Method and apparatus for providing information to an occupant of a vehicle
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of providing information to an occupant of a vehicle, comprising:
- providing a vehicle computer system including a processor, an input, an output, one or more applications adapted to provide screens for display on the output, at least one of the screens having a full functionality version and a limited functionality version, and an operating system adapted to execute the application and selectively allow the display of the full functionality and limited functionality versions of the screen on the output;
receiving information from the input;
selectively displaying the full functionality and limited functionality versions of the screen on the output; and
broadcasting an audio communication to the vehicle occupant based on the information included on the selected version of the screen.
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Abstract
A vehicle computer system and method of providing information to an occupant of a vehicle that minimizes complete feature lock out are provided. The operating system of the computer is adapted to selectively display full and limited functionality versions of a particular screen, preferably based on whether the vehicle is in motion. A text-to-speech engine can automatically generate audio based on a particular screen once motion is detected. The availability of a limited functionality version of the screen and audio, either independently or together, allow a vehicle occupant to retrieve information from the computer system without distraction.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of providing information to an occupant of a vehicle, comprising:
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providing a vehicle computer system including a processor, an input, an output, one or more applications adapted to provide screens for display on the output, at least one of the screens having a full functionality version and a limited functionality version, and an operating system adapted to execute the application and selectively allow the display of the full functionality and limited functionality versions of the screen on the output;
receiving information from the input;
selectively displaying the full functionality and limited functionality versions of the screen on the output; and
broadcasting an audio communication to the vehicle occupant based on the information included on the selected version of the screen. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of providing information to an occupant of a vehicle, comprising:
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providing a vehicle computer system including a processor, an input, an output, a text to speech engine, one or more applications adapted to provide screens for display on the output, at least one of the screens having a full functionality version and a limited functionality version, an operating system adapted to provide a common screen, to execute the application, and to selectively allow the display of the full functionality and limited functionality versions of the screen on the output;
receiving information from the input;
determining whether said vehicle is in motion;
preventing the display of the full functionality version of the screen associated with the information received from the input on the output if the vehicle is in motion;
displaying the limited functionality version of the screen associated with the information received from the input on the output if the vehicle is in motion;
displaying the common screen on the output if there is no limited functionality version of the screen associated with the information received from the input; and
automatically generating audio through the text to speech engine based on information associated with the screen currently displayed on the output when the vehicle is in motion.
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11. A vehicle computer system for providing information to a vehicle occupant, comprising:
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a processor;
an input for activating the processor to perform certain functions, the input being operably connected to the processor;
a display for communicating information to the vehicle occupant based on the input to the processor;
a text to speech engine adapted to generate audio corresponding to the information on the display; and
at least one software application cooperating with the processor and the output to provide at least one display screen for displaying the information on the display, wherein at least one of the at least one screen having a full functionality version and at least one other of the at least one screen having a limited functionality version. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification