Patent Application
20080161950
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic system having an electronic apparatus mounted in a vehicle and a portable electronic apparatus attachable and detachable to and from the electronic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
As conventional navigation apparatuses, there are widely known small-sized portable navigation apparatuses with simplified structure and portability (hereinafter, referred to as Portable Navi), also known as PND (Personal Navigation Device); and in-vehicle navigation apparatuses accommodated and fixed in a recess portion (DIN opening) formed in a dashboard of a vehicle. The in-vehicle navigation apparatuses are capable of guiding with high accuracy by use of the information supplied from vehicles such as vehicle speed, and some of the in-vehicle navigation apparatuses are equipped with audio devices.
In recent years, the navigation apparatuses with portability of the Portable Navi and high-accuracy guide function of the in-vehicle navigation apparatus have been studied.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-318792, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-328026, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-524570, and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-239895 disclose a configuration where a navigation portion can be detached from an in-vehicle apparatus mounted in a vehicle. By removing the navigation portion from the in-vehicle apparatus, the navigation portion can be used as a Portable Navi of a single unit.
Also, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-166848, the navigation apparatus is taken out of the vehicle and can be used while walking. In addition, when mounted in a vehicle, the navigation apparatus is in a car-navigation mode, and when taken out of the vehicle, the navigation apparatus is in a person-navigation mode.
Further, United States Patent Publication No. 2002/0152027 discloses a technique of displaying a display screen by means of the control of the in-vehicle apparatus, when the Portable Navi is attached to the in-vehicle apparatus.
However, the electronic apparatus mounted in a vehicle and an electronic system that includes a portable electronic apparatus detachably provided to the electronic apparatus leave room for improving user friendliness. For example, if the portable electronic apparatus is equipped with a touch panel and the electronic apparatus is operable by operating the touch panel, the operation performance will be further improved.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides an electronic system, an electronic apparatus, and a method of operating audio units, in which the operability is enhanced.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic system including an electronic apparatus and a portable electronic apparatus detachably provided to the electronic apparatus, and the portable electronic apparatus includes a display portion equipped with a touch panel detecting an instruction from an operator and a first controller notifying the instruction detected by the touch panel, to the electronic apparatus; and the electronic apparatus comprises multiple audio units that can output an audio signal respectively and independently and a second controller controlling the multiple audio units according to a notification by the first controller. As described, the electronic apparatus includes a display portion having a touch panel and the audio units of the electronic apparatus can be operated with the touch panel, thereby improving the operability of the electronic apparatus. Also, the electronic apparatus can be operated from the touch panel of the portable electronic apparatus, thereby reducing the number of the operation buttons provided in the electronic apparatus side.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus that is detachably provided with a portable electronic apparatus having a touch panel and that can output an audio signal, and when receiving an instruction detected by the touch panel from the portable electronic apparatus, the electronic apparatus controls the audio signal based on the instruction. Accordingly, the audio signal of the electronic apparatus can be operated with the touch panel of the portable electronic apparatus.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating audio units, by which multiple audio units equipped in an electronic apparatus are operated by a portable electronic apparatus to be detachably provided to the electronic apparatus, and the method includes: detecting an instruction from an operator with a touch panel equipped in the portable electronic apparatus; sending the instruction detected to the electronic apparatus; and controlling the multiple audio units according to the instruction sent.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings, wherein:
A description will now be given, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
The in-vehicle apparatus 100 is capable of playing radio broadcasting or playing music data recorded on a memory medium such as a CD (Compact Disc) or the like, and the in-vehicle apparatus 100 includes: an in-vehicle apparatus main body 110 having a CD player and a CD insertion/ejection slot; and the front face portion 120 having a display portion 131 and an operating portion (main operating portion) 132.
The portable apparatus 10 has navigation capabilities of searching for a guiding path to a destination and displaying the searched guiding path over a map.
By driving a slider 181 shown in
The in-vehicle system 1 is disposed in a dashboard portion substantially in the middle of a front-passenger's seat 51 and a driver's seat 52, as shown in
Here, a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna, not shown, of a GPS information receiver 133 is located on the dashboard or attached at an inner side of a front glass.
