JP2008120318A - Vehicular information providing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular information providing device superior in convenience, by improving usability in a visual information providing means or an acoustic information providing means by enabling the customization of the visual information providing means and the acoustic information providing means installed in a plurality and optimization of notification. <P>SOLUTION: This vehicular information providing means 200 relates to a providing method of the visual information of a plurality of visual information providing means 101 and 254 or the acoustic information of a plurality of acoustic information providing means 240 and 290, and has a control means 202 having a customizing mode for registering various settings, an input means 212 for selecting contents of the various settings in the customizing mode, a display means 101 for displaying the contents of the various settings and a storage means 204 for registering the contents of the various settings. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

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

Conventionally, as this type of vehicle information providing apparatus, for example, a device described in Patent Document 1 below is known. The vehicle information providing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has display means (visual information providing means) and audio output means (auditory information output means), and the display means has travel distance values and voltage values as visual information. Normal information such as time and predetermined alarm information are displayed, and the audio output means is configured to output audio information as urgent information or information that may be misunderstood as visual information. It also describes providing specific alarm information that overlaps in content through both means.
JP-A-9-66783

  The vehicle information providing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 described above provides various types of information to users by combining visual information and auditory information, and is intended to improve user convenience. Therefore, there is room for improvement in providing overlapping vehicle information using a plurality of devices (units). That is, with regard to visual information and auditory information, since the visual characteristics or auditory characteristics and preferences of the user are different for each individual, customization of the visual information providing means and the auditory information providing means is desired, but the contents (information) to be provided are There is a problem in that it is inconvenient for a user to individually customize a plurality of overlapping devices. In addition, even in a vehicle that is assumed to be equipped with a plurality of devices, the actual mounting situation of the assumed device may differ from the assumption, and the convenience is improved with respect to such a change in the situation. There was room for improvement.

  The present invention pays attention to the above-mentioned problems, and in the vehicle information providing apparatus provided with at least one of visual information providing means and auditory information providing means, which is expected to increase the mounting ratio in the vehicle in the future, a plurality of wearing Information providing device for vehicle that realizes customization of visual information providing means or auditory information providing means and optimization of notification, improves usability of visual information providing means or auditory information providing means, and is excellent in convenience The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a plurality of visual information providing means for providing visual information including specific vehicle information overlapping in contents or auditory information including specific vehicle information overlapping in contents In the vehicle information providing apparatus comprising at least one of a plurality of auditory information providing means, various settings relating to the visual information or the auditory information providing method of the plurality of visual information providing means or the plurality of auditory information providing means Control means having a customization mode for registering, input means for selecting the contents of the various settings in the customization mode, display means for displaying the contents of the various settings, and registering the contents of the various settings And a storage means for performing the above.

  Further, the control means detects a wearing situation of the visual information providing means or the auditory information providing means, and changes display contents of the various settings displayed on the display means according to the wearing situation. And

  The control means may be configured to hide various settings relating to visual information providing means or auditory information providing means in which non-wearing has been detected as a change in the display content.

  Further, the control means notifies the non-wearing state of the visual information providing means or the auditory information providing means by the display means as a change in the display content.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a plurality of visual information providing means for providing visual information including specific vehicle information overlapping in contents or auditory information including specific vehicle information overlapping in contents In the vehicle information providing apparatus including at least one of the plurality of auditory information providing means, control regarding the visual information of the plurality of visual information providing means or the plurality of auditory information providing means or the method of providing the auditory information is performed. Control means for performing, wherein the control means detects a wearing situation of the visual information providing means or the auditory information providing means, and changes the provision method of the visual information or the auditory information according to the wearing situation. Features.

  Further, when the control means detects that a plurality of the visual information providing means for providing the visual information including the vehicle information overlapping in contents is mounted as a change in the visual information providing method. The provision contents of the visual information are simplified with respect to at least one of the visual information providing means.

