Motor vehicle with a dialogue system

Abstract

Motor vehicle with a dialogue system, in which information, organized in the form of display pages, can be optically output to an operator by means of an optical display unit, and in which operator commands can be entered into the dialog system by means of at least one control element, in which a first display page can be shown, which contains at least one selectable form field into which text content can be entered and which contains at least one first action field assigned a predefined action, that the display of the first action field within the first display page includes an individual textual description of the action derived from a source code of the first display page, in which, upon selection of the form field, a second display page can be shown, which essentially serves to input the text content into the form field, in which the second display page includes a second action field with the same predefined action, in which the display of the second action field within the second display page includes an individual textual description of the action derived from the source code of the first display page, in which the first display page contains several form fields whose content has or may have an impact on the executability of the specified action, and in which the second action field is only displayed in the second display page, or assigned the specified action, or its appearance is only changed when sufficient text content for the execution of the action has been entered into these form fields.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a motor vehicle with a dialogue system in which information organized in the form of display pages can be optically output to an operator by means of an optical display unit and in which commands of the operator can be entered into the dialogue system by means of at least one control element.

[0002] Dialogue systems in motor vehicles require specialised operating mechanisms due to the specific boundary conditions associated with their use in motor vehicles, in particular the frequently limited operating options and low attention of the operator.

[0003] Document EP 1 111 342 A2 discloses a dialog system that allows the selection of an action field on a first display page. A comparable action field is also displayed on a second display page, which the operator can access from the first display page during the dialog.

[0004] It is an object of the invention to provide a motor vehicle with a dialogue system that is adapted to these boundary conditions in a simple and efficient manner.

[0005] This object is achieved by a motor vehicle having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention emerge from the dependent claims.

[0006] A motor vehicle according to the invention is equipped with a dialogue system in which a first display page can be presented, which contains at least one selectable form field into which text content can be entered, and which contains at least one first action field stored with a predefined action. The display of the first action field within the first display page comprises an individual textual designation of the action obtained from a source text of the first display page. Upon selection of the form field, a second display page can be presented, which essentially serves to enter the text content into the form field and comprises a second action field stored with the same predefined action. The display of this second action field within the second display page comprises an individual textual designation of the action obtained from the source text of the first display page.

[0007] By providing the second action field to the user on the second display page, which essentially serves to enter text content into the form field, and thus giving them the opportunity to trigger the specified action, the need to return to the first display page to trigger the specified action from there using the first action field is eliminated. The total number of required operating steps is thus reduced.

[0008] The dialog system is preferably suitable and / or designed for filling out forms in Internet applications. The first display page can be a browser window, and the second display page can be a text input window called from there.

[0009] The first display page is preferably based essentially on a source code received from the dialog system via the internet, in particular HTML source code. The content, structure, and appearance of the first display page are thus largely independent of the motor vehicle and the dialog system—apart from the basic settings typically configured in a browser.

[0010] The structure and appearance of the second display page, however, are preferably specified by a computer program executable in the dialog system, in particular by the browser program through which the first display page is also displayed. The corresponding part of the browser program is started when text is to be entered into a form field displayed in the browser window, i.e., the first display page.

[0011] Preferably, the second action field is only displayed on the second display page or is only assigned the specified action when sufficient text content has been entered into the form field to execute the action.

[0012] The appearance, e.g. the color scheme and / or the display contrast, of the second action field can also be changed if sufficient text content has been entered into the form field to execute the action.

[0013] The expression used several times in this document that an action field is “stored with an action” is intended in particular to express the fact that the action is carried out when the action field is activated or selected.

[0014] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the individual textual label is only displayed once sufficient text content has been entered into the form field to execute the action. In this embodiment of the present invention, a universal, ie, non-individual, placeholder label (e.g., "Next" or "Open") is previously displayed at the same position within the second display page.

