JP2008149806A - Information providing device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing device for a vehicle with improved convenience by customizing visual information providing means for informing visual information including vehicle information, and improving usability of the visual information providing means. <P>SOLUTION: Visual information providing means 101 provides visual information including vehicle information to a user. Control means 202 has a customizing mode for registering various settings regarding the visual information. Input means 211 determines contents of the various settings in the customizing mode. Storage means 204 registers the contents of the various settings. The contents of the various settings registered in the storage means are set pre-recognizable to the user through the visual information providing means 101. The contents of the various settings include items for selecting a size of the visual information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle information providing apparatus that provides various types of information to a user using visual information, and more particularly to a vehicle information providing apparatus that can customize visual information according to user preferences.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of vehicle information providing device, for example, a device described in Patent Document 1 is known. Such a vehicle information providing apparatus has display means (visual information providing means) and audio output means (auditory information providing means). Normal information such as mileage value, voltage value, and time and predetermined alarm information are displayed as visual information on the display means, and urgent information or information that may cause misunderstanding in visual information is displayed on the audio output means. As a voice output. Patent Document 1 also describes that specific alarm information that overlaps in content is provided through both display means and audio output means.
JP-A-9-66783

  The vehicle information providing apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 provides various information to a user by combining visual information and auditory information, and is improved in user convenience. In particular, with regard to visual information or auditory information, user preferences, visual characteristics, or auditory characteristics differ from person to person, so it is desirable to customize visual information provision means or auditory information provision means for reporting visual information or auditory information. It is rare. Further, with this customization, there is a demand for a vehicle information providing apparatus that improves the convenience of visual information providing means or auditory information providing means for notifying visual information or auditory information that is vehicle information, and that is excellent in convenience. Yes.

  The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and includes vehicle information in a vehicle information providing apparatus provided with visual information providing means that is expected to increase the mounting ratio on vehicles in the future. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle information providing apparatus that realizes customization of visual information providing means for notifying visual information, improves usability of the visual information providing means, and is excellent in convenience.

  The present invention provides a visual information providing means for providing visual information including vehicle information to a user, a control means having a customization mode for registering various settings relating to the visual information, and the customization In the vehicle information providing device comprising: input means for determining the contents of the various settings in the mode; and storage means for registering the contents of the various settings, the various types registered in the storage means The contents of the setting are set so that the user can recognize in advance through the visual information providing means.

  In the present invention, the contents of the various settings include an item for selecting the size of the visual information.

  In the present invention, the contents of the various settings include an item relating to the priority of the visual information.

  In the present invention, the contents of the various settings include an item for selecting a color of the visual information.

  In addition, as described in claim 5, the present invention includes a display unit that can display the contents of the various settings, and the display unit is registered in the storage unit through the visual information providing unit. It is provided with a preview display set in order to recognize the contents of the various settings in advance.

  The present invention provides a vehicle information providing device that can be customized and registered for visual information providing means according to the visual characteristics and preferences of the user, and responds to requests from users having various visual characteristics and preferences. The convenience of the information providing apparatus can be improved.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an overview of the vehicle information providing apparatus 100. The vehicle information providing apparatus 100 includes a display unit 101 (display means) serving as visual information providing means for displaying various types of information, a tachometer 102 for displaying engine speed in an analog manner, and a fuel meter for displaying in-tank fuel amount in an analog form. 103 and a thermometer 104 for analog display of the temperature of the engine coolant.

  The display unit 101 uses an electronic display panel made up of a liquid crystal display device (LCD) such as a TFT, for example. In addition to visual information related to various alarms to be described later, detection information from various sensors (not shown) such as vehicle speed and travel distance. In addition, various types of visual information are displayed according to the status information from the switch.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the vehicle information providing apparatus 100. The configuration includes a setting unit 210 (customization mode setting terminal) for shifting the vehicle information providing apparatus 100 to the customization mode, and an input terminal 211 (input unit) for setting or selecting various setting contents when the customization is executed. ), Vehicle information terminal 212 for inputting / outputting vehicle information and multiplex communication input / output terminal 213, vehicle interface means 201, control means 202 comprising a microcomputer for controlling the vehicle information providing apparatus 100, and control The first storage means 203 including a ROM or the like in which the processing program of the means 202 is stored, and various settings set by the input means 211 can be registered for each occupant (user) from a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM. Second storage means 204 (memory means) and a table for visually displaying various information Unit 101, drive unit 205 that performs display control of display unit 101 and drive control of various analog instruments 102, 103, and 104, and auditory information provision unit 240 that audibly notifies various types of information Yes.