  When the control means detects that a plurality of the auditory information providing means for providing the auditory information including the vehicle information that overlaps in content is mounted as a change in the provision method of the auditory information. The auditory information providing means sequentially provides the auditory information.

  The present invention realizes customization of a plurality of mounted visual information providing means or auditory information providing means and optimization of notification in a vehicle information providing apparatus using at least one of visual information providing means and auditory information providing means. The usability of the visual information providing means or the auditory information providing means can be improved, and the convenience of the vehicle information providing apparatus can be improved.

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

  FIG. 1 shows an overview of a meter unit 100 constituting a vehicle information providing apparatus 200. The meter unit 100 includes a display unit (display means) 101 serving as visual information providing means for displaying various information, an engine, and the like. It consists of a tachometer 102 that gives an analog indication of the number of revolutions, a fuel meter 103 that gives an analog indication of the amount of fuel in the tank, and a thermometer 104 that gives an analog display of the engine coolant temperature.

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

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the entire vehicle information providing apparatus 200 including the meter unit 100 of FIG. As its configuration, setting means (customization mode setting terminal) 210 for shifting the meter unit 100 to the customization mode, input means (input terminal) 211 for selecting various setting contents when the customization mode is executed, A vehicle information terminal 212 for inputting / outputting vehicle information, a multiplex communication input / output terminal (multiplex communication input / output means) 213, a vehicle interface (I / F) means 201, and a microcomputer for controlling the meter unit 100, for example. A control unit 202, a first storage unit 203 composed of a ROM or the like in which a processing program of the control unit 202 is stored, an EEPROM or the like that can register various settings set by the input unit 211 for each occupant (user) Second storage means 204 composed of a non-volatile memory and various information visually The above-described display unit 101 for displaying, driving means 205 for performing display control of the display unit 101 and driving control of various analog-type instruments (pointer-type instruments) 102, 103, 104, and various information for auditory notification Auditory information providing means 240.

  The auditory information providing means 240 includes an amplifier 241 that amplifies various alarm sounds and a speaker 242 that outputs an amplified signal from the amplifier 241, and listens to various states of the vehicle including information related to various alarms described later. To inform.

  The vehicle information providing apparatus 200 includes a navigation unit 250. The configuration includes a setting unit (customization mode setting terminal) 260 for shifting the navigation unit 250 to the customization mode, and an input unit (input terminal) 261 for setting or selecting various setting contents when the customization mode is executed. A vehicle information terminal 262 for inputting / outputting vehicle information, a multiplex communication input / output terminal (multiplex communication input / output means) 263, a vehicle interface (I / F) means 251, and a navigation unit 250, for example. Control means 252, storage means 253 capable of registering for each occupant (user) various settings set by the processing program of the control means 252 and the input means 261, and map information (current position and destination Display unit 254 for visually displaying various warnings, etc., Having a drive unit 255 for controlling the display and the drive control of the radical 113 254, the aural information providing unit (speech synthesis means) 290 for aurally notify map information and various alarms, the. The auditory information providing unit 290 outputs various voice guidance in response to an instruction from the control unit 252 and notifies through the amplifier 291 and the speaker 292 of the audio unit 270.

  In addition, in the vehicle information providing apparatus 200, a transmitter 221 and a receiver 222 of a keyless entry apparatus 220 that is an occupant identification unit are connected via a multiplex communication line 230.

  Next, the customization mode will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows various settings displayed on the display unit 101 when the vehicle information providing apparatus 200 is shifted to the customization mode. In addition, each underline location in the figure of FIG. 3 has shown the initial setting value.

  A user of the vehicle operates the customization mode setting terminal 210 from the outside to give an instruction to the control unit 202 to shift to the customization mode that the control unit 202 has in advance. Specifically, the control unit 202 can recognize the terminal by changing the terminal at which the normal potential of the customization mode setting terminal 210 is at “high” level to “low” level by a predetermined operation such as a switch. When the control unit 202 shifts to the customization mode, the display unit 101 is changed from the normal display via the drive unit 205 to the initial screen display (initial screen 300, 3) of the customization mode shown in FIGS. 350) is executed.

