Sharing content between multiple screens of a human-machine interface in a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for managing, by means of a computer device (100) installed in a motor vehicle (1), the operation of a human-machine interface (2) of the vehicle, said interface comprising several touchscreens (3, 4) arranged in the vehicle's passenger compartment. The invention also relates to a device (100) implementing such a method and to a motor vehicle (1) comprising such a device. Figure for the abstract: 1

Description

Title of the invention: Sharing content between several screens of a human-machine interface of a motor vehicle Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of human-machine interfaces for motor vehicles, in particular those which use touch screens. The invention relates in particular to a method for managing, by means of a computer device on board a motor vehicle, the operation of a human-machine interface of the vehicle, said interface comprising several touch screens arranged in the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The invention also relates to a device implementing such a method. The invention applies to motor vehicles such as land motor vehicles, in particular cars. State of the prior art

[0002] It is known that the human-machine interfaces of certain current motor vehicles comprise several touch screens which are used to display visual content and which are arranged so as to be able to be operated by the driver and one or more passengers in order, in particular, to control the operation of various functionalities (navigation, adjustment of the vehicle's operating parameters, broadcasting of multimedia content, etc.). It is also known that certain driving situations or certain events may require collaboration between the driver and one or more passengers and / or between passengers, and that these circumstances may give rise to the need to be able to share between occupants of a vehicle information which is displayed on one screen to another screen.We are thinking in particular of the need that a driver may have to be able to delegate a driving assistance activity to one or more co-pilots installed at the front or rear of a vehicle. We are also thinking, in the context of passenger transport, of the possible need of a passenger to give instructions to a driver. However, to date, unfortunately, there is no human-machine interface for motor vehicles that can allow occupants to easily consider in a collaborative manner visual content that is displayed on one of the interface screens. Summary of the invention

[0003] The invention aims to solve this problem. The invention aims in particular to provide a solution to enable the occupants of a motor vehicle to easily share visual content from one screen to another of a human-machine interface of a motor vehicle. More specifically, the invention aims to provide a method and a device which contribute to enabling a occupant of a motor vehicle to be able to share visual content displayed on a screen to which he has access with another screen in the vehicle to which he does not necessarily have access. In this way, the invention aims to improve the ergonomics of motor vehicles, and also to contribute positively to driving safety.

[0004] In order to achieve these aims, the invention relates, according to a first aspect, to a method for managing, by means of a computer device on board a motor vehicle, the operation of a human-machine interface of the vehicle, said interface comprising several touch screens arranged in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: • determine whether a tactile interaction carried out by means of several fingers touching the surface of a first screen of said interface has been carried out; and, when it is established that this is the case, • determine a direction corresponding to said interaction; • determine a second screen of said interface corresponding to said direction; and • cause the display on the second screen of visual content displayed on the first screen.

[0005] According to a variant, said interaction can be carried out by means of at least four fingers.

[0006] According to another variant, said interaction can be carried out by means of four fingers.

[0007] According to yet another variant, the first screen can be installed in or on the dashboard of the vehicle in a central position.

[0008] According to yet another variant, the second screen can be installed in or on the dashboard of the vehicle to the right or left of the first screen, in a headrest of a front seat of the vehicle or between the front seats of the vehicle.

[0009] According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a device for managing the operation of a human-machine interface of a motor vehicle, said interface comprising several touch screens arranged in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, the device comprising at least one information processing unit, comprising at least one processor, and a data storage medium configured to implement a method as described above.

[0010] According to a third aspect, the invention relates to a computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the steps of a method as described above when said program is executed by at least one processor.

[0011] According to a fourth aspect, the invention relates to a medium usable in a computer on which a program as described above is recorded.

[0012] According to a fifth aspect, the invention relates to a motor vehicle which has a device as described above. Brief description of the figures

[0013] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on examining the detailed description below, and the appended drawings, in which:

[0014] [Fig-1] is a diagram illustrating a motor vehicle according to the invention;

[0015] [Fig.2] is a functional diagram of a device according to the invention;

[0016] [Fig.3] is a diagram illustrating the steps of a method according to the invention. Detailed description of the invention

