Input device and input method for mobile body

• US 8,280,742 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2006
• Issued: 10/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hirai, Takuya, Yamashita, Atsushi, Terada, Tomohiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Smits, Talivaldis Ivars
• Assistant Examiner(s): BAKER, MATTHEW H
• Application Number:
  US12/095,619
• Publication Number:
  US 20100153111A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,122 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270.1
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/195 Blocking or enabling display functions
• 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: B60R 16/0373 Voice control in general G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3608 using speech input, e.g. using speech recognition
• 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: 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 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04895 Guidance during keyboard input operation, e.g. prompting

Abstract

An input device for a mobile body allows for a safe input operation at the time of operating equipment, such as a car, regardless of whether the mobile body is traveling or stopped. The input device includes an input section for receiving inputs by hand and voice operations, a traveling state determination section for determining a traveling state of the mobile body, and an item executability determination section for determining, in the determined traveling state, whether each of the received inputs corresponds to an item executable by the hand and voice operations. The input device also includes a display content generation section for generating a display mode which distinguishably shows whether nor not the item is executable by the hand and voice operations in accordance with a determination by the item executability determination section, and a display section for displaying the generated display mode.

Claims

1. An input device for a mobile body, the input device comprising:

an input section for receiving inputs by a hand operation and by a voice operation;

a traveling state determination section for determining a traveling state of the mobile body;

an item executability determination section for determining, in the traveling state determined by the traveling state determination section, executability by the hand operation and executability by the voice operation of respective items which indicate functions operated by the inputs received by the input section;

a display content generation section for generating, in accordance with a determination made by the item executability determination section, a display mode for each of the items such that the executability by the hand operation and executability by the voice operation thereof are distinguishably shown; and

a display section for displaying each of the items in the display mode generated by the display content generation section.

2. The input device for the mobile body according to claim 1, further comprising

an item execution determination section for determining whether or not to execute the input received by the input section, wherein

the display content generation section generates a result of an operation caused by the input received by the input section in accordance with a content determined by the item execution determination section, and

the display section displays the result of the operation generated by the display content generation section.

3. The input device for the mobile body according to claim 2, wherein in a case where an item is non-executable by the voice operation, the item execution determination section eliminates a word in a dictionary for the voice operation, the word corresponding to the item, from search targets in voice recognition processing.

4. The input device for the mobile body according to claim 2, wherein the display content generation section generates a display content so as to display a word used by the voice operation and/or a word of an item selected by the hand operation as a history.

5. The input device for the mobile body according to claim 1, wherein in a case where a function of an item is non-executable, the item executability determination section determines that the item is non-executable either by the hand operation or by the voice operation.

6. The input device for the mobile body according to claim 1, wherein the display content generation section generates a display mode which distinguishably shows a case where an item is executable by the voice operation only and a case where the item is executable by the hand operation and the voice operation.

7. The input device for the mobile body according to claim 6, wherein the display content generation section generates a display content so as to indicate, by using a display mode in which characters of the item are highlighted, that the item which is executable by the voice operation.

8. The input device for the mobile body according to claim 6, wherein the display content generation section generates a display content so as to indicate that the item is executable by the hand operation and by the voice operation by using symbol marks of the respective hand and voice operations.

9. The input device for the mobile body according to claim 1, wherein the display content generation section generates a display mode which distinguishably shows a case where an item is executable only by the voice operation, a case where the item is executable by the hand operation and the voice operation, and a case where the item is non-executable by the hand operation and the voice operation.

10. The input device for the mobile body according to claim 9, wherein the display content generation section generates a display mode for displaying the item three-dimensionally in the case where the item is executable by the hand operation and the voice operation, a display mode for displaying the item two-dimensionally in the case where the item is executable only by the voice operation, and a display mode for displaying two-dimensionally in a toned-down manner in the case where the item is non-executable by the hand operation and the voice operation.

11. The input device for the mobile body according to claim 1, wherein the display content generation section generates a display mode for highlighting, when an item executable only by the voice operation is selected by the hand operation, a display content so as to indicate that the item is executable only by the voice operation.

12. The input device for the mobile body according to claim 11, wherein the display content generation section generates a display mode for highlighting a name of the item or for causing an uttered word or the name of the item to be displayed in a pop-up form so as to indicate that the item is executable only by the voice operation.

13. An input method for a mobile body, the input method comprising:

an input step of receiving inputs by a hand operation and by a voice operation;

a traveling state determination step of determining a traveling state of the mobile body;

an item executability determination step of determining, in the traveling state determined by the traveling state determination step, executability by the hand operation and executability by the voice operation of respective items which indicate functions operated by the inputs received by the input step;

a display content generation step of generating, in accordance with a determination made by the item executability determination step, a display mode for each of the items such that the executability by the hand operation and the executability by the voice operation thereof are distinguishably shown; and

a display step of displaying each of the items in the display mode generated by the display content generation step.