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EP-3819156-B1 - VEHICLE, VEHICLE INPUT METHOD, AND VEHICLE INPUT PROGRAM

EP3819156B1EP 3819156 B1EP3819156 B1EP 3819156B1EP-3819156-B1

Inventors

  • KOZONO, Yuki
  • NAKAJIMA, SHU
  • NAWATA, TAKESHI

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20201105

Claims (12)

  1. A vehicle (12) comprising a vehicle input device (10, 120), the vehicle input device comprising: an operation detection section (82) configured to detect input to an onboard unit (39) allocated to one operation section of a plurality of operation sections (40A - 54) provided in a vicinity of a driving seat of the vehicle (12), due to the one operation section (40A - 54) being operated; a preliminary action detection section (84) configured to detect a preliminary action directly prior to the one operation section (40A - 54) being operated; and a notification section (90, 126) configured to notify an occupant of information relating to the onboard unit (39) allocated to the one operation section (40A - 54), in a case in which the preliminary action has been detected by the preliminary action detection section (84); wherein the notification section (90, 126) is configured to notify the occupant by displaying the information relating to the onboard unit (39) allocated to the one operation section (40A - 54), on a display section (17) included by the vehicle input device (10, 120), while the vehicle is driven; and characterized in that : the vehicle input device further comprises an operation validity determination section (86) configured to determine whether or not the one operation section is in an inoperable state in which the input cannot be accepted; the notification section (90) is configured to display on the display section (17) the information relating to the onboard unit (39) allocated to the one operation section if the operation validity determination section determines that the one operation section is not in an inoperable state; and the display section (17) is provided at a vehicle front side of the driving seat.
  2. The vehicle (12) according to claim 1, wherein: the operation detection section (82) is configured to detect input to the onboard unit (39) allocated to the one operation section (40A - 54), due to the one operation section (40A - 54) being pressed; and the preliminary action detection section (84) is configured to detect touching of the one operation section (40A - 54) by the occupant as the preliminary action directly prior to the one operation section (40A - 54) being pressed.
  3. The vehicle (12) according to claim 2, wherein: the display section (17) is configured to display images that represent each of the plurality of operation sections (40A - 54); and the notification section (90) is configured to emphatically display an image corresponding to the one operation section (40A - 54) that the occupant is touching.
  4. The vehicle (12) according to any of claim 1 to claim 3, wherein: the notification section (90) is configured to display on the display section (17) at least one of an icon or text indicating the onboard unit (39) allocated to the one operation section (40A - 54) being touched by the occupant.
  5. The vehicle (12) according to claim 4, wherein: a different function is allocated to at least one operation section (40A - 54) of the plurality of operation sections (40A - 54) when the at least one of an icon or text displayed on the display section (17) is switched.
  6. The vehicle (12) according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein: at least one operation section (40A - 54) of the plurality of operation sections (40A - 54) is switched to an inoperable state when the at least one of an icon or text displayed on the display section (17) is categorized as not-for-display.
  7. The vehicle (12) according to any of claim 1 to claim 6, wherein the vehicle input device includes a head-up display (19) and the display section (17) is a display screen projected from the head-up display (19) onto a partial region of a windshield (16) of the vehicle (12).
  8. The vehicle (12) according to any of claim 1 to claim 7, wherein the plurality of operation sections (40A - 54) are provided at a steering wheel (18) of the vehicle (12) provided at a vehicle front of the driving seat of the vehicle.
  9. A vehicle input method comprising: detecting input to an onboard unit (39) allocated to one operation section (40A - 54) of a plurality of operation sections (40A - 54) provided in a vicinity of a driving seat of a vehicle (12), due to the one operation section (40A - 54) being operated; detecting a preliminary action directly prior to the one operation section (40A - 54) being operated; and notifying an occupant of information relating to the onboard unit (39) allocated to the one operation section (40A - 54) in a case in which the preliminary action has been detected; characterized by determining whether or not the one operation section is in an inoperable state in which the input cannot be accepted; and if the one operation section has determined not being in an inoperable state, notifying the occupant by displaying the information relating to the onboard unit (39) allocated to the one operation section (40A - 54) on a display section (17) provided at a vehicle front side of the driving seat while the vehicle is driven.
  10. The vehicle input method of claim 9, further comprising: detecting the input to the onboard unit (39) allocated to the one operation section (40A - 54) when the one operation section (40A - 54) is pressed; and detecting touching of the one operation section (40A - 54) by the occupant as the preliminary action directly prior to the one operation section (40A - 54) being pressed.
  11. A program to cause vehicle input processing to be executed, the vehicle input processing comprising: detecting input to an onboard unit (39) allocated to one operation section (40A - 54) of a plurality of operation sections (40A - 54) provided in a vicinity of a driving seat of a vehicle (12), due to the one operation section (40A - 54) being operated; detecting a preliminary action directly prior to the one operation section (40A - 54) being operated; and notifying an occupant of information relating to the onboard unit (39) allocated to the one operation section (40A - 54) in a case in which the preliminary action has been detected; characterized by determining whether or not the one operation section is in an inoperable state in which the input cannot be accepted; and if the one operation section has determined not being in an inoperable state, notifying the occupant by displaying the information relating to the onboard unit (39) allocated to the one operation section (40A - 54) on a display section (17) provided at a vehicle front side of the driving seat while the vehicle is driven.
  12. The program of claim 11, wherein the vehicle input processing further comprises: detecting the input to the onboard unit (39) allocated to the one operation section (40A - 54) when the one operation section (40A - 54) is pressed; and detecting touching of the one operation section (40A - 54) by the occupant as the preliminary action directly prior to the one operation section (40A - 54) being pressed.

