Electronic apparatus and program

Abstract

To provide a control system or the like capable of displaying a screen in a format required for a user.SOLUTION: A radar detector is a control system which controls screens in different formats for displaying information on a current status to be switched and displayed in predetermined order and a prescribed time interval such as one minute interval. The radar detector has a selection function of causing a user to select screens in formats to be objects of switching display and sets the screens in formats selected by the selection function to be the objects of the switching display.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 17

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control system or the like that controls switching between screens of different formats that display information about the current situation. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, in a control system that notifies of approaching an object to be notified, such as a vehicle speed measurement device, the position information of the object to be notified is stored and an alarm is issued when the position of the vehicle detected by GPS and the position of the object to be notified come into a predetermined proximity relationship (e.g., Patent Document 1, etc.).

[0003] In the case of the control system of Patent Document 1 and the like, for example, when the detected object to be notified and the current position of the vehicle reach a set distance (for example, 1 km or 500 m), a voice alarm such as "500 m ahead, it's XX" (XX is information identifying the target (such as a loop coil) is output, or related information is output as text on a display.

[0004] These control systems contribute to preventing drivers from unwittingly driving too fast by, for example, informing them of the approach of a vehicle speed measurement device. In particular, since vehicle speed measurement devices are generally installed in places where speeding is likely to occur, they can alert drivers to speeding in dangerous areas.

[0005] In such control systems, when the vehicle is not approaching an object to be notified, such as a vehicle speed measurement device, it has the function of displaying the current situation by displaying a map screen of the area around the current location, displaying the acceleration acting on the vehicle, and displaying a clock (Patent Documents 2 and 3).

[0006] The user sets the display of a desired screen from among these screens of different formats that display information about the current situation, and the set screen is displayed. However, in recent years, the number of types of sensors and the like mounted on vehicles has increased, and vehicles have become equipped with functions for acquiring data sensed on the vehicle side from connectors connected to the vehicle and displaying various vehicle conditions, resulting in the provision of screens of many different formats. Therefore, for example, a function for controlling the display of these screens of many different formats in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals can be considered. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Registration No. 3070388 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2009-9546 [Patent Document 3] Patent Publication No. 2010-76740 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, when screens of different formats are switched and displayed in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals, there is a problem that screens of formats unnecessary for the user are also displayed, and the screen desired by the user is often not displayed when desired. In such cases, the user is forced to wait until the desired screen is switched and displayed. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a control system or the like that can display a screen in a format required by the user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the control system of the present invention is (1) a control system that controls the display of screens of different formats that display information about the current situation in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals, and is configured to have a selection function that allows a user to select a screen of a format to be the target of the display change, and to display the screen of a format selected by the selection function as the target of the display change.

[0010] In this way, a screen in a format required by the user can be displayed. For example, if a screen in a format unnecessary for the user is not selected as a screen in a format to be switched to, the screen in a format unnecessary for the user will not be displayed. As a result, the likelihood that a screen in the desired format will be displayed when the user desires the screen increases. It is also possible to shorten the time required for the desired screen to be switched to and displayed.

[0011] Information regarding the current situation may include, for example, the current time, the current date, the current location, the current situation of the person viewing the display of this system, and the current situation regarding the location where the display unit displayed by this control system is installed.

[0012] The current situation may be, for example, the situation at this very moment, or may be a situation some time in the past, i.e., a situation close enough in the past that the user recognizes it as the current situation. The predetermined order may be, for example, a fixed order that is determined in advance, an order that is set by the user, or a random order.

[0013] The predetermined time interval may be a fixed time interval set in advance, such as one minute, or may be a time interval that varies depending on the status of the acquired information. The predetermined time interval may be a time interval set by the user. Furthermore, for example, the time from displaying a screen in a first format to switching to displaying a screen in a second format may be the same as or different from the time from displaying a screen in a second format to displaying a screen in a third format.

[0014] The switching display may be configured, for example, so that the screen area is rewritten with another screen area. The screen may be, for example, the entire display area of the display means, or it may be a part of the display area of the display means. When rewriting, a predetermined switching effect display may be performed, for example, by gradually scrolling out the screen area while scrolling in another screen area, or by fading in and out in the same way.

[0015] (2) The information about the current situation may include a plurality of different pieces of information acquired about the moving object, and the screens in different formats may include a plurality of screens in formats that simultaneously display the plurality of different pieces of information. In this way, for example, the plurality of different pieces of information acquired about the moving object changes as the moving object moves, and these changes can be simultaneously grasped by looking at the screens in formats that simultaneously display the plurality of different pieces of information. Furthermore, by providing a plurality of screens in formats that simultaneously display such a plurality of different pieces of information and controlling the display to switch between them in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals, it is possible, for example, to grasp a large amount of information that changes as the moving object moves in a short period of time.

[0016] The moving body may be, for example, a person or a vehicle. In the case of a person, the information may be acquired by sensing physiological phenomena such as the person's heart rate or body temperature, or by sensing the person's position or surrounding conditions. In the case of a vehicle, the information may be acquired by sensing and generated by the vehicle itself, or may be acquired from a GPS, acceleration sensor, gyro sensor, or the like that is provided.

[0017] (3) The selection function may be configured to, in a default state, subject screens of all selectable formats to the switching display, and to allow the user to select screens of formats that are not subject to the switching display. In this way, in the default state, screens of all selectable formats are switched and displayed in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals. This allows the user to know all screen formats that can be selected by the control system. Then, for example, after using the system in this state for a while, the user can select screens of formats that are not required by the user as screens of formats that are not subject to the switching display, thereby switching and displaying only screens of formats that are required by the user.

[0018] (4) The selection function may be configured to display information representing the screen of each format for selection, and to display information relating to the information represented together with the screen of the format when switching between the formats. In this way, it is possible to easily determine which screen to select when executing the selection function by looking at the display of the information representing the screen of each format, and when the screen is switched to, it is possible to check by looking at the information representing the screen of the format to confirm that it has been properly set.

[0019] The information representing the screen of each format may be, for example, a character string of the name given to each screen, a thumbnail screen of each screen in a reduced size, or an illustration or icon showing the content of each screen.

[0020] (5) When switching between the formats, the information representing the screen of the format is displayed within the screen of the format and erased after a predetermined time has elapsed since the screen was switched. The predetermined time until the erasure may be shorter than the predetermined time between the display of the screen of the format and the switching to the screen of another format. In this way, the information representing the screen of the format is displayed within the screen of the format for a predetermined time and then erased. The screen of the format is then displayed without the information representing the screen of the format, and then the screen switches to the screen of another format. Therefore, for example, when the screen switches, the information representing the screen of the format allows the user to understand what information is displayed on the screen of the format from the information representing the screen of the format. Furthermore, once the user has grasped the information, the information representing the screen of the format is erased, allowing the user to check information about the current situation without being disturbed by the display of the information representing the screen of the format.

[0021] (6) For at least one of the selectable screen formats, a predetermined display area within the screen of the format may be switched at a predetermined time interval, and the predetermined time interval for switching from the screen of the format to a screen of another format may be longer than the predetermined time interval for switching the display of the predetermined display area within the screen of the format. In this way, the predetermined display area within the screen of the format is switched at a time interval shorter than the time interval for switching from the screen of the format to a screen of another format. Therefore, switching to a screen of another format without switching the display of the predetermined display area within the screen of the format is prevented. Therefore, by switching the display of the predetermined display area within the screen of the format and the screen of the format itself, it is possible to visually confirm a large amount of information regarding the current situation in a short period of time.

[0022] (7) At least one of the selectable screen formats may be a screen format that allows the current situation to be understood by comparing the current situation with past situations, and the predetermined time interval for switching from the screen format to a screen of another format may be a time interval that allows the current situation to be understood by comparing the current situation with past situations. In this way, it is possible to visually compare the current situation with past situations before the currently displayed screen format is switched to a screen of another format. Note that an example of a format that allows the current situation to be understood by comparing the current situation with past situations may be a screen that displays a graph showing both the current situation and past situations.

