VEHICULAR ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20160062626A1
• Filed: 02/12/2014
• Published: 03/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Kubota, Mototsugu, Manabe, Tomohisa, Onaka, Junichiro
• Granted Patent: US 9,760,270 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/11 Instrument graphical user interfaces or menu aspects
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1442 Emulation of input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/197 Blocking or enabling of input functions
• 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 35/29 Instruments characterised by the way in which information is handled, e.g. showing information on plural displays or prioritising information according to driving conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path

Abstract

A vehicular electronic device such that volume increase/decrease adjustment can be easily performed using a volume switch displayed on a touch-panel type display unit. Upon detection of a touch operation in a reference volume switch region displayed in an operation region of the display unit, an operation area enabling volume increase/decrease is enlarged from the reference volume switch region to a wide-region volume switch region. Thus, the operation for increasing or decreasing (adjusting) volume (volume increase/decrease operation) can be easily performed.

Claims

1. A vehicular electronic device comprising:

a touch panel type display unit; and

a controller configured to set an operation region in the display unit, detect an operation performed in the set operation region, and control a display of the display unit;

wherein the controller;

in the case that a reference volume switch region is displayed including a volume increase/decrease switch in the operation region of the display unit, and if a touch operation inside of the reference volume switch region is detected,

sets, in the display unit, as the operation region a volume switch region, which is another region differing from the reference volume switch region, in a direction that lies perpendicular to the alignment direction of the increase/decrease switch of the reference volume switch region, and detects as a volume increase/decrease operation an operation that is made within the other volume switch region.

2. The vehicular electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the controller sets an alignment direction of the increase/decrease switch to be one of a horizontal direction and an up-down oriented vertical direction.

3. The vehicular electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the controller sets the alignment direction of the increase/decrease switch to the vertical direction, and sets the volume switch region, which is the other region differing from the reference volume switch region, horizontally thereto.

4. The vehicular electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the controller sets as the operation region an enlarged volume switch region, in which the horizontally set other volume switch region is further enlarged upwardly and downwardly, and detects an operation within the enlarged volume switch region as the volume increase/decrease operation.

5. The vehicular electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the controller:

enables the operation region to be set to a touch operation region in which a touch operation is detected, and a slide-flick operation region in which a slide operation or a flick operation is detected; and

with respect to the reference volume switch region, which is set to the touch operation region, sets the enlarged volume switch region to the slide-flick operation region in which the vertically directed slide operation or flick operation is detected.

6. The vehicular electronic device according to claim 5, wherein the controller also sets a region, which includes the reference volume switch region that is set to the touch operation region and extends over a vertical length of the enlarged volume switch region that resides upwardly and downwardly of the reference volume switch region, to the slide-flick operation region in which the vertically directed slide operation or flick operation is detected.

7. The vehicular electronic device according to claim 6, wherein:

when operation regions of other function switches are set upwardly and downwardly of the reference volume switch region,

the controller renders invalid operations of the other function switches that reside upwardly and downwardly of the reference volume switch region, and the operation regions of the other function switches, which have been rendered invalid, are set to the vertically directed slide-flick operation region.

8. The vehicular electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the controller displays within the other volume switch region a GUI, in which it can be recognized that the vertically directed slide operation or flick operation within the other volume switch region is the volume increase/decrease operation.

9. The vehicular electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the GUI is a volume gauge in which a current volume level is displayed on the gauge.

10. The vehicular electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the controller displays within the enlarged volume switch region a GUI, in which it can be recognized that the vertically directed slide operation or flick operation within the enlarged volume switch region is the volume increase/decrease operation.

11. The vehicular electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the GUI is a volume gauge in which a current volume level is displayed on the gauge.