Steering wheel with distributed sensors

1. An information processing and display system comprising:

a steering wheel having a rim and at least one spoke, and a plurality of sensors placed about the rim or both of the rim and the spoke, each sensor selectively actuable due to the proximity of a finger, fingers, a hand or hands of a driver and a plurality of linear resonance actuators or other type of vibrators positioned adjacent all or some of the sensors and activated when a corresponding sensor is activated to provide tactile feedback to the driver to help distinguish to the driver the function associated with the sensor activated;

a flexible or rigid covering material layer;

a processor, logic device or computer in communication with each sensor and capable of detecting specific hand or finger movements corresponding to specific desirable functions; and

wherein each of the sensors is located about the rim and/or spokes of the steering wheel and is covered by and is below the covering material layer, and wherein adjacent sensors mounted under or below the covering material layer about said rim along the rim's circumference are used as a hands-on-wheel sensor and the processor is configured to detect that a single hand is contacting the rim when two or more adjacent sensors are activated.

2. The system according to claim 1 further including a visual display to show the driver a selected function and the state of the selected function.

3. The system according to claim 1 wherein the sensors can be activated individually, or as a part of a group of sensors having no fewer than two adjacent sensors or in seriatim as a hand or finger of a driver is slid or swiped from one sensor to at least one other adjacent sensor.

4. The system according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of sensors about one or both of the rim and/or spokes are programmable by more and more complex specific hand/finger movements that are pre-ordained with special meaning to activate other desirable functions.

5. The system according to claim 4 wherein the functions can be spatially oriented with respect to the steering position or the vehicle interior.

6. The system according to claim 5 wherein some functions are precluded by the steering wheel orientation not being in a straight driving forward position.

7. The system according to claim 1 wherein functions are enabled by coupling the logic device, controller or processor to one or more visual or tactile driver display units.

8. The system according to claim 1 wherein the functionality of some or all of the sensors are identified in a variety of ways including the name or indicia or function of a particular sensor being printed or embossed on the covering material.

9. The system according to claim 8 wherein the name or indicia is lighted or radiant to be visible in dark situations.

10. The system according to claim 1 wherein the covering material is embossed with different shapes.

11. The system according to claim 10 wherein the shapes include circular, rectangular, a double walled rectangle or a double walled circle, an oval, or a narrow rectangle.

12. The system according to claim 11 wherein the driver identifies the tactile feel of each of these embossed features to more readily identify the sensor/switch that will activate a particular function.

13. The system according to claim 8 wherein a combination of embossing and printing the name of the function is used simultaneously.

14. The system according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of Linear Resonance Actuators (LRA) or other type of vibrator are positioned under the surface covering of the steering wheel and adjacent to all or some of the sensors to provide active tactile feedback to distinguish available switch functions for the driver.

15. The system according to claim 14 wherein the LRAs or vibrators are activated along with the sensor to provide tactile feedback to the driver and help the driver distinguish which function has been active.

16. The system according to claim 1 wherein one or some of the sensors activates a sound to further assist in differentiating the selected functions.

17. The system according to claim 1 wherein the rim has a circumference of about 127 cm.

18. The system according to claim 1 wherein the adjacent sensors in the rim have a width of about 0.76 cm.

19. The system according to claim 18 wherein a minimum of 13 sensors is required to detect a hand is in contact anywhere on the steering wheel rim.