Central servicing and information controller for vehicle auxiliary equipment
First Claim
1. A central operating input and information output system for the control of a plurality of optional instruments in a vehicle, said instruments having basic functions such as volume control and defrosting, having display means partitionable into fields for displaying information and function-selection menus, and first control input means assigned to elements of displayed menus, said elements of said menus indicating functions that are controllable by said first control input means, with individual menus for controlling at least one optional instrument being selectable from at least one basic menu that is indicated in said display means, further comprising:
- second control input means for directly controlling said basic functions of said central operation input and information output system and at least two said optional instruments at any time and irrespective of a menu that has been currently selected.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A central operating input and information output system for the control of a plurality of optional instruments in a vehicle has a display for displaying information and an option menu. A first control input controls the functions of the optional instruments and selects the option menu from a basic menu. The option menu indicates the functions of the optional instruments controllable by the first control input. The system has a second control input which controls at least one optional instrument and accesses at least one basic function of the system, irrespective of the option menu currently selected. This allows a central operating input and information output system to have a favorable ergonomic design, to be operated simply, and require a minimum of space. In addition, a high degree of safety is insured by the simplified controls, which minimizes the diversion of the driver from the traffic situation, while allowing him to obtain extensive information concerning the condition of the vehicle and the traffic situation.
221 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A central operating input and information output system for the control of a plurality of optional instruments in a vehicle, said instruments having basic functions such as volume control and defrosting, having display means partitionable into fields for displaying information and function-selection menus, and first control input means assigned to elements of displayed menus, said elements of said menus indicating functions that are controllable by said first control input means, with individual menus for controlling at least one optional instrument being selectable from at least one basic menu that is indicated in said display means, further comprising:
second control input means for directly controlling said basic functions of said central operation input and information output system and at least two said optional instruments at any time and irrespective of a menu that has been currently selected. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An apparatus for use with a central operating input and information output system for the control of a plurality of optional instruments in a vehicle, said instruments having basic functions such as volume control and defrosting, having display means partitionable into fields for displaying information and function-selection menus, and first control input means assigned to elements of displayed menus, said elements of said menus indicating functions that are controllable by said first control input means, with individual menus for controlling at least one optional instrument being selectable from at least one basic menu that is indicated in said display means, further comprising:
second control input means for directly controlling said basic functions of said central operation input and information output system and at least two said optional instruments at any time and irrespective of a menu that has been currently selected.
Specification