Abstract:
Provided is a display device which is mounted on a moving body and with which a communication connection is carried out via a connection means with an information processing terminal. Specifically, the display device acquires and displays an application image which is outputted from the information processing terminal. The display device also acquires, from the information processing terminal via the connection means, properties of the application which generates the application image. The properties of the application would be information of whether the application is controllable from an external device, the reliability of the application, the type of the application, its display applicability, etc. The display device restricts the display of the application image on the basis of the acquired properties of the application and the travel state of the moving body.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a technique for regulating display of images by a display device installed in a vehicle. 
       BACKGROUND TECHNIQUE 
       [0002]    The Road Traffic Law prohibits a driver of a vehicle from gazing an image displayed on an image display device during driving. An on-vehicle device such as a car navigation device is configured not to display the image of TV and/or DVD and not to accept an operational input, during the driving of the vehicle. Regulating the image display and the operational input during the driving of the vehicle is called “Traveling regulation”. 
         [0003]    Patent Reference 1 discloses a system including a portable terminal and an on-vehicle device communicable with each other by wireless communication, wherein the portable terminal obtains travelling information from the on-vehicle device and an operational input of a certain kind for the application being executed in the portable terminal is regulated. 
         [0004]    On the other hand, the on-vehicle device such as a car navigation device and a terminal device such as a smartphone are connected and used. For example, there is proposed a technique of transmitting the display image of the smartphone to the on-vehicle device to display it on the display unit of the on-vehicle device and enabling the operation of the application of the smartphone by a touch input to the display unit of the on-vehicle device, by incorporating a dedicated module into the application installed in the smartphone (See. Non-Patent Reference 1). 
       PRECEDING TECHNICAL REFERENCE 
     Patent Reference 
       [0005]    Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open under No. 2010-130670 
       Non-Patent Reference 
       [0006]    Non-Patent Reference 1: AppRadio Pioneer Electronics USA http:://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/AppRadio 
       DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION 
     Problem to be Solved by the Invention 
       [0007]    Normally, many applications are installed in a smartphone. In the technique of Non-Patent Reference 1, since the dedicated module is incorporated for each application, the applications to which the dedicated module is incorporated and the applications to which the dedicated module is not incorporated are mixed in the smartphone. Therefore, it is desired to execute the travelling regulation by an appropriate method in accordance with whether or not the dedicated module is incorporated and the property of each application. 
         [0008]    The above is an example of the problem to be solved by the present invention. It is an object of the present invention to execute appropriate travelling regulation, in a display device loaded on a vehicle and connected to an information processing terminal, in accordance with the property of the application on the information processing terminal side. 
       Means for Solving the Problem 
       [0009]    One invention is a display system which comprises a display device loaded on a vehicle and an information processing terminal, and which displays an image of an application executed by the information processing terminal on the display device, wherein the information processing terminal comprises: a property transmission unit which obtains a property of the application generating an application image to be displayed on the display device; and an image transmission unit which transmits the application image to the display device, and wherein the display device comprises: a display unit which displays the application image obtained from the information processing terminal; and a control unit which applies a predetermined regulation to a display of the application image based on the property of the application obtained from the information processing terminal and a running state of the vehicle. 
         [0010]    Another invention is a display device loaded on a vehicle, comprising: a display unit which displays an application image obtained from an information processing terminal; and a control unit which applies a predetermined regulation to a display of the application image based on a property of an application generating the application image obtained from the information processing terminal and a running state of the vehicle. 
         [0011]    Still another invention is an information processing terminal comprising: an image transmission unit which transmits an application image generated by an application executed on the information processing terminal to a display device loaded on a vehicle; and a property transmission unit which obtains a property of the application, that is used to determine whether or not to apply a predetermined regulation to a display of the application image, and transmits the property to the display device. 
         [0012]    Still another invention is a display method executed by a display device loaded on a vehicle, comprising: a display process which displays an application image obtained from an information processing terminal; and a control process which applies a predetermined regulation to a display of the application image based on a property of an application generating the application image obtained from the information processing terminal and a running state of the vehicle. 
         [0013]    Still another invention is an information processing method executed by an information processing terminal, comprising: an image transmission process which transmits an application image generated by an application executed on the information processing terminal to a display device loaded on a vehicle; and a property transmission process which obtains a property of the application, that is used to determine whether or not to apply a predetermined regulation to a display of the application image, and transmits the property to the display device. 
         [0014]    Still another invention is a display program which makes a display device execute the above display method. 
         [0015]    Still another invention is an information processing program which makes an information processing terminal execute the above information processing method. 
         [0016]    Still another invention is a storage medium on which the above program is stored. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  shows a configuration of embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a smartphone and an on-vehicle device. 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of processing executed by an externally controllable application in the first embodiment. 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of processing executed by a resident application in the first embodiment. 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of processing executed by the on-vehicle device in the first embodiment. 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart of processing executed by the on-vehicle device in the third embodiment. 
