In-vehicle display apparatus

• US 7,567,861 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2006
• Issued: 07/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Inagaki, Yoshikazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Dalena
• Application Number:
  US11/434,078
• Publication Number:
  US 20060256094A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,169 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/23, 701/24, 701/116, 701/117, 701/200, 701/213, 701/215, 340/988, 340/990, 340/904, 340/905, 345/5, 345/30, 345/204
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3611 using character input or menus, e.g. menus of POIs character input methods in general G06F3/0233
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence

Abstract

A car navigation system includes a liquid crystal display having a touch screen on its screen, a sound output device, and a control device. The control device determines whether a vehicle is traveling or stopping and switches display modes regarding an input window on the screen between a usual display mode and a restricted display mode. In the restricted display mode, only a certain selection item of several selection items included in a list is visibly displayed along with a cursor and selectable. A responsive area used to order movement of the cursor is defined to expand a displayed area of the cursor movement key, while a responsive area used to select the certain selection item is defined to expand a displayed area of the certain selection item to an entire area for displaying the list.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle display apparatus for a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a screen displaying an input window;

a touch screen provided on the screen, wherein a user is allowed to input to the input window by touching the touch screen;

determining means for determining whether the vehicle is traveling or stopping; and

display controlling means for switching between both (i) a usual display mode when the vehicle is determined to be stopping and (ii) a restricted display mode when the vehicle is determined to be traveling,

wherein in the restricted display mode, a number of characters displayed on the screen is restricted when the input window is displayed,

wherein in the usual display mode, a plurality of selection items selectable by touching the touch screen are displayed on the screen,

wherein in the restricted display mode,

(i) only a single certain selection item from among the plurality of selection items is displayed along with a cursor on the screen, only the single certain selection item with the cursor being selectable,

(ii) a cursor movement key to order movement of the cursor is displayed, and

(iii) a responsive area on the touch screen used to order the movement of the cursor is defined as an expanded area containing not only an area where the cursor movement key is displayed, but also an area which is outside of the area where the cursor movement key is displayed.

2. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 1, wherein

in the usual display mode, a scroll key is displayed to scroll the plurality of selection items, and

in the restricted display mode, the scroll key functions as a cursor movement key to order movement of the cursor.

3. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the restricted display mode, a responsive area used to select the certain selection item on the touch screen is defined to expand an area where the certain selection item is displayed.

4. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a sound output device for reading the certain selection item after a given period passes from when the certain selection item is displayed along with the cursor in the restricted display mode.

5. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a scroll function on the screen is disabled in the restricted display mode.

6. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 1, wherein

when the determining means determines that the vehicle is traveling while the input window is displayed in the usual display mode,

the display control means switches from the usual display mode to the restricted display mode while maintaining a display configuration, which is displayed in the usual display mode when the vehicle is determined to be traveling.

7. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the restricted display mode, the number of characters displayed is not more than thirty one.

8. An in-vehicle display apparatus for a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a screen displaying an input window;

a touch screen provided on the screen, wherein a user is allowed to input to the input window by touching the touch screen;

determining means for determining whether the vehicle is traveling or stopping; and

display controlling means for switching both (i) a usual display mode when the vehicle is determined to be stopping and (ii) a restricted display mode when the vehicle is determined to be traveling,

wherein in the usual display mode, a plurality of selection items selectable by touching the touch screen are individually visibly defined on the screen,

wherein in the restricted display mode, only a single certain selection item from among the plurality of selection items is visibly defined along with a cursor on the screen, only the single certain selection item with the cursor being selectable, and

wherein in the restricted display mode, a responsive area used to select the certain selection item on the touch screen is defined as an expanded area where the certain selection item is visibly defined along with the cursor and an area outside of the area where the certain selection item is visibly defined along with the cursor.

