Vehicle control devices

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle control device that can suppress accidental operation of control buttons and other errors while the vehicle is in motion, without causing any discomfort to the user. [Solution] The system includes an acceleration sensor 4 that detects the acceleration and direction of acceleration of the vehicle 10, and a processing unit 3 that performs predetermined processing in response to the operation of a touch panel display screen 2a. The processing unit 3 changes the operation response area 20a on the display screen 2a, which is set as an operation area for performing predetermined processing, based on the direction of acceleration of the vehicle 10 detected by the acceleration sensor 4.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that executes predetermined processing based on operations on a touch panel type display screen.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there are devices that use a touch panel type display unit to execute various processes related to a vehicle based on touch operations on the display screen. For example, the vehicle-mounted touch panel described in Patent Document 1 displays icons on the display screen of a car navigation device, and based on the touch operations of the occupants, various processes corresponding to the icons are executed. In this type of car navigation device, when attempting to execute a desired process, the occupant needs to visually confirm the icon on the display screen and perform a touch operation. However, when the vehicle is in motion, there is a problem that it is difficult to reliably touch the desired icon due to the influence of vehicle vibration and the like. Therefore, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when the vibration of the vehicle reaches a predetermined level or more, both the size of each icon and the detection area of the touch operation of the icon are enlarged more than usual. As a result, in the vehicle-mounted touch panel described in Patent Document 1, even when vibration occurs in the vehicle, the occupant can easily perform a touch operation on the desired icon.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the size of the icons on the display screen is changed, the layout and appearance of the icons change, which may give the user a sense of discomfort.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention aims to realize a vehicle control device that can reduce the likelihood of accidental operation of operation buttons (icons) or inability to press the desired operation button while the vehicle is in motion, without causing discomfort to the user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] (1) The vehicle control device of the present invention, provided to solve the above-mentioned problems, comprises a behavior detection unit for detecting the behavior of a vehicle and a processing unit for executing a predetermined process in response to an operation on a touch panel display screen, wherein the processing unit modifies an operation response area on the display screen, which is set as an operation area for executing the predetermined process, based on the behavior of the vehicle detected by the behavior detection unit.

[0007] The vehicle control device of the present invention modifies the operation area (operation response area) for executing a predetermined process based on the vehicle's behavior detected by the behavior detection unit. Therefore, the vehicle control device of the present invention can set the operation response area on the display screen according to the vehicle's behavior. For example, when the vehicle turns left, the occupant experiences acceleration (negative acceleration) to the right, so it becomes possible to expand or move the operation response area to the right. In this way, the vehicle control device of the present invention can suppress erroneous operations where an occupant, having received acceleration to the right, attempts to perform a touch operation to execute a predetermined process by pressing the wrong operation button (for example, an icon on the display screen). Furthermore, the vehicle control device of the present invention can also suppress situations where the desired button cannot be touched. Moreover, for example, it is possible to change only the operation response area without changing the buttons (icons) on the display screen. In this case, erroneous operation of operation buttons (icons) or inability to press the desired operation button can be suppressed while the vehicle is moving without causing discomfort to the user.

[0008] (2) The processing unit may expand the operation response area based on the magnitude of the vehicle's behavior detected by the behavior detection unit.

[0009] In this case, the vehicle control device of the present invention can increase the expansion of the operation response area when the vehicle's movement is large, and decrease the expansion of the operation response area when the vehicle's movement is small. In this way, the vehicle control device of the present invention can reliably suppress situations such as erroneous operation of operation buttons or inability to press the desired operation button, even when the vehicle's movement becomes large.

[0010] (3) The processing unit may disable the operation of the operation response area on the condition that the magnitude of the vehicle's behavior detected by the behavior detection unit is greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0011] When the vehicle's movements become exaggerated, it may be inappropriate to operate the control buttons. Furthermore, unintended operations may occur due to the movement of the occupants caused by the vehicle's movements. In such situations, the vehicle control device of the present invention disables the operation of the control response area, allowing for the appropriate execution of predetermined processes in accordance with the vehicle's behavior.

[0012] (4) The display screen before the operation response area is changed displays an icon for executing the process so as to overlap with the operation response area, and the processing unit changes the operation response area on the display screen without moving the position of the icon when changing the operation response area.

