Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-08
2004-08-10
Zanelli, Michael J. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
C701S036000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06775598
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for producing a display and control environment of a human-machine interface having connected devices and/or applications, the human-machine interface having assigned to it directly or indirectly a processing unit, a device for producing a display and control environment of a human-machine interface of correspondingly connected devices and/or applications; the human-machine interface having at least one input device and at least one output device and including a processing unit and/or is connected to a processing unit, as well as a computer program product.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Devices and methods for human-machine interfaces are used quite generally in numerous devices and applications, including automotive applications. Up to now, these devices and methods have been based on a hard-programmed display which is connected directly and inseparably to the application programs. Such a human-machine interface for use in a motor vehicle is described, for example, in European Published Patent Application No. 0 701 826.
Furthermore, a vehicle communications system having a display and an control unit is described in International Published Patent Application No. WO 01/00452, in which a graphic user interface based on HTML/XML page format is implemented, for which standardized HTML modules, XML modules and ActiveX modules are used as basic modules. The implemented graphic user interface includes an MMI application module in the form of an HTTP server which is generated via an assigned file system HTML page or XML page and which can be implemented in the control computer or in the display and control unit or distributed in both components, as well as an assigned browser or interpreter in the display and control unit for the representation of these generated pages. The system works without a standardized operating system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a device for producing a display and an control environment of a largely universally usable dynamic human-machine interface.
SUMMARY
The above and other beneficial objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a method and device as described herein.
According to one example embodiment of the present invention, the method for producing a display and control environment of a human-machine interface includes the following steps: retrieving stored generic data of the display and/or control environment of the human-machine interface by the processing unit and or the automatic transmission of the data to the processing unit as a function of certain parameters; retrieving the stored data, e.g., of functional data, of the connected devices and/or applications by the processing unit and/or automatically transmitting the data to the processing unit; and linking the retrieved and/or transmitted generic data of the display and/or control environment of the human-machine interface to the retrieved and/or transmitted data of the connected devices and/or applications in the processing unit, and generating display and/or control structures on the human-machine interface as a function of the linkage.
According to an example embodiment of the present invention, the generic data of the display and/or control environment of the human-machine interface have environment-specific and/or device-specific and/or customer-specific data, as well as, separately from this, functional and/or functional group-dependent data of connectible devices. The environment-specific and/or device-specific and/or customer-specific data may include, for example, data of the designated place of use, for example, the data may be distinguishable depending on whether the human-machine interface in the vehicle is being used for a business or a private purpose. Such data include, for example, design and color data of the displays or their components. The functional and/or functional group-dependent data include, for example, data of the structural design of display images and/or their components, data of the menu structure or the linkage of the displays.
According to an example embodiment of the present invention, the environment-specific and/or device-specific and/or customer-specific data are put together with the retrieved data of the functional and/or functional group-dependent data as a function of predefined parameters, which at least determine which of the stored data of the one and/or the other group are retrieved or transmitted.
Another example embodiment of the method according to the present invention provides that, in a first step, functional and/or functional group-dependent data are retrieved and/or automatically transmitted. Thereafter, in a further step, environment-specific and/or device-specific and/or customer-specific data are automatically retrieved and/or transmitted corresponding to the retrieved and/or transmitted functional and/or functional group-dependent data and/or as a function of predefined parameters. In addition, the data of the connected devices and/or applications are automatically retrieved and/or transmitted. The retrieved and/or transmitted data are linked together and displays and/or control structures are produced on the human-machine interface, with the aid of the retrieved and/or transmitted data.
In the case of use of the human-machine interface in a motor vehicle, according to an example embodiment of the present invention, the environment-specific and/or device-specific and/or customer-specific data include vehicle-specific data, e.g., on the manufacturer and/or the vehicle type and/or data on the vehicle appointments, etc. It may further be provided that the functional and/or functional group-dependent data have data on appearance and/or at least one function of at least one program-controlled representation, e.g., of an applet, for each of several vehicles.
The data of the connected devices and/or applications may contain data on functions of the connected devices and/or applications, e.g., at least one function corresponding to one program-controlled display.
According to an example embodiment of the present invention for the use in a motor vehicle, the following method steps are provided: retrieving and/or automatically transmitting the data which represent the appearance and/or the function of at least one program-controlled display, e.g., of an applet; retrieving and/or automatically transmitting at least vehicle-specific parameters of environment-specific data corresponding to the retrieved data of the at least one program-controlled display and/or retrieval and/or transmission of the vehicle-specific parameters as a function of certain predefinitions or parameters; retrieving and/or automatically transmitting the functional data of the connected devices and/or applications corresponding to the retrieved data of the at least one program-controlled display; and generating displays and/or control structures on the human-machine interface having at least one program-controlled display corresponding to the retrieved and/or transmitted data linked with one another.
In addition, at least a part of the data, e.g., functional data of the devices and/or applications to be displayed and/or controlled, may be stored in a central device of a data communications network, for example, the Internet or intranets, and are retrieved and/or automatically transmitted by the processing unit via a communications connection that is able to be established.
A further example embodiment of the present invention provides that at least one part of the generic data of the display and/or control environment of the human-machine interface and/or additional data of the display and/or control environment are stored in a central device of a data communications network and are retrieved and/or automatically transmitted by the processing device via a communications connection that is able to be established.
According to an example embodiment of the present invention, the stored data of the display and/or control environment and/or the stored data of the device
Bergmann Carsten
Oberschachtsiek Andre
Kenyon & Kenyon
Volkswagen AG
Zanelli Michael J.
LandOfFree
Method and device for producing a display and control... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and device for producing a display and control..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and device for producing a display and control... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3292591