[0017] In [Fig.l] a motor vehicle 1 according to the invention is schematically illustrated. This is conventionally equipped with a human-machine interface 2 which comprises several touch screens, including at least a first screen 3 and a second screen 4. Each of these screens comprises conventional components for detecting touch interactions carried out on their surface, in particular for determining a direction in which a touch interaction is carried out (i.e. from left to right, from top to bottom, diagonally, etc.).Preferably, the first screen 3 is installed in or on the dashboard of the vehicle 1 in a central position so that it can be operated by the driver of the vehicle, while the second screen 4 is installed in or on the dashboard of the vehicle to the right or left of the first screen 3 so that it can be operated by the passenger seated in the front (left-hand or right-hand drive), in a headrest of a front seat of the vehicle 1 so that it can be operated by a passenger seated in a rear seat of the vehicle 1 or between the front seats of the vehicle 1 so that it can be operated by the passengers seated in the rear seats of the vehicle 1.Furthermore, according to the invention, the vehicle 1 advantageously carries a device 100 for managing the operation of a human-machine interface of a motor vehicle which comprises several touch screens within the meaning of the present invention, as described below, which implements a method for managing the operation of a human-machine interface of a motor vehicle within the meaning of the present invention, as described below.

[0018] When implementing the method, an occupant of the vehicle, whether the driver or a passenger, can share with a simple gesture visual content displayed on a screen to which he has access, more specifically by performing a drag-and-drop type tactile interaction by touching the screen with several fingers, preferably four. When this occurs, the device 100 according to the invention determines a direction in which the tactile interaction was performed and it deduces therefrom another screen of the vehicle which is located in this direction. It then proceeds by causing the display of the visual content on this second screen, so that another occupant can become aware of this content and interact with it via this other screen on which this visual content is now also displayed. In this way, the invention advantageously improves the ergonomics of motor vehicles, while also contributing positively to driving safety.

[0019] The device 100 for managing the operation of a human-machine interface of a motor vehicle according to the invention, which is on board a motor vehicle 1 according to the invention, is illustrated in [Fig. 2]. It is fundamentally a computer device, which comprises at least one information processing unit 101, comprising one or more processors, a data storage medium 102, on which is recorded in particular a program which comprises program code instructions for the execution of the steps of the method according to the invention described below, and an input and output interface 103 allowing the reception and transmission of data. Preferably, the device 100 according to the invention is hosted on one or more computers or other electronic control units of the vehicle 1.Alternatively, the device 100 according to the invention is hosted on an independent computer and it interacts via its input and output interface 103 and by means of a wired communication network of the vehicle (e.g. CAN, Ethernet) - shown in [Fig.l] by the two-way arrow - with a computer of the human-machine interface 2 of the vehicle 1. According to another embodiment, the device 100 according to the invention is an integral part of a computer of the human-machine interface 2 of the vehicle 1. Consequently, by interacting with or by being an integral part of the human-machine interface 2 of the vehicle 1, the device 100 according to the invention can interact with all the elements that it comprises, in particular its touch screens 3, 4 and their touch interaction functionalities.By these means, the device 100 according to the invention is advantageously able, in particular, to determine whether a tactile interaction carried out by means of several fingers touching the surface of one of the screens 3, 4 of the human-machine interface 2 is carried out, to determine a direction corresponding to said interaction and to cause the display of visual content on each of the screens 3, 4 of the human-machine interface 2 of the vehicle 1.

[0020] According to the invention, all the elements described above contribute to enabling the implementation of a method for managing the operation of a human-machine interface 2 of a motor vehicle 1, said interface comprising several touch screens 3, 4, as described below in connection with Figures 1 and 3.

[0021] [Fig. 3] illustrates by means of a diagram the steps of the method according to the invention. According to a first step 201 of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention determines whether a tactile interaction carried out by means of several fingers touching the surface of a first screen of said interface 2 has been carried out. For this To do this, the device 100 according to the invention interacts with the human-machine interface 2, which conventionally monitors the tactile interactions carried out on the screens that it comprises, or directly with the screens 3, 4 by interacting with the tactile interaction detection means that they conventionally comprise. Preferably, and this, in order to differentiate from certain common tactile interactions carried out by means of one or two fingers, the device 100 according to the invention determines during this first step 201 of the method whether a tactile interaction has been carried out by means of at least four fingers, preferably exactly four fingers. And, when it establishes that this is the case, it concludes that an occupant of the vehicle 1 wishes to share visual content displayed on a screen to which he has access with another occupant of the vehicle.It will further be noted that, during this first step 201, the device 100 according to the invention attempts to determine whether a tactile interaction is carried out on any screen of the human-machine interface 2, whether it is the first screen 3 or the second screen 4. In fact, it can therefore establish whether it is the driver who wishes to share visual content with a passenger when it establishes that the tactile interaction is carried out on the first screen 3 or, on the contrary, whether it is a passenger who wishes to share visual content with the driver or another passenger when the tactile interaction is carried out, for example, on the second screen 4. And when it establishes that such a tactile interaction is carried out, the device 100 according to the invention proceeds by carrying out the following steps of the method according to the invention described below.

