Enhancing vehicle infotainment systems by adding remote sensors from a portable device

Vehicle manufacturers are equipping many of their vehicle infotainment systems with dashboard mounted display devices. Some of them have pressure-sensitive display, while others do not.

With the convergence of consumer and automotive environments, vehicle manufacturers are trying to incorporate consumer-related applications into their vehicles. These applications are much like the applications designed for a smart phone that rely on capacitive touch screen and sensors embedded in the phone to interact with the applications.

A problem with prior art infotainment systems is that the display devices used with them might not be touch sensitive. Displays which are touch sensitive may not have capacitive touch functionality. Moreover, a dashboard-mounted display might be out of reach from the driver's seat, preventing a driver from interacting with the display by touch.

Some vehicles that have infotainment systems might not have the sensors built in the vehicle required for the applications to work. Vehicles that have already been shipped and not designed for these applications cannot be retrofitted easily or cost-effectively because they would need to add the sensors and/or touch screen input devices.

An apparatus that can overcome the shortcomings of existing infotainment systems would be an improvement over the prior art.

FIG. 1 is a depiction of a motor vehicle;

FIG. 2 depicts a dashboard of a motor vehicle;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an apparatus configured to receive control signals from a remote, hand-held communications device; and

FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting a method of controlling a vehicle information apparatus.

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a vehicle 100 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the vehicle 100 has a dashboard 200 comprised of various controls and displays. The controls include a transmission shift lever 202 , air conditioning outlet vents 204 , a headlight control switch 206 , a parking brake release lever 208 amongst others not shown. The displays include a speedometer 210 , a transmission quadrant indicator 212 , a fuel gage 214 and a display screen 220 amongst others.

The display screen 220 is preferably embodied as a back-lit liquid crystal display having a pressure-sensitive membrane, not visible in FIG. 2 , by which icons or softkeys displayed on the screen under computer control can be actuated using techniques and methods well-known in the art.

A problem with pressure sensitive or resistive screens used in the prior art is that they are only able to detect one finger of a user at a time. Such screens are generally used for the display of softkeys and icons the actuation of which controls a vehicle function as would otherwise take place by a switch closure.

Many vehicles are now manufactured with entertainment systems. These systems can include global positioning systems (GPS), video players and display devices, and wireless communications devices. Many of the functions or components in such multi-media systems would be easier to control using a capacitive touch screen, such as those found on portable computer devices that include tablet, personal computers such as the iPad® and in virtually every so called smart phone.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an apparatus 300 for a vehicle 100 , the apparatus 300 providing a control link between a multi-media system in a vehicle and having a display device 220 and a remote located, hand-held input device.

The apparatus 300 in FIG. 3 is comprised of the aforementioned vehicle-mounted display device 220 . The display device 220 is coupled to a computer 302 by a display bus 304 . The computer 302 executes program instructions stored in a memory device 306 . The memory device 306 is depicted in FIG. 3 as being coupled to the computer 302 via a bus 308 however, the memory 306 and the computer 302 can be co-resident on the same silicon die, as those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize. FIG. 3 depicts a communications interface 310 . The communications interface 310 is couple to the computer 302 via a control bus identified by reference numeral 312 .

The computer 302 reads program instructions stored in the memory 306 and executes those instructions. The program instructions in the memory 306 cause the computer 302 to perform a variety of functions including displaying various images on the display device 220 but also to communicate with the communications interface 310 . The communications interface 310 is configured to provide to the computer 302 via the bus 312 information-bearing signals that the communications interface 310 receives from one or more portable input devices one of which is shown in FIG. 3 and identified by reference numeral 314 .

In one embodiment, the portable input device 314 is a smart phone, such as the iPhone® which is comprised of a capacitive touch screen but which is also provided with radio communications equipment by which an information bearing radio frequency signal 316 can be sent to the apparatus 300 from the portable input device 314 . In one embodiment, the portable input device 314 and the communications interface 310 are configured to communicate with each other using these so called Bluetooth communications standard or derivatives thereof. In another embodiment, the portable input device 314 and the communications interface 310 communicate with each other with one or more communications standards published by the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (I.E.E.E.) 802.11(a),(b),(g),(n) and derivatives thereof.

Programs executing on the portable input device 314 are already in existence that recognize tactile inputs to a display screen 318 on the portable input device 314 . The inputs to the display screen 318 include but are not limited to gestures using two fingers by which the image displayed on the screen 318 can be enlarged or magnified, scrolled or reduced in size. Other inputs to the display screen 318 and which are supported by existing applications include handwriting recognition. Existing applications executed on the portable input device 314 imbue the display screen 318 with characteristics identical or substantially identical to the capacitive touch pads commonly found on laptop computers. Such pads include the ability to scroll and execute “clicks” by a user placing a fingertip or other object against the display screen 318 sliding it along the screen surface and tapping the screen service respectively.

