USER INTERFACE FOR A VEHICLE INSTALLED COMMUNICATION DEVICE

• US 20100125393A1
• Filed: 11/15/2008
• Published: 05/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kaner, Shirish M., Jarvinen, Jari P., Palmer, Mark T.
• Granted Patent: US 8,185,268 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/48
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0202 Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 359/90 Methods

Abstract

A radio communication device (100) for use in a public safety vehicle is provided with a user interface that combines tactile landmarks in the form of global tactile landmarks and local tactile landmarks along with affordances to orient a user'"'"'s hand and fingers in conjunction with a sequential task flow interface) for mission critical tasks. Communication device (100) comprises a housing (102) having mission critical controls (116) comprising a pursuit dial (122) mounted on a circular platform (206) with siren controls (124) and light controls (126) grouped on either side of the platform. The mission critical controls (116) are laid out in a manner that provides a sequential user flow across escalating urgency. Ridges (208, 210), chamfered edges (402, 404) and edge reliefs (502) provide further affordances so that a user can intuitively position hand and fingers to locate various controls without having to visually focus on the communication device, thus allowing the user to focus on the current mission.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle communication device, comprising:

a housing 102 having top edge 104, bottom edge 106, first and second side surfaces 108, 110, a front surface 112 and a back surface 114;

global tactile landmarks (206, 208, 210) laid out on the housing for locating functional groups of controls on the radio communication device, the functional groups of controls comprising siren and light controls 116, display controls 118 and radio controls 120;

local tactile identifiers (302, 304, 306, 308, 310) for identifying individual controls within the functional groups;

affordances (402, 404, 502) to orient a user'"'"'s hand and fingers on the housing; and

a sequential task flow (124, 122, 126) for predetermined mission critical tasks.

2. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 1, wherein the global tactile landmarks comprise:

a pursuit dial 122 located on the top surface proximate to the top edge of the housing;

a rotary volume control 202 located on a lower left corner of the housing; and

a channel control knob 204 located on a lower right corner of the housing.

3. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 2 wherein the pursuit dial 122 is positioned on a circular platform 206 extending off of the top surface (114) along the top edge of the housing 102 thereby providing sensory and orientation of the user to the top center of the product.

4. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 3, further comprising:

first and second horizontal ridges 208, 210 formed on the top surface 112 of the housing 102;

wherein the first horizontal ridge 208 separating the top siren &

light controls 116 from the display controls 118; and

the second horizontal ridge 210 separating radio menu buttons 212 from programmable buttons 214.

5. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 4, wherein the local landmarks comprise:

An elevated ridge 302 formed within the housing 102 between adjacent controls within a functional grouping of controls; and

a surrounding ridge 304 formed around non-adjacent controls.

6. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 5, wherein the local landmarks comprise:

a recessed corner 310 for an emergency button 330.

7. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 2, further comprising:

first and second chamfered edges 402, 404 formed along top and bottom edges 104, 106 of the housing 102;

a circular platform 206 formed around the pursuit dial 122;

edge reliefs 502 formed of back housing undercuts located underneath the first and second side surfaces 108, 110 as well as underneath the bottom edge 106 of the housing; and

the first and second chamfered edges, circular platform 208 and edge reliefs 502 providing affordances for orienting a user'"'"'s hand and fingers.

8. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 7, wherein the pursuit dial 122 controls both siren and light settings.

9. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 8, wherein the pursuit dial has four positions going from left to right providing an off position, a basic lightbar position, an all lightbar position, and an all lightbar with sirens position.

10. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 1, wherein the functional grouping of siren and light controls 116 comprises:

a pursuit dial 122;

siren controls 124 grouped to the left of the pursuit dial 122 on the front surface 112; and

light controls 126 grouped to the right of the pursuit dial 122.

11. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 10, further comprising:

elevated ridges 306 located between siren controls to facilitate the user'"'"'s sensory interpretation of the siren controls as the user'"'"'s finger'"'"'s move from left to right.

12. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 11, wherein the light controls 126 are grouped to the right side of the pursuit dial 122 with a triangular layout that corresponds to light position, the top of the triangular layout providing for lights straight ahead, the bottom left of the triangular layout providing left side alley lights and the bottom right of the triangular layout providing right side alley lights.

13. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 12, wherein the elevated ridges are incorporated 302 between the left side and right side alley light controls to further facilitate sensory perception of the light controls.

14. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 13, further comprising:

a rotary volume control 202 located on a lower left corner of the housing; and

a channel control knob 204 located on a lower right corner of the housing.

15. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 14, wherein the siren control grouping 124 and light control grouping 126 are gradually sloped on the left and right sides of the pursuit dial toward the top edge of the housing thereby enabling a user to locate and manipulate the siren and light controls without have to visually focus on the siren and light controls.

16. The vehicular radio communication device of claim 15, further comprising:

an emergency control on an upper right recessed corner 304 of the housing 102.

17. An in-vehicle public safety communication device, comprising:

a housing 102 having top edge 104, bottom edge 106, first and second side surfaces 108, 110, a front surface 112 and a back surface 114;

mission critical controls comprising;

a pursuit dial 122 located on the top surface at the top edge of the housing;

siren controls 124 located on one side pursuit dial;

light controls located on the other side 126 of the pursuit dial; and

wherein the pursuit dial controls both siren and light settings via a sequential task flow including;

off, predetermined light setting and predetermined light setting with siren.

18. The mobile radio of claim 17, wherein the pursuit dial is seated on a circular platform 206 extending from the top surface of the housing.

19. The mobile radio of claim 18, further comprising:

a volume control 202 and channel control 204 located on separate lower corners of the housing;

display controls 118 located between the mission critical controls and the volume and channel controls on the front surface of the housing.

20. The mobile radio of claim 19, further comprising:

edge reliefs 502 formed within the housing under the first and second side surfaces and beneath to bottom edge;

chamfered edges formed along the top and bottom surfaces of the housing; and

a first horizontal ridge 208 formed in the housing to separate the volume and channel controls from the display controls; and

a second horizontal ridge 210 separating the mission critical controls from the display controls.