[0023] (8) It is preferable to have an event screen display switching function that switches to a screen notifying the occurrence of a predetermined event when a predetermined event occurs while a function of switching between screens of different formats in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals is being executed, and to have a configuration in which a screen of the same format as the screen notifying the occurrence of the event is not included as a screen of a selectable format to be switched between. In this way, the screen of the same format as the screen notifying the occurrence of the event is not switched between in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals, so that the user can be sure that an event has occurred and will not mistakenly recognize the screen that is switched between in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals as an event occurrence screen. (10) The functions of the control system according to any one of (1) to (9) may be configured as a program for causing a computer to realize the functions. [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a control system or the like that can display a screen in a format required by the user. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1]1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a radar detector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a radar detector. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of a display screen selection screen. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating display examples of a map screen and a clock screen. [Figure 5] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating display examples of a speed screen, an eco-driving screen, and an acceleration screen. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing display examples of an inclination screen, a tide information screen, and a graph screen. [Figure 7] 10A to 10C are diagrams showing display examples of a preset A screen, a preset B screen, and a preset C screen. [Figure 8] 10A to 10C are diagrams showing display examples of a positioning information screen, a fuel consumption screen, and an OBD data screen. [Figure 9] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a display example of screen transitions on a map screen due to a GPS alarm function. [Figure 10] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a display example of screen transitions on a map screen due to a GPS alarm function. [Figure 11] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of a screen transition of a map screen due to a radar wave warning function. [Figure 12] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of a screen transition of a map screen due to a radar wave warning function. [Figure 13] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of a screen transition of a map screen due to a radar wave warning function. [Figure 14] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of a screen transition of a map screen due to a wireless alarm function. [Figure 15] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing display examples of a setting screen and a standby screen setting screen. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of an automatic item setting screen. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of an automatic item setting screen. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of an automatic item setting screen. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a preset meter setting screen. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of a meter type selection screen. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of a meter type selection screen. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of a meter type selection screen. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of a preset A screen. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example when the screen is switched. [Figure 25] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of switching a predetermined display area within a screen. [Figure 26] FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a tide information screen displayed on the day shown in FIG. 25. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] 1 and 2 show the configuration of a radar detector, a preferred embodiment of the control system of the present invention. This radar detector is typically mounted on a dashboard. This radar detector is typically fixed to the dashboard by adhering the bottom surface of plate 33b of base 33. A ball joint receiving portion 33a is provided on the top of base 33. A ball portion attached to the lower end of support portion 31 extending downward from the bottom surface of case body 1 is inserted into ball joint receiving portion 33a, allowing the ball portion to be held at any angle or position within its movable range. Base 33 has a spherical recess at a predetermined position on its top surface. Base 33 is made of a material, such as rubber, that is elastically deformable and has an appropriate coefficient of friction. The outer diameter of the ball portion and the inner diameter of the recess are set to be approximately equal. As a result, when the ball portion is inserted into the recess, the outer shape of the ball portion and the inner shape of the recess approximately match, allowing the ball portion to rotate and move in any direction along the spherical surface. By roughly matching the diameters of the two and providing an appropriate coefficient of friction for the inner shape of the recess, the ball portion can be held at any angle and posture. Furthermore, since base 33 is elastically deformable, if case body 1 is urged upward from the state shown in FIG. 1 while holding base 33, the diameter of the opening of the recess widens, allowing the ball portion to be released from the recess. Conversely, when base 33 and the ball portion are separated, if the ball portion is pressed against the opening of the recess and then urged toward base 33 in that state, the opening will temporarily widen due to elastic deformation of the recess, and the ball portion will be housed within the recess. Thereafter, the shape of the recess will return to its original state due to the elastic restoring force of base 33, preventing the ball portion from easily releasing from the recess. Furthermore, one side of an adhesive member such as a pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet, double-sided adhesive tape, or hook-and-loop fastener is attached to the bottom surface of base 33, and the other side of the adhesive member is attached to a predetermined position inside the vehicle, such as the dashboard. This fixes base 33 in a predetermined position visible to the driver inside the vehicle.

[0027] As shown in Figure 1, this radar detector has a solar panel 2 and a switch unit 3 arranged on the top surface of the case body 1, and a microwave receiver 4 that detects microwaves in the frequency band emitted by the speed measuring device arranged inside the front side of the case body 1 (the side arranged toward the front of the vehicle (windshield side)). On the other hand, a display unit 5, a warning lamp 6, an infrared communication device 7, and a remote control receiver 16 are arranged on the rear side of the case body 1 (the side arranged toward the rear of the vehicle (the user side (driver side)). A GPS receiver 8 is also arranged inside the top side of the case body 1. Furthermore, an adapter jack 9 is arranged on one side of the case body 1, and a power switch 10 and a DC jack (not shown) are arranged on the other side. A battery is provided inside the bottom side of the case body, and this battery is charged with power supplied from the solar panel 2 and the DC jack and supplies power to each unit. A speaker 20 is also built into the case body 1. In this embodiment, the display unit 5 is a small 3-inch color dot matrix liquid crystal display with a backlight, and the rear side of the case body 1 (the side arranged toward the rear of the vehicle (the user side (driver side))) serves as the display surface, and a touch panel is provided on the display surface side so that the position of a touch on the liquid crystal display can be detected. The height H of the rear side of the case body 1 on which the display unit 5 is mounted is greater than the height H0 of other parts.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 2, infrared communication device 7 transmits and receives data to and from a communication device equipped with an infrared communication device, such as a mobile phone 12. Adapter jack 9 is a terminal for connecting memory card reader 13. By connecting memory card reader 13 to adapter jack 9, data stored in memory card 14 inserted in memory card reader 13 can be imported, and the contents of database 19 and the memory of control unit 18 can be written to memory card 14. More specifically, if the data stored in memory card 14 contains updated information such as new target information (location information including longitude and latitude, type information, etc.), control unit 18 stores (downloads) the updated information in database 19 built into the radar detector, thereby updating the data in database 19. The function of memory card reader 13 may be built into main body case 1, or at least a portion of database 19 may be provided in memory card 14.

[0029] The database 19 is a non-volatile memory (for example, an EEPROM) that is either built into the microcomputer of the control unit 18 or externally attached to the microcomputer. At the time of shipment, the database 19 stores information on certain landmarks, map data similar to that provided in navigation devices, including road, facility, and place names, public traffic enforcement information published by prefectural police departments, including the dates, times, and locations of traffic enforcement, and parameters for tide stations and other devices used to calculate tidal information. Any data added later can be updated as described above. Data updates can also be performed via the infrared communication device 7.

[0030] The DC jack is for connecting a cigarette lighter plug cord (not shown), and is connected to a cigarette lighter socket of a vehicle via the cigarette lighter plug cord to receive power supply.

[0031] Radio receiver 15 receives incoming radio waves of a predetermined frequency. Remote control receiver 16 communicates data with remote control (portable device: slave device) 17 via infrared rays and performs various settings for this device. Remote control 17 is equipped with screen selection buttons, a setting button, a selection button, a cancel button, a decision button, a reset button, and up, down, left, and right cross buttons. Switch unit 3 is also connected to control unit 18 (not shown), and is equipped with screen selection buttons, a setting button, a selection button, a cancel button, a decision button, and a reset button that operate in the same way as remote control 17.

[0032] Furthermore, the radar detector of this embodiment is equipped with a connection cable 22 that connects to an OBD-II (II stands for Roman numeral "2," and hereinafter "OBD-II" will be referred to as "OBD2") connector installed in the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 2. A connector terminal 23 that can be detachably attached to the vehicle's OBD2 connector is attached to the tip of this connection cable 22. The OBD2 connector is also called a diagnostic connector, and is connected to the vehicle's ECU to output various vehicle information. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a connector terminal 25 is provided at the other end of the connection cable 22 for connecting to a socket 24 provided on the side of the case body 1 of the radar detector, allowing the connection cable 22 to be detachably attached to the radar detector as well. Of course, the connection cable 22 may also be connected directly to the radar detector.

[0033] Therefore, by connecting connector terminal 23 attached to connection cable 22 with the OBD2 connector on the vehicle body side, control unit 18 acquires various types of vehicle information every 0.5 seconds. This vehicle information includes, for example, vehicle speed, engine speed, engine load factor, throttle degree, ignition timing, remaining fuel percentage, intake manifold pressure, intake air flow rate (MAF), injection open time, engine coolant temperature (coolant temperature), temperature of air taken into the engine (intake air temperature), air temperature outside the vehicle (outside air temperature), amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank (remaining fuel amount), fuel flow rate, instantaneous fuel consumption, accelerator opening, turn signal information (operation (ON / OFF) of left and right turn signals), brake opening, steering wheel rotation angle information, etc.

[0034] The acceleration sensor 27 is provided inside the case body 1 and is a sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle in the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions. The geomagnetic sensor is provided inside the case body 1 and is a sensor that detects the geomagnetism to determine which direction north is relative to the direction of travel.

[0035] The control unit 18 is a microcomputer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, etc., and executes predetermined processing based on information input from the various input devices described above, and outputs predetermined alarms, messages, and information using the various output devices described above. Note that the basic configuration of these can basically be the same as that of conventional devices.

[0036] The functions of the radar detector of this embodiment are stored in the EEPROM of the control unit 18 as a program to be executed by the computer in the control unit 18, and are realized by the computer in the control unit 18 executing this program.

[0037] The functions realized by the computer through the programs stored in the control unit 18 include a GPS log function, a current information display function, a GPS warning function, a radar wave warning function, a wireless warning function, and the like.

[0038] The GPS log function is a function that associates the current position output from the GPS receiver 8 every second with the time and speed (vehicle speed) at which the control unit 18 detected the current position and stores the result as a position history in the database 19. This position history is recorded in, for example, the NMEA format.

[0039] The current information display function is a function that displays a screen of a display target format selected by the user. The selection of a display target format screen is performed by displaying the display screen selection screen shown in FIG. 3 and allowing the user to select screen 1 when a press of a screen selection button on the remote control 17 or the switch unit 3 is detected. FIG. 3(a) is a display screen selection screen that is displayed when the radar detector and the vehicle's ECU are connected by a connection cable 22 or the like (this state is called the OBD2 connected state). FIG. 3(c) is a display screen selection screen that is displayed when the radar detector and the vehicle's ECU are not connected by a connection cable 22 or the like (this state is called the OBD2 unconnected state). There are 14 selectable formats in the OBDII unconnected state, and 16 selectable formats in the OBD2 connected state. The 14 screen formats that can be selected when OBD2 is not connected include a map screen as shown in FIG. 4(a), a clock screen as shown in FIG. 4(b), a speed screen as shown in FIG. 5(a), an eco-driving screen as shown in FIG. 5(b), an acceleration screen as shown in FIG. 5(c), an inclination screen as shown in FIG. 6(a), a tide information screen as shown in FIG. 6(b), a graph screen as shown in FIG. 6(c), a preset A screen as shown in FIG. 7(a), a preset B screen as shown in FIG. 7(b), a preset C screen as shown in FIG. 7(c), a positioning information screen as shown in FIG. 8(a), an OFF screen which is a completely black screen that does not display anything, and an AUTO display screen which, in the default state, switches between all of these screen formats except for the map screen and the OFF screen every minute. The 16 types of screen formats that can be selected when OBD2 is connected are in addition to the 14 types of screen formats that can be selected when OBD2 is not connected, such as the fuel consumption screen shown in FIG. 8(b) and the OBD data screen shown in FIG. 8(c). In the default state, the AUTO display screen switches between all of these screen formats except for the map screen and the OFF screen, including these, every minute.

