JP2000332807A - On-vehicle information equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide on-vehicle information equipment the manufacture cost of which is reduced without the need for largely changing a hardware configuration of a controller even when the equipment configuration of the on-vehicle information equipment mounted on a vehicle is changed so as to easily cope with the change without the need for provision of many controllers. SOLUTION: A data input output section A connected to an information processing section 2 of an information processing LAN 1 consists of general-purpose data processing units (4-10) that mutually convert data forms of various on-vehicle equipments connected to a LAN and conventional data forms such as a parallel and a serial and a LAN information common processing section 3 that mutually converts general-purpose data forms and information processing section use data forms, and general-purpose transmission lines (20-26) interconnect the general-purpose data processing units (4-10) and the LAN information common processing section 3. Thus, even when the connected equipment is changed, the equipment can cope with the change without the need for changing a control circuit by connecting the equipment to any of the general-purpose data processing units (4-10).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an on-vehicle information device for comprehensively controlling a navigation device, an audio device and the like via a LAN.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle is equipped with an audio device such as a car navigation device and a head unit, an air conditioner, and the like. When the device is used, the operation of each device is performed by an individual operation unit of each device. However, in recent years, the sophistication of functions of each device and the mounting of more in-vehicle devices have become necessary, and the need to comprehensively control these devices has arisen. Comprehensive control is performed.

In such an in-vehicle device information processing LAN for processing various information in order to comprehensively control the in-vehicle device, for example, as shown in FIG. A CPU 71, a ROM 72 for storing a LAN operation program and the like, and a RAM 73 for temporarily storing various information are connected as basic components. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a display processing unit 75 for a display 74 for displaying a television or the like, and a television (T
V) TV tuner interface (I / F) 77 for tuner 76, head unit I / F 79 for audio head unit 78, touch panel I / F 8 for touch panel 80 provided on the display screen
1. A vehicle ECU for a vehicle electronic control unit (ECU) 82 that controls operations of an engine, a transmission, a brake, and the like.
An I / F 83 and, in the illustrated embodiment, a sensor I / F 85 for receiving a signal from a side brake sensor 84 for detecting the operation of the side brake are connected.

Accordingly, in the illustrated embodiment, for example, the screen displayed on the display 74 converts the signal of the TV tuner 76 into a LAN information processing data format by a TV tuner I / F, and further incorporates the signal into the side brake sensor 8.
4 is converted into the data format of the information processing LAN by the sensor I / F and taken in.
According to the procedure programmed in (1), the image of the TV tuner is displayed only when the side brake is operated. The instruction from the touch panel 80 is converted into a LAN information processing data format by the touch panel I / F 81, and based on the data, the CPU 71 adds an address of the device to the instruction target and issues an instruction signal. Is output, and the designated device can perform a predetermined operation. Thereby, for example, the head unit 78
By using the touch panel 80, various operations can be performed, and TV channel switching, volume adjustment, and the like can also be controlled.

[0005] The vehicle ECU 82 receives necessary signals from various signals of the operating state of the engine, the operating states of the transmission and the 4WD, and the operating states of the brakes such as the ABS.
The operation state can be displayed on the display 74, and necessary data among various data in the vehicle ECU can be fetched and used for information processing. It can be used with. In the above embodiment, the signal of the side brake sensor 84, which is an important sensor signal in the components used in the LAN, is incorporated by providing the sensor I / F 85. When taking in the ECU, the sensor I / F
It is also possible to take in from the vehicle ECU 82 without providing the 85.

On the other hand, when the configuration of the on-vehicle information device is viewed from the function, as shown in the functional block diagram of FIG.
For the information processing section 86, the TV tuner I / F 77, head unit I / F 79, touch panel I / F 81, vehicle ECU / I / F 83, and sensor I / F 8 shown in FIG.
5 and the display processing unit 75 are connected, and each interface unit converts the data of the device connected thereto into a data format that can be processed by the LAN information processing unit and outputs the data. The data from the section 86 is converted into data corresponding to each information device and output. Furthermore,
The display processing of the display 74 is performed by the display processing unit 75.

