Vehicle control system and method

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle control system and method. The control system comprises a visual graphical interface. The information receiving unit is used for receiving a command from a user, and the command indicates the function of a specific key on a customized vehicle steering wheel; and the control unit is configured to respond to the command to present graphic elements related to the steering wheel on the visual graphic interface and customize the function of the specific key on the vehicle steering wheel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to a car steering wheel, and in particular relates to the customization of function buttons on the steering wheel. Background Art

[0002] The function buttons on the multi-function steering wheels of currently produced cars are generally pre-defined, including driving-related, navigation, music, air conditioning and other functional applications. For example, clicking a specific button triggers voice interaction, and another button directly opens the navigation system. Usually, these function buttons are mainly pre-defined functions, and are set when the vehicle leaves the factory or redefined by the vehicle manufacturer through OTA during subsequent use.

[0003] At the same time, in order to facilitate customers to operate or use their favorite functional applications and improve convenience, automobile manufacturers open up customization capabilities to users, allowing users to customize the buttons on the steering wheel to achieve their desired functions. At present, the conventional customization method mainly selects the customized function of the button through interactive operations such as up, down, left, right, and OK (i.e. "confirmation") on the buttons on the steering wheel. Obviously, this steering wheel button customization method is cumbersome and inconvenient for users to operate, especially when the user is driving the vehicle, which will increase safety risks, or prohibit users from customizing while driving for safety reasons. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides an improved steering wheel button customization solution, which allows users to complete button customization in a visual manner and eliminates the need for excessive manual operations.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control system is provided, comprising: a visual graphical interface; an information receiving unit for receiving commands from a user, wherein the commands indicate functions of buttons on a steering wheel of a vehicle to be customized; and a control unit configured to present graphical elements associated with the steering wheel and customize the functions of buttons on the steering wheel of the vehicle on the visual graphical interface in response to the commands.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment, the graphic elements associated with the steering wheel include: a virtual steering wheel, a virtual key located on the virtual steering wheel; and / or a first graphic symbol corresponding to the currently activated function of the specific key. The control unit is further configured to change the first graphic symbol to a second graphic symbol corresponding to the customized function as the function of the specific key is customized, for example, while or after the customized function is assigned to the specific key, wherein the first graphic symbol and the second graphic symbol are located on the virtual key or at a position separated from the virtual key in the graphical user interface. In another preferred embodiment, the control unit is further configured to change the first graphic symbol corresponding to the currently activated function of the specific key located at the specific key on the steering wheel to a second graphic symbol corresponding to the customized function as the function of the specific key is customized.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for customizing direction buttons is provided, comprising: receiving a command from a user, wherein the command indicates the customization of the functions of the buttons on a vehicle steering wheel; presenting graphic elements related to the steering wheel on the visual graphical interface in response to the command; and customizing the functions of the buttons on the vehicle steering wheel based on the visual graphical interface. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 A block diagram of a vehicle control system according to the present invention is shown;

[0009] Figure 2 schematically showing a steering wheel and a graphical user interface;

[0010] Figure 3-5 The process of launching a customized steering wheel according to different embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction set forth in the following description or shown in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways.

[0012] Figure 1The vehicle control system that can be used to realize vehicle button customization according to the invention is shown. As shown in the figure, the control system includes a visual graphical user interface (GUI) 100, a control unit 200 and a command receiving unit 300. The graphical user interface 100 here can be a multimedia display screen on the vehicle's central control platform. Usually, the multimedia display screen can display the application programs available for the vehicle (such as navigation, radio, etc.) and present the corresponding vehicle control access functions (such as air conditioning, etc.). In the example of the present invention, the graphical user interface 100 is used to facilitate the customization of the function buttons of the multi-directional wheel in an intuitive and visual manner.

