5. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the palm rest has a pivot connection in order to movably arrange the palm rest relative to the operating element.

6. Arrangement according to claim 2, wherein, in order to form the pivot connection, the palm rest is retained so as to be able to be pivoted on the operating element about a pivot axis which extends transversely to the longitudinal direction of the retention region and which is arranged at an end region of the retention region facing away from the upper region.

7. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the operating element comprises a mechanical rotary switch and a touch-sensitive input surface.

8. Arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the mechanical rotary switch has a rotatable outer ring which surrounds the touch-sensitive input surface.

9. Arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the outer ring further forms a mechanical push, pressure or toggle switch.

10. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement has an overload protection for protecting the palm rest and/or the operating element from excessively powerful mechanical loading, wherein the overload protection is optionally in the form of a protection hinge or a protection joint, which becomes disengaged or unclipped at a predetermined mechanical overload.

11. Vehicle comprising an arrangement according to claim 1.

12. Vehicle according to claim 11, a) wherein the operating element is an operating element for controlling a vehicle infotainment system; and/or b) wherein only one infotainment system of the vehicle can be controlled by means of the operating element.

13. Vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the operating element and the palm rest are arranged in the region of or adjacent to an interior component of the vehicle in such a manner that the palm rest is located in the second position closer to the interior component than in the first position.

14. Vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the arrangement comprising the operating element and the palm rest is arranged between an instrument panel and a driver's seat of the vehicle, wherein a free space between the arrangement and the driver's seat is greater when the palm rest is in the second position than when the palm rest is in the first position.

15. Vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the vehicle is a utility vehicle.

16. Vehicle according to claim 15, comprising a driver's cab in which there is arranged behind a driver's seat a recreation area for the driver which can be reached via a passage to the recreation area which adjoins the driver's seat, wherein the arrangement comprising the operating element and the palm rest is arranged between an instrument panel and a driver's seat of the vehicle in the passage region in such a manner that the palm rest is located in the second position closer to the instrument panel than in the first position and a width of the passage region is greater when the palm rest is in the second position than when the palm rest is in the first position.

17. Vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the utility vehicle is a lorry or a bus.

18. Vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the interior component is an instrument panel.

19. Arrangement according to claim 2, wherein: the upper region protrudes in the direction of the operating element: or the palm rest is retained on a housing or a retention member of the operating element.

20. Arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the mechanical push, pressure or toggle switch is in the form of a monostable push or toggle switch which, after manual deflection in at least one direction, returns to its original position again.

Description

[0032] FIG. 1A shows a side view of an arrangement comprising the palm rest and operating element in the first position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG. 1B shows a side view of an arrangement comprising the palm rest and operating element in the second position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG. 2A shows a perspective view of an arrangement comprising the palm rest and operating element in the first position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG. 2B shows a perspective view of an arrangement comprising the palm rest and operating element in the second position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG. 3A shows a side view of an arrangement comprising the palm rest and operating element in the first position with a hand placed thereon according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG. 3B shows a side view of an arrangement comprising the palm rest and operating element in the second position with a hand placed thereon according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG. 4A shows a plan view of an interior of a vehicle having an arrangement comprising the palm rest and operating element in the first position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 4B shows a plan view of an interior of a vehicle having an arrangement comprising the palm rest and operating element in the second position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0040] FIG. 5 shows a side view of an arrangement comprising the palm rest and operating element in a third position to illustrate the function of an overload protection according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] Elements which are identical or equivalent are referred to in all the Figures with the same reference numerals and are sometimes not described separately.

[0042] FIG. 1A shows a schematic side view of an arrangement 1 comprising a palm rest 10 and an operating element 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The operating element 20 is a manually actuatable operating element for an infotainment system of a motor vehicle. An infotainment system in the context of the present disclosure is in particular an information, entertainment and communication system or an information and entertainment system of the motor vehicle. Via the operating element 10, the infotainment system can be operated, for example, in order to operate the navigation system, the entertainment system and/or in order to select and call up the vehicle information items.

[0043] The operating element 20 comprises in this instance according to the embodiment shown by way of example a mechanical rotary switch 22 which has for operator input a rotatable outer ring 22a and a touch-sensitive input surface 23 which is located on the upper side of the operating element 20 and which is surrounded by the rotatable outer ring 22a. The touch-sensitive input surface 23 forms a so-called touchpad so that an operator can enter input commands using their fingers via the input surface 23. The outer ring 22a further forms a mechanical pressure switch which is in the form of a monostable toggle switch which can be deflected in four horizontal directions and which after the manual deflection returns to its original position again. The operating element can consequently be operated not only by rotating the outer ring 22a and via the touch-sensitive input surface 23, but in addition also via a horizontal deflection of the outer ring 22a.