The in-vehicle apparatus 100 and the portable apparatus 10 are electrically connected by connectors. The connector 150 is provided at the in-vehicle apparatus 100 side, and a connector 30 (portable apparatus side connector) is provided at the portable apparatus 10. By connecting the connectors 150 and 30, various signals are sent and received between the in-vehicle apparatus 100 and the portable apparatus 10 to function as the in-vehicle system 1. The connectors 150 and 30 are respectively provided with power supply terminals for supplying power to the portable apparatus 10 from the battery of the vehicle. When the portable apparatus 10 is connected to the in-vehicle apparatus 100 and the power is supplied to the in-vehicle apparatus 100, the power is also supplied to the portable apparatus 10 via the power supply terminals.
Also, at a connecting portion connecting the in-vehicle apparatus 100 and the portable apparatus 10, there is provided a detecting circuit 200 detecting whether or not the portable apparatus 10 is connected to the in-vehicle apparatus 100.
When the portable apparatus 10 is connected to a power line 220 for supplying power to the portable apparatus 10, a transistor 210 turns on. Accordingly, when the portable apparatus 10 is connected to the power line 220, a signal of 3.3 V is output to a controller 140 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100. Also, when the portable apparatus 10 is removed from the power line 220, the transistor 210 turns off. Then, a signal of 0 V is output to the controller 140 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100.
When the output voltage of 3.3 V is sensed at a portable apparatus sensing terminal connecting the transistor 210 and the controller 140, the controller 140 senses as a connected state. When 0 V is sensed, the controller 140 senses as an unconnected state.
The in-vehicle apparatus 100 is provided with: the display portion 131; the operating portion 132; the GPS information receiver 133; a radio receiver 134; a CD player 135; a sound adjusting portion 136; a memory 137; a microphone 138; an external voice/image inputting portion 139; the controller 140; and the connector 150. The in-vehicle apparatus 100 is activated by supplying the power from the battery of the vehicle, when the engine key is positioned at Acc or IG.
Hereinafter, the function of each part will be described in detail.
The display portion 131 is provided with a liquid crystal panel and a backlight, and displays a frequency of the received broadcasting, a track number of music being played, a music name being played, and the like, according to the 13-segment display.
The operating portion 132 is provided for selectively changing the operation mode of the in-vehicle apparatus 100, and for operating in various modes that have been changed. The operating portion 132 is provided with a group of buttons including: the tilt/eject button 132a; a function (represented as FUNC in the drawing)/AF button 132b; a TEXT button 132c; a SCREEN button 132d; a SOURCE/PWR button 132e; a MODE button 132f; a MUTE button 132g; a BAND change button 132h; a rotary button 132i; a cross key/enter key button 132j, as shown in
Here, a description will be given of switching the display between the portable apparatus 10 and the in-vehicle apparatus 100.
Firstly, the in-vehicle apparatus 100 turns on when the SOURCE/POWER button 132e of the in-vehicle apparatus 100 is pushed. When the SOURCE/POWER button 132e is pushed for a short period of time while the portable apparatus 10 is on, the source is changed to the CD playing or radio broadcasting. At this time, the information on the selected source is displayed on the display portion 131 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100, and the navigation image is displayed on a display portion 11 of the portable apparatus 10, without relation to the source.
Next, when the SCREEN button 132d is pushed, the navigation image displayed on the display portion 11 of the portable apparatus 10 can be changed to an image corresponding to the source selected at the in-vehicle apparatus 100.
When the SOURCE/POWER button 132e is pushed in the state of
Then, when a user pushes the SCREEN button 132d, the image corresponding to the source being processed by the in-vehicle apparatus 100 is displayed on the display portion 11 of the portable apparatus 10, as shown in
In addition, when the SCREEN button 132d is pushed with the radio screen being displayed on the display portion 11, it is possible to return to the navigation image from the radio image, as shown in
Furthermore, when a USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like is connected to the external voice/image inputting portion 139 with the portable apparatus 10 removed from the in-vehicle apparatus 100, it is possible to prevent the change to the USB source, even if the SOURCE/POWER button 132e is pushed.
Referring back to
Herein, the GPS signal may be output to the navigation portion of the portable apparatus 10 through the controller 140, instead of through the controller 20. Alternatively, the GPS information receiver 133 may be composed of the GPS antenna only, so that the GPS signal received by the GPS antenna may be output to the tuner of a GPS information receiver 13, described later, without through the controller 140 or the controller 20. Further alternatively, the GPS signal received by a GPS antenna may be output through the controller 20 to the tuner of the GPS information receiver 13 without through the controller 140. Various changes may be made as necessary.