[0040] The display screen selection screen displays reduced screens of each of the above-mentioned formats in a 4-row by 4-column layout, as shown in Figure 3. The vertical direction will be described as the first, second, third, and fourth rows from top to bottom, and the horizontal direction will be described as the first, second, third, and fourth columns from left to right.

[0041] As shown in Figure 3(c), when the OBD2 is not connected, the layout of the reduced screens is as follows: row 1, column 1 (top left) is the map screen, row 1, column 2 is the clock screen, row 1, column 3 is the speed screen, row 1, column 4 is the eco-driving screen, row 2, column 1 is the acceleration screen, row 2, column 2 is the inclination screen, row 2, column 3 is the tide information screen, row 2, column 4 is the graph screen, row 3, column 1 is the preset A screen, row 3, column 2 is the preset B screen, row 3, column 3 is the preset C screen, row 3, column 4 is the positioning information screen, row 4, column 3 is the OFF screen, and row 4, column 4 (bottom right) is the AUTO display screen.When the OBD2 is connected, as shown in Figure 3(a), in addition to the reduced screens arranged in the same way as when the OBD2 is not connected, there is a fuel economy screen in row 4, column 1 and an OBD data screen in row 4, column 2. In this way, the layout of the reduced screen can be made consistent between the OBD disconnected state and the OBD connected state, thereby avoiding operational confusion when the OBD connection state changes.

[0042] In the factory default settings, the map screen in the first row and first column, as shown in FIG. 3(a), is set and stored in the database 19 as the screen of the selected format. The screen of the format selected on the display screen selection screen has a focus frame drawn around the reduced screen of that format. When a press of one of the up, down, left, or right buttons on the remote control 17 is detected, the focus frame moves to the next reduced screen in the direction indicated by the pressed button. For example, when the focus frame is on the map screen as shown in FIG. 3(a), if the down button on the remote control is pressed four times and the right button three times, the focus frame moves to the AUTO display screen and is displayed, as shown in FIG. 3(b). Similarly, when a touch is detected at a position on the touch panel of the display unit 5 corresponding to the display position of the reduced screen, the focus frame moves to that touch position. When a press of the enter button on the remote control 17 or the switch unit 3 is detected, the screen of the format corresponding to the reduced image of the format displaying the focus frame is set and stored in the database 19 as the screen of the format to be displayed selected by the user, and the screen is displayed based on this stored setting. The next time the power is turned on, the screen will be displayed in the selected format stored in the database 19.

[0043] For example, as shown in Fig. 3(a), when a focus frame is moved and displayed on a reduced screen of a map screen and pressing of the enter button on the remote control 17 or the switch unit 3 is detected, the map screen displaying the focus frame is stored in the database 19 as a screen in the format to be displayed selected by the user, and is displayed on the display unit 5 in this format as shown in Fig. 4(a). Similarly, for example, as shown in Fig. 3(b), when a focus frame is displayed on the AUTO display screen and pressing of the enter button on the remote control 17 is detected, the AUTO screen is displayed.

[0044] Next, the format (configuration) of each screen will be explained with reference to Figures 4 to 8. As shown in Figures 4 to 8, all of these screens except for the OFF screen have a clock display section in the upper right corner of the screen, and are formatted to display the hour and minute of the current time received from a satellite by GPS receiver 8.

[0045] As shown in Figure 4(a), the map screen has a direction display section at the upper left that displays the direction of north relative to the map display direction based on the direction of geomagnetism detected by the geomagnetic sensor 28, and a vehicle speed display section to the right of it that displays the vehicle speed detected by the GPS receiver 8. Meanwhile, the lower part of the screen has a horizontally oriented strip of caption display section, and to the left of the horizontal center is a place name display section that searches the database 19 for and displays the current place name corresponding to the current location detected by the GPS receiver 8. To the right of the horizontal center is a public enforcement information display section that searches the database 19 for and displays public enforcement information related to the current location and the current date and time. The map display section is located in the screen area of the display unit 5, excluding the direction display section, vehicle speed display section, and clock display section at the top of the screen, and the strip of display section at the bottom of the screen. The map display section can be set in a setting screen to display either a so-called north-up display (where north is at the top of the screen) or a head-up display (where the direction of travel is at the top of the screen), and the display is performed in the set direction. The example in Fig. 4(a) is a display example when the head-up display is set. The map display unit displays the current position detected by the GPS receiver 8 as an arrow-shaped current position icon in the center of the left and right direction of the screen and near the bottom edge of the map display area above the strip-shaped display area at the bottom of the screen, and map data for an area approximately 300 m above, 300 m to the left, and 300 m to the right of that area (map data within the range that can be displayed on the map display unit) is read from database 19 and displayed.

[0046] As shown in Figure 4(b), the clock screen has an analog clock display section on the left that displays the current time obtained from the GPS receiver 8 in the style of an analog clock using hour and minute hands, and a date and other information display section on the right that displays the current date and day of the week obtained from the GPS receiver 8.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 5(a), the speed screen displays the current travel speed (vehicle speed in this embodiment) obtained from the GPS receiver 8 on the left side using an analog meter that shows the current travel speed with a needle (in the example of FIG. 5(a), the needle overlaps with the 60 km / h scale), and also has a speed display section that displays the speed numerically slightly to the right of the center of the analog meter, and a direction display section that displays the north direction obtained from the geomagnetic sensor with an image of a compass (magnetic needle) on the right side.

[0048] As shown in Figure 5(b), the eco-driving screen has a radar chart display section on the left, an overall evaluation display section on the upper right, and a driving speed display section on the lower right. The radar chart display section displays sudden acceleration on the upper side, sudden deceleration on the right, idling on the lower side, and economical speed on the left, all in points. Each point is displayed with a maximum of 100 points (displayed as 100 points) and a minimum of 0 points. The initial value of each point is 70 points. Points are deducted when the acceleration output from the acceleration sensor 27 and the speed output from the GPS receiver 8 are determined to be non-eco-driving, and points are added when the output is determined to be eco-driving. The numerical value of each point and a graph plotting these values on the radar chart are displayed. The overall evaluation display section displays the average value of each point displayed in the radar chart display section. The driving speed display section displays the current speed obtained from the GPS receiver 8.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 5(c), the acceleration screen has an acceleration image display section on the left and an acceleration numerical value display section on the right. The acceleration image display section displays a vehicle image within a circular frame with the vehicle's forward direction at the top and its rearward direction at the bottom, and displays a scale of points radiating from the center. The direction and strength of acceleration obtained from the acceleration sensor 27 are displayed as arrow directions and magnitudes (vectors). When the vehicle accelerates forward, the arrows are displayed in a corresponding relationship of rearward. The acceleration numerical value display section displays, from top to bottom, the text strings "Speed," "F / R," "L / R," "Current Acceleration," "Maximum Acceleration," and "Maximum Deceleration," with their values to the right of each text string. The "Speed" numerical value displays the current speed obtained from the GPS receiver 8. The "F / R" numerical value displays the magnitude of the current acceleration in the forward / rearward direction of the vehicle obtained from the acceleration sensor 27. The "L / R" numerical value displays the magnitude of the current acceleration in the left / right direction of the vehicle obtained from the acceleration sensor 27. The "Current Acceleration" numerical value displays the magnitude of the current acceleration vector obtained from the acceleration sensor 27. "Maximum acceleration" displays the maximum value of acceleration in the vehicle's longitudinal direction (maximum value in the positive direction of "F / R") from the time when power was supplied from the DC jack, i.e., from the time when the vehicle's ACC was turned on, to the present. "Maximum deceleration" displays the maximum value of acceleration in the vehicle's longitudinal direction (maximum value in the negative direction of "F / R") from the time when power was supplied from the DC jack, i.e., from the time when the vehicle's ACC was turned on, to the present.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 6(a), the tilt screen has a tilt image display section on the left side that displays an image of the current vehicle tilt state based on the output value of the acceleration sensor 27, and a numerical display section on the right side. The tilt image display section displays a spherical image within a circular frame, with the area above the horizontal plane colored white, the area below it colored black, and the lines on the horizontal plane colored red. The image moves based on the output value of the acceleration sensor 27 to correspond to the current vehicle tilt state in the longitudinal and lateral directions, with the vehicle state at power-on as the reference horizontal state. The lateral tilt angle can be confirmed using the scale on the circular frame, and the longitudinal tilt angle can be confirmed using the scale on the spherical image. The upper section of the numerical display section is a heading angle display section that displays the angle of the current traveling direction relative to north obtained from the geomagnetic sensor as a numerical value, and the lower section is a speed display section that displays the current traveling speed as a numerical value.

