US 11,951,920 B2
Operation device and vehicle door
Jinichi Tanabe, Tochigi (JP); Takayoshi Ito, Tochigi (JP); Kazumasa Narita, Tochigi (JP); Yuma Miyamoto, Tochigi (JP); Akihito Kobayashi, Tochigi (JP); and Kodai Matsumoto, Tochigi (JP)
Assigned to TS TECH CO., LTD., Asaka (JP)
Appl. No. 17/438,758
Filed by TS TECH CO., LTD., Asaka (JP)
PCT Filed Mar. 13, 2020, PCT No. PCT/JP2020/011033
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 13, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/184702, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 17, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/818,200, filed on Mar. 14, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-154106 (JP), filed on Aug. 26, 2019; and application No. 2019-172943 (JP), filed on Sep. 24, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0153214 A1, May 19, 2022
Int. Cl. B60R 16/037 (2006.01); B60Q 3/267 (2017.01); B60Q 3/64 (2017.01); B60Q 3/80 (2017.01); E05B 81/76 (2014.01); E05F 15/695 (2015.01); E05F 15/73 (2015.01)
CPC B60R 16/037 (2013.01) [B60Q 3/267 (2017.02); B60Q 3/64 (2017.02); B60Q 3/80 (2017.02); E05B 81/76 (2013.01); E05F 15/695 (2015.01); E05F 15/73 (2015.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An operation device for use in a vehicle, the vehicle having a front-rear direction and a cross direction, the operation device comprising:
a gripper provided on an inner surface of a door of the vehicle, the gripper extending in the front-rear direction and including an outer side surface, an inner side surface, and an upper surface which connects an upper edge of the outer side surface to that of the inner side surface;
an operation interface provided on the inner side surface of the gripper for receiving an operation input entered by an occupant to operate at least one in-vehicle device;
a first sensor provided on the outer side surface for detecting a finger of the occupant;
a second sensor provided on at least one of the inner side surface and the upper surface for detecting a finger of the occupant; and
a controller connected to the operation interface, the first sensor, the second sensor, and the at least one in-vehicle device,
wherein the controller controls the at least one in-vehicle device based on a signal from the operation interface when both the first sensor and the second sensor detect the occupant, and wherein the controller prohibits the at least one in-vehicle device from being controlled based on a signal from the operation interface when at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor does not detect the occupant.