  The auditory information providing unit 240 includes a mixing unit 241 that mixes various alarm sounds, an amplifier 242 that amplifies an output signal from the mixing unit 241, and a speaker 243 that outputs an amplified signal from the amplifier 242. The various states of the vehicle including information related to various alarms to be described later are audibly notified. In the present embodiment, the speaker 243 constitutes a part of the auditory information providing unit 240. However, for example, an audio speaker described later can also be applied.

  In addition, the vehicle information providing apparatus 100 detects an obstacle when the vehicle is placed in a garage or in parallel parking, for example, the transmitter 221 and the receiver 222 of the keyless entry device 220, which is an occupant identification means, and the audio 223. An obstacle alarm device composed of a corner sensor device 224 and a back sonar device 225 for reporting, and a travel control device 226 for performing automatic operation control such as auto-cruise traveling and lane keeping traveling are connected via a multiplex communication line 230. ing. The control unit 202 can output an instruction signal for instructing the volume mute to the audio 223 via the multiplex communication input / output terminal 213 and the multiplex communication line 230.

  Next, the customization mode will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 3A, 4 </ b> A, and 5 </ b> A illustrate various settings displayed on the display unit 101 when the vehicle information providing apparatus 100 is shifted to the customization mode. FIGS. 3B, 4B, and 5B show registration states of various setting contents registered in the customization mode in the second storage unit 204. FIG. In addition, the underline location in each figure of Fig.3 (a), FIG.4 (a), and Fig.5 (a) has shown the initial setting value.

  The user of the vehicle gives an instruction to the control means 202 to operate the customization mode setting terminal 210 from the outside to shift to the customization mode that the control means 202 has in advance. Specifically, the control unit 202 can recognize the terminal by changing the terminal at which the normal potential of the customization mode setting terminal 210 is at “high” level to “low” level by a predetermined operation such as a switch. When the control unit 202 shifts to the customization mode, the control unit 202 executes processing for switching the display unit 101 from the normal display to the initial screen display (initial screen 300) in the customization mode shown in FIG.

  Such an initial screen 300 is a screen on which the user selects the size of each piece of visual information via the input unit 211. Here, in FIG. 3A, (1) shows a selection screen for the character size (600 in FIG. 6A) of the speedometer displayed on the display unit 101 in the normal mode. Yes. For example, if the user selects the initial setting value “normal” to “large”, the control unit 202 uses the keyless entry device 220 to identify the identification code (identification information) of the user who uses the vehicle. ) Is specified, and the setting contents are stored in the area related to the identification code “ID1” of the second storage means 204.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, the setting content “Large” is registered in the character size (1) area (region R1) of the speedometer corresponding to the identification code “ID1”. At the same time, the control unit 202 performs control to switch the underline selected and displayed as “normal” to “large” on the initial screen 300, and the underline is not “normal” but “large”. It will be selected and displayed. Here, the character size of the speedometer (speedometer) displayed on the display unit 101 (600 in FIG. 6A) is switched from “normal” to “large”. Therefore, the visibility is improved for the user.

  In FIG. 3A, (2) shows a selection screen for the character size (601 in FIG. 6A) of the shift position information “PRND432”. For example, if the user selects the default value “normal” to “extra large” by the user, the control means 202 uses the keyless entry device 220 to identify the user identification code (identification). Information) is specified, and the set content is stored in the area associated with the identification code “ID1” of the second storage means 204.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, the setting content “extra large” is registered in the character size (2) area (region R2) of the shift position information corresponding to the identification code “ID1”. At the same time, the control unit 202 performs control to switch the underline selected and displayed as “normal” to “extra large” on the initial screen 300, and the underline is not “normal” but “extra large”. It will be selected and displayed. Here, since the size of the character at the shift position (601 in FIG. 6A) displayed on the display unit 101 is switched from “normal” to “extra large”, the user whose visual acuity has similarly deteriorated due to aging. Therefore, the visibility is improved.