[0007]

For example, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
For a vehicle equipped with a V tuner 76, a head unit 79 and a touch panel 80 as an operation unit, an information processing LAN control device having an I / F as shown in FIG. However, as shown in the LAN configuration diagram of FIG. 6, a DVD 90 is mounted in addition to the TV tuner 76 as an image device, a navigation device 92 is mounted, and a CD changer 94 and an MD are mounted in addition to the head unit 79 as audio devices. When a player 96 is mounted, a joystick 99 is connected in addition to the touch panel 80 as an operation device, and a device configuration for taking in a signal from the vehicle speed sensor 100 for the navigation device is used, It is necessary to provide an interface individually.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, a DVD I / F 91 for a DVD 90, a navigation I / F 93 for a navigation device 92, and a C / C for a CD changer 94.
A D changer I / F 95, an MD player I / F 97 for an MD player 96, a joy stick I / F 99 for a joy stick 98, and a second sensor I / F 99 for taking in a signal from the vehicle speed sensor 100.
It is necessary to provide F101. Many of the circuits for these interfaces are provided on the same substrate as the CPU 71, the RAM 72, and the ROM 73 in the control unit of the LAN.
Alternatively, an IC dedicated to each interface is arranged on a separate board in the vicinity, and each device is connected to a dedicated input / output port. The vehicle speed sensor 100
This signal can be input to the vehicle ECU and taken out via the vehicle ECU / I / F as in the case of the side brake sensor without providing the second sensor I / F as described above.

The information processing apparatus for a vehicle-mounted device having the above configuration has the same configuration as that shown in FIG. 5, and all the interfaces for the devices added as described above are directly connected to the LAN information processing section 86 in the same manner. Therefore, the data of each device is converted into a data format that can be processed by the information processing unit and output.

For this reason, when the configuration of the on-board device as shown in FIG. 4 is changed to a configuration in which more devices are mounted as shown in FIG. 6, an interface for the added device is incorporated. A control device is required.
The change of the device configuration as described above is only an example, for example,
In relation to image processing, in addition to the TV tuner and DVD,
When the rear of the car is photographed and displayed on the display, and a video camera is installed to enhance the safety when the car is back, etc., a video camera I / F is provided to operate the onboard equipment by voice. When the voice recognition unit is provided, the voice recognition unit I / F is provided. In addition, in order to display the most important information of the state of the car and the operation state of various devices at a position where it is easy to see, when installing a meter LCD as a small simple display on a part of the meter panel,
It is necessary to provide a meter LCD I / F. Furthermore, in addition to the above-mentioned touch panel and joystick for operating various devices, for example, when an Internet communication device is connected to an in-vehicle device, it is necessary to provide a hard key such as a keyboard for operating the Internet communication device. Yes, at that time, it is necessary to provide a hard key I / F.

As described above, in the conventional LAN control device, the LA is adjusted according to the device configuration of the information device mounted on the vehicle.
It is necessary to reorganize the hardware configuration of the N control unit,
Therefore, it is necessary to manufacture and prepare a large number of control devices so as to be able to cope with various device configurations as much as possible, and there is a problem that the number of parts increases and the manufacturing cost increases. When only a small number of control devices are prepared so as to correspond to a specific device configuration from the viewpoint of manufacturing cost, the device configuration that can be selected by the user is limited, and there is a problem that the flexibility of selecting the mounted device is lacking. In addition, various on-vehicle devices have been newly developed in recent years, and there is a problem that mounting of the developed device cannot be dealt with unless a control device provided with an interface for the device is newly manufactured.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even if the configuration of the onboard information device mounted on the vehicle is changed, it is not necessary to largely change the hardware configuration of the control device, and the change can be easily accommodated. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle information device that does not need to prepare many control devices and can reduce the manufacturing cost.