9. An in-vehicle display apparatus for a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a screen displaying an input window;

a touch screen provided on the screen, wherein a user is allowed to input to the input window by touching the touch screen; and

a control device that includes

a determining unit that determines whether the vehicle is traveling or stopping and

a display control unit that switches both (i) a usual display mode when the vehicle is determined to be stopping and (ii) a restricted display mode when the vehicle is determined to be traveling,

wherein a number of characters displayed on the screen is restricted when the input window is displayed in the restricted display model.

wherein in the usual display mode, a plurality of selection items selectable by touching the touch screen are displayed on the screen,

wherein in the restricted display mode,

(i) only a single certain selection item from among the plurality of selection items is displayed along with a cursor on the screen, only the single certain selection item with the cursor being selectable, and

(ii) a cursor movement key to order movement of the cursor is displayed, and

(iii) in the restricted display mode, a second responsive area on the touch screen used to order the movement of the cursor is defined as an expanded area containing not only a first responsive area in the usual display mode but also an area which is outside of the first responsive area, and

wherein in the usual display mode, the first responsive area on the touch screen used to order the movement of the cursor is defined based on an area where the cursor movement key is displayed.

10. An in-vehicle display apparatus for a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a screen displaying an input window;

a touch screen provided on the screen, wherein a user is allowed to input to the input window by touching the touch screen;

determining means for determining whether the vehicle is traveling or stopping; and

display controlling means for switching both (i) a usual display mode when the vehicle is determined to be stopping and (ii) a restricted display mode when the vehicle is determined to be traveling,

wherein a number of characters displayed on the screen is restricted when the input window is displayed in the restricted display mode,

wherein in the usual display mode, a plurality of selection items selectable by touching the touch screen are displayed on the screen, and

wherein in the restricted display mode,

(i) only a single certain selection item from among the plurality of selection item with a cursor is displayed along with a cursor on the screen, only the single certain selection item with the cursor being selectable,

(ii) a first responsive area used to select the certain selection item on the touch screen is defined as an expanded an area containing not only an area where the certain selection item is displayed along with the cursor but also an area which is outside of the area where the certain selection item is displayed along with the cursor.

11. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 10,

wherein in the restricted display mode,

(iii) a cursor movement key is displayed to order movement of the cursor, and

(iv) a responsive area on the touch screen that is used to order the movement of the cursor is defined as an expanded area containing not only an area where the cursor movement key is displayed, but also an area which is outside of the area where the cursor movement key is displayed.

12. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 10, wherein

in the usual display mode, a scroll key is displayed to scroll the plurality of selection items, and

in the restricted display mode, the scroll key functions as a cursor movement key to order movement of the cursor.

13. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

a sound output device for reading the certain selection item after a given period passes from when the certain selection item is displayed along with the cursor in the restricted display mode.

14. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 10, wherein

a scroll function on the screen is disabled in the restricted display mode.

15. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 10, wherein

when the determining means determines that the vehicle is traveling while the input window is displayed in the usual display mode,

the display control means switches from the usual display mode to the restricted display mode while maintaining a display configuration, which is displayed in the usual display mode when the vehicle is determined to be traveling.

16. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 10, wherein

in the restricted display mode, the number of characters displayed is not more than thirty one.

17. An in-vehicle display apparatus for a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a screen displaying an input window;

a touch screen provided on the screen, wherein a user is allowed to input to the input window by touching the touch screen; and

a control device that includes

a determining unit that determines whether the vehicle is traveling or stopping, and

a display control unit that switches both (i) a usual display mode when the vehicle is determined to be stopping and (ii) a restricted display mode when the vehicle is determined to be traveling,

wherein a number of characters visibly displayed on the screen is restricted when the input window is displayed in the restricted display mode,

wherein in the usual display mode, a plurality of selection items selectable by touching the touch screen are individually displayed on the screen,

wherein in the restricted display mode, only a single certain selection item from among the plurality of selection items is displayed along with a cursor on the screen, with only the single certain selection item and the cursor being selectable, and

wherein in the usual display mode, a first responsive area used to select the certain selection item on the touch screen is defined based on an area where the certain selection item is displayed,

wherein in the restricted display mode, a second responsive area used to select the certain selection item along with the cursor on the touch screen is defined as a first expanded area containing not only the first responsive area in the usual display mode but also an area which is outside of the first responsive area.

18. The in-vehicle display apparatus of claim 17,

wherein in the usual display mode, a third responsive area used to order the movement of the cursor is defined based on an area where the cursor movement key is displayed,

and wherein in the restricted display mode, a fourth responsive area on the touch screen used to order the movement of the cursor is defined as a second expanded area containing not only the third responsive area in the usual display mode but also an area which is outside of the third responsive area.