  First, the initial screen 300 shown in FIG. 3A is a screen on which the user selects various visual information and auditory information providing methods of the meter unit 100 and the navigation unit 200 via the input unit 211. Note that the initial screen 300 displays various settings related to the provision method of visual information and auditory information provided when a seat belt non-wearing warning occurs as an example of the initial screen. The control means 202 detects that the meter unit 100 and the navigation unit 200 are mounted on the vehicle (for example, regarding the mounting status of the navigation unit 200, a response from the navigation unit 200 in response to an inquiry from the meter unit 100. In this case, the initial screen 300 is displayed on the display unit 101. Here, in the initial screen 300, the item “1. Meter unit (1) Visual information 1 detailed display” indicates the degree of detail of the alarm content displayed on the display unit 101 when the seat belt non-wearing warning occurs. It shows the contents of the setting. For example, when the user selects from the default value “Yes” to “No”, the control unit 202 uses the keyless entry device 220 to identify an identification code (identification information) of the user who uses the vehicle. ) Is specified (here, ID1 is obtained as the identification code), and the setting contents are stored in the area associated with the identification code ID1 of the second storage means 204. At the same time, the control unit 202 performs control to switch the underline selected and displayed as “Yes” on the initial screen 300 to “No”. Thus, although not shown, the underline is not “present” but “not present”. As a result, when a seat belt non-wearing warning occurs, the alarm content displayed on the display unit 101 is from a detailed display (detail display 500 shown in FIG. 5A) including information on seat belt non-wearing. Then, the contents are switched to simple contents (simple display 550 shown in FIG. 5B).

  In addition, in the initial screen 300, the item “1. Meter unit (2) Auditory information 1 frequency” indicates the content of the setting of the frequency of the alarm sound generated by the auditory information providing means 240 when a warning when the seat belt is not worn occurs. Show. For example, when the user selects the initial setting value “1000 Hz” to “800 Hz”, the control unit 202 uses the keyless entry device 220 to identify the identification code (identification information) of the user who uses the vehicle. ) Is specified (here, ID1 is obtained as the identification code), and the setting contents are stored in the area associated with the identification code ID1 of the second storage means 204. At the same time, the control means 202 performs control to switch the underline selected and displayed at “1000 Hz” on the initial screen 300 to “800 Hz”, and thereby the underline is “1000 Hz” although not shown. Instead, “800 Hz” is selected and displayed. As a result, the frequency of the alarm sound generated by the auditory information providing unit 240 is switched from “1000 Hz” to “800 Hz” when a seat belt non-wearing warning occurs.

  In addition, in the initial screen 300, the item “1. Meter unit (2) Auditory information 2 volume” indicates the content of the setting of the volume of the alarm sound generated by the auditory information providing means 240 when a warning with no seat belt is generated. Show. For example, when the user selects “medium” as the initial setting value, the control unit 202 maintains the initial setting without performing the process of writing the setting content in the second storage unit 204.

  In the initial screen 300, the item “2. Navigation unit (1) Visual information 1 detail display” indicates the degree of detail of the alarm content displayed on the display unit 254 when a seat belt non-wearing warning occurs. The contents of the setting are shown. For example, when the user selects “Yes”, which is an initial setting value, the control unit 202 maintains the initial setting without performing the setting content writing process to the storage unit 253 via the control unit 252.

  In addition, in the initial screen 300, the item “2. Navigation unit (2) Auditory information 1 sound” indicates the content of the setting of the presence or absence of an audio alarm issued by the auditory information providing means 290 when a warning with no seat belt is generated. Show. For example, when the user selects “Yes” that is an initial setting value, the control unit 202 does not perform the process of writing the setting contents to the storage unit 253 via the control unit 252 and maintains the initial setting.