[0013]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a data input / output unit of a LAN information processing unit is provided with an L
A general-purpose data processing unit for mutually converting between a data format of an AN connection information device and a general-purpose data format, and a LAN for mutually converting between a general-purpose data format and a data format for an information processing unit
An in-vehicle information device comprising an information common processing unit and a general-purpose data processing unit and a LAN information common processing unit connected by a general-purpose transmission line.

The LAN information common processing unit is provided on the same substrate as the general-purpose data processing unit.
Further, the LAN information common processing unit is provided on a separate board from the general-purpose data processing unit.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functions of the present invention. The information processing LAN 1 is roughly divided into an information processing unit 2 and an input / output unit 40 surrounded by a broken line in the figure. The unit 40 includes interfaces 4 to 10 serving as general-purpose data processing units for mutually converting between a data format of an on-vehicle information device connected to the LAN and a general-purpose data format described later, and decomposition of data input from the interfaces 4 to 10 LAN information common processing unit 2 for performing integration processing and mutually converting between data in a general-purpose data format from an interface and a data format processed by information processing unit 2
It is constituted by and. Note that the display processing unit 41 in FIG. 1 functions as an interface that performs data conversion between the display 42 and the information processing unit 2.

In the embodiment shown in the figure, the LAN information common processing unit 3 includes a voice recognition interface (I / F) 4, a vehicle LAN I / F 5, an operation system LAN I / F 6, and a navigation I / F 6.
F7, simple display I / F8, audio LAN I / F
9. The image LAN I / F 10 is connected,
F and the LAN information common processing unit 3 are connected by a general-purpose transmission line via general-purpose input / output ports such as a serial port and a parallel port. Various input / output ports widely used in personal computers and the like can be provided as general-purpose input / output ports. For example, a serial port such as an Rs232C port, a USB port, a PS / 2 port, and the like can be used.

In the above various I / Fs, a voice recognition I / F
4, a voice recognition unit 11 is connected, and the voice recognition unit 11 converts a voice signal input from a microphone into general-purpose data and outputs the general-purpose data via a general-purpose input / output port 12 such as a USB port or a serial port. LA by 13
It is sent to the N information common processing unit 3. When the voice recognition unit 11 is provided with a device for converting text data into voice, as a result of the data processing in the information processing unit 2, the data to be output as voice is converted into general-purpose data by the LAN information common processing unit 3, and Speech recognition I using the general-purpose transmission line 13
/ F4, and the voice recognition I / F4 converts the data into a data format to be processed by the voice recognition unit 11 and outputs the data. The voice recognition unit 11 converts the data into voice and outputs the voice from a speaker or the like.

The vehicle ECU 27 is connected to the vehicle LAN I / F 5.
Is connected, inputs various sensor signals used in the vehicle ECU 27 and output data of the vehicle ECU 27 necessary for the information processing LAN, converts the input data into general-purpose data, and converts the input data into a general-purpose input / output port such as a serial port. The data is sent to the LAN information common processing unit 3 via the general-purpose transmission line 21 via the communication line 13. As a result of the data processing in the information processing section 2, the data requested by the vehicle ECU 27 is stored in the LA.
N information common processing unit 3 converts the data into general-purpose data.
Transmit to U27.

The operation system LAN I / F 6 includes this LAN
A touch panel 28, a hard key 29, a joystick 30 and the like for operating the information equipment applied to are connected. At this time, only necessary ones of these operation devices can be connected. When other operation devices such as IrDA for infrared communication are used, a signal is input to the operation LAN / I / F 6. The input signal is sent to the LAN information common processing unit 3 via the general-purpose transmission line 22 via the general-purpose input / output port 15 such as a serial port or a PS / 2 port.

