Patent Abstract:
At least one display device in a motor vehicle displays graphic information from graphic applications that generate, independently of one another, display contents for an information data set. The graphic applications synchronize themselves by exchanging the information data set or by mutual referencing to the information data set, with the result that firstly one of the applications generates and displays its display content for the information data set in a first region, and then another of the applications generates its display content for the information data set and displays its display content in another region in the passenger compartment. A signaling device signals the synchronization by at least one optical and/or acoustic signal, which is different from the display contents, in the passenger compartment.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is based on and hereby claims priority to International Application No. PCT/EP2014/002169 filed on Aug. 7, 2014 and German Application No. 10 2013 013 326.2 filed on Aug. 9, 2013, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The invention relates to a motor vehicle having at least one display device, for example a screen, and having at least two applications, each of which can be, for example, a software application. The applications successively generate a display content from an information data set and in each case display their display content in a region of the passenger compartment by the at least one display device. The applications exchange the information data set with one another, i.e., information from the same information data set appears successively in the different regions of the passenger compartment. 
         [0003]    A typical application of this type is the display of a warning message in a motor vehicle. It can therefore be provided that firstly, for example, a warning signal which lights up in red is displayed in a combination instrument behind a steering wheel if, for example, a temperature of an engine oil is higher than a threshold value. This warning signal can be generated by a first application which is responsible for a screen of the combination instrument. 
         [0004]    In order to make more precise information about the problem available to the driver, an application for controlling a combination instrument can make available an information data set with the warning message to, for example, an application for a screen in the center console of the motor vehicle. This second application can be, for example, a component of the Infotainment system of the motor vehicle. The second application can then display, for example, a text with a detailed warning message on the screen of the center console. For this purpose, signal colors, that is to say for example letters which light up in red again, are generally used again. 
         [0005]    From a driver&#39;s point of view this may, however, mean that he perceives two warning messages which light up in red, specifically one in the combination instrument and one on the center console, in brief succession one after the other, that is to say for example in a time interval of one second, during a journey. If he then averts his gaze from the events on the road, he wastes valuable time on perceiving that both warning messages relate to the same warning message, specifically the high temperature in this example. The driver&#39;s gaze is therefore averted from the events on the road for an unnecessarily long time. 
         [0006]    Another application is the setting of a destination on a navigation assistance system and the subsequent display of driving messages, for example in the head-up display of the motor vehicle. The driver selects a new destination on a screen and confirms the selection. For this purpose, a first application, for example a control program of the Infotainment system, can display to him a corresponding operator control menu on the screen. On the head-up display, for example an arrow for the next driving maneuver, that is to say for example traveling straight ahead or turning off to the right, is then displayed to the driver by a second application. However, in this context the driver cannot be certain whether the displayed arrow is already associated with the navigation to his new destination or whether it is still based on the old destination because, for example, the route calculation for the new destination is still running. 
         [0007]    In the related art there is therefore the problem that it is not clear to a driver whether the information displayed by different applications of a motor vehicle are associated with one another, i.e., whether the applications have synchronized. There is therefore a lack of system transparency. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    One possible object relates to making available a possibility in a motor vehicle to be able to signal the synchronous operation of two applications. 
         [0009]    The motor vehicle described herein has at least one display device on which applications can display graphic information in a passenger compartment of the motor vehicle. A display device can be, for example, a screen. The quantity from the at least one display device can comprise, in particular, at least one of the following elements: a combination instrument, a windshield base display, a screen in a center console, a screen in a dashboard, a head-up display. A windshield base display is a strip-shaped screen which is known per se from the related art and is made available at the bottom of a windshield and has a longitudinal extent in the transverse direction of the vehicle of at least a third, in particular at least half, of the width of the windshield. 
         [0010]    The specified applications can each comprise a control unit and/or a program module of a control unit or of a central processing unit or of an Infotainment system. Each application respectively generates graphic data, that is to say control data for defining the graphic information, i.e., for defining its display content, which is displayed on the at least one display unit. 