[0051] As shown in Figure 6(b), the tide information screen has a horizontally oriented band-like place name, moon phase, and tide name display section to the left of the clock section in the upper right corner of the display unit 5, and a tide level graph display section below it, spanning almost the entire screen horizontally and vertically. The place name, moon phase, and tide name display section displays the current date obtained from the GPS receiver 8, the place name of the tide gauge station closest to the current location at the current time and date, the moon phase for the current date, and the tide name. The tide level graph display section displays the sunrise time for the current date, the current date, and the sunset time for the current date, from left to right, across the top horizontally. Below that, a 24-hour tide level graph for the current date (today), with midnight at the left end and midnight at the right end, is displayed. The tide level graph is calculated and displayed using a known method for the current date and tide gauge stations near the current location using the parameters of the tide gauge stations stored in database 19. The tide levels for low and high tide are also displayed numerically at the positions of today's low and high tide times on the graph.

[0052] As shown in Figure 6(c), the graph screen has a graph display section covering about two-thirds of the left side of the screen, and a numerical display section on the right side of the screen. The graph display section displays the type of graph set on the settings screen, and the numerical display section displays the current value of the type of value displayed on that graph as a number. The types of graphs that can be set on the settings screen are speed, altitude, and acceleration. The right end of the graph shows the current value, and moving left shows past conditions. For example, the left end could be the value from one minute ago.

[0053] The preset A screen shown in FIG. 7(a), the preset B screen shown in FIG. 7(b), and the preset C screen shown in FIG. 7(c) each display three meters preset in the preset meter setting screen and stored in the database 19. Hereinafter, these screens are collectively referred to as preset screens. Each preset screen displays three meters: a left-position meter displayed within a circular frame centered on the left side of the screen and lower in the vertical direction; a middle-position meter displayed within a circular frame centered on the center of the screen and higher in the vertical direction; and a right-position meter displayed within a circular frame centered on the right side of the screen and lower in the vertical direction. The three meters are symmetrical with respect to an imaginary line drawn vertically through the center of the center meter's circle. This is referred to as a triple meter. The circular frames of the left-position meter, center meter, and right-position meter overlap partially, but are positioned such that the display contents within the meters are generally visible, and the center meter is displayed so that the entire circular frame is visible. This makes it easy to position the center meter as the main meter and the right and left meters as sub-meters. It also makes effective use of the screen area to display each meter as large as possible. Preset meter types available when OBD2 is not connected include clock, satellite information, tide information, vehicle speed, eco-driving, acceleration, incline, and compass. When OBD2 is connected, in addition to these, the following are available: instantaneous fuel economy, average fuel economy, general road average fuel economy, highway average fuel economy, current fuel economy, lifetime fuel economy, moving average fuel economy, fuel flow, engine water temperature, intake air temperature, outside air temperature, battery voltage, throttle opening, engine load, intake manifold gauge, boost gauge, and tachometer.

[0054] As shown in Figure 8(a), the positioning information screen depicts a globe at the center of the screen, and displays the positions of satellites currently being received by the GPS receiver 8 at the corresponding positions on the globe. It also displays the numbers of the four satellites with the highest reception levels and their reception levels on displays located around the periphery of the globe.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 8(b), the fuel economy screen displays an OBD data display section on the left side of the screen, an instantaneous fuel economy display section on the upper right side, and a current fuel economy display section on the lower right side. The OBD data display section displays numerical information (referred to as OBD data) based on vehicle information acquired from the vehicle via the connector terminal 23. This OBD data display section displays items selected from 56 items on the setting screen. As shown in FIG. 8(b), up to eight items can be displayed simultaneously, and if more than eight items are selected, the items are scrolled at a predetermined time interval to display all selected items.

[0056] As shown in Figure 8(c), the OBD data screen is a screen formatted to display a display section on the right side of the screen similar to the OBD data display section in Figure 8(b). That is, the number of OBD data items that can be displayed simultaneously is 8 items on the right side and 8 items on the left side, and if more than 16 items are selected, the display will scroll at a predetermined time interval to display all of the selected items.

[0057] The 56 items that can be selected as OBD data are "Speed", "Average Speed", "Maximum Speed", "5-Second Speed", "Average 5-Second Speed", "Maximum 5-Second Speed", "RPM", "Average RPM", "Maximum RPM", "Engine Load", "Average Load", "Maximum Load", "Throttle Opening", "Average Throttle Opening", "Maximum Throttle Opening", "Ignition Timing", "Fuel Level", "Intake Manifold Pressure", "MAF", "INJ", "Coolant Temperature", "Intake Air Temperature", "Outside Air Temperature", "Remaining Fuel", "Fuel Flow Rate", "Fuel Consumption", "Lifetime Fuel Consumption", "Instantaneous Fuel Consumption", "Current Fuel Consumption", "Lifetime Fuel Consumption", "Average Fuel Consumption", "Average Fuel Consumption (Regular Road)", "Average Fuel Consumption (Expressway)", "Driving Time", "Driving Time", "Idle Time", "Idle ratio," "Distance traveled," "Lifetime mileage," "0-20km / h acceleration time," "0-20km / h average acceleration," "0-20km / h shortest acceleration," "0-40km / h acceleration time," "0-40km / h average acceleration," "0-40km / h shortest acceleration," "0-60km / h acceleration time," "0-60km / h average acceleration," "0-60km / h shortest acceleration," "0-80km / h acceleration time," "0-80km / h average acceleration," "0-80km / h shortest acceleration," "0-20km / h driving time," "20-40km / h driving time," "40-60km / h driving time," "60-80km / h driving time," and "driving time over 80km / h."

[0058] "Speed" displays the current vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle in km / h units. "Average Speed" displays the average vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle from the time the unit was turned on to the present in km / h units. "Maximum Speed" displays the highest vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle from the time the unit was turned on to the present in km / h units. "5-Second Speed" displays the average vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle from 5 seconds ago to the present in km / h units. "Average 5-Second Speed" displays the average speed obtained from the vehicle every 5 seconds since the unit was turned on in km / h units. "Maximum 5-Second Speed" displays the highest speed obtained from the vehicle every 5 seconds since the unit was turned on in km / h units. "Revolutions" displays the current engine revolutions obtained from the vehicle in rpm units. "Average Revolutions" displays the average engine revolutions obtained from the vehicle from the time the unit was turned on to the present in rpm units. "Maximum Revolutions" displays the highest engine revolutions obtained from the vehicle from the time the unit was turned on to the present in rpm units. "Engine load" displays the current engine load rate obtained from the vehicle in % units. "Average load" displays the average engine load rate obtained from the vehicle from the time the power was turned on to the present in % units. "Average load" displays the average engine load rate obtained from the vehicle from the time the power was turned on to the present in % units. "Maximum load" displays the maximum engine load rate obtained from the vehicle from the time the power was turned on to the present in % units. "Throttle opening" displays the current throttle opening obtained from the vehicle in % units. "Average throttle opening" displays the average throttle opening obtained from the vehicle from the time the power was turned on to the present in % units. "Maximum throttle opening" displays the maximum throttle opening obtained from the vehicle from the time the power was turned on to the present in % units. "Ignition timing" displays the current ignition timing obtained from the vehicle in degrees. "Average throttle opening" displays the average throttle opening obtained from the vehicle from the time the power was turned on to the present in % units. "Maximum throttle opening" displays the maximum throttle opening obtained from the vehicle from the time the power was turned on, in % units. "Fuel level" displays the current remaining fuel percentage obtained from the vehicle, in % units."Intake manifold pressure" displays the current intake manifold pressure obtained from the vehicle in kPa. "MAF" displays the current amount of air being drawn into the engine (intake air volume (MAF)) obtained from the vehicle in g / s. "INJ" displays the time it takes for fuel to be injected by the injector over a certain period of time (injection open time) obtained from the vehicle in ms. "Coolant temperature" displays the current engine coolant temperature (coolant temperature) obtained from the vehicle in °C. "Intake air temperature" displays the current temperature of the air being drawn into the engine (intake air temperature) obtained from the vehicle in °C. "Outside air temperature" displays the current outside temperature (outside air temperature) obtained from the vehicle in °C. "Remaining fuel" displays the current amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank (remaining fuel amount) obtained from the vehicle in L. "Fuel flow rate" displays the current fuel flow rate obtained from the vehicle in ml / m. "Fuel Consumption" displays the difference between the remaining fuel amount obtained from the vehicle when the power is turned on and the current remaining fuel amount in ml units. "Lifetime Fuel Consumption" displays the cumulative fuel consumption in liters since the unit was first installed or reset. "Instantaneous Fuel Consumption" displays the current instantaneous fuel consumption obtained from the vehicle in km / l units. "Current Fuel Consumption" displays the fuel consumption for the current trip, etc., calculated based on the instantaneous fuel consumption obtained from the vehicle from the time the unit was turned on to the present, in km / l units. "Lifetime Fuel Consumption" displays the fuel consumption for the period from the time the unit was first installed or an all-reset was performed on the settings screen, calculated based on the instantaneous fuel consumption up to the present, in km / l units. "Average Fuel Consumption" displays the fuel consumption for the period from the time the unit was first installed or an average fuel consumption reset on the settings screen, calculated based on the instantaneous fuel consumption up to the present, in km / l units. "Average fuel economy on general roads" determines whether the current location corresponds to a general road based on the map data stored in database 19 and the current location acquired by GPS receiver 8, and displays the average fuel economy on general roads in km / L from the time the device was first installed or from the time the average fuel economy was reset on the setting screen to the present based on the instantaneous fuel economy acquired from the vehicle at the general road location. Similarly, "Average fuel economy on expressways" displays the average fuel economy on expressways in km / L. "Driving time" displays the time from when the power was turned on to the present in the format of hours:minutes:seconds."Driving time" displays the time, in hours:minutes:seconds, from when the power was turned on until the present, during which the vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle exceeded 0. "Idle time" displays the time, in hours:minutes:seconds, from when the power was turned on until the present, during which the vehicle was stopped; i.e., the time during which the vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle was 0; "Idle ratio" displays the ratio in percentage between the time during which the vehicle was moving, i.e., the time during which the vehicle speed exceeded 0 (driving time), and the time during which the vehicle was stopped, i.e., the time during which the vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle was 0 (stopped time). "Distance traveled" displays the distance traveled in kilometers from when the power was turned on until the present, calculated from the vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle and the elapsed time. "Lifetime mileage" displays the cumulative distance traveled in kilometers since the unit was first installed or reset. "0-20km / h acceleration time" displays the time taken to reach 20km / h from the most recent stopped state in seconds. "0-20km / h average acceleration" displays the average time taken to reach 20km / h from a standstill in seconds. "0-20km / h minimum acceleration" displays the shortest time taken to reach 20km / h from a standstill in seconds. "0-40km / h acceleration time" displays the time taken to reach 40km / h from the most recent standstill in seconds. "0-40km / h average acceleration" displays the average time taken to reach 40km / h from a standstill in seconds. "0-40km / h minimum acceleration" displays the shortest time taken to reach 40km / h from a standstill in seconds. "0-60km / h acceleration time" displays the time taken to reach 60km / h from the most recent standstill in seconds. "0-60km / h average acceleration" displays the average time taken to reach 60km / h from a standstill in seconds. "0-60km / h Shortest Acceleration" displays the shortest time taken to reach 60km / h from a standstill in seconds. "0-80km / h Acceleration Time" displays the time taken to reach 80km / h from the most recent standstill in seconds. "0-80km / h Average Acceleration" displays the average time taken to reach 80km / h from a standstill in seconds. "0-80km / h Shortest Acceleration" displays the shortest time taken to reach 80km / h from a standstill in seconds."0-20km / h driving time" displays the total time traveled from a standstill at 20km / h in the format of hours:minutes:seconds. "20-40km / h driving time" displays the total time traveled between 20km / h and 40km / h in the format of hours:minutes:seconds. "40-60km / h driving time" displays the total time traveled between 40km / h and 60km / h in the format of hours:minutes:seconds. "60-80km / h driving time" displays the total time traveled between 60km / h and 80km / h in the format of hours:minutes:seconds. "Time traveled over 80km / h". displays the total time spent traveling at a speed of 80km / h or faster in the format hours:minutes:seconds.

