JP2004017761A - Control device for on-vehicle apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control device for an on-vehicle apparatus to remove an uncomfortable feeling during operation and improve operability by generating a proper reaction force of manipulation. <P>SOLUTION: An operation managing part 10 sets operation classification, and a pattern switching part 14 outputs a pattern number PN and a gain G of a generating pattern for a reaction force of manipulation corresponding to set operation classification. A motor output calculating part 20 reads generating pattern data of the reaction force of manipulation specified by an inputted pattern number PN from a generating pattern containing part 18 and determines a motor output value based on the position of an operating knob 30 at that point of time and sets a final motor output value by multiplying the gain G and controls the reaction force of manipulation generated by a motor 36. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device operation device having an operation unit capable of setting an operation reaction force.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, proposals have been made to simplify the arrangement of various devices and improve operability by sharing operation units of various devices provided in a vehicle. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-149721 discloses an "operating device for an in-vehicle device" that can operate various in-vehicle devices such as an audio device, a navigation device, an air conditioner, and a telephone using a common operating unit. It has been disclosed. The operating device for an in-vehicle device uses an operating force adjusting solenoid, and the operation reaction force applied to the operating member can be varied according to the type and operation content of the in-vehicle device.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the operating device for an in-vehicle device disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, the operation reaction force applied to the operating member is set according to the type and the operation content of the in-vehicle device. Therefore, there is a problem that the operation reaction force may be too strong or too weak to make the operation uncomfortable depending on the individual user. In particular, since the magnitude of the operation reaction force that feels comfortable is considered to differ from user to user, the operation reaction force that is set uniformly is not suitable for the case where the majority of users feel comfortable. Even so, it will be uncomfortable for a small number of users.
[0004]
Some on-vehicle devices operate both while driving and when stopped, but in general, how to feel the reaction force when operating while stopped, and how to operate when operating while driving. It is considered different from the way of feeling power. For example, when the vehicle is stopped, it is possible to concentrate on the operation of the operation member, so that even a relatively small operation reaction force can be accurately transmitted to the user, but when the vehicle is driving, a small operation The reaction force makes it difficult to transmit to the user. Therefore, when a certain operation reaction force is generated regardless of the running state of the vehicle, the operation reaction force is felt by the user to be unnecessarily large or, conversely, the operation reaction force is extremely small depending on the running state. In some cases, it is difficult to accurately position the operation member, and the operability is poor.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to generate an appropriate operation reaction force, thereby eliminating discomfort during operation and improving operability. An object of the present invention is to provide a device operating device.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, an on-vehicle device operating device according to the present invention includes an operation unit operated by a user, an operation reaction force generation unit that applies a changeable operation reaction force to the operation unit, and an instruction by the user. Operation reaction force setting means for switching the magnitude of the operation reaction force generated by the operation reaction force generation means according to By switching the strength of the operation reaction force according to the user's instruction, it is possible to realize an appropriate operation reaction force that the user himself feels comfortable, and thus it is possible to eliminate discomfort during the operation.
[0007]
Further, it is desirable that the above-mentioned operation reaction force setting means switches the magnitude of the operation reaction force according to the traveling state of the vehicle. By switching the operation reaction force according to the traveling state of the vehicle, the optimal operation reaction force can be set in each of the stopped state and the traveling state, and the operability in each state can be improved.
[0008]
In addition, the in-vehicle device operation device according to the present invention includes an operation unit operated by a user, an operation reaction force generation unit that applies a changeable operation reaction force to the operation unit, and an operation reaction force according to a traveling state of the vehicle. Operation reaction force setting means for switching the magnitude of the operation reaction force generated by the generation means. As described above, by switching the operation reaction force according to the traveling state of the vehicle, the optimal operation reaction force can be set in each of the stopped state and the traveling state, and the operability in each state is improved. Becomes possible.
