Information providing apparatus

• US 8,531,438 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2004
• Issued: 09/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Arie, Takumi, Uemura, Hideyuki, Hasegawa, Shinichi, Amano, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Leiby, Christopher E
• Application Number:
  US10/580,488
• Publication Number:
  US 20070172218A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,231 Days
• Field of Search: 345204-214, 345/30, 345/55, 345/173, 342/357.06, 701/213, 701/1, 701400-467
• US Class Current: 345/204
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T

Abstract

An information providing apparatus allowing appropriate confirmation of contents of information which assists travel of a mobile object, presented by an image display section, even when the image display section providing information which assists travel of the mobile object as an image display is placed under a condition producing vibration not smaller than a predetermined level. The equipment has an image display section (22) mounted in a vehicle and allowing image display of information which assists travel of the vehicle, a vibration sensor (44) detecting vibration not smaller than a predetermined level produced on the image display section (22) and sending a detection output signal, and an operation control section (30) modifying a display mode of information presented as an image display by the image display section (22), into the one having contents of the information are more readily recognizable, when the detection output signal from the vibration sensor (44) expresses that the image display section (22) is in a vibration-sustained state in which vibration not smaller than a predetermined level is sustained over a duration of time not shorter than a predetermined duration.

Claims

1. An information providing apparatus comprising:

image display means for mounting on a mobile object, presenting an image display comprising mark and character information, said mark and character information comprising a first subset of greater importance in assisting travel of the mobile object and a second subset of lesser importance in assisting travel of the mobile object, the first subset comprising at least one of an indication of a location of the mobile object and an indication of a travel route of the mobile object;

vibration detecting means for detecting vibration produced on said image display means, determining whether the detected vibration is not smaller than a static, predetermined level defined prior to said vibration being detected, and sending a detection output signal when said vibration is determined to be not smaller than said predetermined level, said predetermined level being greater than an absence of vibration; and

operation control means for;

modifying a display mode of said first subset of information presented in the image display by said image display means from a first display mode to a second display mode, and not changing a display mode of said second subset of information, so as to increase a contrast between the first subset of information and the second subset of information on the image display, if receipt of said detection output signal over a predetermined duration of positive length indicates that the vibration of not smaller than said predetermined level produced on said image display means sustains over the predetermined duration; and

modifying the display mode of said first subset of information presented in the image display by said image display means from the second display mode to the first display mode when an absence of output of said detection output signal is detected over a predetermined duration of positive length.

2. The information providing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said operation control means takes part in a control of increasing luminance of said first subset of information on a display screen on which said mark and character information is presented in the image display in said image display means, if the detection output signal is received from said vibration detecting means over the predetermined duration.

3. The information providing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said operation control means takes part in a control of enlarging said first subset of information presented in the image display by said image display means, if the detection output signal is received from said vibration detecting means over the predetermined duration.

4. The information providing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said mobile object is a vehicle, and

said image display means is configured so as to present image display of a road map image having a current position of said vehicle and an image expressing a travel route superposed therein, as said information.

5. A method of providing an image display comprising mark and character information on an image display section of an information providing apparatus mounted on said mobile object, said mark and character information comprising a first subset of greater importance in assisting travel of the mobile object and a second subset of lesser importance in assisting travel of the mobile object, the first subset comprising at least one of an indication of a location of the mobile object and an indication of a travel route of the mobile object, the method comprising:

defining a static, predetermined vibration level that is greater than an absence of vibration;

subsequent to the defining, detecting vibration produced on said image display section;

determining whether said detected vibration is not smaller than the predetermined vibration level;

sending a detection output signal when said vibration is not smaller than said predetermined vibration level;

modifying a display mode of said first subset of information presented as an image display by said image display section from a first display mode to a second display mode, and not changing a display mode of said second subset of information, so as to increase a contrast between the first subset of information and the second subset of information on the image display, if receipt of said detection output signal over a predetermined duration of positive length indicates that the vibration of not smaller than said predetermined vibration level produced on said image display section sustains over the predetermined duration; and

modifying the display mode of said first subset of information presented as an image display by said image display section from the second display mode to the first display mode when an absence of output of said detection output signal is determined over a predetermined duration of positive length.

