Touch Screen Tab Interface for Vehicle Information Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for representing and handling information on car screens often complicate user interaction, leading to reduced driving safety due to complex interfaces and the need for quick information access, especially with the increasing number of electronic devices in modern vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing touch-screen tabs that display and retract data in response to user input, allowing for batch mode operation and overlapping tabs, providing intuitive access to information without hiding other screen content, and displaying the number of retracted tabs for preview.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional menu systems are used on car screens, then information can be displayed, but user interaction becomes complex and driving safety is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The interface is segmented into multiple independent tabs that can be displayed and managed separately. Each tab represents a distinct information category (navigation, multimedia, telematics, etc.), allowing users to access specific information without navigating through complex hierarchical menus. The tabs can be individually activated, displayed, or retracted based on user needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D menu navigation to a 3D spatial arrangement where tabs are positioned around the screen perimeter (top, bottom, left, right sides). This dimensional change allows multiple information categories to be simultaneously accessible without overlapping or requiring nested menu structures, simplifying user interaction while maintaining comprehensive information access.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple electronic devices and functions are added to modern vehicles, then functionality increases, but information handling complexity and driver distraction increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tab-based interface serves as a universal access point for multiple electronic systems and functions (navigation, multimedia, telematics, driver assistance). Instead of requiring separate control interfaces for each system, a single tab structure provides unified access to all vehicle functions, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface dynamically adapts to user needs by allowing tabs to be individually activated, displayed, or retracted. The system can automatically adjust which tabs are visible based on current vehicle operations or user preferences, providing versatile functionality without presenting all options simultaneously, thereby reducing information handling complexity.
3Productivity
If quick information access is implemented, then driving safety improves, but interface design becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
All information categories are pre-organized into tabs positioned around the screen perimeter before the user needs them. This preliminary arrangement allows users to immediately access any information category by simply activating the corresponding tab, without requiring sequential navigation through menus. The interface is prepared in advance to provide instant access to critical driving information.
Solution Approach 2:
The tab structure acts as an intermediary between the driver and the complex vehicle systems. Instead of directly interacting with multiple electronic control units and their respective interfaces, the user interacts with a single simplified tab system that mediates access to all underlying systems, enabling quick information access while managing interface design complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Process for the representation and/or handling of information in a car in a way that allows the vehicle user to interact and use the information via a touch system with tabs that display and retract data in response to pressing or dragging a side or a folder. These tabs can be displayed so they overlap and retract simultaneously and in batch mode, and also displaying the number of tabs retracted in batch mode. In said process a tab is displayed following the folder in response to activation, covering the contents of said graphical representation device from the first side of the graphical representation device, displaying the information contained in the tab without the folder being hidden by the other side of said graphical representation device.