[0009]
The apparatus further includes a reaction force pattern storage unit that stores an operation reaction force generation pattern corresponding to each of the plurality of operation contents, wherein the operation reaction force setting unit is configured to, when one operation content is selected, generate the corresponding reaction force. It is desirable to read the pattern from the reaction force pattern storage means and set the operation reaction force generated by the operation reaction force generation means. This makes it possible to generate an operation reaction force in a pattern corresponding to each of a plurality of operation contents, and to change the operation reaction force in each pattern according to a user or a running state, thereby making it difficult to operate. It is possible to improve operability without pleasure.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an in-vehicle system according to an embodiment to which an in-vehicle device operating device of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the vehicle-mounted system according to the present embodiment. The in-vehicle system shown in FIG. 1 includes an operation unit 100, a display unit 200, a navigation device 300, an audio device 310, a radio receiver 320, and an air conditioner 330. The operation unit 100 is for giving various operation instructions to each of the navigation device 300, the audio device 310, the radio receiver 320, and the air conditioner 330 as on-vehicle devices to be operated by a user's operation. is there. In the present embodiment, one operation unit 100 is provided corresponding to various on-vehicle devices, and operation instructions having different contents are given to each on-vehicle device. In addition, the display unit 200 displays an operation screen when the operation by the operation unit 100 is performed, an output image of the navigation device 300, and the like.
[0011]
The above-described operation unit 100, display unit 200, navigation device 300, audio device 310, radio receiver 320, and air conditioner 330 are connected via an in-vehicle bus, and various types of data are mutually transmitted and received. The operation unit 100 includes an operation management unit 10, a personal data storage unit 12, a pattern switching unit 14, a generation pattern storage unit 18, a motor output calculation unit 20, an operation knob 30, a position detection unit 34, and a motor 36.
[0012]
The operation knob 30 is an operation unit rotatably mounted around the lever 32. When a rotational driving force is given by the user, the operation knob 30 performs a rotation operation corresponding to the operation reaction force generated at that time. The position detection unit 34 is attached to, for example, the lever 32, and detects the position (rotation angle) of the operation knob 30. The motor 36 generates an operation reaction force applied to the operation knob 30 via the lever 32.
[0013]
The operation management unit 10 sets an operation type based on information transmitted from the navigation device 300 or the like, and controls an operation result output operation corresponding to the set operation type. For example, “volume operation” and “menu selection” are set as typical operation types. In the present embodiment, the operation feeling of the operation knob 30 suitable for each operation type is realized by generating the operation reaction force corresponding to the operation type set in this way. When an operation is performed, it is necessary to generate an output value corresponding to the operation status and output the output value from the operation unit 100, and the operation management unit 10 performs an operation result output operation of generating the output value. For example, when “volume operation” is set as the operation type, when the operation knob 30 is rotated by a user operation, a volume value corresponding to the rotation angle is created as an output value.
[0014]
Further, in the present embodiment, the strength of the operation reaction force can be registered for each user, and the operation management unit 10 causes the display unit 200 to display a predetermined registration screen and Perform registration work.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a registration screen. As shown in FIG. 2, the registration screen includes four types of choices “strong”, “normal”, “weak”, "Helpless" is prepared. By using this registration screen, it is possible to set the strength of the operation reaction force corresponding to each of the stopped state and the running state as a force pattern of the user. Note that the registration screen includes a "stop mode trial" button and a "running mode trial" button, and the user presses one of the buttons to correspond to each running state. The operation reaction force selected at the time can be actually generated and confirmed.
[0015]
The personal data storage unit 12 stores, as personal data, a force pattern for each user set by the registration work performed by the operation management unit 10. For example, data indicating the degree of the reaction reaction force during stopping and running set using the registration screen shown in FIG. 2 is stored in the personal data storage unit 12 together with the identification ID of each user. .
[0016]
The pattern switching unit 14 specifies an operation reaction force generation pattern corresponding to the operation type set by the operation management unit 10. This designation is performed by outputting a pattern number PN corresponding to the selected occurrence pattern. The pattern switching unit 14 performs an operation based on a traveling state of the vehicle determined based on a vehicle speed signal input from the outside and personal data for each user stored in the personal data storage unit 12. A gain G for setting the degree of the reaction force is set. As described above, the magnitude of the operation reaction force during a stop or while traveling is selected from four types of options, "strong", "normal", "weak", and "powerless", and Personal data has been created, and for example, the gain G is set to 1.2, 1.0, 0.8, and 0, respectively, corresponding to each option. As the vehicle speed signal input from the outside, for example, an output of a vehicle speed sensor used in the navigation device 300 or a vehicle speed signal input to a speedometer of the vehicle can be used.
[0017]
The generation pattern storage unit 18 stores data for specifying an operation reaction force generation pattern corresponding to each operation type.