           [0023]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  schematically show a method of the fifth embodiment. 
           [0024]      FIGS. 8A and 8B  show display examples in the fifth embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0025]    According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display system which comprises a display device loaded on a vehicle and an information processing terminal, and which displays an image of an application executed by the information processing terminal on the display device, wherein the information processing terminal comprises: a property transmission unit which obtains a property of the application generating an application image to be displayed on the display device; and an image transmission unit which transmits the application image to the display device, and wherein the display device comprises: a display unit which displays the application image obtained from the information processing terminal; and a control unit which applies a predetermined regulation to a display of the application image based on the property of the application obtained from the information processing terminal and a running state of the vehicle. 
         [0026]    In one mode of the above display system, the property of the application includes information indicating whether or not the application is controllable by the display device, and the control unit may apply the predetermined regulation to the display of the application image if the running state is running and the obtained property includes information indicating that the application is not controllable by the display device. 
         [0027]    According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing terminal comprising: an image transmission unit which transmits an application image generated by an application executed on the information processing terminal to a display device loaded on a vehicle; and a property transmission unit which obtains a property of the application, that is used to determine whether or not to apply a predetermined regulation to a display of the application image, and transmits the property to the display device. 
         [0028]    The information processing terminal transmits the application image to the display device by the image transmission unit such as HDMI. The information processing terminal obtains, from the image transmission unit, the property of the application which is executed on the information processing terminal and which is generating the image being outputted, and transmits the property to the display device. The display device determines whether or not to regulate the display of the application image based on the property received from the information processing terminal. 
         [0029]    In one mode of the above information processing terminal, the property of the application includes information indicating whether or not the application is controllable by the display device. 
         [0030]    In a preferred example, the property of the application includes information related to the reliability of the application. In another preferred example, the property of the application includes information related to the genre of the application. In still another preferred example, the property of the application includes information related to display appropriateness in accordance with the kind of the application image being drawn. 
         [0031]    In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display device loaded on a vehicle, comprising: a display unit which displays an application image obtained from an information processing terminal; and a control unit which applies a predetermined regulation to a display of the application image based on a property of an application generating the application image obtained from the information processing terminal and a running state of the vehicle. 
         [0032]    The above display device obtains and displays the application image generated by the application being executed on the information processing terminal. The control unit obtains, from the information processing terminal, the property of the application generating the application image, and regulates the display of the application image based on the property and the running state of the vehicle. 
         [0033]    In one mode of the above display device, the control unit regulates the display of the application image if the running state is running and the obtained property includes information indicating that the application is not controllable by the display device. In this mode, for the application uncontrollable by the display device, the display device can regulate the display of the application image. 
         [0034]    In a preferred example, the display device further comprises an operation transmission unit which obtains an operation by a user and transmits operation information to the information processing terminal, and the control unit regulates a display of the application image and a transmission of the operation information based on reliability of the application, if the running state is running and the obtained property includes information related to the reliability of the application. In this mode, for the application of low reliability, the display device can regulate the display of the application image and the transmission of the operation information. 
         [0035]    In another preferred example, the display device further comprises an operation transmission unit which obtains an operation by a user and transmits operation information to the information processing terminal, and the control unit regulates a display of the application image and a transmission of the operation information based on a genre of the application, if the running state is running and the obtained property includes information related to the genre of the application. In this mode, it is possible to regulate the display of the application image and the transmission of the operation information in accordance with the genre of the application. 
         [0036]    In still another preferred example, the display device further comprises an operation transmission unit which obtains an operation by a user and transmits operation information to the information processing terminal, and the control unit regulates a display of the application image and a transmission of the operation information based on a display appropriateness in accordance with a kind of the application image, if the running state is running and the obtained property includes information related to the display appropriateness in accordance with the kind of the application image. In this mode, it is possible to regulate the display of the application image and the transmission of the operation information in accordance with the display appropriateness of the application image. 
         [0037]    According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method executed by an information processing terminal, comprising: an image transmission process which transmits an application image generated by an application executed on the information processing terminal to a display device loaded on a vehicle; and a property transmission process which obtains a property of the application, that is used to determine whether or not to apply a predetermined regulation to a display of the application image, and transmits the property to the display device. 
         [0038]    According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display method executed by a display device loaded on a vehicle, comprising: a display process which displays an application image obtained from an information processing terminal; and a control process which applies a predetermined regulation to a display of the application image based on a property of an application generating the application image obtained from the information processing terminal and a running state of the vehicle. 
         [0039]    According to still another aspect of the present invention, the information processing program executed by an information processing terminal makes the information processing terminal execute the above information processing method. 
         [0040]    According to still another aspect of the present invention, the display program executed by a display device loaded on a vehicle makes the display device execute the above display method. 
       EMBODIMENTS 
       [0041]    Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. 