[0013] In this way, the vehicle control device of the present invention maintains the display position of the icons while changing only the operation response area based on the vehicle's behavior. Therefore, it can prevent accidental operation of operation buttons (icons) or inability to press the desired operation button while the vehicle is moving, without causing discomfort to the user.

[0014] (5) The behavior detection unit is configured to detect the direction of acceleration acting on the occupant based on the behavior of the vehicle, and the processing unit expands the operation response area in the direction of acceleration acting on the occupant detected by the behavior detection unit.

[0015] When an occupant operates an operation button (such as an icon), if acceleration acts on the occupant, their body will move in the direction of that acceleration. The vehicle control device of the present invention expands the operation response area in the direction of the occupant's movement when acceleration acts on the occupant due to the vehicle's behavior. This enhances the ability to suppress situations such as erroneous operation of operation buttons (icons) or inability to press the desired operation button while the vehicle is moving.

[0016] (6) The behavior detection unit is configured to detect the direction of acceleration acting on the occupant based on the behavior of the vehicle, and the processing unit moves the operation response area in the direction of acceleration acting on the occupant detected by the behavior detection unit.

[0017] In this way, the vehicle control device of the present invention, when acceleration acts on the occupant due to the vehicle's behavior, moves the operation response area in the direction of the occupant's movement due to that acceleration. This enhances the ability to suppress situations such as accidental operation of operation buttons (icons) or inability to press the desired operation button while the vehicle is moving.

[0018] (7) The behavior detection unit is configured to detect acceleration acting on the occupant based on the behavior of the vehicle, and the processing unit may refrain from changing the operation response area on the condition that the acceleration acting on the occupant detected by the behavior detection unit is smaller than a certain threshold.

[0019] In this way, the vehicle control device of the present invention does not change the operation response area when the acceleration acting on the occupant is such that it does not affect the operation, thus reducing the processing load when the processing unit changes the operation response area.

[0020] After the processing unit changes the operation reaction area due to the acceleration acting on the occupant exceeding the specific threshold, when the acceleration acting on the occupant decreases and the operation reaction area is not changed, it is preferable that the operation reaction area is not changed again on the condition that the acceleration acting on the occupant becomes smaller than a re-change unnecessary threshold set to a value smaller than the specific threshold.

[0021] By doing so, when the acceleration acting on the occupant detected by the behavior detection unit fluctuates around a specific threshold due to detection errors or the like, it is possible to prevent frequent switching of whether to change the operation reaction area or not.

[0022] (9) There are a plurality of the predetermined processes, and an operation reaction area is set on the display screen corresponding to each of the plurality of predetermined processes. The processing unit preferably changes a specific operation reaction area among the operation reaction areas corresponding to the plurality of predetermined processes based on the behavior of the vehicle detected by the behavior detection unit.\

[0023] By doing so, the vehicle control device of the present invention can suppress an increase in the processing load of the processing unit associated with the change of the operation reaction area, and for the operation reaction area with high priority, it is possible to surely suppress situations such as accidental operation of an operation button (icon) during vehicle movement or inability to press a desired operation button.

[0024] (10) The behavior detection unit is preferably an acceleration sensor mounted on the vehicle.

[0025] By doing so, the vehicle control device of the present invention can change the operation reaction area with a low-cost configuration by using an acceleration sensor mounted on the vehicle.

Advantages of the Invention

[0026] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a vehicle control device that can reduce the occurrence of situations such as accidental operation of operation buttons (icons) or inability to press a desired operation button during vehicle movement without giving the user a sense of discomfort.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0027] [Figure 1] It is a block diagram of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a diagram for explaining a change mode of an operation reaction area on the display screen of the display unit. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing the range of acceleration for changing the operation reaction area and the range of acceleration direction. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing a modification example of the change mode of the operation reaction area in FIG. 2. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing another modification example of the change mode of the operation reaction area in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] It is a block diagram showing a modification example of the vehicle control device in FIG. 1.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0028] Hereinafter, a vehicle control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0029] The vehicle control device 1 of the present embodiment controls the display screen 2a of the touch panel type display device 2 mounted on the vehicle 10 and performs various processes based on the touch operation of the display screen 2a. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 1 includes a display device 2, a processing unit 3, and an acceleration sensor 4.

