JP2005067405A - Customized system for vehicle information display - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To customize the display configuration of vehicle information by his own hands of a user while ensuring the observance of regulations and safety in the vehicle travel. <P>SOLUTION: A verifying program for performing the judgement whether a customized display specification conflicts with regulations or not judges the propriety of the customized display specification which is prepared by the user. When the customization cannot be allowed because, e.g., a tachometer which is laid out at the upper right area interferes with a steering wheel, a screen for visually displaying the state is displayed, and at the same time, a character display for indicating that the display specification cannot be allowed is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle information display customization system.

  As a vehicle display device, it is known to display vehicle information such as a vehicle speed, an engine speed, and a remaining amount of fuel in a digital and / or analog manner using a display such as a CRT or LCD provided on an instrument panel. ing.

In Patent Document 1, a plurality of display modes having different arrangements and display sizes of display items such as an engine speed meter and a vehicle speed meter are set in advance, and an instrument panel is selected by the user from these display modes. Propose to display.
JP-A-4-273016

  The selection of the display mode proposed by Patent Document 1 is good if it is possible to select a display specification that matches the user's preference, but it is practically impossible to set a display mode that matches the preferences of all users in advance. It is.

  In order to provide a display that matches the user's preference, it is the shortest way to create a display specification by the user himself, but there are various regulations on the display specification of the vehicle due to national laws and regulations, for example, Because the warning display symbol (symbol mark) and the unit of the vehicle speed meter are specified for each country, it is actually difficult to leave the creation of the vehicle information display mode completely to the user's hand, It is not preferable from the viewpoint of safety.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle information display customization system in which a user can customize the display mode of vehicle information with his / her own hands while ensuring compliance with regulations and safety of vehicle travel. .

According to the present invention, such a technical problem is
An information providing server including a display specification database, a vehicle including a communication unit capable of communicating with the information providing server, and a display unit configured to display vehicle information according to a display specification received from the information providing server, and the vehicle A personal computer capable of communicating with the information providing server by transmitting an ID for identifying
The information providing server includes a driving position database that stores driving position information of the driver of the vehicle received from the vehicle,
The personal computer can customize the display specification by a customization support program received from the information providing server,
The customization support program is achieved by providing a vehicle information display customization system that supports customization of the display specifications based on driving position information of a driver received from the information providing server.

  That is, according to the present invention, the user can customize the display specifications at a place other than the vehicle by using a personal computer equipped with an input means such as a keyboard and a mouse. When the display specifications are customized, the information providing server supports customization based on the driving position information obtained from the vehicle. Therefore, the customized display specifications are created even though the customized display specifications are created at a location other than the vehicle. It is possible to avoid troubles from the viewpoint of visibility after installing in the vehicle.

  Other objects, configurations and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a customization system related to vehicle information display related to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a vehicle, and 2 is an information providing server. The information providing server 2 is installed in an information center managed by the automobile manufacturer that manufactured the vehicle 1, and the information providing server 2 stores information on various types of vehicles manufactured by the automobile manufacturer. A user who owns the vehicle 1 can access the information providing server 2 via the Internet using, for example, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “user PC”) 3 at home. Although not shown, the user PC 3 includes input means such as a keyboard and a mouse. The vehicle 1 is equipped with a communication terminal (not shown), and the information providing server 2 can be accessed through this communication terminal.

  The vehicle information display customization system is a system that allows the user to customize the display of the instrument panel of the vehicle 1 to his / her preference. The information providing server 2 displays the instrument panel display by the user. Support software that is convenient for customization, that is, a customization program is stored or incorporated. The customization program can be used for customization of display specifications by the user accessing the information providing server 2 by inputting an ID for identifying the vehicle 1 such as a body number, for example. It can be downloaded from the providing server 2 to the user PC 3 and used. Similarly, the vehicle 1 can transmit / receive information to / from the information providing server 2 by transmitting an ID for identifying the vehicle to the information providing server 2.