[0013] The command receiving unit 300 may be a vehicle-mounted microphone for receiving a voice command issued by a user for key customization. In another example, the command receiving unit 300 may also be implemented as a touch screen. The graphical user interface 100 as described above generally has a touch screen function to receive user input to, for example, open a navigation application or enter an air conditioning control panel. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the touch screen function provided by the graphical user interface 100 may be used to independently or auxiliaryly receive a key customization command issued by a user with a microphone.

[0014] The control unit 200 receives a command CMD in the form of voice or touch screen from the command receiving unit 300 and parses the command CMD to determine whether the command CMD is related to the customized steering wheel button. For the voice command issued by the user, the control unit 200 can use the currently known natural language processing and recognition technology to implement the command parsing. In addition, the control unit 200 can also use a predetermined operation received on the graphical user interface 100 as a command CMD, such as a predetermined number of clicks on a predetermined area (such as a blank area) on the graphical user interface 100 or a click on a preset button customization icon on the GUI to identify that the user wants to enter the button customization mode.

[0015] When the control unit 200 confirms that the command CMD involves customizing steering wheel buttons, the control visualization graphic interface 100 is controlled to present graphic elements related to the steering wheel, thereby entering a mode for customizing the button functions on the vehicle steering wheel. Figure 2The left figure in the figure shows a physical steering wheel RW on the vehicle, in which only the physical buttons K1 and K2 on the steering wheel are schematically indicated. According to an embodiment of the present invention, after entering the button function mode on the customized vehicle steering wheel, under the control of the control unit 200, the graphical user interface 100 presents a graphic element related to the steering wheel, including a virtual steering wheel VW corresponding to the physical steering wheel RW, and a virtual button located on the virtual steering wheel VW and corresponding to the button on the physical steering wheel RW, as shown in the figure, and K1 and K2 are still used here. In addition, as an option, for example, when the screen resolution is sufficient, the presented graphic elements also include graphic symbols corresponding to the currently activated functions of the buttons K1 and K2, and these graphic symbols can be displayed at the corresponding buttons. For example, when the button K1 is currently used by default to open the "music player", a music icon or symbol (not shown in the figure) can be presented within the display area of ​​the virtual key K1. In another example of the present invention, the physical button K of the physical steering wheel RW may also include a display area for prompting the currently activated function of the corresponding button K, for example, a music icon is presented by default on the display area of ​​the button K1.

[0016] The following combination Figure 3 The process of customizing a key according to an example of the present invention is described, and the process can be executed by the control unit 200. In the following description, the process of receiving a voice command through a microphone is used as an example. As shown in the figure, in step 301, a voice command CMD1 issued by a user is received, and the command is parsed, for example, by natural language processing and recognition technology to identify the content of the voice command. For example, when a voice command "set steering wheel function" or similar voice is received from a user, it can be determined by parsing that the current command is a custom steering wheel function.

[0017] In step 303, in response to recognizing the command to customize the steering wheel button function, the GUI 100 is controlled to present a steering wheel related graphic element on a predetermined part of the area or the entire display area, thereby entering the button customization mode. Figure 2 As shown in the right figure, the presented graphic elements include a virtual steering wheel VW and multiple virtual buttons thereon. To facilitate the user to distinguish and control these buttons on the GUI 100, when presenting these graphic virtual buttons, unique identifiers assigned to these buttons, such as K1, K2, etc., are also presented. Figure 2 As shown in the picture on the right.

[0018] In step 305, a specific key selection command CMD2 issued by the user is received. For example, when the user wants to customize the key K1, a voice command CMD2 such as "customize the K1 key" may be issued. It should be noted here that, in one example, the specific key selection command issued by the user may be issued automatically when the GUI 100 presents the graphic elements related to the steering wheel or within a predetermined time period thereafter. For this reason, the control unit 200 monitors whether the voice command CMD2 is received when the GUI 100 presents the graphic elements related to the steering wheel or within a predetermined time period thereafter. When such a voice command is not detected within a predetermined time period, the GUI 100 is controlled to return to the default display state. In another example, when the GUI 100 presents the graphic elements related to the steering wheel, a message is generated to prompt the user to select a specific key for custom configuration. The message may be played to the user through the vehicle speaker; the message may also be presented on the GUI in a graphic and text manner to remind the user. After receiving the message, the user may issue the command CMD2 of the specific key he or she desires in the form of voice. Similarly, if no user command is detected within a predetermined period of time after such a reminder message is issued, the control GUI 100 returns to the default display state.