       1st Embodiment 
       [0042]      FIG. 1  shows a configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown, a smartphone  10  serving as an information processing terminal is communicably connected to an on-vehicle device  20  serving as a display device. A typical example of the on-vehicle device  20  is a navigation device. The on-vehicle device  20  and the smartphone  10  are connected via two interfaces, specifically a SPP (Serial Port Profile)  5  of Bluetooth (Registered Trademark) and a HDMI  6 . The SPP  5  is mainly used for the communication of control signals between the on-vehicle device  20  and the smartphone  10 , and the HDMI  6  is mainly used for the transmission of video/audio data from the smartphone  10  to the on-vehicle device  20 . 
         [0043]    In the smartphone  10 , a plurality of applications  11   a  to lid and a resident application  15  are installed. The applications  11   a  to lid include various applies such as a video reproduction application, an audio reproduction application and a game application. 
         [0044]    In the following description, the application  11  is expressed with a subscript such as “application  11   b ” when a certain application is intended, and the application  11  is simply expressed as “application  11 ” when a certain application is not intended. 
         [0045]    In each of the applications  11   a  to  11   d , an external control module  12  is incorporated. The external control module  12 , incorporated in each of the applications  11 , is dedicated software for enabling an external device to control the application  11  in the smartphone  10 . Specifically, when incorporated in the application  11 , the external control module  12  transmits and receives necessary information to and from the on-vehicle device  20  via the resident application  15 . Thus, the application  11  to which the external control module  12  is incorporated can be controlled by the external on-vehicle device  20 . The application  11  cannot be controlled by the on-vehicle device  20  if the external control module  12  is not incorporated. 
         [0046]    The image outputted by the application  11  can be transmitted to the on-vehicle device  20  via the HDMI  6  to be displayed. 
         [0047]    In the example of  FIG. 1 , the applications  11   a  to  11   c  can be controlled by the on-vehicle device  20  because the external control module  12  is incorporated in the applications  11   a  to  11   c . Specifically, the operational input image generated by the application  11   a  is transmitted to the on-vehicle device  20  via the HDMI  6 , and is displayed on the on-vehicle device  20 . The operation information indicating the operational input that a user made to the on-vehicle device  20  with watching the operational input image is transmitted to the application  11   a  via the SPP  5  and the resident application  15 . In this way, by making the operational input to the on-vehicle device  20 , the user can operate the application  11   a . The application  11  to which the external control module  12  is incorporated will be hereinafter referred to as “an externally controllable application”. 
         [0048]    On the other hand, the application  11   d  cannot be controlled by the on-vehicle device  20  because the external control module  12  is not incorporated in the application  11   d . The application  11  to which the external control module  12  is not incorporated will be hereinafter referred to as “an externally uncontrollable application”. 
         [0049]    The resident application  15  is constantly made active during the operation of the smartphone  10 . For the externally controllable applications  11   a  to  11   c  to which the external control module  12  is incorporated, the resident application  15  enables the control of the applications  11   a  to  11   c  from the on-vehicle device  20  by communicating with the external control module  12 . Due to the existence of the resident application  15 , it is possible to establish the communication connection between the smartphone  10  and the on-vehicle device  20 , even if none of the applications  11  is active. In addition, by receiving the request from the on-vehicle device  20 , the resident application  15  can activate other application  11 . Namely, based on the instruction inputted by the user to the on-vehicle device  20 , the resident application  15  can activate any one of the applications  11 . 
         [0050]    Next, a functional configuration of the smartphone  10  and the on-vehicle device  20  will be described.  FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the smartphone  10  and the on-vehicle device  20 . 
         [0051]    The smartphone  10  includes the applications  11 , an image output unit  16 , a property obtaining unit  17  and a communication connection unit  18 . The applications  11  include various kinds of applications as described above with reference to  FIG. 1 . The property obtaining unit  17  and the communication connection unit  18  are controlled by the resident application  15  shown in FIG.  1 . 
         [0052]    The image output unit  16  outputs the image data  51  generated by the application  11  to the on-vehicle device  20  via the HDMI  6 . The property obtaining unit  17  obtains the property  52  of the application  11  and supplies it to the communication connection unit  18 . In this embodiment, “the property of the application” is information indicating whether or not the application can be controlled by the external on-vehicle device  20 . The property obtaining unit  17  can determine whether or not the application  11  can be controlled by the external on-vehicle device  20  based on whether or not the external control module  12  is incorporated in the application  11 . Specifically, the property obtaining unit  17  can obtain the information indicating whether or not the application  11  can be controlled by the on-vehicle device  20  by communicating with the application  11 . Alternatively, in the case where the external control module  12  is incorporated in the application  11 , the property obtaining unit  17  can obtain the information indicating whether or not the application can be controlled by the external on-vehicle device  20  by directly communicating with the external control module  12 . 