Radio frequency communications equipment inside the portable input device 314 and well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art, transmit information-bearing radio frequency signals 316 to an antenna 320 within the apparatus 300 . Signals received at the antenna 320 are recovered by the communications interface 310 . Information in the radio frequency signals 316 is recovered and forwarded to the computer 302 via the bus 312 . The computer 302 then interprets the commands entered at the display screen 318 and actuates the vehicle-mounted display device 220 accordingly.

FIG. 3 shows that the computer 302 is connected to another bus identified by reference numeral 322 . The bus 322 is a vehicle bus network, known to some in the art as a controller area network. The vehicle bus network 322 , like any other bus which is a set of parallel conductors in a computer system that form a main transmission path, the vehicle bus network 322 couples the computer 302 to one or more vehicle components that are controlled or controllable by the computer.

The vehicle components that are controlled by the computer as depicted in FIG. 3 include a vehicle climate control system 324 . In other embodiments, the apparatus 300 and the computer 302 are coupled to a broadcast radio receiver 326 which is controlled by the computer 302 . Interior lighting modules 328 , an electronic odometer 330 , a vehicle security system 332 and in some embodiments a driver's seat controller 334 are coupled to the vehicle bus network 322 and therefore controllable through inputs to the vehicle-mounted display 220 .

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a vehicle information display apparatus. The method finds particular application to the apparatus depicted in FIG. 3 .

As a first step, the method includes receiving signals that the communications interface 310 . Such signals can include those from the aforementioned portable input device 314 , however, they can also include signals from other devices. Such other devices can include but are not limited to a global positioning system device, a text-to-speech converter, a voice recognition engine in a smart phone or other wireless device, a camera, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a light sensor, a compass and a near field communications sensor. These input signals can be from distinct devices, or all coming from a single device.

Upon receipt of a signal, such as the radio frequency signal 316 at the communications interface 310 , the communications interface 310 extracts a command or user input from the received signal as shown in step 404 . At step 406 an extracted command or user input is forwarded to the computer 406 for execution as if the sensors were designed into the vehicle during production.

As stated above, the computer 302 executes program instructions stored in the memory device 306 by which it receives commands or inputs from the user interface 310 and processes them or executes them accordingly.

In step 408 of FIG. 4 , the method depicts the processing of a command or user input. Such processing would include of course the display of map information from a GPS system on the display device 220 . It would also include the display of turn by turn directions.

In other embodiments, wherein the portable device 314 is another type of interface, program instructions in the memory 306 would cause the computer 302 to display images or video from a camera; text after being converted from handwriting by either the portable device 314 or software in the memory 306 .

In other embodiments, the input device 314 can include voice recognition capability provided by a smart phone, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a light sensor, a compass or near field communications sensor. Information from such sensors that is received by the communications interface 310 is processed by the computer 302 and appropriately displayed or activated on the display device 220 .

In a preferred embodiment, the communications interface 310 is comprised of a radio frequency transceiver configured to transmit and receive signals in the WI-FI spectrum, Bluetooth or other short-range communications system. In an alternate embodiment, the communications interface 310 provides a universal serial bus or USB interface. Still other embodiments include the communications interface that provides Ethernet, media-oriented systems transport or most communications, RS232, Fire Wire and HDMI or High-Definition Multi-media Interface.

In yet another embodiment, the communications interface 310 receives an audio signal as either a digital signal such as a MP 3 file, an analogue signal or a digital representation thereof. The analogue signal once provided to the computer 302 is processed by the computer 302 into an audible signal and output from a speaker 338 .

Referring again to both FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , one or more cradles 336 , which are connected to interior panels couple an input device electrically to the computer 302 and mechanically to the vehicle 100 . Cradles 336 for cellular telephones are well-known in the art. Further description of them is omitted for brevity.

In another embodiment shown in FIG.2 , a second cradle 336 , substantially identical to the first cradle 336 is provided by which two smart phones or two other input devices can provide inputs to the computer 302 via the communications interface 310 . In such an embodiment the two input devices in the two cradles 336 can both effectuate control of a program running on the computer from programs stored in memory device 306 . An example of such a program would be a game, a navigations system or an audio playback device by which two or more passengers could interact with each other via the communications interface 310 .

The foregoing description is for purposes of illustration only. The true scope of the invention is set forth in the appurtenant claims.