Patent ID: 6633811
Filing Date: 2003-10-14
Classification: B60K,B60W

Abstract:
A method of displaying speed information in a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:a) providing in the vehicle a display device for displaying vehicle speeds in one of a plurality of different physical units for speed values and means for automatically selecting the one of the different physical units used to display said vehicle speeds on said display device; b) determining a current actual position of the vehicle with a positioning device located in the vehicle; c) locating the current actual position of the vehicle determined in step a) on a digital map, said digital map covering a plurality of governmental regions, said physical units remaining the same throughout each of said governmental regions and said digital map covering at least two of said governmental regions in which different ones of said physical units for said speed values are used; d) identifying the governmental region in which the current actual position of the vehicle is located in order to ascertain which of said physical units for said speed values is in use at said current actual position; e) automatically selecting the one of said physical units for displaying said speed values from among said plurality of said physical units according to said governmental region identified in the identifying step d) by means of said means for automatically selecting provided in step a); f) displaying an actual current speed of said vehicle on said display device in said one of said different physical units for displaying said speed values selected in step e); and g) displaying said physical units for said speed values displayed in steps e) and f) on said display device; whereby said actual current speed may be read off said display device in said physical units for said speed values used in said governmental region and thus driver confusion because of changes of said physical units for said speed values occurring when traveling between different governmental regions is avoided.