         [0053]    The communication connection unit  18  is an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from the on-vehicle device  20  via the SPP  5 . The communication connection unit  18  receives the property  52  of the application  11  obtained by the property obtaining unit  17  in the above manner, and transmits it to the on-vehicle device  20  via the SPP  5 . Also, the communication connection unit  18  receives the information  53  (hereinafter referred to as “the running state information”) indicating whether or not the vehicle on which the on-vehicle device  20  is loaded is running from the on-vehicle device  20  via the SPP  5 , and supplies it to the application  11 . In addition, the communication connection unit  18  receives the information  54  (hereinafter referred to as “the operation information”) indicating the operational input that the user made to the on-vehicle device  20  from the on-vehicle device  20  via the SPP  5 , and supplies it to the application  11  that is outputting the image to the on-vehicle device  20 . 
         [0054]    On the other hand, the on-vehicle device  20  includes a display unit  21 , a regulation control unit  22 , an operation obtaining unit  23  and a communication connection unit  24 . The display unit  21  may be configured by a liquid crystal panel with a touch panel. The display unit  21  displays the image data  51  (i.e., the application image) of the application  11  received from the smartphone  10  via the HDMI  6 . 
         [0055]    The regulation control unit  22  obtains the running state information  53  of the vehicle from external, and supplies it to the communication connection unit  24 . Here, as the running state information  53  of the vehicle, the parking information of the vehicle may be used, for example. The parking information is “OFF” when the vehicle is running and is “ON” when the vehicle is stopping. As the running state information  53  of the vehicle, a signal other than the parking information may be used. For example, the speed pulse of the vehicle (not shown) maybe used, or the GPS information or G-sensor information of a car navigation device may be used. 
         [0056]    The operation obtaining unit  23  detects the user&#39;s operational input to the touch panel overlaid on the display  21  of the on-vehicle device  20 , generates the operation information  54  corresponding to the operational input and supplies it to the communication connection unit  24 . As described above, on the display unit  21  of the on-vehicle device  20 , the image data  51  generated by the application  11  in the smartphone  10  is displayed. Therefore, in the input mode of the application  11 , the input image including buttons for the operational inputs is displayed on the display unit  21  of the on-vehicle device  20 , and the operation obtaining unit  23  obtains the operation information  54  corresponding to the operational input that the user made to the input image. 
         [0057]    The communication connection unit  24  is an interface for transmitting data to and receiving data from the smartphone  10  via the SPP  5 . The communication connection unit  24  transmits the running state information  53  supplied from the regulation control unit  22  and the operation information  54  supplied from the operation obtaining unit  24  to the smartphone  10  via the SPP  5 . 
         [0058]    In the above configuration, the image output unit  16  functions as the image transmission unit of the present invention, and the property obtaining unit  17  and the communication connection unit  18  function as the property transmission unit of the present invention. Also, the display unit  21  functions as the display unit of the present invention, the regulation control unit  22  functions as the control unit of the present invention, and the operation obtaining unit  22  and the communication connection unit  24  function as the operation transmission unit of the present invention. 
         [0059]    Next, the travelling regulation control according to the first embodiment will be described. As described with reference to  FIG. 1 , the externally controllable applications  11   a  to  11   c  can be controlled by the external on-vehicle device  20  because the external control module  12  is incorporated. On the contrary, the externally uncontrollable application  11   d  cannot be controlled by the on-vehicle device  20  because the external control module  12  is not incorporated. 
         [0060]    In view of the problem of the Road Traffic Law mentioned above, while the vehicle on which the on-vehicle device  20  is loaded is running, it is not preferred to display the moving picture generated by a video reproduction application and the like installed in the smartphone  10  on the on-vehicle device  20 . Also, as to the other applications of various kinds, it is not preferred to display such images that the user gazes at for a certain period of time on the on-vehicle device  20 . Therefore, it is necessary to regulate the display of the images generated by the various applications  11  in the smartphone  10  on the on-vehicle device  20 , according to need. Particularly, it is necessary to appropriately execute the travelling regulation in the case where the externally controllable application and the externally uncontrollable application are mixed in the smartphone  10 . 
         [0061]    Accordingly, in this embodiment, the resident application  15  in the smartphone  10  determines whether the application  11  outputting the image to the on-vehicle device  20  (hereinafter referred to as “the image displaying application”) is the externally controllable application or the externally uncontrollable application, and transmits the result to the on-vehicle device  20 . 
         [0062]    If the image displaying application is the externally controllable application, the on-vehicle device  20  notifies the running state of the vehicle to the externally controllable application, and entrusts the travelling regulation to the externally controllable application. The externally controllable application receives the running state from the on-vehicle device  20 , and executes the travelling regulation, as necessary, based on the running state and the application image that the externally controllable application itself is outputting. 
         [0063]    On the other hand, if the image displaying application is the externally uncontrollable application, the on-vehicle device  20  cannot control the externally uncontrollable application to execute the travelling regulation. Therefore, the on-vehicle device  20  executes the travelling regulation by itself. Specifically, the regulation control unit  22  in the on-vehicle device  20  obtains the property  52  of the application  11  from the smartphone  10  via the communication connection unit  24 . When the regulation control unit  22  determines that the image displaying application is the externally uncontrollable application, it notifies to the display unit  21  that the travelling regulation is applied to the image transmitted from the externally uncontrollable application, and the display unit  21  displays the image with a predetermined travelling regulation. 