[0019] In step 307, the received voice command CMD2 is parsed to determine the specific key on the steering wheel specified by the user. For example, in this example, it can be identified that the user wishes to customize the K1 key. According to one example, in order to highlight the user's choice of key and to facilitate the user to view or confirm the identified key, after the K1 key is identified, the K1 key is highlighted on the GUI 100 in a specific manner such as highlighting or flashing; at the same time, the corresponding icon of the currently activated function of K1 can be highlighted in the same specific manner in other areas of the GUI. For example, when K1 initially corresponds to a music player, a music symbol can be displayed in a highlighted or flashing manner. According to another example, when the display area of ​​the K1 key is large enough or the resolution is high enough, the current music symbol can also be displayed in a part of the display area of ​​the K1 key, such as the central area, so that the function corresponding to the key can be more clearly represented.

[0020] According to an example of the present invention, while the K1 key is highlighted in a specific manner, a message is generated to prompt the user to specify a function for the K1 key. The message can be played to the user through the vehicle speaker; the message can also be presented on the GUI in a graphic form to remind the user. After receiving the message, the user can issue a command CMD3 of the desired specified function in the form of voice. For example, when the user wants to use the K1 key to quickly open the panoramic image, the voice command CMD3 of "open the panoramic image" can be issued. Similarly, if the user command CMD3 is not detected within a predetermined time period after such a reminder message is issued, the GUI 100 is controlled to return to the default display state.

[0021] In step 309, the received voice command CMD3 is parsed to determine the function specified by the user for the K1 key. In this example, it can be recognized that the user wants to set the customized function of the K1 key to "open the panoramic image". Here, it can be determined based on the preset rules whether the customized function of "open the panoramic image" is available for the K1 key. Usually, the preset rules are built into the vehicle control system by the automobile manufacturer. For example, the preset rules may include: (1) Function changes to specific keys are not allowed, that is, customization is not allowed; (2) The customized function expected by the customer is not provided in the vehicle control system, that is, it is an invalid customized function; (3) It is not allowed to assign specific customized functions to specific keys, etc.

[0022] If it is determined in step 309 that the user-customized function is not applicable to the specified key K1, a reminder message is issued, such as "your customized function cannot be implemented on K1", and the process returns to step 307 to require the user to select another key or change the customized function. If it is determined in step 309 that the user-customized function is applicable to the specified key K1, step 211 is entered.

[0023] In step 311, the control unit assigns a customized function such as "open panoramic image" to the K1 key, that is, the K1 key is associated with the "open panoramic image" function inside the vehicle control system to replace the currently activated function "music player" of the specific key. Therefore, when the user presses the K1 key again, the "panoramic image" application will be opened and the panoramic image mode will be entered. According to an example, in order to highlight the user's customization of the function of the key K1 and to facilitate the user to view the effective customized functions, as the K1 key is associated with the customized "open panoramic image" function inside the vehicle control system, for example, after or at the same time as the customized function "open panoramic image" is assigned to the key K1, the K1 key is highlighted on the GUI100 in a specific manner such as highlighting or flashing, and the corresponding icon of the currently activated customized function of K1 is also highlighted, such as a panoramic camera symbol, for example, the music symbol of the original music player function at the display range or area of ​​the original virtual key K1 is changed to the panoramic camera symbol corresponding to the "open panoramic image" function, so that the customized function corresponding to the key can be more clearly represented. Optionally, the music symbol in the display range or area of ​​the key K1 on the physical steering wheel RW is also changed to a panoramic camera symbol at the same time, so that the user can clearly see the change on the steering wheel and is easy to understand and use the K1 key.

