In-vehicle device and method for modifying display mode of icon indicated on the same

• US 8,538,756 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2011
• Issued: 09/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Shinkai, Yuji, Fujii, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): He, Jialong
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shan, Jie
• Application Number:
  US12/987,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20110173002A1
• Time in Patent Office: 981 Days
• Field of Search: 704/275
• US Class Current: 704/246
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0373 Voice control in general G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command

Abstract

A storage unit stores a correspondence between a voice command and a display mode modification operation. When a control unit determines that a vehicle is traveling according to a traveling state of the vehicle obtained by a traveling state acquisition unit, when a voice recognition unit recognizes a voice, which is uttered by a user and received by a voice input unit, and when the control unit determines that the recognized voice corresponds to a voice command stored in the storage unit, the control unit performs a display mode change operation corresponding to the voice command and modifies a display mode of an icon indicated on an indication screen of an indication unit.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle device configured to be equipped to a vehicle, the in-vehicle device comprising:

an indication unit having an indication screen and configured to indicate an icon which corresponds to a gadget, on the indication screen to function as an operation receiving unit configured to receive a gadget start operation performed by a user;

a traveling state acquisition unit configured to obtain a traveling state of the vehicle;

a voice input unit configured to receive a voice uttered by a user;

a voice recognition unit configured to recognize a voice uttered by a user and received by the voice input unit;

a storage unit configured to store a correspondence between a voice command and a display mode modification operation; and

a control unit configured to perform a display mode modification operation, which is stored in the storage unit and corresponding to a voice command to modify a display mode of an icon indicated on the indication screen when all of the following occur;

i) the control unit determines that the vehicle is traveling, according to a traveling state of the vehicle obtained by the traveling state acquisition unit,

ii) the voice recognition unit recognizes a voice, which is uttered by a user and received by the voice input unit; and

iii) the control unit determines that the recognized voice corresponds to the voice command stored in the storage unit,

the control unit is further configured to select the icon as an object for which the display mode is to be modified according to the operation of the user to the icon, and activate the voice recognition unit for a predetermined period to determine whether the recognized voice corresponds to the voice command for the display mode modification operation included in the correspondence table, when the control unit determines that the vehicle is traveling and that the operation is performed by the user to the icon and that the operation of the user to the icon is the display mode modification operation.

2. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein the operation receiving unit is further configured to receive an operation of a user as a display mode modification operation to modify a display mode of an icon,

wherein the control unit is configured to perform a display mode modification operation, which is stored in the storage unit and corresponding to a voice command to modify a display mode of an icon indicated on the indication screen when all of the following occur:

i) the control unit determines that the vehicle is traveling, according to a traveling state of the vehicle obtained by the traveling state acquisition unit;

ii) the control unit determines that the operation receiving unit receives a display mode modification operation;

iii) the voice recognition unit recognizes a voice, which is uttered by a user and received by the voice input unit; and

iv) the control unit determines that the recognized voice corresponds to the voice command stored in the storage unit.

3. The in-vehicle device according to claim 2,

wherein the control unit is configured to perform a display mode modification operation, which is stored in the storage unit and corresponding to a voice command to modify a display mode of an icon indicated on the indication screen when all of the following occur:

i) the control unit determines that the vehicle is traveling, according to a traveling state of the vehicle obtained by the traveling state acquisition unit;

ii) the control unit determines that the operation receiving unit receives a display mode modification operation different from a gadget start operation;

iii) the voice recognition unit recognizes a voice, which is uttered by a user and received by the voice input unit; and

iv) the control unit determines that the recognized voice corresponds to the voice command stored in the storage unit.

4. The in-vehicle device according to claim 2,

wherein the operation receiving unit is configured to receive a display mode modification operation performed by a user to modify a display mode of an icon selected from icons by a user,

wherein the control unit is configured to perform a display mode modification operation, which is stored in the storage unit and corresponding to a voice command to modify a display mode of an icon selected by a user from icons indicated on the indication screen when all of the following occur:

i) the control unit determines that the vehicle is traveling, according to a traveling state of the vehicle obtained by a traveling state acquisition unit;

ii) the control unit determines that an operation receiving unit receives a display mode modification operation different from the gadget start operation;

iii) the voice recognition unit recognizes a voice, which is uttered by a user and received by the voice input unit; and

iv) the control unit determines that the recognized voice corresponds to the voice command stored in the storage unit.

5. The in-vehicle device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to enable the voice recognition unit to recognize a voice when the control unit determines that the operation receiving unit receives a display mode modification operation.

6. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to modify a display mode of an icon indicated on the indication screen by modifying a display position of an icon on the indication screen.

7. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to modify a display mode of an icon indicated on the indication screen by modifying a display size of an icon on the indication screen.

8. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to modify a display mode of an icon indicated on the indication screen by modifying a contrast of an icon on the indication screen.

9. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to modify a display mode of an icon indicated on the indication screen by modifying permission of indication of an icon corresponding to a gadget on the indication screen.

10. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein

the icon represents the gadget, and

the gadget is a program configured to enable a user to access a frequently used software tool.

11. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein the operation receiving unit is configured to function as a touch key to receive a touch operation as the gadget start operation performed by a user on an icon.