[0030] The display device 2 has a display screen 2a (see Figure 2, etc.) and displays, for example, the operation screens of various devices installed in the vehicle 10, such as an air conditioner, or the operation screen of a car navigation system. In this embodiment, the display device 2 is equipped with a touch panel type display screen 2a. When a touch operation is performed on the display screen 2a, the display device 2 outputs information regarding the operation location (such as coordinate information on the display screen 2a) to the processing unit 3. The display device 2 can use, for example, a CID (Center Information Display) or a DA (Display Audio).

[0031] The acceleration sensor 4 is mounted on the vehicle 10 and detects the acceleration of the vehicle 10. The acceleration sensor 4 can also detect the acceleration acting on the occupants as the vehicle 10 moves, as well as the direction of that acceleration. For example, the acceleration sensor 4 is a two-axis acceleration sensor, capable of detecting acceleration in the longitudinal direction (the direction of travel of the vehicle 10) and the lateral direction (the width direction of the vehicle 10). Information regarding the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 4 is output to the processing unit 3.

[0032] The information regarding acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 4 may be output directly to the processing unit 3, or it may be output indirectly from another processing unit (e.g., another ECU) installed in the vehicle 10. For example, the information regarding acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 4 may be output first to the ECU that controls the airbag, and then this information may be output to the processing unit 3. In this way, an existing acceleration sensor for the airbag can be used.

[0033] The processing unit 3 controls the display screen 2a of the display device 2. For example, when the power of the vehicle 10 is turned on, the processing unit 3 controls the display device 2 so that the default screen is displayed on the display screen 2a. The default screen displays multiple icons for performing various operations, such as audio settings, air conditioning settings, and navigation settings. When an occupant touches a predetermined icon, the display device 2 outputs information about the location of the touch operation to the processing unit 3. Upon receiving this location information, the processing unit 3 identifies the icon corresponding to the location information and executes a predetermined process. For example, when location information corresponding to the air conditioning settings icon is input on the default screen, the processing unit 3 controls the display device 2 so that the air conditioning settings screen is displayed on the display screen 2a.

[0034] When, for example, the temperature increase icon is touched on the air conditioner settings screen, the processing unit 3 receives the touch operation position information from the display device 2 and executes a process to send a signal to the control unit (e.g., the air conditioner ECU) that is in charge of controlling the air conditioner. In this way, the processing unit 3 controls the display of the display screen 2a of the display device 2 and executes various processes based on the touch operation position information from the display device 2.

[0035] The execution of various processes based on touch operations is performed by overlapping the display area of ​​the icon on the display screen with the touch operation response area. This is explained in detail below. For example, as shown in Figure 2(a), suppose an icon (SW) for instructing the execution of a predetermined process is displayed on the display screen 2a. In this case, the processing unit 3 sets the area overlapping the display area 20 of the icon as the operation response area 20a for executing the process corresponding to the icon. For example, the processing unit 3 defines the position of the display screen 2a using x and y coordinates and pre-sets the same range as the x and y coordinate ranges of the icon's display area 20 as the operation response area 20a corresponding to the icon. Furthermore, when the processing unit 3 receives touch operation position information ((x, y) coordinates) from the display device 2, it determines whether the position information is included in the operation response area 20a. If the processing unit 3 determines that the touch operation position information is included in the operation response area 20a, it determines that the touch operation is equivalent to an icon on the display area 20 being touched and executes the process corresponding to that icon.

[0036] Note that in Figure 2, only one icon (operation button) is displayed on screen 2a, and other icons (operation buttons) are omitted from the illustration.

[0037] By the way, the SW icons displayed on screen 2a are not physical switches, so it is necessary to visually confirm which icon you want to operate. Therefore, in situations where the vehicle 10 is accelerating, such as during sudden braking or turning, it is conceivable that your hand may slip and you may not be able to press the icon you want to press, or that you may press an icon you did not intend to press.

[0038] Therefore, in order to suppress the occurrence of such errors in icon operation, the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment changes the range of the operation response area 20a corresponding to the icon based on the information detected by the acceleration sensor 4.

