JPH11278173A - Automobile control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simultaneously carry out non-visual switch selection and visual switch selection by generating pulses of sound, vibration, etc., different in accordance with a finger position of a driver by input from a sensor means and displaying the finger position on a display means by input from the sensor means. SOLUTION: A menu 14 of each switch is displayed on a display means 13 in the case when a driver controls, and sound in accordance with a finger position differs for each of the switches and is made easy to discriminate, for example, made to be as 'do'(c), 'mi'(e) 'so'(g), octave 'do'(octave c). Consequently, as sound corresponding to a switch 5 is generated only by touching the switch 5 with a finger, the driver 2 can visually understand what the switch 5 is, and the driver 2 can direct all his visual information processing capacity toward driving (front confirmation, etc.).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automobile operating device for operating on-board equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional vehicle operating device, there is one known, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-109802. This kind of vehicle operation device includes a display unit that displays a plurality of menus for operating on-board mounted devices, a sensor unit in which a plurality of sensors for detecting a finger position of a driver are arranged, and the sensor unit Input operation means in which a plurality of switches are arranged corresponding to the arrangement of the sensors, and a finger position is displayed on the display means by an input from the sensor means, and mounted equipment is controlled by an input from the input operation means. And a control unit. Further, the operability of blind touch of the switch during driving of the automobile is improved.

[0003] The display means is arranged above the instrument panel in front of the driver's seat. Therefore,
Even if the user does not move the line of sight to the switch position to check the finger position, the finger can be checked on the display means above the instrument panel, which has a relatively short line of sight movement distance, so that the operation load during driving can be reduced.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional technique, the display means is arranged near the driver's field of view, so that the user can check the front without directly looking at the finger position for operating the switch. While looking at the display means while improving the blind touch operability of the switch,
Regarding the fact that the information on the finger position can be given visually, it is the same whether directly looking at the hand or looking at the display means installed above. In other words, it is not a complete blind touch that does not use any visual information,
Part of the driver's visual information processing ability while driving is
It is oriented to the display device.

[0005] In the case of an operating device having such a display means, there is no problem if the vehicle is traveling on a relatively vacant road. In a driving situation where the visual information processing load is high, there is no room to visually confirm the display device as described above, and in such a case, the blind touch operability of the switch cannot be practically obtained.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a conventional technique, and provides an automobile operating device capable of selecting and operating a desired mounted device without visual confirmation work.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
Before operating the switches for the on-board mounted equipment, each switch generates a different wave such as a sound or vibration.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, hearing (sound)
Since the type of switch can be recognized by tactile sensation (vibration), the driver can select and operate a desired mounted device without visual confirmation work. Therefore, blind touch in a complete sense can be realized, and the driver can use all of the visual information processing ability for driving.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input operation in which a plurality of sensors for detecting a finger position of a driver are arranged, and a plurality of switches are arranged corresponding to the arrangement of the sensors of the sensor. Means, control means for controlling the mounted equipment by input from the input operation means, and wave generation means for generating waves such as sounds and vibrations different depending on the driver's finger position by input from the sensor means. I have.

[0010] According to the second aspect of the present invention, different sounds and vibrations can be generated depending on the driver's finger position based on the input from the sensor means, so that the driver desires without visual confirmation work. You can select and operate onboard equipment.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a display means in front of a driver's seat for displaying a plurality of menus for operating on-board mounted equipment and a plurality of sensors for detecting a finger position of the driver are arranged. Sensor means, input operation means in which a plurality of switches are arranged in correspondence with the arrangement of the sensors of the sensor means, and a finger position displayed on the display means by an input from the sensor means; Control means for controlling the mounted equipment by input and wave generating means for generating wave such as sound or vibration depending on the driver's finger position by input from the sensor means.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the finger position can be displayed on the display means by the input from the sensor means, so that the visual switch can be used in addition to the non-visual switch selection as described in the preceding section. Can also be selected. Therefore, if there is room to see the display means during traveling, a visual switch confirmation can be performed.

[0013] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the menu displayed on the display means has the same arrangement as the switches of the input operation means.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the menus on the display means are arranged in the same manner as the switches of the input operation means, visual recognition of the switches is assured.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the menu displayed on the display means has the same form as a switch of the input operation means.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the menu on the display means has the same shape as the switch of the input operation means, the switch can be recognized visually.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a driver condition detecting means for detecting a condition of the driver, a driving load is obtained based on a result detected by the driver condition detecting device, and the driving load is set. If the value is equal to or more than the value, the menu display on the display means is stopped, and only a wave such as sound or vibration is generated.