[0044] The operating element 20 is retained in a retention member 21 which, for example, can be arranged on an instrument panel or on a region of a central console.

[0045] The arrangement further comprises a palm rest 10. The palm rest 10 serves to facilitate the operation of the operating element 10 which without a palm rest 10 would be made more difficult as a result of the fact that the movements of the vehicle during travel, in particular short-term movements, make precise input more difficult. In the utility vehicle sector, this is even more significant since the driver generally sits on an air-sprung suspension seat and thereby constantly carries out slightly resilient movements during travel which leads to constant relative movements between the driver and an operating element which is fixedly arranged in the vehicle.

[0046] By placing a palm 3 on the palm rest, a selective, precise operation of the operating element 20 is facilitated since the hand 2 is fixed to the palm rest 10 so that a sensitive and precise operation, for example, of the rotary pressure switch 21 or touchpad 23 is enabled.

[0047] The palm rest 10 is arranged so as to be able to be pivoted relative to the operating element 20 via a pivot connection 15 and can be moved by means of pivoting into a first and a second position relative to the operating element 20. In the first position, the palm rest 10 is positioned in such a manner that it enables a hand 2 to be supported during the operation of the operating element 20. This first position is illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 2A and 3A.

[0048] In the second position, the palm rest 10 is positioned in such a manner that the palm rest 10 at least partially overhangs and/or covers the operating element 20. This first position is illustrated in FIGS. 1B, 2B and 3B.

[0049] The palm rest 10 has to this end an elongate and arm-like retention region 11 which is constructed to movably arrange the palm rest 10 relative to the operating element 20.

[0050] The pivot connection 15 is formed by means of a pivot axis 15 which extends transversely relative to the longitudinal direction of the retention region and which is arranged at a lower end region 14 of the retention region 11 or the pivot arm 11 in order to arrange the palm rest so as to be able to be pivoted on the operating element 20, in this instance the retention member 21 of the operating element 20.

[0051] The palm rest 10 further comprises an upper region 12 which is formed on an end region of the retention region 11 and which protrudes therefrom in the direction of the operating element 20. The upper region 12 forms at the upper side thereof a palm rest surface 13 for receiving the palm rest 3. The palm rest surface 13 must be sufficiently large to be able to be used as a support or resting surface for a palm 3 of a grown person (cf. FIG. 3A).

[0052] The support face 12 is further configured in a planar or slightly curved manner. As can be seen in FIG. 1A, the upper region 12 is formed thereon as a thickened portion on an end region of the retention region 11. The upper region may be in the form of a handle, knob or mushroom.

[0053] In the idle state of the vehicle, by manually pivoting the palm rest 10, it can be moved into the second position, as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 1B. As already mentioned, the palm rest 19 is positioned in the second position in such a manner that the palm rest at least partially overhangs and/or covers the operating element 20. In this instance, the upper region 12 of the palm rest at least partially overhangs the operating element 20 in such a manner that, when a hand 2 is supported on the palm rest 10, a manually actuated operation of the operating element 20 is not possible or is at least impeded or is only possible with considerable losses of comfort. This is illustrated in FIG. 3B.

[0054] However, the second position affords the advantage that, as a result of the palm rest 10, on the one hand, previously required space in the vehicle is released and at the same time a mechanical protection for the operating element 20 is enabled by the palm rest, in particular for the sensitive upper side (touch pad, rotary switch, etcetera) of the operating element in order to better protect it from unintentional damage.

[0055] This is illustrated again in FIGS. 4A and 4B with reference to another embodiment. FIGS. 4A and 4B show as an example of a vehicle 8 a utility vehicle, in particular a lorry, wherein of this only a schematic plan view of an interior of a driver's cab or a driver's compartment 9 is shown. The other portions of the vehicle can be configured in a manner known per se and are not illustrated.

[0056] The arrangement 1 comprising the palm rest 10 and the manually actuatable operating element 20 for operating an infotainment system of the vehicle can be seen again, wherein the palm rest 10 is again constructed to be able to assume a first and a second position relative to the operating element 20, as described above.

