JP2006323571A - On-vehicle information terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain a normal operation even when a touch panel breaks down in a navigation device using an analog system touch panel in which a plurality of touch positions can not be simultaneously detected. <P>SOLUTION: When the failure of a touch panel is detected, the current mode is shifted to a failure mode, and the menu picture of the failure mode is displayed to inhibit the use of the touch panel operation. In this case, not any preliminarily set original operating function but operation functions in the failure mode are respectively assigned to a wide region switch 17a, a detail switch 17b and a current location switch 17c. Furthermore, failure operation marks 22a, 22b and 22c for showing the content of the assigned operation functions are respectively displayed at display positions corresponding to those operation switches. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle information terminal operated using a touch panel.

  In an automatic transaction device such as a bank terminal that is operated by a user touching an operation button displayed on the screen on the touch panel, if the touch panel fails and some areas of the screen become unusable A technique is known in which the operation of the apparatus is continued by changing the arrangement of the operation buttons so as to avoid the impossible area (Patent Document 1).

JP-A-6-95802

  Two types of touch panels that are different in the touch position detection method are generally known. One uses a touch position detection method called an analog method, and the other uses a touch position detection method called a matrix method. An analog touch panel is relatively inexpensive because it has a simpler structure than a matrix touch panel, but if two points are pressed at the same time, the structure is located between the two actually pressed points. It is erroneously detected that the point to be pressed is pressed. Therefore, in the analog touch panel, when a failure occurs in which a part of the screen is always in a conductive state, it is erroneously recognized that a point at a position different from the point actually pressed by the user is pressed. . Therefore, even if the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is applied to an in-vehicle information terminal using an analog touch panel that cannot simultaneously detect a plurality of touch positions, normal operation cannot be performed when the touch panel fails.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an in-vehicle information terminal that executes various processes in accordance with a user operation, an image display unit that displays various images, and a touch panel detection unit that detects a touch position of the user with respect to the image display unit, Based on the touch position detected by the touch panel detection means, a first operation determination means for determining the user's operation content, an operation member in which a specific operation function is preset, and the operation member are operated by the user. A second operation determining means for determining a user operation content based on an operation function set for the operation member, a failure detecting means for detecting a failure of the touch panel detecting means, and a touch panel by the failure detecting means. And a prohibiting unit that prohibits the determination of the user's operation content by the first operation determining unit when a failure of the detecting unit is detected.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle information terminal of the first aspect, when a failure of the touch panel detecting means is detected by the failure detecting means, an assigning means for assigning an operation function at the time of failure to the operation member, and an assigning means When an operation member to which an operation function at the time of failure is assigned is operated by the user, the operation member further includes third operation determination means for determining the operation content of the user based on the operation function at the time of failure. When a failure of the touch panel detecting means is detected, the third operation determining means is used instead of the second operation determining means.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle information terminal of the second aspect further includes a failure operation mark display means for displaying a failure operation mark indicating the content of the operation function at the time of failure assigned by the assignment means on the image display means. It is.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle information terminal according to any one of the first to third aspects, the map displayed on the image display unit is scrolled in accordance with the user operation content determined by the first operation determination unit. Scroll mode execution means for executing a scroll mode for detecting the failure of the touch panel detection means when the scroll mode is being executed by the scroll mode execution means.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle information terminal according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the failure detection means detects the touch panel when the touch position detected by the touch panel detection means has not changed for a predetermined time or more. It is supposed to detect that the means has failed.

  According to the present invention, in the in-vehicle information terminal, a normal operation can be performed even when the touch panel fails.

  A configuration of a navigation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. This navigation device is mounted on a vehicle and has a touch panel display monitor and an operation switch installed in the vicinity of the display monitor, and a destination set by the user's operation. The recommended route is searched and the vehicle is guided to the destination. The navigation device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a control circuit 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a current location detection device 14, an image memory 15, a display monitor 16, an operation switch 17, and a disk drive 18. The disc drive 18 is loaded with a DVD-ROM 19 in which map data is recorded.