[0024] In the above example, commands CMD1, CMD2 and CMD3 are all issued in the form of voice commands. In another example, all or part of these commands can also be input using a touch screen. When the user is prompted to select a key to be customized in step 305, the user can directly click on the corresponding virtual key icon, such as K1, on the GUI to specify the key.

[0025] In the above embodiment, the user can gradually issue voice commands to customize the keys after entering the key customization interface; in another embodiment of the present invention, the convenience of voice commands can be used to complete the customization operation at one time. Figure 4 Such an example flow is shown.

[0026] For example, when the user wants to customize the function of the K1 key on the steering wheel, he can directly issue a voice command CMD of "set the steering wheel K1 key to turn on navigation" or a similar one. Therefore, in step 401, after receiving the voice command CMD issued by the user, the command is parsed, for example, by using natural language processing and recognition technology to identify the content of the voice command. Therefore, for the above-mentioned "set the steering wheel K1 key to turn on navigation", it can be parsed that the command contains three levels of content: (i) "customize the steering wheel"; (ii) "customize the K1 key"; (iii) "the re-customized function is 'navigation'". Thus, step 403 is entered.

[0027] In step 403, in response to identifying the command CMD containing the above three levels of content, the following operations are performed: (a) based on the fact that the command involves "customize steering wheel", the GUI 100 is controlled to present steering wheel-related graphic elements on a predetermined part of the display area or the entire display area, and the presented graphic elements include a virtual steering wheel VW and multiple buttons K thereon; at the same time, in view of the fact that the command involves "customize the K1 key", the K1 key is highlighted on the GUI in a specific manner such as highlighting or flashing.

[0028] Then, in step 405, for the identified re-customized function as "navigation", it is determined based on a preset rule whether the customized function of "navigation" is available for the K1 key. If it is determined that the user-customized function is not applicable to the specified key K1, a reminder message is issued, such as "your customized function cannot be implemented in K1", and the process returns to step 401 to require the user to select other customized functions for the key K1, or select other keys for the navigation function. If it is determined in step 405 that the user-customized function is applicable to the specified key K1, step 407 is entered.

[0029] In step 407, according to an example, in order to highlight the user's customization of the function of the key K1 and to facilitate the user to view the effective customized functions, the K1 key is highlighted on the GUI in a specific manner such as highlighting or flashing, and the corresponding icon of the customized function currently to be activated of K1, such as a navigation map symbol, is also highlighted, so that the customized function corresponding to the key can be more clearly represented. In addition, as an option, a reminder-confirmation message is presented to the user to remind the user whether to confirm to customize the K1 key as the "navigation" function. The message can be a voice message or a graphic message. If the user rejects this message, the process returns to step 401; otherwise, if the user confirms this message, the process enters step 409. If the user does not confirm this message within a predetermined time period, the process exits and the GUI100 returns to the system default state.

[0030] In step 409, the customized function "navigation" is assigned to the K1 key, that is, the K1 key is associated with "navigation" inside the vehicle control system to replace the currently activated function "music player" of the specific key. Therefore, when the user presses the K1 key again, the "navigation" application will be activated and enter the navigation mode. In addition, in step 409, a message can be sent to the user whether to continue to customize the steering wheel buttons. If it is not, the process exits and the GUI100 returns to the system default state; if it is yes, it returns to step 401 to continue to receive the user's next voice command.

[0031] Figure 5FIG. 1 shows a process of customizing steering wheel buttons according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the touch screen input function provided by GUI 100 is used to partially implement button customization. Figure 3 As in the described example, in step 501, a voice command CMD1 issued by a user is received and the command is parsed. For example, when a voice command "set steering wheel function" or similar is received from a user, it can be determined through analysis that the current command is a custom steering wheel function.

