Vehicle control apparatus and method thereof

1. A vehicle control apparatus, comprising:

a body portion comprising an outer frame forming an external appearance of a vehicle and comprising an inner frame formed to allow a user to enter the vehicle;

a steering wheel mounted in the body portion and formed to be rotatable by a central axis to control a movement direction of the vehicle;

a sensing unit configured to sense a user's input on at least one sensing region formed on at least part of the steering wheel; and

a controller configured to cause the operation of at least one function configured to be executed in the vehicle based on at least one of a location of the at least one sensing region on which the user's input is sensed or the user's input to the at least one sensing region,

wherein the controller is further configured to determine a sensitivity of the sensing unit in sensing the user's input on the at least one sensing region based on a driving state of the vehicle, and

wherein the controller is further configured to:

authenticate a user based on the user's input applied to the at least one sensing region, and

change a status of the vehicle to a lock-released state or a locked.

2. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine, according to the location and a characteristic of the at least one sensing region, whether or not to activate the at least one sensing region based on preset conditions, respectively.

3. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the controller is further configured to deactivate, based on a rotation angle of the steering wheel being greater than a preset threshold angle, one or more sensing regions formed on at least part of the steering wheel.

4. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the steering wheel comprises a circular rotation portion surrounding a central portion thereof configured to be rotated by a user's hands, and wherein sensing regions formed on the steering wheel are formed in one region of the rotation portion to face each other.

5. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the sensing regions further comprise a touch sensor configured to sense a plurality of knocks applied by a user, respectively, or a user's touch and a drawing input applied by the user's touch, and

the controller is further configured to perform a preset function based on a user's input applied to the touch sensor.

6. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sensing unit further comprises an output unit configured to output notification information, and

the controller is further configured to control the output unit to change an output of the notification information based on an inactive state of the at least one sensing region.

7. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the output unit further comprises a display unit configured to display visual information, and

the controller is further configured to control the display unit to limit the display of the visual information based on the at least one sensing region being switched to an inactive state.

8. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:

a display unit configured to display visual information,

wherein

a sensing region of the at least one sensing region corresponds to a menu screen containing items associated with at least one function of the functions configured to be executed in the vehicle, respectively, and

the controller is further configured to display, on the display unit, a menu screen corresponding to a sensing region among the at least one sensing region on which the user's input is sensed.

9. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the menu screen corresponding to the sensing region among the at least one sensing region on which the user's input is sensed comprises:

at least one item associated with functions for controlling a physical environment setting of the vehicle, or

at least one item associated with functions for controlling a software environment setting of the vehicle.

10. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the controller is further configured to change, based on at least one direction and at least one length of trajectories formed by a user's touch-and-drag input entered on at least two sensing regions at the same time, a size of the visual information displayed on the display unit.

11. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

reduce the size of visual information displayed on the display unit based on at least one length of the trajectories based on the trajectories of the touch-and-drag inputs being formed in directions such that a distance between the trajectories decreases, and

enlarge the size of visual information displayed on the display unit based on at least one length of the trajectories based on the trajectories of the touch-and-drag inputs being formed in directions such that a distance between the trajectories increases.

12. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the display unit is implemented in the form of a transparent display on at least part of a windshield glass of the vehicle.

13. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:

a driving state determination unit configured to determine the driving state of the vehicle.

14. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the driving state determination unit is further configured to determine a current driving state of the vehicle based on at least one of a vibration generated from the vehicle, a location of the vehicle, or a speed of the vehicle.

15. The vehicle control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to perform an authentication of a user based on a result of matching, with prestored authentication information:

information indicating recognition of a pattern formed by a plurality of taps applied by the user to the at least one sensing region, or

information received from the user's body.

16. A vehicle control method, the method comprising:

sensing a user's input on at least one sensing region that is formed on a body portion comprising an outer frame and an inner frame of a vehicle;

selecting at least one function configured to be executed in the vehicle based on a location of the at least one sensing region on which the user's input is sensed or the user's input applied to the at least one sensing region; and

cause the operation of the selected at least one function,

wherein sensing a user's input further comprises:

activating a sensing region, among the at least one sensing region, on which the user's input is sensed;

determining whether a deactivation condition is satisfied that is associated with the activated sensing region; and

deactivating the activated sensing region based on a determination that the deactivation condition is satisfied, and

wherein the method further comprises:

authenticating a user based on the user's input applied to the at least one sensing region, and

changing a status of the vehicle to a lock-released state or a locked state.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein

the deactivation condition is based on at least one of a location of the activated sensing region or a characteristic of a function of the vehicle that corresponds to the activated sensing region.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein deactivating the activated sensing region based on the sensed result further comprises displaying information associated with the deactivated sensing region.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein activating a sensing region further comprises:

sensing a current driving state of the vehicle; and

determining a sensitivity of the activated sensing region based on the sensed driving state.

20. A vehicle control apparatus, comprising:

a body portion comprising an outer frame forming an external appearance of a vehicle and comprising an inner frame formed to allow a user to enter the vehicle;

a steering wheel mounted in the body portion and formed to be rotatable by a central axis to control a movement direction of the vehicle;

a sensing unit configured to sense a user's input on at least one sensing region formed on at least part of the steering wheel; and

a controller configured to cause the operation of at least one function configured to be executed in the vehicle based on at least one of a location of the at least one sensing region on which the user's input is sensed or the user's input to the at least one sensing region,

wherein the controller is further configured to:

activate a sensing region, among the at least one sensing region, on which the user's input is sensed;

determine a state of the vehicle; and

set a sensing mode of the activated sensing region based on the determined state of the vehicle, and

wherein the controller is further configured to:

authenticate a user based on the user's input applied to the at least one sensing region, and

change a status of the vehicle to a lock-released state or a locked state.