  The information providing server 2 has a standard specification database 2a that stores the standard display specifications (base design for customization) of the instrument panel for each vehicle type. As this standard display specification, a digital format is provided for each vehicle type. It is convenient to prepare several types such as specifications and analog format specifications.

  The information providing server 2 also receives a customized display specification database 2b that receives a display specification customized by the user and stores it for each user, and information transmitted from the vehicle 1 such as the driver's eye position, seat position, and steering wheel position. And a driving position database 2c for each driver.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 has an instrument panel display device 1a composed of a CRT, an LCD, or the like, and this instrument panel display device 1a is controlled by display control means 1b to display specifications. The display specification set by the setting means 1c is displayed on the instrument panel display device 1a. The display items of the instrument panel display device 1a typically include engine speed (tachometer), vehicle speed, fuel gauge, water temperature gauge, shift position display for vehicles with an automatic transmission, such as a tachometer, The vehicle speed meter can be displayed digitally or analogly.

  The vehicle 1 includes a communication unit 1e for communicating with the information providing server 2 via an ID that identifies the vehicle 1 such as a vehicle body number, and the seat position and steering wheel position detected by a sensor mounted on the vehicle 1 And a driving position storage means 1f for storing the driver's eye position and the like for each driver.

  The vehicle 1 also has display specification storage means 1g for storing standard specifications and customized display specifications. The display specification storage means 1g can store a plurality of different customized display specifications. The display specification stored in the display specification storage means 1g can be selected by operating the selection button of the driver and displayed on the instrument panel display device 1a.

  The vehicle 1 also has display editing means 1h including, for example, operation buttons (not shown), and the display editing means 1h allows the display mode displayed on the instrument panel display device 1a to be enlarged or reduced, for example. It is possible to change the background color of the display of the vertical and horizontal displacement, the displayed vehicle speed and the engine speed.

  The outline of the instrument panel customization system will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The user uses the user PC 3 to input an ID for specifying a vehicle, and displays the instrument panel from the information providing server 2 accessed. This standard specification can be customized by using the customization program received from the information providing server 2, that is, by executing the customization program using the user PC 3. The customization program obtains information from the information providing server 2, that is, information related to regulation relating to instrument panel display and driving position information, and determines whether the display specifications after customization are satisfactory from the viewpoint of regulation and visibility. This verification program verifies whether the customized display specification is in conflict with regulations, etc., confirms that there is no problem, and provides information on the customized display specification. The information providing server 2 that has received the customized display specification stores the received customized display specification in the customized display specification database 2b.

  The vehicle 1 transmits driving position information such as the driver's eye position and seat position to the information providing server 2 together with an ID for identifying the driver when, for example, the ignition is turned on or when traveling is started. Every time, it is stored in the driving position database 2c of the information providing server 2. When receiving the customized display specification by operating the operation button (not shown) of the vehicle 1, the customized display specification stored in its own database of the information providing server 2 is downloaded. The corresponding instrument panel display is displayed on the display device 1a.

  I want to adjust the customized display specifications displayed on the display device 1a according to changes in the situation during travel (for example, general roads and highways, day or night travel, amount of solar radiation, etc.), mood during travel, and mood of the day. Sometimes, by operating a button outside the figure, editing operations such as enlargement, reduction, displacement up and down, and change of the background color of the vehicle speed meter displayed on the display device 1a can be executed. When the editing of the display mode is confirmed and the display of the display device 1a is changed, the information after the change is transmitted to the information providing server 2, and the customized display specification stored in the customized display specification database 2b is updated. Thus, the customized display specification stored in the information providing server 2 and the actual display specification of the vehicle 1 are synchronized.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the customization support program of the user PC 3.

  In step S1 of FIG. 4, an ID for specifying the vehicle 1 is input. If the display screen which supports this ID input is illustrated, there exists a vehicle type specific screen shown in FIG. Using the screen of FIG. 5, the user accesses the information providing server 2 by inputting the vehicle body number and the vehicle type, and obtains information necessary for customizing the instrument panel display of the vehicle 1 from the information providing server 2. You can also receive and customize display specifications. In addition, you may make it require | require detailed specification of the vehicles 1, such as a vehicle model year and a grade, on the vehicle type specific screen or another screen of FIG.

