JP2013206376A - Display control apparatus for on-vehicle devices - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display control apparatus for on-vehicle devices for improving operability of operation input for various kinds of on-vehicle devices.SOLUTION: A display control apparatus 20 for on-vehicle devices 1 includes: a display unit 50 for displaying menu items for selectively executing an operation for the on-vehicle devices 1 mounted on a vehicle; an image processing unit 35 for allowing the display unit 50 to display the menu items; and a slide pad 21 for outputting a signal to select the menu item displayed on the display unit 50 by the operation of a finger. The image processing unit 35 hierarchically constitutes a screen for displaying the menu items on the display unit 50, and includes an operation pattern determination unit 31 for distinguishing the operation for every screen by the number of finger operations.

Description

  The present invention relates to a display control device for an in-vehicle device capable of operating various devices mounted on a vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various devices such as a car navigation device, a traffic information display device, an air conditioner, an audio device, an e-mail and a telephone, and an internet connection device are mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile. If each of these devices is mounted separately and dedicated operation buttons, knobs, etc. are provided for each device, it will be necessary to place a large number of operation buttons, etc., of a large number of devices in a limited space in the passenger compartment. If each operation button or the like is reduced in size, it becomes difficult to operate each device.

  Therefore, as described in Patent Document 1, an apparatus in which an operation unit and a display unit of each device mounted on a vehicle are integrated has been devised and used. In such an apparatus in which the operation unit and the display unit of each in-vehicle device are integrated, the same operation button is shared by each in-vehicle device, or the operation buttons of each device are sequentially displayed on the display device, so that many functions can be obtained. It can be operated with relatively large operation buttons. In these apparatuses, a hierarchical menu method is generally employed. That is, a menu for selecting an in-vehicle device is displayed as an operation menu at the highest level, and by sequentially selecting the operation menu from the highest level toward a lower level of the in-vehicle device to be operated, Perform the operation.

Japanese Patent No. 4431970 (2 pages)

  However, in order to operate a large number of functions of a large number of in-vehicle devices using a hierarchical menu method, it is necessary to increase the number of menu levels, and until the operator selects and executes a target function. There is a problem that it is necessary to find and press the displayed button position.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a display control device for an in-vehicle device with good operability of operation inputs for various in-vehicle devices.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a display unit that displays a menu item for selectively executing an operation on an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle (the automobile 10 in the embodiment), and a menu on the display unit. A display control apparatus for an in-vehicle device having an image processing unit for displaying an item and a touch panel (slide pad 21 in the embodiment) for outputting a signal for selecting a menu item displayed on the display unit by operating a finger. The image processing unit includes an operation determination unit configured to hierarchically display screens for displaying menu items on the display unit, and to identify an operation for each screen configured in a hierarchical manner by the number of operation of a finger. (Claim 1).

  Further, the operation determination unit of the present invention is characterized in that the operation with the number of fingers corresponding to the screen displayed on the display unit is enabled and the operation with the number of fingers not corresponding to the screen is disabled ( Claim 2).

  In addition, the operation determination unit of the present invention enables the finger operation when the touch panel is touched with a predetermined number of fingers, calls the screen of the highest layer, and slides the finger as it is. The menu item displayed on the screen of the highest hierarchy can be selected (claim 3).

  In addition, the operation determination unit according to the present invention enables the operation on the screen one level lower than the highest level only with the operation of the number of fingers different from the number of fingers enabling the operation on the highest level screen. (Claim 4).

  In addition, the operation determination unit of the present invention, the number of fingers that enable the operation of the screen of the hierarchy that is two levels below the highest level, the operation of each screen of the hierarchy that is one level below the highest level and the highest level Only an operation with a different number of fingers is valid (claim 5).

  In addition, when a menu item is selected by a finger operation validated by the operation determination unit, the display unit of the present invention displays a screen that is one level lower than the level of the screen that displays the selected menu item. The color is changed when displaying the displayed menu item (claim 6).