  In addition, in the initial screen 300, the item “2. Navigation unit (2) Auditory information 2 volume” indicates the content of the volume setting of an audio alarm issued by the auditory information providing unit 290 when a warning with no seat belt is generated. Show. For example, when the user selects an initial setting value from “medium” to “large”, the control unit 202 uses the keyless entry device 220 to identify an identification code (identification information) of the user who uses the vehicle. (Here, it is assumed that ID1 is obtained as the identification code.) The setting contents are stored in the area associated with the identification code ID1 of the storage means 253 via the control means 252. At the same time, the control is performed. The means 202 performs control so as to switch the underline selected and displayed in the “middle” on the initial screen 300 to “large”, and thereby the underline is selected and displayed as “large” although not shown. As a result, the auditory information providing means 290 (speaker 292) emits an audio alarm at a loud volume when a seat belt non-wearing warning occurs. That.

  As described above, the vehicle information providing apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment is the same that is notified by the plurality of visual information providing means (the display unit 101 of the meter unit 100 and the display unit 254 of the navigation unit 250) mounted on the vehicle. Visual information (in this embodiment, a warning display when a warning when no seat belt is worn) and a plurality of auditory information providing means (auditory information providing means 240 of the meter unit 100 and auditory information of the navigation unit 250) mounted on the vehicle. The contents of the setting relating to the providing method of the same auditory information (the alarm when the seat belt non-wearing warning occurs in this embodiment) notified by the providing means 290) are displayed together on the same initial screen 300. Thus, the same type of visual information is notified by a plurality of visual information providing means, or only the meter unit 100 is operated in a configuration in which the same type of auditory information is notified by a plurality of auditory information providing means. Since the information providing method can be customized for each type of visual information or auditory information, convenience for the user can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, an example of customization from the meter unit 100 has been shown. However, a plurality of visual information providing means and a plurality of auditory information providing means are customized via the initial screen of the navigation unit 250. There may be.

  The initial screen 350 shown in FIG. 3B shows various visual information and auditory information via the input means 211 by the user when only the meter unit 100 is attached to the vehicle and the navigation unit 200 is not attached. This is a screen for selecting the provided contents. When the control means 202 detects that the navigation unit 250 is not attached via the multiplex communication line 230 (for example, it can be determined that there is no response from the navigation unit 200 in response to an inquiry from the meter unit 100). The initial screen 350 is displayed on the display unit 101.

  Here, the display content of the item “1. Meter unit” on the initial screen 350 is the same as that in FIG. Also, in the initial screen 350, for the item “2. Navigation unit”, various settings relating to the provision method of visual information and auditory information are not displayed, and the navigation unit 200 is not mounted by the character display “Not mounted”. By notifying that, the user can instantaneously determine that the navigation unit 200 is not attached.

  By adopting such a configuration, an unnecessary display is not displayed on the screen for displaying the setting contents of the customization related to the non-seat belt warning that is notified by the plurality of visual information providing means and the auditory information providing means. An easy-to-view screen configuration is made.

  Next, FIG. 4 shows that the control unit 202 of the meter unit 100 detects the presence or absence of the navigation unit 250 through the multiplex communication line 230 in advance, and provides an alarm sound emitted from the auditory information providing unit 240 according to this result. An example of changing the method is shown.

  FIG. 4A is a time chart showing an example of providing a warning sound for a warning that the seat belt is not worn when the navigation unit 250 is not attached. When detecting that the seat belt is not worn when the vehicle engine is started (time t1), the control unit 202 generates an alarm sound for a predetermined time via the auditory information providing unit 240 as an initial alarm (see 400 in FIG. 4A). ). Thereafter, when the start of the vehicle is detected at time t2, a warning sound (continuous sound) is continuously emitted via the auditory information providing means 240 (see 410 in FIG. 4A). When the wearing of the seat belt is detected at time t3, the generation of the alarm sound is terminated.

