Reconfigurable display architecture with spontaneous reconfiguration
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An electronic accessory display/control system for a transportation vehicle, comprising:
- a reconfigurable control panel having a visual display for displaying menu items for an electronic accessory and having at least one control actuator;
a human-machine interface controller coupled to said reconfigurable control panel and including a local archive for storing a plurality of interface specifiers, each specifier defining interaction between said reconfigurable control panel and a respective electronic accessory for performing operations via said menu items using a predetermined communications protocol;
an expandable interconnection link for coupling compatible electronic accessories with said human-machine interface controller; and
a wireless transceiver for accessing a remote archive of interface specifiers, wherein said remote archive includes interface specifiers each adapted for a corresponding combination of a particular electronic accessory and a particular reconfigurable control panel;
wherein said human-machine interface controller responds to a coupling of an electronic accessory to said expandable interconnection link by checking said local archive for presence of a desired interface specifier corresponding to said electronic accessory and said reconfigurable control panel, and if said desired interface specifier is not present in said local archive then activating said wireless transceiver to automatically obtain said desired interface specifier from said remote archive.
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Abstract
A control panel/display subsystem acts as a device portal for interacting with multiple devices interconnected via a dynamic local network. Display content and the human-machine interface (HMI) implemented using the display subsystem automatically reconfigures itself when new devices are added to the vehicle network. An interface specifier enabling each new device to work with the device portal is obtained either from a local archive or a remote archive via connection with a remote network.
305 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An electronic accessory display/control system for a transportation vehicle, comprising:
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a reconfigurable control panel having a visual display for displaying menu items for an electronic accessory and having at least one control actuator;
a human-machine interface controller coupled to said reconfigurable control panel and including a local archive for storing a plurality of interface specifiers, each specifier defining interaction between said reconfigurable control panel and a respective electronic accessory for performing operations via said menu items using a predetermined communications protocol;
an expandable interconnection link for coupling compatible electronic accessories with said human-machine interface controller; and
a wireless transceiver for accessing a remote archive of interface specifiers, wherein said remote archive includes interface specifiers each adapted for a corresponding combination of a particular electronic accessory and a particular reconfigurable control panel;
wherein said human-machine interface controller responds to a coupling of an electronic accessory to said expandable interconnection link by checking said local archive for presence of a desired interface specifier corresponding to said electronic accessory and said reconfigurable control panel, and if said desired interface specifier is not present in said local archive then activating said wireless transceiver to automatically obtain said desired interface specifier from said remote archive. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of operating an electronic accessory display and control system for a transportation vehicle, said system including a reconfigurable control panel, a human-machine interface controller, an expandable interconnection link for compatible electronic accessories, and a wireless transceiver, said method comprising the steps of:
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storing a plurality of interface specifiers in a local archive, each interface specifier defining interaction between said reconfigurable control panel and a respective electronic accessory for performing operations via menu items using a predetermined protocol for said reconfigurable control panel;
coupling one of said compatible electronic accessories with said human-machine interface controller via said expandable interconnection link;
checking, in response to said coupling, said local archive for presence of a desired interface specifier corresponding to said compatible electronic accessory and said reconfigurable control panel; and
if said desired interface specifier is not present in said local archive, then activating said wireless transceiver to automatically obtain said desired interface specifier from a remote archive containing an interface specifier adapted for combination of said compatible electronic accessory and said reconfigurable control panel. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
prioritizing said interface specifiers stored in said local archive; and
deleting an interface specifier of lower priority when said local archive becomes full.
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Specification