Display control device

• US 6,897,856 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2001
• Issued: 05/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Calsonic Kansei Corporation
• Original Assignee: Calsonic Kansei Corporation
• Inventors: Inaba, Hiroyuki, Hara, Junichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CHANH DUY
• Application Number:
  US09/919,808
• Publication Number:
  US 20020015035A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,391 Days
• Field of Search: 340/438, 340/439, 340/459, 340/461, 340/500, 340/517, 340/519, 340/520, 340/522, 340/532, 345/204, 701/1
• US Class Current: 345/204
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/5899 Internet
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/85 Arrangements for transferring vehicle- or driver-related data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/08 Fault-tolerant or redundant circuits, or circuits in which repair of defects is prepared
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers

Abstract

A display control device is provided with an input signal processing section for processing an input signal, a display section for displaying an image, a first display control section for processing an output signal from the input signal processing section to be displayed on the display section, a second display control section operated by an operation program for OS, and a signal switching section for outputting the display signal from the second display control section on to the display section at the normal time. The second display control section processes an output signal from the first display control section to be displayed on the display section. The signal switching section outputs the display signal from the first display control section onto the display section when an abnormal condition of the second display control section is detected.

Claims

1. A display control device comprising:

an input signal processing section for processing an input signal;

a display section for displaying an image;

a first display control section for processing an output signal from the input signal processing section and outputting a first display signal to be displayed on the display section;

a second display control section operated by an operating system program, the second display control section for processing the first display signal from the first display control section and outputting a second display signal to be displayed on the display section; and

a signal switching section for outputting the second display signal from the second display control section on to the display section at the normal time, the signal switching section for outputting the first display signal from the first display control section onto the display section when an abnormal condition of the second display control section is detected.

2. The display control device according to claim 1, further comprising an abnormality detection section for detecting the abnormal condition of the second display control section;

wherein the signal switching section outputs the first display signal from the first display control section onto the display section when the abnormality detection section detects the abnormal condition of the second display control section.

3. The display control device according to claim 2, wherein the first display control section comprises the abnormality detection section.

4. The display control device according to claim 2, wherein the second display control section comprises the abnormality detection section.

5. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the operation program in the second display control section is rewritable.

6. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein, the first and second display signals comprise image data regarding a same condition.

7. The display control device according to claim 6, wherein the first display signal outputted from the first display control section is lower in display resolution than the second display signal outputted from the second display control section.

8. The display control device according to claim 6, wherein the first display signal outputted from the first display control section is fewer in data amount than the second display signal outputted from the second display control section;

and

each segment of an image expressed by the first display signal outputted from the first display control section is bigger than that of an image expressed by the second display signal outputted from the second display control section.

9. The display control device according to claim 5, wherein the operation program is read from an outer unit, and stored in the second display control section.

10. The display control device according to claim 9, wherein the outer unit is a memory card.

11. The display control device according to claim 9, wherein the outer unit is a server from which the operation program is read through a network.

12. A display control device comprising:

an input signal processing section for processing an input signal representing a vehicle condition;

a display section for displaying an image;

a first display control section for processing an output signal from the input signal processing section and outputting a first display signal to be displayed on the display section;

a second display control section operated by an operating system program, the second display control section for processing the first display signal from the first display control section and outputting a second display signal to be displayed on the display section; and

a signal switching section for outputting the second display signal from the second display control section on to the display section at the normal time, the signal switching section for outputting the first display signal from the first display control section onto the display section when an abnormal condition of the second display control section is detected,

wherein the first and second display signals comprise image data regarding the vehicle condition, and the image data of the display signal from the first display control section has a lower resolution than the image data of the display signal from the second display control section.