  The control circuit 11 includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and performs various processes and controls by executing a control program stored in the ROM 12 using the RAM 13 as a work area. Based on the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 19, the control circuit 11 performs processing such as displaying a map and searching for a recommended route to a set destination.

  The current location detection device 14 is a device that detects the current location of the host vehicle. For example, a vibration gyro 14a that detects the traveling direction of the host vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 14b that detects a vehicle speed, and a GPS sensor that detects a GPS signal from a GPS satellite. 14c and the like. The navigation device 1 can determine a route search start point when searching for a recommended route based on the current location of the host vehicle detected by the current location detection device 14, that is, the location of the host vehicle.

  The image memory 15 temporarily stores image data to be displayed on the display monitor 16. The image data includes road map drawing data for displaying a road map, various graphic data, and the like, and is created by the control circuit 11 based on the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 19. Various images such as a map image are displayed on the display monitor 16 using the image data stored in the image memory 15.

  A touch panel 16a is combined with the display monitor 16, and when any position on the display monitor 16 is touched by a user's finger or the like, information indicating the touch position is output from the touch panel 16a to the control circuit 11. . Based on the touch position information, the control circuit 11 determines which part of the image displayed on the display monitor 16 is touched at that time. The navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment performs various processes according to touch panel operations from the user detected by the touch panel 16a and the control circuit 11.

  Note that two types of touch panels that are normally used in a general navigation apparatus are known which have different touch position detection methods. One uses a touch position detection method called an analog method, and the other uses a touch position detection method called a matrix method.

  In an analog touch panel, for example, two electrode surfaces with a uniform resistance film on the entire surface are placed one on top of the other, with one side extending in the X-axis direction and the other side in the Y-axis direction. The position is detected from the voltage at the point where the surface becomes conductive due to contact with the surface. Therefore, an analog touch panel cannot detect a plurality of touch positions at the same time. On the other hand, in a matrix type touch panel, for example, line-shaped electrodes patterned in a strip shape are placed one above the other so that the lines are perpendicular to each other, and the opposing surfaces come into contact and become conductive. The detected lines are detected by the upper and lower electrodes, respectively. Therefore, a matrix type touch panel can simultaneously detect a plurality of touch positions. The matrix method is also called a digital detection method. In the touch panel 16a provided in the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment, any of these two types of touch panels may be used.

  The operation switch 17 is an operation switch for receiving various operation inputs from the user, and includes a plurality of hardware switches. Each operation switch constituting the operation switch 17 is preset with a different operation function. For example, an enlargement switch or reduction switch for enlarging or reducing the scale of a map, a menu for calling a menu screen, and the like. There are display switches. The operation switch 17 is installed in the vicinity of the display monitor 16 so that the user can easily press it. The user can instruct execution of a part of the processing executed in the navigation device 1 by a switch operation using the operation switch 17 without using the touch panel operation described above.

  The disk drive 18 reads map data for displaying a road map from the loaded DVD-ROM 19. This map data represents route calculation data used for route search to the destination, route guidance data used to guide the vehicle to the destination according to the recommended route, such as intersection name and road name, and roads Includes road data. The map data also includes background data representing map shapes other than roads such as rivers, railways, various facilities on the map (landmarks), and the like.

  In the road data, the minimum unit representing a road section is called a link, and each road is composed of a plurality of links. A point connecting the links is called a node, and each node has position information (coordinate information). The link shape, that is, the shape of the road is determined based on the position information of the node. Although an example using a DVD-ROM is described here, the map data may be read from a recording medium other than the DVD-ROM, such as a CD-ROM or a hard disk.

