Display apparatus

• US 6,232,961 B1
• Filed: 06/23/1998
• Issued: 05/15/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Inventors: Morikawa, Minoru, Mori, Satoshi, Nishikawa, Masato, Kunimatsu, Yoshimasa, Nagasaka, Chikao
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Eisen, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US09/102,905
• Time in Patent Office: 1,057 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 345/175, 178/18.01, 178/18.03, 178/18.06, 178/18.07, 178/18.09, 340/990, 340/995
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 2203/04809 Textured surface identifying touch areas, e.g. overlay structure for a virtual keyboard
• 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 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof

Abstract

A display device is disposed in a car and a display screen is switched based upon coordinate data showing the touched position which is output from a touch tracer which is disposed where it can be accessed by a driver, and “on” data that shows that the touch tracer has been press-operated. The display device displays small button display portions to select a next display operation which is to be displayed on the map screen. The button display portions which are shown on the map screen in an input state of the coordinate data from the touch tracer are displayed in an expanded state. By so doing, the driver can easily confirm the display content of the button display portions so that it is possible to improve the operability of the touch tracer for the selection of the button display portions.

Claims

1. Display apparatus comprising:

means for receiving coordinate data indicative of a touch position located at a particular position on a touch input device, wherein touch operation of the input device corresponds to display of a button on the display apparatus;

means for displaying an “

on”

condition representing press operation of the operating surface;

means to perform a display operation corresponding to a button display portion on the display apparatus when “

on”

condition data is input to the in a state in which the input coordinate data corresponds to a button display portion of the display; and

means for invalidating input coordinate data and “

on”

data when the “

on”

data is input simultaneously with commencement of the input of the coordinate data.

2. Display apparatus comprising:

means for receiving coordinate data indicative of a touch position located at a particular position on a touch input device, wherein touch operation of the input device corresponds to display of a button on the display apparatus;

means for displaying an “

on”

condition representing press operation of the operating surface;

means to perform a display operation corresponding to a button display portion on the display apparatus when “

on”

condition data is input to the in a state in which the input coordinate data corresponds to a button display portion of the display; and

means for invalidating input coordinate data and “

on”

data when the button display portion corresponding to the input coordinate data changes in an input state of the “

on”

data.

3. Display apparatus comprising:

means for receiving coordinate data indicative of a touch position located at a particular position on a touch input device, wherein touch operation of the input device corresponds to display of a button on the display apparatus;

means for displaying an “

on”

condition representing press operation of the operating surface;

means to perform a display operation corresponding to a button display portion on the display apparatus when “

on”

condition data is input to the display apparatus in a state in which the input coordinate data corresponds to a button display portion of the display; and

means for validating the button display portion indicated prior to change when the button display portion corresponding to the coordinate data in the input timing of the “

on”

data changes.

4. A display apparatus, comprising:

a display panel member having a plurality of button display portions displayed on the display panel member at predetermined locations, each one of the plurality of button display portions representative of a different one of a plurality of functions;

an input pad device connected to and remote from the panel member and operative to input data, including “

on”

data, to the display panel member by touching a part of the input pad device corresponding to the predetermined location of a selected button display portion representative of a desired function; and

invalidation means for invalidating a selected function upon determination that the touching a part of the input pad device was an erroneous operation.

5. A display apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein the display panel member includes one of a map screen display mode and a button selection mode.

6. A display apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein the display panel member is operative in the map screen display mode until changed to the button selection mode.

7. A display apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein the input pad device includes a plurality of mode selection buttons.

8. A display apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein the display panel member is operative in a map screen display mode until one of the plurality of mode selection buttons is activated causing the display panel member to operate in a button selection mode.

9. A display apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein the plurality of mode selection buttons includes at least two of a current position button, a destination button, a menu button, an air conditioner button, a radio button and an image quality button.

10. A display apparatus as set forth in claim 4, further comprising confirmation means for confirming the touched part of the input pad device corresponds to the selected button display portion representative of the desired function.

11. A display apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein the confirmation means confirms the touched part of the input pad device by at least one of changing an appearance of the desired button display portion and actuating an alarm.

12. A display apparatus as set forth in claim 11, wherein changing the appearance of the desired button display portion includes at least one of changing color of the desired button display portion and changing configuration of the desired button display portion.

13. A display apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein the invalidation means invalidates input coordinate data and “

on”

data when the “

on”

data is input simultaneously with commencement of input of the coordinate data.

14. A display apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein the invalidation means invalidates input coordinate data and “

on”

data when the button display portion corresponding to input coordinate data changes in an input state of the “

on”

data.

15. A display method comprising:

displaying on a display panel member a plurality of button display portions at predetermined locations, each one of the plurality of button display portions representative of a different one of a plurality of functions;

inputting data to the display panel member via an input pad device, connected to and remote from the panel member, by touching a part of the input pad device corresponding to a predetermined location of a selected button display representative of a desired function, and

invalidating a selected function upon determination that the touching a part of the input pad device was erroneously entered.

16. A display method comprising:

inputting into a display means coordinate data showing a touch position on an operating surface which is disposed at a specific position, and “

one”

data showing that the operating surface has been press operated,

performing a display operation corresponding to a button display portion which is displayed on the display means when “

on”

data is input into a state in which the coordinate data corresponds to the button display portion, and

invalidating input coordinate data and “

on”

data when the “

on”

data is input simultaneously with commencement of the input of the coordinate data.

17. A display method as set forth in claim 16,

further comprising the step of displaying the button display portion in an enlarged state which is displayed on the display means in an input state of the coordinate data.

18. A display method as set forth in claim 16,

further comprising the step of enlarging the button display portion with respect to its size on the operating surface.