  3A shows a selection screen for the size of the preceding vehicle state (602 in FIG. 6B) during auto-cruise traveling displayed on the display unit 101 in the normal mode. . Here, since “normal” which is an initial setting value is selected by the user, the control unit 202 does not write the setting content to the second storage unit 204. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3B, the initial set value “normal” is recorded in the (3) area (region R3) corresponding to the identification code “ID1” of the second storage means 204.

  In selecting the characters of the speedometer, the characters of the shift position information, and the size of the preceding vehicle state during auto-cruising on the initial screen 300, a preview mark 301 (preview) provided at the lower right of the initial screen 300 is selected. By selecting (Display), it is possible to confirm the size of each piece of visual information selected in advance in real time. Specifically, when the control unit 202 detects the selection of the preview mark 301, the control unit 202 displays each visual information selected on the display unit 101 via the driving unit 205 for a predetermined period. The size of each visual information can be confirmed (recognized) in advance. For example, if it is a character of a vehicle speedometer, the user can try three kinds of character sizes and select a character that is easy to see for the user.

  Next, another initial screen 310 in the customization mode will be described. When shifting to the customization mode, the control unit 202 executes processing for switching the display unit 101 from the normal display to the initial screen display (initial screen 310) in the customization mode shown in FIG. Such an initial screen is a screen on which the user performs selection regarding the priority of each visual information via the input means 211. Here, it is a screen for selecting each visual information notification method when a plurality of alarm conditions occur simultaneously. For example, FIG. 4A shows selection items in the case of sequentially displaying each alarm information (switching display every predetermined time) according to a predetermined priority (604 in FIG. 7A). Yes.

  In selecting the priority of each visual information on the initial screen 310, the preview mark 311 (preview display) provided at the lower right of the initial screen 310 is selected to select each of the items selected in advance in real time. It is possible to check the display state of the alarm information. Specifically, when the control unit 202 detects selection of the preview mark 311, the visual information selected on the display unit 101 is displayed for a predetermined period via the driving unit 205, so that the user can select the selected selection. Alarm information corresponding to the priority of each visual information can be confirmed (recognized) in advance.

  Next, another initial screen 320 in the customization mode will be described. When shifting to the customization mode, the control unit 202 executes processing for switching the display unit 101 from the normal display to the initial screen display (initial screen 320) in the customization mode shown in FIG. Such an initial screen 320 is a screen on which the user selects the color of each visual information via the input means 211.

  Here, in FIG. 5A, (1) shows a selection screen for the speedometer pointer color (605 in FIG. 6A) displayed on the display unit 101 in the normal mode. For example, if the user selects the initial setting value “red” to “yellow”, the control unit 202 uses the keyless entry device 220 to identify the identification code (identification information) of the user who uses the vehicle. ) Is specified, and the setting contents are stored in the area associated with the identification code “ID1” of the second storage means 204. That is, as shown in FIG. 5B, “yellow” which is the setting content is registered in the color (1) area (region R6) of the indicator of the speedometer corresponding to the identification code “ID1”. At the same time, the control unit 202 performs control to switch the underline selected and displayed as “red” to “yellow” on the initial screen 320, and the underline is selected and displayed as “yellow” instead of “red”. Will do.

  In FIG. 5A, (2) shows a selection screen for the color of the opening display (606 in FIG. 7B) displayed on the display unit 101 when the user starts the engine. Here, assuming that the user has selected the initial setting value “black and white” to “color”, the control means 202 uses the keyless entry device 220 to identify the identification code (identification) of the user who uses the vehicle. Information) is specified, and the setting contents are stored in the area associated with the identification code “ID1” of the second storage means 204. In other words, as shown in FIG. 5B, “color” as the setting content is registered in the opening color (1) area (region R7) corresponding to the identification code “ID1”. At the same time, the control unit 202 performs control such that the underline selected and displayed as “black and white” on the initial screen 320 is switched to “color”, and the underline is not “black and white” but “color”. It will be selected and displayed.