  When the destination is set according to the user's touch panel operation or switch operation, the navigation device 1 uses the current location detected by the current location detection device 14 as a route search start point and a predetermined algorithm based on the aforementioned route calculation data. The route search from the present location to the destination is performed by performing the above calculation. The recommended route obtained as a result of the route search is displayed on the road map separately from other roads by changing its display form, for example, display color. Thus, the user can recognize the recommended route on the road map displayed on the display monitor 16. In addition, the navigation device 1 guides the host vehicle by instructing the traveling direction by an image or voice to the user so that the host vehicle can travel according to the recommended route. Thus, route guidance to the destination is performed by displaying the road map and guiding the vehicle to the destination according to the recommended route.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a menu screen displayed on the display monitor 16 in the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment. On this menu screen, menu buttons of “Destination setting”, “Route confirmation”, “Register”, “View information”, and “Various settings” are displayed. When the user touches any of these menu buttons, processing corresponding to the menu button is executed in the navigation device 1. For example, when the menu button written as “Set destination” is pressed, the user can select one of the registered locations registered in advance by the user, or specify the address, telephone number, facility name, etc. A screen for setting the ground is displayed.

  Adjacent to the right side of the display monitor 16, a wide area switch 17a, a detail switch 17b, a current position switch 17c, a menu display switch 17d, and a return switch 17e are installed side by side. The operation switch 17 in FIG. 1 includes these operation switches. The wide area switch 17a and the detail switch 17b are operation switches for changing the map scale when a map is displayed on the display monitor 16. When the wide area switch 17a is pressed, the scale of the map is reduced and the map is reduced to the wide area side, and when the detailed switch 17b is pressed, the scale ratio of the map is increased and the map is enlarged to the detailed side.

  The current location switch 17 c is an operation switch for displaying a map near the current location on the display monitor 16. If the current location switch 17c is pressed when the map is scrolled in a scroll mode to be described later, the scroll mode is terminated and a map centered on the current location of the host vehicle is displayed. The menu display switch 17d is an operation switch for displaying a menu screen as shown in FIG. The return switch 17e is an operation switch for canceling the immediately preceding operation and returning to the state before the operation.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a map screen displayed on the display monitor 16 in the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment. Here, a map centering on the vehicle position 20 is displayed, and on the map, the recommended route 30 to the destination set as described above is displayed more conspicuously than other roads. ing.

  When the scroll button 21 written as “scroll” in FIG. 3 is touched by the user, a screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed, and a scroll mode for scrolling the map is executed. When the user touches any point on the screen in the scroll mode, the map is scrolled in the direction of the touch position on the screen while the touch operation is being performed. At this time, when the vicinity of the center of the screen is touched, the map is scrolled slowly, and the scroll speed increases as the touch position approaches the edge of the screen. When the current position switch 17c is pressed, the scroll mode is terminated as described above and the screen returns to the screen of FIG.

  Incidentally, the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment has a function of automatically shifting to the failure mode when a failure of the touch panel 16a is detected. The failure mode here is an operation mode in which the user can instruct the contents of the processing to be executed by the navigation device 1 only by the switch operation without using the touch panel operation. By doing in this way, even if it is a case where a touch panel fails, a user can instruct | indicate execution of a required process with respect to the navigation apparatus 1. FIG. This point will be described below.

  When a failure of the touch panel 16 a is detected in the navigation device 1, a mode switching confirmation screen as shown in FIG. 5 is first displayed on the display monitor 16. When the user presses the menu display switch 17d in accordance with the instruction on the mode switching confirmation screen, the mode is shifted to the failure mode. In the failure mode, the failure mode menu screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display monitor 16 instead of the normal mode menu screen shown in FIG. When the user presses the return switch 17e instead of the menu display switch 17d on the mode switching confirmation screen in FIG. 5, the transition to the failure mode is not performed, and the failure mode menu screen in FIG. 6 is not displayed.

  In the failure mode menu screen of FIG. 6, unlike the normal mode menu screen of FIG. 2, use of the touch panel operation is prohibited. That is, the user instructs processing contents to be executed by the navigation device 1 only by a switch operation. At this time, an operation function on the menu screen in the failure mode is assigned to the wide area switch 17a, the detail switch 17b, and the current position switch 17c, instead of the original operation functions as described above. Further, failure operation marks 22a, 22b and 22c for indicating the contents of the assigned operation function are displayed on the display monitor 16 at display positions corresponding to the respective operation switches.