         [0064]    Specific methods of the travelling regulation are as follows. If the application image is the moving picture of a movie, for example, displaying the image is stopped and a still picture is displayed, or a single color image such as a black image is displayed. If the application image is the image for the operational inputs to the application, the image is displayed but the input to the image is rejected or invalidated. 
         [0065]    As described above, in this embodiment, based on whether the image displaying application is the externally controllable application or the externally uncontrollable application, it is determined whether the application  11  executes the travelling regulation or the on-vehicle device  20  executes the travelling regulation. Thereby, the travelling regulation can be appropriately executed even when the externally controllable application and the externally uncontrollable application are mixed in the smartphone  10 . 
         [0066]    Next, the specific processing of the above travelling regulation will be described.  FIG. 3  is a flowchart of the processing executed by the externally controllable application. This processing is executed by the externally controllable application such as the applications  11   a  to  11   c  in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0067]    First, the externally controllable application obtains the information from the resident application  15  (step S 15 ). 
         [0068]    Specifically, the externally controllable application obtains, from the resident application  15 , the information indicating whether or not the resident application  15  is in connection with the on-vehicle device  20 . When the resident application  15  is in connection with the on-vehicle device  20 , the externally controllable application obtains the running state information  53  and the operation information  54  transmitted from the on-vehicle device  20 . 
         [0069]    Next, based on the information thus obtained, the externally controllable application determines whether or not the resident application  15  is in connection with the on-vehicle device  20  (step S 12 ). If the resident application is in connection with the on-vehicle device  20  (step S 12 : Yes), the externally controllable application determines whether or not the running state is “running”, i.e., whether or not the vehicle on which the on-vehicle device  20  is loaded is running (step S 13 ). If the running state is “running” (step S 13 : Yes), the externally controllable application executes the travelling regulation, as necessary, based on the operational condition of the externally controllable application itself and the kind of the image being outputted (step S 14 ). For example, if the externally controllable application is a video reproduction application and it is reproducing the moving picture, the externally controllable application stops the reproduction. 
         [0070]    On the other hand, if it is determined in step S 12  that the resident application  15  is not in connection with the on-vehicle device  20  or if it is determined in step S 13  that the running state is not “running”, the externally controllable application does not execute the travelling regulation because it is not necessary to execute the travelling regulation (step S 15 ). 
         [0071]    In this way, if the image displaying application is the externally controllable application, the externally controllable application itself executes the travelling regulation by its own determination based on the running state of the vehicle and the like. 
         [0072]    Next, the processing executed by the resident application  15  in the travelling regulation control in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 4 . First, the resident application  15  tries to communicate with the on-vehicle device  20  by the communication connection unit  18  (step S 21 ). When the communication with the on-vehicle device  20  is established (step S 21 : Yes), the resident application  15  obtains the information, including the property of the image displaying application, from the image displaying application, and transmits it to the on-vehicle device  20  (step S 23 ). Specifically, the resident application  15  determines whether the image displaying application is the externally controllable application or the externally uncontrollable application by communicating with the image displaying application, and transmits the result to the on-vehicle device  20 . 
         [0073]    Next, the resident application  15  receives the running state information  53  and the operation information  54  from the on-vehicle device  20  (step S 24 ), and transmits the running state information  53  and the operation information  54  thus received to the externally controllable application (step S 25 ). 
         [0074]    In this way, while the resident application  15  establishes the communication with the on-vehicle device  20 , the resident application  15  positions itself between the application  11  and the on-vehicle device  20  and executes the intermediation processing of transmitting and receiving necessary information between the application  11  and the on-vehicle device  20 . 
         [0075]    Next, the processing executed by the on-vehicle device  20  in the travelling regulation control of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 5 . This processing is realized by the computer loaded on the on-vehicle device  20 , such as a CPU, which executes the program prepared in advance. 
         [0076]    First, the on-vehicle device  20  tries to communicate with the smartphone  10  by the communication connection unit  24  (step S 31 ). When the communication is established (step S 32 : Yes), the on-vehicle device  20  receives the information including the property of the image displaying application from the resident application  15  of the smartphone  10  (step S 33 ). This process corresponds to step S 23  in  FIG. 4 . Specifically, the on-vehicle device  20  receives, from the resident application  15 , the information indicating whether the image displaying application is the externally controllable application or the externally uncontrollable application. 
         [0077]    Next, the on-vehicle device  20  determines whether or not the running state of the vehicle is “running” (step S 34 ). If the running state is “running”, the on-vehicle device  20  determines whether or not the HDMI  6  is in connection (step S 35 ). If the HDMI  6  is in connection (step S 35 : Yes), the on-vehicle device  20  determines whether or not the image displaying application is the externally controllable application (step S 36 ). 