  As described above, according to the display control apparatus for an in-vehicle device according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a display control apparatus for an in-vehicle device that has the above characteristics and has excellent operability of various vehicle operation inputs. it can.

The block diagram of the display control apparatus of the vehicle equipment concerning one embodiment of the present invention is shown. The partial perspective view of the vehicle compartment front side of the motor vehicle for demonstrating the display part of the display control apparatus of vehicle equipment is shown. An explanatory view showing a menu display example of a screen of the highest hierarchy displayed on the display unit is shown. An explanatory view showing an example of a menu display of a screen immediately below the highest layer displayed on the display unit is shown. An explanatory view showing an example of a menu display of a screen two lower than the highest layer displayed on the display unit is shown. It is explanatory drawing which shows determination of an operation direction. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of an input from a display part. It is explanatory drawing which shows conversion to a coordinate value. An explanatory diagram for selecting a menu from the display unit is shown. FIG. 10A shows a case where a menu at the highest level is selected, and FIG. 10B shows a menu selected one level below the highest level. Show the case. An explanatory diagram in the case of selecting a menu two levels below the highest layer is shown. The flowchart of the determination routine of adaptation operation is shown. The flowchart of the determination routine of an operation direction is shown. The flowchart of selection menu confirmation is shown. The flowchart of a control routine is shown.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a display control apparatus for an in-vehicle device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the display control device 20 of the in-vehicle device includes a slide pad 21 as operation input means for the driver to operate the various in-vehicle devices 1 from the driver's seat with fingers, and signals from the slide pad 21. The operation processing unit 30 that recognizes the operation content and outputs control signals for various in-vehicle devices 1 and the display unit 50 that displays a menu screen for operation input. The display control device 20 is connected to various in-vehicle equipment 1 systems such as a navigation system 2, an audio system 3, an air conditioner system 4, a telephone system 5, the Internet 6, and a guidance system 7.

  The slide pad 21 is, for example, a flat touch panel in which two resistance sheets are bonded together via a film-like electrode sheet. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the display unit 50 is integrally installed on the center in the width direction of the instrument panel 12 provided on the front side of the passenger compartment 11 of the automobile 10. The slide pad 21 may be installed on the steering pad unit 13, the armrest or the like separately from the display unit 50. The slide pad 21 is formed of a transparent material and disposed on the vehicle compartment side of the display unit 50, and the menu screen displayed on the display unit 50 can be viewed through the slide pad 21 from the front side of the display unit 50. Then, a desired item can be selected from the menu screen of the display unit 50 by a finger touch operation, and the target on-vehicle device 1 can be turned ON / OFF, the operation state can be changed, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the operation processing unit 30 that processes a signal from the slide pad 21 converts the position of the fingertip on the slide pad 21 into a coordinate value, and moves the input coordinate value and the stored reference direction. To determine the operation direction of the finger, the operation pattern determination unit 31 that is operated on the slide pad 21 to identify the number of operation of the finger, the reference direction of the selection operation, and the selection operation of various in-vehicle devices 1 A storage unit 33 that stores a screen, an image processing unit 35 that controls display on the display unit 50, and a control unit 37 that outputs control signals to various in-vehicle devices 1 and the image processing unit 35 according to a selected menu. ing.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a menu screen displayed on the display unit 50. In this menu display example, as shown in FIG. 3, “AUDIO” and “INTERNET” are displayed around the center of the screen as shown in FIG. , “NAVI”, “PHONE”, “CONCIERGE”, and “TEMP” are displayed.