  The failure operation mark 22a indicates that the operation function for moving the selection position of the menu button up is assigned to the wide area switch 17a. The failure operation mark 22b indicates that the operation function for moving the selection position of the menu button down is assigned to the detail switch 17b. The failure operation mark 22c indicates that an operation function for instructing the navigation device 1 to execute processing corresponding to the menu button selected at that time is assigned to the current position switch 17c. The user can understand what the operation function assigned to each operation switch is by looking at these failure operation marks. As a result, the switch operation can be appropriately performed on the menu screen of the failure mode.

  That is, the navigation device 1 moves the selection position of the menu button when the user presses the wide area switch 17a or the detail switch 17b, and executes processing corresponding to the menu button selected when the current location switch 17c is pressed. To do. FIG. 6 shows a state where the “Destination setting” menu button is selected. When an operation switch to which no operation function is assigned on the menu screen in the failure mode, that is, the menu display switch 17d or the return switch 17e is pressed, the operation is the same as the menu screen in the normal mode.

  In the failure mode, a map screen in the failure mode as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display monitor 16 instead of the map screen in the normal mode shown in FIG. Similarly to the failure mode menu screen shown in FIG. 6, the touch panel operation cannot be used on the failure mode map screen, and the user instructs the processing contents to be executed by the navigation device 1 only by the switch operation. That is, in the failure mode, a map scroll instruction is issued by a switch operation from the user, and is not performed by touching any point on the screen in the scroll mode as described with reference to FIG.

  In order to issue a map scroll instruction by switch operation, an operation function different from that assigned in the failure mode menu screen of FIG. 6 is provided for the wide area switch 17a, the detail switch 17b and the current position switch 17c. Are assigned as operation functions on the map screen in the failure mode. Then, failure operation marks 23a, 23b, and 23c for indicating the contents of the assigned operation function are displayed on the display monitor 16 at display positions corresponding to the respective operation switches.

  The failure operation mark 23a indicates that the operation function for moving the map in one direction up or right is assigned to the wide area switch 17a, and the failure operation mark 23b is either down or left on the map. It shows that an operation function that moves in one direction is assigned to the detail switch 17b. The failure operation mark 23c indicates that an operation function for switching the moving direction of the map in the wide area switch 17a or the detail switch 17b is assigned to the current position switch 17c. In other words, when the user presses the wide area switch 17a or the detail switch 17b while the current position switch 17c is not pressed, the navigation device 1 scrolls the map up and down accordingly. Further, when the user presses the wide area switch 17a or the detail switch 17b while the current location switch 17c is pressed, the map is scrolled to the left and right accordingly.

  As described above, when a failure of the touch panel 16a is detected in the navigation device 1, the operation mode is switched to the failure mode and the touch panel operation is prohibited, and the user is instructed about the processing content to be executed by the navigation device 1 only by the switch operation. . Thus, even when the touch panel breaks down and a partial area of the screen is always in a conductive state, and it is erroneously detected that the part is always pressed, the navigation device can operate normally according to the user's operation. 1 can be performed.

  Note that whether or not the touch panel 16a has failed can be determined based on whether or not the same touch position is kept pressed for a predetermined time, for example, 10 seconds or more. However, when the scroll mode is being executed, the map is scrolled while the touch operation is performed as described with reference to FIG. 4, and therefore the same touch position may be continuously pressed by the user for a while. Therefore, the touch panel failure is not detected while the scroll mode is being executed, and the failure is prevented from being erroneously detected in the above case.

  8 and 9 show flowcharts when the operation described above is performed in the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment. The flowchart of FIG. 8 is a flowchart for detecting a failure of the touch panel 16a, and is repeatedly executed by the control circuit 11 at a predetermined cycle. The flowchart of FIG. 9 is a flowchart for executing processing according to the user operation in the navigation device 1 in accordance with the failure detection result of the touch panel 16a according to the flowchart of FIG. Hereinafter, the flowchart of FIG. 8 will be described first.

  In step S10 of FIG. 8, it is determined whether or not the navigation device 1 is operating in the scroll mode. As described above, when the scroll mode 21 is executed by touching the scroll button 21 in FIG. 3, the flowchart in FIG. 8 is ended without executing the subsequent processing. In this case, failure detection of the touch panel 16a is not performed. If not operating in the scroll mode, the process proceeds to the next step S20.