According to the invention described in claim 6, the driving load of the driver is estimated from the driver's state (heart rate, line of sight movement, etc.) and the vehicle driving operation state (steering turn, etc.)
When the operation load is equal to or greater than the set value, only non-visual switch recognition based on sound, vibration, or the like can be performed without using display means. As a result, the driver can use the visual information processing ability only for driving.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an outside environment detecting means for detecting an outside environment during traveling, and a driving load is obtained based on a result detected by the outside environment detecting means. In the above case, the menu display on the display means is stopped, and only waves such as sound and vibration are generated.

According to the present invention, the driving load of the driver is estimated from the environment outside the vehicle (traffic volume, presence or absence of pedestrians, etc.), and if the driving load is equal to or larger than the set value, the display means is displayed. This allows only non-visual recognition of a switch by sound, vibration, or the like, without using. As a result, the driver can use the visual information processing ability only for driving.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the sound environment inside the vehicle is detected while the vehicle is running, and when the sound level inside the vehicle is high and the sound inside the vehicle is difficult to hear, the sound generation, the vibration generation, and the menu screen display are performed. Switch to.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, when the sound level inside the vehicle is high and it is difficult to hear the sound inside the vehicle, the sound generation is switched to vibration generation or menu screen display.
Operability of the switch can be secured.

[0023]

According to the present invention, the type of switch can be recognized by hearing (sound) or touch (vibration), so that the driver can select and operate a desired mounted device without visual confirmation work. can do. Therefore, blind touch in a complete sense can be realized, and the driver can use all of the visual information processing ability for driving.
Also, when the finger position is displayed on the display means by the input from the sensor means, and there is room to see the display means during traveling,
Visual switch confirmation may be performed.

Further, the state of the driver (heart rate, movement of the line of sight, etc.) and the state of driving operation of the vehicle (how to turn the steering, etc.)
And if the driving load is equal to or greater than the set value, non-visual switch recognition using sound or vibration can be performed without using the display means.

In addition, the driving load of the driver is estimated from the environment outside the vehicle (traffic volume, presence / absence of pedestrians, etc.), and if the driving load is equal to or greater than the set value, the display means is not used. Non-visual switch recognition by vibration or the like can be performed.

[0026]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. First, an interior layout will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 1 denotes a steering wheel, and reference numeral 2 denotes a driver. Driver 2 on instrument panel 3
An instrument panel 4 is provided on the front of the vehicle, and four switches 5 are provided in the central cluster portion of the instrument panel 3 in an oblique state facing the driver 2 side.

A palm rest 6 is provided in front of the switch 5, and the switch 5 can be easily operated by placing the palm rest 6 near the wrist. The palm rest 6 is provided with a sensor. When the switch 5 is pressed while the sensor of the palm rest 6 is ON, it is understood that the operation of the switch 5 is performed by the driver 2, and the sensor of the palm rest 6 is turned OFF. When the switch 5 is pressed in the state described above, it is understood that the switch 5 is operated by a fellow passenger.

Next, the configuration of the operating device incorporated in the vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. This vehicle operation device includes on-board equipment 7, input operation means 8, sensor means 9, wave generation means 10, and control means 11.

The on-board equipment 7 includes a navigation (NAVI), an air conditioner (A / C),
Audio and traffic information. The input operation means 8 includes:
The switch 5 is a section that provides an input for operating each mounted device 7. The sensor means 9
Is for detecting the position of the finger on each switch 5.

When a finger touches the switch 5, the wave generating means 10 generates a different sound for each switch 5, for example, "do".
It generates sounds such as "mi,""so," and "do (one octave higher)." The wave generating means 10 may also serve as the audio speaker 12 of the on-board device 7. still,
Instead of sounds such as "do", "mi", "so", and "do (up one octave)", the names of the on-board devices 7 are called by voice, for example, "air conditioner", "audio", etc. A sound may be generated. Further, instead of the sound, the vibration of a different frequency may be given to the driver by each switch 5 by a vibration device built in the seat. The control unit 11 controls the mounted device 7 based on an input from the input operation unit 8.

According to the first embodiment, a sound corresponding to the switch 5 is generated only by touching the switch 5 with a finger, so that the driver 2 can operate the switch 5 before operating the switch 5. You can tell by hearing.
Therefore, blind touch in a complete sense can be realized,
The driver 2 can direct all of the visual information processing ability for driving (for example, checking forward).