Description

BACKGROUND Technical Field The present invention relates to a vehicle including a vehicle input device, a vehicle input method, and a program to cause vehicle input processing to be executed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2006-315562 discloses an in-vehicle input device in which plural switches are provided at a steering wheel. In this in-vehicle input device, the placement of options on a virtual screen displayed on a front windshield by a head-up display corresponds with the placement of the switches. When there is a correspondence relationship between positions on a virtual screen and the positions of switches (operation sections) as in the in-vehicle input device disclosed in JP-A No. 2006-315562, an occupant can more easily operate a desired switch while keeping their gaze directed toward the front. However, the likelihood of erroneous input increases if the plural switches are disposed close together. German Patent Application Publication No. DE10220797A1 discloses a motor vehicle having buttons or switches that are arranged such that they can be touched or actuated by a driver without triggering the associated function, after which element-specific information is reproduced optically and/or acoustically for the driver. German Patent Application Publication No. DE4410985A1 discloses an information device for operable devices of a motor vehicle, in which the devices individually assigned controls control a control device for a memory when they are actuated, which result therefrom takes the data assigned to the controls and displays them on a screen. SUMMARY The present invention obtains a vehicle including a vehicle input device capable of suppressing erroneous input during operation without the need to greatly shift one's gaze when driving in a case in which plural operation sections are disposed close together. The vehicle including the vehicle input device is provided according to claim 1. In the vehicle including the vehicle input device, the plural operation sections are provided in the vicinity of the driving seat. Input to the onboard unit allocated to the one operation section is detected by the operation detection section when the one operation section is operated by the occupant. The preliminary action directly prior to the one operation section being operated is detected by the preliminary action detection section. The occupant is then notified of the information relating to the onboard unit allocated to the one operation section by the notification section. The occupant is therefore able to ascertain the information relating to the onboard unit allocated to the one operation section directly prior to the one operation section being operated without diverting their eyes toward the operation section. Note that the "operation" referred to here is, for example, a concept encompassing pressing the operation section or touching the operation section. Moreover, the "onboard unit" referred to here is, for example, a concept encompassing travel assist equipment such as active cruise control (ACC) and lane tracing assist (LTA) in addition to other equipment such as an air conditioner, an audio system, a car navigation system, or an audio input device. According to the invention, the information relating to the onboard unit allocated to the one operation section is displayed on the display section at the vehicle front of the driving seat in a case in which the preliminary action directly prior to the one operation section being operated has been detected by the preliminary action detection section. This enables the occupant to ascertain the information relating to the onboard unit allocated to the operation section they are about to operate by looking at the display section. In an embodiment, the operation detection section is configured to detect input to the onboard unit allocated to the one operation section due to the one operation section being pressed, and the preliminary action detection section is configured to detect touching of the one operation section by the occupant as the preliminary action directly prior to the one operation section being pressed. Here, the information relating to the onboard unit allocated to the operation section that is being touched is displayed on the display section when the occupant touches the one operation section. This enables the occupant to ascertain the information relating to the onboard unit they are about to operate by touching the one operation section. From the touched state, input to the onboard unit is then performed by pressing the operation section. In an embodiment, an image is displayed on the display section to represent each of the plural operation sections, and the notification section is configured to emphatically display the image corresponding to the one operation section that the occupant is touching. Here, an image is displayed on the display section to represent each of the plural operation sections. The n