DE19852237A1 - Displaying information in telematic module for motor vehicle by combining display elements into groups and displaying as required - Google Patents

Abstract

Information signals received by a transceiver unit are assigned to display elements. The elements are combined by a control device into groups of at least one element. The groups are displayed individually as required. The groups include telephone, traffic information, emergency call, navigation, service stations, operator service, and suggested routes, and may be displayed in a single display field. An operating element (2) may be used to select a group of elements to be displayed. The elements of a group are brought up to date when a new information signal is received. An apparatus for displaying information in a telematic module is also claimed.

Description

The invention relates to a method for reproducing signals in a telematics module and a device for reproducing signals in a telematics module.

The use of telematics for motor vehicles, i. H. the use of electronic Data transmission via telecommunications services in motor vehicles wins increasingly important.

From the published patent application WO 98/15075 and its priority-based German Application with the published patent application 196 40 735 A1 is known for a telematics device a motor vehicle with a car radio, a location system and a radio telephone equip. The telematics system enables received and stored Output information optically and / or acoustically. Furthermore, it stands out Telematics system characterized by its dimensioning, which allows the entire system to be in to set a standard slot for a car radio.

Furthermore, European Patent Application EP 0 814 447 A1 Vehicle communication system described in which one for processing and processing the Communication data required device unit is provided, which depends on the Communication data is selected and the communication control for the required data transfer takes over.

A is also known from German Offenlegungsschrift 197 44 602 A1 Telematics module for motor vehicles, which comprises a transceiver. With the Sensors connected to the telematics module monitor operating parameters of the motor vehicle. If the measured operating parameters deviate from the specified ones The establishment of a connection via the transmitting and receiving device is the target value triggered to send a message about the measured operating parameters.  

The described telematics applications for motor vehicles have the disadvantage that due to the large number of functions and options offered, their operation is confusing. Particularly in the case of telematics devices, the dimensions of approximately the Size of a conventional car radio is easy to use, in particular, operation by the driver of the motor vehicle during the journey is not guaranteed.

In order to avoid this disadvantage, WO 98/12851 discloses units proposed to perform cross-telematics application procedures. To reduce the complexity and the implementation effort of the telematics system, An integration unit is proposed that centralizes the telematics applications managed. A disadvantage of this method is that the user can reduce it crucial complexity in operation is not achieved.

It is an object of the invention to provide a method for reproducing signals in one To provide a telematics module that is simple and clear to operate Manageability of different applications allowed and the addition of others Telematics applications can be expanded easily and inexpensively.

The task is accomplished by a method according to the independent method claim and solved a device according to the independent device claim. The dependent ones Claims relate to training and further education.

The method according to the invention provides that the transmitter-receiver device received information signals are assigned to at least one element. This first assignment step enables the received information signals for a subsequent implementation up to the issue already in a context with others information signals received or still to be received. An element can be a single character on the display unit, a warning signal or a any other element that triggers an optical and / or acoustic reproduction. The In a next step, elements are grouped together with the control device summarized at least one element. This grouping together allows a structured processing of the received information signals. By every signal is assigned to at least one group via an element, the complexity of the  Information display broken down and the playback of individual groups reduced. In a third step, the groups with their elements if necessary, the playback device is displayed individually. This enables the to display incoming information signals for a user individual. The The control device stores the updated group and its elements. At The method according to the invention can easily be added to a further telematics function can be expanded by adding an additional group and additional elements.

An embodiment of the invention provides that the groups, in particular the groups: Telephone, traffic information, emergency call, route guidance, service, operator service or Route recommendation is displayed in the playback device by a single field become. With optical reproduction in a separate field, which is only a small one A share of the available space can also be a variety of Groups are clearly displayed. Especially since the location of the field is already there can be a clue.

In a further embodiment, the user uses a method step Actuator selected a group, and the elements of the selected group are shown in more detail. This creates a hierarchical preparation of the Information signals such that complex information units are accessed together can be. The actuators can be found in easily accessible buttons, in one touch-sensitive display but also in a voice input and / or Exist.

A special advantage is that the elements of the group are updated, when a new information signal is received for a group. So they can continuously incoming information signals are processed and by the Control unit groups are up to date at all times without the user is burdened or distracted by the incoming information.

In the case of an optical display, it is preferably provided that the field is updated Highlight group in the playback unit, in particular by flashing or Light up. With this step the user is informed that new Information has been received without the provision of the unchanged remaining Information is disturbed or impaired.  

It is particularly preferred if a data entry, in particular the user name, the Chassis number, passwords for communication and other data on the Actuator of the playback unit can be set. So it can be compact A clear operation and handling by the user.