FIGS. 3 to 7 are views showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, a display unit 13 is provided above the instrument panel 3 corresponding to a position above the switch 5. The display means 13 displays a menu screen on which a plurality of menus 14 are arranged in order to operate each mounted device 7. The control means 15 displays the finger position on the display means 13 by an input from the sensor means 9 and controls the mounted device 7 by an input from the input operation means 8. Switch 5
And the menu 14 on the screen have the same arrangement (the same arrangement), and the shape of the switch 5 and the shape of the menu 14 displayed on the screen are also the same (both are squares). Therefore, the actual switch 5 and the screen menu 14
Is surely recognized visually.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the main flow. First, in step S1, it is determined whether there is an input from the sensor unit 9. If there is an input, the finger position and the menu display method are determined in step S2.

Here, the determination flow in step S2 will be described with reference to the subflow in FIG. First, in step S21, it is determined whether the vehicle has stopped.
Only when the shift gear of the automatic transmission (AT) is in the parking (P) range, it is determined that the vehicle is stopped, and in that case, the contents of the menu 14 are displayed on the screen in step S22. In step S21, the vehicle is running (ie,
If it is determined that the AT shift gear is out of the P range), it is determined in step S23 whether the switch 5 is operated by a driver or a fellow passenger. This determination is made based on whether or not the aforementioned palm rest 6 is under pressure. If there is pressure, it is a driver operation, and if there is no pressure, it is a fellow passenger operation.

If the operation is performed by the driver, step S2
At 4, the finger position and the menu are notified by the wave of sound or the like. If it is a passenger operation, the screen display in step 22 remains as it is.

The above is the description of the determination flow in step S2. After step S2, in step S3 in FIG. 5, the finger position and the menu 14 are displayed in conjunction with step S22 according to the method determined as described above.

Then, in step S4, the input operation means 8
It is determined whether or not an input has been made. If there is an input, the control of the on-board device 7 corresponding to the input menu is performed in step S5, and the flow ends.

The table of FIG. 7 explains the above operation more specifically. The operation status is shown in the vertical column of the table.
That is, whether the operation is a driver operation or a passenger operation,
In the case of the driver's operation, it is described separately when driving and when stopping. When the driver is operating, a menu 14 of each switch is displayed on the display unit 13,
The sound corresponding to the finger position is different for each switch and is easy to identify, for example, "do", "mi", "so", "do (up one octave)". Therefore, as in the case of the first embodiment, just by touching the switch 5 with a finger, the switch 5
Is generated, the driver 2 can hear what the switch 5 is before operating the switch 5, and the driver 2 can drive all of the visual information processing ability (forward). Confirmation, etc.).

When the driver operates when the vehicle is stopped,
Alternatively, when the passenger operates, there is no need to check the front for driving, so that only a menu is displayed on the display unit 13 without generating a sound corresponding to the switch 5.

FIGS. 8 to 10 show a third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the driver state detecting means 16 for estimating the driver's driving load from the driver's state (heart rate, movement of the line of sight, etc.) or the driving operation state of the vehicle (such as how to turn the steering wheel) is controlled. Connected to the means 17.

FIG. 9 shows a main flow of the third embodiment. First, in step S11, the presence or absence of an input from the sensor unit 9 is determined. If there is an input, in step S12, the state of the driver is detected, for example, from the heart rate, the movement of the line of sight, and the manner of turning the steering. Based on the state, the driving load of the driver is determined in step S13. Predict. Then, in step S14, it is determined whether or not the operation load is equal to or higher than a sufficiently high set value. Indicated by If the operation load is less than the set value, the finger position and the menu are displayed on the screen in step S16. If there is an input from the input operation means 8 in step S17, the process proceeds to step S17.
At 18, control of the on-board equipment corresponding to the input menu is performed, and the flow ends.

The driving load can be obtained by a technique such as steering entropy. In the flow of FIG.
The example in which the method of presenting the menu and the finger position is divided into two steps based on whether or not the driving load is equal to or more than the set value has been described. However, as shown in FIG. Can be. That is, the load value (X axis) measured by a method such as steering entropy,
It is a figure which shows the relationship with the sensory value (Y-axis) which shows the unstable driving | operation state (load feeling during driving | operation) which the driver evaluated. From FIG. 10, for example, the load value shown on the X-axis indicates (A) up to a certain value (α). When the load value exceeds the certain value (α), the driver's sense of load increases, and “ Feel ", and this is referred to as (B). Further, when the value exceeds a certain value (β), the tendency of the driver's load feeling to increase is further strengthened and the driver feels “very load”, which is referred to as (C).