         [0011]    The applications generate their display contents from an information data set, that is to say from a predetermined quantity of one or more computer-readable digital values and/or characters. The applications exchange this information data set in accordance with an embodiment, i.e., one of the applications transmits the information data set to at least one other application. Alternatively, it is also possible to provide that the applications mutually reference the information data set which is to be used as the basis for the display content, i.e., one of the applications transmits referencing data to at least one other application. The information data set can then be stored in a memory which is jointly accessible to all applications or said information data set can be generated and updated, for example by a control unit, from a data source which is accessible to all applications. Overall, the applications therefore synchronize themselves by exchanging the information data set or by the referencing to the information data set. 
         [0012]    Since all the display contents are based on the same information data set, firstly a first display content is generated from the information data set by one of the applications and displayed, and then a second display content is generated from the information data set by another of the applications and displayed in another region in the passenger compartment. As already described, this results, for example, in a warning symbol (first data content) appearing in the combination instrument and then a text appearing as a warning message (second display content) in the screen of the center console for the same warning message (information data set). The information data set does not have to be static here, that is to say invariable. It can also be updated, for example, by sensor data of sensors of the motor vehicle and/or by data, for example, from the Internet or some other vehicle-external data source. 
         [0013]    So that it is then clear to the driver in this context that the two display contents which are displayed in different regions of the passenger compartment are associated, according to the embodiment a signaling device is provided which is configured to generate at least one optical signal, which signals the exchanging of the information data set, in the passenger compartment. The optical signal therefore makes it visible that two applications have just synchronized their display content. 
         [0014]    The applications can output their display contents on a common display device. In particular for this case one embodiment provides that the signaling device comprises a lighting symbol which lights up and/or flashes and/or changes its illumination color in order to generate an optical signal. The lighting symbol can then be implemented, for example, by an icon on a screen or else by a lamp, for example a light-emitting diode. 
         [0015]    A further advantage is obtained if the signaling device is configured to generate a lighting effect which moves in the passenger compartment and which indicates through its movement that direction in which the information data set is exchanged. Then, at the same time it is signaled that the more up-to-date and/or more extensive information is located in the direction of movement. 
         [0016]    The signaling of the exchange of data between two applications is desirable in particular if at least two display devices which are arranged structurally separate from one another are made available and the applications are configured to display their display contents on another of the display devices in each case. In the example of the navigation assistance which is described above, for example a moving symbol, which moves from the screen of the navigation assistance device to the head-up display, can be displayed to the driver as an optical signal for the synchronization, for example after the calculation of the route. It is then clear to the driver that the calculation of the route is ended and that the arrow which is displayed on the head-up display relates to the route to the new destination. 
         [0017]    In order in this context to be able to generate a lighting effect even between the display devices, that is to say in a region where there is no screen at all, one embodiment provides a signaling device which comprises a plurality of lamps which are arranged in series between two display devices and is configured to switch on and/or switch off the lamps in series. As a result, a running light can be generated which indicates the direction of the exchange of data. 
         [0018]    One embodiment in which the signaling device comprises a projection device which is configured to project a light spot and/or a lighting symbol onto a surface in the passenger compartment is even more flexible in terms of generation of the optical signal. The projection device can comprise a laser or a lamp with a shutter. 
         [0019]    One embodiment utilizes one of the existing display devices to generate the optical signal. In this context, the signaling device comprises a windshield base display and is configured to generate a movable lighting effect, that is to say for example a moving symbol, which signals a direction in which the data set is exchanged, on the windshield base display. 
         [0020]    It is equally possible for the signaling device to be configured to generate, on the at least one display device, a simple graphic symbol, that is to say for example an arrow or a symbol which moves between the display contents of the two applications. 