  The menu screen displayed on the display unit 50 is stored in the storage unit 33 in a hierarchical state. The screen in the initial state shown in FIG. 3 is the screen of the highest layer (hereinafter referred to as “first layer P1”), and the menu screen shown in FIG. Hereinafter, it is a screen of “the second hierarchy P2”), and the menu screen shown in FIG. 5 is a screen of the hierarchy two levels lower than the top (hereinafter referred to as “the third hierarchy P3”). is there.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the screen of the first hierarchy P1 is a menu selection displayed on the screen with the three fingers f of the hand h of the driver M in contact with the slide pad 21. As shown in FIG. 9B, the screen of the second hierarchy P2 is a menu selection operation displayed on the screen with two fingers f in contact with the slide pad 21. As shown in FIG. 10, the screen of the third hierarchy can be used to select a menu displayed on the screen with one finger f in contact with the slide pad 21. That is, the menu selection operation cannot be performed on the screens of the respective layers P1, P2, and P3 with a number different from the number of operations (1 to 3) of the corresponding finger f. For this reason, it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation of the menu selection operation. Details of the screen hierarchy will be described later.

As an operation mode of the slide pad 21 with respect to such a menu screen, as shown in FIG. 6, the reference direction facing outward from the center of the screen in the area excluding the shaded portion is the storage unit 33 (see FIG. 1). Is stored in advance. The reference direction is indicated by a rotation angle θ when a virtual line L extending in the radial direction from the XY coordinate center O rotates counterclockwise with respect to the X axis. In this embodiment, the menu item “AUDIO” can be selected when the reference direction is within the range A1 of 34 ° to 85 °, and the new item “INTERNET” is selected within the range A2 where the reference direction is 96 ° to 146 °. In the range A3 in which the reference direction is 157 ° to 205 °, the new item “NAVI” can be selected, and in the range A4 in which the reference direction is 224 ° to 265 °, “PHONE” is selected. A new item can be selected. In the range A5 where the reference direction is 275 ° to 324 °, a new item “CONCIERGE” can be selected. In the range A6 where the reference direction is 335 ° to 23 °, “TEMP” The new item can be selected.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the finger f is moved diagonally to the upper right in the direction indicated by the arrow on the slide pad 21, the signal output from the slide pad 21 in accordance with the operation to the upper right is a coordinate value on the two-dimensional plane. As shown in FIG. 8, the coordinate values move from coordinates (X1, Y1) to coordinates (X2, Y2),..., (Xn, Yn).

  Then, the movement direction of the coordinate value and the reference direction are collated, and it is determined whether the operation on the slide pad 21 corresponds to one of the reference directions, and is determined as the reference direction having the rotation angle θ in the upper right direction. Then, in the example of the menu screen of FIG. 9A, the finger f of the hand h moves to the menu item “AUDIO” as shown in FIG. 9B. In selecting the menu item, in the above-described embodiments, the case where the movement start position of the finger f is the approximate center position of the screen is shown, but the movement start position of the finger f is not limited to the approximate center position of the screen. If the movement direction can be calculated, the movement start position may be an arbitrary position on the screen. In this case, the reference direction in FIG. 6 corresponding to the calculated movement direction is selected, and the menu item is specified from the selected reference direction.

  When the finger f moves to the “AUDIO” menu item, a confirmation sound that the selection of the menu item has been executed may be generated. When the “AUDIO” menu item is selected, as shown in FIG. 9B, the menu item on the screen of the second hierarchy P2 is displayed on the display unit 50, and the selection of “MUSIC”, FM or AM More detailed operations such as selection of “VIDEO” and “VIDEO” can be performed.

  When the menu item “FM-RADIO” is selected and operated with two fingers f in a state where the menu item is displayed on the screen of the second hierarchy P2, as shown in FIG. 10, the third item is displayed. Menu items are displayed on the screen of the level P3, and a more detailed selection operation for selecting a plurality of broadcasting station charges for FM broadcasting can be performed. The menu selection of the third hierarchy P3 is performed with one finger f.