The navigation I / F 7 has a navigation device 31
Is connected, inputs data obtained by the navigation device 31, converts the input data into general-purpose data, and transmits the general-purpose input / output port 16 such as a parallel port to the LAN information common processing unit 3 via the general-purpose transmission path 23. send. Also,
According to the data request signal from the navigation device 31,
Alternatively, in response to an instruction signal from the touch panel 28 or the joystick 30 input from the operation system LAN / I / F 6, the information processing unit 2 drives the DVD to transmit data, and the VICS data received by the FM multiplex broadcast reception in the head unit 33 is transmitted. The general-purpose transmission path 23 sends the captured data, the vehicle speed data, and the like to the navigation I / F 7, and sets them as operation data and operation signals for the navigation device 31. Further, the map display data and the guide route data obtained by the navigation device 31 are sent to the LAN information common processing unit 3 by the same processing and transmission path as described above, and the display data is displayed by the processing by the information processing unit 2. The display data is output to a specific display 42 for displaying navigation among various displays 42 connected thereto.

The simple display I / F 8 is connected to a meter LCD 32 as a simple display device provided on a meter panel that allows the driver to view the most safely during the driving operation. The meter LCD 32 transmits a signal indicating an abnormality of the engine or an abnormality of the brake that may hinder the operation of the vehicle from the vehicle ECU 27 as described above.
The data is input to the LAN information common processing unit 3 via F5, and the necessary data is input from the general-purpose transmission line 24 to the meter L via the general-purpose input / output port 17 according to the instruction of the information processing unit 2.
The data is sent to the CD 32 and displayed by a simple mark or the like so that the driver can immediately see it. In addition, a simple display of turning right and left at an intersection is displayed by data from the navigation device 31, and when a message is input by communication with the outside, the message is displayed and displayed, and the air conditioner enters the indoor air circulation mode. Various simple displays are displayed in an optimal size according to the situation.

The audio LAN I / F 9 has AM /
A head unit 33 having a built-in FM broadcast receiver, amplifier, and the like, a CD changer 39, an MD player 35, and the like are connected. At that time, only necessary ones of these audio devices can be connected.
Other audio devices, such as a changer and a digital broadcast receiver, can also be connected. This audio I / F
In step 9, among various audio data from each audio device, for example, display data of an acoustic effect is converted into general-purpose data, and LAN information is transmitted from a general-purpose input / output port 18 such as a serial port or a USB port via a general-purpose transmission path 25. The information is output to the common processing unit 3, processed by the information processing unit 2, sent to the display processing unit 41, and a specific display 42 for displaying the sound effect is selected and displayed. Further, signals from the touch panel 28 to the audio device such as an audio device selection instruction signal are transmitted to the operation system LAN / I as described above.
/ F6, the general-purpose transmission line 22, and the LAN information common processing unit 3, when input to the information processing unit 2, the information processing unit 2
The AN information common processing unit 3 converts the data into general-purpose data of a format to be transmitted through the general-purpose transmission path 25, specifies the address to the audio LAN I / F 9, and transmits the audio LAN I / F 9, and changes the selection of audio equipment.

In the illustrated embodiment, a DVD player 36, a TV tuner 37, and a video camera 38 are connected to the image LAN I / F 10. Again, only the necessary equipment is selected and connected, and if necessary,
Other image equipment such as a video deck can also be connected. The image LAN / I / F 10 converts image data output from a device connected thereto into general-purpose data and transmits the LAN information from a general-purpose input / output port 19 such as a serial port or a parallel port via a general-purpose transmission path 26. The data is input to the common processing unit 3, the information processing unit 2 performs necessary data processing, and the display processing unit converts the data into display data. Then, a specific display 42 that displays the data is selected and displayed. Selection of these imaging devices or operation of the imaging devices
By transmitting and receiving signals through the general-purpose transmission path 26 by the same means as the selection of the audio equipment and the operation of the navigation device, the touch panel 28 and the joystick 3
Selection and operation can be performed with 0.