Therefore, in the present embodiment, for example, when it is necessary to check the map of the navigation system many times during traveling, the line of sight is moved frequently. If it exceeds (β), it will be (C) if it is sufficiently high,
It is determined that a very high load is applied to the driver.
In the switch operation in such a state, the finger position and the menu are all presented in a wave (sound). When the steering entropy is between the constant value (α) and the constant value (β), it is determined that the load is slightly higher (B),
The menu of the switch is displayed on the display means, and only the finger position is presented as a wave. When the load is normal (C), the finger position and the menu are all presented on the screen.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, the traffic volume,
An external environment detecting unit 18 for estimating the driving load of the driver from the external environment such as the number of pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, and the frequency of signals and signs is connected to the control unit 19. The outside environment detecting means 18 can also detect the sound environment inside the vehicle.

In the flow shown in FIG. 12, the environment outside the vehicle is detected in step S32 and the driving load of the driver is predicted in step S33 instead of step S12 in the third embodiment (FIG. 9). doing. Other steps are
This is the same as the third embodiment.

To detect the environment outside the vehicle, specifically, the surroundings are monitored by a small camera installed outside the vehicle, and the vehicle density (or bicycle density, pedestrian density, etc.) within a certain range around the own vehicle is detected. ) Is calculated, and if the driver has a very high density and the driver needs considerable concentration outside the vehicle, it is determined that the driving load of visual information processing will increase, and the switch menu and finger position are determined. Is presented in a wave motion.

In this case, if the sound level inside the vehicle is high and the sound inside the vehicle is difficult to hear, the wave presentation is
Vibration is used instead of sound. In such a case, the wave presentation may be stopped, and the screen may be switched to the menu screen display.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an in-vehicle layout diagram showing a vehicle operating device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle operation device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an in-vehicle layout diagram showing a vehicle operating device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle operation device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a main flow of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a sub-flow of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a switching state between a display unit and a wave generation unit according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing a vehicle operating device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a view showing an operation load and a frequency thereof according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a vehicle operating device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Driver 5 Switch 7 Mounted equipment 8 Input operation means 9 Sensor means 10 Wave generation means 11, 15, 17, 19 Control means 12 Speaker 13 Display means 14 Menu 16 Driver state detection means 18 Outside environment detection means

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An automobile operating device wherein each switch generates a different wave, such as a sound or vibration, before operating a switch for a mounted device mounted on a vehicle. 2. A sensor unit in which a plurality of sensors for detecting a finger position of a driver are arranged, an input operation unit in which a plurality of switches are arranged corresponding to the arrangement of the sensors of the sensor unit, and the input operation Control means for controlling the on-board equipment based on input from the means, and wave generation means for generating a wave such as a sound or vibration depending on the driver's finger position based on the input from the sensor means. Car operation device. 3. A display means in front of a driver's seat for displaying a plurality of menus for operating onboard devices mounted on a vehicle, a sensor means in which a plurality of sensors for detecting a finger position of a driver are arranged, and the sensor Input operation means in which a plurality of switches are arranged corresponding to the arrangement of sensors of the means, and a finger position is displayed on the display means by an input from the sensor means, and mounted equipment is controlled by an input from the input operation means And a wave generating means for generating a wave, such as a sound or vibration, which varies depending on the driver's finger position based on an input from the sensor means. 4. The vehicle operating device according to claim 3, wherein the menu displayed on the display means has the same arrangement as the switches of the input operation means. 5. The vehicle operating device according to claim 3, wherein a menu displayed on the display means has the same shape as a switch of the input operation means. 6. The vehicle operating device according to claim 3, further comprising a driver state detecting means for detecting a state of the driver, wherein the vehicle operation apparatus detects the driver state. A vehicle operating device comprising: obtaining a driving load based on a result; and, when the driving load is equal to or more than a set value, stopping a menu display on a display unit and generating only a wave such as a sound or a vibration. 7. The vehicle operating device according to claim 3, further comprising a vehicle outside environment detecting means for detecting a vehicle outside environment during traveling.
The driving load is obtained based on the result detected by the outside environment detecting means, and when the driving load is equal to or more than the set value, the menu display on the display means is stopped and only the wave such as sound or vibration is generated. Characteristic automobile operation device. 8. The vehicle operating device according to claim 3, wherein a sound level in the vehicle is detected by detecting an in-vehicle sound environment during traveling.
An automobile operation device characterized in that when it is difficult to hear the sound inside the vehicle, the sound generation is switched to vibration generation or menu screen display.