3 and 4 are diagrams showing the generation patterns of the operation reaction force corresponding to each operation type. For example, FIG. 3 shows an operation reaction force generation pattern corresponding to the operation type “volume operation”, and FIG. 4 shows an operation reaction force generation pattern corresponding to the operation type “menu selection”. In these figures, the horizontal axis represents the position P in the rotational direction of the operation knob 30, and the vertical axis represents the motor output value F required to generate a predetermined operation reaction force. Since the operation reaction is controlled by the motor 36 so as to correspond to the motor output value, the vertical axis shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 indicates the generation pattern of the operation reaction force itself.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 3, the operation reaction force generation pattern corresponding to the operation type “volume operation” includes an operation reaction force generation pattern A generated when the operation knob 30 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, An operation reaction force generation pattern B generated when the operation knob 30 is rotated clockwise is included. For example, considering a case where the operation knob 30 is rotated clockwise to increase the volume or the like of the audio device 310, the generation pattern B is selected. At this time, the operation is controlled so that a weak operation reaction force in the opposite direction is generated along the rotation direction. When the operation knob 30 is rotated to a certain position, the operation knob 30 is suddenly operated in order to give an operational feeling of hitting the operation knob 30. The reaction force increases.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 4, the operation reaction force generation pattern corresponding to the operation type "menu selection" includes a plurality of areas (two areas in FIG. 4) corresponding to a plurality of options included in the menu screen. C and D are included. When the operation knob 30 is rotated and its position moves from the area C to the area D, the selection state in the menu screen moves from one option to the other option. Therefore, while the operation knob 30 is being moved within each of the options, it is possible to make the user recognize that the operation knob 30 is being operated due to the generation of a slight operation reaction force whose direction fluctuates periodically. become. In addition, at a position where the options are switched (an intermediate position between the area C and the area D), a large operation reaction force acting over the obstacle acts on the operation knob 30, so that the user is notified that the options have been switched. Becomes possible.
[0020]
The motor output calculation unit 20 controls the operation reaction force generated by the motor 36 by outputting a motor output value corresponding to the position of the operation knob 30 detected by the position detection unit 34 to the motor 36. Specifically, the motor output calculation unit 20 reads out the operation reaction force generation pattern data specified by the pattern number PN specified by the pattern switching unit 14 from the generation pattern storage unit 18 and performs an operation based on this generation pattern. A motor output value corresponding to the position of the knob 30 is obtained, and this value is further multiplied by a gain G set by the pattern switching unit 14 to calculate a final motor output value.
[0021]
The operation knob 30 is an operation unit, the motor 36 is an operation reaction force generation unit, the operation management unit 10, the pattern switching unit 14, and the motor output calculation unit 20 are an operation reaction force setting unit, and the generation pattern storage unit 18 is a reaction unit. Each corresponds to force pattern storage means.
The operation unit 100 according to the present embodiment has such a configuration. Next, detailed operations of the pattern switching unit 14 and the motor output calculation unit 20 will be described.
[0022]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the pattern switching unit 14. First, the pattern switching unit 14 determines whether or not the operation type has been changed (Step 100). Assuming that the operation type is notified to the operation management unit 10 by each of the in-vehicle devices such as the navigation device 300, if any of the in-vehicle devices notifies the new operation type, an affirmative determination is made in the determination of step 100. . Next, the pattern switching unit 14 acquires data of a new operation type from the operation management unit 10 (step 101), and a pattern number required to identify an operation reaction force generation pattern corresponding to the acquired operation type. Is output (step 102).
[0023]
After the pattern number is output in this way, or after the negative determination is made in step 100 without changing the operation type, the pattern switching unit 14 determines whether the vehicle speed has changed (step 103). This determination is made based on a vehicle speed signal input from the outside. If the vehicle speed has changed, an affirmative determination is made in the determination of step 103, and then the pattern switching unit 14 acquires personal data corresponding to the current user from the personal data storage unit 12 (step 104). The pattern switching unit 14 determines whether the vehicle speed at that time is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (for example, 4 km / h) (step 105). If the vehicle speed is slower than the predetermined value, a negative determination is made, and the pattern switching unit 14 outputs a gain G according to the magnitude of the operation reaction force corresponding to the stop (step 106). On the other hand, if the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, an affirmative determination is made, and the pattern switching unit 14 outputs a gain G according to the magnitude of the operation reaction force corresponding to the traveling (step 107).