In the in-vehicle information device as described above, the interfaces 4 to 10 as the processing units and processing units of the various LANs can be provided on the same substrate as the LAN information common processing unit 3. At that time, by providing various interfaces so as to be able to simplify the inside of the control device and to correspond to most data formats usually used in the LAN information common processing unit 3 in advance, It is possible to use a board that can handle all information devices connected to this LAN, and that can be supplied in large quantities as a board common to all vehicles. Also, LAN
The interface circuits 4 to 10 may be provided on a substrate separate from the information common processing unit 3. In this case, if a voice recognition unit or the like is not connected, these interfaces are not provided. It is possible to take measures such as selecting and using a suitable substrate.

An onboard information device that performs the above functions is
For example, it can be performed by the information processing LAN 44 as shown in FIG. That is, the CPU 45, the ROM 46, and the RAM 47 are connected to the common bus 45 in the same manner as in the conventional device, and the LAN is controlled according to the program. In the interfaces 4 to 10 connected to the common bus 45, as described in the description of FIG. 1, the data of each device connected to each interface is input, converted into general-purpose data, and converted into general-purpose data. 45. In the information processing LAN 44, a conversion process for decomposing and integrating each general-purpose data into predetermined data handled in the information processing is performed in advance.
Thereafter, information processing is performed based on this data.

In the embodiment shown in FIG.
Data is directly input to the I / F 5 from the vehicle ECU 27, and the vehicle speed sensor 50 and the side brake sensor 51 are input.
Is also directly input to the vehicle LAN I / F 5, for example, as shown in FIG.
When the vehicle LAN 53 exists separately from the N44, the information processing LAN I / I connected to the common bus 54 is provided.
It may be configured to input data from F55. At that time, the vehicle speed sensor 5 is connected to the vehicle LAN 53.
0 is taken into the common bus 54 of the vehicle LAN 53 from the vehicle speed sensor I / F 56, and the signal of the side brake sensor 51 is taken in similarly from the side brake sensor I / F 57, and this data is processed into the information processing LAN I / F 55.
Can be output to the information processing LAN 44 as described above.

[0027]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, even if various models of in-vehicle devices are created and model development is diversified, the user can change the specifications of the in-vehicle devices or mount the in-vehicle devices. Can be easily handled without changing the LAN control unit, and there is no need to manufacture control devices for various device configurations, which reduces the number of parts, and reduces development and manufacturing. Cost can be reduced.

In the invention according to claim 2, the LA
Since the N information common processing unit is provided on the same substrate as the general-purpose data processing unit, the inside of the control device can be simplified and most of the data formats usually used in advance for the LAN information common processing unit can be handled. In addition, by providing various interfaces, even if any information device is connected to this LAN, the board can support all
The substrate can be mass-produced. In the invention according to claim 3, the LAN information common processing unit is provided on a separate board from the general-purpose data processing unit.
For example, when a voice recognition unit or the like is not connected, an inexpensive board without these interfaces can be selected and used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an information processing circuit in an in-vehicle information device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the information processing circuit.

FIG. 3 is a partial configuration diagram of another embodiment of the information processing circuit of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an information processing circuit in a conventional in-vehicle information device.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the information processing circuit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of another information processing circuit in a conventional in-vehicle information device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 information processing LAN 2 information processing unit 3 LAN information common processing unit 4 to 10 general data processing unit 20 to 26 general transmission line 40 input / output unit

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) // H04N 5/225 H04L 11/00 310Z

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A data input / output unit of a LAN information processing unit,
A general-purpose data processing unit for mutually converting between a data format of a LAN connection information device and a general-purpose data format, and an LA for mutually converting between a general-purpose data format and a data format for an information processing unit
An in-vehicle information device comprising an N information common processing unit, wherein the general data processing unit and the LAN information common processing unit are connected by a general transmission line. 2. The in-vehicle information device according to claim 1, wherein the LAN information common processing unit is provided on the same substrate as the general-purpose data processing unit. 3. The in-vehicle information device according to claim 1, wherein the LAN information common processing unit is provided on a separate board from the general-purpose data processing unit.