Vehicle multimedia system

• US 20060173594A1
• Filed: 08/26/2005
• Published: 08/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kolletzki, Johannes
• Granted Patent: US 7,643,917 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41422 located in transportation means, e.g. personal vehicle arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42692 for reading from or writing on a volatile storage medium, e.g. Random Access Memory [RAM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72

Abstract

A vehicle multimedia system includes a display that displays a hierarchically structured menu. The hierarchically structured menu may have a main menu, a plurality of submenus, and menu items. The multimedia system provides a memory for storing information identifying a menu or menu item, and a memory control unit for writing information related to a menu item upon a user'"'"'s selection of the menu by an operating element or by automatic return to a main menu, and displaying the information as selectable menu items identified by the information.

Claims

1. A vehicle multimedia system comprising:

a display for displaying information including hierarchically structured menus with menu items;

an operating element for selecting a menu or a menu item;

a control unit for controlling the display and for receiving selecting signals from the operating element;

a memory element adapted to store predetermined information identifying the menu or the menu item; and

a memory control unit for writing the information to the memory element and for reading the stored information out of the memory,

where the memory control unit is adapted to write the information in response to an activation of a menu item via the operating element or in response to a return to a predetermined menu, and where the memory control unit is further adapted to read the stored information and supply it to the control unit upon activation of the operating element, and

where the control unit is adapted to display the supplied information on the display as selectable and activatable menu items allowing access to the menus or menu items identified by the displayed information.

2. The vehicle multimedia system of claim 1 where the memory control unit is adapted to organize the memory element as a ring memory.

3. The vehicle multimedia system of claim 1 where the return to a predetermined menu occurs after a predetermined period of time.

4. The vehicle multimedia system of claim 1 where the information identifying a respective number of menus or menu items is selectable via the operating element.

5. The vehicle multimedia system of claim 1 where the predetermined menu is a main menu or main status screen.

6. The vehicle multimedia system of claim 1 where the memory element is selected from the group consisting of:

a flash memory, a non-volatile memory, and a hard-disk memory.

7. The vehicle multimedia system of claim 1 where the memory control unit is adapted to delete stored information identifying a menu or menu item via the operating element.

8. The vehicle multimedia system of claim 1 where the operating element comprises a switch adapted to cause the memory control unit to supply the stored information.

9. The vehicle multimedia system of claim 8 further comprising an audio unit comprising at least an amplifier, a radio tuner, and a CD-/DVD-player.

10. The vehicle multimedia system of claim 8 further comprising a navigation unit for providing route guidance and a mobile communication unit for providing telephony and internet services.

11. A method for controlling the display of hierarchically structured menus on a display of a vehicle multimedia system where each menu includes at least one menu item for being selected and activated comprising:

displaying a menu on the display;

storing information identifying the displayed menu or menu item in response to an activation of a menu item or in response to an automatically caused return to a predetermined menu;

reading information stored in response to an operation of an operating element; and

displaying the read information as selectable and activatable menu items on the display, where the selection and activation of the menu item allows the display of the menu or menu item identified by the information.

12. The method of claim 11 where the return to a predetermined menu occurs after a predetermined period of time.

14. The method of claim 11 where the memory element is selected from the group consisting of:

a flash memory, a non-volatile memory, and a hard-disk memory.

15. The method of claim 11 where the information is adjustable.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

storing the information in a memory organized as a ring memory; and

overwriting one or more old memory entries by one or more new entries if the memory is full.

17. The method of claim 16 where the stored information is capable of deletion by the user.

13. The method of claim 111 where the predetermined menu is a main menu or main status screen.

18. A computer program product comprising:

a computer useable medium having a computer readable code means embodied in the medium for controlling the display of hierarchically structured menus on a display of a vehicle multimedia system, the computer readable program code in the computer program product comprising;

computer readable program code means for causing a control unit to display a menu on the display;

computer readable program code means for causing a memory control unit to store information identifying the displayed menu or menu item in response to an activation of a menu item or in response to an automatically caused return to a predetermined menu;

computer readable program code means for causing the memory control unit to read information stored in response to an operation of an operating element; and

computer readable program code means for causing the control unit to display the read information as selectable and activatable menu items on the display, where the selection and activation of the menu item allows the display of the menu or menu item identified by the information.

19. The computer program product of claim 18 further comprising:

computer readable program code means for causing the memory control unit to store the information in a memory; and

computer readable program code means for causing the memory control unit to overwrite one or more old memory entries by one or more new entries if the memory is full.

20. The method of claim 19 where the memory is organized as a ring memory.