The object underlying the invention is also achieved by a device the secondary claim solved. Such a device can have one or more Have channels for receiving information signals. Received via a channel Information signals are forwarded and then by the control device Elements and these in turn assigned to groups, whereby the information signals for a reproduction and an update are structured. In the control device the groups and their elements are put together and can be used as needed called up and displayed with the playback device.

The transmitter-receiver device can preferably transmit signals via a Send and receive radio telephone connection, describing the traffic situation Receive signals, send and receive an emergency call, for route guidance Send position data and receive route-describing signals, a service station teach, establish a voice connection to an operator service and / or Receive route recommendations, with each possibility in the playback device as a group can be displayed by a single field. The on the transceiver signals received by the device can also be broken down into individual transmission channels Groups are grouped together. It is advantageous to start with these groups display individual field in the display device.

It is particularly preferred if the control device has a memory for the groups provides. In such a memory the current groups and their elements for retrieval and playback are available.

The invention is described in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment. The associated drawings show:

Fig. 1 a frontal view of the operating surface of a telematics module,

FIG. 2 group of the traffic information with individual waiting messages,

Fig. 3 settings for the traffic information,

FIG. 4 entry of important data on the playback device,

Fig. 5 categorization of the symbols used in the display,

Fig. 6 overview of elements and their meaning and

Fig. 7 shows a schematic representation of possible processes when establishing a telephone connection.

In Fig. 1, the user interface is shown a telematics module. It has a display 1 . Eight operating elements 2 are arranged along a longer side of the display 1 , via which the telematics module can be operated. The control elements 2 fulfill the task of enabling a detailed display of the associated information of the telematics module by their actuation. A change or an operation can also be indicated by a corresponding symbol field on the control element flashing. The control elements 2 are designed as buttons, with buttons also being understood as a touch-sensitive field of a display. The button 3 triggers the display of an overview in the manner of a menu with different groups.

In addition to the menu button 3 , a further button 4 is arranged which triggers route guidance through the telematics module. A destination can be set on the telematics module by the user in a manner known per se. For route guidance, the telematics module first determines its position data via its transmitter-receiver device (not shown). For this purpose, the transmitter-receiver device can have a GPS module (Global Positioning System module). The position data can either be sent to a control center (not shown) and converted there into a route recommendation or route guidance and sent back. It is also possible, for example in the case of simple route guidance, which does not require a great deal of effort, to propose route guidance directly via the telematics module and its control device.

As a further actuating element 2 , a pair of buttons 5 are arranged in the display, with which a forward and backward movement is possible. These forward / back buttons can be used depending on the context, for example when entering data to be explained and retrieving information, which is also yet to be described.

The next pair of buttons 6 is used to trigger the establishment of a telephone connection and to interrupt it again. The transceiver device has a module, for example a GSM module (Global System Mobilication module), which allows the establishment of a radio communication link in a mobile radio network. While the loudspeaker, microphone and dialing device are provided in a manner known per se, the telephone buttons 6 offer simple and central control of the telephone connections.

With a button 7 arranged next to the telephone buttons 6 , traffic information can be queried and displayed.

The traffic radio button 7 is followed by a button 8 for a general service connection to a central office. The user can ask questions and communicate via the radio communication link with an operator of the control center. With such a connection, an emergency call, for example in the event of an accident, can also be made. In order to avoid inadvertently making an emergency call, the information buttons 8 and one of the phone buttons 6 must be pressed simultaneously for an emergency call. In order to recognize whether an emergency call has already been made, a further field 9 is provided which lights up when an emergency call is made. An erroneously made emergency call can be interrupted again by the other telephone button 6 within a predetermined and displayed time interval.

If the menu button 3 is triggered, the displays 10 and 11 shown in FIG. 2 appear. The stored traffic information is displayed with the help of individual elements, here pictograms. A warning sign of traffic jam 12 and a no-through traffic sign 13 can serve as an indication of a block as pictograms for representing a traffic radio message. The distance to the disability from the current position can easily be read from a bar chart 14 . Elements, here three pictograms 15 to 17 , can also be used to indicate which type of road is affected by the disability. In another area, the traffic jam message can be reproduced as a text message in the telegram style. The traffic information can be received by the transceiver device, for example via an RDS module (Radio Data System module). An element of the message is assigned to a received information signal, for example slow-moving or stationary traffic. This element, in the example this element is represented as a traffic sign, is assigned to a group, in this case the traffic sign is assigned to a displayable traffic report. The group assignment consists in that firstly the element concerns a traffic announcement and secondly the element concerns a specific message. The group put together in this way, in this example the second traffic announcement, can then be displayed to the user. As a result, the traffic information is filtered through the use of pictograms and their compilation in individual manageable groups. Individual traffic announcements can be called up by the pair of buttons 5 .