  It should be noted that the speedometer pointer and the opening color on the initial screen 320 are selected in advance in real time by selecting a preview mark 321 (preview display) provided at the lower right of the initial screen 320. It is possible to confirm the color of each visual information. Specifically, when the control unit 202 detects the selection of the preview mark 321, the visual information selected on the display unit 101 is displayed for a predetermined period via the driving unit 205, so that the user can select the selected selection. The color of each visual information can be confirmed (recognized) in advance. For example, in the case of a pointer of a vehicle speedometer, the user can try three types of pointer colors and select a user's favorite color.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the control unit 202 having a customization mode for registering various settings related to the visual information of the display unit 101 that provides vehicle information to the user as visual information, and the various types in the customization mode. In the vehicle information providing apparatus 100 including the input unit 211 for determining the content of the setting and the second storage unit for registering the content of the various settings, the information registered in the second storage unit 204 The contents of the various settings can be selected (set) according to the auditory characteristics according to the user's age or preference by being set so as to be recognizable in advance through the display unit 101 for the user. Yes, it is possible to provide a vehicle information provision device with excellent convenience that can improve human machine interface (HMI). .

  The contents of the various settings related to the visual information are registered in the second storage unit 204 in a state where the identification code by the keyless entry device 220 for identifying the user and the contents of the various settings are related to each other. It can be customized and registered for visual information for each user, and various settings of the visual information can be stored along with the identification code. Since the troublesome work that must be performed is not necessary, the convenience as the vehicle information providing apparatus 100 for displaying visual information is further enhanced.

  In this embodiment, the keyless entry device 220 is used as a user identification unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, a smart entry device that does not require a remote control operation, and an immobilizer device for theft prevention. Needless to say, it is possible to use a personal identification device such as a fingerprint verification or the like using a user identification code such as a fingerprint collation.

  In the present embodiment, the customization mode setting terminal 210 is used in the transition from the normal mode to the customization mode. For example, “switching between the normal mode and the customization mode”, “selection of setting items”, “setting” Configure the input means consisting of a plurality of switch groups divided by function such as “content preview”, “register setting contents”, etc., and switch between normal mode and customization mode according to the predetermined input of this input means It may be. Such input means can be disposed on the steering of the vehicle.

  Further, in this embodiment, “selection of selection item” and “registration of setting contents” are performed by predetermined input of the input unit 211 after shifting to the customization mode. However, one item for shifting to the customization mode is used. A switch may be prepared, and the single switch may be used to shift to the customization mode and perform various settings and registration in the customization mode. Specifically, a single switch is used to perform “switching between normal mode and customization mode” and “selection of setting items” with a short pressing operation, and for each setting item with a short pressing operation. A plurality of setting contents are displayed on the display unit 101 while sequentially switching, and when the user's desired setting contents are displayed, the setting contents are registered by a long time pressing operation, and then the short time pressing operation is performed. By moving to the next setting item and repeating the same operation, you can perform “switch between normal mode and customization mode”, “select setting item” and “register setting contents” with a single switch. In addition, in other “switching between normal mode and customization mode”, “selection of setting items”, “preview of setting contents” and “registration of setting contents”, voice input Comprising means, it is possible to instruct the voice input through the voice input means.

1 is a schematic view of a vehicle information providing apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram of the information provision apparatus for vehicles which shows embodiment same as the above. Explanatory drawing of the customization mode which shows embodiment same as the above. Explanatory drawing of the other customization mode which shows embodiment same as the above. Explanatory drawing of the other customization mode which shows embodiment same as the above. Explanatory drawing of the display part which shows embodiment same as the above. Explanatory drawing of the display part which shows embodiment same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Vehicle information provision apparatus 101 Display part (visual information provision means)
202 Control means 204 Second storage means (storage means)
210 Setting means (customization mode setting terminal)
211 Input means (input terminal)
301,311,321 Preview mark

Claims (5)

Visual information providing means for providing users with visual information including vehicle information;
Control means having a customization mode for registering various settings relating to the visual information;
Input means for defining the contents of the various settings in the customization mode;
In a vehicular information providing device comprising a storage means for registering the contents of the various settings,
The vehicular information providing apparatus, wherein the contents of the various settings registered in the storage means are set so as to be recognized in advance by the user through the visual information providing means.   The vehicular information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contents of the various settings include an item for selecting a size of the visual information.   The vehicular information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contents of the various settings include an item related to the priority of the visual information.   The vehicular information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contents of the various settings include an item for selecting a color of the visual information. In addition to providing display means that can display the contents of the various settings,
The said display means is provided with the preview display set in order to make it recognize the content of the said various settings registered into the storage means through the visual information provision means beforehand. Vehicle information providing device.

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