  FIG. 4B is a time chart showing an example of providing a warning sound for a warning that the seat belt is not worn when the navigation unit 250 is attached. When detecting that the seat belt is not worn when the vehicle engine is started (time t11), the control means 202 emits an alarm sound for a predetermined time via the auditory information providing means 240 as an initial alarm (400 in FIG. 4 (a)). The same). Thereafter, when the start of the vehicle is detected at time t12, an alarm sound is emitted again for a predetermined time via the auditory information providing means 240. Then, the control means 252 of the navigation unit 250 issues a sound alarm via the auditory information providing means 290 at time t13 (see 450 in FIG. 4B). Thereafter, when the wearing of the seat belt is not detected, an alarm sound is similarly generated at time t14, and audio information is output at time t15, so that the alarm sound and the audio information are alternately repeated. And if wearing of a seatbelt is detected in time t16, generation | occurrence | production of an alarm sound and an audio | voice warning will be complete | finished.

  Therefore, the vehicle information providing apparatus 200 changes the method of providing auditory information according to the wearing state of the auditory information providing unit, with respect to the auditory information (warning not wearing the seat belt) notified by the plurality of auditory information providing units, By making a plurality of auditory information sequentially emitted in a predetermined order, it is possible to prevent the voice alarm and the alarm sound from being duplicated. Further improvement can be achieved.

  In FIG. 5, the control unit 202 of the meter unit 100 detects in advance whether or not the navigation unit 250 is mounted via the multiplex communication line 230, and the display content of the display unit 101 (visual information providing method) according to the result. An example of changing is shown.

  FIG. 5A is a display example of a warning that the seat belt is not worn when the navigation unit 250 is not attached. When the non-wearing of the seat belt is detected, the control unit 202 causes the display unit 101 to display a detailed display 500 including information on the non-wearing seat belt. In FIG. 5 (a), the detailed display 500 is "Please wear the driver's seat belt", "Please wear the passenger seat belt" and "Please wear the rear seat belt". The character display is displayed.

  FIG. 5B is a display example of a warning that the seat belt is not worn when the navigation unit 250 is attached. When detecting that the seat belt is not worn, the control unit 202 causes the display unit 101 to display the simple display 550 that does not include the seat belt non-wearing seat information, regardless of the preset content. In FIG. 5B, as the simple display 550, a character display “Please wear your seat belt” is displayed. Simultaneously with the display of the simple display 500, the control means 252 of the navigation unit 250 causes the display unit 254 to display the detailed display 560 including the seat belt non-wearing seat information. In FIG. 5B, as the detailed display 560, a seat position image 560a and a character display “please wear a seat belt” are displayed. Here, the seats indicated by oblique lines in the seat position image 560a indicate the seats in which the seat belt is not attached.

  Therefore, the vehicle information providing apparatus 200 changes the visual information providing method according to the wearing state of the visual information providing means, with respect to the visual information (seat belt non-wearing warning) notified by the plurality of visual information providing means, For example, when the navigation unit 250 is attached, the display unit 101 of the meter unit 100 automatically simplifies the display content, so that detailed display is not duplicated for the user, and visual information is easy to see. , Convenience can be further improved.

  In this embodiment, the auditory information providing means is constituted by the speaker 242, but instead of the speaker 242, an auditory information providing means including a buzzer and a chime is prepared, and the frequency and tone color of the auditory information providing means are prepared. It is possible to easily customize the auditory information by making different depending on various settings.

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

  In the present embodiment, the customization mode setting terminal 210 is used in the transition from the normal mode to the customization mode. For example, “switching between the normal mode and the customization mode”, “selection of setting item”, “setting” Configure the input means consisting of a plurality of switch groups for each function such as “content input”, “preview of setting contents”, “registration of setting contents”, and customize with normal mode according to the predetermined input of this input means Switching between modes may be performed. Such input means can be disposed on the steering of the vehicle.

