Patent Application
20110175754
This invention relates to vehicle information displays (also known as instruments, dashboards, panels, clusters, gauges), and particularly, to an information display for vehicle occupants where traditional dashboard and/or instrument panel exists.
The present invention relates to an instrument panel and gauges used for moving vehicles, including automobiles, aircraft, helicopters, motorcycles, watercraft (such as boats, yachts, jet skis, submersible crafts). This invention applies to any vehicle that requires manned or unmanned operator that has information display and control mechanisms.
The vehicle instrument panel has typically provided information concerning the operation of the vehicle, time, outside temperature, and the like. Instruments concerning operation of the vehicle have traditionally been located in the panel in front of the vehicle operator within the dashboard. Ancillary electronic displays, such as clock, climate control, radio, GPS mapping, and the like, were also located in the panel often in the middle between the driver and the passenger so as to be viewed and regulated by both, the driver and passenger. Various knobs, switches and buttons were scattered throughout the vehicle.
These instruments are static and in fixed position. These instruments often include a speedometer for indicating the speed of the vehicle, a tachometer for showing the speed of the engine, and various other gauges for showing engine temperature and fluid levels, for example. Similar instrumentation is present on aircraft, boats, motorcycles and other vehicles. For example, the speedometer and the climate control are in the same position hardwired or fastened in any given vehicle; same size and do not move. The only thing that changes is the information display produced by the gauges, or how a switch was adjusted, in the on or off position, until the next adjustment by the operator or the passenger.
These instruments often include analogue gauges wherein a needle or pointer is mounted on the rotary output shaft of a gauge motor and assumes different positions based on the control signal received by the gauge. The needle is positioned near a display bearing markings relevant to the condition being measured, and the needle points to various marks as it turns. For example, if the gauge is part of a speedometer, the markings on the display will indicate various rates of speed in miles or kilometers per hour. Sensors measure the rate of speed of the vehicle and send signals proportional to that speed to the gauge causing the needle to point to the appropriate marking on the display. Toffolo et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,256) presented a reconfigurable gauge display, but that was for mechanical gauges which could not be electronically moved on-demand from one location to another within the vehicle in real-time. There have been many utility and design patents issued for instrument panels (D571271, D562748, D557646, D546744, D543139, D531557, D529847, D529423, D512357, D512006, D499998, D493756, D491504, D489660, D483309, D467845, D440925, D423434, D276039, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,404,333, 5,272,463), but they all have fixed analog or electronic gauges that cannot be moved along the dashboard of the vehicle in a graphical format. A few patents (D494908, D493757, D492632, D469391) discussed configuration of the dashboard, but those do not have electronic information displays contouring the vehicle, nor do they have adjustable gauges or information panels.
Instrumentation must be visible to a person operating a vehicle, and many of the instruments must be read while the vehicle is in motion. A driver will generally focus on the road in front of him when driving, and thus the most convenient location for placing instrumentation has been directly below the driver's gaze, on the dashboard of the vehicle. Furthermore, the most important instruments must be large enough for the driver to read and interpret quickly. A vehicle traveling at 60 miles per hour moves 88 feet per second. Thus a driver takes his eyes off the road for 88 feet every time he looks at an instrument for one second. If the instrumentation is small or cannot be read quickly, or if driver reads several gauges in same glance, an even greater time will elapse. In addition, a person's eyes take a certain amount of time to adjust when shifting focus from a distant point to a proximate point, and a similar time elapses when attention is returned to the distant point. Changes in lighting between the interior and exterior of the vehicle can also make it difficult to switch focus between the road and the dashboard. The constant shifting of attention from the road to the instruments and the re focusing of eyes involved in this process can be distracting and had the potential to contribute to the occurrence of accidents.
It is argued that same instrument cluster layout should not be same for everyone or every situation. If a driver is on a freeway, a speedometer may be the most important gauge. If the vehicle is low on gas with few gas stations in the area, the gas gauge and GPS showing nearest gas station may be the most important. If a truck, carrying heavy load is climbing up a mountain, a tachometer, temperature or oil gauge may be the most important. If a taxi driver is trying to find the next location, navigation system may be the most important. An elderly individual may need a larger or better lighted gauge than a younger counterpart. Yet, all the gauges and displays have traditionally remained in their same static position as preset by the factory.