  In step S20, it is determined whether or not the same touch position on the touch panel 16a has been touched for a predetermined time or more. If the same touch position has been touched for a predetermined time and does not change, it is determined that the touch panel 16a is out of order and the process proceeds to step S30. On the other hand, if the same touch position has not been touched for a predetermined time or more and has changed, it is determined that the touch panel 16a has not failed and the process proceeds to step S70. Hereinafter, the case where the process proceeds to step S30 will be described first.

  In step S30, it is determined whether or not a failure flag indicating that the touch panel 16a has failed is already set. The failure flag is set in step S60 described later. If the failure flag has not been set yet, the process proceeds to step S40. After the mode switching confirmation screen of FIG. 5 is displayed on the display monitor 16 in step S40, the process proceeds to the next step S50. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S30 that the failure flag has already been set, the flow chart of FIG. 8 ends without proceeding to step S40. In this way, once the failure flag is set, the mode switching confirmation screen shown in FIG. 5 is avoided from being repeatedly displayed and is not bothered by the user.

  In step S50, it is determined whether or not switching to the failure mode has been selected by the user on the mode switching confirmation screen of FIG. When switching to the failure mode is selected, that is, when the menu display switch 17d is pressed, the process proceeds to step S60, and a failure flag is set in step S60. Information on the failure flag set here is stored in the navigation device 1 and used for switching to the failure mode in the flowchart of FIG. 9 described later. On the other hand, if switching to the failure mode is not selected in step S50, that is, if the return switch 17e is pressed, the flow chart of FIG. 8 ends without proceeding to step S60. In this case, the failure flag is not set, and switching to the failure mode is not performed in the flowchart of FIG. By enabling the user to select whether or not to switch to the failure mode in this way, if the touch panel is erroneously detected as having failed even though it has not actually failed, for example, an umbrella or the like When the load hits the touch panel, it can be prevented that the user accidentally switches to the failure mode when the touch panel is continuously pressed even though the user does not intend.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S20 that the touch panel 16a has not failed and the process proceeds to step S70, the failure flag is canceled in step S70. Thereby, when the touch panel 16a has not failed, the failure flag is canceled. If the failure flag is not set, the state is maintained as it is. After step S70 is executed, the flowchart of FIG. 8 ends.

  As described above, the failure of the touch panel 16a is detected, and when the failure is detected, the mode switching confirmation screen of FIG. 5 is displayed. Then, the failure flag is set by the user pressing the menu display switch 17d.

  Next, the flowchart of FIG. 9 will be described. In step S100 of FIG. 9, it is determined whether or not a failure flag is set. If the failure flag is set by executing step S60 of FIG. 8, the process proceeds to step S110. In this case, the navigation device 1 operates in the failure mode and prohibits the determination of the user's operation content by the touch panel operation. On the other hand, if the failure flag is not set in step S100, the process proceeds to step S210. In this case, the navigation device 1 operates in a normal mode. Hereinafter, the process proceeds from step S110 to the operation in the failure mode.

  In step S110, as the failure mode screen, either the failure mode menu screen shown in FIG. 6 or the failure mode map screen shown in FIG. Which screen is displayed is determined according to the operation state at that time. Here, by displaying the failure mode screen of FIG. 6 or FIG. 7, the failure operation marks 22a, 22b and 22c indicating the contents of the operation function at the time of failure assigned to each operation switch in the next step S120, or the failure operation mark Any one of 23a, 23b and 23c is displayed.

  In step S120, the operation function corresponding to the failure operation mark on the failure mode screen displayed in step S110 is assigned to each operation switch of the wide area switch 17a, the detail switch 17b, and the current location switch 17c. Thereby, the operation function at the time of failure on the menu screen or the map screen in the failure mode as described above is assigned to each operation switch.