         [0078]    If the image displaying application is the externally controllable application (step S 36 : Yes), the on-vehicle device  20  transmits the running state information  53  and the operation information  54  to the resident application  15  in the smartphone  10  (step S 38 ). In this case, since the externally controllable application executes the travelling regulation by itself as described above, it is not necessary for the on-vehicle device  20  to execute the travelling regulation. Therefore, the on-vehicle device  20  does not execute the travelling regulation (step S 39 ). 
         [0079]    On the contrary, if the image displaying application is the externally uncontrollable application (step S 36 : No), the on-vehicle device  20  executes the travelling regulation by itself (step S 37 ) because the on-vehicle device  20  cannot control the externally uncontrollable application to execute the travelling regulation. 
         [0080]    If the running state is not “running” (step S 34 : No), it is not necessary to execute the travelling regulation, and the process goes to step S 39 . If the HDMI  6  is not in connection (step S 35 : No), the image from the image displaying application is not being displayed on the on-vehicle device  20  whatever kind the image displaying application is. Therefore, it is not necessary to execute the travelling regulation, and the process goes to step S 39 . 
         [0081]    In this way, in the case where the on-vehicle device  20  is in connection with the smartphone  10  and is displaying the application image outputted by the image displaying application, if the image displaying application is the externally controllable application, the on-vehicle device  20  does not execute the travelling regulation by itself and entrusts the execution of the travelling regulation to the externally controllable application. On the contrary, if the image displaying application is the externally uncontrollable application, the on-vehicle device  20  executes the travelling regulation by itself. Thus, the execution of the travelling regulation can be ensured even when the externally controllable application and the externally uncontrollable application are mixed in the smartphone  10 . 
       2nd Embodiment  
       [0082]    Next, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the property of the application that the property obtaining unit  17  of the smartphone  10  obtains from the image displaying application is the information indicating whether or not the application is controllable by the external on-vehicle device  20 . In contrast, in the second embodiment, “the property of the application” is the information on the reliability of the application. Namely, the on-vehicle device  20  determines whether to execute the travelling regulation by itself or to entrust the execution of the travelling regulation to the image displaying application, based on the reliability of the image displaying application. 
         [0083]    Specifically, the reliability of the application is determined in advance based on the version of the external control module  12  incorporated in the application  11 , and the information indicating the reliability is included in the external control module  12 . Namely, the reliability of the application is defined for the externally controllable application, but is not defined for the externally uncontrollable application. 
         [0084]    For example, assuming that the reliability of the application is defined by two levels, i.e., the reliability level-1 indicating high reliability and the reliability level-2 indicating low reliability, each of the externally controllable applications possesses information indicating either one of the reliability level-1 or the reliability level-2. For example, if an application is developed by the cooperation of the makers of the application and the on-vehicle device  20  or the operation of the application is inspected, the application has the reliability level-1 indicating high reliability. 
         [0085]    The property obtaining unit  17  of the smartphone  10  obtains the reliability level of the external control module  12  incorporated in the image displaying application as the reliability level, and transmits it to the on-vehicle device  20 . The on-vehicle device  20  determines whether or not to execute the travelling regulation based on the reliability level which is the property of the application. Specifically, for the image displaying application to which the external control module  12  of the reliability level-1 is incorporated, the on-vehicle device  20  entrusts the travelling regulation to the application  11  because its reliability is high. On the contrary, for the image displaying application to which the external control module  12  of the reliability level-2 is incorporated, the on-vehicle device  20  executes the travelling regulation by itself because its reliability is low. In this way, the on-vehicle device  20  can execute the travelling regulation by itself for the externally controllable application of low reliability, thereby to appropriately execute the travelling regulation. 
         [0086]    In the travelling regulation control in the second embodiment, except for the fact that the property of the application is the information indicating the reliability of the application, the processing by the externally controllable application is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 3  and the processing by the resident application  15  is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 . The processing by the on-vehicle device  20  only differs from that of the first embodiment only in step S 36  of  FIG. 5 . Namely, in the second embodiment, the on-vehicle device  20  determines in step S 36  whether or not “the image displaying application is the externally controllable application and has the reliability level-1”. If the image displaying application is the externally controllable application and has the reliability level-1 (step S 36 : Yes), the process goes to step S 38 , and the on-vehicle device  20  entrusts the execution of the travelling regulation to the image displaying application. On the contrary, if the image displaying application is not the externally controllable application (i.e., the externally uncontrollable application), or the image displaying application is the externally controllable application but its reliability is level-2, the process goes to step S 37 , and the on-vehicle device  20  executes the travelling regulation by itself. 
         [0087]    In this way, according to the second embodiment, even if the image displaying application is the externally controllable application, the on-vehicle device  20  executes the travelling regulation by itself if the reliability of the image displaying application is low. Therefore, the travelling regulation can be certainly executed even when the application of low reliability is being executed. 
       MODIFIED EXAMPLE 
       [0088]    In the above example, the reliability of the application is defined as the reliability of the external control module  12 . Instead, the reliability of the application may be defined as the reliability of the application  11  being installed in the smartphone  10 . In that case, the application  11  possesses the information indicating the reliability level. 