The radio receiver 134 has an antenna and a tuner, receives broadcast waves such as AM broadcasting, FM broadcasting, and sound multiplex broadcasting, outputs stereo audio signals, receives and demodulates multiplex data, and outputs the demodulated signal to the controller 140.
The CD player 135 reproduces the data stored in the CD, and outputs the reproduced signal to the controller 140.
Herein, the demodulated signal output from the radio receiver 134 may be output to the sound adjusting portion 136, described later, without through the controller 140.
The sound adjusting portion 136 implements signal processing such as volume control or tone control on an audio signal received or demodulated by the radio receiver 134 or the audio signal reproduced by the CD player 135, and then outputs the processed signal to a speaker 155.
The memory 137 may be composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory) from which data is readable and into which data is writable, and temporarily stores information necessary for control.
The microphone 138 is provided for hands-free communication, and takes in user's voices in the vehicle.
The external voice/image inputting portion 139 is provided with a connection terminal with an external device such as a USB memory, portable audio device, or the like so that an audio signal or data from the external device may be input. The external voice/image inputting portion 139 then sends the signal or data to the controller 140, and outputs the audio signal, data, or the like to the external device connected.
The controller 140 controls the radio receiver 134, the CD player 135, and the sound adjusting portion 136, according to the operation by means of the operating portion 132.
Also, the controller 140 outputs various signals through the connector 150 to the portable apparatus 10, and controls the in-vehicle apparatus 100 on the basis of the various signals input from the portable apparatus 10. For example, the controller 140 outputs the GPS signal received by the GPS information receiver 133 or the audio signal input through the microphone 138, to the portable apparatus 10 by way of the connector 150.
Here, the audio signal input through the microphone 138 may be output to the portable apparatus 10 by way of the connector 150, without through the controller 140.
In addition, the voice on communication over a mobile phone connected to the portable apparatus 10 is input through the connector 150 into the controller 140, and is then output through the sound adjusting portion 136 to the speaker 155.
Furthermore, the controller 140 acquires an operation signal corresponding to a menu image of various modes displayed on the display portion 11 of the portable apparatus 10, from the controller 20 of the portable apparatus 10, and then controls the radio receiver 134 and the CD player 135.
Also, the power is supplied to the controller 140 from the battery mounted in the vehicle. When the portable apparatus 10 is connected, the controller 140 outputs the power supplied from the battery to the portable apparatus 10.
Here, a vehicle speed pulse and an illumination power supply signal are input into the controller 140 from a vehicle. The controller 140 transfers such input vehicle speed pulse to the controller 20 of the portable apparatus 10. Meanwhile, the vehicle speed pulse may be configured not to be input into the in-vehicle apparatus 100.
In addition, the controller 140 sends the illumination power supply signal to the controller 20 of the portable apparatus 10. The controller 20 of the portable apparatus 10 changes the luminance level of the backlight in the display portion 11 according to the illumination power supply signal.
When a light of a vehicle is turned on and the illumination power supply signal is then turned on, the controller 20 lowers the luminance level of the backlight to darken the display portion 11. Meanwhile, when the illumination power supply signal is turned off, the controller 20 heightens the luminance level of the backlight to lighten the display portion 11.
Next, a description will be given of the portable apparatus 10. The portable apparatus 10 is provided with: the display portion 11; an operating portion 12; the GPS information receiver 13; a speaker 14; a rechargeable battery 15; a charge circuit 16; a wireless communication transmitter/receiver 17; a memory 18; the navigation portion 19; the controller 20; and the connector 30.
Hereinafter, functions of the components will be described in detail.
The display portion 11 is provided with a liquid crystal panel and a backlight, and is capable of displaying map information generated by the navigation portion 19 and guiding path information to a destination, the received broadcasting frequency transferred from the in-vehicle apparatus 100, a music track number played, music name played, and the like.
Here, the display portions 11 and 131 may employ a flat panel display other than a liquid crystal panel. Examples are organic light emitting display, plasma display panel, cold-cathode flat panel display, or the like.