In Fig. 3, the setting of the parameters is shown for updating the traffic information. A selection of functions is displayed via the menu button 3 . The "Traffic information" function is followed by a dialog box 18 with the functions "Request traffic information", "Selection criteria", "Update parameters" and "Back". The function "request traffic information" 19 gives the option of manually triggering a query for the latest traffic information. Setting "selection criteria" 20 allows the number of traffic information to be restricted. For this purpose, for example, the rough direction of travel and / or a range radius can be specified. The "update parameters" determine the time interval in which the traffic information is to be loaded.

Another function whose selection is offered when the menu button 3 is actuated is the setting dialog for the emergency data 21 . As can be seen in FIG. 4, this data can include the name of the vehicle owner, its nationality, the vehicle type and its vehicle color. It can also be helpful to provide a license number that, for example, allows a licensor to access further specific data. The data is entered in a very practical manner, which is shown in the display digits and letters and the user selects, confirms and corrects them using the forward / back button 5, for example.

A column 22 with four fields is provided near the display. Individual pictograms can be grouped in the fields, as shown in FIG. 5. In the exemplary embodiment, column 22 allows a maximum of four pictograms to be displayed simultaneously. However, since there are more than four pictograms in the exemplary embodiment, these are grouped into four categories, as shown in FIG. 5, with the pictograms for telephone connection, traffic information, route guidance and voice output simultaneously in column 22 , the symbols for a voice connection an operator and for a route recommendation together in column 22 and the pictograms emergency call, disconnecting a telephone connection and service can each appear in the column alone. Such a grouping of the pictograms increases the overview and facilitates a quick acquisition of the information. In the case of an expansion, these can simply be added.

A compilation of all the pictograms possible in the exemplary embodiment and their meaning is listed in the table shown in FIG. 6. As can be seen from the table, the pictograms have a different meaning depending on whether they flash or flash permanently.

The representation of the establishment of a telephone connection is explained in more detail with the display contents 23 shown in FIG. 7. While the connection is being established, the connection 23 is indicated by a short text in the display 23 , a field with a telephone and a flashing telephone receiver in column 22 . An incoming call is communicated to the user by the display 24 , with the telephone handset flashing in column 22 and a ringing can also be heard.

REFERENCE SIGN LIST

1

display

2nd

Actuators

3rd

Menu button

4th

Route guidance button

5

Forward / back button

6

Telephone button

7

Traffic button

8th

Information button

9

Emergency field

10th

display

11

display

12th

warning sign

13

No transit sign

14

bar chart

15

pictogram

16

pictogram

17th

pictogram

18th

Dialog box

19th

Request traffic information

20th

Selection criteria

21

Emergency dialog

22

column

23

display

24th

display

Claims (10)

1. A method for reproducing information in a telematics module for a motor vehicle with a playback device ( 1 ), a transceiver device and a control device, characterized in that information signals received by the transceiver device at least one element ( 12 , 13 ) are assigned, the elements are combined by the control device into groups ( 10 , 11 ) with at least one element and the groups with their elements are displayed individually via the playback device ( 1 ) as required ( 2 ). 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the groups, in particular the groups: telephone, traffic information, emergency call, route guidance, service, operator service or route recommendation, are displayed in the playback device ( 1 ) by a single field ( 22 ). 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that a group is selected by an actuating element ( 2 ) and the elements of the selected group are displayed in more detail. 4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the elements of the group be updated when a new information signal is received for a group has been. 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the field of an updated group is optically highlighted in the playback unit, in particular flashes or lights up ( Fig. 6). 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that data ( 21 ), in particular user name, vehicle number, passwords and the like, are entered via the actuating element of the playback unit. 7. Device for reproducing information in a telematics module for a motor vehicle with a playback device ( 1 ), a transceiver device and a control device, characterized in that the control device received by the transceiver information signals at least one element ( 12 , 13 ), the control device combines elements into groups ( 10 , 11 ) with at least one element and the groups with their elements can be displayed individually via the playback device ( 1 ) as required ( 2 ). 8. Device for reproducing information in a telematics module, thereby characterized in that the transmitter-receiver device signals via a Radiotelephone connection can send and receive the traffic situation can receive descriptive signals, send and receive an emergency call can send position data and route-describing signals for route guidance can receive, a service station can teach, a voice connection can produce and / or receive route recommendations, each Possibility to be displayed in the playback device by a single field. 9. A device for reproducing information in a telematics module according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that an actuating element ( 2 ) is provided for selecting a group and the elements of the selected group can be displayed in the reproduction unit ( 1 ). 10. Device for reproducing the information in a telematics module according to a of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the control device a Provides storage for the groups.