  In step S130, it is determined whether or not there has been a switch operation from the user. If there is a switch operation, the process proceeds to step S140. In step S140, the user's operation content is determined based on the operation function at the time of failure assigned to the operation switch pressed by the switch operation in step S120 described above. Then, the operation corresponding to it is performed. Thereby, when the wide area switch 17a, the detail switch 17b, or the current position switch 17c is pressed, the cursor is moved or the map is scrolled as described above according to the operation function at the time of failure assigned to the operation switches. If the operation function at the time of failure is not assigned to the pressed operation switch in step S120, the operation according to the original operation function of the operation switch is performed. Thus, when the menu display switch 17d or the return switch 17e is pressed, the operation is the same as in the normal mode.

  In addition, when it determines with there being no switch operation by step S130, or after performing step S140, it returns to step S100. As described above, the failure mode operation is performed.

  On the other hand, when the operation proceeds from step S100 to step S210 and operates in the normal mode, in step S210, either the menu screen shown in FIG. 2 or the map screen shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display monitor 16 as the normal mode screen. . Which screen is displayed is determined according to the operation state at that time.

  In step S220, it is determined whether there has been a touch panel operation from the user. If there is a touch panel operation, the process proceeds to step S230, where the user's operation content is determined based on the touch position in the touch panel operation, and processing corresponding to that is executed. Thereby, processing corresponding to each menu button displayed on the menu screen of FIG. 2 is executed. After executing step S230, or if it is determined in step S220 that there is no touch panel operation, the process proceeds to step S240.

  In step S240, it is determined whether or not there has been a switch operation from the user. If there is a switch operation, the process proceeds to step S250. In step S250, the user's operation content is determined based on the original operation function set in advance for the operation switch pressed by the switch operation, and accordingly, Perform the action. After executing step S250 or when it is determined in step S240 that there is no switch operation, the process returns to step S100. As described above, the normal mode operation is performed.

According to the embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) A failure of the touch panel 16a is detected (step S20). If a failure is detected, a failure flag is set (step S60). When this failure flag is set, the determination of the content of the user's operation performed based on the touch position detected by the touch panel 16a is prohibited by shifting to the failure mode (step S100). Since it did in this way, in the navigation apparatus using the analog type touch panel which cannot detect a some touch position simultaneously, it can operate | move normally even if a touch panel fails.

(2) When a failure of the touch panel 16a is detected and the mode is shifted to the failure mode, among the operation switches constituting the operation switch 17, the wide-area switch 17a, the detail switch 17b, and the current location switch 17c are operated at the time of the failure. Functions are assigned to each (step S120). When a failure of the touch panel 16a is detected, instead of determining the user's operation content based on the original operation function preset for each operation switch, the failure time assigned in step S120 is determined. The user's operation content is determined based on the operation function, and an operation corresponding to the operation content is performed (step S140). Since it did in this way, even if it is a case where a touch panel fails, a user can instruct | indicate execution of a required process with respect to a navigation apparatus.

(3) A failure mode screen is displayed. In the failure mode screen, failure operation marks 22a, 22b and 22c or failure operation marks 23a, 23b indicating the contents of the operation function at the time of failure assigned to each operation switch in step S120. Or 23c is displayed on the display monitor 16 (step S110). Since it did in this way, a user can understand what the operation function at the time of a failure assigned to each operation switch is, and can perform switch operation appropriately.

(4) It is determined whether or not the scroll mode is being executed (step S10). When the scroll mode is being executed, step S20 is not executed and a failure of the touch panel 16a is not detected. Since it did in this way, when the same touch position continues being pushed by the user for a while in scroll mode, it can prevent detecting the failure of a touch panel accidentally.

(5) In step S20, when the touch position detected by the touch panel 16a has not changed for a predetermined time or more, a failure of the touch panel 16a is detected. Since it did in this way, when it is judged erroneously in a touch panel that the area | region of the one part of a screen will always be in a conduction | electrical_connection state and the part is being pressed down, the failure of the touch panel can be detected.