The touch panel 12 is, for example, disposed on the display screen. When the touch panel is touched by a finger or a dedicated pen, the touched position is detected to determine whether or not there is an input operation.
The GPS information receiver 13 includes an antenna and a tuner, and receives the GPS signal from a satellite. Such received GPS signal is output to the navigation portion 19, and the vehicle location is detected based on the GPS signal. Meanwhile, the in-vehicle apparatus 100 is also provided with the GPS information receiver 133. However, when the portable apparatus 10 is attached to the in-vehicle apparatus 100, the location of the vehicle is identified by use of the GPS signal (and the vehicle speed pulse) received by the GPS information receiver 133. When the portable apparatus 10 is used alone, the location thereof is specified by use of the GPS signal received by the GPS information receiver 13.
The speaker 14 is provided for outputting the audio information of the navigation portion 19, and outputs the audio information only when the portable apparatus 10 is detached from the in-vehicle apparatus 100, namely, used alone separately.
The rechargeable battery 15 supplies power to each portion of the portable apparatus 10, when the portable apparatus 10-is detached from the in-vehicle apparatus 100. When the portable apparatus 10 is attached to the in-vehicle apparatus 100, the power is supplied through the power supply terminals of the connector 30 from the battery of the vehicle and the rechargeable battery 15 is charged by the charge circuit 16. Also, the charge circuit 16 is supplied with the power from the connection terminal through a USB slot 57 (see
The wireless communication transmitter/receiver 17 sends and receives the voice on communication over a mobile phone, and acquires the information used for navigation over the mobile phone. For example, Bluetooth, which is a wireless transmission system at 2.4 GHz band, is used for the wireless communication transmitter/receiver 17.
The memory 18 may be a RAM from which data is readable and into which the data is writable, and temporarily stores the information read for each control.
The navigation portion 19 includes a map information storing portion that stores the map information used for navigation, determines current location information with GPS signal from the GPS information receiver 133 or the GPS information receiver 13, and creates a map image for navigation. The created map image may be displayed on the display portion 11. In addition, when the in-vehicle apparatus 100 and the portable apparatus 10 are connected, the vehicle speed pulse is acquired from the vehicle so that the accuracy of the location detection of the vehicle can be improved.
The controller 20 controls each part of the portable apparatus 10. Also, the controller 20 outputs various signals to the in-vehicle apparatus 100 through the connector 30, and controls the portable apparatus 10 based on the various signals input from the in-vehicle apparatus 100. For example, the controller 20 acquires the GPS signal received by the GPS information receiver 133 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100, and outputs to the navigation portion 19. Also, the controller 20 acquires the audio signal input by the microphone 138 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100 from the controller 140 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100, and controls the navigation portion 19 according to the audio signal acquired. That is to say, the navigation portion 19 can be operated in a hands-free manner. The voice on communication over the mobile phone connected to the wireless communication transmitter/receiver 17 is output to an in-vehicle apparatus side through the connector 30, and is caused to output from the speaker 155 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100. The operation signal on the menu screen or content screen displayed on the display portion 11 is output to the controller 140 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100 through the connector 30. The controller 140 controls the radio receiver 134 or the CD player 135 according to the operation signal transmitted from the controller 20 of the portable apparatus 10.
The top face of the portable apparatus 10 is provided with a power button 55 for turning on or off the power of the portable apparatus. The bottom face of the portable apparatus 10 is provided with: an SD (Secure Digital) memory card slot 56; and the USB slot 57. Since the SD card or the USB memory stores the map information, by inserting the SD card or the USB memory into the slots, the controller 20 outputs the map information to the navigation portion 19.
Also, at a top face of the portable apparatus 10, there is provided the power button 55. The power of the portable apparatus 10 is turned on or off by the control of the in-vehicle apparatus 100, when the portable apparatus is attached to the in-vehicle apparatus 100. In addition, when the portable apparatus 10 is removed from the in-vehicle apparatus 100 and used alone, the power is operated on the basis of the on and off operations of the power button 55.
In addition, at a backside of the portable apparatus 10, there are provided: the connector 30 electrically connected with the in-vehicle apparatus 100; and an engagement portion 58 to be engaged with a lock mechanism (not shown) provided at the in-vehicle apparatus 100 side.