12. A method for modifying a display mode of an icon corresponding to a gadget indicated on an indication screen, the method comprising:

obtaining a traveling state of a vehicle;

receiving a voice uttered by a user using a voice input unit;

recognizing a voice received by the voice input unit using a voice recognition unit;

first determining whether the vehicle is traveling according to the obtained traveling state of the vehicle;

second determining whether the voice recognition unit recognizes a voice received by the voice input unit;

third determining whether the recognized voice corresponds to a voice command stored in a storage unit;

performing a display mode modification operation, which is stored in the storage unit to correspond to the voice command, to modify a display mode of an icon indicated on the indication screen when all the first determining, the second determining, and the third determining make positive;

determinations; and

receiving a gadget start operation performed by a user on the icon, which the display mode modified,

selecting the icon as an object for which the display mode is to be modified according to the operation of the user to the icon, and activating the voice recognition unit for a predetermined period to determine whether the recognized voice corresponds to the voice command for the display mode modification operation included in the correspondence table, when the vehicle is determined to be traveling and the operation is determined to be performed by the user to the icon and the operation of the user to the icon is determined to be the display mode modification operation.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein

the icon represents the gadget, and

the gadget is a program configured to enable a user to access a frequently used software tool.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the receiving further including

receiving a touch operation as the gadget start operation performed by a user on the icon, which the display mode has modified.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions executed by a computer, the instructions including the method according to claim 12.

16. An in-vehicle device configured to be equipped to a vehicle, the in-vehicle device comprising:

an indication unit having an indication screen and configured to indicate an icon which corresponds to a gadget, on the indication screen to function as an operation receiving unit configured to receive a gadget start operation performed by a user;

a traveling state acquisition unit configured to obtain a traveling state of the vehicle;

a voice input unit configured to receive a voice uttered by a user;

a voice recognition unit configured to recognize a voice uttered by a user and received by the voice input unit;

a storage unit configured to store a correspondence between a voice command and a display mode modification operation; and

a control unit configured to perform a display mode modification operation, which is stored in the storage unit and corresponding to a voice command to modify a display mode of an icon indicated on the indication screen when all of the following occur;

i) the control unit determines that the vehicle is traveling, according to a traveling state of the vehicle obtained by the traveling state acquisition unit,

ii) the voice recognition unit recognizes a voice, which is uttered by a user and received by the voice input unit; and

iii) the control unit determines that the recognized voice corresponds to the voice command stored in the storage unit,

wherein the control unit is further configured to

determine whether the indication unit receives an operation performed by the user to the icon which corresponds to the gadget;

determine whether the operation of the user to the icon is the gadget start operation or the display mode modification operation on the icon;

perform the gadget start operation or the display mode modification operation on the icon, according to the operation of the user to the icon, when the control unit determines that the vehicle is not traveling and that the operation is performed by the user to the icon;

perform the gadget start operation according to the operation of the user to the icon, when the control unit determines that the vehicle is traveling and that the operation is performed by the user to the icon and that the operation of the user to the icon is not the display mode modification operation;

select the icon as an object for which the display mode is to be modified according to the operation of the user to the icon, and activate the voice recognition unit for a predetermined period to determine whether the recognized voice corresponds to the voice command for the display mode modification operation included in the correspondence table, when the control unit determines that the vehicle is traveling and that the operation is performed by the user to the icon and that the operation of the user to the icon is the display mode modification operation.

17. The in-vehicle device according to claim 16, wherein the operation performed by the user is a user touch to the icon which corresponds to the gadget,

the operation performed by the user and received by the indication unit is a user touch to the icon which corresponds to the gadget.

18. A method for modifying a display mode of an icon corresponding to a gadget indicated on an indication screen, the method comprising:

obtaining a traveling state of a vehicle;

receiving a voice uttered by a user using a voice input unit;

recognizing a voice received by the voice input unit using a voice recognition unit;

first determining whether the vehicle is traveling according to the obtained traveling state of the vehicle;

second determining whether the voice recognition unit recognizes a voice received by the voice input unit;

third determining whether the recognized voice corresponds to a voice command stored in a storage unit;

performing a display mode modification operation, which is stored in the storage unit to correspond to the voice command, to modify a display mode of an icon indicated on the indication screen when all the first determining, the second determining, and the third determining make positive;

determinations;

receiving a gadget start operation performed by a user on the icon, which the display mode modified;

determining whether the indication screen receives an operation performed by the user to the icon which corresponds to the gadget;

determining whether the operation of the user to the icon is the gadget start operation or the display mode modification operation on the icon;

performing the gadget start operation or the display mode modification operation on the icon, according to the operation of the user to the icon, when the vehicle is determined to be not traveling and the operation is determined to be performed by the user to the icon;

performing the gadget start operation according to the operation of the user to the icon, when the vehicle is determined to be traveling and the operation is determined to be performed by the user to the icon and the operation of the user to the icon is determined to be not the display mode modification operation; and

selecting the icon as an object for which the display mode is to be modified according to the operation of the user to the icon, and activating the voice recognition unit for a predetermined period to determine whether the recognized voice corresponds to the voice command for the display mode modification operation included in the correspondence table, when the vehicle is determined to be traveling and the operation is determined to be performed by the user to the icon and the operation of the user to the icon is determined to be the display mode modification operation.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the operation performed by the user is a user touch to the icon which corresponds to the gadget,

the operation performed by the user and received by the indication unit is a user touch to the icon which corresponds to the gadget.