Recently, some manufacturers have implemented a heads-up display (HUD) which projects information onto the interior of the windshield directly in front of the vehicle operator. However, this technology still presents the same gauges, in fixed position, and is often difficult to read in daylight hours.
No one has previously provided Dynamic Dashboard Displays for vehicles. These displays are configurable within the dashboard and are dynamic in nature. The display provides on-demand information based on user preferences, where gauges are not static but rather may change shape, be added or deleted, be moved from one location on the instrument panel to another, change colors, and information produced and displayed.
The object of the present invention provides information to an operator and occupants of the motor vehicle through an electronic dynamic dashboard display. The display system is designed to serve as a centralized control point for most vehicle comfort, entertainment, safety and information display functions. The use of microprocessor based display controller of this type also facilitates advanced functions such as sophisticated trip computer functions, online Internet connectivity, Bluetooth connectivity and synchronization with personal digital assistants, mobile phone, voice response, GPS functionality and mapping including traffic, weather, location-based networking and integration with home automation and external computers, to name a few. Parts of the display are touch sensitive which allow user to adjust settings such as radio, climate control system, GPS unit or move gauges around. The display can also, inform the occupants about any road hazards, warnings or present information in a human voice. The display gauges may be adjusted moved, resized, added or deleted by the vehicle occupant. For example, during a long trip, a speedometer may be in the middle of the dash, while when the same truck is pulling a heavy load, tachometer may be displayed where speedometer once was. Another example is of a driver driving along the freeway when a deer jumps in front of the vehicle. At that instance the vehicle avoidance system detects the deer and the main speedometer gauge disappears and is replaced with a warning blinking sign with sound indicating to the driver that there is imminent danger. These displays may be changed by vehicle occupants or set by manufacturer. Instead of being hard-wired or fastened into the dash, the displays will be dynamic within the electronic dashboard.
The main objectives of Dynamic Dashboard Display are ability to dynamically:
1) digitally display vehicle gauges;
2) move gauge;
3) resize gauge;
4) delete gauge;
5) make gauge visible;
6) configure gauges to users preferences;
7) change the gauge attributes such as color, fonts, graphics; and,
8) provide vital information in real time as information becomes available.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments given below, serve to explain in the principles of the invention.
For the purposes of the following description, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives or equivalents thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring now in detail to the drawings and in particular to
With reference to
In other examples, user can minimize tachometer and place it to left of speedometer, which user can make larger. The next day the driver may want to replace tachometer with a temperature gauge and instead of dial-type, make it bar-type and place it to the right of speedometer. User could set threshold that if vehicle goes over 75 mph to display and voice prompt a warning to the driver. A driver could set her house thermostat to lower setting through wireless integration with home automation system prior to arriving home. Telematic video conferencing, weather & traffic reports, GPS vehicle tracking and remote assistance would all be possible through integration with the unit. For entertainment, the passengers could play videos, movies, in-vehicle games, online games, listen to music or mp3 players, and talk on their phone through wireless integration such as Bluetooth. Parental controls could be enforced by limiting the vehicle speed, time of day vehicle can be controlled and areas the vehicle may not travel beyond or to allow through GPS and navigation controls. If the vehicle is stolen, the owner could remotely disable the vehicle and locate it through location-based services. The system would memorize preferences of several drivers. Vehicle collision avoidance system can deploy safety devices milliseconds before unavoidable collision. The system could warn the driver of road hazards ahead or display night vision through Dynamic Dashboard Display. The Dynamic Dashboard Display is integrated with the vehicle onboard computer system and allows the system to display gauges that are appropriate for that instance in time based on logic and rules.
The above description is considered that of the preferred embodiments only. Modification of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art and to those who make and use the invention. Therefore, it is understood that the embodiments shown in the drawings and described above are merely for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the following claims. Graphical user interface (GUI) creativity would dictate how the panel is laid out with what components available to the occupants.
This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 12/499,128 files on Jul. 8, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by preference, as is set forth in full in this document, for all purposes.