[0024]
After the gain G is output in this way, or when the vehicle speed does not change, a negative determination is made in step 103, and the process returns to step 100 and the processing is repeated.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the motor output calculation unit 20. When the motor output calculation unit 20 detects the position of the operation knob 30 based on the output of the position detection unit 34 (Step 200), the motor output calculation unit 20 determines the position of the operation knob 30 based on the operation reaction force generation pattern selected at that time. A corresponding motor output value is obtained (Step 201). Further, the motor output calculation unit 20 obtains the gain G output from the pattern switching unit 14 (step 202), and calculates the actual motor output value by multiplying the motor output value obtained in step 201 by this gain G. (Step 203). Next, the motor output calculator 20 outputs a voltage (or current) corresponding to the calculated motor output value to the motor 36 (Step 204). In this way, the operation reaction force generated by the motor 36 is controlled. Thereafter, the process returns to step 200 and is repeated.
[0025]
As described above, in the operation unit 100 of the present embodiment, by switching the strength of the operation reaction force by the setting operation for each user, an appropriate operation reaction force that the user himself feels comfortable can be realized. It is possible to eliminate discomfort during operation. In addition, by switching the operation reaction force according to the traveling state of the vehicle, the optimal operation reaction force can be set in each of the stopped state and the traveling state, and the operability in each state can be improved. Become.
[0026]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the operation unit 100 that rotates the operation knob 30 has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to an operation unit that moves the operation knob in a two-dimensional plane. In this case, two motors (or other driving means such as a solenoid) for generating an operation reaction force are provided along each of the X direction and the Y direction of the two-dimensional plane, and the output to each of these motors is provided. What is necessary is just to control the motor output value.
[0027]
In the above-described embodiment, the operation unit 100 provided in common with a plurality of in-vehicle devices generates an operation reaction force corresponding to various operation types. Correspondingly, the present invention can also be applied when the operation reaction force generation pattern is fixed. For example, for the operation unit for setting the volume of the audio device, the strength of the operation reaction force may be switched according to the running state of the vehicle or the content of personal data for each user.
[0028]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the strength of the operation reaction force is switched according to the running state of the vehicle (stop or running) and the setting contents for each user. However, the operation reaction force is switched using other conditions. The strength may be switched. For example, as the traveling state, whether the traveling road is a general road or an expressway, whether the traveling time is at night or other, and the like, switch the strength of the operation reaction force, and change the operation reaction force according to the sex and age of the user. The strength may be switched.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, by switching the strength of the operation reaction force according to the user's instruction, it is possible to realize an appropriate operation reaction force that the user himself feels comfortable, and therefore, the operation reaction Pleasure can be eliminated. In addition, by switching the operation reaction force according to the traveling state of the vehicle, the optimal operation reaction force can be set in each of the stopped state and the traveling state, and the operability in each state can be improved. Become.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an in-vehicle system according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a registration screen.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation reaction force generation pattern corresponding to each operation type.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation reaction force generation pattern corresponding to each operation type.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a pattern switching unit.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a motor output calculation unit.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 10 operation management unit 12 personal data storage unit 14 pattern switching unit 18 generation pattern storage unit 20 motor output calculation unit 30 operation knob 32 lever 34 position detection unit 36 motor 100 operation unit 200 display unit 300 navigation device 310 audio device 320 radio receiver 330 air conditioner

Claims (4)

An operation unit operated by a user;
Operation reaction force generating means for applying a changeable operation reaction force to the operation unit,
An operation reaction force setting unit that switches the magnitude of the operation reaction force generated by the operation reaction force generation unit in accordance with an instruction from a user;
An in-vehicle device operating device comprising: In claim 1,
The in-vehicle device operating device, wherein the operation reaction force setting means switches the strength of the operation reaction force according to a running state of the vehicle. An operation unit operated by a user;
Operation reaction force generating means for applying a changeable operation reaction force to the operation unit,
An operation reaction force setting unit that switches the magnitude of the operation reaction force generated by the operation reaction force generation unit according to a traveling state of a vehicle;
An in-vehicle device operating device comprising: In any one of claims 1 to 3,
A reaction force pattern storage unit that stores an operation reaction force generation pattern corresponding to each of a plurality of operation contents;
The operation reaction force setting means, when one of the operation contents is selected, reads out the corresponding generation pattern from the reaction force pattern storage means, and calculates the operation reaction force generated by the operation reaction force generation means. An in-vehicle device operating device characterized by setting.

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