  In step S2, the standard display specification corresponding to the designated vehicle is read from the standard display specification storage means 2a (FIG. 1) of the information providing server 2 and the driving position information is read. The selection screen shown in FIG. 6 is prepared for capturing the standard display specifications. On this selection screen, the user customizes the existing design (standard display specifications) or displays the instrument panel in the original. You can choose to create a specification. When the customization from the standard display specification is selected, the base design of the standard display specification of the instrument panel display corresponding to the designated vehicle is displayed on the user PC 3.

  In the display specifications determined by the vehicle type, for example, items that can only be selected (not customizable) can be selected as “1” vehicle speed meter: unit MPH / KMH, maximum speed as illustrated in FIG. “2” tachometer: fixed maximum speed and red zone, “3” water temperature meter; Fahrenheit / Celsius fixed, “4” fuel meter: resistance value fixed “5” warning (for example, seat belt warning): the symbol and its display color are fixed.

  In step S3, a customizable display specification is customized from the standard display specifications read in step S2. In order to support this customization, a customization support screen illustrated in FIG. 8 is prepared, and the display target to be customized on this customization support screen, for example, a vehicle speed meter (speed meter) is selected by checking a check box. be able to. In addition, an item that cannot be customized is intentionally added to the customization support screen. For example, in the example of FIG. 8, a warning is displayed, and for this warning, a check box is set to be unselectable in advance. It is convenient for the user to make this visible.

  In addition, it is preferable to prepare a customization support screen illustrated in FIG. 9 so that the user can exclude items (non-display target) that do not need to be displayed in advance in order to reduce customization work. Even in this case, items that cannot be selected as non-display objects (items that need to be displayed from the viewpoint of regulation), such as speedometers, fuel gauges, odometers, etc., are set in advance so that the check boxes cannot be selected, It is convenient for the user to make this visible.

  Here, an example of customization will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 10 to 14. First, as shown by an arrow in FIG. 7, an example in which a customization target is clicked, here, an example in which a speedometer is clicked as a customization target is shown. Next, as shown in FIG. 10, a design item to be customized is selected from the design items of the speedometer, and here, an example of selecting a display font as an object is shown. Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the type, style, size and color of the display font are selected according to the user's preference and customized.

  When the display font customization is complete, select other design items you want to customize. Here, as shown in FIG. 12, select the step size, size, and color according to the user's preference for the scale of the speedometer. An example of customization is shown. When customization of the display font and scale of the speedometer is completed and there are no other design items to be customized, customization of the speedometer is completed as shown in FIG. 13, and there are no display items to be customized for display items other than the speedometer. As shown in FIG. 14, OK is clicked on the screen showing the final customized display specification to complete the customization.

  Prior to the completion of the customization and / or after each item is customized, the instrument panel display image obtained from the specified driver's eye point obtained by the user PC 3 from the information providing server 2 is superimposed and displayed. It is preferable to have an eye-point view function, so that the instrument panel display that the user sees when actually driving the vehicle 1 can be confirmed. Also, the instrument panel display image image can be switched between day and night display (display color change), day and night instrument panel display atmosphere and the amount of solar radiation that the driver sees. It is desirable to have a simulation function to change the image with a simple operation so that the change in atmosphere can be confirmed. This simulation function allows the user to check how the customized display specification is displayed on the actual vehicle during the customization, so that the user can imagine the customized display specification after installing the customized display specification on the vehicle 1. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of a situation different from the image that was being used.

  Returning to FIG. 4, in step S <b> 4, the customized customized display specification is transmitted from the user PC 3 to the information providing server 2 and stored in the customized display specification storage unit 2 b of the display specification storage device 2 in the server 2.

