INPUT DEVICE, VEHICLE ENVIRONMENT MONITORING APPARATUS, ICON SWITCH SELECTION METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20110261201A1
• Filed: 11/20/2009
• Published: 10/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Keiichi, Yamada, Yoshiyuki, Iga, Haruka, Fukaya, Atsuo, Inui, Yoji, Fujii, Taketoshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,041,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/00 Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles locks for vehicles E05B77/00-E05B85/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34

Abstract

An input device, wherein the screen (18a) of a display device (18) is divided into two regions, a region (A1) and a region (A2), and the icon switch displayed in the region including the position of an invisible pointer (P′) is selected. Thus, one of an icon switch (1) and an icon switch (2) that are displayed on the screen (18a) is selected at any time. Consequently, the user will no longer have to watch the screen carefully and perform an operation for moving an instruction marker such as a visible pointer to a desired icon switch, for example as in conventional devices. Accordingly, the user can enter a desired instruction in a short time by selecting a desired icon switch in a short time.

Claims

1-5. -5. (canceled)

6. An input device for entering instructions into a given device, comprising:

a display unit defining an invisible pointer moving on a screen according to input from an external source and displaying multiple icon switches corresponding to the instructions and to which processing contents different from each other are assigned in multiple regions defined by dividing the screen on a one-by-one basis;

a selection unit selecting the icon switch displayed in the region containing the position of the pointer, even if the position of the pointer is not moved to the icon switch provided that the position of the pointer is contained in one of the multiple regions; and

an output unit outputting a signal indicating the icon switch selected by the selection unit.

7. The input device according to claim 6, wherein the sizes of the regions are defined according to the frequencies of use of the icon switches displayed.

8. The input device according to claim 6, wherein the icon switches are displayed in parts of the regions.

9. A vehicle environment monitoring apparatus for monitoring vehicle environment, comprising:

the input device according to claim 6; and

an imaging unit capturing images of the vehicle environment, wherein

the display unit displays images captured by the imaging unit on the screen of the input device in a superimposed manner on the icon switches.

10. An icon switch selection method for selecting one of multiple icon switches displayed on a screen, including the following steps:

defining an invisible pointer moving on a screen according to input from an external source;

displaying multiple icon switches to which processing contents different from each other are assigned in multiple regions defined by dividing the screen on a one-by-one basis; and

selecting the icon switch displayed in the region containing the position of the pointer, even if the position of the pointer is not moved to the icon switch provided that the position of the pointer is contained in one of the multiple regions.

11. The icon switch selection method according to claim 10, wherein the icon switches are displayed in parts of the regions.

12. A recording medium storing a program that allows a controller controlling a display device displaying information to execute the following procedures:

defining an invisible pointer moving on a screen according to input from an external source;

displaying multiple icon switches to which processing contents different from each other are assigned in multiple regions defined by dividing the screen on a one-by-one basis; and

selecting the icon switch displayed in the region containing the position of the pointer, even if the position of the pointer is not moved to the icon switch provided that the position of the pointer is contained in one of the multiple regions.

13. The recording medium according to claim 12, wherein the icon switches are displayed in parts of the regions.