6. The information providing method as claimed in claim 5, wherein modifying the display mode from the first display mode to the second display mode comprises increasing luminance of said first subset of information on a display screen on which said mark and character information is presented in the image display in said image display means.

7. The information providing method as claimed in claim 5, wherein modifying the display mode from the first display mode to the second display mode comprises enlarging said first subset of information presented in the image display by said image display means.

8. The information providing method as claimed in claim 5, wherein:

said mobile object is a vehicle, and

said image display means is configured so as to present image display of a road map image having a current position of said vehicle and an image expressing a travel route superposed therein, as said information.

9. An information providing apparatus comprising:

an image display section mounted on a mobile object, presenting an image display comprising mark and character information, said mark and character information comprising a first subset of greater importance in assisting travel of the mobile object and a second subset of lesser importance in assisting travel of the mobile object, the first subset comprising at least one of an indication of a location of the mobile object and an indication of a travel route of the mobile object;

a vibration detecting section operable to detect vibration produced on said image display section, determine whether a detected vibration is not smaller than a static, predetermined level defined prior to said vibration being detected, and send a detection output signal when said vibration is determined to be not smaller than said predetermined level, said predetermined level being greater than an absence of vibration; and

an operation control section operable to;

modify a display mode of said first subset of information presented in the image display by said image display section from a first display mode to a second display mode, and not changing a display mode of said second subset of information, so as to increase a contrast between the first subset of information and the second subset of information on the image display, if receipt of said detection output signal over a predetermined duration of positive length indicates that the vibration of not smaller than said predetermined level produced on said image display section sustains over the predetermined duration; and

modify the display mode of said first subset of information presented in the image display by said image display section from the second display mode to the first display mode when an absence of output of said detection output signal is detected over a predetermined duration of positive length.

10. The information providing apparatus of claim 9, wherein said operation control section is operable to take part in a control of increasing luminance of said first subset of information on a display screen on which said mark and character information is presented in the image display in said image display section, if the detection output signal is received from said vibration detecting section over the predetermined duration.

11. The information providing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said operation control section is operable to take part in a control of enlarging said first subset of information presented in the image display by said image display section, if the detection output signal is received from said vibration detecting section over the predetermined duration.

12. The information providing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein:

said mobile object is a vehicle, and

said image display section is configured so as to present image display of a road map image having a current position of said vehicle and an image expressing a travel route superposed therein, as said information.

13. At least one computer-readable storage device having stored thereon instructions which, when executed, perform a method of providing an image display comprising mark and character information on an image display section of an information providing apparatus mounted on said mobile object, said mark and character information comprising a first subset of greater importance in assisting travel of the mobile object and a second subset of lesser importance in assisting travel of the mobile object, the first subset comprising at least one of an indication of a location of the mobile object and an indication of a travel route of the mobile object, the method comprising:

defining a static, predetermined vibration level that is greater than an absence of vibration;

subsequent to the defining, detecting vibration of information presented said image display section;

determining whether said detected vibration is not smaller than the predetermined vibration level;

sending a detection output signal when said vibration is not smaller than said predetermined vibration level;

modifying a display mode of said first subset of information presented as an image display by said image display section from a first display mode to a second display mode, and not changing a display mode of said second subset of information, so as to increase a contrast between the first subset of information and the second subset of information on the image display, if receipt of said detection output signal over a predetermined duration of positive length indicates that the vibration of not smaller than said predetermined vibration level produced on said image display section sustains over the predetermined duration; and

modifying the display mode of said first subset of information presented as an image display by said image display section from the second display mode to the first display mode when an absence of output of said detection output signal is determined over a predetermined duration of positive length.