[0059] Next, we will explain the processing that is executed in response to an event that occurs while the current information display function is being executed. While the current information display function is being executed, processing is executed to realize each function, such as a GPS warning function, radar wave warning function, and wireless warning function, in response to an event that occurs, and when the processing of that function is completed, the processing returns to the original execution processing of the current information display function. The priority of each function is set in order from highest to lowest: radar wave warning function, wireless warning function, and GPS warning function.

[0060] The GPS warning function is a process triggered by location information output every second from the GPS receiver 8. The process calculates the distance between the target and the target from the latitude and longitude of the target stored in the database 19 and the latitude and longitude of the current location detected by the GPS receiver 8. When the calculated distance reaches a predetermined approach distance (e.g., within 1 km), the process outputs an approach warning voice from the speaker 20. This voice output process is performed when a screen other than the map screen is currently displayed as the information display function (including the OFF screen). On the other hand, when the map screen is currently displayed as the information display function, in addition to the voice output, an approach warning window, which displays a schematic diagram of the approach warning or an image based on photographic data, is animated and superimposed on (in front of) the map displayed in the map display section of the map screen, as shown in the order of FIGS. 9(a), 9(b), 9(c), and 10(a), 9(b), 9(c). That is, FIG. 9(a) shows a state in which the distance between the target and the target is not yet within 1 km, and the map is displayed in the map display section of the map screen, but the warning window is not. When the distance between the two vehicles becomes within 1 km, the size of the warning window gradually increases from the upper left to the lower right of the map display, as shown in Figure 9(b), until the right edge of the warning window is slightly to the right of the horizontal center of the map display. The gradual increase in brightness is illustrated as the change from Figure 9(a) to Figure 9(b). The window size is displayed in the same manner as the drawing process shown in Figures 11(a), (b), and (c), described below. The animation involves rotating an object representing the shape of the target displayed inside the warning window, and displaying text stored in the database 19 for each target, such as "WARNING," in front of it, starting from the leftmost character and moving to the right. A mini-radar is displayed on top of the map (foreground) in the upper right corner of the map display. The mini-radar is a circular window with a diameter slightly less than one-quarter of the screen widthwise, and is displayed in the upper right corner of the map display. The mini-radar displays a triangular vehicle position object in the center of the circle, and the target's position relative to the current position is drawn as a circular object within the circle. The radius of the circle corresponds to a distance of 1 km.,The examples in Figure 9(b) and (c) show the current position and the,position of the target H system.The distance from the current position to the target is displayed within this circle. In Figures 9(b) and (c), the distance from the current position to the target is 580 m, in Figure 10(a) it is 500 m, and in Figure 10(b) it is 480 m. When the target passes, the warning window disappears in the reverse order of the warning window (Figure 10(c)). As shown in Figures 9(c), 10(a), and 10(b) in that order, when the distance to the target becomes 500 m or less, the animation gradually changes to a real-life image. When the distance between the current position and the target can be considered to be 0, it is determined that the target has passed, and the warning window displaying the real-life image fades out and disappears, as shown in Figure 10(c). The real-life image is actual photographic data taken of the target's location.

[0061] Such targets include locations of drowsy driving accidents, radar, H system, LH system, speed limit change points, enforcement areas, checkpoint areas, no parking monitoring areas, N system, traffic monitoring system, intersection monitoring points, red light ignoring prevention systems, police stations, accident-prone areas, areas with high rates of vehicle theft, sharp / continuous curves (expressways), branching / merging points (expressways), ETC lane advance guidance (expressways), service areas (expressways), parking areas (expressways), highway oases (expressways), smart interchanges (expressways), gas stations inside PAs / SAs (expressways), tunnels (expressways), highway radio reception areas (expressways), prefectural border notices, roadside stations, view point parking areas, etc. Information on the type of target, latitude and longitude information indicating its location, and schematic diagram or photograph data and audio data to be displayed on the display unit 5 are associated and stored in database 19, and an approach warning is issued by referring to these.

[0062] The radar wave warning function is a function that displays a warning screen on the display unit 5 and outputs a warning sound from the speaker 20 when the microwave receiver 4 detects a signal corresponding to microwaves (radar waves) in a frequency band emitted by a speed measurement device (such as a mobile radar (hereinafter simply referred to as "radar")). For example, when the microwave receiver 4 detects microwaves in the frequency band emitted by radar, it reads out voice data stored in the database 19 and outputs a voice message such as "Radar! Watch your speed!" from the speaker 20. While the voice message is being output, the warning lamp 6 is lit. When a screen other than the map screen is currently displayed as the information display function (including the OFF screen), this voice message is output. On the other hand, when the map screen is currently displayed as the information display function, in addition to the voice message, an animation of a warning window that displays a radar wave warning schematic diagram or an image based on photographic data is superimposed on (in front of) the map displayed in the map display unit of the map screen, as shown in the order of Figures 11(a), 11(b), 11(c), and 12(a), 12(b), 12(c)). That is, FIG. 11(a) shows a state in which the microwave receiver 4 is not receiving radar waves, and a map is displayed on the map display screen, but the warning window is not. When the microwave receiver 4 receives radar waves, the size of the warning window gradually increases from the upper left to the lower right of the map display screen, as shown in FIGS. 11(b) and 11(c), until the right edge of the warning window is slightly to the right of the horizontal center of the map display screen, while the display brightness is increased. The animation involves rotating an object representing the shape of the target displayed inside the warning window, and displaying text stored in the database 19, such as "WARNING," in front of it, starting from the leftmost character and moving to the right. After this display is displayed for a certain period of time (e.g., 10 seconds), the animation gradually changes to a photographic image of the speed measurement device, as shown in FIGS. 12(a), 12(b), and 12(c), respectively. When radar waves are no longer received, the warning window displaying the photographic image fades out, as shown in FIGS. 13(a), 13(b), and 13(c), respectively.

[0063] The radio alarm function issues an alarm when radio signals from emergency vehicles or other vehicles are received by the radio receiver 15 to prevent interference with their travel. The radio alarm function scans frequencies for police radios, car location radios, digital radios, special small radios, police station radios, police telephones, police activity radios, tow truck radios, helicopter radios, fire helicopter radios, fire department radios, emergency radios, highway radios, and security radios. When a radio signal is received at a scanned frequency, the display unit 5 displays a schematic diagram indicating the reception of a radio signal corresponding to the frequency stored for that radio type in the database 19. The display unit 5 also reads audio data stored for each radio type in the database 19 and outputs an audio alert indicating the radio type from the speaker 20. For example, when a police radio signal is received, the audio output is "This is a police radio signal. Watch your speed." While the audio is being output, the alarm lamp 6 is illuminated. When a screen other than the map screen is currently displayed as the information display function (including the OFF screen), the audio output process is performed in this manner. On the other hand, when the map screen is currently being displayed as the information display function, the same processing as the radar wave warning function is performed, except that a display indicating that it is a radio warning is displayed, as shown in part of the changes in Figure 14(a)(b)(c).

