Information display device that displays information on a screen

• US 9,696,799 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2012
• Issued: 07/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Tanaka, Kohei
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Toan
• Application Number:
  US14/352,497
• Publication Number:
  US 20140250395A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,740 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/149 Instrument input by detecting viewing direction not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/166 Navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/186 Displaying information according to relevancy
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/21 using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/334 Projection means
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/771 on the ceiling
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/785 on or in relation to the windshield or windows
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/22 Display screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/23 Head-up displays [HUD] optical aspects of head-up displays G02B27/01
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/29 Instruments characterised by the way in which information is handled, e.g. showing information on plural displays or prioritising information according to driving conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/53 Movable instruments, e.g. slidable
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/60 Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range

Abstract

An information display device that displays plural pieces of display information on a screen while laying out these pieces of display information, including: a gaze judger that judges whether or not the user is gazing at the screen; a display area change detector that detects a change of the display area of the display information; a display area determinator that, when a change of the display area is detected when the user is gazing at the screen, determines a display area according to a ratio of the change of the display area; and a display information display that displays the display information according to the display area of the display information. Even when the layout of the display information is changed in a state in which the user is not gazing at the screen, a change from a state in which an original display is produced is displayed when the user is gazing at the screen.

Claims

1. An information display device that displays information on a screen according to display layout information that corresponds to a state of equipment, the display layout information including at least one piece of display information indicating a display area of the information displayed on the screen, said information display device comprising:

a gaze judger that judges whether or not a user is gazing at said screen;

a processor programmed to perform as a display area change detector that detects a change of the display area included in said display information when the display layout information changes as a result of a change in the state of the equipment;

the processor further programmed to perform as a display area determinator that, when said display area change detector detects a change of the display area when said gaze judger judges that the user is gazing at the screen, determines an updated display area of said display information according to a ratio of the change of said display area detected by the display area change detector; and

a display information display that displays said display information according to either the display area of said display information included in said display layout information or the updated display area of said display information determined by said display area determinator,

wherein the display area of said display information is changed every time when said display area determinator is executed during the time period judged by said display area determination judger, and, as a result, an animation display in which said display information displayed by said display information display changes continuously is produced, and said gaze accumulated time is accumulated according to a number of times that said animation display, which is ended while the user is gazing at the screen, is produced.

2. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein said information display device further includes a display area determination judger that judges a time period during which to execute said display area determinator according to a gaze accumulated time which is a cumulative total of time periods during each of which the user is gazing at said screen.

3. The information display device according to claim 2, wherein information showing a gaze enable time period for each state of said equipment is defined, said display area determination judger judges that said display area determinator is executed while said gaze accumulated time is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and said predetermined value is changed dynamically on a basis of said gaze enable time period.

4. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein said display information display includes an additional information display that displays said display information according to display layout information with which said display information is always provided, and, when a change is detected by said display area change detector, adds a display showing said change.

5. The information display device according to claim 4, wherein said additional information display displays a change of a layout of said display information by displaying an outer frame of the display area of said display information determined by said display area determinator.

6. The information display device according to claim 4, wherein said additional information display displays the change of the layout of said display information by displaying an arrow extending from an arbitrary location in the display area before the change of the layout of said display information to a corresponding arbitrary location in the display area after the change of the layout on a basis of the display area of said display information determined by said display area determinator.

7. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein when information defining a priority is also included in said display information, said display information includes a plurality of pieces of display information, and when display areas of said pieces of display information determined by said display area determinator overlap each other, said information display device displays display information having higher priority in a further front area.

8. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein information defining a permission of a continuous change display is also included in said display information, and said information display device displays a continuous change only for display information for which said continuous change display is permitted.

9. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of pieces of parameter information including a specific color, a line type, a filling pattern, and a shape is included in each piece of display information of said display information, said display information display displays said display information by using parameter information specific to said each display information.

10. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein when the display area included in the display information differs in its shape before and after the layout changes, said display area determinator carries out a pre-process of equalizing a number of vertexes of the display area of the display information before and after the layout changes, and, after that, determines the display area of said display information according to the ratio of the change of said display area.

11. An information display device that displays information on a screen according to display layout information that corresponds to a state of equipment, the display layout information including at least one piece of display information indicating a display area of the information displayed on the screen, said information display device comprising:

a gaze judger that judges whether or not a user is gazing at said screen;

a processor programmed to perform as a display area change detector that detects a change of the display area included in said display information when the display layout information changes as a result of a change in the state of the equipment;

the processor further programmed to perform as a display area determinator that, when said display area change detector detects a change of the display area when said gaze judger judges that the user is gazing at the screen, determines an updated display area of said display information according to a ratio of the change of said display area detected by the display area change detector; and

a display information display that displays said display information according to either the display area of said display information included in said display layout information or the updated display area of said display information determined by said display area determinator,

wherein said gaze enable time period is determined through learning from the gaze accumulated time during which the user was actually gazing at the screen.

12. An information display method that displays information on a screen according to display layout information that corresponds to a state of equipment, the display layout information including at least one piece of display information indicating a display area of the information displayed on the screen, comprising:

judging whether or not a user is gazing at said screen with a line-of-sight acquisition camera;

detecting a change of the display area included in said display information when the display layout information changes as a result of a change in the state of the equipment;

determining, when it is judged that the user is gazing at the screen and when the change of the display area is detected, an updated display area of said display information in accordance with a ratio of the change of said display area; and

displaying said display information according to either the display area of said display information included in said display layout information or the updated display area of said display information determined,

wherein the display area of said display information is changed every time when said display area determinator is executed during the time period judged by said display area determination judger, and, as a result, an animation display in which said display information displayed by said display information display changes continuously is produced, and said gaze accumulated time is accumulated according to a number of times that said animation display, which is ended while the user is gazing at the screen, is produced.