[0015] Whether the text entered into the form field is likely to be sufficient to execute the action can be estimated by a feasibility estimator in step with the text input, for example, after each newly entered letter. In the simplest case, such a feasibility estimator only determines whether a minimum number of letters has been entered into the text field, and possibly also whether a letter has been entered into the text field at all. In more complex systems, a feasibility estimator can also search a database or specific categories within a database to determine whether it contains at least one term that contains a sequence of letters entered into the text field to date and / or begins with this sequence of letters. The correct format of an input can also be checked.For example, in a form field in which an email address is to be entered, it can be checked whether the entered string contains the character “@” followed by several letters and at least one period.

[0016] According to the invention, the first display page contains a plurality of form fields, the content of which has or can have an influence on the executability of the specified action, and the second action field is only displayed in the second display page or is only assigned the specified action or its appearance is only changed when a text content that is likely sufficient to execute the action has been entered into the relevant form fields.

[0017] Whether a text content entered into the form field is likely to be sufficient to execute the action is then preferably estimated by a correspondingly more complex feasibility estimator in step with the text input into one of the relevant form fields, for example after each new letter entered into one of the relevant form fields.

[0018] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second display page - apart from the second action field - serves exclusively for entering the text content into the form field.

[0019] The text content on the second display page can be entered in a conventional manner. For example, using a so-called rotary push-button controller (often also referred to as an Ergo Commander; in the applicant's vehicles, referred to in particular as an iDrive controller), available letters, numbers, and possibly other symbols can be displayed on the display unit in a circular or circle-like arrangement and preselected by rotating a control element. Pressing the control element down enters the currently preselected letter.

[0020] The second action field can be designed to be visually identical to the first action field. With this design, the operator recognizes the action field, whose meaning is preferably self-explanatory in the context of the first display page, also in the context of the second display page, thus increasing the suitability of the dialog system for intuitive operation.

[0021] The individual textual description of the action included in the display of the second action field can also be identical to the individual textual description included in the display of the first action field. This also promotes recognition by the user and the suitability of the dialog system for intuitive operation.

[0022] The individual textual designation of the action included in the representation of the second action field may be shortened or reduced compared to the individual textual designation included in the representation of the first action field for reasons of space allocation on the display area or due to its repetitive nature.

[0023] Alternatively, the individual textual description of the action included in the display of the second action field can be expanded compared to the individual textual description included in the display of the first action field. This can compensate for the fact that the user lacks the context of the first display page while the second display page is displayed.

[0024] Depending on the size of the display unit used and the logical size of the display pages, the display pages in a motor vehicle or dialog system according to the invention can be displayed in their entirety on the display unit. However, they can also be displayed only partially, in sections, or in extracts. Preferably, the operator is then offered an operating option for navigating through the display page, in particular for scrolling.

[0025] In the simplest case, the first display page contains exactly one action field assigned to an action, which is also found on the second display page in the manner described. However, it is also conceivable that a first display page can be displayed which contains at least one selectable form field into which text content can be entered, and which contains a first group of action fields, each assigned a predefined action; that the display of each of the action fields of the first group within the first display page includes an individual textual designation of the action obtained from a source text of the first display page; that upon selection of the form field, a second display page can be displayed which essentially serves to enter the text content into the form field; that the second display page includes a second group of action fields;wherein each member of the second group corresponds to a member of the first group at least insofar as it is assigned the same predefined action, and that the representation of the action fields of the second group within the second display page each includes an individual textual designation of the action with which the respective field is assigned, obtained from the source text of the first display page.

[0026] The first group of action fields can include all or only selected action fields from the first display page.

[0027] The number of members of the first group of action fields can be set dynamically.

[0028] The invention is based on the findings presented below.

[0029] In the common browser implementations for motor vehicles, the entered text is simply transferred to the previously selected form field on the first display page upon confirmation (e.g., by clicking "OK"). Subsequently, the user must additionally select or click an action field on the first display page (e.g., using a mouse cursor) to submit the form.

[0030] However, the source code, in particular the HTML source code, of a display page usually clearly shows the label with which the button, i.e. the action field, is displayed in the browser window, i.e. within the first display page. This information can be passed on to the text input window, i.e. the second display page. In this way, extra buttons, i.e. additional action fields, can be displayed on the second display page with the "correct" label from the first display page. In this way, buttons with the label from the first display page are added to the text input, i.e. within the second display page. This is preferably done dynamically, i.e. both the number of buttons and the button labels are not predefined. The number of buttons added as action fields can, in particular, result from the number of possible actions.Thus, a single button can be inserted into the second display page, but two, three, or more, for example, ten, action buttons can also be inserted. Typical labels for such action buttons might be "Send to Server X," "Send to Server Y," or "Save."

