JP2876671B2 - In-vehicle display device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an in-vehicle display device for displaying predetermined information on a vehicle, for example, a map.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a display device of this type, a display program is built in a ROM of an in-vehicle computer, and in accordance with the program, control of each in-vehicle display process connected to the in-vehicle computer and a system bus is performed. Equipment (EC
Only a certain display was performed based on the information input from U).

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

Therefore, another display program cannot be used later, and even if it can be used, an extended display function cannot be achieved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has a processing function for performing connection with an external storage medium incorporating an application program for performing an extended display and performing an extended process according to the application program. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle display device that can be connected to an external ECU so that a display function can be extended.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a display means for displaying predetermined information, a vehicle-mounted computer having a program for causing the display means to display the predetermined information, a vehicle bus and a system bus line. A vehicle-mounted processing unit connected to generate information necessary for performing the information display and input the information to the vehicle-mounted computer via the system bus line. And an external processing means for generating information necessary for performing the extended display, wherein the display means can be connected to an external storage medium containing an application program for performing the extended display at least. The application program can be connected via the system bus line, and So that to perform the expansive displayed on the display means to execute the application program has a associated with the development information of Oite the outer set processing means.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing one embodiment. In FIG. 1, a map data CD 1 stores map data, and a plurality of map data CDs for each region are set in the autochanger 2. The map data is read from the specific map data C data by the selection from the map CD driver 3 by the autochanger 2. Which map data CD the map data is read from is determined based on a command from the computer 4.

The computer 4 includes a navigation display, an air conditioner operation display, and a navigation display (described later) from a navigation ECU 5, an air conditioner (A / C) ECU 6, an audio ECU 7, and a telephone ECU 8 installed in the vehicle.
Information necessary for performing the audio operation display and the telephone operation display is input via the system bus 17. Here, an extended ECU 19 for performing extended processing is connectable to the computer 4 by a communication adapter 18, and transmits and receives information to and from the computer 4 via the communication adapter 18 and the system bus 17.

Here, the communication adapter 18 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing a configuration inside the communication adapter 18. As shown in FIG. The communication conversion unit is a block for mutually converting the communication protocol of the system bus 17 and the communication protocol with the extended ECU 19, and exchanges data in the system bus 17 and data in the extended ECU 19. Communication adapter 18
2 receives data from the system bus 17, the communication conversion unit determines whether the data is for transmission to the extended ECU 19 as shown in FIG.
If the data is to be transmitted to 19, the communication protocol, that is, the communication method is converted to that of the extended ECU 19 and transmitted to the extended ECU 19. On the other hand, when data is received from the extended ECU 19, as shown in FIG. 2C, the communication converter converts the communication protocol from that of the extended ECU 19 to that of the system bus 17, and It is determined whether the command is a legitimate command for the system bus 17, and if it is determined that the command is a legitimate command, data is transmitted to the system bus 17. That is, since the extended ECU 19 is manufactured by various users separately from various in-vehicle ECUs such as the navigation ECU 5 and the A / CECU 6, the extended ECU 19 communicates with the in-vehicle computer 4 via the system bus 17. To this end, the communication protocol in the communication adapter 18 performs mutual conversion of the communication protocol so that the communication protocol in the extended ECU 19 is compatible with that of the system bus 17.

In FIG. 1, the computer 4 includes a cursor key 10 for moving a cursor displayed on the screen of the CRT 9.
a, a remote control switch 10 provided with a, etc., panel switches 9a to 9f installed around the screen of the CRT 9, and a switch on the CRT 9 according to switch information from the touch switch 11 installed on the CRT 9 screen. An arithmetic process for displaying operations, audio operations, telephone operations, and the like is executed. In addition, the buzzer 12 is driven in response to the switch operation to generate a beep sound.

In the navigation display, processing such as displaying the current position on the map display is performed by a predetermined navigation display program in the computer 4. However, in addition to the basic navigation display, an extension is provided. The various application programs enable various navigation application displays using the map data.