[0057] The arrangement 1 comprising the operating element 20 and palm rest 10 is, in order to be able to permanently enable comfortable operation without any complaints during travel, fitted in an ergonomically suitable position relative to the operator; in this instance, with spacing from the driver which enables operation without bending the upper body forwards and without lifting the shoulders from the seat back face. To this end, the arrangement 1 is arranged within arm's reach of the driver's seat 4 in a central region of the instrument panel 5. The instrument panel 5 is intended to be understood to be the entire region which extends along the front windscreen and which comprises the cluster of instruments of the vehicle, the screen(s) of the infotainment system and the region which adjoins the windscreen at the passenger side.

[0058] Behind the driver's seat 4 in the driver's cab 9 there is a recreation area 4a for the driver, for example, with a sleeping berth. The recreation area 4a can be reached via a passage 7 from the driver's seat 4. As can be seen in FIG. 4A, the arrangement 1 is arranged adjacent to or in an edge region of this passage 7 in the region of the instrument panel 5.

[0059] In this instance, the arrangement 1 comprising the operating element 20 and the palm rest 10 is arranged in such a manner between the instrument panel 5 and the driver's seat 4 in the passage region 7 that the palm rest 10 in the second position is located closer to the instrument panel 5 than in the first position. In order to assume the second position, the palm rest is folded upwards towards the operating element 20 in the direction of the instrument panel 5. In the second position, a width d of the passage region 7 thereby increases when the palm rest 10 is located in the second position in comparison with a situation when the palm rest 10 is located in the first position.

[0060] In summary, the passage width d between the driver's seat 4 and the instrument panel 5 is consequently increased in order to facilitate passage into the recreation area 4a of the cab for the driver and to reduce the risk of becoming trapped. The sensitive operating element 20 which is provided with sensors and movable components is at the same time surrounded by the palm rest 10 or at least partially covered and thus protected from mechanical damage. In this instance, not only is the protection when brushing past significant, but in particular the stable coverage from above, for the not unlikely event that the driver when standing up from the seat may support him/herself on the console of the operating element.

[0061] FIG. 5 shows a side view of an arrangement comprising the palm rest and operating element in a third position to illustrate the function of an overload protection according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. According to this additional embodiment, the arrangement comprising the palm rest 10 and operating element 20 has an overload protection 16 for protecting the palm rest and/or the operating element from excessively powerful mechanical loading.

[0062] When the palm rest 10 is pivoted into its position for use, that is to say, the palm rest 10 is located in the first position according to FIG. 1A, the end position of the rotational movement is defined in this instance by a stop edge (not illustrated) below the rotation axis 15, on which the component 11, in particular the end region 14 of the pivot arm 11, rests and is supported thereon. By means of a powerful resilient mechanism (not shown), this stop edge can be redirected when the load leaves the region which is conventional during use and becomes so high that portions of the sub-assembly would otherwise break. In other words, the resilient mechanism is configured in such a manner that the component can pivot in a downward direction away from the stop edge when the force acting from above, schematically illustrated in FIG. 5 by the arrow F, exceeds a predetermined threshold value. In this instance, the palm rest 10 carries out the rotational movement shown in FIG. 5 in a downward direction around the retention member 21 and the operating element 20 in order to discharge the force F in a downward direction. The palm rest 10 can in the event of an excessively high load consequently pivot away downwards into a third redirection position, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

[0063] In order to produce this overload protection 16, it may consequently have the above-described stop edge and the resilient mechanism in the region of the pivot axis 15 in order in this manner to form a protection joint or protection hinge.

[0064] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it is possible for a person skilled in the art to see that various modifications can be carried out and equivalents can be used as a replacement without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Consequently, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments disclosed, but instead should comprise all the embodiments which are included within the scope of the appended patent claims. In particular, the present disclosure also claims protection for the subject-matter and the features of the dependent claims regardless of the claims to which reference is made.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0065] 1 Arrangement [0066] 2 Hand [0067] 3 Palm [0068] 4 Driver's seat [0069] 4a Recreation area [0070] 5 Instrument panel [0071] 6 Steering wheel [0072] 7 Free space, for example, passage [0073] 8 Vehicle [0074] 9 Driver's cab [0075] 10 Palm rest [0076] 11 Retention region [0077] 12 Upper region [0078] 13 Palm rest surface [0079] 14 End region [0080] 15 Pivot connection [0081] 16 Overload protection [0082] 20 Operating element [0083] 21 Retention member [0084] 22 Rotary switch [0085] 22a Outer ring [0086] 23 Touch-sensitive surface