[0032] In step 503, in response to recognizing the command to customize the steering wheel button function, the GUI 100 is controlled to present a steering wheel related graphic element on a predetermined part of the area or the entire display area, thereby entering the button customization mode. Figure 2 As shown in the right figure, the presented graphic elements include a virtual steering wheel VW and a plurality of buttons K thereon. In addition, a plurality of fields are also displayed on the GUI 100, such as Figure 2 As shown in the figure, it is located below the virtual steering wheel VW, where each field corresponds to a button. The corresponding fields are still indicated by button identifiers K1, K2, etc., where the current function description of each button is displayed in each field. For example, the current function is displayed as "music" in the K1 field, and the current function is displayed as "radio" in the K2 field.

[0033] In step 505, a specific key selection command CMD2 issued by the user is received. For example, when the user wants to customize the key K1, the user can directly click the K1 key field on the touch screen. Figure 3 Similar to the described embodiment, if the user command CMD2 is not detected within a predetermined time period, the control GUI 100 returns to the default display state.

[0034] In step 507, in response to the user clicking the K1 key field, the K1 key is highlighted in a specific manner such as highlighting or flashing on the GUI 100. At the same time, a drop-down box is presented at the K1 field position, which lists all the function lists currently available for the K1 key. In this example, the user can also use the voice command CMD2 of issuing the "K1" key to specify the key that he or she wants to customize. Similarly, after the K1 key is determined by parsing the command CMD2, the K1 key is highlighted in a specific manner such as highlighting or flashing on the GUI, and a drop-down box is presented at the K1 field position, which lists all the function lists currently available for the K1 key.

[0035] In step 509 , the user can select a desired function from the list of all functions displayed in the K1 field, for example, by clicking the “Open panoramic image” option or issuing a voice command of “Open panoramic image” to select the “Open panoramic image” function.

[0036] In step 511, the customized function "Open Panoramic Image" is assigned to the K1 key, that is, the K1 key is associated with "Open Panoramic Image" inside the vehicle control system to replace the currently activated function "Music Player" of the specific key. Therefore, when the user presses the K1 key again, the "Open Panoramic Image" application will be activated and the panoramic image mode will be entered. According to one example, in order to highlight the user's customization of the function of the key K1, the corresponding icon of the currently activated custom function of K1, such as a panoramic camera symbol, is also highlighted. For example, the music symbol corresponding to the original "Music Player" function at the virtual key K1 on the virtual steering wheel VW is replaced with a panoramic camera symbol; and at the same time, the music symbol at the key K1 on the physical steering wheel RW is changed to a panoramic camera symbol, so that the customized function corresponding to the key can be more clearly represented.

[0037] Although the exemplary custom steering wheel button scheme of the present invention is described above in conjunction with specific examples, those skilled in the art will also recognize that the various illustrative logic units and method steps described in conjunction with the disclosure herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. For example, the control unit 200 according to the present invention can be implemented as a processor or a main controller and a memory, wherein the memory stores various modules in the form of computer programs, and the processor can implement the method of the present invention by executing these modules. In addition, another embodiment of the present invention provides a machine-readable medium on which machine-readable instructions are stored, and when the machine-readable instructions are executed by the processor, the processor executes any of the aforementioned methods disclosed herein. These embodiments are also within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle control system, comprising: Visual graphical interface; an information receiving unit, configured to receive a command from a user, wherein the command indicates a function of a specific key on a steering wheel of a customized vehicle; A control unit is configured to present a graphical element related to the steering wheel on the visual graphical interface and customize the function of the specific button on the vehicle steering wheel in response to the command.

2. The vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the graphical element associated with the steering wheel comprises: A virtual steering wheel, a virtual key located on the virtual steering wheel; and / or a first graphic symbol corresponding to the current function of the specific key; The control unit is further configured to: as the function of the specific key is customized, change the first graphic symbol to a second graphic symbol corresponding to the customized function; The first graphic symbol and the second graphic symbol are located on the virtual key or at a position separated from the virtual key in the graphical user interface.

3. As claimed in claim 1, the vehicle control system, the control unit is further configured to: as the function of the specific key is customized, change the first graphic symbol located at the specific key on the steering wheel and corresponding to the current function of the specific key to a second graphic symbol corresponding to the customized function.