The application CD 13 is used for this purpose. For example, a CD that stores a golf course guidance program, a CD that stores a gourmet map program for guiding restaurants, and the like are prepared as individual CDs. Is set to Further, in the autochanger 14, a normal music CD and a game software CD for a video game are also mounted. The music CD driver 15
While determining whether a CD is in the autochanger 14 and where and what kind of CD is in the autochanger 14,
When a music CD is selected in response to a command from the computer 4, the music CD is output to the speaker 16 as a PCM output so that music is played in the vehicle interior. Also a music CD
If any other application CD is selected, the program stored therein is sent to the computer 4.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the computer 4 and the programs on the application CD. A plurality of application CDs each storing an application program such as a golf course guide, a gourmet map, a hotel map, a diary, and game software are mounted in the autochanger 14, and a specific application program is downloaded to the computer 4. You. This downloaded application program
Various checks are performed and executed by the interpreter. That is, since the application CD is made by various users separately from the program in the vehicle-mounted computer 4, the application CD is adapted to the program in the computer 4 (protects the program in the computer 4), and It is checked whether or not the user who has permitted the creation of the application CD creates an application program within the permitted range, and the program after the check is executed by the interpreter. The check is performed for each instruction code of the application program.

The computer 4 also has various display programs as system applications, such as navigation display processing, audio display processing, air conditioner display processing, telephone operation display processing, TV display processing, place name search operation processing, and maintenance manual display processing. And
One of the application programs executed through them and the interpreter is executed, and a corresponding display is displayed on the CRT 9. In such a display program, the input / output device of the computer 4, that is, the CR of FIG.
T9, panel switches 9a-9f, CD drivers 3, 15, various EC
The process execution with U5 to U8 is performed using a system basic program (OS).

When another display is to be performed from the program currently being displayed, the panel switch 9a provided on the CRT 9 is used.
Operate ~ 9f. The switching is controlled as an application control process in a system application.

Next, the application control process will be described. The process is started by operating any one of the panel switches 9a to 9f in FIG. 1. For example, when the navigation switch 9a is operated, the navigation display process in FIG. 3 is executed. Let it. In this navigation display processing, map data of a desired area is read from the map data CD, a road map is displayed on the screen of the CRT 9 and data indicating the current position is input from the navigation ECU 5 to calculate the current position on the road map. , Etc., necessary for normal navigation. When the audio switch 9b is operated, the audio operation display processing of FIG. 3 is executed. Similarly, A / C switch 9c, TEL
When the switch 9d and the TV switch 9e are operated, the third
The processing of the air conditioner operation display, the telephone operation display, and the TV display shown in the figure are executed, and the display corresponding to the information from the A / CECU 6, the telephone ECU 8, and the TV ECU (not shown in FIG. 1) is displayed on the CRT 9 respectively.
To do.

When the menu switch 9f is operated, CR
A menu is displayed on T9. This menu is displayed on the CD
Menus such as software, place name search, and maintenance manual are displayed. The menu can be selected by touching the respective display positions on the CRT screen, that is, by the touch switch 11. Here, for example, when the place name search menu is selected, the place name search operation processing of FIG. 3 is executed. In this place name search operation processing, CR
Place name display on the screen of T9 and touch switch 1
1. A place name is searched by operating the cursor key 10a and the like, and processing such as setting of a destination in navigation and registration of a registered place such as a home is performed. When the maintenance manual menu is selected, a maintenance manual display process shown in FIG. 3 is executed, and the maintenance manual is displayed on the screen of the CRT 9.

If the CD software menu is selected here, the interprinter program is started. The title of the CD software is displayed on the CRT 9 by starting the interprinter program. This title display reads the type of application CD installed in the autochanger 14 and displays the type.If the application CD of golf course guide, gourmet map, hotel map, diary, TV gate is installed, Are what they are displayed. When one of them is selected by operating the touch switch 11, the cursor key 10, or the like, various checks are performed by the above-described interpreter, and a program that can be processed in the computer 4 is downloaded.

Here, for example, the application CD of the video game software
The case where is selected will be described.

Here, as the extended ECU 19, an extended ECU capable of joystick input and sound effect output as shown in FIG. 6 is connected. Figure 6 shows this joystick input,
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an extended ECU capable of outputting a sound effect, including a joystick, an input processing circuit, a speaker,
It is composed of a sound effect output circuit and a communication control circuit.

FIG. 4 shows a program configuration diagram of a video game as an example of the application CD13. This game software is
It consists of a story development program and a CRT display program that can be processed in the on-board computer 4, a joystick input program and a sound effect output program that cannot be processed by the on-board computer 4. FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the story development program.

The menu switch 9f on the panel switch is operated and the CD
When the application CD13 of the video game software is selected from the software menu, after the above-described check by the interpreter, the data transfer control unit of the computer 4 allows the computer 4 of the program configuration of FIG. Is downloaded into the computer 4, and the story development program shown in FIG. 5 is started.