         [0021]    According to one embodiment, a configuration device is provided in the motor vehicle, which configuration device is configured to optionally block or enable the synchronization of all the applications or of some predefined applications or of one predefined application as a function of a user input. The user can therefore switch off or switch on the exchange of data between the applications. This provides the user with the possibility of determining himself where and by which applications specific information is displayed in the passenger compartment. 
         [0022]    The motor vehicle may be implemented as a car, in particular as a passenger car. 
         [0023]    In the method for symbolizing the exchange of data between at least two applications, one of the applications firstly generates graphic data from an information dataset and displays it on at least one display device of a motor vehicle, and then another of the applications generates graphic data from the information data set and displays it on at least one display device, wherein, for the purpose of synchronization, the applications exchange the information data set with one another in the described way or mutually reference the information data set. At least one optical signal which signals the synchronization is generated by a signaling device in a passenger compartment of the motor vehicle. Additionally or alternatively to an optical signal, in the embodiment an acoustic signal can also generally be provided. This acoustic signal is suitable in particular if a user can perceive with it “migration” of an acoustic phenomenon, for example a sound or noise, from one display device to the other. This can be implemented, for example, by a volume control and/or phase control or by two or more than two loudspeakers. This method is also referred to as panning. In particular in the case of the optical and/or acoustic signal it is therefore possible to produce a location reference for a user in order to be able to determine the location of the associated display contents. 
         [0024]    Developments of this method have features such as have already been described in relation to the developments of the motor vehicle. For this reason, a description of the corresponding developments of the method is not given here. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0025]    These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of an exemplary embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0026]    The single FIGURE (FIG.) shows a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the motor vehicle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0027]    Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
         [0028]    In the exemplary embodiment described below, the described components of the embodiment each present individual features which are to be considered independently of one another and which each also develop the invention independently of one another and are therefore also to be considered to be a component of the invention individually or in another combination than that shown. Furthermore, the described embodiment can also be supplemented by further features of the invention which have already been described. 
         [0029]    The FIGURE shows an image sequence of four time periods S 1  to S 4  during operation of an embodiment of the method which is carried out by a motor vehicle  10 . In each case a part of the passenger compartment  12  of the motor vehicle  10  is illustrated from the point of a view of a driver (not illustrated) of the motor vehicle  10 . A combination instrument  16  with, for example, a tachometer  18  and a rotational speed display  20 , can be arranged behind the steering wheel  14 . The motor vehicle  10  can be a car, in particular a passenger car. 
         [0030]    The motor vehicle  10  can have in the example shown three screens in a manner known per se, specifically a combination display  22  in the combination instrument  16  between the tachometer  18  and the rotational speed display  20 , a center console screen  24  in a center console (not illustrated in more detail) of the car  10  and a windshield base display  26  which is arranged underneath a front windshield  28  and behind the combination instrument  16  in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle from the point of view of the driver. A display content of the three screens  22 ,  24 ,  26  can, for example, be controlled by a central processing unit  30 . The display content is defined here by graphic data which can comprise, for example, graphic control instructions for controllers of the respective screen and image data with bit maps. The graphic data forms in each case a display content for a region of at least one of the screens  22 ,  24 ,  26 . The graphic data can be generated, for example, in a manner known per se by control programs or applications  32 ,  34 ,  36  which are executed by the processing unit  30 . In the example shown, the application  32  generates a display content for the combination display  22 , the application  34  generates a display content for the center console screen  24 , and the application  36  generates a display content for the windshield base display  26 . However, it is also possible to provide that two or even more than two applications generate display contents for different regions of the same screen. 
         [0031]    In the example shown, in S 1 , the driver can define for example a destination XYZ for a navigation assistance system by defining the name of the destination XYZ in an input field  38  on the center console screen  24  and subsequently activating, for example by actuating an operator control button  40 , that is to say for example by clicking on the operator control button  40 , with a cursor  42 , the route calculation to the destination XYZ. The display of the input field  38  and of the operator control button  40  as well as the detection of the operator control with the mouse cursor  42  are carried out by the application  34  in a known way. 