[0064] The radar detector of this embodiment has an AUTO display target screen selection function that selects a screen format that is the target for switching the AUTO display screen. When the AUTO display screen is selected on the display screen selection screen of Figure 3, the screens in the format selected by this AUTO display target screen selection function are the only screens in the format that are switched and displayed every minute, and screens in formats that are not selected by the AUTO display target screen selection function are not subject to switching display. In the default state, all screens are set in the database 19 as targets for switching display, and as described above, all screens are subject to switching display, but the setting of the target for switching display in this database 19 can be changed using the AUTO display target screen selection function.

[0065] The AUTO display target screen selection function starts with a screen transition due to the detection of the following operations. First, regardless of the screen display state, if a press of the setting button on the remote control 17 or switch unit 3 is detected, the setting screen of FIG. 15 is displayed. In this state, if a touch on the display position of the "Standby" button on the top left is detected by the touch panel of the display unit 5 (hereinafter, the case where a touch on the display position of that button is detected by the touch panel of the display unit 5 will simply be referred to as a case where a touch is detected), the standby screen setting screen shown in FIG. 15(b) is displayed. If a touch on the "Auto Item" button on the top right is detected on this screen, the auto item setting screen 1 / 2 shown in FIG. 16(a) is displayed.

[0066] This auto item setting screen 1 / 2 has a screen title display section reading "Auto Item 1 / 2" at the top and a control button display section at the bottom, which from left to right includes an "EXIT" button, a "BACK" button, a blank space, and a right arrow button. A screen switching selection button display section is provided between the screen title section and the control button display section. The screen switching selection button display section displays a total of seven toggle buttons, four buttons on the first row and three buttons on the second row. When a touch on the right arrow button provided in the control button display section is detected, the auto item setting screen 2 / 2 shown in FIG. 16(b) is displayed in the OBD2 connected state, and the auto item setting screen 2 / 2 shown in FIG. 16(c) is displayed in the OBD2 unconnected state. The auto item setting screen 2 / 2 also has a configuration similar to the auto item setting screen 1 / 1, displaying a total of six toggle buttons, four buttons on the first row and two buttons on the second row. The auto item setting screen 2 / 2 in the OBD2 connected state and the OBD2 disconnected state is the same, except that in the OBD2 disconnected state, the fuel economy screen and OBD data screen, which are not subject to switching display, are grayed out and cannot be selected for switching. An example of the OBD2 connected state will be explained below. In the control button display section at the bottom of the auto item setting screen 2 / 2, the right arrow button displayed on the auto item setting screen 1 / 1 is blank, and a left arrow button is displayed in the blank space on the auto item setting screen 1 / 1. When a touch on the left arrow button is detected, the auto item setting screen 1 / 2 shown in FIG. 16(a) is displayed. In this way, the auto item setting screen 1 / 2 shown in FIG. 16(a) and the auto item setting screen 2 / 2 shown in FIG. 16(b) can be switched between using the right arrow button and the left arrow button (page switching is possible), and a toggle button is displayed to indicate whether or not to switch between 13 items on the auto item setting screen 1 / 2 and the auto item setting screen 2 / 2. If a touch on the "EXIT" button is detected, the process returns to the process before a touch on a setting button on the remote control 17 or the switch unit 3 was detected. If a touch on the "BACK" button is detected, the process returns to the standby screen setting screen shown in Fig. 15(b), which is the previously displayed screen. The process when a button on the control button display unit is touched is the same as that in the other figures of this embodiment.

[0067] The auto item setting screen 1 / 2 in Figure 16(a) has a ``Clock'' button in the first row, first column for setting whether the clock screen is to be displayed as an option for switching, a ``Speed'' button in the second row, first column for setting whether the speed screen is to be displayed as an option for switching, an ``Eco Drive'' button in the third row, first column for setting whether the eco drive screen is to be displayed as an option for switching, an ``Acceleration'' button in the fourth row, first column for setting whether the acceleration screen is to be displayed as an option for switching, a ``Tilt'' button in the first row, second column for setting whether the tilt screen is to be displayed as an option for switching, a ``Tide Information'' button in the second row, second column for setting whether the tide information screen is to be displayed as an option for switching, and a ``Graph'' button in the third row, second column for setting whether the graph screen is to be displayed as an option for switching. The auto item setting screen 2 / 2 in Figure 16(b) includes a "Preset A" button in the first row and first column for setting whether the Preset A screen is to be displayed as an alternate screen; a "Preset B" button in the second row and second column for setting whether the Preset A screen is to be displayed as an alternate screen; a "Preset C" button in the third row and first column for setting whether the Preset C screen is to be displayed as an alternate screen; a "Positioning Information" button in the fourth row and first column for setting whether the positioning information screen is to be displayed as an alternate screen; a "Fuel Efficiency" button in the first row and second column for setting whether the fuel economy screen is to be displayed as an alternate screen; and an "OBD Data" button in the second row and second column for setting whether the OBD data screen is to be displayed as an alternate screen. The button name is displayed on the surface of each of these buttons. The button name is displayed as the characters enclosed in brackets in the above text. For example, the "Clock" button displays the "Clock" enclosed in brackets as its button name. Each button is a rectangular button of the same size, with the long sides extending horizontally and surrounding the characters. A certain amount of space is provided between each button to prevent accidental touches.

[0068] At the left end of each button, an indicator section is provided, running from the top to the bottom of the button, displaying the image of a strip-shaped LED lamp that lights up in green and is thinner than the width of the button. This indicator can be in a lit or unlit state. When a touch is detected at any button position on the touch panel of display section 5, the lit state of the indicator for the touched button is inverted. That is, if the indicator is in a lit state, it is set to an unlit state, and if the indicator is unlit, it is set to an lit state. When the indicator is in a lit state, the screen corresponding to that button is subject to display switching, and when the indicator is unlit, the screen corresponding to that button is set to not be subject to display switching, and this setting is stored in database 19. This storage process is performed whenever there is a change in the lit state of the indicator. When pressing of the "EXIT" button is detected and the AUTO screen display is selected as shown in Fig. 3(b) above, processing of the AUTO display screen is started, and processing to switch only the screens stored in the database 19 as targets for switching display is performed every minute. The following explanation will be given assuming that the AUTO screen display is selected as shown in Fig. 3(b).

[0069] Figures 16(a) and 16(b) show examples in which the indicators for all buttons are lit. This is the default state described above. If a touch on the "EXIT" button is detected in this state, all screens will be subject to switching display. That is, the screens for each format will be switched every minute in the following order: clock screen, speed screen, eco-driving screen, acceleration screen, incline screen, tide information screen, graph screen, preset A screen, preset B screen, preset C screen, positioning information screen, fuel economy screen, and OBD data screen (each screen will be displayed for one minute before switching to the next format screen, and so on). After displaying the OBD data screen for one minute, the screen will return to the clock screen, and the screens will be switched in the same manner thereafter.

[0070] Figure 17(a) shows an example in which the indicator for the "Clock" button on the Auto Item Setting Screen 1 / 2 is off and the indicators for the other buttons are on. Assume that all button indicators for the Auto Item Setting Screen 2 / 2 are on, as shown in Figure 16(b). In this state, if a touch of the "EXIT" button is detected, all screens except the clock screen are subject to switching display. That is, the screens for each format are switched every minute in the following order: speed screen, eco-driving screen, acceleration screen, incline screen, tide information screen, graph screen, preset A screen, preset B screen, preset C screen, positioning information screen, fuel economy screen, and OBD data screen. After displaying the OBD data screen for one minute, the screen returns to the speed screen, and the switching display continues in the same manner. Since the clock is displayed in the upper right corner of each format screen, users who do not need to switch the clock screen can prevent it from being displayed by touching and setting each button to have its indicators in this state.

[0071] Figure 17(b) shows an example in which the indicators for the "Clock" and "Tide Information" buttons are off, while the indicators for the other buttons are on. Assume that all button indicators are on for the Auto Item Setting Screen 2 / 2, as shown in Figure 16(b). In this state, if a touch of the "EXIT" button is detected, all screens except the Clock screen and Tide Information screen are subject to switching display. That is, the screens are switched every minute between the following formats: Speed screen, Eco Drive screen, Acceleration screen, Inclination screen, Graph screen, Preset A screen, Preset B screen, Preset C screen, Positioning information screen, Fuel economy screen, and OBD data screen. After displaying the OBD data screen for one minute, the screen returns to the Speed screen, and the screens are switched in the same manner. The Clock screen and Tide Information screen primarily depend on the date and time and do not change in real time as the vehicle is driven. Therefore, a user who wants to know the current real-time status that changes as the vehicle moves can touch and set each button to set the indicator to this state, thereby preventing the clock screen and tide information screen from being switched between displays and allowing only the screen format that displays the current real-time status that changes as the vehicle moves to be switched between displays.

[0072] Figure 17(c) shows an example in which the indicators for all seven buttons on the auto item setting screen 1 / 2 are unlit. As shown in Figure 18(a), the auto item setting screen 2 / 2 has the indicators for the "Preset A," "Preset B," and "Preset C" buttons lit, while the indicators for the "Positioning Information," "Fuel Economy," and "OBD Data" buttons are unlit. In this state, if a touch of the "EXIT" button is detected, the screens for each format are displayed, switching every minute between the Preset A screen, Preset B screen, and Preset C screen. After displaying the Preset C screen for one minute, the screen returns to the Preset A screen, and the screens continue to switch in the same manner. In this way, the user can cycle through three types of triplet meters preset by the user, while preventing the display of screens in other formats. Reducing the number of screens to be selected in this way shortens the time required for each cycle (in this example, one cycle takes three minutes). Furthermore, for example, if the meters on these three preset screens are all set to different types of meters, a total of nine types of meters can be viewed in three minutes.