  In the above embodiment, only the menu screen of FIG. 6 and the map screen of FIG. 7 have been described as screens displayed in the failure mode. However, other screens may be displayed in the failure mode. In that case, a failure operation function suitable for the screen to be displayed is assigned to each operation switch, and a failure operation mark indicating the content of the assigned failure operation function is displayed at the display position corresponding to each operation switch. It is preferable to do.

  In the above embodiment, the navigation apparatus is described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to various other in-vehicle information terminals provided with a touch panel.

  In the embodiment described above, the wide area switch 17a, the detail switch 17b, the current position switch 17c, the menu display switch 17d and the return switch 17e are provided as operation switches, of which the wide area switch 17a, the detail switch 17b and the current position switch 17c are provided. Therefore, the operation function at the time of failure was assigned to each. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any kind of operation switch can be installed in the navigation device. An operation function at the time of failure different from the original operation function can be assigned to any of the operation switches when the touch panel fails.

  Each embodiment and various modifications described above are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these contents as long as the features of the invention are not impaired.

  In each of the above embodiments, the image display means is realized by the display monitor 16, the touch panel detection means is the touch panel 16a, and the operation member is realized by the wide area switch 17a, the detail switch 17b and the current position switch 17c among the operation switches 17, respectively. Means are realized by processing of the control circuit 11. Specifically, the failure detection means is step S60, the prohibition means is step S100, the failure operation mark display means is step S110, the assignment means is step S120, the third operation determination means is step S140, and the first operation determination means is Step S230 and the second operation determining means are realized by step S250. In addition, the above description is an example to the last, and when interpreting invention, the correspondence of the description matter of said embodiment and the description matter of a claim is not limited or restrained at all.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a travel time input screen. It is a figure which shows the example of the menu screen of normal mode. It is a figure which shows the example of the map screen of normal mode. It is a figure which shows the example of a mode switching confirmation screen. It is a figure which shows the example of the menu screen of failure mode. It is a figure which shows the example of the map screen of failure mode. It is a flowchart when detecting a failure of the touch panel. It is a flowchart when the process according to a user's operation is performed in a navigation apparatus according to the failure detection result of a touch panel.

Explanation of symbols

1 Navigation device 11 Control circuit 12 ROM
13 RAM
14 Current location detection device 15 Image memory 16 Display monitor 17 Input device 18 Disk drive 19 DVD-ROM

Claims (5)

In the in-vehicle information terminal that executes various processes according to user operations,
Image display means for displaying various images;
Touch panel detection means for detecting a touch position of the user with respect to the image display means;
First operation determination means for determining a user's operation content based on the touch position detected by the touch panel detection means;
An operation member in which a specific operation function is set in advance;
When the operation member is operated by the user, a second operation determination unit that determines the operation content of the user based on an operation function set for the operation member;
Failure detection means for detecting a failure of the touch panel detection means;
An in-vehicle information terminal comprising: prohibiting means for prohibiting determination of a user's operation content by the first operation determining means when a failure of the touch panel detecting means is detected by the failure detecting means. The in-vehicle information terminal according to claim 1,
When a failure of the touch panel detection means is detected by the failure detection means, an assignment means for assigning an operation function at the time of the failure to the operation member;
A third operation determining means for determining the operation content of the user based on the operation function at the time of failure when the operation member assigned the operation function at the time of the failure is operated by the user by the assigning means;
An in-vehicle information terminal using the third operation determining means instead of the second operation determining means when a failure of the touch panel detecting means is detected by the failure detecting means. The in-vehicle information terminal according to claim 2,
An in-vehicle information terminal further comprising a failure operation mark display means for displaying a failure operation mark indicating the content of the operation function at the time of failure assigned by the assigning means on the image display means. The in-vehicle information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Scroll mode execution means for executing a scroll mode for scrolling the map displayed on the image display means according to the user's operation content determined by the first operation determination means;
The vehicle-mounted information terminal characterized in that the failure detection means does not detect a failure of the touch panel detection means when the scroll mode is executed by the scroll mode execution means. In the in-vehicle information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The in-vehicle information terminal characterized in that the failure detecting means detects that the touch panel detecting means is out of order when the touch position detected by the touch panel detecting means has not changed for a predetermined time or more.

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