[0022] According to a second step 202 of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention determines a direction corresponding to said interaction. Thus, if we refer again to [Fig.l], in which the direction in which the tactile interaction is carried out is represented by means of the arrow near the hand and which, in this case, extends horizontally and from left to right, the device 100 according to the invention will determine at this stage that the direction which corresponds to the tactile interaction is horizontal and goes from left to right.Similarly, when it is for example the passenger seated at the rear and on the left who wishes to share visual content displayed on the screen to which he has access, which is, for example, installed in the headrest of the driver's seat, he will carry out a tactile interaction extending vertically from bottom to top, and the device 100 according to the invention will determine during this second step 202 of the method that the direction corresponding to the tactile interaction is vertical and goes from bottom to top. In another case, if it is the passenger seated at the front who wants to share visual content displayed on a screen installed in or on the dashboard to which he has access with the passenger seated at the rear behind the driver's seat, he will then carry out a tactile interaction consisting of touching the surface of the screen with four fingers diagonally and from top to bottom. Thus, as is understood, . thanks to the method according to the invention, the sharing of visual content can advantageously be carried out between each of the screens that comprise the human-machine interface 2 of the vehicle 1 according to the invention.

[0023] Then, according to a third step 203 of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention determines a second screen 4 of said interface corresponding to said direction, that determined during the previous step 202 of the method. To do this, the device 100 according to the invention uses, for example, a plan of the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1 which is stored on its data storage medium 102 and which locates the installation in the passenger compartment of the screens of the human-machine interface 2. This allows it, by associating the screen on which the tactile interaction is carried out and by using the direction determined in the previous step 202 of the method, to determine on which second screen 4 the user of the first screen 3 wishes to share the visual content which is displayed there.

[0024] Finally, according to a fourth and final step 204 of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention causes the display on the second screen 4 of the visual content displayed on the first screen 3. To enable this, it preferentially interacts with the human-machine interface 2 or directly with the first screen 3 to determine the visual content displayed there and it interacts with the second screen 4 so that the same visual content is replicated there. Thus, the driver of the vehicle 1 can, for example, share navigation information with a co-pilot with a simple gesture and without taking his eyes off the road. Similarly, in the context of passenger transport, a passenger seated at the rear of the vehicle 1 can easily give instructions to a driver seated at the front by sharing visual content which, for example, presents location information of a destination to be reached.

[0025] Thus, thanks to the method and the device according to the invention described above, a solution is provided to allow the occupants of a motor vehicle to easily share visual content from one screen to another of a human-machine interface of the vehicle. By this means, the invention undeniably improves the ergonomics of motor vehicles, while also contributing positively to driving safety.

Claims

Claims

1. Method for managing, by means of a computer device (100) on board a motor vehicle (1), the operation of a human-machine interface (2) of the vehicle, said interface comprising several touch screens (3, 4) arranged in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: • determining whether a touch interaction carried out by means of several fingers touching the surface of a first screen of said interface has been carried out, said interaction being carried out by means of at least four fingers; and, when it is established that this is the case, • determining a direction corresponding to said interaction; • determining a second screen of said interface corresponding to said direction; and • causing the display on the second screen of visual content displayed on the first screen.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that said interaction is carried out by means of four fingers.

3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first screen (3) is installed in or on the dashboard of the vehicle in a central position.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second screen (4) is installed in or on the dashboard of the vehicle to the right or left of the first screen, in a headrest of a front seat of the vehicle or between the front seats of the vehicle.

5. Device (100) for managing the operation of a human-machine interface (2) of a motor vehicle, said interface comprising several touch screens (3, 4) arranged in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, characterized in that the device comprises at least one information processing unit (101), comprising at least one processor, and a data storage medium (102) configured to implement a method according to any one of the preceding claims.

6. A computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the steps of a method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 when said program is executed by at least one processor.

7. Support usable in a computer, characterized in that a program according to claim 6 is recorded therein.

8. Motor vehicle (1), characterized in that it carries a device (100) according to claim 5.

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