[0039] Specifically, as shown in Figure 2(b), the processing unit 3 expands the range of the operation response area 20a in the direction of acceleration (negative acceleration direction) based on the information regarding the direction of acceleration of the vehicle 10 detected by the acceleration sensor 4. This negative acceleration direction is the direction in which inertial force acts. At this time, the processing unit 3 expands the operation response area from 20a in Figure 2(a) to 21a in Figure 2(b), using the direction of acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 4 (acceleration detection direction) as the direction of acceleration acting on the occupant.

[0040] The range over which the operation response area 20a is expanded can be set as appropriate. For example, it is possible to configure it so that the expansion range increases in proportion to the magnitude of the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 4.

[0041] At this time, the processing unit 3 changes (enlarges) only the operation response area 20a without changing the display range of the icon display area 20.

[0042] Furthermore, if the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 4 is relatively small, there is little need to change the operation response area 21a. Also, if the detected acceleration is too large or the direction of acceleration detection is in a range that is difficult to expect during normal driving, it is considered inappropriate to operate the icon at all. Therefore, the processing unit 3 decides whether or not to change the operation response area 20a based on the direction of acceleration detection by the acceleration sensor 4 and the magnitude of that acceleration.

[0043] The range in which the processing unit 3 modifies (expands) the range of the operation reaction area 20a will be explained with reference to Figure 3.

[0044] In FIG. 3, front-back and left-right indicate the axes (two axes) of the acceleration detection direction by the acceleration sensor 4. Also, the circles shown by dashed lines indicate the magnitudes of the detected accelerations, and the acceleration increases as going from the inner circle to the outer circle (B1 < B2 < B3 < B4). In FIG. 3, the range where the acceleration detection direction is within 60 degrees to the right from the front direction and within 60 degrees to the left, that is, within a 120-degree range in the front direction, is set as the range in which the range of the operation reaction area 20a can be changed.

[0045] Among this range, a range A1 where the acceleration is smaller than B1 is set as the range where the change (expansion) of the operation reaction area 20a is not necessary. Also, a predetermined range A3 where the acceleration is larger than B3 is set as the range for disabling the touch operation. The remaining range A2 is set as the range for changing (expanding) the operation reaction area 20a. Hereinafter, the range A1 may also be referred to as the non-change range A1, the range A2 may be referred to as the change range A2, and the range A3 may be referred to as the operation disable range A3.

[0046] When the acceleration detection direction and the magnitude of the acceleration belong to the non-change range A1, the processing unit 3 does not change the operation reaction area 20a (FIG. 2(a)). Also, when the acceleration detection direction and the magnitude of the acceleration belong to the change range A2, the processing unit 3 changes (expands) the operation reaction area 20a to the operation reaction area 21a (FIG. 2(b)). Further, when the acceleration detection direction and the magnitude of the acceleration belong to the operation disable range A3, the processing unit 3 disables the touch operation on the display screen 2a. Therefore, in this case, even if a touch operation is performed on the operation reaction area 20a, the processing corresponding to the icon is not executed.

[0047] Also, when the acceleration detection direction and the magnitude of the acceleration change from the state where they are in the non-change range A1 to the change range A2 with an increase in acceleration, the processing unit 3 changes the range of the operation reaction area 20a (FIG. 2(b)). After the range of the operation reaction area 20a is changed, even if the acceleration decreases again to the range of the non-change range A1, the processing unit 3 continues the change of the operation reaction area 20a.

[0048] Specifically, referring to FIG. 3, after the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 4 becomes greater than B1 and the range of the operation reaction area 20a is changed, even if the acceleration subsequently decreases and becomes smaller than B1, the change in the operation reaction area 20a continues. However, when the acceleration becomes smaller than a threshold value (threshold value not requiring re-change < B1) set to a value smaller than B1, the processing unit 3 does not change the operation reaction area 20a again (returns to the state of FIG. 2(a)). The threshold value not requiring re-change can be appropriately set within a range smaller than B1.

[0049] Note that the change range A2 of the operation reaction area 20a shown in FIG. 3 is an example and can be appropriately changed. Also, FIG. 3 illustrates the front side of the acceleration detection direction. Therefore, for the rear side of the acceleration detection direction, a range for changing the operation reaction area 20a can be set in the same manner as the front side.

