Vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system

• US 10,166,868 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2017
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2016
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Mizuno, Yoshiyuki, Kato, Hisataka
• Primary Examiner(s): Bolourchi, Nader
• Application Number:
  US15/713,851
• Publication Number:
  US 20180086206A1
• Time in Patent Office: 463 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/143 Touch sensitive instrument input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1446 Touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/782 on the steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/23 Head-up displays [HUD] optical aspects of head-up displays G02B27/01
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/60 Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/0082 mounted on the steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/1469 controlled by or attached to a single lever, e.g. steering column stalk switches

Abstract

A vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system include: a vehicle-mounted equipment operating device including a contact operating surface allowing an operator to perform a contact operation with a finger when operating or stopping a vehicle-mounted equipment, and an operation mode detector detecting an operation mode of the operator with respect to an operation unit, and in which the contact operating surface is arranged at a position closer to a vehicle front side than a steering wheel and enables an operation of the operator without taking off a hand from the steering wheel and a plurality of contact operation modes are assigned to the contact operating surface; a display device capable of displaying operation-related information relating to the operation of the operator; and a controller capable of performing display control of the operation-related information on the display device based on an output signal of the operation mode detector.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system comprising:

a vehicle-mounted equipment operating device, the vehicle-mounted equipment operating device including a contact operating surface configured to receive a contact operation inputted by an operator by a finger of the operator, wherein a plurality of contact operation modes are assigned to the contact operating surface, the vehicle-mounted equipment operating device also including an operation mode detector configured to detect a contact operation mode of the contact operating surface selected by the operator through the contact operating surface;

a display device which displays operation-related information relating to the contact operation and the contact operation mode; and

a controller configured to control an operation of vehicle-mounted equipment so as to operate or stop an operation of the vehicle-mounted equipment in accordance with an output signal outputted by the contact operating surface corresponding to the contact operation, and an output signal outputted by the contact operation mode detector corresponding to the contact operation mode, and perform display control of the display device so as to display the operation-related information on the display device based on the output signals outputted by the contact operating surface and the operation mode detector, the display control including at least shifting display content of the operation-related information according to the outputted signals outputted by the contact operating surface and the contact operation mode detector,

wherein the contact operating surface is arranged at a position that is closer to a vehicle front side than a vehicle steering wheel and enables the operator to perform a contact operation without taking off a hand from the steering wheel,

wherein the contact operating surface includes a touch sensor and is configured to receive the contact operation via a slide operation of tracing the contact operating surface with a fingertip executed by the operator,

wherein the slide operation includes the operator sliding the finger across a surface of the touch sensor,

wherein the slide operation includes a slide operation direction, and

wherein at least one of the output signal outputted by the contact operating surface and the output signal outputted by the contact operation mode detector corresponds to the slide operation direction such that the controller is configured to control the operation of the vehicle-mounted equipment and perform display control of the display device in coordination with the slide operation direction.

2. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 1, wherein

the controller is configured to cause the display device to display as the operation-related information at least one of:

(a) operation assistance information indicating an assignment of a contact operation mode with respect to the contact operating surface in association with an operation command for the vehicle-mounted equipment;

(b) operation information indicating a contact operation mode when the operator operates the contact operating surface;

(c) operation result information indicating an operation result when the operator operates the contact operating surface; and

(d) equipment information indicating a state of the vehicle-mounted equipment.

3. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 1, wherein

the display device is a head-up display device.

4. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 2, wherein

the display device is a head-up display device.

5. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 1, wherein the contact operating surface is formed to have a size such that the contact operating surface can be covered with a fingertip of the operator'"'"'s finger.

6. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 1, wherein the touch sensor of the contact operating surface includes a pattern electrode in which a transmitting electrode and a receiving electrode are alternately arranged in a lattice pattern.

7. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the operation of the vehicle-mounted equipment in accordance with the output signal outputted by the contact operating surface corresponding to the contact operation when the contact operation is performed by the execution of the slide operation, wherein the slide operation includes a deviation within a predetermined range with respect to a reference contact operation position, at a contact operation position on the contact operating surface.

8. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to perform the display control of the display device such that the displayed operation-related information is displayed as a virtual operation unit figure, the virtual operation unit figure corresponding to the shape of the contact operating surface.

9. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 1, wherein the contact operating surface is provided as a surface which is perpendicular to a cylinder axis direction of a housing member.

10. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 1, the contact operating surface is provided as a surface which is inclined in a vehicle front-rear direction with respect to a cylinder axis direction of a housing member.

11. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 1, the contact operating surface is provided so as to be concave with respect to a slide operation direction.

12. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 1, the contact operating surface is provided with a surface-textured portion.

13. The vehicle-mounted equipment operation support system according to claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to shift the virtual operation unit figure in a direction corresponding to the slide operation direction.