Operation input device

• US 20040254699A1
• Filed: 05/06/2004
• Published: 12/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Fukushima, Rieko, Tsuchiya, Yuji, Inomae, Masaki
• Application Number:
  US10/839,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20040254699A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/146 Instrument input by gesture
• 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 35/213 Virtual instruments
• 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: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883

Abstract

An operation input device includes a liquid crystal display and a Fresnel lens in combination to display a three-dimensional virtual image in a virtual space in front of a vehicle navigator'"'"' seat for allowing an occupant of the seat to input an operation command for an in-vehicle unit. An image of the occupant and the image in the virtual space are taken by an image pickup device. An ECU recognizes a motion of an occupant hand within the virtual space through an image processing operation performed against the picked-up images. When the recognized motion matches with a predetermined motion relative to the three-dimensional image displayed in the virtual space, it is determined by the ECU that an operation command for the in-vehicle unit has been inputted. The ECU outputs the operation command to the in-vehicle unit and changes the three-dimensional image in the virtual space according to the operation command.

Claims

1. An operation input device comprising:

three-dimensional image display means for displaying a three-dimensional image in a predetermined virtual space;

one or more image pickup means for picking up an image in an area including the virtual space;

recognition means for recognizing a motion of a user'"'"' hand within the virtual space from the image picked up by the image pickup means; and

control means for driving the three-dimensional image display device to display a three-dimensional image for operation of a device to be operated, identifying an operation command issued by the user from the motion of the user'"'"'s hand recognized by the recognition means while the three-dimensional image is displayed, causing the three-dimensional image displayed by the three-dimensional image display means to change in accordance with the identified operation command, and outputting the operation command to the device to be operated.

2. The operation input device according to claim 1, wherein the control means, before driving the three-dimensional image display means to display the three-dimensional image for operation of the device to be operated, drives the three-dimensional image display means to display a three-dimensional image for allowing a user to perform selection of a device to be operated or a sort of operation of a device to be operated, identifies the device to be operated or the sort of operation selected by the user from the motion of the user'"'"'s hand recognized by the recognition means while the three-dimensional image is displayed, and subsequently, in accordance with a result of recognition, drives the three-dimensional image display means to display a three-dimensional image for operation of the device to be operated.

3. The operation input device according to claim 1, wherein the operation input device is a device actuatable by an occupant of a vehicle to operate an in-vehicle unit, the three-dimensional image display means is disposed in front of a seat of the vehicle and arranged to display the three-dimensional image to an occupant sitting on the seat with the virtual space formed by a space to which the occupant of the seat can stretch its hand, and the image pickup means is disposed in front of the seat of the vehicle together with the three-dimensional image display means and arranged to pick up an image of the occupant of the seat from the front of the occupant.