According to the flow of FIG. 5, the story expansion program firstly converts the joystick input program and the sound effect output program from the application CD 13 through the system bus 17 and the communication adapter 18 by the data transfer control unit in the computer 4. The data is transferred to the extended ECU 19 having the configuration shown in FIG. As described above, these transferred programs are transferred after the communication protocol is converted by the communication conversion unit of the communication adapter 18 so as to be compatible with the extended ECU 19.

Next, a screen such as a menu screen is created, and the screen created by the downloaded CRT display program is displayed on the CRT 9. If a sound effect is required in conjunction with the CRT display, an instruction to activate the sound effect output program transferred to the extended ECU 19 is issued via the system bus 17 and the communication adapter 18 to the sound effect in the extended ECU 19. Output to the output circuit,
The sound effect is output from the speaker of the extended ECU19.

Next, the joystick input program transferred to the extended ECU 19 inputs into the computer 4 via the communication adapter 18 and the system 17 whether or not there has been a joystick input due to the joystick of the extended ECU 19. If the data is received, the next screen is created. Here, the signal from the extended ECU 19 is
As described above, the data is converted by the communication conversion unit of the communication adapter 18 so as to conform to the communication protocol of the system bus 17 and input to the computer 4.

According to the above-described embodiment, an application program that enables various applications to be displayed can be externally installed on a preset vehicle-mounted computer 4, and the interpreter is used to protect the system of the vehicle-mounted computer when executing the application program. And an external ECU 19 that can perform various extended processes via the in-vehicle computer and the system bus 17 so as to be able to execute application programs that are not processed by the in-vehicle computer. It is possible. Here, the setting of the extended ECU 19 is performed on the user side, but even if there is a difference in the communication protocol for each user, the communication conversion unit of the communication adapter 18 performs the expansion process properly in the system side. The transmission and reception of data is performed by mutually converting the communication protocol between the device and the extended ECU, so that good display control processing can be easily extended. It is also possible to use various extended ECUs manufactured by the manufacturers.

Next, another configuration in the communication adapter 18 is shown in FIG.
In FIG. 7, the communication adapter 18 comprises a communication conversion unit and a system protection unit. The communication conversion unit is a block for mutually converting the communication protocol of the system bus 17 and the communication protocol in the extended ECU 19 so as to be communicable, similarly to the one shown in FIGS. on the other hand,
The system protection unit is connected to the extended EC 19 due to a failure of the extended ECU 19 or a bug in the application program transferred from the application CD 13 to the extended ECU 19.
This block is occupied by U19 and prevents the entire system from hanging up.
It comprises a fail-safe circuit proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H11-209,873. In other words, the extended EC
This protects the system bus 17 from runaway or failure of the U19, prevents hang-up of the system, and builds a highly reliable system.

In the above-described embodiment, a CD is used to store the application program. However, another storage medium such as an IC card or a floppy disk may be used.

Further, the extended ECU 19 may be of any type as long as it has a function of performing extended processing such as input, output, and data processing.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described in detail above, according to the in-vehicle display device of the present invention, it is possible to connect to an external storage medium incorporating an application program for performing an extended display,
Since it is possible to connect to an external ECU having a processing function for performing extended processing according to the application program, there is an excellent effect that the display function can be extended.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 2 (a) is a block diagram of a communication adapter according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 (b) and 2 (c) are diagrams of the communication adapter according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the communication conversion unit, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the on-board computer and the program in the application CD, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of contents of an application program in the application CD, and FIG. 4
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the execution of the three-dimensional expansion program shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing one configuration of the extended ECU, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another configuration of the communication adapter. 1: CD for map data, 4: Computer, 9: CRT, 9a-9f ...
Panel switch, 10 Remote control switch, 11 Touch switch, 13 Application CD, 17 System bus, 18
Communication adapter, 19 ... Extended ECU.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B60Q 11/00 G09G 5/00 H04L 13/00 G08G 1/0962

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A display means for displaying predetermined information; a vehicle-mounted computer having a program for causing the display means to display the predetermined information; a vehicle bus connected to the vehicle-mounted computer and a system bus line; On-vehicle processing means for generating information necessary to perform the processing and inputting the information to the on-vehicle computer via the system bus line. It can be connected to an external storage medium containing an application program for performing display, and is further connected to external processing means for generating information necessary for performing the extended display via the system bus line. It is possible to execute the external processing means during the execution of the application program. It has associated raw information vehicle display device which is characterized in that so as to perform the expansive displayed on the display means to execute said application program. 2. The external processing means is connected via the system bus line by a communication adapter having a communication conversion unit for mutually converting between a communication protocol on the system bus line side and a communication protocol on the external processing means side. The in-vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the in-vehicle display device is communicably connected to the in-vehicle computer.