[0031] The invention allows the user to navigate through pages with form fields significantly faster. Furthermore, they always know what function the "Submit" button performs. This prevents the time-consuming process of calling up "wrong" pages in internet applications. This is particularly advantageous for use in a motor vehicle, where internet applications generally only allow for relatively slow data transfer.

[0032] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the browser implementation has the following additional features: In the case of a first display page with multiple form fields, in order to jump directly to the next form field within the text input menu, i.e., from the second display page, an additional button / menu entry can be displayed on the second display page. This allows jumping to the next or, if necessary, the last form field. Direct jumps to a form field other than the last or the next form field are also possible. Additionally, the title / label of the current input field can be transferred to the text input mask to indicate to the user which input field they are currently in.

[0033] Preferably, the buttons added for jumping to other form fields are also displayed dynamically, meaning that both the number of buttons and their labels are not predefined. The number of buttons can be determined, in particular, by the number of form fields to be filled in. Thus, a single button, or two, three, or more, for example, ten, form field buttons can be inserted into the second display page. Typical labels for such action buttons could be, for example, "Name," "Zip Code," or "PIN."

[0034] In contrast, in state-of-the-art dialog systems, a form consisting of several individual text input lines requires switching to text input mode for each field individually. The entered text must then be confirmed before returning to the first display page and reselecting the next text field.

[0035] This refinement of the invention enables a user to complete forms with more than one form field (e.g., form fields for username and password) more quickly. They do not have to switch back to the parent form display after each text entry in a form field. This reduces the operating time and, when used while driving, also reduces driver distraction.

[0036] A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Further details, preferred embodiments, and developments of the invention will emerge from these. In detail, schematically Fig. 1 a screen view of a dialogue system in a motor vehicle when displaying a first display page and Fig. 2 a screen view of a dialogue system in a motor vehicle when displaying a second display page.

[0037] A dialogue system in a motor vehicle visually presents information organized in the form of display pages to the operator using a visual display unit. Operator commands can be entered into the dialogue system using at least one control element. If necessary, various manually operable control elements and / or voice input devices are provided for entering commands.

[0038] In the present example, a rotary push-button controller (often referred to as an Ergo-Commander; in the applicant's vehicles, referred to in particular as an iDrive controller) is used as the control element.

[0039] A first display page 1, shown schematically and in extracts in Fig. 1, comprises, among other things, a heading 11 and several form fields 21, 22, 23 selectable by the control element, into each of which text content can be entered. In the screen display, the form fields 21, 22, 23 are preceded by a description 12, 13, 14. The description 12 could, for example, be "NAME", the description 13 could, for example, be "Postal Code", and the description 14 could, for example, be "PIN". In addition, the first display page 1 contains a first action field 31 stored with a predefined action (e.g. sending the inputs to a specific server), and the representation of the first action field 31 within the first display page 1 includes an individual textual designation 32 of the action obtained from a source text of the first display page (here symbolically defined as "Act_ID_1").

[0040] Upon selecting each of the form fields 21, 22, 23, a further display page can be displayed, which essentially serves to enter the text content into the respective form field. Fig. 2 shows a second display page 2 associated with the second form field in the case of selection of the second form field 22.

[0041] For text input, various available letters, numbers, and characters 62 are arranged around a circular structure 61. To perform the actual text input, the letters 62 can be preselected by rotating the control element, and the currently preselected letter can be entered by pressing the control element down.

[0042] The second display page 2 is overwritten with a heading 71 derived from the source text of the first display page, in particular a description of the second form field 22 contained therein. This can be identical to the description 13 from Fig. 1.

[0043] The second display page 2 comprises a second action field 41 stored with the same predefined action. The representation of the second action field 41 within the second display page 2 comprises an individual textual designation 42 of the action obtained from the source text of the first display page (here “Act_ID_1”, identical to the individual textual designation 32 from Fig. 1).