In the electronic system employed in the present exemplary embodiment, when the portable apparatus 10 is attached to the in-vehicle apparatus 100 side, an audio unit (which corresponds to the CD player 135 and the radio receiver 134 according to the present exemplary embodiment, and in addition, it is possible to mount an audio unit that reads and reproduces music data recorded in MD (Mini Disc), hard disk, or the like) at the in-vehicle apparatus 100 side is operated by use of the touch panel 12 of the portable apparatus 10.
In the operation of the operation button provided in the in-vehicle apparatus 100, since the operation button is a little apart from the display portion displaying the operation result, the line of sight has to be moved at the time of operation. On the other hand, in the operation with the use of the touch panel displaying buttons and the operation result on the display portion 11, the line of sight need not to be moved by a great amount, thereby improving the operability.
The operation button less frequently used such as function settings of the audio is operated by use of the touch panel 12, permitting the number of the operation buttons arranged at the in-vehicle apparatus 100 side to be reduced. In addition, if the operation of the function equipped in the in-vehicle apparatus 100 is limited such that the operation cannot be accepted without the portable apparatus 10 attached to the in-vehicle apparatus 100, the number of the operation buttons arranged at the in-vehicle apparatus 100 side can be further reduced.
Also, instead of the operation of all the audio units by use of the touch panel 12, a portion of the audio operation is performed by means of the touch panel 12 and the remaining audio operation is performed by means of the operating portion 132 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100. This distributes the operation into the touch panel 12 and the operating portion 132, whereby the load applied to the touch panel 12 and the operating portion 132 can be reduced. For example, as shown in
A procedure of a controller of the in-vehicle apparatus will be described, with reference to the flowchart shown in
When the operation button of the operating portion 132 or the touch panel 12 is operated (step S1/YES), the controller 140 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100 determines whether or not an audio source selected by the operation is a CD (step S2). If the selected audio source is a CD (step S2/YES), it is determined whether or not the portable apparatus 10 is attached (step S3). If attached, CD information is output to the portable apparatus 10 and the CD information is displayed on the display portion 11 of the portable apparatus 10 (see
In addition, if the portable apparatus 10 is not attached to the in-vehicle apparatus 100 (step S3/NO), the audio unit is operated by the operating portion 132 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100 (step S7). In this case, a status of the audio such as CD or the like is displayed on the display portion 131.
If the operating portion 132 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100 is operated with the CD information displayed on the display portion 11 of the portable apparatus 10 (step S5), a song recorded on the CD is selected according to the operation performed and the selected song is played and the audio thereof is output (step S6).
Further, if another audio unit other than CD is selected as an audio source at the operation of step S1 (step S2/NO and step S8/YES), it is determined whether or not the portable apparatus 10 is attached to the in-vehicle apparatus (step S9). If the portable apparatus 10 is attached (step S9/YES), the controller 140 outputs information on a broadcasting station to the portable apparatus 10, and causes the display portion 11 to display the broadcasting station (step S10). If the touch panel 12 is operated with the broadcasting station being displayed on the display portion 11 of the portable apparatus 10 (step S11/YES), the broadcasting station is selected according to the operation performed, receives electric waves from the selected broadcasting station, and outputs the audio (step S12). Here, when the information is displayed on the display portion 11, the display portion 131 may be prohibited from displaying the information, or may display different information from the display portion 11.
Also, in the operation of step S1, if another apparatus rather than the audio unit, namely, the portable apparatus 10 is selected (step S8/NO), the display on the display portion 11 is controlled or the operation of the display portion 11 is performed by the portable apparatus 10 alone (step S13).
In the above-described embodiment, the controller 140 of the in-vehicle apparatus 100 serves as a main controller, and controls the portable apparatus 10; however, the controller 20 of the portable apparatus 10 may be a main controller to control the in-vehicle apparatus 100.
Furthermore, the portable apparatus 10 may be composed of a mobile telephone with the navigation functionality or a personal digital assistance (PDA). Furthermore, instead of the CD insertion/ejection slot 180 and the CD player 135, there may be provided an insertion/ejection slot and a player thereof for another memory media such as MD (Mini Disc), DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), memory card, or the like, and there may also provided insertion/ejection slots and players for multiple types of memory media.
Although a few specific exemplary embodiments employed in the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these exemplary embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