  Prior to transmitting the customized display specification from the user PC 3 to the information providing server 2, it is checked in the user PC 3 whether the customized display specification created by the user is appropriate. It is preferable to notify the user and request a remake.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a verification program for executing a determination as to whether or not the customized display specification does not conflict with regulation or the like.

  First, information necessary for this verification is read from the information providing server 2 (step S10). The information captured from the information providing server 2 is, for example, driving position information of the vehicle 1 or regulation related to instrument panel display.

  It is determined whether or not there are display items that are excessive or insufficient with respect to the standard display specification among the display items included in the created customized display specification. For example, when creating a customized display specification that omits the tachometer, if the provision that the tachometer is indispensable for the vehicle is received from the information providing server 2, a display prompting the user to add a tachometer is displayed on the user PC 3. (Step S12). In this case, it is preferable to create a verification program so that the customization specification can be reworked by returning to step S4 in FIG.

  In step S13, the suitability of the visibility of the customized display specification is determined. When driving the vehicle 1 from the driving position information read in step S10, for example, when the steering handle shown in the figure with hatching interferes with the display item of the customized display specification, this interference is caused by regulation and each driver. It is determined from the eye position whether or not the vehicle travel safety is affected. For this determination, the screen illustrated in FIG. 16 or FIG. 17 is prepared, and a visual failure area that interferes with the steering wheel with hatching added to these drawings is displayed so that it can be visually confirmed by the user. Preferably, as illustrated in FIG. 16, it is preferable to display characters indicating that the tachometer laid out in the upper right is an unacceptable customized display specification because it interferes with the steering wheel (step S12).

  On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 17, even if the steering handle illustrated with hatching interferes with the display item, if this is not a problem from the viewpoint of safety or the like, that fact It is preferable that the character display is performed to move to the next step S14.

  When a plurality of drivers use the vehicle 1, a single region that is visually insensitive for all drivers is created as a poorly visible region, and this is displayed on the screen. In step S13, it is preferable to determine the suitability of visibility.

  In the next step S14, it is determined whether or not the customized display specification conforms to the regulation. In the next step S15, for example, although the vehicle 1 is a 4-speed AT vehicle, the customized display specification is 5 When the fast AT is displayed, the process proceeds to step S12 to notify the user to that effect.

  In the next step S16, it is determined whether, for example, the speedometer is too large among the display items in the customized display specification. This determination may be performed based on the size of the speedometer included in the standard display specification.

  Next, if it is determined in step S17 that the customized display specification is appropriate, the process proceeds to step S18, where the customized display specification is transmitted to the information providing server 2 and stored in the customized specification database 2b of the information providing server 2.

  Next, a control example in which the customized display specification customized by the user is installed in the vehicle 1 will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the ignition switch of the vehicle 1 is turned on, the process proceeds from step S20 to step S21, communication is performed with the information providing server 2 via the communication means 1e (FIG. 2) of the vehicle 1, and the standard is obtained from the information providing server 2. The specification and the customized display specification are received, and driving position information such as a seat position, a steering wheel position, and an eye position is transmitted from the vehicle 1 to the information providing server 2 and stored in the database 2c (FIG. 1). Further, the standard specification and the customized display specification received from the information providing server 2 in step S21 are stored in the display specification storage unit 1g (FIG. 2).

  When the user operates a selection button (not shown) of the vehicle 1 to select an arbitrary display specification from the display specification storage means 1g (step S24), the selected display specification is displayed on the display device 1a ( Step S25).

  When the user instructs activation of the correction program using a switch not shown, the correction program incorporated in the vehicle 1 is activated (step S26), and whether the vehicle 1 is parked in the next step S27. If it is determined that the vehicle is parked, the process proceeds to step S28, where the parking change permission program operates to correct the display specification displayed on the display device 1a. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S27 that the vehicle is traveling, the process proceeds to step S29 where the traveling change permission program is operated to correct the display specification displayed on the display device 1a.