         [0032]    In order to direct the driver to the destination XYZ, navigation indications, for example an arrow for indicating the next driving maneuver, should be displayed in a manner known per se in the combination display  22  by the application  32 . 
         [0033]    For this purpose, after completion of the route calculation at a time t 1 , the application  34  can transmit an information packet  44  to the application  32  as shown in S 2 . The information packet  44  can comprise, for example, a list with the driving maneuvers to be displayed, i.e., the information packet  44  then comprises a complete information data set which is associated with the destination XYZ and from which a display content for the display on the combination display  22  is to be generated by the application  32 . The information packet  44  can, however, also comprise, for example, just one indication in the form of an identification number, for example, by which the application  32  can then retrieve the actual information data set from a storage location. 
         [0034]    The exchange of data takes place in the concealed fashion. For the user it is therefore firstly not apparent from which source new data comes. The applications are displayed in different display regions or different displays (combination instrument, windshield base display, central display). 
         [0035]    So that when the first driving indication appears on the combination display  22  the driver can comprehend that this is information for the navigation assistance for the newly input destination XYZ, it is signaled to the driver in the motor vehicle  10  that the applications  32  and  34  are synchronizing, i.e., that the application  32  is also actually displaying instructions for driving maneuvers which are associated with the new destination XYZ. 
         [0036]    As soon as the applications exchange data, this is symbolized optically in that, for example, a data exchange symbol (light, icon) moves from one application to the other. For this purpose, it is possible, for example using the application  36  and the windshield base display  26 , to implement a signaling device which symbolizes the exchange of data of the information packet  44  between the applications  34  and  32 . 
         [0037]    At the time illustrated in S 1 , it is possible, for example during the inputting of the destination XYZ and the confirmation of the destination input by use of the operator control button  40 , to display in the windshield base display  26  a symbol  46 , for example a wave, via the center console screen  24  in the windshield base display  26  by the application  36 . When the information packet  44  is emitted or transmitted by the application  34  to the application  32  as shown in S 2 , the symbol  46  is moved in the direction of the combination display  22  in the windshield base display  26  with, for example, a fluid or continuous movement  48 . At a later time, t 2 , the symbol  46  therefore reaches a region above the combination display  22  as shown in S 3 . 
         [0038]    After the symbol  46  has reached the region above the combination display  22 , the display of driving instructions  50  (here for example a driving direction arrow and a distance indication) on the combination display  22  can then be started, for example at a time t 3 , by the application  32  as shown in S 4  in a manner known per se. For example a road map, on which, for example, the entire route is marked, can then also be displayed on the center console screen  24 . 
         [0039]    The driver was able to clearly recognize from the moving symbol  46  that the driving instructions appearing on the combination display  22  at the time t 3  have their origin or their source in the route calculation for the destination XYZ previously selected on the center console screen  24 . 
         [0040]    However, the driver may possibly not even wish that an application makes available data to another. In particular in the case of personal data switches, for example, telephone numbers, addresses or passwords, the exchange between random applications may be undesired. For example, it may be appropriate that a specific display content, for example a password, cannot be seen on any screen in the passenger compartment  12 . 
         [0041]    There can therefore be provision that the driver can define for all applications, or for individual selectable applications in, for example, a configuration menu of the Infotainment system, that no data can be emitted or specific data cannot be emitted, by a selected application to other applications or that no data can be received, or specific data cannot be received, by a selected application from said other applications. 
         [0042]    Overall, with the motor vehicle  10  the advantage is thus obtained that the user is provided with more intuition and control with respect to an exchange of data between the applications executed in the motor vehicle  10 . 
         [0043]    The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof and examples, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention covered by the claims which may include the phrase “at least one of A, B and C” as an alternative expression that means one or more of A, B and C may be used, contrary to the holding in  Superguide  v.  DIRECTV , 69 USPQ2d 1865 (Fed. Cir. 2004).

Technology Classification (CPC): 1