[0050] (Function and Effect) The above is an embodiment of the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention. Next, the functions and effects achieved by the vehicle control device 1 of this embodiment will be described below.

[0051] The above-described vehicle control device 1 has the following characteristic configurations. Therefore, the vehicle control device 1 can achieve specific effects that cannot be achieved by the following prior arts.

[0052] (a) The vehicle control device 1 of the present invention includes a behavior detection unit that detects the behavior of the vehicle, and a processing unit that executes a predetermined process in response to an operation on a touch panel type display screen. The processing unit changes an operation reaction area on the display screen set as an operation area for executing the predetermined process based on the behavior of the vehicle detected by the behavior detection unit.

[0053] The vehicle control device 1 of the present invention changes the operation area (operation response area 20a) for executing a predetermined process based on the behavior of the vehicle 10 (magnitude of acceleration, direction of acceleration detection) detected by the behavior detection unit (accelerometer 4). Therefore, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention can set the operation response area 20a on the display screen 2a according to the behavior of the vehicle 10. For example, when the vehicle 10 turns left, acceleration acts on the occupant in the right direction, so it becomes possible to expand or move the operation response area 20a to the right. In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention can suppress erroneous operations, such as when an occupant who has received acceleration in the right direction tries to perform a touch operation to execute a predetermined process, by operating the wrong operation button (for example, an icon on the display screen 2a), and can also suppress situations where the desired button (icon) cannot be touched. Furthermore, for example, it is possible to change only the operation response area 20a without changing the display area 20 of the icons on the display screen 2a. In this case, it is possible to prevent accidental operation of control buttons (icons) or inability to press the desired control button while the vehicle 10 is moving, without causing any discomfort to the user.

[0054] Furthermore, it reduces the hassle of correcting operations due to incorrect operation of operation buttons (icons), and the hassle of having to perform the same touch operation multiple times because the desired operation button (icon) response area 20a cannot be pressed.

[0055] (b) The processing unit 3 may expand the operation response area 20a based on the magnitude of the vehicle 10's behavior (acceleration) detected by the behavior detection unit (accelerometer 4).

[0056] In this case, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention increases the amount of expansion of the operation response area 20a when the behavior (acceleration) of the vehicle 10 is large, and decreases the amount of expansion of the operation response area 20a when the behavior (acceleration) of the vehicle 10 is small. In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention can set an appropriate operation response area 20a according to the acceleration acting on the occupant. Therefore, even when the behavior (acceleration) of the vehicle 10 becomes large, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention can reliably suppress situations such as erroneous operation of operation buttons (icons) or inability to press the desired operation button (icon).

[0057] (c) The processing unit 3 may disable the operation of the operation response area on the condition that the magnitude of the vehicle 10's behavior (acceleration) detected by the behavior detection unit (acceleration sensor 4) is greater than a predetermined threshold (acceleration B3: Figure 3).

[0058] When the vehicle 10's behavior (acceleration) increases, it is conceivable that operating the control buttons (icons) may be inappropriate. Furthermore, unintended operations may occur due to the movement of the occupants caused by the vehicle's behavior (acceleration). In such situations, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention disables the operation of the operation response area 20a, thereby enabling the appropriate execution of predetermined processing in accordance with the vehicle 10's behavior (acceleration).

[0059] (d) The display screen 2a before the operation response area 20a is changed displays an icon for executing the process so as to overlap with the operation response area 20a (display area 20), and when the processing unit 3 changes the operation response area 20a, it is preferable that the processing unit 3 changes the operation response area 20a on the display screen 2a to the operation response area 21a without moving the position of the icon (display area 20).

[0060] In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention maintains the display position of the icons (display area 20) while changing only the operation response area 20a based on the behavior (acceleration) of the vehicle 10. Therefore, it is possible to prevent accidental operation of operation buttons (icons) or inability to press the desired operation button while the vehicle 10 is moving, without causing discomfort to the user.

