Control satellite
The operating satellite (officially called PRN ( P luie, R oute, N uit)) was developed by Citroën in the mid-1970s and installed in the Visa , Axel , BX , CX and GSA models.
Control satellites combine the controls for headlights , windshield wipers and indicators , which are designed as levers in conventional vehicles . They were introduced in the Citroën CX, where they were placed on both sides of the futuristic-looking dashboard with which they formed a unit. Later, this combination element was designed in the shape of a box in the simpler model series, and two versions were attached to the steering column on the right and left. In addition, the controls for the hazard warning lights , rear window heating and horn were located in the operating satellite . The purpose of the operating satellites should be to make the use of the above systems more ergonomic . When using them, the driver no longer had to take his hands off the steering wheel to operate one of these systems.
Nevertheless, the operating satellites were not able to establish themselves, which was not least due to a lack of acceptance from the conservative specialist press. A clear disadvantage was that (because of the spatial separation from the steering wheel column) the turn signal could not be switched off automatically by turning the steering wheel after a curve. So from the mid-1980s - under the influence of Peugeot in the PSA Group created in 1976 and the associated leveling of avant-garde elements at Citroën - they were gradually replaced again by the conventional controls.
Since the introduction of on-board computers in the standard equipment of many vehicles, the operation of these has been integrated into the levers for the windscreen washer system or the headlight system. As a result, multiple functionality is repeatedly accommodated in one operating lever. However, this does not represent a real return to the control satellites mentioned above.
So-called steering wheel satellites are installed from the beginning of the 1990s. Primarily Peugeot and Renault rely on the operation of the car radio via satellite, which is fixedly mounted on the steering column behind the steering wheel. The operating units are designed as levers, buttons and rotary wheels on a combination element. The function of the control satellite is almost exclusively given in connection with the original radio, as a proprietary communication link is usually used between the two devices.
With the static steering wheel hub, Citroën developed a new avant-garde control element in the style of the PRN. Installed in the C4 from 2004 and in the C5 from 2008 , only the steering wheel rim rotates, while the impact absorber with an abundance of control elements (radio, navigation, driver assistance systems, air conditioning) remains in the horizontal position. Citroën mentions the fact that the position of the airbag remains the same with every steering wheel position as an advantage . As once with the PRN, critics complain about the overloading and complicated arrangement of the operating concept. This concept was given up again after a generation in the C4.
literature
- Hans-Hermann Braess, Ulrich Seiffert: Vieweg manual automotive technology. 2nd edition, Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Braunschweig / Wiesbaden 2001, ISBN 3-528-13114-4 .