US 12,071,170 B2
TDR-based system and method for hand detection on a steering wheel with elimination of aging and environmental effects
Baptiste Anti, Hettange-Grande (FR); Laurent Lamesch, Reichlange (LU); Thomas Faber, Schweich (DE); Thomas Stifter, Trier (DE); Michael Puetz, Trier (DE); and Andreas Fox, Freudenburg (DE)
Assigned to IEE INTERNATIONAL ELECTRONICS & ENGINEERING S.A., Echternach (LU)
Appl. No. 17/914,747
Filed by IEE INTERNATIONAL ELECTRONICS & ENGINEERING S.A., Echternach (LU)
PCT Filed Mar. 25, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/057851
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 26, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/191397, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 30, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. LU101716 (LU), filed on Mar. 26, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0347964 A1, Nov. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. B62D 1/04 (2006.01)
CPC B62D 1/046 (2013.01) 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of detecting a hand positioning on a steering wheel by operating a sensing system, comprising:
at least one electrically conducting signal line, which is arranged to extend along a major part of a surface of a rim of the steering wheel with a priori knowledge about a relation between a distance of any portion of the at least one electrically conducting signal line from a reference point and information on a position on the rim, and which comprises an at least one electric impedance change of predefined magnitude that is permanently arranged at a predefined position along the at least one electrically conducting signal line,
a signal voltage source that is operatively connectable to each electrically conducting signal line, and
a control and evaluation unit that is operatively connectable to each electrically conducting signal line, the method comprising at least steps of:
by operating the signal voltage source, providing to the electrically conducting signal line a time-dependent measurement signal intended to be traveling along the respective connected electrically conducting signal line,
operating the control and evaluation unit for receiving the time-dependent measurement signal after being at least partially reflected by the at least one electric impedance change and by another portion or other portions of the electrically conducting signal line to which the time-dependent measurement signal has been provided,
operating the control and evaluation unit for determining a reference travel time of the time-dependent measurement signal to travel between the reference point and the at least one permanently arranged the at least one electric impedance change, and
operating the control and evaluation unit for determining, based on the determined reference travel time and the a priori known relation, a position or positions on the rim of another portion or portions of the electrically conducting signal line that has or have at least partially reflected the time-dependent measurement signal.