  As described above, when a desired menu item is selected, the finger f is slid in the direction of the menu item to be selected from the center of the screen with the number of operations of the finger f corresponding to the screen, or the screen is displayed from an arbitrary position on the screen. The number of fingers f corresponding to can be slid in the same direction as the reference direction. For this reason, when selecting a desired menu item, it is not necessary to move the finger f from the center of the screen, and the selection operation can be performed at a place where it is easy to bring the hand h of the operator M to the screen. it can. For this reason, it is not necessary to confirm the center part of the display part 50 in operation during driving | operation, and safety can be improved. Further, since the operation of the finger f only needs to select a menu item, the operation can be simplified. For this reason, the operativity of operation which selects the various vehicle equipment 1 can be improved.

  Here, when the hand h of the driver M is away from the display unit 50, this corresponds to a state of waiting for the next operation, and usually the vehicle is continuously driven in this state. Accordingly, it is desirable that the display unit 50 has a display color and brightness that does not hinder driving. Further, when a menu item is selected by input from the slide pad 21, when a menu item is displayed on a screen one level lower than the screen level displaying the selected menu item, the next lower level is displayed. By changing the color of the screen, it is possible to alert the driver and avoid unnecessary operations.

  Next, operation processing by the operation processing unit 30 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  FIG. 11 is a fitting operation determination routine for determining whether or not the number of operations of the finger f in contact with the screen displayed on the display unit 50 is the number corresponding to the screen. At 100, the hierarchy of the menu screen displayed on the current display unit is confirmed. If the hierarchy can be confirmed, the process proceeds to step 101. In step 101, the number of operations of the finger f in contact with the slide pad 21 is confirmed. When the number of operations of the finger f is confirmed, the process proceeds to step 102. In step 102, it is checked whether or not the number of operations of the finger f is the number corresponding to the hierarchy. If the number is not the corresponding number, it is determined that the operation of the finger is invalid and the process returns to step 100. Go to 103. In step 103, it is determined that the operation of the finger f is valid, the adaptive operation determination is terminated, and the operation direction determination routine shown in FIG. 12 is entered.

  In the operation direction determination routine, as shown in FIG. 12, first, in step 201, the inclination m is calculated from the previous coordinate value (Xold, Yold) and the current coordinate value (Xnew, Ynew) (m = (Ynew). -Yold) / (Xnew-Xold)), in step 202, time changes ΔX1, ΔY of the coordinate values are calculated (ΔX = Xnew-Xold, ΔY = Ynew-Yold).

  Next, the process proceeds to step 203, where the operation direction is discriminated by collating with the reference direction using the inclination m and the time changes ΔX and ΔY of the coordinate values. As shown in FIG. 6, the operation direction is determined by dividing the XY coordinate plane into areas A1, A2,... A6 including the menu screen, and the operation direction based on the inclination m and the time changes ΔX1, ΔY of the coordinate values is This is done by checking which area it corresponds to.

  For this reason, with respect to the XY coordinate center O, the above-described ranges of 34 ° to 85 °, 96 ° to 146 °, 157 ° to 205 °, 224 ° to 265 °, 275 ° to 324 °, 335 ° to 23 ° Are defined as regions A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, and A6, and the direction from the XY coordinate center O of each region toward each region is defined as a reference direction.

  Then, based on the angle θ due to the inclination m and the time changes ΔX, ΔY of the coordinate values, it is checked whether the current operation direction is in any of the areas A1, A2,.

When 34 ° ≦ θ ≦ 85 °,
If ΔX> 0, it is assumed that the area A1 → “AUDIO” is menu-selectable,
When 96 ° ≦ θ ≦ 146 °,
If ΔX <0, the area A2 → “INTERNET” is assumed to be in a direction in which menu selection is possible,
When 157 ° ≦ θ ≦ 205 °,
If ΔX <0, the area A3 → “NAVI” is assumed to be in a direction in which menu selection is possible,
When 224 ° ≦ θ ≦ 265 °,
If ΔX <0, it is assumed that the area A4 → the direction of “PHONE” is selectable.
When 275 ° ≦ θ ≦ 324 °,
If ΔX> 0, it is assumed that the area A5 → “CONCIERGE” is in the direction in which menu selection is possible,
When 335 ° ≦ θ ≦ 23 °,
If ΔX> 0, it is assumed that the area A6 → “TEMP” is selected in the direction in which menu selection is possible.
In addition, a dead zone (23 ° to 34 °, 85 ° to 96 °, 146 ° to 157 °, 205 ° to 224 °, 265 ° to 275 °, 324 ° to 335 °) is provided between each region, and is ambiguous. Prevents malfunctions caused by incorrect operation.

