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Latest idea from Apple: an in-car remote

Apple has filed a patent for an iPod-like clickwheel mounted on the steering wheel. In-car remote would let drivers change songs, playlists, or Internet radio stations. 

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Courtesy of US Patent Office
Apple has filed a patent for this in-car remote system, complete with a battery-powered clip-on base with a clickwheel, allowing the driver to change songs, playlists, and Internet radio stations while keeping his hands on the wheel.
  • By Kurt Ernst Guest blogger

When it comes to hands-free infotainment solutions, automakers aren’t the only ones looking to make both the government and consumers happy. Now Apple has joined the fray, with a novel approach to adding steering-wheel-mounted controls.

As the diagram shows, Apple’s solution is a steering-wheel mounted clickwheel (as used on the iPod Classic), which can be used to control other Apple devices, such as an iPad, iPod or iPhone.

The patent filing was revealed by Patently Apple, a website dedicated to Apple’s “spirit of innovation.” Use of the steering-wheel-mounted remote control would allow drivers to change songs, playlists or internet radio stations without taking their eyes off the road, which few would argue is a good thing.

The remote would be powered by a button-style battery, and its clip-on base would accommodate a variety of steering wheel rim widths. There’s no provision to mount it to the center of the steering wheel, likely because doing so would potentially cause injury in an airbag deployment.

To account for individual preferences on mounting position, the controller face can be rotated so that the menu button is always on top, the play button is always on the bottom, rewind is always to the left and fast forward is always to the right.

It’s worth noting that a patent filing doesn’t necessarily mean a product will be built, so there’s no way to know if Apple is actually pursuing development. We wouldn’t put anything in our own cars that could potentially interfere with steering wheel operation, but we can certainly see the appeal for others. 

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