  In this embodiment, “selection of setting items” and “registration of setting contents” are performed by predetermined input of the input unit 211 after the transition to the customization mode. However, one item for shifting to the customization mode is used. A switch may be prepared, and the single switch may be used to shift to the customization mode and perform various settings and registration in the customization mode. Specifically, using a single switch, perform “switching between normal mode and customization mode” and “selection of setting items” by pressing for a short time, and select each setting item by pressing for a short time. The setting contents are displayed on the display unit 101 while being sequentially switched, and when the desired setting contents of the user are displayed, the setting contents are registered by a long time pressing operation, and then the next pressing operation is performed for a short time. By moving to the setting item and repeating the same operation below, you can perform `` switching between normal mode and customization mode '', `` selecting setting item '' and `` registering setting contents '' with a single switch, Also, other “switching between normal mode and customization mode”, “selection of setting item”, “input of setting contents”, “preview of setting contents” and “registration of setting contents” Is a, a voice input unit, can be indicated by voice input via the voice input unit.

  The present invention relates to an information providing device for a vehicle using auditory information providing means, and not only to a vehicle meter that displays vehicle information, but also to an information providing device for a vehicle such as a navigation device or a multi-display device mounted on a vehicle. Applicable.

It is a general-view figure of the meter unit which comprises the information provision apparatus for vehicles by embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the information provision device for vehicles by the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the customization mode by the embodiment. It is a time chart which shows the example of provision of the auditory information by the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of provision of the visual information by the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100 Meter unit 101 Display section (display means)
200 Vehicle Information Providing Device 202 Control Unit 203 First Storage Unit 204 Second Storage Unit (Storage Unit)
210 Setting means (customization mode setting terminal)
211 Input means (input terminal)
212 vehicle information terminal 213 multiplex communication input / output means (multiplex communication input / output terminal)
220 Keyless Entry Device 230 Multiple Communication Line 240 Auditory Information Providing Unit 241 Amplifier 242 Speaker 250 Navigation Unit 252 Control Unit 254 Display Unit 290 Auditory Information Providing Unit 291 Amplifier 292 Speaker

Claims (7)

At least one of a plurality of visual information providing means for providing visual information including specific vehicle information overlapping in contents or a plurality of audio information providing means for providing auditory information including specific vehicle information overlapping in contents In the vehicle information providing apparatus provided,
Control means having a customization mode for registering various settings related to the visual information of the plurality of visual information providing means or the auditory information providing method of the plurality of auditory information providing means, and contents of the various settings in the customization mode An information providing apparatus for a vehicle, comprising: input means for selecting; display means for displaying the contents of the various settings; and storage means for registering the contents of the various settings. The control means detects a wearing situation of the visual information providing means or the auditory information providing means, and changes display contents of the various settings displayed on the display means according to the wearing situation. The vehicle information providing apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The vehicle information provision according to claim 2, wherein the control means hides various settings relating to visual information provision means or auditory information provision means in which non-wearing is detected as a change in the display content. apparatus. 3. The vehicle information providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control means notifies the display means of a non-wearing state of the visual information providing means or the auditory information providing means as the change in the display content. At least one of a plurality of visual information providing means for providing visual information including specific vehicle information overlapping in contents or a plurality of audio information providing means for providing auditory information including specific vehicle information overlapping in contents In the vehicle information providing apparatus provided,
Control means for performing control related to the visual information of the plurality of visual information providing means or the auditory information providing method of the plurality of auditory information providing means, wherein the control means is the visual information providing means or the auditory information providing An information providing apparatus for a vehicle, characterized by detecting a wearing situation of the means and changing a method of providing the visual information or the auditory information according to the wearing situation. When the control means detects that a plurality of the visual information providing means for providing the visual information including the vehicle information overlapping in contents is mounted as a change in the visual information providing method, The vehicular information providing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the visual information providing means simplifies the provision contents of the visual information. When the control means detects that a plurality of the auditory information providing means for providing the auditory information including the vehicle information overlapping in contents is mounted as a change in the provision method of the auditory information, 6. The vehicle information providing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the auditory information providing means sequentially provides the auditory information.

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