  When the operation direction is determined as described above, the process proceeds to a selection menu confirmation routine shown in FIG. In this selection menu confirmation routine, first, in step 301, the operation direction is confirmed. When the operation direction is confirmed, the process proceeds to step 302. In step 302, it is determined whether or not the operation direction matches the reference direction. If not, the process returns to step 301, and if they match, the process proceeds to step 303. In step 303, the menu corresponding to the operation direction is determined, the selection menu determination routine is terminated, and the control routine is followed.

  In contrast to the selection menu determination routine described above, in the control routine of FIG. 14, the control unit 37 reads the operation direction determined by the above-described operation direction determination routine in step 401. When this operation direction is read, the process proceeds to step 402. In step 402, the selection menu determined by the selection menu determination routine described above is read. When the selection menu is read, the process proceeds to step 403. In step 403, an image corresponding to the selection menu is displayed on the display unit 50 via the image processing unit 35. When an image corresponding to the selection menu is displayed on the display unit 50, the process proceeds to step 404. In step 404, a control signal is output to the corresponding device 1 in accordance with the selected menu, and the routine is exited. For example, in the case of a radio of the audio system 3, a control signal is output so as to display a screen on which various broadcasting stations can be selected.

  On the screen of each layer, menu items cannot be selected with a number other than the preset number of operations of the finger f, but when returning from the lower layer (P2, P3) screen to the screen of the highest layer P1. May touch the screen of the lower layer (P2, P3) with a preset number of fingers f (for example, 3) to return to the screen of the highest layer P1.

1 On-vehicle equipment 10 Automobile (vehicle)
20 Display control device 21 Slide pad (touch panel)
31 Operation pattern determination unit (operation determination unit)
35 Image processing section 50 Display section

Claims (6)

A display unit that displays a menu item for selectively executing an operation on an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle, an image processing unit that displays the menu item on the display unit, and a display on the display unit by a finger operation A display control device for an in-vehicle device having a touch panel that outputs a signal for selecting the selected menu item,
The image processing unit is configured to hierarchically display screens for displaying menu items on the display unit,
A display control apparatus for an in-vehicle device, comprising: an operation determination unit that identifies an operation for each screen configured in a hierarchical manner by the number of operation of a finger. The operation determination unit validates an operation with the number of fingers corresponding to the screen displayed on the display unit, and invalidates an operation with the number of fingers not corresponding to the screen. The display control apparatus of the described vehicle equipment. When the touch panel is touched with a preset number of fingers, the operation determination unit validates the operation of the finger, calls up the screen of the highest layer, and slides the finger as it is to slide the finger. The display control apparatus for an in-vehicle device according to claim 2, wherein a menu item displayed on a screen of a higher hierarchy can be selected. The operation determining unit enables the operation of the screen one level lower than the highest level only with the number of fingers different from the number of fingers enabling the operation of the highest level screen. The display control apparatus for in-vehicle devices according to claim 3. The operation determination unit has a number of fingers different from the number of fingers that enable the operation of the screens two levels below the highest level to operate each screen of the highest level and one level below the highest level. The display control device for an in-vehicle device according to claim 4, wherein only the operation according to is valid. When a menu item is selected by a finger operation validated by the operation determination unit, the display unit is displayed on a screen that is one level lower than the level of the screen that displays the selected menu item. The display control apparatus for an in-vehicle device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the color is changed when the menu item is displayed.

Images