OPERATING ELEMENT OF A MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

An operating element of a motor vehicle provided with a contact surface. The contact surface is provided with an element, controllable via actuators, that responds to the sense of touch of an operator, through which a feedback is provided to the operator about the currently engaged gear of the transmission of the motor vehicle.

Claims

1-8. (canceled)

9. An operating element of a motor vehicle, comprising: a contact surface, wherein the contact surface can be controlled via actuators, and is provided with at least one element that is responsive to a sense of touch of an operator, resulting in a feedback about a currently engaged gear of a transmission of the motor vehicle provided to the operator.

10. The operating element according to claim 9, wherein the at least one element provides a feedback about a gear change recommended to the operator.

11. The operating element according to claim 9, wherein the at least one element can be perceived in a tactile manner by the operator.

12. The operating element according to claim 9, wherein the at least one element can be perceived in a haptic manner by the operator.

13. The operating element according to claim 12, wherein the at least one element is provided with a changed surface texture of the contact surface.

14. The operating element according to claim 13, wherein the at least one element is in the form of pins which can be moved out of the contact surface.

15. The operating element according to claim 13, wherein the at least one element is in the form of at least one of changeable graphic patters, letters, and grids made of points.

16. The operating element according to claim 9, wherein the operating element is a gear selection switch, a rocker switch, or a steering wheel.

Description

[0015] The figure shows:

[0016] FIG. 1 an operating element of a motor vehicle designed according to the invention.

[0017] FIG. 1 shows an operating element of a motor vehicle designated overall by the reference numeral 10.

[0018] The operating element 10 is in the present form designed as a gear selection switch. The gear selection switch 10 is provided with a contact surface 12.

[0019] As one can further see from FIG. 1, the gear selection switch 10 is provided with a plurality of pin-shaped element 14, which can be actuated by means of actuators—not shown here for better clarity of the illustration. This means that pin-shaped elements can be extended or retracted via the actuators and they can thus be felt or perceived by touch depending on their position by an operator who is touching the contact surface 12.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, three pin 14 are fully extended. The operator thus receives in this manner a feedback indicating that the third gear is engaged. Since the driver is currently in the process of accelerating, a fourth pin partially changes its position at a certain rotational speed in order to provide further information to the driver with a haptic switch recommendation. This ensures that the driver is also informed about an optimal point in time about a gear change.