  Here, the level of change is different between the correction of the display allowed during parking (step S28) and the correction of the display allowed during driving (step S29), and the parking level is relatively large. Corrections are made, and corrections during driving are limited to corrections that do not interfere with safety during driving.

The following is an example of a correction that is permitted during parking, that is, a display correction that is permitted by the program for permitting change during parking.
[1] Changes in various meters and warnings
[2] Changing the arrangement of various meters and warnings
[3] Changing the size of various meters and warnings
[4] Change display colors for various meters and warnings

The following is an example of correction that is permitted during traveling, that is, display correction that is permitted by the travel-time change permission program.
[1] Vertical / horizontal displacement of the position of speedometer, tachometer, etc.
[2] Slight expansion and reduction of speedometer and tachometer
[3] Change speedometer and tachometer needle and background color

  In the next step S30, the display of the display device 1a is changed based on the corrected display specification, and the change of the display is confirmed by the user operating a confirmation button (not shown). When the display correction is confirmed, the display on the display device 1a is displayed according to the corrected display specifications, and the corrected display specifications are transmitted to the information providing server 2 in step S31, and the databases 2a and 2b are updated. Is done. This database update may be performed by limiting to the customization display specification of the customization specification database 2b.

  It should be noted that the verification operation described above with reference to FIG. 15 may be performed in the vehicle 1 with respect to the correction of the display allowed during parking (step S28).

It is a whole block diagram of the vehicle information display customization system of an Example. It is a block diagram relevant to the instrument panel display of a vehicle. It is a control block diagram related to display specification customization of an Example. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the procedure of customization of a display specification. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen which assists specification of a vehicle type prior to customization. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen which assists selection of the base design of customization. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen for assisting specification of the object customized from a base design. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen for assisting specification of the object which wants to customize. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen for assisting exclusion of a specific display object from a display object by customized display specification. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen for assisting specification of the specification of customization object. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen for assisting specification of the specification of customization object. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen for assisting specification of the specification of customization object. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen for assisting specification of the specification of customization object. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen for teaching a user that the operation | work of customization object was completed. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure which judges the suitability of the customized display specification. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen for notifying a user of the suitability of the visibility of the customized display specification. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen for notifying a user of the suitability of the visibility of the customized display specification. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure which installs a customized display specification in a vehicle from an information provision server.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 1a Display apparatus 1e Vehicle communication means 2 Information provision server 2a Information specification server standard specification database 2b Information provision server customization specification database 2c Information provision server driving position database 3 Personal computer (user PC)

Claims (6)

An information providing server including a display specification database, a vehicle including a communication unit capable of communicating with the information providing server, and a display unit configured to display vehicle information according to a display specification received from the information providing server, and the vehicle A personal computer capable of communicating with the information providing server by transmitting an ID for identifying
The information providing server includes a driving position database that stores driving position information of the driver of the vehicle received from the vehicle,
The personal computer can customize the display specifications by a customization support program received from the information providing server,
The vehicle information display customization system, wherein the customization support program supports customization of the display specifications based on driving position information of a driver received from the information providing server. Driving position information for each driver is stored in the driving position database of the information providing server,
The personal computer receives driving position information including a designated driver's seat position and steering wheel position from the information providing server, and is customized by the customization support program based on the designated driver's driving position information. The vehicle information display customization system according to claim 1, wherein a visual defect area in display specifications is displayed on a screen. The vehicle information display customization system according to claim 1, wherein determination of suitability of the customized display specification is performed based on the driving position information. The vehicle information display according to claim 2, wherein driving position information of a plurality of drivers using the vehicle is received from the information providing server, the single poor visual recognition area is created, and the poor visual recognition area is displayed on a screen. Customization system. The driving position information includes the driver's eye position information,
The vehicle information display customization system according to claim 3, wherein whether or not the customized display specification is suitable is determined based on the eye position. The vehicle information display customization system according to claim 1, wherein the customization support program executes support for customization of the display specifications after the vehicle type and driving position information of the vehicle are determined.

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