4. A vehicle control system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The information receiving unit comprises: a microphone for receiving said commands in the form of speech from said user; and / or The touch screen integrated with the visual graphic interface is used to receive the command in the form of touch input by the user on the visual graphic interface.

5. The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit is further configured to: Parsing the command issued by the user to determine: (1) the specific button on the steering wheel designated by the user, and (2) the customized function desired by the user for the specific button; determining whether the desired custom function is available for the particular key; When the custom function is available for the specific key, the custom function is assigned to the specific key.

6. The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit is further configured as: parsing a first command issued by a user to determine the specific button on the steering wheel designated by the user; In response to the determined specific key, highlighting a graphic element associated with the specific key; parsing a second command issued by the user to determine a user desired custom function for the particular key; When the desired custom function is available for the feature key, assigning the custom function to the specific key to replace the currently activated function of the specific key; The first command and the second command are respectively any one of a voice command or a touch screen input command.

7. The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit is further configured to: parsing a first command issued by a user to determine the specific button on the steering wheel designated by the user; In response to the determined specific key, presenting a graphical element associated with the specific key, wherein the graphical element includes an indication of a currently activated function of the specific key and a list of candidate functions; parsing a second command issued by the user to determine the user's selection of a candidate function in the candidate function list, and assigning the selected candidate function as a custom function to the specific key to replace a currently activated function of the specific key; The first command and the second command are respectively any one of a voice command or a touch screen input command.

8. A method for customizing a steering wheel button, comprising: receiving a command from a user, wherein the command instructs to customize the function of a specific button on a steering wheel of the vehicle; presenting a graphical element related to the steering wheel on the visual graphical interface in response to the command; Based on a visual graphical interface, the function of the specific button on the vehicle steering wheel is customized.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the graphical element associated with the steering wheel comprises: A virtual steering wheel, and virtual buttons on the virtual steering wheel; and / or a first graphic symbol corresponding to the currently activated function of the specific key; The method further comprises: as the function of the specific key is customized, changing the first graphic symbol to a second graphic symbol corresponding to the customized function, The first graphic symbol and the second graphic symbol are located on the virtual key or at a position separated from the virtual key in the graphical user interface.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: As the function of the specific key is customized, a first graphic symbol located at the specific key on the steering wheel and corresponding to the currently activated function of the specific key is changed to a second graphic symbol corresponding to the customized function.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein: The commands include: commands received from the user in the form of speech via a microphone; and / or A user's touch input on the visual graphic interface is received through a touch screen integrated with the visual graphic interface.

12. The method of any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising: Parsing the command issued by the user to determine: (1) the specific button on the steering wheel designated by the user, and (2) the customized function desired by the user for the specific button; determining whether the desired custom function is available for the particular key; When the custom function is available for the specific key, the custom function is assigned to the specific key.

13. The method of any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising: parsing a first command issued by a user to determine the specific button on the steering wheel designated by the user; In response to the determined specific key, highlighting a graphic element associated with the specific key; parsing a second command issued by the user to determine a user desired custom function for the particular key; When the desired custom function is available for the feature key, assigning the custom function to the specific key to replace the currently activated function of the specific key; The first command and the second command are respectively any one of a voice command or a touch screen input command.

14. The method of any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising: parsing a first command issued by a user to determine the specific button on the steering wheel designated by the user; In response to the determined specific key, presenting a graphical element associated with the specific key, wherein the graphical element includes an indication of a currently activated function of the specific key and a list of candidate functions; parsing a second command issued by the user to determine the user's selection of a candidate function in the candidate function list, and assigning the selected candidate function as a custom function to the specific key to replace a currently activated function of the specific key; The first command and the second command are respectively any one of a voice command or a touch screen input command.

15. A vehicle control system comprising: a memory storing instructions; as well as One or more processors, which when executing the instructions causes the processor to implement the method of any one of claims 8-14.

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