[0061] (e) The behavior detection unit (accelerometer 4) is configured to detect the direction of acceleration acting on the occupant (accelerometer detection direction) based on the behavior of the vehicle 10, and the processing unit 3 expands the operation response area 20a in the direction of acceleration acting on the occupant (accelerometer detection direction) detected by the behavior detection unit (accelerometer 4).

[0062] When an occupant operates an operation button (such as an icon), if acceleration acts on the occupant, their body will move in the direction of that acceleration. The vehicle control device 1 of the present invention expands the operation response area 20a in the direction in which the occupant moves due to the acceleration when acceleration acts on the occupant due to the behavior of the vehicle 10. This enhances the ability to suppress situations such as erroneous operation of operation buttons (icons) or inability to press the desired operation button while the vehicle 10 is moving.

[0063] (f) The behavior detection unit (accelerometer 4) is configured to detect acceleration acting on the occupant based on the behavior of the vehicle 10, and the processing unit 3 may refrain from changing the operation response area 20a on the condition that the acceleration acting on the occupant detected by the behavior detection unit (accelerometer 4) is smaller than a specific threshold (accelerometer B1: Figure 3).

[0064] In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention does not change the operation response area 20a when the acceleration acting on the occupant is such that it does not affect the operation, thus reducing the processing load when the processing unit 3 changes the operation response area 20a.

[0065] (g) When the processing unit 3 has changed the operation response area 20a because the acceleration acting on the occupant exceeds a specific threshold (acceleration B1: Figure 3), and then decides not to change the operation response area 20a again as the acceleration acting on the occupant decreases, it is preferable that the processing unit 3 refrains from changing the operation response area 20a again on the condition that the acceleration acting on the occupant becomes smaller than a threshold value that does not require further change, which is set to a value smaller than the specific threshold (acceleration B1: Figure 3).

[0066] In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention can prevent frequent switching of whether or not to change the operation response area 20a when the acceleration acting on the occupant detected by the behavior detection unit (accelerometer 4) fluctuates around a specific threshold (accelerometer B1: Figure 3) due to detection errors or the like.

[0067] (h) The behavior detection unit may be an acceleration sensor 4 mounted on the vehicle.

[0068] In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention can change the operation response range 20a in an inexpensive configuration by utilizing the acceleration sensor 4 mounted on the vehicle 10.

[0069] The above describes the effects and advantages of the vehicle control device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. However, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be modified in various ways. That is, the vehicle control device 1 described above is merely one embodiment of the present invention, and the configuration can be changed, omitted, or added as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In other words, the vehicle control device 1 can be one that does not have some or all of the configurations related to (a) to (h) above, one that has other configurations, or one that is realized by configurations related to (a) to (h) above that are different from those exemplified in the above embodiment, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0070] For example, in the embodiment described above, the case in which the processing unit 3 expands the operation response area 20a of the display screen 2a in the direction of acceleration detection detected by the acceleration sensor 4 was explained. However, as shown in Figure 4, for example, it is also possible for the processing unit 3 to move the operation response area 20a to the operation response area 22a based on the direction of acceleration detection detected by the acceleration sensor 4, while maintaining the size (area) of the operation response area 20a. In other words, the processing unit 3 can be configured to move the operation response area 20a in the direction of acceleration detection. The same effects as in the embodiment described above can be obtained in this way as well. In this case as well, it is preferable to move only the operation response area 20a to the operation response area 22a without moving the icon display area 20.

[0071] Furthermore, there may be multiple predetermined processes, and on the display screen 2a, the operation response area 20a is set corresponding to each of the multiple predetermined processes. The processing unit 3 modifies a specific operation response area 20a among the operation response areas 20a corresponding to the multiple predetermined processes based on the behavior of the vehicle 10 (acceleration detection direction) detected by the behavior detection unit (accelerometer 4). That is, as shown in Figure 5, when multiple icons (operation buttons) are displayed on the display screen 2a, the processing unit 3 can also change (expand) the operation response area 20a of a specific icon among the multiple icons in the direction of acceleration detection (operation response area 20a → operation response area 21a).

[0072] In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention can suppress the increase in processing load on the processing unit 3 due to changes in the range of the operation response area 20a, while reliably preventing situations such as erroneous operation of operation buttons (icons) or inability to press the desired operation button while the vehicle 10 is moving, for high-priority operation response areas 20a.

