Vehicle HVAC Status Display via Window Color Changes

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for displaying the status of heating or air conditioning devices in vehicles are not intuitive or easy for users to understand, lacking clear visualization of the device's state.

Innovation Solution

A method where the display device represents the vehicle's surfaces, such as windows, in different colors to indicate various states of the heating or air conditioning device, allowing users to easily and intuitively determine its status through graphical representations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If traditional display methods are used to show heating or air conditioning device status, then the display device can show text or numerical information, but the user cannot easily and intuitively determine the device state

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of determining device statusVSAvoidclarity of device state visualization
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies color changes to vehicle window representations in the graphical display to indicate different states of the heating or air conditioning device. Different colors (e.g., blue for cold, red for hot) are assigned to different device states, enabling users to intuitively understand the current status at a glance without needing to interpret text or numerical data.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a graphical copy or representation of the vehicle including its windows, and uses this visual model to display device status. Rather than showing abstract text indicators, the system replicates the vehicle's visual appearance with modified window representations that convey thermal state information, making the status information more intuitive and easier to understand.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Loss of information

If detailed status information is provided through text displays, then complete information is conveyed, but the display becomes less intuitive and harder to quickly comprehend

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompleteness of status informationVSAvoidintuitiveness of status display
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent encodes multiple pieces of status information into the color properties of window representations. By assigning specific colors to different device states (e.g., blue for cooling mode, red for heating mode, green for off mode), the system conveys complete status information in a visually intuitive manner that users can comprehend instantly without reading text descriptions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes visual parameters (color, potentially transparency or intensity) of the window representations to encode different device states. This parameter-based encoding allows the system to convey multiple pieces of information (device on/off status, heating/cooling mode, temperature levels) through simple visual modifications that maintain intuitiveness while preserving information completeness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP2922716B1Method for displaying the status of a heating or air conditioning device of a vehicle and heating or air conditioning device for a vehicle
Publication Date: 2020.01.08 VOLKSWAGEN AG
  • EP2922716B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2922716B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2922716B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for displaying the status of a heating or air conditioning device (4) of a vehicle (10), wherein a graphical object (5) that depicts the vehicle (10) is displayed by a display device (2) of the vehicle (10), the status of the heating or air conditioning device (4) is detected, and different statuses of the heating or air conditioning device (4) are displayed by the display device (2) by means of different depictions of vehicle surfaces (6). The invention further relates to a heating or air conditioning device (1) for performing said method.