       3rd Embodiment  
       [0089]    Next, the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, the property of the application is the reliability of the application, and the reliability is defined by two levels. In the third embodiment, the property of the application is the reliability of the application similarly to the second embodiment, but the reliability is defined by three levels. Specifically, for the externally controllable application, the reliability is defined by the level-1, the level-2 and the level-3 in the order from high reliability to low reliability. Then, the on-vehicle device  20  executes different processing in relation with the travelling regulation, depending on the reliability level. Specifically, if the reliability of the image displaying application is the level-1, the on-vehicle device  20  totally entrusts the travelling regulation to the image displaying application. If the reliability of the image displaying application is the level-2, the on-vehicle device  20  displays the application image outputted by the image displaying application, but does not transmit the operation information  54  inputted to the on-vehicle device  20  by the user to the smartphone  10 . Specifically, when the regulation control unit  22  of the on-vehicle device  20  determines that the reliability of the image displaying application is the level-2, the regulation control unit  22  notifies to the operation obtaining unit  23  that the operation by the user is regulated. The operation obtaining unit  23  stops the supply of the operation information  54  to the communication connection unit  24 . Thus, the image outputted by the image displaying application is displayed on the on-vehicle device  20 , but operating the image displaying application from the on-vehicle device  20  is inhibited. If the reliability of the image displaying application is the level-3, the on-vehicle device  20  does not display the application image outputted by the image displaying application and does not transmit the operation information  54  inputted to the on-vehicle device  20  by the user to the smartphone  10 . Thus, during the travelling of the vehicle, the user cannot do anything to the image displaying application. 
         [0090]    In the travelling regulation control of the third embodiment, except for the fact that the property of the application is the information on the reliability of the application, the processing by the externally controllable application is the same as that in the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , and the processing by the resident application is the same as that in the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0091]    The processing by the on-vehicle device  20  in the third embodiment is shown in the flowchart of  FIG. 6 . In  FIG. 6 , since steps S 41  to S 45  are the same as steps S 31  to S 35  in the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , the description thereof will be omitted. 
         [0092]    In step S 46 , the on-vehicle device  20  determines whether or not the image displaying application is the externally controllable application and its reliability is the level-1. If the result of the determination is Yes, the process goes to step S 50 . Thus, the on-vehicle device  20  entrusts the execution of the travelling regulation to the image displaying application. 
         [0093]    If the result of the determination in step S 46  is No, the on-vehicle device  20  determines whether or not the image displaying application is the externally controllable application and its reliability is the level-2 (step S 47 ). If the result of the determination is Yes, the on-vehicle device  20  displays the application image from the image displaying application, but does not transmit the operation information  54  of the user to the on-vehicle device  20  to the image displaying application (step S 51 ). 
         [0094]    If the result of the determination in step S 47  is No, the on-vehicle device  20  determines whether or not the image displaying application is the externally controllable application and its reliability is the level-3 (step S 48 ). If the result of the determination is Yes, the on-vehicle device  20  does not display the application image from the image displaying application and does not transmit the operation information  54  by the user to the on-vehicle device  20  to the image displaying application (step S 52 ). 
         [0095]    If the result of the determination in step S 48  is No, the on-vehicle device  20  executes the travelling regulation by itself (step S 49 ) because the image displaying application is the externally uncontrollable application. 
         [0096]    As described above, in the third embodiment, the reliability of the externally controllable application is defined by three levels as the property of the application, and the different processing is executed in accordance with the level. Therefore, an appropriate travelling regulation can be executed in accordance with the reliability of the image displaying application. 
       MODIFIED EXAMPLE 
       [0097]    In the above example, the reliability of the application is defined as the reliability of the external control module  12 . Instead, the reliability of the application may be defined as the reliability of the application  11  being installed in the smartphone  10 . In that case, the application  11  possesses the information indicating the reliability level. 
         [0098]    In the above example, while the reliability is defined by three levels to execute different processing, the reliability may be defined by four or more levels to execute different processing for each level. 
       4th Embodiment  
       [0099]    Next, the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second and third embodiments, the property of the application is the information related to the reliability of the application. Instead, in the fourth embodiment, the property of the application is the information related to the genre of the application. The on-vehicle device  20  executes different travelling regulation for each genre of the application. 
         [0100]    In one example, it is assumed that the genre of the application is classified into two genres. It is assumed that the genre-1 is the application which displays only still pictures, and the genre-2 is the application which displays moving pictures. In this case, the on-vehicle device  20  obtains the genre of the image displaying application as the property of the image displaying application. Then, the on-vehicle device  20  entrusts the travelling regulation to the image displaying application if the image displaying application belongs to the genre-1, and executes the travelling regulation by itself if the image displaying application belongs to the genre-2. As the processing in this case, instep S 36  of the flowchart shown in  FIG. 5 , the on-vehicle device  20  determines whether or not “the image displaying application is the externally controllable application and the image displaying application is genre-1”. 