[0073] Next, the setting process for each meter displayed on the preset A screen, preset B screen, and preset C screen will be explained. This setting process starts with a screen transition due to the detection of the following operations. As mentioned above, first, regardless of the screen display state, if a press of the setting button on the remote control 17 or switch unit 3 is detected, the setting screen in Figure 15 is displayed. In this state, if a touch on the "standby" button on the left end of the top row is detected, the standby screen setting screen shown in Figure 15(b) is displayed. If a touch on any of the "Preset A," "Preset B," or "Preset C" buttons in the second column is detected on this screen, the preset meter setting screen for that preset is displayed. Here, an example will be explained where the "Preset A" button is touched. The same process will be performed if the "Preset B" or "Preset C" button is touched.

[0074] When the "Preset A" button is touched, a preset meter setting screen such as that shown in FIG. 19(a) is displayed. Similar to the auto item setting screen, the preset meter setting screen includes a screen title display section called "Preset A" at the top and a control button display section with an "EXIT" button and a "BACK" button at the bottom, from left to right. Between the screen title section and the control button display section, a meter setting button display section is provided with three meter setting buttons positioned corresponding to the left-position meter, center-position meter, and right-position meter shown in FIG. 7(a). Specifically, the meter setting button display section includes a left-position meter setting button located at the bottom left for setting the type of the left-position meter, a center-position meter setting button located at the top center for setting the type of the center-position meter, and a right-position meter setting button located at the bottom right for setting the type of the right-position meter. A character string indicating the currently set meter type is displayed on each button. In the default state, the left-position meter is set to the clock, the center-position meter to the vehicle speed, and the right-position meter to eco-driving for the Preset A screen, as shown in FIG. 19(a). In this state, the example of the preset A screen displayed is shown in Figure 7(a). That is, according to the settings of each meter setting button, the left meter displays the clock, the center meter displays the vehicle speed, and the right meter displays the eco-driving.

[0075] The default settings for the preset B screen are as follows: the left meter is the clock, the center meter is the acceleration, and the right meter is the vehicle speed, with an example display shown in Figure 7(b). The default settings for the preset C screen are as follows: the left meter is the compass, the center meter is the tilt, and the right meter is the tide information, with an example display shown in Figure 7(c).

[0076] In the display state of Fig. 19(a), the process of changing the type of the center-positioned meter from vehicle speed to acceleration as shown in Fig. 19(b) will be described. The meter types of the left-positioned meter and the right-positioned meter are also changed using the same process.

[0077] When a touch on the middle-positioned meter setting button is detected, the meter type selection screen shown in Figure 20(a) is displayed. The meter type selection screen has a control button display section on the right side, which has a back button, a blank space, an up arrow button, and a down arrow button, arranged vertically from top to bottom, and four meter type buttons on the left side, arranged vertically. As shown in Figure 20(a), the currently set meter type is first displayed second from the top. Since the setting for the middle-positioned meter setting button in Figure 19(a) is "vehicle speed," "vehicle speed" is displayed in the second meter type button from the top, and this meter type button is highlighted to indicate that it is the currently selected state.

[0078] In this state, if a touch on the down arrow button is detected, the display shown in FIG. 19(b) is displayed. That is, the meter type button that was displayed second from the top is moved to the top, the meter type button that was displayed third from the top is moved to the second from the top, the meter type button that was displayed fourth from the top (bottom) is moved to the third from the top, and the meter type button that is newly set in the next order is displayed fourth from the top (bottom). As a result, in this example, the meter type button for vehicle speed has moved to the top, as shown in FIG. 20(b). FIG. 20(c) shows an example of a display when three more touches on the down arrow button are detected in this state. FIG. 21(a) shows an example of a display when three more touches on the down arrow button are detected from the state of FIG. 21(a). FIG. 21(b) shows an example of a display when three more touches on the down arrow button are detected from the state of FIG. 21(b). FIG. 21(c) shows an example of a display when three more touches on the down arrow button are detected from the state of FIG. 21(b). FIG. 22(a) shows an example of the display when the down arrow button is touched three more times from the state of FIG. 21(c). FIG. 22(b) shows an example of the display when the down arrow button is touched three more times from the state of FIG. 22(a). FIG. 22(c) shows an example of the display when the down arrow button is touched several more times from the state of FIG. 22(b). The display state of FIG. 22(c) is the same as the display state of FIG. 20(a). In this way, by cyclically scrolling the meter type buttons, options for the meter types that can be set are presented.

[0079] As shown in Figures 20(a) and 20(b), when a touch is detected at the position of the acceleration meter type button among the meter type buttons, the highlight is moved to the touched acceleration meter type button, and the setting of the type of the middle meter in preset A of database 19 is changed to "acceleration" and stored. When a touch to the back button is detected in this state, the display on the middle meter setting button is changed to this "acceleration," as shown in Figure 19(b). With this setting, when the screen of preset A is displayed, the middle meter becomes the "acceleration" meter, as shown in Figure 23. In this way, the user can set the type of meter to be used at each position on each preset screen.

[0080] In this way, when the AUTO display setting is selected and a preset screen is selected as a target for switching display, the preset screen set by the user in this way can be the target for switching display.

[0081] The radar detector, an example of a control system according to the present invention, controls the display of different screen formats displaying information about the current situation, switching between them at predetermined time intervals, such as one minute, in the predetermined order described above. The system also includes a selection function that allows the user to select the screen format to be displayed, and the screen area of the format selected by the selection function is the target of the display switching. This allows the display of a screen format desired by the user. Information about the current situation may include, for example, the current time, the current date, the current location, and the current situation of the vehicle where the display unit of the control system is installed. Additionally or alternatively, a screen format that acquires and displays the current situation of a person viewing the display of the system, such as the driver, may be provided. The current situation may refer to, for example, the situation at this very moment. However, in this embodiment, location information is output from the GPS receiver 8 every second, so the situation from up to about one second before the current situation is displayed. Vehicle information acquired via the OBD2 connector is also acquired at 0.5-second intervals, so the situation from up to about one second before the current situation is displayed. Depending on the type and nature of the information to be displayed, the information about the current situation may be a situation in the past that is close enough to the present that the user can recognize it as the current situation.

[0082] In this embodiment, as described above, the predetermined order is the order displayed on the setting screen, etc. However, instead of such a predetermined fixed order, it may be, for example, an order set by the user, or a random order.

[0083] In this embodiment, the predetermined time interval is a fixed time interval set in advance, such as one minute, but it may be a time interval that varies depending on the status of the acquired information. The predetermined time interval may also be a time interval set by the user on a setting screen or the like. For example, the time from displaying a screen in a first format to switching to displaying a screen in a second format and the time from displaying a screen in the second format to switching to displaying a screen in a third format may be the same or different.

[0084] The display switching of this embodiment is configured so that the current screen area is replaced with the next screen area in a frame interval. That is, the current screen and the next screen are displayed in a sudden changeover. However, when the screen is replaced, a predetermined switching effect may be used, such as gradually scrolling out one screen area while scrolling in another, or fading in and out in a similar manner.

[0085] In this embodiment, the information about the current situation includes multiple different pieces of information acquired about the moving object, and multiple screens in a triple-meter format are provided, such as preset A, preset B, and preset C, which simultaneously display the multiple different pieces of information. Therefore, the multiple different pieces of information acquired about the moving object change as the moving object moves, and these changes can be simultaneously grasped by looking at the triple-meter format screen that simultaneously displays the multiple different pieces of information. Furthermore, by providing multiple triple-meter format screens that simultaneously display such multiple different pieces of information, and controlling the display of the multiple pieces of information to switch between them in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals using the AUTO screen display function, it is possible, for example, to quickly grasp a large amount of information that changes as the moving object moves.

[0086] In this embodiment, the moving body is a vehicle, but it may also be a person, for example. In the case of a person, it is possible to acquire information by sensing physiological phenomena such as the person's heart rate and body temperature, or by sensing the person's location and surrounding conditions.

[0087] On the auto item setting screen, as shown in Figures 16(a) and 16(b), all button indicators are set to be lit. In this way, the selection function is configured so that, in the default state, all selectable screen formats are displayed as screens that are subject to switching, and the user can select screen formats that are not subject to switching by touch. Therefore, in the default state, all selectable screen formats are displayed as screens that are subject to switching in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals. This allows the user to learn about all screen formats that can be selected with this radar detector. Then, for example, after using the radar detector in this state for a while, the user can select screen formats that are not required by the user as screen formats that are not subject to switching, as described above, thereby switching only screen formats that are required by the user.

