The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 10, 2016
Filed:
Jun. 11, 2013
Volkswagen Ag, Wolfsburg, DE;
Audi Ag, Ingolstadt, DE;
William Brian Lathrop, San Jose, CA (US);
James Leigh Toggweiler, San Francisco, CA (US);
Erik Robert Glaser, San Francisco, CA (US);
Nathaniel Robert Coser, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Bryan Grant, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg, DE;
Audi AG, Ingolstadt, DE;
Abstract
A steering wheel is configured as a dual-state input device configured to operate in two distinct states based on a current driving mode. In a manual driving mode, the input device is configured to control a limited set of vehicle functions and in an autonomous mode the input device is configured to control an expanded set of vehicle functions. The steering wheel includes a wheel rim movably mounted on a steering column and a hub disposed within a center of the wheel rim on the steering column, the main body portion comprising an interactive touch screen disposed on the main body portion. The wheel rim is configured to disengage from the hub and move along the steering column to a retracted position.