         [0101]    As another example, it is assumed that the genre of the application is classified into three genres. It is assumed that the genre-1 is the application which reproduces only the still pictures and the music, the genre-2 is the application for map or music reproduction, and the genre-3 is the application for reproducing moving picture or browser. In this case, the same processing as the third embodiment can be executed based on those three genres. Namely, if the image displaying application belongs to the genre-1, the on-vehicle device  20  entrusts the travelling regulation to the image displaying application. If the image displaying application belongs to the genre-2, the on-vehicle device  20  displays the application image outputted by the image displaying application, but does not transmit the operation information  54  that the user inputs to the on-vehicle device  20  to the smartphone  10 . If the image displaying application belongs to the genre-3, the on-vehicle device  20  does not display the application image outputted by the image displaying application, and does not transmit the operation information  54  that the user inputs to the on-vehicle device  20  to the smartphone  10 . 
         [0102]    As the specific processing in this case, in the flowchart of  FIG. 6 , the on-vehicle device  20  determines in step S 46  whether or not “the image displaying application is the externally controllable application and belongs to the genre-1”, determines in step S 47  whether or not “the image displaying application is the externally controllable application and belongs to the genre-2”, and determines in step S 48  whether or not “the image displaying application is the externally controllable application and belongs to the genre-3”.  
         [0103]    As described above, in the fourth embodiment, the property of the application is the information related to the genre of the application, and the method of the travelling regulation is changed based on the genre. Therefore, it is possible to execute the travelling regulation in an appropriate method for each genre of the application. 
       MODIFIED EXAMPLE 
       [0104]    While the genre of the application is classified in two or three genres to execute different processing in the above example, the genre of the application may be classified in four or more genres to execute different processing for each genre. 
       5th Embodiment 
       [0105]    Next, the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the fifth embodiment, the property of the application is the information related to a display appropriateness of the application image. Here, “display appropriateness” indicates whether the image is appropriate for the display during the travelling of the vehicle, i.e., it is not problematic to display the image, or it is inappropriate for the display during the travelling of the vehicle, i.e., it is not good to display the image. For example, the image appropriate for the display during the travelling includes the image of small information amount such as a still picture, and the image inappropriate for the display during the travelling includes a moving picture, an image having large information amount and an image requesting the user&#39;s operation. 
         [0106]    Specifically, the image displaying application determines the display appropriateness of the image that the image display application itself is outputting, and outputs the information indicating that the display appropriateness is “inappropriate” to the property obtaining unit  17  if image displaying application is outputting the inappropriate image. 
         [0107]      FIG. 7A  schematically shows the method of the fifth embodiment. In  FIG. 7A , the screen-2 displays an image whose display appropriateness is “inappropriate”, and the screen-1 and the screen-3 display images whose display appropriateness is “appropriate”. In this case, as shown in  FIG. 7B , the image displaying application outputs the property indicating that the display appropriateness is “inappropriate” from the output starting time t 1  to the output ending time t 2  of the screen-2, and the property is transmitted to the on-vehicle device  20 . When the output of the screen-2 ends and the output starting time t 3  of the screen-3 arrives, the image displaying application stops the output of the property indicating that the display appropriateness is “inappropriate”. 
         [0108]    While the on-vehicle device  20  is receiving the information indicating that the display appropriateness is “inappropriate” as the property of the application, the on-vehicle device  20  executes the travelling regulation on the on-vehicle device  20  side. Specifically, as shown in the examples of  FIGS. 8A and 8B , the on-vehicle device  20  stops the display of the image being outputted by the image displaying application, and displays a message inhibiting the operation during the travelling. It is noted that  FIG. 8A  is an example in which the image displaying application is a movie reproduction application and  FIG. 8B  is an example in which the image displaying application is a keyboard input application. 
         [0109]    As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, the on-vehicle device  20  can execute the travelling regulation only when the image inappropriate to display during the travelling of the vehicle is being displayed, even if the output image of the same application is being displayed on the on-vehicle device  20 . Therefore, the application can be effectively executed while ensuring necessary travelling regulation. 
       MODIFIED EXAMPLE 
       [0110]    In the above example, the property indicating that the display appropriateness is “inappropriate” is transmitted to the on-vehicle device  20  only when the display appropriateness of the application image is “inappropriate”. Instead, the property indicating that the display appropriateness is “appropriate” may also be transmitted to the on-vehicle device  20  and the on-vehicle device may execute the travelling regulation only when the display appropriateness is “inappropriate”. 
       INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
       [0111]    This invention can be used for an on-vehicle device such as a display device connected to a smartphone, typically a car navigation device. 
       DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
       [0112]      5  SPP 
         [0113]      6  HDMI 
         [0114]      10  Smartphone 
         [0115]      11  Application 
         [0116]      12  External control module 
         [0117]      15  Resident application 
         [0118]      20  On-vehicle device