[0073] Furthermore, while the above-described embodiment explained the case where the behavior of the vehicle 10 is detected by the acceleration sensor 4, the behavior of the vehicle 10 can also be detected in a configuration such as that shown in Figure 6. For example, it is possible to estimate the acceleration and acceleration detection direction of the vehicle 10 using the vehicle speed sensor 5 and steering angle sensor 6 mounted on the vehicle 10, without using the acceleration sensor 4. It is also possible to estimate the acceleration of the vehicle 10 based on the amount the accelerator pedal is pressed and the brake pedal is pressed. Based on the acceleration and acceleration detection direction estimated in this way, the processing unit 3 can also change the range of the operation response area 21a.

[0074] Furthermore, the method of estimating the acceleration and direction of acceleration acting on the occupant based on the detection information from the vehicle speed sensor 5 and the steering angle sensor 6 is easily applicable when the vehicle 10 is turning. Therefore, when the vehicle 10 is turning, the processing unit 3 can change the operation response area 20a using this method, and in other cases, the acceleration sensor 4 can be used to change the operation response area 20a.

[0075] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, when transitioning from the no-change range A1 to the change range A2 due to an increase in detected acceleration, and then transitioning back to the no-change range A1 due to a decrease in acceleration, the configuration was made so that the range of the operation response area 20a is not changed again if the detected acceleration becomes smaller than the no-change threshold which is smaller than the acceleration B1 related to the no-change range A1. However, this can also be applied when transitioning from the change range A2 to the operation invalid range A3.

[0076] In this way, the vehicle control device 1 of the present invention can prevent frequent switching between disabling and disabling touch operations when the acceleration acting on the occupant detected by the behavior detection unit (accelerometer 4) fluctuates around the threshold boundary between the change range A2 and the operation disable range A3 due to detection errors or the like.

[0077] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the case in which the range of the operation response area 20a is changed (expanded) in the direction of acceleration detection was explained, but it is also preferable to change it while taking into account the angle of the display screen 2a of the display device 2 (angle with respect to the road surface). In this case, the direction in which the operation response area 20a is changed should basically be in the direction of acceleration detection, but this direction should be corrected according to the angle of the display screen 2a of the display device 2. In this way, the range of the operation response area 20a can be changed to an appropriate direction that also corresponds to the angle of the display screen 2a.

[0078] The above describes embodiments and modifications of the vehicle control device 1 according to the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to those exemplified in the embodiments and modifications described above, and it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments may exist in the spirit and teachings thereof, without departing from the scope of the claims. [Industrial applicability]

[0079] The present invention is suitably applicable to vehicle control devices in general that perform predetermined processes based on operations on a touch panel display screen. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0080] 1: Vehicle control device 2a:Display screen 3: Processing Unit 4: Accelerometer (Movement detection unit) 10: Vehicles 20a: Operational reaction area

Claims

1. A behavior detection unit that detects the vehicle's behavior, A processing unit that performs predetermined processing in response to the operation of a touch panel display screen, Equipped with, The processing unit modifies the operation response area on the display screen, which is set as an operation area for executing the predetermined process, based on the behavior of the vehicle detected by the behavior detection unit. A vehicle control device characterized by the following.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing unit expands the operation response area based on the magnitude of the vehicle's behavior detected by the behavior detection unit.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the processing unit disables the operation of the operation response area on the condition that the magnitude of the vehicle's behavior detected by the behavior detection unit is greater than a predetermined threshold.

4. In the display screen prior to the change of the operation response area, an icon for executing the process is displayed so as to overlap with the operation response area. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, characterized in that when the processing unit changes the operation response area, it changes the operation response area on the display screen without moving the position of the icon.

5. The behavior detection unit is configured to detect the direction of acceleration acting on the occupants based on the behavior of the vehicle. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing unit expands the operation response area in the direction of the acceleration acting on the occupant detected by the behavior detection unit.

6. The behavior detection unit is configured to detect the direction of acceleration acting on the occupants based on the behavior of the vehicle. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing unit moves the operation response area in the direction of the acceleration acting on the occupant detected by the behavior detection unit.

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