[0044] Furthermore, the second display page 2 comprises a jump field 51, by actuating which one can switch directly to a third display page, which serves for entering text into the third form field. The jump field 51 has a label derived from the source text of the first display page, in particular a description of the third form field 23 contained therein. This can be identical to the description 14 from Fig. 1.

[0045] In addition, the second display page 2 includes a jump field 52, which, when activated, can be used to switch directly to a fourth display page, which serves to enter text into the first form field. The jump field 52 has a label derived from the source text of the first display page, in particular a description of the first form field 21 contained therein. This label can be identical to the description 12 from Fig. 1.

[0046] The third display page (not specifically shown graphically here) is essentially structured similarly to the second display page. It also contains a circular structure for text input, with available letters, numbers, and characters arranged around it. Furthermore, like display page 2, it contains an action field that is assigned the same predefined action as action fields 31 and 41, and which is labeled with an individual textual designation of this stored action derived from the source code of the first display page (here "Act_ID_1", identical to the individual textual designation 32 from Fig. 1 or 42 from Fig. 2). However, the third display page has only one jump field, which can be used to switch to the second display page. The jump field is located within the third display page at the same position where jump field 52 is located within the second display page. Thus, jump fields for jumping to a previous form field (in the first display page) are consistently located at this position.

[0047] The third display page is overwritten with a heading derived from the source code of the first display page, in particular a description of the third form field 23 contained therein. This can be identical to the description 14 from Fig. 1.

[0048] You can also switch to the third display page from the first display page by selecting the third form field.

[0049] The fourth display page (not specifically shown graphically here) is also essentially structured similarly to the second display page. It also contains a circular structure for text input, with available letters, numbers, and characters arranged around it. Furthermore, like display page 2, it contains an action field that is stored with the same predefined action as action fields 31 and 41 and which is labeled with an individual textual designation of this stored action derived from the source code of the first display page (here "Act_ID_1", identical to the individual textual designation 32 from Fig. 1 or 42 from Fig. 2). However, the fourth display page has only one jump field, which allows switching to the second display page. The jump field is located within the fourth display page at the same position as jump field 51 on the second display page. Thus, jump fields for switching to a subsequent form field (on the first display page) are consistently located at this position.

[0050] The fourth display page is overwritten with a heading derived from the source code of the first display page, in particular a description of the first form field 21 contained therein. This can be identical to the description 12 from Fig. 1.

[0051] You can also switch to the fourth display page from the first display page by selecting the first form field.

[0052] To preselect one of the jump fields 51, 52 or the action field 41 while the second display page is displayed, the operator must translate the control element in a conventional manner (for example, downwards if switching from the circular pattern 61 to the jump field 51; for example, to the right if switching from the jump field 52 to the action field 52). Pressing the control element down executes the action (if the action field is preselected) or the jump (if a jump field is preselected).

[0053] In this case, the first display page contains three form fields. The content of all these form fields influences the executability of the specified action. Therefore, the second action field 41 or the corresponding action fields on the third and fourth display pages are only displayed on the respective display page when sufficient text content has been entered into each of the three form fields to execute the action.

Claims

[1] Motor vehicle with a dialogue system, in which information, which is organised in the form of display pages, can be output optically to an operator by means of an optical display unit and in which commands of the operator can be entered into the dialogue system by means of at least one control element, in which a first display page can be displayed, which contains at least one selectable form field into which a text content can be entered, and which contains at least one first action field with a predetermined action, that the representation of the first action field within the first display page includes an individual textual designation of the action obtained from a source text of the first display page, in which, upon selection of the form field, a second display page can be displayed, which essentially serves to enter the text content into the form field, in which the second display page comprises a second action field with the same predefined action, in which the representation of the second action field within the second display page includes an individual textual designation of the action obtained from the source text of the first display page, in which the first display page contains several form fields, the content of which has or can have an influence on the executability of the specified action, and in which the second action field is only displayed in the second display page or is assigned the specified action or has its appearance changed when a text content that is likely to be sufficient to execute the action has been entered into these form fields.

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