Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-21
2001-06-19
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
C701S200000, C340S990000, C340S995190
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249720
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a device mounted in a vehicle, and more particularly to a device for controlling activity of a personified agent on a display in a vehicle room for communication with a user such as a driver.
BACKGROUND OF THE ART
Various audio instruments such as radio, cassette tape player, CD player, MD player, etc. are installed in a vehicle to provide comfort and relaxation to the driver while driving the vehicle. This is only one-way communication.
Bi-directional communication between the driver and his or her friends outside of the vehicle may be achieved by using radio communication medium such as radio transceiver and portable telephone. However, the driver have to find out a companion to talk to by operation of the radio communication medium, which might be dangerous during driving. The companion outside the vehicle can not understand the vehicle and driving condition that the driver meets with.
In Japanese patent laid-open publication No. 9-102098, specific information is transmitted to the driver through corresponding expression and/or activity of an agent appearing on a display. In accordance with this prior art, the same expression and/or activity of the agent is appearing in the same situation. Thus, this provides improved visual literacy but is still a kind of conventional meters.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel device mounted in a vehicle that provides bidirectional communication with the user in the vehicle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide bi-directional communication with the user in a vehicle by means of a personified agent whose activities are determined not only by the current vehicle condition but also by the results of past record study.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the above object, in accordance with the present invention, a device is mounted in a vehicle which allows one or more of personified agent or imaginary living body to appear before a driver or passengers in the vehicle for communication therewith.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the device comprising first sensor means for detecting predetermined current status; first memory means for storing study data renewable in response to entry of the latest current status detected by the first sensor means; at least one personified agent communicatable with user in the vehicle; second memory means for storing a plurality of communication programs; communication program select means for determining one of the communication programs to be executed in accordance with the current status detected by the first sensor means and/or the study data currently stored in the first memory means; agent control means for controlling activity of the agent in accordance with the selected communication program; agent output means for outputting the agent's activity to the user in the vehicle determined by the agent control means.
In a preferred embodiment, the first sensor means detects at least one vehicle condition selected from the group consisting of a current vehicle position, a current vehicle speed, a current shift position, winker operation, wiper operation, a coolant temperature, an engine oil temperature, an engine oil pressure, a passenger room temperature, an open air temperature, ignition switch operation, a brake pedal stroke, an accelerator pedal stroke, side brake operation, horn operation, belt loosening, a fuel remainder, light or lamp operation, seat belt operation, door opening, window opening, ABS operation, air-conditioner operation, distance to the preceding and succeeding vehicles and decrease of air pressure in tire.
The user's own data may be included in the current status. The user's own data may also be considered in determining the communication program to be executed.
The device of the present invention may further comprises second sensor means for detecting user's response to the agent's activity outputted by the agent output means, and third memory means for storing user's response data detected by the second sensor means. In this embodiment, the user's response data is also considered in determining the communication program to be executed. The user's response data is subjected to study so that the study data in the first memory means is also renewable in response to entry of the latest user's response data.
The agent output means may comprise one or both of display means and speaker means. In a preferred embodiment, utterance pattern of the agent outputted by the speaker means is selectively determined by the agent control means. In another preferred embodiment, appearance pattern of the agent outputted by the display means is selectively determined by the agent control means.
The device may include agent's character select means for determining a specific character to be given to the agent. In this embodiment, the agent control means determines the agent's activity in consideration of the agent's character determined by the agent's character select means.
The device may include fourth memory means for storing data indicating user's familiarity to agent operation of the device. The agent control means determines the agent's activity in consideration of the agent's familiarity stored in the fourth memory means.
In another preferred embodiment, the agent output means allows a plurality of different agents to be distinguishably recognized one another by the user in the vehicle. For example, the device includes fifth memory means for storing sub-agent program, which is selected in correspondence to a specific communication program stored in the second memory means so that a sub-agent of the selected sub-agent program is outputted by the agent output means together with the main agent of the executed communication program. The sub-agent may be a help-agent explaining the activity of the main agent. The sub-agent may be a short-cut agent allowing short-cut of operation executed by the main agent communication program. Preferably, the sub-agent program becomes operative when data indicating user's familiarity to agent operation of the device is greater than a predetermined critical value.
In another preferred embodiment, a background of the display means is selectively determined so that the agent appears on the display means together with the selected background.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5343399 (1994-08-01), Yokoyama et al.
patent: 5555502 (1996-09-01), Opel
patent: 5935193 (1999-08-01), saiki
Patent Abstracts Of Japan vol. 1997, No. 08, Aug. 29, 1997.
Patent Abstracts Of Japan vol. 015, No. 499 (P-1289) Dec. 17, 1991.
Patent Abstracts of Japan, Pub. No. 09102098, Date-Apr. 15, 1997, Information Display Device for Vehicle.
Adachi Kazuhide
Hori Koji
Kubota Tomoki
Mazda Manabu
Mukai Kouji
Beaulieu Yonel
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Kabushikikaisha Equos Research
Lorusso & Loud
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