[0088] On the auto item setting screen, as shown in FIG. 16 and other figures, characters representing each format screen are displayed on buttons for selection. Therefore, it is preferable to further display the characters displayed on these buttons when switching between screens. For example, when switching to the speed screen shown in FIG. 5(a), a horizontally oriented caption area is displayed at the top, as shown in FIG. 24, and the character "Speed" on this button is displayed within this caption area. This display is displayed for three seconds after switching and then disappears. In this way, when executing the selection function, the user can easily determine which screen to select by looking at the information representing each format screen (in this example, the caption displayed for a certain period of time when switching between screens), and when switching to that screen, the user can confirm that the format screen has been properly set by looking at the information representing the format screen. Examples of information representing each format screen include character strings representing the name of each screen, thumbnails of reduced-size versions of each screen, and illustrations or icons showing the content of each screen. When switching between different formats, the information representing the screen is displayed within the screen of that format and is erased after a predetermined time has elapsed since the screen was switched. The predetermined time until the erasure is three seconds, which is shorter than the predetermined time of one minute between the display of the screen of that format and the switching to a screen of another format. In this manner, the information representing the screen of that format is displayed within the screen of that format for the predetermined time and then erased. Thereafter, the screen of that format is displayed without the information representing the screen of that format, and then the screen switches to a screen of another format. Thus, when the screen switches, the type of information displayed on the screen of that format can be determined from the information representing the screen of that format. Furthermore, once the determination is complete, the information representing the screen of that format can be erased, allowing the entire screen to be displayed in a predetermined format.

[0089] Furthermore, at least one of the format screens selectable on the auto item setting screen may be provided with a format screen that controls switching of a predetermined display area within the format screen at a predetermined time interval. The predetermined time interval for switching from that format screen to another format screen may be longer than the predetermined time interval for switching of a predetermined display area within the format screen (one minute, as described above in this embodiment). For example, if the tide information meter shown in the meter on the right side of the preset screen in FIG. 25 is used as this predetermined display area, when switching to this preset screen, a tide information meter is displayed that displays the name of the tide station closest to the current location, the moon phase for the current date, and the name of the tide, as shown in FIG. 25(a). Then, after 10 seconds have elapsed, a tide information meter is displayed that displays the time and tide level of the first low tide of the day and the time and tide level of the first high tide of the day, as shown in FIG. 25(b). Then, 10 seconds after the tide information meter shown in Figure 25(b) is displayed, a tide information meter showing the time and tide level of the second low tide and the time and tide level of the day, as shown in Figure 25(c), is displayed. Then, 10 seconds after the tide information meter shown in Figure 25(c) is displayed, the display returns to the tide information meter shown in Figure 25(a). Then, the tide information meter on the screen of Figure 25(a) is displayed again for 10 seconds, before switching to the tide information meter on the screen of Figure 25(b). Then, the tide information meter on the screen of Figure 25(b) is displayed for 10 seconds, before switching to the tide information meter on the screen of Figure 25(c). Then, after the tide information meter on the screen of Figure 25(c) has been displayed for 10 seconds, one minute has passed since switching to this preset screen, and the display switches to the screen of the next format. In this way, the contents of the tide information meter, which is a predetermined display area on the screen of that format, are switched and displayed at a time interval (10 seconds in this embodiment) that is shorter than the time interval (1 minute in this embodiment) between the display of the screen of that format and the switching to a screen of another format. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the screen of this format from switching to a screen of another format without any switching of the display of the predetermined display area on the screen of this format (the tide information meter in this example).Therefore, by switching between predetermined display areas within the screen of that format and by switching between the screens of that format themselves, it becomes possible to visually confirm a large amount of information in a short period of time. Furthermore, this information can be confirmed without waiting for the rotation of the notification of the switching display. For example, when the tide information screen for the day shown in FIG. 25 is displayed, the screen shown in FIG. 26 is displayed, but this content can be confirmed by switching between the content of the tide information meter in a smaller area, and all content can be confirmed within the display time (1 minute) of the preset display screen without waiting for the next preset screen to be displayed. Note that on days when there are no times for the second low tide or high tide, the fields may be left blank, or the meter display may be skipped.

[0090] In this embodiment, a graph screen, such as the one shown in FIG. 6C, is provided as at least one of the screen formats selectable on the auto item setting screen. A screen format, such as this graph screen, is provided that allows the current situation to be understood by comparing the current situation with past situations. The predetermined time interval for switching from the screen format to a screen of another format is preferably set to a time interval that allows the current situation to be understood by comparing the current situation with past situations. The graph screen has a display time of one minute, allowing the current situation to be understood by comparing the current situation with past situations. This makes it possible to visually compare the current situation with past situations before the currently displayed screen format is switched to a screen of another format.

[0091] In this embodiment, when a screen other than the map screen is currently displayed as the information display function, a sound is output when an alarm is issued by the GPS alarm function, radar wave alarm function, or wireless alarm function. However, while the alarm sound is being output, the screen may be switched to the map screen, and an alarm may be issued using an alarm window similar to the alarm issued when the map screen is displayed. In this case, the map screen may not be included in the screen formats selectable on the auto item setting screen. While the function for switching between screens of different formats in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals is being executed, an event screen display switching function may be provided to switch to a screen notifying the occurrence of a predetermined event (an alarm in this embodiment) when the event occurs. The screens selectable for switching may not include a screen of the same format as the screen notifying the occurrence of the event. In this way, the AUTO screen display function does not switch between screens of the same format as the screen notifying the occurrence of an event in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals, allowing the user to be sure that an event has occurred and preventing the user from mistaking the screens switched between in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals for the event occurrence screen.

[0092] In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the display unit 5 includes a touch panel. However, a configuration may also be adopted in which only the remote control 17 or the switch unit 3 is included. For example, a selection item may be indicated by moving a focus frame in response to detection of a button operation, and when a press of the Enter button is detected, the item with the focus frame may be stored in the database 19 as the selected item, and the stored item may be referenced for screen switching or other processing. For example, on the standby screen setting screen shown in FIG. 15(b), the focus frame is moved in response to detection of a press of the up, down, left, or right button on the remote control. When the focus frame is positioned on "Auto Item" on the top right side and a press of the Enter button on the remote control 17 is detected, the auto item setting screen 1 / 2 shown in FIG. 16(a) is displayed. When a press of the down button is detected when the focus frame is positioned on any button in the second row, or when a press of the right button is detected when the focus frame is positioned on the "Graph" button in the second row and the third column, the auto item setting screen 2 / 2 shown in FIG. 16(b) is displayed. The auto item setting screen 2 / 2 also displays a total of seven toggle buttons, with four buttons on the first row and three buttons on the second row. When the focus frame is on any button on the first row of the auto item setting screen 2 / 2 and a press of the up button is detected, or when the focus frame is on the "Preset A" button on the first row, first column and a press of the right button is detected, the auto item setting screen 2 / 2 shown in Fig. 16(a) is displayed. When a press of the enter button is detected, the item with the focus frame is stored in the database 19 as the selected item, and the stored item is referenced to perform screen switching processing, etc.

[0093] The type of current information is not limited to the example in this embodiment. For example, a three-axis gyro sensor similar to the acceleration sensor 27 may be provided to display the current state of the angular velocity acting on the vehicle, or the current information may be acquired from various other sensors or communication means.

[0094] Although the present embodiment has been described using the example of a radar detector, the present invention can be implemented as a function of various electronic devices. For example, the present invention may be incorporated as a function of a navigation device, a drive recorder, or a car audio system. The numerical values described in the present embodiment may be changed as appropriate to values that are effective through experiments, etc. The screen size of the display unit 5 may also be arbitrary. The control unit 18 may also be provided with a function for setting the priority of each function and alarm based on instructions from the user via the remote control 17, etc., and the control unit 18 may be configured to perform processing according to the set priority.

[0095] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the device includes a database 19 storing various types of information, and the control unit 18 accesses the database 19 to read the necessary information and perform various processes, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, some or all of the information to be registered in the database 19 may be registered in a server. The radar detector or other electronic device or device may then have a function for communicating with the server, and the control unit 18 may access the server as needed to obtain the necessary information and execute the processes. Furthermore, the system may include at least some of the functions of the control unit 18 stored in the server, and the server executes the functions, with the user's electronic device obtaining the execution results.

[0096] The functions of the control system in the above-described embodiment are configured as a program to be implemented by a computer provided in the control unit 18, but the program may also be distributed among multiple computers for distributed processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0097] 1 case body 2. Solar panels 3 Switch section 4 Microwave receiver 5 Display section 6 Lamp 7. Infrared communication device 8 GPS receivers 9 Adapter Jack 10 Power switch 12 Mobile Phones 13 Memory card reader 14. Memory Card 15 Radio receiver 16 Remote control receiver 17 Remote Control 18 Control Unit 19 Databases 20 speakers 22 Connection cable 23 Connector terminal 24 sockets 25 Connector terminal 27 Acceleration Sensor 28 Geomagnetic Sensor 33 Pedestal

Claims

1. A system comprising a radar detector and a server, The aforementioned radar detector is GPS receiver and, Display unit and Speakers and, Control unit and A database that stores various kinds of information, It includes a function for communicating with the aforementioned server, The server registers some or all of the information to be registered in the database. The control unit accesses the database to read necessary information and performs various processes, and also accesses the server as needed to obtain necessary information and execute processing, and outputs predetermined alarms, messages, and information using the display unit or speaker. A system characterized by the following features.

2. The information to be registered in the aforementioned database includes publicly available enforcement information, such as the date, time, and location of traffic enforcement announced by each prefectural police, and at least one of the parameters for each tide gauge station used to calculate tidal information. The system according to feature 1.

3. The control unit calculates tidal information for the tide gauge station closest to the current location based on parameters such as those for each tide gauge station obtained from the database or the server, and displays it on the display unit. The system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above.

4. The control unit stores the current location output from the GPS receiver every second as a location history in the database, associating it with the time and speed at which the current location was detected. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The aforementioned location history is recorded in NMEA format. The system according to feature 4.

6. The server performs at least a portion of the functions of the control unit. The radar detector acquires the execution results performed on the server. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A program for a computer to implement the system functions described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

Images